Compromise

Joey fidgeted nervously in his seat and smiled at his host.

She opened her desk drawer and pulled out some paperwork and she scooted a piece of paper over towards him. "This is our marriage contract which every suitor must sign before marrying one of my daughters. My four son-in-laws have all signed it, and I expect Laura's future husband to sign it also. I want you to understand that I am not pressuring you or assuming anything, but I only think it's fair that you aren't caught by surprise should you ever be interested in that decision."

Joey held the contract and glanced over it quickly. "I do appreciate that ma'am."

"Item number one is to protect our assets against anyone who would take advantage of our family and try to steal our considerable resources. It also contains a generous monetary package if it turns out that the marriage just doesn't work out." Joey nodded with an understanding that this was indeed appropriate.

Mrs. Gillihan continued, "Item number two is an agreement that all Gillihan marriages will be wife-led. All decisions will be made by the wife and the husband is to be submissive to her. I will show you a little of how that works when we observe tonight's adult family time." Joey just sat there looking at the contract in a daze, trying to absorb as much as he could.

"Item number three is an agreement that the new groom will take the Gillihan name and their children will also carry the name of Gillihan."

Item number four was an agreement to spend at least one day a week at the Hope House in support of the building and its residents. Joey, of course, had no problem with that clause.

"Okay Joseph, let me show you what happens during our adult family time. "Mrs. Gillihan led Joseph up a stairway and through a door that obviously led to an area above the "Play Room." When they entered, he noticed that they were in a fairly wide encirclement above the play room. There were groups of chairs scattered along the walkway. This was obviously an observation area that surrounded the whole room.

As she led him around to a specific spot, Joseph noticed that her daughters and their husbands were already in the room.

"Normally, I would be down there with them, but I wanted to take this time to show you our more intimate family relationships. As you can tell, my daughters take the lead and their husbands follow their commands."

Joey looked down with amazement at what he saw. One daughter directed a husband to service her orally. Another daughter had one husband servicing another husband orally while she used a strap on to simulate intercourse. The last two daughters had their attention on the last husband who was now tied down onto his stomach so that he was restrained over a large leather covered bench. They had just started alternating a beating on his bottom and his legs with enough strength that welts appeared almost immediately. All the wives were dressed in menacing black leather and the husbands wore very frilly women's lingerie. None of the daughters were paired with their own husbands.

"From an outsider's point of view, this might seem cruel and nasty, but the scenes my family play are with love in mind. The husbands enjoy their submissive side while the ladies are reminded of their dominant position in the family. Even the whipping bench is an area of pleasure as the men reach a sexual high. Laura and her husband will join us when she is married."

Joey couldn't associate the actions he was seeing with love. He was becoming angry as he observed the actions around the whipping bench and saw the interactions between those that were not married to each other. He began to walk around towards the exit door as he talked to Mrs. Gillihan politely. "Thank you for sharing your family intimacies with me Mrs. Gillihan. I think I have a good sense of the process." She was amused that he was out the door and heading for his car before she could say anything. She knew that this experience was a lot to take in for the first time and was confident that he would understand after he gave it some thought.

Joey was disturbed by what he had just seen. He drove to Hope Hill and sat on the observation bench. He stared at the sunset and thought about his current situation. He loved Laura dearly and he loved the entire Gillihan family, but he was certainly uneasy about some of their rituals. After sitting on the bench in deep thought for an extended amount of time, he made the trip back to the villa.

The next day, Laura arrived home early from her trip. She quickly went to see Joey to surprise him. Joey was not there and all of his possessions were also gone. He had left a note on the bed with her name on it.

Laura,

I love you so much that I can't find words to describe my feelings. However, I will not be able to marry you or stay with you or your family due to the marriage contract that I would be required to sign. I know you will think that I am a fool for giving up everything in Port Orion, but there are clauses in there that for personal reasons, I just cannot accept.

With this in mind, I am flying out of town to return to my former home. It would hurt me too much and would be unfair to you if I stayed with no hope of marriage with you. You deserve someone who will fit better into your family's traditions.

I will always love you,

Joey

When Laura arrived home, she ran straight to her bedroom. Noticing her demeanor, her mother soon followed her in and found her crying and distraught. She found Joey's note on the floor next to the bed. After she read the note, she joined Laura on her bed and held her close. No words were spoken.

******

"It's a little early for drinking isn't it Joseph?" Joey hadn't noticed the arrival of the person attached to the voice. He was sitting at a corner table in the airport lounge staring at his drink in deep thought. Over and over again, he almost convinced himself that he had made the wrong choice by leaving Port Orion and his love behind. But then his brain would take him to the memories of his youth and thoughts that led him to leave Laura and book an outgoing flight this evening.

"Orange Juice," he answered with a chuckle. He then turned to look at the voice and saw Mrs. Gillihan standing there by his table with a soft smile. He quickly jumped up and promptly knocked over his glass of juice. "I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't realize it was you. I guess I was preoccupied. Would you like to sit down? I'll clean up my mess."

As he dabbed at his spill with a wad of napkins, the waitress came over and cleaned up the mess. He thanked her and ordered another juice and asked Mrs. Gillihan if she would like a drink too.

"I'll have the same please," she said to the waitress. "Thank you Joseph. I'm glad I found you before your flight." She actually knew his exact flight plans from the calls she had previously made to her contacts in the area.

"It's not scheduled until this evening. I've been sitting here thinking and waiting." They both took a sip from their newly delivered drinks. Joey looked up at Mrs. Gillihan and said "I'm sorry if I disappointed you ma'am."

"I was disappointed when I heard you were leaving, but I'm not disappointed in you. I spent the entire night with Laura, and her despair broke my heart more than anything I've ever experienced. My family and I have become very attached to you since the first day you came to Port Orion. I love you like a son Joseph."

Joey didn't know any way to answer her statement so he said "Thank you ma'am" and then was silent as he stared into his drink glass.

"Joseph, do you love Laura?"

He felt a small smile come over his face as he thought of Laura and how to answer that question. "When I was in college, I felt very fortunate to have had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Knight quite a bit. We talked about literature, writing and life. She once told me that the most important thing in a lasting relationship is Love of course, but it isn't everything. She said that there has to be good communication, empathy, and something else that I can't remember right now."

He looked over to Mrs. Gillihan and saw her nodding slightly with a small but noticeable smile on her face. He continued. "She probably told you that I spent my youth in and out of foster care homes until I left for college at 18. I lived with 4 different families during that time. I never told her about those times."

"I stayed with my first family until I was 6 years old. They were kind to me but said they didn't want to be responsible for the care of an older child. I stayed with my second family until they had to move away from the area when I was 12. I stayed with my third family for 2 years and then I ran away. The mother in the family would beat me with a whip she said she had purchased just for me. I wasn't a bad kid, but she felt great joy as she shouted how I was hers and there was nothing I could do about it. The father didn't beat me, but he was the one that tied me down for her, and he would taunt me as she got her jollies."

Mrs. Gillihan took that moment to reach across the table and softly put her hand on top of his.

"I was terrified and angry, but I had nowhere to go and no one to go to. I finally got enough nerve to get out of there. I spent the last few years in a group home where I was just another body to feed, clothe and babysit. I'll never let that happen to me again, even if it is intended as loving and playful." He looked into Mrs. Gillihan's tear-filled eyes and said, "To answer your question ma'am, I love Laura more than I could ever imagine was possible. I love the Gillihan family too. As mixed up as it may sound, I love you as a friend and a mother. The Joseph Hart legacy is nothing compared to the powerful Gillihan family, but it's all I've got, and I'm keeping it. I decided long ago that I will not give up my integrity or my name for anything, even the paradise that the Gillihan family offers. I will probably regret this decision all my life, but I would also regret giving up my identity. I'm sorry."

Joey looked down at his glass and stared, fighting back his tears. Mrs. Gillihan patted his hand and leaned back in her chair and finished her drink. They sat silently for several moments until she straightened up and said, "Where will you go Joseph, what will you do?

He never looked up, but responded, "I guess I'll just go home and try to work on a novel."

"Where is home Joseph?"

He looked up, but didn't know how to answer. He dropped his head back down and stared at his juice.

"Would you please do me a favor Joseph?" Joey didn't reply, but he did look up at her with sorrow filled eyes. "Please do not leave Port Orion tonight. I would like you to stay for a couple more days so we can talk. I don't know what we can do or work out, but I don't want to lose you without a fight."

Joey perked up just a bit and then slumped back down. "I don't think I can postpone my flight this late and I've already checked out of the hotel room I stayed in last night."

She could see he was making excuses, but she read his response as a possible agreement. "You let me take care of your flight and your hotel room Joseph. I have a little influence in the area, and I'll arrange it so that you can still leave in a few days if that is what you decide. If that sounds okay, why don't we have dinner together tonight? We can eat and talk like a couple of old friends and be done early enough that you can catch the sunset at Hope Hill."

She stood up and gathered her things. Joey rose too. "I'd like that ma'am. I think I'll try and get some rest. I didn't sleep very well last night either, but now I'm looking forward to dinner tonight."

They decided that she would pick him up in front of the hotel at 5:30 and they could decide where to go from there. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and went out towards her car where her driver was waiting. When Joey reached the hotel, he wondered how he would get his room reactivated, but when he talked to the clerk, she said it had been taken care of already. When he got to his room, he went to sleep very quickly. He was still troubled, but a little bit more at ease.

Joey woke up a couple of hours before dinner and laid in bed for awhile, thinking about what had happened and what might happen in the future. He soon got up to prepare for dinner. After his shower, he went for his clothes and saw the blue flower dress that Laura had given him before the first day they went out shopping as girlfriends. He would take it with him even though he may never wear it again. He admitted to himself that he had fun dressing up as a woman for the girls and for the Gillihan family, especially Laura. She seemed to enjoy having him as a girlfriend every once in awhile and had to admit, it was fun for him too.

He walked down to the hotel lobby, grabbed a cup of coffee, and started reading the paper provided by the hotel. He was a half hour early, but his nervous energy wouldn't allow him to stay in his room and wait. He was looking forward to the suggestion by Mrs. Gillihan that he visit Hope Hill after dinner and their talk. He needed to recharge his soul, even if for the last time.

At exactly 5:30, Joey saw Mrs. Gillihan's car drive up and walked out to meet them. The driver opened the back door for him and he sat beside his date. She reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled at him. "I'm so glad we are getting together tonight Joseph. Thank you for coming along. How about we go to a seafood restaurant? After all, that's what Port Orion is known for."

"I'm glad we were able to get together too Ma'am. I'm really going to miss you a lot." He quickly glanced up in her face as he realized that he had basically confessed to her that he had little hope of staying in Port Orion much longer. She politely smiled back. "Seafood would be great ma'am."

The driver knew where to go and the back seat passengers talked about Port Orion's eateries and sites as they passed them by. They talked about The Book of Hope that he had been working on and how he hoped someone would be able to pick up where he had left off. When they arrived at the restaurant, Joey realized that this was the same restaurant that the other Gillihans had taken him after his first visit to the Hope House. They were even given the same private table that they had occupied during that visit. He smiled at those memories.

During dinner, they enjoyed their food and small talked away any embarrassing silence. When they had finished, the table was cleared except for the pitcher of iced tea that was left on the table for them to share. Mrs. Gillihan reached into her document bag and got out some paperwork and a couple of pens. When she put one of the papers and a pen in front of him, Joey noticed that it was a copy of the Gillihan marriage contract, and he tensed up.

She looked up at him and smiled. "I am not expecting you to sign it Joseph, but I would like to talk about it if you're okay with that. I want to be very clear on your position for each item on this list. I brought out the pens if we want to make notes. Feel free to write any notes you want on the paper, it is only a copy like mine."

He slid and turned the contract in front of him so he could read it. It was the exact document that he was offered 2 days ago. "I understand ma'am."

"Please give me honest answers to my questions Joseph. If you don't want to answer, that's fine, but if you do answer, please be totally honest with me."

Joey looked up at her and nodded in agreement.

"Item 1 is standard in most prenuptial agreements when one side or the other has a lot more money than the other. It's for protection of our assets. I think it's fair to say that this is the case?" She looked up and looked at Joseph as he smiled at her and nodded.

"I have no problem with item number one Mrs. Gillihan. I have no desire to become filthy rich from your family's estate. Most writers don't write because they will make a lot of money anyway. The out clause is certainly generous. I'm not even sure what I would do with a million dollars and the items listed if I were ever to leave. If I were to be fortunate enough to marry Laura, I would never leave her anyway. I hope you believe me when I say that."

"I do believe you Joseph. That clause is more of a formality, but I can tell you understand," She said as she scribbled a few notes.

Joey glanced down at the contract and looked up at Mrs. Gillihan. "Item number two is a problem for me ma'am. I'm glad you explained everything you meant by a wife-lead marriage and allowed me to observe your family's interactions. It made everything perfectly clear."

"Joseph, the Gillihan family has a tradition of being led by females. I think it's clear that I am the current head of our family and my girls are the leaders of their individual families. I think you've observed that everyone in the Gillihan family not only approves, they also like the way things are setup."

"Yes ma'am, I've talked to them and they agree that your arrangement is very satisfactory for them. I have no problem with that, and I have no problem with them. I consider them all friends, but I am not them. The guys tell me that the scenes involving spanking and whipping are symbolic and are reminders of their place in the family. If it were me bound over the whipping bench, I would not feel the love they say they share. I would feel anger and hatred as I remember what it felt like growing up. And I could not participate in any intimate relations with anyone other than Laura, and I could not allow her to have intimate relations with anyone else but me... including her family."

Mrs. Gillihan replied, "Everything we do is for the love of our family, including the scenes. The husbands even discover a sub-space during the scenes which is a positive and powerful experience. We keep our intimate relations within our family and love each other very much. We enjoy each other's company whether we are intimate or not. Like everything else, the wives make those decisions and the husbands follow. These are very positive experiences for everyone in our adult family."

Joey looked her right in her eyes and spoke in a slightly forceful, but respectable tone. "With all due respect Mrs. Gillihan, I will not consent to be beaten, or whipped, or even spanked, and I will not be submissive to anyone, male or female. I promised myself that when I was young. These would not be positive experiences for me at all."

He continued by addressing item number three. "And I will not change my name to Gillihan. My children's names will be Hart, not Gillihan. I know it sounds silly for me to want to protect my family name, especially against such a respected family name as Gillihan." He looked down at his hands and lowered his tone. "I was told my parents died soon after I was born. I was also told that my family was poor and they could leave nothing for me. All I have left is my name, and I'm not giving it up. And if I have children, they will be the beginning of my Hart family tradition. I'm sorry Mrs. Gillihan, but I want to be totally honest with you. I admit, your family offers me a lot, and I offer you nothing, but if I consented to those conditions, it would feel like I was selling my soul." He then sat in silence as he stared down at his drinking glass.

Mrs. Gillihan took a deep breath and slid back into her chair. She looked at Joey with a slight smile and sipped her drink before speaking in a calm and loving voice. "You're definitely wrong about one thing Joseph. You offer a lot to Laura, to me, and to our entire family. And I know that the girls at the Hope House are terribly fond of you."

Joey looked up at her and smiled, "Thank you ma'am. I will miss everyone too."

"It was good for us to talk Joseph. I'm a little clearer now on where we are at. I would like to go back and talk to my family and see what they have to say. I'll be honest though, with four husbands and wives already following the same contract, it might be difficult to come up with an answer that would satisfy us all." She perked up a bit and said, "But like I said before, you're too important to us not to at least try. Let's meet again for dinner tomorrow at the same time. That will give both of us time to think things over and see if we can work something out."