Epilogue III

Now it was early June, ten years after the Clifford & Jamison school opened. The occasion was the first graduation in the school's history. Bobbie Conroy had been delighted at the idea when Andy and Ken first broached it. Ken had pointed out that the state's mandatory school attendance law ran from ages six through sixteen and since the class members were now all seventeen ... In consultation with the firm's executive committee, all of whom had children in the affected class, arrangements were made. First, a large gymnasium was rented to accommodate everyone. Now the school numbered 200 students, with each class being larger than the one ahead of it. The youngest class — the first grade — had twenty-five pupils in it.

They had decided to have the entire school attend the graduation ceremony. In addition, there were over 200 Black Doves who wished to attend. The president of the group, Mary Crimmins, even asked permission to give a speech and make a presentation to Casey Jackson and Kirsty Callaway. Finally, there were all of the relatives and friends of the graduates. After discussing the matter, Bobbie contacted Jim Perkins, still the Superintendent of Instruction of the State of California. After accepting her invitation with thanks, he offered to have special diplomas made up for presentation to the graduates. And he asked her, as a special favor, to allow him to give a commencement speech.

Because of the school's size, coupled with the fact that the students performed so brilliantly in so many areas, it now even had an orchestra composed of twenty young people, each of whom was a virtuoso musician in his or her own right. Now they were playing incidental music while the guests took their seats. They were awaiting the entry of the graduates at which point the orchestra would play Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance #1. Although a number of other pieces of music had been suggested, Bobbie had just said that a graduation is pomp and circumstance. "It might be trite to some people," she said, "but it never sounds that way to the graduates."

A speaker's dais had been built up at one end of the gymnasium and Bobbie was sitting there with Jim Perkins waiting for the ceremony to begin. To her great chagrin, the graduates had unanimously insisted that she wear her own academic robes. Before taking her position on the dais, she had checked on them. Complaining of the weight of her academic hoods, she stuck her tongue out at all of them. Bobbie was wearing the gown of a Ph.D. with no less than five hoods representing earned Ph.D.s in English, history, classical studies, political science, and economics. However, when she stuck out her tongue at them, she opened the front of her gown revealing her magnificent nude body. She was wearing absolutely nothing beneath it.

With all of the guests in their seats, four trumpeters rose from the band. The tympani began a roll followed by the piercing trumpet notes of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. The tympani percussion ultimately shook the building. When the guests had all risen to their feet, the band began to play Pomp and Circumstance. Because there were only twelve graduates, Bobbie had decided to have them come down the center aisle one at a time, with a substantial interval between each. She stood at the microphone and announced, "Elizabeth Frederick Clifford!" Betsy, at five feet five, was the smallest person in the class. As she moved down the aisle in the measured pace they had agreed on, Bobbie realized how beautiful the girl was with her brown hair and beautiful green eyes. Although she was holding her head up proudly, tears were flowing in streams down both cheeks.

"Karen Olivia Chan!" Bobbie announced. In spite of her mother only being five feet one, Karen was now five feet seven. When in company with Chuck Conrad — and she always was — they were an utterly magnificent young couple. She had dark wavy hair and the same piercing gray eyes as her mother.

"Laura Tudor Benson!" Laura was — in her own words — the boring Clifford & Jamison sameness: five feet eight, with gray eyes, brown hair and now, at age seventeen, a body any man would kill for. Like the two girls before her, tears were streaming down her cheeks as well. Suddenly Bobbie realized that she was crying, too. She realized it was as if she were losing a part of her own family — and then recognized that it was exactly what was happening. Bobbie loved these young people as if they were her own children!

"Kirsten Kramer Callaway!" Kirsty was also five feet eight with brown hair and incredibly brilliant blue eyes. Although she was crying, too, it was not to the degree of the girls who preceded her. Then Bobbie realized that she would still be at the school, and would, in fact, be her principal assistant the following year. As the girl came slowly down the aisle, it registered on Bobbie that the orchestra was doing a truly magnificent job playing the march. If it was five times its size, it couldn't possibly sound any better, Bobbie thought. And, unlike the so-common experience, each cycle was played with the same fervor and feeling as the very first.

"Susan Hughes Carlson!" Bobbie announced. Susan was the image of her mother, although at five feet eight-and-a-half, she was half an inch taller. For the first time, Bobbie regretted the fact that they were all wearing caps. The caps concealed the multi-shaded sun streaks in Sue's hair, and in Laura's, as well. Nevertheless, Bobbie thought the girls all looked incredibly beautiful in their plain white gowns with white mortarboards. And they carry themselves so proudly and so beautifully! she thought.

"Cynthia Clifford Cartwright!" Cindy, the same height as Sue Carlson, was an incredible beauty. Apparently she got some of her height from her father, but her features, combining the European and Asian, were exquisite. One day her mother, Kathy, had told Bobbie how she had resisted marrying Bill because of the racial differences, but he had argued that genetics argues for breeding out, not breeding in. Cindy was living, breathing testimony to the soundness of his argument. And she is so incredibly in love! Bobbie thought. She could see her incredible love for Sean Cavanaugh in the girl's eyes.

"Andrea Foster Cartwright!" Bobbie exclaimed, realizing she had given Andy's name a little more emphasis. At seventeen, Andy had blossomed into the incredible beauty Bobbie had always expected. Now she was five feet nine with the most perfect set of legs ever put on a woman. Even from the dais, Bobbie could see the girl's tiny nipples, now fully erect, drilling holes in her gown. Her platinum blonde hair was set off so incredibly by her golden complexion and the piercing emerald green of her eyes. Without her, Bobbie thought, none of this could ever have happened! She is such an angel!

"Casey Ann Jackson!" Also five feet nine, Casey was utterly gorgeous and carried herself like a queen. The flow of Bobbie's tears increased as she realized she would miss Case terribly. The girl was going back to Chicago and would be establishing a similar school at Chicago Trust Company. Gloria Carson was going out with her for a while to establish the Black Doves in Chicago, too.

"Michael Andrew Morris, Jr.!" Mike was wearing a black robe as were all of the men in the class. Unlike the girls in the class, Bobbie was nearly certain that all of the boys were still growing. Mike was already six feet two, as were all of the others except Sean Cavanaugh who was six feet four. As he walked proudly down the aisle, Bobbie saw Susan Carlson's eyes locked on him. To her surprise, Bobbie realized that Mike was crying, too!

"Charles Thomas Conrad, Jr.!" Bobbie announced. With his dark hair and brilliant blue eyes, Chuck was incredibly handsome. Karen is a very lucky girl! she thought.

"Kenneth Pierce Clifford!" Ken was also still growing at six feet two and had not yet filled out. Nevertheless, he was incredibly handsome, and well on the way to fulfilling the promise Bobbie had seen when he was only five years old. He still had Ali's golden hair and incredible blue eyes.

"Sean Patrick Cavanaugh!" she announced. Sean, at six feet four, was the biggest member of the class. Of course, with a father who's six feet six and a mother who's five feet ten, he should be! she thought. He was the image of his father with dark hair and brilliant blue eyes. The love between Sean and Cindy Cartwright was beautiful. She thought with amusement about something Kathy had told her: Sean and Cindy had been sleeping together for nearly ten years. Bobbie just shook her head thinking of the two going from childhood, to puberty, to young adulthood, while sleeping every night in each other's arms.

With all of the graduates now at their places in front of her, the orchestra ended the processional. A lump came to Bobbie's throat as another young man in the following class ordered in a voice of command, "Color Guard! Advance the colors of our country!" The drum section beat out a military tempo and the color guard — the younger siblings of Mike, Susan, and Cindy — marched down the center aisle. Susan's brother, Ken, now fifteen years old, proudly carried the American flag. At the dais, the color guard executed a perfect wheeling movement and then stood facing the graduates and guests.

Standing at the microphone Bobbie said, "I pledge allegiance to the flag..." All of the graduates, students, and guests immediately joined in reciting the Pledge. When it was completed, the band proudly began to play The National Anthem. Bobbie was impressed with the incredible beauty and feeling in the singing as all her students sang two verses, the first and fourth. When it was complete, the flag was carefully placed in its stand and the color guard withdrew.

Then Bobbie came down from the dais, faced the crowd, and knelt down on the floor. The graduates immediately formed a circle kneeling down with her at its head, then all joined hands and bowed their heads. "Almighty Father," Bobbie began, "this is a day to give You thanks for all of Your great works. I wish to thank You for Your daily intercession in my behalf. Ten years ago, when I began this school, I knew nothing. But through You, and the direct involvement of the Holy Spirit, You masked my shortcomings and helped these wonderful young people to grow in body, in mind, and in spirit to serve You in this world so they can be with You forever in the next.

"Dear God, I beg you: Please bless these young people. Make Your light to shine upon them. Bless them and keep them safe and holy. Help them find the mates with whom they can merge their bodies and create new life in Your image and likeness. I ask this, Almighty God, in the name of Your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen!"

When the children all responded, a golden light appeared around their heads and then spread to form a complete circle. Then it spread downward enclosing their bodies and began to shimmer. With all of the people watching in awe, the light began to pulsate and grow brighter and brighter until the whole gymnasium was lighted in gold. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of gold and the halo exploded with particles of the golden light covering the entire room and its ceiling.

Unlike the previous occurrences, though, this time Bobbie and the graduates were not rendered unconscious. They just gripped each other's hands tighter and kept their heads bowed. Bobbie said softly, "Thank you, dear God! Oh, thank You!" Then she rose to her feet and the young people rose with her. Only then did they look around and see the golden fire dripping from the ceiling and landing on the guests.

Jim Perkins, still on the dais, went to the microphone and said softly, "Well, I guess we can consider the rest of today's ceremony to be anticlimactic — at best! I believe that what we have just seen was God Himself blessing Barbara Conroy and her graduating class." He shook his head as if to clear it and then added, "To say the very least, anything the State of California might do now would have to rank as trivial!" Then he looked at the golden fluid dripping from the rafters and added, "In her invocation Bobbie asked God to make His light to shine upon them. Well," he said reverently, "I believe He just did!"

Returning to the dais Bobbie looked up at the golden light and just swallowed hard. Then she took the microphone and said, "Today's first speaker is Mary Crimmins, representing the Black Doves. Mary?"

A beautiful black girl rose from a chair towards the rear where the Black Doves were seated. As she came forward Bobbie realized that she looked and moved exactly like Casey and April Jackson. Like a queen! she thought. After greeting Perkins and Bobbie, Mary went to the microphone.

"Good afternoon, ladies, gentlemen, and graduates. I am the president of the Black Doves and am here today to make a presentation. First, however, I would like to tell you a little about myself." She quickly told about the night when she encountered two of the first Doves and was stripped naked by one of the tigers. Overcome by the event, she had joined the Black Doves the next day. "That was almost six years ago.

"Today? I am about to graduate from USC Law School. I will be in the top two or three in the class and will then be joining Clifford & Jamison!" she announced proudly. "Of course, I will have a big advantage over most of the other young women who will also be joining: I have already completed the basic training that all of the members of the Leper Colony go through.

"When I get married — and I almost have the poor guy trapped already — I will be positioned for the ultimate distinction any woman can enjoy: I will produce babies for Barbara Conroy! If I do my job right — and I certainly hope I do — I will give birth to them, nurse them, nurture them, train them in the basics and then ... And then I will give them to Bobbie! What more could there possibly be in life?"

Then she looked around the room and said, "How did this all happen? Well, the responsibility is divided among four women: Gloria Smith Carson, Martha Bradford Garfield, Kirsten Kramer Callaway ... and Casey Ann Jackson! What did they do? Well, Marty saved Gloria's life. Had that not happened, nothing else could have. Then Gloria acted like the Pied Piper going around the city recruiting girls from the slums — me, for instance — and getting us to Clifford & Jamison. And then? Kirsty and Casey! These two young women — children, really — worked us like slaves for hours on end.

"But do you know what? They would work with us beginning about five o'clock... after a full day helping Bobbie in the school! They would work with us until midnight, one, two ... Why?" Tears were flowing from the girl's eyes as she continued, "Because they love us! They would not let us quit! Ever! And do you know something else? There was no deviation from their standards. Ever! For any reason!

"You see, this was something none of us had ever experienced before. Always before, we would get a happy face for a nice try. After all, who were we? We were just slum niggers and what could you expect? You couldn't expect us to perform like white kids, could you? Hell, no! We're trash.

"With Kirsty and Casey? Hah! We expected the same thing here and were disabused of the idea in five minutes or less! Perform or get out! Right? Wrong! You see, they wouldn't let us quit either. If we didn't get something right they just kept driving us and driving us until we did. And you know what? We did! We did get it right! For many of us, it was the first real achievement of our lives.

"And you know what else? It really felt great! We didn't meet some dumb race-normed slum black standard ... We met a real one! The same one whether you were black, white, yellow, or orange with purple polka-dots!"

Then she looked at Kirsty and Casey and asked them to come up to the dais. When they did, she presented each of them with a larger Black Dove pin — except instead of black enamel theirs were in white. She said, "The Board of Directors discussed these pins. As many of you know, ours are always black. Why, then, are these done in white? The answer is very simple. White is the color of purity — and these two young women are the purest creatures on the face of this earth."

Then holding her head up straight she said, "I want to say a particular word of thanks to Kirsty Callaway. It's not that she did any more than Casey did, although she certainly did as much. Rather, it's because we thought that Casey, after all, is black, too. She had a reason for helping us. But Kirsty? She is certainly not black.

"But do you know what it is? To her, we're not black, either. We're people... ! People who need her help. That's all. Kirsten Callaway is what we should all strive to be: truly color-blind! She judges people as individuals, not as members of some racial group. I happen to know there are some black people Kirsty doesn't like. Well, you know what? There are some black people I don't like, either!"

The girl then went behind the chairs and took out two very thick books and brought them back to where the two girls were waiting by the microphone. After presenting one to each of them she said, "Girls, you can look these over more carefully later. These are what they appear to be: scrapbooks. Contained are the pictures — before and after — of all of the Black Doves. Also included are handwritten memories of all that you personally did for each of them ... Beginning with teaching them ladylike handwriting!"

The three girls kissed and Casey was crying as she realized that she would be leaving these girls with whom she had worked so hard and who, for their love of her, had accomplished so much.

When Mary had returned to her seat, Bobbie went to the microphone and said, "More than ten years ago at the school, we heard the most marvelous singing ever. Casey Jackson was the lead singer in The Battle Hymn of the Republic. We have asked Casey to sing it again today. She will be backed by the Black Dove choir, our men's glee club, and our orchestra of whom we are all so very proud."

The groups assembled in front of the dais and the orchestra began to play, initially with a very quiet drum roll and soft trumpets. If Casey's singing years earlier was beautiful, now it was utterly magnificent. The counterpoint of the chorus in the background was perfect. By the time she reached the hymn's conclusion, her powerful voice filled the large gymnasium and echoed off the walls.

For the very last chorus Casey invited everyone to sing and they did, "Glory, glory, hallelujah... !" Finally, it ended and there was momentary silence in the large room. Then someone began to clap. In an instant there was a thunderous ovation from everyone present as they realized that they had probably heard the finest rendition of the famous hymn ever done anywhere.

Going to the microphone Bobbie announced, "Our next speaker is one of our graduating seniors, Kenneth Pierce Clifford. Although — for reasons I'll explain later — we do not have a valedictorian, Ken has been selected by his classmates to give the valedictory address. Ken?"

Coming up on the dais, Ken took his place in front of the microphone. As he did, Bobbie realized how much at home Ken was in any conceivable situation. She thought he looked relaxed, even though he was standing very erect, but then she realized that tears were flowing down his cheeks. "Good afternoon, parents, friends, and fellow graduating seniors. I am here today to give our valedictory address. The dictionary defines it as a speech of farewell ... and that is why you see me crying."

He quickly wiped at his tears with his handkerchief and continued, "It was nearly twelve years ago — it will be twelve years this September — when an event occurred which has changed my life forever. I was only five years old at the time. The event? A lovely luncheon prepared by Mrs. Carlson and served in the Clifford & Jamison conference room." He grinned — or tried to — and asked rhetorically, "How could that be such an event? Of course, Mrs. Carlson was personally doing the cooking ... But no, that wasn't it. Rather, I found myself assigned to sit next to ... an angel! Honest! An eighteen-year-old golden-haired, blue-eyed angel! Andy Cartwright was sitting on the angel's other side.

"It is fair to say that we were both utterly overwhelmed by her beauty and her sheer goodness. Well, anyway, we fell madly in love with her and — wonder of wonders! — she loved us, too! Can you imagine? Being loved by an angel? Well, we were. Then, almost exactly a year later — Andy and I were both six years old — we again had lunch with the angel and her husband. Speaking to her on behalf of our friends, we asked her to please be our teacher — to run a little school for eight of us. When she initially refused, poor Andy just came apart in tears. She was utterly heartbroken! But then a miracle occurred. The angel said yes! She would teach us!

"What happened? Well, Barbara Bradley Conroy told her husband, Tom, that she had to teach us. Why? Because, she said — to Andy's and my great shock — that for a period of time we were her only friends in the whole world! It was a short period of time surrounding that lunch a year earlier. Andy and I talk about it often. You see, at the time we were trying to be good so our mothers would be pleased with us. What we didn't realize was that, as a by-product, we had made a friend of the person who would change our lives forever!

"What can I say about Bobbie Conroy? Well, I remember something said over ten years ago, but I honestly forget who said it. It could have been Mr. Perkins, here. What was said? That seeing our little school in operation was like watching blades being sharpened and honed to razor sharpness. The blades? Our brains. The hone? Bobbie." Then he smiled and continued, "We have a funny little school, I guess. Of course, it really isn't so small anymore. There are now about 200 students and it gets bigger each year."

Turning to Perkins he said, "Sir, would you mind covering your ears? I don't want to get Bobbie in any trouble." Perkins grinned and pretended to cover his ears as Ken continued, "Files? What files? Our school doesn't have files. The files are in Bobbie's brain.

"In spite of there being 200 students, Bobbie knows everything about everyone. I guess we have a bunch of graduate degrees among us, but Heaven — and Bobbie! — are the only ones who know how many there are in the school. If a student is having a problem, Bobbie is there! The kid doesn't come to her, she goes to the kid. If it's serious — if the poor kid really doesn't know what to do — do you know what she does? She calls over Prince, strips off her clothes and strips off the child's, too. Then she hugs him or her tightly while they lie on Prince's huge chest.

"Then, in the softest, warmest voice you can imagine, Bobbie whispers in the child's ear. She explains the problem and shows why it really isn't so bad. She tells the child how wonderful he or she really is and how proud of him or her she is. Bobbie will cite dozens of things that the child did — both big and small — that made her feel so proud.

"Inevitably, the child will be amazed that she knows about any of them, let alone all of them. Then Bobbie presses the child's head to her breast. You smell the glorious natural fragrance of her body and are enveloped by her warmth and love. Meanwhile her slender hands are stroking the back of your head and your neck and making all of the pain and fear go away. Then you fall asleep.

"Finally — and best of all — you awaken later with the incredible feeling of this marvelous female body crushed against yours. You open your eyes and see Bobbie's gorgeous blue eyes focused on yours. When she's sure you're awake, she kisses you full on the lips. Then there is the most incredible flow of the purest love and joy and goodness ... and grace! God's Sanctifying Grace! It just pours from her lips through yours and into your body in a flood. Suddenly, you have no problems at all, and life is wonderful.

"How do I know? Why did what I just say sound so fresh? Because that is exactly what Bobbie did to me... the day before yesterday! I had a problem with this speech. Although I had not said one word to a living soul, Bobbie knew it, of course. Yes, I know I'm seventeen. I'm not a child any longer. In fact, do you know what she said to me? You see, now my shoulders are broadening so, instead of being wrapped in her arms, this time I had her wrapped in mine. She whispered, 'Ken, I knew I should have waited! You're marvelous!' And that was after she had so tenderly kneaded my scrotum and handled my cock into the largest erection I have ever had!

"There are two more things I would like to mention. First, the high point of my ten years in the school. It came almost five years ago when Bobbie gave birth to her first child. You see, it was the ultimate in sex education. She just stripped naked, lay on the bare floor of our classroom and spread her gorgeous legs wide. I was kneeling between them waiting to receive her baby in my hands, and I did! She gave a hard push and the tiny thing's head appeared and then the rest of its body. I caught it and gave it to her.

"Bobbie, still lying flat on her back, held the infant by its ankles above her, spanked it and heard it scream. Then she gave the infant to Andy who cleaned it off and dried it, while Bobbie expelled the afterbirth. Can you imagine twelve-year-old children assisting in a birth? We did. The very best? Watching as Andy gave the infant to its mother who put it to her breast. We watched this tiny thing, not an hour old, begin to suckle at Bobbie's glorious tit. At the age of less than an hour, the infant was in ecstasy. Why? Wouldn't you be... ? wouldn't anyone be who could suckle at Barbara Conroy's tit?"

Ken grinned and continued, "The second thing? Age. You see, when we started the school nearly eleven years ago, Bobbie was nineteen. And today? Thirty years old?" Ken shook his head sharply and said, "Hell, no! She is still nineteen! A few days ago we had a picnic at a lonely beach where we could be the way we are most comfortable — naked. Anyway, it was just the graduates you see before you, along with Bobbie and her husband, Tom.

"Well, we all like to think we're in great shape and can really take on the old folks. What a laugh that was! Would you believe we played volleyball? We did. Do you know how the game ended up? It ended with all twelve of us playing against Bobbie and Tom. And they killed us! And I mean that almost literally. If the kids stripped right now you would find more bruises on our bodies than you could count — all round ones. From what? From getting hit by one of Bobbie's spikes coming across the net like a rocket. Poor Andy is afraid her boobs are going to be permanently flattened because so many of Bobbie's shots hit her there. And Andy is very fast and has extraordinarily quick reflexes!

"What happened? It's really pretty simple. Bobbie is permanently stuck on nineteen and Tom remains at about twenty-one or twenty-two. With one major exception: wisdom. In a beautifully youthful body she has a level of knowledge and wisdom that is unprecedented in this world. And who's it for? It is for us — Barbara Bradley Conroy honest-to-God loves us! We get the benefit of all of her wisdom and counsel. That is utterly priceless."

Then he grinned and added, "The rest of this speech is going to be ad-libbed. I didn't intend to tell you the rest of what happened on our picnic, but I guess I will, anyway. First of all, it lasted all night, even though we — the kids — only thought it would be for the day. The next day, I learned from my mother that Bobbie had told all the mothers that she and Tom would be spending the night on the beach with us. Why? Well, a lot of schools have all-night parties before or right after graduation, she said, so why shouldn't we? The fact that she didn't bother to tell us...

"What happened? What did we eat? Well, for Bobbie Conroy, it was routine. You see, she nursed all twelve of us at her tits that evening. Can you possibly believe it? Twelve grownups? It's true."

Then Ken looked out at the audience and found his mother, Ali, sitting beside his father. "Mom," he said, "I cannot tell a lie. Bobbie Conroy's milk is the very finest in the whole world. It was so marvelously warm and sweet, rich and nourishing ... and absolutely loaded with love!"

Ken continued: "You see, we took turns. Bobbie called it her personal graduation. Speaking for myself, there I was lying across her lap with my lips locked on her gorgeous nipple while she strokes me and reviewed all of the things — big and small — that I had done to please her over the last ten years! When I had drunk all of her milk I could hold, I was like a small infant. I could hardly stand up. I was drunk on her love!

"But I wasn't the only one. The experience was repeated with every single one of my classmates." Then Ken grinned, smiled his own sunshine smile like his mother's and continued, "What about Tom? Well, fortunately there were a few hot dogs left over from lunch that he ate raw.

"Bobbie? That was easy. She just used her emergency rations. And what, you may wonder, were her emergency rations? Tom's wonderful warm cum. While she was having her dinner — by going down on him until she had him drained nearly dry — she was giving all the girls lessons on how to go down on a man. Repeatedly, she stopped and told the girls exactly what she was doing ... and insisted that they practice on us when she finished! I did not believe it!