Adult Situations Ch. 79-80

She drove her rather beat-up Honda CRV to the house on Saturday afternoon to visit her mom and see her new workplace and living arrangements. I learned that for earlier visits Elsa had previously gone to campus or they met at a coffee shop when they wanted to get together.

Elsa met her at the front door to my house and escorted her inside.

My house has what Crystal calls a very high 'Wow Factor', especially once you step through the front door. The reason why is that you immediately face the living room and a wall of floor-to-cathedral-ceiling windows that overlook the patio, the sky, the pool, and then Sarasota Bay -- a vast expanse of beauty and wonder.

Eve halted. "Wow. This place is magnificent. What a view."

Elsa told her, "It's the same from many of the upstairs rooms, plus the kitchen, where I get to enjoy it a good part of the day as I prepare the meals for everyone." She gestured to the southside of the house.

"Mom, this house is spectacular. You are sooooo lucky." Eve was looking up at the upstairs interior balcony running from one side of the house to the other, and then at the open modern stairway of natural wood and glass.

Even though Eve was all-American, she still had a slight Swedish accent the way her mother did. It was cute. I was standing off to the side assessing the beautiful young woman. She was wearing shorts and sporty top with the ubiquitous flip-flops that most of the women seemed to wear everywhere in the country. She had an hour-glass figure, and I had to believe that she was highly sought after by the young men at the university.

I came forward, and Elsa introduced us. I was cast as the man that hired her, when in fact it was all of our nuclear family. We loved the woman and treasured her meals and friendship.

Eve was polite and well-mannered. We shook hands. A very nice part of her chest shook, too. I didn't think Eve had worn a bra for her visit. Thank heavens. I was entranced.

Eve bubbled like champagne at the whole scene around the house. Elsa led her on a tour, and I let them be. Eve's mother took her upstairs and showed her daughter her suite. I heard the tones of conversation and the word 'awesome' drift around the upstairs.

I paid particular attention when Elsa showed Eve our bedroom and bathroom. We usually left the door open. This was the first indication that the relationships in the house were far from 'standard'.

I heard Eve's voice rise an octave in a loud tone. "What do you mean he has TWO wives and TWO fiancées?"

I couldn't quite hear Elsa's more measured and quieter response. It took a minute or two.

"REALLY?" Eve was suffering from disbelief. Her voice squeaked.

The duo came back downstairs to where I was reading in the living room. Elsa said to Eve, "Let me show you the pool. You can swim if you want -- now or anytime. Dave said to treat the pool as I would as a family member. I go in at least once a day. It's marvelous."

This time I kind of trailed along as they went out one of the doors to the patio.

On the patio, Darlene was visiting and was deeply involved in a very public fuck with my neighbor Doug Rogers. They were both naked and she was riding him cowgirl style on a chaise in a shaded corner of the patio. She was often lowering her breasts to his mouth so he could suck on her robust nipples.

Also, on the patio, a few feet away from the others, Tom Dayton was balls deep in Lisa Wallace. They were taking it slow, and she was providing enough dirty talk to last through next week with him. They too were naked and obviously highly sexed. Tom had staying power.

Elsa glanced at the two couples, but mostly ignored them. She commented, "The pool is one of the largest private ones I've ever seen. The one Dave's father has next door is large, too, and even has lane markers painted on the bottom for doing laps side-by-side. After doing breakfast in the morning, I've started doing laps in the pool. It's truly refreshing. I feel in much better shape now that I'm exercising."

Eve was not paying attention to the words about the pool. She was frozen about ten feet from the house looking at the two copulating couples that were only about forty feet away.

Eve whispered loudly, "MOM! Those people are ... they're ... oh, God ... don't you see what they've doing ... we should go back inside."

Elsa turned to her, "Oh, that goes on all the time around here. Just ignore them, unless you want to join in."

Eve's loud whisper returned to normal and peaked another octave, "What do you mean 'join in'?"

Elsa chuckled, "Well, the house rule is that if you're in public that's kind of inviting others to come and play with you either then, or as soon as they're finished making love."

Eve then did her impression of a slow-running motor boat. "But ... but ... but ... but ..."

Elsa pooh-poohed the whole situation. "Oh, there's always at least one couple doing that. There are probably others doing the same thing in the house, too, and since it's a weekend, probably over at Ross' next door. Everyone in the house is oversexed and love to make love on a nearly constant basis. It was a real shock at first, when I started to work here. I'm pretty used to it now. Sometimes, they form up threesomes, and they're always swapping back and forth. They all love each other."

"But ... but ... but ..."

"Darling, it's just sex, and here it really is making love. I'm assuming at this stage in your education and development that you know something about the subject."

Eve had remained frozen in place. "I do ... but this is kind of public ... and anyone can see what they're doing."

"I'm told they used to worry about the neighbors seeing, but now the neighbors are part of the whole scene, so they might even be some of the people that are over here messing around. The man closest to us over there is our next-door neighbor." She gestured.

Carol appeared from inside the house. She was beautifully naked and had tied her hair back in a long ponytail. She came out and said, "Oh, what a great afternoon for a swim. Anybody want to join me?" She gave Elsa and Eve a big smile.

Carol then came over and met Eve, who still hadn't moved an inch since seeing the two naked couples. Now, she had one of my wives -- naked -- and starting to make small talk with her. Carol is very attractive. I even thought about joining her and making love to her, but I wanted to hear how Eve processed the situation in front of her.

After greeting our guest, Carol eventually went to the edge of the pool and dove in. She started doing laps. Eve's eyes had followed her every step into the water.

I finally came out of the house instead of listening at the doorway. I teased Eve as I supposedly saw the two couples for the first time. "Ah, we have some lovers. Please don't be upset Eve. It happens here all the time."

She nodded and I noticed her eyes could again barely leave the fornicating couples. Live porn is hard to resist. Darlene had started putting on a show as she rose and fell in large almost theatrical motions atop Doug Rogers' hunky body.

We then heard some chatter between the two couples, and then Lisa and Darlene changed partners, kissing passionately and pinching each other's breasts as they passed each other between the chaises they were using. They visibly started to fuck the new men with the same great enthusiasm they'd had for their previous partners.

Eve finally said, "I'm speechless." I sized her up as truly shocked. Then she said, "Is it all right to watch them? I've never actually seen people having sex except in videos on the Internet."

I emphasized, "We prefer to say 'making love', although there are a thousand other expressions that pass for that in our group. The people here are all part of each other's intentional family."

Eve muttered, "Intentional family?"

"Not the family that you're born into, but the family that you assemble around you because you love them and really want to be with them. I'm lucky, because for me they're the same."

"What do you mean?"

I pointed at Ross's house. "My father lives there. His wife is my sister-in-law as well as my step-mother. My real mom died prematurely over a decade ago. Trish is pregnant, too. I may be the father or my father may be."

Eve nodded and took that in.

Elsa said, "Dave has a young baby with one of his fiancées, too. Jean. The baby is named Matthew."

"And your wife didn't murder you?"

"My WIVES encouraged me. I had to spend a lot of time away from here in Atlanta. Jean lived up there and became a surrogate wife. We fell deeply in love and got engaged, but we haven't had time to plan a ceremony so I can really do the full commitment to her." I turned to Elsa, "We've been thinking of something around Christmas time."

Eve said, "You can't do that legally, right?"

"Right. We make the same commitments, and I have some trusts and things prepared legally so the women get about the same financial and inheritance benefits they would if they were my primary wife and I get hit by the proverbial bus. Any children get special attention, too. Crystal is my legal wife. Carol is a wife." I gestured at the pool where she was doing laps. "We're also thinking of having a child. Pretty soon, if she hasn't already, she'll go off the pill and start using condoms with her other lovers."

Elsa almost doubled over with laughter at the direction the conversation had taken. The last sentence had really baited Eve. Elsa was holding it in. I could tell that she wanted to howl with laughter at her daughter's embarrassment and discomfort.

Eve turned to her mother, "And you knew all this?"

"I knew most of it when I took the job. There's no need for my friends to hide things from each other or from me. I don't hide anything from them either."

Eve kind of quaked a little at what her mother said. She was also baiting her daughter a little further.

Eve asked the tell-tale question, "Mother, are you part of what goes on here?"

Elsa tried to look surprised, "Of course. I've come to love these people as MY intentional family."

"And you have sex with some of them?"

"I haven't yet, but I will eventually make love with all of them -- men and women. I have been with ... a few."

"Mom! You're bisexual?"

"Well, I guess I am. I love these women as much as all the men."

Eve rolled her eyes. "THIS VISIT isn't at ALL what I thought it would be. I just learned a whole lot about my mother that I never ever dreamed I'd hear. Maybe this is T. M. I."

I put my two arms around Elsa from behind and hugged her lovingly. "Eve, please don't worry about your mother. We are not taking advantage of her, and we are making every effort to keep her happy. It's who we are and how we think about each other."

"But ... she's doing THINGS with you ... or she's going to." Eve's voice sounded disapproving.

Elsa snorted. "Evelyn! I am twenty-years older than you are. I am educated, have more experience, and I dare say that I know myself better than you do. I AM fine and don't require your guidance on this issue.

"Part of this visit was planned so that I could tell you about my new life here. I am very happy; in fact, I am the happiest I have ever been. This man behind me is unique. I will tell you that he is a divine lover and gave me an orgasm a few days ago that topped anything, and I mean ANYTHING that I'd ever experienced, by a million-fold. I even passed out but kept feeling the pleasure consume me. He's the consummate lover."

Eve gave another eye roll. "Mom! That definitely is too much information -- T. M. I." She carefully enunciated each of the letters.

Elsa turned and kissed me, and said, "We're going to take a walk." She turned to Eve, "Come on, daughter of mine."

Just before Thanksgiving, I was escorted by Ann Morrow across the campus to what had been a large grassy area. The area had been partially enclosed with temporary chain-link fencing. A construction road was being created by a small bulldozer, thereby ruining a large section of the pretty grassed area.

About a hundred people, many of them obviously journalists, were assembled for the event.

I walked up and shook the hand of Provost Palmer, "Always a pleasure."

The older man laughed, "Just keep that checkbook handy. This is when the rubber meets the road."

"I'm ready," I joked. "What am I supposed to do?"

Palmer pointed. "Someone will hand you one of those silver-plated shovels, and then you, me, the head of the Board of Trustees, and the local head of Bank of America, are all going to dig up exactly one shovel full of dirt over by that podium. I make a speech. I ask if you want to say anything, and you say no more than two minutes worth of 'this-is-important-to-the-future-of-mankind', the head of the Trustees makes a similar statement, and then there are lots of pictures, and then we're done. Poof. Ten minutes, maybe."

Dave liked the man's crisp attitude.

Another man, said loudly, "We're all here. Let's begin."

I suddenly had a silver-plated shovel in my hands. I lined up with the other men. About a thousand pictures were taken by the media as we mugged for the camera. The speeches went like clockwork. I gave my short 'save the world' remarks, and then there were more pictures, many of them with everybody shaking hands. Bingo. The event was over.

Ann led me back to my car. "Thank you. I'll call you when the building is complete." She laughed at her sarcasm.

"Nice that you already had plans," I teased.

"I think ahead. I've had a committee working on them for three years. We just needed $40 million."

I shrugged, "Small change. When's your class that I'm speaking at?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that for the moment. How about a week from this Friday? That'll give me a chance to put the word out to my other classes -- freshmen to grad students, along with the full senior class. Expect about thirty to fifty students. I'll give you a sterling introduction and then you can say something or just go to Q&A."

"Good afternoon class and guests. It is my pleasure today to introduce to you David Toller. Dave, as he prefers that you call him, is somewhat famous and even infamous to some. For one, as the world's businesses ground to a halt under the weight of what was dubbed in the media as the Satanic Virus, he and his team found the virus, dissected it, and figured out how to cure it in a very novel way that hadn't been tried before. Several pundits estimate that he saved the world economy about one- to four-trillion dollars in terms of GDP.

"As his fame around that incident unfolded and since then, it has become widely known that he has two wives and two fiancées -- who in about a month will also become his third and fourth wives. Those relationships are open, and the term 'open marriage' may be applied to those relationships and many others that he also has. He has many lovers and they range in age from eighteen to almost sixty. It is because of those unique relationships and family situation that I asked him to speak today.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Dave Toller." Ann Morrow gestured to where I was seated and I stood and waved informally at the class. I moved to the table at the front of the room, and hitched myself up so I was seated on it. I was also dressed informally, in a collared golf shirt, slacks, and loafers without socks.

I said, "Ann did a pretty good summary of my life, plus the media has hacked through my life in every way that I can think of with some pretty strong machetes. You may now start asking questions and I'll try to answer them."

One young man spoke immediately; "I'm Rob. How rich are you? Does your money have anything to do with you attracting so many women?"

I laughed, "My reported networth is about $1.3 billion as of a week ago. I'm still heavily invested in the company that I helped grow and managed for seven years -- Cyber Solutions. I have diversified somewhat as any wise investor should.

"I'm not sure that I can be objective in answering your second question. I'd like to think that the answer is no. As I think of it, most of the friends in what I'll call my tribe -- since this is an anthropology class -- became friends before I became rich. The ones I've formed since then don't seem focused on my money, except for Ann Morrow, over there, who somehow got me to cough up a new College of Engineering building and a lot of money to hire faculty and staff to put in it." I laughed and pointed at the good professor. She was laughing. "Next."

"I'm Brenda. Is Miss Morrow one of your friends?" She giggled.

I looked over and Ann winked at me.

"Yes. I approach everyone as a friend in life -- even you. They all fit into my constellation in some way." I talked about the constellation of friends and how I first heard about having one. "If any of you want to volunteer, ... oh, never mind. I'd better not say that. Next."

Ann was laughing at the side of the room leaning against the window sill.

"I'm Dan. I read a lot of the articles that Miss Morrow referred to us a week ago. Several of them make your tribe sound like a rolling orgy that is heavily sexual. Could you comment, please. Thank you."

I shrugged. "They're accurate. You'll note in your readings that the only things I've ever refuted were the things that I thought were genuinely inaccurate. For instance, the resolving of Satanic Virus was laid at my feet as the sole hero that saved the world. That's incorrect. There were about ten of us that pretty much locked ourselves away over a four-day weekend to solve that problem. I was part of the team, and I'm proud of it, but there are nine other men and women that also deserve equal, if not more credit.

"As for the sex, yes, our tribe is very loving and we use sex and demonstrated affection to show that to each other. One friend told me that we seemed to have attracted a group of people that are hyper-sexual; that is a medical condition that is noted by the AMA, and it also seems hard to treat without some drugs that have a deleterious effect on the rest of somebody's life. None of us have opted to use them. We rather enjoy having over-active libidos. Overall, another friend told me that our behavior pretty much duplicates what goes on here on campus, especially at the toga parties." I paused for the laugh, and said, "Next question."

"I'm Beth. How can you have a relationship with so many women and feel that it's genuine love?"

I nodded, "Good question that I occasionally ponder myself. For one, I feel strong emotional attachment to each of the women that I love, and that goes beyond my intentional nuclear family. We're taught in school and church that we should love everyone, but in the same breath we're told not to do it -- that you can only REALLY love one person. I've come to believe that the more you love, the more love you have to give. The one-person rule is false and limiting. We can love more than one person. We can love many people, in fact. I didn't used to believe that, but I can attest to being an example of someone that now practices the more innovative statement. I am always open to loving one or two more. If you're daring, you can also prove it to yourself." I looked at the young woman and she seemed satisfied with the answer. "Next." I gestured to a familiar face wondering what the question would be.

"I'm Eve. If someone is really serious about it, how could someone join your intentional family -- your extended family? Also, if you were starting from scratch, how would you build the kind of group you have? What would you change?"

List of Characters (Dramatis Personae)

Couples grouped together.

Dave Toller and Crystal Wolcott -- cyber security expert/Ross's son & flight attendant/runs Crystal Blue Photography (CBP).