Chapter 41

Samantha Conroy arose from Jack’s lap and said, “Mom, I guess we might as well get it over with, don’t you think?”

Hank just grinned and nodded her head rapidly.

Then with a parting, “Here goes nothing...” Sam disappeared from the room. Moments later she was back. “Jack, I would like you to meet my brothers and sisters. Or almost all of them, anyway. Tom and Bobbie couldn’t make it over tonight. He’s my married brother.”

First in line was a tall young man of about eighteen. He was six feet three like his father, but with somewhat broader shoulders. Jack jumped to his feet as he said, “How do you do, sir? I’m Ken, the second brother. You’ll see there’s an interruption in the stair-steps. Sam is 27, Tom is 24, and then there’s a drop to me. I’m eighteen. I came along after Dad got out of the hospital.” Then with a grin he nodded to the side and said, “But we’re pretty even beyond me.”

“Ken, please tell Jack your full name,” Sam asked softly.

“I’m sorry, sis. Sir, I’m Kenneth Carlson Conroy.” Then with tears coming to his eyes he added, “I’m named after the man who saved Dad’s life, my uncle, Ken Carlson.”

Next was the beautiful girl who had been caddying with Sam earlier. She was another replica of her mother, lacking only the fullness of her breasts. “How do you do, sir?” she said. “I’m Katherine Carlson Conroy. And in Sam you’re getting the finest woman in the whole world. I love her desperately, as we all do. And that’s in full light of all the flak we give her. But on the other hand, that’s what brat sisters are for.”

With that she came close, cocked her head and unloaded the sweetest, warmest, most loving kiss Jack could remember. She worked her soft lips on his, and then probed his mouth with her tongue. When she found his, he felt a jolt of the purest love. When he reached down and pinched her bottom hard, all she did was move her pelvis hard against his.

Then she broke the kiss, turned to her sister and said, “Sis, Jack is really neat! And his kisses are wonderful.” Then to Jack she winked and said, “And thanks, Jack for the pinch. Does that mean I already have a pinchable little ass?”

Following Kathy was a boy, twelve, then a girl, nine, a boy, six, and finally the sweetest little three-year-old girl. She came up to him and bent her head way back to see up to him. Jack instantly dropped to his knees, took her in his arms and kissed her. His kiss was returned with the sweetest, most loving kiss he could imagine. Then he just looked into her eyes and almost drowned. Through her eyes he was seeing the purest soul imaginable.

Then she said, “My name is Susan. What’s your name? You’re going to marry Sam, aren’t you? Do you like my dress? It’s my pretty party dress.” With that she spun in a circle causing the skirt to spin out from her sturdy little legs.

“My name is Jack, Susan. And that’s a lovely name for you. And that’s a beautiful dress on a beautiful little girl,” Jack said softly. “And I’m certain that God must love you very much, because you’re loaded with His Divine grace. Do you say your prayers every night, sweetie?”

With her eyes wide Susan replied, “I sure do. Mommy and Daddy say it’s real important to talk to God every day. So I do and I like it. I ask him to take care of Mommy and Daddy, my brothers and sisters, and particularly Uncle Ken and Aunt Kathy who saved my daddy’s life. And I ask God to help me be a good little girl, too.”

When Jack gave her a little farewell kiss, she ran off with her siblings, but not before blowing him a kiss from the doorway. When she was out of sight, he wiped away a tear.

Getting back on his feet, Jack turned to Hank and asked, “Do they have an award for Mother of the Century? Because if they do, Hank Conroy, I’m nominating you, and you’ll win in a walk. I can’t believe any of this.”

Then he turned to Sam and said, “Is this what I have to look forward to?”

“I’m afraid so, darling,” she said softly. “Can you take it?”

“Take it!” Jack almost screamed. “You’ve got to be kidding. Sam, I was crying on your shoulder earlier this evening about having no family at all. Now I’m being invited into the finest family on the face of the earth. What do you mean, can I take it? Hell, yes! And I’ll love every minute of it.” Then with a grin he asked Hank, “Just out of curiosity, have you folks ever heard of birth control?”

“Jack, have you noticed a certain ... pattern ... shall we say?” Hank asked, apparently trying to be serious while trying vainly to control her giggling. Then she pointed to her flat abdomen and really giggled. It was the cutest, merriest sound Jack had ever heard. “Anyway, Jim and I used to use Rhythm, otherwise known as Vatican roulette. But then I noticed this ... pattern, shall we say... ? developing so I said the hell with it. Why bother with all the aggravation? So we don’t any more, and I like it much better. Now Jim fucks me at least twice a day, every day.”

“But ... once a month...” Jack blushed and could say no more.

“I’m a little wetter than usual, but he never notices, and I couldn’t care less. Any other questions?”

“Just one ... Mother... ? May I call you, “Mother”?”

“I would love it if you did, Jack, but I guess I sort of like Hank — particularly when, as you can plainly see, I’m younger than Sam is.” She grinned and added, “But that wasn’t the question.”

“No it wasn’t, Hank. I was going to ask you how your sex life has been with Jim.”

Hank appeared to be deep in thought. She looked up at the ceiling, then at the wall, then down at the floor. Finally, she said, “It has been satisfactory.” Then she nodded her head firmly and repeated, “Satisfactory. Definitely satisfactory.”

Then she howled with laughter, hurled herself onto Jim’s lap, and melted her lips on his. Even from across the room Jack could see the electricity and hear the bells. While Jim ran his fingers lightly over Hank’s body, she was moving it sinuously against his. Finally, they separated, but Hank remained sitting across his lap.

Then to Jack she repeated, “Satisfactory.”

Then a boy and girl entered the room, hand in hand. The girl had the same hair as Kathy Carlson, with the same improbable multi-hued sun streaks through it. The boy was a blue-eyed blonde. Jack gently lifted Sam from his lap and rose from his seat to greet them. The girl said, “Good evening, Commander Martin. I’m Susan Carlson. I’m Kathy and Ken’s eldest child. And this is my lover and fiancé, Mike Morris. Isn’t he cute?”

Jack just looked at her and decided she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Then he realized something else. In spite of having seen children across the full age spectrum, none of them appeared to be at all gawky or troubled with the myriad problems of adolescence.

He lifted the girl off the ground up to him. She grinned, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Again it was a kiss loaded with the purest love and joy. Holding her body away just far enough to look into her eyes, he did and almost drowned. Susan Carlson had the same purity and grace that he had seen in the eyes of Susan Conroy.

Very softly he said, “Susan, you are the image of your mother. And like your mother, as beautiful as you are on the outside, it’s only the tiniest fraction of the beauty you radiate from within.”

Then he gently set her back on the ground and shook hands with Michael Morris, Jr.

Mike looked up at him and said, “Susan and I are going to be married,” he said proudly. “I have asked her parents, and they have given their permission for me to continue to see her. And when I told Granddad, it was funny. He just asked me how I could possibly be so lucky to have the love of the most beautiful girl in the world, who happens to be the daughter of the greatest hero our country has ever known. But then he warned me to be very careful, because he’s certain I’ve already used up my lifetime’s supply of luck.” Then he shook his head and said, “But I love her so!”

With that, Susan Carlson turned him around, tipped her head, and melted her lips to his.

Jack Martin was stunned. He could see the electricity flowing between them and hear the bells ring. When Michael put his hand on Susan’s bottom and squeezed, she just mashed her body even closer to his and sinuously moved her pelvis against him.

When they eased apart, Susan murmured, “Oh, Mike! That was the very best yet. And would you believe it? I could almost feel my juices starting to run!” Then shaking her head sadly she said, “It will only be a few more years...” The two kissed Sam warmly, then scampered off.

“How do you think we feel?” Ken Carlson asked. “I guess it’s funny, really, though it certainly isn’t to them. I’ll never forget that Thanksgiving when Mike came up to me to ask for Susan’s hand in marriage. There she was, standing a few feet behind him, looking as pretty as a picture, but scared stiff, afraid I would say no. I guess they were only about six years old at the time, but they were already desperately in love. I told him that, aside from the fact that I was his Uncle Ken, aside from the fact that I have known Michael Morris literally from the day he was born, and aside from the fact that Kathy and I are his godparents, he was from the finest family we know, and I was proud to give him permission.”

Ken shook his head and said, “Then he took Susan by the hand to meet his grandfather, Marine General Stanton Jeffries. Mike told you what he said. Stan and Susan utterly adore our Susan, too. I guess Kathy and I think it’s pretty neat.”

Jack felt tears flowing down his cheeks and found he had difficulty talking. But he managed to say, “I don’t think ‘neat’ is quite the right word. Here we have two children whose fathers have three Medals of Honor between them. Ken, your daughter will be the image of your wife, Kathy. The children of those two will be utterly beyond belief! And I can’t wait to see them.”

“There’s one difference,” Kathy Carlson commented. “Already, Sue is a better cook than I am. And if you want to see something funny — and you will tomorrow — wait and see what happens when Sue cooks breakfast.” With a grin she added, “It’s really disgusting! She practically serves Michael on her knees. And that’s after warming his body with hers all night long, too.”

Then she giggled and added, “You know something? By the time those two get married, they will have been sleeping together for at least twelve years. Sleeping together will be so old-hat, instead of fucking, they’ll probably just go to sleep. Susan might still be a virgin on their first anniversary!”

Jack just shook his head in wonder while Sam giggled. He thought it was the cutest, merriest sound he had ever heard.

Two more children came into the room after Michael and Susan had left. This time it was a boy of about nine with a girl who was younger. Jack guessed her age at about six. “Good evening, sir,” the boy said, extending his hand which Jack took. “My name is Ken Carlson. I’m the second in the Carlson family. May I present my fiancée, Kristin Clifford? Kris and I are going to be married someday.”

“Ken, you are certainly well named,” Jack said. “It’s already clear that you are going to be the image of your father. And since he may be the finest man alive in the country today, being like him is not a shabby compliment.”

Then he looked at the girl and almost fell out of his chair. She was the most exquisitely beautiful girl he had ever seen, with golden hair and eyes so blue they made Sam’s look almost pale and washed out in comparison.

“Good evening, Mr. Martin,” she said in a beautifully cultured and almost-musical voice. “I’m so happy you will be marrying Miss Conroy! And I’m so happy for her. She’s my teacher in school, and we love her so much. We’ve been worrying about her, because it’s taken her so long to find you.”

Then with a smile that lit up the whole room she added, “That’s why I’ve already hooked Ken. I’ve loved him from the first moment I saw him, and that was when I was still in my crib. Mommy used to worry about me so, because I used to cry myself to sleep. You see, Mr. Martin, I loved Ken, but I was certain he didn’t even know I was alive, and couldn’t care less if he did know.” Then with another brilliant smile she said, “But he really loves me! Isn’t that great?”

“Kristin, Mr. Martin is a lieutenant commander. Shouldn’t you be calling him ‘Commander Martin’?” Sam asked.

“Oh no, Miss Conroy,” the little girl replied with her eyes wide. “He’s in the Navy. And in the Navy, all officers below the rank of commander are called ‘mister’. So he’s still Mr. Martin, until he’s promoted, at least.”

To Jack she said, “We’re so very lucky to have Miss Conroy as our teacher. She knows everything! And she’s so neat. When it’s my turn to nap with her, she rests my head on one of her beautiful tits and just caresses my little body. And while she’s doing that, she’s whispering in my ear, telling me nice things that I’ve done that she can’t possibly know about, but she does.”

Kristin grinned and added, “Miss Conroy’s like all the other good teachers: she has eyes in the back of her head. Whatever we do, she knows. But anyway, then she’ll tell me what I should be doing better than I am, and how to go about improving. Then she’ll just hold me and move her fingers so lightly all over my bare body while I go to sleep. But when I wake up, I wake to the most glorious smell: the natural fragrance of her magnificent body. And I know from the way she moves that she’s just like my mommy. She so badly wants a man’s cock penetrating her luscious wetness.

“One time I asked her, and she said, ‘That’s what women are made for, Kris. We’re made to welcome men into our bodies. And they’re made the way they are with beautiful cocks to do it with.”

With the same wonderful smile, she added, “Mr. Martin, you’re so lucky!”

Then the girl reached out to him. Taking her in his arms, Jack kissed her and almost fell over from the power in her kiss. Then she kissed Sam with even more power, and the two scampered off.

“Darling, I think you’ve just met one of the reasons why I have to stay around Los Angeles,” Sam said. “As you gathered, I’m her teacher. I teach the first and second grades at the Clifford & Jamison school.”

“But darling, how do you handle it with a girl like that?” Jack asked. “I mean ... Good grief! She has to put all the other kids in the shadows...” His voice ran down as he saw Sam’s head shaking from side to side.

“No, dear, she doesn’t. She’s certainly one of my better students — in the top quarter, anyway — but not the best.” Now she grinned and added, “Darling, you might as well know it. We don’t have a kid in the school whose IQ isn’t at least 180...”

“But that’s the top of the scale!” Jack exclaimed.

“And that’s why Susan Carlson and Michael Morris, both only twelve years old, are completing their doctoral dissertations in military strategy. They each have a couple of other earned doctorates already. Honey, in other schools they’re teaching the children to read in the first grade. In my first grade the children read our founding documents, and then track our philosophy of government back to the ancient Greeks.” Then she lowered her head and said, “It’s a challenge for me, but it’s really not hard—”

“Not hard?” Jack exclaimed. “How in hell do you do it?”

“It’s not hard, Jack, because every morning I gather my two classes together in a circle. Karla Kosta does the same thing, as does Barbara Sloan and Bobbie Conroy. Then we ask Almighty God for his help. Every day, it’s the same thing: our heads are bowed, and a golden ring will appear over all our heads. It’s God in His third person, The Holy Spirit, entering our souls.”

Tears were in her eyes and it was clear she was trying to communicate something very important. “Darling, it is an awesome responsibility. As I said, Kris Clifford is typical. We get children who are all products of families like these. They were conceived in mutual love, nurtured by golden tits producing the sweetest, most love-filled milk on earth, raised in an atmosphere of love of God, love of family, and love of country.

“Then they come to me, like Kris, with their eyes glowing with excitement and overflowing with God’s grace. Then, darling, I get to mold them, train them, educate them ... Most of all, I try to reinforce and not undo everything their parents have been doing.

“Darling, I have actually read this in a court record! Six years ago, in the very first class in the school a beautiful black girl, Casey Jackson, was arguing for the need to preserve slavery at the time of the writing of the Declaration of Independence. She pointed out that had they not, the two Carolinas, at least, would have voted no, and the Congress had already adopted a rule requiring that the Declaration be adopted unanimously, or it would fail of passage.”

Now tears were streaming down Sam’s beautiful cheeks and her voice was cracking but she continued, “Casey quoted Ben Franklin, from memory, speaking to John Adams, an unyielding opponent of slavery, ‘John, we are mere men, not gods. It is not perfect. But, please God, it may be good enough.’ Jack, can you believe it? She was just six years old! I think it’s important, Jack. Do you?”

Jack again lifted her up as if she were weightless and set her across his lap. Tipping her head, he melted his lips to hers. Then he tried to do what the women had been doing to him all night long. He tried to convey the incredible love he felt for this perfect woman in his arms. Instantly he heard the bells and felt the electricity mounting in intensity, but he kept trying to increase the power of his kiss. When he felt Sam’s body writhing against his, he pulled her tightly to him and moved his fingers lightly over her body. In spite of having their lips locked together, he could actually hear Sam moan in her mounting passion. Suddenly he felt her go limp in his arms.

Gently he rested her head on his shoulder and continued to stroke her body. When she came to, she just moved her body against his while making contented noises. Then she eased away, looked into his eyes and said, “Well?”

“Well, what?” Jack asked, both confused and bewildered.

“I asked you a question, John Martin. I asked you if you thought my teaching was important. I’m still waiting for an answer.”

“But I did answer, darling,” he protested. “I answered with my lips.”

“I’m sorry, Jack, but I do not accept non-verbal communications from my students.”

“Darling, I think it’s the most important thing imaginable.” He paused and then continued, “You know, Sam, we’re trained to kill people and break things. You’re doing the most important thing of all: you’re shaping young minds.” Jack looked at her and asked, “Will our children be in the school, too?”

“Darling, if God blesses us by giving us children, I certainly hope so!” she murmured.

He just held her tightly, and again she just sighed with pleasure. Then he snapped his fingers, looked at Mike Morris and said, “I almost forgot, Mike. You were going to tell me about your tactically brilliant campaign to woo and win the beautiful Judy Morris.”

“Well...” Mike began, but then he stopped. “I don’t know, Jack. You probably haven’t been to Command and General Staff School or the War College yet, have you?” When Jack just shook his head, Mike looked skeptical and said, “I’m not sure you’ll be able to follow the sophisticated strategic and tactical concepts then, but I’ll try.