2008 Ch. 10

I flashed the porch light and he responded by getting out of his car and coming in.

As he entered I shut off the porch light. "Little brother, I hope I don't look as bad as we both feel."

"How are things here?" He asked.

"Go take a look." I pointed him toward the bedroom. He came back a minute later.

"Well?" I asked.

"Emily's robe and nightgown are scattered on the floor. The four of them are snuggled together and sound asleep."

"If you want a blanket I'll get you one and you can have the couch. I'll sleep on my recliner."

Two minutes later we were asleep.

When my alarm sounded, I was in the living room. I didn't hear it. Brad didn't hear it. A few minutes later I was awakened with a kiss. I opened my eyes and Beth backed up a bit, holding a cup of coffee for me. She had on a t-shirt. I saw Emily standing by the couch in her nightgown and robe waking Brad with a cup of coffee. Liz, Beth and I went into our shower while Emily and Elissa made breakfast. When we were dressed we joined them at the table.

Emily apologized to Brad and to me. She said she needed to get home pretty soon; she had lots of sewing to do. She said she understood why we sleep together, and wanted us to have a great big bed as soon as she could get the sewing done.

Brad and I did the dishes. Elissa showed Emily the pads and they talked and hugged like the crisis had never happened.

Brad said, "That was close!"

"How so?"

"She was angry when Momma left. Angry at me, at Momma and well, all of us. I went into our bedroom and got my suitcase. She thought I went to bed and came into the bedroom saying she wanted the bedroom. I said she could have it for one more night. I was leaving for the night and filing for divorce in the morning. I yelled at her that if she could reject a woman who gave up so much to be a great Mom to her, then I couldn't live with her. She stood there and watched me toss a day's clothes in a bag and she watched as I brushed past her headed for the door."

"You didn't make it to the door."

"Nope! She finally got it!"

"Elissa came home devastated. Wait! She was home before eleven. You didn't get here until after one!"

"She wanted to apologize." He blushed. I smiled. I'd have bet the apology would be repeated. Beth and I made it to work with two minutes to spare. I was dog-tired, felt like a truck was parked on my gut and needed a nap at lunchtime. Instead we had lunch. I bought food and barely touched any of it.

Usually I walk Beth back to her work area after lunch. She walked me back to my office and told my secretary I'd stayed up most of the night with a family crisis. She took me into my office, closed the door and spent a few minutes being tender with me. She kicked off her shoes and sat in my lap. I almost went to sleep with her in my lap.

Two minutes after she left my phone rang. Ken Barnham in the warehouse had a crisis and the afternoon disappeared in solving the problems. I met Beth at the truck at a quarter after five and handed her the keys. She drove and I napped.

When we got home she went inside and Liz came out to help get me inside the house. They got me into bed and I slept. Somehow I caught something and spent the next two days in bed with the flu. Any man who gets the flu or has ever had the flu should have my three angels to care for him. I got better care than I would have received in the ICU of the best hospital in L.A. I was back on my feet on the twenty-third of December. Liz and Elissa had used my truck and brought home a tree. Emily and Brad came over and helped as I supervised the set up and it looked great when they were done. Actually, my supervision was to rest in my recliner and make suggestions. They took every suggestion.

The house was clean and ready for Christmas with family and friends. Emily delivered the bedding and they made the big bed. Brad and I talked on the phone every day. Our friends were still coming and all the things I had ordered via the Internet were delivered.

On the twenty-forth I wrapped presents. As I remembered from our childhood I wrapped presents so that the contents were disguised. I had found a watch for Mike and I wrapped it in a cheap cardboard guitar case. I wrapped the case in green Santa paper. I bought skirts for all three ladies from Pendleton. They were wrapped in three-inch diameter tubes with a piece of rebar inside to give them weight. The cruise tickets for Brad and Emily I taped to the bottom of a model ship, inside a huge box with three pounds of peanuts in the shell for padding. The cruise tickets for Elissa and I, a week long cruise to the Mexican Riviera for March, were taped to a smaller model boat, taped to a 2X6 board in a box two feet long. The cruise tickets for Liz were inside a model cabin I got on EBAY. Beth's tickets were for a train trip in the Canadian Rockies. They hid inside a box that originally held an Easter egg coloring kit.

I had already wrapped and stashed three computers. They were inside suitcases. Inside the cases of the computers were gift cards for buying clothes for their trips. I was ready. Each of our friends got gifts designed specifically for them. Alison got a gift card for a professional massage. Phil got a CD filled with computer games. Bob got a gift card to buy music CD's or movies. Veronica got a book on vegetable gardening. I knew she could get her husband to eat his veggies since Beth taught her how.

Some presents went under the tree Christmas Eve. Some I kept hidden for our private celebration. Our private celebration had expanded. Brad and Emily were invited. We gave them our bedroom for Christmas Eve night. We slept in the playroom.

"E" was up before dawn, and in the kitchen. She made French toast, pancakes, ham, sausage and chiliquilles. She made enough that when our friends arrived she convinced them to eat, or "I'll just have to throw it away."

Phil did himself proud and I realized I needed to buy him a bib for his birthday. He must have eaten almost two thousand calories for breakfast.

I set the parameters for the opening of presents. I said, "Each person selects a present that is neither for you or from you. In turn we will deliver our presents to the person whose name is on the tag. Our guests go first. Alison, pick, please."

She picked a present for Mike, the one that looked like a guitar. She read the tag, "To Mike from Santa." He said, "I don't need to open it. It's a guitar." Then he held the present and realized it was the wrong weight. He said, "Whoa! There's something wrong. This is too light."

He ripped the paper off and opened the guitar case. He smiled and immediately took off the cheap watch he had worn every day since I met him. He put the new watch on and said, "Thanks, Santa." He looked at me.

I shook my head. I think he believed me for maybe a minute. I said, "Ok, Mike you choose."

He picked up a box wrapped in shiny foil. She read, "To Phil From Veronica."

Phil opened a new wallet and key pouch. Inside the wallet were pictures of Phil and Veronica and two hundred cash. When he pulled the cash out he found a condom. Veronica blushed and Phil laughed and blushed too.

Phil picked up a tube almost two feet long and read, "To Elissa from Pete." He delivered it to Elissa. She looked at me, I nodded and she kissed him and said, "Thank you."

He said, "You're welcome, but the present is from Pete."

She nodded and said, "You delivered." She opened the end of the tube and pulled out a tissue wrapped wool skirt.

Her eyes showed tears and she said, "It's a Pendleton. My first. The thank you for this is bigger than a kiss."

I said, "Give me the kiss anyway, please." She did, however, she held back a little.

All the smaller gifts were dispensed and the paper all cleaned up by about noon. In my office were a few more boxes. Alison knew there were more presents and wanted to know what they were. She came over by my chair and said, loudly enough it was not a secret, "Why not let us all see what you bought for Brad, Emily and your wives?"

"We set a limit on what the gifts we gave could cost. For my family I ignored the limit."

All our friends applied pressure, even Emily and Brad. I surrendered. I asked that the wrapped presents from my office closet be brought in. They were piled near me. Then packages from "E", Liz and Beth arrived.

I said, "Since Elizabeth knows what is in the biggest box, let's start with it." Liz and Beth gave it to Elissa. Emily was next to Brad and asked if he knew what was in the box. He said, "No."

Elissa was crying as she opened it. The lid came off and she saw a model boat. Bewildered, she looked up as if to say, "What is this?"

Liz said, "Lift it up!"

Elissa lifted it and saw the cruise tickets taped to the bottom of the boat. She squealed and jumped up, landing in my lap and kissing me without restraint. When the kiss ended I said, "It's tickets for two. You need to invite someone to go with you."

Liz, Beth and Emily raised their hands. Brad pulled Emily's hands down. In the laughter Elissa said, "I invite you, my husband." And, she kissed me again.

The next box was for Liz. Because she needed a new computer that box was for her. It started life as a box for a bracelet. Inside the box was a note, telling her where to look. She dashed from the room and came back a minute later and said, "It's an IMac. Big flat screen and all the bells and whistles!"

I got another does of kisses.

A square box was given to Beth. She got the lid off and found a plastic log cabin in it. She lifted it and didn't find anything taped on it. She lifted the roof and yelled when she saw the packet of tickets for our trip in the Canadian Rockies.

I got another dose of kisses. Alison nudged Mike and asked, "Are you making notes?"

He nodded.

The box with the ship, peanuts and tickets to the Mexican Riviera was next. Brad picked it up and asked me, "Do I open it or Emily?"

"You start at one end and let Emily start at the other." I said. He put the box between them and every move she made he duplicated. When her end of the box opened a hundred peanuts spilled out.

She said, "Peanuts! A big box of peanuts?"

Brad opened his end and more peanuts spilled out, and he caught a glimpse of something else. He said, "There's something else!" Emily reached in and found the boat. She pulled and thousands of peanuts filled her lap followed by a boat. The way they were sitting neither could see the envelope taped to the boat.

Phil could. He asked, "Does it have a motor?"

Emily had the boat in her lap and was having trouble turning it. Brad got up to help her and saw the envelope. "Hold on, there's an envelope attached."

He tore it off the boat and handed it to Emily. She tore it open and screamed when she realized it was a cruise. She jumped up, scattering thousands of peanuts and leapt on my lap, kissing me.

Brad responded, "What?"

From my lap she waved the envelope, saying, "We're going on a cruise! Your great brother gave us a cruise!" Brad slumped back down to the floor and said, "I can't go."

It came out that Brad had been on a boat once. It was a twenty-one foot sail boat out of Marina del Rey on a windy day. He'd thrown up food he hadn't even eaten, he was so sick. We promised this would be different. A nine hundred foot ship doesn't rock, bob and weave the way a twenty footer does.

When all my presents were given Alison got a present from her huge diaper bag. She handed it to me. She and Mike were beaming. I opened the box and found two pictures. Somehow Mike had PhotoShopped a bunch of pictures together into one shot of Beth, Elissa, Liz and me. The other picture was of Mike, Alison and their baby. Between the two pictures a brass plate read, "Grandparents of the heart, not the DNA. Thanks, Mike, Alison and all our children"

I handed it to my wives and they gushed all over Alison and Mike. It was hung on the wall before dark.

Emily said, "Maybe we cheated, a little. I made bedding for the family bed. They slept on it last night."

"E" said, "What you did was much more than make bedding. You made it Ok in your heart that we slept there last night. I love you." They hugged and the hug grew into a huge group hug.

When everyone calmed down Phil said, "I guess that leaves us. I feel sort of stupid. Veronica got this present for all of you. She wrapped it and insists she delivers it. I don't even know what it is." He didn't have a box, bag or anything. Veronica said, "For me to give you this gift you must agree to play along. You must let me feed you something special, and you must keep your eyes closed. Agreed?"

Everyone agreed. Beth and I almost laughed. Veronica went to the kitchen and brought back a bag she had kept in the fridge. She looked around to see who was peeking and then she dipped a small tomato in her juices and slid it into my mouth. I moaned, theatrically.

She moved to Alison and repeated the gift. When the reality hit Alison her eyes flew open and she made appreciative noises. Phil was next. His eyes popped open, too. When Veronica gave a tomato to Mike he started to protest, stopped and made a huge moan of satisfaction. When she had fed everyone she came back to me. Everyone was watching. She lifted her skirt, dipped three fingers into her honey and fed the fingers directly into my mouth.

Alison asked, "There's something I'm missing. Are the two of you having an affair?"

Veronica answered by telling the story about Beth feeding me tomatoes at lunch while we were at work.

Alison said, "I've seen her do it! I never thought..." Veronica raised her hand and continued her tale. She told how one day she got a call from Beth who told her what we were doing. Veronica had been after Phil to eat veggies for months without much success, so she tried our method.

Phil said, "I have no trouble eating vegetables. No trouble at all."

Time was spent cleaning up and getting ready to eat, again. After a great meal our guests packed up and left. Brad and Emily were the last. They thanked us for getting the family back together, for a wonderful Christmas and a cruise to look forward to."

Brad had made two comments during the day about not going on the cruise. As they were leaving, Emily put her arms around my neck, kissed me and asked, "If Brad doesn't go on the cruise, can I call you and have you go as my husband?"

"Depends. I won't come for dinner unless I'll still be there for breakfast."

"If he won't go, if he won't take me on this romantic trip and love me like crazy, I'm asking... would you be my husband... for the rest of my life?"

"I'm not sure you know what you're asking. Brad is going on the cruise."

"My invitation stands. I love you both, hell, I love all of you. Brad and I will talk. Thank you and good-night." Each of us got a kiss and they were gone.

"Sit," I said, pointing at the couch.

"I believe Emily is saying much more than "can I use you as a lever to get Brad o do what he's afraid of." Beth said.

"E" said, "She's serious. And, she knows exactly what she's saying. When we were making the final adjustments to the mattress pads and linens, I found her in the playroom looking in the toy box. She asked lots of questions and I answered every one. A big part of her sexual frustration with Brad is that he desperately wants to be the good guy, the gentle lover."

"Jesus! When was this?"

"Yesterday. You were asleep and it was just the two of us."

"Ok. She knows. Elissa how do you feel about having her change from daughter to sister? Can you have sex with her? Can you be Ok with me having sex with her, or Beth or Liz?"

Beth asked, "Does she have to leave Brad?" Her question snapped us back and had us think.

Liz said, "Maybe Brad can learn. Before Kaye screwed up Pete was also Mr. Nice guy gentle lover."

I asked, "Beth, do you have another copy of that story?"

"Yes, Master."

"Please make a copy we can give to Brad. Then I'll talk with him at dinner tomorrow night."

Elissa said, "One of us needs to talk to Emily. I know her well enough to know she'll be full steam ahead, if we don't."

I said, "Get a phone, please." She had it on the couch beside her. "Dial." She did and handed me the phone.

It rang twice and Emily answered. As soon as she knew it was me she said, "Momma told you about yesterday."

"Yes. Thank you. I learned something. I need to get locks for things, certain things, to avoid too much openness."

"You're calling to ask me not to talk to him about any of it."

"No. I'm asking you to wait. It is still a conversation you'll need to have, but with preparation. We would like to assist you in introducing him to the wife he didn't know he had."

"If this doesn't work out..."

"That conversation is not happening. Now the focus is on preparation for both of you for a new way of living. Can you give me two hours of your undivided attention sometime tomorrow?"

"Yes, Mas... Pete." She almost called me Master. "E" was right. When she moves she jumps all the way in.

"Master is a term that is earned and is only used by someone I allow to use it. You will be very clear about the when, where and how to use the word when the time comes for you to use it. Until then I am Pete."

"Yes, Pete. I understand, Pete."

"During the day tomorrow I want you to write. Long hand or by computer I want you to write a letter to yourself. Describe life with you as a sub and either Brad or me as your Dominant. Describe how your life would be, the every day, the way I will talk to you. What Brad will expect from you. Your responsibilities and mine. At four o'clock fax or email it to me. The letter is not to me, it is to you. Imagine either Brad or I as the perfect Master for you and tell yourself what that would be like. Be specific. Do not say he might slap me. Write, he will slap my tits, sometimes."

"I understand. May I send a draft to you, to see if I am complying?"

"Yes, one. Now, is Brad there?"

"He just came out of the shower, Sir."

"Pete!" I corrected. "Let me speak to him, please."

"Yes, Pete. I'll give him the phone."

I heard her say, "Brad, it's your brother."

He answered, "Pete? What's going on between you and Emily?"

"First, not what you think. I have plenty going on here and I am not nor have I been scouting for another woman in my life. Second, after work tomorrow I want us to have dinner, you and me. Can that happen?"

"Yes."

"Where is Emily right now?"

"Right here, next to me."

"You're still wet?"

"Yeah, I just got out of the shower."

"Hand her the towel and say, "I need to talk to Pete. Would you please dry me?"

He repeated my words exactly and came back on. "It worked."

"For tonight you don't need to understand. For tonight she needs you to be a bit assertive. If you want a drink, ask her to get it for you. If you want her sexually tell her what you want, don't ask her if it would be Ok. Just for tonight."

"Won't that piss her off?"

"Not tonight. Meet me at our house when you get off work tomorrow. Are you dry?"

"Almost."

"Tell her to stop sucking you. Hand her the phone and leave the bathroom. We'll talk tomorrow."

He said, "Answer the phone, please."

Emily's voice said, "Yes, Pete?"

"This is a test. It is not the only test, just the first. The first step for being a good sub is learning to follow directions. As of right now, Brad is your Dominant. He doesn't even know it, but you do. For the rest of the night whatever he wants, he gets. If he wants a pizza and you don't think a pizza at eleven is a good idea, you get him a pizza. You don't tell him a pizza's a bad idea. If he wants sex, you enthusiastically give him what he wants."

"I understand, Pete."

"Don't ask him for what you want, crave, desire or need. Not tonight. Tomorrow he will not be coming home for dinner. He is eating with me. You will be home waiting for a phone call from Elissa or me. You will be wearing a cotton dress that can be as easily removed as a t-shirt and slip on shoes, nothing else."