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Thanks for editorial assistance go to Story Reader and deGaffer. Any errors that remain are my own.
The Fanelli women were uncharacteristically silent as they left the Martelli residence, and took their seats in their car. That condition lasted almost until they arrived home, at which point Maria gave Joe a serious look, and said:
"You know, don't you, that you are headed for trouble with the cosca over the issue of continuing the Martelli line..."
"Yes," he sighed. "It is no secret that we promised to perpetuate our pilots' genes if they fell in the line of duty. Cris's final wishes notwithstanding, the rank and file wouldn't tolerate us reneging on that promise."
"So what do you intend to do about it?" she asked.
"I don't know... but I need to come up with a solution fast, or there'll be hell to pay!"
"I agree," Luisa interjected. "The younger Martelli women, at least, are not going to want to give up their chance at having normal relations with a living husband, and Cris was right: many men in the cosca will be unwilling to take on a wife who can't give them children. Those same men, though, will feel that the cosca is honor-bound to ensure that the fallen pilots will have more sons and daughters.
"It is as if their honor will require them to rape these women in order to accomplish that goal, if necessary - and make no mistake, if a woman is impregnated against her will, it is rape!"
"I have an idea that might solve the problem," Maria said, thoughtfully, "but it will take some sacrifices, personal sacrifices on our part, to make it work."
Parking the car, Joe looked at his senior wife and said, humorlessly, "So far I haven't got a clue, so anything you offer will be light-years ahead of me! What do you have?"
Joe thought he'd seen and heard just about everything, until Maria began to speak, but as he listened, both he and Luisa felt their jaws drop. In the end, though, Luisa was sold, and he found himself, grudgingly, giving the idea his blessing
Orquidea faced her co-wives with grim determination. She had already filled Jason in on the fact of Cris' demise, and felt she already knew what the outcome of the meeting would be, but it was necessary, for planning the future, to get everything out in the open.
"All of you, except Jason, heard what Cris said. You also heard what Father Nicholas and the Don said. We are each free to pursue new relationships, if that is what we individually want to do. I have to tell you, though, I'm concerned that about the welfare of our children. The rest of you may feel you need to find new husbands, but I intend to stay here and make a home for the children."
"Are you going to have more of Cris' babies?" Gemma challenged.
"I may have one more," she responded. "I am approaching that time when my own fertility will begin to falter, and risks of both birth defects and difficult pregnancies rise. If I do it, it'll have to be soon.
"I have already had two for Cris, and I brought two into this marriage. That is already one more than my own mother had. All of our children have been raised in the tradition of the cosca. If I have another, I will have more than done my duty."
"What about love?" Clarisse queried, timidly. "Won't you miss the feel of being held by a man, having his hands caress your body?"
"You're talking about sex, not necessarily love, my dear," Teodora interjected. "Although, I will miss that, as well." Turning to Orquidea, went on, 'As you know, my Ruby was two years old when I married you and Cris. And I too have borne two children for him. I'm not facing the limits you are, quite as soon, but they will be coming. I don't feel right about leaving you alone to manage Cris' household. I'll stay with you for now, and maybe have a couple more of his babies."
"Well, I think you are both nuts!" Gemma exploded. "He wanted us to find new husbands, not be widows the rest of our lives! I for one am going to accept his gift!"
Regaining her composure, she went on more calmly, "I will still love you all, and want to see you and the kids regularly, but I want a husband who can be a husband, not a ghost, and I want my babies to have a father they can see and touch!"
Orquidea heard a muted sob, and noticed that Clarisse was crying. Moving closer, she took the younger woman in her arms, and asked what was the matter.
"I want a living husband too," she sobbed, "I loved Cris, enough to carry his baby in my belly, but now he's gone and my baby won't have a father... and I don't have a husband! What am I going to do? How will I raise a child without his help?"
"There, there," Orquidea said, trying to console the distraught girl. "It'll all work out. If you decide to stay with Teodora and me, we'll help raise the baby. The Don has also promised that the cosca will support our needs. On the other hand, if you want to find a husband, there are a lot of good men in the cosca who would raise the child as their own."
The discussion went on until the early hours of morning, and there was plenty of emotion to it. In the end, all of the women accepted the decisions that their mates made, and it was settled that Orquidea and Teodora would maintain the family, while Gemma and Clarisse sought their futures elsewhere. The two younger women would stay with the family, though, and help out where needed, until they found a new path. There were hugs and tears enough to go around, even for Jason.
Twenty-four hours after delivering the sad news to the Martelli widows, Joe made the formal announcement that Cristiano Martelli was missing in action and presumed dead. In order to do so, he pre-empted all video links throughout the cosca's colony worlds, and following that, he announced the scheduling of a memorial service, to be held in two months.
Immediately after, in private teleconference with the Capi, he requested that each colony send a delegation to attend the service, preferably led by the Capi themselves. The reason for this being that he intended to have a formal business meeting of the cosca, to deal with issues raised by Martelli's death. Whoever attended the meeting needed to be able to speak for their people.
Upon concluding his teleconference, he sat and thought a moment, cataloging the myriad tasks comprising support of the Martelli family. One issue in particular leapt out at him. Knowing that the younger wives were going to want to shop for and eventually marry, new husbands, he realized that in doing so, they would be vulnerable to (at least verbal) maltreatment at the hands of immature and less-genteel members of the cosca.
And I know just what to do about it! he concluded, as he punched in a pair of familiar comm codes. Shortly thereafter, he had both Marco and Frank in a three-way conversation.
"I need help from the two of you," he told them, "to provide some obvious protection for the younger Martelli women."
"Are they being threatened?" Marco questioned. "Who did it? I can probably change his mind..."
"And if he can't, then I sure as Hell can!" Frank added vehemently.
"No," Joe responded, "as far as I know, no one has done any such thing. I just don't want it to come to that, and if everyone sees them being squired around by two of my favorite 'heavies,' it probably won't."
"But why would anyone bother them, anyway?" Frank interjected.
"Because they will be trying to find new husbands."
There followed a pregnant silence.
"Um.. Boss... aren't they supposed to keep having babies for the deceased husband?" Marco asked.
"That was the original plan," Joe answered, "but Cris Martelli, with the support of my wives, has thrown a monkey wrench into the works. It seems that he wants... wanted, now that he is dead... his widows to remarry, and in his final statement, he released them from their obligation to have more of his babies.
"The two younger ones want to accept that release, and your cousin, along with Luisa, has committed to supporting their rights to do so. I'm in a corner here because of that, and along with it, I've concluded that it wouldn't be honorable for the cosca to force the issue.
"Maria has a plan that I believe can work, but it's going to take some time to fully develop and implement. In the meantime, I need your help. Can I count on you?"
Both of the men agreed, but Marco had another question.
"I can see that having us with them might protect them from some of our less-well-behaved elements, Boss, but wouldn't it work the other way, too?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm thinking that their prospects for meeting interested guys might not be as good, if we're always hanging around..."
Joe barely succeeded at keeping his smile to himself, before replying: "That might be true, at first, but I'm sure that any really good man would find a way to approach them. Besides, it probably won't be necessary for very long... people will get used to seeing them dating, and after a while it'll be accepted. You won't have to baby-sit them for long."
Only after the men acknowledged the assignment, did Joe break the connection and allow himself a visible grin.
Yes... I have plans for you boys...
Marco and Frank took their new assignment as seriously as any other, and Joe was very pleased. He stayed busy over the course of the next several weeks, as he went about making arrangements for the service, but he continued to check in on the Martelli women at least daily.
In order to avoid feeding the ubiquitous rumor mongers, he always had Maria or Luisa, or both, accompany him during these visits. He saw no value in supplying the gossips in the community with grist for their mill, and regular visits to a house full of widows, by an unescorted Don, would be just that.
After a few such visits, Maria approached Luisa with concern etched on her face.
"Luisa, have you noticed Joe putting forth any effort to recruit younger wives for us?"
"No-o-o... should I have?"
"Neither have I, and it's a big problem."
"How is that?"
"It's a problem, because as the Don, he should be setting an example for the men of the cosca!."
"Okay, you've lost me somehow. Our husband isn't chasing skirts, and that is somehow setting a bad example..."
"Exactly!" Maria exclaimed. "I knew you'd understand!"
"Umm... but I don't! How is that a problem?"
"Oh... well, he only has two of us, and he needs four! My thinking is that the next two should be younger women, who have more fertile years ahead than you or I..."
"I see... you want some more junior wives to boss around..."
Maria laughed, and said "Get serious! You know very well that the Church has decreed that all men who are able should have the maximum number of wives that they can support. There is nobody more able than Joe! He should set an example by having four wives - the maximum allowed by the Church.
"The purpose in his having multiple wives is to have lots of children. You and I still have a few fertile years left, but not so many that we can afford to rest on our laurels. We need to somehow encourage him to find and marry some younger women..."
"I guess I can see that," Luisa granted. "And it's not like we don't get more than enough attention from him now..."
"If he gave us any more attention, we'd both be walking bowlegged all of the time," Maria snorted.
"So what, or should I say who, do you have in mind?"
"Well, have you noticed how he looks at Clarisse, whenever we visit the Martelli's? Perhaps there is the seed of interest, and a situation that we can use to promote unity in the cosca..."
Orquidea was unnerved by the unnatural quiet reigning in the house. With the other Martelli women away, or otherwise occupied and all of the children asleep, there was little to distract her from the uncertainty of her future, and the sorrow of losing her husband. Pulling herself up by her bootstraps, she decided that there was little point in remaining awake, since all of the necessary housekeeping was done. Faced with a boring, lonely evening, she decided to head for bed.
As she approached the room she shared with Teodora (when they weren't in Cris' bed!) she heard the sound of muted sobs filtering through the wooden door. Torn between a need to offer solace, and an inhibition against intruding on her roommate's privacy, her maternal instincts won out. Quietly, she opened the door to find Teodora stretched out, face down, on her bed, her body shaking with grief.
Orquidea marveled that the younger woman had been so effective at hiding her suffering. Only when she was completely alone had she let it go, not expecting that anyone would find her out. It might have worked, too, if Orquidea hadn't gotten bored with being awake and alone. Gemma was out on the town, trailing one of the nice young men who were serving as bodyguards, and Clarisse was visiting with the Don's wives... again... for the fourth time in a week.
After watching for a moment, Orquidea moved over to sit on the bed, and began to stoke the younger woman's back.
"Cry it out, baby," she murmured. "I'll be here for you until you're finished and ready for sleep."
Teodora quickly turned over and threw her arms around her roommate's neck, burying her face in the older woman's bosom.
Orquidea hugged her tightly as she continued stroking. Surprisingly, she found herself becoming aroused.
I must be hornier than I thought... she mused, ... we've sometimes kissed and touched each other as part of our play with Chris, but girl/girl action was never the main event...
Nonetheless, her nipples were undeniably hardening, and they became maddeningly sensitive as Teodora innocently rasped her blouse over them. The feeling was so intense that it was impossible to disguise her gasps.
As Teodora calmed herself, she, too, noticed the erotic implications of their embrace. She pushed away, only slightly, to examine Orquidea's face. The lust she found there resonated in her own body, and without further thought, she simply planted a passionate kiss on the senior wife's mouth.
It was a watershed moment, and both women abandoned all pretense of platonic love. No buttons flew, and no fabric tore in a rush to touch flesh to flesh. Instead, light, loving caresses simply became more intimate, stroking areas that would normally be avoided. Kisses became deeper and more prolonged, and by mutual (if silent) agreement, each began to help the other disrobe.
Breaking for a moment to grab a lungful of air, Orquidea noticed that her lover's nipples stood up invitingly, and on impulse, she bent down to nurse gently on the rubbery protrusion. If Teodora's gasp of pleasure did not give ample assurance that such attention was more than welcome, her other responses did. With both hands she clasped Orquidea's face firmly to her breast, encouraging further, firmer suckling.
When Teodora could take it no longer, she pushed the older woman over onto her back, and began planting little kisses all over her face, neck, and chest. She stopped momentarily at her lovers own nipples, nipping and suckling at them to the sound of her partner's groans and moans of pleasure. She abandoned them fairly quickly, though, to Orquidea's temporary disappointment, and moved down her abdomen, bathing her body with yet more kisses.
As the younger woman neared her lover's sexual center, Orquidea tensed momentarily, and raised up to look her in the face.
"You don't have to do that," she began.
"I want to," Teodora insisted. "Unless you'd rather I didn't..."
"I don't know," she responded, " I always liked it when Chris did it. I've just never done it with a woman..."
"If anything, it should be better. Who besides a woman would know what feels best?"
"That kind of makes sense," she allowed. Then suspiciously, "Have you done it with many other women?"
"Actually, no, but I read and I hear talk, and it made sense to me. I don't feel attracted to women, but I love you. I know you love me too, and this is a way that we can help each other now that Chris is gone."
Having no adequate response, Orquidea let herself fall back on the bed, and Teodora, taking that as surrender, continued her southward journey. As she approached her target though, her lover raised up and spoke.
"If you're going to do that, you need to change position."
"Okay," she responded, and began to move toward a kneeling position between her lover's legs.
"No-no-no!" her lover rebuked. "I meant that I should return the favor!"
Shocked, she said, "You don't have to do that! I just want to make you feel good!"
"And how do you think I feel?" Orquidea demanded. "Don't you think I want to make you feel good too? Now get over here!"
Teodora complied reluctantly, feeling that somehow she had coerced her friend and co-wife, and now lover, but the older woman would have none of it. Hurrying the junior wife along with gentle pressure, Orquidea got them situated in a classic "69" position,.
She had tasted her sister-wives before, on Chris' lips, and had herself achieved many orgasms as a result of his oral attentions. This was the first time, however, that she had ever taken that taste directly from the source, as it were, and she didn't how that might alter her perceptions.
As it turned out, it was a non-issue. Teodora kissed her partner's lower lips, then parted them with her tongue. She stroked the older woman's mons, and pushed her fingers inside, to massage her G-spot while licking, nibbling, and sucking on her clit.
Once Orquidea began receiving oral stimulation, it took nearly all of her remaining concentration just to reciprocate, but she managed. She felt her back and legs tense, involuntarily, and moaned while yet further spreading legs . She trembled as a confused mix of sensation and emotion overran all conscious thought. She came.
Teodora followed her in climax, not long after, and both women collapsed in near-exhaustion. After a long moment, Teodora shifted around, so that she could cuddle with her bed-mate, and the couple drifted off to sleep.
Some hours later, Orquidea awoke to the sound of a sharp intake of breath. Opening her eyes, she saw Gemma standing in the doorway, her mouth agape at the sight of the two sharing a bed where normally only one slept.
Orquidea simply smiled, and stiffly pushed her nude body out of bed, noticing as she did, that the room smelled of sex. Suddenly, Gemma clapped her hand over her mouth, and turning, ran out of the room. It was obvious that she, too, had noticed the odor.
At that precise moment, the house AI announced, "We have a visitor..."
Father Nicholas shifted uncomfortably as he waited (impatiently) for someone to answer the door. I'll never get used to these infernal machines... and they seem to be getting downright snooty!
At about the time his patience ran out, the door opened to show Orquidea welcoming him into her home. Nicholas noticed that she seemed to be somewhat in dishabille, but he chose to ignore it.
He followed her into the formal sitting room, and moved to sit on the sofa. As he did, he passed close enough to her to catch a familiar scent, which he could not immediately identify. Dismissing it for the moment, he got right down to business.
"How are you, the other wives, and the children doing?"
"Not too poorly," Orquidea responded. "We still have the occasional bout with sadness and depression, but for the most part we are coping. We have to learn how to live without him [Chris]. I think that soon we will adjust and become a more normal family."
Nicholas nodded and continued his pep talk.
"That's the way life works. Since I haven't seen or heard otherwise from you, I presume that it hasn't gotten bad enough for you to ask for help..."
"Well," she answered, "It's kind of a hit-or-miss thing. Each of us has had a few bad moments, but usually not at the same time as anyone else. That has made it easier to get our comforting from each other. Also, the Don and his wives have been here nearly every day, since we got the news. They have been wonderful."
"Have you and your sister-wives come to any conclusions about your futures?"
"I believe so. Teodora and I will stay together and raise the children we have. Gemma has declared her intention to remarry, and Clarisse wants to do so as well."
"What about Clarisse's child? Will she be leaving it with you, after the delivery?"
"I don't think so. She has said that she will only accept a man who will be a father to her child. I believe that if she marries, she intends to raise her child in her new home."
"And what of Gemma? Will she simply cut all ties to you and the children?"
"She says not... you know, she has borne no children for the family as yet, and is not now pregnant, so her ties to us are not as strong. Nonetheless, she says she wants to remain a part of our lives, even if she finds a man to love."
Nicholas acknowledged this with a nod, and then queried, "Is there anything at all I might be able to do for you? Do you need any kind of assistance that you aren't getting?"
"You are very kind to take the time from your busy schedule to worry about us," Orquidea said, patting his knee, "but I think we're going to be fine. If I can think of anything to ask of you, I won't fail to do so, Father."
"All right then," he concluded, "I need to be on my way, but I'll hold you to that promise." They both rose from their seats at the same time, bringing them yet again into close proximity, and yet again Nicholas caught that familiar scent.
This time he recognized the scent for what it was - it was the aroma of a woman who had recently had some serious sex! He recognized it only because he'd had occasion to experience it with his own wife.
He stood stiffly and gave Orquidea a hard look. She knew instantly that he had found her out, and she dropped her gaze to the floor.
"What have you done, my child?"
Gathering her courage, she forced herself to look at him in defiance, and replied "Absolutely nothing that I'm ashamed of!"
Surprised at the force of her statement, he raised one eyebrow, rather like Spock of the original Star Trek™ television series, and asked, "Are you sure? It is clear to me that you have recently had sex, and you no longer have a husband. How can there not be a matter to confess?"
She almost broke under his examination, but again gathered hers courage and answered his question with one of her own.
"Did we not take our vows until death us do part? Are we, the wives of Cristiano Martelli, not married to each other, as much as we were to Chris? How can there be a matter to confess while we cleave only to one another?"
"But if I understand you correctly, what you are doing is a perversion!"
"I say it is not!" she replied hotly. "You have said yourself that there is no perversion in any act of married love!"
"This is not exactly what I had in mind when I said that..."
"Nonetheless, we are married, and we love one another. Chris' death only parted us from him, not from each other, and it did not change our mutual love."
Nicholas drew a deep breath and sighed. "I must think on this... and pray."
"While you are about it," she observed, primly, "you might want to consider how the junior wives can be released from our marriage, since they want to find new husbands..."
He nodded and with a heavy heart, saw himself out the door.
The next stop for Nicholas was the Fanelli residence. He didn't normally drop in on people unexpectedly, but Maria had requested an appointment. As he was out and about anyway, he thought it would be a good idea to take care of whatever matter concerned her immediately, rather than try to schedule office time.
Coincidentally, Maria rather than one of the other adults, answered the door, and her bright smile made Nicholas feel very welcome. It did little to prepare him for the onslaught of her concerns, though.
"Father, we have some issues regarding the continuance of Chris Martelli's bloodline, and we need your guidance, and if you are willing, your support of a possible solution."
He was eager to hear what she had to say, but by the time she finished making her case, his hair was standing on end.
A rather shaken Father Nicholas returned home quietly, and even before announcing himself, he poured himself a brandy. Michela entered the room, and he would have poured her one as well, but she was heavy with their first child.
"It must have been a trying day," she observed. "You don't normally need one of those so soon after getting home..."
"It was," he declared, "possibly the worst day I've had since I first met Joseph Fanelli!"
"That covers a lot of ground," she responded. "Care to talk about it?"
"Can't," he said. "Some of it might be in a confession, later on."
"You're talking about the Martelli women, aren't you?"
"What?" he exclaimed. "How can you know anything about them?"
"Orquidea called me almost two hours ago. She told me everything." She stopped and gazed at him, poker faced. "I think she's right. But you have to decide if you think she's right..."
He sighed. I've been doing a lot of that... "I know what I want to do. I just don't know if it's the right thing to do..." He got up and began pacing.
"Then there's the thing Maria brought up this afternoon..." he continued.
"Oh, is that the project she wants to start for continuing the pilot's bloodlines?" Maria asked casually.
"Am I the last person on the planet to hear about everything?" he complained.
Michela moved into his arms and held him closely. "No dear, there are literally thousands of people on the planet, including most of the cosca leadership, who have absolutely no idea that these things are happening. You are among the privileged few to hear about it at this time," she assured him.
He seemed to wilt under the weight of the decisions he had to make. "I'm going to need some guidance from higher up," he stated, "and I need to make a trip to Earth, to get it."
"You want to talk to the Pope? Are you sure about that? What if he wants to know why you haven't taken on any more wives?"
"I'll tell him I've been too busy. He'll understand..."
"He'll understand that you've been dragging your feet! If you can't find time to locate suitable candidates, maybe I should pre-screen some for you..."
"Whatever..." he said, waving her off. "I've got to talk to Joe about passage..."
Michela considered that to be something of a victory. Her husband had been dragging his feet, and it was high time something was done about it. He would have at least three candidates to sort through by the time he returned from Earth!