2015 - Kiss Me, You Fool

"In fact, feel free to let your imagination go wild." Jean added. "Another way we can justify the corporation is by making this a Leed project. There are many grants available from all levels of government and NGOs. When we're done, we can use the whole thing as a showcase. My uncles have wanted to try their hand at green construction for a while, but could never find the right project. Anne-Marie forgot to tell you that we also have a whole construction company which will be available to us."

"That's all well and fine." Steph laughed. "But we have to work to pay for it. We wanted to find ourselves a good HR person to help us hire personnel for the Lachine warehouse. Do your uncles do industrial work, Jean?"

"It's not like they'll be building a manufacture from the ground up, so I'm sure they can do any renovation you need to your building." Jean said. "Things like dock plates would have to be installed by specialists anyway. Do you have plans for the work you need done?"

"Only rough ones such as the square footage we need for both sides of the operation, but we know what we need. We waited to go into details until we had the floor plan and the results of an inspection. It's a fairly old building." Steph told her.

"That's it then." Jean said. "I'll call my granddad and ask if my uncle Éric is available today. If not, I'll invite both of them and my other uncle Bernard for supper to talk things over. If you're free, of course."

"We are. What we mainly have on the agenda for today is to visit HR firms in Montreal." Abigail told her. ""We also wanted to go take a closer look at the warehouse and start making a list of the most obvious renovations to be done."

"Forget about the HR firms. We have the best people at my firm. I'm sure Lee Ann won't mind if you borrow a small team. She's a minority stock holder in your company after all. You can meet with them this week and go over your personnel specifications and numbers. We can drive to the warehouse and look it over together so we can give my uncles an idea of the work waiting for them."

Jean's grandfather and uncles were available even though Bernard grumbled at having to drive back from their chalet in St-Anicet during their vacation. Karlie joined them too since the building was technically owned by the family company, though everyone knew it was just an excuse to get out of the office.

The thorough clean-up she had ordered while the women were on the road for Danielle and Leila's training had been done to everyone's satisfaction.

To their surprise, Lee Ann and Cam showed up while they were doing a visual inspection of the outside of the building. When Carole saw Kitty climb out of the car to open Lee Ann's door, she cried out and ran to her. They met half-way and the passengers got out on their own, grinning at their antics.

They walked over to the others after hugging and kissing Carole on the way.

"Your partner is a bad influence on personnel work ethics, Jean." Lee Ann said after the introductions were made, but she was smiling as she grumbled. Kitty was part of the family and they were glad to see her happy.

"What did you expect?" Jean grinned. "They haven't seen each other since the Christmas company party."

"Oh, Lee, stop that. You're as happy to see our friends." Cam told her wife from where she cuddled to Jean. She had a special affinity for her dating from the day they met in Bermuda.

"You're right, honey." Lee Ann relented. "That reminds me. Mr. Laliberté, do you think I could impose on you to ask your lovely wife to make us another batch of her delicious vinaigrette? We ran out again and we're all spoiled for it."

""I'm sure that can be arranged." Jean's grandfather grinned. "And I imagine you wouldn't say no to one, or three, of her sugar pies."

The next few minutes were spent explaining the situation to the four women watching the scene with a smile. This was the first time they met Lee Ann and she certainly didn't live up to her formidable reputation. Instead, she sounded like a really nice woman.

Once she had secured an invitation for the following Sunday supper, Lee Ann got back to business.

"So this is the warehouse I invested in." She said as she looked it over. "It doesn't look like much. I can see why you're here, Éric. You have your work cut out for you."

"Do I need to take you across my knee, Lee?" He mock-threatened. They were good friends and tried to take in hockey games together as often as they could, using a corporate sky box Lee Ann had access to so they could bring like-minded employees of either of their companies.

"I'd pay good money to see that." Jean said to the general hilarity.

"There's no need to get physical." Karlie told them. "I obviously had the building thoroughly inspected before I even made an offer on it. It's sound and should be good for another fifty years easily. We're only here to get an idea of the improvements which will be required for the company's needs."

"I know that, Karlie." Lee Ann grinned. "I'm pulling your leg. I'm here because I needed an excuse to get out of a boring meeting this morning. I flipped with Barbie and won. Cam came with me because she's between jobs and took a break from studying."

They spent the next couple of hours walking the grounds, making copious notes as they discussed the use they would make of the building. When they reconvened by their vehicles, Karlie was already gone as were Lee Ann and Cam. Carole was sitting cross-legged on the hood of Jean's Mercedes, busy sketching.

The next morning, the six women sat around the table, eating breakfast quietly as they thought about the busy day ahead. Their new friends had accepted Jean's invitation to use their queen-size sofa-bed for as long as they needed instead of renting a room in a hotel.

Carole was still asleep. Jean had carried her from the daybed in her studio where she had collapsed, exhausted, after spending most of the night painting.

They left early to avoid the morning traffic, Kayla on her way to the clinic and the others to Jean's office where Lee Ann had offered them the use of the conference room on Jean's floor to meet with the HR people who had been detached to work with them.

At 11:00am, Nancy came over to take their orders. She and Jean joined them for lunch. Jean to see how they progressed and to offer whatever support they needed. Nancy, ostensibly to catch up with Steph and Abi, but mostly to satisfy her insatiable curiosity. She didn't take notes overtly, but didn't miss a thing Jean said or the answers to the questions she asked and got to work as soon as they returned to their office. By the end of the afternoon, Jean had a detailed report containing the information the women needed and a second report with the results of the research she knew Jean wanted done.

Steph and Abi were in and out of their temporary office all week while Dani and Lei worked diligently. So much so that Nancy took it upon herself to make sure they took breaks and stopped for lunch. Before the end of the week, she had introduced them to many people around the office and their lunch group had swelled to the point where they moved to the larger conference room on the tenth floor.

"Don't hover, Nancy." Jean said without looking up from the report she was studying. "If you have something to say, come in and say it."

"I wasn't hovering, boss. Just stretching my legs." Nancy prevaricated.

"The week is almost over. Do you want to go home early?"

"No, boss. It's just... Well, I mean..."

Jean took pity on her assistant. As much as she liked to have some fun with her now and again, she really liked the woman and knew she only acted that way when she had something personal on her mind.

"Have a seat and tell me what I can help you with."

"It's not for me, boss. It's... Well, there's this office suite on the sixth floor which will be empty at the end of the month and hasn't been rented yet..."

"Is that so?"

The tone of voice betrayed her.

"Boss, you know it's not nice to make fun of your assistant. I should report you."

"Oh? And to whom would you report me? Amnesty International? The SPCA?"

"You already know what I meant to suggest."

"I met the building manager on the elevator yesterday and he asked if we wanted to rent that particular office suite. I told him we were only gathering information for somebody else. Your heart is in the right place, Nancy, but they don't need an office suite downtown. They will have their offices in Lachine at the warehouse while their partners will be in Ville St-Laurent at their central retail/wholesale store/showroom."

"I thought it would be cool for them to have their headquarters in this building."

"I'm sure it would and they may someday, if things progress as planned, but they're years from that point."

"I only wanted to help..."

"I know and it's really nice of you. Why don't you ask them out to supper with you and Carlotta? I'm sure they'd like that."

Nancy perked up. "Do you really think so? About that suggestion that I could leave early...?"

"Did you finish the report I asked for?"

"It's in your in-box."

"And the...?"

"Also done an hour ago."

"Then have a nice week-end."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm almost done too. I'll be right behind you."

"You're the best, boss. See ya on Monday."

She was almost out the door when her phone rang. She recognized the personalized ringtone of that particular line. Looking back, she confirmed that it was the dedicated line for the covert investigative team. She ran back to her desk.

"Starlight, Star Bright Escort Service, how may we make your day better?"

So much for an early week-end.

"Jean had to fly to Toronto, this evening." Kayla told their friends as they lounged around the pool while the barbecue warmed up.

"Does this happen often?" Danielle asked.

"Not as often as it used to, but still often enough." Carole sighed. "That's another reason we want to move across the bridge. She didn't have the hours to waste in traffic so she could come and kiss us goodbye."

"That's sad." Leila said.

"Yeah, right." Carole agreed. "She said she hopes to be back sometime Sunday, but we won't hold our breath. When she's called away on such short notice, it means something's very wrong."

Carole and Kayla looked at each other. They knew she probably wasn't in Toronto, but Jeanine couldn't give them any real information on an unsecure line. That was another reason they wanted to move where she could come home before racing away.

"We'll still go to Ann and Anne-Marie's place in Pointe-Claire tomorrow to start working on our houses." Kayla said. "Karlie has set her people on researching available land at the west end of the island and across the bridge, as far as Rigaud. There are some really nice places over there and since the 40/417 is the only highway between Montreal and Ottawa, it's pretty much a priority for snow removal."

"I imagine so, though I'm more familiar with the 20/401 to Toronto." Stéphanie said.

The weather was glorious that Saturday. Danielle and Leila didn't have to be asked twice before agreeing to take a ride with Ann and Anne-Marie on their Harleys. While they were gone, the rest lounged in the backyard, working on their tan as they enjoyed cool margaritas. They looked at the lists of features each family wanted for their houses. Carole had bought large sketch pads and they made preliminary plans.

The women were in high spirits when they returned from their ride. Dani and Leila ran to their wives and bounced on their laps as they recounted their afternoon. Leila blushed when she confessed that, at one point, her hands 'slipped' from holding Anne-Marie's waist and she ended up grabbing her breasts.

"Did she complain?" Abigail asked her tenderly.

"No... She didn't." Leila said. "In fact, she snuggled against me and held them in place when I wanted to move my hands off."

"Then you both enjoyed yourselves." Abi told her. "That's fine. It's not like you were fondling a stranger, darling."

"But you weren't there." Leila felt her eyes tear up.

"I you look deep inside yourself, honey, you'll find that I'm always there with you." Abi said as she hugged her. "We're all there."

Leila closed her eyes, as did the others. Tears of happiness welled in all their eyes as each couple reached to hold the hands of the other.

'So you managed to explain their situation to them.'

'It helped greatly when I had them do a simple meditation exercise and they recognized their link for what it is.'

'Do they realize they are Una?'

'Baby steps, sweetheart. Baby steps.'

After an animated discussion centered on barbecue techniques and recipes, they invited their new friends to the clan Summer Gathering the next summer. Stéphanie and Abigail would enter their Southern brisket in the popular yearly cook-off.

Over supper, they discussed the plans for the houses and the concept of a compound. Having only seen the main house, the four women were curious about the St-Jovite compound and the history behind it so they all decided to visit it the next day.

They spent a good part of the evening in the basement office, working on preliminary plans.

After teasing Danielle and Leila for being distracted by the Kinbaku laminated posters featuring Ann, Anne-Marie brought out their ropes and showed them various websites, including their private one, showing the steps in the art of Japanese rope bondage. All the while, Dani and Leila were holding Steph and Abi's hands. Unsurprisingly, when she was done, they meekly asked if she could teach them. Before they left, they had many pictures of themselves erotically tied up by their wives and had ordered a full set of ropes online.

The four of them took a refreshing dip in the pool after Carole and Kayla retired. Cuddling on the double lounging chairs, they discussed the new ideas they had been exposed to that day. The most interesting was of their being linked psychically. Danielle and Leila had noticed long before that they knew what the other was thinking, but always attributed it to the fact that they had grown up together and been a couple for so long. Neither of the four had noticed when the phenomenon extended to Stéphanie and Abigail. Nor on the fact that the intense attraction they had all felt for each other the moment they met had shifted to a tender intimacy until the moment they perceived that they could be separated and it came back in full force. Of a common unspoken accord, they had entered in an unofficial marriage as a rational expression of their closeness. With the new information Ryanna had submitted to them, they were forced to take another look at their unique relationship.

"Can there really be something to this parapsychology thing being applied to us?" Abigail wondered.

""The evidence it there, love." Steph said. "I admit it's farfetched, but their own special relationships based on their particular 'Talents' can't be denied, nor ours since they helped us become aware our four-way link."

"It does explain many things." Danielle agreed. "Most of those we took for granted simply because they felt right."

"I like to understand things as much as the next girl." Leila pouted. "But I still think it could all be explained by our love for each other."

"One does not preclude the other, sweetheart." Abigail purred in her ear.

Unbeknownst to either of them, a faint visible aura surrounded the four women as they communed, making love in their own special way.

"There they go." Kayla said softly

"I know, love." Carole smiled as she got up to go to the window overlooking the backyard. "I've been feeling them linking for a while. Come look at this, Kay. Steph and Abi's Talent for linking and amplifying their auras has now transferred to them all. It's beautiful."

"You're right, dear. It is. I wish Jean was here so Tia could see this."

Carole snuggled to Kayla. "You know she can, silly. She just can't manifest fully."

Instinctively, the two joined and watched the love manifesting before them. Sometime later, when the four women got up to go to bed, looked up at them and gave them a friendly wave, they smiled and returned it, powerful emotions making their hearts swell.

"Do you think Una was aware of Tia?" Kayla whispered once they were back in bed.

"I'm sure she was. I wish there was a way to reach her directly."

"Let's let time do its work. She felt like a curious and inquisitive entity. Look at the effort she made to manifest physically. It can't have been easy for her to cross over from her realm to ours."

"That's right. Speaking of time, isn't it just about the time to reach out to Jean on Skype?"

"That it is." Carole said as she flipped open the portable on the bedside table.

The mini-convoy was noticed as it rolled through the gate with Danielle and Leila sitting behind Ann and Annabelle on their hogs, the others in the pink pick-up and the Firebird.

They attracted attention from the moment they went through the gates, being stopped for greetings and hailed from porches.

By the time they arrived at the main house, Dani and Leila were buzzing from the many hugs and kisses they had received only to be floored at finding their mothers waiting for them with the rest of the family.

They were ready to burst with joy when their wives met their mothers and they all bonded immediately. Both had called them the moment they had acknowledged their relationship, but this was the first time they met.

Eventually, all the introductions were done and they moved to the backyard which had been decorated festively and prepared to receive them all.

Jolène, Louise and their daughters were monopolized by Jaylie and Kaydie until they were rescued by Carole and Patricia so they could enjoy themselves.

When Sylvie took them for the nickel tour of the house, they quickly revised their plan for the main bathroom on their own home. It was one thing to see Ann's plans and drawings and quite another to see the real thing. Even Steph and Abi were impressed by the cosiness and practicality of it compared to the lavishness and opulence of the mansion in Fort Lauderdale.

Standing in front of the painting of the mammies, the stories Ryanna and Julia had told them sank in at a deeper level. Sylvie confiding her relationship with Mammie Catherine, their original visit and their interventions over the years touched them deeply.

"It is an incredible thing for you all to be part of such a legacy." Abigail told her quietly in reverence for the five women looking down at them with such expressions of love.

"In a way, it is." Sylvie said. "Mostly, for us, it's like they are still here with us. Their essence infuses this house. Would you believe it welcomed us the first time we got here? Then things started happening in a hurry and we stopped thinking about it. I'm sure your own home will feel this way after a while."

"We can only hope so." Steph grinned. She hadn't had a real home in such a long time that the idea seemed farfetched to her. She didn't notice that her depression was subtly lifted as her wives cuddled to her. Soon they were all smiling at the prospect of having a loving home of their own.

They spent part of the afternoon visiting the residential compound and Ryanna's laboratory with only a quick look at the clinic and the research center.

Ryanna showed them the various specialized laboratories, explaining the experiments currently being conducted. Finally, they were shown a large room filled with electronic apparatus of all kinds, some being repaired, others built from scratch for esoteric needs. Their own Talents were made real for them when she showed them the recordings of their manifestations.

"In one way or another, a great many people have what we call Talents. Unfortunately, most are stamped out in infancy when adults fail to recognize them as positive and only want so called normal children. In other cases, adults hide them so thoroughly, even from themselves, that they atrophy to the point of uselessness." Ryanna explained. "In your case, they were so subtle that neither you nor anybody else noticed until we met you, but we have a special perspective on the matter and are always on the lookout for new Talents."