Chapter 34: Etheldred

November 23, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Albert

“Where are we going?” I asked Aimee after Dad had dropped me at Meigs Field.

“I was thinking we’d fly to Clear Lake, Iowa. Do you know what happened there?”

“The Day the Music Died,” I replied. “Dad has the album by Don McLean, and he explained the references to us. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson, ‘The Big Bopper’, all died in the crash.”

“We’ll actually fly to Mason City Municipal Airport, and then I arranged a ride to the memorial which isn’t too far away.”

“Very cool.”

“You can fly, though I’ll take off and land, and you can work the radio.”

“Yes, Captain!” I exclaimed.

Aimee laughed, “Someday that’ll be for real.”

“It should be Admiral!” I declared.

“Too political,” Aimee replied. “I’ll be very happy with my silver eagles. Ready to do a pre-flight check and file a flight plan?”

“Aye, aye, Commander!”

Aimee laughed and we went about the preparations, including refueling, and about forty minutes later I was at the controls as we zoomed westward towards Clear Lake, Iowa.

🎤 Matthew

“Hi, Matt!” Chelsea exclaimed when they arrived at my dad’s house on Friday, just after lunch.

“Hi!” I exclaimed, holding out my arms.

Chelsea stepped into my arms and we hugged and kissed.

“Did you ask?” she whispered.

“Yes. Dad said we could use the nanny room. Your mom and dad are using it tonight, so we’ll use the guest room in the basement so we don’t have to go out to the burbs. The one with mirrors.”

“Awesome!”

“Your brother has the other guest room.”

“He’ll just have to deal with the cries of passion!”

I laughed, “When it was built, Dad had them add soundproofing. It’s not perfect, but as long as you don’t scream at the top of your lungs, Colin won’t hear us.”

“Bummer!” Chelsea giggled.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me through the kitchen and then down the short hallway to the nanny room. Once we were inside, she shut the door, locked it, and quickly undressed and got into bed. I did the same, and we both lay on our backs, looking at ourselves in the mirror.

“Wanna fool around?” she asked after a minute.

“What do you think!”

We hadn’t seen each other for months, so we had a lot of missed time to make up for. Three hours later, having spent the entire time kissing, licking, sucking, and screwing, we went to the shower to clean up.

“The mirrors are SO awesome!” Chelsea exclaimed as I soaped her body. “We HAVE to have them in our bedroom!”

“Sounds good to me!” I agreed.

“I sent my applications to Loyola and Northwestern.”

“Teaching, still, right?”

“Yes. Elementary education, most likely. Both schools have five-year programs due to student teaching, so I’ll graduate in May of 2007. That would be when you finished your Sophomore year, if you decided to go to college.”

“Most likely the Navy, as we discussed. I can’t imagine going to school for another seven-and-a-half years! You know how bored I am. The only thing that keeps me interested is drama and the speech team.”

“Any idea what you would want to do in the Navy?”

“Something that would let me advance quickly, or, if I chose to get out, get a good job. The Navy has the best training programs and Captain Schumacher, who’s retired and working at a law firm, gave me some good pointers.”

“You don’t want to be an officer?”

“No. I want to actually work and learn! Where do you plan to live?”

“Probably in the dorms. Mom, Dad, and I talked it through, and because you live so far out in the boonies, it doesn’t make sense to live at your house. I’d come there on Friday nights and go back to school on Monday morning, if that’s OK with you and your mom.”

“Eduardo suggested that might be what happens because of the commute. I hope you’ll stay during breaks.”

“That I have to negotiate with Mom. She’s cool, but I’m not sure she’d be happy with me missing Christmas!”

“You know at some point that has to happen, right? We’ll have our own family, and then we have to juggle grandparents.”

“How are your parents working things?”

“We do Christmas morning at our house, then come here for the whole family celebration. Dad hopes that continues, but he knows at some point it won’t be possible because, with seven kids, somebody will have a conflict!”

“I’m sure!”

“I made my plans to come to Cincinnati over Christmas break as we discussed. Dad bought the tickets on Wednesday.”

“Cool!”

Chelsea moved under the spray to rinse off, then took the soap from me so she could wash me. When I was clean, we got out of the shower, dried ourselves, then changed the sheets and cleaned up the bathroom, then, finally, got dressed. We both liked being naked together, and tried to do that as much as possible.

“Hi, Chelsea,” Dad said when we walked into the sunroom.

“Hi, Steve!” she exclaimed.

“You two do know it’s polite to actually say ‘hello’ when you arrive at someone’s house, right?” Mom asked.

“We missed each other!” I protested.

“And we wanted to say ‘hello’ to each other first!”

Mom, Dad, and Aunt Jennie laughed, though I realized soon enough I’d be calling her ‘Mom’.

🎤 Steve

Audrey Westergard arrived at 3:00pm on Friday, as she’d planned.

“How was your drive?” I asked after we hugged.

“Good. I already stopped at my friend’s house and got a key, so I can stay out as late as I want!”

“What did you want to do?”

“If you don’t know the answer to that question, you might just be too dumb to actually do what I want!”

I nodded, “A thorough physical fucking that matches the thorough mindfucking I’ve already given you!”

“Yes! But in this case, I give as good as I get!”

“We’ll see,” I teased. “Come in and say ‘Hi’ and we’ll be on our way.”

“Where to?”

“A friend’s condo. That’ll give us privacy. The house is a bit more of a madhouse than usual with friends and family.”

“And you can leave?”

“Yes. Remember what I said about tomorrow - karate, then prep for the party, then the party. Sunday is free again.”

“What time can I be here?”

“Tomorrow? Any time after 11:00am, unless you want to join us for karate. Sunday? I’m usually up by 5:30am, but if you show up then, you’ll find a very possessive daughter getting her morning cuddles.”

Audrey laughed, “Birgit is, according to Darla, a pure force of nature.”

“Darla would be correct! How’s she doing?”

“Loving Germany and obviously doing what married couples do - she’s pregnant.”

“When is she due?”

“Late May or early June. They told us yesterday when we called for Thanksgiving.”

“OK to share that with Sensei Jim?”

“Yes, of course. She said she was going to send a card to the dojo.”

Audrey and I went to talk to Kara and Jessica, and after we chatted for a few minutes, we left for Samantha’s condo. She’d left earlier in the morning for Florida to take the kids to see her mom, and had offered her condo if, as she put it, I had a need for privacy. I’d laughed and thanked her, and asked how she knew. It turned out Kara had mentioned it to her because my parents were using the NIKA apartment while they were in town for the long weekend.

“Who’s condo is this?” Audrey asked when we arrived.

“My friend Samantha’s. Her husband is deployed to the Gulf and she and the kids are visiting her mom at their house in Boca Raton.”

“Heiress?”

“Yes, but she’s also CEO of Spurgeon Capital, a financial services firm. She took over from her dad when he was arrested.”

“Securities fraud?”

“Noel? No chance! His only criminal activity was liking fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds in a state where seventeen is the age of consent. Oh, and making videotapes of himself with the girls.”

“Videotapes? What an idiot! Just sex he could probably have bought his way out if he had the kind of money this deluxe condo in the sky indicates!”

I laughed, “Did you just riff on the theme to The Jeffersons?”

“Isn’t that how ‘Darmok’ works?”

“Indeed it is!”

“And you’re skilled in multiple techniques? A broad variety of pleasuring?”

“Please tell me you’re actually a Trek fan.”

Audrey smirked, “Nope. IMDB.com has tons of quotes! I looked them up!”

“Nice!” I chuckled.

Audrey smirked, walked over to the coat rack by the door, got my fedora, came back to where I was standing, and dropped it on the floor. I laughed at the reference to ‘Justice’, an episode in the first season of TNG, where Geordi declared that the people ‘make love at the drop of a hat’ and, in true Wesley fashion, rather than getting laid, he received a death sentence for stepping on flowers.

“So?” she asked.

I grabbed her hand, led her to the bedroom, and without any preamble, began removing her clothes. When she was naked, I took a step back and admired her lithe body, in great shape from playing volleyball. She was just about my height, but her muscular legs seemed to go on forever. She had smallish breasts, a flat stomach, and trimmed pubic hair shaved into a tiny ‘v’.

“Like what you see?” she asked.

I smirked, nodded, and quickly dropped my pants and briefs, allowing my erection to spring free.

“Nice!” she exclaimed.

I quickly disrobed, drew down the duvet, then took Audrey’s hands and led her to the bed. We got in, turned on our sides, and exchanged a kiss.

“What do you like?” I asked.

“Suck my nipples, tongue my clit, then fuck me as hard as you possibly can!”

Not one to deny a pretty girl’s request, I complied, resulting in the sheet under us being soaked with sweat and juices, and both of us breathing hard.

“Damn!” Audrey said when she released her legs from around me so I could roll off of her.

“Nice muscle tone,” I replied. “Inside and out!”

“Nice muscle tone on you, too, and impressive stamina!”

“I try,” I chuckled.

Ten minutes later, our breathing having returned to normal, Audrey slid down and took me in her mouth. As soon as I was erect, she mounted me and rode me hard, collapsing on top of me after a fantastic shared orgasm.

“Six,” she gasped. “Holy crap! I think the guys at OSU need some serious instruction!”

“You do realize that beer and pot reduce a guy’s ability to perform, right?” I asked.

“You might have a point! I mean, besides the one that just slipped out of my pussy!”

“But did it meet your expectations?”

“We’re both still conscious, so, not yet!”

“Wanna fuck on the balcony? A pair of comforters will keep it warm enough.”

“And then in the whirlpool I assume is in the bathroom?”

“Absolutely.”

“And then we just fuck like maniacs until you have to take me home!”

I was in complete agreement, so that was what we did.

“Was the physical fucking consistent with the mindfucking?” I asked.

“I have ZERO complaints! You’re damned good in bed!”

“As are you! I’d say we both won, rather than call it a draw.”

“Rematch on Sunday?” Audrey asked.

“Sounds like a plan! Let’s get you back to your car, and then I’ll see you in the morning.”

We left the condo and walked to where we’d parked the cars. After a hug and kiss, Audrey got into hers and drove away, and I headed home.

November 24, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Birgit

“Have fun last night, Dad?” I teased when I climbed into the chaise with Dad on Saturday morning.

“Yes, nosy daughter, I did.”

I laughed because Dad never tried to hide things, though I was sure there were girls I didn’t know about. Last night, when he’d been gone, and I was lying in bed, I imagined what he was doing and what it might be like to do those things with him. I knew how it worked, but not what it was like. But that was for the future ... hopefully.

“I talked to Rachel yesterday. She’s really, really angry with her mom.”

“That shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

“It doesn’t; I was just telling you! I think she and her mom had another huge fight.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Dad replied. “I warned Carla about how things would go back when all of this started.”

“You mean because I gave Rachel the coupon?” I asked.

“That wasn’t it, Pumpkin. It was the second time I was with Rachel that caused Carla to lose her mind.”

And I knew that, actually, because Rachel had told me and Tiff everything she’d done with my dad and how awesome it was. Rachel said the real problem was that her mom had never really had good sex, and was actually afraid to do most of the things Rachel had done. I couldn’t imagine being afraid to have sex! I wanted to! And so did my friends, though we all knew we needed to be a bit older.

“Rachel said her mom broke up with her boyfriend about two weeks ago.”

“That can’t have helped her mood,” Dad replied. “But for now, just keep being Rachel’s friend. I know you and Jesse hold your Hangout at Libby’s so that Rachel can be there.”

“Yes. We thought about having a separate party at Aunt Penny’s tonight, but the boys want to play poker with you and the girls want to hang out with the aunts.”

“Have you heard from Fatimah?” Dad asked.

“Yes! I received a postcard yesterday. It didn’t say much, just that they were back in their house and she was planning for her wedding in June. We’re invited.”

“Would you want to go?” Dad asked.

“I’d like to be at her wedding, but there’s no way I’m going to Saudi Arabia! Think I could wear my new sundress there?”

“Probably not without starting a riot and getting arrested, no.”

“Do your female Muslim employees follow those rules?”

“Two of them wear scarves to work, but the other one doesn’t. She only wears hers at her mosque and when she’s at her parents’ house or apartment.”

“I could deal with wearing a scarf to church, but otherwise? No way!”

“You? Church?” Dad asked skeptically.

“It was a hypothetical comment, Dad!”

“The only church that child is interested in is the First Church of Dad!” Mom said from the door to the sunroom. “Breakfast is ready.”

“Two minutes,” I said.

“See you in three,” Mom replied.

🎤 Steve

“Enjoy yourself yesterday, Tiger?” Jessica asked as we walked to the hospital after breakfast.

Birgit and I had been up early to cuddle before an earlier-than-usual breakfast so that Kara, Jessica, and I could eat together before Jessica’s shift. I’d arrived home after midnight, and simply crawled into the king-size bed where Jessica and Kara had been snuggled together.

“There’s something to be said for college girls,” I chuckled. “Especially volleyball players!”

“Did you just call us old, Tiger?” Jessica asked accusingly.

“No, of course not!” I replied. “But when college girls discover sex with very experienced guys who aren’t under the influence of alcohol or pot, they’re very appreciative and very energetic!”

“Are you saying we don’t appreciate you?” Kara asked, her eyes narrowing, which I could see in my peripheral vision.

“I’m not,” I replied, knowing they were teasing me. “There is literally no sex on the planet better than when the three of us are together!”

“Think he’s being honest, Jess?”

“Actually, I do. Tiger enjoys his variety, but he ALWAYS comes back to us. And that means we cum! A lot!”

“I love you both in ways I love nobody else,” I replied.

“Liz?” Kara asked.

“Different. And no matter what, she’s not tuned to the same frequency the three of us are. That’s true for Suzanne, too, though she’s a bit closer. And ultimately, that’s why I think we should keep things as they are.”

“We did talk to her about a ceremony last night and we thought about one with a very small group of friends and the kids, where Jessica and I give Suzanne to you. You give her a nice wedding band, but we three are the only ones with the ‘trio’ rings. She’s happy with that solution.”

“Then let’s arrange it. When?”

“December 15th, unless you think that sends a wrong message.”

“It would only be a wrong message for the two of you, so if you’re cool, I’m cool.”

“And we celebrate with sex in the sauna!” Kara giggled. “We watch you, and she watches us!”

“It’s always sex with you, isn’t it?” I teased.

“Are you complaining, Snuggle Bear?”

“Do I LOOK like a complete idiot?” I asked.

“Look? No...” Kara teased.

“Like mother, like daughter!”

We arrived at the ER entrance, hugged, kissed, and after Jessica had gone inside, Kara and I turned for home.

“Are you and Audrey getting together again?”

“Sunday morning before she heads back to OSU.”

“And the cheerleader?”

“I don’t have to answer until Monday evening. I’m still not sure.”

“You’re worried she’ll tell her friends about it?”

“That’s the concern.”

“She promised not to, right?”

“Right, but teenage girls aren’t the most reliable in that regard. They tend to talk. You know what happened at MHS. And with Samantha’s friends. And with Suzanne’s friends.”

“Yes, but you didn’t ask any of them to keep quiet, did you?”

“No.”

“But with the cheerleader, you extracted an absolute promise, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I think you have to trust her. Otherwise, you’re violating your own rules for how to treat teenagers.”

“I doubt she’s going to let you watch!” I chuckled.

“I wish! But that’s not my point, and you know it.”

I chuckled, “So, your logic is that if I don’t trust her, despite her giving her word, and don’t do it because of that, I’m a hypocrite?”

“It’s sound logic, right?”

“I had to go and marry two women who both earned advanced degrees!”

“All the women who are mothers to your children have advanced degrees! And any girl who’s been a long-term lover has, too, or has been extremely smart and elected not to get an advanced degree.”

“The ‘Samantha exception’?”

“Yes. And Suzanne and Natalie will in the future.”

“True. When we get home, I’m going to run to Jewel to get ice and a few other things. I’ll be back in time for karate.”

“OK. I have things to do at the house before the party.”

🎤 Jesse

“Dad, this is Adiputeri bint Mussa, my classmate. She goes by Adi. Adi, my dad, Steve Adams.”

It was just after lunch and I found him with a bunch of friends and relatives in the sunroom.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Adams.”

“Hi, Adi. It’s nice to meet you. It’s OK to call me ‘Steve’ if you want, though do what your parents say is proper.

“Some of the kids call him ‘Uncle Steve’,” Libby prompted. “But a few do call him Mr. Adams.”

“I think I have to use ‘Mr. Adams’ or my parents would be very upset.

“Then that’s what you should do,” Dad said.

“That’s going to make things confusing around here,” Grandpa A said.

“That’s my grandpa,” I said to Adi. “He’s almost as much a smart ass as I am!”

“Nobody is even close!” Birgit declared.

“She has a point,” Dad said.

“She does,” Libby agreed.

“I love you all,” I said flatly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dear,” Grandpa A said. “And pay VERY little attention to my eldest granddaughter!”

“At your own risk!” Libby said to Adi, sotto voce.

“Hey!” Birgit protested.

“You only have yourself to blame, Pumpkin,” Dad chuckled.

Libby, Adi, and I left the sunroom and Birgit followed us out.

“Sauna?” she asked. “It’s bathing suits because Tiff’s mom’s life clock is still stuck in Puritan times!”

“How else would you use a Finnish bath?” Adi asked.

“Usually naked,” Birgit said. “Though my sisters and their friends sometimes wear bathing suits.”

“Boys and girls together? And with your brother?!”

“Since we were babies,” Birgit said. “It’s no big deal. Being naked doesn’t mean you’re going to have sex.”

“My dad is very liberal compared to most men in Malaysia, but that would make him completely gobsmacked and very concerned!”