The Family Makes a Decision

I didn’t know what I was going to do about Lindsay’s blackmail as I climbed down the spacious stairway to our vast living room. The great vaulted ceilings and sky windows made our new living room seem so big compared to our old house. I was intensely conflicted but one thing was for sure, I really didn’t want to leave Sunny Manor. At the same time if I was doing what my sister told me it was probably wrong on many different levels. I would have probably done what my sister asked me to do without her blackmailing me except for the part about expecting Charity to obey our orders.

My Dad started throwing sandwiches around and said that he had made some decisions while he had time to think. “I know I said that I wanted you to process everything and I am sorry but we need to talk. The entire time I was gone I was thinking about things and it is very unfair to you kids that I have placed you in this environment. You aren’t used to it. You didn’t choose it, and honestly it isn’t what I thought it was going to be,” he said.

The first monkey wrench in Lindsay’s plan was that she was planning to disagree with Dad. If she agreed with him on anything too easily he’d definitely be suspicious. I am sure there was a time when my Dad treated her like Lucy as the apple of his eye and his precious little angel. I am sure there was a time that Lindsay wasn’t a disagreeable, self-centered bitch. However, as long as I can remember the two of them rarely agreed on anything and they always butted heads.

Lindsay walked out of her room looking at her phone as if she wasn’t paying attention. “Huh? did you just agree with me? I hope you are prepared to tell me all the way back to Atlanta what a smart daughter you have and how you should have listened to me before you invested how much money was it? about a million dollars? Money you borrowed and can’t get back right?”

“I can get some of my investment back. That isn’t any of your concern,” My Dad scoffed as he laid out the food.

“That was money that could have set us all up with a college fund and a modest car. A good start in life but you wasted it on your little fantasies,” Lindsay said.

I’d never have the big set of (metaphoric) brass balls on Lindsay to talk to my father that way. I didn’t think he’d let me get away with talking to him like that. Lindsay was such an asshole who gloated when he made a mistake that it seemed natural when she said things like that.

In many ways, my big sister had been the woman of the house. She didn’t cook or clean but she bossed me and our siblings around and even as a twelve year old she was always his devil’s advocate. That was before Mary A.K.A Charity came into our lives. I think that may be where the rivalry between her and Charity began. That may be when Lindsay went from regular bitch to mega-bitch.

Charity came out of the bedroom naked with the collar on to see if she could help serve the food.

“Put your clothes on while you are in the house. I think we’ve seen enough nudity for one day,” my Dad said impatiently.

“Yes Master,” Charity appeared concerned and possibly a little embarrassed. I know it sounds crazy because you could be sure if I walked out naked in front of my family I would be red faced. I think she was humiliated when she walked out naked and was told to go put some clothes on like she was some silly bird streaking around who nobody wanted to see like that.

“What happened to body beautiful? and nudity is just skin? and in this house you’ll both be naked and we need to learn to accept it?” Lindsay was able to say all of that without Dad cutting her off.

“Can it, Lindsay!” Simon tried to stand up to her but when she glared at him he backed down.

“Look, I was wrong, okay? There are parts of Sunny Manor I love for Mary and I but I can’t imagine raising you here,” my Dad said that it wasn’t fair to us.

Lindsay looked at me with an expression that suggested I say something.

I didn’t know what to say. The script had been flipped on me. My Dad was supposed to be talking us into staying. She was supposed to tell him that he was an idiot and I was supposed to say why we should all stay in this erotic paradise.

It wasn’t going down like that at all. He was back to calling my future Stepmom by her real name and telling her to put on clothes. He was saying this place was wrong for us. My big sister tapped her phone and pointed at me when he had his back turned.

“What about Busch Gardens? Can we at least go there?” Lucy talked with her mouth full.

“I am not trying to think about that right now, sweetheart but someday yes. We’ll talk about that tomorrow,” My Dad said.

“That means we aren’t going,” Simon said. One of my Dad’s classic lines was that when he said talk about it tomorrow, he meant no.

“No, I mean we can talk about it tomorrow, Simon. Why does everything have to be a sarcastic joke on me?” my Dad lashed out at Simon but strangely hadn’t at Lindsay.

“Dad, why are you so upset with us? If we are the ones you are protecting then why are you yelling at us?” I asked.

“I am just not in the mood for rude comments,” My Dad said as he ate his sandwich.

“What has you so upset?” I asked as I sat down and started eating.

“Where do I start? The entire tour was freakishly over the top. You all saw things you can never unsee. My investment in this place could be lost,” Dad explained with a look of dismal failure spreading across his normally enthusiastic face.

Charity rejoined us with a sheer sundress that did little to hide her boobs or shapely figure and stood awkardly at the table awaiting permission to eat. “Just sit down and eat. I don’t care if you sit on the furniture,” My Dad took another bite.

Charity looked uncomfortable as she sat down. She looked confused by what was happening and I felt she was a bit disturbed a lot of this had to do with her. I could tell Charity wanted harmony and stability above all else. She didn’t like that we were having a heated discussion over her.

“Let’s look at what your three problems are rationally,” I said. My Dad usually said something like that when we brought problems to him as he deconstructed them for us. I looked at Lindsay to see if I was going in the right direction and the look on her face said yes. “The tour was pretty wild. No one can deny the people in this place lead exciting lives. We can’t unsee what we saw. That is true but leaving won’t change that. “You haven’t asked any of us if we want to stay. We aren’t asking you to give up your investment in Sunny Manor,” I said.

“I know you liked it, son. I saw some women doing some things when I went to the Community Center that I don’t want to describe. I thought to myself how I would feel if you, or Simon or Lucy had been the one to go to the store and saw those things. I didn’t like the way it made me feel,” My Father said honestly.

“Nice to know you didn’t think about how I’d feel seeing it, Dad?” Lindsay pointed out that she had been excluded.

“Okay, you are a little more worldly than the others,” My Dad added “You got your wish though. You can go back to Atlanta and join the cheer squad,” he said.

“I don’t want to be on the cheer squad anymore. You already killed that dream, Dad! Just get us back to Atlanta and my friends, get us a house better than this dump and we’ll call it even!” she scoffed.

“Dad, maybe we should go around the table and say whether we want to stay or not and why?” I said trying to shift the focus back to the mission my big sister gave me.

“Son, when you guys were little I told you how much I value your input into this family. I also said that if I let you vote for pancakes and ice cream every night you would. As a responsible parent, it can’t always be left up to a vote,” he said.

“I’d sell my vote to the highest bidder,” Simon offered as he stuffed his face.

“If you have made up your mind then what would it hurt to listen to us, Dad?” I implored him. Lindsay was potentially going to show all the nasty things she had on me AND I’d be going back to Atlanta if I didn’t try something.

“Dad made up his mind! Stop trying to convince him to listen to you, dumb-dumb,” Lindsay said sarcastically. There was something in her tone that suggested she was trying to help me instead of just being the disagreeable bitch who shut me down.

“No, he has a point. I’ll listen to your opinions. I can’t promise I will change my mind,” my Dad disagreed with her.

“Okay, well I will start and then we’ll go around the room?” I said. No one stopped me so I began my attempt. The problem was that I am no master diplomat. I dont have the gift of gab like the director. I tried to draw on all the pearls of wisdom he shared with us on the tour but I was drawing a blank.

“Aby-a, Aby-a, Aby-ah,” Lindsay made fun of the fact that I wasn’t saying anything and asked me if the cat had my tongue. Simon and Lucy laughed at my big sister’s teasing.

“Now Lindsay, let him speak. You’ll get your turn to tell me why I should do exactly what you told me I should have done in the first place,” my Dad said and then he stopped eating and turned to look me in the eye while I spoke.

I hated that because I suck at lying and I definitely can’t do it well while my Dad is looking directly in my eyes. The only option was to tell the truth. I didn’t want to tell him the truth about the secret plan my sister had. I just meant about what I liked about Sunny Manor.

“Dad, we just got here. We haven’t given this place a chance. We all saw how they live and none of our heads exploded. We didn’t get carted away in an ambulance. We saw men who train women as slaves. We saw women who train men as slaves,” I said.

Simon interrupted and said “We saw women who train women as slaves!”

Lucy added enthusiastically, “We saw ponies!”

“Let your brother say what he has to say,” My Dad quieted them for me.

“We can probably learn a lot here about things we’d never have thought about. Atlanta is full of crime. They told you that it is safe to leave your doors unlocked here. Do you really want to make us go back to that? I for one am willing to stay here,” I said.

My Dad looked at me like he was proud I made the effort to speak up for myself but unconvinced by my pathetic little half-time inspirational speech.

“Well that settles it. I am convinced. Let’s stay here and all walk around with our tits hanging out!” Lindsay made fun of what I had to say and took me completely out of context.

“He didn’t say that at all,” My Dad defended me. I realized that Lindsay had intended for my father to say that. She was playing him like an instrument.

“That is just it, Lindsay. We don’t have to walk around naked. We are free people. We don’t have to interact with anyone we don’t want to. There are plenty of kids that grew up just fine in Sunny Manor. I heard they have a great high school. I bet you’d be Captain of the cheerleading squad in a week if we went to RiverRidge High.”

“Who wants to be Captain of a crappy little nobody squad,” Lindsay scoffed. She had JUST told me she did only a few minutes ago. Saying that was obviously part of her devious little plan.

“Don’t write off the school. You haven’t even checked it out yet. It is one of the top rated schools in Florida,” he said.

“Florida is the crystal meth capital of the United States. Every week I read how somebody in Florida shoots off their own foot with a firecracker or goes drunk driving in a replica of the General Lee. The best school in Florida is like the best turd in a cesspool!” Lindsay said. I didn’t believe for a minute my sister read the news but I didn’t argue the point.

It was hard for me not to laugh. I was supposed to be arguing with her but that was pretty funny.

My Dad asked me if I had anything else to say on the matter and when I didn’t he asked Simon to go next.

“As I said, I will sell my vote to the highest bidder. I accept cash, bitcoin, pounds sterling,” he was very serious.

“You can’t SELL your vote. Do you have an opinion on whether we should stay or not, Simon?” My Dad chuckled at my greedy little brother’s plan.

“Venmo me. You all have my email addy,” Simon whispered playfully before saying that there would be more opportunities for profit in Atlanta than here. “Unless, I was permitted to open a shop in Minerva’s market and engage in some free-market capitalism,” he added.

“I’ll put that down as one undecided,” my Dad told Lucy she was up next.

“I would like to go to Busch Gardens!” Lucy reiterated her entire plan.

“We can do that if we live in Tampa. It is not far from here! The Magic Kingdom is about an hour from here,” I said. I didn’t know exactly how far it was but I knew it was close.

“Then I vote for here,” Lucy said pragmatically.

“That hardly seems like a reason to live in Sunny Manor though,” My Dad prompted her to explain why here and not some vanilla community nearby.

“Sunny Manor has an amazing pool!” Lucy added.

“You have to get naked to use it,” Lindsay reminded her.

Lucy stopped for a minute and thought about it. “I may not want to do that then but like Matt said we can choose to if we wanted,” she said.

Lucy was flat-chested and very pretty but as I said she didn’t dress slutty or act like a showoff with her body. She liked to dance and she didn’t mind wearing tights for that or skin-tight yoga pants like other girls her age but she obviously drew the line with nudity in public.

“I’ll put you down for one stay,” My Dad said adding “So by my calculation that is Lucy and Matt in favor and Lindsay and I against with one undecided.”

Simon licked his lips and said that a stalemate just made the cost of his vote skyrocket by 500% and he rubbed his hands together like an evil genius.

“Wait, there is one person you haven’t heard from yet.” Lindsay said.

“I already know your position on the matter. Do you really need to rub my nose in it, Lindsay?” My Dad sighed.

“I didn’t mean me,” Lindsay shrugged over at Charity.

Charity seemed surprised that Lindsay had spoken up for her or that she got a vote.

“I am not part of the family. I really can’t have a say, Ma’am” she said.

“You don’t have to call her Ma’am,” My Dad said.

“She is just trying to follow the rules for slaves,” I tried to interject but my father said these were house rules. “The only person she needs to call Sir or Ma’am here is me or other Principal Dominants,” he rejected my suggestion. He turned to Charity and apologized for not including her.

“You are a valued part of this family. You have lived with us for six years. You are going to be my wife. Obviously, this is a big deal and I am so sorry that I didn’t ask you to give your opinion. You usually let me decide things and I should listen to you,” he said.

Charity looked embarrassed that he said the kind words and looked at her hands. She paused for a long while and I thought she wasn’t going to say anything after all.

“It is just that I prefer you to decide for me. I identified with that lady Karen today at the market place,” she admitted.

“You cheat on Dad? I knew it!” Lindsay said accusingly.

“Nothing like that, Lindsay. She said something about how her master was always there to pick her up when she fell. I am a fallen woman who needs guidance. I like structure and I like knowing when I wake up in the morning what I am supposed to do that day. I was so proud that you gave me this collar. I’d do anything to earn it and belong to you forever. I was hurt today when you wanted to cut it off of me,” she said.

My Dad started to apologize and said he was just thinking of her.

“Thank you for the apology, Master but it is not necessary. You rob me of my chance to give and be submissive when you put me before yourself. If you wanted the collar off because I didn’t actually earn it or you didn’t want the hassle of me being stopped while I am walking around the community, then I would have accepted your decision without reservation. The fact you were so concerned with me that you were willing to throw away all the money and time you invested in moving here broke my heart. I went into the bedroom and cried when I got home,” she said.