Steve
I woke within a mass of mammary flesh that could only be Sue's. She was hugging me to her breasts, with my head between her two gigantic mounds. As she had aged, and as the result of four kids, her breasts were actually smaller than they had been, and were now considerably softer. She amazed me though, as her breasts really didn't sag much. She couldn't pass the pencil test any longer, but then, with the size of her monsters, you wouldn't expect her to.
Sue moaned a little as I attempted to extract myself from her clutch. This was made more difficult since Mercy was behind me, also holding me. Not wanting to upset anyone, I figured the only way to get up was to stimulate my keepers.
A ready nipple was near my mouth, so I sucked on it, making it instantly harden and lengthen. I kept sucking until Sue opened her eyes and looked at me lustfully. "You are so bad, I need the bathroom, but I want you so much. Don't move so I can go and come back."
I said softly, "I need the bathroom too, so let's go together."
"But I want to be in the bed, I don't want to do it in a hurry," Sue said, in a whisper. "Please, can we come back to bed?"
She slid from bed, and Mercy said, "Me too. You have double duty this morning, Lover, I'm next."
Before Sue finished, I was sliding from the bed with Mercy right behind me. Sue passed me on the way, but stopped to hug Mercy to her. When I was back in bed, hugging Sue, she didn't waste any time stimulating me to a hardon with her soft touches and stroking. I was kissing, sucking, and stroking as well. Sue pulled me on top of her, and directed me into her soft moistness.
Morning sex is so good, so exciting, and usually is equally as stimulating to Sue. Within very few strokes, Sue was holding me in her tight orgasm clutch, with both of her hands holding my butt cheeks as she pulled me into her to the maximum depth. Of course, her rapid orgasm had been assisted by Mercy who had been sucking on Sue's big nipples.
As Sue lay back with a satisfied smile, Mercy said, "Move over to me, I need you bad this morning."
When I tried to make love to her, to give her some preliminary kisses, she said, "Put it in, fuck me now, please. I need it now."
While I began sliding in and out of Mercy's wet pussy, Sue began stroking and touching Mercy the same way as had been done to her. This stimulated Mercy into a quick orgasm that had her gasping for air.
When she went rigid, I stopped moving so she could relax, fully intending to begin again and finish myself, but Kathy, in a husky voice, said, "Save some for me, you three have made me hungry for our man." Mercy and Kathy kissed as I moved to Kathy's long slim body. She welcomed me inside her easily and used her heels to pull me into her.
Kathy has always had a hair trigger, and this morning proved to be normal. In what seemed like seconds, she was groaning while squeezing one of her breasts and nipples, while I sucked on the other. She was panting instantly, and I could feel her pussy gushing more juices.
When Kathy was satisfied, Juanita leaned over and kissed me. She asked, "Can mi esposo help me out with my itch this morning too? Now that the doctor has told me I'm a healthy woman, I have no worries and I want to do more of what healthy women enjoy doing."
How do you refuse a beautiful voluptuous Latin lady? She wanted to be held and kissed this morning, before reaching between us and fitting me into her. I began slowly, feeling the building tension in my balls. As Juanita rose to her peak, I rose with her until she was moaning and grunting out her pleasure, as I filled her with my essence. This had been a very nice wakeup.
There was a lot of laughing and giggling as we all showered in the big stall. It was enough to get my motor running again, but we didn't start anything as the day was beginning and the kids would be getting up.
It was only five after six when I started some coffee in the kitchen and went out to the patio to see if the big pot was done. It was, so poured myself a cup and turned on the light.
Glenda came in the screen door and gave me a hug before pouring herself some coffee. Tiny and Ruth soon came in, followed by more and more bodies, until six thirty or so, when the patio was full of people laughing and enjoying an exciting Monday morning.
Chance Mary joined me at one of the little tables, holding a spiral notebook with a list of numbered items. When he sat down, Abe sat beside him. Chance said, "When we presented our stuff to the military, we didn't give them enough reasons to jump on our product or to consider it as something they had to have. I think I have an idea that will make them want what we have. It's something we'll have to test, and maybe even modify the vehicles, but I think it has some selling points."
Abe joined in, "When Chance approached me about it, I didn't think it would have been that big a deal, but the more we talked, the more I thought it might get the ball rolling for our product."
Chance took over again, "One of the problems the military has had is the delivery of vehicles and/or weapons into the battlefield on a timely basis. One of the ways it has been done for the last seventy years is by parachute. I want to test our vehicles being dropped from an aircraft in a couple of ways. The first way is to drop them by using parachutes. The landings are a pretty big shock and have disabled many combat vehicles before they were ever used. I'm told there has, in fact, never been a successful operational test of an air-dropped armored fighting vehicle. That's why I want to test ours. I want to make sure they will survive the impact. The army tried. They used a bunch of big parachutes and put the AFVs, you know armored fighting vehicles, on pallets with rockets that fired just before touchdown to cushion the landing, but the suckers always broke. If it wasn't the drive train that broke, it was the weapons systems. The Soviets had the same problems, and their solution was to use parachute infantry in a sacrificial assault to secure an airfield, and then land planes to roll off lightweight AFVs.
"Another way I want to test," Chance continued, "is to do a direct drop. That's where a cargo aircraft flies low across the ground and the cargo is pushed out the back without benefit of a parachute. I think we could do it with our wheeled vehicles, but they will have to be tested."
Abe said, "That's where you come in, Steve. We need to find a C-130 we can rent or lease for a while. If there is one around, we could have the owner's crew come load up and fly our equipment to the drop site and call it a day. We'll need a loadmaster and crew, along with someone with knowledge of how to build pallets for the trucks. I think that if the vehicles were on a platform pallet, it would be easier for them and would land upright. For the ones that we want to just push off the end of the aircraft, we might have to just push them off and let them free wheel. That will be a learning experience."
I asked, "How many vehicles do you have that you can expend while doing these tests?"
Abe said, "We have six utility vehicles, three personnel carriers, and two tracked vehicles. We're working on creating our own tracks using composite materials."
"Oh yeah," Chance interjected, "We're calling all of these vehicles "CAV" now, for Composite Armored Vehicles. That should get the attention of the older generals and purchasing people since they would relate to the First Cavalry Division and their combat readiness mission. I really think our vehicles would be a good fit for today's military. We just have to get our foot in the door."
"Have any of the big military contractors contacted us yet about supplying body parts?" I asked this wondering why they were now being so aggressive about getting the military's attention.
Chance answered, "Not a peep. I've talked to three of the men who witnessed our presentation and they have formally proposed our product with its specifications. They haven't heard anything either. Their next step would be to specify the actual product."
Abe said, "The Stryker is being used and can withstand most IEDs, but it doesn't handle RPGs well, and has had to have slat armor installed around it to withstand a direct hit. Our material can withstand the hit. If they were to convert to our material, they could lighten the Stryker by at least four to five tons."
"Okay," I said. "Let's figure out where to borrow a C-130, and find a retired military loadmaster to help us with the operation. I'll bet you can find someone if you advertise in the military magazines and newspapers."
Tiny had joined us and said, "I think DeDe can find you an aircraft and the man you're looking for is Bob Simpson in St. Louis. He's the warehouse manager and in charge of shipping there now. Give him a call to see if he's the right guy. If he is, bring him down on vacation with his wife, if you can, so he can work with you to get ready for another show."
Looking at me, Tiny said, "You know we're up to shipping right at a hundred fifty forklifts a month out of the St. Louis facility. That's what we projected would be their maximum production. If the economy picks up, we won't be able to keep up with demand. I doubt that we've hurt any of the other manufacturers, but we are getting a very nice market share."
Abe said, "I'll call Bob Simpson this morning to see what his background is. I really want to get this started so we can begin supplying material. We're going to need more jobs for our people since orders in other areas are down."
Tiny was smiling, "Don't be a fatalist, Abe. The only area where the racing business is down is that the small privateers are cash poor right now. The big racing teams are all busy, plus we're getting a lot of orders from formula and Indy cars now."
Chance and Abe moved off to talk to Dennis, Mark, and Gerry. I was left with Tiny, when Dennis jumped up with his cell phone in his hand, waving his other hand in desperation. He looked around and fixed on me, "Someone broke into the R&D lab last night. The day man just found the night guard tied up and gagged."
The entire patio was frozen for a couple of seconds, and then all at once, everyone headed toward a door. Mickey yelled, "Stop, stop, don't mess up the crime scene. Let me get a CSI crew there to gather evidence. Dennis, Mark, Gerry, Hans, you come with me to help identify what might be missing. Everyone else, stay here for right now."
Damn, that is my R&D building, and those are my products in my company that may have been compromised. I'm going, regardless.
I followed two other carts toward the R&D lab buildings. One had Dennis, Mark, Gerry, and Hans, and the other carrying Mickey and Hap. Who would break into our labs? We don't make anything that is that big of a deal for someone to go to the trouble to break in. It's always something, isn't it?
Mickey stood in front of everyone and told them, "Stay out right now. As soon as the CSI unit checks and cleans an area, I'll let you in to see what may have been compromised or taken. You can spend a few minutes thinking of what you were working on that could be of value to someone else."
The group huddled together, talking of some of the innovations they had come up with. I asked them, "Think of what you have come up with that could have the most monetary value and that could be modified from the original patent and still give the same benefit."
They huddled again talking among themselves.
A cart pulled up and Chuck and Jan got out and walked over to me. "What's up, Steve? We heard there was a break in. Have you found what is missing or messed with?"
"Don't know yet, Chuck, Jan. We just got here and we can't go in until a county CSI team gets here."
Jan said, "Let me get our CSI team out here. You are a military contractor and should be eligible for our help. Even if you only ship uniforms right now, you should be covered for additional investigation services."
I looked at Chuck and Jan and thought, 'Holy shit, now the FBI is involved. This is some shit. Talk about making a federal case out of something... '
While Jan was talking on her cell phone, a county CSI truck showed up and was directed by Mickey to begin clearing from the front. Mickey had the security guard separated from everyone and was interviewing him. Hap was like an appendage to Mickey's hip while she was working her way around the scene.
There was some guy walking around the perimeter of the area looking at the ground. He circled back and forth then began walking off in a straight line until he was out of sight. Chuck said, "Nightfox is on to something. He is following something out to the highway. Let's go around with the carts to see what he's found. Let's stay on the street with carts so we don't mess with the tracks."
I decided to go with Chuck, as he has some sixth sense that helps him do whatever he does. We stopped on the street where Nightfox was squatting out by the highway, looking at something. Nightfox waved at us and pointed for us to come but to take circuitous route to get to him. When we approached him, he held up his hand palm out and said, "Stop. Look, they dropped papers here. There are a couple in the ditch over there and one over on the bank. Here is a key to something that was dropped while they gathered the papers. I'll let the CSI people gather everything so they can get prints if there are any. Go get a couple of investigators so they can gather the evidence."
I was the most mobile at the time, and ran back to the cart and drove to the R&D building to get a couple of investigators. I saw Mickey and told her, "We found some papers and a key where the thieves got in their car. I need a couple of people to gather the evidence."
Mickey went to the man in charge and had a couple of federal CSI men get in the cart with equipment so I could take them to the scene. They had Nightfox back away from the key and photographed the key and the papers, as well as the footprints and tire tracks around the evidence. The longer I was involved in seeing what had gone on, the more nervous I was becoming. Parking way out here and disabling a guard to enter a secure facility was a professional theft.
The CSI team finished after retrieving the papers and the key, so we all went back to the R&D building. Dennis, Mark, Gerry, and Hans were inside the building with the CSI team, checking to see what had been tampered with.
Hans came out and told us, "The only test area that was broken into is the diesel engine area. The engine is too big to take, but it looks like they were going to try. Everything is disconnected and unbolted from the mounts. They must have found it too big to move and left it."
Dennis came out in a few minutes and said, "They destroyed our file cabinets. Everything is all over the place. It'll take a day or so to figure out what is missing if anything. They ransacked the offices and tried to break into the patent safe.
Mark was standing in the doorway with a smirk. He said, "It's not my project, but I know what's missing."
Everyone turned toward him, and Dennis asked, "What? What's missing?"
"The multiple plates you and Abe used to test what was the most bullet proof. They were all lined up against the wall next to the patent safe and they're gone now."
Dennis and Gerry went into the office again and came back out. Gerry asked, "What would they want those pieces of fiberglass for?"
Mark smiled and said, "Analysis, reverse engineering. They might think they can come up with the correct resins to make the same fiberglass that you developed."
Gerry actually giggled, "The final product wasn't even in that stack. I have it hung in a frame in my trailer, along with the transparent sheet complete with a fifty caliber round in the middle."
Dennis said, "You can't reverse engineer the process it takes to make our composite. There are too many processes that we go through to make it hardened."
Gerry asked, "You didn't keep the process in the file cabinet did you?"
"No," Dennis said, "The process formula and directions are in the patent safe, as each stage is patented separately. We did it that way so no one could steal just one part of the process and have what we've built."
Mark was standing next to me and said, "That's what I love about these guys. They are so devious that thieves can't even steal from them. I think I need another cup of coffee. If you need me, call my cell. I'm going back to the patio to tell everyone it was a bad attempt that failed."
I hope Mark is right, as we did have a lot invested in our possible military product. Thinking that we may need a little more security, I asked Hap, "How about checking out the main office buildings and how we're secured there? We need to protect the utility vehicles Chance and Abe have built, as well as Jeff's area a little better. If they figure out where we store our vehicles, they could attempt to steal one."
Hap grinned, "Now, that I can do. I'll put another man on the video monitors and another man in the yard or building. We already have people around the clothing plant twenty-four hours, so it won't be a big deal to include your yards too."
Abe had come over to see what the fuss was about. He had heard what I was saying and said, "The thieves had the right idea to try to steal the motor in there. That is my new diesel that should produce another twenty percent power on thirty percent less fuel. That's the one I think I will be able to use for your new aircraft, Steve. I'm not done with it yet, but I'm close. Wes is building a full size aircraft with Jeff right now to test the motor in later. That motor will have a lot of applications, both military and civilian, if we make it work the way Mark thinks it will work."
I asked, "So whose motor is it, yours or Mark's?"
Abe laughed, "It's all of ours, including Hans. We were having a couple beers one night when we came up with the idea, and that's the result sitting there all disconnected. We're working on making it lighter right now. We're attempting to use some of new materials Jeff has come up with for an engine block. We doing structural heat testing on it to see if we can run air cooled or do we have to remain with a jacketed block for water cooling. There are several other components we might be able to use our new composites on but like I said, we're testing and still in our infancy of the idea."
Damn, sure glad I don't know what's going on around here. We have so many things going on that there is no way for anyone to keep up with them. But then, they're all interrelated. What we make for one project is good for another. Abe was just talking about how our cart engine was powering Wes' airplanes. All these people are amazing.
Mickey came out and said, "I think we've dusted every flat surface in the building. Dennis and Mark reminded me that they work on all of the trial products with gloves, so any prints are going to be from the perps. The office has everyone's prints, so that will take longer. The guard said he didn't remember any of the men wearing gloves when they captured him. He did say there were five men, all big, but the one that was directing the others had a disfigured hand."
Jan came out and gave just about the same summation as Mickey did. She said, "We'll put all the prints through our computers to see if they match, and we'll work on those first. Dennis needs to come downtown with us to figure out what files the papers that we found out by the highway came from."
Mark, Gerry, and Hans went back into the building to begin cleaning up the file cabinets to see if they could find what was missing. Mickey left with the county CSI van, and Chuck and Jan were discussing what their next step was.
Chuck came over and said, "Jan is going to open an investigation within the Bureau, so you'll have some good bloodhounds on the track. This is out of my jurisdiction right now, so I'll leave it to her and help if I can. I heard you talk to Hap about beefing up security for the military stuff and that's as good as you can do. I'll talk to you tonight, Steve. I should go to work."
As he turned toward his cart, his cell phone rang. "Johnson." He listened for a few seconds and said, "Didn't you have the subject in the hotel, Sarge? Okay, don't panic, just cover the area. You have a description of the vehicle; just don't let it out of the secure area. If you need more help, get the Bureau out there. Call the county, get air support. You know the drill, get it done. I'll be there in a few minutes."
Chuck hustled Nightfox into his cart and took off for his house. I guess there was shit happening everywhere.
Back at the patio, I explained to Tiny what was happening and he commented, "You know, you've been immune to a lot of things for a long time. Hopefully, you won't have to put up with a bunch of shit while it all catches up with you. We've had a really serene existence for a long time. You don't try to make enemies, but there are those that are jealous of what you have and how you've progressed."
"You're probably right, Tiny, but I don't try to mess with anyone, and I don't try to intrude where others are. S&S competes fairly, and we usually give more for a dollar than anyone else. If someone wants our trade secrets, have them come spend some time with us and see how we operate."
Tiny said, "Relax, Steve. You've always played fair and always worked with other manufacturers to give them the opportunity to be successful with you. If you are patient, the culprit will be found, and you'll have an idea on how to work with them, or how to get around them."
Sue was sitting by me and said, "We've had several companies get mad because we're able to respond to our bids so fast. If someone orders a thousand dozen of a garment, we'll be shipping it while other manufacturers are still trying to figure out how much material to buy. That's why the new material plants are going to be so important. It will be one less step for us to have to work with."
We had one last sip of coffee, and then all of us took off for our respective offices.
Debbie had some calls for me to return, so I spent a few minutes in her office returning them. Out in the plant, I checked in with the motor group and found Sandy and Mandy back from their work with Gene. Mandy said, "They were doing everything right, but didn't have their setup correct for the track. We really didn't do anything, but we did show them the easiest way to check the setup. They're doing it our way now, and that should help them."
Shawna had four bikes in various stages of being built and had a couple of young guys working diligently trying to do exactly as Shawna was directing. They all grinned at me as Shawna held something as they each tried to bolt or screw down what she was holding. She didn't micro-manage, but she was everywhere at once.
The sheet metal and frame guys were putting out frames for racing and for Chance. One of the guys said, "We're getting pretty good changing from military vehicle, to airplane, to race car, all in the same day; three different methods, three different types of metal, but all perfect."
I laughed with him, happy to hear that special word, "perfect."
Abe was in his office area, looking over some documents. He said, "I think we can build about twenty diesel engines a month with just our crew here. If we have to ship more than that, we can set up another group that will do at least that many more. Our challenge will be the blocks and getting them ready to build out. The motor department is best at getting them ready, but we're best at the general build out. After they're built, the motor group needs to work them over again to make sure we're perfect on our side. We need to work on streamlining the procedure so we can turn out a few more a month."
I asked, "What do you think can be done Abe?"
He smiled and said, "I don't really know, but you need to get the "Andies" together and have them figure it out. Those two are really good at generating a process to get anything done. I'm getting too old to remember my name, much less to figure out how to get something so complex done fast."
"Bullshit, Abe. You know how to do it, but you just want the girls to get the credit. Go help them get it together so we have a business plan when we need it."
Abe grinned crookedly at me as he left for the motor shop.
I went across to the big building to talk to Jeff. He wasn't in the shop or in his office, but I saw his truck in the lot. Back in the main building, I went upstairs to find him in Phil's office where he was gesturing wildly to Phil. "I can produce at least three times the product they're asking for, so what's the problem. I know we're cheaper than our competitors, and our product is better than they can get anywhere else. What's the deal?"
Phil said, "They said they can get the same product for less and faster. That's what I know. We're trying to find out who the competition is, but so far, we don't know. I can't believe they've sold as many finished machines as we've supplied product, so I have to find out a little more before I can answer your questions."
Jeff was saying, "Damn, without that contract, I will have half dozen men with nothing to do. I'll look through the rest of our contracts to see if we can work on another project. Find out, Phil, as there is no one that can produce what we do for as little as we are able to do it for."
I waved Jeff toward my office and had him join me at the little table. "Jeff, can you work with Chance to make up another set of military vehicles? How about working with Abe and Chance to make something like the Stryker so that it looks like one of the behemoths that are being used over in the Mideast? I think our vehicle would be easier to use and to get around in, but let's work on something that is recognizable. Use the nomenclature Chance is using. Call them CAVs. You know Composite Armored Vehicles. You could also consider making the vehicle amphibious. Then you could have a CAAV, a Composite Amphibious Armored Vehicle. There's no reason we couldn't make it waterproof so the lighter weight vehicle could swim too."
Jeff smiled, "We'll do that. I think one of the manufacturers we supply is short on orders, and is using the line that we're too high on our price to renege on their contract. We need to go to them and tell them we understand, and if they don't have the orders right now, we won't hold them to contract figures."
"Good idea, Jeff. Have Phil or one of his men do that. We need to let our users know we won't make them suffer for not fulfilling their contracts right now. Let's work on helping them get back on their feet too."
I was sitting in the office when Ben called. He asked, "Hey, Steve, want to help out some GIs that have come back wounded?"
"You know the answer to that, Ben. What's up and what can I do?"
Ben said, "There are several men getting out of service that are paralyzed from the waist down and some who are totally paralyzed that need homes and/or jobs. You can help with the homes and possibly help with the retraining. We have about three a month in this area, that you and Chuck could probably help with a home built for them and with retraining. Chuck's already given his go ahead, and I thought you might be interested."
"I am, Ben. Include me and make sure that the 401K plan is included. Make it from S&S, S&S employees, and me. You figure it out, but make me the heavy here. The company may be a little cash poor right now, so use me for the most."
"Gotcha, Steve. Tiny has you in a pretty good cash position right now, so you're doing something right. He was on me recently about investing the 401K heavier in medium risk securities. I'm still going to go sixty percent fixed and forty percent with the higher risk. I'll do the twenty-five percent at high risk and the fifteen at medium risk. That should satisfy everyone."
I asked, "So what's the deal with the offshore stuff you're doing with Chuck?"
There was a long pause, then Ben said, "You might want to get Chuck to explain it to you. I probably shouldn't discuss the guy's portfolio right now."
I laughed, "Thanks, Ben. That tells me a lot more than you think. I'm glad Chuck is doing well."
It was Ben's turn to laugh. "Oh, he's doing well, alright. The man has a "Midas" touch. He's giving back as fast as anyone could ever expect, but it seems he gives a buck and finds two more."
I thanked Ben for the info and told him to go ahead and help the medically retiring guys as much as possible.
My stomach was growling, so I told Debbie I was going home for lunch and would call later. At home, I was met by all my ladies as we sat to eat. They were all in a good mood today, and suggested we should go somewhere or do something for the weekend, or for a long weekend. I couldn't think of something special to do, but Kathy suggested, "Chuck has a place in Costa Rica now. How about we go down there for the weekend and see what that's all about. Ben and Beth both say it's a great vacation spot."
I called Chuck, "Hey, Chuck, what do you think about going to Costa Rica for a long weekend. Say Thursday or Friday through Sunday night?"
There was a pause, then he said, "That might be a good idea. Let me talk to my menagerie to see what they say. If they don't want to go, I might go without them. I need to call down there to make sure the place can handle all of us. You have about fifty kids right? That would make you with four women and fifty kids."
"Oh you sucker. I don't have fifty. I only have ten or eleven, depending if Kathy's oldest daughter goes. Ben won't go, as he's involved in a couple of hot projects with Mark and Dennis. Barb may or may not go, though."
Chuck said, "I'll call you back. I think I'm ready for a couple of days of sun and fun."
I commented, "You know we can always go to Key West. That's always a quick option."
"Yeah," Chuck said, "I know, but I think you and yours will enjoy Costa Rica. Remember though, you have to have your passports."
I said, "That's easy. The girls have everyone up to date because of the trip they're planning to Europe."
Chuck said, "That's neat. We could use this as a way to talk about the coming trip. Let me talk to my girls and get back to you."
Sue was looking at me with a question. I said, "Chuck is going to find out if the place can handle all of us and if his ladies can go. You want them to come with us, don't you?"
Sue and Mercy looked at each other and grinned. Mercy said, "Yes, we do want them to come. I think this is exactly what we need to get better acquainted. The sailing trip didn't give us much chance to mix, but this would be just for fun and should give us a lot of chance to fool around."
Sue and Kathy began giggling, and Juanita blushed at the innuendo.
Knowing that there was no way to get us down there all together in a G-5, I called John out at the airpark. "Hey, John, if we wanted to fly to Costa Rica and needed a plane to handle my family and Chuck's, what kind of aircraft can we get?"
John paused a long time then said, "Let's see, you and yours are five, plus what, ten?"
"That's right, ten or eleven, depending on whether Barb comes along."
John then said, "Chuck has what seven, eight, nine?"
I said, "It's his basic five plus Lisa and Tina. Tina may not be able to come, so it would be eight unless he brings Lena and her sister with us."
John said, "Then your group is up to sixteen and Chuck's is eight or nine. That's twenty-five, much too many for the G-5, so what we need is one of those fancy 737-700s with the luxury seating. Let me see what's available and I'll call you back. I assume you're talking about this weekend, right?"
"Right," I said, "I'm not sure whether we'll leave Thursday or Friday."
"Let me check availability and I'll call you back."
John hung up and I sat, wondering at our extravagance. I'll bet the aircraft lease would be a small fortune. What we needed is an aircraft that would seat up to fifty in one configuration, but could also be configured into fancy seating like the luxury planes. That shouldn't be too much to ask for.
Chuck called me back while we were at the gym. I answered my cell and asked, "So what's the verdict, Deputy?"
"How about us going down Thursday evening after work? If you want to come back Monday morning, that would work too. The girls feel they need to work Thursday though."
"Sounds good to me. We'll decide about coming back. I've called John to see if he can find us a 737-700 with luxury seating for the trip. That would give us a nice ride and lots of room for the kids."
Chuck said, "I'll have to look for something for us. I'll bet the charter company could rent one big aircraft enough for us to keep one for our own use."
I told Chuck, "Dewey has a 737 for when he has to haul some corporate guys around. He says it is really nice, and he loves the luxury of it."
"You know," Chuck said, "I've heard of a 737 with some kind of quick change seating arrangements. The aircraft is basically a cargo aircraft with sections of seating being able to be installed in modules. I'll bet the same thing could be done with luxury and standard seating."
"Don't know, Chuck," I said, "There are all kinds of configurations for aircraft. A quick change between cargo and passenger seating would be a way to keep an aircraft in the air. You and I can look into it to see if there is a place for us."
"Good idea, Steve. I don't want us to try to get bigger than what we should be, but it would be nice to have something big enough for our families to travel when we want."
Chuck asked, "Are you going to be alright leaving while we're waiting for the Bureau to give us some indication of who was fooling with your R&D area?"
"Sure," I said, "No one is going to keep my family and me from enjoying ourselves when we have the chance. Sometimes having some fun will compensate for the normal problems of the world."
We said goodbye and hung up. I sat back with the ladies and asked, "So, do you guys really want to see what Chuck has been up to down there?"
Mercy was grinning, "I'll bet we'll be surprised. Chuck hasn't let me know what all was really going on down there, but I do know there are a lot of women all over the place. I wonder what that is all about?"
Kathy elbowed Mercy, "You just can't stand not knowing, can you? You can see into everyone, but not Chuck. That must be really frustrating. You said Lisa has an inside track on Chuck, can she read him all the time?"
Mercy said, "Not really. She has the same problem I do. Chuck can close off his mind and no one can see in. Mom tries and he closes her out too. If she can't see inside, no one can. Lisa isn't frustrated about it like I am, though. She's funny; she doesn't seem to mind that he has some secrets or does stuff without us knowing what he does. It's like she knows what he's up to and doesn't need to hear him tell it."
Kathy was laughing, "You just can't stand not knowing. Perhaps Lisa isn't as curious as you are. She knows that Chuck has to do some things that no one else needs to know about."
"Perhaps," Mercy scowled, "but I want to know. If he's in trouble, I want to know. If he gets hurt, we all need to know. He's just too closed sometimes. I've got to get him to let us in."
Sue kissed Mercy on the cheek, "You are just too used to being able to know what our Steve is thinking all the time. We're all so open; you just scan us to know what's going on anytime you want. Chuck just isn't that way."
Mercy was nodding her head, "Yeah, I know. All of his ladies are wide open and I can read them anytime. Lisa is a little vague a lot of times, but that's because she can read me so well. You know what? Lisa may be able to close me out too. I wonder if she does that on purpose. I'll have to listen to her a little more to find out."
The ladies all dispersed, heading toward the kitchen to get snacks ready for the returning kids. They would be running from the rec center any second, to get their snacks and do their homework, before going to the ball fields or other activities.
Later, at supper, Chuck and all of his ladies were eating with us, so I had a chance to talk to him about the program Ben was talking about earlier today. Chuck said, "I told Ben to find as many returning vets that needed help that he could and to get them settled. The guys who are hurt or disabled are first, and I promised to take care of them as best as possible. The land Ben bought in back of your property by the high density housing is perfect for the guys who need special housing. We'll mix those with some of the other returnees that need a little help. We'll get them enlisted into the training programs and have them productive in no time at all. The wheelchair guys are another problem, and we need to figure out which way they can best contribute. I was thinking they might be good teachers, or possibly instructors for some crafts. If you don't have a program to get these guys educated, let me start one, and we'll have a bunch of teachers in about four or five years."
"Sounds good, Chuck. I'll get the personnel people from Sue's group at the park working on it. They are better prepared than anyone else to get everyone ready to work in the normal world."
Bonita came to entice Chuck into the house to play some music with her. Lisa migrated into the living room, and we all heard them playing some fun music together. I had to smile every time I thought of little Bonita hauling Chuck off to play with her all the time. She was definitely Kathy's kid. She doesn't let people get away from her easily.
They came out with acoustic guitars and sang a couple of songs for us. Bonita sang "El Paso," with Chuck and Lisa accompanying her. It was amazing that she had learned all of the lyrics. It was a long, long, song made popular by Marty Robbins. Chuck sang "St. James Infirmary," with Lisa and Chuck giving a wailing blues background on acoustic guitars.
My youngest was an amazing kid. She really loved her music, but she also loved her motorcycle, and loved to run and play like any other little girl. She was going to enjoy the sailing voyage more than the other kids because she was going to be able to play music everyday.
When everyone had gone home for the night, I sat with my four ladies and just smiled at all of them. I told all of them, "You know, we have such a full life; we don't really realize how lucky we are. I'm blessed by having you four with me every day, and waking to your love every morning. I wish I could tell you better, but I'm only human. I love all you ladies, know that, and know that you make me the happiest man alive."
That must have been the right thing to say, as all four crowded around me, hugging and kissing me, until I suggested we go to bed. There, we discovered all the little things that set each off the easiest. I was lucky to have three others help with each one I made love to.
When sleep came, it was a very satisfying sleep for all of us.
Editing: Primary/Initial by Pepere (This guy has the
hardest job)
Continuity and editing by Sagacious (Good memory)
Legal and Helicopter by "Old (very) Rotorhead
Last time through by the luscious Deenara20000000