Chapter 104

Just about the time the kids started to get water-logged, the shopping crew returned. Carol took over the supervision of the kids while the other women dragooned me into carrying groceries. Paul and Joe conveniently disappeared into Joe's lair with their beer and memories...

Once the groceries were in, they shooed me out of the kitchen, and the four women started preparing some kind of feast for supper. They even kept Carol from their domain, but the smells that emanated from that kitchen and drifted out to the porch were mouth watering. Carol and I retired to the couch on the porch. The kids found one of their board games, and were soon playing quietly. The babies watched them intently for a while, but soon fell sound asleep, while Carol and I snuggled like old times.

Thanks to the planning and preparation of Joe and his daughter Janet, our first day at the cottage was much more relaxed than we had anticipated. All we had needed to do was make a trip into town to stock up on groceries. Riekie, Diane, Pie and Jo performed that task efficiently and quickly. While in town, Pie and Jo were able to take some time to go round by their old house for a short visit with their former neighbour, the lady who so kindly watched over it all winter until it was sold.

From what they reported to me later, they caused quite a stir with their old friend when they showed up on her doorstep. It must have been quite a shock for her to see a very much younger-looking Jo seven and a half months pregnant. To top it off, she and an equally youthful Pie were accompanied by two stunningly beautiful younger women in the same advanced stage of pregnancy — one a niece she hadn't seen in years and another they introduced as their daughter! It said a lot for the woman's character (and the soundness of her ticker!) when, while shocked, she certainly wasn't scandalized, and maintained a dignified and friendly demeanor. Mind you, she had witnessed the debacle with Bob Sr. last September and learned a lot then.

Never mind Jo being pregnant, the neighbour was amazed at the transformation in both Pie and Jo. Gone were the matronly clothes, hair done in severe buns, and the long faces she had known. Now she faced two vibrant, beautiful women with flowing locks and sexy dresses who smiled and laughed constantly. The poor woman hardly knew them.

When they lived next door to her, they had become very good friends and over the years had shared with her a little about their past. Consequently, the neighbour knew somewhat of their multiple marriage when they were young. When they told her they had re-united with their lost lover and Jo had gotten pregnant on the first night of their reunion, she was overjoyed for them. The only thing she expressed concern over was the usual one — Jo's age. They never did tell her their husband was also their brother, feeling that bit of information might be just a wee bit too much for the woman to handle (I wonder why?). They did explain Diane was actually their stepdaughter, though.

The women returned to the cottage from their shopping trip in good time despite the visit with Pie and Jo's neighbour, with the groceries carried in and stowed in short order. Then, as mentioned, those four ladies shooed everyone, including Carol, out of the kitchen while they prepared another of their feasts. Carol and I snuggled on the couch in the porch for a while but soon felt like doing something to burn off a little energy. The babies were asleep and wouldn't need to be fed for at least another hour. The four older kids were playing quietly. We asked the others to keep an eye on them while we went for a stroll to check out Joe's progress at clearing the old trail.

Carol was still wearing the bikini she'd worn to the beach, but when we returned to the house she'd tied on a little wrap-around matching sarong. The effect of that little scrap of cloth was devastating to my libido. She looked utterly ravishing, and getting her alone for a few minutes was high on my list of priorities. She knew it, and so did my other wives. Today was the twenty-first anniversary of the Friday when Carol and I first became physically intimate and a little private time for just the two of us was more than appropriate. After all, not only was it a special anniversary, it was the first time ever we were able to 'celebrate' it, and ... most importantly, we had returned to the very venue where it occurred. What could be more fitting!

Taking Carol by the hand, I led her out of the porch and around the house toward the beginning of the trail. As we left, Riekie called out for us not to be too long, supper would be ready shortly. We might have time to neck and cop a little feel, but that would be all. We were being allowed a little space, but not a lot. Oh well — be thankful for small mercies.

As we started up the trail, our arms comfortably around each other, both Carol and I were stunned at the amount of work Joe had accomplished. He told us during one of our calls setting up this vacation that he had the trail pretty well completed, but we had no idea he had accomplished this much! Joe had cleared the trail back to the dimensions we remembered — the traveled portion of an old farm lane.

Riekie, Carol and I, and sometimes Bob, had been able to walk comfortably abreast for most of the trail in those halcyon days. Over the intervening years, it had grown up into the almost impenetrable jungle Carol and I found the previous September, now almost a year ago. Now we could walk it again with ease. Amazed at the amount and quality of the work — all the cut brush removed and the stubs, always a tripping hazard, trimmed to or below ground level — we marveled at the restoration of one of our favourite places.

Bemused by the renewed enchantment of our trail, we strolled comfortably, arms about each other, unmindful of the original lust that had sent us out on a private stroll. Eventually we reached 'Riekie's rock'. By mutual unspoken consent, we decided to go no farther without the other wives. What we had seen so far showed that Joe had done an excellent job and we didn't need to see any more to confirm it. It just wouldn't be fair to Riekie, who had shared so much with us here, nor to Diane, with whom we wanted to share so much, if we went any further without them along. We paused at the stone where we had found Riekie crying, shared a long, intimate kiss and very tender embrace, and with some regret, turned back toward the house.

We would all come for our first real walk this evening after supper and rediscover the trail together. Carol and I, and the others, would have ample opportunity for private walks — and talks — during the next couple weeks. We could even stay longer if Diane and Riekie felt up to it — there was no great rush to return to the farm. Mom and Dad could tend the animals for a while longer, and they knew what needed to be done vis-à-vis the new house. For major decisions, we were only a phone call away.

Carol and I linked our arms about each other, and strolled leisurely back to the cottage. We laughed and joked quietly like the lovers we had been once and were again, stopping frequently to enjoy long tender embraces and soft lovers' kisses. Our return to the house coincided with the babies awakening for their next feeding. The kids helped me change the babes and Carol fed them. By the time Benji and Katelyn were fed, burped, and settled back into their carriers, the other women were calling us to supper.

The ladies set out the evening meal as a buffet. With fourteen of us, counting Joe, and up to seventeen when the boys and Janet were with us, we would have to work out a different form of seating so we could all be together for regular meals. <Later, we did solve it for most days by putting two picnic tables together and serving outside.>

Once everyone had gathered in the main room, Diane did the honours and offered a prayer of thanks to the Goddess. Soon, we all had our plates full of the delicious Dutch fare, and everyone found a place to sit — some at the table, others on the couch, and still others in the porch. Regardless of where we found a place to sit, once again we celebrated our family meal with love, fellowship, conviviality, and fun.

After the marvelous feast served up by the womenfolk, we men, supervised by Carol, pitched in to help with the cleanup. The ladies had put on such a delicious spread, the least the rest of us could do was wash up while they relaxed with their tea and unwound from their busy day. With the four of us working, many hands made light work, and soon we were able to join the cooks over after dinner coffee/tea and dessert.

My wives didn't stay settled for very long. They were just itching to go for our promised walk. Pie and Jo volunteered to watch the babes, while Paul and Joe said they would take the four oldest on a bit of a 'nature walk' along the lakeshore.

Joe teased the kids about snakes and frogs. I thought he was in for a bit of a surprise. None of the kids was the least bit afraid of reptiles, worms, fish, or amphibians, especially Jenny. That young worthy, on a number of occasions, had caused screaming consternation amongst her mothers when she brought a toad into the house to show them. She could not understand the near panic whenever one of her little 'friends' managed to get loose in the kitchen, and was absolutely mortified when it was suggested the poor creature be terminated. I'm not ashamed to admit the ten-year old in me got the better of me at those exciting times <GRIN>.

The few times I had been able to take the kids down to the river to do a little fishing this summer, they had all baited their own hooks. They never once balked at handling slimy worms and once shown how to do so safely, also took their own fish off the hook — good thing, too — the way those little fish magnets caught fish, I'd have been too busy to do any fishing of my own.

However, if Joe had teased them about spiders, then he'd have gotten a far more animated and negative response than the 'Hey, cool!' he did get. Mild arachnophobia seems to be pandemic among the Lloyd women folk...

Katelyn and Benji had been fed just before supper, so weren't all that hungry. Carol offered them a suck, but they took little. To be prepared, she took the time to express some milk so there would be some handy if the babies got hungry before we got back, and to forestall any discomfort she might feel in her breasts if we were a little late. Carol's need to be 'drained' was as regular and on the same schedule as the babes' appetite.

As we were on vacation, we let the kids stay up late, allowing us the time to take a leisurely walk without having to rush back. We knew the grandparents would ensure they were well entertained without resorting to that modern babysitter, the TV — in fact there wasn't one on the premises.

Diane and Riekie were as 'fit' as they could be considering their advanced stage of pregnancy, and if we kept the pace down, could walk a significant distance. They looked delightful in their close-fitting summer dresses. Before we left, Carol changed from her daring bikini and sarong into a summer dress more suited to the cool evening air.

With hugs to the kids and admonishments to mind the Oma's, arms about each other, we started out for our walk with lots of daylight left. I slipped an arm around a girl, Carol on my right, Riekie on my left. They each put their arm around me, and Diane did the same on Carol's right. Once again, I was strolling along our favourite trail with the most beautiful women in the world on my arms — the King was back!

The evening was clear and mild, with that golden glow just prior to a summer sunset. As we strolled, we passed different spots on the trail that held specific fond memories, upon which Riekie, Carol and I reminisced, regaling Diane with tales of that idyllic summer so long ago and yet so near. It was mainly for Diane's benefit (so we said... ), but also for our own, as we reconnected with that magical summer when it all began and excised more of the hurt from the aftermath.

We pointed out the spot where Riekie first declared her love for us, and not far from there, the stone where we found her crying the night we married her — coincidentally at the same spot.

Farther up, we pointed out the entrance to the lane leading to the barn. We stepped through just far enough for us to take a good look at it. Joe had been busy here, too. His cleanup, from what we could see, had been subtle, but one thing did stand out — the roadbed was a riot of colour from the wild flowers Joe had sewn as I requested. Diane was literally blown away by the beauty of the scene.

"You guys have told me over and over what a beautiful, enchanted spot this is, but I always suspected there was a touch of exaggeration born of nostalgia. Even with Princess and Baby's drawings, I thought it was just too good to be real, and took it with a grain of salt. Now I see it, and realize my skepticism has done you and this marvelous place a grave injustice. I see that your own words and pictures actually fail to adequately describe the supernatural beauty and serenity of this wondrous place."

Goddess! When had my little pixie become so eloquent! All we could manage to answer in response to Diane's tribute was to dumbly nod and inarticulately agree: "Yeah! Beautiful.We tol' ya!" Why is it that when you need them, words fail you? I guess what can cause some to wax poetic causes others to be at a loss for words...

Carol squeezed her smaller wife affectionately. "Muffin, you just wait until we take you up that road to the old barn. Then you'll not only see the full beauty of this place, you'll experience what can only be described as the magic of it."

Diane cooed and snuggled closer into Carol's embrace. "Oooo! I can hardly wait!" She turned her face to Carol and they shared a tender kiss which spread to Riekie and me before we turned back toward the main trail.

With a longing gaze, we stepped away from the entrance to the old road and continued our walk along the trail. Carol and I had seen how badly overgrown the old trail had been, and as we traversed its length never ceased to be amazed at how much effort Joe had expended to restore it. It seemed no sooner would we discover some wonderful indication of Joe's evidently Herculean effort, when we would round a bend or peer into a copse and behold yet another of his wonders.

Riekie summed it up when she observed. "Are you sure Joe cleared this? He's done such a marvelous job, I can hardly see where he's removed anything — it looks just like I remember, except many of the trees are a lot bigger now."

I squeezed her to me. "Princess, I dunno how Joe did it all in the time he had, considering the work on the house and the old barn, too, but he sure did a fine job, eh? Maybe he's a little magical himself, eh? Given some of the things that have happened to all of us over the years, and especially where this place is concerned, it wouldn't surprise me if we had found our very own elf or possibly genie to magically do our bidding." Privately, I still tended to think of Joe as the incarnation of Tom Bombadil, 'the Oldest One', whose 'magic' came from the land itself.

The others heard us, and we all laughed at the absurdity of such a thing, but still ... Joe had gone to some lengths to make it look as if the trail had not been overgrown at all and the results were, at the risk of overusing the word, magical — at least to us. The stubs were trimmed to below ground level, and the brush removed. One had to look very close indeed to see that the roadway had actually been cleared recently.

Near the end of the trail was the little dell with the leaning tree that Carol and I had found that allowed us to step off the trail for some intimate privacy. We'd stopped here to make love many times that summer, and after we joined with Riekie, had loved her here as well.

Last September, Carol and I found the nook again, but in its 'jungle' state didn't feel comfortable to do anything except cuddle and remember. Joe had worked his clearing magic here, too, and once again, it was that lovely dell lending itself to love and intimacy.

We regaled Diane with several stories about this spot. She especially enjoyed hearing how we actually 'christened' the leaning tree on Carol's and my wedding night. This was always a happy spot. Carol and I had stopped here many times to love each other, but we had also had many of our more meaningful and productive conversations here as well. It was here that we discussed how we felt about Riekie and decided to add her to our knot (if she'd have us, that is!).

The four of us spent quite a long time cuddled into a group hug as we remembered and shared. I had thought earlier that we might actually get into something of a group grope — and possibly re-christen the leaning tree — when we got to this spot on the trail (Hey! It's a guy thing!), but in reality, we became lost in the memories and simply basked in our love for each other. We hugged and kissed tenderly, and the most intimate we got was to squeeze a buttock or nuzzle a sweet breast occasionally.

All too soon, we realized it was getting late — the babies would be getting hungry for sure — and headed back toward the house. Carol, reverting to form, broke from us and skipped on ahead, exuberant in her joy at returning to a place we loved so much. Diane moved into my right side where Carol had been and snuggled up close. I strolled down what was now our own private lane holding my pregnant wives close while First Wife gamboled ahead, feeling utterly at peace with myself and the world. The King was indeed back!

We interrupted our return stroll with frequent stops to hug and kiss. Carol stayed out in front, but periodically skipped back to us and kissed one or the other of us lovingly before happily scampering off again. Our joy at returning to this magical place was palpable, and the pleasure of sharing it with our newest soulmate was deep beyond measure.

It was well past dark when the four of us finally wandered into the house from our walk. The kids were still up, but were obviously fading fast. Fortunately, the grandparents had already given them their baths and changed them into their jammies. The babies weren't demanding to be fed yet, but they were awake, so would be soon. The urchins each kissed their grandparents goodnight and the four of us escorted them upstairs to their bed.