He Planned a Secret Ch. 03

Families showed for dinner. Three guys in their thirties came in and when they were done one pointed to the sign that said, "Hugs are better than handshakes" and asked Kasumi if that meant they could have hugs. She hugged all three of them. Her next customers asked for hugs too. Then Ann served dinner to a family and the teenaged son asked for a hug. She said he had to finish his dinner, including the veggies to get a hug. He got the hug and his parents smiled and left a good tip.

By closing we had served a good number of people and many of them had given us great feedback on the food. Diane's years of running the café' prepared her for making the adjustments needed. The first one was to get rid of the paper menus, except for "Take Home". We marked two parking spots as "Take Home" parking while people stopped in to pick up food they had ordered by phone. On day two Jose' mounted a white board on the wall and Ann lettered the menu for the day on the board. The weather report said we had a sixty percent chance of rain that afternoon. The special of the day was thick, white clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. When Diane filled the twentieth bowl at twelve-thirty Ann started making another batch. The chowder was a hit.

By the end of our first work week (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday) we had served three hundred breakfasts, almost four hundred lunches and four hundred fifty dinners. We were still in the red, but I believed the word of mouth would have us in the black soon.

All five of us made a point of talking with our customers. They gave us some good ideas. A teen son of one family said he needed a job. His Dad asked if we would allow him to do deliveries, for three dollars per delivery plus tips. Ann said it was Ok, if he kept up his grades to a GPA of 3.2 and didn't get into any legal trouble. No speeding tickets, parking tickets or DUI's.

In the second week a teacher asked if he could get a discount and use the discounted lunches as rewards for hard work for students. He got a twenty percent discount and we had reward tickets printed that were good for any meal up to $15.00. The reward tickets had to be signed by the teacher and dated to be valid. He paid $12.00 for each ticket. He bought a dozen and we gave him thirteen. The next day four other teachers came to see us about reward tickets.

Those teachers put notes in with report cards, letting parents know that we gave free desserts to any student who showed us an "A" on their report card.

In our third month we were doing a little better than break even when our phone rang at six in the morning. The caller ID showed a number in area code 808. Jose' answered. Three seconds later he put it on speaker.

Almond's voice said, "I need to come home."

"So, come home. You're home is right here. How soon can you be here?" Jose' asked.

We heard her sob. "I'm not pretty any more."

I said, "We let Jose' in the family and he isn't pretty. Where are you, Sweetheart?"

"Hawaii. I can't leave until tomorrow. Where do I go?" I realized she was calling on our cell phone, not our new restaurant number.

Jose' said, "Fly into San Francisco. Call or email your flight information and one of us will pick you up."

"Thanks. It should be either Ann or Diane. I'll call back." The connection ended and she was gone. Thirty seconds later the phone rang again. Jose' answered, "Hi." And hit speaker.

A voice none of us knew said, "Her cover is blown. We'll pick her up in San Francisco and deliver her to you in two weeks. She was attacked and injured a week ago. For your protection and hers we scrambled the phone in her room. She still needs some medical attention before we release her."

Jose' started to speak and the line went dead. Diane and Ann started asking questions immediately. "How badly was she hurt?" "Is she coming to visit or stay?" "What do we do to get ready?"

We had all heard the same two phone calls. We had no answers.

Kasumi said, "Give up on your questions. Every time Jose' went on duty I had questions, questions without answers. He'd be gone for weeks and come back, without answers. My job then was to love him back to health, so he could go away again. There are no answers."

I nodded and so did Jose'. I said, "She's right. Our job is to love her back to health, if she's here for a month or the rest of her life."

Twelve days later a dark blue Chevrolet sedan parked behind the restaurant and two men got out. They unloaded two suitcases from the trunk and brought them in through the back door. The taller man set the suitcase he carried down and went back out to the car. He opened a back door and helped Almond out of the car.

She was dressed in a lavender pantsuit and she wore flats. She held on to the man as she was walked to our back door. The left side of her face was bandaged and her left arm was in a sling.

Diane saw her arrival and whistled. Both Jose' and I rushed to the kitchen and she pointed out the window. We met Almond at the back door and took her inside. Diane went to the door with us and the man handed her a large envelope. He didn't say anything.

As we helped Almond inside they went out the back door and left. We got her into the booth closest to the kitchen and Diane sat down with her. Kasumi said, "I've got the kitchen. Welcome home, Sister."

Jose' kissed Almond's hand and went to help the customers seated in various places. Diane got her some tea and she smiled as she sipped it. None of us asked any of the questions we had eating at us. We knew she'd tell us whatever she could, as soon as she could.

The morning rush ended and Ann sat with Diane and almond having some more tea. I had noticed Almond crying quietly as we handled business around her. Diane asked, "Tired?"

Almond squeezed Diane's hand and nodded. Diane motioned to Jose' and I and we helped her into the bus parked behind the restaurant. We got her on the bed and removed her shoes. I covered her with a light blanket and we kissed her, and then left her to rest.

For the rest of the day one of us checked on her about once an hour. Her sisters took her food and helped her with whatever she needed. Diane, Jose' and I read the contents of the envelope. It was mostly medical information about how to care for her injuries. Her shoulder had been badly wrenched and some muscles had been damaged. Her face and neck had been cut with a very sharp blade.

The doors got locked, the lights went off and the five of us went into the bus. The restaurant was closed for the next three days.

Almond was awake when we entered the bus. She got out of bed and came to the dining table. She sat and whispered, "This is all the voice I have."

Ann sat next to her and held her hand.

"I can never go back. I'm out and need to do everything to stay gone. How long can I stay with you?"

I said, "You're home. You aren't a visitor. Stay forever. I think we can get you a job at a great little restaurant we know of." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Diane said, "We need to change dressings on you, get you out of the clothes you've been in all day and back into bed."

Ann said, "Almond should sleep here. One of us should stay with her and the rest go to the other Winnie."

Almond waved her hand and whispered, "Could I have Ben on one side and a sister on the other?"

Ann said, "Ok, but be warned, Ben snores sometimes." She smiled as she said it.

Almond said, "I just want to be held."

Jose' took Kasumi and Diane with him and left Ann and I to get comfortable with Almond. We went to work on almond, getting her ready for bed. Changing bandages was high on our list of things to do. Getting her undressed was a slow and careful process. Her damaged shoulder made us move slowly. Almond pointed to her suitcase and I found a bottle of painkillers inside. She took two.

When her top finally was off we saw bandages on her left breast. She said, "He cut me."

Ann prepared a fresh bandage while I carefully removed the one on her breast. The red scar started about three inches above her nipple and towards her collarbone. It extended through the nipple to the bottom of her breast. Three staples near her nipple held the skin together. I cleaned the wound and Ann rebandaged it.

"I know I'm ugly."

"There are women all over the world who would like to be as beautiful as you." I said.

She smiled a weak smile. I went to work on the bandages on her face and neck. When I got them off we looked at the red line that started next to her left eye and extended down across her jaw and onto her neck. The damage to her voice was because the blade had damaged her larynx as it sliced through. The scar was not as red as the one on her breast and appeared to be healing well.

We got a fresh bandage on and turned her towards the bed. She mad a hand sign with her hand. Her thumb stuck between her first and second fingers of a fist and jiggled. She softly said, "Pee."

We got her into the bathroom and she took care of business. Ann and I undressed and when Almond came out we got her in bed and we took our turns in the bathroom. I showered and shaved. When I climbed into bed Almond snuggled against me, her right side down and her head on my shoulder. My arm naturally held her against me and Ann snuggled against her back. Her eyes closed and she was asleep.

Early the next morning the rest of the family joined us. Jose' and Kasumi made breakfast of oatmeal with cinnamon and bagels. Almond ate half a bowl. While we ate I thought about how Almond's arrival had me seeing our need for an actual home as urgent. We owned the duplex that we got from Martha, but it was three miles from the restaurant.

Jose' sat by me and said, "Brother, we need to sell a motor home and get a place for all of us to live."

Diane looked at both of us and said, "Amen. It needs to be close to the Ohana and have lots of room."

Kasumi said, "I have an idea. I heard some folks talking yesterday about a place that might be perfect for us. After breakfast let me check it out and I'll get back to you at lunch. Ok?"

"You must be crazy." I said. "Where is this house that might be perfect? Why can't all of us go look at it together?"

She smiled and said, "It's on the corner." She pointed in the direction and I said, "there's no house over there. Just a church and a plumbing supply business.

Kasumi smiled and nodded her head. "The people I overheard said the church went under and the building was for sale."

Jose' said, "Let's go look at it."

Kasumi said, "Let me see if I can find out who's selling it. Maybe we can get inside." While she grabbed the phone the rest of us started getting ready to go look. I ran across the street to the Fix-It shop and borrowed a wheelchair from Marty. Almond could go with us!

When I got back everyone was ready. We put almond in the chair and I pushed. As we walked I realized that if we bought the church we expanded our parking as well as living really close to Ohana. A silver SUV pulled into the church parking lot and a woman about fifty got out, smiling like we were her best friends. I remembered seeing her at dinner two nights before. She had salmon and her dinner partner had swordfish.

She opened the doors to the church nod we went inside. She rattled off the stats for the building. It had been built in 1955, had a little over ten thousand square feet inside and half an acre of land. Diane looked hard at the kitchen and approved. I found the two restrooms and both were four holers, with three urinals in the men's room as well. There were six classrooms, two offices and the chapel. The building had a five-year-old furnace that we were told worked well.

Kasumi was right. The church could really work as our new home. Three hours after Francine opened the doors for us we made an offer. At ten o'clock the next morning we were in process of buying the church. Our offer was much lower than what was being asked for the building, but since it had been for sale for two years without a nibble, they took it.

We worked an agreement to rent the building until the sale finalized. We began the process of moving in immediately. The restaurant was closed three days a week, but we worked seven days a week. Jose' found some boys playing basketball at the high school and hired them to do some of the demolition and clean up work. As a part of their pay we agreed to put hoops in our parking lot.

The six classrooms became three huge bedrooms. One office became a bedroom. The bathrooms were remodeled adding big showers and getting rid of half the toilets and all but one of the urinals. All the pews went to salvage.

Both Jose' and I had been sensitive to almonds healing process, giving her plenty of time to heal. In the third week she was with us Diane cornered me in the kitchen and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing that I know of. Why?"

Almond has slept snuggled against you and Jose' every night since she arrived. You both know she feels ugly. Neither one of you has made a move on her. This morning she was thinking about leaving. She doesn't feel wanted."

"Would you excuse me? I need to go talk to Almond." I smiled and left Diane in the kitchen. I found Almond in the bus looking at the screen of a laptop. I said, "Can I ask you a couple of questions?"

She closed the laptop and said, "Sure. Go ahead."

"Maybe I'm dense. I'm going crazy looking for a sign that you're ready and maybe even willing for a little more loving than just being held all night long. Can you tell me how soon I can stop going to one of my other wives for the action I want with you?"

She looked at her watch and said, "It's a little after eleven. There should be a lull between lunch and dinner at about two o'clock. I'll be right here, nude and ready at two o'clock. I'm sorry we haven't communicated well. I thought you didn't want me."

"You slept with me last night. Was I hard this morning?"

"You're hard every morning. It doesn't mean anything except you're a man."

"Anytime I'm hard and you want the use of it, go for it. I promise I'll do my best to use my mouth, my hands and my cock to tell you I love you and want you. I do love you."

At two that afternoon I found almond in the bus, nude and willing. No clothes on and no bandages either. I massaged her for an hour or so and included lots of foreplay, fiveplay and sixplay before we got to joining. At three-thirty we cleaned up the motor home, opened windows and changed the sheets on the bed. As we walked back to Ohana I asked, "Do you believe I think you're ugly?"

I looked and her eyes were full of tears. She said, "No. You think I'm still beautiful." That night Ann joined us in bed. I love three-way sex where I get to please both women. That night we ganged up on Almond and she gave up her plan to go away. My belief is that all the sex and affection helped her heal. I know it helped me feel better.

We'd been in town less than a year when we moved into our new home. Almond had healed and regained most of her range of motion and strength. She delivered food from the kitchen to diners, and she cooked. Her scars stopped being red and angry. We had her get them treated and they faded to almost unnoticeable. Jose' and I played basketball on our court with the boys at least once a week.

On the exact day that Ohana had been open a year I was washing dishes and Almond came to me in a hurry. She tugged on my sleeve and I asked, "What?"

She whispered, "Something is wrong!" She led me to the door from the kitchen into the dining room and when I looked I suddenly felt cold. Three men in gray suits were looking at the menu on the wall. All three were armed.

"Stay back here." I said. I walked out into the dining room and to the three men.

"You guys ready for lunch?" I asked.

They faced me and one said, "Lunch sounds good. We were told we might find Ben Peterson here in town. Know him?"

I said, "I'm Ben Svenson. I think there's a Peterson family over in Santa Rosa, but I don't think the husband is Ben."

"Ok, thanks." They ordered and I served their lunches. The older one of the three paid the bill with cash. He left exactly fifteen percent tip. When they left they left in a gray four door Ford sedan. There were three antennas on the trunk lid.

I went back in the kitchen and Jose' said, "Tell me we don't have to move."

Instead of answering I went to the phone and dialed a number I'd memorized years before. I identified myself and was connected to another voice. He said, "They goofed and they know it. They were not supposed to contact you. You do not need to move. However, you will receive a package later today. Put them somewhere you can get to them easily."

The package contained four weapons. Two modified XM-110 rifles and two 9mm pistols. One rifle went in the house and one into the restaurant. The handguns were also hidden, but easily accessed.

We sold the class "C" RV. Jose' and I traded taking wives on three day trips in the class "A" bus and enjoying our lives. Ohana stayed profitable and we invited Jenny for the visit we promised. She came and stayed a week.

The day after she arrived Ann said she waked funny. Jenny said, "I haven't had sex in years. Now I've been well fucked and eaten by the best lovers on the West Coast! Of course I walk funny!"

She still walked funny when she got on the plane back to the East Coast. She had been in each of the four bedrooms in our home and had shared "quality time" with each member of the family.

Jenny is selling her restaurant next year and moving to the west coast, where it's warmer than Maine. There will be a bedroom added to our home for her in time for her arrival. That will be a bedroom for Diane, one for Kasumi, one for Ann, one for Almond and one for Jenny. Neither Jose' or I have had a bedroom in years. We haven't slept alone in years, either.

I planned to keep a secret when I left the Air Force. I have kept a secret or two, but not the one I intended to keep. All the women in my life know that secret.