Chapter 30: Friday Evening: Scene Planning and Fun!

She focused for a few moments, picturing a brick wall building itself between her and them. I really don’t like having to do this. I feel so ... alone if I can’t feel them too. She paused for a moment as the web browser opened. Then I should get this done as quickly as I safely can. First stop, Wikipedia; searching for ‘spies’ ... okay, that one looks promising. She quickly scanned the page that loaded. So, it seems the best choices for Rosa’s role are ‘normal agent’ or ‘double agent’ ... I like the idea of a double agent better; then we can grill her whatever false information she fed us as well as what she stole.

The next question would be the nationalities at play. I could make her something like Russian or the like, but ... that feels too overdone. But, maybe we’re the Russian’s, and she’s been stealing information for the CIA ... yeah, that works. Now, what does it say usually happens to a captured spy? Kara shook in horror as she quickly scanned the page. Okay, we’re not simulating it to anywhere near that degree. But, most of the play she wants would totally work as advanced interrogation techniques.

She glanced at the time. Maybe mom is done talking to Rosa by now. I wonder why she wanted to talk to her anyway. Kara waved at Allison and Emanuel. “I’m going to head downstairs for a moment. Would either of you like me to bring back a snack.” Allison smirked. “Besides myself you horny pervert” she joked back.

“Something small that won’t keep us up all night. Maybe a nice cup of tea if your mom has anything relaxing.”

“I’m sure she has something Ally. I’ll see what I can find. Manny?”

“Tea sounds nice, plus whatever you think is wise.”

Kara nodded and quietly started downstairs. She closed her eyes for a few moments as she neared the bottom. Okay, it seems Rosa left. I imagine her folks want her home soon too.

“She left a few minutes ago. I’m still in the kitchen.”

“I know.”

Kara stepped into the kitchen. “How? We were talking in the living room.”

“I’m not sure what the orange streaks in your bronze mean, but I...”

Clara stood up suddenly, a look of shock in her eyes. “You saw my aura? I thought the gift had passed over you. When did it start? And if it’s the shade of orange that I think it is, that’s simply because I’m nervous for the four of you.”

“Today during gym, while I was just meditating during the run. I need to really focus to see anything, but if I close my eyes I can read where people are like Manny and Ally can, and was really surprised to see the people ‘blobs’ in color. And to be fair, I can really only identify a small handful of people.”

“I didn’t think that technique worked for you.”

“It didn’t until I started to actually process a bunch of the feelings and memories I locked away years ago. But when I allowed myself to be truly introspective for the first time in a while, it just worked. I wish it were easier to identify individual people though.”

“You’ll develop that as you practice. Just give it some time.”

“You said ‘the four of you’. Did Rosa tell you about our plans for tomorrow?” Clara nodded her head. “If we were doing it in private, then I’d be a little nervous too. But since it’ll be at the party tomorrow, there will be more experienced folks we can ask for help if we need to.”

“You still seem a little nervous. Is it about the role playing aspect?” Kara nodded. “Plenty of people do role playing as part of a scene all the time. That shouldn’t really be an issue. Although, not everyone takes the role playing as seriously as you and Rosa.”

“That’s why I’m a little worried. Particularly for myself; I don’t want the role to distract me from the things I need to focus on as a top.”

“Do you have any idea what type of scene you want to put on yet?”

“Yes, but...”

“Snacks while they focus on their homework, right?” Kara nodded her head. “I’ll put up something with a decent amount of protein in it. Something to drink with that as well I imagine.”

“A pot of tea would be nice; something calming.”

“I have this nice caffeine free Chai. Or were you hoping for something simpler?”

“Something that doesn’t need any milk or sugar.”

“I have just the thing. Let me put up the snack first; that’s going to take a little longer than the tea.”

Kara focused for a few moments and dropped the wall. And then Kara would turn on the vibrator, and I’d have to stay perfectly still. Otherwise...

Kara restored the wall, then turned to face her mother. “That’s quite a blush you have there. Did you receive something fun from one of your spouses?”

“Allison has an idea she wants to try, and I’m torn on whether I want to be a top or bottom for it. Have you ever seen someone tie someone else up in such a way that the bottom moving has ... effects?”

“Like causing the ropes around or one sensitive areas to tighten?”

“Yeah ... or maybe move an active vibrator closer to them.”

“You’re describing predicament bondage. That’s a lot of fun, but needs someone who really knows their rope work. Your odds of finding someone like that at the party tomorrow are actually pretty decent. I know William does a lot of bondage play.”

Kara blinked. “Which William?”

“Right, I forgot there are technically three of them. Bill and Will are the ones who usually show up at the munches. Will is the one you’d want to talk to; I’ve seen some pretty impressive displays from him involving either Esther or Amy.”

“Are they young enough to be eligible for the TNG events?”

“I think they’re going to be too old in a year or two. If you want to participate alongside Allison for something like that, it’s definitely worth going for.”

“That does sounds like fun. As for your other question, I was thinking an interrogation scene.”

“Captured soldier? Maybe a mob informant?”

“Double agent.”

“That can get cliched very easily, especially if the spy is caught by the other country’s agency.”

“So can the others. But I figure, if the captured spy is from the same agency, then we can have a lot of fun with it, without it being too cliched. How likely would we be to get flak if I chose for us to all be Russian spies?”

“Very unlikely. And if someone does have a problem with it, that’s their problem. The only scenes the Association is wary are ones that tend to be triggers for a lot of people.”

“Such as?”

The oven alarm went off suddenly. Clara quietly pulled a tray of little wrapped hot dogs out of the oven, then moved to another cabinet. “Things like rape play or that pretend to act out abusive things. But even those are still allowed, and part of the agreement you’ll sign before you’re allowed to stay for the party makes it clear that you understand potentially triggering scenes may be happening. It’s the responsibility of each individual to be aware of their mental state, and to turn away from a scene if they need to.” She took down a tea pot, filled its metal basket with some deep red leaves, and filled with hot water. “That said, it’s up to the people doing those scenes to not flaunt them. That’s why the spaces that visually work best for the more edgy scenes tend to be toward the back of the play space, and not easy to accidentally look into.”

“Rosa made it pretty clear she wants this to be a consensual non-consent kind of scene. I imagine that would be considered an edgy scene.”

“It would. But the ‘interrogation’ room is completely enclosed, and has a direct camera feed so that staff can know if they need to intervene. And as long as you all stick to the common safe words, it’ll be pretty clear when something’s actually wrong. Consensual non-consent scenes aren’t that common, but they’re common enough that the staff knows not to automatically jump at a ‘no’ or a ‘stop’.”

“Wouldn’t that be a problem for dealing with people who are using those words as their safe words?”

“It could be, but you’ll find that the staff strongly discourages people from using one of those as a safe word. Just like they warn people that if they see someone struggling, that doesn’t mean there’s a problem. Only report another scene if the person is in clear physical distress; something like skin turning blue, or shouts ‘red’ and the scene doesn’t stop within a few moments. However” she paused as a timer started to beep “if you want to warn them ahead of time that particular scenes are going to have elements that might trigger or worry some people, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.” Kara watched her pull the basket from the tea pot and grab a thick wooden tray. “Can you grab the small wooden bowl and put a few paper towels in it?”

Kara nodded her head and lined the bowl. “This is for the pigs in the blankets?”

“Yes. Be careful though; the pan may still be a little hot.” Kara nodded her head again and grabbed a pair of tongs. “When you’re done, you can put that bowl on the tray.”

“What kind of tea did you make anyway?”

“It’s this delightful little Hibiscus, Blood Orange, and Strawberry blend I found a few years ago. It’s really refreshing and just sweet enough.” She moved the pot to the tray, and added three cute floral patterned cups and saucers. “There’s one more thing I need to put on here.” Kara nodded, then placed her bowl next to the stack of napkins, watching as Clara reached into the closet one more time. ‘There they are!” She pulled out a small glass jar with slightly cloudy crystals on small sticks.

“What are those?”

“Rock candy! In case the tea isn’t quite sweet enough for one of you, just drop one of these into your cup and stir; it’ll melt some of the sugar that makes up the candy. They’re one of my favorite ways to add sugar to a tray like this.”

“It does look really pretty.”

“Try not to stay up too late tonight though. We all have a fairly early start tomorrow, and you know how your father is when he doesn’t get enough sleep.”

“Far too well. By the way, thank you Mom ... for all of this.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kara lowered her wall again. I’m on my way up with our refreshments. How’s the homework going?

We’re both about two thirds done. The last assignment will be pretty easy though, so this shouldn’t take too much longer. Which is good, because I’m starting to get really horny.

I can feel that. If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you’re close to bursting.

That’s not too far from the truth. Figure we’ll be another half hour or so at most.

“Is that taking into account time to break for our snack?”

“Yes. But before that, can I convince you to change out my ben wa balls for something more ... fun? I don’t know how much longer I can wait for some relief.”

“My dear, sweet nymphomaniac; I’ll do one better.” Kara motioned for her to spread her legs, then sat down in front of her. Instead of a toy, you can have my tongue instead. What started out as a scream of delight quickly became an orgasmic scream as Kara’s tongue began to dance around Allison’s clit. Kara ‘grinned’ as Allison’s wave of pleasure was absorbed into her own, then shook as her own orgasm rushed though her body. As the last vestiges of it faded, she pulled back from Allison and looked up at her, grinning. “Better?”

“Much. Although I can feel another one starting to build from yours.”

“And that one will need to wait until we really start playing. For now though” she stood up and quietly poured three cups of tea “let’s toast to tomorrow, and the start of a home of our own.”

“Yes, let’s!” Allison grinned, lifting one of the cups in the air.

“To our own home!” Emanuel smiled, and gently touched his cup to theirs before bringing it back over to his mouth. “This is good, but a little bitter for my liking.”

“I agree.”

“Yeah. That’s why Mom included the jar of rock candy though. Watch!” Kara pulled one of the sticks out of the jar and gently dropped it into her cup, then stirred it around for a few moments. “When I pull it out, it should be smaller, and my tea will be a little sweeter.” She grabbed the ball end of the stick, pulled it out, and laid it on the saucer; then took another sip of the tea. “Much better, although it still needs a little more.”

Allison grinned and grabbed one, then repeated Kara’s motions. “You’re right. This is much better. What kind of tea did your mom say this is?”

“Some sort of Hibiscus, Blood Orange and Strawberry blend. I’m surprised how little sugar it needs to be delicious.” She put the cup down on the saucer and grabbed one of the little hot dogs. “And these are simple and filling.”

“And plenty of energy for later.”

“Is that the only thing on your mind right now?” she teased Allison.

“Yes! If we really wanted to, we could leave the rest of the homework for Sunday.”

“That’s a bad idea, my muse. Think how disappointed you’d be when you come home from our date all horny and then still need to finish homework before you can ‘jump my bones’ so to speak. Is that really what you want?”

“You raise a very good point darling. Okay, we’ll finish everything tonight.”

Kara pulled her chair over by them, then turned to Allison. “By the way, I talked to Mom about your idea, and she suggested we talk to Will about it. Apparently he’s rather experienced in that sort of thing.”

“Would you want to be a second person for it?”

“What are you two talking about?”

“I was thinking about the rope we have, and how if you tied one of us up with a vibrator just about to touch us, that it would be a lot fun trying to resist moving and going even more crazy.”

“And she suggested that having two people tied up together would make it even better. Especially” she looked specifically at Allison “if the ropes are set up just right, and when one of us tries to pull a way, it pushes the other closer to her vibrator.”

“The book mentioned something like that. I don’t think any of our vibrators are strong enough for that to really work though. Now, if we had a pair of those magic wands, that would do the trick.”

“We can always talk to Will, and see if he has something that would work.”

“Please?!” Allison pleaded.

“I love the idea too. Something like that would be wonderful. And I’m almost done crafting the scene for Rosa.”

“You’ll talk about it a bit once we’re done, I hope.”

“Assuming, my muse, that you don’t want to go straight into round two. If that’s the case, it can wait until we’re done and cuddling.”

“You know me too well darling. Round two first.” She drank more of her tea. “I’m going to get back to my homework then.”

“I’ll bring the empty bowl down to Mom, but I’ll leave the tea stuff for now.”

“Good idea” Emanuel replied, taking another sip from his cup. “This is really good.”

Kara grinned. “I’ll let her know.” She stepped out of the room and started down the stairs, closing her eyes again as she reached the bottom of them. She’s not down here.

And I don’t think she’s up here either. There’s only other person up here with us, and from my best sense they’re already fast asleep.

Thanks for checking Manny; I’m sure that’s Dad. I’ll check in the basement and the backyard and see if she’s in either area. Kara dropped the paper towels into the trash and put the bowl back on the table, then headed toward the basement door. Let’s see if I can do this without closing my eyes first.

Try focusing on a spot in front of you, then attempt to look past that spot without moving your eyes at all.

Okay. Kara opened the door, and stared into the darkness in front of her for a few moments. I’m not seeing any ... never mind, the outlines of the walls and stairs is starting to form. No Mom though.

Keep focusing on building that image of the house.

I’ll try. She started toward the door to the backyard, watching in fascination as the walls beyond the ones she could physically see continued to fill in. Oh, she’s definitely in the backyard. But there’s more blue to her than I would expect. I’ll be back up in a little bit. Kara stepped outside and waved. “Is everything okay Mom?”

Clara turned around with a look of surprise on her face. “Oh! Yes, everything’s fine.”

“But the blue...”

“I’m ... proud, in a way, that you do have that gift after all. But it’s going to take me some time to get used to you being able to read me the way I’ve always been able to read you. I’m a little sad, but not because of anything bad.”

Kara glanced around them. “Wait ... you’re standing in front of...”

“Exactly. I know it must seem like one heck of a hippy move, but it felt right to do it.”

“I somehow get the feeling that there’s more to that. Just planting a tree when your kid is born doesn’t seem that hippy to me.”

“There is, but ... you might find the added details a little...” she glanced down toward her stomach “gross.”

“Wait ... I remember Aunt Leslie insinuating that you did something weird with my umbilical cord. I always assumed it was something like having it preserved or something.”

“Nothing as disrespectful as that! No, I buried your cord and placenta here along with the sapling. They’re both long gone by now; I’m sure they decomposed years ago. But a part of both of us went to nourish this tree when it was young.”

“Oh ... I never really thought about what usually happens to those.”

“I can’t speak for what hospitals do with them, but I imagine its something uncaring like disposing of them in some fashion. That ... seems wrong to do with the part of you that protected and directly provided for your child for nine months. It felt much more appropriate to return those to Mother Earth, and let her give new life to something with them.”

“That IS a very hippy thing to say.”

“Yes, but I know you agree with me on some level.”

“Did Allison’s mom do something like that too? There was something really powerful about the tree you joined us under.”

“No, that tree was already there when they bought the house a decade earlier. But you three played underneath it, climbed it ... all the things children are likely to do with a tree that big so often that you all left a lot of your energy there. And...” she paused, sighing happily “we three did too. So it really is no surprise that even after all the years apart, you were drawn back to it again.”

“Why are you a little sad though? And why out here, and not inside?”

“Because here, all of my memories of you growing up are rooted deepest; and tonight is the last night you’re still truly my child.” Kara began to open her mouth, but shut it with a nod at the gentle smile on Clara’s face. “I don’t mean in that way. No matter how old you get, you will always be my beloved daughter. But this is the last night that you are just MY child. For one reason, although I’m sure it hasn’t been easy to convince people at school that you’re not just playing at being married, I believe that you three meant what you promised. That being true means that it would take breaking those promises for you three to not see your full year through.”

“And if we decide that then that we were wrong? That we’re not right for each other in that way?”

“Then you can decide to separate as much as you feel you need to. But I really don’t think that’s going to be the case; not with the deeper connections that have already formed between you.” Kara smirked. “And you know I’m not talking about those connections; although, those are very promising too. But that’s not the only reason I can say you’re leaving childhood behind.”

“What’s the other one?”

“I heard the toast you shared over the tea. I was originally going upstairs just to check on your father, but it was impossible not to hear it. Yes, we’re helping you a lot to make it possible, but ... it really is going to be your first home together. That’s something that only adults can ever really claim to have. So at the heart of it, you’re not a kid anymore.”

“A lot of our teachers would disagree.”

“And so would your father. But that doesn’t mean any of them are right. One does not simply become a fully functional adult overnight; if that were the case, then your eighteenth birthday would have been that last day. And while I’m sure he’s expecting you to give up on the project part way through, he can’t see the determination in your eyes that I can. When we break ground on the renovations tomorrow, you’ll have taken your first steps on the journey that is adulthood.”

“Don’t you mean the journey to adulthood?”

“Not at all. There are plenty of people who are old enough to be adults and own a home, but are still children in all the worst ways. And as life itself is a journey, so too are the divisions we arbitrarily decided make it up. But all that being true means I have to come to terms with the loss of my child.”

“That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Just like it didn’t make any sense to me when your grandmother talked about when she first became a mother. It wasn’t when I was born; it was when she first realized she was pregnant. That didn’t make sense to me until I felt you kick for the first time. But for your father, he didn’t really become a father until he held you in his hands. In the same way, you are now an adult, and thus no longer my child; even though you will always be my daughter.”

“The distinction still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, to be honest.”

“Then let me ask you a few questions. Who will you now go to first when you need emotional support? If something difficult or life changing comes up?”

“Ally and Manny.”

“And who are you going to be sharing the bulk of your meals with once the renovations are done? More importantly, where?”

“Them, and in our ... oh. I think I get it. Until this week, you and Dad were the center of my universe, and this house was my home. But this week marked the beginning of Allison and Emanuel taking that place, and the renovated man cave will become our home.”

“Exactly. I was expecting this to happen eventually; that’s just how parenthood works. But you three surprised us with how quickly it’s happening. So I needed to mourn the passing of one phase sooner than I expected. And the best way to do that, for me anyway, is to come out to this tree and take a trip down memory lane.”

“Please tell me you’re not planning to remove the tree once we’re done with renovations or anything like that.”

“Never. It will remain an important place for a long time to come. In fact, look at the middle section of the trunk.”

“Is that...”

“Brand new growth; not old branches regrowing, but something that was never there before. It started on Sunday, and really began to take off Monday night when we got home from the Kirses. In a way, this tree has always reflected what was going on in your life, and as those two have re entered it properly, the tree itself has begun to really flourish again.”

“Properly?”

“I couldn’t articulate it until recently, but something broke in your friendship with Emanuel when Isabella died and Becca began to sequester Allison. You three need each other to be at your healthiest, and as your relationships have begun to heal and flourish, so has the tree. In fact, I expect that come springtime we’ll see it produce flowers again.”

“If you’re feeling this now ... does that mean Allison’s mom is too?”

“Becca is, but not to the same degree. She still has Sarah to care for, so her time to transition from ‘Mother’ to ‘Crone’ isn’t yet.”

“But, the apartment to be is on your property, and if you really wanted to...”

“That’s true, but we wouldn’t. We haven’t told you yet, but once the renovations are done, we won’t be handing over the keys until all seven of us have signed a written agreement for the terms we already agreed to earlier this week.”

“Seven?”

“Becca has agreed to assist you three financially as best she can. I was also able to reach Emanuel’s Aunt, and she agreed to put the money from the sale of his father’s house into two accounts. A portion into one that you three will have access to for household needs, and the rest into his personal account.”

“Manny didn’t mention anything about this.”

“He doesn’t know yet. His Aunt said that she’d stop by tomorrow night and tell him in person. I hope that you can keep this a secret until then.”

“I’ll try, but not if it means cutting myself off from them until then. If he picks up on it and asks me, I’m not going to lie to him. Or Allison for that matter.”

“That’s fair. I warned her that you three have adopted Becca’s policy on honesty, and that you’re all remarkably good at reading each other. More importantly, she knows I’ve adopted that policy, and won’t keep something from you if you ask about it.” She paused and glanced over at the man cave. “There is one other piece to that agreement, by the way. The four of us won’t break it unless all three of you decide to agree to move back in with us; Emanuel with the Kirses, of course. Think of this like a lease, and all of your names are on it. Only...” she paused again “this one can’t be broken unless something really unexpected happens.”

“Like?”

Darling, we’re almost done.

I’m still talking to Mom. Start without me if you finish before I do.

Okay!

“One of you being convicted of abuse of one of the others, death, truly irreconcilable differences; that sort of thing. If your relationship doesn’t last the year for some reason, we expect you to learn how to share a space together anyway. You won’t always be happy to do that with those you love.”

“I assume there’s also the expectation that we do our best to work through any problems that arise first.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you think there’s any hope for Manny’s father?”

“Once he’s free of the bottle’s influence, yes; although it will involve lots of hard mental healing work. And he’s going to have to mourn the loss of his son at some point; hopefully before it’s too late to transition to the elder phase. Your and Allison’s job is to keep the hope alive in Emanuel, and help him heal what he needs to.”

“So that when his father has done enough healing to reach out, he’ll be able to accept it.” Clara nodded her head as a Kara felt a pair of hands take hold of her breasts and begin to play with them. Wait, not mine...

“Have I kept you too long?”

“I ... I told Allison they could start without me. She’s the one who’s really horny at the moment anyway.” She smiled slightly, then laughed. “And it appears they’ve done just that.”

“Then I won’t keep you any longer.”

“Before I go though, there was a reason I was looking for you.” Clara raised an eyebrow and glanced at the kitchen window. “The bowl is fine, as is the tea set. I just wanted to let you know that we’re all really enjoying the tea. It needed a little sugar, but no where near as much as we all expected it to.”

“That’s the hibiscus; it’s a little bitter for people who aren’t used to it. I’m glad you all like it. Now, that said, don’t keep your spouses waiting.”

Kara nodded her head, then gasped as one of the hands moved from Allison’s breast to her clit. “Yeah. It’s progressing faster than I expected.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Clara. “You’ll be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. This is a natural part of life, and” Kara shook as a small orgasm rocked its way through Allison and then her “oh my.”

“S ... sorry. I didn’t realize she was that close.”