Loosening Up Bk. 09 Ch. 26-30

Dave asked, "Where did you grow up?"

Celeste beamed, "In Morgan, Iowa. It's a very small town just over the border from Minnesota and about two-hundred miles from Minneapolis. Life was pretty simple there, and, to my way of thinking, boring. I went to a regional high school, and as soon as I graduated about eight years ago, I left town. Oh, I've been back many times to visit, but I just never want to live there again."

"Why did you come to Sarasota?"

"Oh, I kind of followed my last job. I went to college in Minneapolis, but I needed money so I got a couple of childcare jobs. I had a partial scholarship and my family helped out, too. Just after graduation, I started working for the Wilsons in the city. They lived in a big condo, and she'd just had the twins. They gave me room, board, and a good salary, so I kind of moved in with them."

"Well, it turned out that they also had a winter home in Sarasota. They didn't get to come here all that often, but when they did, they brought me. I really liked the city and all the arts. After the twins were a little easier to travel with, after they a year old, Mrs. Wilson would come down here and spend a couple of months in January and February, the worst months weather-wise up there. Mr. Wilson would fly down every two or three weeks."

Dave nodded, "Ah, so you discovered the city that way."

"Well, Mrs. Wilson moved here. Mr. Wilson decided to stay in Minneapolis."

Both Ashley and Dave looked puzzled.

Celeste explained, "The whole situation got very awkward for me. They were each having secret affairs. Mrs. Wilson would even bring her boyfriends home, and I was to watch the children and keep them out of her way and certainly away from the master bedroom. Mr. Wilson made several passes at me, and I told him to stuff it or I'd spill the beans. He left me alone after that, but I got a lot of lusty looks from him. That was the last year. One time, I heard him on the phone arranging a get together with his girlfriend. That time, he told me to forget what I heard. I didn't forget, but I didn't say anything either."

Ashley looked at Dave and made a signal that it was time to have 'The Chat' about the Circle.

Dave started, "Celeste, have you watched any of the reality TV show, The Circle?"

"Errr, no. Why?"

"That's a reality TV about this place, where you are, in Sarasota. It shows how we live and some of the things that make our lives interesting. There's also a book. We're giving you a copy, as well as two DVDs for seasons one and two of the TV show. The third season is just airing now on channel 618."

"Oh, okay. Ashley told me about her music. I love country music, and have always enjoyed listening to her. I assume some of the TV show is about her."

"It is, but a lot of it covers other aspects of how we live." He stood and walked to one of the large windows so that Celeste would have to turn in her seat to look at him. In doing so, she glanced out the window onto the patio -- the patio where about fifteen women were sitting wearing only monokinis.

Dave said, "One of the things about the Circle is our mode of dress. We are very casual, and very laid back about our lifestyle. As you can see outside on this lovely day, the women enjoy being outside in relatively little clothing."

Celeste's gaze shifted and her eyes flared.

"There is no expectation for you to adhere to this style of dress, but to work here you must be tolerant of the others that live here."

Dave returned to his seat, and Celeste snuck another long look outside at the various women.

Dave said, "While you will live in Kyle and Ashley's home down on Perimeter Drive, you will be up here in the core some of the time -- both alone and with Kendall. Meals are served up here, and you will be here for most of those. The baby pool is here, too. You can even see a couple of the mothers with their young children at that pool." He pointed.

"If you want to use the gym, sauna, Jacuzzi, the library, and so on, these are all up here, too. It just that ... well ... after dinner, people in the Circle get very friendly with each other."

Celeste frowned, "How friendly?"

"Unlike the Wilsons, who had secret affairs going on, we believe we can openly love more than one person, and we do. We often express that love physically -- we have sex with them. Some of that sex is public and very visible after nine or nine-thirty at night. Of course, you can easily avoid this by simply heading back to Ashley's house after dinner."

Celeste turned to Ashley and cautiously asked, "Do you do this?"

Ashley nodded. "I do. I love the men in the Circle and they love me. We express that love with each other in physical ways, just as a man and woman in a relationship do when they're in love. There is no secret about it. My husband knows what I do. When he's here, he also engages with others in the Circle in the same way. This is just part of the overall philosophy of life that we believe and that we live out in our daily lives."

Celeste was very quiet and looked back and forth slowly between Dave and Ashley.

Dave emphasized, "You need not know about, care about the details, nor is there any expectation that you would participate in any of our activities. Our life philosophy and our attendant lifestyle is described in the book, and covered superficially in the various episodes of the TV series on the DVDs we're giving you. We have no expectations of you other than exquisite child care for Kendall."

Celeste sat somewhat stiffly, "May I take time to read and view these before we talk further about the job?"

Ashley said, "Absolutely. Please take the time you need. I ask that if you are no longer interested to let me know by next Sunday evening. If you have any questions, please call me. You may also call Dave or anybody else you've met here. Our business cards are tucked into the book."

Dave stood, "I know that this may be a little shocking to you at first. The other nannies who've worked for people in the Circle and the people who work with the children in our home-schooling program can be contacted as well. If you call me, I will give you their contact information any time."

Celeste kept a neutral expression and shook both our hands. She took a long gaze out the large plate glass windows at the women sunning and talking on the patio. A few were reading. Two were just coming out of the swimming pool together and laughing.

Ashley walked Celeste out of the core to her car.

When Ashley came back, she asked Dave, "What do you think?"

"I like her and her experience. She knows what she's doing with babies and even studies to keep up to date. I think she was shocked at the nudity and needs to loosen up her thinking. Maybe the book and TV show will help, or maybe it will just prolong the shock. I can't predict."

Ashley chuckled, "I do have a feeling that we're going to be fielding some questions in a couple of days."

Dave picked up Kendall and cossetted her, with many kisses to her baby-soft head. She loved the attention, especially when the bunny appeared in his hand and he made it squeak. Her eyes got large at the sound and she gurgled with a smile at the critter.

Dave got a call from Ashley three days later on Thursday afternoon. "Hi. Can you come back and join me to talk to Celeste about some of her questions? Three p.m., chez moi?"

"I'll be there," he told her.

Celeste was punctual. The three met in Ashley's living room, again with Kendall on a blanket on the floor with some toys. Celeste greeted Kendall with more attention than the adults got, at least initially. The baby responded will to the potential nanny.

Finally, they all sat. Ashley and Dave looked to Celeste to set the agenda and pose her questions that she said she had.

Celeste said slowly, "You indicated you all had sex together, but I couldn't imagine the extent until I read the book. Do you really have sex with a hundred other people?"

Dave laughed, "Not all at once. We seek out people we love and want to be with many evenings, especially on the weekends when people are more rested and feeling attentive to each other."

Celeste said to Ashley, "But you've had sex with about a hundred men who are Circle members?"

She nodded. "Not quite all of them, but as I get to know and develop a fondness for each of them, that's a logical next step in our relationship. The lovemaking completes our romantic relationship, just the way a romantic relationship would be incomplete without the lovemaking."

Celeste digested that answer and turned to Dave, "And you really have ten wives?"

"Yes. I have Alice who I legally married well over twenty years ago, and nine others, most from within the past decade that I've made the same level of commitment to. I then have many other women in the Circle who I love as well, and a few outside the Circle -- in other related situations."

"And you have sex with them?"

"Often." He paused and said, "Let me try to get you to think about this subject in a different way. I would like you to think that we develop a close relationship with someone first. In that relationship we explore every facet of each other; how we think about the problems the world faces, how we grew up, our education and learning styles, the values we hold dear, our idiosyncrasies and so on. Eventually, as our relationship becomes one that can be described as loving, we consummate that love by including a physical relationship to the intellectual and spiritual one we've been developing."

Celeste said, "So, you develop a relationship first and then have sex?"

"Simplified, that's the ideal way things happen."

"So, there are other ways it happens?"

"Yes, but then it gets complicated to explain. Always, if it happen in some kind of reverse way, there is the potential for the end result to be the same as I just described."

Celeste said, "None of you believe in monogamy, right?"

Dave said, "Not quite right. A better way to put it is that we think there are OTHER models for a relationship in addition to monogamy. Some people call what we practice CNS or consensual non-monogamy. We see and practice that model for relationships since it doesn't require you to be beholden to only one other person."

Celeste nodded, "If I ask where you love, honor, and obey each other, what is your response?"

"Love and honor, absolutely. Mutual respect is a hallmark of our belief system. Obey, however, implies subservience and possession. We are very egalitarian, more so than outside our gates. We may not be perfect, but we strive to be, especially on this CORE value. Just because they're in a relationship with someone doesn't mean that other person controls you or that you control them."

"But you do what you want without talking to your wives."

"As do they, but again it's more complex that it looks. We talked about how we wanted to live as a family, and that was one result. We do have some boundaries and rules, subtle though they be. We all have the freedom to be with whomever we want. If it becomes with someone outside the Circle, we want to talk about it beforehand. We want to be sure that none of us brings home an unwanted STD or the equivalent. We only want to interact with nice people. You get the picture, I hope."

"I do. Thank you. I detect from reading the book that there is some incest that occurs in the Circle. Is this accurate?"

"Yes. The philosophy you should have also found in the book is that consenting adults can do whatever they want about sex. In some cases, those consenting adults are related to each other in some way. We don't get shocked or concerned when we see something like that happening because we know there is no dominance of one person over another taking place. The consent is not forced or extracted under duress of some kind. We take consent very seriously. When you love each other, this is one of the results."

"Would I have to face all of these kinds of things every day?"

Dave said, "We don't set out to rub any of this in your face or anybody else's. While we are exhibitionists and voyeurs with each other, we are not purposefully planning to be that way with you. If any of this bothers you, we can try to temper our lifestyle when you are around -- probably something that won't happen, or I recommend you not take the job."

Celeste bristled. "What you do won't bother me THAT much. If I see something I don't care for, I can always look the other way or take a walk or go somewhere else." She softened suddenly and almost said to herself, "Besides, maybe I'll like what I see."

Celeste then perked up. "I'm still interested. Could you tell me again about the pay and any benefits?"

Dave looked at Ashley. She consulted her note pad and started, "You will be provided room and board. A light breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals are served up on the patio that you saw last weekend or just indoors in the open dining room. You are family, so anything in the house is available to you, also. We'll stock up on any of your favorite foods, of course. A more complete breakfast is also served up there on the weekend, although simple cereals are available during the week -- just no cooking. As for your room, I showed you the nanny suite in this house, plus you also have the run of the place otherwise." She gestured.

"Financially, we will pay you $800 per week, including up to four weeks of combined paid vacation or any other kind of leave, such as sick days or whatever. We expect you to manage your time to be here for the baby and possibly another child sometime in the future as I need." Ashley looked over at Dave but kept a straight face. "This is not a nine-to-five job, just the way motherhood is not that type of job. We will reevaluate the pay at six months and again at a year. Your paychecks will be paid to you through the Circle to ease my burden in terms of government forms and figuring out payroll requirements. They will add that amount and any other fees or taxes to my quarterly assessment. If you see a problem let us know. You should arrange for automatic deposit. The Circle treasurer, Julie Prentiss takes care of that end of things."

We will pay your healthcare and dental care, including routine visits. We have a health clinic onsite, and you should use that for simple things or routine questions. They can also intervene with any prescriptions and that type of thing. We do want you to have a clean battery of tests to start with and a simple blood test quarterly after that. This for our mutual protection from nasty germs. Our clinic handles that routinely at no cost to you."

"As we mentioned, you may use any and all of the facilities up in the core buildings; things like the pool, gym, sauna, and so on. You'll also find there are a couple of clubs in the Circle you might find you want to join -- for instance the book club and flying club -- which Dave heads right now, and there's a scuba diving club forming, too.

"I am NOT planning on handing Kendall off to you and abandoning her. I will be pleased to work with you if you need to schedule things in your life if you decide to pursue some activity, such as flying lessons. After a year, we will start to contribute to a 401k on your behalf."

"Usually when I travel, I do not want to lug along Kendall, but that may change if you are willing to travel and help attend to her while I'm working on the road. That job may become easier as she gets a little bit older. If you travel with us, we will of course handle all your expenses and hotel rooms. We also have a house in Nashville with many guest rooms."

Celeste asked, "When would you like me to start?"

"Yesterday," Ashley joked.

"How about now? I need to get things from the apartment I rented when I left the Wilsons, but maybe I could do that this evening or over the next few days."

Dave said, "I can help you with that, unless you have some really heavy furniture?"

"Oh, no furniture. I rented the place furnished. It's clothes, books, my stereo, and things like that. Most of it is still in boxes."

Ashley said, "Go with Dave now and get a starter kit, and you can catch up later with the other stuff. Your suite at my house is move-in ready."

Dave said, "Why don't you go now after giving me the address. I'll come by in the Circle jitney is an hour or so to collect that first load."

Celeste said, "That's about all there'll be. I don't have a lot. You won't need but a normal car. I can put a lot in trash bags very quickly and as I said most things are still in boxes."

Dave nodded, "I'll see you about five o'clock, then."

Later, Ashley brought Celeste to dinner. The two traded Kendall back and forth until Dave took the baby. Ashley walked her new nanny around from table to table and introduced her to each person, particularly pointing out the other mothers. Celeste blushed occasionally, especially when one or two of the women were topless, but she really appreciated having the ice broken. Ashley teased her about remembering all of the names. There were about a hundred-thirty people there for dinner, a typical weeknight.

About thirty of the women were topless in the warm evening air. Celeste became expert at staring the person in the eyes and not wandering any lower. She felt glad that Ashley had pulled on a casual top before the three walked up from her home for cocktails and dinner. Kendall had ridden along in a new baby stroller.

Ashley got a log-on and password for Celeste from Erin. This allowed her to go on the Circle's private website and search the pictures and brief biographies for each person that was a member or pledge. The website also showed the linkages between various people, should anyone be curious. Thus, for instance, she could see which ten women linked to Dave as his wives.

As they looked at the site, Celeste observed, "Two of the women are also married to Owen Bennett, another to Don Abrams, and there are a couple of other linkages."

Ashley smiled, "Remember the premise of equality. There's no reason that only a man could have multiple wives. What's wrong with a woman having multiple husbands, or all sorts of crazy combinations and mix-ups. About all you can guarantee around here is that all of us are consensually non-monogamous."

After dinner, Ty stood as he usually did and said the dancing would begin.

Ashley swept up Kendall from her car seat carrier where she'd fallen asleep. The baby didn't awaken. She turned to Celeste, "Come on. Time for Cinderella to go home."

"Huh?"

"This is the time when things get 'hot' on the patio. Let me be blunt. "Couples and threesomes will form, and people will begin to make love."

Celeste resisted slightly, "And if I wanted to watch?"

"Not your first night. You seemed really put off because of the sex in our group, or did I miss something."

Celeste sighed as they started walking towards Perimeter Drive. "There's a reason. I'm a virgin -- a fucking twenty-eight-year-old virgin, or maybe I should say a NON-fucking twenty-eight-year-old virgin. I've never been with a man."

Ashley stifled her laugh. "Well, that says something, I guess. Were you picky, lack of opportunity, or what?"

"A little of all three. I grew up on a farm with no one near my age nearby except at school. I was kept on a tight leash until I graduated and left to go on my own. The childcare jobs didn't have me out and meeting people, and I'm not the type to go to a bar or someplace after the work day. So, no opportunity. I guess, beyond that I'm picky. I don't want to just hop in bed with anybody. I resonated with how Dave described the Circle a few nights back."

"Dave's the best lover in the place; at least I think so. I really love him."

"But you're married?"

"I love Kyle, too. He's older and set in some of his ways." After a moment as they walked, Ashley said, "I'll tell you a kind of secret. Dave is Kendall's father. I asked and he gladly became the father. Kyle is the daddy, and loves Kendall dearly. As she gets older, that is who she'll go to for fatherly advice."