The Path to Peace

I had to sit down. This was too much to take in all at once. "You mean, I now own that house and island?"

Sally was smiling, "Yes, well you will after the paper work is done. Congratulations."

I was happy, but at the same time, disturbed. "I can't even thank her for this."

"Don't worry, I'll thank her for you," Sally offered.

"And what will I tell my mother? Won't she be upset that everything was left to Nick and me? This is just unreal."

Sally came over and put an arm around me. "She'll be surprised. But not really upset, I don't think. She'll understand that her mother was trying to make amends, in the only way she knew how. You mother is happy where she is. She wouldn't have wanted the house anyway."

Sally's arm around me felt nice. I looked into her eyes, then, we started to kiss. I explored her body more then I ever had before. I took the lead, not letting her do anything except lie back and enjoy the sensations. Soon I had her screaming in pleasure, bucking her hips and holding my head to her.

When she was done, I gave her a gentle kiss, and said, "I've got to go and give everyone the news."

"I know," she replied, "have fun."

Mike, Annie and I were coming down from our wonderful orgasms. It was so nice to have the three of us reach such bliss together. Once we were done, Annie and I kissed again, then, both climbed off an exhausted Mike. Almost immediately the rest of the group was upon us, asking if my conversation had been successful.

I asked for a few minutes to collect my thoughts. I put on my robe, and got a drink of water, then sat down and told them all about my conversation. Mike and Annie were the most surprised. They were also the most saddened by the passing of Martha. We all talked excitedly for a while. I told everybody to be patient, that I would let them know when the lawyer called to tell me the news.

As we were getting dressed to go, Mike, Annie and I agreed to go to dinner. I wanted them to tell me everything they could about my grandmother.

A New Semester, New Challenges

About a week and a half later I got a call from Scott. He told me he needed to talk, so I invited him over to my apartment. Even though Scott and Annie had broken up a while ago, it seemed to me that he was upset by their engagement announcement.

When he arrived, I asked him about that. "Are you having a problem with Mike and Annie's engagement?"

Scott smiled and shook his head, "No, not at all. Our relationship hasn't changed. As a matter of fact, just the other night Annie felt the need for sex but Mike was out. She called me from Mike's apartment, I went over there, and we had a wonderful time."

"Mike knew, right?" I wanted to make sure they weren't doing anything behind Mike's back. It is critical that sexual activity be open, otherwise it causes problems.

"We were sitting in the kitchen having a post-coital cup of coffee when Mike came home. From the comments Mike made it was obvious that he knew before hand that we were going to have sex. I think he got excited about it."

"I'm happy to hear it then. So, what is it you need to talk to me about?" I asked.

Scott hesitated, collecting his thoughts, then began, "I seems to me that some people are taking some bold steps on the Path to Peace. I feel like I'm not. I want to progress, but I don't know what to do."

"You understand that one of the main precepts is giving pleasure, right. Well, obviously you do a good job of that with Annie. I'm sure you've also mastered pleasuring yourself. You need to explore pleasuring other people. Everyone is different, and every way of pleasuring other people is different."

"What do you mean that every way of pleasuring someone is different?" Scott asked.

"Well, you're adept at having intercourse with Annie. I assume that you engage in cunnilingus as foreplay, as well as some manual stimulation. But, have you ever engaged in these other forms of pleasure as an end, not as a means? Bring your partner to orgasm either orally or manually without following it up with intercourse. Do this simply as a way to give them pleasure without receiving pleasure from them, other then the pleasure of helping them."

Scott admitted, "No, I haven't done that. I've always used oral and manual stimulation as a prelude to the main event."

"If you really want to progress on the Path you also need to expand your possible partners," I continued, "don't limit yourself to just women."

"But Helen, I'm not gay," Scott protested. "I love women."

"I know you're not gay. Would giving pleasure to a man make you love women less?" I asked.

"No, but I'm not attracted to men."

I took his hands in mine and looked at him earnestly, "Scott, I'm not saying you have to do anything you don't want to do. If you don't want to have anything to do with another man, that's OK. You're still a member or the Path to Peace. All I'm saying is that to fully explore the Path you need to be open to all experiences. Pleasuring another man is simply one option that is open to you to help you progress. It's not mandatory."

"I wouldn't even know where to start with another guy."

"I can help you with that. Fred would be happy to teach you, I'm sure." I waited to see his reaction. Scott just started laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"How ironic would that be? We all got into this by my having sex with Fred's daughter. I go from daughter to father. That'll be a first, I'll bet.'

I had to agree it was pretty humorous. But it also fit in with the whole philosophy of The Path to Peace. We will have moved from Fred wanting to kill Scott, or at least send him to jail, to Fred, Scott and Giselle freely having sex together. It was up to Scott though.

"Could you call him, I'd be too nervous." Scott had made a decision.

"Sure," I said, "I'll call him right now if you want."

"Do it," Scott answered.

I got on the phone and called Fred at his office. "Fred, can you talk?" I started.

"Sure, Helen, what's up?"

"I'm here with Scott," I explained, "he's interested in exploring more of the Path. I was telling him that one of the things he should do is explore pleasure with another man."

"You want me to give him his first homosexual experience?" he asked.

"I would avoid using the H word for now. He's a little hesitant still. I think this would be good for him though. It'll free him form a lot of inhibitions, even when he's with a woman."

Fred was very open to helping Scott. He replied, "Put him on the phone so we can work it out."

I handed the phone to Scott. All I heard was his end of the conversation, but they agreed to meet at Sanctuary the next evening, around 7:00.

When he hung up the phone I asked, "Do you want me to be there for support?"

"No, I think I'd be more comfortable alone."

"That's fine, too. Let me know how it goes, OK? Now, if you remember, pleasuring another man is only one of the steps I mentioned. I know it will be tough for you to be with Fred, so you should also explore the other things I mentioned. They'll be a lot easier for you."

"You mean a woman pleasure orally or manually?" he asked.

"Yes. Work on those too."

"How do I approach a woman and just ask her to let me pleasure her manually?" Scott wondered, "Usually there is a presumption that intercourse will follow."

"It's all about timing. When the moment is right, just be honest. Tell the woman you want to give her pleasure, with nothing in return."

Scott looked me right in the eyes and said, "Helen, I'd like to give you pleasure with nothing in return. Would you let me do that or you?"

I really couldn't turn him down. "I would enjoy that," I told him, "are you planning on manual or oral stimulation?"

"I would like to try to bring you off manually. I'm pretty sure my oral technique has worked well on the women I've been with, but I don't think any of them have ever had an orgasm from my manual stimulation."

"That sounds like a good thing to work on then. Remember, it'll take a lot longer to get me off manually. You'll need to go slowly, and gently."

"I'll try. Any rules?" he asked.

"Just a couple. You can use your mouth above the waist. Your clothes stay on, and you can't have an orgasm."

Instead of saying anything, Scott started kissing me. He actually picked me up and laid me on the bed. He lay down next to me. As we kissed some more his hand slid under my shirt and started to explore my breasts. I let out a soft moan. It was nice having unexpected sex in the middle of the day.

Scott took his time, but in a few minutes I only had my panties on. Scott was still kissing me as I felt his hand slide past the waistband of the panties and gently caress my pubic hair. His mouth started to work on my erect nipples as his fingers slowly explored my outer vaginal lips. I opened my legs wide for him. He was very gentle, sliding just the tip of one finger between my lips. He ran the finger up and down between the lips. Avoiding direct contact with my clitoris. With each stroke he would dip his finger a little deeper between my lips and pull more moisture out. He started doing a lap around the clit after each new foray into me. My breathing was becoming ragged as I felt him slide an entire finger into me. Again, he pulled it out and ran a few laps around my clit. He repeated this a few time, till finally he progressed to inserting two fingers. My back arched involuntarily.

"Scott does seem to be getting the hang of it," Sally said.

"Yes, he does. I don't think I've ever had a lover spend so much time pleasuring me this way. It's different, and very nice."

Sort of like masturbating, without the work," Sally laughed.

"Well said," I laughed also.

Sally got serious, "Helen, you've got a problem."

"I do," I asked, puzzled, "what?"

"It's Grace. You remember that when you met her she was on the street accosting anyone who came out of the adult store."

"Sure," I said.

"Well, she's at it again," Sally informed me.

"What," I didn't understand, "she's no longer against pornography."

"True. She's not outside the adult store anymore." Sally dropped the big surprise, "She's outside a church."

"What is she doing?" I was afraid to find out.

"Imploring people to disavow the Church and join The Path to Peace. While we agree with her desires, her methodology is all wrong. All she's going to do is piss off the priest and get herself arrested. You need to impress upon her that we need to get the word out and expand the group through personal relationships, not through blanket proselytizing."

"I'll have a talk with her. Where is she?"

"She'll be outside the church at 5th and Humbolt this afternoon," Sally informed me.

"I guess I will be too."

"Well, good luck," Sally said as she kissed me goodbye.

My hips were quivering. I had to move Scott's hand away since I was now much to sensitive for manual stimulation as the orgasm subsided. He picked his head up from my breast. I whispered, "Thank you."

"Thank you" he answered. "I think I'd better go. Otherwise I don't know how I'll stop myself from wanting to continue."

We sat up together. Scott got off the bed. I could see how excited he was standing in front of me. "Scott, you were so unselfish," I said, "so I can be too."

I reached over and unzipped his pants. He took a step closer to me, so his penis was just a couple of inches from my face. I leaned over and took him into my mouth. He groaned as his hands came to rest on my back. I started bobbing on his erect penis, knowing it wouldn't take long for him to cum. I was right, within 5 minutes his penis got even stiffer, his ass clenched, and he started spurting hot cum into my mouth. I enjoyed his salty taste as I swallowed as much of his ejaculation as I could.

When he was done, I stood up. He wrapped his arms around me and went to give me a little kiss on my lips. I turned it into a full French kiss. I knew he would be getting a taste of himself that way. I wanted him to get that little taste, it might make it easier when he was with Fred. He didn't pull away at the salty taste.

Grace

I borrowed Mike's car and went down to the corner where I knew Grace would be. I went alone because I didn't want it to seem that we were ganging up on her.

When I pulled up she was yelling at people coming out of the church, much as she had done that day when Annie and I walked out of the adult store. This time instead of waving a bible she was waving the book I had transformed. Nobody realized what was in it, but she was yelling, "Sex is not sinful! The Church has brainwashed you! Sex is the Lord's Way!"

I had to admire her. When she believed something she threw her entire being into it. Unfortunately, this was not the way to convert people. All this would do would be to antagonize people and get herself arrested. I got out of the car and walked over to her.

"Grace, I don't think this is appropriate," I started.

"Helen, I'm glad you're here," her face lit up, "we've got so much work to do."

"Grace," I tried again, "this isn't the way to go about converting people. You'll just get in trouble."

"God will protect me. I have the strength of the righteous."

"No, Grace. This isn't the way to go about it. We need to convert people through understanding. Yelling at them won't do it." I was becoming insistent.

"We must tell them the truth. We cannot let them be deceived anymore." Grace was talking past me, not even listening to what I was saying.

I grabbed the book out of her hands. This book had become her new bible. My taking it away from her got her to focus on me. "Grace, listen to me. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this isn't the place. We have a plan. Waving this book at people and yelling at them isn't the plan. You've got to stop."

"How can you say that!?" Grace yelled at me, "You, of all people who has seen the power of the Path to Peace. Have you been corrupted by them? We must spread the word. You said to spread the word one person at a time, well, that's what I'm doing. Each person who hears me will have the seed of truth planted in their brain. Eventually, it will grow and they will see the light."

"We must teach people through personal contact. Each person must discover for themselves the benefits of the Path to Peace. We cannot beat it into them. You are not planting a seed that will flower into understanding, you are planting a seed that will destroy us. You must stop. Before this gets out of hand, you must stop. Come back to Sanctuary with me now. Let's discuss this in a more appropriate setting. "

Grace was very agitated by what I said. She spat out at me, "You are a traitor. I will prevail."

With that, she turned and walked away. I started to run after her, but just then a police car pulled up behind me. He told me to move the car – I was in a no parking zone in front of the church. By the time I got in the car and pulled away I had lost track of Grace.

I drove straight to Sanctuary. I tried to call her on the phone, but got her machine. I pleaded with her to call me, or come to Sanctuary. I told her we needed to talk.

That night Mike and I drove over to her house. The house was dark, and when we peered in the window it appeared that it was deserted. Grace had left. Mike called Annie and told her the news. I was devastated. Sitting there on Grace's front steps, with tears streaming down my face, I was no longer sure that what we were doing was right. I was having serious doubts.

I got back to my apartment, and, despite Mike's offer to keep me company, I went in alone. Annie was there, which was unusual. These days she spent most of her nights with Mike.

"Hey, Annie. How come you're not with Mike?" I asked.

"He told me what happened. I figured you could use a friend," she offered.

"Thanks, I really need one. It's not just the loss of Grace, but I really didn't change her at all. I just substituted one obsession with another."

"You won't be able to reach everybody." Annie comforted me.

"I'm not sure I'm reaching anybody." I was depressed and not sure if I wanted to continue. The pressure on me was almost too much to bear.

"Why don't you talk to Sally? That always seems to renew your faith," Annie suggested.

"That's a good idea," I answered, looking into her eyes. They looked so gentle tonight, full of compassion. "Will you help me?"

"I told you I'm here for you tonight."

We lay down on my bed together. The way I was feeling I needed the warmth, closeness and tenderness only another person could offer. I also needed our passion to build slowly. I needed to have my body coaxed tonight, not plunged into ecstasy. Annie was the perfect person to bring me to the heights I needed. A man, even Mike, would be too quick. Annie sensed my needs. We caressed each other slowly, almost painfully slowly. I caressed Annie as she caressed me. She took her clues from me, and returned them to me, never going faster than I was able to progress.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity of foreplay, I was ready. "Took your time tonight, I see," Sally commented.

"I wasn't in the mood for an explosive orgasm. I needed something gentle tonight," I explained.

"I know. I know what happened., and I know how you're feeling about it." Sally looked worried. "We've placed a lot on your shoulders. But don't make the mistake of thinking that you have to be perfect. Grace has a lot of issues to work out. You have started her on the Path, but that doesn't mean she won't make some detours. We all progress along the Path at our own speed."

"I just feel like every day they're looking to me to solve their problems. Then, Grace goes off and does it her way, and says I've lost my faith. It's not fair." I didn't want to start whining, but I was overstressed.

"You're right, it's not fair. You need to get a little perspective. Take a week or so off. Go visit your brother," Sally suggested.

"Why should I go visit Nick?" I asked.

"Well, let's see, you haven't seen him or Virginia since the wedding. Maybe you'll run into Virginia's brother."

I was wondering if Sally was setting me up to run into Stuart. The thought of running into him did make me smile, so I asked, "Are you saying I'm going to run into Stuart."

Sally didn't seem to like the idea that she was telling me the future. "No, no, I'm not saying that at all. I don't know where he is, if he's even in the same state. I was just trying to make the visit sound more appealing."

"I could use a week away. And, it would be nice to see Nick. It would also be nice to be around people who no nothing about my conversations with you."

"I'm not sure, but I think I should be insulted," Sally said with a pout on her face.

"Stop it," I said, putting my arms around her, "you know I love spending time with you. But sometimes it's a little overwhelming."

"I understand," she said, giving me a big hug, "that's why I suggested the vacation."

"I'll do it. I'll call them tonight and leave in the morning." Just having made that decision lifted a weight off my shoulders.

Sally gave me a big smile as she said, "Keep in touch."

The Family Expands

When I called Nick he told me he'd be happy to have me come and stay with them. But, there was something in his voice that didn't sound right. I didn't want to probe, but I was hoping that I was imagining things.

Virginia was the one who met me at the airport. The entire way to her apartment we chatted like old friends. The bond that we had formed before the wedding was still strong. Fortunately, every time Nick's name came up Virginia still lit up. But there was something almost sad about her. It was a sadness I hadn't seen before. Whatever the problem was, it didn't seem to be marital, but it seemed to be affecting both Nick and Virginia.

At the apartment I was putting my stuff in the second bedroom when I heard Nick come home. By the time I came out of the bedroom Nick and Virginia were already embracing.