Chapter 34

We had a full bus on the way to the fancy nude resort. It was about a half-hour ride that took us through some beautiful Hawaiian countryside. Kal quickly came to me upon arrival, and said, "You know this is a nudist resort, don't you?"

"Sure, Kal, it's a great place to come to. I'm sure the family's planning on at least a couple of days out here while we're in Hawaii."

Kai was with the big man and said, "What's the matter, big guy, don't you want to impress the ladies?"

I told them that the restaurant and lounge are not clothing optional in the evenings because it is such a popular restaurant. "Come on, the chef here loves to feed us special stuff."

We were ushered to a private dining room where there were enough tables for all of us. They even had enough high chairs for the little ones to use. The chef, in a tall white hat, almost ran to me and hugged me as soon as we entered. He said, "I'm so glad you'll allow me to feed you and your friends, Mr. Johnson. I've made some special dishes everyone will enjoy."

Etta mentally noted to me, "That guy loves you, Chuck. He's not even gay and he'd have your baby. What's the story?"

I told Etta vocally, "Someone was beating him up a long time ago, and I stopped it, Etta. That made him think I'm some kind of hero, and he has acted this way since then."

"You have to know that something like that leaves a lifelong impression on someone, Chuck. I'm sure the man was scared beyond his ability to think, and you rescued him. It's nice to meet more of the people you've helped."

Steve came up to Etta and said, "He did a lot more than just help this one man. He's helped many between the two resorts here. Chuck's been doing his Lone Ranger impression since I've known him."

Etta laughed and held my arm. She whispered, "No wonder you get so lucky every night."

The Chef came out in his tall chef's hat and white clothes when we were seated, and told everyone, "I want to serve you family style tonight. I have several main courses that are prepared in smaller quantities so you can try them all without becoming overly full. Please enjoy my celebration of Mr. Johnson's coming to eat with me."

Steve grinned, and Dewey asked, "What would you recommend for the little people?""

The chef said, "They will enjoy the island sweet potatoes and the special pates that are in the big lazy Susan. There is chicken, fish, and even some pateed shellfish that should taste good to their palettes. I want Chuck's babies to be as happy as the adults.

Dan was between Brandy and me on one side, with Nitika between Nancy and me on the other. I scooped up some of the chicken pate, put it on a soft cracker, and offered it to Dan. He suspiciously looked at it, sniffed it, and then tasted it with his tongue. What he did next took me by surprise. The little guy grabbed my hand with the soft cracker in it and tried to stuff the entire cracker into his mouth. Brandy laughed, "I think he likes that. Give some to Nitika."

I repeated the process with the tiny darker girl, and she wasn't hesitant. She went right after it, pulling my hand to her mouth. It soon became apparent that the kids loved the pate. The adults began having some and we all agreed on how delicious it was. Dan's eyes opened very wide and he smacked his lips when I put a spoonful of the pineapple flavored mashed sweet potatoes in his mouth. Brandy even laughed as the boy pointed at the sweet potatoes asking for more.

Everything we were served was wonderful. The chef was smart and had small servings of everything so we could enjoy all that he created. He announced, "Tonight is special, since this is the anniversary of when Chuck, Dewey, and Steve took this hotel over those few years ago. Everyone associated with this resort has been so very happy since that time. Some real Hawaiian princesses will now serve you. You will be having a special dessert I created in Chuck's honor. This is simply called 'Chuck's cake'."

The chef had some mostly undressed ladies, with leis hiding their treasures, giving tiny dishes of cake to each of the small children. They began giving each adult larger pieces of cake from there, and each person was told to wait until everyone was served.

The chef came out and said, "I won't light them, but all your servings would light up like this one. The chef leaned over my shoulder and struck a match that created a flame all around my piece of cake. He dropped a napkin over the flaming piece of cake and advised us that the dough and the cake has been soaked with delicious brandies. The young ones should only eat one piece. The very little ones' cake doesn't have the liquor. Please enjoy."

The cake was delicious. Dan and Nitika loved their cake, and used both hands to stuff it into their mouths. We had to give them some milk by holding the glass and letting them slowly drink. They would have poured it onto themselves since they were still accustomed to Sippy cups.

I looked around the huge table and told everyone, "Steve and Dewey talked me into using some money I received in a lawsuit that I had earmarked to begin my endeavor to help veterans. They convinced me that I would have even more later if I invested it with them. They've been right, and I now enjoy many investments here on the islands. What's really good is that the ladies of my home are now bonded with me and our babies, and those who haven't had a baby contribute in many other ways. I have to tell everyone that I'm a king in my home and wherever the women accompany me. I know Steve and Dewey feel the same way, and I'm sure that our hearts swell when we three look at our families. Look around; do you see any unhappy faces? Maybe Bonita's and Lizzy's are, because we're not playing music, but we will. Let's go back to our resort and enjoy the rest of the evening."

I had to make sure to personally thank the chef, and he begged me to come out again while I was in Hawaii. He gave me another hug and told me to take care of myself and my family. He was an amazing man.

We had some drinks back at the suites while the older kids found some movies and watched a funny one. The women put the little ones to bed, and then came out to be with everyone. It wasn't long before it was time for us all to go bed. The new arrivals were now way past their bedtime. We had to wake most of the kids who were watching the movie so they could go to bed.

I woke up early the next morning and went out on the beach to do my forms. It was nice to have Lisa, Tina, and Jane join me while I went through my progression. Taiying and Sing were with me within a few minutes, followed by the rest of the mothers, even Gina. Her voluptuous body didn't let her be as graceful as the slimmer women. She and Judy shared the burden of being a little more full-figured than the others. They were slimming down though, and were so very attractive. Judy's body was already blossoming for her new baby, while Gina was making sure she was working at having her body match her previous Italian beauty.

When I closed, Brandy said, "The hotel said that we can use the pool the way we do at home if we don't stay in it too long. She threw the shorts and T-shirt she wore off while she said this, and dove into the nearby pool. Everyone followed, including Etta and Julie who ran to the pool nude before diving in.

We only swam for about fifteen minutes and got out, gathered our clothes, and made our way back into our suite. I asked Brandy while we were going back inside, "Should we go out to the nude resort and stay there for a few days? What do you think about that?"

Brandy looked at me funny for a few seconds, then said, "Let me talk to everyone and I'll let you know. You might want to wait until Steve and Dewey leave, but your people would be fine with it."

I sat on the patio with Steve and Dewey, enjoying the sunrise and one of Dewey's concoctions. Taiying and Sing sat with me as the sun rose in all of its glory over the water. Taiying told me, "I'm a very happy wife to you, Chuck. You have given me a son and have made me a complete woman. I'm thinking that I could be a mother to another, and I might even have a girl this time. I worry that you might object to having so many children, so I wanted to talk to you about it."

I looked at the sweet oriental girl and told her, "You're just as precious to me as any of the women, Taiying. If you want another baby, you know I'll enjoy making love to you to conceive one. You do know there is no guarantee that it will be a girl, don't you?"

The little oriental grinned, "Yes, I know, but if you allow it, we can continue until I get a little girl." She kissed me more than casually, and whispered in my ear, "Now tell Sing she can have another child too."

I pulled Sing to me and kissed her as passionately as I could. "Sing, if Taiying were to become pregnant, you should too. If one of you should have another boy, then you should keep trying until you do have the little girl you would enjoy. I would love to have a little girl that looked like you, Sing."

That was obviously the right thing to say, as the tiny oriental mother passionately kissed me and tried to meld her body into mine. Sing said, "I love you, Chuck. You have given me a life that is far better than I could have ever imagined. The way you love and take care of Taiying, me, and our sons is so special to us. That you recognize we want to be mothers to more than our sons is also special. Thank you, Chuck. We truly are your mates."

Taiying was acting a little bashful, and finally told me, "You knew we were trying to have our daughters, I'm sure. We can't not tell you that we are both with our next child, Chuck. You will now have seven at once instead of just five."

We had breakfast in our own banquet room where we could control the little ones' enthusiasm for pancakes with pineapple syrup. I think every one of the little ones enjoyed having pieces of sweet pineapple to savor. They all needed a bath when breakfast was over, because every one of them had used both hands to stuff pancakes and pieces of pineapple into their mouths.

These last few days have been extremely revealing in many ways. Etta had become what she had wanted all along, with Marion and Virginia becoming even closer to me. Taiying and Sing let me know that they really wanted another baby to share with me, and both were already expecting. I had Katana ready to head up the construction of our newest resort endeavor, and I had committed to a home on the islands.

Jane had received a call and came out to share it with me. She told me, "Sir Edward has been apprehended and is now in the Federal lockup. The FBI is transporting him to DC, and probably holding him for Interpol." That's one more problem resolved.

I was sitting on the patio when Steve came out. He said, "How about taking Dewey and me to see your new home site? You probably need to take your family there too, so see if you can get a bus that will hold us all."

Brandy was nearby, and said, "It'll take a couple of buses. I'll order them and let you know how soon they can be here."

This may not be the best way to do this, but I might as well get it over with. Everyone needed to see what I wanted to do and where I wanted our retreat to be. That's what it was to be, a retreat. The family needed something like this when we needed to decompress, someplace just for us, or even just for a few of us. I hoped I could get it across to Dewey and Steve that it was a place for them and their families as well.

Sam Nightfox called me about nine, local time. He asked, "Are you healing and are you resting? I hope so, because some problems are beginning to want to be resolved. My other troubleshooters are hesitant, and everything that needs to be taken care of is becoming a priority."

"Bring the men in and talk to them, Sam. Better yet, go to them and tell them they will not be held accountable for necessary terminations if they're part of a nasty takedown."

"I don't know whether or not I can do that, Chuck. You couldn't care less, but will be as cautious as possible. The other guys know the heat will come down on them, regardless of how cautious they are."

"Then you have to help them, Sam. You have to defend them and keep the DC moaners and groaners away from our men. I'll issue a directive to stop reporting terminal incidents if necessary."

Sam moaned, "Don't do that, Chuck. The brass will crucify us if they get hold of that. I'll work on it so that the men aren't self-conscious."

"Then do it, Sam. I'm in the middle of a bunch of things and need to get everything working the way it should here. The men you have are capable of doing the job; help them know they can do it."

Sam said, "I think Judith Benton is going to be reassigned to another division because she has shown a lot of sympathy and what's considered too much agreement with your methods."

"Then send me another shrink with some more guinea pigs so that I can educate more people on the reality of how bad guys react. You're forgetting these guys we're chasing aren't nice people, Sam. They want to kill us, Sam. They will want to kill those DC people we want to watch us try to keep from killing them. If my men see a weapon, Sam, I want them to shoot the person holding the weapon. If that kills the weapon holder, so be it. They are given the opportunity to throw their weapons down multiple times. We have to assume they mean to fire them when they raise them. I will not jeopardize our men and wait for someone to fire at us. If you want the lives of our Deputies on your hands, just tell me to leave the Service and I'm out of here. Get your priorities straight, Sam, be the man you are and get those who feel we act too fast to come do it for us."

"Jesus, what has you worked up, Chuck? I didn't mean to set you off. We're constantly getting the idea that we should let the bad guys do whatever they want and not bother to apprehend them. Stay on injury leave and I'll get back to you. Sorry to have upset you."

Lisa and Etta instantly were at my side when I was off the phone. Etta had a concerned look on her face, while Lisa looked angry. Lisa said, "They only call us when they have something nasty. You know, you should decline one of them and let what happens happen."

"I can't do that, Lisa. One of our men could die and I might have been able to prevent it. I'll do whatever I can to keep my men safe, but others have to do that too. This is a mess, isn't it?"

Etta hugged me, and told both Lisa and me, "You two are a force to be dealt with, but you also have a family to love and take care of. Use more of your gift to help those people who object to what you have to do to know the truth. You've done that once, do it again, but you shouldn't be the one leading it. Have someone else be the leader to show the observers that incidents can happen everywhere."

I hugged a woman who could be my mother, but I also knew that it was meant for me to have Etta as a mate somewhere in all the karma of the Trasks and Johnsons of that time. Lisa kissed Etta, and then I kissed her. The woman smiled at me and told both Lisa and me, "I know you'll take care of it. I also know that you're excited about giving us a home here on these beautiful islands."

Dewey held one of the ever-present glasses full of morning reddish liquid up when I walked back into the suite. I smiled and held three fingers up. I picked up the first glass and gave it to Etta. She smiled as she sampled it. Lisa took hers and followed Etta. I held my glass, took a sip, and then asked Dewey, "Do you go up to Alaska to get away from people very often? I'll bet that's a great place to find some peace and quiet."

"You've been there, Chuck, there is peace, but from what I know about when you were there, bad people sometimes show up just like everywhere else. I go down to the water in front of my home and sit on the dock, just looking at nature. That brings me back to a mental reset and gives me hope for life surrounding me. I now have Steve and you to rely on, and two wonderful women who comfort me. They are constantly trying to interest me in someone new, but they're more than enough to keep my interest forever. I know you love your Costa Rican island, but there were enough problems there before you took it over that it isn't a place for total solace. You've had a few problems here that keep you from making this your best place to unwind, and you've even had a couple of really bad things happen up in Alaska. You haven't found the right place yet, Chuck, or maybe it will be a combination of all your homes. Build this one as it will give your family some tranquility. Steve and I will enjoy coming too, but you need the peace more than we do."

"It should be so easy, but it isn't, Dewey. I remember the peace I had sitting on your dock watching the eagle, the sea lion, the seagulls, and the many birds around your place. That was a special time for me. Maybe I'll have to come up to Friday Harbor and see if there's an island or somewhere I can find a place to hide out like you do."

Dewey was sitting looking at me when he said, "I'd like that, Chuck. Come up and look around. You might find something that would be good for you. You know that you're allowed to have more than one retreat, but think of something, Chuck, there is one place that can always give you privacy and is usually isolated from the world."

I shook my head as I looked at Dewey, "Where's that, Dewey?"

The man smiled and said, "On your big boat, or a smaller one, sailing out into the seas to enjoy the solitude of being in charge of everything, including those with you. Think about it, Chuck. You know what it feels like and know how you enjoy being with your family. Maybe you need to take that big Lucky Lady boat out for a cruise."

That was something I hadn't considered, but now that it was suggested, I had an idea that could help the whole family. Mercy's voice came to me in my head, "Now you have it, Chuck. Let's use your boat for a short trip to see if that works for you."

Lisa was holding my arm on one side, and Etta the other. I heard Etta say in my head, "The girls and I have never been for a cruise on your big boat. Take us."

That did it, as Marion's and Virginia's voices were telling me they wanted to go sailing. I heard two more little girls voices tell me, "You can take us all, Chuck."

A boy's voice told me, "I'll make sure those two mind too."

I was wondering how crazy it was going to be when my little ones became aware they had a gift.

Steve was with Dewey and I said to him, "What do you think of a short cruise on the Lucky Lady?"