by Beth Cohen
*** At the end of the day, after a whole day of talking and intense emotions, both mothers said goodnight and went to their own bedrooms. Joy and Lil looked at each other and understood something that many children never get the pleasure and joy of understanding…Their mothers loved them and wanted to protect them. Their mothers checked their own feelings and discussed these feelings openly and honestly — and then left them, respectfully, to make their own decisions.
Joy and Lil went to bed, together. From that night on, Joy and Lil were the couple in that home. Joy and Lil found each other and fell in love. Their mothers allowed this love to blossom and bloom. They fell into a routine and while the roles in the family had shifted slightly, no lines where crossed. The mothers remained the mothers — but their daughters, they were in love…and their love was good and treasured…and fostered.
Joy and Lil were not the only two in this situation. Many women, young and old, many who had previously been in relationships and even married before, now found themselves falling in love…many women now found themselves falling in love — with one another and sometimes another as well. Thus, the Multies grew and families became expanded.
*** This love was a new love. It was gentle and it was passionate. It was also, at times, complicated and full of surprises. If it wasn’t for the wisdom of the Committees of the Daily Deed, no doubt these new living situations and situations of multiple living would have been much more difficult and confusing than it inherently had become.
These women worked hard. They were building a whole new society…and this took so much time and energy. At first the women just
worked…and worked. They had put their heads to the grind and just worked. The love that began in the Realm had evolved and although it felt quite natural to most, it also came as an enormous surprise — especially to many of these women themselves.
Many of the women, although driven, had a certain sadness about them. Although they were certain they had done the right thing, leaving the Wideness made them hard and created a difficult life.
The time spent building this new society was an exhausting time. The women worked and worked until they fell into their beds at night. More and more, as time passed, they began to fall into beds together. Sometimes it was just that they had talked and talked and spoke to each other into a deep sleep. But then — sometimes it was something else. Perhaps many of these women truly found love in the arms of one another. Perhaps for some, it was just so not to be alone. Perhaps for some, it was a matter of convenience and the sharing of a home, the caring for children, the preparation of food and the daily duties of life. And perhaps it was all of these things together.
What was certain, though, was that they were not just building a new home; they were building a new way of life. This new way of life, this society, the Womeness or the Realm of the Women’s Forward Movement, gave birth to a whole new view of daily life, of survival and of family. Love between the women became the norm much quicker than anyone could have anticipated. While the men continued to struggle with their new loneliness and empty bed, the women found a new family and a new way to love.
And they saw that it was good.
And It Was Good
It was all of their combined experiences, past and present, that helped the women feel confident in their decisions and instincts. It was all at once, the men’s sense of privilege and arrogance, their anger, their wrath and finally their violence that brought the women to know and understand that they had only themselves and each other. Only the women themselves could be trusted to take care of, protect and defend each other. The men were clearly not to be relied upon.
It was during this time that the new families, the Multies, were able to flourish. Acceptance was the theme of the Realm…Empowering women and their families the goal...the point...their raison d’etre, a better life, no violence — no violence!
While the women were rebuilding their lives and the lives of their children, the men left alone in the Wideness could only gossip and fret. Frustration from the men was ever evident and ever present. They did not live far enough for the words and rumors to be kept at bay. Although during the first many months the men were not permitted to enter into the Realm, it soon became unrealistic to think that these two worlds that had once been one could live so close to one another and have no contact, without constantly engaging in outright war. Yes, there was discord, and given the history, animosity. The Realm enjoyed the total separation of work, government and culture. The women enjoyed their new living situations — their new lives. The women missed the men less and less. Men, as a concept, became less and less of an issue as the women discovered their strengths and found that they could more than manage with the freedom to act according to their own will, law, desires, with their own rules and homes and families. As time passed, the women became more and more empowered. With each accomplishment they missed most every aspect of the men less and less. There was still one fact that tied both sides together and could not be denied. There were, after all, the children to consider.
After some months had passed and once safety of the women and their children was secured and Jane had established a guard formed mainly of the Judoshii-Juniors, the women decided that they should allow the men to visit their children. This decision was made with a great deal of apprehension and worry. The Daily Deed, of course, set up a visitation committee to discuss and determine the rules and guidelines for such visits. It was decided from very early on that the children would not be allowed to visit in the Wideness. After the violence of the Split, the women were not about to trust the men with the children or that the children would have been allowed to return home to the Realm. The primary responsibility of the visitation committee was to work with Jane and the Judoshii-Juniors to come up with the best conditions for these visits, without bringing about any additional danger or undue stress to the children as individuals and to the Realm as a whole. As would be expected, nothing was left to chance. Jane personally supervised and presided over the directives given to the JudoshiiJuniors for these visits. Jane worked day and night, going over every possible scenario she could conjure up. The whole idea of the men visiting the Realm was thought out and planned for. Nothing was left to chance. While it was generally accepted that the children should be able to see their fathers, the primary goal of maintaining a safe and secure home remained — the inhabitants of the Realm were not to be put in harm’s way, not even for the children’s desires to see their fathers.
After some time and after Jane was able to convince the Daily Deed and the visitation committee that it would be safe, the men were allowed in, a few at a time.
The Men Visit
At first the men were shocked. So much had been accomplished. They had not believed the women would be able to build — to rebuild — a life for themselves and their families. There were living quarters and communal buildings. Everyone seemed to be busy, to be absorbed in one task or another. There was also a calm, a feeling the men could not name.
The men were appalled by what they witnessed, by what the women had done. Yes, outwardly the men were appalled! Women living with women as a family! It was obscene. And yet, that is what the men fixated on. All that the women had accomplished, all the infrastructures and services that the women had organized, everything that the women had built with their own hands, were ignored. The men could not stop discussing, arguing and marveling about the women’s family situation. Some were horrified, some were curious. Some were clearly aroused, and if they could not bring
themselves under control, were escorted to the border. No opening or opportunity of violence toward the women or children was left to chance. If the visiting man could not control his sex, he would not be allowed to visit his children. If the visiting man could not contain his violence, control his anger, he would not be allowed to visit his children. If the visiting man did not treat his children, even his girl children, with respect, he would not be allowed to visit his children. If the visiting ma
n tried to convince his children to leave with him, he would not be allowed to visit his children.
This was all very difficult for the men of the Wideness to accept. They were used to the women serving them! They had been used to having their way, to having their words be THE Word. Just having the women dictate the conditions of the visit was difficult to accept. Having to control themselves after being so long without their women seemed to these men unfair and outrageous. After all, the women were meant to be subservient. The women were born to serve their needs. Some of the men seemed not to know how to ‘be’ with their own children. They could not change their focus, could not put their children’s needs before their own.
To add to this, it seemed the men could not have any conversation about anything, with anybody, without raising the issue of sex and asking questions. They become angry and even more frustrated when they were told that it was none of their business...at times they become violent...And when this
happened, they would be thrown physically from the Realm by one or more Judoshii-Juniors, if not by Jane herself. The women of the Realm had found their strength and everyday living their destiny; they were making their own reality. The men were not a part of this and not allowed to tread on, let alone destroy, the new paths they had made. If they behaved, when they visited their children, they could watch and observe, but they could have no voice in any of it. The women were not interested in hearing their opinions. This in and of itself was difficult for the men to accept. Not only were they witnessing the strength exhibited by ‘’their women,’’ but they were expected to do so quietly and with respect — or they would not be allowed to visit with their children! This was the first and non-negotiable decision that had been made by the women and, of course, unanimously agreed upon. The men had so believed that it was the women’s role to be the caretaker of the children, some had barely any sentiment for their own children. When told the rules of visitation, they felt insulted. They felt degraded. Instead of following these rules, there were many fathers who just didn’t see the point or thought the women’s demands outrageous. They no longer tried to visit with their children. Many of the men said that visiting the children wasn’t worth the humiliation, seeing their women and children in this way, not treating the men as they had believed they deserved, as they had been treated before the Split.
Most of the women, who were not surprised by these responses, knew that they needed to protect themselves. And soon the roles of the women once again evolved and the wisest of these minds, the brightest of these souls, the strongest of these bodies, were all involved in the next stages of the evolution of this culture.
Part 5
Life in the Realm Gabrielle
As soon as the women left the Wideness, Gabrielle sensed something within as she began to think of as her destiny. She sensed a difference within herself. She could feel in her gut that something was changing within her. The word destiny kept creeping into her head even as she worked with the other women, creating their new home.
In the beginning and for some time after, life in the Realm was difficult for everyone. Most of the women felt an intense relief moving on, past the Wideness, creating and building their new homeland. The difficulties inherent in this endeavor might not have been fully understood, especially at the very beginning, but it was all a relief.
Gabrielle’s will seemed to become stronger. To some it seemed that she was so sure of herself, that she suffered no self-doubt, that she never lost sleep, and that being Cowander-in-Chief and, in essence, responsible for the women’s transition into this new reality, actually found her completely confident, without ever questioning her own decisions. But Gabrielle’s reality was much different than was perceived. It wasn’t that Gabrielle lacked empathy. It was that she didn’t let the pain of others affect her mind. Her thoughts and actions were determined completely by her objective mind.
Life for Gabrielle in the Realm was not easy. Before the Great Split, Gabrielle had possessed a unique power over others. This power came with a kind of distancing, a sense of aloofness, uncaring and cold. She was having a hard time with this newfound caring, which she translated into action. This was a part of her that she was completely unfamiliar with, a part of being that had somehow been left dormant. It was her aloofness and laissé faire in the Wideness that had allowed her to feel powerful, almost invincible. By remaining untouched by the pain of others and, in a very real sense, by her own pain, she was able to maintain the sensation of incredible power. However false this sense of power was, it gave her the freedom to live her life in a way that the other women could not imagine.
But all this had changed once out of the Wideness. Consequently, Gabrielle found herself leaning heavily on Jane Double D for support and tactical direction. Before she could understand and then rein them in, the new emotions she was now feeling had compromised her judgment. For the first time in her life, Gabrielle felt less certain of herself and her decisions. The First Cowander-in-Chief and Senshii were in daily consultation. Gabrielle had followed Jane’s advice completely, with all regarding the women’s safety and defense. Luckily, her own confidence in her movements and in her ability to lead and do Judoshii remained intact, so naturally, Gabrielle turned all of her energy to the JudoshiiJuniors. They became her passion — and she theirs.
On the other hand, Gabrielle’s sexual appetite grew with her role as First Cowander-in-Chief. It was as if this position gave her an understanding of all of the possibilities that the women presented to each other.
While Gabrielle truly possessed the Powers of All Around, her spirit and self-determination were not her only divine qualities. Her body was of such abundant passion that its pleasure could be felt by all in her presence. Her sexuality emitted a strong wave of pleasure and desire that not everyone in her presence could yet understand. Some assumed this to be part of her charisma and simply reveled in her ability to lead. Whatever it was that she had, everyone wanted to be around her, and many sought more than her guidance on the mats.
Her large and heavy breasts with nipples always at full mast caught the eye of most of the Judoshii-Juniors, many of the Daily Deed members and the Upper Stratus as well. Her body beckoned their touch and most every evening one or more of these women would bravely knock on her door, bearing gifts and intense desire. Gabrielle’s legs, wide in width, gave these nighttime visitors the feeling of a steady, safe grip.
These women were always warmly welcomed. The young and not so young women found
Gabrielle's divinity both bewitching and alluring. All of those who came to her bed were eager to please. Each of these women understood that the time loving and pleasuring with Gabrielle was not a permanent situation and did not mean a right to claim ownership. Gabrielle made this abundantly clear… But the nights of pleasure with Gabrielle soon became a legend of divine proportion. Legend, but still divine.
While in Gabrielle’s bed, each lived the moment with her body in the ultimate of complete pleasure. They loved to please her. Gabrielle orgasmed loudly and sweetly, her divine spirit sang as she came. Her breasts emanated love, a welcoming warmth, security and love to all who sucked and licked her large dark and swollen nipples, so sensitive that she would breathe heavily with each stroke. Her soft mound was wet with a heavy, sweet-smelling joie de vivre and was the only place that her skin showed pink, full and throbbing with desire…It was a wondrous pink that tasted both sweet and pungent, a delicate combination of honeysuckle and onions. When women tasted this ambrosia, they too would come and sing along with Gabrielle’s pleasure.
The women who frequented her bed did so wantingly and were indeed all full to near explosion of desire. They would each leave her room feeling full, satiated, happy, loved and desired. It was Gabrielle’s divinity that poured over them as her wet warmness shot through them. Yes. Gabrielle’s orgasms were strong. They encompassed her body and her soul. She would shake and sing as her previously imprisoned passion was released into her lovers’ bodies. The younger wom
en felt an awe of the intensity of these nights. The older women, relished by Gabrielle, felt an honor being part of the pleasure Gabrielle shared.
Interestingly enough, Jane Double D and First Cowander-in-Chief Gabrielle, as different as they were, did indeed get along and agree on most all of the matters as pertaining to the Judoshii-Juniors and defense. Jane, although very sexual in her own body, had definite boundaries and Gabrielle kept her own desires in check. She would never make sexual advances on Jane, knowing that sharing Jane’s bed would compromise their ability to separate and think clearly, challenging each other on an intellectual level, without the persistence of desire. So Gabrielle had turned herself off to those physical desires for Jane.
Jane observed Gabrielle’s relationship with these women, but she could not wholly understand it or take it in. It all seemed to her like a distant vision, her own passion so carefully kept at bay. For Jane, her first and only priority in the Realm was to the women and their children. And so Jane was a kind of safe haven for Gabrielle. She could speak freely, ask and prod, and all the while know that the responses she received from Jane were not coming from any sexual desires, but from her own wisdom, experience and soul-searching.
