Chapter 4

The sixth year student sat down at the table across from Oliver right after he had taken a bite of his sandwich. Oliver chewed and swallowed, chasing it down with some milk. He looked up at the student and asked, "What can I do for you?"

"I was curious about something."

Oliver examined the young lady carefully. She had a very nice glow and almost no black spots over her heart. He said, "Ask away. I'll answer if I can."

She looked around as several other students joined her. Comforted by her classmates, she finally asked, "Why is it that most of the faculty spend their meal times in the first year dining room?"

Oliver looked at her for a moment considering how to answer. Instead of answering, he asked, "What do you think motivates the faculty to do that?"

Blushing she said, "Because they like to look at all of the young students running around naked."

Looking as though he took her answer very seriously, Oliver nodded. He asked, "How many times did you need to be counseled this year?"

Eyebrows drawn down, she frowned as she said, "None. Why?"

"How many times did you need to be counseled last year?"

Looking at the other students first, she answered, "Twice."

"Ah, now the telling question," said Oliver. He asked, "How many times did you need it the first year here?"

"Thousands, I think."

Oliver nodded at the honesty of the answer. He asked, "Let me ask one final question. What do you think motivates the faculty to spend as much time as possible with the first years?"

A minor black spot started disappearing over her heart as she answered, "They need you more than we do."

"Very good," replied Oliver. The black spot vanished as she fully understood the reason.

One of the other students asked, "So why are you here today?"

Oliver laughed at the assumption that they were no longer needed. He answered, "I could say that it is because there are still times when you need us, but that might not be the whole truth. Perhaps in my case, I should say that there are times when I need you."

Taken aback by his answer, the woman asked, "You need us?"

Oliver looked around the room before he answered, "With the first years, it is mostly us giving to them. We spend our time helping and directing them. It is easy to get discouraged when you see the same argument a hundred times. Then we come up here and it is nice to deal with equals. You have balance, you give and you receive. You don't demand, but request. We can provide or not based on our ability, rather than be subject to the demand to do something that helps even when others would be better."

The entire group was staring at him in amazement. He asked, "Do you feel that I am flattering you unjustly in considering you equals?"

The young man answered, "Well, you have a brown robe. How can you consider us equals?"

Oliver stood up and removed his robe. He sat down on the chair naked. He looked at them and said, "The robe reflects my service to the Gods and Goddesses. It is not a measure of me as a person."

The young woman looked at his large cock and then teased, "We haven't had a naked instructor around us for three years. Aren't you afraid that we'll take advantage of you?"

"We're equals here. I know that means that you won't take advantage of me," replied Oliver with a smile.

The crowd of young men and women started to disperse. The woman said, "Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. I think we needed to hear what you said."

Oliver was silent for a moment and then asked, "Would you or your fellow classmates like to visit the first year dining room during lunch or dinner?"

"I don't know. Is there a reason you are asking?"

Oliver smiled at how she treated his question. Rather than answering without knowing all of the conditions and ramifications of the question, she chose to get more information first. This was going to be a very successful group of students. He answered, "Well, you will be leaving here one day to go forth in the world. You will meet all kinds of people. I was wondering if dealing with the first years and helping them come to understand the lessons that you have learned so well would help you in the world outside."

She nodded as she thought about it. She answered, "It sounds good to me, but I would have to talk to my classmates."

Oliver said, "Good. Come to me when you have had a chance to discuss it amongst yourselves and I shall make the necessary arrangements."

"Thank you again."

Oliver said, "It is I that should be thanking you."

She left the table and rejoined another two students at a table. Looking over his sunglasses at them, he was amazed at how brightly they shined. They would go far when they left here. He looked up at the sky and said, "Thank you, for giving me this opportunity."

Finished with his meal, he picked up his plates and cleared his own table. He would have washed the dishes, but the kitchen staff chased him out. They had learned a few key phrases that were successful in keeping the Druids out of their domain. The one that had been used on him this time was a request to allow them to serve in their way. He smiled at the thought of how the staff had undergone changes in just the four months they had been working here.

He continued his trip around the campus. Every week, he set aside one day to tour every part of the College. This included the parts of the campus that were seldom visited by the students. The janitorial staff, the mechanics, and the groundskeepers were all of interest to him. Every person on the campus was important to him. He enjoyed the tour tremendously.

He slipped into a classroom to listen to the lecture. His entry was quiet, but the students and the instructor noticed, none the less. He smiled and gestured for them to continue. He listened fascinated as the instructor covered the history of war. The lecture resonated with his service to the God. It was a very different presentation of war than typically covered in a college class. It wasn't about the politics of war or the morality of it. No, this was about the art of war and the role that a thinking man held in determining the outcome. The politics, morality, and historical aspects of war were covered in other courses.

The instructor led the students through an exercise based on actual battles of the American Civil War. The exercise went extremely well, with the students identifying options that, to his knowledge, had never been discussed in any historical paper on the subject. They had even kept themselves limited to the rules of warfare that were followed at the time. Several of the students had demonstrated absolute brilliance in the area. He left before the class was over.

He glanced at his watch realizing he was late and hurried to the administration building. It was on the opposite end of the campus from the classroom he had been visiting. His excitement must have been apparent to everyone, as no one moved to delay him in his trip. He cut through the library and the first year dorm. People held doors open for him as he moved through the hallways.

He reached the front doors of the administration building in record time. Looking through the door, he hoped to see a new car pull up in the driveway. There wasn't one there and disappointment washed over his body. He started when Ling said, "She hasn't come yet. Her plane ran a little late."

He turned and looked at the woman. She had the bright shine that was common amongst the Carter Family, but there was a lot of black over her heart. It was time for him to address that. He said, "John says you are a consummate professional as a body guard."

She nodded her head and looked at him with curiosity. He continued, "You live in one of the most loving families I have ever seen."

She nodded wondering what point he was going to make. He added, "Yet, you have more hate in you than all of the rest of them put together."

She glared at him and spat out, "No, I don't."

He looked out the door for a moment, hoping that the car would pull into the parking lot. He countered, "You hate everyone and everything that you perceive as a threat to your family."

She replied, "That's normal."

He turned and looked at her with the kind of directness that made most people nervous. Ling stood there defiantly. He said, "Not for a bodyguard. That kind of hate makes you totally ineffective as their protector."

"No it doesn't."

Looking at her for a minute, he said, "You haven't been able to protect them since you married into the family. I would say that makes you a lousy bodyguard."

She was silent for a long time. Her emotions fluctuated between anger and frustration. She was angry with him for his perception into something she thought she had kept secret. She was angry with herself because it was true. She was frustrated because she didn't know what to do about it. He watched her struggle with her feelings. Emotions that she had been attempting to lock away burst out in a single flood. She broke down in tears as she finally said, "I know."

He stepped up to her and held her while she cried. She cried long and hard. Throughout, he rocked her in his arms, whispering little words of encouragement to her. Finally she calmed down, stepped back wiping her eyes and asked, "How did you know?"

He answered, "I listen to what people say. John always says that you are one of the best security persons in the business, but every time your actions are discussed they sound more like a she-bear defending her cubs."

Pain ripped through her as she recognized the truth of his words. He continued, "You stopped being a security consultant. Why?"

She answered, "All of the jobs I was offered required me to leave the family for too long. Most of those jobs are for six months or a year. I couldn't stay away that long."

He nodded and said, "So you became a cop instead."

"Yes, I did."

"And it wasn't anywhere near as satisfying, was it?"

She sighed as she acknowledged the truth to herself. In fact, she wasn't even that good of a police officer. She answered, "No it wasn't."

He looked at her for a long time and then asked, "Have you thought about teaching self-defense here?"

She smiled and nodded. She had dreamed about teaching self- defense for a long time. If she couldn't act directly, maybe she could act indirectly by making sure they could save themselves. She said, "I have, but I don't think it would be right for me to teach here. I'm not a Druid."

He reached out and took her hands in his. Raising them to his lips, he kissed them. He said, "I think you would be perfect. Now go and make John or Ed happy."

He watched her leave. There was a significant decrease in the darkness around her heart. He laughed as he wondered how long it would take her to remove those last few spots of black. He turned and looked out the door, waiting for the car to arrive.

Kelly stepped out from behind a post. Misty eyed, she looked at him and said, "Thank you."

"For what?"

She looked at him with tenderness and love as she said, "You have helped Ling more in that single conversation than I've been able to accomplish in ten years."

He watched as she walked over to a bench near the door and sat down. He wondered what she had to say, but bided his time. She would say it when she was ready. She asked, "You are waiting for Catherine?"

Laughing, he jokingly asked, "You mean that all of my talk about her arrival today was wasted?"

She shook her head in the negative. In an introspective tone of voice, she said, "I remember when I was putting together the family. I wanted a wife and two husbands more than anything else in the world. I demanded that everyone have sex with everyone else. I was so possessive of the marriage in the beginning. It was my marriage and nobody was going to mess with my vision for it. John rather forcefully reminded me that it was our marriage, not my marriage."

Oliver refrained himself from asking how that occurred despite his curiosity. He asked, "So what happened?"

"I discovered that my vision of a group marriage paled beside the real thing. Our home is like a castle. Yet that is nothing to how I feel when I'm surrounded by the family. I am a princess when they are around. You might not believe this, but every desire that I ever had about my life was fulfilled. I need or want nothing more than what I already have."

Oliver asked, "Has that changed?"

She answered, "Not at all. There are times when I feel that I might not be a very interesting person any more. I always wanted to help people heal. I serve the Goddess and she gave me that gift. I can have sex with a person that has been battered beyond belief and heal them. It is a dream come true for me. However, it's an interesting topic for five minutes, but then it pales."

Confused, he asked, "Are you happy?"

"Happy?" she asked. She laughed aloud for a minute and then answered, "I'm deliriously happy. I can't imagine being happier."

He asked, "So what's the problem?"

She understood the source of his confusion. She smiled and said, "I don't have one. I am totally satisfied with my life. Some people might consider me dull because I don't have any great conflicts in my life. They won't write any stories about my life. How do you have a book that starts with, she lived happily ever after?"

"So why are you telling me this?"

She came over to him and held his hand. She answered, "I only wanted to let you know how rewarding marriage could be. There is nothing greater or more pleasurable than being married to the people you love. I wanted to wish you and Catherine the same happiness that I've had. I can't imagine anyone having a better life than me, but I hope that you have a chance to have one at least as good."

Oliver was touched. A simple silver thread extended from her to him. She truly cared about his happiness. Lowering the sunglasses despite the bright glow, he looked at her so that she could see his eyes and know what he felt. He answered, "Thank you very much. I really appreciate that."

She could see that her words had been taken in the spirit in which they had been meant. She said, "Well, I'll let you wait for your young lady. You won't need me around when she arrives."

Oliver laughed as he said, "I doubt we'll notice if you are."

She chuckled as she went off in pursuit of Ling. It was time to remind Ling how much she meant to her. She stopped and looked back at Oliver as he looked out the door for his girlfriend. It brought a smile to her as she remembered the story of John waiting for Beth. She went after her wife, seeking a nice relaxing time in her arms and to love her wife. There is never an occasion when it is not a good time for love.

Oliver went out to the parking lot to wait for Catherine. She finally showed up about the time that he had worn a path in the grass from pacing back and forth. Racing over to the car, he flung open the door as soon as she powered off the car. In seconds, they were in each other's arms, laughing, kissing, and crying of happiness. In the nature of true lovers, they were totally unaware of their surroundings.