Chapter 112

The scene shifted an instant before Jeff asked the AI to show the helipad. On the screen, an Escalade, driven by Arlene, stopped well back until the helicopter settled and its rotors had stopped. Reed and his wife exited the copter, then assisted the Wade family in getting out. Arlene drove her vehicle nearer the helicopter, stopped, got out and opened the doors of the Escalade.

Jeff Watched as Wade, carrying a large bouquet of flowers, obviously introduced his family, then Arlene ushered everyone, including the two pilots, who had also been invited for dinner, into the SUV for the few hundred foot trip to the inside garage.

A few minutes later, Arlene escorted the Wades into the pool area, where she introduced everyone. The first thing the Wades noticed was the glass wall and the view of the deep snow with the backdrop of mountains. "It's so beautiful," Lyla whispered, taking her husband's hand.

"We love it, too," Diana said.

Wade suddenly realized he was still holding the big bouquet. Quickly turning to Diana, "We brought these. We hope you will like them."

"They're beautiful," Diana said as she took the bouquet, "Thank you so much. We'll keep them out here for now, and put them in our bedroom later so we can smell them all night." The women oohed and aahed over the flowers, then the Queen set the vase on a table.

This was the Reeds' second meal to share with the Matthews, and the married pilots had brought a large box of Godiva chocolates on their first visit.

"How do you like your steaks," Melissa asked their guests.

When both families had given their preferences, Jennie turned to the Wades' youngsters. "Do you guys swim?"

"Uh, yeah," Kevin and Dani said, almost in unison.

"But we didn't bring our suits," Dani added.

"Ah, that's no problem. Come on. We have time to find you suits before supper. Then, after we eat, you can put them on and we'll have a ball in the pool."

The men wandered off to talk.

As Laura and Helen put the steaks on the grills, Diana addressed Lyla and Charlene, "Have either of you tried using the microwave to cook ears of corn instead of boiling them?" the Queen asked.

"Yes, I've tried it," Lyla responded, "but it seemed to dry the kernels out..."

"Me, too," Charlene said, "but I went back to boiling the ears."

"Ever tried roasting the ears in the microwave with the shucks still on? I mean husks," Diana laughed. "We're from Georgia, so we call the husks, shucks. Anyway, if you leave the husks on until you have cooked the corn in the microwave, the husks come off even easier, and the silk just practically falls off with one swipe of your hand," she finished. Putting on a pair of rubber cooking gloves to handle the hot corn, Diana then demonstrated on an ear that she had just removed from the microwave. "We think the corn is tenderer, and the flavor seems more intense. If nothing else, you don't have to use a brush to get the silks off when you microwave the ears."

"Where did you learn to do this?" Lyla said, noting that the kernels appeared to be soft and the ear was totally devoid of any of the silks.

"From the lady who lives in the next house down the mountain. She also gave me a recipe for the best home-baked doughnuts you have ever put in your mouth."

"Could we..." Charlene started.

"You bet. We'll give you both a copy of the recipe before you leave."

A few minutes later, Diana looked up at the monitor. "Computer."

YES DIANA.

"Would you locate everyone and tell them to come eat."

CERTAINLY, the computer promptly returned.

A few seconds later. EVERYONE HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.

"That's a joke, right?" Lyla said, looking hard at the monitor.

Diana hesitated for a second, knowing that Helen, who was standing near, was uncomfortable if her sister-wives referred to her genius. "We're blessed with some very intelligent people in our family. Several of them are working to create a true artificial intelligence."

Charlene glanced at the monitor, then back to Diana, "I read a little science fiction, but other than sci-fi, I've always heard that AI's are years away, at best."

"Perhaps they are," Helen said as she opened a microwave to remove the last of the corn, "but Laura and Ann have been working on this program in their spare time for quite a while. Now that we can help them, things are moving a little faster. Although the program is becoming smarter, we are still a long way from true intelligence, let alone self-awareness. Maybe some day."

Meal over, Frank and Margaret invited Carl and Lyla Wade to Wainwright's office. Frank didn't sit behind his desk, but sat with the others, making the meeting a more relaxed one. Coffee in front of everyone, the two Wainwrights outlined what Frank had in mind.

Wade frowned, "But this..."

"Sounds too good to be true," Lyla broke in and finished for her husband.

"We've been told that before," Margaret said, smiling.

Wainwright crossed his legs and leaned back. After glancing at Margaret for a moment, he turned back to Wade. "Look, Carl, there's no better way to say this. We'd like to ask you some questions. And I would, of course, appreciate some very candid answers." As Wade started to say something, "No, please just hold on a moment, and let me explain. I didn't mean to imply that you would lie, or anything like that, but equally, I don't want you to be modest, either. I just need some facts. Margaret and I both think you will fit in well with our enterprises, but the more we know now, the more the reward will be for all concerned in the future. This isn't really a job interview, per se. We already know that we want you, but we need some details as we consider where to put you."

Wade intervened with, "I know what the federal guidelines for interviews are, and frankly what little an employer is allowed to ask, answers few of the things the company representative needs to know to intelligently hire a person — me, in this instance. I'm not going to try to sue, and I'm not ashamed of anything I have done, so let's get to the things you need to know."

Wainwright debated for a moment, then, "How about just giving us a five minute summation of what you do at that store — what your responsibilities are and how you accomplish them. Not necessarily just what the assistant manager's position entails — what your objectives are there and what you actually do to accomplish them."

"Tell him, Hon," Lyla said. "You've been the real manager of the store for years without getting any credit for it. Tell the man what you do."

It took Wade almost ten minutes to give his synopsis because of an occasional interruption for clarification by Margaret or Frank. When Wade was done, Frank looked at Margaret, then back to Wade. "Education?"

When Wade answered, Frank smiled again.

"You don't have to answer me if you had rather not, but what's your salary at the store?"

"Not as much as it should be for his position, let along for what he actually does," Lyla said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but only partially succeeding.

Carl sighed, and told the Wainwrights.

Frank turned to Margaret, yet again. When she smiled and nodded her agreement, he went to sit behind his desk, turned to his computer, brought up a contract and filled in the blanks. The printer spit out the short document. Wainwright put it in a file folder and handed it to Wade. "Margaret and I will give you two some privacy while you read that. If you want to have your attorney look at it, that's fine, too, but my employment contracts are short and to the point. When you have finished, just dial 181 on the intercom." With that, the Wainwrights, hand in hand, walked out of the office.

The Wades, sitting together on the couch, read the short contract. Lyla, who read a little faster than her husband, sat back when she was through. When Carl finished, he leaned back beside his wife. Neither said anything for a moment, then Lyla quietly said, "Is he serious?"

Her question was obviously rhetorical, yet Carl sighed and answered, "I don't know. How can he present us with a contract where we set the price of our house? Logically, he should ask for a current appraisal and go from that. By the wording, we could demand three times what the house is worth, and he would have to pay it. Heck, I can't imagine him even taking on the responsibility of our house. He could just as well never mention it. What we do with our house is our problem, not his. Some companies will pay for moving expenses, but this ... He's putting one hell of a lot of faith in me. Maybe what we ask for our house is part of the test."

Lyla nodded at the contract lying on the coffee table. "And ... he's offering to have us live in one of his houses for up to a year — rent free — while we find our own home in the Saint Louis area. He's even offering tutoring for our kids if we think they need it after having to change school systems."

Both had avoided the elephant in the room, but finally, Lyla said, "The salary he listed must be a typo. I know you're the best, Hon, but a starting salary that's three times what you make now for a job you haven't even trained for ... How can he do that?"

"So, you think he's lying?"

It was Lyla's turn to sigh, "No. No, I don't."

"What about the kids? Should we make sure..."

"They're already on board, Carl. They made that abundantly clear before the helicopter ride. If you don't take the job, you're going to have to do some tall explaining to them."

"You know that asshole will fire me the instant I turn in my notice."

"So, tell Mr. Wainwright that. See what he says. This," she said, picking the contract up from the coffee table, "says your salary starts when the contract is signed."

The Wades hugged, then Carl picked up the phone, punched Intercom, and dialed 181.

All the girls were swimming, even Hope. Since there had been guests tonight, none of the girls wore bikinis, and the two-piece suits were modest. Hope had not been able to find a bathing suit on their shopping trip, since this wasn't swimsuit season. She had tried to hold out for a one-piece as she looked through the available suits at the Retreat, but Jeff's young wives wouldn't hear of it. The two-piece Hope chose was modest, but still it showed far more than she wanted it to. She had worn a wrap, but hiding her body in it didn't last long before Jennie snatched it off and gave Hope a shove into the pool.

Kevin Wade, just as most fourteen-year-old boys would with all the half-dressed female flesh around, was struggling to keep his erection from showing. He went to the bathroom twice. Almost everyone there knew what those bathroom visits probably entailed. His memory of tonight would provide masturbation material for months to come.

After the guests were gone, the mood changed and the tempo picked up as the enhanced young women cavorted in the water, their sleek bodies moving at speeds that Selina had never seen before. She knew she swam well — very well for someone her age, but her tiny body could not compete with what was going on in the pool. She scrambled onto the side to watch, enthralled. The young women, dived, swam under and over each other, cutting through the water like hyped-up seals. Many times, they seem destined to hit each other, but never did. Then each one rocketed through the water to suddenly turn upward and shoot out to stand by the edge of the pool, dripping water.

Laughing and giggling, the young wives and girls ran to change, with Selina following them. Shortly, Selina, now dressed, was back with her kitten. Dave, Evie, and Dave's younger wives, Linda and Kim sat near Jeff, Diana, Susan, Helen, Laura and Caitlin. (Joyce was getting ready for work.) When Selina walked up with her kitten, it spotted Diana. "Meowww," it said while squirming to get free.

"He wants to see you," Selina said, walking over to Diana and holding the kitten out.

When Diana took him, "Meeeooowwwe," it said louder, sniffing the air.

Diana held him up to her face, staring him in the eye. "Oh, no, Junior. That was an emergency. You're on cat food and cow's milk now."

"Meoww," Dave said, nuzzling Evie's neck.