Chapter 31

Morning had come too early for Toby -- the requirement to turn out and deliver the edited Cindy and Beverly Show came only an hour and a half after he and Amy collapsed in bed, exhausted, after a torrid bout of lovemaking. It needed doing, though, so he cranked it out, then tried to go back to bed.

It seemed like he'd only just closed his eyes when Ma came in and said, "Candace is on the phone -- something about a sign painter." That call brought good news, though -- not only could the sign painter do the job that day and get the sign up, but Candace informed him that their financial crisis was over! "Jean and Sharon got nearly two hundred thousand for those lamps, Honey -- and that was for only two of them, I think!"

Having the requirement to quickly launder Fernando's ill-gotten gains vacated took a load of Toby's mind. He released Candace to provide monetary incentives to get Fred and his people to move Heaven and Earth and get renovations completed by Homecoming. Toby went back to bed happy and Candace called Fred (and got Louise) and passed the word -- and Fred started calling in his boys for some lucrative Saturday work.

Jean was up early and arrived at the barn early. Lon and Sally hadn't done much to clean up after the Cindy and Beverly Show, but in reality, there hadn't been THAT much to do. The tack room contained what Jean considered to be overkill where surveillance gear was concerned -- but then she wasn't in on what had occurred the previous night. Marta came in a bit after; Hank had gone home with Maddie and had hung around for breakfast. Marta and Jean were developing a serious friendship, with Martin and Hank as the bridge between them. Neither of them, of course, was up for anything too outlandish. The antique store gave them both something to do, for which they were duly grateful; both needed visible income and something to do with themselves. Since these were also issues with Sharon, who had experience in the antique business, this worked out very well -- the only complication being Sharon's ignorance of group activities.

The plan for that was rather simple -- Jean would manage the store and liaison with the group, Sharon would be an employee saleswoman, and Marta would help out. If Sharon stumbled onto something that appeared to be an issue, either Jean or Marta would notice -- and Toby could be called in to fix things, if nothing else seemed capable of working. Jean was advised not to worry; Shady Rest Antiques would be insulated from the club's activities, which suited her just fine. Jean puttered around, picking up leftover snacks and helping Marta put the various pads and such away and putting up some folding tables to act as displays in the open floor. This -- and the fresh new sign out front -- transformed the space, making it virtually unrecognizable as the site of the previous night's gang-bang by Sharon's arrival at noon.

Next door, the clubhouse's driveway slowly filled with construction vehicles as the morning went on. By the time Abigail got home from Parker's, Candace was there, wandering here and there making like a sidewalk superintendent. Jiang Yi had vacated the premises just after midnight -- again un-fucked -- so Mark and Janice hadn't eaten, but they didn't seem to be hurting over it. No one else had stayed the night, although some had left very late. "That won't happen again," Candace opined. "When this place is up and running properly, you may have more permanent residents than just yourself and Janice. As it is, I'm going to call Jiang Yi in, if she's available, to supervise the kitchen remodel and service the crew." Candace sat back and picked up her coffee. "Where did you go? I know it was late."

"Frank Parker couldn't take Miriam home unless he threw his father a bone," Abigail related. "Ron Parker has some issues -- you can see part of it in Frank -- and I'm bony, so I decided to go. It went fairly well, actually."

"Frank is kind of hard on girls, I'm told," Candace ventured.

"Miriam thrives under it," Abigail replied. "They're in love -- don't let appearances fool you. Ron is VERY hard on women and holds them in some contempt -- but he really didn't know what to do with me. He usually tests a woman until she fails -- but I've passed the endurance test, and that's just tough to top, you know?" She smiled crookedly. "Who'd have thought that all those years of misery under Tom would come in handy?"

"Is it serious?" Candace asked, noting the aura of inner peace that Abigail was exuding.

"Oh, it's way too early for THAT!" Abigail disparaged, "But it did have its high points. I'm going over Tuesday night to cook dinner -- and other things." She turned a bit pink.

"Well, you go, Girl! Get yours!" Candace cackled. "Stay independent for a while, though, if you want my advice."

"That's the plan." Abigail suspected that independence wouldn't agree with her, long-term, but Ron, in particular, would NOT want to see indications that she was looking to take up with him right away. That kind of thing would have to come from him -- and might not, ever. Abigail, like Miriam, understood this kind of thing instinctively. If she got complacent or made overtures, it would end -- right there. The wall would go up and it would be over.

The remodel was shifting to a full-court press. Everything that required a permit and an inspection came first, then the modifications would follow after the building department was done with them. Large portions of the first floor would be used for 'public' functions where anyone who wanted could come without a special invitation. Access to the second floor and the special bathing facilities such as the sauna, Jacuzzi, and pool in the back of the house was to be controlled; outer circle members and volunteers could pass after being vetted and prepared. The second floor would contain the new suck booths and dark rooms and several rooms identified as 'play areas' that could be fenced by sexual orientation. The big double-parlor was 'public' for this group -- a place to hang out and mess with your main squeeze and watch TV or videos or each other. Special events such as initiations after the pattern of Gina's or competitions and games such as the event that cemented Wanda and Pete would occur there. Nudity and masks were the uniform of the second floor -- and monitoring was omnipresent, if subtle. Access was via the service stair and males and females were to be directed to separate changing rooms and sexually segregated baths with showers. There was a unisex bath situated between the other two -- but you had to be on the floor already to use it.

The somewhat smaller third floor was 'inner circle only.' This was for the small group who knew it all and were comfortable with themselves and each other. It had been suggested that Abigail and Janice move to the third floor, but after some discussion, the idea was vetoed as a waste of time and energy. Janice and Abigail lived in the 'secure wing, ' anyway, and access to the control center was a day-to-day requirement. Even though there would be repeaters on the third floor, running up and down stairs didn't seem to make that much sense.

The cellar was the dungeon -- it wasn't directly accessible from the first floor, the entrance being locked off, but could be accessed from the second via the service stair. Beth and Robert and Terence were in charge of the dungeon playroom, which was closed off from the utilities and such but plenty large enough to entertain several players and an audience -- and video coverage was intensive, so the audience could be elsewhere and not disturb the players and vice-versa. Terence wasn't into the more violent aspects, but was looking to make furniture, including an improved Model II pillory and other items.

The carriage house was for 'special projects.' Part of it was to be set aside as a wood shop for Terence, who hoped to collaborate with Beth in the construction of dungeon furniture that could be marketed on the Internet and at kink events -- but the root cellar whose entrance was along the back wall might see use as a holding cell and the availability of various dungeon items on the main floor would come in handy if there was anything resembling a repeat of the 'Cindy and Beverly Show' or Fernando's incarceration. The small apartment on the floor above the carriage floor was for overflow -- a private area that could be used for just about any type of assignation. The carriage house was low priority, but it didn't need much; Fred and Terence would probably do all of the work except that involving video surveillance, which would again fall to Toby. Fortunately, the increased budget made it possible to use higher quality wireless cameras and recording gear.

While there was nothing on the agenda for Homecoming week, Toby had this sense of anticipation preying upon him, so he did his best to instill a sense of urgency in Candace and Abigail and Fred, who passed it on to others.

Iris Lezynski had escaped to the Travers' for coffee; Misha and Chris were driving her NUTS with their sexual athleticism! Neither of them could seem to get enough, and listening to it only reminded Iris that she wasn't getting any. "I should have gone to the party!" Iris erupted.

"What party?" Noreen sat back and sipped her coffee, thinking, 'Iris is certainly agitated... '

"You know -- the kids' after-football party," Iris replied, suddenly realizing that she was on shaky ground.

"Those parties seem to be all the rage," Noreen mused.

"Well, Misha met Chris at one, and Anita met Tad -- Donna met Mac at one, actually," Iris pointed out.

"Why do you go?" Noreen asked.

Stepping carefully, Iris said, "I guess they make me feel a little younger. I won't be catching a boyfriend at one, but they've been ... rewarding..."

"Really? Do you think I ought to volunteer?"

"Maybe. I could put you onto one of the organizers. Fresh blood is appreciated, I think," Iris replied, somewhat guardedly, adding in an apparent non-sequitur, "How's your sex life?"

Actually, it was a more than halfway joking query; during their get-togethers, Iris usually complained about how she wasn't getting any and Noreen gave her pep-talks about how sex wasn't everything and you could deal with it quite readily if you tried ... Noreen's response shocked Iris: "There's more to it than there was, but I'm not certain that's an improvement. Now I want it and can't have it, while before I just couldn't have it," Noreen replied, smiling ruefully.

Iris blinked. "Something happened? Give!"

"I really don't know how to describe what happened," Noreen sat up and stared at her coffee cup, her expression pensive. "Donna and Mac aren't ... abstaining ... if you know what I mean..."

"Do I?! Misha and Chris were going at it like bunnies when I ran out of the house to escape this morning! They were KILLING me!" Iris exclaimed.

Noreen smiled crookedly. "Well, Mac's father is a known ... Lothario, maybe. I don't know what you would call him, but he's as smooth as silk around the ladies. Two weeks ago, he caught Donna and Mac and Tad and Anita going at it and somehow managed not to get seen until after Mac left to take Tad and Anita home. In a VERY short time, he had Donna on the ropes..."

"Omigod!" Iris gasped. "He didn't?!"

"It was close, apparently -- Mac returned just in time. Apparently Mac's early sexual education came from Harmon's cast-offs, and Harmon felt he was due a return favor..."

"Okay..." Iris didn't see where this involved Noreen...

"Mac told him that he was serious about Donna and he needed to keep his hands off," Noreen related. "Somehow my name got mentioned. I knew nothing about all this, of course ... I got the important details after."

"After what?" Iris asked.

"After Harmon Thornton showed up at my house last Friday night, schmoozed himself in, and proceeded to roll right over my defenses like a tank or something!" Noreen replied. "After what he did to me, I was NOT surprised that Donna almost ended up in bed with him! I haven't had sex in years and thought I was bullet-proof -- and we were doing it in something like five minutes, on my couch like a couple of teenagers!"

"Omigod! He raped you?" Iris remembered a recent Friday night -- and Frank Parker.

"I'd love to be able to say that, but he just cut through my defenses like they were butter," Noreen replied. "I'd say that I was reluctant, momentarily, more from surprise than anything else. I didn't stop him -- I don't think I COULD have -- but he never hurt me or anything, and by the time we got around to doing it, I wanted it -- BAD!" Noreen shook her head, remembering. "I remember cumming, begging him to make me pregnant!"

"So he came in, bowled you over, fucked you and left? The four 'F's?"

"No, he stayed the night. We went at it like wild weasels on the couch, then went up to my room and did it three more times..."

"Four times?"

"Four times -- without ANY protection. And it was MY fault -- I told him it didn't matter!" Noreen shook her head. "You'd think after Donna ... The alarm on my biological clock must be ringing!"

"No kidding!" Iris knew all about Donna.

"The funny thing is that Harmon is the same way," Noreen related. "Mac was apparently a by-blow with some woman who couldn't possibly raise a child, and Harmon is religious about using rubbers, according to what I get from Donna and Mac -- but the subject never came up the first time, and when I said we might as well not, he didn't even argue!"

"Why, I wonder?" Iris asked, amazed. This wasn't the Noreen she knew...

"I don't know, but Harmon is spooked -- Mac says he won't come within a mile of me, now. Apparently, he's convinced that I'm God's way of getting even with him for his womanizing." Noreen smiled a Mona Lisa smile. "That's bad news, since I'd REALLY like to have some more..."

"Men in general, or Harmon?" Iris asked.

"Both, I think," Noreen replied. "I need to know whether it was Harmon or he just reminded me of what I was missing. I went right out to my gynecologist and got myself back on the Pill -- since I CLEARLY can't trust myself."

Iris sat back, working on a pitch that wouldn't expose anything. "Well, there are guys out there, but you need to crawl before you can walk. You should go to the parties. Watching the kids isn't just amusing, it's educational. I'll talk to the organizers, if you're interested."

Noreen pursed her lips. "Are you sure it won't just drive me nuts?" Mac had taken Donna to his house for much the same reason Iris had left hers -- because Noreen had asked Donna not to tease her with what she couldn't have...

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Iris nodded. "Once you've seen what we do and what goes on, I'm pretty sure you'll see ways to handle things. I know I have."

"Well, okay." They moved on to other things.