The Women in Blue

Chapter One

The Beginning of a Surprising Summer Internship

When I graduated high school, rather than go immediately to college like many of my friends, I wanted to enlist in the USMC. This horrified my country club parents, even though my father had been a high ranking naval officer before he retired and took a very lucrative job with an investment bank. I told them I felt sheltered and inexperienced and I wanted some exposure to the real world. I also said that many of my friends were very immature and would most likely flunk out of college and I didn't want to end up like that. My father was quick to agree that most of my friends were losers, but he suggested an alternative way to gain some real world experience before making the decision to enlist.

My father seems to have 'Navy buddies' in all walks of life. He says he has been building up his network since before going to Annapolis, and he was careful to continuously cultivate relationships with other officers and noncoms. One of his former commanding officers had married into a wealthy family in the Pacific Northwest who ran one of the biggest logging, timber, and mill operations in the county. He said I could do a summer internship there, learn something about business, and get a lot of real world experience in a short time. Then we could talk again about my future in the fall. I told him okay.

A week later, I was on a plane to Seattle. Former Admiral Parker Patrick and his wife Polly met me at the airport in a well used but very well maintained Land Rover. They both smiled in surprise as they recognized me, as the last time they saw me I was 9. I was now 6' 2" and 200 lbs. They were both in their early 70's and I was immediately fearful of a summer of unrelenting boredom. They had deep tans and weathered faces from obvious exposure to the outdoors, but seemed hale and hearty and well maintained, like their vehicle. Polly was still a good looking woman, and she must have totally stopped traffic when she was younger. She had a glow about her that I found fascinating. We started the three hour drive to their estate, and I was struck by their lively attitude, varied interests, and engaging conversational style. After exchanging family anecdotes and pleasantries for 30 minutes or so, we made it through traffic to the outskirts of town and started climbing hills in some spectacularly beautiful countryside.

Admiral Patrick settled into driving, and Polly Patrick settled into questioning me. "Connor?" she said. "Your dad tells me you are very bright, and you certainly got both of your parent's good looks."

"Thank you. You are very kind." I replied.

She turned toward the back seat and caught my eye and smiled. She looked rather pointedly down from my face and assessed my young body openly. "What kind of physical condition are you in dear?"

"Above average." I replied. "I played football both ways every year and ran track in the spring. Every day, I run at least 5 miles and do an hour of P90X. I recently learned to repel and free climb and I like doing that."

She smiled widely. "Good. We are trying to efficiently plan your time here. If you think you are up to it physically, the best way for you to learn the business is to spend a month with a logging crew, then a month at the sawmill, and then a month in the office learning operations and marketing. Are you up to that?"

"Yes I am." I replied strongly. My dad had taught me never to shrink from a challenge - give it your best and if it was meant to be it will work out.

"Excellent!" She said. "You will stay at our house this weekend, and then a bunkhouse with the work crews during the week. On Fridays, you will come back to our house to fulfill your social obligations over the weekends, and then back to work and the bunkhouse each Monday. Do you have a girlfriend, Connor" she asked, as her eyes seemed linger on my body again.

"Yes, ma'am. I mean, I did, but she took off for summer school at Brown about three days after our high school graduation. She gave me a nice speech about how we both needed to grow and date other people."

"I suspect that is her loss dear, but it will definitely be your gain." She smiled even more warmly. "What else did you father tell you about us, dear?"

"Well" I replied, "He said you were very nice and accomplished people, but that you had your own ideas about philosophy and society. He said that if I really wanted some unsheltered real world experience I should just follow your directions and observe and learn during the summer, and not form any conclusions until the fall. He also said that anything that happened here outside of working hours was strictly private, and I should not discuss it with anyone, not even with him and Mom."

Admiral Parker laughed sharply from the front seat. "Well said." and smiled a knowing grin. "That sounds like excellent advice. When Polly mentioned your social obligations, that's what your father was talking about keeping private. Over the course of your stay here, we will introduce you to our philosophy and to some of our very closest and trusted friends, in the hope that you will learn to enjoy them and to trust them too."

Polly Parker turned and caught my eye again, looking directly at me. "One other thing I must ask you to respect, Connor, and all though it may seem unusual to you now it is part and parcel of our philosophy. You must promise me now that during your entire summer here, you will never, ever, masturbate, not even once. Nor will you have sex with anyone unless I am in the room with you."

My eyes must have gotten as big as saucers. I could not have been more surprised if she had turned into frog right before my eyes. She held my gaze, and smiled very warmly, and said "Just trust me, Connor. If you are having trouble and think you might be tempted to break that rule, talk to me before you do anything!'

I sat back in the seat and mind raced. What in the world had I gotten myself into? I suppose my fears about a boring summer were proving unfounded, but I was still pretty confused. I decided to go with my father's advice. "Yes Polly, I promise."

She reached into the back seat and took my hand between hers. She looked directly into my eyes like a wise but still pretty hot grandmother, and said "I will do everything to make sure you are very glad you promised."

The Admiral laughed loudly again. "Believe me Connor, Polly can deliver on that!"

My mind was still racing as we drove on. Polly gave me a quick recitation of their basic societal ideas. Briefly, they thought it imperative that all the countries and peoples of the world unite as one before the inevitable first contact with another intelligent species, and all of their strategies and plans were focused on that. That was certainly big picture thinking! She said it might take many generations for that to happen, but there were things that we could start doing now to facilitate it.

My mind went back to all the dinner table conversations my family had about politics and religion, and social norms. My thoughts were jarringly interrupted as Polly asked another one of those questions you never, ever expected to come out of her kindly grandmother mouth "Do you watch much porn, Connor?"

She could see that I was stilled stunned, and she continued without waiting for my response. "Because we enjoy it occasionally, and in fact we even underwrite production of some as an efficient way to advance our philosophy!" She could see I was almost completely immobilized by that remark. She smiled like a Cheshire cat and asked, "Have you ever noticed that today there is so much more porn featuring black men and white women?"

"Yes", I said, "This spring I went to a fraternity party at the college where my older cousin goes. They had one room devoted to showing porn videos and it seemed like at least half the scenes were like that!"

She smiled again. "Well you can certainly understand the appealing photographic compositional aspects of the contrasting skin tones, and for some people, the excitement of breaking an old taboo. For years there were stereotypes of black people that they were less mentally developed than whites, more animal like, and thus more savage and powerful in their sexuality. Many of the porn films perpetuate this myth by portraying the black man as having a much larger penis, much greater sexual prowess and staying power, and a much greater ability to give orgasms than a white man."

That was certainly true of the films I saw. The basic plot was to show a white woman a black dick and she will come just from looking at it and then can't wait to stuff it into every orifice she has, enthusiastically doing things she has never done before and might never want to do with a white partner.

Polly saw me thinking and continued, "But if you look at it statistically, the black guys used in those films with the huge penises are just as rare as white guys with big ones, plus they use some trick lenses and cast actresses with unusual proportions to emphasize the size of the black organs. That is not to say that some of us women don't just simply like the idea of a big black dick! She smiled at her husband and stuck out her tongue at him. "Slut" he muttered under his breath with a smile. She continued, "just as some men get unreasonably excited by huge breasts." She punched her husband in the shoulder and he grunted.

I partially recovered from my shock. "So why would making these films help your philosophy?

She smiled again. "Because in the long run it makes white women more likely to try black partners, and it makes it more likely that mixed race babies will become the norm. And the more mixed the races are , the more all countries begin to look like each other demographically, and the more mixed and diverse the human gene pool becomes. Actually there may be some unintended consequences. Black guys with average to small endowments feel even worse, and may produce fewer babies. We might be mistakenly suppressing some important sex linked trait like mathematical genius that is linked to small penis size and dark skin. But we do look forward to the time that when you say the word race, people will only think of speed contests or the entire human race."

She saw my eyes were glazing over. "But let's not worry about that right now. During your social obligation time each week, you will be meeting people and learning some of the more immediate and frankly fun aspects of how we put our ideas into practice. "

And with that we turned off the main road onto what looked like a logging trail. It was gravel but very flat and smooth and wide enough for big trucks. We made several alternating left and right turns and I realized that it was like a maze. I found it hard to remember exactly which way we had come. The admiral said "We will teach you all the trails around here. They are laid out to confuse and delay people who we haven't invited." With that we passed through an opening in a stone wall. As I looked behind us, expecting a metal gate to close shut, I saw a section of stone wall emerge from the ground and lock into place. I could not even tell where the opening had been! We passed through two similar gates and then pulled up into a large paved driveway and caught a view of the house it approached. Their home looked like a cross between the Biltmore House and a Four Seasons hotel! But it by now was almost dark and hard to see.

I just had to the one bag and carried it in through the front doors, which seemed about three stories tall. We walked to the kitchen where a large sandwich buffet was set, and we all made sandwiches and sat at the kitchen table. Polly began "We are going to call it a day early tonight because we start our Saturdays very early around here. After we finish eating I will take your by our nurses station for a quick blood test and physical exam. Then show you your room, which is the one that you will use all summer whenever you stay here. You have your own bath and exercise room, and study for your computer stuff. You are free to email and text message all your friends, but please tell them only that you are working on an internship in Seattle - no further details. And no pictures of the interior or exterior of our property - the security people will freak out,"

"There are some clothes already in your room for you - the company uniforms that the logging crews wear, in addition to gloves, boots, hats, raincoats and some tools. On Monday morning at six, Eddie Edgarsen, the logging boss, will pick you up in company pickup and you will then keep that vehicle to use to go back and forth between here and the bunkhouse. He will also give you a company phone that you should keep with you at all times, especially when you are out working with a logging crew."

"Tomorrow the landline phone in your room will ring with a wakeup call at six. We will have a quick breakfast here in this same kitchen, and then we will take a tour around the estate and introduce you to many of the folks who live and work here. Can you ride a horse?

Again my dad had made sure I was trained well. "Yes. I can ride all day if need be."

She smiled and continued "We will take a long horseback ride around the place and I will show you some special spots. Then we will have nap time Saturday afternoon, because Saturday night we will have formal dinner at 8 and some late night entertainment afterwards." Soon we were all done and Polly led me to the nurse, a statuesque woman with flawless café au lait skin, an incredible hourglass figure and a very efficient manner. She took several vials of blood, scraped the inside of my cheek, and gave me a quick but thorough physical exam. The Polly returned and showed me to my room, which was on the first floor, but still a long way from the kitchen. She showed me where the light switches and curtain pulls were, then gave me a hug and a little kiss on the cheek, and disappeared.

I realized that I was exhausted from the jet lag, low humidity in the cabin of the aircraft, and some of the surprising turns in the conversation during the ride in the Range Rover. But trying to keep my routine, I set up my laptop and did an hour of P90X. I then took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and was soon out like a light.

The wakeup call seemed to come only a few minutes later. I must have slept like a log! I pulled the curtain and looked at the weather. Conveniently, there was an outdoor thermometer right outside the window, which also offered a spectacular view of the sun just beginning to rise over what appeared to be virgin forest. I quickly selected my clothes, grabbed a sweater and wind breaker, then headed for the kitchen,

I was the first to arrive. The air was redolent with smell of bacon, toast, and eggs, which sounded great to me and my now growling stomach. There was also a tall and very shapely blond woman scrambling the eggs, who looked like the Icelandic Air stewardesses from TV. "Hello", she said. "You must be Connor. I am Edith Edgarsen" and she extended her hand. Her accent was 100% USA, but I still wanted to think of her as the exotic foreigner starring in my five second old fantasy.

"Yes" I said. "I am Connor Conyers, and I and I am very pleased to meet you, and not just because I am hungry. I took her hand and held it warmly. I guessed she was in her mid to upper twenties. From close up she looked even better - perfect skin, perfect teeth, beautiful blue green eyes, and a body like powerful and busty Las Vegas dancer, not a skinny model. "Are you related to Eddie Edgarsen?" I realized I was still holding her hand and sheepishly let it go.

She smiled at my awkwardness. "Edgar is my half brother. I am the chef for the Patrick's, among other things." I noticed her grace and well balanced stance and inferred powerful legs - skiing, fencing, dance, martial arts, however she got the gracefulness, I thought it was wonderful. She in turn looked me up and down frankly. Are you really only 18?"

"Yes." I said. "And just barely that. I graduated from High School two weeks ago. When I was a Boy Scout I earned my cooking merit badge, but I only feel qualified to comment that everything smells great."

She smiled and moved towards me a little in the space between the kitchen island and the table. She was close enough that our knees were almost touching. I could feel her warmth and smell a subtle feminine fragrance. Not perfume, just a nice soap or shampoo plus her natural scent. "Everything?" She asked.

I must have blinked, maybe even gulped out loud. She giggled and looked down at me briefly, then went back to the stove. I realized that my little friend in my pants had betrayed my interest most graphically. She must have noticed, and seemed to be enjoying my discomfort. "What would you like?" she asked.

Now I really couldn't even inhale to answer. She looked at me directly with a big smile on her face and continued "I mean to eat." No sound emerged, and my face must have turned beet red, because the image that came to my mind had everything to do with her but nothing to do with food. "I mean for breakfast?" and she smiled even wider. She put one hand on her hip and jutted one foot out impatiently

I tried to regain my composure and at least attempt a little repartee. "I am sure that anything you offered me would be wonderful!" I managed to get out, sounding almost natural.

She smiled and walked back toward the stove, her hips swaying a bit. "You're darn tootin' it would, kid!" She laughed, and put a warm and very full plate on the table, along with a big glass of fresh orange juice. "You need to clean your plate!" She asserted, "I can see that you are a growing boy and you will need your energy around here" her tone dripping with double entendre.

I sat down at the table. She moved behind my chair, laid a hand on my shoulder, and leaned down close to my ear. I could feel her warm and wonderful breath on my neck. "Connor" she said softly, "when Polly offers you something to eat, you must jump right in and finish it off the best way you possibly can!" She gave my shoulder a squeeze and headed back to the stove. I could neither breathe nor eat right then, and I was suddenly so hard that I could not have stood up if there had been a fire in the kitchen.

As if on cue, Polly walked in all smiles. "Good morning, all." She poured herself some juice, and Edith made her a smaller plate and put a small container of medications next to it. They shared a whispered bit of conversation with their heads close together, and then Polly gave her a little kiss on the cheek like she did me last night. The Admiral followed right after, with the same routine.

The Admiral took me for a walk around the grounds, pointing out the natural limits of the property and many of the security features. He introduced me to the guards, the groundskeepers, and the maids. He showed me a map sketch of the property - it was thousands of acres. He showed me the garages and barns and storage sheds, and had me memorize the codes for the doors and gates, reminding me that they changed every week, and telling me the mnemonic to remember the progression He took me to the kennels, and let the dogs sniff me and get to know me. They were a mix of Malinois and Bouvier, and apparently roamed the property between midnight and six, and also were released if there was a security alert.

We left the kennels and walked to the stables, where Polly stood with two nice looking quarter horses. The Admiral wished us a good ride, and Polly said let's hurry and go right now. But my father had taught me always to check my tack (and sailboat rigging, and airplane flight controls, and etc.) myself and be confident of everything before relying on them. I asked Polly to stop, and carefully checked my saddle and hers. Her cinch was not tight enough and there was a fold under her saddle blanket. I adjusted them, and she smiled. I realized I had just passed a test. We mounted up, and she waved to the Admiral who had been observing, and then led the way at an easy pace.