Keeping Company Ch. 03

My deepest thanks go to NinaWild for taking on this marathon project. This story does go between past and present, but I do try to make it as easy as possible to understand as it does.

*****

The Present...

During the summer we were all busy. Beth's folks were packed and moved in just before school ended. Amy's realtor friend did herself proud and earned her hefty tip. They now lived in a gated apartment three blocks from my house. Beth's friend suggested a two bedroom apartment since the children would be having sleepovers.

It was also decided that Beth and the children would pack a suitcase each with the things they really wanted to bring with them. Everything else was given to goodwill. The next day they stepped onto a plane and never once looked back. All the girls spent the next week buying everything new, from clothes to furniture and a car.

The rest of the summer was an orientation exercise for them all; I even showed them some of the places Ginny used to take Steven when he was younger. The one thing about now living the life of a nomad was that no one knew how to find me. I had found another gap in the market that the computer companies hadn't yet exploited. It took me a couple of tries but I got it figured out in the end.

Once I had the prototype working and patented I got a friend of Wendy's to drop a hint to a reporter friend of hers. Amy had to get two of her people on the legal stuff. It took a month of a bidding war before I signed it over. The money was passed on anonymously to cancer research; no one should have to lose their own Ginny.

In the months that slave had allowed Mandy's slut to play - she had only done so twice - it seemed Mandy was correct in saying that slut just wanted to take the edge off, although I did get a call from Mandy this morning asking if I would stop by this evening.

"It seems that slave is in a good mood and is letting me play this evening, so I'm going to have one of the girls around tonight. Please come and help me make it a real fun night since I don't know when she will be in a good mood again."

I had little doubt Mandy would pay for her flippant attitude towards slave, but we settled on a time and said our goodbyes. At seven that evening I walked into Mandy's apartment. She came out of the bedroom naked when she heard the door.

"Oh goody, you're here and on time as well."

She was already pulling my clothes off me as she spoke.

"I've had her here for an hour now and she's already showing signs that she may not last the night. I ask you, what's a slut supposed to do when she's allowed out and no one to play with?"

She led me into her bedroom by my cock but it deflated quickly when I saw Beth on the bed waiting for me. Mandy noticed and shot onto her knees sticking my cock into her mouth to keep me hard.

"Please don't freak out on me. I asked Mandy to help me, she gave me slut. I'm a voted on member of this group and yet you haven't touched me in all that time."

Beth got off the bed and walked over to me; Mandy had stopped the retreat of my erection and was well on the way to bringing it back to life. Beth held my head in her hands and we kissed. She tasted sweet, her mouth was a fun place to be and her tongue was my guide.

"My name is Beth; I have two wonderful children and now have a great sex life. Nothing like the life I had before. I want to explore some more. Spend the night pounding this pussy, so this slut that's now trying to shove her face into my pussy can spend all night sucking your cum out of me."

Suddenly her eyes closed and her hands held onto Mandy's head as she rode her orgasm.

"You have seen what Steven did to me and videoed himself doing it. That was him not you. I didn't break back then and I won't now if you fuck the shit out of me. The rest of the girls are coming by in the morning to take over from you two. I'm promised a memorable night like the one you gave Wendy a little while back."

She looked down at Mandy, grabbed her head and rubbed her pussy over her face; her body shuddered as she did. Mandy grabbed her hips and tried to push her face deeper into Beth's pussy.

"Please Mark. Replace the memories that sorry excuse for a husband gave me with one's I will treasure forever."

So we did. We even used some of the toys that slave likes as well. I got the girls to come early and we did indeed spend all night on Beth. She never made it out of Mandy's apartment for two days. I had to carry her to the bathroom so she could pee before I took her back to the waiting hands, tits and lips of one or more of the girls again.

All the girls have every event written into their calendars, although they are happy to leave me alone during the day of my late wife's birthday, wedding or some other event they have found along the way. The night belongs to one or more of them. And sometimes I still sneak into the storage box that holds the memories of my life with Ginny.

I thought I knew everything I boxed and placed into storage, yet even to this day I still come across something that I never noticed while packing. As I made myself comfortable amongst my memories I seemed drawn to one of Ginny's jewelry boxes. It wasn't much, she tended to use it as an overflow since the house safe was in the basement.

We couldn't be bothered to go into the basement on our returns from some social evening. So she had got into the habit of placing a few pieces of jewelry into the overflow box. That included the jewelry she wore on events, which she would place into the basement the next day.

My first thought was that I had removed anything of value and had contemplated handing it over to a charity so they could hopefully earn some money from it. Yet, every time my mind was made up, something nagged at me until I had either forgotten about it or I had decided to do something about it at a later date.

Pulling each draw open and checking to see if I had missed something kept my attention. The thought that I may find some hidden treasure that Ginny had kept there made me smile. It was empty and with a small sigh I picked it up to move it. As I placed it onto the floor beside me it made a small noise, as though something inside had moved.

Yet, that was impossible. I had checked every draw, even opening the top and found nothing but memories. With my interest once again peaked as I lifted the box up off the floor and tilted it, there it was again. Barely audible but something did indeed move. This time I shook it harder, the sound of movement made me once again inspect the box in more detail. What had I missed?

All that Ginny had told me about the jewelry box when she came home with it was that she had met the man who hand made these boxes and asked if he could make one for her. Three months later the box appeared. To me it looked nice but it was just a jewelry box. She used it for many years until she found she needed a bigger one since I kept buying her trinkets and jewelry.

Although the bigger one served its purpose, she always refused to get rid of her first one, using it to store the jewelry that her mother had given her and as an overflow instead. My first thought was that a ring or something of that size had fallen out of one of the draws, yet when I pulled all the draws out there was nothing. The top display shelf yielded nothing, yet when I shook the box the noise was still their

Turning the box upside down and looking closer at the base gave me the answer that I was looking for. As my fingers worked their way along the edge of the base and against one of the corners, I felt a slight bump and when my finger pushed the base clicked and moved back half an inch. When I pulled the base further back an envelope dropped out and landed on the floor by my feet.

Once I put the box back together I leaned down and picked up the envelope. All it had on it was my first name and that was clearly in Ginny's distinctive handwriting. My hands trembled when I read the contents.

My Dearest Mark.

Amy has just left and I hear you in the kitchen. My strength ebbs and flows so I figure this would be the last chance I have to do this. Being soul-mates for so long has meant that I know you all too well; my death is going to kill you.

I can't allow that and neither will my friends. You have touched each of these women and yet you have no knowledge of just how deeply. Each has a gift or a characteristic that will compliment you and make you whole again. Only when its time will you love again, you will know when and each of my friends will be ready for that day.

Like real love it is unconditional. They share each other just as they are willing to share you. I know you won't freak out, my love, or call them freaks for that matter. Not once have you treated any of those that you have met with anything but true respect. Your life is with them now, my love. Not just one but all four of them. Your heart is big enough for each to find a warm loving home just as I had for so many years.

What's more, my darling husband, is that they need you. Being part of this group will compliment them just as much as it will you. Every day I woke and thanked the stars I met you and soon I will look down from those same stars and thank you all for looking after each other. I have no need to tell you how to treat them. Your heart will tell you that, but my one request is that you look after Mandy and Amy for me.

Although all four come to you with damaged backgrounds, the love you give each of them will act as a calming palm to each.

My love for you won't end and I can only hope you love each of them just as much.

Yours forever

Ginny

I read the letter twice and cried both times. I phoned Amy and an hour later she knocked on the storage unit door. I sat her down and she read the letter as well.

"Ginny told me she was going to leave you this letter. I knew she planned to write it when I left. The plan was to give it to you just before it was time to leave the house and live with us all. But Ginny got real sick that night and I never knew if she wrote it or where she put it if she had."

I handed Amy the jewelry box and showed her the hidden catch and once again the click was heard before the cover slid back to reveal it's hiding place. She smiled and shook her head in wonder before placing the box back in my hands.

"It's not my place to say what you do with Ginny's things, but perhaps you may want to consider giving that box to Beth."

I couldn't think of a reason why not.

"I'm going to show the rest of the girls this letter as well, it belongs to us all. I'll give Beth the box then."

Something in the letter nagged at me.

"I understand why I have to look after Mandy but why did Ginny think you needed looking after as well?"

At first I thought she wasn't going to answer.

"Slave stood and said to my face that I was the strongest yet also the weakest of us all. She didn't lie, slave can see more than any of us give her credit for. I divorced my husband because he couldn't keep it in his pants. When I confronted him about it he raped me. He told me it was my farewell gift from him."

A cold feeling seeped down my spine as I looked at her.

"Why did you take Mandy's place at the hotel? You knew what I needed, yet you instigated it."

Her eyes went so hard for a moment. Finally she breathed.

"We took an oath and I went into it with my eyes open. That day may have come, it may not have. I was ready either way. But don't you ever think that you are my ex-husband. What you did to me was an emotional release. What my ex did to me took him a week of constant abuse and raping me, so I've been to worse places than you can take me."

"Where is your ex now?"

"Dead, died in jail a year into his prison sentence. It seems inmates hate three things more than anything. An informant, a pedophile and a rapist."

She knew I was going to ask so she explained in detail what her ex had done When they had their argument he had tied her to the bed and raped her for a week. Once his anger had subsided enough, he had realized what he had done and knew he was going to jail so he continued to rape her at his leisure. Also in there was him phoning his friends and inviting them around as well. It may have gone on for longer but she managed to get loose and called the police.

"I don't expect you to need this body when Mandy is around, so I'm ok with your daemons getting out once in awhile. Besides, my therapist needed some new material. The old stuff was getting boring."

Amy stopped me before I had a chance to say anything.

"I get loved by you. Remember that because I do and wake with a smile on my lips every morning I wake next to you. Our promise to each other is set in stone. We all went into it with our eyes open. The only thing that changed was that you found slave and to have done that you already had the daemons in your head but they were dormant because of Ginny."

Amy helped me pick everything up and watched as I closed the storage unit once again. She had taken the rest of the day off, so we went back to her place and made love. I called a meeting of the girls for the next day and Beth had asked her folks if they could have the children for an hour or two after school so we could have our meeting.

The letter got handed around and the box of tissues followed the letter. At first Beth refused the box until I handed over the jewelry Ginny had wanted either Beth or her daughter to have as part of the will. The box of tissues lived next to her for the rest of the meeting.

"I was going to do this later and individually but since I do have you all here."

I handed to each of the girls an envelope; once they each opened it the confused looks took hold.

"You will see dates on each of the cards. The dates cover a two week period that also includes your birthdays. Please place in your diaries those dates and make sure you have that two weeks off. I will accept family emergencies, but if you can't take time off even with the notice I have given you because it is work related, then you forfeit those two weeks for a year."

My gut instinct said that Wendy would initiate the questions. I was wrong, Carol spoke first. "Ok, do we get any clue?"

"None at all, I will give you each an idea of what to pack by the theme I give you. Other than that all the arrangements are being made by me."

We all heard Wendy mumble to herself just a little louder than she thought she had. "God damn period better not get in the way."

The howls and catcalls, not to mention the finger pointing, took over the meeting then. I did notice the girls place their card back into the envelope and disappear into bags. Beth stood and walked up to me, her card still in her hand.

"My birthday is in four weeks, what do I pack?"

"You're different. I have to be open with you since the children are involved. Your folks already know and have the tickets. For the first week we are off to Disney, the second week your folks are bringing the children back here with them and sitting while I take you away for the second week."

Beth started to smile.

"And that's the week you're not going to tell me about?"

She knew the answer to that even before she asked it. Beth held her card close to her chest, leaned in and kissed me. We came up for air with the sounds of wolf whistles and telling us to get a room.

*******

I followed Wendy home that evening. She went to the bedroom and I started the hot tub and got us some drinks. It was a naked Wendy that was already pulling my pants down before I had even put the tray of drinks down. She let me sit before she sat on my lap.

"Ok, what's on your mind?"

"What makes you think I have something on my mind?"

"Because I'm naked and sat on your lap and you're not hard. I'm glad I know you all too well or you would have put a real dent in my ego."

Although we both giggled at her remark I knew Wendy meant every word of it.

"Charlie Morgan did well for himself when he married you."

I had meant it as a compliment, little did I realize how that was going to come back and bite me on the ass.

Wendy wrapped her arms around me before she placed her head on my shoulder.

"I met my late husband at a convention; his company was looking into upgrading the machinery in one of the plants. I was in my final year of college and worked part time with the sales team at Arden's. Charlie heard the sales pitch, read all the brochures and said he wanted to come back to the plant to see what he was getting for his money."

Charlie Morgan was always happy to look for what he wanted but when it came to parting with cash he wanted to know every detail. When he went to Arden's the sales and technical team went full on. The next few days threw him and Wendy together on more than one occasion, yet only when the deal was signed did he ask Wendy to dinner. It seemed one dinner led to another and although the friendliness turned into love, the age gap always felt like a shadow that followed them.

It took a year of seeing each other before Charlie felt it was time to pop the question, but Charlie still did what he did best. He sat Wendy down and pulled a file out of his briefcase. He had put a PI firm on Wendy for a month; Charlie knew more about Wendy than she knew about herself. At first she was pissed but to Wendy love was love and if that's what Charlie needed to do for him to know she loved him, then so be it.

That same evening Charlie asked her to marry him. She agreed and asked when she was going to be handed the pre-nup since she didn't want to be ambushed again like she was with the PI report. Charlie's reply sealed the deal in there marriage. He told Wendy habit made him do what he did. They were both going into this marriage without a pre-nup agreement.

Yes, Charlie Morgan did well when he met and later married Wendy. To many she was nothing more than a gold digger but Charlie's PI report meant he knew better. A straight A student who worked her way through college and already had her foot in the door at Arden's when Charlie met her and that's when the real woman not the facts and figures in a PI report made the difference.

"And so my love, now you know the feeling was mutual and that Wendy Morgan did well for herself. What is it that's stopping me from getting a little loving this warm evening?"

I'm so glad she didn't see me smile.

"I want to pitch an idea to you before I go to the others and I don't want to do it while your still in 'I've just been fucked' mode so you don't think I'm taking advantage of you."

This time her head came away from my shoulder. Her laughing must have been heard by the neighbors. When she calmed enough to take a sip of her drink and replace it on the tray she stood and straddled my legs, her hand went beneath the water and my attention was on her hand gently bringing me to hardness.

"I think better when I'm full. We can discuss what's on your mind when this is comfortable inside me. But sometime tonight I need this in my ass so please save the last one for that."

I had to laugh when she said that.

"Romance has never been dead around you, has it?"

For a moment anger clouded her eyes before she realized I was joking. Her smile came to her, yet it felt like she was forcing it to be there.

"Just setting out the menu for you, honey. Please don't joke about my love for you; it's been real since the day of the party when you warned me of Steven Osterman."

Her hand left my hardness and both clasped my head, her look was intense.

"I do love you, never doubt that. We love you, don't ever doubt that either. Ginny's gift to us was you and we all plan to treasure that for the rest of our lives. I know we joke about many things, just don't joke about that. Please don't."

Her hands never moved as her body lifted. My hand left my side and I held myself as Wendy started to sit down on my cock. The sigh was slow and when her pussy touched my hand and I moved out of the way she smiled a thank you and continued to ease herself onto me. When her ass became comfortable with my lap her moan was replaced with a kiss.