Chapter 109

There is no easy way to start the type of discussion we were about to have. It's not that the subject matter is distasteful, but how to approach it smoothly. It's not like a business meeting where it could be an item on the agenda. The subject, while possibly embarrassing to discuss, and delicate to approach, is inherently joyful. I mean, what could be more feel-good than talking about love, and True Love at that? I remembered when Carol and I talked about our feelings the first time and the tumultuous sense of discovery when we each learned the other felt the same way. I hoped today's chat would be as enlightening and its outcome as blissful. Ain't love grand?

The sun was westering. Although we didn't have a lot of time, I wanted to get this over and dealt with before we had to return to the cottage. Large gorillas need to be handled with care, but they must also be dealt with in a timely fashion ... To mix metaphors, I guess we'd just have to — um — wade in.

Like I said, I wasn't sure how to get things started. Diane, never one to be afraid of rushing in where angels fear to tread, got things going in her own inimitable way — she brightly, innocently, blurted, "So, Jaz! Now you've seen us fucking, whaddaya think of us now?"

The rest of us choked on our drinks, coughing and spitting up Coke and root beer. Seems we just waded in ... Hope the gorilla was taking a bath and doesn't clout us ... I mean, we just had wanton sex in front of a girl we had only met and hardly knew. What exactly, did we expect the poor dear to say? Janet blushed bright red and hid her face in her hands.

I reached with my free arm and drew her closer to me. "Don't be embarrassed, Sweetheart. <Good advice coming from a naked man?> We were all wondering how to start this conversation, and crude as it may have sounded, Muffin has actually broken the ice." I looked around the group. "Anybody care to start?" I grinned and winked at Diane. "Muffin, if you start, please try to be a little more tactful than a fire truck on Judgment Day."

Muffin, suitably chastened — Not! — cleared her throat and tried again. "I'm sorry, Jaz. I knew we all wanted to talk about how we met and what happened then, but no one quite knew where to start. So I just did what I do best — I spoke in plain language and called a spade a shovel to wake us all up. Worked, too, didn't it? <Grin> First of all, this should be David's job or Baby's as First Wife. So, David, I've done my part and kinda-sorta got the ball rolling for you..."

With the focus back on me, I again looked around the group. "Muffin's right. It is my place to start, and difficult as it seems to be to get started, it's actually a very pleasant job to tell someone you love them. Still, I feel a bit like I did that first summer when Carol Anne and I first revealed our feelings to each other. I know what I felt and feel, and I have a VERY good sense of what the rest of you felt, but there's still just that nagging little insecurity — that basic fear of rejection — that causes me to hesitate. And ... I think the rest of you are having a similar reaction.

"Baby, Princess, and Muffin — I realize you haven't been connected since sometime this morning so your simul-speak wouldn't alarm Jaz, but it's starting to get a little late so I think you all sharing your feelings <remember, their connection, while appearing telepathic is actually empathic, and works best with emotions> will get us out of here earlier. Can we avoid the surround-sound, though, and just have Baby do the talking?"

In answer, My Girls (My Girls!) all nodded, joined hands, got this almost blank look then grinned as one and to demonstrate, they spoke together. "OK, David, we're connected. Only Baby will speak for us after this, but we still reserve the right to speak as individuals, too."

"I understand. Janet, does this frighten you?"

Janet, no longer embarrassed, but apparently excited, was paying rapt attention. "Frightened? Why would I be frightened? That is so COOL! I've heard the J's do it a bit, like this morning, and you told me your wives did it too. But —— there's no comparison between being told about something and actually seeing and hearing it. Forewarned or not, that is still way neat! I'd love to be able to do that!" Diane's crude remark may have woke the family up, but My Girls setting up their empathic connection did a superior job of relaxing Janet and getting her attention — so much for alarming her.

To get us back on track, I spoke up before the girls got into a long explanation. "Ok, I'm still nervous, but here goes. Janet, I know you and I expressed our love for each other on the way here, and the girls keep insisting to you that you're one of us now. And we've all been touchie-feelie with you and generous with our kisses. But none of that does justice to what transpired earlier today — it only sorta explains the fallout and to be fair, I can't help but feel we're rushing you. Shit! You only just met us!

"Jaz..." I noticed her give me an odd, but pleased look. "I'm more comfortable calling you that now. Do you mind?" A shy smile and a negative shake of her pretty head, "Thank you. Jaz, this morning when we met, I felt something so profound it just had to be spiritual. I am compelled to tell you about it so you can maybe comprehend the true depth of my feelings for you, sudden as they may be. If I hadn't experienced something very like it a couple times already, I'd be a truly babbling idiot, more so than I already am..." Janet started to say something. I held up my hand to stop her. "Hold that thought, Honey, and let me finish.

"When you came up to me this morning to be introduced, I thought I was seeing a vision, actually another vision — a 'vision-in-white'. You've heard the story of the original 'Vision-in-White'. Well, Girl! You're another one! Needless to say, I was staggered — stunned! You were just too beautiful to be real. And when you laughed, I thought an angel sang just for me. I tried not to stare, so I focused on your hand as we shook. Then I looked up, and ended up staring anyway. The most amazing green eyes — and I was totally, forever lost in them. When our eyes met, they didn't just meet, they locked. Something incredibly powerful passed between us, some message, some electrical force!

"Oh shit, I never could explain it, and I still can't, but it was powerful. The first time I experienced that feeling with Carol Anne, I thought my world had lit up with the brightest light in the universe and this time was very little different and just like then, I knew instantly who you were, your full name. Everything! Janet Jasmine Carnegie! Joe has told us relatively little about you, other than your name is Janet, you helped him decorate the house, you're just finished school and starting a new job and he's very proud of you. I don't know how I knew the details, I just knew, and they're etched in my heart and brain forever, and I knew that I loved Janet Jasmine Carnegie. Totally. Completely. Unreservedly. The instant our eyes met I knew I was completely, hopelessly, irretrievably in love. <Where is it written that Carol has a monopoly on emotional run-on sentences?>

"I watched as you met My Wives, and was privileged to witness them experience something very similar. I watched as you seamlessly joined in with the girls when they went up to the house to prepare lunch, then again your interaction with Baby and the twins. Most importantly, I've watched you this afternoon when I wasn't — ahem — otherwise occupied. What happened here would have had most young women freaking out and running for cover. You didn't. You stayed and generally kept your cool in the midst of what can only be described as frenetic sex." I noticed Riekie jerk a bit at my words. Now what? Whatever, I continued, "Rather than get frightened or scream epithets in moral indignation, you watched and learned.

"And what do today's activities have to do with how I feel about you? I saw a young woman whom we had never met blend seamlessly into our family. I saw her maintain her composure under difficult circumstances. The more I saw, the deeper in love I fell. In short, Janet Jasmine Carnegie, today I met another Soulmate, and I never want to lose you.

"I! LOVE! YOU! Period. Full stop. I can't explain the suddenness of it, doubt if I ever will. I have experienced that lightning bolt, for lack of a better description, twice before, and saw the effects of an almost identical experience on my best friend. Ask us about that one later. They set a record, I think. Baby, can you explain what you girls felt?"

Carol sighed almost dreamily. "Our feelings were almost identical. When we met you Jaz, we were connected — we only disconnected for this afternoon — so we all experienced the same thing at the same time." Janet looked a question at her as Carol continued, "We'll try to explain how we connect some other time, although I'm sure you'll soon be part of our circle sharing in this with us and not need the explanation. We felt a bit of what David did, but he's not as deeply connected as we are. However, he did describe the experience quite well. We will just try to add our impressions. The words are mine, but they express the feelings of all three of us.

"Each of us felt that searing bolt of energy as we locked eyes with you. You looked like you felt it, too. Like David, we instantly knew who you were, you whole name, everything. Janet Jasmine Carnegie! What a pretty name! Muffin officially gave you your pet name, but we all knew it at the same time — Jaz — and we all knew it's one of David's favourites.

"We know you haven't been with us to hear some of our discussions, or more correctly, David's discourses," She stuck her tongue out at me! "On how it is that we can love more than one person as our Soulmates. He seems to have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about it. When you consider he is Gifted with a form of the Sight, and knows things that he shouldn't, when he finally did make his pronouncement, we all listened very carefully. He's not quite Moses coming down off the mountain, but he approaches it sometimes. If you want Moses, then go see Rhiannon and the twins K.P. and D.J., now they're spooky.

"Anyway, last night David had another one of his 'Cosmic Moments' and declared we not only could love more than one person which allows the four of us to live in love and harmony, but that we can love an almost unlimited number of people equally. He described it as owning a piece of his soul. Since a soul is infinite, an infinite number of people —Soulmates — could own pieces of his soul. He also realized that it was quite possible that any one of us — him, or one of us — or possibly all of us or any combination of us — might someday meet another woman, and fall in love for the whole group.

"That's kinda neat, eh? Here we are, a family of four — a husband and three wives — and any one of us could fall in love with another person, on behalf of all of us! Seeing as David is a bit of an alpha male, and we're a little bi, we doubt very much if we'll ever bring another man into our marriage, but another woman, well ... As a complete family, we just arrived at that conclusion last night — although as we told David then, we wives have felt for some time that we would be adding more wives — but were not expecting anything at all so soon. BUT!!! Out of the Blue, here you are already!! You walked into our lives and our love this morning, and none of us will ever be the same.

"Janet Jasmine Carnegie, who we will affectionately call Jaz from now on — We! Love! You! You came to us, and now you own our very souls. <Jeez, First Wife is starting to sound like me!!>. What do you have to say? As Muffin would say, how d'ya like us now?"

Janet squeezed my arm, then sitting up straight, moved slightly away and squared her shoulders for a less casual conversation. Then she poured out her heart. "Before I get into what I — we — feel, and what we experienced, let me give you a little background —— When you first bought this place, Daddy couldn't get over just how nice you people were to him, especially with the sweetheart deal you made him. He said I just HAD to meet you."

She grinned pointedly at Carol. "He remembered you from last fall and the little display you put on for him which he thought was so innocently done by a woman totally absorbed in her love for her man, that he was not scandalized at all." Carol actually managed to blush — a real achievement considering our earlier behavior!

"Anyway, Daddy got totally into fixing the place up. I hadn't seen him so animated since before Mom got sick. He was especially concerned about the trail. He spent a lot of time on that, even though David had told him he doubted if you could make it down this year. When he heard you were coming for a vacation after all, he got really excited and got me involved in getting the house ready for you. It didn't need much, just replace a couple beds with bigger ones and finish the nursery for twins. Daddy has been so involved and alive since you folks bought this place! I was REALLY looking forward to meeting you all, just to see if the people who could motivate a broken man so much were actually real, and to thank them for giving me back my Daddy.

"I was all set to be here to meet you with Daddy when you arrived, but at work I'm the new kid and there was no way the boss, who is a bit of a bastard, was going to let me take off the Friday before a long weekend just so I could meet my father's employer. We got that sorted out last week and I changed my plans to come out after work on Friday instead. Then the boss decided that he needed someone to watch the place over the weekend after all, despite it being a Holiday weekend, and as the junior person, I was told that would be me. I politely told him I had other plans, but he kept at me about it right up until yesterday morning.

"Finally, I freaked. I told that son-of-a-bitch that I had already made my plans for the weekend, I'd already put in my forty hours plus some overtime and I most assuredly would NOT be working this weekend. Well he wasn't happy and yelled at me about being young and irresponsible — I don't know if I'll have a job when I go back Tuesday or not. The asshole must have found someone else after all, I guess, because he didn't say anything when I left work last night. <Damn! She sounds like Riekie! Must be the red hair... >

"Yesterday just wasn't my day for smooth interpersonal relations. As part of my plans to come out here for the weekend, I'd made arrangements with my brother Jack, his lovely wife, Brittany, and the kids for us all to drive out together last night after supper. Daddy said he had room for all of us and he wanted the whole family to meet you guys.

"I was just about to leave, and called over there to let them know I was on my way. Brittany informed me there was a change of plans. She and Jack would not be joining us at the cottage, and she doubted very much if she would ever come here again! One of us has slighted her somehow, but she won't say who or how. Typical! I never heard of such a paranoid person — she thinks everyone is deliberately out to insult her. What a bitch! <Did I detect a hint of venom directed toward this Brittany? I also noticed she wasn't a 'J'.>

"It took me a couple hours of arguing with her over the phone to get her to let the kids come. Even then my normally spineless brother had to find some balls and tell her in no uncertain terms that the kids would not be kept away from their grandfather regardless of what imaginary slight had been done her. I was so upset, and it was getting kinda late for the kids, even if it isn't that long of a drive, I decided to wait until this morning when the kids and I would all be fresher. I'm glad I did. I don't think last night I would have been in a very good frame of mind for the type of meeting we had today!

"And there you have it, short story made long. This morning I woke up early, feeling amazingly good considering the upheavals of the last day or so. As a matter of fact, I felt like something very special was going to happen today. Even Brittany (How did she manage to make that woman's name sound like a cuss word?) was friendly when I went to pick up the J's, and she even had them ready when she said she would. Maybe Jack should yell at her more often <Giggle>.

"The kids and I had a ball on the way out, playing silly word games, making me feel even better about the weekend. There's nothing like kids to brighten your day. When we got here, Daddy met us at the car, helped us put our stuff away, then brought us down to the beach to meet you. To be honest, while I remember almost all of what happened, it's jumbled and I'm not sure of the order, so if I get things out of whack to the way you remember, please bear with me. It's been a whirlwind of the most intense and wondrous emotions I ever felt. One thing I will say — that sense I had that something special was gonna happen today was a thousand per cent right.

"I walked down to that beach expecting to meet some very nice and very attractive people. After all, Daddy had told me how pretty you are, Carol Anne <She did it, and didn't even know she did! No one had told her Carol's full name.>, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the lightning bolt that struck me or the absolutely gorgeous people I would meet.

"As I got closer, I saw a nice looking young man obviously waiting to meet me with three very pretty — no ... beautiful — ladies standing by his side. I could see from a distance that two were very pregnant. If I hadn't known who you were before, that alone told me.

"My first impression of David was that he looked kinda cute. Without even thinking, and just listening to Daddy's introductions, I said something typically inane like 'hello, pleased to meet you' or some such as I held my hand out in greeting and was amazed to see all four people reach for my hand at the same time. I heard David reply to my greeting, I looked up from our hands and immediately found myself drowning in the most intense blue eyes I have ever seen in a man."

Janet addressed me more directly. "David, when our eyes met, I felt the same thing you say you did — this — this surge of pure energy — this lightning bolt. I didn't know for sure, because I had never felt anything even remotely like what I felt then, but I was pretty sure, that my man was standing right there in front of me. I had a funny urge to throw myself into his arms right then. <Talk about your déjà vu all over again... > I think the only thing that held me back was social propriety in the form of three beautiful women — his wives — waiting to meet me, and the fear of how they would react if I did such a thing.

"I never believed in love at first sight. I thought it was something that only happened in movies and those bodice-ripper romance novels I read when I was fourteen. I couldn't quite grasp it then, but now I know that's exactly what I felt. Later, as we sat on the blanket you winked at me. In an instant, I felt my heart melt, and in that tiny fraction of a second, that's when I finally knew for sure what I felt. I loved this man! I couldn't explain how or why, but I KNEW! I LOVED him — I loved him more than life itself. I almost fainted with that realization and jerked myself back to reality. You probably wondered why winking at me made me jump.