Chapter 100

“I can’t help what I have any more than you can help what you don’t.”
—Neal Shusterman, UnSouled

“WELCOME TO MY little strip of Hoosierland paradise,” Donna said when we’d kicked off our shoes on the porch and entered through French doors to a dining nook off the kitchen. Donna set about getting a pitcher of iced tea from her refrigerator and pointed Rachel to the glasses. When we all had a drink, we settled into a sun room with a view out the back windows. It was beautiful.

“Do you live out here all alone, Ms. Levy?” Brittany asked.

“Brittany, we are no longer in school. I am no longer your teacher. I’m scarcely an adult. Please call me Donna.”

“Yes, Donna. It just takes some getting used to.”

“I understand, Hon. To answer your question, I do now. I mean live out here alone. My father passed away last summer.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Donna. I wish we could have ... I don’t know. Been of some help. This is a big place to take care of by yourself,” I said.

“I appreciate the thought, Jacob. I love the place and don’t mind taking care of it. Dad built it twenty years ago for him and Mom to retire here. They always loved being remote. I was a late life baby for them. Mom didn’t make it past my high school years. I was raised out here and came back to live with Dad after college. Got the job at Mad Anthony and have been there five years. I admit this year has been a little lonely. Plowing the driveway myself, instead of having Dad plow it, was a wakeup call.”

“If you don’t mind my saying, Donna, the property looks well-groomed. Do you mow the whole thing, too?” Nanette asked.

“It usually takes up an afternoon each weekend during the summer,” Donna laughed. “Another of my father’s legacies. He loved to golf and the entire back field is a 400-yard driving range. He was just as happy mowing it as hitting golf balls. We’ll go take a walk later if you want, Nanette. I love to go out to the woodlot and read sometimes.”

“You greeted each of us by name,” Livy said. “I understand you had Rebeca, Desi, Brittany, and Jacob in your class this year and Rachel last year. How did you know Nanette and me?”

“Jacob was kind enough to provide me with another story just before school let out,” Donna said. “Not much plot, Jacob. But thank you for the insight into your pod. So, I knew who to expect with Sophie in New York and Emily in San Diego. But where is Joan?”

Beca had been on a pretty short fuse about Joan all week and Donna’s simple question lit it.

“She’s gone!” she cried. The floodgates opened and sobs started again. I wasn’t expecting the fast response from Donna. She was up out of her chair and wedged in next to Beca on the sofa in an instant. Her arms wrapped our little girlfriend up and pulled her into her lap.

“Oh, Rebeca, I’m so sorry. She left for service already?”

“The day after graduation. She didn’t even say goodbye.”

“That must hurt terribly, Sweetheart. Let me hold you. Cry all you want. I’m sure she didn’t mean to hurt you. You are so much in love. It must be just as hard on her,” Donna said. She had pulled Beca onto her lap and was holding her like a baby, rocking back and forth.

“I miss her. I love everyone in my pod but I miss Joan.”

“No one can take the place of your special loved one,” Donna said. “We just have to lean on each other and help each other get through.”

“That’s what our pod is all about,” Rachel said softly. She was sitting next to Donna and idly reached out to stroke our former teacher’s hair. It looked so strange to have her flowing blonde locks pulled back severely into a ponytail. It only took Rachel a minute to loosen the tie and let Donna’s hair down. Wow! Just that little touch made a huge difference.

“I want to know all about the pod and what each of you feels toward the others,” Donna said. “I’m not trying to wedge myself in or replace anyone. Do you understand that, Rebeca? I’ll never try to replace someone in your pod. But I’ll try to be here for you to lean on when you need it.”

“You know that’s why we all wanted to visit you, right?” I asked. “We’d like to ... get to know you better ... if you’d like.”

“And that’s why I invited you. Your stories, both the erotic ones and the straight science fiction, have given me some insights into a community and lifestyle that intrigues me. Not something I would ever have chosen for myself, I thought. I want to find out if it is truly as sublime as you write. I can see already that being together doesn’t insulate you from heartbreak, but I also see what the strength and love of the community can do. Yes, I want to spend the summer getting to know you all. It will take us all a while to break through the student-teacher roles and treat each other like fellow beings on this path of life.”

We spent the rest of the morning talking about lighter subjects. Donna invited us to stay for a simple lunch that was a huge salad with diced chicken on it. We took a walk around the perimeter of the grounds and into the woodlot at the back. Her property was a strip, half a mile long but just a little more than a hundred yards wide. There was a fair amount of farming that still went on but most of the people who lived in the area were professionals who had moved to the country. It seemed a single farmer—Jonesy—did all the planting and plowing for the area. Most of the larger estates still had tillable fields, unlike Donna’s twenty-acre lawn. I could see myself running out here and caught Nanette’s eye as we spotted a trail that continued through the woods onto an adjoining property.

By the end of our visit, we had all exchanged telephone contact info.

“It’s best to text before you pop out, just to make sure I haven’t gone off to South Whitley or Huntington. But basically, I hope you’ll want to stop by frequently this summer. I know you runners are eying the trails out here. I’ll check around but I don’t think there will be any problem with you running them. There are still fenceposts through the woods but the wire has long since been removed,” Donna said as we headed to the cars.

Like she had greeted us, she gave each of us a hug before we got in our vehicles. I felt her softness squeeze into my chest and sighed. She pushed back a bit but not enough to lose contact.

“I’ve heard that note coming from my own lips,” she said. “Thank you for giving me a chance to get to know you and your pod.” She gave me another quick squeeze and backed away. We all headed out.

“Where can we go to be together now that Joan’s not here?” Brittany whispered. She and Livy had switched to my truck with Beca and Desi riding with Rachel.

“Why doesn’t everyone come over to my place,” Nanette said. “It’s not as spacious as Joan’s TV room, but we can push furniture back and all sit on the floor.” I saw Brittany texting.

“Desi says they’ll meet us there,” she said.

“I didn’t want to leave,” Rachel said. “I almost suggested everyone come home with you and I’d catch up later.”

“I don’t think she was ready for that today,” I said. “She’s just getting used to the idea of a different kind of relationship with us. I sympathize, though.”

“I liked being held by her,” Beca said. “Her, um ... breast was really soft and nice.”

“She has a strong motherly streak in her,” Nanette said. “If she became our girlfriend, she’d probably be the first to want to be pregnant.”

“That’s a long way down the road,” Livy said. “Assuming ... just for discussion ... that any of us wanted to get pregnant in the future ... and that it takes both a male and female ... and that our choice for a father is sitting in this room ... um ... which he is ... We’re four years away from Jacob getting his wigglers freed. They have to stay frozen until he’s out of service.”

“Thank God we can still practice,” Desi said.

“You’re going to get a lot of practice with Jacob this summer,” Beca said. “All the other girls need to get their loving while he’s home. Don’t be greedy. When am I supposed to get some loving on your beautiful breasts?”

“Right now, girl. Anytime you want them. I haven’t pushed this week because ... I wanted to give you time,” Desi said. “But I was kind of jealous of Donna when she had you curled against her.”

“Nanette, can we um...” Beca started. Nan waved her hand toward her bedroom and Beca and Desi disappeared.

“Are we having an orgy this afternoon?” Brittany said. “You know I’m ready, Jacob.”

“I thought you were going to wait till your sixteenth, like Desi did,” Rachel said.