Scapegoat Pt. 04

"Now, Ali. That has to be the dumbest sentence I have ever heard."

"No, it's the truest statement you ever heard!"

"You did well too, Ellie," said the young woman. Of course, since you are older..."

"Ali! Enough of that. You are conceited enough."

"Are you going to tell Dad your score, Mom?"

"He's bound to ask."

"That recruiter that talked to us afterward. He said you could make good money."

"I'm not interested."

"Oh, come on, mom. The minimum contract is three years. Dylan will be going to college in September. You and Dad could really add to your 401K. I'm sure you like fucking guys other than daddy or why else would we foster male slaves as well?"

"That is quite enough, young lady! If I hear you say anything like that again. I'll tie you up and give you a crew cut with Dad's trimmer. Try selling yourself looking like a chemo victim!"

A look of realization came into the young woman's features.

"Oh, I'm sorry, mom. I got carried away."

"It's OK, darling.

From the back seat of the car, Eloise stayed above the conversation. Grace had explained that the B&M assessment would impress her young master and that he would probably give the Kovacs a good review based on that alone. Right now, her mind was focused on the Kovacs kitchen. She intended to make a roast and bake cupcakes. She just wanted some domestic normality to replace the unusual events of the morning. She felt sure that Ali would not listen to what she wished to tell her. That freedom was better than any captivity in a gilded cage. "What those men didn't tell you, Ali, what no one tells you is that as a slave your past is amputated. Who you loved, who you hated, who you were, what you wanted to be; all that is cut away. Slaves live in the constant now. No past, no future assured, living completely at the whims of others. Nothing -- wealthy surroundings, amazing sex, sudden passions can replace the amputation of yourself."

Eloise wondered anew if she had made the right decision. Her daughter was free. But would it have been better if she had let her fail? Even prisoners had more rights than slaves. Perhaps a sympathetic judge could have given her a reduced sentence. If not, perhaps Eloise could have petitioned the governor for a pardon. Why hadn't she thought about that at the time? At the very worst, Eloise would still be somebody's mother. Now all she was, was a thing, an asset to note on a tax form, a sentient bed warmer, collared and tagged just like the family dog!

Just as Eloise was feeling morose, the car pulled into the Kovacs's driveway.

Dinner was quite interesting that evening.

Ali was in her glory, pontificating like the expert she wasn't about how wonderful her life would be once she was enslaved.

"What if your contract is purchased by an obese, halitosis-spewing, short, bald, guy with a tiny pecker?" asked Roger.

"With my score, if I let B&M vend me, I have the right of first refusal."

"OK, what if the second guy is the twin brother of the first?"

"Then I'll just close my eyes and think about how much money will be waiting for me at the end of five years!"

Dylan took almost no part in the conversation. He had trouble meeting his mother in the eye and he found himself repeatedly focusing on his sister's breasts and legs. Since school ended, he had found excuses to escape to his bedroom or the bathroom to masturbate furiously. He was appalled at where his pornographic mind had led him.

"What do you think, Ellie?" inquired Grace.

"It may look good. Ali but you will quickly come to hate it."

"Really, Ellie? Do you hate me? Do you hate mom and dad?"

"Well, no. I'm speaking about the larger perspective."

"You are a scapegoat, Ellie. You see things differently because you are looking at a lifetime whereas I am only looking at five years."

Ellie had no answer to that. How would she feel about everything if she had a life to return to?"

"What do you think, Dylan?" asked Grace, "Wouldn't you miss your big sister?"

The lad's face flushed, "Ah... yeah, I guess."

Roger hid his sudden smirk with a mouthful of food.

"Ha! Dylan, tell us how you really feel. You can't wait for me to move out so you can rummage through my underwear drawer!"

Dylan visibly paled and let his sister's remark slide.

"Are you OK, Dylan, honey?" asked Grace. "Are you feeling poorly? Did something happen at school?"

The lad faced his mother but all he saw was the image of her naked and orgasming. His face flushed.

Grace placed her palm on her son's forehead.

"You don't seem to have a fever."

"I'm fine, mom." the boy lied. Never had he been so desperate to finish eating and escape the proximity of his family. To be anywhere than here with his sexy sister and beautiful mom!

"The little weirdo has probably been watching tentacle porn featuring barely legal Asian chicks again. He's not ill, mom. He's a pervert. Which I guess is sick in a way."

"Mom!"

"Lay off, Ali."

"Turning to Mom instead of your usual lame comebacks? Maybe he is sick, Mom."

"I'm fine!" exclaimed the teen in a way that aptly proved he was not.

It was at this point that Roger injected himself into the conversation.

"I'm sure, if there is anything ailing, Dylan, it will pass quickly. What we need to be focused on is the topic of the evening. Ali. I can't support your desire to enslave yourself."

"Dad!"

"However! You are of age. Legally I cannot prevent you. I will not, this family will not participate in any way in the process. Yes, I could manage and invest your profits from selling yourself and building you a nice nest egg for when you are finished with your sojourn in the collar, but I won't. Doing so means tacit support for your foolish decision. I will help you find a suitable and trustworthy managing firm. I'll do that because I love you and want you to come out of this with at least some money in the bank. I will be there at the end, your mother will be there at the end, and Dylan will be there at the end to welcome you back into the family and help you recover. I won't even expect the apology I will be due."

The girl's green eyes brightened.

"You mean I can do it, Dad? You won't stand in my way?"

"Yes, pumpkin. I'll also expect you to clean out your room. You take nothing into slavery except your bare skin. You'll have to sell everything you can or arrange for long-term storage of what you want to keep. I won't have it cluttering up the house, you'll be extracted from this family like a bad tooth."

"Dear," began Grace.

"Tough love is the only option, honey. We both know what slavery is like. We can't support the decision. I'm being as humane as possible."

A subdued silence descended upon the table. A family event of great importance had just transpired.

The squeak of Dylan's chair was heard on the linoleum.

"I'd better go, or I'll miss soccer practice. Good luck, Ali."

He made his way towards the front door while Grace's eyes filled with tears.

"I'll be on the phone tomorrow to say goodbye for now to all my friends. This weekend I'll have a party and let my girlfriends raid my closets and dresser. Thanks Dad!"

She rose to her feet and practically bounced out the front door.

Grace slid into Roger's lap.

"Oh, darling! We've lost our daughter!"

He stroked her hair as she cried into his shoulder. As unobtrusively as possible, Eloise began to clear the table.

**

That night, Grace was in no mood for sex. She wanted Roger to just hold her and show compassion. He had other ideas.

"You need to stop worrying about Ali now. She's gone to us."

"You are such a hard man!"

"No, I am a realist. She went into this with her eyes wide open. If our lives these last ten years of slave fostering gave her the wrong impression, it certainly isn't our fault."

"You speak as if she's already dead."

"The sunny girl we knew IS about to die. It will be like she's going to enter a coma for the next five years and wake up with an entirely different personality."

"Ali called you a dick. You are!"

"Hey, I'm an insurance agent! If I truly was a dick, I'd try and talk you into a short-term contract. With your rating..."

"Go fuck yourself, Roger!"

"Luckily, since you aren't in the mood, Ellie is here."

He turned to the red-haired collared woman.

"Come here, Ellie. I'm taking your ass tonight. I must return you the day after tomorrow, so this is almost my last chance. Also, ass is Grace's opinion of me."

"Roger! You are impossible!"

Grace threw on a robe and headed for the downstairs couch. Eloise watched her go with a sinking feeling. She could not help but feel that she had seen the first tremor of an impending earthquake that would shatter a family. The sex that night was only good from Roger's perspective.

**

The next day during her teatime, Grace gave vent to her anger. "I love Roger, but sometimes the man is impossible! He wants me to abandon Ali! I mean, how can a father be so heartless? And fucking you last night to strike back at me! If I didn't need his income..."

Her voice trailed away.

Eloise rested her hand on Grace's forearm. So many of her friends had had frustrating husbands. Bob was the exception, not the rule. Her young master was trying at times, but he seemed more sensitive to Eloise's needs than Roger often did to Grace. In the silence, the doorbell rang. A gentleman in a suit was on the porch.

"Mrs. Grace Kovacs?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Wally Baloo, a recruiter for Gilded Exclusives, Limited. May I come in?"

"Certainly. Elle get him a cup of tea."

"I would prefer coffee."

"Get him a coffee, Ellie."

Grace led him to a set in the den and settled herself on the couch next to him.

"What is this all about?"

"Is your daughter, Ali home as well?"

"She's in her room texting and calling her friends."

"What I have to say is for her ears also."

"What is this all about?"

"Business proposition."

"Business proposition?"

"Yes."

Ali reluctantly exited her room when Eloise went to summon her.

"What's this about, Mom?"

Mr. Baloo introduced himself once more. He moved to the loveseat and let mother and daughter share the couch. Eloise provided black coffee. The distinguished-looking middle-aged recruiter spoke in an appealing voice.

"I'll be brief and to the point. A certain well-heeled individual followed the processing of yourself and your daughter yesterday at Barret and McGee with great interest."

Grace blanched. Ali folded her hands across her chest.

"To wit. He would like to purchase the contract for your daughter and yourself if you are available."

"Pardon?"

"My client has been seeking a mother and daughter-combination for quite some time. You and your daughter exceed all his requirements."

"You are joking!"

"No, Mrs. Kovacs, I am not."

"Who is your client?"

"I'm not at liberty to divulge that information but he is willing to put aside quite a hefty escrow account for a mutual five-year commitment."

"I'm having a hard time believing this," stated Grace.

"What I can tell you about my client, is he is on the sunny side of forty, believes in physical fitness, and is bi-coastal with frequent excursions to Europe, Africa, and Asia. He would expect you to serve all his whims and dress and groom yourselves according to his dictates."

Grace looked at Ali. Ali turned to Mr. Baloo and asked, "What sort of financial consideration does your client have in mind?"

The man in the sharply tailored suit brought out a business card with a number written on the back. The number contained quite an impressive number of zeros.

"Holy shit! Tell him I'm your girl!"

"My client wants either both of you or neither of you."

"But..."

"I'm sorry. When a man such as my client is parting with that sum of money, he should get exactly what he wants."

There was an interval of silence.

"Mom, we could be together. We could have each other's backs and never be parted."

"Ali, I'm a married woman. I have responsibilities. Dylan..."

"Dylan is off to college in September. He doesn't need you to look after him anymore. No way can you make that kind of money in your job or from slave fostering. Daddy will understand."

"You talk like I'd just be moving to Chicago or something, Ali. This is slavery!"

"We should at least think about it, Mom."

"When do you need an answer?" inquired Ali.

"By the end of the week. My client would like to take possession of you by the fourteenth at the latest. I am afraid he simply cannot extend his offer beyond that date."

There was another pall of silence over the house: the only sound was the air conditioner.

"Well, I've spoken my piece, ladies, slave. My cell number is on that business card as well as my e-mail. If I don't hear from you, preferably before Saturday, it was at least nice to meet with you and speak to you both. The coffee was delicious."

Eloise led the recruiter to the front door. Ali and Grace remained in stunned silence.

"I think we should do it. Mom."

"Ali, only a pervert wants to own both a mother and daughter."

"So? Priests and saints don't purchase slaves. It's got to be better going into slavery with someone you love than going in all alone."

"I'm too old to enter slavery."

"Ellie seems to have adjusted."

"We'll be naked all the time. He'll want to fuck both of us. He'll want us to take him together."

"That goes with the territory, mom."

"What do I tell Dylan? What do I tell your father?"

"The truth Mom. You are taking time off from being a mom. You are taking time off from being a wife. You will come back filthy rich! With the advance, you can pay for Dylan's college tuition. He won't be saddled with debt when he graduates. College is wasted on me, but Dylan needs it."

"Oh, honey! This is so confusing."

**

With mother and daughter locked in deep tear-filled conversation, it fell to Eloise to set the house in order and prepare for when Dylan and Roger returned home. She was grateful that the meal tonight was stew. The crockpot still had a few hours to go. Rolls and butter and jam were all that were required to supplement it--an easy meal with easy clean up. Dinner would be served late. Eloise removed her chair from around the kitchen table and placed the remaining four in a symmetrical pattern.

By the time Dylan came home from school, Ali and Grace we seated at the table. Eloise led Dylan to the seat opposite his sister and provided him with a cool drink.

"What's up?"

"Family conference when your father gets home."

Roger bounced through the door a few minutes later. In one hand was a bouquet of roses, a peace offering to his wife. Eloise greeted him with a hug and kiss and led him to the kitchen table.

"What's going on?"

"Your wife and your daughter have something to discuss with you."

She took the flowers to place them in a vase.

From the next room, she listened to a most unusual family conversation. At regular intervals, she entered with tissues, cold drinks, coffee, and tea. After every nerve was exposed of each soul around the table, Eloise at last distributed the stew and rolls. Everyone ate in silence as everything had already been said.

Ali and Grace had decided to accept the offer. Dylan was confused. Roger was pragmatic. After eating their fill, Dylan and Ali made their way upstairs. It was almost midnight.

"Clearly, you still have it, honey."

"You'll wait for me, you'll manage Ali's and my money?"

"It's the least I can do. But I won't be living like a monk in your absence."

"I don't expect you to. If you fall in love again, I won't hold it against you."

"We will be very different people in five years."

"I know."

Roger slid off his wedding band and placed it in the center of the table. Grace followed suit with her wedding band and engagement ring. The marital jewelry lay on the table. Eloise, Roger, and Grace all had tears in their eyes.

"Call Mr. Baloo first thing in the morning before any of us changes our minds. You and Ali can go get registered tomorrow afternoon. I'm told the bite of the tattoo needle is akin to a bee sting. Pity to mar such a shapely rump."

"Roger. You're taking this better than I expected."

"I'm still numb."

"Master, Mistress, it is time for bed."

"Oh, Ellie, you've been a dear. Roger will have to return you to your owner by himself tomorrow."

"I'm going to need a new sideline; single guys fostering slaves is perceived as creepy. But then again, my expenses will be lower."

"I won't ever forget you, Roger."

"Hold that thought."

Eloise took this moment to grasp the Kovacs by the hand and led them upstairs. She closed the door behind them and returned to the kitchen for a late-night cleanup. She knew her place was on the couch that night. As she shut the water off in the sink, she heard the soft, unmistakable utterance of Grace in orgasm. Later, Eloise sighed and played with herself to relieve tension so that she could fall asleep.

**

Eloise awoke to find a sweet hand-written thank you from Grace complimenting her on the poise and maturity she had shown in a time of family crisis. There was also an effusive note for her young master.

Grace herself was in the kitchen. "I've got breakfast this morning, Ellie. After we finish eating you can take a shower. I laid out clothes for you on our bed. Roger's going to take you home around three. Just relax today, you've earned it."

"Did you?"

"Did I make the call? Yes. The contract will be waiting at B&M and will go into effect on Friday at midnight. A million and one things to do in a very short amount of time."

"I could stay longer. If you explained the situation to my master."

"Thank you, Ellie, but no. I'll be in a collar when I return home, I'd prefer you not see that. Nothing personal, but a real slave in the house and two not quite slaves is a lot of confusion and weirdness."

"I understand. Mistress."

"Call me Grace. I'm likely to get a new name soon anyway."

Eloise embraced Grace. The two women hugged for a long time.

"Good luck, Grace."

"And best of luck to you as well Ellie."

They kissed like friends of long acquaintance.

**

Roger decided that protocol be damned. He had Eloise sit next to him in the passenger seat. During the long drive, they spoke openly and sincerely to each other.

"Grace and Ali are probably biting off more than they can chew, but being together will make things easier. Grace and I had hoped you would talk some sense into Ali and now I'm about to be minus a wife and daughter."

"I'm sorry, Master."

"Call me, Roger, please. Grace and Ali are expected to address me as master when they come home to get into the habit. The whole thing is very weird. Anyway, you've been great. the way you stepped up last night. Brilliant! You are a wonderful woman."

"Thank you, Roger."

"I'm going to need a hobby. I am about to have a TON of spare time on my hands. The girls are gone, and Dylan is in college. There are always bowling leagues and softball teams. Fostering is a no-go unless I hook up with a new babe who can handle sharing her partner with slaves and likes to be diddled by hunky slaves on the side. How do you put that qualification in a classified ad?"

Eloise chuckled.

"How did you get into the fostering business?"

"One of Grace's brothers-in-law got us into it. The money was good. Is good. and we had a large enough house. We thought, naively, that sex with the slaves would not occur. Grace was the first to break our wedding vows. I couldn't blame her the guy was handsome as heck, incredibly fit, and eager to please. We could have ended up in divorce court instead we slid into complete master and mistress roles. I've done most of the guys up the butt, Grace has banged them all and she adores the softness and sincerity of women. Neither of us knew we were bisexual until after we started fostering."