We woke sometime after noon. I slid out of bed and took a shower and dressed. Eric Lover was sitting up. “What time is it?”
“Just after one,” I said. “Keeping these sort of hours will throw us off our day schedules,” I said absently.
“How long til dark?” she asked. I looked at the clock.
“About six ,” I said. I dressed in a soft moss green sweater and jeans and slid into my loafers. I left the room and went downstairs and got a cup of coffee and croissant and went outside. It was a bit cool but I found Westexan and the God Speeds and Liz and Mel having coffee. I sat down with them.
“Did you sleep good Aslinn?”asked Liz.
“I did,” I said. “Anyone see any ghosts?”
“Not that I am aware of,” said God Speed.” We thought we would go and look around at the grounds, see the rest of the plantation.”
“Well,” said Westexan, “This is a beautiful place. And I don’t think I have had a better night’s sleep.”
“I think I am just going to relax,” said Mel. “I can’t wait to eat that roast pig they started cooking last night.”
“Did you see the size of those hogs?” asked Mrs. GS. “They were monsters.”
“Well, that just means they will be yummy for supper,” I said. “I think I will go on line and check the forum.”
I was in the main parlor, my lap top on the coffee table, checking my email and the forum. The forum was a beautiful thing now that we were back though we had to start from scratch with the threads. I posted a few comments and then set out to work on a few siggies.
By the time I quit, the rest of us were up. Linzy was watching me make a really nice siggy for the Eric Girls and answered a couple of emails. When I looked up from my screen, I was looking into the face of the lead counselor.
“Still hard at it Aslinn?” he asked.
“What time is it?” I asked. He looked at the grandfather clock behind me.
“Six-twenty,” he said. “Come on, turn off your laptop and come and join us, your supper is ready,” he said. I turned off my computer and put it in my bag and set it to the side. He took my hand in his cool one and led me into the dining room. He sat me at his table this evening.
When we were all seated, plates of pig and bowls and platters of sides were set before us. More wine and other sustenance were put on our tables. This was better, more intimate, like eating at a family table. We were a bit more rowdy with this family like atmosphere. I looked at my counselor and he lifted his glass and I lifted mine back to him.
After supper, we went into the parlor and the guys who had helped us with our luggage came in lugging packages with them. Lina snugged a Santa hat on the head of the lead counselor who was a good sport and accepted the hat. He looked strange, as though he was rediscovering some part of himself who was long gone. I can’t say the lady counselor was too pleased with this sort of casual treatment of her boss, but the young counselor was all grins. My counselor was talking to Nia who was smiling up at him.
“Alright, settle,” said the lead counselor. “We are handing out gifts, small tokens of our friendship and appreciation and then the ladies are required to join the lady counselor on a little excursion.”
I was sitting cross legged on the floor, my small pile of gifts around me. I had gotten a lovely first edition copy of Gone with the Wind from the lead counselor, as he had a real laugh over the essay I wrote about the Connection’s world and the world of Scarlett O’Hara and her two suitors. He’d written on a card “Aslinn, thank you for your friendship. I hope our affection will not be gone with the wind”
I looked over at the young counselor as she ooed and ahhed over the Ipod Hoyt had gotten her and the 100 song card God Speed had bought her. She raced over to me.
“Aslinn, can I use your laptop later?” she asked. I nodded. I noticed the lady counselor trying on the vintage pill box hat, pressing the pins into the back of the hat. Mel and Renee were nodding over it, admiring the way it matched the mahogany brown dress and blouse she was wearing. My counselor was looking at the pewter pocket watch I had bought him. I knew he wore a wrist watch, but I thought he would appreciate a pocket watch. He winked subtly at me. I reached for the package the younger counselor had for me and opened it. Inside were a set of journals bound in leather with celtic knots all over them. I loved them and the heavy pen that came with them. The lady counselor had bought me a blouse, improbably sheer and a lovely crème with a shell underneath it.
Finally, after we had opened all our gifts and made our thank yous and accepted thank yous, we girls ran upstairs quickly and changed into going out clothes and came back down. We went out and piled into our cars, the young counselor getting in my car with Eric Lover, Vi and Minnie and we took off, following the lady counselor who was bringing Liz and Mel and Linzy with her.
We drove for about twenty minutes when we finally pulled into the parking lot of a club. Hooligans was rocking this Friday night. I walked up to the lady counselor.
“Did you bring us to a strip club?” I asked,
“Well, let’s just say I thought we could use a ladies night out,” she said.
“What are the boys doing while we are here?” I asked.
“I am sure they are occupied with the other counselors,” she said. “Come on, I think you will enjoy yourself immensely.”
The club was loud and there seemed to be an all female audience til I noticed a few stray males in the. There was a large stage and small DJ stand with turn tables and a run way with a smaller circular stage. There was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen gyrating on the stage.
Around six feet tall, dark skinned with long black hair in impossible, envy inducing curls, the nearly naked man on the stage was strutting his stuff. A sea of outstretched arms was reaching for this tasty male but he was just out of reach. I looked at the lady counselor.
“You brought us to a male strip bar,” I asked.
“Yes, I thought you ladies would enjoy the sights and sounds,” she said. “I reserved a very nice spot for us, premium spot in the front.”
Burke, also known as Naughty McNasty, her alter ego, was whistling and stomping. Even the very pregger Westexan was showing her approval, waving a dollar bill in front of the sexy beast, thrusting his hips out to her as he took her hand and “helped” her slip the dollar bill in his….ehem…pouch. I began to wonder what the boys were doing.
The dining room was empty except for the center table. Hoyt, God Speed, Dude and the counselors were sitting around the table, looking over their cards. Dude was drinking bourbon and coke and Hoyt and God Speed were drinking beers. The counselors were having beverage as well. Poker night with the counselors. God Speed was oblivious to the fact that his wife was transforming into a sex maniac in the strip bar. There were just some things he didn’t need to know.
The lead counselor had a small but impressive pile of chips in front of him. Dude was a regular poker player and enjoyed the competition with the lead counselor. If the lead counselor seemed flustered at the fact Dude was about equally matched to him by way of skill, you would never know it. His face was placid and his body relaxed. He didn’t seem to worry about winning or losing.
“So, how do your wives feel about you boys being so interested in our adventures?” asked the southern counselor.
“Well, you know Jen, she is a junkie like me,” said God Speed.
“Yes she is, quite a little junkie,” said the lead counselor. “Tell me, how do you feel God Speed, about the fact that I meet with Jen on Thursday nights and spend one on one time with her.”
“Okay, so long as I get to spend time with our other counselor’s protégé,” he said. “How is your protégé?”
“Well, things are still up in the air about her as far as the adventures go, “said my counselor.
“How about you Hoyt? Your friend here enjoys his little visits with the youngest of our kind. How are you dealing with you jealousy?” asked the lead counselor.
“I’m alright, I guess. I don’t care for it much,” said the aggrieved Hoyt.
“That is so fascinating,” said the lead counselor. “The ladies with whom we counsel don’t seem to mind.”
“Yeah, but….” said Dude.
“Yes?” asked the southern drawl of my counselor.
“I don’t think you guys would like it very much if you began counseling each other’s ladies,” he finished.
My counselor shifted uneasily. He did not care for the attention the lead counselor sometimes paid to the ones he considered his. And he knew the lead counselor did not care for any measure of deference he paid to the ones who were devoted to him.
“See what I mean?” said Dude.
Between shows, we settled at a table and had a round of drinks brought to us, heavy on the beer and a club soda for Westexan and Iluvtheviking. We sat back and chatted with the lady counselors. We noticed that all the dancers came down to visit with our table and chat with us and even take one of us out to dance. Burke was dancing with a beautiful blond who was tall and muscular and looked an awful lot like the lead counselor. But the beautiful man with the long black hair in their lazy ringlets was nowhere to be seen.
“So, how come that pretty guy with all the black hair doesn’t come out and join us?” asked Lina.
“Oh, the owner of the bar?” asked the lady counselor. “Well, he knows that we would eat him alive.”
“He is very yummy,” I said, though I got the impression the lady counselor was a little more literal minded.
“He sure is,” said the young counselor. A handsome dancer came up and claimed the young counselor for a dance and she fairly leapt from her seat. God Speed and Hoyt would have rubbed all the cute off that boy if they were here. They would not have appreciated the attention he was paying to the lovely young red head.
We girls fairly sped home to beat the dawn to get back to the plantation. I was tired, but in a good way. Eric Lover was in the bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth and I was waiting for my turn in the loo.
“Did you have a good time tonight?” I asked her.
“Oh yeah, I like a good time with the girls. I wonder if the boys enjoyed their night with the counselors?” she said, coming out. I went into the loo and changed into my pajamas and washed my face and brushed my teeth and came back out.
“I am sure they did,” I said. “I wonder what we will be doing tomorrow night.”
“The young counselor said something about dressing up a little and having dinner and dancing right here at the plantation,” she said.
“More dancing,” I said. “What did the lead counselor get you?”
“He got me a bracelet,” she said, showing me the gold cuff bracelet.
“Very nice,” I said. “What did you get him again?”
“I got him that blue sweater,” she said. “I hope he liked it. What did he get you?”
“A copy of the first edition Gone with the Wind,” I said. “My counselor bought me a pair of gold earrings.”
“Well, I am tired tonight. Good night Aslinn,” she said, as dawn began to creep through the curtains.
“Good night,” I said.
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