97: Handfasting

We had a great time. After dinner, Dad led us all out to the fire pit. He must have taken the whole day off because there was a new addition. He had a kind of tent like thing set up that looked like a Navajo hogan. He'd slipped out earlier to light the fire and it was blazing when we got out there. We just sat around for a while telling stories about how life was going after the first full month of school. The guys were excited about basketball season coming up and were bummed that my class schedule wouldn't let me be on the team.

Then Dad took a shovel and broke the fire apart a bit so that he could reach the stones that he'd put under the wood. He shoveled them up and carried them to the Hogan. Once he had a bunch in there and built the fire up again, he started taking off his clothes.

"Well, strip, guys," he said. Mr. Cortales was already down to his skivvies. "You can't enjoy a sweat lodge if you've got clothes on." Then he crawled into the lodge followed by Sly. I shrugged and stripped out of my clothes. The other guys followed suit. I wasn't sure if Lionel was even going to fit in the little lodge but eventually we were all crammed inside and it didn't take long to start sweating.

"This is good, Harry," Sly said. "They will be so focused on how uncomfortable they are they won't hear a thing we say."

"You caught me," Dad said. "Men, this is an opportunity for the elders of the tribe to pass on words of wisdom to the young bucks."

"Are we a tribe now?" Carl asked. "Maybe that's all the associated relatives of the clan."

"I could work with that," I said.

"Hush, young ones," Dad said. "We are here to pass on our wisdom and knowledge in dealing with our women."

"Wait," Sly said. "I thought we were here to learn how to deal with our women. Don't these guys have the answers?" We all laughed.

"The only thing I've learned so far is to do what I'm told," I said.

"No kidding," Doug added.

"Well, our work is done, Sly," Dad said. "That's the only bit of wisdom I had to pass on."

"In a way, you've got it right, Brian," Sly said. "There's no sense in arguing with your women over daily things. If they want to go somewhere, you take them. If they want to dance, you dance. If they want the furniture moved, you get thankful that time only comes once a month and then move the furniture."

"Still, your wives need to know that you aren't a doormat," Dad said. "I know I said 'wives.' Every one of you young men has experience with partners. You might not be intimate with all of them—or you might, for all I know. But the thing is that there will come a time when your partner will look to you for a decision."

"She might not think she is," Sly continued. "She might simply be making a decision that is so disastrous that you have to intervene. That means you always have to be aware of your surroundings. My dear wife and I agreed before we had children that we would do what was best for them. But when it came time for Samantha to declare her love, her mother was more ruled by convention than by what was good for her daughter. I had to step in."

"If your child is running out in front of a bus, you save the child. You don't wait for your spouse to give the command or the okay. And if she says 'he has to learn, ' you save the child anyway," Dad said.

"None of you young men have children yet—so far as we know," Sly said. "Even if you never do, there are times you simply have to save the child. That child might be your love or your wife in that moment. It makes no difference. You make the decision, do what is necessary, and later, you probably take the rap for it as well."

"I've never been more pleased nor proud of what you have created, starting from the creation of your agreement three years ago," Dad said. "You are pioneering new ground, and I for one have benefited from it. It isn't just your clan that you affect. It is all of us. Your tribe."

The guys and I were all stretched out on the air mattresses in my room. We'd showered after the sweat lodge and Dad and Sly were sitting downstairs with another glass of scotch. It was funny that we adopted the wagon wheel layout for our sleeping bags.

"Man! I've never had just guys here for a sleepover," I laughed.

"What's the difference?" Carl asked. "Really."

"Well, we take turns in the bathroom," I said. That got all the guys going about the fact that girls all crowded into the bathroom no matter who was doing what. Even if we were in it first.

"How does tomorrow work?" Doug asked. "Apparently we're all supposed to stay away from the girls. But we all have to go to school, don't we?"

"Why should we?" Carl asked. "Anybody got anything critical in class tomorrow that they can't miss?" Well, I hated to miss my English Lit class now. Ms. Hammer had quickly become my favorite teacher. But I could skip a day. My college professors wouldn't even notice. After a little muttering, we all decided to just not go to school on Friday.

I could think of a few other things about how a girls' sleepover and a guys' sleepover were different. I decided, though, to keep them to myself.

Friday, we did what any bunch of teenaged guys who were cutting school would do. We found a place to play basketball. Technically the courts at IUSB were for students, but it was October and not many people were still using the outdoor sports facilities. Besides, I had a student ID. It wasn't hard for us to find a half-court that we could use to play three-on-three. The guys were all impressed with my Suburban. Even Lionel could fit in it without any squeeze.

We had burgers and shakes at the White Spot and headed back to my place. I had to get my room cleaned up. It smelled like a bunch of sweaty guys. We got showers while we put away the air mattresses, did laundry, put on clean sheets, and vacuumed. I had the windows open to make sure the place aired out and was fresh.

Basketball had been a good idea, but by three o'clock, I was getting nervous. This shouldn't affect me any more than the build-up with Whitney, before prom, or all the stories with Rose. Those were our rituals. But having all the focus on a ritual witnessed by our friends and parents just seemed to put a lot of pressure on. And then all the guys left about four to go 'get ready, ' whatever that meant. I had a feeling that I didn't understand anything that was going on.

But I knew what the result would be. Tonight, sometime, after we'd had a bonfire and party with all our friends, Samantha and I would come here to what had now been termed 'the bridal suite.' Once we were here, all the craziness of the past few days and all the tension would go away and we'd make love. I couldn't stay in the room and stare at the bed any longer. I figured I'd better make dinner.

Anna was in the kitchen humming as she beat eggs. Two pie shells were sitting on the counter next to her.

"What are you up to, Anna?" I asked.

"Well! The groom appears. I'm making quiche for dinner."

"You didn't have to do that. I could have cooked up something," I said.

"Brian, you might not have noticed it, but I'm doing more of the evening cooking now. Yes, we are pulling things from the freezer that you and Elaine cooked up in advance. It's great emergency food and we aren't going to waste it. But when we moved in here, Jennifer, Courtney, and I doubled the size of the household. I happen to be quite a competent cook and am happy to get dinner on the table for my family. I'm only working part-time and hours have been cut as weather is getting colder. Please don't tell me that the only way you want me to contribute to the family is by cleaning the toilets."

"Anna, no! I'd never think that of you," I said, hugging her. "I just was afraid I was shirking my duties. Life gets so crazy."

"Tell me about it," she laughed. "You just continue to get up in the morning and make bread and breakfast. I'll focus on the evening meal. I have a feeling that before long I won't even be driving you all to classes. I think Jennifer will be able to get in and out of your Suburban more easily than my Toyota." I kept hugging Anna when she started to pull away. "What?"

"Anna, are you happy here? With us? With Mom and Dad?"

"Oh, Brian. You sweet boy. Sit down and have a cup of coffee. I just made fresh." She sat with me, the eggs and pie shells waiting. "I am happy," she said looking me intently in the eye. I could smell chocolate in her coffee. "Whenever I think about your dad, I get all tingly inside. And I think about him all day long. And when I think about your mom, I splooge. That's a technical term and it's pretty much constant, too. It's a good thing the women in my family have a pretty light scent or this house would smell like aroused women all the time instead of most of it."

"Geez, Anna!"

"Am I embarrassing you, Brian-Son? I want you to have no question in your mind. I am happy here. Brian, I'm going to sell the place in Kokomo." Anna's house had been part of her divorce settlement and was her security. "I know you are going to be all wrapped up in your own celebration tonight, honey, but save a little bit of your head-space for observing what your women have put together to make tonight special. Remember it and next week, when the fire is back under control, start thinking about how you will conduct a handfasting ritual for Harry, Nona, and Anna. Would you do that for us?"

"Anna-Mom! That's wonderful!" I jumped up and hugged her again, getting on my knees and putting my arms around her as she sat in her chair. She held me to her, cushioning my face against her breasts. Breasts that were so much like Jennifer's. I felt a little stirring and slowly pulled myself away. She looked into my eyes.

"Oh yes. If I were twenty years younger it would be different. But believe me, I'm happy to be my age and not yours. Which brings me to another item. Let's start with your honeymoon."

"Is this going to be crazy awkward this weekend? I can't believe Mom and Dad have been so laid back about it all."

"Well, I'll do my best to keep their minds off you," she laughed. "Oh, I'm looking forward to that! No one is going to disturb you—much. We're still going to be around, mind you. If the two of you come streaking through the house you are likely to be seen. And just as likely to see other streakers. Jennifer and Courtney have each other to fall back on. Please remember that your other cónyuge do not have others to fall back on. Poor Elaine will be here for the weekend and won't even get private time with you. Time she hasn't had since your honeymoon. Donna will be leaving back to Oberlin tomorrow. Sora is riding with Lamar and Renee. Let's see. That leaves Rose, Whitney, and Liz. They need special time with you so they don't feel they've been replaced, Brian. Even Nicolette and Cassie need to know that they are special to you. And believe me, even though Jennifer and Courtney have each other, they don't want to miss out on having you. Yes, I've heard you in there with them. Jennifer is going crazy to get her cast off next week. And you know why."

"Anna, I never intended that I would have long-term multiple partners. It kind of grew from that first agreement. I love each and every one of the girls you just mentioned. And Rhonda. I wish she was going to be here. I'm not superman. But I won't neglect any of my casa."

"Good boy," she said as she stood to return to the quiche. "Now, I've got a bag of fresh baby greens in the fridge. Wash them up and make us a nice big salad. That light oil and vinegar dressing with the dried herbs would be perfect. And you can tell me about how you are getting along in your classes at IUSB. Jennifer and Courtney are thankful they started with just two classes, though I think they both plan to add at least one class second semester. Where are you planning to live when you all go down to IU?"

Dinner was an intimate affair with just the four of us. The girls were all maintaining their distance until the ceremony. Dad's responsibility was to make sure the fire was burning well before the ritual started. Mom and Anna shooed me out of the kitchen to go get ready. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to take a shower and then decide what I was going to wear tonight. It was strange that the girls hadn't dictated something. I thought about Samantha while I showered with predictable results. I decided against relieving myself, though, which meant that my hard cock led the way out of the bathroom and into the midst of my compañera.

"Uh ... oh! Uh..." I wanted to cover myself but, of course, I'd left my towel in the bathroom. I wasn't expecting company. Donna, Sora, Nicki, and Cassie were waiting for me.

"I sure have been getting an education lately," Cassie giggled.

"Will that really fit inside a girl?" Nicki added. I turned beet red.

"Oh, believe me. It fits," Sora said.

"Are they all like that, Brian?" Cassie asked. She'd seen me naked a few times but only glances. She'd even danced naked with me and rubbed herself against me until she came but that was at the fire and I suppose she didn't get a good look. Certainly not the kind of look she was giving my erection now. Having all four girls pushing me toward the bed did nothing to shrink my dick. "I mean ... is Josh like that, too?" Cassie whispered. I grinned and pulled Cassie to me for a kiss. I didn't let it get too heated up, but I let her know I was serious. She caught her breath when I let her go.

"Some things you are going to have to find out for yourself my compañera," I whispered. As soon as I turned from Cassie, Nicki was on my lips. I had to give a serious kiss to each of the girls.

"Now we need to get you ready for your handfasting," Sora said. "Girls, talc. Donna, he missed a spot when he shaved. His shaver is cordless and is in the bathroom. Sora started combing my hair which she kept messing up by giving me a scalp massage and then combing it again. Nicki and Cassie powdered my body. It wasn't like baby powder, at least not what I remembered from Maddie when she was here. It just had a fresh clean scent and it felt really good as they massaged my body with it. All my body. Nicki and Cassie, as the least experienced of my compañera, seemed to have the most interest in seeing that my cock and balls had been covered. Both girls were flushed as they knelt to powder my feet with my cock still waving in front of their faces. Donna finished shaving me again and I looked down to watch Cassie and Nicki run their hands up the inside of my thighs and stroke my cock and balls one more time. I was glad they were finished because I was too close to coming. Sora was standing by my bed where there was a variety of short robes. "Let's get you dressed."

"I feel so pampered," I said. "And sexy."

"Your novia is getting this and more," Nicki said. "She's surrounded by your other cónyuge. I think they've been massaging and oiling her all day long."

"Didn't you guys go to school?"

"Are you kidding? How could we have avoided you all day?" Cassie asked.

"Oh. We cut."

"Figures," Donna smirked. "Here, lift your foot so I can get your pants leg on." I obeyed and she pulled on a pair of light-weight red pants with a drawstring waist. They were just a little heavier than the gauzy robes we'd worn for Elaine's and my ritual. There was a robe made of the same material. It reminded me of a gi, but came down to about mid-thigh. It matched the red of my pants and fastened with a belt that Sora tied and retied several times, making sure to brush against my cock and keep it erect the whole time.