Chapter 16: Neighbors – First Encounter

“HELLO!”

Dave turned around, surprised at the slightly shouted greeting from an unexpected direction. He’d just come back from a five-mile run, worked up a healthy sweat, and didn’t think he was too presentable to be meeting someone new. He saw a young couple he didn’t know walking up the Access Road. The woman carried a large platter with aluminum foil over the top of it.

“Hi,” Dave said. “Can I help you?” He purposely tried to sound friendly and smile at the couple.

The man spoke with a broad smile, “I’m Gary DeVille, and this is my wife, Nora. We recently moved in to the house just outside your gates and wanted to make friends with our neighbors. I hope it was all right that we walked around the gates?”

Gary looked sporty and buff. Dave guessed that he too was a runner, worked out, and then possibly played tennis. He had a deep tan and dark hair that had been slightly bleached out due to the sun. He guessed that Nora was a year or two younger, also athletic in some pursuit, and shapely in a ‘girl next door’ kind of way. She had a smile that beamed sunshine all around her. Both seemed about the same age: early thirties.

Dave paused and said, “Oh, no problem. With some of the press we’ve gotten we didn’t want a lot of sightseers or voyeurs cruising the neighborhood. I guess I could also say that we had a kidnapping attempt a year or so ago, too.” He wondered why he’d picked on those things to start the conversation as soon as he’d said them.

Gary stopped, “Oh, my God. Kidnapping? Press? What happened? No one told us.”

“Well, it was a family dispute and nothing you need to be concerned about, but the guilty parties are locked up in prison – three in state prison and one in Federal lockup.”

Nora spoke, “Well, we moved in about six months ago and realized we had only met the neighbors next door and across the street. We’re friendly and like to socialize. I made some chocolate chip cookies as a peace offering. We’d like to be friends and your property is on the other side of us. I didn’t realize there were so many homes in here.” Nora gestured toward the homes on the circle and the corner of the visible townhouse. I should have made more cookies.” She laughed.

Gary added, “We know you have a runway here, too. We’ve seen and heard the planes landing and taking off, but I’m not complaining. I think it’s cool that you have that capability.”

Dave chuckled, “Well, we welcome you, but I need to warn you about a few aspects of this place – not dangerous, but ... revealing.”

Dave started strolling towards the path between two of the homes leading the pair to the core patio and pool. Gary and Nora were walking along, encouraged by a gesture from Dave to walk with him.

Gary canted his head to the side indicating he was puzzled. “We moved here from New Hampshire, so if there’s some history to the area I guess we missed it. The real estate people didn’t say anything other than that you were a ‘special’ gated community with private homes and they told us about the private airfield. We never asked what ‘special’ meant nor how many homes were here.”

Dave smiled, “Well, because this is private land and visually isolated from our neighbors outside the gates, there’s some nudity or semi-nudity that frequents the place, so be prepared. If that bothers you, we should stop here. We’re not a nudist colony, although on some warm days it might be difficult to tell the difference. I just don’t want you to be shocked at what we may find once we reach the patio.”

Nora asked, “How many people live here?” She again gestured at the homes and the manicured landscaping. Dave also noted that the idea of nudity didn’t seem to upset her.

“Roughly seventy,” Dave responded, but the number increases slightly each year. We have others that stay over a lot and visit from nearby, too. We all have a unique philosophy about life and relationships. That said, we are not a religious sect and don’t consider ourselves to be a hippie colony. I guess you might say were a commune made up of business professionals from many walks of life.”

Gary volunteered, “Well, I took a new job with the Bennett Foundation as an investment analyst. I’d worked for Fidelity before, and Bennett headhunted me away from them and they moved us here to Sarasota. I specialize in the technology sector and NASDAQ kinds of stocks and companies.”

Dave smiled, “Owen Bennett lives in the house on your left. Julie Prentiss Bennett, who you might know from work, also lives here. She’s one of my wives and is married to Owen.”

“Huh?” Both Nora and Gary uttered to question his last sentence at the same time.

“I’m somewhat notorious in the Circle here and around town because I have six wives. Oh, it’s all legal and such, but I live with six women plus our children.”

Nora gave an awkward chuckle, “I’d like to hear that story.” Gary nodded.

Gary asked, “Might I ask where you work?”

Dave gave the two-sentence version about EneRG. “I’m the CEO of a rapidly growing technology startup focused on highly innovative batteries. We’ve got our hands on some new tech that we think will revolutionize anything that uses a battery and thousands of other consumer items as well that don’t right now, but will in the future with our product.”

Gary nodded, “Oh. I should say that I’ve met Owen Bennett a couple of times over the past half-year, but I’ve seen Julie once or twice a week or more since I started – not always to talk with. I had no idea she lived this close by ... or Mr. Bennett. We’re confused about what you said about her, though. She’s married to you and to Mr. Bennett? That doesn’t compute.”

Dave led the DeVilles to the bar and got them seated as he got them each a glass of wine.

Gary looked around the patio. There were several other clusters of people talking at one of the tables or around in several of the chairs or chaises. Many of the women were topless. Taylor, Maddy, Joan, and Athena were all topless and playing with some of the tots at the kiddie pool at the other end of the patio.

“Let me explain. About eight or nine years ago, my legal wife Alice and I fell in love with another woman – Pam. We made loving commitments to each other and she became my second wife. Shortly after that, a younger woman named Heather also became a wife and she brought a young son from another relationship. Julie, Alice’s sister, decided to also join our family, so over a short period of time I fundamentally had four wives. A few years later Cricket joined us and then Scarlett, so now I have six. We’re all deeply committed to each other. We live in the large house at the end of the circle of homes.” He pointed to his nearby home.

“Alice and Julie also fell in love with Owen Bennett, and this goes back many years. About a year ago they decided to marry him as well as remain ‘married’ to me. Julie became Owen’s legal wife, and Alice made the same kind of commitment to him that Julie had made to me. So, the two of them are Owen’s wives, and they are also my wives. As I said, they’re also sisters. I never thought about it before, but I guess that makes Owen my brother-in-law in some strange ways.”

“You share?”

“On one level yes. We are, however, very non-possessive as the term ‘sharing’ implies. This place is very egalitarian and also non-exclusive.” He saw Cricket and called her over.

“Cricket, these are our neighbors from just outside the gate. Gary and Nora DeVille.”

As introductions went it was simple and straightforward. All the right pleasantries were exchanged. There were a few hesitations on the Deville’s part. Cricket wore only a monokini and a baseball cap, and she happened to look like sex on a stick, especially given how she had her hair pulled back through the back of the cap, and how her pert breasts had been oiled up and pointed upwards at the taller men. Dave smirked internally because he thought he detected some drool on the corner of Gary’s mouth. Nora seemed speechless.

“Could I prevail upon you to bring us one of the scrapbooks out from the library?” Dave asked.

Cricket bounded away as she was prone to do towards the core living room and library and returned a minute later with a large oversize scrapbook about the Circle. She handed the thick book to Nora.

Cricket said, “This book contains many of the clippings about things that have happened here or to our members, and it explains about the Circle and who we are because Dave got interviewed and did a press conference about his place awhile back. You’re welcome to borrow it so you can get to know us, understand our philosophy of living and loving together, but please return it. We have two books and they’re always in demand.”

Gary started to turn pages in the book as he also sipped at the soft drink he’d gotten from Dave and kept glancing at Cricket’s hot body. He looked up at one point, “Are you swingers?” Dave could guess where he’d gotten that idea from the book.

“No, but some of our actions might be interpreted that way.”

Nora had looked shocked at her husband’s question. “Gary. That was rude.”

Gary swung the book around to Nora. “I saw this headline and scanned the first few paragraphs regarding some press conference that Dave had done.” The headline read, ‘Frequent, Intense, and Wonderful’. “The article quoted Mr. Prentiss, here, talking about the love life of the people in the Circle. Apparently, they ‘share’ their spouses or friends.” He was careful to quote the article using the ‘share’ word by using his fingers to fill in the quote signs.

Dave bristled as he was prone to do at the implication. He politely and firmly explained again, “One of the principles we live by here is that there is NO ownership. I do not OWN my wives or treat them as chattels. They are each their own person. They don’t need my permission for anything they do. I don’t ‘share’ them because they’re not my possessions to give away or loan to somebody else. That said, we in the Circle are also non-exclusive. I do not require that they only love me. Our vows to each other are much different in that regard. We believe we can love many people, and we do. They are free, as I am, to explore every facet of that love with each person they bless with their affections. Actually, I applaud them having that freedom.”

Gary nodded trying to digest what he’d heard. Nora smiled and said, “I like that approach to things. So, the Circle is not male dominated.”

Dave smirked openly, “You mean male dominated with strong female control evident but invisible?” He laughed. “No, we’re all pretty equal here. We also don’t play ‘control games’ in order to dominate each other. Many people who’ve gotten to know us comment on our genuineness and authenticity with each other. If somebody wants something, they ask for it rather than set up elaborate guises or schemes to suggest, hint, maneuver, and guide someone until they get it.”

“So, you all ... love ... each other?” Nora tentatively asked. Gary was paying attention as he continued to scan the book.

Cricket grinned broadly, “We do. We like to think that each of us is pretty loveable. We go out of our way to be kind and attractive to each other, without become false or manipulative, as Dave mentioned.”

“Is that even possible?” Gary asked.

Dave smiled, “If you give up the idea of exclusivity. In hindsight, we are brainwashed that the only valid relationship is an exclusive one. We’ve legalized it, institutionalized it, and propagated it through religions, books, media, and every which way so it seems to be the only way. It’s not.