Chapter 169

March 26, 2018 (Monday)

Dear Ms. Diary,

We all woke with Heather’s 5:15 alarm. Each of us got a kiss with Brett lying on our sides facing each other, and then we started what would be a long day. I had texted Katherine last night telling her that Meka and I would be there in the morning sometime. Dad and Heather were on the road by 6:00.

Before they left, Heather said, “If we have sex in Texas, would Dad be susceptible to Mann Act charges?”

Dad and the Moms all stood straighter, and Carol whispered, “Holy shit. Yes.”

“Darn. I’ve had sex only here. I was hoping to add another state.”

Gracey handed the box that contained the archive to Dad. Liya gave Heather a small box that contained various and sundry inconsequential items but also a thumb drive holding a copy of Brit’s video, as well as a text file that explained that video. We all agreed that we were almost certainly going way overboard with the cloak-and-dagger stuff, but we found it a way to get a bit of fun out of an anything-but-funny situation.

We changed up how the girls going to school got there, with Kim, Carol, and Celeste driving Cera, Rhee, Liya, Gracey, Lana, Brett, Char, Andy, and Katie. We had also come up with a new plan for hiding Brit. Meka and I were taking her to Katherine in the morning. We put her in the Suburban in the garage and had her lie low. She had her phone with the original version of her video, but we’d also picked up a burner phone last night for her so we could correspond with her more safely. Again, none of us figured Brit’s stepfamily to be hardened white-slave traffickers, but we decided that we might as well pull out all the stops.

I texted Katherine when we were five minutes out, and she met us at the back door, which Meka had put right at the back passenger-side door. Brit was in Armoire in a couple of seconds after she closed the Suburban door behind her. Meka drove out front, wandered around the mall parking lot, then parked in front of Armoire d’Amour.

As we were walking to Armoire’s front door, Meka said, “It is sort of fun to play secret-agent man. Isn’t it?”

“Surprisingly so, I admit.”

On the way to the desk, I said, “Good morning, Alyssa.”

She replied, “Hi, Beth. Hi, Meka. Welcome back. Katherine said to go on back.”

When we saw her, Katherine said, “Brit’s in the break room. What’s up with all this James Bond stuff?”

When Katherine closed the breakroom door behind us, Brit said, “This is surprisingly nerve-wracking.” She breathed deeply, then said, “Katherine, we’ve come to you for a very different reason today.”

She explained who the people were that Katherine would see, then showed her the video.

“Holy fuck! That’s your mom in there?”

Brit quickly explained about her mom’s second marriage, her stepbrothers’ nasty comments and suggestions, and the interpretations we had developed from that short video and her experiences in that house.

“How can I help? You’re obviously here because you think I can, and almost no one would know we’re friends.”

Brit asked, “Is it possible that you have space and could put me up for a few days while we try to figure out what to do?”

“Absolutely!”

I said, “All the cloak-and-dagger is almost certainly massive overkill, but we’re not willing to take chances with Brit’s life. Unfortunately, it’s Cera’s birthday, today, and we’ve decided to put off any celebration of it until we’re sure everyone’s safe.”

“I’ll help in any way you need. Brit can stay with me as long as necessary. I don’t know anyone in law enforcement or the DA’s office, and I now wish I did.”

Brit replied, “It turns out that Cera’s mom knows what she called an ADA. I assume that means ‘Assistant DA.’ Yes?” When Katherine nodded, Brit added, “Cera’s mom will be having lunch with her today.”

Meka stated. “Our next task is taking Alicia ... Cera’s mom ... a copy of that video. Cera’s my cousin, which I don’t remember telling you.”

“You didn’t. However, with what happened on Saturday and this, I suspect that we’re now firmly planted on the road to a close friendship. Brit, I don’t want you to think that I enjoy benefiting from the scary situation in which you find yourself, but I have to admit that I do like that I can help you and your ... large and interesting family with something of true import.”

Brit replied, “Don’t worry about that. Because of our developing relationship, particularly because of the development of it that happened on Saturday, Beth thought of you immediately. Since you’ve reacted precisely how we predicted and hoped you would, our friendship with you is now cemented. Thanks, Katherine, for being exactly whom we hoped you were. You know Sandy, but we’ll be very happy to introduce you to the rest of ... those wonderful people we call our parents, even though only three of us are related to any of them.” She glanced at me, then asked Katherine, “With your body, we’ve assumed that you work out. Do you have weights at home?”

“I have one of those personal gym things on which I can do a lot of exercises and various weight work, and you’d be welcome to use it if that’s why you introduced the subject.”

Brit nodded, saying, “Just yesterday, Meka agreed to be my trainer to help me get rid of the rest of my excess weight and get more tone, so I’d like not to backslide so soon. Also, more personally, how ... uh ... what sort of clothing do you wear when you’re home?”

“Birthday suit.”

Brit let out a long breath, “Great. Would you mind if I wear the same sort of item? These girls have gotten me used to nudity in our house and I’d miss it.”

“Brit, please feel free to treat my house as you would yours. I’ll also say I’ll not at all mind seeing you walking around my house in the nude.”

Meka interjected, “We have no idea how quickly or if Alicia’s ADA friend will act. Can you be gone from here for significant chunks of time?”

“On a Monday? Yes. On Mondays, I typically come in to open and depart after a while, then return to close. My late person can close, although that would mean I’d have to come in earlier tomorrow to deal with the books and other closing minutiae, but if Brit needs me to be chauffeur or whatever tonight such that I can’t make closing, that will be fine.”

“What about other days?”

“Weekends are typically busy, and I should be here for much of both days, although, even then, I can leave for blocks of time. The rest of the week is usually a bit busier than Mondays, but I’m here more for having little else interesting to do. Please don’t worry about the store if you need me to do something.”

“We really appreciate your stepping up for Brit and us. I’m not sure where we’d have turned if you hadn’t been here for us. Again, we’re almost certainly blowing this all out of proportion, but our first priority is everyone’s safety.”

“And rightly so. I don’t blame you at all for the precautions you’re taking. I have a ... robust security system at my place, and I’ll squeeze every extra measure of security out of it while Brit’s with me.”

“Thanks. We’d appreciate it if you could be with her as much as you can today. Again, I seriously doubt that the ADA will set off claxons, but we’d like to have someone with her should the DA’s office get in touch with her today. Also, Katherine, Brit, don’t tell us where you are. Again, certainly, massive security overkill, but your safety is paramount, Brit.”

Meka stepped up and hugged Brit and whispered in her ear, then hugged Katherine, and said, “While we actually are looking for a particular item here, we would have bought one or two things just for cover had we needed to do so.”

“And what is that item?”

“Body-hugging sheaths for all the female girls and a few for Sandy if you remember her size.”

Katherine smiled and replied, “I do. She’s been in here by herself a few times since she was here with the whole gang. I assume that you’re thinking about sheaths like the one she bought here the other day. Yes?”

I rattled my brain, smiled, and said, “You really are a marvel. We saw her in that, and everyone – even Char – wanted her own. I think we could probably even get Brett into one if there were a version that could work on a male’s physique.”

Katherine grinned hugely at me, replying, “Actually, there are such. There’s a small component of the gay community that likes them. I don’t have anything here now that would work ... You’d want it to be skin tight nearly ... everywhere on him?”

Meka replied, “Oh, goddess, yes! I’m sure you can imagine that as well as I can.”

“I certainly can, and I’ll look into that as soon as I can. In fact, I can do that from home, so, perhaps Brit would like to help me with that.”

“Oh, goddess,” Brit exclaimed. “That ... Do you mind, Katherine, if I’m explicit with you?”

“Of course not. Our ... relationship would not be what it is without all of us being explicit.”

“Yeah, I tend to forget. There are so few people that can know anything about ... how we live, but, obviously, you know most of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we wind up telling you everything. I’m sometimes amazed at how quickly we’ve all come to like you so much considering how little time we’ve actually spent with you. Of course, those times have been mostly ... uh ... intense. Anyway, I can imagine his fully erect cock in a semi-see-through sheath like Sandy wore the other week looking oh, so fine!”

“I agree, completely.”

She led Meka and me onto the floor, and we spent a half-hour picking out sheaths for the girls. We had enough fun with the task that Brit’s situation got shoved into a quiet niche in my mind.

Very quietly, Katherine told us, “I’m just sorry I didn’t get to see all the girls trying these on. That would have been a huge boon to my sex sessions with myself. Also, if any don’t quite fit, I’ll exchange them. I’m thinking, particularly, of Katie’s.”

Meka paid with her brand-new debit card from Mom for such purchases, and we walked out the front door with a couple of Armoire bags each, hopefully looking like carefree rich girls skipping school just to do some shopping. We pulled up at Cera’s house and Alicia let us in with little in the way of small talk. Meka did most of the talking as they are related. She passed the thumb drive to Alicia, who stared at it like it was something disgusting that the cat had dragged in, which, sort of, it was.

“I don’t know that I want to see this.”

“It’s not ... for the faint of heart, although not much beyond modern cable crime dramas. Please tell your friend that we would really like to move on this, as Brit is scared. She’s dealing reasonably well, but she’s scared. We’re very interested in the DA moving on this.”

Alicia nodded, glanced at me, looked back up at Meka, and asked, “Do you have a little time to ... talk about your ... group, your ... new family?”

I inserted, “I can hang out in the Suburban or outside if you wish.”

“No. I’d like to hear what you have to say since Cera tells us you’re, essentially, the ... matriarch.”

I swallowed nervously, then answered, “I can do that.”

“Come sit in the living room.”

We followed her, then sat on the couch facing her in an overstuffed chair.

“You’re really ... involved with this, Meka?”

“I am. I love all the girls and am in love with most of them, particularly Beth. I’m also in love with Brett. If it weren’t for ... Dad, I’d be the happiest I’ve ever been right now. As it is, I’m surprisingly happy given Dad’s prognosis. Those girls have made the whole thing with Dad easier to endure. Actually, it may sound overly dramatic, but they may have saved my life. I was becoming very conflicted and depressed.”

“Meka, honey, I don’t intend to blame anyone. I’m not mad, I’m just trying to understand what the only child of my womb has chosen. She and Brit were quite explicit in general terms if that’s not an oxymoron. I’ve had friends all my life, but, as I would hope for something this ... different, your various relationships sound much more like what you just said, love. What I don’t understand is how one person, even my loving daughter, could be in love with so many others at the same time.”

“Auntie Alicia, I don’t understand it, either, despite that I feel the same way. I would die for any one of them, and any one of them can make a bad day much better. Any one of them, but particularly all of them, greeting me after I’ve not seen them for a day spent in school, is like the sun coming out after a long, sullen, gray winter’s day. I think you need to ... experience us all together. That’s one reason why the Williamses wish to invite you and Uncle Richard to our extended-family Thursday-night get-togethers. Three other sets of parents take part, we have a typically wonderful meal, then spend around two hours talking about ... us, various aspects of ours or the others’ families, current events, and lots of other things, as one does at such soirees. It’s casual and fun. We even spend some of the evenings in our gigantic hot tub. It’s like some of our family – yours and mine – get-togethers but without any of the angst typical of our extended family.

“I think you and Richard would understand ... perhaps, the basis of us by taking part. Two of the families that take part, one couple with their daughter and that daughter’s best school friend and her mother, do not know of the family that we girls have created. But the parents of the original girls, with Beth being one of those, are the hosts, and you can see in that extended family the ... basis of us. We truly would like you two and Cera ... and Brit to take part in those evenings.”

“I can see your dedication to ... your new family in your eyes, I can hear it in your voice. Beth, Richard and I will discuss this and let you know. This week, though, may be difficult ... for all of us, and this Thursday night may not be suitable as the night of our first attendance at this ... soiree.” When I acknowledged her message, she added, “I have also seen Brit becoming less afraid and more certain of her worth and her place in this world, and I can attribute that only to the friendship and love shown her by you girls. We told her that we would be glad to host her for however long she wanted to be here. Understandably, she chose, instead, her friends and ... lovers. Please keep her safe and let us know if there is anything we can do to help you with that task. I will endeavor to impress upon my friend the concern we all have and Brit’s fear. Thank you for talking with me, both of you. Beth, I’m inclined to accept your invitation, but this is something that Richard and I need to discuss.”

“I understand and expected that. I also doubted that you’d be able to make this week’s get-together. However, you are invited this week. My mom is trying to get the facility where Jim is to allow him to stay with us more than two days per week, and one of the reasons for that is so that he could take part in these get-togethers. Meka and our ... more immediate family already fill the two evenings we have him.”

We grabbed lunch at Panera and made it to school in time to turn in my tardiness excuse written by Mom and hit the lunch tables, which were quiet, and more sedate than at any time this year. None of us mentioned anything about what Meka and I had been doing, nor refer to it even obliquely. Ten minutes after our arrival, the time came to head to 5^th Bell classes.

In 7^th Bell History, Mr. Jameson passed out our graded papers. I was very pleased with the big, red “A+” on the top-right corner of the front sheet. I flipped through it quickly noticing a sentence in black: “Please see me about this reference.”

When the ending bell rang, I stepped up to his desk, which caused the other LA members to join me.

Mr. Jameson looked up at us saying, “Just to be certain, Beth, are you okay with ... your friends hearing this?” When I nodded, he looked through and around us, apparently noting that our classmates had all departed, then stated, “As a group, your papers were better designed and organized and with the information and arguments presented more cogently and concisely than those of any of your peers. Please do not pass my words on outside your group.”

Liya responded first, “Of course not, Sir.”

“Beth, I’ve never encountered in a class paper the tack you took to present information from an unsupported thesis published in a book. I wanted to tell you that I’ve always believed the thesis’s veracity despite it never being confirmed in the decades since publication. However, as you noted, it hasn’t been refuted, either, and you did an excellent job of bringing in that author’s supporting details for his belief.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

He looked at us around his desk, adding, “I suspected that you’d all come up here with Beth, so I admit to using her to allow me to tell you that, despite how annoying it was that so many of you missed so many class periods because of soccer last fall, I’ve been very happy with your participation in class, the obvious respect for history you have, and the excellent work you’ve turned in.”

He looked out his door quickly, then stated, “Teaching would be even more rewarding if even half my students had your interest in learning that you girls exhibit.”

I responded, “My dad’s a math professor and he’s said something very like that to us. Thanks for your kind words.”

“Mr. Pavletic and I have had a ... preliminary discussion about your suggestion and he was quite positive about it. We agreed that, given that not all students take the two classes in the same quarter and that there are multiple history-course options for students in any given quarter, making something like you suggested happen would take administration-level support. Unfortunately, with the speed ... or lack thereof ... that suggestions of this sort are handled by the administration, there is, essentially zero chance of a multi-class paper being allowed this school year.” When we obviously deflated a bit, he smiled and finished with, “We didn’t have much time during that preliminary discussion, but he said he’d be interested in proposing a team-taught course to Admin that would ... intertwine history and geography. In fact, his eyes lit up with the possibility. If any subsequent discussions with him come about and we continue to think that it’s a good idea, we might work on a syllabus for such a course.”

We girls gave out various small sounds of excitement, at which he smiled around at us.

Char said, “We like both subjects and have found both your classes to be interesting and engaging. I’m sure we’d all sign up for such a course, particularly if you two taught it.”

Any response Mr. Jameson may have had was precluded by words from the doorway, “I thought I’d find you all here.”

“Ah, Ms. Johnson. While I find it somewhat surprising that you’re an ... associate of this ... knot of overachieving students, I’m not that surprised as, in some respects, you girls are quite similar.”

“Please, Mr. Jameson, although I’m now 18, I would not object if you addressed me by my name. In fact, because I enjoyed both classes I took with you, I’d be honored if you used my nickname, Meka, at least in friendly situations like this.”

“Thanks ... Meka. These girls seem to be trying to match your success in my classes.”

“I certainly hope so. They’re all more than bright enough and all have minds that should excel in your classes. However, we’ve got a busy afternoon and evening before us, and I need to get them home.”

In the Suburban, Meka’s phone rang, and she asked Katie to answer it and put it on speaker.

“Hi, Alicia. What do you have?”

“My friend would like to ... meet ... your friend ... today.”

“Hang on. Let me pull over.” When she had, she said, “Let us put something together. I’ll call you back.”

Meka looked in the rearview at me and said, “Call Sandy and get her working on your lawyer. Brit will need representation in such a meeting.”

She resumed our travel home as I told Mom what was going on. She quickly ended the call in order to call our lawyer. My butterflies were in frantic-flight mode.

Tremulously, I asked Meka, “What do you think?”

“It could simply be an ADA with good people skills trying not to make people wait.”

“You don’t think it’s that. Do you?”

“No. Alicia sounded too nervous and was obviously trying to play by ... the cloak-and-dagger rule book. I’ll bet she’s not even told her friend who Brit is.”

Cera said, also tremulously, “Meka, I’m scared. What’s happening?”

“You know as much as I do. Please, please calm yourself. You won’t help anything by worrying before we know there’s something about which to worry ... other than that about which we’re already worrying. Brit’s safe and, right now, she needs us to be strong and have our minds clear enough to think carefully and logically.”

That noticeably helped Cera, and she inhaled deeply, held her breath, then slowly let it out.

We were in the garage but had not yet exited the Suburban when Sandy called.

“Our lawyer will send someone as soon as we get a meeting time and place. Charlie will deal with it or text details. He and Heather are back but are running errands. Please do not resort to your normal dress mode, as Charlie’s in the process of getting a security firm to greatly upgrade the compound’s security, and they might be out this afternoon or evening. Make sure that Liya, at least, can talk with them about what we already have. I’ve got a meeting here that I must attend but will be home as soon as I can be. Love you all.”

Meka stated, “Liya and I will stay here to deal with the security folks if they ... Actually, we’re only a few blocks away, so let’s all go to practice.”

Liya agreed and said that she would text Dad and Sandy where she would be and to text her if they needed her at the house. Cera was looking nervous, and Brett stepped into her space and hugged her tightly.

“Cera Love, we don’t know anything and won’t for some time. Let’s lovingly put Brit back in a safe corner of our minds and go to practice. I’ll bet the physical exertion will help us quit obsessing about her safety.”

Cera looked into his eyes for a few seconds, then stated something that had become one of our mantras: “You’re so perfect for us. I love you, Brett Jacobs.”

Brett was certainly right about the exertion. Coach had recently put Meka in charge of aspects of practice dealing with wind, and Meka had us do wind sprints immediately after laps. Although she had eliminated the half-field sprint, we had to do the second-shortest sprint – endline to penalty-box line -- both before and after the longest sprint – endline to the cone-defined line of the close third of the pitch. That was brutal, but more in line with game experience. Meka chivvied those who had flattened onto the pitch after finishing the last sprint, making them walk around keeping their muscles loose.