Chapter 47

Joyce, Caitlin, Jennie, Melissa and Ann came in with the latter two pushing serving carts. Soon, the table was set and food arrayed in front of Arlene, Diana, Susan and Jeff. The wives' efficiency was not lost on Susan, but she refused to acknowledge it due to her sour mood. Each time she had talked to her daughter or granddaughter on the phone lately, her suspicions that something was going on had increased. Then the introductions in the living room were almost more than she could take.

Each of the wives who brought in the food kissed Jeff before they left. Each kiss was short, but was without a doubt, sexual. Caitlin trailed a hand across Jeff's shoulder as she walked past — a gesture that bespoke love.

Susan took it all in with a frown, then said to Diana, "So we're not going to eat with the rest of the commune?" There was only a hint of sarcasm this time, however.

Diana sighed in exasperation as she passed her mother the broccoli. "Momma, you've never acted like this. Oh, I knew you would be pissed, but I never expected an attitude this bad. At least, most of the time, you were civil to my husband when we lived with you and afterward when we moved out on our own. You know he worked his ass off for me and my child. I could not have asked for a better husband. He was a much better husband than I was a wife. He didn't screw around on me like I did him."

Jeff was about to reach for his tea when he stopped. "Di, you didn't 'screw around' on me, and we've put that horse in his stall a while back. No use to bring him out again."

"'Horse in his stall?'" Diana smiled. "That didn't come from Georgia."

"No, Ma'am. Straight out of Texas," Jeff replied with what he thought was a Texas accent.

"Yeah, right," his Queen sniggered.

Actually, Jeff had found the old expression on a website and had been waiting to use it, but he would never tell anyone where he got his expressions from.

Susan managed a weak smile. "Well, I guess you two do still get along. But why shouldn't he be pleased with nine women to screw?"

"Might be more than that," Arlene chimed in. "You haven't met Kayla yet, or Dad's three new charges."

"Now, Arlene..." Jeff started but was interrupted as Arlene went on to her Meemi.

"Dad has a pair of fifteen-year-old twins and their sixteen-year-old friend that he's just brought back with him. They have a guardian with them who has been in love with my dad almost before she even met him, although she had watched many hours of video of him. Her name is Kayla, and she'll be number ten. We think the girls will follow shortly."

Jeff took a breath to deny, but Arlene went quickly on. "Oh, he wants to be a father figure to the girls, but they'll be his wives soon enough, no matter what he says."

Jeff just gave up and put some creamed potatoes on his plate, trying to ignore the comments — a lot of creamed potatoes to go with a huge steak that was already there.

"I suppose he eats like that," Susan said, gesturing at Jeff's plate with the spoon she was using to take Fordhook lima beans out of the bowl Diana had just passed her, "so he can service all his women." Sarcasm dripped.

"We haven't had our blessing," Diana injected, ignoring her mother.

Arlene grabbed her Meemi's hand. When Jeff's short prayer was over, Susan said very quietly, "He still does that?"

"Does what?" Diana said, an edge to her voice. "Why shouldn't we thank God for all the blessings we've received? Jeff got millions of dollars for the patent rights to his invention. This beautiful building and the hundreds of acres of this fabulous mountain came with it. We've become friends — no family — with the person who bought Jeff's patent. Jeff has bought up several small companies that he did some contract work for as an engineer. Those companies have made major money for us; our investments have done the same. We have far more money now than we had when we moved in here at the beginning of the summer. Our family has prospered financially as well as with our love for each other. And with the family expansion has come other Alphas, who with their families, have become wonderful friends for all of us. So why shouldn't we continue to thank God for what he has given us?"

Susan ate quietly for a little while, then, "But you have to share him with all those other women, and I can't even imagine what it must be like with your daughter right there. You said you have a big bed, so I assume you get in a pile..."

"Mother, enough with the pile thing," Diana snapped.

"All right, you all make love in the same bed," Susan amended.

"Momma, my sister-wives and I, and that includes Arlene, of course, have a ... connection, as my husband just put it. If he wanted, he could make love to only one of us and we would all be pleasured. If we're touching him, or the woman he is making love to, we become one. What she feels, we all feel. But he's a Prime. Most of the time, he makes love to all of us. Oh, sometimes it can be spread out over the day. The girls will occasionally attack him in the living room, or one of the sitting rooms the retreat is full of." She gave a little snigger, then took a sip of iced tea. "Sometimes, I do the same. None of us goes without, though. He's always there to hold us, snuggle with us, or fuck our brains out, if that's what we need. I certainly couldn't keep up with him by myself."

Jeff dug into his food, refusing to even look up as they talked about him as if he weren't even there.

Susan put her fork down. "That doesn't make sense. Why does he suddenly need all these women? You've bitched at me about not letting you use a fan for white noise in your bedroom when you lived with us, but you two got along for years with just you to service him, and doing it quietly, besides. So, again, why does he need eight other women now?"

"He's a Prime now, Mother. Oh, he was then, of course, but he wasn't enhanced at that time. But he could have 'serviced' many more women than just me. He just didn't because he loved me. Things changed after Jack — changed drastically until I almost lost my husband."

"Jack? Who's Jack?"

"Jack is the biggest mistake I've ever made," Diana said with unshed tears glistening her eyes.

They finished their meal while Diana began their story. Helen and Laura came in with peach cobbler. "Jeff brought this back yesterday from a visit to a little restaurant we helped out a bit," Diana explained. "Martha, the owner, sent two big pans of this great cobbler back with Jeff. We're — well the company — is going to build her a fancy new place, and has already expanded her kitchen and provided her with a great chef. But Martha cooked the cobbler herself."

Arlene put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on her Meemi's cobbler. "Home made," Arlene told her. "Ann, Jennie, Melissa and I made it."

Susan took a bite of the pie and ice cream combination. "It is certainly delicious. Well both of them are," she amended. She looked over to catch Diana's eye. "I expected to see servants everywhere now that you're rich..."

"No," Diana hissed out. "I told you on the phone we didn't have them. No servants — ever. Oh, we do have a cleaning crew come in once a week to do the kitchen floor and touch up some of the suites that are used for guests from time to time. But we do our own work other than that. In the beginning, we made a vow to do our own stuff — to act like we always have, not like so many rich people you read and hear about. We're up at six almost every morning, with few exceptions. Two of Jeff's wives still work." There was a grunt from Jeff, but Diana continued on, "One is a deputy and the other is a nurse. Jeff isn't too pleased that they continue to work, though. Truth be told, I wish they would just stay with us, as well. But their jobs are important, and important to them. And Helen teaches our school, of course.

"Joyce was shot two weeks ago, and almost died. That makes it harder to think about her going back to work tomorrow night. I know my husband will lay awake and worry about her."

"Joyce, the woman who was just in here?"

"Yeah."

"She almost died two weeks ago? She seems fine now. How is that possible?"

Diana hesitated as Jeff looked up and they locked eyes for a moment before Diana returned her gaze to her mother. "Mom, some things around here are secret until you become Jeff's wife. That's one of them. And while we're on the subject, I haven't visited a plastic surgeon. My apparent youth is ... natural, I guess you could call it. It doesn't just affect my face; it's my whole body. That will happen with you too, if you stay with us. But we will have to swear you to secrecy, although we still won't tell you how it's actually done, even then."

Susan continued with her cobbler for a time as her mind raced, then, "I didn't even recognize Laura for a moment. Whatever you have done has affected her as well. She looks younger — much younger."

"Mom, what Jeff has discovered puts the myth of the fountain of youth to shame. But you need to change your attitude toward my husband. There's not a better man walking this Earth. We all try to be better people because of him. There is no strife between any of us, and he's the reason. I can't go into detail about that now, and only us wives and a few others know the whole story, but the 'bitch' needs to stop. You have my husband wrong. It's time for you to open your mind and get over this attitude of his taking your daughter's childhood away from her, and your daughter away from you."

The dishes were cleared away and the story went on well into the afternoon.

Dave had plowed out, sanded and salted the inclines on the driveway. Arlene and the other young wives had taken their Meemi to her suite to get settled in. Diana and Jeff sat beside each other on the couch in the sitting room of their suite. "What are we going to do with her? Oh, she's calmed down now, and is back to treating me the way she always has. In other words, ignoring me when she possibly can, but she's a cocked canon as far as I'm concerned."

Diana thought for a moment. "The new girls appear to be healthy, don't you think?"

"Ummm, the doctors at the base checked them out like I said, and gave them a clean bill of health. Apparently Ingles didn't give them any STDs, if that's what you're talking about."

"Yeah, that too. But what I'm getting at is ... well, maybe you need to have Little One do my mother tonight instead of the girls. If they're okay, that is." At Jeff's raised eyebrow, she went on. "When she gets up in the morning feeling like a million dollars and the age starts coming off her, she will probably be a lot more receptive to our story and our lifestyle. What I've told her is a lot to believe cold turkey, and I've barely skimmed the surface. But since her age regression will be coming from you — as far as she's concerned — how could she stay mad at you? Where else on this Earth could she go to become young again? If that doesn't work, you can always call her to be your mate."

Jeff had been absently staring at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs while listening to his Queen. His head snapped around and he stared at her. His mouth would have dropped open if he hadn't been concentrating so hard. "Di, that is not a joking matter. I don't say that I dislike the woman, or that she's not sexy as hell, but over the years I have developed a distinct tendency to try to think up ways to be somewhere else when she's around. Obviously, she hasn't forgiven me for getting you pregnant. I'll grant her that she babysat Arlene when she was young, and did one heck of a job of keeping her when Arlene was older. And I suppose she probably stressed her finances when she took those girls to everything under the sun. But being a good grandparent and being my mate are different things," he managed to get out. "In a word, not no, but hell no. My dick would never get up over her — ever." But he remembered the kiss and how good Susan had felt in his arms. Begrudgingly, he also remembered his fight to keep his dick from becoming hard, a fight he had not entirely won. Trying to keep a blush from forming, he wondered if his lie about his dick had convinced Diana.

"Her breasts look an awful lot like mine," Diana persisted. "She's just an older version of me. And Flora, her cousin, says she's hot to trot, and claims that Mom has had several lovers since she moved to Florida."

"I don't care what this woman says about Susan. I don't care if Susan has to hold her tits down to see. I am not making love to her. She was reasonably okay as long as your father was alive and kept her in line. After he died, she showed how she really felt about me. I wouldn't fuck that woman with a borrowed dick."

Diana grinned at him. Yeah, right, she thought. I saw that bulge starting in your pants when you were kissing her.

Later in the afternoon, the young wives passed a look. Arlene turned to her grandmother, "Meemi, we need to go help fix supper. Want to come?"

Ann spoke up, "Oh, everybody wants to come," she laughed.

All the girls giggled.

Arlene mock glared at her sister-wife. "I meant did she want to come help."

"Oh," Ann said, as if in amazement.