Chapter 23

Day 5 (12) –Richard and Perry

Richard pulled Perry out onto the balcony while everyone else trooped out the door. He'd turned on the coffee machine on the sideboard after taking a shower, and it was hot now.

"Coffee?" Richard asked.

He poured a cup.

"Oh yeah! Thank you!" Perry took the offer while Richard filled a second for himself.

"I ... you know you didn't have to offer to buy clothes for Barbara."

Perry met his eye, raised a brow. "Barbie, you mean? C'mon, it's the least I can do. You really have a problem with her getting a bunch of new, sexy clothes?"

I don't, do I? It's not a big deal. And hey, no reason not to accent her new looks.

"No, not at all. I guess it just seems like it should be my responsibility."

"Tell you what," Perry inquired, "you give me the story behind your Diamond membership, and we'll call it even."

Always looking for an angle, huh brother?

Richard sighed theatrically. "Twist my arm, why don't you? Okay. Let's grab a seat."

"Excellent, a story! Just a sec." Perry ducked into his room for another chair.

He brought it out and plopped down facing so he could look out at the ocean while they talked.

"Why do they only have one chair? Seems weird. Not like they care if you do anything out here."

Perry laughed. "You didn't see? Oh, check this out. There's a whole bunch of outdoor furniture stacked up on my balcony. Looks like someone stuck mine, plus most of yours over there."

"That makes more sense. I was the first one up here. Suki and Fuki had set—hey! Their last name is Yu. 'Suki Yu' and 'Fuki Yu'! No way! I can't believe I just realized that." Richard shook his head ruefully.

Wow, that was really oblivious of me!

Perry doubled over. "You kidding me? Candy and I were dying all during dinner last night. I don't know how we didn't laugh every time someone said their name. She's sure they changed them, kinda like she did. It's not like we carded them or anything."

"Must be. It wouldn't surprise me. I don't know how I never caught that before."

Perry shrugged, looked away. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, you were saying they'd set up this out here?"

"Yeah, came upstairs and there was just this one table and chair. That girl made me eat while she ... performed oral. Made a game of it."

"Good man!" Perry slapped his thigh. "Now that's the way to have dinner! Or lunch, or whatever it was."

"It was ... disconcerting, to say the least. I don't know how I finished. Then Barbara came up, and ... you pretty much know the rest."

"I thought it was 'Barbie' now?"

Richard sighed, again. "Yes, it is. I'm not ... quite in the habit of that yet."

And I'm not sure I like that one.

"Are you kidding? She totally looks like a barbie doll. The girls are probably downstairs dreaming up crazy outfits for her to wear. 'Church-Barbie', 'Homemaker-Barbie' and 'PTA-Barbie', I'll bet they all give everyone heart attacks!"

Richard nodded. "Yes, there will be questions, no doubt."

"Don't worry, brother. We'll come up with a story. Something like: they got—no they won a trip to one of those high-end spas. Total makeover. People will assume they got plastic surgery, but between me and John we'll back you that they're imagining things. It won't even be a lie, no plastic for either Barbie or Candy!"

"It might even make convincing others in the congregation to try this place out." Richard mused.

I'm really considering this?

Perry looked shocked. "Yeah! That's, that's—brilliant! Richard, you're a genius. You downplay it totally. 'No, no, it wasn't any big deal. Really.'"

"Good impression of me." Richard complimented.

"Thank you. We'll get Barbie and Candy and Lexi to pick who seems most amenable and slip them the contact info. We should try to get the other deacons first. The elders will be a tough sell, too conservative. But the deacons are all solid modern family men."

Richard thought for a long while. Perry kept quiet, letting him mull it over.

That's evil. Totally, completely manipulatively wrong. And ... I'm getting turned on thinking about it. How could I be even contemplating doing this? They are my friends, my responsibility. I should be willing to do anything to protect them. Instead, I'm busy figuring out how to corrupt them as well. The problem is: the instant I stand up and flat refuse, which looks to be my only option if I don't want to go along, they drop the hammer.

I ... don't want that. I like my new body. I cannot believe how much I want to keep it. Admit it, I like the women, too. I'm still thinking about this morning's bedroom fun.

What about Duke? Your son's looking up to you, trusting you to make this right.

Isn't he? He never displayed any hesitation. Suddenly, last night he's all smiles and understanding. Was he... manipulating me? If so, even a little, he's even smarter than I thought. Wow, good job young man! But, I'm thinking he's a little conflicted too. Some of what he said came from the heart.

What do I do? I have to go along anyway. May as well enjoy the ride. Just keep my eyes open. It's my only option.

"We should start off slowly." Richard cautioned. "Once the deacons are ... on our side, and maybe a few other families, the elders' wives will practically drag them down here."

"And since you're denying everything, and we'll make sure everyone else who returns does the same, it will get more and more difficult for them to accuse you of any wrong." Perry concluded.

"Your plan is ... diabolical." Richard commented.

Did we really just agree to that?

"Hey, I didn't get rich because I wrote a few programs. I got rich because I knew how to get the right people to buy them! That's psychology, not technology. When I figured that out after college is when things started looking up."

"You should be proud of your success. You worked hard for it, that I know. Both your wife and mine have reminded me of that many times."

While nagging me about how little a minister makes. Hey! I could ... get them back now. Damn, that's a wicked thought.

"Thank you, Richard. It means a lot, coming from you. Speaking of success, you still haven't told me how you got such a good deal. Unless the church is bankrupt and you've stolen the entire annual budget for the last few years, I don't see how you could have the money to pay for your membership. Right?"