Chapter 4

Arriving early in the morning, there were few people awake, but that changed with Sarah's scream, her alarm created by the happiness of Joseph's arrival reversing 180° to awareness of his condition. Like an ocean wave washing through the mansion, one after another of the guests awoke from various shared beds, their late night love making resulted in a shortened sleep as a tumult of feet and raised voices had everyone dressing quickly and rushing downstairs and outside to witness the extraction of medical equipment and a gurney bearing Joseph. While the clinicians busied themselves with moving Joseph and the equipment into the garden room, the outside door unlocked and then guarded by Andy who was set on keeping the amazing space a secret to those who hadn't created it until the ceremonies began, an annoyed SHE, staring daggers at Sarah while Natty comforted her with a hug, whispered to Natty quietly enough to not be heard by the cheerleader, "I think you should calm everybody down." Natty nodded.

"Attention everyone! Attention!" yelled Natty, and when the tumult continued, SHE yelled, "Quiet!" loud enough to wake the dead and the gathering obeyed.

"Many of you don't know, but Joseph has over the past year, in fact among other things, this is an anniversary of the first one we know of, had a mysterious, uh, well that's part of the problem, we don't know what, but he occasionally becomes unconscious for several minutes, sometimes longer. Every time it has occurred, he has awoken as fresh and crazy as ever." Murmurs, some of amusement but most of continued unease filled the air like a mist, dissipating as Natty continued. "Though this current one has proved to be by far the longest, we don't believe there is any danger of a continuing coma. Dr. Schneider and his staff are monitoring him, and he assures me all vital signs are normal." Not mentioning that Dr. Schneider was a PhD, and the closest thing to a medical doctor was Tina, a medical student, albeit advanced and brilliant, was, to SHE, a good idea. "The Order itself doesn't go for praying to god, but neither does it tell you not to, so if it makes you feel helpful, go ahead. Many of you may have celebrated each other's bodies a bit late last night, so get some more sleep." More laughter was released by the calming crowd. "There's another six hours to go before the festivities. Otherwise, in about a half an hour you are welcome to join Sister SHE and myself for some meditative exercises to refresh our well travelled bodies and refocus our attention to the celebration Brother Andy is so beautifully hosting. As many of you know Joseph is the great love of my life and the father of my extraordinary child, so if I was afraid I was losing him, believe me, I wouldn't be standing, let alone speaking to you, so relax. And by the way, Brothers and Sisters of the Order of the Love Monk, welcome, and I love you." Noticing Anita in the crowd when speaking the last word, Natty rushed up to her. "Devi?"

"Kristin is with her," said Anita, who had been babysitting the child. "She's fine, but wanting her mother."

Dashing through the house and up the stairs and into SHE's room, the cries getting louder with each step, Natty arrived to find a concerned Kristin leaning over the crib, clacking a collection of oversized plastic keys above the baby. Pausing a moment to smile at Kristin's efforts, she went to the other side of the crib and swooped up her child and held her against her breast, kissing the top of her head and moving her a little away from her body so they could make eye contact, ceasing the crying for a moment, and then watching her child's expression move from upset to glee and back to upset. Lying on the bed, she bared her full breasts, one of which was clutched as Devi maneuvered her mouth to a teat and sucked. "I missed you too, sweetheart," she said to the suckling charmer. Looking up at Kristin, she asked her, "How are you with older kids?"

"I'm the designated nanny for the gathering. There are five children from various families here."

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all, and Linda's been helping when she's not off playing with Andy."

"The reason I'm asking is there are a couple of bright children who may be wandering around aimlessly, a ten year old slightly overweight dark haired boy named Benjamin and a lighter haired 8 year old petite little pixie named Samantha or Sam whose father is a bit busy with Joseph right now."

"What happened?"

"It's a little scary, but things will be fine. Joseph's unconscious."

"Oh my god!"

"Kristin, sweetheart, he'll be fine. Go find the kids and show them around."

"I'll bring them to the playroom at the end of the hall."

"Show them Andy's library first. I think they'll get a kick out of all those books."

"But won't Aleister scare them?"

"I think the young Mr. Crowley was kind of cute. It's the portrait in the living room that gives me nightmares." Sharing a laugh, Kristin departed.

A half hour later, Natty was awakened by two mouths, one gently kissing her lips, the other wiggling her tongue in her pussy. "Oh fuck," she said as Candice's tongue flicked her clit and sucked it, Karen's mouth letting the sudden deep breaths and expletive have room to exhale as Natty was shaken by a startling orgasm, her eyes bugging out and her smile wide as she looked down at the slimy face of her distant lover. "I'm so happy you're here," she said. Candice grinned back.

"Sheila wanted to come up and fuck you," said Karen, "but I persuaded her to organize the meditation with Sarah."

"You didn't!" said Natty with a twisted smile, envisioning the inevitable conflict.

"I did, and it was amazing. SHE was nearly coming to blows when Sarah insisted they seek some privacy, and when they returned not ten minutes later, their lips were swollen and they were buttoning up."

"No shit."

"No shit."

"I'm going to have to ask SHE about that. Wow."

"So much passion. It was building for months."

"Wow. I better get myself together and join them. What about Devi?" nodding to the sleeping child on her naked chest.

"Bring her."

"Of course. And how many are out there?"

"Pretty much everybody," said Karen.

"You mean nobody wanted to get more sleep. I hope I'm not some sort of shepherdess leading a bunch of sheep."

"No, Natty," said Karen. "These are amazing, unique people. I mean after being greeted by our fearless leader in a coma, the day has begun with a bang, and everyone wants to be involved in every moment of this crazy day."

Among familiar faces were many strangers and Natty was tempted to greet the arrivals, whether it was to embrace them after many months separated or to make new friends, because most had arrived while she was travelling to Montreal, but her duties were clear, SHE awaiting her to begin the exercises was seated cross legged facing the crowd with a surprising smile, if a touch wry, instead of a frown of impatience for her delay. Before beginning the exercises, while sitting beside SHE, Natty whispered to her, "I heard about you and Sarah."

"I'll tell you everything later."

"I can't wait." They shared a smile and began leading the group in a chant.

When the meditation ended, SHE told Natty her intention to nap until 11 when she would gather her band together and set up on the patio to play some tongue in cheek easy listening music while the gathering had their noon lunch. The band except for SHE and Mimi were there as hired musicians only, well paid to play the early dining music and the music ending the day's events, a regular concert and extended jam to last well into the morning hours, and though they were invited to participate in all the festivities, they would choose to hang out together getting high and watching television, their deliberate disinterest actually making SHE happy that they were so determined to be unique, though she felt sorry for them not experiencing the world's biggest cosmic orgasm. Heading up to her room accompanied by Natty who wanted more details about the apparent reversal of feelings between her and Sarah, their walk was interrupted by the subject of the questions jogging over to join them and Natty went her separate way, moving from one intention, which she could deal with later, to another, that of reestablishing friendships and gaining new ones from the members of the Order of the Love Monk surrounding her in the backyard field.

After Natty wandered off, Sarah asked SHE, "What's up?"

"I'm going to my bedroom and nap for awhile."

"Can I join you?" asked Sarah

"Why?"

"But before..."

"I know."

"We were getting..."

"I felt it..."

"Was it just emotions... ?"

"It was something..."

"I never felt..."

"Me neither."

They had been walking into the house during their elliptical conversation and were at the base of the stairs when they faced each other. "It's impossible but true," said SHE.

"You love me and I love you," said Sarah. They giggled and hugged. Grabbing Sarah's hand, SHE pulled her up the stairs, and finding her room empty, secured it behind her.

Both began talking at once and stopped, the ever diplomatic Sarah insisting SHE should talk first.

"Come sit on the bed," SHE said, and once seated, they took off each other's clothes, and though they had been naked together before and had shared sex with Joseph and the other women in SHE's apartment, they had never been intimate solely with each other, and unwrapping each other from their clothing was like discovering each other's beauty for the first time. "I've never really loved another woman in any way like I love you," SHE began, pausing to swallow down the excitement of releasing Sarah's proud firm breasts from her pale pink bra. "I mean, I love Natty, but she's like a big sister guiding me on the straight and narrow, and she in fact is the only person who can do that with me, not even Joseph can be my guide, at least not without some resistance. No, Sarah, there's no one but you."

"But..." said Sarah.

"I know. I've been a bitch to you from the very beginning." Standing beside the bed, they undid each other's pants, SHE letting hers drop with a wiggle of her hips before kneeling in front of Sarah and peeling hers down, kissing the well cropped black pubic hair when it was revealed. After removing the last of Sarah's clothes, pushing everything under her feet and tossing them away, she stepped out of her own clothes and they were naked. "Lay back on the bed, beautiful Sarah." When Sarah did, SHE propped her head up with all the pillows and lay on her front so her face was between Sarah's thighs, and as she continued talking, lapped at Sarah's little pussy, larger than SHE's as was most grown women's but small and perfectly formed and deliciously fragrant, pausing between sentences. "I am a bitch, as you well know. But the minute I saw you, I was in love or in lust, my heart beat like a freight train threatening to pummel right through me."

"Me too," said Sarah.

"Really?"

"Yes," Sarah moaned as SHE's tongue slid over her taut clit.

"But I'm a bit of a coward as far as love goes," SHE continued, "though it never hit me like when I first saw you, so I fought it and the fact that you are so sweet and cheerful just aided in my resistance. I always hated cheerleaders, but of course you're not really, I mean the shallow, silly, forced character, the person guided by the most useless of interests, embracing them with overwrought exuberance, that's not you, but I wanted it to be. No Sarah, you are so real it hurts, and when you prop up the positive in life, it is always done with complete integrity, with your whole soul, but then you have that twinkle in your beautiful eyes, the mischievous, trouble making, devil may care, wise ass twinkle that just floors me, turns me to jelly. Your embrace of fun is breathtaking. And then the way you care, with your entire body, both inside and out, your muscles and nerves and skin and brain and throat and lungs and heart and stomach and pussy and ass and legs and feet and arms and hands and blood and bones and nerves and spine, everything. Goddamnit."

Stopping the cunnilingus, lifting her head above the knoll of Sarah's pubis, SHE revealed to Sarah the tears streaming out of her eyes. If there were any objections to SHE's sudden ending of pleasure, despite the skill bringing Sarah to the beginnings of orgasm, they lasted for less than a second when Sarah saw SHE's despair. SHE bounced off the bed and entered her closet, bringing out the harnessed dildo and the little purple bag of drug paraphernalia, tossing the bag onto the bed and holding the harness of the dildo high as she climbed back on the bed, her legs spread to support herself on her knees. "Remember when you called the ambulance back in Montreal? I wanted to fucking kill you," said SHE swinging the dildo around as she gesticulated. "And when you screamed seeing Joseph struck down again. Yep. Kill the bleeding heart. Oh god Sarah, if only my heart really bled real blood. Look at this shit, Sarah, a plastic fucking penis, that's what I use to keep my distance. This is how I enter my lover, get inside of him or her. What can I feel with this? And this," she said, emptying the works and spoon and some packets of coke and heroin onto the bed. "Nothing. And what do I do with it, I make people take it, and I fuck Joseph in the ass with a fucking piece of plastic, and I turn him on to join my cold hearted life, and fucking Natty, and fucking you! I turned you on to this shit, this cold hearted shit! What did I say when you asked if you could join me here? Do you remember?"