Genie Chronicles Ch. 28

It took no magic whatsoever for Jack to read all of this going on in Zane's mind. He decided to sweeten the pot a little further. He sidled over to Zane and murmured. "Don't forget, some of that shopping is going to be for bathing suits. I'm sure she'll want to model them for you." Then he remembered it was Lea they were talking about. Will she want to model them for him?

In response he received a little tigress growl. He took it as an affirmative. Meanwhile, Zane looked quite a bit more cheerful about the prospect of shopping.

Rightfully so, as it turned out. Jennifer and Lea, then Sarah, then Janie, and finally even Cindy tried on suits in several shops, until they had their own little fashion show going. Everyone razzed Zane for covering his eyes when his mom would model a suit, even as all the guys sat in various cross-legged positions to attempt to hide the effects the scantily clad women were having.

At Jennifer's urging and financial backing, Lea finally settled on a modest dark blue one-piece, similar to the one that Jennifer had loaned her, one to which she figured her mom would not object overly much. She also bought a fairly skimpy yellow bikini, Zane's favorite. Jennifer bought a teeny, tiny red bikini that matched her hair, one that would laugh at even the barest hint of being worn into actual water. "So Lea wasn't the only one buying a suit," she claimed sincerely to Jack. And it was true that the other girls had ultimately decided that they had enough bathing suits. But...

Um, did you actually model that suit for us? I don't think I'd forget that one.

Are you kidding? And give your dad a heart attack? The only man whose heart I plan to get going with this little swatch of fabric and string is my studly master's.

Hoo-boy.

When the ladies headed toward a shoe store next, the older men in the party sighed resignedly and steered toward a line of rocking chairs under the covered porch outside the shop, fanned lazily by a couple of ceiling fans above. One of the chairs hosted a discarded newspaper, evidence that these men weren't the first that the chairs had hosted this day.

Jack put his hand on Zane's shoulder to stop him while announcing to the retreating ladies, "Zane and I are going to wander around for awhile. Can we meet you guys a little later?"

After a brief discussion, everyone agreed to meet back at the rocking chairs in an hour. With a glance to confirm that his dad and uncle were now comfortably ensconced with the purloined newspaper and unlikely to want to go anywhere, Jack led Zane off.

There were few shops in the quaint 'shopping village' that appealed to guys, but they found some interesting things to fill their time. The main one was what first appeared to a toy shop, but on further inspection proved to be a store dedicated to fun things for the beach. And especially kites, some of them quite expensive. Jack didn't quite get the high prices, until he caught a demo video looping on a TV. The kites seemed to be doing some impossible things, until he determined that the kite the guy was flying had TWO lines.

"Hey, guys, can I answer any questions?"

Jack and Zane turned to find a cute, classic beach girl smiling at them in a friendly way, although closer inspection showed that 'girl' was a little under-estimating her age. Still, she was quite cute.

"Yes, as a matter of fact." Jack pointed at the TV, and then waved his hand vaguely at all of the nylon shapes hanging around him. "Do these really do what that guy is doing?"

She laughed, flashing bright white teeth that contrasted with her deeply tanned skin, although not quite tan enough to completely hide a few freckles sprinkled across cheeks and nose. "Sure, with a little practice."

"So how does it work?"

"Well, these kites are controllable because they have two lines. They work kind of like a hand glider, and that's pretty much what a lot of them are; tiny hand gliders. You pull on the left line, thee kite turns left. Right turns right. Put the line handles back together so neither line is pulled, and the kite goes in a straight line in whatever direction it's heading at the time."

"Huh. Sounds easy enough."

She laughed again. "It is. It's also easy to fly 'em straight into the ground."

Jack laughed back. "That's not a very good sales pitch!"

She grinned a bit conspiratorially. "How long are you guys in town?"

"The whole week."

"Are you heading down to the boardwalk?"

"Yes, tomorrow night."

Her grin widened. "Good timing! If you want a good sales pitch, stop by our gazebo on the beach between eight and ten. If you happen to buy something, tell them Sam sent you."

"Are you on commission?"

She shrugged. "Nope."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Sam."

She flashed another smile. "You're quite welcome."

They left the shop and headed toward another Jack had spotted, "The Sundries Shoppe." It looked to be little more than a glorified and over-priced convenience store, but Jack figured it would have what they needed.

When Zane saw the area that Jack was headed to, he raised his eyebrows and spun off, presumably to give Jack his privacy. Jack grinned lopsidedly, then frowned. He realized that it had been awhile since he had bought condoms, and apparently there had since been a rash of new brands to hit the market since then. Hey, Jen?

Yes, dearest?

Which of these is best?

Which of? Tingle, oh. For Zane, I presume. There was a brief pause, then one of the packages was highlighted in his vision. These give the best combination of durability and sensation.

Jack took the package of twelve from the hanger. This pack a good one?

Yep.

Can you make it better.

Tingle. Done. Those are now 100% guaranteed to prevent pregnancy.

Thank you.

Jack walked over to Zane. "Got some cash?"

"Uh, yeah." Zane reached for his wallet, but Jack slapped the package against his chest. Zane automatically reached up to catch it.

"Here ya go. Meet you outside."

"But... I..."

Jack ignored him and headed out the door.

Jack sat on a low brick wall outside the store, wondering how long he would have to wait for Zane to get up the nerve to buy the condoms. A surprisingly short time later Zane came out, red-faced but with a bag in his hands.

"That was quick!"

Zane stared daggers at him for a second then looked away and muttered "asshole," barely loud enough to hear.

Jack just laughed as he hopped down. "Come on, our hour is almost up."

They started unhurriedly back toward the designated meeting place, and Jack continued in a reasonable tone, "That wasn't really so bad was it? The clerk didn't laugh at you or anything, did she? I bet she didn't even blink."

Zane shrugged and watched his shoes for a little while, then, "Yeah, but how did you... does everybody..."

Jack sighed. He decided that the truth, or at least an edited approximation of it, was probably the best answer. "Well, your mom asked me to make sure you had some condoms before you and Lea got too friendly."

Zane stopped dead and looked at him in horrified shock. "What?!"

Jack couldn't help grinning. He shouldn't derive such entertainment from giving Zane a hard time, intended or not, but he couldn't help it. This was an unintended time, though, so he didn't add any extra teasing. The rest would probably be bad enough. Hopefully the results would be worth it to Zane, though.

"Come on, keep walking or we'll be late." Zane grudgingly followed as Jack continued. "Zane, I know this will be hard for you to grasp, but your mom really is very cool. And contrary to what you might think, or hope, she is far, far from clueless. While I don't think she knows, or is wanting to find out, every detail of what's going on between you and Lea, she's got a pretty good general idea. You don't think you were fooling anyone when you came in from the beach last night all covered in sand did you?"

Zane turned red again, and his shuffling slowed, but he said nothing. Jack ambled on, and Zane caught up after a moment. Jack continued. "The good news is, because she is so cool, she understands what is going on between you two, and is happy for you, just as long as you are careful."

"You mean she doesn't care if we have sex?" Zane blurted disbelievingly, turning the heads of a couple passing shoppers.

"Well, don't tell her I told you, but part of her is really rooting for both of you. The mom in her has the usual worries, of course. But as long as you are discrete, and make sure you use those properly," Jack pointed emphatically to the small bag Zane clutched, "I think you can assume you have a tacit green light from her. I can't speak for Jonathan and Doreen, and how protective they feel about Lea, but they're pretty cool, too. I imagine you won't have any issues from them, either, as long as you are discreet. They know how repressive an environment she has grown up in, and you are both legal adults, now, after all. Oh, and you might want to put those away. Just because they are in a bag won't fool anyone."

"Really?" Zane said as he stuffed the package in one of the baggy pockets of his board shorts. "I mean, she really doesn't care if we have... you know?"

"I didn't say she doesn't care, in either sense. She cares in the 'mom' sense, as she certainly doesn't want any grand kids yet, and she doesn't want either of you getting hurt. She also cares in the sense that she remembers what it was like to be young and horny."

The look on Zane's face this last statement produced was classic, a mixture of horrified realization that his mom might have some idea of just how horny he was all the time, and disgust at the thought that his mom was ever the same way. Jack had to laugh.

"Look, I know how gross the idea is of your mom being a sexual person. I feel the same way about mine, just ask Jennifer. But if you can get over that a bit, you might be able to relate with her a little better. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not suggesting anything weird here, but you don't think interest in things sexual just turns off at age thirty or whatever, do you? She's not as much unlike you as you think."

Zane shuddered at what Jack was implying, but seemed to also be trying to consider it. Jack punched him lightly on the shoulder, and then lowered his voice, as they were approaching the meeting place, and Lea and the other girls were already there.

"You're a lucky guy," he said, looking at Lea. Zane followed his gaze. Jack paused briefly, then gave as much guy advice as he could bring himself to give. "Just treat her well, and give at least a little more than you get, if you know what I mean. Oh, and take your vitamins. I think you are going to need them."

Zane couldn't ask what Jack meant, as they had now reached the meeting spot. Lea had noticed the gaze of both guys as they approached, and as she led Zane off with a smile, Jack could just overhear her asking, "What were you guys talking about?"

Jack walked over to Jennifer and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"What were you guys talking about?" she asked with a knowing grin.

"I think you know good and well what we were talking about."

Her grin turned smug. "I do," then she continued, "and you're a pretty good uncle."

"Thanks," Jack said while noticing Jennifer toted several bags. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged.

"Just a couple of pairs of shoes. They were on sale."

Not that I mind, but couldn't you have just created them for yourself?

Yes, but the other girls said I just HAD to have these, and wouldn't let me leave the store without them.

I see. The logic seemed a little tenuous to Jack, but he let it pass.

"You didn't find anything?" Jennifer switched back to verbal speech.

Jack shrugged. "I found some neat kites that I might buy one of, but I think they demo them at the boardwalk, so I figured I'd wait until we go down there tomorrow evening."

"Oh? Sounds fun."

------

The rest of the afternoon was spent similarly, then they went in search of a good place for dinner. A friend of Jonathan's had insisted that he take them to a particular seafood restaurant, which he proceeded to try to find.

After traveling down roads that became increasingly narrower and more poorly paved, then just gravel, they finally arrived at a remote shack at the head of a pier leading out into a small inlet. The pier currently hosted two small fishing trawlers.

Murmurs or doubt began to sound in the vehicle Jonathan was driving, but he silenced them with a raised hand. "He warned me that the place is a little... rustic. But he promised that the service and the food were top notch."

He made the same statement to the protests of the folks piling out of the other car, and it turned out to be true. The shack hosted an interior that was a bit nicer than it's outside appearance would indicate, a staff of very friendly locals, and the best seafood any of them had ever eaten, comprised of heaping portions of stunningly fresh local-caught offerings, lightly fried or perfectly broiled.

They all rolled out a leisurely time later, complaining happily of over-stuffed bellies. As they drove off, Cindy asked, "What was the name of that place, anyway?" No one remembered seeing one.

------

Although everyone protested that they couldn't even think about food, Katherine insisted that they stop at the grocery store if they wanted anything to eat the next morning.

Once they returned to the house and put away the groceries, everyone went their separate ways; Jonathan and Doreen went to 'walk off dinner' on the beach, Zane and Lea disappeared somewhere presumably private, and the rest of the girls went to try on the days spoils, dragging Jennifer along with them. Ronald took the collection of news papers he had amassed over the afternoon and headed toward the 'reading room." Cindy retired to her own room, also to read. "I'm at the good part!"

Kathleen poured herself a glass of wine and went out on the deck off of the kitchen/family room to 'enjoy the breeze.' Jack looked around the suddenly empty kitchen, shrugged, grabbed a beer, and joined his mom on the deck.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not, dear. Have a seat."

"Enjoying your vacation?"

"Very much. I will be even more tomorrow, I think, when Martha and Elizabeth get here."

Jack grinned at the thought of his outgoing older sister and her precocious daughter joining the group. "Yeah."

They sat in companionable silence for awhile, then Kathleen said, "Jack I really like Jennifer. I'm so thrilled you two met, you look very happy together."

Jack felt a strong sense of Deja Vu. "But?"

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but Jennifer seems a little... different."

Oh Shit.