Chapter 10

Winter Solstice (December 21, four days until Christmas)

It was the final Christmas/Yule party before the sale of the liquor store chain went through, of course. I wanted to make sure to take good care of my staff, including good bonuses and gift packages, which included plenty of booze. I had twenty remaining employees between the stores, due to half having already moved on to other work due to the news. I had plans to ensure their futures in any case, no matter what. They were all more than welcome to join my new community.

“Okay, Heather, Bruce, Ramsey, Ellen, Paisley, Paige, Crystal, Donald, Douglas, Summer, Sakiru, Cheng, Mario, Maria, Vita, Jean-Jacques, Albert, Gary, Susan, Erin, Cliff, Nigel, Domingo, Murray, Seth, Pamela, Bella, Donna, Myles, Ira, Danica, Sean, Charlene, Rajiv, Sanjay, Priya, Leah, Melissa, Jessenia, and Kylie, welcome to my humble abode. This is where we’re holding the Christmas/Yule bash this year, because quite frankly, you’re all family, to me, including those of you who have already found new jobs.

“Rest assured, guys, we will not put you out on the motherfucking street. Don’t worry. One way or another, your lives will continue as little inconvenienced as possible by this whole deal. I repeat what I said earlier. You’re all family to me. We will take care of our own. I don’t care what your race, gender, religion, politics, or country of origin are, period. Nor do my partners care. Don’t worry about the babies. They’re in the nursery, being properly supervised, I assure you. We’ve expanded this place quite a bit to allow for a much larger nursery, after all.

“Tonight, if you drink, don’t drive. Just crash. Or let me call you a ride. Either way, don’t drink. You stay here and sleep it off or else get a driver. Any of you who don’t drink tonight and wish to be designated drivers, thank you very much for that. Nobody needs a DUI or worse, car crash, especially not in some of those death traps that you like to drive,” I teased several of my staff who drove those compact sedans of theirs.

We all heard laughter at that. More than a few of the crew blushed as they realized that I was teasing them. They also noticed how palatial my current residence was, which really made them sit up and take notice. Some of them by now knew my partners, but quite a few of them didn’t yet. Most of them knew my daughters, Amber and Amanda, at least by recognizing them from family photos. Quite a few of them had met their mother, Tracy, my legal wife. Many of them also knew that I almost divorced her at one point.

Yet here she was, along with many others in my household. They didn’t see Dad yet, but that was because he supervised the brats in the nursery. As much as he loved a good party, he also wanted others to have one, and he was quite happy to babysit his grandchildren in order to achieve that goal. After all, he wasn’t some frat boy. He was Dionysius, God of Wine and Revelry. A true member of the Greek Pantheon, that was my father.

“Hello, folks. Be sure to have a good time. This is our last holiday season with you as owners of Weintraub Liquor Limited. We’re moving on to bigger and better things, and any of you who are so inclined are welcome to come along for the ride. That’s entirely your choice, of course. Just a reminder of the significance of this occasion ... and this opportunity for you. We might even be moving out of state, depending on how things go,” the missus announced to all.

Yeah, that slight change of plans was being seriously considered. Dad had misgivings about sticking around such an arid part of the world for good. He missed vineyards and things of that ilk, only where to find such things in an affordable area, anyway? California was far too pricey and wasteful, even with the communal funding plan. Well, bringing members of the staff on side might well assist with such ideas, as they might have ideas and every contributing member of the tribe improved our finances.

“Where would we be moving ... if we went with you?” Heather dared to speak up now.

She was always one of my favorite clerks, hard-working, loyal, cheerful, even a bit flirty at times. Not just with me, either. She flirted with just about everyone, but she was noteworthy for playful pranks that often made me wonder about her intentions. Since she started working there some three years ago, the dirty blonde single mom had more than once shown her sauciness, her intelligence (including some common sense), and a few hobbies that we shared. She had been Bruce’s girlfriend for most of that time, though, plus I was her rather married boss (even if not monogamous for a while now), so there had been some caution exercised there.

The way that Bruce looked at Heather, he clearly wished that they were still a couple, especially since they had a two year old son now. I had promoted him and reassigned to another store to make things easier for everyone, but what would happen to that arrangement now? Bruce was a smart, hard-working, loyal kind of guy, too. I never knew what had broken them up, only that it seemed to be Heather’s decision to end it. I could only guess as to why. Well, if I had my way, they’d both be in the family and having a lot of ex sex, among many other things.

“We’re not entirely sure, but we’ve looked at some options. Texas. Kansas. France. Greece. Somewhere lush and green. We’ve even considered places in the Levant, but they are rather dangerous, to be sure. Israel, Lebanon, places like that. Someplace less hot and dry, where we can possibly plant vineyards, orchards, that kind of thing. What are your thoughts as to that? This is a sort of ... co-operative enterprise that we’d be setting up. A colony of sorts. Like a kibbutz in a way,” I clarified a bit.

“A wealthy local businessman and his apparent ... harem are looking into some kind of socialist hippie commune, full of free love and harmony with nature, that kind of thing? Am I pretty close to the mark with this whole ... New Age business? Consider me intrigued, if nothing else. Not sure what the father of my son thinks about it, though. I would have to consult him, but he is standing right here, at least. Since he shares custody of Jason,” Heather flirted with me a bit, though she also seemed anxious to mollify Bruce a little.

“You haven’t always consulted me, you know, but it’s nice for you to start,” Bruce snorted a little.

“Oh, Bruce, honey, do we have to fight right now? It’s a fun event, a holiday party, Christmas, whatever! Granted, I’m Jewish, but you get the idea. Sorry to rope you guys into our drama. I stupidly dumped him some time back over something petty and we’re wrestled back and forth about trying to make it work ... for us ... and for our boy. Little tip, ladies. Look before you leap on the whole dumping a good guy business. Odds are, you’re gonna live to regret it,” Heather choked back some tears while someone brought out a pipe full of weed.

“Here, don’t be like Clinton. Inhale. Both of you. It will be good for both of you. It will help you both mellow out and not quarrel when what you both really want is to hump each other into next week. Or maybe just make sweet, tender love to each other. Something of that sort. That much is clear. You two don’t want to be broken up, that much is clear. I thought that it was just Bruce who missed what you had, but evidently, I was wrong. Sometimes, you need more than spirits to raise your spirits, guys,” I insisted that they both smoke a little pot.

“Come on, guys. Get a little cross-faded, okay?” Ashley encouraged them as well.

Heather and Bruce both took a good look at the pipe, at each other, and nodded. Heather took the pipe first, being a little bolder about such things, inhaled deep, and then passed it to Bruce. He gulped for a second, and then took the plunge, smoking a bit of the reefer as well. I knew that it would take a little while for the THC to take hold, but the very act of faith where they shared some weed already started to calm them down a bit.

“I’m Jewish, too, at least by blood,” I pointed out, “haven’t exactly been to temple of late.”

“That makes two of us, I’m afraid. I mean, I lit a menorah this year, but I barely even went to temple on Passover and Purim this year. It’s been, well, a rough year for us, you know. With the break-up and all that, which I freely admit was my own damn fault ... mostly. Bruce wasn’t totally a saint, either.

“Funny how our relationship went up in smoke and it might be put back together partly by ... smoke ... I threw out his cigarettes. Yeah, dumbass move to try to make someone quit cold turkey. He blew up at me about it. And then I kicked him out, I was so mad at him right then,” Heather blushed a bit, feeling truly embarrassed about that fuck-up on her part.

“What are you saying, babe?” Bruce got flustered now.

“Bruce, honey, come on home. I miss you. Jason misses you. I’m really sorry. I was stupid. I was wrong, okay? Just come back home. Pretty please! I’ll make you anything that you like for supper and blow you during your favorite shows! When we’re alone, that is,” Heather pouted now for effect.

“And the next spat? Are you gonna kick me out again? That’s the trouble with you thinking of it as your place. Which legally it is. That’s the problem, isn’t it? I was never an equal owner of the place, just a tenant who paid rent with my body and my love ... and my share of the income,” Bruce visibly relaxed, but held onto that one worry of his.

“God, I really never let you make yourself at home ... not really, did I? Sorry, babe. That was a serious screw-up on my part, okay? I still thought of it as my own place first, because it always had been. Well, maybe we can solve that by moving in together with the boss man and boss lady here!” Heather answered as she leaned in and kissed her ex-boyfriend with a lot of tongue.

“That’s my hope, anyway. Come on, folks. Less rueing the day, more owning the night, okay? Let’s get down and party! Karen, honey, put on some music, pretty please! Michelle, you know what to do! The eggnog and snack trays as a start, anyway! Who wants summer sausage and edam cheese?” I chuckled as I slapped each of my ladies on the tush ... and Warren and Felipe as well.

Yes, I even slapped the twins that way. If anyone noticed, well, nobody complained, did they? It didn’t take long for the ice to completely melt and everyone chill out a bit to truly party together. There was even a meal as well as snacks, even if it was pretty basic: pasta, pizza, salads, soups, and breadsticks from a fine local Italian restaurant. One of the pizzas even had anchovies on it. I went all-out that year.

“Righteous stuff here! I can’t believe this stuff ... what is this cocktail of yours again?” Sakiru inquired, feeling a little bolder as we really got into the fun, games, libations, and hearty food.

“Hebrew Highball?” I joked a bit there.

“Cute, because you’re Jewish and you invented it!” Summer then teased me, even as she began playfully dancing with me.

Sakiru looked a little jealous, but he didn’t make any moves toward her. It didn’t matter, not yet. Everyone would be a lot freer with their affections before the night was done. They certainly would well before dawn. I noticed that Bruce and Heather were already all over each other, finding the mistletoe in a hurry to make out like bandits. Yeah, they were back together, no doubt of that! Summer bit her lip as she saw Sakiru standing there like a wallflower, and then she surprised both of us.

“Excuse me, boss. I think that someone’s a little lonely. I’m gonna try and cheer him up a bit,” the platinum blonde cutie didn’t wait for an answer before she walked over to Sakiru and pulled him toward the mistletoe.

“Come on, Saki-san! Let me brighten your mood! Let’s turn that frown upside down!” Summer winked at me even as she began tongue-kissing the Japanese exchange student.

Well, that was vintage Summer Hawkins, if nothing else. She was a real cheermeister or whatever, determined to bring joy to people if she could. It just happened that one of her favorite ways to do so was through some heavy necking, petting, and other forms of TLC. When she put her hands on his butt, Sakiru blushed and started to look away, but she was having none of that. She moved his hands to her ass and rubbed against his bulge before actively twerking with him in front of everyone.

Sakiru erupted ... right then, right there, with his clothes and hers still on, of course. He looked really embarrassed and humiliated about that, but she just touched his face and gestured to me that she needed to borrow one of the johns. She led the bashful clerk with her to one of our guest bathrooms, closing the door for a good while before they emerged. It was clear that they hadn’t fucked, but it was also clear that she did something for the guy.

Sakiru walked out behind Summer in nothing but his top and a bath towel, which she made sure to help him keep in place. Then she kissed him again in front of everyone and nestled against his back a little in a very loving manner. Was she claiming him for a boyfriend or something? It was hard to say, but she certainly went beyond the roles of friend and co-worker, didn’t she? I definitely wouldn’t object, though, and I could sense that everyone who noticed found it rather charming. Then again, that was normal with things that Summer did.

Then she mouthed, “Threesome?” at me as a question, making me chuckle.

I wasn’t sure how Sakiru felt about that idea, though I certainly wouldn’t kick her out of bed, nor him for that matter. He was rather cute in a nerdy, maybe emo twink fashion. He had just never shown any signs of being bisexual like Warren, Felipe, or me. Or Dad, for that matter. Dad was a highly hedonistic deity, after all. Greek Gods tended to be, with obvious exceptions such as Athena and Artemis. Well, in a few hours, all bets would be off, wouldn’t they?

Already, things were showing signs of getting a bit wild and wanton, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Once the sacred chalice was brought out to play, well, things would take a distinct turn for the better, at least with those who opted to partake of the Dionysian rites. Things were about to get very interesting, though I wanted everyone nice and hammered before things even got to that point. I didn’t want them to black out, but I wanted their inhibitions lowered or weakened, if not erased.

That used to be acceptable in the past, and it would be again. I chuckled again as I realized that my attitude had to at least somewhat come from being a son of the Greek God of Wine and Revels. Dionysius. Bacchus. The son of Zeus and Semele. Dear Old Dad. Yeah, I was a chip off the old wine-soaked block.

The day would come again when people would know the difference between two buzzed people getting it on and a semi-sober person using someone who was completely passed out. The second was rape, sure, but not the first. The radical feminists who wanted to criminalize all forms of straight sex were no better than the fundamentalists who wanted to ban all gay sex, at least in my book. I was all for more sex ... a lot more sex, not a lot less, as both of their types seemed to favor.