Chapter 32

Saturday turned out to be a very nice late spring day, perfect for outside activity. It was just after lunch when Adam and Joyce arrived with the four couples. They spent most of the afternoon chatting, swimming and playing games. The afternoon gave Sarah and her friends time to get to know the four couples better. They also wanted to see how they fit with each other, before they found out what was bothering them.

After dinner, Sarah and her friends took the group over to a secluded meadow to watch the sunset. It also gave them an opportunity to explain the reason for asking for this gathering. Sally and Terry spread out a blanket on the ground, so everyone could sit. They sat quietly in a circle, until Sally said, “It seems like you want us to help you with something.”

“First, let me again express our thanks for what you did for us,” said Molly. “We will be eternally grateful. Your alertness kept us from doing some really stupid things. The best part is that you helped us open up to each other.” Each of the group nodded to Sarah and her friends, indicating they all agreed. “I am not sure how I ended up being the spokesperson.”

“Okay, I’ll help,” said Randy. “Now we feel like we want to be together as a group for a long time. Before the prom plans were in motion for us to go our separate ways, as six of us are set to go to college this fall. Two of us will not graduate until next year. Our problem is that we don’t want to be separated for that year and we are not sure how to resolve it. An additional complication is that the six of us going to college have scholarships at different schools, with some located quite a distance from here. We expect the two graduating next year will have scholarships when they graduate. One solution we thought of was to delay college for a year. When several of us floated the idea with our parents, they wouldn’t even let us finish telling them what we wanted to do.” Everyone nodded their heads, indicating that all of them had tried talking to their parents, without success.

“How old are each of you?” asked Terry. Two were nearly 17, and the others were all 18 or older.

“Why did you pick the colleges you are going to?” asked Rusty.

After listening to their responses, Rusty and his friend’s asked several more questions. The questions were designed to have each express all the issues they saw surrounding what they wanted to do. After a while, several of the students faces grew quite sad, until one began to quietly cry. Her friends immediately put their arms around her, to comfort her. They all looked at her with a worried expression.

The sun was below the horizon when Sarah and Rusty shared a look. Sarah said, “Why don’t we go into the conference room? It will make it easier to sort out a plan.”

“But it’s hopeless,” cried Mairia, and then she really began to cry.

Sarah stood, pulling Mairia up with her and wrapped her arms around her. Molly and Jackie put their arms around Sarah and Mairia. Sarah said softly, “Nothing is hopeless, unless you give up.” While they were comforting Mairia, others folded up the blankets.

“Instead of the conference room, let’s use the large guest house, rather than the conference room,” said Sally. “I will have someone, bring us some refreshments.” With that, they followed Sally toward the guest house. Mairia walked between Molly and Jackie, with their arms around each other, as they went up to the house. Terry heard them telling a girl that they would not leave her. The comment puzzled Terry but at the same time alarmed her, as it triggered her security sense in that something wasn’t quite right.

Sarah saw the look of concern appear on Terry’s face then fade.

“Rusty, as much as I dislike doing it, we need to look at their thoughts. I think Terry has heard a comment that has alarmed her.”

“I know your ability is stronger than mine, but we still have difficulty seeing old thoughts. I think it would be better if one of us asked questions of them that would trigger memories of their underlying concern.”

“Okay.”

After everyone was seated, Sally said, “Mairia we are surprised by your emotional distress. Can you tell us what is worrying you?” Mairia’s face began to quiver again.

“Leave her alone!” responded Molly. “Maybe we shouldn’t have bothered you with our problems. The first time you really helped us, but now it just seems you are just aggravating us with your endless questions.” Then she continued, softly, “just like our parents.” She blushed as soon as she realized what she had said. Her comment caused several to gasped.

“I think we should be going,” said Randy. “As Molly said, this seems to have been another bad choice of ours.” The others nodded.

Sarah, in a soft voice. “That is one choice all of you have. You are old enough to do what you want to do. Giving up is one choice. Based on your apparent relationship with each other it will be a painful one. Based on your reactions, all of you will need to maintain a strong conviction to stand by each other. In doing so you will need to have absolute faith in each other. It will be a challenge. Many married couples never come close to the level of commitment that all of you will need in order for this to work.”

“No, I am not giving up,” said Mairia. “If not for my friends, whom I love deeply, I would be dead by now. I don’t know if I can put into words the reasons why I must do this.”

“You don’t need to tell us. But your partners need to know enough to understand your pain.”

“They do.” The rest nodded their heads.

“Do all of you have similar problems?”

“The simple answer is yes,” said Molly. “Circumstances differ quite widely between us. In some cases, it involves us directly. In others, it hasn’t yet, but we live in fear that it will.”

“It is late. Would all of you like spend the night here? You need to consider whether it would create more problems for you. Do you need to call your parents?”

Each nodded, affirmatively, and said they could stay.

“Okay,” said Sally. “To get an outside line, dial 9 first then the number. The estate has an elaborate security system. Once we leave, we need all of you to stay in this building, until we come down to get you for breakfast. You can go out on the porch, but no further. This is to avoid tripping any of the security sensors and setting off an alarm. If you need something, press 8 on the phone as it will ring in our room.”

“The four of you share a room?” asked Rob, then blushed as he realized what he said.

Sarah, seeing his reaction and the response of the others, said, “Yes. We are deeply committed to each other. We have only been together a short time, yet every day our commitment to one another grows. We are reaching a point where we can sense each other’s feelings.”

“So that’s how you knew to help us at the prom,” said Mairia. “Oh, I’m sorry I cried earlier. I now understand why you were quizzing us. You wanted us to verbalize our plans and goals. There wasn’t any other way to do it, except maybe...”

“Let’s call it a night. Call us when you get up, and one of us will come get you. If you get hungry there is food in the kitchen, but it is all dry or canned.”

As Sarah and her friends reached the front door, the four couples said, “Good night and thanks for everything, no matter what.”

The next morning Sarah and Sally went to the guest house, to bring the group to breakfast. After greeting everyone, Sarah said, “Would you all be agreeable to including Bob, Nancy, Adam and Joyce in our discussion after breakfast? I can assure you that whatever is said here will stay here. Think about it and then, if you have no objections, after breakfast, just invite them to join us.”

“Okay,” said Molly, as she looked around the group. With that, they all headed for the main house and breakfast. Sarah and her friends watched the eight, as they joined in with the conversations around the breakfast table. The four couples were much more relaxed today, and easily participated in the conversations while they ate. After breakfast they sat together, sipping coffee while continuing their discussions.

Mairia caught Sarah’s eye, and nodded toward the other room. Sarah nodded her agreement. Mairia tapped her glass with a spoon, to get everyone’s attention. “We need to continue our discussion from last evening, and I am not sure where we should do it. Bob, Nancy, Adam and Joyce, we would like for you to join us, if you have time.” Several expressions in Mairia’s group showed their surprise in her taking the initiative to organize things.

“We would love to,” said Nancy, with the others nodding their agreement. “Although we aren’t sure of the topic.” Everyone chipped into to clean up the breakfast dishes. They were soon in the common room, each with another cup of coffee or glass of juice.

“Let me summarize why we wanted to talk to Sarah and her friends,” said Mairia. The expressions by both Molly and Randy again showed their surprise at Mairia again taking the lead. “Simply put, Sarah’s group woke us up to the fact that we, all eight of us, are in love with each other, and have been for a long time. Knowing that, we want to stay together. Doing that complicates our lives and plans we’ve already made. Six of us are scheduled to start college this fall, while the other two have another year of high school. All of us have parents who are absentee or regard us as just another one of their possessions to do with as they please.

“My situation is odd, since until a little over four years ago I lived in several different foster homes. The family that adopted me now consists of 6 girls and a boy. All of us are adopted, which doesn’t seem strange, except that every year this family adopts 1 or 2 more children as the oldest ones leave after graduation. I didn’t notice anything peculiar about this until a year ago. I was very close to the twins who graduated last year. When they graduated our parents arranged for them to attend a special school. We promised to stay in touch. I have not heard anything from them since they left. I instinctively know they have tried to contact me. The letters I sent have not been returned.

“My strength is analyzing situations, except when it involves me.” Several chuckled at her comment. “A few months after joining this family, and each year since then, all of us are taken to a clinic for a physical. The physical is very through, and seems to go well beyond anything I’ve heard my fellow students talk about, or in any information available on the Internet. The two aspects that seem most unusual are a full set of body measurements and photographs. The first year I went every three months, to receive what they called a ‘supplemental shot’, since then, it is only once a year. Every one of us takes a prescribed daily supplement. If we ask about any of this, we are told it is to compensate for the lack of medical care and poor nutrition while we were in foster care. After every shot my first year, I ached all over, as if I had the flu. Then, some two months after the first shot, I began to ‘blossom out’. After about a year and a half I stabilized at how I look now. Something similar has happened to every new child, shortly after they join the family.

“Yes, I know there could be a lot of explanations. Even with all of these concerns, my parents treat me much better than some of my peers are treated by their parents. They are nice, caring, and always interested in our activities. But ironically, it is only in this group that I feel love; deep, sincere, abiding, love. I want to remain a part of it, and I am very afraid that I won’t be able to.”

“Do any of the rest of you have similar issues?” asked Sarah.

“My father is a very controlling person,” said Jackie. “He keeps telling me that I won’t need to worry about college or anything else once I graduate, as he has the perfect opportunity already lined up for me. It doesn’t sound bad, but you should see the way he looks at me sometimes. He was really irritated when he found out that I had accepted a scholarship to college, but hasn’t done anything to block me attending.”

“Do the rest of you have concerns like Jackie or Mairia?”

Everyone shook their head no.

“Are your parents acquainted with each other socially?” Everyone indicated they weren’t.

“Are any of the rest of you uncomfortable about what you think your parents intentions are for you?”

After everyone indicated no Ron said, “In spite of what we said I think most of our parents have a lot of the same traits that Jackie’s do. I think each of us is a little uncomfortable around our friends’ parents. From my perspective, this is mostly due to looks they have given me which felt predatory.”

“I agree,” said Kathleen with Molly nodding.

“Okay, let’s talk about options,” said Rusty. “The most extreme would be for all of you to disappear and assume new identities. Alternatively you could rearrange your college choices, so that you could remain together.

“Disappearing and assuming new identities seems easy, but it can be very difficult to carry off successfully long term. Once done, it becomes very difficult to undo, so I suggest leaving that option as a last resort.

“The alternative is to find a nearby college or colleges which offer study in areas that interest each of you. If not in the same town, it would still give you the opportunity to be together, at least on weekends. This gives you the option of telling your parents where you are going to school, if you want to. Even with that, you could obscure your location, if you felt it necessary.”

“If it was close to here, then most weekends, you could use the guest house like you used it last night,” said Nancy, surprising everyone. “If you do, the only requirement would be that you have to make sure it’s clean when you leave. Arrangements could also be made for you to use this as your permanent address.”

“What are each of you thinking as your major or area of interest?” asked Bob.

They each told him of their interests, and the major which they thought was the best fit.

“There are five small colleges that could cover those subjects within 4 hours of here. Two of them are in the same town, and we have contacts at three of them.” With that, the group started literally bouncing with happiness.

“Do they all have websites? What are the addresses?” Several asked, in a burst of questions.

“Hold it,” said Terry. “Let’s walk through this a bit more. As concerned as everyone is about the group’s welfare, we need to initiate this carefully. Bob, to provide the level of confidentiality they will need, can we really let them operate from here and use this as an address.”

“Yes and no. They can use the guest house as a second home, as long as they realize they can’t leave anything permanently there. If they need to leave some things here, we can set up a special storage place for them. We have an unused address that they can use. It would be separate from our business in case anyone goes snooping around.”

“They will need ids, as well,” said Sally. All the couples looked happy, yet concerned. Seeing this, Sally glanced at Bob for approval then turned and said, “What comes next must never leave here, or be mentioned to anyone, except those in this room. Failure to do that will put everyone at risk of death, or worse.” The group became very quiet. “Think about it before you make that pledge and commitment.”

While they were waiting, Sarah and Rusty quietly watched the group, as they thought about the conditions of using the estate. It was only a few minutes until Mairia stared at Sarah and then Rusty. “I agree with all my heart.”

“She is close to being telepathic.”

“Yes, but she is not quite ready yet.”

Mairia pushed the thought, “I’m working on it,” to them, startling both. They looked at each other, then smiled at her.

One by one, each of the group made a pledge to never talk about the estate, other than as Adam and Joyce’s home.

“I never expected this discussion to go this way,” said Bob. “There isn’t any reluctance on any of our parts about helping each of you reach your full potential. As a part of our security, we need to fit each of you with a pass key. It fits underneath the skin, just behind the ear, much like a sub-dermal hearing aid would. For that reason, and the fact that it will be placed under your hair, no one will notice it.”

“It’s purpose is to identify you on the site, and let you have access,” said Nancy. “When you enter the estate, you should keep an eye out for anyone following you. If you are being followed, don’t enter unless it is an emergency. Call us, and we will see that you get here undetected. Yes, it is kind of cloak and dagger, but caution is of paramount importance. One other thing, do not bring any guests onto the site without prior approval.”

Bob said, “Sally, why don’t you take them over to your group’s den, so they can look at the college web sites. When it’s about a half hour before lunch, bring them back to the clinic, and I will have the ids ready.”

“Why are you doing this?” asked Molly. Randy nodded as well.

“Because we can, and it seems the right thing to do,” said Bob and Nancy together. “We sense that all of you are good people, and just need a little help now. We would hope that, if you have the opportunity, some time in the future you will return the favor by helping someone else.”

“Okay, we can do that.” They all nodded their agreement with Molly and Randy.

“Since it appears you will be frequent visitors, you should be aware that we are rather casual about dress,” said Joyce. “You can wear as little or as much as you want, except when we have business guests.” Several looked puzzled at her comment. “To be a bit blunter, that means nudity is acceptable. It is to be your choice. A fundamental rule we have is that any interaction between individuals must be voluntary.”

“I’m not sure about the nudity,” replied Kathleen, “but we all agree with interaction being voluntary.”

“Remember,” said Terry, “it is your choice as to what you wear when we don’t have guests. Do not feel pressured into being naked if you are uncomfortable with it.”

“Come on, let’s go look at these colleges,” said Sally.

Bob, Nancy, Rusty and Sarah watched them leave then went into Bob’s den.

“What will it cost to look into some of the parents backgrounds?” asked Rusty.

“Not a lot, but I agree with your implication. We should look into both Mairia and Jackie’s parents’ backgrounds. From what they told us, it would appear that their parents have a specific future planned for them, regardless of what they want. As to the others, we probably ought to do a quick check, just to see if anything sends up a flag.”

“I think, or more accurately we think, the cost should be borne by us, as it is due to our action they are here. We do appreciate your assistance, though.”

“Rusty. Sarah, we consider both of you, along with Sally and Terry, to truly be a part of our family.”

“Thank you. We all feel the same way about your family.”

“We are in this together, so don’t worry about it. Although we can’t see things quite the same way the two of you can, we can see and feel their need, which is why we jumped in to contribute.”

“Well, I need to go to the clinic and program pass keys for them. Nancy, would you bring them out to the clinic in about an hour?”

“Sure, I think I’ll go see how they are doing.” Sarah, with Nancy, went to see the how the group was doing, while Bob and Rusty went to the clinic.

“Bob, it seemed like you wanted to say more at the house.”

“Yes, but there were too many people around. You remember the comments made by the apartment manager, about people disappearing?”

“Yes.”

“Well, from time to time, we have heard similar stories about young people disappearing right after high school. Usually the disappearances are hardly noticed, just like Mairia’s older sisters. Parents don’t raise an alarm. No relatives raise an alarm. If the parents are careful, they can send their children to almost any place, for any reason, since the children believe them, they go willingly. Once the child is gone, the parents can then tell others a different story so their disappearance seems to be normal.