Chapter 29: Air Time

Dave followed the Circle van as he came home from work on Wednesday afternoon on an autumn afternoon. The spring and summer had been unusually busy at work, plus Dave had been gone for long spans of time as the western countries south of the equator discovered EneRG batteries and what they could do. At least, that day he could ride his precious Harley motorcycle. He had Deb on the back.

Dave became a father again and he got to be there when Ashley had their child – a baby girl she and Kyle named Kendall. The flexibility of having the private jet meant he only had to toss his ‘go bag’ in the plane and be off to see the birth. He’d also taken Erin, Ashley’s sister, and Megan, Ashley’s mother, with him on the jet. The birth had come off without a hitch, and as of that autumn day he had a three-month-old daughter.

Only a few days earlier Ashley had told him she again felt well enough to travel so that they’d decided to visit the building site for their dream home on Perimeter Lane. She hadn’t told him the dates yet; those depended on Kyle. Dave had assured her that he’d come and pick her up in Nashville with the jet and bring her ‘home’, along with Kyle and anything else they needed to lug around for the baby.

The idea of the trip sent Megan a twitter, and she immediately started to redecorate part of the house so that Kendall – the three-month-old baby – would feel more welcome and properly accommodated by her maternal grandparents. Paul, the maternal grandfather, merely rolled his eyes.

The van that Dave was following turned off of the main east-west route onto the curvier Christian Grey Drive and Dave followed. He felt a kiss on the back of his neck from Deb. She loved him and he loved her.

The large van was an unlabeled fifteen-person minibus that had also been modified to contain several refrigeration units, shelving, as well as eight seats. On the sides and rear of the white van were simply the colored tattoo-like circles that matched the dozens of tats on the Circle women and many of the men. Dave had even succumbed and had Owen put the Circle tat on his left shoulder. Group think!

The van had been Millie’s idea – the Circle Concierge. After getting board approval, she rented the van and even got permission to put the Circle’s mark on it by way of a car-wrap company. The job only cost $300 and really looked professional. Millie also hired a part-time driver; a retired veteran looking for something interesting to do to earn a few dollars.

Thus, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons the van made ‘shopping trips’ to Whole Foods, Publix, and Winn Dixie – the local supermarket chains. She’d made arrangements with each store to email orders to them in the morning that would be ready for pickup in the afternoon. Even Chef Bobbie and her sous chefs participated in the program, although twice a week a large Sysco truck would make major deliveries to the ‘Circle Restaurant’.

The van was also available by arrangement five days a week to drop off and pick up anybody from the Circle to nearby malls or other shopping places starting at eleven a.m. Some of the younger children took dance classes or sports lessons, and the van was the perfect pickup and drop off vehicle. The services had just expanded to include trips to dentists and other professionals provided they were within about a five-mile radius.

Millie rode in the van on the shopping trips and went to each of the stores on the grocery days, supervised the loading into the van, and then made the deliveries right into member’s refrigerators and cupboards. Payments were made via accounting and the monthly invoice for dues and extras, such as personal shopping, laundry-dry cleaning, and so on.

As the van pulled into the Circle compound it turned right onto Perimeter Road for deliveries to the homes along that street. Having followed on other shopping runs Dave knew it would next do drop offs at the various townhouses along Airport Road, and then finish with the homes on Circle Drive. Millie would get dropped off at her townhouse after the last delivery and the van stored in an unobtrusive parking slot near the hangars and the driver would head for home. So far, the shopping-delivery-taxi service got rave reviews from the increasing number of members that used the idea.

Dave dropped off Deb at her townhouse and then went home and put on his karategi – his uniform or ‘gi’ for the martial arts class. He thought of it as karate, but Wan Suh, their instructor, had explained that was incorrect because he’d made so many adaptations to the training from multiple martial arts disciplines. He didn’t want to insult the purity of the sport.

As he rushed into the core, several others in the class joined him. Once in the core space they were using they promptly lined up as Wan Suh had initially had them do, mostly by height with the taller members in the back.

Dev and Wan Suh arrived in the room and immediately there were synchronized bows. Dev then helped the class do some stretches and warm ups to muscles that had only limited duty during the day. Once that was done, class really began.

Dev and Wan Suh gave a demonstration of a new kata for the class, and then showed how those forms and postures came into play in defensive and offensive action. Dev was about a full head taller than Wan Suh and probably out weighed him by a hundred pounds of muscle; nonetheless Dev would occasionally go flying under the nimble hands of the small sensei.

After spending time on the kata for the day, class members paired up and then went through some of the basic holds, breaks, and moves important to self-defense. Wan Suh spent time with each student being sure they understood what was supposed to be happening. Various students were called up to participate in demonstrations.

At the end of ninety minutes, the class lined up again, bowed, and then Wan Suh left. Dev did some further instructing on pickpocketing and weapon spotting. The first had been an ongoing skill development over the summer; the latter was something new. Dev suggested that to loosen up on those skills that we actually try them on each other either at work or around the Circle. He admonished the class to keep it light and not to embarrass anybody. Class ended.

Dave and the others had skipped the cocktail hour, but made it to the kitchen and dining area just at the start of dinner. After dinner with several others from the class, Dave headed home for a shower and bedtime. He knew he’d sleep well; it had been a long day and the exercise was strenuous.

Dave became aware of the reality TV crew following him as he strolled towards his home. He gave a smile at the crew and then shut the door. Pam sat in the living room reading. He asked her, “Who’s here?”

“I think all your wives that are town except for Scarlett – she’s at her house. Also, as usual you have a few others: Jenny, Merry, and Paris.”

“Merry and Paris? They’re a surprise.”

“They’re doing iPhones in one of your big beds and told me they were saving a space between them for you. I think you’ve got a command performance. When I changed, they were naked and hopeful.”

“What if I sneak into the guest room with you?”

Pam snickered, “You’d frustrate them and make me happy. That’d be nasty. They counted on me to tell you about their availability and eagerness. I’ll spoil the surprise, but Paris and Merry Noel got their Circle tattoos today with Owen. They’re really committed to you and this place. They got the Circle bug.”

“Are we getting to be too much of a cult?” Dave pondered out loud.

“Oh, sir, I don’t know how to answer that. I assure you, master, that all the non-believers have been rounded up and locked in the retraining center for your superior guidance to them on the right way to think.”

Dave chuckled, “How ‘1984’ of you.”

Pam said, “Before you met any particular person in the Circle, did they have about the same values as you or did you have to brainwash them to change their thinking?”

Dave nodded, “I guess we self-selected, huh?”

“Sure. Sometimes it was a bit of a wakeup call for them – like your friend Jenn. This was the reason for the co-housing project in the first place – to get all of us that thought alike about relationships together as an intentional family. Guess what? The family grew! Besides that, we each have our other hobbies, worries, and concerns that are different from everybody else’s.” Pam paused and added, “Now go make love with those three young nymphs. I’m quite happy, so you don’t need to fret.”

Dave gave Pam a tender and romantic kiss, told her how much he loved her, and headed up the stairs.

Millie had Stu relocate the huge HD television in the core media room to a highly visible place in the core living room so all could watch the first airing of ‘The Circle’. The screen was about eight-five inches across in high definition. Tonight was an important evening: the first episode was going to air on one of the national cable channels dedicated to relationships. The show was on Wednesday evening from nine to ten p.m., and had about a dozen sponsors according to Helen Ursinger, one of the producers and also a pledge of the Circle.

Circle members and pledges started arriving in the large living room about eight-thirty after dinner and an energized cocktail hour. Some of the cleanup crew in the kitchen stated they wanted to watch and then they’d return to finish their duties after the show ended, if needed.

After the initial load of commercials, the TV started showing the scene from the front of a low-slung car driving up Christian Grey Drive towards the gatehouse. The Circle emblem, the colorful circle, was now on the gatehouse and hanging on a placard on the gate. A stentorian voice spoke over the scene.

“Welcome to ... The Circle ... one of the most unique cohousing situations in the world. What makes The Circle unique isn’t the housing the residents created, although that is unique; but the relationships between all of the members and those ‘pledging’ the Circle – that is seeing whether they really want to join.

“The Circle has about a hundred-and-fifty people in it with most people living onsite. A few live just outside the gates, and others in the homes or apartments they had when they became members. As you’ll see, the Circle is diverse and has attracted people from all walks of life, and all income strata. The members include a movie star, a billionaire, several entrepreneurs, and a cross-section of people from many other walks of life. Unlike the communes of the 1960s, these people are professionals and far from being hippies or marginal citizens.

“Join us as we initially follow a man named David as he arrives home from work and takes up one of his service duties tending the evening bar for his fellow members.”

The scene then captured Dave walking out of the hallway of his home and heading across the patio to the bar. The name “David” appeared in a script along the bottom of the screen for a few seconds. Along the way he greeted his friends with handshakes or fist bumps with them men, and romantic kisses with about a half-dozen women. As he did, their names also appeared in the identifying script.

At the bar, the camera focused on a discussion Dave had with Alice about how John was doing in school. Pam joined them, and Dave subtly made the point that she was also a ‘wife’ with his children. As Dave served, they talked about how that day several of the children had tested out of the grade they’d been assigned by the local school system. The fact that there was home schooling also got made and mention made of a field trip the students had taken that day to the local aquarium.

Pam was topless apparently. The videos when they showed her were from the upper chest up. When they appeared of her from the back, there were no bikini bra lines. In one long shot she was either screened by Alice or the video near her chest became pixelated. The group watching the TV chuckled at the censorship.

Dale joined the group on TV, kissing Alice and Pam, and then asked Dave about possible dates for the next meeting of the security committee. The ‘voice over announcer’ made the observation that security for the Circle compound was tight because of several past attempts to disrupt people’s lives and lifestyle. The comment was intentional to discourage people from trying to sneak in.

The camera then followed Dale as he strolled the patio chatting with others about various topics including the martial arts class. The camera then shifted to follow Tatiana, who at that point was very pregnant, and Steve as they talked about the robotics lab and several breakthroughs, they’d had that week. People’s first names appeared briefly in front of them as though they were sports players. Tatiana wore hot pants and a balloon-like top that flared out over her baby bump; she looked sexy and about ready to deliver. The point was made that Tatiana was another of Dave’s wives was not lost on the viewing audience.

Eventually, the group assembled on the patio for dinner since the weather seemed ideal. Circle members served the meal and the cameras picked up the favorable comments about the cuisine. Chef Bobbie got a round of applause also with sous chef Ari. The point was made in an aside that the group ate like this every night and that Bobby was one of the few employees of the Circle. The announcer went on to explain about the Circle meal planning, nutrition, and individual health plans, and also noted the absence of obesity in the Circle.

The video stream was broken into short segments by two- or three-minute commercial interruptions during the one-hour show. The reality TV ‘camera’ followed some of the other Circle members talking about interesting topics. In one scene Tan was assigning someone a new service job. Towards the end of the video, the video stream again picked up Dave, this time being kissed by Cookie who asked to ‘go off’ with him after dinner. Their relationships with other people was noted as Dave asked about Alan and Cookie asked about his ‘wives’, getting a response that indicated a plentitude of ‘wives’.