When One Door Closes... Ch. 02

"Great ideas!" I told her where the four of us got our phones.

Two hours later Pat sat on the couch in Lee's house talking with Connie and Lee. At a little after noon my phone rang. I answered, "Pete ."

"Hi. I got a phone." She gave me the number. "Lee, Connie and I are talking. Have you had lunch?"

"Nope. I'm starting to get hungry though. Why?"

"I'd like to meet you for lunch and talk. If you want to." I heard in her voice the fear that my forgiveness might not be real, yet.

"Pat, what color bra are you wearing?"

"Blue. Why?"

"Because you just let your brain question your status. Check your bra. If your breasts are held in classy lace in any color, if the bra cost more than twenty-five dollars, or Mike or I helped you put it on, your status is secure. We love you. You can also call any of us and we'll tell you. Where would you like to meet for lunch?"

"Remember that place on the beach where the tables are on the sand?"

"On the Beach."

"I just said that."

"No. That's the name of it, "On the Beach." Great place. Meet in an hour?"

"Great. I have a date with Pete." There were volumes in those few words. I realized I was just as excited.

I said, "I have a date with Pat." Then, I hung up. Fifty minutes later I parked at "On the Beach". I saw Pat's car. I found her sitting at a table as far from any other table as possible. Her smile lit her up when she saw me.

When I got close she left her chair and gave me a full-body kiss. She was about to start a second kiss when I said, "Let's save the next kiss until we're home and naked. Ok?"

"Promise?"

I nodded. We sat. We ordered and Pat began to talk. "I'm so glad I talked with Lee! I was so confused. I asked him how it was so wrong for me to fuck Boston and now it was Ok for us to fuck the whole family. He explained it so I now understand. When I watched Rina and Buck out in the hot tub I watched them fucking. Only, they weren't fucking. They were loving each other. Connie asked if I had ever made you dinner as a way of saying I love you. I said yes. She said that meal was me expressing love in a physical way. Lee asked if you had ever taken my car and had it serviced and detailed. I understood! When you did that you were telling me you loved me!"

"And?"

"And Boston and San Francisco were not about love. Dick was using me but he didn't actually care for me! When you and Connie join on Friday night it won't lessen your love for me, or Carol or Jenny, it increases the loving all around us. I could be jealous if it was taking something from me, but it isn't."

One of the owners of "On the Beach" also waits tables and is a member of the family. I saw her bringing our lunches. I stood and asked Pat if she really wouldn't be jealous of another woman. She said, "Go ahead. Love them all!"

Ginger put our lunches on the table and before she could even talk I took her in my arms and kissed her. She gave as good as she got. When the kiss ended Ginger laughed, "Maybe we can start a trend, kisses as a part of the tips!"

"I promise to kiss you every time we eat here. Ginger, meet Pat, my wife, your sister."

She helped Pat stand and gave her a kiss just like the one we'd shared. It ended and Pat said, "I'm glad I didn't wear socks! That kiss would have blown them off."

Ginger stopped by a few times while we ate and Pat and she became friends headed into sisterhood. Pat was excited to talk to Jenny, Carol and Mike. She asked what they might like for dinner. I gave her their numbers and recommended she call and ask. I needed to get back to work, so we kissed and I left her getting out her new cell phone to call Jenny.

That evening Mike and I pulled into the garage within seconds of each other. There were five cars inside already. One each belonging to our wives and two others. I asked, "Mike, you recognize those cars?"

"Nope. Maybe Pat invited someone."

"Maybe Jenny or Carol did. Did Pat call you about dinner?"

Mike said, "I asked for Mexican food. You?"

"She didn't ask me. She knows what I like."

"Chantilly lace and a pretty face..." Mike's booming voice sang out.

"And a pony tail hanging down..." I joined in.

Together we went on as we walked to the front door, "A wiggle in a walk, a gigglin talk, Makes the world go round, round, round..."

We were laughing as we opened the door and walked inside. The table was set, lights on bright and music playing throughout the house. I called out, "Hi Honey! We're home!"

I expected one, two or three naked women to come to greet us. Four clothed women and a man came to greet us. The extra woman was the waitress from Ocean Avenue Seafood. We were introduced to them as Mark and Linda.

Linda helped Pat serve dinner. They served enchiladas, tostadas with extra rice and black beans. Pat made stacked enchiladas instead of rolled. I loved them that way. She had, I remembered, experimented many times before discovering a way to make enchilada sauce that didn't have a slightly bitter aftertaste. With her sauce, good shredded cheese and fresh guacamole we were having a feast.

Before a bite was taken I said, "Pat, I get the message. I love you too. Thank you."

Mike said, "I love being told I am loved with great food! Thank you! I love you, too."

Jenny said, "Thank you, for the loving that prepared our feast, for completing us as a family and for loving us. I love you."

Carol's speech was nearly the same. We all looked at Mark and Linda and then Mike said, "You needn't say anything. There's a lot going on here and we're just acknowledging all that."

Mark said, "I think I get it. When she made dinner for the family it's an act of love. She's telling each of you she loves you. It's almost like a prayer, without the amen at the end."

We nodded. Linda said, "Thank you. I got here early enough that Pat explained "Thank you" to me. Thank you, is a prayer, a prayer of gratitude said to the person we say it to. I say it to Pat especially and to all of you."

Bites were taken, appreciative noises made and more bites taken. When we were far enough into the meal Mike asked, "Linda, you wanted to talk. Shall we wait until there's no more food or can we begin now?"

"A lot of my questions got answered by Pat while we cooked. However, Mark wasn't here so I'll ask questions to start, then maybe he'll ask some of his own." She took a breath and asked, "You all love each other like husbands and wives?"

Mike answered, "Anything that a husband and a wife would do, we do. My job in our family is to do anything I can to make life work for the four of them."

Jenny added, "The anything in that statement is huge. It means anything. Not long ago we started a project. Mike doesn't like doing plumbing but it needed being done. He did it. No complaining, he just did it. He was telling all of us he loves us. Pat made dinner tonight. She didn't make enchiladas. She made a physical expression of "I love you." I don't know if you can taste it, but I know I can taste the "I love you" in the food."

Mark said, "Every time Linda looks at another guy I go crazy! What if she loves him more than she loves me?"

I smiled. "Mark, someone lied to you. They lied to all of us. Let me see if I can 'splain it to you." I smiled. "Do you enjoy the enchiladas?"

"Sure! They're wonderful!"

"And the tostadas?"

"They're wonderful too!"

"You can't love both! You must choose, enchiladas or tostadas. Not only that but the one you don't pick you can never have again."

"I'm glad that isn't the rule."

"But, it is, just not about enchiladas. I loved Pat. I married her and told the world it was Pat and me, only me. Things happened and by the rules I needed to end the marriage or quit seeing myself as a man."

As I took a breath Pat took over, "We got divorced and were both miserable. Jenny had loved Pete for years but stayed in the game of one man, one woman and stayed at a distance until I was out of the marriage. Pete took her into his heart and they married."

"I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, but I still loved Pat. The rules said I had to choose. When Jenny included me in her love I told myself it was Ok, I could love her. I quickly realized I had loved her for years, but didn't allow myself to express my love."

Carol said, "We had known Pete and Pat for years. By the rules we were already breaking the rules. Jenny and I are sisters and had been lovers since we were young. When Jenny and Pete got married we told him about us. It wasn't long before we became a relationship of two wives and two husbands. Then Mike met Lee and we discovered there were other people who have let go of the normal rules."

Mike said, "In Lee's family loving is the norm. I know that Lee lives with women, not a woman. He's married legally to Connie, Megan lives with them and sleeps in his bed. Corine, Pam and Kat live at Point Mugu Naval Base and spend their off duty time at Lee's. There are forty or fifty other family members scattered all over California who all have keys to Lee's house. Most of them share physical affection, support and care with most of the other members of the clan."

"No jealousy?" Mark asked.

"It has happened. People have waded into the love and then gotten scared or been attacked by people invested in the normal rules and backed away. In most cases, once people understand the power and love of being in the family, they stay." I said.

"So, You've known us for hours, not days, weeks or months and you could love us?" Mark asked.

Jenny said, "If you want us to welcome you into the family all you have to do is say so. Talk about what being in the family means to you and your commitment to the family..."

"I will do whatever I can to support any member of the family, physically, emotionally, sexually or however to have their life work. If you're moving, we'll help. Painting your house, we'll be there. Need a shoulder to cry on, someone to hold you while you cry or someone to listen to your pain, we'll be there. Need a brother to go to a movie with, a sister to walk on the beach, call."

"What if I call Jenny and ask her to walk with me on the beach?" Mark asked.

"Unless she has other commitments, she'll probably say yes and she'll walk on the beach with you. Are you asking if Mike and I will be jealous? The answer is no. We may get angry if you somehow break our agreements. We agree that everything is transparent. If you're walking and talking on the beach and the two of you decide that joining is appropriate, Jenny will call home and let us know. She may even bring you home and join with you here. Cheating won't happen."

"How can that be Ok?" Mark asked.

"Can you love both your mom and your sisters?"

"I do!"

"Is the fact that your Mom loves your Dad in the way of you loving them?"

"No. It's different."

"Remember the first women you loved?" Mike asked.

"Yeah. Of course." He started to smile and stopped himself.

"And, when the relationship changed did you stop loving her?" Mike leaned towards Mark when he asked.

"She moved away. She went to Stanford."

"So, you didn't stop loving her, you stopped seeing her."

"Yeah, but that was years ago."

I asked, "If your cell rang today and it was her, moving here and needing your help, would you be pulled to give her the help?"

"Yes! But, Linda would probably be hurt and maybe worried."

Mike asked, "Linda, Mark just got the call. She's coming back because she lost her job, got a divorce and needs Mark or at least thinks she needs Mark. He tells you about the call and about her. What's your reaction?"

"We should help her. Let's go!"

Mark asked, "You want to meet her to see how big a threat she is to us?"

"Six months ago I would have been there." Linda said. "Not now. Now I want to quit having thoughts about people being a threat. If we love each other, we love each other. We should be able to co-exist and if you love her and love me we ought to be able to love together. In my thinking, if you can say you love her more than you love me, then you didn't love me. You liked hanging with me, liked waking up with me, liked sex with me, liked how I cook... but you didn't love me. When Pat went to Boston and fucked her way through town, it wasn't love. She didn't and doesn't love any one of the people she screwed. A woman from your past isn't a threat to us or me. If she moves back and wants you in her life, I may gain a sister, a co-wife or you will leave me for her. I will still love you. Our behavior will change, but I'll still love you."

I said, "You may have a better hold on this thinking than I did yesterday morning. When we included Pat that was as wide as my thinking went. The five of us could love each other..."

"Then Mike realized we were looking at things trying to still fit them into old thinking. How can I say I love you and then put a fence around the love? The only way is to love you in the old way. You and me against everyone else. Mike helped us realize that if we truly love the door, the gate, the barn is open. Yesterday we put a limitation on expression, so we wouldn't get damaged in the loving." Carol said.

"The limitation is that we won't open to you completely until you have some idea what's being offered to you." Pat said. "Otherwise you think we're offering a free fuck."

Mark should have had smoke coming out his ears. Finally he said, "How can you know you could love us? You just met us!"

"Did you ever meet someone and just know they were bad news?" Pat asked.

"Sure."

"After less than an hour's conversation I have a pretty good feeling for who you are, what you're about and that loving you could be good for all of us. The old way included going out for coffee three times, dinner and a movie, going window shopping three times, meeting your mother and siblings and then the first kiss. I don't need all that. When you see what is being offered you will either run screaming to the hills or you will open up and love." I said.

Jenny whispered, "Either way I will already love you and your choice won't change my decision."

It was silent for a long time. Silent and we sat still.

Mark stood up and stood in front of Linda. He helped her stand and held her hands. He said, "I love you. I have no list of reasons why I should love you. I love who I am when I'm around you. I want to love you the rest of my life... and I promise you I will." He kissed her. She gave it back with equal enthusiasm.

Mark sidestepped and stood in front of Jenny. He helped her stand and then he said, "Jenny, I love you. I love you as a decision I made to love you, Pat, Carol, Linda and all my brothers too. You don't have to do or say anything for me to love you. If you ever want or need anything from me, it's already yours." He looked at Jenny and then at the rest of us. "This feels so freeing! I can just love you all."

Jenny took his face in her hands and kissed him. A few seconds into the kiss Linda said, "God! Look at the love." She was right. The love was visable.

When the kiss ended Mark found Linda in his arms and they kissed. Mike kissed Linda. When those kisses ended Jenny said, "I don't know about you, but I need to clean up." She took Linda's hand and they went off to the bathroom.

Linda and Mark went home. We invited them back for dinner and maybe more for Sunday night. When they left they had all five of our phone numbers.

Mike and Jenny were sitting together in the big recliner when Mike said, "I understand a little better why Lee invites people into his home and family. When new people come there is another conversation about what Love means. Every time the conversation happens the love grows. Each of us deepens our understanding of what we're doing and why. We're creating a new paradigm for living. It's not Lee's paradigm. It's not mine either and it is mine. I live Love like I see and feel it. Mark is living it, right where he is."

"Each of us is." Jenny said.

Carol and I didn't say anything. We heard them talking and we were busy. Carol was on her knees on the blue bed and I was standing beside the bed joined with her from behind. We were slowly moving in a dance that didn't need music.

Later, in bed with the lights out, the alarm set for the morning and our bodies touching I said, "We're going Friday night. It's where this road leads."

In the middle of the night Pat woke me up and we joined again. That very day she called Rina and they began looking for a better job for Pat. She also called Megan and Connie. When our family met at home on Friday afternoon Pat was bubbling. She sat us all down and said, "I have news! Rina, Connie, Megan and I have been looking for a new job for me. I have it! I start week after next working for a marketing firm in Marina del Rey."

We congratulated her and asked all the good questions, about money, health plan, parking, travel and perks. I asked why she started looking for a new job.

"I realized I wasn't doing penance any more. I got rid of the plain white bras and started acting like I was Ok. And Ok woman should have a good job. So... I got one!"

We changed clothes and loaded into Mike's big truck for the ride up to Lee's. As Mike started driving Jenny said, "Drive carefully Mike, none of us have any underwear on."

We laughed and Mike was careful.

The party was going when we arrived. I asked Megan and she said it started Thursday. Two new squids were in residence. Art and Buck had shipped back to Afghanistan. We were all introduced to everyone present. As more people arrived more food arrived and we found delights from all over the world to tempt our mouths.

Music played inside the house. A few couples danced. Others started dancing and moved to other forms of dancing than just vertical. I noticed that Pat was checking me every few minutes. Then I was aware that Jenny, Carol and Mike were checking me as well. It made sense. I saw Connie in the kitchen and wandered to her.

I said, "I have a project that I need help with. Think you could help me?"

She smiled at me and said, "You need three men and two women to take your family into your bedroom and join all of you."

"I think the remnants of the old rules are hiding in the background of our brains and we need to shake them loose." I smiled.

Connie opened a drawer and withdrew a small whistle. She blew it once. One short, loud blast. Then she put it away. Ten seconds later Lee, Meagan, Francine, Frank and John were in the kitchen. Connie said, "Find Pat, Jenny, Carol and Mike. Get them and Pete into the big bedroom at the end of the hall and have a joining. Make sure they all get loved and loved well."

Megan hooked my arm and said, "I found this one. I'll take him back there." And, she did. In the room she asked, "I know what's up. Our conversation with Pat told us how terrified she is that this might blow up in her face and she'll lose you again. So, shall we wait until they're all here or just get started?"

"What do you mean, just get started?"

She stepped close and wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. When the kiss ended she said, "We could stand here kissing and touching for a while. We could move our activities to a bed and see if your tab "A" fits as well as I think it will in my slot "B". Or, we can wait and draw lots to see who loves who."

I stepped the one step to the door and opened it. I tossed a shoe on the floor and it landed so it held the door open. I resumed kissing Megan and moving us toward a bed. After we were on a bed and the activities were progressing nicely I felt other bodies join us on the bed. I heard other bodies making wet noises, kissing noises and both moans and groans. Meagan's hands were on my back when another hand guided my cock into Meagan's wetness. I looked to see who owned that hand and was met with a kiss from Pat. When I turned again, after that kiss, I was kissed by Jenny.