Chapter 82: Housewarming

Sarah and Arnie emerged from the bedroom, having used the shower. Amanda had changed the bed while they were in there.

“Have fun?” I asked them both, and was surprised when they both broke out into identical unashamed grins.

“It was awesome,” said Sarah. I looked at Arnie and he nodded.

“I was nervous at first,” he said, “but once things got going...”

“No regrets?” I asked the pair of them.

“None,” Arnie said. “I knew Sarah was beautiful, but I never realized just how beautiful she was until I watched her cum from across the room,”

Sarah went scarlet.

The rest of the girls laughed.

“I’d call that a resounding success,” gloated Amanda.

“Did Marcia have fun?” I asked.

“She loved it,” Mary said. “I think between you and Arnie, you’ve redeemed men for her.”

“Me?” asked Arnie. “I didn’t...”

“You were gentle with her,” said Mary. “Even when you were in the throes of passion, you weren’t rough with her and didn’t hurt her. She’s had a bad experience with a man in the past and I think you helped her as much as she helped you today.”

“Oh,” he said. “Why would anyone want to...”

“Some people are like that,” I told him. “But I think you helped restore her trust in men a little. I just hope our architect continues the good work.”

“Our what now?” asked Mary.

“Did she not tell you?” I asked her. “She has a date with him tonight. He’s apparently a little bossy on site and that kind of got her motor running.”

Amanda laughed.

“Nice,” she said. “She deserves someone good.”

“And how about you?” I asked Sarah. “Did that scratch your sharing itch?”

I saw her internalize for a moment, then she nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m good.”

“Perfect,” I said.

After dinner Arnie went home, since he had a lot to prepare.

“Some doofus has booked almost the whole day,” he complained, mock glaring at me.

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” I told him. “Does the doofus need to bring lunch?”

“That would be nice,” he said. “Save us going to the store.”

“Will Danny be there for lunch too?” I asked. He answered in the affirmative.

“I’ll make something up then,” I told him.

He stood up ready to go, and turned to kiss Sarah goodbye, first though, he had to kiss Mary, then Amanda, then Ness, Melanie, and Jules. Finally, Sarah got her turn.

After he left, I sat on the sofa, next to Sarah. Melanie took the opportunity to climb into my lap.

“Are you okay?” I asked Sarah.

“It’s been a hell of a weekend,” she said. “Even now I can feel him.”

“Now you both know,” said Melanie, “not only how you feel about each other, but how we feel about you.”

“I know,” Sarah replied. “Are you going to bring E into the connection?”

I shook my head.

“Almost certainly not,” I said. “E has his own gig and will probably end up playing pro football. I don’t want him to change his plans, which he might do if we get too deeply involved.”

“Is he coming to the house warming?” asked Amanda.

“Damn, I forgot,” I said pulling out my phone. “I’ll invite him now.”

“He’s coming,” said Mary. “I invited him as soon as we set the date.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks,” I said. “It’s a good job one of us has their head on straight.”

“It certainly is,” said Mary. “All your hypnotherapy appointments at the school have been cancelled, and you only have two more appointments at the range this week. I’ve obviously cleared the time we’re going to spend at the ranch. Do you want to book more for the range when you come back?”

“I think so,” I said. “I’d like to get both Sarah and Melanie up to speed with them, then they can perhaps start up at the school. Obviously, they’re not going to be able to do as much as I did, but I’m sure they, or you, can work it around their academic schedule. We’ll also have to introduce them to Jamie and clear using the ‘campus office’ with the dean.

“They’re both registered with the state?” Mary asked. I nodded.

“We did that a few weeks ago,” I told her. “But then life kind of got in the way.

“We also need to find a driving instructor,” said Melanie. “We both need to learn to drive.”

“We can take care of that tonight,” I told them. “You both have your learners permits. I can give you all my driving knowledge and you can consolidate it overnight. Then we can take you out and let you get some practice and then book your tests. You don’t need to spend time and money on taking lessons.”

Wouldn’t they be better taking Mary’s or Amanda’s knowledge?” asked Ness with a cheeky grin.

“Et tu, Brute?” I said. “What’s wrong with my driving?”

“Nothing,” said Ness. “But perhaps someone who passed their test more recently would be a better idea?”

“I don’t think the driving laws have changed that much since I passed my test,” I told them. “But it’s up to you guys. Pick someone and take their driving knowledge. Both of you have the powers to do it, and consolidate the knowledge without my help, but I’m happy to help if you need it. For myself, I’d pick someone where the ink is actually dry on their license, but what do I know.” I grinned at Ness as I said this, and she stuck her tongue out at me.

I emailed Jamie, the counsellor, asking for an appointment at her leisure, preferably before nine, one day next week.

I had a reasonably early night, having helped Chris get Kirsty off to sleep, I was in bed by nine thirty, neither of the girls having decided to take me up on sharing my driving knowledge.

Jamie didn’t respond to my email until Monday afternoon and since I was flying for most of the day, apart from lunch which I spent with Arnie and Danny, I didn’t see it until I got home Monday night.

At lunch, Danny seemed to be in good spirits. He’d was happy with the way the school was shaping up, having two aircraft meant that they were bringing in more than double what they had been previously, and he had his sights set on at least putting a deposit down on a second plane by the time the Baron had to be returned.

I asked him what his plans were for the Christmas break and wondered if he and Arnie would like to come up to the Ranch with us at some point over Christmas. He said that he couldn’t take the whole holiday off, but he’d be glad of a break, and perhaps He and Arnie could fly up for a week or so around Christmas and New Year, since few people would be wanting to take lessons at that time.

I knew Sarah was going to be disappointed that Arnie wouldn’t be able to come up for the whole of the break, but I was certain that something would be much better than nothing.

Dean had already told me that Cheryl had invited my parents, Dianna, Maggie, and Sarah’s parents. Cheryl also hinted that there might be a surprise guest, but wouldn’t say more. She’d asked me to see if Arnie and Danny would like to come up. From what I understood, all of those invited would be coming up, but only for parts of the holiday. We’d be the only ones staying there for the full duration of the break. I was really looking forward to it.

We were only going up for the week of the mid-term break, this time, hardly enough time really to even warrant the trip and if it weren’t for the fact that we were flying up there’s a good chance we wouldn’t even bother. The Christmas holidays, however, were just shy of a month long, and that gave us plenty of time to enjoy the freedom and wind down after what had been a very stressful year.

Of course, there was the stress of trying to find gifts for everyone, and I wasn’t looking forward to that. I had no idea what I was going to get for any of my girls, and being able to read minds didn’t bring me even close to knowing what to get them. On the occasion when I flat out asked them if there was anything they’d like as a Christmas gift, they all told me a version of, ‘nothing’ or ‘I don’t know’. It was incredibly frustrating.

On Tuesday morning I went, with Melanie and Sarah, to the appointment that Jamie had granted me. She looked surprised when we all trooped into her office.

“Morning,” she said. “How can I help?” her tone was not exactly unfriendly, but there was no warmth to it. She was obviously still upset by the things I’d said the last time we met.

“I’ve decided to stop my hypnotherapy business in the school,” I told her.

“So I heard,” she said. “Might I ask why?”

“Because,” I told her, “after what happened, and the student’s reaction to it, I don’t think I can maintain a professional detachment and help people who were actively trying to get me kicked out of school.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit of an overreaction?” she asked.

“Probably,” I said. “But it’s my decision to make. As far as I’m concerned, they can all go to Hell.”

“Okay,” she said. “I don’t understand why this involves your two sisters though?”

“Because,” I told her, “they are nicer than me, and have decided to pick up where I left off. They are both licensed hypnotherapists, trained by me, and will have no problems dealing with the issues I mostly dealt with. Naturally should either of them come across anything they feel is beyond them, they will refer to you. They won’t have quite so much time to be able to work, since they are both in their first semester, but they’ll fit people in as they can, as long as the dean allows them the use of the room he allowed me to use.”

“They’ll have to discuss that with him,” she said, “but, as long as they have licenses, I have no problems with the arrangement. If they as effective as you were, I’ll be happy to see someone filling the void you seem to have left.

“As an aside,” she went on, “since you were able to train your sisters, would you be interested in maybe sharing some of your methodology? Your techniques seem remarkably effective and I’m sure I’d be able to make use of them in my practice.”

I shook my head,

“Sorry,” I said. “I don’t really have time; I just want to finish out my schooling and move on. I’m in the recruitment process for the FBI right now and, with that, my schooling, and everything else I have going on, there still aren’t enough hours in my day.”

She sighed.

“Well, thanks for coming in,” she said in a resigned voice. “I’ll let anyone that asks, know that you girls are taking over. I look forward to seeing your results.”

We all stood up, and I made for the door.

“Caleb,” Jamie said, as I held the door for the girls to exit. I looked back at her, raising an eyebrow.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I just wanted to make sure you’re doing alright after what happened.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “It was a bit of a shock, but I have an excellent support network.”

“I’m glad,” she said. I waited for her to say more but, after a couple more moments when she’d not spoken, I left, closing the door behind me.

“What went on with you and her?” asked Melanie, “I could feel her squirming. She’s hot for you, no doubt, but there’s a huge amount of guilt there too. You didn’t...?

“No,” I said. “And since what occurred happened in a hypnotherapy session, I can’t talk about it. Let’s just say though Jamie seems particularly vulnerable to the effect our powers have on people. I’m trying to avoid her, mostly for her sake. She’s married and I’ve met her husband. He’s not the sharing type.”

I could feel the questions bubbling up in both girls and was pleased when neither of them asked. They simply nodded and went to start their days. I was headed to the range and my first hypnotherapy appointment.

The afternoon I spent in the air making up my allotted time. I still had my night flight to complete but, other than that, I was just about ready for my check ride. We used some of the time to book the date of my flying test, for the week following the fall break.

I also booked my appointment to get medical certification to fly commercially in preparation for the next stage of my training.

When I arrived home the girls were in the living room watching television. I went in to say ‘hi’, and stopped dead. There was a picture of a girl on the TV, she looked about nineteen, maybe twenty, and had blonde hair which she wore in a ponytail. I had the strangest feeling that I knew the girl, but couldn’t think where from.

“Who’s was that?” I asked indicating the screen where the girls photo had now been removed.”

“A missing girl,” said Ness, who’d been watching. “A girl named Bobbi Frazer. She’s been missing for a few months now. Apparently, she had a row with her father, hitchhiked out of Vegas, and hasn’t been seen since.”

“I’m sure I’ve seen her before,” I said. “She seems really familiar. Although for some reason my mental image of her has a black eye.”

“I’m not sure when you would have seen her,” said Jules. “She lived in Vegas. When were you last there?”

“The only time I’ve been there was when I went to collect the plane with Arnie and Sarah, and I never left the airstrip.” I replied.

“Probably just coincidence then,” said Mary. “Possibly someone you’ve seen that looks a bit like her?”

“Maybe,” I said shrugging, before going into the kitchen to make coffee.

“Will you share your driving knowledge with me tonight?” asked Melanie and I nodded and smiled at her.

“Sure,” I said.

“And me,” added Sarah.

“Isn’t Arnie coming over?” I asked.

Sarah sighed. “No,” she said. “He’s having dinner with Danny. “I think he’s feeling guilty about the amount of time he’s spending here and leaving Danny on his own.”

“Couldn’t you go and have dinner with them?” I asked.

“I wasn’t invited,” she said, “and I didn’t feel right inviting myself.

“Well,” I said, “you’ll just have to settle for us tonight then.”

Sarah sighed again, this time much more dramatically.

“I guess,” she said putting on a martyred expression. I laughed at her, and she grinned at me.

Wednesday morning saw me back in my ethics class. I wondered what the discussion was going to be about this time, and hoped fervently it would have nothing to do with me.

The professor watched us take our seats.

“Imagine,” he began, “that a person is walking home one night. It’s dark and there’s nobody around. They come across a dropped wallet. When they pick it up, the find that there is a bank card with a name on and a sizeable amount of cash inside.

“I’m not asking you to tell me what you, personally, would do. I’m asking you to consider two cases.

“Case one: the person finding the wallet decides to keep the cash and discard the rest in the trash.”

“Case two: the person finding the wallet decides to take it to the local precinct and hand it in to the police, assuming that the police will be able to get the wallet back to its rightful owner. Let’s assume, for the purposes of this exercise, that the police are completely above reproach and will, without doubt, do so.

“What I’d like you to think about, and discuss, is WHY? What would make a person decide to take the money or, alternatively, why would a person, when fate has delivered such a windfall into their hands, decide to hand it in to the police?”

“They might be in dire need,” said one student. “Obviously if someone is carrying that much cash around, they have plenty and probably won’t miss it. Whereas the finder may have real financial difficulties and that cash could make a real difference to them.”

“So being in dire need would excuse keeping the money?” the professor asked.

“Well, he obviously needs it more than the person who lost it,” said the student defending their point.”

“Do we know that?” I asked. “How do we know that the person who lost it didn’t have a serious debt or need? Maybe they were close on being evicted and needed to get money together to pay their rent. They were on the way to pay and dropped their wallet. Just because someone is carrying a large sum of money doesn’t mean that they have more.”

The professor nodded in my direction accepting the point.

“Is that even relevant though?” he asked. “Whether the person who lost the money could afford to do so or not, does need justify keeping what is clearly not yours, rather than handing it in to the police?”

“If they need it to feed their family, or their children,” said another student. “Then yes.”

“So,” clarified the professor, “You’re saying if you have a great need, then it’s okay to steal?”

“Well,” said the student. “Not steal exactly. They aren’t stealing, they found it. It’s not like they took it out of someone’s pocket or mugged them for it.”

“Isn’t it?” the professor responded. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rhyme ‘finders keepers, losers weepers,’ but does that really apply? Not according to the law. In most states in the US, if you find property in the street, you are legally required to take reasonable measures to find and return the property to the owner. If you don’t you are actually committing a crime. If the money is significant, i.e. over about a thousand dollars, it could actually be felony theft. Since the wallet had a bank card inside, it should be reasonably easy for the wallet to be traced to its owner, especially by the police, so keeping it in this case would likely be a crime.”

“But who would know?” asked another student.

“Ah,” said the professor smiling. “So stealing is okay as long as nobody finds out about it?”

“Well, no,” said the student. “But if the person finding the wallet is in dire need...”

“Then it’s okay to steal if two conditions are present. One, you have need, and two, you are certain you won’t be caught?”

The student looked around the room for support, and got none.

“Fear,” I said deciding to bail him out.

“Explain,” said the professor.

“They might be afraid that they’ll get caught,” I told him, “so they hand the wallet in.”

“Even though there’s nobody around?” asked the professor and I grinned at him.

“God is always watching,” I said with a note of piety in my voice. He smiled back at me, knowing full well I was being seriously ironic.

“There are certainly those,” he agreed, “who would return the wallet for those reasons, either for fear of punishment by their deity, or in the expectation of some kind of reward from their deity for being ‘good.’”

“What about,” I asked, “because it’s the right thing to do?”

“And how would you define the right thing to do?” he asked.

“In this situation,” I said, “I would put myself in the place of the person who lost the wallet. If I’d lost that wallet, I’d want it returned. So therefore, I think returning the wallet is the right thing to do. Do as you would be done by.”

“Charles Kingsley?” he asked, and I grinned at him again.

“In case you missed it,” said the professor, “The actual question is not do you keep the wallet or return it, but where do a person’s morals come from. When faced with a choice, when nobody else is looking, what makes us decide to do the right thing, and how do we know what IS the right thing?”

“You said keeping the wallet would be stealing,” said a girl off to my left.

“So, you’re relying on the law?” asked the professor. “Maybe not a bad place to start, but hardly infallible. Did you know, for instance, that it is illegal to whistle under water in Portland, or to walk down the street with your shoes untied?

“When there are such banal laws on the statute books is that really the best place to start? Also let’s look back at our laws. For instance, it was illegal to be gay in Oregon as late as 1971 and it’s less than ten years ago that gay marriage became legal in the state. Are those examples of a solid moral standpoint? Some might think so, but in that case I would question their morality.”

“It says in the bible, thou shalt not steal,” offered another.

“Religion then,” retorted the professor. “Is it the fear of going to hell? Or the hope of going to Heaven that makes you do the right thing?”

“My parents taught me right from wrong,” said the boy two to the left of me.

“And for most of us,” continued the professor, “that’s where the basis of our moral compass comes from. Even those of you who are religious, it’s likely, although not certain, that you were brought into your religion by your parents.”

“However, you are all adults, or almost. You can no longer hide behind your parents. You must make and justify decisions for yourself. You may have been schooled by your parents, but it’s you that will be accountable for your actions, not them, not your friends or relatives, not even your god. You are responsible for your actions and should be fully aware of why you make the decisions you do. One day you may be called upon to justify yourself.”

I’m sure he left that deliberately vague so as those who wished to do so could consider the ‘day of judgement’ scenario where they would stand before God, and others could consider that they might have to justify themselves to their peers or to the law. In my case though, the only person I knew I’d have to justify myself to, would be me.

Dana waited by the door for me as I exited.

“Lunch?” she asked. I looked at my watch. I was due to fly again that afternoon, but I had some time.

“Sure,” I said. She smiled at me and linked her arm to mine as we walked down the hallway.

“How’s thing’s?” she asked lightly glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. I wasn’t fooled.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Things were a little tense for a while, but it’s all settled now.”

“Really?” she asked. “Tense? That’s what you’re going with?”

I laughed. “I’m okay, honestly. Tell me ... are you and Gracie coming to the party Friday?”

“Gracie’s out of town,” she said, “on assignment. I don’t even know where. I think she has another week or so to go before she’s back. But I was planning to come.”

“Good,” I said. “Not good that Gracie’s away but good that you’re coming Friday.”

We entered the refectory. I looked around seeing if any of my girls were there yet. They weren’t.

We lined up and got some food before taking seats at one of the larger, but as yet empty, tables.

“I’ve been looking forward to it,” she said. “Gracie’s been away for nearly two weeks. I don’t like being on my own anymore.”

“You should have said,” I told her. “You could have come over.”

“You kind of had enough going on in your life,” she told me. “You didn’t need me hanging around.”

“You should know,” I told her, “that you’re welcome any time.”

She looked at me and smiled.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll definitely be there Friday.”

“Great,” said Amanda taking a seat next to her. “Is Gracie coming?”

Dana had almost the identical conversation with Amanda that she had with me. That was just ending as Jules sat down.

“Are you and Gracie coming to the party?” she asked Dana. I laughed.

Eventually everyone arrived and were caught up on Dana and Gracie’s current estrangement, and the fact that Dana intended to come to the party.

“I thought you were flying this afternoon,” said Sarah once there was a lapse in the conversation.

“I am,” I told her. “I think I’m with Danny today. We’re doing final prep for my check ride the week after next. I already booked my medical for the Monday we’re back.”

“Arnie says that Danny’s getting much better,” she said. “But will you check in on him?”

“I’ll see how he is,” I said.

As I said this, Sarah, who’d been looking at me, looked up. Someone had approached our table and was standing almost behind me. I turned to look and saw my ex-client Naomi, the deaf girl, standing there. I could tell that she’d already put on weight even in the short amount of time since she’d stopped her treatment.

“Hi,” she signed. “Can we talk?”

“I’m with my family just now,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Please, it’ll only take a minute.”

I sighed. “Okay,” I signed. She looked around the cafeteria, obviously not wanting to hold a conversation in full view of everyone. I would have been upset by this had she not been deaf. It’s so easy to ‘eavesdrop’ on a deaf person’s conversation if you can read ASL, far easier than overhearing a spoken conversation. I also could see her ‘friend’ watching us with narrowed eyes.

I stood, followed her out of the cafeteria, and into the hallway. She walked toward my office, which was only a few minutes away, just past the library. She stood expectantly by the door. I opened it and let her inside. I followed her inside, but didn’t close the door. Sarah, who at my mental request had followed us, stepped inside and she closed the door, standing with her back to it.

“I was hoping to talk to you alone,” said the girl.

“About what?” I asked her.

She looked at Sarah, and then seemed to make up her mind.

“I was hoping,” she said, “I could persuade you to take me back on as a client.”

I saw Sarah frown, not understanding what was being said. I translated to her, and then dumped my ASL knowledge into her head. She’d remember it for a while unless she chose to ‘file’ it properly later. I expected that she would.

“I already said,” I told the girl, “I’m no longer going to be doing that.”

“But I know that you’re doing it outside the school,” she argued. “One of my friend’s uncles is coming to see you at the range. It’s only here that you’re stopping.”

“Your point?” I asked her.

“It’s not fair,” she said.

“Was almost the entire school trying to get me kicked out fair?” I asked her. “Was my entire clientele suddenly dropping me like I was infected fair? I’ll give you one thing, at least you had the courtesy to come and tell me to my face. Everyone else simply didn’t show up for their appointments.”

“We were wrong,” she said. “I’ll admit I was wrong.”

“And how much use would that have been to me,” I asked, “if you’d been successful in your efforts to get me kicked out of school? You could have ruined any chance of my getting into the career I want to follow, just because you chose to believe some unsubstantiated rumor.”

“You wouldn’t discuss it,” she argued.

“And why should I?” I asked. “What right do you, or anyone, have to demand information from me about my private life?”

She looked at the floor.

“Please,” she said. “You can see that I’m already almost back to the weight I was when I started with you. I can’t keep this up. I need your help.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t help you.” I paused for a few moments before continuing.

“However,” I said, and she looked up at me a little hope in her eyes. “My sister here, and my other sister Melanie, are going to be starting up in a couple of weeks. Perhaps they may be able to help you.”

Naomi looked at Sarah, scepticism on her face.

“She’s just a kid,” she said.

“Then don’t come and see her,” I said. “Nobody is going to force you.”

“How about if I make an appointment at the range?” she suggested, “Away from the school?”

“I’m no longer taking students as clients,” I told her, “no matter where.”

“But...” she bit her lip for a moment, and then seemed to make a decision.

“I could make it worth your while,” she said moving toward me slightly.

I stepped back, and Sarah stepped between us,

“Take a step back,” Sarah said. It was only then I noticed that she had her phone out, and had been recording the entire episode.

Naomi stepped back, her eyes dropping to the phone.

“My brother has told you,” Sarah said, not unkindly, “that he is no longer accepting students as clients. Considering what the students here did to him, I don’t think that he’s being unreasonable. Now, as he said, Melanie and I are going to be setting up in a couple of weeks. We’re both state registered and trained by Caleb himself. Once we get going, you’ll be able to book appointments via the same website you did before, just with us and not with Caleb. Now I think everything that needed to be said, has been said. If you don’t mind, we’d like to get back to our family.”

Sarah stepped around Naomi, and opened the door, holding onto it and looking pointedly at her.

Naomi sighed, looked from me to Sarah, and then walked out. I handed the key to the office to Sarah.

“You’d best hold onto this,” I told her. “I’m not going to be needing it. Perhaps get one made for Melanie?”

Since it was getting on in time, I didn’t return to the cafeteria, but headed straight out to go to the airfield. Danny was expecting me and I didn’t want to be late.

I had to admit, the flying lessons were actually becoming a bit of a bore. I had the memories and experience of thousands of hours flying all kinds of aircraft in all kinds of situations, including flying combat aircraft on missions in the Gulf. This puttering around in a single engine light aircraft was like sitting in a kiddy car when I was a nascar driver.

I tried my best not to show my boredom, I was getting in my hours, and working towards the qualifications that would let me fly more interesting and powerful aircraft. Eventually I’d be able to fly the G500 but even that, I knew, wouldn’t be exactly thrilling. I wondered just how bored Gerry was acting as a ‘limo driver’ for Pops.