Mike & Karen Ch. 18

"Jesus!" Mona gasped, holding her throat and her eyes almost red. "What the Hell?!"

"Yeah, that one's pretty raunchy," Janet admitted, nodding. "I got it from Ping, and he gets them a guy who smuggles them from China, so he said."

"What's in this thing?" rasped the black girl. "Panda shit? How is he still alive?"

She tossed the remaining cigarette away, and it landed in a puddle of slush. Janet almost objected, but just sighed and gave up instead. Now that Mona was here, maybe talking was better than a cancer stick. It hadn't been making much of a difference, if she was honest with herself.

"Apparently it's a minor miracle that Cummings dude is alive," Janet said, putting on her glove again since she was apparently done smoking. Ping told me DeBourne nearly murdered him on the spot when he realized exactly how fucked they were."

"I'd say I feel bad for him, but I don't have time for lazy people who just dog it and piggyback off the hard work of others," Mona sighed. "No use for 'em."

"And Ping'n the other guys worked damned hard," Janet agreed. "It's really a pity that it's for nothing."

"I believe Kar when she says that they'll hardly be affected academically or professionally," Mona mused, staring at the ground. "She'd know. I just... I think she's right that what she did was necessary, you know?"

Janet nodded. "Yeah. If it weren't for the effect it had on DeBourne, I wouldn't be nearly as upset as I am about this."

"Me too," Mona admitted. "I'd be pretty pissed in her shoes, though. I've seen the work that Kar and her crew are submitting, and I may not understand a damn thing in it, but I know brilliance when I see it. And I think she's right, they wouldn't get a fair shake."

"I know what you mean," Janet said, considering her sneakers. "We're talkin' about feeling bad for the guys in Theoretical, who always have it so easy, but what about Kar's people over in Math, right? Year after year getting snubbed, no matter how hard they try. But a bunch of boys get their feelings hurt, and we're all sad for them."

They were silent for some time as they wrestled with their thoughts, but they both knew they were on the same page. The stiff wind bothered neither of them today.

"I guess it just sucks that Kar is right," Mona concluded. "But then, when is she not?"

"When DeBourne is right," Janet said, pushing herself upright, finally ready to head back to campus. "Life'd just be easier if they could be right at the same time."

"I don't think we're ready for a world where those two are in agreement about things," Mona said heavily as she adjusted her collar and they began walking back. "I mean, what force anywhere could stand against that?"

***

"Pets," Karen mused as they sat at the table, eating a light meal. Everyone else at the table looked at her. "I'm thinking it's time we had pets again."

"For real, mom?" Alex asked, his laser blue eyes glinting with hope. "Y'mean it?"

"As long as you're not inclined to try and own anything ridiculous," she answered before masticating thoughtfully on a strawberry in cream. "It's been too long since we've had pets."

"No argument there," Alex said. "Last animal was my rabbit, I think."

"Yes, you called him Biscuit Hammer," Karen sighed. "Try as I might, you wouldn't even consider changing it to the more dignified sounding French, Biscay Marteau."

"Well, I assume that you'll need to pick up on the Blackwell tradition of the Great Danes again," Mike mused. "Two or three from a breeder as puppies, and then we'll find a rescue mutt to balance it out and keep them in line?"

"Ever reasonable, husband-mine," Karen said, winking at him. "What about you, Alli? Did mom allow you to own pets?"

Alexa shrugged as she dusted her peach slices with some cinnamon. "We moved around Europe so much that pets were a little impractical, to be honest. I had small animals occasionally, but mostly I just adopted everyone else's pets. I'm really good with animals, I had a phase where I wanted to be a vet."

"Ja, you were very good with Kai," Freja said, recalling her family's Pomeranian. "She loved you more than anyone. She was... what did you call it? 'In lesbians' with you."

"That damn dog," Alexa giggled. Never a moment's peace when she was around. Whenever I visited, she was instantly on me, licking and licking and licking."

"Oh, she was just being affectionate," reasoned Karen.

"Affectionate nothing," Alexa grunted. "I was in bed with Fre one day, naked and going at it, and neither of us noticed Kai get up onto the bed before she tried to stick her tongue up my butt."

Freja snickered. "The whole neighbourhood, they heard you shriek. It sounded like you were being sexually assaulted."

"There was nothing consensual about it, I assure you," Alexa sighed.

"That's not a Pomeranian, that's a Pomerapian," Alex quipped, making Jeanie almost spit out her coffee as she began laughing while Karen just shook her head. "Why am I not surprised that you owned a lesbian dog, Fre?"

"It was only your wife that she was in the lesbians for," the Danish girl explained, still smirking. "She mostly liked men. She most certainly would have been liking you, though, Alex."

"No Pomeranians, got it," Mike concluded. "What about it, Alli? You're settled now, so you can have a pet if you want one."

Alexa considered. "I've always wanted a really elegant cat. Mom said that Kar owned a Persian when she was younger."

"Yep, her name was Bianca, and she was the most insufferable Blackwell you've ever met," Mike confirmed, earning him a look from his wife, but she did nothing to refute the claim. Probably because she couldn't. "I scared her to death, no idea why."

"Probably not used to people larger than bears," Karen sniffed before sipping her coffee.

"Your cat's name was Bianca Blackwell?" Jeanie asked, making a wry face.

"Yndling, maybe it is time for us to think about pets," Freja suggested. "An animal or two that suits us, and our personalities."

"Sorry to rain on your parade, Freja, but it's not legal to own bonobos in Canada," Karen mentioned. Freja scowled and stuck her tongue out while Jeanie and Alexa both repressed a giggle. Mike could hear Theresa snickering in the kitchen before composing herself. "Besides, your condo no doubt has some absurd rule about what pets are allowed."

"Probs," Jeanie sighed. "Well, not an immediate concern in any event. What're you guys doing for the rest of the weekend?"

"As much as we might want to relax, there is still plenty to do, especially when you consider we all have to go back to the campus come Monday," Mike answered. So supervising for now, and making sure that Tatyana is prepped for Monday is the big thing."

"Doesn't our new bed arrive in less than thirty minutes?" Karen queried, looking at her smartwatch. She was wearing a sleeveless dress that was a gorgeous midnight blue colour, and complemented her bronze hair and bewitching golden-amber eyes.

"Do they just bring such things in through the front doors, as we did?" Freja asked. "We were not bringing such big things as a bed that would fit Mike."

Karen smiled and shook her head. "No, darling. When this place was built, there were access tunnels at the edge of the property that allowed carts and other vehicles to bring coal into the basement to stoke the furnaces before we went electric in the Fifties. Since then, they have been converted into proper vehicle tunnels. A delivery truck can back down all the way, drop off its cargo at the freight elevator, and then simply leave. A most handy arrangement, really."

"Still can't believe I live in a home with a freight elevator," Alexa mused.

"The stairs are good enough for you, missy," Karen chided, smirking at her sister. "That elevator is meant to get things to the different floors with a minimum of intrusion into our lives. The Blackwells would never suffer for common labour to come tromping through and interrupt the decorum."

"Yeah, what would Bianca think?" Jeanie pointed out helpfully.

Everyone was laughing while Karen rolled her eyes when Tatyana stepped into the room. "Please excuse the interruption, but your visitor has arrived."

"Leave this all for me, miss, I'll have it out of the way in a jiff," Theresa said as everyone at the table got up. "Go see to your visitor."

The small group exited the dining room and made their way to the grand foyer, where they found Jordan waiting with someone who was familiar to both Alex and Alexa. The young woman was looking around in wide-eyed wonder at her surroundings.

"Tanny, it's so good to see you again!" Alexa exclaimed as she skipped forward, delighted. "Welcome to my house!"

"Alexandra?" the Indian girl asked, still agog. "This is your home?"

"Yep," Alexa said as she took the girl's hands in hers and squeezed them gently. Alex walked up at that moment as well, smiling and nodding his head. "Just moved in myself this weekend. Whaddya think?"

"I... do not have the words," Tanuja breathed, looking around again. "This entranceway, it is bigger than my whole house back in Chandigarh."

"It takes some getting used to, yeah," Alexa agreed. "I want you to meet my sissy and my brother-in-law, er... father-in-law... whatever the Hell he is."

"Keep in mind I'm also technically your mother-in-law if you marry my little boy, Alli," Karen mentioned as she stepped up, followed by Mike. Taunja, of course, knew them both on sight, and she bowed her head humbly. The two most respected and influential professors on campus? "Hello, Tanuja. I am Karen DeBourne, Alli's big sister."

"I know you, of course, although I have never met you," the student said quietly. Alexa had let go of her hands by now, and she didn't seem to know what to do with them. So they stayed folded in front of her. "Thank you, for welcoming me."

She looked up at Mike, nodding. "And you, sir. Is it true you speak Punjabi?"

Mike shrugged. "Thora jiha."

"I'm always learning something new about you, you big lug," Karen sighed, giving him a smirk before turning her attention back to the guest. "Tanuja, we wanted to being you here, not only to thank you for your bravery in standing up for my son and my little sister, but also hoping we could express our gratitude in another way."

Tanuja tilted her head curiously. What could the beautiful professor mean?

"Alex and Alli have told us that your placement might be in jeopardy, yes?" Karen asked.

The girl blushed. "I... I am worried about my finances and my ability to perhaps stay. My scholarship, such as it is, might not be enough."

"That is what we wished to speak to you about, my dear," Karen continued. "We are, my husband and I, most grateful for what you did for Alex and Alli. And we wish to find a way to express our appreciation."

Tanuja listened, while Alexa seemed excited, almost ready to bust.

"We cannot legally employ you, Tanuja, at least, not without complicating matters for you concerning your scholarship, your lodgings, and possibly your status here as a foreign student," the bronze-haired goddess said. "But, what we were thinking we might be able to do is have you work here at the Manor a certain number of hours a week in an internship."

Tanuja's eyes widened. "I am sorry? What do you mean, professor?"

"What we mean is that we have already talked with many of the members of your faculty, and they are willing to consider yours hours worked here as equivalency for your business management courses," Mike said, taking over. "You would learn from our staff, many of whom are veterans of their fields from all over. You take in everything they have to teach you, you maintain a certain grade point average, and we will not only make sure that your berth at the university dorm is secure, but also give you an honorarium for excelling. Do you understand what we would like to do?"

Tanuja seemed stunned. "But... why would you do this for me?"

"Because you showed great bravery and compassion, Tanuja," Karen said warmly, smiling at the girl. "You took on a problem that had nothing to do with you and made it your moral fight. And we cannot express our admiration enough for that. We can do this, though, and we are hoping you accept."

The girl seemed to not know what to say. Alex grinned. "You'll have a lot of practical stuff to learn while you're here, but you might be able to shave an entire semester or even a year off your undergrad time if you really work at it, Tanuja."

He took her hand and squeezed it while Alex pressed her fingers to her lips, trying to not cry. "You helped us. Let us help you. Deal?"

Tanuja closed her eyes, but then when she opened them, she was smiling brightly. "I accept."

Mike and Alex both laughed jovially, but all sounds were drowned out by Alexa's cry of delight as she swept Tanuja into a bear hug.

***

St. George Campus, 1987...

Karen was lying on her back in bed, with Lisa snuggled on top of her. They'd finished making love, and the redhead was usually dozing by now after several intense, brain-melting orgasms, but Karen could tell she was awake. She smiled and stroked her lover's hair.

"I know you're awake, your heartbeat's wrong," she said gently. "What's eating you, if it's not me?"

"Har-har," Lisa sighed, giving up pretending and looking turning her head to look up Karen's neck to her lovely face. She was the tallest of the four friends by at least a few inches, whereas Lisa was the shortest. "That obvious, hm?"

"I assume this is about the sciences fiasco," Karen mused. "You already would have blurted to me by now if it was about anything else."

"Just because you're so smart doesn't mean you have to act like it," Lisa muttered. She wasn't being terse, she just gave up trying to ever hide anything from Karen. It was worse than having a Jewish grandmother. Lisa could attest to that. "Yeah, I'm still antsy about the whole thing."

"And DeBourne specifically," added her roomie, smiling. "I already told you, darling, he won't suffer from this in any appreciable way, except for what his enormous drive compels him to feel. None of the students will."

"But your numbers scam destroyed everything," Lisa said, trying to not sound distressed. "If they submit it, they'll-"

"They won't submit it," Karen said quietly but firmly. "They wouldn't dare, because then they would be a laughingstock."

"And none of their academic careers or anything after will suffer?" Lisa asked.

Karen shook her head.

"Wouldn't that be true about Mathematical, then?" the smaller girl reasoned in an almost meek voice. "Couldn't there just be next year, with another crusade?"

Karen smiled. It didn't bother her when people disputed her contentions. How else could she justify them if she didn't allow them to be questioned? "I promise you, my love, I thought of that. But enough is enough. Would you tell Dudley Laws to wait a little longer?"

Lisa almost winced. "Ow, Kar. That's definitely one of your quirks, you can't see a belt without wanting to hit below it."

Karen giggled. It was a mean thing to say. Dudley Laws was a famous black rights activist in the city, not at all afraid to take on the matter of police brutality and racial inequality. His motto had become 'No justice, no peace', meaning he and his activists would never stop disrupting things just because it might make genteel white people uncomfortable to hear about it. He didn't hate white people, he was just tired of their complacent shit. Lisa was a big fan.

So was Karen, for that matter.

"Look, we all agree that you're not wrong in what you did," Lisa pressed on, trying to organize her thoughts once Karen had used her own ethics on her. "But how can you make this omelette without breaking eggs, Kar?"

"Sometimes you just have to trust the actors, my love," Karen said gently, caressing Lisa's cheek. "Getting to the greater good isn't always pretty."

"And the road to Hell is paved with good intentions," Lisa sighed. "Sorry I'm being so whiney about this."

"It's understandable, especially since you all like DeBourne," reasoned her lover. "The mighty Achilles doth still sit in dudgeon?"

Lisa sighed and shrugged. "Everyone hears music, and we assume that he has some junk food in there, but... not even Janet can make him open the door, and the university says they can't just barge in if he's not unwell."

"Sometimes a good sulk is all you need, even if it lasts a week," Karen mused. "Anyone in my discipline can tell you that after all these years. Sometimes, your best is just for naught, for reasons beyond your control."

Lisa lowered her head and pressed it between Karen's magnificent breasts and sighed in despair. "Gnnn, every time this comes up, what you did makes more and more sense," she said in a muffled voice. "It's like you save up little truth bombs to detonate on people well into a discussion, just to make sure their wall of reason never gets built. S'not fair."

"This whole situation hasn't been for years," Karen said soothingly. "Hopefully now, things will change. You know I didn't want to do this, right?"

Lisa nodded slightly, making Karen's breasts jiggle. She still hadn't come up for air.

"I might have been interesting on a level playing field, DeBourne's thesis against mine," Karen thought out loud. "But the playing field wasn't level. So I did something about it by taking out the reigning champ before the match. Now my field will get the scrutiny it deserves."

"Well, maybe," Lisa said, her face finally appearing. "I just hope DeBourne finally leaves his cave."

"I wonder if he'll show up for the faculty's big decision about the grants since he won't be in contention..." Karen wondered, a tinge of regret pricking at her.

***

Alexa grunted as she braced herself against the ledge one, leg pulled up and resting on it. Behind her, Alex was standing and holding her hips as he pumped his cock back and forth inside her, never ceasing to be amazed by how tight and wicked her vaginal contractions were. Even in this position, she worked her muscles around him, in time with his thrusts, maximizing the pleasure for both of them.

They were in a long, steamy room made of reinforced glass panes and steel ribs. This greenhouse was given over to exotic plants that required warmth, and the temperature was kept above thirty Celsius. Hot and humid, the couple were surrounded by lush vegetation and blooms. In addition to décor for the Manor, these plants were often donated to public venues or conservatories for their collections. Powered by solar panels and concealed by a film of steam and condensation on the windows, the couple made love eagerly. Even Alex had never done it in this particular greenhouse before.

"Gnnnn, Alex..." the blonde goddess panted, her fingers flexing against the stout wooden planter she was leaning against. Her skirt was hiked up over her hips, allowing Alex access to fuck her from behind, and her shirt was pulled up over her breasts, allowing them both to fondle her at will. Right now, the glorious tits wobbled and swung as her body responded to Alex thumping against her, an almost pendulous motion. "Oh, right there! Oh God, I love you!"

"I love you too," he grunted as he began a harder, faster thrusting motion. They didn't have long, because they were supposed to be moving things, but Alex knew his aunt, his beloved wife, was walking around not wearing panties, and it took little convincing to get her to play hooky from their chores and go find a place to fuck.

"We're gonna leave here... all sweaty..." she rasped, squirming her ass back against him in circles, trapping him inside her. "People're gonna know..."

"I can just tell 'em that I was showing you the greenhouses," Alex managed to say. "I mean, yeah, mom and dad won't believe that's all it was, but they won't care, either."