The Path to Peace

He didn't even flinch, "Only the one's I want to impress. The other's I take to McDonalds."

"I'm flattered, I guess." I kept pushing, "so where do you take them on the second date?"

Again, he didn't flinch, "The McDonalds girls tend to be one night wonders. The bistro girls, well, that remains to be seen."

I looked at him with my eyebrows raised, then just started laughing. Just then Joe pulled into a parking space.

"We're here," he announced, pointing to a little restaurant across the street. I had passed this place a dozen times but had never really noticed the bistro.

As we walked through the door I noticed the wonderful smells. "Mmmm. This place certainly smells good," I said turning to Joe.

"Tastes even better than it smells," he assured me. Then turning to the hostess he said, "You have a table for Kingston?"

"Yes, sir. Right this way." She led us to a small table against the wall. We sat down and the hostess handed us menus. We had just gotten ourselves comfortable when the waitress came by, "Hello, my name is Karen. Would either of you like something to drink?"

I wasn't sure if Joe knew I was only 19. I decided not to bring it up unless I had to. "I'll have a glass of white wine."

As she turned to Joe he said, "That sounds good. I'll have the same."

"Great," Karen said, "I'll get your drinks then I'll tell you our specials." She turned and walked away.

Joe again demonstrated that he wasn't a very patient guy. "OK, we're at the restaurant. I'm ready to hear what happened."

"OK, Joe," I started, "I'm going to tell you. I don't think you're going to believe it, but I'll try. I need you to keep an open mind. Let me tell the entire story before you start asking me questions. OK?"

"OK." I could tell he was curious.

I had decided not to start at the beginning, but rather stick to what had happened that day. The rest of the stuff I could fill in as he asked questions.

"When Annie, the woman I was with, told me what had happened something in me said I needed to go to the police station to help. I really didn't know, at that point, what I was going to do. When I saw Giselle..."

Just then the two people behind me got very loud. I turned around and saw it was two middle-aged men. Just then one of the men, the one across the table, facing me, yelled, "I won't stand still for it. You can't threaten me!" He stood up and threw his napkin on the table. The man with his back to me stood up, and in one motion pulled a gun out from under his jacket and fired twice. "BAM BAM" I was stunned. I had never heard anything so loud in my life. The next sound was the crash of the first man hitting the table. There was screaming as people ducked under their tables. I was too startled to move. Joe, on the other hand, wasn't. He immediately stood up and pulled a gun out form somewhere and yelled, "Police! Drop it!"

With the gun still facing away from our table the shooter turned slowly towards us. Suddenly his left hand grabbed me and pulled me out of my chair and held me in front of him. "You drop it," he countered. I was now his human shield.

The shooter continued, "This little lady and I are leaving together. Don't do anything stupid."

"I can't let you do that," Joe answered him.

Just as I knew what I had to do when I walked into the police station, I knew what I needed to do here. "Joe," I pleaded, "it's OK. I'll go out side with him and he'll let me go. I'll be all right."

Without waiting for Joe's OK, my new buddy said, "Let's go." He reached around me with his left arm, holding me close to him. We rotated around the table, with our fronts always facing Joe. Everyone else in the restaurant was under the tables. I realized I had one chance. Without thinking about, it I quickly reached down with my right hand and grabbed the guys' crotch. I had his entire manhood in my hands, but I didn't squeeze.

As I held him, I suddenly knew his name was George. George let out a low moan, as if he was in pain. Not a sharp pain, but like the dull pain of a toothache. Suddenly scenes of violence started flashing through my mind in quick succession. One after the other. Beatings, shootings, hate, and pain all flashing through my mind. I too let out a long, low moan. George's grip on me loosened. He dropped to his knees. The connection between us was broken. He dropped the gun, and covered his face with his hands. Now he was moaning, "What have I done?" over and over again.

Joe rushed over, kicked the gun away, knocked George flat to the ground. "Don't move!" he yelled. "Someone call the police!"

A man, his voice shaking answered, "I just did."

I needed to sit down. I couldn't believe what had just happened. A couple of people rushed over to help the man who had been shot, but there was nothing they could do for him. He was dead, I started crying softly. What was making me cry was the scenes of violence that I had seen flashing through my mind as I grasped George.

The police arrived very quickly. First the uniformed officers then the detectives wanted to know if I was OK, then if I was up to telling them what happened. Joe and I spent the next two hours answering the same questions over and over. Finally they told us we could go.

As we got into the car, neither Joe nor I were very talkative. Finally Joe broke the silence, "I'm sorry about this Helen. So much for having dinner."

"Now that you mention it," I said, "I'm starving. Is that terrible?"

"Actually, I'm hungry too. But I really don't want another restaurant tonight. Would McDonald be OK?"

I broke out laughing. So many emotions were welling up in me, and all I could think of was his comment earlier about taking dates to McDonalds. I managed to say "I guess I've been downgraded."

"What," Joe asked, then, realizing what he had said, he too started laughing. "That was only a joke. I promise to respect you after the Big Mac."

We got our food, but neither one of us was really in the mood to sit in McDonalds. I told him I had the perfect place to go. We went to Sanctuary. Fortunately we were alone.

"What is this place?" Joe asked.

"We'll get to that," I told him.

"OK," he said. The look on his face told me that the laughter was over. Something was bothering him. He wasted no time. "Are you going to tell me what went on back there?"

"You saw, huh," I confirmed.

"Yes. I don't think any one else did, but you...grabbed him. He let out a moan and fell to his knees. Did you really grab him that hard? And why did he start moaning 'what have I done?' How did you disable him?"

"Joe, it's related to what happened at the police station. Let me explain. I think I'll start at the end and work backwards."

That's what I did. First I told him what had happened to George. Then I told him about Giselle, Scott and Fred. I told him about Grace, Annie and Mike. I told him all about Sally, and the conversations I have with a dead woman. Mostly he didn't believe me, but he had seen things with his own eyes. He was a trained detective. He was taught to be skeptical, not to believe what he was told. But he was also taught to be a keen observer. If you asked anyone else in the restaurant that night what had happened, nobody would have been able to describe George, the dead man, me, or what happened accurately. But if you asked Joe, he would know every detail. That was his job. He was having trouble denying what he had seen.

"Can you do this trick to me, making me see my past?" he asked.

"It's not a trick. And, no, I can't do it to you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not a parlor trick. "

"How am I supposed to believe what you've just told me? It doesn't make any sense!" He was very conflicted.

"You're right, it doesn't make sense. I think we should agree that it didn't happen. You didn't see anything unusual. I grabbed George just right and hurt him. Giselle and Fred just realized what a wonderful guy Scott is, so they dropped the charges. Nothing unusual."

Joe wasn't able to ignore what he had seen. "But I saw what you did – twice. I can't pretend that it didn't happen."

"Then accept it," I said softly. "Joe, are you a religious man? I don't mean do you go to church all the time, but do you believe? Do you believe in God?"

"Yes, of course I do. Even though I don't go to synagogue regularly I still believe."

"So you believe Moses parted the Red Sea? "

"Sure," he answered, not sure where I was going.

"Did you see him do it?"

Joe rolled his eyeballs, "of course not."

"But you believe it happened. You're willing to take it on faith."

"Yes."

"Well, you can either accept what I've said on faith, or not. If you do I will be able to open up a whole new world for you. If you can't accept it, then we agree to disagree about what happened, and life goes on."

"So, this isn't just some sex club?"

"It's more. We do believe in moral action. The Ten Commandments, treating people the way we want to be treated. No lying, cheating stealing. Like that."

"What about 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery', or did you forget about that commandment?"

Joe had asked a very good question. "If you check the dictionary there are actually many definitions of adultery. What they all have in common, of course, is that it is having sex with someone other than your spouse. But, one definition cites 'extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations.' I submit that that is what the original intent of that commandment was. Over time the translation may have changed from the ancient Hebrew."

"So what does that mean? That screwing around is OK?" Joe wasn't understanding.

"It means, simply, that sneaking around behind your spouse's back is wrong. But if your spouse knows and is comfortable with it, then it doesn't interfere with marriage relations. That brings us back to morality. We do not believe in lying. We certainly wouldn't lie to a spouse or lover about our sexual practices."

"So it's OK, as long as everybody knows."

I drove the point home one more time. "It's OK because we all accept that it is what God intended. We all accept that we do not own our lovers' body. We all accept that we are free to do with our bodies what we choose, and we all accept that our emotional attachment to someone isn't diminished just because we enjoy physical pleasure with another."

"It sounds good," Joe admitted, "but I've known a lot of women who wouldn't be comfortable sharing me."

"We who come into this Sanctuary, specifically the area in the center, have accepted that, and demonstrated that acceptance. Those who cannot accept our philosophy are not permitted in the inner area. Those who do accept it accept it publicly. It is all out in the open. There are no surprised spouses."

"It sounds too good to be true," Joe said. He was trained to be skeptical.

"I want you to talk to our other members. Hear from them. Don't decide anything until you've talked to them."

"OK. I guess I'd better drive you home now. It's been a long evening."

"Let's go. "

We left and Joe drove me home. We agreed to meet back at Sanctuary on Monday night. I would bring other members to talk to him. We gave each other a firm handshake goodnight.

The next day I called the other members and asked them to come Monday night. I hesitated about calling Fred. He was the only one who had not yet fully committed to The Path to Peace. He had not yet shown publicly that he was ready to accept sexual freedom. I think his reticence came mostly because of all the years he spent in the closet, sneaking around hiding his sexual preferences.

Finally, for the sake of honesty, I decided to call him. "Fred, hey, it's Helen. How're you doing?"

"Helen, it's nice to hear from you. I was going to call you."

Now I was curious. "About what?"

"I've decided to take the first step. I'm ready to show everyone that I am serious about accepting the Path to Peace."

I was overjoyed. "Fred, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you."

"What do I need to do?" he asked.

"You'll have to come to the meeting. I'll have you wait on the other side from where everyone else will be sitting. When I announce you, you come forward. Then, you drop your robe and masturbate for us. It's really pretty simple. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Of course I'm not sure. But I want to do it, so I've got to try. When's the next meeting?"

"Well, that's actually why I was calling. Remember the police detective, Joe? "

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well," I continued, "There was an incident last night, and he witnessed something I did."

"What happened?" Fred asked, concerned.

"I'll tell you all about it when I see you. We're having a meeting tomorrow night so the members can talk to Joe. Can you be there, and do you want to go through the ritual then."

"You don't make things easy, do you? So now you want me to masturbate in front of a cop who is a total stranger. Well, I guess if that's the price of admission count me in. What time?"

"I told everyone else 8:00. How about if you meet me there at 7:30? That way we'll have time to get you changed privately, and talk." I figured it would be easier if he came in before everyone else, rather than walk in to a room full of people.

"I'll be there." He answered, then asked, "Will Giselle be there?"

"Yes, she will." When I had talked to her she had been excited about coming to the meeting. I wondered how she and Fred would react to his initiation. This was new territory for me.

"It just gets better and better. I'll be there." With that, he hung up. The only thing I had left to do was get some new bathrobes for our newest members.

Fred arrived right on time. I could tell he was nervous. "Are you ready for this?" I asked, not wanting to push him into anything.

"I spent the last two hours talking to Giselle. We started with what you've told us, but then we went much farther. We talked about our feelings, we talked about history. We talked in ways she and I haven't talked in years. As scared as I am about tonight, I'm more convinced then ever that this is the right path. So am I ready? Yes."

That was the best answer I could have imagined. "OK. First, you need to get undressed, and put on this bathrobe." As he disrobed I went on, "I'm going to have you wait back there," I gestured to a secluded area in the back. "When I call you,, come into the center area, get comfortable and begin at your own pace."

By now Fred had put on the robe. "So, are you going to tell me what happened the other night?"

He and I walked to the back area while I told him all about what had happened at the restaurant. Fred seemed really concerned that I was OK, almost like I was becoming a second daughter. It was nice. I realized that since I had started on the Path to Peace my relationship with all men had gotten easier. Gone was the almost constant sexual tension that used to exist. Sexual freedom relieved the men around me from the primitive burden of trying to impress me enough to choose them as my mate. In Fred's case, of course, he just wasn't interested in my sexually.

As we were chatting the rest of our group arrived. They each got changed into the bathrobes and made themselves comfortable. I asked everyone to form a semi-circle at the edge of the mattresses. The only exception was Joe. Since he had not yet accepted the tenets of The Path to Peace I asked him to sit on the couch behind everyone else. I had realized that as we grew there would often be times when non-believers would be present, and I wanted to have a separation between them and the people who had accepted the path. I also wanted to start to formalize who could enter into the central area. In order to give it some significance I wanted only those who had be initiated, or undergoing initiation, to be in the central area.

I had moved a comfortable chair into the center of the floor, making room between two of the mattresses. Sitting in front of everyone, I addressed them, "Thanks for coming. As I told all of you on the phone, I've asked you to come tonight to talk to Joe. You all know what happened the other night to us. Joe is on the fence – would you say that's a fair way to put it?" I looked over at Joe. He nodded, and I continued, "So I asked you all here to relate your experiences to him. We're all still new at this. I don't want you to do a sales job on him. I'm just going to want each of you to talk to him informally. Tell him what happened to you, if you want, or just tell him how you feel about the Path to Peace. You can even just talk to him about the weather. I just want him to get to know each of us a little bit.

But, before we start mingling we have a new initiation. Fred Norbert, after much soul searching, has told me he is ready to start on The Path to Peace. "

Giselle sort of clapped once and let out a small "Yeah!"

"In order to join us, initiates must demonstrate that they are ready to be open with us." I looked over at Joe, "Joe, you may be shocked by what you are going to see. Essentially, you will be watching a middle aged man masturbate in front of all of us. I suspect you will not be very comfortable watching that. That's OK. Please try to understand that by this first act, Fred is taking a big step. Once he gets over this hurdle he will easily be able to continue on the Path. There are many stages, but this is the hardest.

So, without further ado, Fred, you're on."

I joined the semi-circle arranged around the mattresses as Fred came forward. He took a deep breath, dropped his robe and sat down in the chair. His penis was already semi-erect. We had a very good view of it from our seats. He reached down and took a tube of lubrication out of the pocket of the robe. I hadn't even seen him put it in there earlier. I was glad he came prepared.

He put some lube on his hand and started playing with his penis. As it grew to full hardness I looked around at the assembled group. The two people who seemed to be having the hardest time watching were Giselle and Joe. Mike and Scott seemed totally comfortable watching Fred. Annie and Grace seemed to be actually enjoying it. I know I was. As I watched Fred masturbate I was getting very horny myself. I had been a while since I had had sex with a man. Watching Fred's penis and hearing the sounds he was making made me decide that I needed to have sex. I realized that, of all the people assembled in the room, the two people I had never had any sexual activity with were Scott and Fred (not including Joe). Since I knew that Fred had no interest I decided I would see if Scott did when Fred was done.

It didn't take long. In just a few minutes Fred's hips jerked and his seamen started to shoot out of him. Fred milked it till the last drops flowed out, then he said "Whew. That was better than I expected. I hope you all enjoyed it."

I stood up and walked over to him. He stood, naked, in front of me. I gave him a big hug. "Welcome Fred. I hope this is the first step on a wonderful journey for you. Please join our circle." I motioned to the semi-circle where the rest of our group was sitting.

"In just a minute it will be time for the informal portion of the meeting. As I asked before, I would appreciate it if each of you would spend some time getting to know Joe. That is, assuming Joe is still interested in getting to know us."

Joe still looked a little uncomfortable, but answered, "I'm still here."

"Good. This is your sanctuary, so make yourself comfortable. There's food and drink in the kitchen area, and the mattresses are available. Enjoy." Everyone started standing up. I walked over to Scott. "So, what did you think?"

"It was better than I'd imagined it would be. I never saw a man masturbate before."

I glanced down and saw that Scotts robe was pushed out a bit. "I see it even excited you a little bit. Would you like to have sex?"