Chapter 4

I stopped to watch Faye's fairly broad fundament sway up the hallway ahead of us in a knee-length skirt. She was moving fairly quickly and not trying to be seductive at all, but it wasn't bad for a woman probably approaching forty. It was robust, and it would take guts for her to wear a bikini, but Faye DID pinch in a bit at the waist and had that upright carriage that goes with a fairly bulletproof bra to present a nice pair of puffy jugs with a round but pointed shape similar to the pair her daughter carried on HER chest. If she swung around to face you, the first thing that came to mind was that a weapons system of some type had been brought to bear ... In my considered opinion, she could get away with a bikini, if it was more substantial than a thong and a couple of tiny triangles.

"Do you think you could put up with her?" I asked Rachel. Faye seemed high-strung -- not the happy soul her daughter was.

"You'd cool her out, Sweetie!" Rachel replied with her usual carefree expression, "A couple of shots from that fire hose of yours and Momma would be absolutely laid back!"

"Hmmm. I'm not prepared to commit to lug along any more members of your family, but I'll take the idea under advisement."

Rachel stopped me in the hall, serious for once.

'Daddy is, well, fading, somehow -- I think he's got more than just little problems, ' she transmitted soberly. 'Momma has been slowly picking up the ball. Nick can take care of himself, but Momma may need a sponsor, soon.'

<Working ... Tests indicate possible prostate cancer. A biopsy was scheduled, but Roger Mercer has rescheduled it three times. There was a consultation with a neurologist that suggested early onset of Alzheimer's disease -- which is prevalent in his family history and corrected for in the concubine Rachel Mercer -- again not followed up. There appears to be a substantial life insurance policy, entered into before any formal diagnosis... >

'He suspected something and took steps... '

<A plausible hypothesis.> the AI agreed.

'You were talking to the AI!' Rachel accused non-verbally. 'Does it know something?'

'It knows quite a few things, but nothing conclusive, ' I replied. 'Come on, Momma is waiting.' I took her elbow and drew her toward the kitchen.

So we had coffee. Faye settled down as much as she was going to with the pair of us sitting nude before her. I admit to getting a kick out of the whole thing and Rachel was deliberately all over me.

"What are your plans for the day?" Faye asked.

"I'm going to call in to the police station and talk to my contact, then Rachel and I are going to breakfast on the way over there," I related, leaving out the fact that on the call I would be asking if any one restaurant seemed to be more dangerous than the others at this time of the morning. I rubbed Rachel's butt and added, "Why don't you go shower, Honey Bun. I know you're going to be disappointed about this, but for now, put on some clothes -- something cool and accessible, but that more or less covers the subject, okay?"

"Well ... Okay!" Rachel never seemed to let anything interfere with her sunny disposition more than momentarily. She kissed me on the cheek and swayed off.

Faye watched her leave and then gathered herself. "Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why Rachel?"

"Aside from the fact that she's sunny and sweet and just about the cutest thing I ever saw?" I replied, picking up my coffee cup and looking at it for a moment, reflectively. "Well there WAS this morning..."

Faye shook her head. "There were times when that looked like Superman having sex with Wonder Woman! I SAW you pick her up once! She HAS to weigh more than you do!"

"Surely, you're mistaken," I mused. I didn't remember any such thing.

<She is not. Right after you rolled over, you shifted the concubine Rachel to the center of the bed. This is statistically significant in that your augmentation is not fully implemented.> the AI insisted.

Faye was right there with it, unbeknownst to her. "You picked her up after you rolled over and shifted her to the center of the bed. I saw it!"

"Rachel helped," I theorized.

<There is no empirical evidence of said assistance, > the AI argued.

"If she did, I didn't see it!" Faye retorted.

"Well..." I shrugged.

"Look, you can't do that here," Faye reiterated. "Roger has ... issues. Quite aside from his protective instinct toward Rachel, he has personal problems. His, um, performance is not what it was. A demonstration such as the one I witnessed would, well, emasculate him -- and he's not the type to handle that well."

I settled back in my seat. "I don't think he's the only one suffering."

Faye took it between the eyes, blinking in shock, then recovered herself. "Yes, well..."

"I wouldn't want to break up your marriage or anything uninvited, but Rachel has asked me to consider you for a slot in my harem. Should I?"

Faye, who had lifted her coffee cup to cover her surprise, put it down. "You're kidding me, right? Just teasing?"

I pursed my lips. "Well, no. Rachel seems to think that you might benefit. I'm asking if I should bother -- I don't want to offend or presume to underestimate the value of your long-standing marital relationship. There are clearly risks as well as benefits..."

Faye's blush ran from her hairline to the tops of her breasts -- at least. "I'm flattered, but -- how old are you, anyway?"

"I'm twenty-two -- not that it is particularly relevant, when the Confederacy can regress your age to younger than that," I noted. "Your experience would be valuable -- and it isn't as if you aren't presentable in your current form..."

"Oh, come now!" Faye was pleased despite the protest. "I really do not know how to respond!"

"In that case, I'll put you on the short list as an alternate," I told her. "We'll make the call when the time comes for us to depart, if I haven't filled all of my slots. All right?"

"Yes. That seems ... sensible..."

"I think I'll go check on Rachel and see if I can get some hot water," I announced, standing up. Faye nodded, distracted. I admit to enjoying myself -- Faye had a fine case of ambivalence going...

I teased Rachel out of the shower and ducked in to get myself clean. Rachel was just returning as I shut off the water and snatched up a towel to present me with. "You sure put Momma's head on backwards!" she giggled. "What did you say to her?"

"I asked her if I should consider her for a concubine slot," I replied blandly. "You asked me to, remember?"

"Goody! What did she say?"

"She wouldn't commit herself, one way or the other. I think that makes sense, since saying yes is more than a little traitorous to your Dad."

Rachel nodded, taking the towel and using it to dry my legs. "Maybe. Nick and I are both almost gone -- me, in particular, now. Sometimes I think we're all that is holding them together. Once the nest is empty..." She shrugged, detailing my cock and balls. I spread my stance so she could work and she grinned up at me. "Daddy is a terrible hypochondriac. Even if he DOES have a problem, he's likely to act as if it is life-threatening when it isn't."

"What if it is?" I asked.

"Then he would REALLY be a baby! Oh!" Rachel's eyes popped and she looked up at me. "Come on, Sweetie! Spill!"

"Let's do it at breakfast."

"Okay." Rachel waved for me to turn around so she could wipe my backside. "What did you tell Momma?"

"That I would consider her for a slot as an alternate, and that we would get serious when it was time to leave, if I had slots left."

"That's more than fair." Rachel hugged me from behind. "Thank you, Sweetie!"

"Well, thank you for pointing her out," I replied. "She's done the motherhood thing -- she could be a valuable asset." I turned to her as she put the towel over the shower bar; she was nodding. "Let's go dress."

I got into my street clothes and Rachel got into a halter and miniskirt and wedgie sandals. This made it clear that she was plump -- but I liked the display and I didn't really give a shit what anyone else thought. I called the police station and asked for Detective Donelly.

"Donelly."

"Scott Harshman. We're running late this morning -- I was wondering if there were any breakfast places we should frequent?"

"Hmmmm. Give me a minute." He rustled some papers. "Full-up or fast food?"

"Which is worse?"

"Hard to tell."

"Full-up then." I wanted a real breakfast.

"There is a diner over on East Twentieth that has been hit once. Mel's."

"Okay, we'll head there. Should I bring you anything?"

"Coffee. The squad pot SUCKS!"

"Thanks for the warning!" I grinned.

"See you when you get here." There was a pause, but he wasn't gone. "So, did you keep her?"

"If you got what I got this morning, you wouldn't ask," I replied.

"Huh."

"I know what you're thinking," I told him, "but you know, it isn't always about the wrapping paper." Rachel eyed me and I knew that she knew that she was the subject of conversation. I winked at her and she grinned.

"It's none of my business," Donelly muttered. "No offense."

"None taken," I replied. "See you in an hour or so -- with coffee."

"If you can balance two cups..."

" ... I'll bring your partner some." I chuckled and hung up. "Remind me to get coffee to go."

"Sure."

"Do you know where Mel's Diner is?"

"Uh huh."

"You're navigating, then. Kiss Momma goodbye and we'll go get breakfast."

"Yes, Boss!" She swayed off. I linked up with her again at the front door. "Momma says you're a nasty man if you let me go out like this."

"Wait'll the first time you go out nude!" I retorted.

"I can't! Want me to shuck now? Hey, did they give you a leash?" Rachel grinned from ear to ear.

"We'll start slowly, and no, they didn't -- but I have an unlimited expense account, so we'll find you something," I replied.

"Goody!" Rachel gave this wriggle...

"I LOVE that!" I exclaimed.

"I know what to do, then!" She did it again.

Laughing, I patted her rump and waved at the door and we got out of there.

Mel's Diner was clearly a place where you got large quantities of decent food cheap -- you could see it in the clientele, which was generally three groups: Working men who were clearly regulars and just as clearly bachelors, rather corpulent couples who were looking to get bang for their buck, and old folks, some of whom were no doubt taking out the rest of the day's meals as leftovers in doggie bags. The first group had members who glared at us a bit as we were interlopers and Rachel represented something they couldn't have, the second welcomed us for Rachel's sake, although she was nowhere near the average for the group, and the third generally ignored us. I found myself wondering why this location made the map for incidents, then got to wondering how many of the working bachelors were missing wives? If my spouse bailed at a pickup and left me to fend for myself -- whether she had been supplying ALL of my needs or not, but particularly if she hadn't, I would probably be pissed. I mean, think about it -- during a pickup, the same bitch who has you on a regimen of pussy once a month agrees, without even blinking, to fuck some other guy any fucking time he wants it, forever -- and then presumably delivers on that promise at least to the extent that she gets snapped up ... What's right and fair about that? I decided more or less not to put on too much of a show in the place -- at least, not right away.