Biggest and Best

After the meeting, I broke down and tried to call Claire's cell phone. The five times I tried over an hour's time -- with all of them going directly to voice mail -- told me that she had turned her cell phone off for now. She obviously did not want to talk to anyone -- including me.

I tried to call her at work. A lady in the office said that Claire had not come back to the store after she had left for the school event. She said that Claire's father had called down about an hour ago to say that Claire had gotten in touch with him, saying she was not feeling well and would not be in for the rest of the day; and maybe for the following day either. Interesting, I thought.

I asked if she could transfer me to Claire's father's number. When Roger McNamee came on the line, I said, "Roger, this is Wade. Do you know where Claire is? I can't seem to reach her on her cell."

Her father hesitated for a moment before saying, "Hello, Wade. Claire called me and said she was leaving the school at around eleven. I thought she had been with you there, but she didn't say anything about that. She just sounded upset and said she was going to need some time off from work here at the store so that she could sort some things out in her mind and in her marriage. I didn't ask her for any details, but I can ask you. Do you know just what the hell has her so upset; are you two having trouble of some sort?"

I decided to tell a small lie. "We have our share of the typical difficulties that marriages experience once in a while, Roger. But there is nothing going on with us right now that can't be fixed, with a little time, and a lot of communication.

"All I know right now is that Mindy, in her childish innocence, said something in public today at school that was very embarrassing for Claire. But, instead of correcting Mindy and smoothing things over, Claire just bolted from the room and, I guess, from the school as well. I don't know where she went; and, evidently, she has her cell turned off. I just want to talk to her and see if we can sort out what our little Mindy said and try to set things right." I paused to let him respond.

Her father answered, "Wade, I don't know what to tell you. If she did not go home or come over here, then I have no idea what has become of her. But, please keep me and Nan informed and be sure to call us when you find her. Nan will be worried, especially with the kids here."

I assured Roger that I would find Claire and let him know when I did. He wished me luck, not knowing that I was not counting on luck alone. I had the GPS tracker for her car and I just needed to fire it up and locate her.

When I hung up, I went out to my 4Runner, turned on the ignition, and flipped the 'on' switch for the device. After a few seconds, the little location indicator beacon showed me where Claire's Camry was. At the moment, it was in motion, traveling along the main U.S. highway headed east out of town. She looked, from the scale indicator on the screen, to be about sixty miles out of town and still moving.

Just as I was about to pull out and try to follow her route, I got a beep on my cell phone. Looking at the screen, I saw that the call was from a local number, but the caller ID was blocked. Remembering Carol's promise to call this afternoon, I answered. "Hello."

"Wade," it was Carol Newman. "I had my teaching assistant fill in for me and take over for the last hour-and-a-half of school. I had to get out of there and call you. Can you meet me at Jimmy's?" Jimmy's was a popular bar at the west edge of town. I was irritated that I needed to talk to Carol and go west to do it, while my wife was traveling east and I needed to go after her as well. Before I could beg off talking to Carol, I noted that the GPS device had shown me that Claire's car was stationary now. I decided to risk it and told Carol that I would be at Jimmy's in about fifteen minutes. She said she'd be there.

It was a little early for the afternoon crowd at Jimmy's. Carol and I had a booth in back and the company in the place was limited just to two other patrons, both on stools at the bar itself, well away from us.

"So, what did you need to talk about? I mean other than your asshole husband evidently talking smack about my wife in front of our little girl; and right there in the school at that? Just what the hell is going on?" I was pissed now and I decided to lay out some of my cards.

"And just where does your husband, Dwight, the so-called great educator, get off calling my wife the biggest slut and the best fuck in town? What qualifies him to say something like that about my Claire? Do you know about that?" I must have looked as furious as I felt, because Carol leaned back with a touch of fear on her face as I said this and leaned in across the table a bit.

Carol sighed and took a sip of her white wine. "I guess we ... I guess that Dwight wasn't being very careful when he said that to Claire at school in a public place ... and within Mindy's range of hearing."

Now, I was surprised and had to lean back with wide eyes. "What did you mean when you started to say 'we' just now? Are you part of all this as well? What kind of people are you in this town that you would deliberately try to break up marriages? Does all this give some sort of kick to you sick fucks ... to rip out the hearts of an unsuspecting spouse? Or do you just thrive on the idea of making a guy a cuckold; particularly a move-in like me?

"That's it, isn't it? You fuckers have all been together since kindergarten and you get off on fucking over the guy from out of town by fucking his wife without his knowing." I was beyond furious now. I was experiencing what some call explosive rage and Carol just happened to be the unfortunate person to be within my bursting radius at the moment.

Carol had started shaking her head 'no' from side to side and I could see tears forming in her eyes. Finally, she put her glass down when I finished that part of my tirade and put a hand out gently on one of mine, and said, "Wade. It's not like that. Please! Let me tell you some of what's going on so that you can understand."

I started to give her a smartass answer about already knowing enough about what was going on; that I knew about Harvey Bland and about Tim and Gay Harmon. But doing that would reveal my complicity in -- or at least my deeper knowledge about -- the events surrounding the home invasions. I got my temper under control, enough to keep my mouth shut about that.

I said simply, "Okay. You talk to me. Just try to convince me that what is going on is not an attempt by you and Dwight to destroy my marriage. I'm starting to the idea that there might be others involved in this as well, and I want to get some answers. Are you going to tell me the whole truth about what is going on?"

Carol picked up her wine glass and drained it. She waved off the bartender when he raised his eyebrows in her direction. Then she began to tell me some things about Claire that my wife had evidently felt necessary to leave out of our long premarital series of talks about our sexual and relationship histories -- you know, the one where we were supposed to disclose all about our previous sexual encounters and be honest with each other so that there would be no misunderstandings or jealousies developing later in our marriage.

"Wade, how much do you know about the history of swinging in this country?" Carol now had my attention, only because I was floored by her seemingly out-of-the-blue off-the-subject question. She waited for me to get enough composure just to shrug. Then she continued.

"Well, swinging has been going on for quite a while. It really started big-time in this country after World War II within the military. Then it spread into the civilian communities in a big way with the advent of the birth control pill.

"There were several families in this area who got involved in it in the sixties. I only found that out when I was in college, and I have lived here all my life. Evidently, Claire's Grandpa and Grandma McNamee were part of the bunch at the center of those activities." Carol paused to see what my reaction would be to this revelation.

I puffed my cheeks and said, "Claire never mentioned anything about that. I know that her grandparents were killed in a car crash of some kind when Claire was in middle school, but that's all she has said about them."

"Yeah," Carol began again, "Well; that is true; they died when Claire was twelve. But their family's lifestyle had a direct impact on Claire personally. Are you sure you can handle hearing all of this?"

I set my mouth into a thin line and looked directly at her. I nodded and indicated with a wave of one hand for her to continue.

"The McNamee family and about ... oh ... I'd say five other couples were at the center of the swing scene activity around here, the way I hear it. There may have been a few more couples, but I'm not sure.

"Anyway, when Claire turned eighteen -- that would have been the summer before her senior year in high school -- her parents went off on a second honeymoon and left her with Nan's sister and her husband, Claire's Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Dave. I'm pretty sure that Roger knew about Nan's family and their swinging past, along with the swinging activities of Nan and Nan's sister, Jeannie. I'm also pretty sure that Jeannie and Nan had been part of the swinging scene in their late teens -- the swingers would include their kids in swing gatherings on weekends at gathering sites for the whole crowd; but the kids were only brought in on these events after it was confirmed that they had reached the age of eighteen -- to avoid legal hassles -- and that they were already sexually active.

"But, back to Nan and Roger; I'm pretty sure that Nan had given all that swinging stuff up when she and Roger married. At least I have not heard or seen any evidence to the contrary. But I heard that, a little while later, Nan had convinced Roger to try swinging at least once.

"I know I'm messing this up badly, but I need to tell this story my own way. So, bear with me." She sighed and continued as I just nodded.

"Well; when they left Claire with her aunt and uncle that time, it made things difficult. It seems that her Aunt Jeannie was to be the hostess for the next swing gathering for the regional swing crowd and it was happening right in the middle of Claire's first visit since turning eighteen.

"When her Aunt Jeannie asked Claire if she was a virgin, Claire lied and told her no, that she had already engaged in sex a couple of times. That was all Jeannie needed to hear. She told Claire that she would be hosting a swing gathering that weekend and that several families with their over-eighteen sons and daughters would be there as well.

"I don't know how Claire felt about that, or about finding these things out about her extended family -- specifically her aunt and uncle -- and realizing that her mother had not been entirely forthcoming about her own youth. I DO know that Claire was there at the event -- she confided this to me during our time together in high school and on the cheerleading squad over the next several weeks.

"She lost her virginity on that Friday afternoon at her first swing party. She told me that she had sex with at least four teenage guys and three adult men before that weekend was over. She also told me that it had been the most exciting thing she had ever experienced and she was going to try to visit with her aunt and uncle again whenever they had something like that scheduled.

"Well, it only lasted for another year, and she got to go to only two more events like that before her aunt and uncle had to move away because of a job change; and Claire was getting ready to graduate high school. Claire told me that she had waited a couple of weeks after her aunt and uncle had moved away before she revealed her experiences to her mother and asked about Nan's history with the swinging. Nan was only mildly upset at Claire's admission, but confessed that she herself had been part of that scene from age eighteen until she had married Roger.

"Roger, it seems, had gone with Nan to one swing event and, afterward, he had politely told Nan and her swinging relatives and friends that he and Nan appreciated the invitation to include him and Nan in their activities and circle of friends. But he and Nan would not be part of that lifestyle beyond that point; nor would any children they might have.

"When Nan told Claire all this, Claire said that she would still like to go to events in the area until she had to leave for college, since she now knew several of the other families involved, and even attended high school with several of the teen boys and girls of the swinging families. Nan spoke to her at length about the downside of all of that activity. She encouraged Claire to take the long view on what impact that type of lifestyle and sexual history might have on future mates and family. Claire finally conceded that it was probably best not to be part of that.

"I lost track of Claire for a brief when we went off to college. But I am pretty sure that she did not get involved with swinging while she was at Iowa State.

"The problem that came up for her, before she left for college, was that Dwight's family had been part of the swinging scene and he knew about Claire's now participating in it. The Marshall, Bland, and the Harmon families here in town had been part of the scene as well, so Gay Marshall, Harvey Bland, and Tim Harmon also knew about it; and Harvey, Dwight, and Tim had been three of the guys to have sex with Claire at her first event -- which was also theirs, as they had only recently turned eighteen as well. I don't know who it was who took her cherry, but she probably has told you about that."

I responded, "She only said that she lost her virginity at a party when she was eighteen and she had been involved in underage drinking at the time. She said that it was a guy named Chris and he was older."

Carol thought a minute and nodded. "Yeah, Chris Danforth was one of the college-age guys who regularly attended those parties when he was back in town. I don't know if the Danforth family is even around this area any more. Anyway ..." then she got on with the story.

"At the end of our senior year of high school, just before graduation, Dwight, Harvey, Gay, and Tim convinced Claire and me to go with them to the quarry on the edge of town one night during Memorial Day weekend." She looked at me as she paused here.

I nodded and said, "Yeah; I've seen indirect references to some kind of happening at a quarry on the Friday before Memorial Day that year. It was written about in several entries by folks that signed Claire's high school yearbook for her senior year."

"Yeah," Carol nodded and continued, "Gay and I were on the cheerleader squad with Claire, and the three of us agreed to go with Dwight, Tim, and Harv. We girls knew that it was going to be an evening of sex with those three football players. We just did not know all that those three guys had in mind." Here she paused and signaled the bartender to bring another glass of wine. She waited until it had been delivered and I took a sip of my CC and ginger. Then she picked up again.

"We got up there and it was a glorious evening. We put down some large blankets so that we could stay out of the dirt and keep the ticks away. Then," Carol actually blushed for a moment, "we paired off and had sex ... I mean right there in front of each other. I need for you to know that the three guys and Gay and Claire had all been part of the swing scene with their families, but I had not. So, this was all just so new to me; it was just so ... right out there on display. I was scared, but I was even more afraid of being ridiculed by my friends; so, I went along.

"Pretty soon, I got into it as well as they did. The guys had gotten some liquor, and we all had taken enough to drink by that time not to be too inhibited. And, after the first round of sex, all inhibitions were gone and we just sat around naked in the warm evening.

"It was about half an hour after that first round of sex when we heard the sound of approaching cars. Two more cars pulled into our area and I freaked out; Claire was a bit uncomfortable, but she just frowned and looked at the others. Gay seemed to take it all in stride.

"The guys just smirked, telling us to relax; they had anticipated all of this. Well, Claire and I had not anticipated the arrival of six of the seniors on the basketball team, four of whom were black.

"There we were, all sitting there naked and up walk six other guys. I nearly passed out from fright. Dwight told the guys who had arrived to get comfortable -- by that he meant get naked.

"They all stripped and sat down to join us in conversation and in drinking -- they had brought more liquor. After a while, one of the new arrivals asked when Dwight was going to come through on his promise. I did not know what he was talking about and Claire looked confused as well. The others seemed to know what was going on, though.

"By now, everyone was very drunk, except for Dwight and Gay. To my surprise, and to Claire's, Dwight announced that he had promised the basketball players that he was going to provide them the sexual services of a couple of cheerleaders. Gay indicated that she was game, but Claire and I, no matter how cool we wanted to appear to be, said that we had not planned on having an impromptu gangbang.

"Dwight gave us all another round of drinks as the conversation continued. I do not know if he put something in any of the drinks or if they were just stronger than before. All I know is that, before long, Claire and I were on our backs and were each pulling a train while the six senior basketball players -- and the other three guys -- all lined up to fuck us as well.

"It turns out that our friend and teammate, Gay, was not really part of the deal after all, and was drafted into being the event recorder for this little sex party. When I looked up after what seemed like a couple of hours, and after the last guy had finally fucked me until he couldn't come anymore, there was Gay with a video camera. She had recorded the entire event on Tim's new camera -- he was one of the first in this town to have one that was completely digital.

"Well, we all got wiped down with a handful of paper towels and we got dressed. I started to get scared at that point, worried that the story about that night was going to get back to my parents and -- worst of all -- to the rest of the students at the school. The reputations of the cheerleaders were already ones of wildness and sexual promiscuity -- with good reason, really -- but I did not want the word of this night's extreme happenings to get out.

"Claire was not as adamant as I, but she stood by me and insisted on keeping this all just among ourselves. Everyone agreed and Tim promised that he would destroy the video. He even got the camera from Gay and pulled out the video card to show us as he dropped it into the water at the bottom of the quarry.

"Digital cameras were so new on the market then that we did not know he had pulled out the battery pack, and not the memory card. We did not find that out until recently, when the three guys and Gay decided to try to schedule a reenactment of that big gangbang on the fifteenth anniversary weekend of the original. Only then did Tim and Gay reveal that they still had the video from that night."

I interrupted. "What the fuck is all this stuff about a reenactment?"

Carol took my outburst more calmly than I would have expected. "Just let me explain all this in my own way, Wade; please.

"You know about Gay and Tim. You may not know that they stayed in the swing scene when they married. Harvey stayed in and brought Joy into it when they married after college. I fell in love with and married Dwight during college and started going with him to swing parties right there at the university. All three of us couples have kept up with the swing scene off and on for the past ten years.