by J G Jerome
Rebecca says, “I lost count after three. I think I heard more, but I was screaming my own orgasms at the time. I can’t believe the pleasure you two pulled from my body!”
Josephine leans into the doorframe. “I had sex once. It hurt. I liked the guy, and I wanted it. He just jammed his cock in me, I had a flare of pain, and then he pumped into me five times and squirted inside of me. I thought William was hurting you, but I looked in and I could see the rapture on your face.”
Marissa has an ‘a-ha’ moment. “I thought I saw you in the doorway once.”
Josephine puts a hand over her face. “I kept coming back for more peeks. I’m sorry, but I was fascinated. Especially after I heard each of you scream like that.”
I try to give her comfort through my words. “Josephine, curiosity is nothing to be ashamed of. If we wanted privacy, the door would have been closed, and we probably would have abstained.”
Rebecca says, “No! Never!”
Marissa grins and agrees, “I would rather sell tickets to an audience than give up loving on either one of you. With both of you - I wouldn’t care if my mom, dad, and the ex were all watching.”
I lean in and kiss her. I lean against her forehead and say, “Kinkier and kinkier, Ms. Tomlinson. You’re going to be my love slave yet!”
She whispers a response. “I already am, Will. Completely. I love you, William James. You’re not getting rid of me.”
Rebecca crawls up and straddles my lap as she wraps us both into a hug. “I feel the same way. One hundred forty-five years old, and I finally discovered orgasms and love!”
Josephine gasps, “How long?”
Rebecca looks over her shoulder. “I was born roughly one hundred forty-five years ago. I died at the age of seventeen one hundred twenty-eight years ago.”
I have a nagging thought. “I don’t think ghosts mature emotionally, do they?” Rebecca looks at me and then at Josephine.
Josephine answers, “Generally no.”
“Oh shit!” I exclaim. I look at Marissa. “We’re fucking jailbait!”
Marissa gasps and then laughs. She says, “Doesn’t matter. Chronological age is the determining factor in the law. One hundred forty-five is legal.” I just look at her. “I looked it up in high school. I had just turned eighteen, but I had this cute little sixteen-year old cheerleader that I was fucking. So yeah, I fucked jailbait. She was a vixen. She ended up getting pregnant two months after I left for college.”
Rebecca says, “At seventeen, I was in danger of being an old maid. My school classmates married between fourteen and seventeen. I didn’t even have a boyfriend.” She kisses me and then Marissa before adding, “I declare you both can legally fuck my brains out.”
We all laugh - even Josephine smiles. I notice her crotch is pressed against the doorframe. I ignore her and look back to my lovers.
“So! Marissa’s moving day. I guess we can all go help. We could claim Josephine is a Mennonite friend, or that she’s in a play trying to get into character,” I say.
Rebecca shakes her head. “You should probably stay here and learn as much as you can from Josephine. Feed her some more energy, and maybe see if you can pull…” she looks at Josephine. “...Charlene?” Josephine nods. “Pull Charlene out of the bolt and talk to her.”
Josephine says, “If you do this…” gesturing towards her body “...to Charlene, she will be in your bed. She always said that she loved being adored by a man.”
Marissa asks, “How about a woman?”
Josephine shrugs and presses her crotch into the doorframe. “She never mentioned it.”
Marissa looks at Rebecca. “I think that if she wants some of our man, she needs to be good with loving the ladies.”
Rebecca squeezes me tight. “I don’t know, that means we have a longer wait for William’s beautiful cock. I don’t know if I am that generous.” She grins at Marissa.
Marissa laughs, “Good point. Well, we don’t need to worry about that until it becomes an issue. Get up, strumpet. Shower, eat, work. Let’s go.” She kisses Rebecca and swats her backside. Rebecca gets off of me, and Marissa kisses me before bouncing delightfully out of bed.
Rebecca calls, “We can share the shower. It will go quicker that way.”
“As long as you behave, strumpet!” I retort.
Rebecca gives me a pretty little pout. “But Master, she is so pretty! I can’t help myself.” She winks at me and struts off to the bathroom. Marissa hugs Josephine and then follows.
I get up and pull on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
Josephine says, “This is so different from what I know.”
I freeze in place. “Josephine, we are still trying to figure this out. I have another girlfriend in Phoenix who doesn’t know about Rebecca. I have no idea how all of that will work out. We are just focusing on one day at a time. Now that you are here, we need to think about how we set you up for the life you want.” I look off into the middle distance. “That means I better take some more side jobs.”
Marissa sticks her head out of the bathroom. “You’re not alone in this, William. I make good money, too. We’ll take care of our growing family together - as a family.”
I smile at her. “I like the sound of that, beautiful.” She flashes me a brilliant smile and disappears back into the bathroom. I hear the shower start and then the shower door closes. I walk in, and drain Willy. I see Josephine watching from the living room door. I flush and wash my hands.
She mutters, “That’s what those are for.” I see her checking out the shower while I dry my hands on the towel.
I walk up to her and hug her as chastely as I can before leading her into the kitchen. She doesn’t struggle. “Rebecca was thrilled with indoor plumbing. Apparently outhouses were still common when you died, right?”
Josephine nods. I say, “Okay, Josie. You and I are on breakfast detail.”
She looks at me funnily. “Why did you call me that?”
I stop myself. “I’m sorry Josephine. It felt right to me, but you haven’t given me leave to be that familiar.”
She says, “It’s okay, William...er...Will. My mother was the only person to ever call me Josie. It makes me miss her.”
I look at her. “I lost my parents when I was in college. My sister lives in North Carolina, so I rarely see her. Missing family is hard.” She nods. “Want another hug?” She nods, so I wrap her in a warm embrace. She lays her head on my shoulder, and I murmur into her hair. “Shall I call you Josie?”
She nods. I hear her faint response. “Yes, please.”
I squeeze her gently and push some more life energy into her. “As you wish, Josie. Let's get some breakfast going.”
* * *
Josie and I pulled together a scramble with onions, celery, garlic, and bacon. I show Josie how to operate the toaster, and then I set out the butter and all the cold cuts and cheese we have. I think this will be a hearty enough breakfast for a day of moving.
She is amazed at how the kitchen works. Unlike Rebecca, Josie has only rudimentary survival cooking skills. I teach her how to operate the stove, how we keep food fresh in a refrigerator, and some basic knife skills. She is unfamiliar with celery and garlic, but considers bacon its own food group. I find myself agreeing with her on that one.
I discover that she is twenty-four years old, or was when she died. She spent her youth working in the mines next to her father. Her mother died when Josie was eleven. Her father kept her with him in the mines after that. They slept in the mines. Josie cooked bacon and bread in a skillet in the sleeping quarters of the mine.
She tells how her father taught her to feel the relationships between things. The obvious ones like the link between a larger piece of a thing to a smaller piece. The less obvious ones like coming from the same country, having the same water wet them, having the same element in two apparently different objects. She learned to manipulate a small object to influence something that was related to it. Josie eventually got better at it than her fat
her despite him claiming to be a master thaumaturge. At age twenty-one Josie began to plan her own masterwork to bridge a deep gorge with stone. About that time Lafayette showed up.
Lafayette had heard of the girl child that learned thaumaturgy better than her master. He came to investigate. Josie’s father sold her to Lafayette for thirty dollars - the price of a decent horse.
Josie cries as she finishes telling me of the indignity of her father’s betrayal. I hug her and gently kiss her cheek, holding her as though she were my own child. I murmur into her ear. “Josie, your worth is incalculable. Not for what you can do, but for who you are. I am honored by your friendship.”
Marissa snuggles up to us and wraps Josie in a loving embrace. Rebecca embraces her from the other side. Marissa tells her, “We are unlike any family you have known, Josie. But we are yours if you will have us.”
Josie sobs, “I don’t know if I can be with you all in bed like that.”
“You don’t have to,” Rebecca tells her. “If it works for you, you may join us. If not, we will still hold you, comfort you, and love you like you are our family.”
I add, “And I will bring down hell on the heads of any that would try to harm you.”
Marissa says, “Let’s eat this lovely breakfast.”
We sit down to eat, and Josie tells us of her trip after her father sold her. Lafayette took her in a wagon to Colorado Springs. From there, they boarded a train to Denver. There they met Charlene in the hotel. After a lavish dinner in the hotel, Lafayette took her into his room and told Josie why he bought her - to bring thaumaturgy skillset to his team. He considered that teaching her necromancy was a small price to pay. He called Josie a ‘tall, strong young woman, with a not unattractive face and figure.’ Lafayette was surprised she was not a virgin - he said it was because she had the lovely innocence of one. He promised he would teach her about love another time and had her sleep on the floor while he used Charlene. He started to teach Josie necromancy theory on the train to Flagstaff. Charlene taught her more than Lafayette did, but Josie learned well from both. She also continued to practice her thaumaturgy. Three years later, Lafayette had her prepare the bolts and stones before they all hopped on a train from Flagstaff for Prescott. Two days later they arrived. Charlene seduced the sorcerer. Two days later, Josie was dead.
We sit rapt as she tells her tale, but we do manage to get breakfast down. Josie eats and drinks with us. We all hurry to clean up the kitchen. Marissa goes to help Rebecca dress when Josie gasps and holds her gut. I hurry her to the bathroom. I lift her dress and remove it. She pulls down her pantaloons and sits on the toilet. I kiss her forehead and leave her to her privacy.
I walk into the bedroom. Apparently Marissa brought a change of clothes as both ladies are dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. “We’re going to need to get Josie clothes,” I tell her.
Marissa nods. “We’ll take her measurements, and I’ll run grab my car at the restaurant and then to Target for an outfit like this. In the meantime, you get her showered.”
Rebecca says, “I’ll stay here to help with that. She might feel more comfortable with me. I’ll go check on her.”
After a couple of minutes I hear the flush of the toilet, and then the faucet. I hear Rebecca call out. “William, please go work on your computer.”
“May I take a shower?” I ask with a grin.
“Certainly, but hurry,” is the response.
I grab a change of clothes quickly and head to the living room. Marissa nods at me as she closes the door. I do my business quickly, and am out of the shower in fifteen minutes. Marissa walks into the bathroom and gives me a passionate kiss. “I won’t be long. See you soon, handsome.” Then she hurries to the door.
I dress in jeans, a Hawaiian print shirt, and boots. Then I go to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee. I ask the ladies, “Anyone want coffee?” I hear two ‘yes’ answers, so I go through the process to brew two more cups. I hear the shower start. I holler, “Shall I leave them here or bring them back?”
I turn around to see Rebecca smiling at me. She says, “I’ll take them, Master.” She kisses me and grabs both cups. She winks at me over her shoulder as she sashays into the bedroom.
I mutter to myself, “Whatever happened to that shy, innocent waif?”
I hear Rebecca call from the bedroom, “You fucked her to death!”
I laugh as I log onto my computer. I check emails, and I don’t find anything urgent from work. I ensure I have all the files for Monday in a folder. I hear the shower start as I open my Monday presentation and rehearse it. Then I do the same for Tuesday’s session. I find a problem with the flow, and make some adjustments. Then I run through Wednesday’s slides and find one that has two incomplete bullets. I fix that, save everything, and put a copy on a thumb drive. Then I pull open the Upwork job. It looks like easy money when I review it, so I write a proposal. I hit the submit button just before Marissa walks in the door.
“Hey, Will.” Marissa kicks the door closed and marches up with shopping bags in her hand. “I had Rebecca’s key.” She stops and plants a warm kiss on my lips. “Sorry it took so long. I had a customer call just before I got to the register. The guy talked my ear off for no apparent reason,” she says as she disappears into the bedroom.
“He wants in your pants,” I tell her. “I hope you told him you’re mine!”
She hollers, “Didn’t come up, lover. If it does, I will definitely tell him!”
I grin and call, “Anyone want coffee?” I hear three ‘yes’ responses. I go to the kitchen and get the kettle started.
I start filling filters when I hear Marissa say, “Go show him.” Followed by muttering.
Rebecca comes out of the bedroom as I set a filter in the cup top filter holder. She grabs my hand and drags me to the bedroom. Rebecca points, and I see Josie standing barefoot wearing my favorite ‘Black Guard’ plaid flannel shirt and apparently nothing else.
“Damn, Josie!” I exclaim. “You make that shirt look much better than I do.” She turns away and hides her face. I walk up and wrap my arms around her. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, sweetie.”
I kiss her cheek and release her. “I’ll leave so I don’t embarrass you any further.”
I hear her murmur, “I’m sorry, William. Thank you for letting me wear it.”
I grab the ladies’ coffee cups. “You’re welcome, Josie.” I stop and ask Marissa, “Do we have time for another cup?”
Marissa consults her iWatch and says, “I’ll make coffee at the condo. We need to get a move on. We’ll be ready to go in ten minutes.”
“Okay.” I wash the cups, put the filters in a ziploc for later, and fill a water bottle. I grab my cleaning kit from the living room side table, sit at the dinette table, and strip my pistol. I haven’t fired it since the last time I scrubbed it, so cleaning it is a matter of a wipe down and running a couple of swabs through it. I reassemble it and function check the pistol. Satisfied that all is in order, I load the weapon and clip it to my belt under my shirt tails. I am putting away the cleaning kit as the ladies traipse out.
All three ladies are wearing jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. Josie and Rebecca both tend to try to cover up with their hands as we walk out the door, but I think they will loosen up eventually when they figure out that it’s normal now. Josie actually has a very nice figure - wide hips and shoulders, a relatively narrow waist, and I’m guessing those are D-cups protruding from her chest. I get a kiss from each - Josie’s on my cheek. Then I lock the door as the ladies all jump in Marissa’s car.
“Hey, Marissa. You might want to send me the address,” I call as I head to my car.
Marissa says, “Check your email, William.” I check my phone, and see the email from her with her address and her parents’. I jump in and start the CRV in time to pull in behind Marissa’s Audi. I will refer to the email if I lose her.
19 - Doing business with Bernadette
We spent the rest of the day moving Marissa. Sh
e already had plastic bins for her clothes. The ladies laid everything on her bed and confirmed that it all was meant to go. Then they started packing the bins. She pulled a hanging bar for her car, which I installed in her Audi. I then carried out about twenty dresses and hung them in the car. Slacks and skirts went in bins, and I carried out blouses and coats on hangers.
In the meantime, Marissa pulled some items from the kitchen and put them in a couple of bins. It looked like most of the kitchen was Carla’s. While she was doing the kitchen, I tore down her technology - a docking station, monitor, input devices, and printer. She also had an audiophile’s stereo with a crate of vinyl and multiple books of CDs. A handful of the DVDs were hers, too. We took our time, having a coffee and water break about once per hour. Despite the leisurely pace, we finished packing crates by 1:00.
Marissa’s parents showed up at that point with food and a truck. We took a break for lunch and got to know Marissa’s parents - Dan and Maria. About 2:00 Marissa’s desk, a large wing chair, and a side table all went in the truck while the ladies sorted through linens and laundry to grab the last. Her dad and I loaded a couple of shelves of books into a carton. Marissa took two prints and an oil painting down from the wall, and we put them into my Honda. Marissa’s dad and I carried her bike, skates, skis, a snowboard, ski boots, snowboard boots, and a bin of sports equipment into the truck. Marissa took a final tour before leaving her key on the kitchen counter. She locked the door with the lock in the doorknob, and then we left.
We ran by her storage unit first to empty the truck. Then we offloaded the rest at her parents’ house. Her mom had repurposed her bedroom years ago, so we moved Marissa into the guesthouse. Honestly, her new accommodations had more room than my apartment. Her dad, Dan, showed me around the house ending significantly at an outbuilding that turned out to be his dojo. It is bigger than some of the commercial dojo’s I’ve seen.
I chuckled and teased Dan about putting the fear of God in me. He smirked back and kicked off his shoes. He bowed onto the mat, so I kicked off my boots and pulled off my socks. I dropped my keys, holster, and phone into my boot and stepped up to the mat.
