Heaven’s Gate
71 Settling In
Melanie and Stephanie quickly joined the kids for breakfast. Lionel and Sugar had shown up over the weekend with their four kids. Four? Yes, Sugar had popped out Daniel Lamar Trane in June. She swore that she was finished now. Honey—their third—was three and joined the cooking as well. We brought another bunch of stools over to the studio so the kids could crowd around. Judy joined us on a regular basis now. I don’t think she’d told Melanie that she wasn’t sixteen. Not sure how she was explaining driving off in a Sheriff Deputy’s car every afternoon. Maybe Melanie hadn’t noticed yet.
I continued to talk in the morning. I censored some of what I might have said. I wanted to talk to Hannah about Doug, about Doreen and the baby, about the show, about everything else. But I kept my comments pretty general with fourteen kids in the kitchen. We had a good time. Judy collected them all to take to the silo to work out.
“Where do they go?” Stephanie asked on Thursday while I finished cleaning up the kitchen. Reese had come in and was puttering around, just inventorying what she had on hand and making notes.
“They go to the Sacred Space to do forms.”
“Is that like going to church?” Melanie asked. “Are you all religious?”
“No. It is more like meditation, but involves movement. It’s why we call it forms. You’d know it as Tai Chi. It’s a martial art and helps the kids learn control and discipline,” I said.
“Can we do it?” Stephanie asked. “Hiyeah!” she said making a fake karate chop. I laughed at her.
“That is something you won’t see any of them doing,” I said. “Though Judy sometimes demonstrates her skill at breaking boards. Let’s walk out to the silo and you’ll see if you want to participate. Please remember that nothing you see is a threat to you. No one will harm or attack you. You should also know that the Sacred Space is silent. Instructions are given in sign language or you just mimic what the leader does.”
“Is someone deaf?” Melanie asked. “I know that one little girl never says anything.”
“That’s my daughter, Xan. She’s not deaf. She just chooses not to speak unless she thinks it is important.” We approached the Silo. Liz and Rhiannon were standing outside the door holding Sharon and Raven. Sharon was squirming a little like she wanted to join the others. Well, it wouldn’t be long.
“They’re naked!” Stephanie gasped when Liz and Rhiannon parted so we could see in. Leon glanced over to see who was talking but got his focus right back and ignored us. It wasn’t unusual to have a few parents standing around outside. The two girls watched, soon forgetting the state of undress and focusing on the forms themselves and the children’s amazing synchronization. I noticed Stephanie mimicking a move. I leaned over to adjust her stance and show her the move again. She practiced it several times. She didn’t have it perfect, but she got the right idea. Melanie watched and joined us. I showed her how to adjust her hips and settle her weight evenly. The two girls were ignoring the class now and focusing on me. I showed them a couple more basic forms. They messed up a little on the first one and Melanie giggled. Stephanie shhh’d at her sister and Melanie blushed. They went back to practicing.
I saw Hannah approaching and she fell into step with us. Melanie watched her more closely than me and Hannah picked up the form we were working on and helped her with it. All the time Liz and Rhiannon watched either us or the kids inside and Sharon began to pucker up to squall. I held out my arms and my little daughter practically jumped from Liz to me. When I set her down, she immediately started pulling off her clothes. She wasn’t quite undressed when the rest of the kids came pouring out of the silo.
“Papa!”
“La Madrina!” the kids shouted. I got a few hugs, but Hannah was mobbed.
“Oh!” Hannah said, holding her nose. “Stinky, sweaty children. I love you all. Now head for the showers.” The kids squealed and took off running. Ellie, Matthew, and Leon stayed back to help the littlest ones, including taking Sharon by the hand.
“Sharon is ready to start,” I said.
“She won’t be two until December!” Liz complained.
“True, but she’s feeling the pressure. Being between the Twins and the Whitakers she’s got more in common with the older kids. I’ve noticed Céleste working with her,” I said.
“And what about you young ladies?” Hannah asked. “Are you planning to join the morning forms?”
“We’d… um… have to go naked.”
“That’s the tradition. You can join the adults down on the sports field. Most of us stay clothed, but not everyone.”
“Oh. I’d rather be with the kids,” Stephanie said. Melanie turned to me.
“You lead forms sometimes, too, don’t you? Are you naked?”
“Everyone who enters the Sacred Space comes with only themselves to rely upon,” I said. “It’s part of the discipline. There is nothing to hide behind. No clothes, no pretenses. There is only you and the form. Yes, I lead forms naked as well.”
“I’d be embarrassed,” Melanie said. “I’m not exactly a little kid.”
“Nor is Judy,” I said.
“You don’t, like, get a… an erection when you see her?” Melanie asked.
“Not when we are doing forms. Other times are none of your business,” I laughed.
“Melanie and Stephanie,” Rhiannon said to the girls, “when Brian is in the Sacred Space, he doesn’t see you as a man or a woman. He sees the pure essence of your being. And this is a great workout. I’ve had four kids and look at me. I still have a waist!” We all laughed. She also had huge milky boobs. I didn’t know if the girls would join or not, but Hannah walked with them back home to get ready for work.
I needed to do some work as well.
By the last week of August, everyone had come home to the ranch. Angela and Del were taking a month to move to her new position at The Hutch in Seattle. They were spending the first two weeks at the ranch. She did a lot of hovering over Doug and reviewing his medical records to see if she could spot anything the doctors had missed in his bone marrow transplant.
“I’m going to find a cure for this, Doug. Just hang on. As soon as I get to Seattle I’ll arrange for you to come out. You’re still strong. We can get through this,” she said. Del had planned for their move and had already been out to find a place for them to live. Before the holiday weekend was over, Rose would be performing a wedding.
TK came for a week’s vacation from Chicago where she’d been working as an assistant manager in a major hotel. She was on track to move as soon as one of the management positions in the chain opened up. She, too, was all over Doug and begged to have some one-on-one time with him. Doug took her into the house, stripped and held her in his own version of the big chair. That was all. He apologized, but said that all his equipment was working at the same pace as his brain. He kissed and cuddled TK, though, and she stayed in his arms most of an afternoon. I was familiar with that scene. It wasn’t uncommon to find Doreen, Rhiannon, or Sandy in that position with their cónyuge. Liz had been there several times as well. I was happy to find Dani cuddled with him. It certainly wasn’t unusual for Xan to lend her comfort and support. When it came down to it, I think all the old-timers spent time with Doug. Certainly Carl, Geoff, Josh, Lionel, and I all hung out with him. We even got him out one day for basketball. We didn’t play a game, but we shot baskets for about half an hour before Doug was too tired and had to take a nap. Brenda, Sam, Hannah, Jen, Courtney, Sugar, Sarah, Elaine, Rose, Cassie, Mary. As soon as Whitney got in on Wednesday she went to visit and cuddle with him. The only person who wasn’t home for the Labor Day weekend was Renee. Lamar had told me she’d talked to him, but just wasn’t ready.
The taping of the first two episodes of What’s Wrong with the Picture? was finished. Joyce was working on editing and effects. Sandy had created some great graphics for the titles and transitions. Melanie had a lot of experience working on stage, but aside from a commercial she once shot, had no film experience. She had been thrown by the non-sequential nature of shooting, and by the fact that nearly half her scenes didn’t involve any of the other characters and were shot in front of a blue screen. It wasn’t uncommon for movies to be made that way, but Courtney’s non-linear editing technology and the upgrades in our computer system were making some amazing things possible. Up to this time, most miniseries were filmed, edited, and then transferred to tape. Going direct to digital cut a huge amount of our costs.
And then it was Saturday night.
ME: Date night. I always dreaded it. Seems like either I didn’t have a date or I didn’t know what to do on one. It was my eighth grade girlfriend who showed me a possibility. She gave me a cookbook and we started cooking together. I’ve been in love with cooking ever since. And I’ve got a date tonight. Courtney, come join me in the kitchen, love. Let’s get something cooking!
COURTNEY: When did you ever not have a date?
ME: Well, there were a few times.
COURTNEY: You’ve got me tonight. Let’s go through the menu and tell our viewers what we’re doing.
ME: This is our first show of Date Night In. You can see our web address at the bottom of the screen. You’ll find all the recipes and a little about the movie we’ll watch tonight while we cook up a little romance for our date night.
COURTNEY: While we’re watching the movie, we’ll also be monitoring the comments on our website. We’ll include you in our little party. Please keep it clean. Brian and I don’t need your suggestions for what to do after the movie is over.
ME: It’s quick to prepare our oven baked chicken tonight. Let’s get it in the oven and take our appetizers to the sofa.
I quickly seasoned the chicken breasts, stuffed them with asparagus spears, put chicken stock in the casserole and popped it in the oven at 325.
ME: The chicken is in the oven.
COURTNEY: And I’ve got a bun in the oven. Let’s watch the movie.
ME: Our movie tonight is… Courtney? There were no buns on the menu.
COURTNEY: No. You got this one cooking about two months ago. It’s got seven more months until it’s ready. Let’s watch the movie.
ME: Did you just tell me we’re pregnant? On national television?
COURTNEY: Why don’t we snuggle up on the sofa and see if you can tell?
“That could almost have been considered mean,” Hannah laughed when we stumbled in after the show.
“I’d agree if it weren’t for the make-out session we had during the first movie segment,” Courtney laughed.
“I have to be the luckiest guy in the world,” I moaned. “If you’ll excuse us, my date with my courtesan is not over yet. I have to further examine the alleged pregnancy. In depth. I shall probe the cause of this phenomenon. I will immerse myself in the details. I’ll…”
“Go to bed horny if you don’t shut up and take me upstairs,” Courtney complained as she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs.
Comments
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
