Chapter 10: A Question of Ethics

Dave lay awake almost the entire night with his brain twitching in every quadrant over the shock his mother had visited upon his brother and him. She was having sex with some of the other men in the Circle – Men, not Man! She was sleeping around.

‘Shit!’ The word kept coming to the front of his mind. It was a substitute for having some kind of cogent idea about what to do when faced with that situation.

Joan and Grace slept on either side of him after they’d shared a couple of hours of debauchery that left the three of them panting and sexually sated.

Dave moved to get out of bed about five a.m. Night still ruled the sky.

Grace said, “Don’t go. I know what’s bothering you.”

Joan spoke up then, too; also not asleep. “I do, too.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and both women joined him on either side, their nakedness pushing against his in love and support.

Grace said, “Dave, she’s a widow. She’s grieved and is grieving, and she’s lonely. Think what a heaven on earth this place is for a person like that. We love her. We put no holds on her other than to hopefully love us back, which she does. She’s still a sexually vibrant person.”

Joan coached, “Think about some of the principles of the Circle and apply them to her situation.”

“But ... but...” he stammered.

“Oh, get over the sex thing,” Grace scolded. “She’s not a virgin. She’s a savvy woman who figured out all the nuances of how the Circle runs, and then she willingly took advantage of them.”

“But ... Jack ... and Mike...”

“Probably fucked the daylights out of her. Maybe she even got a third round in with somebody else. So, what? Did you keep track of her sexual habits when she was living with your father?”

“No ... but...”

Joan chuckled, “Let’s get a couple of things straight before you confront her. Are you responsible for her?”

“Errr, no.”

“Does she need your permission to have sex with other people?”

“No, of course not. That would imply ownership and control, and I have neither in her case – in anybody’s case.”

“Good. Does she have to report back to you about what she did?”

“No.” Dave lay back on his elbows. “I guess I feel protective of her. I don’t feel responsible for her and what she chooses to do, but I do feel responsible for what happens to her when it’s within my sphere of influence.”

Joan teased, “So, you think that Jack and Mike and the other men and possibly women are a bad influence on her or that they abused her? Maybe that they’ll hurt her either physically or emotionally? No one here uses whips or chains, floggers or canes.”

Dave shook his head, “No, I trust everyone in the Circle.”

“Would you feel more comfortable if she went home to Ohio and picked up some guys in the local motel bar for the night of pleasure she sought? She might take on all comers just for fun.”

“God, no! That’d be a million times worse.”

“Ah, so, this is a bad thing that happened?”

Dave thought. He finally admitted, “No, I guess it’s a really good thing for her. I hope she doesn’t have expectations about some kind of exclusive relationship with one of the men. That would hurt her. I don’t want her hurt.”

“I bet she knows exactly what the score is. She’s spent four intense days talking in depth to at least half the people in the Circle, plus a few others. She knows the whole situation, our motivations, our behavior, our mores, and everything about us. Further, I bet she could give a highly accurate rendition of your ‘This is the Circle’ speech that you give to new prospects.”

Grace pulled Dave around onto the bed. “Come and snuggle. Relax and let go. Make love to me or Joan or better yet both of us. Sleep. Your mother is six months younger than I am. Think about that. Put your relationship with her on the same basis that you do with me. I love you. You love me.”

Dave allowed Grace to cuddle him to her bare breast. He gradually faded away into his restless sleep again.

A few hours later, Dave was shuffling around in the kitchen, cooking up a storm and putting various custom orders for breakfast or brunch on the counter.

He watched as Elise, his mother, appeared with Sean holding her hand in a romantic gesture. Heather was with the couple and winked at him and then grinned at Dave. The trio sat together with Elise in the middle of the two that sat as close to her as physics allowed.

Dave went through the small drill that he’d rehearsed with Grace: ‘I am seeing a mature woman that is her own person. She can enjoy any kind of a relationship with as many people as she wants and in any way that she wants. She is not my possession, and I need not protect her differently than I do the other women in my midst. I love Elise, and I will help her grow and evolve as she sees fit to do.”

Dave walked over to the threesome that had just sat. “Good morning everybody. What can I get you for brunch?” He tried to sound overly cheery.

Elise looked surprised at the interaction.

Heather said, “Hi, Honey. Could I have some cinnamon French toast with an over-easy egg on top?”

“Absolutely. You want OJ, too?”

She nodded. Sean ordered up a Mexican omelet.

Dave turned to Elise, “And you, beautiful?”

“Thank you. I guess I’ll have what Sean’s having if you can do two without any trouble.” She flashed her son a beautiful smile and ignored the way his eyes dipped to her bare breasts. She was right in keeping with the mode of dress for Saturday brunch on a warm day.

“No trouble at all. Give me a few minutes.” Dave headed back to the kitchen.

As Dave got back to the prep area, Aaron came into the kitchen. “Bro, what are we going to do about mother?”

Dave forced a grin. “WE are going to do nothing. I agonized most of the night on this, but had helpful input very early this morning from Grace and Joan. Just think of mom the way you think about Grace, and you’ll do just fine.”

Aaron’s face adopted a pensive look. He finally said, “But I’m not related to Grace.”

“And what would be different if you were?”

Aaron thought and slowly said, “Noth ... ing, I ... guess.”

“Mom is her own person. She’s sane, or as sane as any of us are. She’s got an active mind, can think for herself, and she researched the Circle and the things we hold important. So, she made love with Jack, Mike, and Sean, plus some women, and will probably do the rest of the men today.”

“Us?” Aaron said in a worried tone.

Dave shrugged. “Elise is a loving animal. I don’t know what she’ll want to do. Right now, I feel we should wait. I want to be sure she thinks though the implications of an incestuous relationship with us, otherwise ... we’ll see.”

Aaron mumbled, “You’re too cool.”

“I’m an engineer. I put the problem in a box and I can keep a lid on it for a while. It has sides that contain things. Am I agitated that she’s having sex with some of our friends, yes. Do I want to do anything about it? After thinking about it, and knowing her needs, the answer is no. I hope she feels loved by all of us.”

Aaron stood silently thinking about everything.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

“Oh, one of those things you call a Circle omelet.”

“OK. Go sit with mom, Heather, and Sean. Just relax.”

Aaron went out to the table, and did as Dave had suggested. Minutes later, he arrived, served everyone, and then sat down opposite Elise with his own omelet.

Elise said, “I thought you’d scold me or be irritated with me for trying to break into your Circle.”

Dave shook his head. “Do you feel loved?”

“Very.”

“Did you enjoy the sex?” he grinned at her.

“You know I did. I even got daring and did a few things with Heather and Holly. Betty and I used to do things together, but that was a long time ago. There were others, too.”

“Would you care to explain that last comment?” Dave asked.

Elise looked slightly embarrassed. She looked at the others at the table, and Dave figured that she decided that they wouldn’t judge her too harshly. She said, “Your father and I were swingers for about ten or twenty years. We were in a club. That’s one of the secrets I held back from telling you and Aaron.”

Dave took in that information and nodded. “I’m not surprised, I guess.” In fact, he was surprised. He tried to think back to their social life, but little came to mind except having an occasional baby sitter as his parents went out to a party. He also recalled one time he went to his grandparent’s home while they had a party at the house.

“Oh,” Dave muttered. He was silent for a while. Aaron watched his brother and mirrored his behavior. He asked, “You’re comfortable with the reality of group sex?”

“Yes,” Elise said with a smile at her son. “I know that my presence kind of squelched things this weekend. I’m sorry about that.”

“What are your intentions?”

Elise laughed. “About what? I’m content to just let things play out and see how everybody feels in a few months. Over that time, I want to go home, have a think, and come back a few times for long weekends like this, if you’ll have me.”

Dave rolled his eyes at the double entendre. “Yes, you are always welcome here.”

Sean put his arm around Elise. “Dave, she belongs here.”

Dave smiled. “I should hope so.”

Elise said, “Several people have told me that either you or Alice have to give me ‘The Talk’ about belonging to the Circle. I guess it’s the whole philosophical underpinning to how you live. I think I have it figured out, but I should hear it from an authority figure like you.” Her tone was teasing.

Dave said, “It’s more than just philosophical; that sounds too theoretical. After breakfast we’ll talk.”

There was some other banter about the babies, and then Heather’s son Matthew and her plans for the day. She had homework but seemed well organized. Heather was in the homestretch, having reached her senior year at the university. There were several questions about her job prospects in the area after her graduation in May.

When the others had drifted away, Dave took his mother’s hand and led her between a couple of the homes out to the walkway surrounding the homes on Circle Drive. They started their slow walk clockwise around the homes.

Dave prefaced his remarks, “I never thought I’d be having this discussion with my mother, but after how you described your widowhood, I’m feeling a lot better about this. It’s taken me a few hours to get my head around this, and I’m not done yet.”

Elise just nodded, and she squeezed his hand.

He said, “OK, here’s some philosophy plus how we actually walk the talk. I’m holding nothing back, so frame your questions as we go and I’ll try my best to answer them. There are places where the logic about how we live loops back on itself. Just be patient with me and I’ll try to cover that.

“First, we believe the universe is fundamentally a friendly and loving place. Yes, there are wars and unpleasant things happening, but overall, we think that love wins out. We believe in karma – what goes around comes around. We believe that you can love more than one person at a time, and in fact you can love many people at the same time. In doing that, you don’t rob someone else of the love you had been providing them. Instead, that love is multiplied and augmented.