Chapter 14

The next morning, I felt the immediate need to go referee any difficulties in the kitchen. Paul had made coffee and was in the process of cooking some cranberry pancakes, one of his specialties. Maybe he'll take Charlene's place as the breakfast maven? We chatted a minute about our situation with Dad home and decided that we had to play everything by ear. I certainly didn't want everyone feeling anxious and thinking they shouldn't be here.

Charlene came in and kissed us both. Then, she picked up a tray, a carafe of coffee, some fruit, and a couple of rolls. She said, "We'll be down after while for the full treatment." She kissed Paul again and said, "Thanks for fixing breakfast."

When Mom came down, I took her aside and asked, "Are you okay this morning."

"I think so. Charlene just kissed me in the hall upstairs. I had a wonderful night. Daniel seems calm. I'll talk to him to be sure that he doesn't mind my being here. I decided to act like we're normal."

The way she said it made me laugh, because I knew how much disdain she felt for the normal. I teased her, "Someone famous once said, 'All the world's a stage."

"Wasn't that the same guy who said, 'What fools these mortals be?'"

"He did more good one liners than anyone else, I think. I know that everyone wonders what's going to happen around here. When Charlene goes, we'll have to support Melanie, who is her choice to replace her. I don't know if she'll live here."

"Let's get something to eat and act like we know what we're doing. I'll be sure that Daniel doesn't mind, although I'll bet he misses Charlene when she leaves."

Paul kept the pancakes coming as others drifted into the dining area. Amanda joined us and we talked more about the personnel situation. She asked me, "What's Tyler going to do when he graduates? Will he still work with us until he goes away to school?"

I replied, "I know that he's leaving for State in late August. He said something about going elsewhere if he got good scholarship offers. So, I guess he's with us."

"Charlene said you'd be going to a workshop. How long will that last?"

"I can go for one week or two weeks. I haven't talked to Dad or Mom about it yet. Charlene thinks I should go for two."

Mom said, "If you're still going to run the territory with the students, we have to make a really good plan to minimize disruptions from turnover."

Dad and Charlene came down together. I guess she needed him for moral support. Ha! When they joined us, Amanda said, "I'm sure we haven't heard all the good stories about your trip."

He talked for a few minutes about his plans and the people he went to see. He concluded by saying that he thought it would all work out with Deborah being out there permanently. That would leave him free to make contacts here and in other countries to improve his product line.

Up until that time, we hadn't known that she might stay out there and take up residence. Amanda asked, "Do you think that's a real possibility?"

"Nothing is certain. I know she's planning on it if we can create enough business to support her while she ramps up the other product lines. This trip made me believe that we can do just that."

Mom laughed and said, "Well, Amanda, if that's true, you'll have two territories to manage if what they told you at the district office is true."

She said with a grin. "Thanks for your support. It's a little more than I expected and maybe want. I'm new at this. Are you going to help me?"

"I'll help you get started, do some planning, and maybe sell for a while until I think I have a grasp of the customers. By then, you'll need to have new people. I'll also design the training and help with it until it all settles into a routine."

Amanda then filled Dad in on more details than he was able to hear on the phone calls or in the emails. He expressed his pride in all of us who could make this happen without Deborah.

Mom said to him, "I have a idea to expand the business that I've been working on. When I get it better organized, I'd like to run it by you for red teaming."

He smiled, and said, "Oh, you want me to poke holes in your grand plan? It will be my pleasure."

"I have had the benefit of some of your feedback before. I'll appreciate it after I stop crying. Now, I have to go upstairs and get to work."

The mood lightened considerably as they all listened to the little banter going around the table. I neither saw nor felt any tension between them.

He said to her, "I'm getting up a group to go eat tonight somewhere. Join us if you can."

She smiled, "I just might if I can make enough progress."

Then, he said to me, "Find out who would like to go. I'm kind of in the mood for good red meat since I've been on a delicious fish diet for a while. I even caught up on my craving for sashimi."

I knew Charlene would be anxious about the evening as would I, but it all seemed to be going well. I had to get over my fear until something went wrong. I know that Murphy is always right, but I still have hope. If they could live in this situation and be happy until he went away, she would still be here.

I was amazed that everyone wanted to go, although when they learned we'd be going for steaks or ribs, I didn't have to twist any arms. So, Amanda, Bill, Paul, Charlene, Dad, and I would go and maybe Mom. I told Bill that he was welcome to invite Melanie if he thought we wouldn't overwhelm her.

Charlene said, "Absolutely invite her. If she's going to be on the team, she has to endure the practice."

I assured him that when Dad invited us to go, he intended to pay for the dinner every time, not on a take turns basis. Bill smiled and went immediately to phone Melanie. Tyler took me aside and said, "If we get a long table, you sit on one end and let your dad sit on the other. If she comes, put Deirdre on your right and let me sit next to her so that she doesn't have to look directly at Daniel all evening."

I threw my arms around him, kissed him, and said, "Thanks for thinking of that. You do the nicest things."

Dad asked Charlene and Tyler if they wanted to go hit balls with him. They both smiled and thanked him saying that they had to sell, sell, sell. We all did. Both Charlene and I made two sales that afternoon, which means that it is a lot of money in commissions for someone who used to work at Burger King. I think of it as a game in which I am competing with her and the others, but also trying to be sure that the customers get the right plan and stay with it. I hate to lose a customer after I've already taken the time to make the sale and service the account.

When we gathered to go to dinner, Mom came down and said she would drive some of us. Something was different about her that I couldn't quite figure out; just then I finally figured it out. She'd been wearing less glamorous clothes since Dad returned — I'd have to ask her about that. Maybe it had something to do about her prior frumpy self?

Tyler made sure to seat Mom between us, and then, of course, put Melanie right across the table from him next to Bill. I think he might like to look at her more than Bill. He had given her quite a thrilling initiation to the swing group and I suppose they both remembered it. I sure did. Since she'd been hanging around with the sales force, she paid a lot more attention to her dress, even though she'd look good in most anything.

Amanda and Charlene continued to question Dad about his trip, the wonders of the world that he had seen, and his impressions of the many cultures he visited. As always, he told good stories. He told about going to the beach in Bali, where all the Australians and Europeans were topless, which made the guys take notice. I'll bet a quarter that they'll Google Bali tonight and look for webcams. He said that every beach had a number of women who gave massages on tables, which made the guys eyes get larger until he burst the bubble saying that they all wore clothes where he was. Then, he teased them about their eagerness to hear the story. With a beach full of Australian boobs, why would they care if the masseuse wore clothes?

Tyler talked Mom into telling the story of having to eat on the run, literally, and the rest of her torture at the spa. She did quite well holding their attention. When she finished, she said innocently, "I should have read my birth control pill brochure two years ago."

Everyone was silent, wondering. I wondered if that's why she wore the loose fitting clothes. Was she pregnant? Finally, Tyler said, "I know there's a punch line, but I can't figure it out. It's either tell, or I tickle."

She laughed. "Oh! I'll tell. The brochure said that prevention was much better than the cure. From now on, I'm watching my diet. I don't want to be a repeat offender in the fat spa." She did a nice theatrical job in telling, finally causing everyone to laugh.

By the end of dinner, every person seemed in a good mood, although some were more reluctant to tell stories. I knew Melanie had some good trailer park stories, but she probably decided they were best told at the pool. I noticed something else in the group. After Deborah and

Dad left, when we were all here together, we didn't have an alpha male; no one assumed that role. When Dad returned, I observed that he resumed that position with none of that fighting and bickering found the wild like they show on the Discovery Channel. He didn't say anything or pound his chest, it's just that the girls touched him and served him without his having to ask. They didn't bow like slave girls or spread their legs, but they showed admiration and respect. They listened attentively to his stories, always making eye contact. Maybe they conceded that Charlene was the prize female for the moment and didn't want to challenge her. This will be worth watching.

Back home, everyone went to their individual amusements — their computer, or a TV, or sitting in the tub. Sometimes I get grouped out. I think that by the end of the day, people weren't expecting dad and Mom to get into a yelling contest like they might have seen at home or on TV. They didn't talk to each other a lot, but they were polite and laughed at each other's stories.

I wondered what it would be like to watch Tyler with another girl if he weren't my boyfriend and decided that I couldn't handle that conflict as well as Mom and Dad. Then, I wondered if Tyler would be able to stay here during the summer. He went home to see his parents just often enough to keep them from asking, but I still worried.

When bedtime came, I went to the room, making my preparations to keep myself young and beautiful. I speculated whether these lotions worked, but they sure helped control the zits. When I saw Tyler lusting for Melanie at the restaurant, I think I might have felt both jealous and desire. Might have? Tyler came in to my room shortly and walked across toward me, never letting his eyes move from mine. He moved into the bed and began kissing me all over, making me forget that person I was jealous of. I kind of missed our long, leisurely love making sessions in which he licked me all over, but now, we always seemed in such a hurry just like I am tonight.

I breathed out, "Get on your back."

I began driving down hard on him with every stroke, pushing myself to seek the ultimate prize, which came far too soon, and not soon enough. Just as I started the second lap, Mom came in watching us with keen interest while she took off her pajamas. She said, "Destiny! Don't you dare use him all up." I soon completed the second lap in grand fashion although my spasms kept going long after the big O.

Tyler rolled me over and then said to Mom firmly, "You get on here." She must have been in fantasyland in her office because she wasted no time in getting on him without foreplay. I thought she was going to drive him through the bed until she came and then slowed to a more deliberate pace through two more. He still had both hands full of her breasts as she leaned over to kiss him, causing him to withdraw his hands.

She giggled and said, "I don't know when I started working myself up into a frenzy. It began in earnest when you stroked my thigh at the restaurant and just kept building. I tried to work and watch TV for a while, but the puffiness wouldn't go away, so here I am."

He replied, "I've been horny since you stroked me under the table, too."

So, my Mom and boyfriend are playing touchy feely at dinner and I didn't know it. I wonder who else at the table was in that game?

She said, "Destiny, I wish you had a bidet. I don't think it would be proper for me to go to the other room and use mine."

While I was still giggling at the thought of her walking in on Charlene and Dad, I said, "I'd like to have one, but where would I put it?"

She came back to bed after cleaning up and he again declined her offer to remove the wet juices from his cock. She asked, "What do you do with that sticky mess?"

"If I've already had my shower before bedtime, I leave it and let it cook. The next day it stays in my briefs all day except when I take it out at the urinal. Then, I put my finger between my cock and balls and get it damp enough to sniff, which, of course, drives me to horniness."

She giggled. "Well, whatever turns you on. Can you tell the difference between Destiny and me?"

"Not after it's cooked. I surely can tell when I'm feasting first hand and I get to do a taste test. I think I could tell the difference blindfolded."

"One of these days, we might arrange a trial. Anyway, I hope you're ready to sleep." He cuddled us both on his chest as usual as Mom reached over to kiss me. She whispered, "Isn't this kind of nice sleeping on this muscle pillow?"

"I can't imagine sleeping any other way since some nights I go all the way through without waking."

"When I was in that convent, I wondered if I would ever feel this great again with a naked body all against me." She kissed him sweetly. "Night, Tyler. You're the first guy I've known who had a harem with all the others knowing about it." Then she whispered, "I'm not sure we can make room in this bed for that Melanie, though." She giggled, "See, my just mentioning her name made your pecker twitch."

"Mom, go to sleep."

"I know! We could tie her up on that side of the bed and make her watch like I had to."

Tyler didn't know that she watched his stellar performance with Melanie by the pool and then he began to giggle. He said, "No, I think I'll do the tying up around here. You will get tied and spanked the first time around."

She replied in a sexy voice, "Oh, please don't tickle me with that feather, I'll promise to be good."

We mumbled a few more affectionate remarks. I knew I wanted to watch him tie her up and tickle her with the feathers before fucking her brains out. Will she do it in public?

We awakened at the awful sound of the alarm, which I had to reach out to turn off or hit the snooze. Might as well face it and turn it off. I rolled back over to wake Tyler, give him an affectionate kiss, and then head to the bathroom. Today, we were wearing uniforms, which made dressing decisions much easier this time of year when we didn't need coats. Tyler headed to his room, leaving Mom in bed stretching. I went over to sit on the bed while I brushed my hair.

She yawned, "Morning, sweetheart."

"Morning, Mom. You sleep okay?"

She smiled, "After Tyler gave me my sleep remedy, I slept beautifully all night."

"Be glad he didn't tickle you awake." She grimaced. I continued, "I have to ask. Before Dad came home, you wore much more attractive clothes; your shorts, your bikini, and jeans. Now, all you wear are loose fitting matronly things that I didn't even know you owned. Will you tell me why?"

"I knew you'd notice. Oh, Destiny, it's just vanity. Daniel knew me when I was young and good-looking. I didn't want to run around wearing more revealing clothes and having him compare me to the beautiful girls running around here. I'll get over it in a few days, I hope."

I hugged her and said, "I hope so. All the boys in the house think you're pretty fine as you are and I'm sure Dad will appreciate your new shape as well."

"Well, thanks. I still have part of that bad image in the back of my mind."

"I can assure you that that image is only in your mind, not in everyone else's. Dad and Charlene are the only ones here who even saw you like that. You are Charlene's inspiration for growing up."

She laughed. "Well, now, I'll have to try harder to live up to her expectations. I have trouble believing how beautiful she has become; she can look like a girl or a woman any time she likes. That will make getting jobs for her much easier."

That afternoon when we returned from school to get ready to go to our prospects, I saw Mom and Dad looking at slides on the screen that came from her PowerPoint. I walked over to kiss them both, an action that gave me a warm feeling inside. She had a yellow pad that seemed to be full of notes. I asked, "How's it going?

She smiled and said, "Well, after he got through with it, I have a lot of points to fix, just as I thought would happen. Further, I haven't even cried, yet."

He said, "Yes, De De can improve it, but the basic idea is sound and I don't think she'll have any trouble selling it to Dial-A-Meal, or some other franchise operation."

As I drove to the first sales prospect — thank God for GPS -- I felt a lot better about Mom's ideas now that he had seen them and thought they would attract another partner. Somehow, I think she craved a project to occupy her drive and talent. The atmosphere in the room had been pleasant with no hits and barbs, although a whole yellow sheet of notes had to come from his critique. She once explained to me that honest, serious critique is what the red team is for.

The people I called on had obviously been drinking when they invited me into their very nice house. I made sure to let Paul and Tyler know where I was, just in case. I always feared that some potential client would try to get out of hand before I could get to my pepper spray. The man leered at me almost to the point of causing me fear more than disgust and I wasn't sure I'd be a bit safer with the woman. When they wanted to see the whole presentation, it became even clearer to me what he wanted to look at. At the conclusion of my brilliant offering, they talked to each other for a while, probably getting ready to make an offer for my body. Follow the script. I took out my sales forms, jumped to which weekend plan they preferred in addition to the regular daily menu, and waited anxiously for their response. They chatted a few minutes more, and then signed the form for basically the same plan Dad and I started with. She wrote out the check, making me feel much better. I reviewed with them how to use the telephone menu selections and the advance notice we required to prepare the meals.

Back in the car, I took some deep breaths, letting them out slowly to bring myself back to normal. As I loaded the next location on the GPS, I felt like I had made an important decision — I was getting out of the house calls part of the business. Maybe I could learn to be a manager or trainer, but I didn't enjoy making sales calls, even though I had proved that I could do the work. Getting a good review on my work was Dad's way of making sure that I learned the important parts of any job. Now, I had to find a replacement.

At home, I went first into Mom's office, finding her in the middle of several piles of neatly stacked papers, with her hands flying on the computer. I kissed her cheek in greeting. She saved her work and turned around to talk. The first thing she said caused me pause. "Destiny, you look very professional in that outfit. No one would ever guess your age."

"Thank you, Mom. I'm taking your advice, though, and getting out of the daily sales calls.'

"I'm so glad to hear that. When?"

"In another life, I would do it today, but now I have to find a replacement so that I don't leave Amanda holding the bag."

"That's the right thing to do. Now we'll have to find you something to do to expand your experience. You should recruit and train new people for a while until we get that in good shape. You'll have more of a challenge when school is out."

"How did your meeting with Dad go?"

"He made many good suggestions that I will incorporate. We also had a good talk about our living arrangements. I offered to move, but he wanted me to stay until we figured out what he was going to do with Deborah, just like we talked on the phone."

"You're happy with that situation?"

"I've been feeling good about life ever since I came home and caught you guys frolicking in the spa. He told me about his arrangement with Charlene, but I couldn't openly talk about Tyler."

"Chicken."

"Yeah, I know. Double standard and all that. Having sex with the young. You're not the only one who will miss Tyler when he leaves."

"We have others for you to enjoy." I hugged her. "I read a couple of chapters in that book by Robert Rimmer in study hall today that you bought me. He makes this lifestyle seem so ideal."

Mom giggled. "Well, it is and it isn't. Back during the hippie commune movement in the early 1970s, the sociologists discovered that the key to a happy commune was a strong leader. When the leader left or was deposed, rightly or wrongly, things quickly went bad."

"I read some stories about those people and the communes in the online magazines."

"On and off over the years, I've wondered why they had to break up when the leader left. Sounded more like the rules of a gorilla colony than people. Most of them ran out of money and any ability to make any. Shared crops would go only so far."

"I suppose that running out of money would be bad for anyone, let alone a whole community."

She appeared quite excited. "What makes this group work in our house is that we're not running out of money. Even if Daniel didn't pay for everything, we have jobs and the ability to earn enough to keep us alive."

"That's wonderful, but I have to find someone to take my place selling."

She sighed. "Yeah. We hire people to sell and make money and not enough people to plow the fields and fix the pipes." Apparently, she had thought a lot about this group. "We'll have to move into a larger place that has some acreage that we can plant in crops."

"Are you serious?"

"It's a logical next step if we want to pursue a lifestyle change. No one is coercing us."

"I think I have more homework to do on this issue. I looked Rimmer up on the Internet and found that he'd written lots of books with this theme."