Chapter 45: Date at the Laundry

A short distance from the hacienda was Laundry House. During the ‘50s and ‘60s a lot of typical US suburban design houses were modified and built in the Colony. The typical 3-bedroom floor plan was easy to build so it was repeated with some modifications. For instance, drywall was a hassle to handle so they used canvas for interior walls. There was really no need for an attic or ceilings, a wood roof covered with leaves was good. No basement or furnace were needed, but there was a fireplace for most cooking. We put in a low-capacity water and electric grid at the same time, our Germans sketched it out in a day.

One thing we did not have is family-sized water heaters, there was no natural gas so hot water was limited. However, one of the unused houses was converted to a laundromat. Interior walls were left out, a bank of efficient wash machines were brought in, and large rooms to hang clothes for drying was added. For hot water, a large, well insulated tank that could use propane, boat fuel and airplane fuel was engineered. The hot water was recycled to capture the heat, it was a very efficient system that ran three days a week. Mer and Pur were delighted, they had some simple dresses they washed, plus lots of underwear.

One bedroom from the original design was retained, when built a full-time housekeeper was envisioned but was not needed the room went largely unused. I had it readied to me tonight, including drinks and snacks, plus there was a abundance of clean hot water from the large tank. I wanted to avoid extra company for the night, and I owed Cynthia some quality time (I knew she would start to complain after hearing about Gracie’s night outside) so I took a dedicated com unit, escorted her to my hand-built electric jeep (she appreciates the car culture) and together we drove around the residential part of the colony after my second presentation. We could have walked, but after a very long day - 18 hours, most on my feet - I was not up to it, and she loved the effort.

Cynthia, more than any of my girls, appreciated the illusion of attention and pushing her cultural buttons. This little excursion bought me plenty of “romance” credit for the rest of the visit.

A drive with me - in a vehicle I had constructed - was exactly the type of high-value attention my LA-raised youngest baby-mamma craved. With just the invite Cynthia’s mood improved visibly, both of our mothers noticed and pointed in out to others. During the tour there were not a lot of places to point out, there was the place her parents would move to, and the place where I lived when I was here, the ski-lift terminus, etc. but she just liked us driving alone, talking.

Then I pulled up at the “Laundry House.” (Big sign in front. As it happens a very famous and extremely exclusive California eatery is called “The French Laundry.”)

We had eaten at the hacienda, and I could have her there, but there might be others, or interruptions. I knew what Cynthia craved more than sex, she wanted an opportunity for privacy and conversation. These were more important than any sex I could arrange, so I made sure the ride was just the start, not the finish.

Earlier I had some simple cotton robes set out, plus some local finger food laid out on a low candlelit table between two low lounging couches. I made a point that they were just for us.

We took a short shower to “rinse the day off.” That way I could tell her how beautiful she was and give her plenty of belly kisses before we had some conversation. She loved the praise and appreciation, especially when her mind was at rest about more quality time coming.

Once we were in our robes and lounging across for each other I told her stories about the food she was eating, sprinkled with tidbits about my younger days in South America. I went to school in Dallas, Detroit and LA, but until I was 16 I spend my summers between the Colony and the Tribe.

Cynthia wondered about the river, about piranha and giant snakes. There have been horror movies about both.

I explained that, for the most part, the Amazon was a flat river, without breaks, dams or falls. It went from the mouth to Iquitos in east Peru, staying deep and wide enough so Iquitos was a major seaport for ships from Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. However, we were not on the Amazon, the river we were on flowed into three others, and eventually formed a tributary to the Amazon. However, ten miles north of the Colony was as far as most boats could go, after that the tributary grew too shallow and obstructed with rocks. In addition, both two miles north of the Colony, and five miles south of the Colony, rocks were moved to create dams at two locations that had been islands or narrow spots in the river. The result was that the level of the wide section of river by the colony, much like a lake, was wide and stable in depth and area. Also, the dams kept fish, like downriver piranha, from swimming up to here. The dams had been built about 1,200 ago to provide a safe fishery by the natives who lived along the river. It took a lot of time and manpower, by a tribe that disappeared after. It is possible that they conquered other tribes, who in turn overthrew them. The tribe that the Spanish found here came about 700 years ago.

“Snakes can still come up, can’t they?” she asked.

“All animals need a food supply, and after the indians came 700 years ago, there was not much to feed large snakes. No prey, no hunters. Our lake is a well-balanced ecosystem. Our 800 people feed on both fish and livestock we raise. Plus crops that grow quickly this close to the equator. The best scenario would be finding rare earths in a mountain 30 miles north of here, close enough for economic benefit but far enough that this could stay a reserved natural area. There are indians to the east that would help that.”

I could see how Cynthia appreciated this adult discussion of serious topics, her body language told me she was responding, warming up. She was ready enough so I could take her and she would love it. But she wasn’t all the way there yet, she really wanted some more wooing. She just didn’t know what.

I did. I plugged my phone into the music system, called up her favorite slow dance music, and hit “play.” The first song was an old Spanish number that her parents loved a generation ago, and she had acquired a special taste for it. She would never admit it to them, but when I took her in my arms she pretty much melted. By the third number she was kissing me and had opened our robes, so we could press our flesh together as our feet went around the room.

By the end of the fourth song she discarded both our robes and eased me into the bed with her half next to me, half on top. She wanted no more talking, our lips had better things to do together.

Her lips were soft and very emotional as we kissed, so expressive, something I knew she had never done before with anyone. Part of it was that she could not help herself, because of the way I treated her she was as romantic as she could get. Also, if I had to guess I would say Marta had given her a suggestion or two about feeling and what her physical response might me. I responded in kind, meeting her soft, romantic kisses with the same. She let me know she was ready if I wanted by pushing her chest against me, and bringing one of my hands to her wet pussy.

But I knew she was having a time that was beyond her previous experience so I didn’t mind taking things slower, letting her have the new treasured and romantic feelings she wanted without tricks.

The trouble with this is approach that, at some point, she wanted me to take over, to take command of our loving. This was new territory, neither of us would know when that time came. If I was too early or too late it would reduce what she enjoyed. But if I hit it just right, and did exactly the right thing and the right time, it would fill her heart more than anything short of an actual LA big wedding. (That was not going to happen.)

Romance was such a delicate dance for some of these young girls who make one leap to womanhood. It was a good thing she was already pregnant, so she had done that part herself, and was confident about taking the step she had dreamed of for years. Plus she was worth it.