Chapter 22: Fantasies Fulfilled?

The Year Eight

Donnie's Story

People in this country must think our family life revolves around sex, which is patently ridiculous. These magazine articles have only added fuel to the fire. First there was that hilarious Playboy article with the twin centerfolds. Then Cosmo comes out and suddenly my and Deirdre's naked asses are prominently displayed in every grocery store in the country.

That issue was Cosmo's all-time best seller. Andrew bought three copies himself. And then the wretched man had a copy of the magazine hand-delivered to our parents. I'm not sure how pleased they were to receive it.

And now Dee Dee and I are regularly appearing in the top twenty 'sexiest women in America' polls although the two of us only occupy one spot. When he isn't kidding us about it, Andrew tells us that we deserve to head the list. He's such a sweet liar.

We are getting propositions every day in the mail. And we have a large collection of penis pictures. Why do men think that such things are attractive? Why would they send pictures of them in the mail? I agree they are utilitarian, but beautiful? Hardly. And if they are trying to boast about their size perhaps they are unaware that we have to deal with that monstrous thing swinging between Andrew's legs every day of our lives. Anything larger would be grotesque.

But Dee Dee loves all of this: the polls, the propositions, the pictures, the penises, the publicity. She thinks it all is hilarious. Back in 2003 we were a couple of frumpy, over-the-hill, lonely, aging businesswomen. And now nine years and six children later we are among the twenty sexiest women in America? We can only blame Andrew for this strange metamorphosis.

Helen decided to accept our offer to come on-board, so now we have two half-finished products and a half-built university. But we do have a full-time lawyer and a full-time publicist. It's the American way.

Jake is negotiating with several computer manufacturers to use our operating system. Andrew and Jake had to fly to New York with Helen and me to transact some business.

Helen needs to network with some add agencies. The boys are scheduled to see some major players in the computer industry. But the real reason is that Andrew wants to visit Mad Magazine. Have I mentioned that Andrew is peculiar?

He has convinced himself that the official mascot of New Man University should be Alfred E. Newman. We don't even have any professors yet and he thinks we need a mascot. And he wants to call the operating system "NewMan AE". He had Edie dummy up a commercial which starts with a picture of Bill Gates above the slogan "Worry!" and then morphs into a picture of Alfred E. Newman above the slogan "What, Me Worry?" He wants to use the slogan for the operating system. He wants the slogan of the University to be "What, Me Worry?" in Latin.

Have I mentioned that Andrew is peculiar? Because Mad is now owned by a large corporation they might be amenable to selling us the use of their images. I think the truth is that Andrew is just dying to meet the usual gang of idiots.

Andrew plans to put a life-sized statue of Alfred E. Newman in the quad at the University. This is what he wants for the symbol of what we hope will become the most prestigious institute of higher learning in the world. He is such a child.

We stayed at the RIGHA Royal, the rooms beautifully decorated in art deco style. Let's be frank. We took two suites and I didn't plan to stay with Andrew. Helen and I decided if we were going to 'share', we should do it as far away from the children as possible. Andrew agreed because I asked him so sweetly. He can refuse me nothing, not even this.

Well, it was his idea in the first place; at least the part about me being with Jake. The part about him being with Helen was Helen's idea. The problem had been Jake. Coward that I am, I asked Andrew to ask Jake.

It was two weeks ago. We were together in bed. He had reluctantly agreed to change partners on the planned New York trip. But then I said, "Andrew, why don't you ask Jake if he wants to do this."

He looked shocked. "Me! I'm the only uninterested party here. I don't even want to be involved. Come on, Donnie, have Helen ask him. Or you proposition him. Don't you think I'm going above and beyond the call of duty as it is?"

If I had persisted he would have done it for me. He always does what I ask. But he was right. Either Helen or I would have to be the one to involve Jake. It finally occurred to me that we both should ask him at the same time.

The next day, Helen and I were out back having some lemonade when Jake stopped by. He joined us on the patio and we chatted for a bit. Helen and I had planned the way we were going to go about it. Helen began the ploy.

"Jake", she said, "Donnie and I were arguing about something. She says that she's right, but I'm sure that I'm right."

I could tell he could care less about what we were arguing about. Still he politely took the bait.

"What's the disagreement about?"

I said, "Well it's in all the polls. Andrew is the world's greatest lover. Everyone knows that. And I especially know it. I witness it every day of my life."

Jake's eyes widened. Maybe this discussion would be interesting after all. Helen took up the challenge. "Donnie, I really only have your word for it. These polls are merely the opinion of unknowledgeable women. How would some woman in Poughkeepsie or Podunk know the kind of lover Andrew is? I've had a little more 'personal' experience than you have, and I say that Jake is the world's greatest lover."

Jake almost spit out his lemonade at that.

I said, "Jake? Now Helen, Jake is a very sweet boy. But how could you compare him with Andrew Adkins? No offense, Jake."

Jake was startled but said, "Uh, no offense taken."

Helen laughed. "I feel the same way, Donnie. Andrew is a most attractive man, but please! How could you compare him to Jake in bed?"

I said, "I guess we are at an impasse. You claim that Jake is the world's greatest lover. I think that it's Andrew. But we can't really know, can we?"

That's when Helen said, "I suppose there is a way we could find out."

Helen and I both looked Jake in the eye while giving him our sweetest smiles. He had that 'deer in the headlights' look. He had been sitting here enjoying this innuendo-laced conversation when suddenly he became the center of our attention.

Jake is no dummy. He knew what Helen was implying. Still, he was forced to say, "What way exactly is that Helen?"

He was sitting between us (we had arranged the chairs in advance so that it was his only option.) We both moved our chairs closer to his and each of us took one of his arms.

I leaned close to him, my breasts brushing against his arm, and said, "Jake, honey, can you think of a way we could find out?"

In my limited experience I've learned that a man with an erection is far more agreeable than a man without an erection. It seemed to me that Jake was becoming increasingly agreeable.

Still he tried to put up a fight. He said, "Me? Uh, no, I, uh, don't know how you could find out." He certainly knew exactly how we could find out.

I decided to be less oblique. We already had him. That much was obvious. I made my voice as sultry as I knew how. "Jake, Helen and I think the only way we can really know is if we give each other a trial run, if you know what I mean."

Oh, yes. Jake was definitely interested. I wondered how his pants could stand the strain.

He said, "A trial run? Uh, how does Andrew feel about a trial run?"

I said frankly, "Jake, you know that Andrew is pussy whipped. He admits it himself. He'll do anything I ask of him. Don't worry about Andrew. We just want to know how you feel."

Jake is an experienced trial lawyer. One would think he has learned to react well under pressure. But in this case his cheeks were bright red and he had trouble enunciating his response. "Well, uh, I don't, uh, know Donnie. Are you two sure about this?"

Helen replied, "Jake, both of us have this little itch we'd like to scratch; just once, and only if everyone is okay with it. Donnie is madly in love with her husband. He has nothing to worry about concerning her emotional fidelity. And you and I may be starting something pretty good, too. At least I hope so."

"I don't want to do anything to harm our relationship. But some people around here seem to think that you might be interested in Deirdre and Donnie. We thought that the three of us, you, me, and Donnie, could scratch any little itches we might be having. No one would get their noses out of joint, no one would be hurt. It's a win, win, win, situation. Deirdre doesn't mind either, though she has no interest in being a part of it."

Jake again asked, "But what about Andrew?"

I again spoke frankly. "Because he trusts you and because he trusts me, I think Andrew can handle this. In fact he suggested the 'you and me' part of this. But when Helen came in to the picture, I of course wouldn't consider excluding her. She and I thought that an even exchange would be an elegant solution. "

"Think it over, Jake. Discuss it with Helen in private. I won't be hurt if you decide not to do it." (Here I gave a little pout.) "But I would be disappointed."

I had Jake hooked and was slowly reeling him in. He wouldn't pass up this opportunity in a million years, I was happy to see. Still he didn't want to appear too eager. When a man's hard-on is making a circus tent of his pants, it's difficult for him to not appear eager.

He said, "I don't know Donnie. We'll talk it over and get back to you." He looked at Helen, who licked her lips and gave him another searing smile. She looked capable of rape.

Helen stood and took Jake's hand. "Donnie, Jake and I are going to go talk it over." I know that look. There would be very little talking going on.

Helen's Story

I hope Jake understands. Perhaps I hope he doesn't understand. I've wanted Andrew Adkins from the first moment I saw him. It has nothing to do with romance; it has everything to do with lust.

I feel both passion and romance with Jake. But still I want Andrew; just once. Then I'll be fine. Then I can concentrate on my new relationship with Jake. He's everything I've always wanted, is Jake. But Andrew is a distraction.

We could have stayed at my apartment in the Village when we took our trip to New York, I suppose. I'm subletting it but the new occupant has yet to move in. But I wanted the night to be special, in a special place. So instead we are staying at a mid-town luxury hotel.

We had dinner at an excellent Japanese restaurant; then went to a jazz club after dinner. It just never occurred to me that Andrew and Donnie are celebrities. They seem so normal. But wherever we went people approached them.

They both looked gorgeous. Andrew is tall and slim and handsome; his eyes dark and piercing. He looks like a movie star. Donnie is small, delicate, and beautiful; blonde, soft and round. Her eyes are equally alluring, especially when she smiles and they light up. She could still be mistaken for Joanne Woodward, except it seems that everyone knows her for herself now.

I'll admit that Jake and I looked pretty damn good too. We received our share of glances as well. I could tell that Jake didn't mind basking in the overflow adulation pointed in the Adkins' direction.

While Andrew handled all the attention graciously, I could tell that he didn't want it. Several women made indecent proposals to him at the jazz club, right in front of his wife! Herbie Hancock was performing. He was terrific, but he mentioned that 'in the audience tonight - the Progenitor, Andrew Adkins, and one of his lovely wives'.

Donnie seemed unfazed, but Andrew doesn't like to be the center of attention. I could see that he was relieved when we left the Blue Note and caught a cab back to the hotel.

In the taxi, Jake asked Andrew about it. He said, "You don't seem to like all the notoriety that much, Drew. You're just not celebrity material are you?"

Andrew said, "What did I ever do that warrants being a celebrity? I've knocked up a boatload of women. That's it. Other than that, what? Yes, I've spawned the vast majority of kids who make up New Man, but no one seems interested in that fact. They are more interested in the knocking up process than the result thereof."

"My wives and my kids: now they are the ones that should be the celebrities. Deirdre and Donnie are beyond beautiful. I've known it all along. Now the country knows it too. And the kids?"

"Elle is one of the top financial wizards in the country. We might as well have a branch of the US Mint in our back yard. Eddie and Edie are already writing mind-boggling computer programs. Ethan is going to be a world-class architect. And Emmy's the greatest manipulator on earth. She can arrange for anything. She caused a major government crisis when she was five years old."

Both Jake and I were startled by that. Donnie said, "Now Andrew, we don't talk about the things that Emma does." To Jake and me she said, "Just f orget Andrew ever said that, if you don't mind."

I couldn't let that one go. "You can't just leave it at that. What did Emma do?"

Andrew gave a wan little smile. "Let's just say that a certain Attorney General stepped on our toes, and now he's an ex-Attorney General. I know you are a journalist, Helen, but this is off the record. If people in power found out, our ass would be grass."

My mouth was wide. "Oh my God; she's the one that did that! I won't talk, Andrew. The man was a prick anyway. He deserved what he got. You're serious. Emma did that?"

Andrew just nodded. "Emmy can do whatever she wants to do. She's smart and devious but not dangerous. Don't worry about her. Any manipulation she does is generally for the common good. Well, a lot of times it's to pull off a really funny prank. The girl is incorrigible, but sweet."

Jake muttered, "Yeah, I know about Emma's pranks."

I wondered what that was about.

We made it back to the hotel and went to the elevator. Our suites were on the same floor. It hadn't occurred to me that the Adkins' would be so well known. I was worried that Andrew would be recognized after we got off of the elevator. After all, his wife wasn't the one who would be accompanying him to his bedroom, was she?