Chapter 20: Jenny’s Question

They had already started the icebreaker when Catherine and I walked in.

“Hey! No clothes allowed!” Candy and Mandy yelled together.

Catherine and I stripped where we stood, throwing our clothes in a pile by the door. Natalie, Grace, and Nicky were sitting on the couch. They scooted closer together, leaving a spot for me between Nicky and Grace. Jeff was in one of the big leather chairs with Debbie on his lap. John and Sarah shared the other one. Candy, Mandy, and Randi, were crowded together on the love seat, while Jenny and Julie were seated on the floor, leaning against the love seat.

Liz and Anna were in chairs from the dining room in front of the fireplace. There was an empty chair next to Liz, apparently for Catherine.

“Anna was just about to fill us in,” Liz told us.

Anna looked concerned. “I’m afraid the news isn’t good. The FBI team and your security people, left for the airport yesterday morning as scheduled. They don’t think they were followed. They are now safely in St. Kitts, hopefully having a good time,” she sighed, then took a deep breath and continued.

“However, someone attacked your house last night, around midnight, and as a result of the firestorm, it burned to the ground. We don’t know if they used incendiaries, or a bullet struck a gas line, or something else. However, if any of you had been there, you would have died,” she added sadly. “I’m so sorry about your home, Liz.”

“Oh, Mother! All your things!” Debbie cried. She and Sarah immediately went to her, hugging her. Her granddaughters soon joined them, as they all hugged and commiserated with Liz.

“It was just a big, old, drafty house. Everything I hold dear is right here with me! And besides, it was damn cold in the winter,” Liz told everyone.

When her children and grandchildren still continued their outpouring of sympathy, Liz let it go on for another moment, then she stood.

“Enough already,” Liz told them. “We are safe and alive! Everything else is either unnecessary or can be replaced. Besides, it was insured.”

Everyone laughed as they returned to their seats.

“Oh, oh!” Liz cried suddenly. “I think the insurance papers were in the house!”

John and Jeff laughed first, then everybody else joined in.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Liz,” John said. “Just as long as they didn’t bomb the insurance company too!”

When everyone finally quit laughing, Anna continued her debriefing.

“Well, I’m glad you have such a good attitude about it,” she said to Liz. “I will tell you that the Green Berets were able to get a couple of the bad guys, but unfortunately, not alive. The rest got away. I’m waiting on further updates.”

There was a general buzz throughout the room, as everyone’s emotions became tinged with anger for what someone had done to Liz’s home.

“Oh, and Liz? Colonel Payne says his group used the time after we left to move a lot of your stuff to the barn. He’s not sure he got everything, but says he got all the pictures and papers they could find. He said to say he was sorry if he missed something valuable.”

“Why that sweet young man. I may just have to thank him personally after this is over!” Liz grinned.

“But Grandmother, what will you do until they build you a new house?” Julie asked.

“Well, I could move in with you and Jenny. You know, so I can be there to help your mom with the new babies...” Liz was teasing, but Julie wasn’t sure.

“Uh ... okay,” she said softly.

“Julie, I was teasing you,” Liz told her with a laugh. “You and your sisters will be all the help your momma needs. I haven’t thought about it yet, but I’ve been wanting to go back home, so I can spend some time with Catherine, and, of course, I have to find that good looking Colonel Payne, and thank him. And that may take a while. And who knows, I may decide I like this ranch we’re going to and just stay there and stay naked for the rest of the summer!”

We were all laughing at Liz now.

“Okay. OKAY!” Anna was laughing so much she could barely talk. “Whew. You all are wearing me out just laughing. Thank you, Liz, for your wonderful attitude in these trying times. Now, to the rest of you, breakfast will be continental style, whenever you get up, and the bus for Twin Springs Ranch leaves sharply at ten,” she told everyone. I thought I detected a little sadness in her eyes.

“Now, I am going to bid you a pleasant good night. I have to go make an important call,” Anna paused for a moment and looked at me, then continued, “And it’s been a very fun, but full, two days for me. I just want to say that I have enjoyed having all of you in my home. If you need me, Nicky and Michael know where I am.”

“On behalf of the entire family, thank you for your generous hospitality, Doctor,” John told her.

“You’re all very welcome. Good night,” Anna said as she walked off down the hall.

Everyone else bid Anna good night then returned their attention to the front of the room. Sitting where she was, Catherine simply asked, “I’d like to go first if I may?”

Everyone grew quiet as Catherine began.

“I just want all of you to know, that over the last six weeks, I have gotten to know Grace very well and found her a delightful and charming young lady. So this morning, I unofficially adopted her,” she said, stopping to smile at Grace, who beamed back. “I’d do it officially, but I don’t think her grandmother would give her up, so I guess I’ll be content to share,” she added.

Everyone cheered at her words.

“I hope that everyone has had a chance to welcome Grace’s sister, Natalie, to our family,” Catherine said, pausing to smile at Natalie, who smiled back uneasily. “In just the short time she’s been with us, I have found her as warm and beautiful as her sister. So, I am unofficially adopting her too!” Catherine announced to everyone. “Welcome to the family, Natalie!”

“Cool!” cried Nicky. “That means that I now have sisters, too!” This last statement she directed to Jenny, Julie, Mandy, and Candy.

“Now that that is out of the way,” Catherine said, “Liz, I believe we had some unanswered questions...”

Without losing a beat, Liz rolled right into it.

“I swear they must have actually rehearsed this!” I thought.

Catherine smiled at me as if she had heard me.

Liz was saying, “ ... so when Mandy asked me where her Mom and Dad went right after supper, I thought we’d save the question and discuss it now.” Then looking directly at Debbie and Sarah she added, “I told them we would answer their questions openly and honestly, to the degree that they can understand right now. Is that correct?” This was pointedly addressed to the parents, basically putting them on the spot.

They hesitated.

Finally, Jeff moved Debbie to the arm of the chair, exposing himself to the group for the first time. He looked at Mandy and finally said, “Mandy, honey, when I knew I was faced with seeing my beautiful teenage daughters completely naked, I asked your mother to come to our room and let me make love to her several times in order to wear my penis out. And make the time it takes me to recover as long as possible. I thought it would help me from getting hard when I looked at you and your sister.”

“Oh...” Mandy said.

“But...” Jeff continued, “As you can see. It didn’t do much good!”

“But why ... why didn’t it?” Mandy asked.

Jeff let out a sigh. “Because, you look just like your mother did, when she was a teenager.”

“Oh, Sweetie! You are so wonderful!” Debbie said, kissing him.

Ignoring the loving couple for a moment, Liz brought back the focus back to her by asking, “Now, which one of you can explain why?”

No one said anything.

“Then, I guess this icebreaker is over!” Liz said.

“NO!” came a chorus of shouts from the girls.

“Well, okay then, who can tell me why Jeff got hard when he looked at Mandy?” Liz asked the girls.

“Because she’s sexy!” Julie exclaimed.

Everyone laughed. I could tell the tension was broken because several of them spoke at once.

“Because she’s naked,” and “Because he loves her,” and several other variations were called out by the girls.

“All right, let’s talk about them,” Liz said. “Julie, does your dad love you?”

“Of course,” she replied. I kept expecting her to add a “Duh!” but that particular invective was still several decades away.

“Does your father getting hard when he sees you naked change that?” Liz asked her.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Julie replied after thinking about it.

“That’s okay, Julie. It’s important to be honest with yourself about what you don’t know, or you’ll never learn,” Liz told her consolingly.

Then, turning to Randi, Liz asked, “How do you feel when you see your dad’s penis get hard?”

“I ... uh ... I don’t know. Once last night, I was looking and it made me feel all tingly...”

“All right. How did it make you feel when you saw Michael get hard last night?”

“Uh ... all squishy inside...” Randi replied, blushing.

“And when you put your hand on his penis and rubbed it?” Liz asked Randi.

Mother!” yelled Sarah as she jumped off of John’s lap. Liz simply ignored her.

“They must have left before we got to those fireworks!” I thought.

“I can’t ... I can’t describe it,” Randi stuttered.

“Mother?” Sarah wanted badly to interrupt.

“In a minute,” Liz told her.

“Was it like pressure building throughout your body, and the only way to get any relief from the pressure was to rub yourself?” Catherine asked softly.

“Yeah,” Randi answered.

“And did you get relief from the pressure? Did you feel good?” Liz continued.

“Oh yeah!” Randi gushed, then turned an even deeper shade of red.

“MOTHER!” Sarah screamed.

“In a moment, dear. WE are discussing something that’s important to your children!” Liz told her in that motherly tone that left no room for argument.

“Now. Here’s the big question. Does getting relief from the pressure and feeling good, mean you love Michael?”

“I don’t want to marry him, if that’s what you mean?” said Randi quickly. Then she added to me, “No offense, Michael.”

“None taken,” I replied automatically.

“So let me get this straight,” Liz said, “you saw Michael naked, and you rubbed his cock and...”