Jim Meets the Coeds Ch. 02

We trotted back to the house. Chris tried to add her reassurance regarding my television appearance to what Mel had told me only a short time earlier. I felt nervous and on edge. At home, we showered together, and I went off to the publishing house, still hoping to finish the galley proofs that day. Even with all the love I felt for Chris, Mel, Sarah, and Holly, I missed Lynn and Karen and wanted to see them again. I finally felt homesick.

I spent the morning making proof marks on the printed pages I'd been provided. I finished the book before noon. Paul and I went to lunch, and then I headed to the television studio for my mid-afternoon interview before a live studio audience. My palms were sweaty, my knees were knocking, my pulse was racing, and I kept having to urinate.

At the studio, a young and pretty production assistant came and retrieved me from reception and took me to the makeup room. "We'll just touch you up a little so you don't reflect too much under the studio lights," she explained. Another woman came in and proceeded to work on my face for ten minutes. As she finished, a young tech came in and fitted me with a wireless microphone. The first girl escorted me to a waiting room with six-month old magazines and torn chairs.

The door burst open about half-an-hour before show time and Maggie Moore came bursting into the room. Maggie, I had been told, was the hottest thing on TV in the Midwest. Her show was syndicated and ran on all the channels in the state from three to four o'clock just prior to the nationally syndicated Oprah Show. She was big stuff and destined for a national slot on one of the major networks.

She was cordial and friendly, and actually helped reduce my nervousness. She told me a few of the questions she planned to start with so that I'd have some time to think about them. She firmly told me that she wanted to be provocative, yet not cut me off at the knees or ruin our chances with the book. She looked me in the eye and said, "I want you to look good. I'm not the kind of emcee that's out to make you look bad. If we get in a blind alley for some reason, I'll sense it and take us in a different direction." She actually gave me a hug and told me not to worry, just be relaxed, and it would all be over within thirty or forty minutes of when we started. She was the expert. Only then, did I figure out that I was the key attraction on this afternoon's show.

She led me up to the studio. A man in shirtsleeves was explaining to the audience how they should applaud when the "applause" sign came on, and laugh and go Oooh and Aahh when they felt like it. He explained the mechanics of the show, and told them how the cameras would be moving around and often taking pictures of them. The audience, mostly women, all instantly adjusted their hair and checked their makeup.

I was given a seat where I could watch the start of the show from the wings of the stage. Then, I got the surprise of my life. Mel, Chris, Sarah, and Holly all suddenly appeared in the studio, each dressed to the nines. They came to me, and each woman hugged and kissed me and wished me luck. I noticed a camera taking pictures of the five of us, although we weren't on the air. There was a lot of touching and public loving; we ended with a group hug. After their loving wishes were completed, the four of them melted into the audience where four front-row seats appeared to already have their purses and coats on them. They'd gotten there very early to be able to hold those front row seats. God, I loved them.

The audience got revved-up by the announcer, canned music started playing, everyone stood and started cheering and clapping, and Maggie Moore came out and did her little dance that was apparently her trademark entry. She stood and did a short monologue that provoked lots of laughter, and then talked about who would be on the show that day and what we'd be talking about. It felt weird to hear my name mentioned; my God, I would be on television in seconds! I tried to suppress my urge to run out the side door.

I could hear some commercials playing in the background. Maggie's production assistant came and stood by me. She explained that when it was time she'd give me a nudge; I was to walk out, hug and kiss Maggie, and sit in the big beige chair next to Maggie's desk while she interviewed me. I suddenly had to pee again, but it was too late. I held my legs together.

Maggie went into a more extensive recitation of my background and my qualifications as an author and sociological researcher, and then she said, "And now, please give a warm welcome to Dr. Jim Rice." The production assistant gave me a large shove to Maggie. Amazingly, I strode confidently onto the stage and into the bright lights as the audience applauded. I gave a Hollywood hug and kiss to Maggie who gestured me into the large, beige chair.

After her welcome, Maggie started, "Jim, you have two books about to come out any day right?" I nodded, and she went on, "One is guaranteed to be a best seller if your readers understand what a 'polyandrous relationship; is. Right?"

"I guess you could say that, Maggie. Our society is still fascinated by different sexual life styles and certainly a relationship with mature, multiple partners in it is bound to hold fascination for many. It did for me, and that's what drew me into researching this life style and many extended family units that live that way."

Maggie asked, "How many people live this way?"

"Well, we estimate that of the 77 million family households in the country that between a half and two-percent are based on an intimate relationship between three or more people. That means there are between about half a million and two million households in polyamorous relationships in the United States." The whole audience went "Ouuuuuuu."

"What's the basis for such a relationship, Jim, and what about jealousy?" Maggie asked. I responded much as I had to Eleanor Davies a few nights earlier and talked about love, and how it was inconsistent with possessiveness and jealousy, that jealousy was a learned response that could be changed, and that real love dealt with unconditionally loving your partners and seeking to make them happy.

I happened to catch Chris' eye, and she was smiling at me confidently, sitting forward on her seat in rapt attention. She looked beautiful, and I felt her smile calm me. When I shifted my gaze to Mel, Sarah, and Holly, they too were sitting on the edge of their seats leaning forward.

Then, Maggie tossed me a curve ball, "Jim, don't you live in a relationship like this? Before you answer, I want to show our audience a little film clip one of our cameramen caught about fifteen minutes ago." She gestured to a monitor next to her desk. Up on the monitor came a two-minute clip of Mel, Chris, Sarah, and Holly hugging and kissing me, and wishing me good luck on the show. I was truly shocked and temporarily speechless. Suddenly, I saw that the picture had changed to a live shot of the four women sitting in the studio audience, each looking sophisticated, educated, sexy, and very much her own woman.

Maggie gave a brief exclamation of the clip, "Ladies and gentlemen, you just watched a film clip of some of Jim's extended family wishing him well on this show. It was taken about ten minutes before we went on the air. Who are these women Jim?" She gestured to the four girls in the front row.

I looked at Maggie trying to figure out what her next three questions were going to be, but nothing came to mind. I thought I was sinking fast. "The gorgeous women you refer to are part of my extended family, as you put it. I love each of them dearly, and I hope they feel the same way about me."

Maggie tossed a question out to the four women, "Ladies, are you in love with this man?"

A chorus of "Yes," "Absolutely," "The man of my dreams," and "I can't imagine anyone better," echoed through the studio up to the stage from my four lovers. The rest of the audience gave a huge round of applause. I wasn't sure whether they were applauding the girls or me or both ... or for that matter why.

Maggie turned to me, "How can you manage to keep these women happy?" Then, she added, "and satisfied?" The audience laughed, but leaned forward with curiosity.

I laughed too; I was getting into this TV thing. "Well, for one I believe in better living through chemistry. There are some marvelous drugs for men on the market that enables us to have improved endurance, staying power, and recovery time. Fortunately for me, the times they all ask for simultaneous satisfaction are rare, but not unheard-of. Lastly, we all love each other, and they are forgiving of me being a mere male of the species -- complete with all my limitations." The mostly female audience broke into uproarious laughter.

I'd apparently turned the table on Maggie; she appeared speechless. "Do you mean you've made love to all four of those women at once?"

"Yes," I responded. I didn't elaborate.

Maggie sat back in her chair and looked into the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very unique person with us today. Wow!" She segued to a commercial break.

I was nervous about where she was going next, so when we returned from the station break and Maggie re-introduced me, I jumped in before she could ask another question. "The premise that a man or woman can only love one person is one that an increasing number of people challenge on many levels -- emotional and physical are just two of them. Intellectually, you can imagine it by realizing that you can have two or four or six children and love them all. For some reason, when it comes to our 'mates' we limit ourselves to only one, yet if you think about it there's no particular reason for it other than some artificial societal norms. Historically, it might have been a necessity for survival of the race but that's no longer true today." I went on and talked about how the need for couples had been as a protective measure for women in olden days and that religions and even the pagans institutionalized monogamy. "Now that women are independent and almost on an equal footing with men that is no longer necessary in many societies."

"Are you a Mormon?" Maggie shot at me.

"No, I'm not," I responded, "although I did interview several Mormon families or clans as part of my research. I am spiritual as are several of my ... errr ... 'friends.' I meditate daily and believe, as many do around the world, that we are working towards a unity with a Universal God -- a God that is within us and around us." I talked about how the Mormon's viewed group marriages as well as some Biblical viewpoints on the subject; those slants on the subject seemed to satisfy Maggie and her audience.

"Wow," Maggie said. "You are truly a unique individual. I must say I admire you for creating an independent life style for yourself. Don't you think it's terribly biased towards satisfying the male, though?" I saw the bait on the sexual bias question and thought for a second about how to dodge the bullet.

"Actually, Maggie, I'm the lone male in an all-female household. If anything I'm probably the one at a disadvantage. I should point out that one of the women is engaged to a young man that is part of our extended family."

Quick as a flash, Maggie looked out at the four women and asked, "Which one of you is that?" I saw one camera rapidly swing around to focus on the girls again. A man with boom microphone raced over to hold a mic near Mel. Mel raised her hand rather tentatively. I noticed on the TV monitor that the camera immediately zoomed in on her face.

"You are?" Maggie asked.

"Mel." She wisely didn't offer a last name.

Maggie posed the question, "So you have two lovers?"

Mel answered, "Yes," firmly and with authority.

Maggie asked, "Well, how do you split your time between them?"

"I've never seen it as a problem," Mel smiled and answered forthrightly. "If I'm with Jim, Rob ... errr ... my fiancé can be with one his other loves. Or vice versa."

"Do you feel ... taken advantage of? Or, how can I say this, sluttish?" Maggie asked.

Mel was on it, "Oh no, quite the contrary. I feel more loved and cared for than anyone else in your audience except my friends. I know I have two hunky men and all my friends that I can always turn to and absolutely count on in any situation, any time, anywhere. They will move heaven and earth to restore me to happiness and joy, and I will do the same for them. You don't find many people that you can say that about today. Our relationships are far from shallow sexual trysts that take place and blow away on the next wind. No, we have deep feelings and commitment to each other; more I might add that I've seen in many marriages -- including my parents." Mel nodded authoritatively; I was proud of her.

Maggie was speechless again, and the production girl was practically jumping up and down and waving her arms trying to get her attention for a commercial break. Finally, Maggie got a hold of herself and cut to the break.

After the commercial break, Maggie had composed herself and started wrapping up with me, "Jim, you are one of the most interesting guests we've had on this show. I'm also glad you brought your ... family with you to be in our audience." Maggie turned to the camera, "I'm going to ask Jim to come back in a few weeks so we can talk longer about polyamorous relationships and other relationship subjects. Meanwhile, Jim's book comes out next week, here's what the cover will look like," she held up a mock-up of the cover the publisher's PR person had apparently given her, "so please get a copy starting in a week or two. Jim, please stay with me." Maggie reached over and touched my arm in an intimate manner. She went on, "We have a special singing guest with us today, Ohio's own Lori Harding who's going to Hollywood as part of the next American Idol competition." The audience broke into spontaneous applause, and all attention shifted to a side stage where a small band started the introduction to a rock and roll ballad. Lori did have a pleasant voice. I just sat back and watched; figuring that my part on the show had been pretty well completed.

After Lori Harding's song, Maggie left me and walked out to greet her with a wireless mic in hand. The two talked for a couple of minutes, and then the band started playing the show's closeout theme song.

Maggie gestured me over. I came and met Lori, caught a pretty a good kiss from her, and then we stood as the audience gave us all a round of applause.

I heard a voice from back stage shout, "Your off." The production assistant rushed up to me, "Thanks, you were great." She pulled the microphone from my rear belt loop and lapel. Maggie came up and said, "You were perfect. This will be a famous show thanks to you. I hope we help your books sales. I'm so glad your Mel and friends were in the audience. She was great. I hope you bring her the next time."

"Maggie," I said, "they are each their own person. I don't control them. They are not 'my' anything except a person I love." I smiled at her, so I didn't come across as harsh or tutorial. She got the message and nodded. She added, "I wish I were part of your harem. Maybe we should talk more about that next time." She caught my shocked look and gave a giggle; the famous Maggie Moore had just propositioned me. She hugged me goodbye in a meaningful way, and then walked away with an extra waggle of her hips.

The girls and I stood in the wings getting ready to leave. The assistant asked us to stay if we could so that some of the audience members could ask informal questions, if we were OK with that. I looked at the girls, and they all thought it was all right. We stayed, moving out into the corner of the studio where we could be seen. As we stood I whispered to them that they might get some unpleasant comments and that they should prepare themselves to be called names and such. They all looked at me soberly upon that realization.

The assistant walked on stage, caught everyone's attention as they prepared to leave, and announced that we would take informal questions. We were mobbed. Many women in the audience came up and asked me what drugs I used, how to get her husband-boyfriend fired up, and some other VERY intimate questions. We spent over half an hour talking with the small crowd. I also had several business cards thrust at me with open-ended invitations to get in touch with them if I were in town again and 'lonely'. No one said anything derogatory to me.

The women were also fielding a whole lot of similar questions, except I thought they were at a more intimate level: "What's it like to make love to two guys at once? Were you always a lesbian? How do you choose who goes with whom? Are you bisexual, and how do you know? Don't you mind it when Jim goes off with one of the other women? Do you mind being with someone over twice your age? How'd you ever get started -- I want to do this? When Jim said you were spiritual, what did he mean? Do you have orgasms?" I actually heard some laughter from their group as they got into good side discussions. Sarah was the only one that had a bad experience; she said some woman told her she was a sinner and would burn in hell for what she was doing. I hugged her and told her she'd have a whole world of company, and that I'd hold her hand in any case. I think she got a little rattled by the Bible thumper.

Although it was early, we all went for dinner at a steakhouse. We had an animated conversation that went in a dozen different directions at once. Much of what we talked about was based on questions the women had asked of them that they had trouble answering. I helped them logic out the answers, showing them how a few basic principles can serve as the basis for resolving their dilemmas. I suggested that every time they found a difficult question that rather than try to answer it, they look at the underlying principles and values they apply in their lives regarding relationships and how they live.

Holly asked, "Can you give us an example?"

"Sure," I replied. "One question I heard someone ask you was 'How do you decide who pairs off with who?' Well, think back to our behaviors over the past week. Did we ever have an issue with this?" They shook their heads 'no'. "We started to operate on a couple of principles or ground rules: one was threesomes or more-somes are just fine -- we don't limit our lovemaking to only one other person; another was that a woman to woman encounter is just as valid as one between a man and a woman; another was we don't always have to be in the room when some of the others of us are making love; and another was as long as we care and love the person, it's all right to have a sexual encounter with them."

I went on, "So, I have to go home tomorrow. What do you all do? Well, based on just a few of those principles, you can have girl-girl relationships or encounters with all of you; you can enjoy Robbie when he's visiting again since you all expressed your care and love for him; or if one of you developed a loving and caring relationship with another person you might include them if the others felt the same way to him or her." The heads were nodding, as they understood.

Mel said to her housemates, "We talked about things like this in Florida a couple of years ago. It helped me get a philosophy of life as well as understand how I fit into society without blindly adhering to its mores."

Chris said, "I know you're leaving, and I just want to go on record to tell you I'm really going to miss you. I know we'll all feel that way. Having each other in our open relationship will help, but it won't be same with you gone."

"I'm not sure when I'll be back; however, Thanksgiving is about five or six weeks away and all of you are invited down." I grinned at them; "This year will be the Third Annual Thanksgiving Day Orgy." I started eating and left it to Mel to explain about the event and who the participants were. The others all looked interested.