Chapter 101

“You couldn’t not like someone who liked the guitar.”
—Stephen King, The Stand

When Livy and I walked into the kitchen, Nanette was sitting at the counter while Donna turned bacon at the stove. Nanette looked at me curiously and glanced back toward Donna. Donna turned from the stove and set plates of bacon, eggs, and toast on the counter for each of us before heaving a huge sigh.

“Jacob, you always impressed me as being more mature than others your age, so I’ll say this straight. You can’t just come here and exploit my hospitality. I’ve not invited you to have a clandestine love nest. I didn’t think I needed to be explicit about that and I’m disappointed that I do,” she said.

“Donna, I’m not sure what you mean. Granted, Livy and I took advantage of the shower together but we thought that would help with the hot water issue. I wouldn’t think of exploiting your hospitality, as you say. It was a completely natural thing for us to do after a run,” I said.

“If your parents found out I had provided a place for you to be together like that, I could be ruined. I’m teaching in a different county now but we are not isolated.”

“Oh. I think I see. You believe we are sneaking around behind our parents’ backs,” I said. I supposed it was an easy assumption to make since we were just teens and most would be doing just that. I went around the counter and took Donna’s hand to lead her to the table and sit facing each other. “Donna, we’re lovers—I mean Livy and me. Nanette and me, too. And Livy and Nanette. And Rachel and Desi and Beca and Brittany and Joan and Sophie and Emily. All ten of us. Our parents not only know and approve, there have been instances where they overtly facilitated our congress. It’s not unusual for Livy, Rachel, or Desi and me to spend the night together in any one of our homes. It’s common for Livy, Nanette, and me to come home from a run and all jump in the shower together.”

“You all? And your parents know?”

“There are different levels among us,” Nanette said as she settled on the bench beside Donna and lay a hand on her shoulder. “For example, I’m very careful around Brittany because of the age thing. She’s still fifteen and, like you, I have a lot at risk professionally and legally. I know she’s active with the other girls and is planning big things with Jacob soon.”

“Beca’s a lesbian,” I said. “We’re not afraid of each other sexually and sometimes cooperate in what we’re up to, but I don’t turn her on and wouldn’t think of crossing that line with her. Well, maybe think about it, but I wouldn’t do it.”

“There are ten people in our pod,” Livy said. “There isn’t one of them who wouldn’t be welcome to spend the night with me in my bed in my parents’ house. I hope you don’t think that just makes me a slut. I love all nine of my mates.” Donna heaved another big sigh.

“It’s so much to take in,” she said. “I want to treat you all like consenting adults and my own teacher persona jumps in to tell me what is right and what is wrong. I’m sorry I was harsh.”

“It’s part of getting to know you,” I said. “It was a good reminder that we should all not make assumptions and treat each other with respect. I’m sorry we upset you.”

“I have to leave for work,” Nanette said. “Donna, may I stop by to visit again this weekend? Jacob and Desi are going to be working at Indy PopCon starting Friday. Maybe I could bring another of our girlfriends out to join me. Would you like to get to know Rachel or Rebeca better?”

“Um ... Yes, Nanette. I’d love to sit and chat for a while. Just remember, I have twenty acres to mow Saturday afternoon. If I let it go a week it takes twice as long to mow the next week. If I skip two weeks, I have to get a hay mower out and rake as well,” Donna said.

We all walked Nan out the door and waited while she put her shoes on. Then Livy and I each kissed her soundly before she took off. We went back inside and started cleaning up the dishes.

“You don’t have to do that,” Donna started.

“We’re not exploiting your hospitality by expecting you to cook and clean for us either,” I laughed. “We’re still all learning how to share tasks and exploring how to create a household. What else can we help with this morning?”

“Well, I was going to go out and cut some firewood. I use the fireplace a lot in the winter and try to put in a truckload of wood each week.” We walked outside and she opened the garage. We saw the chainsaw in the back of her truck. Next to the truck, her very practical Volvo was parked. We piled into the truck and headed out to the woodlot.

It was companionable and not overly stressful work to cover the bed of the truck with logs. Donna was an expert at handling her chainsaw and I saw no reason to be manly and offer to take over that job. Livy and I stacked and loaded the wood. It only took an hour with the three of us working and we drove back to the woodshed to unload. The remains of last year’s woodpile was stacked at one end of the shed with a load of fresh-cut wood already stacked at the other.

“I split the firewood before I stack it. Dad said a lazy man would wait to split it until it was needed, but that would mean he’d be out here working in the snow and cold in order to get wood for the fireplace. I learned early on to do the splitting as soon as the wood gets up here.”

“Do you have an extra axe? I can split logs.”

“Um ... This makes it easier and faster.” She pointed to a gasoline log splitter. “It’s just big enough to handle most firewood. I’m pretty careful about not buying thick tree trunks. They have to be split by hand and it’s no fun.”

“Does that little woodlot provide enough wood for the winter?” Livy asked.

“No. We’re just doing spring cleanup of deadfall. There’s probably only another trip out there. I scout the papers and buy wood when I see it advertised. Dad used to drive a hundred miles to load a full trailer of wood and bring it home. I don’t usually go that far, even if I have to pay a little more.”

Some of the wood was small enough it didn’t need to be split. Livy and I started stacking it immediately. Donna efficiently stacked the splitter and the wood fell in halves. What we’d brought in today only needed to be split in half. Larger logs would get cut to more burnable sections.

It was nearly noon when we finished and I suggested that I needed to get home so I could clean up and change clothes.

“You can ... uh ... shower here again if you want,” Donna said. “Both of you.”

“Thank you,” I said, “but I don’t have any more clean clothes with me and I need to get ready to practice with Cindy.”

“Cindy?”

“Yes. You remember her. She’s the flute player I did duets with. She’s sent me text messages every day since my Sunday performance this week, asking to play some of the Renaissance music with me. We’re going to see if we can put together a program.”

“Oh, yes. Is ... um ... Cindy part of your pod?”

“Oh, God, no!” I burst out. “She’s ... well, I know she’ll be a sophomore in the fall but she’s only fourteen and really sweet. She’s way too young for our pod. We can be ... a little outrageous when we get together. I’d never expose her to that. Her mother would kill me. We’re just putting together some guitar-flute programs. I’m trying to work out a way for her to get more exposure. She’s brilliant.”

“Interesting,” Donna said. I thought it was a curious kind of look she exchanged with Livy.

We each got a hug in our sweaty grimy clothes. Livy and I headed for my truck. I was just a little distracted when I drove toward home, thinking that in a few minutes, Donna would undoubtedly strip out of those work clothes and get in her shower.

I dropped Livy at her house and went home to clean up. As I soaped up, I kept having images of Donna with soap running off her shoulders and down her breasts. I could imagine a rivulet of water running down her stomach into her slit and wondered if she shaved or was natural. I was thinking about running my fingers through her moisture when I came.

“Come in, Jacob. That was an impressive concert Sunday morning,” Mrs. Marvel said by way of greeting. “Very exciting,” she continued without allowing me to say so much as ‘hello.’ “We had no idea you could play the lute. This opens up an entire avenue of concert potential. We must explore medieval and early renaissance music for lute and recorder. So many possibilities.” I followed her to their music room where Cindy had a whole collection of woodwinds laid out on top of the closed grand piano.

“You know my lute isn’t really a lute, right?” I said. “It’s a hybrid and is tuned to the guitar.”

“It’s a good place to start. The sound is so different from your classical guitar,” Cindy said. I laid down my hard case for the classical guitar and opened the canvas case Riko made for the guitar lute. “The length of the neck and shape of the body give it a very medieval sound, even if your playing is more traditional.”