The Ark

Copyright © 2020 by VeryWellAged

What was and what will be...22

Author's note: These chapters are NOT stand-alones...The story starts here.

What was and what will be...23

I’m sure our Christmas celebrations are like no others. There are twenty of us in the house every day. That makes for a lot of presents under the tree. The really little ones are not old enough to get hyper over Christmas yet, but they will all be crazy by next year.

Lillian is staying focused on Joy, her granddaughter. She tried to upbraid Lorie on childcare just once, but got unloaded on by five of the mommies here. That hasn’t happened again. So far, the presence of Dessa as a niece has not been questioned.

She goes home tomorrow, and Dessa is counting the hours. Ann is here and will be here tomorrow night. Dessa has a promise from Ann that the two of them will be together.

I have not heard back from Tom or Elena, so we have made no additional plans. But it seems like Dessa will be in my bed before they arrive. If, and it’s a big if, I knew Tom and Elena’s visit would be a short one, I would try to persuade Dessa to wait until they leave. At least, I would attempt it. But as Tom gets a BB visa, and as he is retired, it’s impossible to guess how long they will stay. Maybe they will write once Christmas is over.

Ira,

Has Tom not written you? He hasn’t said a word to me. If you not send me a copy of your last answer, I not know anything.

We stay for two weeks in the Philippines. Not sure how long in Tacloban. Maybe the whole time. I want to see what land Ann can show us. I tell Tom that if we find land, we must stay until paperwork complete.

I texted Ann to get a good hotel room with aircon and hot water for shower. Maybe for four days to start and maybe extend if needed. Hope she will answer soon.

Thank you for explaining about the balikbayan visa. He not really believe me. He think Filipinas are stupid because we do things different.

I want to see your farm. CiCi tells me about it. It sounds wonderful. Your wives are very lucky. There so many! I will meet all. You lucky too. I think they really like you.

Elena.

I wonder what’s with Tom. It seems that his fire for Elena has died down a fair bit. I hear from gossip that guys who meet a gal here and bring her back to the States without learning anything of her country get pretty frustrated with their wives.

Some say that those guys who have spent some time in the Philippines, even years before they ever met their wives, like guys who were in the service and stationed here years ago, seem to do better.

I saw some of that first hand, when I visited Tom in his home with Elena that night. True, it wasn’t real bad, but if it has gotten worse, it would be sad. From all I can see, Elena has tried to make it work with Tom and genuinely loved him. Has that changed? Is she looking for an escape route? … One with land and a house back here?

It’s not that she is shimmying up to me. It’s that she is shimmying up to my gals, to figure out the lay of the land. Is she wondering if living like I do would change Tom for the better for her? Hell, I’m just making wild-assed guesses.

I wish Tom wasn’t so sort of shut down about what is going on.

I click on reply.

Elena,

Just read your email. Ann hasn’t mentioned anything to me. I will check with her and have her get back to you.

Sorry to hear of your problems regarding Tom. For what it is worth, I have you pegged as super smart. Smart enough that I saw you as dangerous to me back when I was in Kennewick. I don’t feel any danger now, but know you to be far smarter than Tom. Is that the real problem? Is he getting defensive because you are smart?

If Tom screws things up with you, he is a fool.

Merry Christmas,
Ira

I find Ann playing cards on the deck outside.

Hey, did Elena text you about getting a hotel room?

As she studies her cards, I get those eyebrows telling me she did get it.

Why didn’t you text her back?

Not done yet. When I get the room.

No, sweetheart, you text you receive the message and that you will text back once the room reservation is made.

Why? Waste of pesos.

We can afford it. Text her.

Eyebrows again.

You with Dessa tonight?

Eyebrows.

I’m ready, Ira.

I’m not, and I may not be for a good three years.

What! You say I can be with you. Why you change?

I didn’t change, and you can be with me, but in my heart, I wish you would wait.

Oh. No. Bad idea. We do this.

I have no idea why it’s a bad idea to wait.

It is. Do not be difficult! All your wives say you are difficult about this.

OK. OK.

We go to your room now?

It’s eight in the morning! You just left Ann’s room. Don’t you think this is a little too soon?

No. We do it now. We do it tonight and again tomorrow. Then I know we OK.

Have pity on an old man!

You not old. Come na.

Dessa has my left arm in both her hands as she drags me down the hallway to my room. I was with Eva last night and I’m not at the top of my game right now. None of this will matter to Dessa.

As my final steps take me back into my bedroom, I catch of glimpse of Jessa looking at me, and then I’m inside the room and the door closes.

I’m not too old? Hell, tell that to my body. Tell that to the old boy. He isn’t standing at attention, and I’ll be damned if I know if he will salute.

Is Dessa cute? Sure, for a kid, she’s dandy. But really, I mean, thirteen? OK, so there are times I can’t discern the difference between a kid of fourteen and one of eighteen. So, maybe I’m getting worked up over the number and not the person. I guess it’s possible. But how do I split it?

Ira! Come!

She pulls me toward my bed. I don’t think she has ever been with a guy before. She won’t have a clue about what to do, and I’m lost in action. I swallow hard and come face to face with Dessa. Putting my arms around her, I pull her in for a kiss, only to discover that was the one thing she wasn’t expecting.

I put a finger under her chin, lift up her face and try again. Rather than reach the lips, she presents me her cheek.

Dessa, if you can’t kiss me, we are not going any farther. It means to me that you really are too young.

Sorry, Po. Your wives, they not kiss me.

They are not replacements for me and they do not do the things I do. Being with them was not training for being with me.

Oh! I not know! I am confused now.

Would you like to stop now? Nothing bad has happened and you can still be my niece. If you want you can still spend times with the gals. That doesn’t have to stop.

You want to kiss me? Really? This not a test?

Yes, I really want to kiss you. But, I guess, it’s a test, because if you are unable to really kiss me and make me believe it’s something you want, then you cannot be a wife to me. Wives should always be happy to kiss their husbands.

As in a real marriage?

In all ways other than the law, this is a real marriage. We do not play as if we are married. I’m truly married to eight gals. Each one of them knows it. Do you want to stop for now and ask them? If you want, we can restart tonight.

I believe you, Po. No need to stop. … Po, when I marry you, this mean it true? It mean I have a husband to love me?

Yes. It means those things.

OK, kiss me. I am ready now.

I lean forward again and this time I find lips seeking my lips, arms around the back of my neck and tears running down a cheek. There’s a hunger in her I feel expressed in these kisses. These are meaningful acts. Dessa is not playing a role, she is who she is, a very young girl who has met her betrothed and is giving her heart to him.

This is not an arranged marriage between families. It was arranged, I guess, by Debbie, though I hope she never learns the truth of it. But the reason for the arrangement, I suspect, was to create a seed of discontent between Bim and me. In that, Debbie failed. The result is a sweet, blissful connection that should never have been.

Dessa is mewing as the kisses continue. I slow us down and get my hands on her blouse in an effort to seek the removal of the same. Dessa seems to grasp what I’m attempting and makes cooperative adjustments to our physical connection. Slowly the blouse is removed. I’m about to start on her bra, but she moves to remove my shirt, button by button, until the shirt is on the floor.

I remove her bra and unbutton the top of her shorts. She struggles with my belt, and I stop what I’m doing to assist her in that effort.

Slowly, all our clothing is removed. We are an incongruous pair, though she doesn’t seem to notice it. I cup her small breast, encasing all of it in the palm of my hand. This time it’s she who pulls me in for a kiss. And it’s a very nice kiss, as we stand skin to skin.

We find our way onto the bed. For all my worry about my old soldier, he is standing perfectly erect. My hand finds her mons and my fingers hang lower, encasing her entire vulva in my grasp. I have not penetrated by any digit her sacred place. Surely she will allow it, but instead, with a firm grip on her female parts, my lips seek hers again. She reaches down, holding my cock with a firm grip of her own.

I guess I could ask her if she is sure about what is yet to come, but I suspect it’s a meaningless question. She has already communicated her readiness.

My index finger probes her passage, seeking intelligence of moisture. I find plenty. Lifting myself up and over her, I center my cock over her labia and push in, slowly but steadily. The passage is tight but her fluids provide the lubricant. I reach bottom and wait. Waiting for Dessa to come to terms with my presence inside her.

She pumps against me. I’ll take that as a signal that she is ready to engage with the main event. I back out a bit and push in. No problems, no complaints. I pull back and run in harder. All good as the fucking takes on its own logic. I’m no longer thinking of a kid of thirteen. I’m experiencing my partner as we make love.

As if a switch has been flipped, that is how I see her now. She is my partner.

Her face is alight with joy. There’s no pain. There are no grimaces. She isn’t doing it for the Gipper. She is here because she wants to be here. She feels the pleasure that comes with the decision. It has been her decision and this is her joy. We fuck on and on. Sticky body slapping against sticky body.

I’m feeling bad that she might be getting sore. But she isn’t saying there’s any soreness. All there is, is that expression of joy on her face. I’m looking right at that lovely face when cum erupts from my balls and enters Dessa.

OK, husband, make sure you are here and ready for me tonight. … And husband… that was so great. Thank you for loving me.

I’m looking down at her. My cock is still inside her though it has wilted. All I find the words for is, Oh Dessa. And I kiss her forehead.

I roll over onto my back and off Dessa. She rolls onto me, planting kisses all over my face, before a final, That was great!

She gets up grabs her clothing and, naked as you please, walks out of the bedroom.

I’m just lying naked on my newly mussed up sheets, head on a pillow, and looking at the ceiling, when Jessa enters.

You OK?

Yeh. OK.

Want to talk about it?

You mean because I didn’t want to be with her?

Jessa laughs. Of course.

Actually, there’s not a lot to say. She’s mine now. She committed herself and I accepted. It is done. Thirteen is simply a fact of biology and nothing more between us.

I met her in the hall.

Oh?

Oo. She looked at me and said, ‘I know now.’

That all?

Oo. You know what that mean?

You will have to ask her. I could guess but it would just be a guess.

Really? I know what it mean, Ira. I feel the same thing when I know we will share a real love. That this not a game. You not know that?

I wasn’t sure.

Yes, she is yours now. I know this.

She’s coming back to me tonight. How about you join us?

Good. Thank you.

Jessa…

No, my love, do not say anything. I already know. We are good for each other. … Take a shower and get dressed. I will make the bed.

Showered and freshly dressed, I enter the sala to find all but CiCi and Dessa sitting there, each with an expectant look on her face. If they were expecting something momentous, my Where’s CiCi? was not it.

It did break the ice, though, and Bim found good reason to laugh before offering, Dessa grabbed her and, Ira, I am not making this up, we all hear her say to CiCi, ‘You the top wife here. I need to talk to you.’

What, in God’s name, did CiCi say?

She say, ‘Thank you for the promotion. But I think it is Jessa.’ Jessa say, ‘No, the child is right.’ So then CiCi say, ‘What you need to talk about.’ Dessa say, ‘Not here, please.’ And then they leave.

I look around the room and ask, You all hear this?

I get a roomful of eyebrows. Bim gives me a curious look and asks, What she need to talk about?

I have no idea.

She one of us now?

Yes, absolutely, yes. Do we have any buko juice in the ref¹?

You want?

Yes, and if it wasn’t so early I would add some rum with it. And with that, I plop down on a couch between Lorie and Reyna, as Jessa gets me a glass of it.

The gals are too smart to ask for details of what transpired in the bedroom. I would never talk about that, and they know it. It’s really just more of what Jessa wanted to know earlier. They want to know if I’m OK.

That topic gets exhausted soon enough, and the topic of what Ann has been working on gets our attention. There are some major land acquisitions occurring, but the buyers are hidden inside a shell company. Ann has been digging to find out what she can. It looks like the shell companies are hiding majority ownership of Chinese investors. That would make it illegal, as foreign ownership is limited to forty percent of the total stake. The balance must be owned by Filipinos.

Ann has been warned to be very careful, as there are powerful and dangerous individuals behind the scenes in this business. I wonder if Ann might be better off staying clear of this. She doesn’t want to back off, but knows it might be the prudent thing to do.

It’s not that she might get sued. It’s that she might get killed. It’s a real problem here. People do get gunned down when meddling in such things.

Reyna says she should send what she has through a friend who has friends in the NPA². They tend to operate in Northern Samar, but they are a violent group who might not be afraid of shaking the trees. I want nothing to do with the NPA, but the sentiment of my gals from Panay, Leyte and Samar is that it’s a good idea. There’s a belief outside of Manila that some in the capital are too chummy with the Chinese, and allow a lot of illegal stuff to occur if it’s for China. Ann says she will give it some thought.

CiCi and Dessa emerge from their sequestration, and it appears that CiCi needs to speak.

We failed Dessa. Ira made it right, but we really failed. Friends do you hear me? … You, me, we love Ira and in truth I love you. I think you love me. Correct?

Eyebrows go up.

Every one of us protects each other. Correct?

Eyebrows go up again.

We kiss each other, di ba³?

Eyebrows go up again.

But not one of us kiss Dessa. Not one of us show her love. Yes we do sex with her, but not love. Why that? You know the first thing that Ira do? … He try to kiss this girl. Ha! She surprised. She not ready for this. Ira, he almost end it with her because of this. This our fault. We know Ira love us. Love as much as sex. But we not show this. Maybe we forget it ourselves? Maybe we forget to love Ira correctly? Think of this tonight! I tell you true. I make the same mistake you make. I think about this tonight.

There’s silence in the room.

§ § §

§ § §

What was and what will be...24