Chapter 102

"Can you stay connected and speak through just one voice? All three speaking at once is distracting and gives me a headache. As this is basically a family meeting, First Wife should speak."

Carol dropped out to be that single voice. "Yes, we're still connected. Oh, David, we're sorry! We had no idea it bothered you."

"That's OK. To answer your question — yes, the signs were there, but why would we have been looking for them? Who would ever have thought anything like this of children? If they asked questions about love and marriage, we treated them as normal childhood curiosity. There was no reason for us to treat them as red flags. Yes, they seemed awfully close to the boys this past week, but how often do they see them? We know the boys love kids — that's why they broke up with their girl friends — so seeing them with ours was no surprise. And who would ever imagine such a scenario anyway? Yes, looking back with 20/20 hindsight, the answer to the riddle in hand, why didn't we see it? But, in real time we weren't even aware there was a riddle to be answered."

"Of course you're right. We just feel so helpless now. Our babies say they are in Love and are getting married! David, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know there's much we can do, especially if they've Seen it. If we try to derail them, then are we not acting as agents of the Evil we've fought so long? Much as it shocks us and hurts us, I think we're going to have to be very strong, be supportive, and just hope we can prepare them properly."

"Honey, we didn't mean it that way. We'd never try to upset anything the Goddess or the Power has set in motion."

"Then what?"

"How are we going to handle this until they're sixteen? What are we going to do?"

"Nothing, or almost nothing."

"WHAT??" Three incredulous voices pleaded.

"Think about it — there's little we can do, except set some ground rules for what we deem, quote, appropriate behavior, end quote; and otherwise continue to raise our children as normally as we can, instilling in them our values, continuing what we've already started. They're still children, and we must act accordingly, raising them as we would under ... ahem... 'normal' circumstances — teaching, supporting, disciplining, and nurturing. When they're old enough to marry the boys, we want them to be ready."

"But they'll only be sixteen!"

"And how old were we?"

"Yes, but..."

"I hear a parent's normal reluctance to allow their children to spread their wings. We have an opportunity here to do something for our girls we never got — to prepare them and teach them the things we wished we had known. As Mom's apprentices they're already getting the grounding in the Old Ways we never had. They know our story and the trials, tribulations and pitfalls we went through. All we have to do is continue with what we've already been doing."

"So what do we do about the boys?"

"When they call tonight we'll tell them we know and that the charade is over. We should also lay out some basic ground rules for their relationship with the kids so they know what we expect before they see them again. I doubt there's been any intimate behavior so far, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Those boys are too responsible to do anything inappropriate, though, by anyone's definition. They most definitely are not pedophiles. I suspect until the girls reach puberty and want to experiment, they'll treat them as children, and act more like the very attentive and devoted big brothers we already thought they were.

"I'd prefer to talk to them face to face, but this can't wait until next month — I don't want a potential confrontation with two young men we all love hanging like a cloud over our vacation. Let's resolve what we can now, especially for the girls' sake."

"What are we going to say to them? We have some choice words right now."

"First, we tell them we know, then after that ... Huh... ?... What choice words? They haven't done anything wrong we know of."

"Oh... ! We don't know what we feel exactly! ... But we're mothers! ... We feel frustrated and betrayed because they kept it from us — that they're the adults and should have acted more responsibly! After all, they have fallen in love with our babies!"

"I can't tell you not to feel that way. Hell, I feel it myself! If we didn't, then I might be concerned. The mind boggles at the concept! But, please, we must try not to be angry with the boys. Ill advised as we think they were, they tried to spare us some pain. The impetuousness of children (and maybe the helping hand of the Goddess) undid that, because it's better out in the open anyway. I don't know how I'd react if I found out they'd kept it from us for years instead of a month or so. I'm willing to forgive them the time they've taken so far to sort it out themselves, but no more.

"I imagine they're having a hard time digesting the situation themselves, despite the brave faces they put on for the kids. After all, what normal grown man wouldn't question himself when he found he might actually be in love with a young child? I'm sure if they hadn't Seen it themselves, they'd have gone mad wrestling with it. The next few years are going to be tough enough for our stepsons without us imposing guilt on them too. We'll have to be there for them almost as much as we are for the girls. The kids' very immaturity, youthful optimism, and lack of life experience make them very adaptable. They may actually have an advantage over two grown men raised to believe that their genuine emotions and feelings could be construed as pedophilia, and the mind-bending conundrum that poses for them."

"Well, we're still going to give them a piece of our mind for trying to keep it secret! But ... we'll try not to be too hard on them because they probably thought they were doing the right thing. What else are we going to say, David?"

"First, we have to decide what we mean by 'appropriate behavior', then spell it out so not only the boys but the kids understand perfectly, and what will be the consequences of violating the principles and trust we lay down. So ... any ideas?"

"We think there shouldn't be any intimate physical contact, at least until the girls are well into puberty, and we insist they be chaperoned until we're satisfied all parties can be trusted. Frankly, we're more concerned about the girls initiating stuff out of curiosity than we are Robbie and Jamie. We must insist that if the girls have any questions about how boys and girls interact, they talk to us before they try something that could hurt any of them, emotionally or physically. By the same token, we must promise to be as open and honest to their questions as possible."

"I agree, but the girls are going to experiment among themselves, that's a given of growing up. Princess, you discovered the joys of masturbation when you were six or seven years old, and our twins may be as precocious as you were. I think it behooves us to make sure they know about their bodies now in case they do start young. We don't want them being secretive, but they must also know it is something private and personal.

"But I digress. I have some ideas. First, I agree, there will be no intimate contact before the girls are well into puberty. As part of their education, we must teach them to respect their bodies and the perils of promiscuity. We don't want suddenly to hafta have 'The Talk' with them. Let's make 'The Talk' an ongoing process. They know most of the physical processes even now, so by the time they reach puberty, they should know the emotional ramifications, too.

"Second, we should set an age after which some intimate touching is permitted. The girls must be made aware their virginity is a priceless gift, and should be surrendered only on their wedding bed, or at least to the One. They must understand that some sexual experimentation and exploration of each others' bodies may be permitted, but only to the comfort level of the most cautious participant, which, strangely enough, I suspect, is usually going to be the boys.

"Third, we should assume once the girls do reach puberty, their hormones may get the best of them, and they may engage in intercourse earlier than we, or even they, would like. I hope their training and education might preclude this, but we all know what we were like when we were teens, and despite these kids being raised knowing more than we ever did, we must be prepared. As soon as the girls start having regular periods we should put them on the Pill. We know now it's safe for women of the Old Blood. I think I'm safe in saying Robbie and Jamie will try their utmost to behave, but who knows what can happen if a horny teenager or three decides she's going to give it up? God! That's a horrid thing to contemplate — our children having sex! Eeewww! How am I doing so far?"

Carol still spoke for all three, still in complete harmony. It was eerie to see Riekie and Diane remain silent during a family meeting. Only someone as used to them as I was would catch their subtle changes of expression as they contributed their input through Carol. I had the feeling they were secretly amused at my reaction, despite the seriousness of the conversation.

"Much as it pains us to think of our daughters as sexual beings, especially at this age, we agree. You made a good point reminding us of Princess masturbating at an early age. We don't want them to be afraid of touching themselves the way that nun made Princess, but we don't want them being brazen either. We want to make it very clear to Robbie and Jamie that these little girls are NOT to be treated in any way that could be construed as sexual, but to treat them the way they always have — like little girls they love as sisters. These children MUST be allowed to experience their childhood as much as possible.

"We agree about putting them on the Pill, and there should be an age at which intimate touching is, if not acceptable to us as parents, at least grudgingly permitted. Keeping their virginity until their wedding night is less of a problem than we might at first think.

"These girls are being raised in the Old Ways, and as apprentices to the High Priestess of the Goddess. They know the symbolic importance of the bridal sheet. Remember, Karen Michelle, raised in the Old Ways, remained a virgin until she met Robert, because she hadn't met her One until then. It may be more difficult for our girls because they, young as they are, appear to have found theirs. Then again, they also have a firm date for their weddings and will hold to that.

"What age do we rather arbitrarily assign as 'touching permitted'? I think it should only be when all three of the oldest are well into their puberty, but then, that's me ... That means Rhiannon will likely feel cheated for a year, but it's best if all three are permitted at the same time. Jenny, four years younger than the twins, will have fewer problems, and will learn from the older girls' experiences. We're sure their private girl-girl sexual exploration among themselves will start earlier, but we must not prevent that. It's part of their normal development, especially if they continue to sleep in the same room, and we all know they will never allow themselves to be separated.

"It seems a little young, and we feel guilty even considering it, but we think it should be after the twins turn twelve, when they should have been having periods for at least a few months, with no touching below the waist for another year. If the girls, or the guys, wait longer, that's fine with us. We wish our parents had been so liberal with us. We think we should allow it in phases, too, although how much we can control what goes on when they are in private is difficult to say, except to trust them.

"If we lay these rules down clearly so all parties understand them then much as we hate to do it, we agree." Riekie and Diane both nodded in agreement.

Carol finished feeding the babies. Diane and Riekie each took one to burp and change. Benji and Katelyn were both awake, and seemed very aware of the conversation, both verbal and silent, going on around them. Our meeting continued almost without interruption except as Carol paused to hand the tykes off to her wives.

This was going easier than I expected. Of course, having all three wives literally on the same wavelength, pooling their mental resources meant a considerable amount of brainpower was being applied to the problem. I did think of one other thing. "Ok, we'll lay that out for them all tonight. There is another issue we should address, more to protect the girls and, yes, all of us, and that's the subject of Public Displays of Affection — remember that from high school?

"We may have a real problem with that, not so much now, but once we allow them some level of intimacy. They must be made very aware that the dreaded PDA does not occur. We understand, but to the rest of the community and Society at large, grown men being publicly affectionate with pubescent girls is highly suspect. The last thing any of us needs is to be harassed by the law because of some uptight busybody misconstruing what to us would be an innocent embrace or kiss.

"Even after they're sixteen and married, they may want to be a little circumspect, which brings me to something else. I think the girls should remain with us until they graduate high school, with the boys commuting on weekends.

"Our community has accepted our multiple marriage but they might have problems accepting one where three teenage sisters are married to a man in his thirties. I doubt if any of our friends would be concerned, but we don't need banner advertising either. Taking a couple years to let the community gradually see them together may be better. Robbie could take them to their Senior Prom, just like we did as our first foray into the real world. Jenny and Jamie would follow a similar pattern, but being just a couple will make it a little easier for them.

"From society's viewpoint, the girls moving out at eighteen, ostensibly to go to college, is to be expected and we avoid potential complications. I would hope that when the girls do join their husbands after high school that they will go on to college. Their education costs are already looked after, and they should be able to continue their education even if they're starting a family.

"Fortunately they're all in the same class, so Rhiannon won't be sitting twiddling her thumbs for a year waiting for her sister-wives to graduate or going on ahead like Princess had to." This got me an appreciative hug from Riekie. "When they are together, they will be treated just as Mom and Dad treated us. We can make staying with us to finish high school a condition of our giving our consent and blessing. I know we can't and won't fight the Power on this if push comes to shove, but if we present it right the girls themselves will want to finish school here, anyway.

"I guess that's about all we can plan for now. The rest is up to the value system and preparedness for adult life we're able to impart to the girls as they grow up, and the integrity of all of them, which I think none of us doubts. I know our parents always told us that being a parent was not going to be an easy job, but I don't think anyone could be prepared for this type of scenario! Are we all agreed? I see the kids heading back from the pasture, so I guess we should wrap it up."

To add emphasis, the wives went back into three-speak. "Yes, Lover, we agree with it all. It hurts, but we agree."

Diane dropped out of the connection and asked. "OK. So we're going to confront the boys tonight. That's fine, but what are we going to tell the rest of the family, and when?"

Riekie spoke up. "We have too much going on today, but I think we should meet with all of them tomorrow, with the kids, and tell them. They may have additional ideas on how to handle this —— how shall I say? —— unique? —— situation. Somehow, I have the feeling it won't surprise Mom in the least."

I mentioned one item we'd overlooked. "We forgot one thing. We said if they break the rules, there would be consequences. What do we do for infractions?"

Carol again spoke for the three. "It may punish us all, but for major infractions we should ban the boys and ground the girls for at least a month. And then... <giggle> they should be subjected to the lo-ong version of your speech and interview on friendship and the effects of violating trust. Sound good?"

Well, I was outvoted anyway and it carried, as it was proposed by all three of them to start with. Long version, eh? Show some respect! Have I never been anything but brief and concise?