Caleb 34 – An Ex

Josh and Louise were back by the time we returned. They were sitting in the living room, but they couldn’t have been further apart without having been in separate rooms.

“Hey guys,” I said as we entered the living room. Louise looked up at me, her face a mess of tears, and Josh just grunted.

I raised my eyebrow to her, and she grimaced.

“Josh?” I asked.

"We’re done,” he said. “I’ve moved my stuff out of our room and into the spare. If that’s not okay then I’ll look into moving back into the dorms on Monday.”

“Josh no!” Louise cried. “Please, talk to me.”

All I was getting from Josh was a storm of disjointed thoughts and emotions. The thoughts were the lion’s share, but not the sum total. His aura was involved too. It wasn’t merely reacting to the present moment. It was reacting to the memories of their trip. He couldn’t let them go.

On Louise’s parents: shallow. Greedy. Sneaky. Liars. Pimps. Gold-diggers. The colors were so bitter I could practically taste them, and they were infused with that awful combination of heat and ice that can easily tip either way in a heartbeat. I honestly couldn’t tell if Josh would, at any moment, explode into a rage, or get up and walk out of the house, never to be heard from again.

On the trip itself: humiliating. Trap. Planned? Did she know? Abusive. Evil. Should’ve left sooner. Should’ve left them all. I got a flash of Josh leaving ‘early,’ more as a sentiment than as coherent details. There’d been a bus station. He’d slept there for a while. The memories of its griminess blended together rather perfectly with the ugliness of what had come before.

On a fellow named Keenan, whom I quickly gathered was some kind of rival: Preppy bitch. Fuckface. Punch his face. Trust fund bitch. Daddy’s money, not his. Spoiled. Behind my back? Behind hers? Talked to her parents?

It came as no surprise that he was an object of particular obsession. The thoughts only got worse, and, as they began to link up to his thoughts of Louise, I discovered the source of the ice.

Liar. Traitor. Cheater. Drunk whore. Gold-digger? Him, really? Fuck her. Fuck him. Fuck parents. All deserve each other.

Without even really thinking about, I sent the storm through the connection to Mary, Amanda, and Jules. I spared Ness; I knew it wasn’t fair to treat her differently, but I didn’t regret doing so just then.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Jules sent back. “That’s an IKEA box from hell, right there. Unpacking and assembly both required. Do you even want to? Maybe you should call the bomb squad.”

I suppose I made my choice. After about thirty seconds of stormy silence, I followed up one questioning word with another.

“Louise?”

She knew that I’d gotten something from Josh. I honestly wasn’t surprised. She didn’t bother with a story. She cut to the heart of it.

“I didn’t sleep with him,” she said in a quiet voice. “Josh won’t believe me.”

“Prove it!” snapped Josh. “Show Caleb or the girls all your memories and then I’ll believe you.”

“What happened?” asked Amanda. Her power flared, and I was astounded at how ineffective it was. Josh, in particular, was so full of rage and hurt, Amanda’s power seemed to bounce off him. Mary added her power, which seemed to help, albeit slightly.

Reluctantly, Josh began the tale. “Monday night we got invited to Louise’s parents’ for the remainder of the holiday,” he said, making a visible effort to remain calm. “I was surprised. I’d always got the impression that they didn’t like me, so when they called and asked us to go over, I was happy.

“When we got there, HE was there.”

I looked at Louise.

“Keenan,” she explained. “An ex. We went out for about eight months before I started at PSU. He was boring and I used coming here as a reason to end it. He chased me for a little while, sent flowers and stuff, but then seemed to get the message. Then about a month ago, I heard from him. Stuff started arriving again.”

“And you never said anything!”  Josh snapped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“BECAUSE IT MEANT NOTHING!” she yelled at him. “HE meant nothing. I figured if I ignored him, he would stop again, like he did last time.”

“We never saw anything arriving,” said Mary.

“He sent it to the dorms,” said Louise. “He didn’t know we moved out.”

“And you hid it,” said Josh.

“I threw it all away!” rebutted Louise.

“You should have told me,” said Josh. “Why would you hide that from me?”

“Because I know how much of a little boy you can be!” Louise snapped. “I knew that this was how you would react.”

“I’m ‘reacting’ to you keeping secrets when we’re supposed to be a couple,” Josh said. “You think I would’ve ‘reacted’ like this if you’d been honest? Really? And you’re calling me out for being the immature one?”

There was a moment’s pause while they glared at each other.

“What happened then?” I prompted. “After you got to Louise’s parents’?”

“You could’ve just not gotten involved, dude,” Jules sent. I sent her back a defeated sigh. She was right and she was wrong. I just couldn’t help myself.

“Five days of hell is what happened,” said Josh. “Five days of being constantly put down, getting sneered at and insulted by that preppy trust fund bitch.” He looked at Louise. “You may think I’m stupid, but I received the message from him and your parents loud and clear. He’s rich, and I’m not. He moves in all the glittering social circles while I grub around on the floor, not even worthy to scrabble in the dirt under his shoes. I should have left. I should have walked out as soon as I saw him there, and found out who he was.”

“Then why didn’t you?” asked Louise.

“Because I thought that if I did, I would lose you,” he said more quietly. “I couldn’t leave you with him. I knew my imagination would be telling me that you and he were…”

“Why didn’t you both leave?” I asked Louise.

“I wanted to,” Louise said. “My father forbade it. Since he pays all my living expenses, I didn’t have a choice. I’m on a partial scholarship. My tuition and books are covered, but I wouldn’t be able to stay if he didn’t pay my rent and other stuff.”

“Okay,” said Amanda. “But that was all Keenan and her parents. What did Louise do?”

“You mean apart from hiding the fact that her ex was back in touch?” he asked sarcastically. “Because obviously that doesn’t color what happened afterwards at all, right? Totally separate issue.”

Amanda just looked at him, and he sighed. “Saturday,” he began, “her parents threw a party. They invited a load of people I didn’t know: family friends, Louise’s’ high school friends, and some relatives. As usual, I was ignored. They were introducing Keenan as her boyfriend. In fact, one time I’m certain I heard her mother say fiancé. I was shunted to the side-lines. Louise and I got separated. For three hours I couldn’t find her. I looked everywhere, and then she turned up with HIM hanging off her arm with a look on his face I recognized.

“When I asked Louise where she had been, he implied that they had been off having sex somewhere. I lost it. I was so close to planting my fist into his smug face, but I managed to restrain myself. I knew that all that would achieve would be to get me arrested. I got my stuff together and left.

“We drove there in Louise’s car, so I just walked to the bus stop. There were no more buses, so I slept on the bench there, and then caught the first bus this morning. It took me six hours to get home.”

I looked at Louise, who was sitting, staring at Josh, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I didn’t sleep with him,” she repeated in that same quiet, wounded, vulnerable voice. I honestly couldn’t tell if she was putting it on or not. I didn’t want to believe she was lying.

“Prove it!” snapped Josh.

“I shouldn’t have to prove anything!” she cried. “You should trust me. I trusted you. All the time we’ve been together. You said you weren’t sleeping with anyone else; did I ask you for proof? Did I ask you to get tested again? You told me that you had not had sex with anyone else, and I believed you. Why can’t you believe me?”

“Because you fucking hid shit from me,” Josh spat, “about him, specifically! And then there he was! And I saw how you were with him! You were all over the trust fund creep. You were hanging off of his arm like your life depended on it. If you didn’t sleep with him, then how did he know? How did he know that he was bigger than me? Is that something that passes for polite conversation with the rich these days?”

“I didn’t tell him,” she insisted, more tears starting down her face, “but you know girls talk. I told my sister how big he was, and I might have mentioned that you were not quite as big. She obviously told him.”

“Well, you’re welcome to him,” he snarled. “And his big… bank account.”

“Josh please,” she said, “listen to me. I didn’t have any choice but to stay. They threatened to stop paying my expenses. I wouldn’t have been able to afford to stay at school.”

“Why did you disappear off with him last night, then?” he asked. “Was that for money too?”

That was a low blow in my opinion, and Louise looked stunned. “You think I…” she began, “... for money?”

Her eyes flamed and she stood up. “FUCK YOU, JOSH STEELE!” she screamed at him “If that’s what you think of me, then maybe it is best that you move all your stuff out. You wouldn’t want to catch anything being in the same room as a WHORE!”

She stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I heard their bedroom door slam mere seconds later.

Josh watched her go with a look of anguish on his face.

I looked at my girls, and they looked back.

“Do something,” sent Amanda.

“Like what?” I asked.

“Find out if she slept with him, and if not, show Josh,” she replied.

I frowned. Then Mary cut in.

“Don’t you dare,” she sent. “If she said that she didn’t, then he should trust her. Having Caleb read her mind for the ‘truth’ would show that he didn’t. It would also be an abuse of power.”

I looked at Jules. She shrugged. She’d had the situation pegged immediately, and I could tell she was struggling not to send an ‘I told you so.’

“You must have picked up something from her,” sent Amanda. “Josh was a firehose. What’s she thinking?”

“Nothing,” I sent.  “At least not out loud. She’s policing her thoughts carefully.”

“Then she did sleep with him,” thought Amanda. “Otherwise, why would she purposely hide her thoughts?”

“She knows Caleb can hear surface thoughts,” interjected Jules. “It’s only natural that some people would be bothered by that generally, and adapt. It’s not fair to hold that against her.”

“Louise, though?” Amanda asked. “Knowing Caleb can read her thoughts all the time would be like a vibrating egg up inside her all day long – and she’d love having it there.”

“She could just be drawing a line in the sand,” suggested Mary. “She wants Josh to trust her, and she obviously thinks a lot about powers. Usually it’s because she’s horny, but today, she took them into account for a different reason.”

“Or maybe she slept with him,” repeated Amanda. “Anyway, what’s the big deal? It’s only a fuck after all. Josh has fucked us, and Caleb. So has Louise. Why is he getting all bent out of shape about it?”

I felt irritation from Jules through the connection. She seemed about to send something cutting, but then she caught herself.

“Amanda, I love you,” was what she sent instead, “but it’s not about the sex. It’s about the perceived lies. When Josh shares with you, Louise is secure in the knowledge he will always go back to her, and vice versa. This Keenan is trying to steal Louise away from Josh, and if Josh’s opinion of him is even halfway true, he’s also a gaping asshole. Even Louise didn’t seem that thrilled with him at first, from what I saw. On top of that, apparently her parents are all mixed up in it. That’s super fucked up. It’s not ‘just’ a fuck, and Louise definitely knew that too.

“But we do not have get involved in this,” she finished. “We can make the other choice, and let them either work this out on their own, or not.”

“We have to help them,” sent Amanda.

Mary didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t send anything to me through the bond. If there were private conversations happening, I couldn’t tell.

Louise came out of her room and re-entered the living room.

“Josh?” she said. Her anger had obviously abated. “Please, talk to me. You know I love you, but if we have to take the equivalent of a polygraph every time there is the least suspicion between us, then where will we be? There has to be trust between us, or we have nothing. I promise you: I didn’t sleep with Keenan. He tried to kiss me at the party, and I pushed him off. Both he and my parents were trying to ply me with drinks. I think they all thought if they got me drunk enough, then I would end up in bed with him, and that would be the end of you and me.

“Don’t let them win. If we break up over this, then everyone loses; no matter what, I will never even speak to Keenan again. If I could find a way of getting out from under my parents’ control, I would do that too. But I can’t. I’m dependent on them for my living expenses while I’m at college.”

“Josh,” I asked him softly. “Do you really think that Louise had sex with Keenan?”

He looked at me, then long and hard at his girlfriend. Eventually he shook his head. “No,” he said.

I listened to his thoughts, and he really wanted to believe her. There were niggling doubts though.

“But I’m not an idiot,” he said. “Her parents are going to keep up the pressure. How long will it be before it does happen? This was a warning shot. They won’t stop until I’m out of the picture and he is in. Every holiday they’ll make her go home, and there he will be. If I’m even invited, I’ll spend the whole time being belittled and ridiculed, until I snap and do something I shouldn’t. It’s a war of attrition, and I can’t win.”

“That’s where you are wrong,” I said. “We have just over a year of college left. After that, she is free and clear. They won’t control her anymore. You love her, right?”

He nodded.

“So, isn’t she worth fighting for?”

He looked up at her, and she down at him. They both looked lost and alone.

“Do I have to Compel you both to make up?” I asked, prodding them gently. Both of them knew I would never do such a thing.

“Lou?” he said, tears starting to flow from his eyes. She went to him, throwing her arms around him, and they held each other while they both cried.

I felt Amanda’s power begin to steal over the room: love and forgiveness. That time, it managed to penetrate.  I looked at her and smiled. She just couldn’t help herself. She grinned at me, unashamed, and increased the intensity.

I went into the kitchen and snagged beers for us all. I handed the girls one each and handed two to Louise and Josh.

I noted that Josh opened one, and then handed it to Louise before opening the other.

“So,” said Louise. “What do we do now?”

“Well,” I said, “first thing, Josh gets his stuff out of the spare room and puts it back where it belongs. Next time your parents invite you home, tell them that you are too busy. If they come here, then they will be welcomed to stay, but certain ex-boyfriends will definitely not be.”

“But they will stop paying my expenses,” she said.

“So?” I asked. “How much rent and food did we charge Rachel?”

“But…”

“You think we would do that for a complete stranger, and not take care of someone we loved?”

“What about my car…”

“It’s a year,” I interrupted her. “I can and will pay your car insurance off for the year if I must. If you’re not paying for that, rent, or food, then your expenses will be minimal.”

“I could get an evening job,” she said, thinking out loud. “That should cover my incidental expenses.”

“Or you could work for Caleb,” said Mary. “He needs a secretary. The pay isn’t great, and the boss gets cranky from time to time. He’s also a bit of a lech, so you have to watch yourself, but it pays two fifty a week under the table.” She sniggered at that double entendre.

I raised my eyebrow at Mary. Two hundred and fifty dollars a week would be a third of my earnings from my hypnotherapy business, and since I would be paying it ‘cash in hand,’ I couldn’t claim it against tax. I would be making almost no money at all. But then I remembered why I was doing the hypnotherapy in the first place. It wasn’t to make money; it was to practice my Compulsion. I still had all my other sources of income. Given my success rate, I was also fairly certain I could increase my fees.  Mary had been suggesting it for some time.

Louise looked at me. “You need a secretary?” she asked. “Why?”

“Because he’s sucks at time management,” Mary interjected. “Believe me, you will earn your money if you take this on.”

“My thoughts,” I said, “are that this is a fallback. My suspicion is that your parents will threaten to withdraw their support, but won’t do so. If they do, then you have a parachute. We will take care of you, I promise. I am hoping, though, that when you stand up to them, they will back off. They may withhold a couple of months just to try and break your determination, but once they see you are not moving, they’ll come around. After all, they won’t want to lose their daughter, which they are very likely to do if they follow through with their threat.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

I opened it to find two police officers standing on the porch. I could see our HOA neighbour peering through his window, watching.

“Hi,” I said. “Can I help you?”

“We had a report of a disturbance,” said one of the officers. “Someone heard screams coming from your house?”

“Let me guess,” I said. “The report came from a Tim Pritchard?”

“We are not at liberty to say,” said one officer, but I could ‘hear’ that I was spot on.

“Two of my housemates got into a bit of an argument,” I explained. “There were raised voices. It’s all over now. We’re sorry for any disturbance. It won’t happen again.”

“What was the altercation about?” asked one of the officers. At this point, Louise came to the door. Josh standing behind her.

“My boyfriend thought I fucked my ex,” she said.

“Ma’am, would you step out here for a moment?” one of the officers said. Louise looked at me, and I nodded.

She stepped out onto the porch, and he took her off to one side. I knew what he was asking her. He wanted to make sure she was okay, and that she hadn’t been hurt. After a couple of minutes, she came back. The officer looked at his colleague and nodded.

“I know that things get a little heated sometimes,” he said. “Try and keep the noise down.”

“We will,” I said. “Thanks.”

They turned and walked back to their car. I saw that Pritchard was still watching through his window. We all went back inside.

“That was the opening salvo,” I said. “The sooner we get those cameras operational the better.”

“I ordered the drives,” said Jules. “They should be here tomorrow. Provided there’s no surprises, the system should be up and running tomorrow evening. I checked the feed from all the cameras. They are all good - state of the art, with full night vision capability. Nothing will get past those suckers.”

“Opening salvo for what?” asked Josh, and I filled him in about the HOA, Pritchard, and also about Alan and Anne.

“I’m expecting more reports to the police,” I said.

“Can’t you just…” began Louise and then looked guilty. “No, you can’t.”

“Are you two good now?” I asked, looking at the pair of them.

Louise looked at Josh, and he at her. She went and sat next to him, taking his hand. “We will be,” she said. “Josh, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Keenan contacting me. I honestly thought he would just give up if I ignored him. If you want me to, I’ll let Caleb or one of the girls show you my memories.”

I watched Louise’s aura carefully while she spoke. She may have been able to police her thoughts, but I was certain that she had no idea how to affect her aura. Either she was being honest with him, or she was betting that he would not dare to ask to see the memories. It was, potentially, a masterful piece of manipulation. Her aura showed that she was totally relaxed, with no fear at all. Again, that could easily have meant that she was being honest, or that she was certain, given her knowledge of her boyfriend, that he wouldn’t ask.

Josh shook his head. “No,” he said, although I could see he desperately wanted to know for sure. “You’re right. I need to trust you, or we have nothing. You say nothing happened with him, so nothing happened.”

“Fuck it,” I thought. I wanted to know for certain, and I had no reason not to - if you discounted all the moral, legal, and ethical ones. I looked, and I saw the truth.

“Let’s leave things with your parents as they are for now,” I said. “There’s no reason to poke a sleeping bear. Wait until they make the next demand before putting your foot down.”

Louise nodded. “Makes sense. The next holiday is the summer one in any case. What are you guys doing?”

“Ness and her parents are going to be coming down to move Ness in,” I said. “After that, I don’t know. We might go back up and stay with them for a few weeks.”

Louise sighed.

“You never know,” said Jules, smiling. “If you make a good impression while they are down here, they may invite you two up too.”

Louise’s eyes lit up. “Really?” she asked.  Jules nodded.

I yawned. “Well,” I said. “I have training in the morning, so I’m going to bed.”

Louise came and gave me a hug. “Thanks Caleb,” she said. “I don’t know what we would do without you.”

“You’d be fine,” I said, “as long as you had each other.”

I showered and got into bed. As I lay there, my thoughts turned to Ness.

“Good night my beautiful girl,” I sent to softly through the connection.

“Good night, my knight in shining armour,” she returned sleepily.

My training with Kevin the next morning picked up where we had left off. It was like I had never been away. It was a sparring day.

“I like the fact that you use all your skills,” he said. “Not only your karate, but wrestling as well. As you said at the beginning, you are not trying to win competitions. Some of the things you do would be illegal in that case. But you are trying to win the fight. Perhaps once we perfect your Nidan level, we should look at other fighting styles.”

“Such as?” I asked.

“Have you ever heard of Krav Maga?” he asked.

I nodded. “It’s the martial art that the Israeli military use, isn’t it?”

“Correct,” he said. “Unlike most of the ‘traditional’ martial arts, it doesn’t have centuries of history. In fact, it’s a combination of a number of other fighting styles, including karate, boxing, Aikido, judo and wrestling. It is, by its own definition, a mixed martial art.

“You still need to practice the mental discipline, and for that I think Aikido is probably the best choice as one of the ‘internal’ martial arts. You will hear lots of discussion about that. Bruce Lee had no time for Aikido – he classified it ‘exercises for old people’ - but when it comes to mental discipline, I believe it is one of the better ones. So, what we will do when I am happy with your Nidan, is we will alternate. One day we will examine Aikido, and the next Krav Maga.”

I smiled at him. “And will you ever be happy with my Nidan?” I asked him.

He laughed. “I already am,” he said, “but I know you still can improve. The question is, Caleb, are you happy with it?”

I thought about that through our next bout. I should have been paying more attention to the fight, because he kicked my ass.

I got my schedule from Mary as we sat at breakfast. Louise looked on, interested, as Mary went through the details of my day.

“I am raising your rates for new clients,” Mary said. “Everyone else is charging between ninety and one hundred and fifty dollars an hour for hypnotherapy.”

“What are you raising it to?” I asked.

“For PSU students it’s going up to seventy,” she said. “For everyone else it’s doubling. One hundred dollars per session.”

I goggled at her. “One hundred?” I asked. “Nobody will pay that.”

“On the contrary,” she said. “I have a waiting list of forty clients who are willing to pay that. I have already been asked if there is a way to pay extra and become a priority.”

“Forty?” I asked incredulously. “How am I going to get to see all those?”

“One at a time,” she said, smirking at me. “Today, though, you have your ethics class first thing, then a couple of follow-up weight loss sessions before lunch.” She went on to describe the rest of my day.

“My only concern,” she finished, “is that the Dean of PSU is not going to be happy with a lot of non-students coming onto campus for consultations. I seriously think you should look into finding somewhere off campus to see people.”

“An office?” I asked. “I can’t afford that.”

“I know,” she nodded. “We’ll have to think about it and see what we can come up with.”

I got my things together.

“Don’t forget to go hand those essays in before you go to lunch,” Mary said. “I’ll send you a text to remind you.”

“Yes, Mother,” I said to her in a bored teen voice. She swatted me on the ass as I walked past her. I had started travelling in separately; it gave me more flexibility with my schedule. If I had to leave early or late, it didn’t impact on the girls. They travelled in Amanda’s car.

On my way home from PSU, I called in at the supermarket and made sure I had everything for that night, for when Jeevan and Meena came over.

I was limited for time, but I wanted to show Meena that I could cook. I was going to start with a risotto, then follow up with a gnocchi puttanesca. Of course, there would be garlic bread; what Italian meal is complete without that?

I also decided I would make a lasagne to give people the choice. There were going to be eight of us for dinner, so there was quite a lot to do. I knew I wouldn’t have time to make a dessert, so I bought some tiramisu and some profiteroles. I hoped everyone would find something they liked.

I arrived home and went into the kitchen to start.

The doorbell rang, and I looked up from my prep to see Louise go to answer it.

“Miss Louise Brown?” A man was at the door, holding a huge bouquet of red roses.

“Sorry,” said Louise. “There’s nobody here by that name.”

The delivery man looked at his device and then at the number on the door.

“This is the right address,” he said. “Are you sure there’s nobody here by that name?”

“Sorry,” she said. “They must have the address wrong.”

“Okay then,” said the delivery man. “Sorry to have bothered you.”

He turned around and walked back to his van. Placing the flowers in the back, he got in, and after a few moments drove off. Louise closed the door slowly.

“So, Miss Brown,” I asked from the kitchen, “care to tell me what that was all about?”

“My parents must have given Keenan our address,” she said. “He’s done this before. He bombards me with flowers and gifts and stupid poetry. He thinks it will make a difference.”

“Any chance he could turn up here?” I asked.

“It’s not beyond the realm of possibility,” she said. Her phone rang. “It’s my mother. I’ll bet the flower shop called him to tell him, and he called her.”

She declined the call. “Oops,” she said with a small smile, “my battery is dead.” She turned her phone off.

I sighed. I wasn’t looking forward to when I’d get dragged directly in between Louise and her parents. I already knew I would; no good deed went unpunished.

There was another knock on the door. Louise sighed and went to answer it again. This time it was a package for Jules. Louise accepted it and took it to her. Jules came into the kitchen a few minutes later.

“The drives are here,” she said. “I’ll go up and install them; they are plug-and-play, so that should take less than half an hour. Then the system needs to format and initialise. By later tonight our security system should be up and running.” She grinned at me. I smiled back. I loved how excited she got. It was almost childlike, which made all the jargon pouring out of her sound even cuter.

Dinner was just about ready when Jeevan and Meena rang the doorbell. Louise, once again on door duty, let them in. She took them into the living room, where the other girls were watching television. A few moments later, Meena came into the kitchen.

I was just putting the risotto on. It was a quick dish, and needed to be cooked just before serving. Otherwise it went flat and soggy.

Meena watched me for a few minutes.

“You are a far better chef than you let on,” she said, standing beside me. “I think you and I could teach each other some things.”

“I would love to learn,” I said.

“Dinner’s ready,” I sent to the girls. “Bring everyone through, please.”

I heard Jules clatter down the ladder from the attic space. She went into the bathroom and washed her hands. She grimaced, as she was last to the table.

“Sorry,” she said. “I got caught up.”

“No problem,” I said. I served everyone their risotto. “Dig in.”

Dinner was a success, and the older couple sat conversing comfortably with the younger folk around the table. Jeevan was surprised to learn that Josh and Louise knew about powers, and specifically about me.

Jeevan looked to be full of life, and I wondered the obvious. I caught Meena’s eye and then glanced at him. She took my meaning almost immediately, and nodded. I smiled sympathetically at her. It must have been a bittersweet, almost Pyrrhic, victory.

Later, as I was loading the dishwasher, and Jeevan was sitting with the girls in the living room waiting for me, Meena came into the kitchen again. She came and stood by me. I could see she was embarrassed, but she wanted to tell me something.

“Jeevan shared today,” she said.

I looked at her. “And how are you?”

“Relieved mostly,” she said. “I can already see a difference in him. He has more vitality about him than he did yesterday.”

I nodded. “I saw that. You say ‘mostly relieved?’”

She smiled at me, but there were tears in her eyes. “Does it get easier?” she asked. “I spent so long trying to get him to share, and now he is…”

I pulled her in to a hug and held her to me.

“The first time is the most difficult,” I said. “Just remember he loves you, more than anything else in the whole world. If you asked him to, he would stop sharing instantly. That is a sacrifice he would - and up to now, has been making - for you, willingly.”

“I know,” she said. “I daren’t show him how much it hurts. Otherwise he would stop again. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Did you consider joining them?” I asked.

She looked up at me, her eyes wide, a look of horror on her face.

“I have never been with anyone else, let alone another woman,” she said.

“You don’t necessarily have to be. Just be with Jeevan. There are plenty of things you could be doing to him while he is sharing with her, or he could be doing to you. Being there and seeing what is going on may make it easier to bear. Sometimes your imagination of a thing is far worse than the reality.

“Just think about it. Talk to Jeevan about it. Next time he shares, maybe join them. Don’t be sitting downstairs wondering what is going on and thinking the worst. You cannot carry on like this, because it will take him no time at all to figure out what is going on, and he will stop sharing again. Not only that, but you can’t carry this hurt with you. Talk to Jeevan. You will figure this out between the two of you. But always remember that we are here for you both, if you need us.”

She hugged me again. I looked up at Jeevan. He had been standing at the door almost since his wife had entered. He nodded at me and turned away. By the time Meena and I had separated, he was gone.

I finished in the kitchen and then both of us moved back into the living room.

“Bhaiya,” said Jeevan. “Can I steal you away for a short time?”

I nodded, and we moved into the den. I sent the memory of Meena’s and my conversation to the girls and asked them to talk to her. I sent Amanda a little extra nudge to emphasize that they should just talk. She sent back a good-natured pout.

“Thank you,” he said after we sat down. I noted he’d closed the door on his way in. “I knew it would hurt her, which is why I didn’t want to share in the first place. I know we are both between a rock and something hard. Now that I have started sharing again, it would be difficult for me to stop, but I will if it is hurting Meena. If possible, I would like to find a way to keep on without it causing her so much pain.”

“You heard what I said to her,” I said. “You saw my struggles about the girls sharing when you read my mind. I have only just gotten over it, and seeing them sharing helped. I don’t know if that will make Meena worse or better, but sitting somewhere else while you are sharing definitely makes it worse. If you go off and share without her knowing, and she finds out, her world will collapse. I think it will feel like all her fears have come to pass, although I am no expert.”

“I think you are right,” he said. “I can limit my sharing; once or twice a month is sufficient. I will think on how to make it more bearable for her. Maybe, as you say, involving her in it may be the way to go. Anyway, we did not come here to talk about my problems. You got rid of the bond. May I see now, please, since your ransom is now paid?”

He smiled to take the sting out of the last comment. Without a thought, I dropped my shield, and felt him enter my mind. It was fleeting, and then he was gone.  He nodded, and my shields were back up

“Excellent,” he said. “Now there is nothing stopping you. Here are the memories of how I cured Jules, and also how I stopped you and the girls from conceiving. They are simple procedures, and you will see very easily how to reverse the process when you are ready for children.”

I took his memories and looked them over. I chuckled. They were both very simple, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of them myself.

“Be cautious with Healing,” he warned. “To you, lots of Healing will seem simple. As a dreamer, you just imagine something is, and it becomes so. What you don’t know, when you start out, is how much power it will take. If you start to Heal someone and stop halfway through, it can be worse than having done nothing at all. In cases where you can’t Heal someone all the way with your available power, you can sometimes do it in stages, but they must be planned carefully. In other cases, you just have to walk away, knowing that you cannot help.

“At all times, when you are Healing you must watch your own status. It takes up so much power, and it is so easy to get focused on the goal. ‘Just a little bit longer, just a little bit more power,’ and the next thing you know, you are in trouble. You can get caught up in a power syphon, where you simply cannot stop until your power is completely exhausted. If that happens, if you are lucky you will pass out and the power drain will end. If you are unlucky, you will die.

“I have buried two Healers in my career of less than ten years. Each one was less than forty years old. Each was powerful, although not as powerful as you. But it seems that the more powerful the user is, the more arrogant they are, and that is to their detriment. Please be mindful of this.

“If you are ready, we will start your training next week. Monday night between seven and ten. I will send you an address. Dress simply.”

“Okay,” I said. “Is there anything more, or should we go and join the others?”

He stood. “Let us join the ladies. I fear poor Josh will have been talked to death.”

I laughed. “He’s used to it.”

When we re-joined Josh and the girls, Meena was sitting next to Amanda, who had obviously just been holding her. I had given the girls a heads up that we were on our way back, and they had had time to get themselves organised.

We sat and chatted for a while longer, and Jeevan updated my secretary on my new evening commitment. That would mean that both Monday and Tuesday evenings were committed, since Tuesday was the night that I would be teaching at the dojo.

I was a little nervous about that too. My first full class was to be the next night. Kevin had been right when he’d said that people would come, and I had a class of ten beginners, including my girls. Kevin had said he would be there as support, but he would be leaving it to me to deal with them. He was certainly a believer in throwing people in the deep end.

I had already briefly sketched out a lesson plan, which I had shown to Carys. She had made some suggestions, and cut about half of it, saying that people needed more time to consolidate information than I was giving them. The lesson was an hour and a half, but we would be in the dojo from about seven thirty to ten – closing time. That was going to make my Tuesday a very long day.

The next morning, Kevin made me perform my kata even slower. Once again, he called for me to freeze, and tested my stance and balance. I almost made it all the way through without a single fall, but he got me right near the end.

“I think you should be satisfied with your Nidan level now,” he said. “Tomorrow we will start with Krav Maga. I teach the military style. There are also civilian and law enforcement styles.”

“Do I need to get a different belt for that?” I asked, but he shook his head. “Keep that one on. You deserve to wear it.”

I went and changed, and then went home to start my day.

I actually went to some classes that weren’t ethics that day. The professors made no comment about my non-attendance. I was up to date on all my coursework, and the final exams counted for most of the grades. I wasn’t worried about those in the slightest. They were coming up in about two months. Coincidentally, we would finish our exams on the same day that Ness finished hers.

I was nervous when I returned to the dojo that night. I had my lesson plan in place, but I was being watched by both Carys and her father. My girls were also in the class, and there were seven other people whom I had never met before. I got there at seven. The class was to run from eight until nine thirty. People started drifting in at about seven thirty, and my girls arrived at seven forty-five. I did a role call at eight. Everyone who had signed up was there. It was time to find out if I could teach.

There were ten people in the class, and I had them line up in two rows of five.

“All of you have your own reasons why you are standing here tonight,” I said. “I am not going to go all Mr. Miyagi on you, but I will tell you the rules of the dojo. While you are on the mat, you obey your teacher, and you treat them - and each other - with respect. This is why we bow before we start, when we finish, and before we fight.  This is how we bow…”

The lesson went quickly, and I covered everything I thought I should. At the end I got them to line up again.

“Thank you for your attention tonight. I will see you all next Tuesday.” I bowed, and they returned it. I released them from the class. They all went off to get changed.

Carys came onto the mat. She bowed to me, and I to her.

“Not bad,” she said. “A little stiff to start, but you got into it.”

“Are you sure?” I said. “I don’t feel that I covered very much.”

“People all learn at different rates,” she said. “You’ll figure out who your quick learners are soon enough. What you do, then, is get them to help you with the slower learners. Keeps them interested and also gives you extra eyes on the mat.

“I suspect your girls are going to be the quickest learners,” she said with a grin,  “but I guess you are giving some private lessons?” Her double entendre was obvious.

I shook my head at her.

“You could always join us for some private lessons if you want,” said Amanda, who had come to the edge of the mat after having changed.

Carys went scarlet. “I need to get changed,” she said, and darted off to the changing room.

I noticed that Kevin was watching us from across the dojo. “I’ll see you guys at home,” I said.

Carys emerged from the changing room, and I took my turn.

The girls were all home by the time I got there.

“She’s interested,” Amanda said to me as I walked through the door.

I smiled at her. “I know,” I said. “I saw it in her aura when she saw me with my gi undone. I’m not sure it’s a good idea, though. I don’t want to spoil my relationship with her father.”

Amanda pouted. “Shame. I’ll bet she’s really fiery in bed.”

There had apparently been another delivery for Louise while we’d been out, and once again Louise had turned it away, telling the delivery driver that there was nobody by that name at the address. Louise had turned her phone off, and not turned it on again. That was causing her some inconvenience.

“Why not just block you parents’ numbers?” asked Jules.

“Because that would be too obvious,” said Louise. “If my phone is off, then I can claim it is broken. I’m trying to put off the arguments. I don’t want to have a showdown until I can no longer avoid it.”

I left them to their discussions, showered, and took myself to bed.

Wednesday at lunchtime, my phone rang. It was from an unknown number.

“Is this Caleb Stott?” a man’s voice asked.

“Speaking,” I said.

“My name is Donald Brown,” said the man. “I believe my daughter Louise is a housemate of yours.”

I was sorely tempted to squint and pinch my brow. It was starting – and in an even stranger fashion than I’d imagined it would.

“How can I help you, Mr. Brown?” I asked.

“I’ve been trying to get hold of my daughter,” he said, “but her phone seems to be off all the time.”

“Yes,” I said. “She did mention something about it being broken.”

“Can you possibly ask her to call me?” he asked. “Urgently?”

“I’m not sure when I’ll see her again,” I temporized, “but I’ll pass that on when I do.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Can I also check your address, please? A number of things sent to her have been returned as ‘Not at this address.’” He read off our address. I had no choice but to confirm it for him.

“Strange,” he said. “That was the address on the delivery. Why would they be returned as not known?”

“Perhaps you should take that up with the company,” I said. “I certainly haven’t returned any packages.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I will. Don’t forget to tell Louise to call.”

“I won’t,” I said. “Bye now.” I hung up.

“Damn!” Louise said when I told her about the call that night. “Sorry, Caleb. I gave them your number as an emergency contact. He isn’t going to give up. I guess I’d best call my parents.”

“Remember your parachute,” I prompted her.

She looked at me gratefully, then pulled me into a hug. “Thanks, Caleb.”

She went to their room to make the call while I made dinner. She came back a few minutes later looking angry.

“They are demanding that I call Keenan,” she said.

“And what did you say?” I asked.

“No!” she replied. “Even if I wasn’t with Josh, there is no way I would allow them to ‘arrange’ my love life. Keenen and I were together for about eight months before I came to PSU. I broke it off because there was nothing there for me. What was really sad was that I really liked his grandmother. She was a lovely lady, and we got along like a house on fire. But he was boring. All he wanted to do was go out and show me off like some kind of Barbie doll. We never had a conversation. When we were alone all he wanted to do was fuck – and despite his nine inches, he was shit at that. I don’t think he gave me a single orgasm in all the time we were together.”

I was shocked at that. My experience with Louise had been quite different, to put it mildly. It had been so different that I’d assumed she was simply hyper orgasmic by nature.

“So, what do you think…” I began but was interrupted by the doorbell.

“I’ll get it,” I said, getting up and going to the door.

“Delivery for Miss Louise Brown.” It was the same flower shop delivery guy that had tried to deliver the first time - the one Louise had told she didn’t live here. I noticed he had his phone in his hand, and there was a call active.

“Take them away,” I said. “They are not wanted.”

“What?” he asked.

“I am refusing delivery,” I said.

“You can’t do that,” said the driver. “They are not for you.”

“This is my house,” I said. “I can absolutely refuse any delivery. Now take them away.”

He looked at me, then at his phone. He half proffered his phone as if he wanted me to speak to whoever was on the other end. I shook my head. He sighed and walked away, talking into the phone.

I heard Louise’s phone ring as I closed the door. I’d expected it to be her parents, but it wasn’t; it was Keenan. As soon as he identified himself, she hung up the phone and blocked the number.

“I do not want to speak to him,” she said.

We finished our dinner uninterrupted. It was after dinner that Louise’s phone rang again. It was her father.

“They’re coming up to see me on Saturday,” she said glumly. “It’s a three-hour drive, so they are going to stay over. If they can’t stay here, they said they’ll find a hotel.”

“That’s up to you,” I said. “There is always the spare room - although we only have one spare, so it will have to be just them.”

“They better not bring him!” she said vehemently.

“Why is he suddenly interested in you again after all this time?” I asked. “You haven’t seen him for nearly two years and then suddenly he’s all over you. It doesn’t make sense. What’s he after?”

“I have no idea,” she said. “He can’t just have suddenly realised an unrequited love. Mom and Dad aren’t exactly poor, but his family is much richer, and he’s not the type to alienate his parents and get cut off. I honestly don’t understand it.

“Mom really liked him. He was always so smooth around her. Sometimes he made me want to puke. She was really mad at me for breaking up with him, and now that he’s back she wants us to get back together.”

“So, what do you think this weekend is going to be all about?” I asked.

“Persuasion, coercion, and bullying,” she said.

“Well,” I said, “decide what you want, and we will support you. If they get to be too much, then I’ll ask them to leave.”

The next night the delivery guy didn’t even bother to bring the flowers with him when he knocked on the door. I answered and he looked at me. I just shook my head and he sighed.

“Hey,” I said as he was about to turn and walk back to his truck. He stopped.

I gave him a twenty. “I’m sorry you’re in the middle of this,” I said. “If I were you, I wouldn’t accept any more orders for Louise at this address. There is no way that they will be accepted. They’re from an ex who’s harassing her but, since he lives far away and he’s not violent, it’s going to be hell for her to get a restraining order.”

He half smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m just the delivery guy. I don’t take the orders, but I’ll tell the boss what you said.” He went back to his truck, looking a little happier.

I was just closing the door when Alan from next door walked over. He was holding a cable box in his hands.

“Hey Caleb,” he said as he approached.

“Hi Alan,” I said. “How’s Anna?”

“She’s fine,” he said. “We really enjoyed lunch on Sunday. Thanks for the invite.”

“Well, we alternative lifestyle neighbours need to stick together,” I said.

His gaze sharpened. “’Alternative lifestyle?’” His knuckles had gone white where he clutched his cable box.

“Yeah,” I said, “us non-HOA members. We’re the only ones on the street.”

I saw the tension leave his shoulders and he laughed nervously. “Yeah, right. Here’s our cable box. Jules said she would take a look at it for us?”

“No worries,” I said, taking it from him. “I’ll give it to her. She’ll bring it over once she’s taken a look. If she can fix it, she will.”

“Sometimes it lasts all night,” he said. “Other times it craps out after about half an hour. It’s really frustrating.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll tell her.”

He left me on the porch, and I went back into the house. I handed the box to Jules as she came out of the living room. She looked excited again.

“I can finally try out my microscope,” she said. “I hope it’s something good and not just a faulty fan.”

I smiled at her. “I hope so too,” I said as she hustled off to her workshop. She was still in there when I went to bed.

There was an email from the dean in my inbox the next morning when I looked. He asked if I might drop in and see him before classes.

“Good morning Mr. Stott,” he said when I entered his office the next morning.

“Morning, Dean,” I replied. “How’s Rachel?”

“She’s doing well,” he said. “She asked me to give you her regards.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I said. “How can I help?”

“I’m sorry to say,” he said, “that there have been some complaints from campus security about people coming on campus to ‘consult’ with you. I’m sorry, but we can’t have just anyone wandering on and off campus like this. I thought, when I allowed you the use of that room, that it would be just students.”

I nodded. Mary had raised such a concern, but we had not found another venue from which to work outside of the PSU yet.

“I’m not going to ask you to stop immediately,” he said. “I expect you must have clients mid-treatment, but I am going to ask that you don’t take on any new clients from outside the university in that room. I’m sorry Mr. Stott, but the security of the facility has to take priority.”

“I totally understand,” I said, “and thank you for being so accommodating. I currently have four clients, who will be finished with their treatment in two weeks. After that, I will only see students here on campus.”

“That’s perfect,” he said. “I’ll let campus security know. One other thing. Some of your professors are saying that your attendance in their classes is, in some cases, almost non-existent. They say you are keeping up with the work, and handing everything in on time, but you are just not attending classes. Is there a problem that we might help you with?”

“Not unless you can give me more than twenty-four hours in a day,” I said with a grimace. “I mean no disrespect to the professors. I just have too much going on in my life, and something has to give. I attend all the ethics lectures, barring emergency, but the rest of the lectures are mostly information dumps. I can get that just as easily from the textbooks. I promise that, come exam time, my performance will not suffer.”

He smiled wryly. “To be honest, the professors are not complaining; it was just noted in conversation. You were always someone with one hundred percent attendance, and now you have almost zero in some subjects. Keep up your course work, and make sure you study for the exams. As you say, ethics is your only course with an attendance criterion, so as long as you keep those hours up, we can assume that, for your other subjects, you are ‘distance learning,’ as the online universities call it.”

I left his office, annoyed by the new inconvenience, though not surprised. I wondered what I was going to do about it. I let Mary know not to book anyone from off campus, and gave her the memory of my conversation with the dean.

She replayed to me the memory of her warning me of that possibility. Telepathic ‘I told you so’s were no less irritating than verbal ones, and I informed her as much. I felt her amusement.

I was grumpy by the time I got to my ethics class, which made me argue counter to everyone in the room just for the hell of it. The professor, almost at the end of the lesson, challenged me on it.

“Mr. Stott,” he said. “Your view has been counter to just about everyone in the room this morning. Care to explain?”

I decided to go for brutal honesty. “I was angry when I entered the class,” I said. “I guess I’m acting out. I apologise.”

“Oh no,” he said, beaming. “Please don’t apologise. You have illustrated a point that I would have made later on in the course regardless.” He turned to the class. “Ethics are fluid, even in an individual. Your ethical arguments can change from moment to moment, depending on several factors. Your mood is a factor in that, as Mr. Stott has demonstrated so admirably this morning. Whether someone got stopped for speeding on their way to work, burned their toast, or,” he paused and almost glanced in my direction, “didn’t get laid last night.”

The class laughed and I laughed along. Despite his refusing my apology, it was a not-so-subtle hint to leave my mood at the door in future.

“Hopefully all of you will take the lesson,” he concluded. “Setting aside how useful all of these ethical arguments are in the real world, what does it tell us about how good they are – yes, even on their own merits – if our emotions can spur us to abandon them, take up with new ones, and defend our newfound positions even more vigorously? The ancient Persians debated every issue twice – once while sober, once while drunk – and only dubbed wisdom that which won out in both. Food for thought.”

“So,” said Dana Reed as we filed out of the class together. “Your girlfriends not putting out?”

I smiled at her. I didn’t share any other classes with Dana. She was the girl who had argued so well in the class where we had discussed my fight with Jasper. She stood about five-nine, skinny, with no appreciable breasts. She had a round, elfin face, a pointed chin, and an incredibly cheeky grin. Her dark hair was shoulder length.  All in all, she was very cute.

“My fiancées,” I corrected her.

“Oooh okay,” she said, flashing a set of perfect white teeth at me. “Fiancées, then.”

“It had nothing to do with that,” I said.

“So, it wasn’t sexual frustration that made you argue black was white then?” she pushed.

I laughed. “No,” I said. “It wasn’t.” Despite her flirtatious tone, I saw a nervousness - almost a fear - in her aura as we spoke. She was hiding something. What that something was was none of my business. I didn’t pry, and I was relieved she wasn’t broadcasting it.

“Shame,” she said, flashing me a smile as she walked off. She had a nice, pert butt, but my attraction to her was more intellectual than physical. I loved the way she spoke in ethics, and nearly always agreed with her views - including the time when she’d argued against me.

“Invite her over,” said Amanda in my ear. She had snuck up on me while I’d been preoccupied watching Dana’s ass grow smaller in the distance.

“Maybe,” I said. “Sometime. She seems interested, and she’s certainly interesting, but I have too much on my plate right now.”

“There’s always time for sharing,” said Amanda. “If there isn’t, you should make time.”

“Speaking of making time,” I said, “I was thinking of going to the range tonight. I looked online and Thursday nights are... I won’t say ‘quiet,’ but less busy. There are a couple of lanes free.”

“Sure,” she said. “Make sure you book the time with your secretary.” She grinned, kissed my cheek, and flounced off. I watched her ass as she walked away.

“If she wasn’t already in a relationship with you,” said my ethics professor from behind me, “you could get written up for sexual harassment for doing that.”

I looked at him, and he was smiling, clearly joking. “Come on, professor,” I said indicating the retreating butt, “who among us wouldn’t stare at that?”

“I am taking the fifth on that,” he said, “since I am not in a relationship with that young lady.”

I grinned. “I promise,” I said, “she would be flattered.”

He just chuckled and walked away.

That night at the range, Jules and I shared a lane. We had been lucky, and Clive had had some time, so he had taken Amanda and Mary onto the other lane and was giving them a lesson with the smaller weapon.

As we were finishing up, Hoss came over to watch us.

“You really need your own weapon,” he said. “Let you get used to it. Shooting with a different gun every time isn’t bad, but it isn’t great. Besides, gun ownership isn’t all about shooting. You need to learn to maintain it too.”

“I’m too young to buy one,” I said.

“Yes and no,” he said. “I have three brand-new Glock 23 Gen 5’s, thirteen shot, that I bought for the range. You could buy one of those from me. Keep it in your locker and it will stay in the range and registered to us until you are twenty-one. Once you get your CCP, you can take it home. It will also mean you’ll save on rental fees.”

It made sense.

“Can I take a look at them?” I asked, “maybe try them out?”

He placed a gun box on the bench. “I thought you would want to do that. All three in the box along with a few magazines. Here is a box of ammunition. Let me know what you think. Oh, and you’re cleaning them all when you’re done, and you owe me for the ammo.” He grinned at me.

I pulled all three weapons out of the box and placed them on the table. I loaded the first, shot off one magazine, and let Jules shoot the other. We did that with all three guns, and between us decided that the second one we had tried would be the one for us. I took the box containing the three guns back out to him at the desk.

“That one,” I said, indicating the weapon of choice.

“Four fifty,” he said, “and I’ll throw in a cleaning kit.”

I used the club’s cleaning kit to clean all three guns, plus the one we had used for practice. I paid Hoss, and we placed our new gun into the inner lockbox of our locker. Hoss filled out a purchase form with the serial number, which I signed, and filed it.

“You can’t take the weapon out of the range until you have a permit,” he said. “We’ll sign it over to you once you do. One last thing: I have a friend who is struggling with losing weight. He tried to get on your waiting list, but it seems so long. He got an email today to say he’s been put on hold.”

I grimaced.

“I was seeing people on the university campus,” I explained. “The dean told me I can’t do that anymore. Since I don’t have a place to see people, I’m going to have to defer them until I do.”

He looked thoughtful for a minute.

“Come with me,” he said, walking across the reception area, and then to a door I had never seen opened. He opened it. Inside was a small room, almost identical to the room I had at PSU, or at least identical to the room as it was before I emptied the junk.

I almost groaned to myself, as I dreaded his next statement. Fortunately, what I thought he was going to say wasn’t what he said.

“If we empty this out, and maybe put a few chairs in, would this work for you?” he asked.

“I’d need three chairs,” I said, “and a small desk or a table.”

He nodded. “How much you charge for a session?” he asked.

“One hundred,” said Mary from behind me.

“Thirty a session,” he said. “You only pay when you use it. I was going to clean it out in any case, and we can use it for other stuff when you’re not using it. You’ll need to book it with me, though.”

I looked at Mary.

“Is that a flat thirty dollars,” she asked, “or a percentage of the fee?”

“Flat thirty dollars,” said Hoss. “If you want to up your fees to cover it, that’s your business.”

“Done,” she said.

“One more condition,” he said.

“He’ll be first on the list,” she said, smiling at him. “Tell me his name.”

Hoss grinned. “You’re quick,” he said, “I’ll give you that. Clive and me’ll get this cleared out over the weekend. It’ll be available starting Monday.”

Mary nodded. “I’ll let you and your friend know when we need the room.” She got the name, too. Having a secretary was fantastic.

Friday passed without incident. I was dreading the weekend, and that, of course, made it rush up to meet me like an eager puppy.

I was awake at my usual time. Since there was no training on at the dojo on weekends, I decided to go out onto the deck. It was still cool, but not cold, so I dressed in only shorts and a T-shirt.

As I was working through the first of my katas, something that Alan had said when they’d been over suddenly triggered in my mind. He said he had seen me training, and that Anna liked to watch. I had felt a slight wash of arousal from Anne when he had said it despite her embarrassment.

How, though?

Our yard was not overlooked by anyone. Our fences were eight-foot-tall vertical planks. I started looking for cameras, and immediately saw some of ours. Had they found a way to tap in? Seems risky, given the previous owner. A ladder near the fence?

I finally did something intelligent and just scanned for people with my powers. I was surprised to find two people just on the other side of our joint boundary fence, a little way down the yard. They weren’t on a ladder though. There was one person apparently bent over against the fence, peering through at me. The odds were good that that was Anne. Alan was most likely the one behind her, fucking her quietly.  Since the only lights were on the deck, I couldn’t see the fence that far away, but anyone looking through the fence would have had a clear view of me.

I focused my psychic attention on them while pretending to be oblivious. Anne was panting, desperately trying to keep quiet while Alan quietly but firmly slid himself in and out of her. I continued to train, surprised at the thoughts that were screaming from her mind.

She wanted me to notice them. More than that, she wanted me to walk over to the fence, discover the glory hole they’d cut into it, and slip my cock through. They had liked to watch the previous occupants, who’d often had drug-fuelled orgies in the hot tub and the backyard; I imagined, then, that the hole had been there for quite some time. Alan had said that he had seen me training when he was on his way to bed at night. That had been true the first time. He had been in his yard and had noticed our deck lights come on. He had peeped through the hole and then gone and woken his sister. That had been the first time they had watched me. Since then, they had seen both me and Josh in the backyard, and I could tell from both their feverish thoughts that they weren’t fussy about whose cock might come through to their side. They just wanted cock - both of them.

I wondered how I hadn’t noticed a three-inch hole in the fence. I determined that I would examine the fence later to find out. I didn’t want to do it just then; I didn’t want to spoil their fantasy; I was fine with them watching. Also, the thought of using that gloryhole did actually appeal to me. Anne, although older, was by no means ugly. Even if she had been, I found myself rather enamored of the thought of ‘anonymous sex.’ It was novel.

I might have imagined the squeak of her reaching her orgasm just as I finished training. I smiled to myself and went inside to shower. When I told the girls about the gloryhole over breakfast, Amanda was for going to investigate immediately. I dissuaded her.

“They may see you,” I said, “and then they will be embarrassed, and it will spoil it for them. I haven’t decided what to do about it yet, but I want to keep my options open.”

“You are considering using it,” said Mary with a grin.

“Why not?” I said. “It will help toward my ‘sharing’ quota and help fulfil their fantasies. Win-win.”

“Are you going to tell Josh?” asked Amanda.

“Let’s get this weekend over with first,” I said. “Josh has enough to think about just now.”

“I wonder,” said Jules thoughtfully, “what the HOA rules say about this.”

We all fell about laughing, and were still chuckling when Josh and Louise came to the table.

“What’s funny?” asked Josh. He looked like he hadn’t slept.

“Jules,” I said. “She was telling us a joke.”

Jules looked panicked that she might have to come up with a joke at short notice, but relaxed a little when they didn’t insist on her telling them. They were obviously in no mood.

“What time will your parents be here?” I asked.

“They said about eleven,” Louise said. She looked at her watch. “They should be on the road now.”

“After breakfast,” said Jules, “I’ll take next-door’s cable box back.”

“You fixed it then?” I asked, and she gave me a ‘puhleeze’ look. I grinned back. “Never doubted you for a minute.”

“The only reason it took so long is that I had to order a component. Otherwise, it would have been done in an hour. The new microscope made things so much easier.”

“You want me to come with you?” I asked, but she shook her head.

“You can check the fence while I distract them,” she sent to me. I thought that was a great idea.

I cleared the dishes away and Jules went to get the cable box. She allowed me to look through her eyes as she approached the neighbors’ house and knocked on the door. Anne answered it. She was invited in. Like me, she removed her shoes as she entered.

Alan, once more, was sat on the sofa, reading his newspaper.

I stopped watching and went out into the yard to examine the fence. Just where I had noticed them this morning, I found a circular hole at waist height, about three inches across. It had been cut out carefully and the edges smoothed. There was a corresponding plug of wood of the same colour blocking the hole. I assumed that it was held in by some mechanism on the other side. It didn’t move when I pressed against it gently.

Unless you were looking for it, it would be virtually impossible to spot even in daylight. In the dark, even open, the hole would be invisible. The lighting situation on our side had sealed the deal. I would’ve been oblivious if I hadn’t remembered what they’d let slip.

I went back into the house. Jules was still chatting with the couple. She set the box up for them and demonstrated it working. They offered payment, and she refused. The component she had used, she said, cost pennies. It was all good experience for her, as she had taken photographs and could write it up and use it as a case study for her course.

“Did you find it?” asked Jules when she got back.

“Yep,” I said, and gave her the memories of it.

“Sneaky!” she said with a grin. “When are you going to…”

“I don’t know that I am,” I said, “but we’ll see.”

Since it was only nine, I decided to go and wash the cars – and not just because I had time before Louise’s parents were due. I could see our HOA neighbour peering through his window at us; I could almost hear his teeth grinding as he watched. I pretended to ignore him, and we finished off the cars. It was just after ten.

It was half past ten when the doorbell rang.

We were all sitting in the living room. The atmosphere in there was like that of a principle’s waiting room on punishment day. Josh and Louise looked miserable; Louise was actually shaking.

I went to answer the door.

There were three people standing on the doorstep: an older couple and a younger man, perhaps a year or two older than me. I almost laughed. He was the spitting image of Prince Charming from Shrek, complete with the pout and the flowing golden locks.

“Mr. and Mrs. Brown,” I said. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Caleb.”

They both smiled and shook my hand.

“This is…” started Mrs. Brown.

“I know who he is,” I said, “and he is not welcome here. You, however, are. Please come in.”

I stepped back to allow them entry. They didn’t move.

I waited.

They looked at me.

Eventually, Mrs. Brown moved to enter, and Mr. Brown followed. When Keenan went to follow them, I stepped into his way.

“I already said you are not welcome in my home,” I repeated. “Please leave.”

He looked me up and down with disdain. I chose not to engage, stepped back, and closed the door.

“Just through here,” I said pleasantly to the stunned couple, leading them into the living room.

I could feel Keenan standing on the doorstep, not sure of what to do. He had travelled down with Louise’s parents, and so had nowhere to go. I could feel his desperation to get Louise back, and I wanted to know more, so I dug a little. I found out why.

“Don’t you think that was a little rude?” asked Louise’s father.

“Can I offer you coffee?” I asked, ignoring his question. They looked nonplussed.

“Yes, please,” said her mother.

I went into the kitchen. When I came back with the coffee, Louise’s parents were trying to persuade her to let Keenan in.

“It’s not my house,” she said. “It’s Caleb’s. I can’t invite people in that he has already said are not welcome.”

“But he only said that because you told him to,” argued her mother.

“She said nothing of the sort,” I said. “As well as being my housemate, Josh is my friend. Why would I allow someone who treated him with such disrespect into my home? Were you not Louise’s parents, I would not be so welcoming to you either.”

“Now listen here young man…” said her father, and I waited for him to finish.

“Yes?” I asked. I think he’d thought that I would interrupt. I hadn’t, and he hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“This is between us and our daughter,” said Louise’s mother. “You have no right getting involved.”

“I am not getting involved,” I said, “but I have every right to say who does or doesn’t come into my home.”

“Come on, Louise,” said her father. “We need to talk. Here is obviously not the place. I’ll book us a hotel for a night, and we can talk there.”

He stood up, expecting her to follow.

“No!” said Louise.

He was halfway out the door before he realised what she’d said.

“What?” he asked, astounded that she had refused him.

“I said no,” said Louise quietly. “I am not going with you; I am not dumping Josh, and I am most certainly not getting back together with Keenan. I love Josh, and I am staying here.”

“Listen, young lady,” said her mother, “we only want what’s best for you. Keenan has…”

“Keenan has nothing I want,” said Louise. “Josh, however, has everything I want. I’m staying here, with him. You can either be happy for me, or not, but you are not going to change my mind, and you are certainly not going to force me to leave Josh just because you want a go on Keenan’s nine-inch cock. Trust me, he has no idea how to use it.”

Louise’s mother went white and stood. Her father went puce. He went to grab Louise’s arm. I intercepted him.

“You will not lay hands on anyone in my home,” I said, directing him back into a chair.

I felt Amanda’s power flare, and tensions in the room relaxed a little.

“Maybe,” I said, “if you spent some time actually trying to get to know Josh, you might learn what it is that Louise sees in him. Louise is not going to change her mind. All you are going to achieve in trying to force her is to alienate your daughter. Is that what you want? Never to see your daughter again, or grandchildren, if and when she has them?”

Louise’s mother sat down again, chewing her lips.

“Louise, be reasonable,” she said. “Keenan is…”

“Keenan is not the man I love,” interrupted Louise. “Josh is. You could stand them side by side, and find every flaw that Josh has - and believe me, he has enough - and point out every virtue Keenan has - although you would struggle to find many - and it still would not change my mind. I love Josh, and I am with Josh, and there is nothing you can say or do that will change that.”

“Oh yes there is,” said her father. “I’ll stop the rent checks, for one. How long will your landlord here allow you to stay if he is not getting his rent money?”

“I’ll pay her rent,” said Josh. He looked almost as surprised as Louise did that he had said it. That was fair enough, since it hadn’t strictly been his idea.

“What about her car insurance?” asked her father.

“That too,” said Josh. He relaxed, recognizing the Compulsion.

“I suppose you are going to keep her,” said her father, “and give her money for her incidental expenses too?”

“I have a job offer,” said Louise. “That will take care of that. I’m not going to change my mind. Josh will look after me if my own parents won’t.”

“I never said…” said her father, blustering.

“You did,” Louise said quietly. “You have threatened me several times with withdrawing your support if I didn’t do what you wanted me to do. That was the only reason I stayed last week instead of leaving when I saw Keenan there. That was the reason I stayed when Josh left. That, and the fact that you practically imprisoned me. If you really want to alienate me, then do your worst. Stop paying my rent, my car insurance and my allowance. Then say goodbye, get back into your car and go home.

“When I graduate, I will come and collect the rest of my things - if you haven’t already thrown them out by then - and I’ll be out of your lives forever. It’s up to you. I’m tired of it, and I’m not playing this game anymore.”

“I think we have said all there is to be said,” I interjected. “I would like you both to leave now. Take Keenan with you.”

Her mother looked at her father, and they both stood.

“Louise,” her mother said, “we only want what’s best for you.”

“What’s best for me,” answered Louise, “is for me to decide. I have decided that Josh is what is best for me. If you want to be a part of my life going forward, then you’ll have to accept that.”

Her parents moved to the door. I stood to show them out. It had been a long three-hour drive for a very short confrontation, but I felt that it had gone just about as well as it could have.

Keenan was sitting on the porch when I opened the door. He stood, moving toward the door as Louise’s parents walked out. They glared at me, but didn’t speak as they got into their car. After a moment, and with a puzzled expression on his face, Keenan climbed into the back. They drove away.

I closed the door softly. I turned and was engulfed in Louise.

“Thank you, thank you,” she said.

“I didn’t do anything,” I said. “…yet. Tell me about Keenan’s grandmother.”

“Nana Babi?” she asked. I saw images of an old lady flash through her mind; surprise made her her mental self-discipline lax. In those memories, she and ‘Nana’ were as thick as thieves, the pair of them, and spent a good amount of time together. I could feel the love that Louise had for the old lady, and could see from her memories that she had believed that love was reciprocated.

“Never mind,” I said. “Give me a minute. We might be going on a little trip.”

I went into the den and made a phone call. It lasted just under twenty minutes. When I came out, everyone was waiting for me.

“I know why Keenan is suddenly interested in you again,” I said, “and why he won’t stop.”

“Why?” asked Louise.

“Nana Babi,” I said. “She liked you - loved you, even. It appears that Keenan didn’t tell her that you and he broke up. He just said that you were away at college and could not get away to visit. Apparently, she told him that she would give him a sizeable sum for a wedding gift when you married - in the region of twenty million. If she dies before you marry, then that money will be divided up between all the beneficiaries of her will, and there are a lot of those. If he can convince you to marry him, he will get that twenty million as well as his portion of the estate. His parents aren’t nearly as wealthy as they make themselves out to be; they’re effectively borrowing against their expected inheritance. Twenty million directly to a grandson, skipping a generation entirely, would be no small thing.”

“The fucking bastard,” said Louise. “Fuck! He and his family dangle ‘their’ money like it should melt my panties, and I’m his meal ticket – and my parents’ too, I guess? That is so fucked up.”

“Come on,” I said. “You, me, and Josh are going for a ride.”

“Where to?” asked Louise.

“There’s an old lady who misses you,” I replied.

The girls wanted to come, and I couldn’t dissuade them, so we set off in two cars. Nana Babi lived part way between Louise’s parents and us, but it was still a two-hour drive.

We pulled up to a house a similar size to Jules’ parents’. It was definitely more old-world. The driveway had a fountain in it. We parked and walked to the door, our feet crunching on the pea gravel.

I rang the doorbell. One of the two oaken doors swung open. I expected Jeeves to emerge, but it was a young woman, wearing suit pants and a blouse, who faced us.

“Yes?” she enquired.

“Caleb Sto…” I began, but then the woman spotted Louise.

“Louise?” she said, breaking out into a grin. She stepped forward and folded the young girl in a hug. “We’ve missed you. Nana Babi keeps asking when you are coming over. Keenan keeps making excuses.”

“I spoke to Ms. Babi…” I began.

“Don’t call her that,” said the woman. “Everyone calls her Nana Babi.”

“I spoke to her on the phone,” I said. “She said to come over.”

“There are a lot of you,” she said.

“We can wait in the car,” said Mary.

“Nonsense,” said the woman. “I’m Claire, Nana Babi’s great niece. I look after her. Come on in.”

She led us into the house. The entryway was everything one would have expected from the outside. There were two staircases leading up, one on either side of the black-and-white-chequered lobby. There were several doors.

“Nana Babi is in the drawing room,” said Claire. “Please, this way.”

“We followed her through a large door, and into an equally-large room. It looked like a stately home I had once visited. The furniture and the decoration were, however, pristine. I almost felt like we had gone back in time.

“Look who’s here,” said Claire.

Nana Babi was a little woman, maybe five feet tall. Her hair was completely white, but she had piercing blue eyes which peered at us over half-moon spectacles. She had been reading a book when we’d entered.

“It had better be Louise,” said Nana Babi. “It is too long since I saw that girl.”

Louise rushed to the old woman and embraced her, and the old woman returned it.

I could feel the love that they had for each other. Claire directed us to seats while the two got reacquainted.

By the time Nana Babi released Louise, Claire had returned with a tray, laden with cups and a big pot of coffee. There were cakes and biscuits too.

“Which one of you is Caleb?” asked Nana Babi.

I raised my hand.

“You wanted to talk,” she said, “so talk.”

I explained the situation in much more detail than I had over the telephone. The most important bit was that Keenan had another girlfriend – one just as vacuous as he – that he had no intention of breaking up with.

Then I told her about Josh - how I knew him to be a good person, and how perfect and happy he and Louise were together, and how unhappy Louise was being made - not only by Keenan, but by her parents, who he had managed to get onside. That naturally led to a recap of the stunt her parents had literally just pulled.

She looked at Louise with tears in her eyes.

“Louise, I am so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble. Keenan didn’t tell me you had split up. I just thought he was dragging his feet. I knew he would regret it for the rest of his life if he let you go, so I wanted to light a fire under him. I would never have told him that if I’d known you had separated.”

“It’s not your fault, Nana Babi,” said Louise. “I did try to come and see you after we split, but Keenan told me that you were furious with me and had told him to tell you never to come here again. I cried all night. I hated the fact that I had hurt you so much.”

Nana Babi turned her gaze on me. “So, who are you?” she asked. I understood the question.

“I am a friend of Josh and Louise’s,” I said, “and these three ladies are my fiancés.”

She cackled at that.

“Good for you,” she said. “I hope you are, all four, very happy together.”

I didn’t correct her about Ness. It was becoming exhausting, and the visit most certainly wasn’t about the five of us.

She turned her gaze to Josh. “And this is…” she began.

Louise, who had been sitting by Nana Babi, extended her hand to Josh, inviting him over from where he sat.

“This is my Josh,” she said, “the man I love.”

Josh held out his hand. “I’m pleased to meet you Ms. -”

“Pah! None of that,” spat the old lady. “Call me Nana Babi, like everyone else.” She took his hand and stared up at him. “Are you a good man?”

“I try to be,” he replied.

“That’s all anyone can ask,” she mused. “Do you love my Louise?”

He looked at Louise and then opened his mouth to answer.

“Never mind,” said Nana Babi. “I already saw your answer. Look after her. She is a precious soul and I love her dearly. It would make me sad for her to be hurt.”

“I will,” he said.

“I will speak to Keenan,” she said. “I will tell him that if he contacts you again, or in any way causes you distress, I will write him out of my will. I’m almost tempted to do it anyway.” She gave a little grin. “Still, I think it’ll be more fun for him to try to atone for his misdeeds. Apparently, my money is the only effective motivator, so he’ll be dealing with me.”

I’d already judged Keenan to be a little shit, so I wasn’t going to whisper a word in his defense. Still, I considered it ironic that his lust for his grandmother’s money stemmed in large part from his desire to be free of his own parents. In my mind, that it made it all the more egregious that he’d drafted Louise’s parents to put such pressure on her. Then again, since he’d clearly given up the game to them, it was hard to see how he would’ve avoided Louise getting access to the money too, had she succumbed. Maybe, in a twisted way, he’d justified the whole debacle by convincing himself that he was freeing them both from similar prisons. Louise’s parents’ willingness to play along was certainly some evidence in support.

I saw Nana’s blue eyes regarding me with shocking clarity and intensity. “You’re thinking about the money, aren’t you?” she asked me.

Louise gasped. “Nana, no, Caleb isn’t like -”

Nana waved her off. “Not like that, dear. No. He’s thinking about how rotten the family tree seems, and how it all seems to stem from that one shade of green.” She sighed. “I wish it weren’t so. I tried so hard to raise them right. Grandmothers aren’t supposed to have to discipline their grandchildren, either. They’re supposed to be allowed to spoil them.”

“Adults have to take some responsibility,” I offered.

She seemed grateful for that. “Mmm, and Keenan’s right on the line. That’s why I’m giving him one last chance.”

She looked at Louise. Her clarity didn’t fade, necessarily, but the strength behind it did. “Will you come see me sometimes?” she asked a little wistfully. “I’ve missed you.”

“Of course,” said Louise. “Now that I know you aren’t angry with me, I’d love to come and see you. We’re only a couple of hours’ drive away. Maybe you could come to see us too. You should come and stay for the weekend sometime. Caleb is a really good cook.” She blushed. “I mean, if that’s okay with you, Caleb. Sorry, Nana Babi. We all live in Caleb’s house.”

“Of course it’s okay,” I said. “You would be welcome.”

Nana Babi reached into a bag that was sitting on the floor next to her.

“What Keenan did, has potentially damaged your relationship with your parents,” she said. She pulled out a checkbook and a pen. She scribbled on it for a moment and then tore out a check and handed it to Louise. “If your parents do stop supporting you, then this should take care of your expenses for the next year.”

Louise looked at the paper in her hand. Her eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “Nana Babi, I can’t…” she began.

The old lady held up her hand. “You can and you will,” she said. “I’ll take it out of Keenan’s inheritance.” She cackled again. Louise smiled at that.

“Be happy with your new young man,” she said, “but don’t forget this old lady?”

Louise hugged her. “Nana Babi,” she said, “I’ll come and see you again soon, I promise. Think about coming and spending some time with us too, please?”

Nana Babi shook her head. “I’m too old to travel,” she said. “It hurts me to drive even to the local store. But I’ll be content to see you and your young man whenever you are able. Please don’t forget about me.”

The old lady looked tired. She was obviously in some pain. I surreptitiously went in and blocked some of her pain signals, easing it a little. She sighed. We visited for nearly three hours. Nana Babi told stories about when she was younger, and Louise caught her up on what had been going on in her life since they’d last spoken. The girls and I got drawn into the conversation, but I could see that Nana Babi was starting to flag. Louise noticed too.

“You look tired, Nana,” said Louise. “I think it’s time we were going. You need to rest.”

“I’m sorry,” Nana Babi said. “I’m not as young as I was. Claire will show you out, but please come back, Louise. I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Louise said, gently embracing the old lady once more.

Nana Babi grasped Josh’s hand. “Look after her,” she said.

“I will,” he promised.

Claire showed us to the door.

“I haven’t seen her that happy for some time,” she said as we walked through the lobby. “Thanks for coming, Louise. Please do come back.” Her face darkened a little. “You’d better make it soon. Nana Babi is ill and probably hasn’t long left - six months, maybe a year.”

Louise’s eyes filled with tears. “Two weeks?” she asked. “Not next weekend; the weekend after. We’ll come to see her then.”

Claire smiled. “I’ll tell her closer to the time,” she said. “Take my number and call me to confirm.”

“Okay,” said Louise.

“And don’t forget to bank that check,” said Claire. “She will be really upset if you don’t.”

Louise looked at the check in her hand. “But…”

“Just bank it, and use it wisely,” said Claire.

Louise nodded.

We all wanted to know, but nobody wanted to ask. Eventually, it was Amanda who couldn’t hold out any longer. We had been driving about twenty minutes before she broke.

“How much?” she asked simply.

Louise, who had been clutching the check in her hand, held it out to Amanda, who took it and stared.

“One hundred thousand dollars?” she said wonderingly.

“I can’t…” began Louise, but I interrupted.

“You will upset and insult that old lady if you don’t deposit that,” I said. “She was going to give Keenan twenty million. One hundred thousand, while a lot of money to you, is not a lot to her. She can afford it, and she wants you to have it. Make an old lady happy and make your own life easier. Now you don’t need to worry about rent, car insurance or working for a cranky, lecherous boss like me. You can enjoy the last year of college, whether your parents cut you off or not.”

Louise took the check back when Amanda offered it to her, folded it carefully, and put it in her purse.

“Caleb,” she said a few minutes later.

“Hmm?” I asked. I had begun to doze. Long car journeys where I wasn’t driving did that to me.

“Thank you,” she said. “I seem to be saying that a lot, but I really don’t know what we would have done without you. You made everything better. I don’t know what’s going to happen between me and my parents. I guess we’ll sort it out eventually, but you really did save me - save us.”

“Yeah,” said Josh. “Thanks. I don’t know where we would be without your help. I don’t know how we are ever going to be able to repay you.”

“I have a few ideas where we can start though,” said Louise, with a glint in her eye.