Chapter 59

Getting a night's sleep was not to be after being separated from the women of my life. The first to let me know she was in need was Brandy. She snuggled to me, then straddled me, rubbing to get me ready before sliding me home. She kept whispering how much she had missed me and was so happy to be in my arms again.

That woke up the others, of course, and the girls were off to the races. They began to excitedly play with each other while taking turns using me as their boy toy. The Oriental sisters were extremely active, and one used my tongue as the other rode me like Trigger. I could almost hear the "Hi Ho, Silver" as she raced to finish.

Etta and Julie snuck in toward the last, followed by Cassie. Lisa was waiting and lovingly pulled me over her baby bump to enjoy a loving embrace. She was the last of the final three of Jane, Tina, and Lisa. Lips kissed my cheek when I lay on my back with Lisa snuggled up, drooling on my leg. I turned to find Sharon's face. She grinned at me and softly said, "I might want to be included in your fun one of these days."

That reunion activity had taken a long time and a lot out of me. I zoned out again and was being kissed awake to begin the new day all too soon.

I slipped my peg on and staggered to the bathroom. I slipped shorts and a T-shirt on from there, and went through the kitchen to find the ladies all up having coffee and nursing babies. I had thought I would loosen up by doing some forms, but it was already late enough that I decided I should dress to go to the patio. Today would definitely be a day to go to the gym with Steve.

While sipping some coffee and chatting with Etta, she said, "We need to go up to Cut Bank to check out the new place. Preacher Jim says Harry and Janet have the ranch house looking great. He also says some of the early vegetables are coming in. He thinks there will be enough time for green beans, some sweet corn, and tomatoes."

Trying not to sound like it was an excuse, I told Etta, "We need to put that off for at least a week. I'm not comfortable leaving here until I feel this place is safe. We've been separated for a couple of weeks, and I'd like to just hang out with everyone. I'll go into the office a couple of times and help with an escapee investigation or warrant service, but I'm going to be with all of you ladies so we can be comfortable."

Etta nodded and told me, "You're right. We have been separated a lot lately, but we've also had some wonderful times together in the recent past. I'll let you get some more strength back before a hectic trip up to Montana."

The breakfast crowd was animated this morning while talking about plans for the weekend. It seemed that a large group was going to go out on the Mercy-Mercy, complete with a crew for the weekend. Several couples were planning on a major fishing expedition, leaving only mine, Steve's, and Sal's families around. Sal asked Steve, "Want to come to the rodeo next weekend? I'm going to do some riding, roping, and shooting. There is a big deal quick draw contest that I want to enter. We need to go to your buddy's range for some practice so I can use his tree. There is also a whip cracking competition. I love that stuff. My sister is going to enter the barrel races with a borrowed horse. She's been practicing every day, and she's going to place and maybe even win if I know her."

Steve asked, "Where does she get a horse and practice?"

Sal told him, "She keeps it at a horse farm just north of the naturist park. She has met several other horse and barrel racing enthusiasts who turned her onto a horse that needed exercising. They have a big stable out there, along with a couple of practice rings. The owner has several nationally recognized reining horses that he shows. A lot of 4H kids keep their animals out there as well."

Lisa told us, "Gerry has a horse out there and is going to compete in the barrel racing. She says that Donny and she were still looking for a horse big enough to carry him and hope to find one at the rodeo sale and auction."

Sharon, who was always near me, leaned up behind me, and said, "Let's go out to that farm so I can go riding."

I smiled at the girl and told her, "Go out there with Sal's sister, Carmie, while she's here. You can always go out there with Gerry too. You know you don't always have to be in my back pocket. I'll call you if I'm going to go somewhere."

Sharon skeptically looked at me, and almost whispered, "It's my job to be with you, but I can see that you can usually take care of yourself around here. I'll go to the horse farm if you go to the airpark for instruction."

I kept thinking how diversified all of these people were as I sipped my coffee. Steve is probably the most diverse, but the most stable at the same time. Sal is the enigma, considering his genius abilities, but still has a regular guy demeanor with hobbies straight from Texas. I was sort of the one-track mind guy. I focused on one project at a time until it was complete. My multitasking caused me to go into overdrive and attempt too much at once.

I went home and into the studio, knowing that I would have some time to myself. Copies of the music Bonita was resurrecting sat on the counter in the control booth, so I took them to the big studio and brought my bass out. Using a big yellow pad of lined paper, I wrote down the words to one song as best as I remembered them. I'd have to look through the big sample case to see if the original lyrics are in there.

I fooled around with the two pieces they had played, but kept going back to a ballad that I was hearing in my head. It would be great to be able to tell the world how proud I was of my family and how much I loved them all through music. The world wouldn't understand all these women, so I needed to use only children and family in describing them, and not wives or lovers. I had to switch to my acoustic guitar to get the feel of the tune I was playing. I plugged in a keyboard with a midi connection after playing it through a few times, and played the melody a couple of times. I was smiling to myself at how much I wanted to tell everyone about the many women and children, along with the anticipation of the next batch of babies.

My eyes were closed as I was leaning back in my chair with my acoustic again, when lips kissed my ear, startling me. I quickly sat up and found Lisa and Tina standing in the studio. Lisa said, "Something new, I take it? Your head is telling me you're confused about how to sing what you want."

"Yep, you found me out. I'm in a melancholy mood today, but so very happy and content to be home and to have my family around me. I know there are several things to do, but I'm not sure I want to do any of them."

Tina said, "Etta told us you need to get up to Montana to check out the progress on several fronts. Lisa told me that you need to check in with your aunt's gold mine and to confirm the new company that's going to mine the uranium. She says you also need to check out your new farm or ranch to see how it's coming along. I know you don't want to leave your family here, but you know they are very protective of each other and are always alert."

Lisa said, "I talked to our handler and he said Ace is going to be home for about a month, so he could be the watchdog while you do some quick running. Would you relax if he was around?"

"Maybe, but who knows what frame of mind the guy is in? I don't know what he's been assigned to recently, so he may be a candidate for some R&R in one of the houses we have."

"Call the contact," Lisa suggested. "He'll tell you how intense Ace has been. He may not have been under much stress and will enjoy relaxing around home."

I nodded and said I would call in the morning. I didn't want to fool around in the studio anymore, so I put my instruments away and we shut the studio down. It was time for lunch, and I really didn't want to go to the patio, so I was poking around in the fridge to see what we had. Tina said, "Sit, I'll warm up some soup and you can have a simple lunchmeat sandwich instead of the spread at the patio."

That sounded good to me and I wondered why I was being so lethargic and not interested in doing anything. Maybe I needed a challenge. I knew I needed to be doing something that would elevate my adrenaline so I would feel aware.

I suggested we go to the patio when I had eaten, so I could play with my kids and maybe take a nap with them. I loved to have them all lying against me while they napped.

That's what we did. My ladies and Sal's ladies were there with Sal's two little guys and all of mine, along with Mickey's baby. I ended up with fourteen little ones laying on me with light blankets on the pile of kids. I slept for over an hour until some of the little ones were trying to pry my eyes open.

None of the women were in the living room as the kids began waking and jabbering. Little Nitika was standing in front of me and moving from foot to foot. Knowing that she might be soaked, I got up and told her, "Let's go to the room and get you changed."

"Potty" came from the tiny girl. That was a little confusing as I thought I would change her diaper. Nitika held her hand up to me and said "Potty" again, but this time grasping my hand and pulling me toward the big bathroom next to the living room. We went inside where I saw a child's potty seat. The tiny girl was trying to push her diaper panties down, so I helped until they were off one foot and she was trying to get onto the potty seat. Thinking that she might be in training, I picked her up and put her on the seat, where she let out a sigh and I could hear her splashing into the receptacle. This kid isn't even a year and a half old and she's nearly potty trained? It's just not possible. I needed to ask Nancy about this.

Little Julie came in and was acting like she wanted to do the same thing, so I helped Nitika wipe and then helped Julie sit on the seat. This was too much. Two of them who are almost potty trained?

Judy came in and complimented Julie for using the potty seat. She smiled at me and said, "Nitika and Julie are really doing well. I need to find something they can use as a step to get up on the potty seat that's on the regular toilet. They just aren't tall enough yet."

I had to ask, "Are any of the others using this?"

"We're trying to get them all to use the regular toilet. We have a little stand for the boys to use the toilet, but they can't control where they go yet, so it's usually a mess. They'll get it soon. They need to watch you so they know what to do."

"You guys are amazing. Our kids are saying words and even sentences, and some are now almost potty trained."

Judy said, "We need to get them to be more of a help, because we're going to start all over again in a couple of months. We all want to be sure to have them potty trained by the time we add the second babies."

Brandy brought Danny in, stood him on the small stand, pushed his 'Pull-ups' down and put his hand on his penis to aim it. You could see the concentration on his face as he let go and a strong stream came from him that first splashed onto the back of the toilet until the two of them could get him aimed correctly. Brandy looked up at me and said, "Our little boys are having trouble aiming, but they are letting us know when they have to go now. It's progress."

Brandy shook Danny's little penis when he was done before wiping the tip off with a piece of toilet paper. Brandy told Dan, "Good job." The little man was all smiles from his mother's compliment after pulling his diaper up, and being held up to the sink to wash his hands,. He ran off while Brandy cleaned up the mis-aimed beginning.

Tiani was coming in with Sam as I left the bathroom, so I figured that was going to be a repeat of what Dan had done. Tiani said, "Stay, you hold him so he knows it's what guys do. Dan and Sam need to watch you go so they know how to do it. I'll bet they will be trying on their own, but will still be drenching around the toilet at first."

I helped Sam and held his hand on his penis and quickly aimed it as the little guy immediately let go. We managed to not splash all over and kept the stream in the toilet bowl. The whole time he went he was saying, "I go potty, I go potty. I'm a big boy."

Tiani was giggling at her son's proclamation, but was all smiles in her pride. We all went through the hand washing routine again.

I encountered other kids and moms coming from other bathrooms in Steve's place upon leaving the bathroom. I suppose one bathroom is insufficient when there are fourteen little ones needing the potty.

Cassie came out of the kids' sleep room carrying Izzy and talking to her. Cassie was telling her daughter that she needed to tell her when she has to go so she can use the potty chair if she was going to wear Pull-ups. Cassie noticed me and said, "Not all the kids have it down yet. Izzy and Sue Ellen seem to be slower in this learning experience."

As I went back out to the patio, Steve hollered, "Go put your workout clothes on. It's gym time. I think we'll fill the place up this afternoon."

I quickly changed and joined Steve and Sal with all of our women at the gym. The little ones were put into the daycare area while the adults went to treadmills and stationary bikes to loosen up. We all had great workouts, with the pregnant moms doing their more limited exercises. Tina was the hovering watcher, making sure none of the women were straining too much.

When we were back on the patio, Steve said, "We would normally go get some sun, but it looks like rain so we'll hold off today. I always feel great after our workout and know that I can have a beer and a snack before supper since it's Saturday."

I felt a lot less lethargic and was contemplating going out to the airpark when Sharon came into the patio. She whooped and exclaimed, "I just had a great ride out at the stable. They have a five mile trail that you can ride with a couple of flat stretches to let a horse run. Gerry and Carmie rode with me, and we had a blast. I watched the two of them practice on the barrels for a while too. That's what I was needing."

Kids were coming in the doors carrying their guitar cases. Steve said, "With a lot of the parents sailing and fishing, we three guys are going to be in charge of the mass sleepover tonight. We have some action movies and lots of popcorn."

Bonita came over to sit with me on one of the couches. She hugged my arm and just snuggled instead of her usual plea to go play music. "Are you okay, Nita? You act like you're not feeling well."

Without looking up at me, Bonita whispered, "My stomach hurts and I'm messy. Momma says that this is what a maturing girl goes through. She says I have to do this every month for the rest of my life, except when I have a baby." The not so little girl looked at me, "So can I be your wife now that I'm doing this?"

Lisa and Tina had heard and were choking, trying to keep from laughing. Tina ran into the house to find Kathy and returned with Kathy in tow. Kathy came over and sat on the other side of Bonita. "You have a lot of life to live before you can be anyone's wife, Honey. You have to finish school and still have a lot of fun being a kid."

Bonita just hugged my arm and said, "I'm going to be a teenager soon. I didn't think stuff was supposed to start until I'm a teen."

"I started early, Nita Honey. Barb started about your age, so it's only logical that you would begin your woman stuff about now."

"Yuk," Bonita disgustedly said, "I don't like this part of growing up. I couldn't even have gone to motocross if I had started last night. Now my stomach hurts and I feel icky. I think I'll go in and play the piano for a while. That'll make me feel better."

Kathy looked at me when Bonita left and said, "See what you have to look forward to?"

Sue had joined us and said, "Elizabeth is constantly checking to see if she is going to start. She says that it's not right for Bonita to begin before she does. I'm sure we'll have a bunch of our girls all doing their thing at the same time."

I sat there thinking how nature was maturing all these kids. I had met them when they were still under ten years old, and now they're teens. My little ones are all around eighteen months, with the second batch going to be on the ground by the time they are two. A feeling of euphoria swept over me as I considered my little ones growing up so fast. There was a lot I need to do for all of them. The boys had to be taught boy stuff like catching and throwing a ball, and to begin martial arts early. The girls needed the martial arts too, but they needed to be doing little girl stuff. I wondered if we would have any students of music like Bonita and the other kids, but also knew they would be given every chance to learn.

"Earth to Chuck." Tina was sitting on the arm of the couch, running her hand through my now longer hair. I smiled at her as she asked, "You looked like you were in a far off place. Where were you?"

I told her and Lisa next to me, "Just realizing how fast the kids are growing up and what I need to do to be a good dad."

It was Tina who said, "You're lucky with all of the older boys around. They'll be showing all the younger kids how to play baseball and soccer. You'll do that too, but the kids will learn from the older kids, and then your oldest will teach the younger ones. You know, there are other kids here in the park who are the same age as yours, or would that be ours."

That had to put a smile on my face. The women went into the kitchen for the evening meal prep while the guys around the patio joined together at the bar. As we sipped a beer, Sal told me, "I sent all the results of our hacking to date to the guy you call your handler. He's sent me another list of addresses and companies to investigate as well. It makes me feel like our group is contributing to national security in ways other than helping to create aircraft and weapons."

Sandy Flowers, the guy, said, "Has Sal told you what he and Wes were working on? They have some plans on the board for the aircraft you talked about. Everyone in DP (data processing) has been working on the principles of lift. The value of the engines that can propel the craft at supersonic speeds will give the power for a quick lift off, but we have to be able to take off with full fuel and a passenger load too. We're a ways off, but working on it."

That made me smile even more. The world would beat a path to our door if they came up with a mid-sized passenger aircraft that was capable of Mach 1 or better, with range, and the ability to take off and land on short runways. Of course, sonic booms might still be a problem.

Etta came over to me, holding her phone out to me, "Talk to him, he needs some advice."

Not knowing who it was, I just said, "Johnson."

Harry Harper, the husband half of the couple running the farm in Montana, said, "Mr. Johnson, or Chuck as you want to be called, there have been two visits by men who say they have your permission to inspect the property and the security of the ranch. They poke around the entire house and outbuildings like they're looking for buried treasure. The one who I think is the boss said they had someone who would be coming to stay here for a month or so when they left a little while ago. He gave me a binder with all kinds of dos and don'ts having to do with how we are supposed to interact with whoever is coming. What's going on?"

This was strange as I hadn't advised the service that the farm was ready to have visitors yet. There already were people up on the island near Friday Harbor, but I had advised the service of it being ready and had accepted men from them to take care of the homes there.