Chapter 78: The Kumbaya Crowd

Thursday night I surprised myself.

I went to bed fairly early, just after ten. I’d been sitting out in the yard, drinking my beer, when Jane had brought Kirsty out and simply dropped her into my lap. She smiled at me.

“If you don’t mind,” she said. “I just wanted to see if the other nights were just fluke, or if you have some kind of gift.”

I looked down at the little girl who was regarding me with sleepy eyes.

I smiled at her, and rocked her gently, looking over at Jane who’d taken a seat on one of the other lawn chairs.

“Can I get you a drink?” I asked. She shook her head.

“If madam there goes off to sleep,” she said, “then I’m heading straight to bed. Chris has an early start tomorrow as he has an interview already. The job will be working from home, but he has to travel to get to the company office for the interview. It would be a lot more money than he’s currently earning. The Marshal’s Service put in a word for him since they’ve finally decided to wash their hands of us. I guess they think it’s the least they can do.”

“They’re not wrong,” I said. “After everything, they owe it to your family at least to give you a bit of a foothold on a normal life. Will you be moving?”

“Not immediately,” she said. “It’s going to take a while, probably up to a year, before we’re going to be in a position to buy a property. We’ll probably move a bit nearer to the head office then. Hopefully we can find a decent place before Kirsty starts school.”

I looked down at the now sleeping child.

“I guess I still have it,” I said.

“So I see,” Jane laughed, standing up and relieving me of her offspring. “How do you do it?”

“Just lucky I guess,” I offered, smiling at her.

She held Kirsty to her, kissing the sleeping child’s forehead gently, a thoughtful look on her face.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “Goodnight Caleb.”

“Night,” I said.

I finished off my beer and went into the house. Jules came into the shower with me. We spent a very pleasant twenty minutes connecting and washing each other. I loved this part of Jules. Of course, I loved the sexy Jules, when she was interested in and actively participated in sex, but I also loved the part when she was not interested in sex and just loved. The love I got from Jules when she was in her ‘off’ state was so pure and, for want of a better term, innocent. There was no lust or arousal, just the feeling of pure contentment of being together and showing our purest love for and to each other. I knew that the other girls loved that too.

We dried each other and went to bed. Jules lay beside me, her head on my shoulder, as I lay looking at the ceiling. I was a little nervous about sleeping, fearing that I was going to have nightmares about what had happened two nights ago. I was tired though, having not slept at all the previous night.

I closed my eyes and allowed Jules’ soft breathing to lull me to sleep.

And then came the surprise.

My eyes popped open. I was surrounded by all the girls, all of whom were sleeping soundly. I felt good, and rested. I stole a look at my watch. 03:59 – I’d slept the whole night away and if I’d dreamed, I didn’t remember.

I slid out of bed to start my day.

Friday passed without any major catastrophes. I didn’t go near the school and my hypnotherapy clients were all at the range.

It took me a few minutes of thought before I clipped on my CQB before heading out. My reasons for carrying were still the same as before and, if anything, I now had more reason to. No matter what the Marshals said, there was always the chance that someone could come looking for revenge for the death of their friend/boss/lover or whatever he was to them. I’d also had the experience of my powers failing on me, and I wanted to ensure I had the backup if I needed it.

It appeared that news had reached Hoss too.

“Hey Caleb,” he said. “How’re you holding up?”

“Who told you?” I asked.

“You know a number of the FBI guys come here,” he said. “I heard it from them.”

I shook my head.

“It’s not the same as paper targets, is it,” he said softly.

“No,” I agreed, “it isn’t.”

“Have you shot since?” he asked. I shook my head.

“Are you carrying?” he followed up. I opened my jacket to show my CQB on my hip.

“Lane one is free,” he said. “You have a half hour before your first appointment.” He put a box of ammunition on the counter.

I reached for my wallet, and he shook his head.

“On the house,” he said. “You need to get back on the horse so to speak. The longer you leave it in the holster the more difficult it will be to take it out.”

“I’m fine,” I said.

“Tell me you didn’t hesitate before strapping that on this morning,” he said indicating my gun. I grimaced.

“Go on,” he said. “You have twenty-five minutes.

I picked up the ammunition and went through the door to the lockers where we kept our safety gear. Five minutes later I was on the lane, looking down the sights of my gun, at the paper target down range.

I’d thought I’d see his face, that I’d find it difficult to pull the trigger, or that I’d feel the guilt I’d felt that night rushing back to swamp me.

I was wrong.

What I did feel was annoyance. I shot high and wide for my first two, and it took another four shots before I was back on center mass. I realized that I’d not shot the CQB for a while and had been used to the Glock. I resolved to put more practice in with both my weapons, or at least I would when I got my Glock back.

The hypnotherapy sessions went as expected and, after I left the range, I decided to swing by the site of my old house to see if any progress had been made there. There was none.

I called up the architect to ask about that.

“Hi Aaron,” I said. “Caleb Stott. Just wondering where we were with the new build?”

“Hi Caleb,” he said. “Sorry, I spoke to Mary yesterday, I thought she’d let you know. I’ve hired a company to dig out the foundation and pour the concrete. They are starting a week from Monday after they finish the job they are currently working on.”

“Ah,” I said. Obviously, Mary had decided that I had enough on my plate without worrying about the new build.

“Sorry,” I said. “It’s been really busy at home and I’ve not had chance to talk to her about it.”

“No problem,” he said. “I hear you had some excitement in your neighborhood the other night?”

“Excitement?” I asked.

“I saw it on the local news,” he said. “A home invasion foiled by an anonymous Good Samaritan, isn’t that near to where you’re living just now?”

“Oh,” I said. “Yes. I did see something about that. I try not to watch the local news. It depresses me.”

“I get that,” he laughed.

“Ok,” I said. “I’ll let you get on. Thanks for the update.”

“Any time,” he said. I ended the call.

Saturday morning we set out to go see Nana Babi. Sarah and Arnie were going to see Sarah’s parents and Arnie came to pick Sarah up just after eight. He looked nervous. Scratch that – he looked terrified. I grinned at him.

“They’re not bad people,” I said. “Just be yourself with them, and you’ll get along fine.”

“Do they know about...” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Have you not spoken to Sarah about it?”

“All she’ll say is that they’re going to love me,” he said. “While it’s kind of flattering it doesn’t really answer any questions.”

“I would make sure they know about the long engagement,” I said. “That will probably help to settle any nerves they have about you. Oh, and if her Mom gets you alone, then expect that she’s going to ask shocking questions.”

“Like what?” he asked.

“Like maybe – how you feel about Sarah and I sharing a bed,” I said. “Carrie likes to ask those kinds of questions. Remember you’re not obliged to discuss your private life with her. Don’t be afraid to tell her, politely, to mind her own damn business.

“And also,” I finished, “remember that, no matter what her parents say, your relationship is with Sarah. Her parents have no say in her choice in a husband. She loves you and their opinion on the matter will not change that.”

He gave me a half smile at that. “I wish I had your confidence,” he said.

“Can I show you something?” I asked, he nodded.

I shared with him a memory, the memory of his and Sarah’s first time together. I only shared a brief glimpse of it: the moment when we all felt the love that he and Sarah had for each other.

His eyes went wide.

“Was that?” he began.

“Yes,” I said. “I think you were so overwhelmed with what was going on that you actually missed that. Now do you see why I say you have nothing to worry about? Either with Sarah’s parents or with anything that happens here?”

It was at that point that Sarah entered the room. Arnie had been waiting for her to get ready. This was something that boyfriends and husbands the world over simply became used to.

She looked at Arnie, then at me.

“What’s going on ... OOOF” she complained, as Arnie threw his arms around her, hugging her to him.

She looked over his shoulder at me, a question in her eyes. I sent her the memory of the last few minutes. She smiled at me and put her arms around her fiancé, holding him to her.

“That was a nice thing you did,” said Amanda, as we were driving up to Nana Babi’s. She, Melanie, and Mary were riding with me in my truck. The others were following in other vehicles. I was seriously considering buying a mini-van, but I just loved my truck so much I loathed to part with it.

“He needed to be reminded of that,” I said, “and not just for his visit to see the in-laws.”

“True,” said Mary. “I don’t think it’s going to be too long before Sarah starts to be more open to sharing with us, and you. He needs to be completely secure in her love before that happens. I still think he would be open to joining in.”

“Let’s let him drive that particular event,” I said. “I don’t want him confused, hurt, or scared on account of us. I mean, when all is said and done, were not talking about a sharing imperative here. It’s just sex. Sarah is still going to have to share outside of the family to meet her need. Let’s not overwhelm him.”

“How would you feel about him playing with Jules or Ness?” asked Melanie out of the blue.

I thought about that for a few moments. “I hadn’t considered it,” I said. “Why? Have they expressed an interest?”

“No,” said Mary, “but remember you’re going to be disappearing for almost half a year when you go into training. Jules is going to need her itch scratching, and Ness has a very healthy libido. We’ll obviously help them both out, but neither of them is vegetarian. They might want some meat in their diet from time to time.”

“I’ll be coming home some weekends,” I said, “but I see your point.” I considered how I felt about Ness and Jules having sex with another guy. Six months ago, I’d have probably tied myself up in knots about it. Now I was actually considering who would be best, Arnie or Josh. Or would they be able to find someone better. Both Ness and Jules had said in the past that mine was the only cock they were interested in, but I’d assumed that was more to reassure me when I was feeling insecure than anything else.

“It would be less complicated,” said Amanda, “if it were Arnie or Josh. Men can be kind of clingy and get the wrong impression if you take them to bed. Mary and I have become kind of expert at dealing with one-night stands, and our powers help. Jules and Ness don’t have that advantage.”

“Don’t they?” I asked. “You’ve been helping them train their powers. How are they coming along?”

“I think they’ll be able to get strong enough to shield,” said Mary, “but not much more.”

“And what about you?” I asked Melanie. She grinned at me.

“I’m going to fuck my way through the campus,” she said. I laughed, knowing full well that she would do no such thing.

The gravel drive crunched as our little convoy of vehicles pulled in and parked around the fountain. We all got out as the front door to the house opened.

Keenan, Louise’s ex-boyfriend who had attempted to rape her into marriage in the hope of receiving a large inheritance, stepped out. He was dressed, as the last time I’d seen him, in what could only be described as a French maid’s uniform. His dress was black and went to just above his knees. He wore stockings, a white apron and a frilly maids cap.

The last time I saw him he wore the ensemble awkwardly and there had been anger in every movement. Now he looked comfortable in it. He smiled as we approached the door, and the smile looked genuine.

“Good morning,” he said. “Nana Babi has been looking forward to your visit. Please follow me.”

I looked at Louise who just smiled at me. She’d obviously been up here since we were here last and had already experienced Keenan’s change in attitude.

We walked across the hallway and into the usual room where Nana Babi held court. As always, she had a book in her hand when we entered. Unusually she stood as we came through the door and walked to meet us arms outstretched. Since Josh and Louise were at the front of the party, they got hugs first but she made her way through the entire group, even those that she’d not met before, hugging each of us in turn.

“It’s so good to see you all,” she said. Then she fixed me with a mock glare.

“I’m happy to see that you remember I’m still alive...”

“How could I forget,” I said blandly. “On quiet nights I can hear your yapping even in Portland.”

She burst into a laugh. “Cheeky imp,” she said. “If I were twenty years younger, I’d turn you over my knee.”

“We could always assist,” said Mary with a grin.

“Don’t tempt me,” said Nana Babi.

“How are the knees, by the way?” I asked innocently.

“They’re actually improv...” she began and then flushed.

“You didn’t?” she asked.

“Well,” I said, “There are some other birthday parties coming up, I thought you might like to attend.”

She cackled. “You are terrible,” she said.

We settled into chairs. Keenan came in rolling a trolley on which sat coffee and cakes. He served Nana Babi first and then each of us, asking for our preferences. I caught his eye as he handed me my cup. Surprisingly he held my gaze, and even smiled a little at me. Then he moved on.

When he was done, he left the room, closing the door gently behind him.

“He seems a lot happier than when last we met,” I said.

“He’s actually a good boy,” Nana Babi said, and held her hand up when I opened my mouth to argue.

“He just needed a little discipline in his life,” she said. “Yes, he had his flaws, but mostly it was his upbringing. His parents made him what he was and now I’m molding him into a decent human being. It’s taken a while to start to take effect but, after his service with me, I’m sure he’ll make some woman a fine husband.”

“Wow,” I said. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible.”

“Love,” she said, “can take many forms. I love that boy enough to take him in hand, be strict when it matters, and show him love when appropriate. Both of which his parents failed to do. He has boundaries which make him comfortable. He’s not afraid anymore. Now I can start building him into a good man. It’s a work in progress, but we’ll get there.”

“Some time in the future,” she said to me, “I’m going to ask for your mercy for him. Not yet but, when I feel he’s ready, I’d like you to undo at least some of what you did to him.”

“That will be entirely up to Louise and Josh,” I said. “They were the injured parties.”

“That’s fair,” she said. “I’ll discuss it with them when It’s appropriate. It’s going to be a while yet in any case, but I wanted to put it out there.”

While we were talking, I gave the old lady the once over, making sure she was in good health. As far as I could tell she was in amazing shape.

“Now,” she said, turning to Melanie. “I don’t believe you and I have been formally introduced.”

Nana Babi wept silent tears as she listened to Melanie’s tale, having insisted on hearing it all. Melanie had initially just told her of how I’d found her.

“And you say you have another sister?” Nana Babi asked me.

“And a brother,” I said. “Sarah is, as we speak, introducing her new fiancé to her parents. It’s the first time they’ve met so they were both very nervous when we all set out this morning. E, my brother, is at PCC. We’re keeping in touch, but not living together as we do with Sarah. We’re kind of keeping our distance a little.”

“Why?” she asked.

“He’s with a lovely girl,” I said, “and they are very happy together. If we get too close then they’ll get drawn into our world. Our power kind of influences people like that. I don’t want to spoil what they have together.”

Nana Babi nodded. “Family is important,” she said, “but yours has some very specific dynamics which need careful management. I look forward to meeting them all though.”

“Well,” I said, “like I said, we have some more special birthdays coming up. I’m sure you’ll be invited to the parties.”

“I look forward to it,” she said.

We visited probably for longer than we should, given the length of the journey home. We’d brought Nana Babi up to speed about everything that had happened in our lives and it had taken some time. She’d been appalled at the fire, amused at some of our antics, and finally when I’d told her about the events of the week, she’d beckoned me over to sit by her. She held my hand in hers.

“You’re a good man, Caleb,” she said to me, “and I know that things like that can weigh heavily on a good man’s shoulders. Don’t let it. I’m sure that you’ve been told this over and over, but what you did saved innocent lives. Isn’t that why you want to join the FBI? To protect innocent people from people who would hurt them?”

I nodded to her.

“Then you got a head start,” she said pragmatically. “You’re already ahead of the game. Keep up the good work.”

I mulled that over on the drive home.

We stopped at a diner, halfway home, to eat dinner.

Sarah and Arnie were not back when we got home later that night. I was in bed, settling down to sleep, when I heard Arnie’s car pull up outside. A few minutes later I heard them come into the house. They chatted with the girls, who were still in the living room, and then went into Sarah’s room.

I was asleep before the rest of my girls came to bed.

The next morning, I was not at all surprised when Sarah didn’t join us for our run. I almost didn’t go out myself; it was cold and raining. However I didn’t want to get into the habit of not exercising, I still had a fitness test to pass for the FBI.

Melanie joined me, but we only covered about six miles, even though we were both normally able to do more. The weather simply got too intense to carry on. When we got back we were both cold and soaked. We headed directly for the shower, to both warm up and clean off all the mud and dirt that had splashed up on us as we’d run.

I was in the utility room putting our running gear into the washer when Sarah and Arnie came into the kitchen.

“Morning,” I said as they sat at the table. Ness, as always, was preparing breakfast. I hadn’t said anything but I was going to give Ness the memories from the chef at Coquine. We’d then cook something amazing, I hoped. I’d been thinking about it and, although it would take a trip to the store, it would be worth it.

“Morning,” Sarah said smiling at me. Arnie nodded.

“So?” asked Melanie who was also seated at the table. “How did it go?”

Sarah grinned. “You should have seen mom’s face when I showed her the ring,” she said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her speechless before.”

“Dad immediately thought I was pregnant,” she went on. “I think he was going for the shotgun, until Mom reminded him that Caleb had told them I couldn’t get pregnant until I was ready. Then he wanted to know why the rush.

“Arnie was brilliant. He explained about the night, of being told about powers, and how he had felt about it, and having to go and think. He made seeing the ring in the jewelers sound like it was some kind of divine inspiration, a message from God, and explained once he admitted to himself his feelings, he just had to act on it.”

“Mom quizzed him in the kitchen though.” She grinned.

Arnie grimaced. “You were right,” he said to me. “She went for the throat. She asked me how I felt about Sarah sharing her bed with you guys, and whether or not she’d had sex with you yet. I told her that I had no idea, and perhaps she should ask Sarah that question.”

“Then she asked if we had had sex yet, not me and Sarah,” he explained, “you and I. Apparently she feels that you are so irresistible that even I couldn’t say no.”

“And?” I asked interested in his answer. He looked sideways at Sarah, who was also looking interested as she ate her breakfast. Apparently, he hadn’t told her this part.

“I told her that that my sex life was none of her business, but if she felt that you were so irresistible, perhaps she should talk to you. I was sure you’d accommodate her, if Brian didn’t mind.”

Sarah sprayed orange juice from her nose and across the table, barely missing Amanda who ducked out of the way.

“Oh fuck that stings,” she said, her eyes watering as I handed her a napkin to clean up.

I grinned at Arnie. “Well played,” I said. “Sarah’s mom can be a little full on sometimes.”

“I thought she was a bit quiet after your talk,” said Sarah, eyes watering, and still sniffing a little. I knew well the sting of getting orange juice in your nose. It would take a few minutes to settle down.

“Things seemed to settle down after that,” said Arnie. “Brian seems to be a nice, easy going guy, although the typical ‘hurt my little girl and I’ll hurt you’ was implied rather than stated outright.”

“Did you meet Edgar?” I asked. He nodded.

“He came and said hello,” he said. “It was a bit strange. He came into the room and came over to me and just stared at me for a while. Then I heard him in my head, he said ‘Hello’ and seemed to lose interest. After that he ignored me.”

I glanced at Sarah.

“Was Edgar reading Arnie’s mind?” I asked her telepathically, so as not to upset him.

“I think so,” she returned. “I could see something going on, but I’m not really that good at this yet.”

“Edgar’s going to have to be taught about boundaries,” I told her.

“I know,” she said. “I spoke to mom about it after. She said she would talk to the lady that Edgar is working with.”

I nodded, Good enough. I really didn’t want to get involved in that.

“So,” I said. “What’s everyone’s plans for today?”

“Arnie and I are just going to hang,” Sarah said. “His lessons are cancelled because of the weather.”

We went around the table, until I reached Ness.

“I...” she began.

“You,” I said, interrupting her. “Are going to be busy with me. That is if you want?”

Her eyebrows went up.

“Really?” she asked. “In the kitchen? Or in the bedroom?”

“Kitchen,” I said. She affected a little moue of disappointment. Her expression changed to one of surprise and delight when I told her what I had in mind.”

I gave her all his culinary memories and spent a couple of hours sorting them out in her head, so she’d remember them. Then we went shopping.

Dinner that night was amazing. Between Ness and I we created an epic three course meal which had the rest of the household completely mesmerized.

“Remind me,” said Melanie to Ness. “Why the fuck are you wasting your time at culinary school when you can cook like that?”

It was a reasonable question.

“I need the qualification,” said Ness.

“Do you though?” asked Amanda. “That Chinese guy, what’s his name, the Demon Chef?”

“Alving Leung” supplied ness.

“Yeah, him. He didn’t go to school – but he’s got Michelin stars.” Amanda finished.

Ness considered this.

“I’m not ready to open my own place yet,” she said. “I need more actual experience in a kitchen. I could go work in a kitchen, but it’s far easier to get in if you have the qualification. Otherwise, I’ll have to start by washing dishes or as a waitress. I’m not doing that.”

Later, in bed, I thought about Ness and her career as a chef.

I had no doubt that she would, could, be an amazing chef. With her passion for food, her natural talent, and the knowledge and information we’d obtained there was no reason that she couldn’t be world renowned. But the life of a chef is hard. Lots of time in the kitchen, little time at home. I wondered how she felt about that. I’d never ask her because I knew that the instant I said I was concerned about the time we’d be spending apart, she’d abandon her dream.

It was something that played on my mind though, and I considered it as I was sitting out with my beer. Once again, I ended up with a bundle of two year old in my lap. And once again she was asleep within a couple of minutes of landing.

“How do you do it?” Chris asked.

“Jane told me,” I said, “that from three months on, she slept through. It’s only since all your problems started that she started acting up?”

He nodded.

“I guess,” I said. “She’s picked up on your stress. You can’t relax, so she can’t relax. I don’t have the same levels of stress that you do, and since she’s found somewhere she feels safe...”

He sighed. “She should feel safe with us,” he said.

“She will,” I assured him. “Once you’re more settled, she’ll settle down too. I guess she just needs a little time to adjust.”

He nodded, taking his daughter back, and headed for his house.

Monday rolled around, and two more of my hypnotherapy clients failed to show at my office on campus. Neither of them even bothered to tell me that they weren’t going to show. I deliberately sought them out, finding one in the library, and one in the cafeteria waiting in line for food.

I didn’t approach either of them but removed all my compulsions from them. If they stuck to the regimen’s that they had started, they would continue to lose weight, but I could see from the choices that the second was making in the food line, she wasn’t going to.

Since I was in the cafeteria in any case, I decided to grab some lunch. I noticed people giving me a wide berth as I waited in line. I could hear whispers. Once again, I noticed Daryl glaring at me across the cafeteria.

I was surprised when Sue walked up to me and gave me a huge hug. She was a completely different person. She looked fit, toned, and slightly taller, although I put that last down to an optical illusion given her body shape had changed so much since I’d last laid eyes on her. She smiled at me.

“Caleb,” she said in a loud voice. “I’ve missed you, where’ve you been?”

“Off murdering someone I expect,” a muttered comment came from behind her. She spun around to face the crowd behind her.

“I’m sorry,” she said loudly “Did someone ask for your opinion?”

The boy she’d fixed her glare on wilted under it.

“Everyone knows...” he began.

“Everyone knows shit,” she said. “Tell me, what exactly do YOU know. Not what have you heard, or been told, or dreamed up, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?”

He dropped his gaze.

“I thought as much,” she said, turning back to me.

“Pay no attention to them,” she said linking my arm as we stood in line.

I smiled at her.

“Where’s George?” I asked.

“He’ll be along,” she said. “His class finishes after mine. Now, I heard a rumor that you found yourself some brothers and sisters?”

We got some food and headed to a big table. There were a couple of students at the other end of where we sat down, but they got up and moved.

“You’re not doing yourself any favors,” I said to Sue, “being seen with me.”

“Fuck them,” she said. “They have no idea, I have no idea, what went on, or even if you were involved. I’m not asking for you to tell me either. I just want you to know that not everyone here believes the rumor.”

“What is the rumor?” I asked.

She sighed and looked around the cafeteria.

“People see you,” she said, “as a bit of a ‘player.’ You have several girlfriends on the go at once, and are almost never seen without one or other of them on your arm. On top of that, you were making out with Dana in the hallway the other day.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up a hand.

“I’m just setting the scene.” she said.

I nodded and remained silent.

“So,” she said, “here’s how it goes. Someone burns your house down. A jealous boyfriend, perhaps, or maybe some girl you’ve dumped after having your wicked way with her. Then you move into a new house with a young, pretty mom next door. Next thing there’s a row and someone ends up dead. The rumor is that you were caught with your pants down, and you killed someone in the ensuing battle. They think the husband recruited someone to come help him teach you a lesson and you murdered that person. They are saying either you claimed that they attacked you and you were just defending yourself, despite the fact you were sticking the guys’ wife, or that you flat hypnotized your way out of it.”