Chapter 76: Chris and Jake’s Wedding

I came out of my morning meditation feeling more relaxed and calmer than I had in many days. I attributed that to several things. First, the semester had ended – my first semester teaching – and I thought that I’d done a credible job. The student evaluations were all sterling and ego gratifying.

Next, the book I’d co-written with Jake was completed except for a lot of administrative things – polishing some last edits, reading galley proofs, and then the marketing stuff.

Third, the Extended Family had assimilated several new members into the fold, and that had gone well. The most recent were Ken and Paula, and they were happy and confessed a rejuvenated marriage as one result for them.

Dean and June were another new couple, and they were solid, too. Through June’s work in the adult industry, I had succumbed to Sky Bright’s desire for my physical love. We’d done a porn video together with June and Derek, and that had gone well. I loved Sky, too.

Lastly, I’d also come to grips with Chris’ departure from the house and from my bed, her engagement to Jake, and been on the periphery of her plans for a Christmas holiday wedding. I decided, based on what I heard and was asked to do, that the wedding was mainly a ‘woman’s thing’. Where I handled most of Mel and Robbie’s wedding plans, this time around I did almost nothing except be sure I had the day free – five days before Christmas.

The women of the house were like gas molecules in a closed container that was getting slowly heated. The more time that went by, the hotter things got, and the more agitated the molecules became. Several times, I volunteered to help, but I was waved away. I wasn’t insulted, but I did want it known that I tried to relieve some of the stress.

Chris’ parents and Jake’s older mother arrived two days before the wedding. The couple handled their placement in a nearby hotel, and gave each of them a schedule of events they would be participating in, including the wedding.

That first evening the parents and other special relatives and guests were in town, we hosted a nice cocktail party on my patio to welcome them and several other out of town guests. The mode of dress for the party was far from our usual fare. I wore a sport jacket and tie as did most of the other men. The women were in cocktail dresses, and while we all flirted with each other, everything stayed nonsexual all evening.

We’d brought in caterers and I’d hired a bartender to man our outside bar. We had about seventy people wandering around the house at patio at peak. The caterers served some outstanding hors d’oeuvres that could easily be one’s dinner after a few of them.

Everyone was chatting and getting to know each other – both friends of the groom and of the bride, plus many relatives. More arrived as the clock ticked. I thought things were going quite smoothly, until they weren’t. An awkward moment started with some new arrivals.

Sarah and Holly arrived with their boyfriends. We hadn’t seen each other in the flesh for almost a year. The two women were attractively dressed, and they scurried across the patio in their sexy high-heeled shoes, and threw themselves into my arms and lavished kisses all over my face simultaneously.

What made it awkward was that I’d been talking to Angus and Marta, Chris’ parents, and Deborah (not Debbie), Jake’s mother, along with neighbors Martin and Penny. They gawked the public display of affection and heard the words of love and adoration from the two woman.

Martin explained about the two girls to the parents: they were from Ohio and that we hadn’t seen each other for over a year. Penny said, “They’ve always loved him since they met years ago.” She explained that they’d been housemates with Chris, the bride, and Mel. The Family all knew each other’s backgrounds.

Somehow, Penny spilled the beans in a way that led to further revelations. “When Chris finished her degree, she moved into this house with Jim. They’d also been lovers before, and it seemed like the right thing to do.”

Deborah said, “I knew that. She had other housemates, too.”

I nodded and wanted to soften what sounded like one-sided news. “Yes, Lynn, Karen, and later Amber and Tracy joined us.” I was gesturing around the patio at the other women. The group had met Lynn and Karen when they arrived, but not the ‘teens’. Hearing that all these other women lived in the house I thought might make it sound more like a girl’s club than a den of inequity.

Penny didn’t have her mouth filter on, however. She said, “You should see the size of the bed upstairs – so they can all fit. Of course, Heather, the local weather girl, took Chris’ place when she moved in with Jake.”

I rolled my eyes. Now, I really had some back pedaling to do.

Martin gave Penny a condescending look. He said, “I need to have a talk with my wife. Please excuse us.” He took her hand as she looked surprised, and he literally dragged her away from our conversation circle.

I was left with the three ‘parents’ staring at me, expecting me to say something. I took a different tack, and commented about Heather being a TV personality in the whole region and how she was distinguishing herself at the station with her ideas and antics.

There was more to that episode, as I soon found out. Martha excused herself to go to the powder room. She took more than a few minutes, and I figured that she’d gotten into another conversation. Wrong!

Martha came and made a beeline for Deborah, Angus, and me where we still stood. She announced, “I gave myself a little house tour while I was inside. My God, that is the biggest bed that I’ve ever seen – even in the movies.”

All eyes found mine. I nodded and shrugged. She was right. The bed consisted of two king-size beds tied together with a foam ‘patch’ in the crack between the mattresses. Lynn and Karen had also made special sheets that fit the whole double-king without seams.

Martha gave me an evil eye, “It looks like a dozen people could sleep there.”

I quietly said, “Six, normally.”

Angus gave his wife a look that shut down her line of questioning. Deborah, however, didn’t see his warning or just ignored it. She asked, “Who lives with you now?”

I politely said, “Well, Lynn, Karen, Heather, Amber, and Tracy are the adults. We have Logan who is almost three, too.”

She said, “Oh, I saw the youngster. Is he related?” She meant is he related to me.

I said, “I’m his father. Karen is his mother.”

“But these other people sleep with you? Is there...”

I interrupted, trying to divert the line of questioning. “Yes, they’re some of the people that we love and who love us. We are a Family unit. I wrote several books about relationships, and some of the anecdotes came from our own large Family. My publisher is actually here with his wife. Chris, as you may know, worked for them and is an editor. She did my last couple of books, as well as two books that Jake has written.”

At that point, John Wynston walked onto the patio and all our guests suddenly became speechless at the presence of the movie star. Jaws literally dropped open. I think he and I both expected a stampede in his direction, but this group was polite.

John saw me and came over and joined our group. “Hi, Jim. Glad to be at my preferred home with my Intentional Family.”

“Welcome back.” I introduced him to Deborah, Angus, and Martha. The two women remained speechless. Angus played it cool, and they shook hands.

Angus asked, “Are you part of this crew?” He gestured around the patio at all the other people that included Family members.

John said, “Yes, for about eighteen months now. It was one of the smartest things that I’ve ever done. I love these people and they love me without being awed or intimidated by my profession and notoriety. I can just be ‘me’ when I’m here.”

We chatted for a bit. John was making the movie Target 2, and explained how he really didn’t like doing a sequel, but the studio and his contract practically demanded the spin off film. At least, as he told us, he was having some significant input into the script.

I saw some new arrivals, and went to greet them: Paul and Eleanor, my publisher and his media mogul wife; and Gary and Maggie Moore – the TV hostess with the mostess. Behind them, pushing a stroller was Marge and little Ricky. I hadn’t seen Ricky since he was a baby and he’d become more of a little boy in the intervening time. I studied him to see whether there might be a likeness.

Marge had told me several times that she felt that I was Ricky’s father. The timing of her conception seemed to point in my direction. I still didn’t know what to do with that piece of information. She didn’t want anything from me except some love and attention when I came to Columbus. This trip was her first time in Sarasota. I offered her all sorts of things, even moving her to Florida to be with us, but she declared she was fine with the way things were.

Our group chatted. Karen and Logan joined us, and the we set up the tots to play together with some of Logan’s toys on one of the exercise (sex) mats. Yes, they were always cleaned. Logan was slightly older and adopted a ‘big brother’ role with Ricky, being sure he liked the toys and was having fun.

Chris and Jake, our bride and groom, circulated around greeting everybody. There was no need for me to comment that Chris and I had been wrapped up in a passionate lovemaking session only two hours earlier in my big bed. Beside us, Jake and Lynn had been equaling our sexual tryst with their own. Did I mention that I loved group sex and seeing people I love being loved by others?

Given the nature of the party, even as darkness overtook our group and the patio, nothing of a sexual nature occurred. Our guests that were what Sky called ‘Muggles’ hung around chatting and munching on the extensive hors d’oeuvres that summed together made a great dinner.

After nine p.m., many guests departed. Chris and Jake also left to go back to his apartment where they both lived. The next day, Chris was moving back to my house to honor the old custom about the group not seeing her on the wedding day until the ceremony.

The day before the wedding, I did my morning meditation at the beach. Both Amber and Tracy joined me, and I felt a new closeness with them. We picked up all sorts of pastries on the way home.

Holly and Sarah had arrived back at the house. They wanted not breakfast, but me. I was very accommodating. We went back upstairs and made love for ninety minutes. I made sure they were both in some kind of sex fog before we took showers and headed back downstairs.

As we walked back into the kitchen area, I discovered that Angus, Martha, and Deborah were back at the house. They were standing and talking to Chris, who’d also apparently arrived at the house. I greeted them but ignored the curious stares they gave the three of us. There was no need for any type of explanation, so I didn’t offer any.

The rest of the day the house remained super busy. Many of the guests that knew us or Chris and Jake came by to hang out. About six o’clock we all headed to the Sarasota Yacht Club about a mile from my house. This was where the wedding would be held, as well as the reception. I had offered up the house, but Jake and Chris wanted their own venue. I think Chris was worried about overburdening me and the others in the house with their requirements.

Ross Buchman met us and we had a walkthrough of the wedding ceremony. Jake had asked me to be his best man. One reason was that I had loved Chris first and, in a way, had introduced them through the publishing of his first book. There were a total of five groomsmen, and a bevy of bridesmaids – Mel, Sarah, Holly, Lynn, and Karen.