Crystal Clear Ch. 25

Indeed, Don and Nadia had continued to sit side-by-side holding hands, but when we entered the room they had curtailed their kissing and whatever else they were doing. Don had a magazine in his lap, probably hiding his erection.

Claire moved in and sat on Don's other side, grabbing one of his hands and bringing it to her lap in an affectionate manner. She hugged his arm and held it. He looked pleased, no doubt thinking that his hand rested only two layers of clothing from Claire's pussy.

"Ladies, what can I get you to drink?"

I took orders, went through the kitchen again, ran my finger across Kim's ass again, only this time she turned and smiled at me. She liked that. I came back and kissed her on the lips.

Crystal and Ellen followed me; they'd seen the interaction. Crystal said to her mother with a slight giggle, "Oh, he does that to me and Ellen too. It's so hot and sexy too. We just love it. I hope you do too." Ellen nodded and grinned at her mother.

Kim looked surprised on two counts: that my touching of her ass had been seen, and that Crystal and Ellen obviously approved and wanted her to enjoy my teasing as well.

I delivered the drinks to the living room, and came back to the kitchen. Our discussion became what I call benign: our drive across the state, the weather, a few relatives Kim and Don had been in touch with, state politics, the terrible situation in Congress, the weather again, and the dinner menus for the coming week.

I eventually meandered back into the living room. Don had apparently been down in the basement and brought up the Christmas tree from storage along with several large boxes of ornaments and trim. Don, Claire, PJ, and Nadia were making forays from the various boxes with pretty ornaments and putting them on the lighted tree.

Don looked over at me, "Before you say anything, ..." I wondered where this was going and how I'd respond. He got a big smile on his face. "... we like artificial trees. They don't shed their pine needles everywhere; and they're a cinch to set up. The lights were already on this one; all I had to do was assemble three pieces into that stand – no watering, just plug the thing in." I knew he was toying with me because of the twinkle in his eyes.

I said with some degree of enthusiasm, "I hadn't planned on saying anything other than it looks great – so full, and so much ... like Christmas."

Claire came over and put her arms around my neck. We shared a romantic kiss. "What was the best Christmas you remember?"

I kissed her back, "Why, it's any Christmas I had with you, my darling Claire."

She said, "Oh, poo. I thought I'd learn something about your childhood."

I thought back and said, "My parents liked Christmas, so it's hard to pick just one day. They were loving and supportive. There were always special gifts for me and my sister, besides all the other fun things. So, no special Christmas, but all of them."

I had to add, "Karen liked Christmas too. We always made love next to the tree after we'd set it up. It became a tradition for the ten years before she died. Those were special Christmas' too. And since her passing, I've been here, with the Lees and you, and these have been special too. The one common element in all my Christmas' has been love and no particular gift."

Don asked, "What did you do for Little Jim and Little Crystal?"

Claire spoke before I could get a word in; "Oh, it was so exciting. We all went to the toy store. We bought a huge pile of stuff: a new car seat, a special high chair, lots of toys a two-year old will like, and a few cuddly things for the baby. We wrapped it all and shipped it a few days ago. It should get there tomorrow."

Nadia asked me, "Did you get Summer anything special?"

I smiled, "You bet I did. I got her a gold necklace with two diamond-studded pendants on it. On the back of one pendant is engraved 'Jim' and on the other 'Crystal.' I talked to George beforehand, and he thinks she'll be over the moon about it. I hope so."

Don asked, "You love her, don't you? Summer, I mean."

"Yes. A great deal. I'm so fortunate to have her in my life, especially as the mother of my children."

Don said, "It's still a strange arrangement, at least some people might think that. It took me a couple of days to get used to it, but I guess you are one of the coolest dudes in the country."

Claire defended me, "People think it's strange only because the churches, society, and the ad companies make you think you need kids in wedlock and only love one person, so they think Summer is strange because she loves her husband and Jim – the father of her kids, and Jim loves her and Crystal and all of us; oh, and you know about Edie too." Her logic spanned a whole lot of discussions we'd had over the years, and she'd boiled it down to one run-on sentence.

We laughed at her defensiveness. I went and hugged her again. "And I do love you."

I started to help on the tree. Soon Crystal, Ellen, and Kim joined us. I called a big Group Hug when we declared the tree finished.

I watched Kim carefully as she went to Don, and gave him a special hug. I heard her tell him how much she loved him and the life they shared. I made sure to deliver the same messages to Crystal, Ellen, Claire, Nadia, and PJ, and I didn't think it strange at all that I had five – maybe six – important women in my inner circle. I ended by telling Kim the same thing, and thanking her for all her hospitality and support for the past couple of years. I gave her a special kiss.

I knew when I first started in with Crystal AND Ellen that she mentally had to bridge a large chasm to see the acceptability of the situation. Once she saw how much we loved each other, she relaxed and felt better about our ménage-a-trois. When Claire and Nadia got added, she just shrugged, and took it as a normal course of events. She accepted PJ as a beautiful addition.

Crystal had even told her mother about 'Mellon Girls' – the term she, Ellen, Nadia, PJ, and Claire had adopted to describe all the women I had made love to at any time in my life. There were close to a hundred Mellon Girls. I'm not sure Kim thought that was a statistic worth bragging about, and I surely never raised the issue; however, her daughters thought it fascinating and astounding. I think they also told Kim the name of one of my CIA friends, Nancy Martin, had called me: a man slut; but; of course, Nancy had also become a Mellon Girl.

Kim produced a beautiful dinner: a large tenderloin of beef so perfect you could cut it with a fork. All the accompanying courses and dishes complemented the entrée, and for dessert she produced some fruit topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – one of my favorites.

On cue, partway through dinner, and at an appropriate place in our dinner table conversation, Ellen asked me about Joe Mansard, the billionaire whom Claire and I had spent a few days with the month before in the Galapagos Islands six hundred miles off Ecuador.

Claire and I both talked about Mansard and his daughter Beth, particularly describing his workaholic life and how Beth and Claire had gotten him to take a vacation for the first time in nearly forty years. To do so, he'd bought a 120-foot long yacht with a full crew, and had them meet us at the islands. Claire talked about his jets and flying around the world in them, as well as his business dealings.

Ellen followed up with the planned question to me, "Jim, what was the most interesting discussion you and Joe had?"

I knew that was my cue, and so I started in on the philosophy that surrounded our polyamorous circle. I talked about loving more than one person, the limiting boundaries of monogamy and exclusivity, and about a couple of the polyamorous groups that I knew and had participated in. I carefully watched Kim and Don; both listened with rapt attention, even nodding in agreement to most of my points. I often saw them checking in with each other with a glance or two.

I told them how Joe had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Beth, and how that didn't bother any of us since they were both consenting adults and obviously loved each other very much. While Kim's eyebrows rotated upwards, I could tell that hearing about that relationship had just extended one of her boundaries.

I took a risk and mentioned my own loving relationship with my sister, talking about how we came to the place where we needed to love each other in a different and better way – a sexual way. I talked about Lauren, my sister-in-law, too. Kim and Don seemed to accept this news with no qualms or judgments.

I went on, "Oh, we had a long discussion about jealousy and compersion. We talked about how bad jealousy is, and how it is a 'learned reaction' to situations taught to us by our churches, society, and even our parents – a meme by another name. In fact, you don't have to respond to situations with jealousy. You can unlearn those bad reactions and substitute better and more loving reactions for that divisive emotion."

"Compersion is the opposite of jealousy. Your reaction to a situation is one of joy for the other person or people involved instead of pernicious jealousy. It's the way we're actually taught to respond to our young children; it's the emotion we feel when they play with some toy we've given them, and we feel all warm and joyful inside that they are having fun. It's the way we feel when we see someone we love brought joy and happiness by another person, despite how or why it happened, even if that situation is sexual in nature."

I thought a minute and wrapped up. "I guess the last part of our discussion that day considered the difference between a static and a dynamic relationship. I don't know about you, but my parents had this idea that once they got married their marriage should look the same the rest of their days. They acted to keep it that way too – to keep it static and unchanging."

"Today, relationships are dynamic and always in a state of flux. They've actually always been this way; we just allowed the changes to be more subtle and unnoticed. In a dynamic relationship, the agreements you make with your partner or partners keep consciously changing. Crystal and I agreed to be together in an open relationship; because of my travels when we first met, we understood it was silly to lock each other up from other dating. Next, Ellen joined our relationship as we fell in love. Bingo, we created a new contract between the three of us. After that, Crystal is in Europe, and Ellen and I fall in love with Claire – yet another new contract. PJ joined us – a new contract between all of us; and so on."

"I even got hyper-business-focused Joe to see that a relationship is not only dynamic, but has a spiritual component to it. It's based on mind, body, and spirit. The body part is easy to understand. Without sharing your mind with your partners, you remain distant from them, and the relationship will wither. In the spirit part, one of the goals of the relationship is the spiritual growth and evolution of each person; we help each other in this and all dimensions. Everyone in our circle practices these things."

I summarized, "I feel so blessed and so loved by the women in my life. I hope they feel the love from me."

Ellen got up from the table, walked around past her father, and gave me a hug and a kiss. She knelt by my chair and said, "That was beautiful, and yes, I feel the love from you every moment I'm alive. Thank you so."

Claire who sat beside me, reached over and squeezed my shoulder in a loving gesture too. Crystal, PJ, and Nadia blew me kisses from the other side of the table.

Don and Kim sat spellbound by what I'd said and my lovers' reactions.

Kim finally said, "You kissed me earlier, and we teased a little. Were you serious?"

I said, "I'm as serious about loving you as I am your daughters. I care about you on every level and in everyway I just described: mind, body, and spirit. We can learn and grow from each other."

Don turned to Nadia; "What do you think about all this?"

Nadia reached next to her and put her hand on Don's arm in an intimate gesture, "I am part of the circle that believes in this philosophy, if that's what you're asking. I love Jim and my sisters, but I also have friends I love and care about, and who care about me on the college campus I attend. I love you."

Don pushed, "Are you intimate with them?"

Nadia said, "Yes, when it feels right; when it feels like a union of mind, body, and spirit. Of course, at my age, I'm still learning about my own boundaries, and that I'm not perfect. I struggle sometimes because I don't reach my own expectations, but I'm working on that."

I added, "Nadia, we're all works in progress. None of us are perfect, and we all will make mistakes. What's important is to forgive yourself, and to forgive others when something doesn't work out the way we might hope."

The discussion wandered around some more, mostly with Kim and Don posing questions and hypothetical situations to us. If I didn't respond, one of the other women would give their viewpoint or answer. I watched Kim paying particular attention to how Crystal and Ellen answered some of their questions.

Kim finally said, "I've never known a group of people who are so conscious of the loving relationships they've created. I am amazed particularly that you know how to create such relationships – multiple relationships – and deal with them from moment to moment."

We all cleared the long dining table with laughter and joy felt around the room. The pile of dishes in the kitchen became daunting by the time the dessert and coffee dishes arrived. I said, "I've got KP this evening. I don't mind; it's what I'm used to, particularly since I'm not that great a cook."

PJ chimed in with a smile, "I'll help too. I just sponged and socialized during all the prep, so I have a big load of guilt to work off regarding this great meal."

PJ and I herded everyone else into the living room and sized up the messy kitchen. I said, "I'll rinse, you hustle stuff into the dishwasher, and then let's see what we have left." We swept into action until we'd filled the dishwasher and still had a pile of dishes left, plus all the left over food to put away.

PJ said, "See whether you can find a dish rack, I'll package the leftovers for the refrigerator." We moved into Phase II of the clean up. I couldn't find a dish rack.

I said, "Be right back, let me ask Kim or Don about a dish rack." I left, went into the living room, and I could tell a deep discussion was underway. I caught Kim's eye, and said two words, "Dish rack?"

She popped up and came with me. "I can't remember where we put it, we use it so seldom when it's just the two of us." She started looking into the places I'd already looked in the kitchen and then led me a nearby pantry that also doubled as a junk closet. She pawed around in there mumbling about needing to get organized someday. Soon, under a pile of plastic grocery bags she found a dish rack. "Voila," she pronounced as she presented it to me.

"Thank you, pretty lady."

Before I could do much, Kim flowed into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me hard. She asked, "Do you really think I'm pretty?"

"Yes, I think you beautiful, and that's no bull. I know you're older than I am by a dozen or so years, but that doesn't matter. You are stunning, in some ways even more beautiful than your daughters."

She asked, "Do you have room in your circle for one more woman?"

I kissed her and whispered, "You know I do if it's you."

She shook her head in disbelief and led us out of the walk-in pantry. She pushed me towards the kitchen, but she just stood there for a moment and watched me go.

In the kitchen, PJ smirked; "Have fun?"

I nodded and whispered, "We're dancing and getting serious. I hope I haven't scrambled her mind too much by coming on too strong, although she did some of the advances as well."

PJ and I spent another twenty minutes bringing the kitchen back to normal. She wisely set out the breakfast cereals, breads, plates, bowls, and flatware in case there were any early risers.

PJ came into my arms as we leaned against the counter for a few minutes. "You know I love you too, though I'm the Johnny-Come-Lately to the party. I think you are the most wonderful man in the world."

I chortled and kissed her nose, "You are truly blinded by New Relationship Energy, my dear. My faults will soon start appearing, and the magic bubble will burst. You'll realize I'm human, that I lack the perfection you have idealized, and you will rage at me in your disillusionment."

PJ kissed me hard. "And then you'll fuck my brains out, and I'll go right back to loving you just as I do now." I promised I'd do exactly that.

We necked for a couple of minutes. PJ finally said, "I stand with my sisters in this circle in wanting you to connect with Kim – to make love to her. I'll be in one of the beds upstairs, but don't feel guilty and feel that you need to come romance me this trip. I'm getting so used to the bisexuality in the circle, I'm sure I'll have a bed partner. Besides, after last night I'm not that horny – thank you very much." She kissed me hard again, then turned and headed to the living room.

Our appearance broke up the discussions going on in the living room. I looked around, and Don and Kim were absent. I asked Crystal with surprise in my voice, "Did your parents go to bed?"

She grinned, "No, they went for a walk. Mom said she and Dad had some serious things to talk about for a few minutes. I think the scale is tipping in our favor. I bet when they come back you and Nadia can make love to each of them."

I shrugged. "What now?"

Crystal said, "I think we should all go to bed except you and Nadia. You two wait for them to come back; be here for them. You are the people they want right now. Remember the master bedroom and the living room will be empty the rest of the night."

I kissed each of my lovers goodnight as they headed upstairs to the guest rooms. Soon, Nadia and I stood alone. I held out my arms, and she came to me and we kissed. I bent slightly so I could palm her beautiful ass. "Nadia, do you know I dream about your gorgeous ass every night. It's the eighth wonder of the world, except in my book it's the best of all." Nadia giggled.

We kissed again and then heard the front door open. Don and Kim shed their coats in the foyer, and came into the living room. Kim looked puzzled.

"Everyone else headed off to bed," I volunteered. "Nadia and I thought we stay up a little longer to be with you and Don."

Kim walked to me, and Nadia moved to Don. Kim allowed me to hold her. She said, "This is strange, but could you come with me into the other room ... errr, the kitchen." As we looked back, Don was kissing Nadia who was grinding her nether region against his leg.

As soon as we were out of sight, Kim turned and launched herself into my arms. "Mister, I have a fragile heart. I hope you won't break it. I hope this is the right thing to do. I've never been so worried or so excited about anything in my life – even more than the first time I had sex."

After we kissed, Kim led me down the hall to the master bedroom. She shut the door firmly, the click of the latch obvious throughout the entire downstairs, including the living room where her husband and Nadia remained. She turned around and gave a big sigh; she bit her lower lip and gave me a longing look.

I held Kim in my arms, but she started worrying. "You know, I'm not as young as my daughters. My skin is kind of saggy and wrinkly in places I wish it weren't ... but it is. I'm not a tanned either, like Claire; she must have come back from your island trip with a tan all over. If we do this, can we turn out the lights? I'm embarrassed. I'm not ..."