Chapter 4

Typing with his typical two-finger hunt and peck, Ed slowly put together his paper for the conference. It would take all day just to type it out, but he didn’t want to intrude on Cathy to type it for him. As a result, he typed his own work at the rate of about ten words per minute. Since it took him so long to type something out, he often wrote it out in long hand and then copied it into the computer. He was a slow but sure typist, getting the contents right before he committed it to the computer. It had worked for his dissertation and it continued to work for him.

A knock on the door downstairs interrupted his concentration. Going downstairs, he answered the door expecting to find Kim. Instead, it was Ling. He said, “Hello, Ling.”

“Hi, Ed,” replied Ling. She looked at him and said, “I’m bored, would you like to play?”

Sighing, Ed said, “I’m sorry, I’ve got a paper to finish this weekend and it’s going to take all of my time to finish typing it.”

“I can type it for you,” said Ling. This was a chance to kill some time and to put her excellent typing skills to use.

Shaking his head, Ed said, “I don’t want to burden you with this.”

Frustrated, Ling said, “I want to do it. I’m bored, and this will give me something to do.”

Giving in to her insistent pressure, Ed reluctantly agreed. Upstairs as he sat in a chair where he could watch her work, he was amazed at how fast she could type. She blew through the entire paper in less than two hours. When she was done, she sat back with a smile and said, “You can print it up now and proofread it. I don’t think I introduced too many errors, but some of the technical terms I’m not sure that I spelled correctly.”

Ed realized that even if he had to go through the paper and make corrections, she had saved him almost a full day of effort. Thankful for her help, he said, “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

Happy to have helped, Ling said, “I’ve been so bored since I got married.”

This news surprised Ed. He asked, “Why?”

Embarrassed, Ling said, “I lost my job when I married into the family. I haven’t been able to get a position that doesn’t require me to be gone for months at a time. So while everyone else is going all over the place doing things, I’m here at home.”

Understanding how she might feel about that, Ed said, “Oh, I didn’t realize that. Is there anything else you would like to be doing?”

This was a question that Ling had asked herself hundreds of times over the past few months. She enjoyed her work, particularly since it came easily to her. She worked on occasion as a bodyguard, but most of her work was in setting up large site surveillance systems. There was something about making it impossible to penetrate a security barrier that was an incredible challenge and one at which she was very good. Quietly, she answered, “I don’t know.”

The couple talked for a while before Ed said, “You said that you wanted to play when you came here. Did you have anything special in mind?”

Tilting her head, Ling answered, “Anything except sex.”

Puzzled, Ed asked, “Why no sex?”

“I’m competing tomorrow and it isn’t good to have sex a day before a competition.” Ling was signed up for a statewide martial arts competition. With all of her spare time, she had started working out and getting back into fighting prime. Once in shape, she resumed her training.

“Tomorrow is Sunday,” said Ed.

With an irritated look, Ling said, “The men’s prelims are today and the final matches for the men are in the afternoon tomorrow. They put the women on in the morning before the final matches because we seem to draw an early crowd. It seems there are a lot of people that like to watch women fighting.”

“So you are competing in what?”

“The state championship in martial-arts,” replied Ling.

Glancing at all the work that she had saved him, he realized that he now had free time to watch the competition. He said, “Can we come?”

Embarrassed at her answer and feeling a little guilty for not having told everyone, Ling said, “I haven’t competed in a long time, so I’d rather see how I do without having an audience.”

Silently thinking about her answer, he knew that she didn’t want to fail in front of the family. It was sad that she felt that way, but it was understandable in a funny sort of way. Seeking a compromise solution, Ed asked, “May I at least go and help you in some way?”

“What do you mean?” she asked,

“I could be in your corner, fetching water and helping between fights,” answered Ed. Dropping into a stage whisper, he added, “And I could cheer on those rare occasions when you do something right.”

Knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to talk him out of coming, she said, “Only if you promise you won’t tell anyone else.”

Smiling at being able to support her, Ed said, “I promise.”

“On that note, let’s go swimming,” suggested Ling. She wanted to move after sitting so long.

The two of them went down to the swimming pool and stripped. The water was the perfect temperature for swimming. Starting slowly, they began to swim laps speeding up with each lap until they were racing. Ling quickly lapped Ed and then stopped at the end waiting for him to make his way to her. Panting, he said, “You’re in great shape. I hadn’t noticed how tight your body has become.”

“I’ve been working out,” replied Ling proud of the way her body had become more defined as a result of her workouts and training.

After a morning of first-aid training, Kelly and Beth rushed into the pool room ready for a nice relaxing swim. Seeing Ed and Ling in the pool, Kelly laughed and shouted, “I declare a chicken war!”

After both women stripped, they jumped in the pool. Climbing on Kelly’s shoulders, Beth prepared to face off against Ed and Ling. With a wink, Ling climbed on Ed and shouted, “Charge!”

It didn’t even take half a minute for Ed and Ling to depose Beth and Kelly. Ling slid off Ed’s back into the water and came up shaking her hair. Water sprayed as she laughed. As the three women broke out into a splashing war, Ed moved over to the side of the pool watching his wives with great pleasure. It was amazing how much fun they had together.

Ed was startled when someone jumped into the water in front of him creating a huge splash. When the person rose to the surface and stood, he was surprised to see a totally naked Kim. She smiled at him and then let loose with a splash catching him in the face. Laughing, she said, “I told you I was coming here today. When Cathy told me you were here, I decided to join you. I hope you don’t mind.”

Still sputtering, Ed said, “I don’t mind. You had just better be ready for retaliation.”

Kim swam for the other end of the pool before Ed had a chance to splash her. Chasing after her, she effectively kept the other three women between them as a ploy to prevent him from splashing. Dumbfounded, Kelly and Beth watched Kim as she moved around the pool naked and appearing unconcerned with being seen by the two Lesbians. Ling said, “That is Kim.”

Kelly said, “It looks like her, but doesn’t act like her.”

“You can say that again,” remarked Beth. She stared at the naked woman as she pranced around in the water keeping just out of the reach of Ed.

When Ed finally caught Kim, he threw her up in the air causing her to land with a splash. Kim came to the surface sputtering while trying hard not to laugh. She swam over to Kelly, Beth, and Ling with a smile on her face. She stopped and said, “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist splashing Ed.”

Surprised to see Kim facing her naked and without shrinking away, Kelly said, “No problem. He said you were coming over.”

Looking over her shoulder at Ed, Kim said, “He’s worried that I’m going to say some nasty things. Actually, I would like to apologize for my actions in the past. As Lily pointed out to me, I was far sicker than I imagined. I know it’s not an excuse, but I want you to know that I’m sorry.”

After looking at Beth, Kelly said, “We understood that you weren’t acting from a rational basis.”

Taking a deep breath, Beth said, “How are you feeling now?”

Hesitantly, Kim said, “I’ve come to understand a number of things about my past. Much of what had happened to me was not very pretty. Lily helped me understand that it was not a normal set of experiences and that I have to grow beyond it.”

Nodding in definitive approval, Ling said, “Good for her. Face your fears and conquer them.”

The combative approach is not what Lily had suggested, but rather than argue she said, “I guess so.”

Moving directly to the heart of the matter, Ling asked, “Are you afraid of us now?”

“Not really,” answered Kim. Her brow wrinkled as she thought about how she felt at the moment. Finally, she said, “I’m not concerned that you will try to rape me. I know better than that now. There are still some people that I must admit that I fear, but most them have done something to me in the past.”

Feisty Ling couldn’t understand remaining a victim and said, “So when are you going to take them down?”

“When I’m strong enough to go through the experience, I’m prosecuting them for rape,” replied Kim.

“Good,” answered Ling. She added, “If you need someone to stand by you, I’ll be glad to help.”

Surprised by the offer, Kim looked at the little women and discounted her help. With a weak smile, she said, “I’ll remember that.”

While the women were talking, Ed moved up behind Kim. Winking at the others, he picked her up and swung her around. She squealed and flayed about shouting, “Rescue me from the bad man!”

The three wives unleashed a massive splash campaign at Ed. He was immediately overwhelmed by the superior numbers and retreated to the far end of the pool. The four women laughed as he climbed out. Standing next to the pool, he said, “Four against one. That’s no fair. Little Eddy is not going to play any more.”

As the women laughed, he jumped in the pool in a cannon ball and splashed them all. The move had taken them all by surprise. Standing up, he laughed at their reaction as they decided to surrender to superior trickiness. Everyone climbed out of the pool and sat down in chairs around the pool.

Marguerite came in with snacks and drinks. As she set little plates of food down, she said, “John is home. He’ll be down in a minute.”

Picking up one of the little appetizers, Ed said, “Are you sure this isn’t cat food?”

Giving him a love tap on the side of his head, Marguerite said, “Yours is, theirs isn’t.”

Surprised, Kim looked at Marguerite wondering how the woman could get away with treating Ed in that fashion. It was difficult to miss the look that Kim gave Marguerite. Kelly said, “Don’t mind them. They’ve had a food war going, ever since she started working for us; but, he eats everything she serves him.”

Laughing, Ling added, “He also signed her up for some cooking contest. Since then, he’s been eating better than all the rest of us.”

With a simultaneousness that was almost frightening, Ed and Marguerite said, “Don’t believe a word they say.”

The comment brought laughter to everyone in the room. As everyone relaxed in the chairs, eating the snacks provided by Marguerite, the conversation flowed around the room. The conversation turned to include John when he arrived, with questions about his morning and afternoon activities.

Ed watched Kim as she talked with his wives. To his surprise, she was relaxed and didn’t create any awkward moments. Lily had done her job well, but it was clear that she would never accept sex with other women and that meant she could never join the family. It was a shame, but it was a limitation of hers that he understood.

After the snacks had been eaten, Kim went over to her clothes and dressed. She turned and said, “I have to get back to the store. I just wanted to stop by and say hello to everyone. I also wanted to thank you for your understanding in the past.”

Everyone made the appropriate comments and watched her leave. As soon as it was clear that she was gone, Kelly said, “She seems much better now.”

John nodded his agreement and said, “Lily really is a miracle worker.”

With more than a little sadness, Ed said, “Yes, Lily worked a miracle. It’s a shame that Kim will never feel comfortable in having sex with women.”

Beth looked over at Ed knowing that he was disappointed and said, “She would never accept our kind of marriage.”

A little saddened, Ed said, “I know.”