The morning passed by quickly. Penny and Jan divided their time between the kids and various activities in the kitchen or far back bedroom/office. The two Air Force women opted to do some PT first thing, then came to check in with Miles. He'd made significant progress in the outline and high-level details of his proposal and went over them with his team. They listened carefully, interjecting feedback at times based on their recent experience helping Penny and Jan retrieve goods from their homes.
Just as they were getting ready to take a break for lunch, the doorbell rang. Miles looked knowingly at his partners, then walked out of his den to answer the door, just as Penny was coming that way from the kitchen. Miles waited until she was next to him, then opened the door. Standing on the doorstep, he saw a female in a bubble suit, holding a tablet computer, escorting two other females who were bundled up in Tyvek suits and PPE, each one holding onto a wheeled suitcase.
Penny moved aside to allow the two women wearing Tyvek to enter, while Miles signed the form on the tablet with his fingertip. The Air Force woman retrieved her pad, nodded her head, and gave them a 'good luck!' as she turned to head back to her white van.
As he closed the door, Miles turned to see Debra and Ava taking the bags from the new guests and placing them into the master suite, while Penny and Jan helped them remove their protective outerwear.
The first one to be freed from confinement was a mocha-skinned beauty, with long frizzy brown hair, lovely brown eyes, an engaging smile, standing at about five and a half feet tall, maybe 125 pounds, breasts a bit smaller than Penny's - likely a B-cup - but a nice bubble butt, dressed in a Hitchhikers' Guide Don't Panic T-shirt, denim jeans and sandals.
Her companion stood a bit taller - Miles estimated her at about 5'9", maybe a buck forty, with auburn hair in a pixie cut, green eyes, cute dimples, breasts on par with Penny's - perhaps a bit perkier - and long legs. She was dressed in an Air Force T-shirt, a pair of cutoff jean shorts, and low-top hiking shoes. Jan took their Tyvek suits from them and went to put them into a bin with the others in the garage - the team had not yet decided whether they might be needed again in the future.
Both girls looked oddly familiar to him, but Miles couldn't place where he might know them from. It finally clicked for him when the first girl began to introduce herself.
"I don't know if you remember me or not... I'm -"
"Maddie Jeffries, of course!" he cut her off. "I thought I recognized you. You were a student in the Sustainable Engineering course I taught last year. I recognized your voice - you were a very active participant! Which would make you..." he turned to the other girl, narrowing his eyes in thought, "Sophia Palmer... also from that same class. Equally memorable. Now, you wouldn't be related to one General Martha Palmer by chance, would you?"
The redhead met his gaze evenly, with only the slightest pause before replying to him. "Nailed it in one, Mr. Davies," she responded, not even trying to hide her grin. "Martha Palmer is my mother."
Miles' poker face held, if just barely, while his mind raced, chasing down any number of tangents to the potential situation this presented. "Is your mother aware of your participation, and partner selection concerning the Quaranteam program?" he asked her, maintaining an even tone, displaying no emotion one way or another.
"Actually, yes. I won't bore you all with childish protestations regarding my right to make my own choices, blah, blah, blah," she answered in an equally even tone, matching Miles' emotional barrenness for a moment, before betraying herself with a brief smirk. "I
was
a bit surprised when I didn't have to work very hard to sell her the idea of me partnering with you, however, given our age difference. Apparently, she knows something about you already, Mr. Davies. It didn't matter that my arguments were already marshaled, that I was ready to extoll your virtues, tell her how you were an amazing teacher, a handsome man whom I admire, that I'd had a crush on you for the past year, that the Oracle thingy said we'd be a good match, yadda-yadda; she just accepted it when I mentioned your name, nodded to herself and said something along the lines of 'good choice' before she hugged me and went back to work, whatever the hell that entails. Hell, I didn't even have to explain to her that Maddie and I are a thing and that I wanted to be with her wherever she went, and when she said she wanted to be with you, I was totes onboard with it"
He was mildly surprised at this last part, as the women around him chuckled at his expense. Deciding to roll with it for now, Miles turned to the other of the two new women. "Madison," he intoned gravely, deliberately using her actual first name instead of her chosen nickname, raising one eyebrow as if in challenge, "please tell me why you would choose to saddle yourself with a partner such as myself - at nearly twice your age - when there must be a variety of better, more age-adjacent males left from which to choose." He watched carefully, trying to make sure she was listening, not already defensive, wanting to observe how she assembled her response. He was not disappointed.
Maddie drew in a deep breath as she carefully considered her response. 'This man wants to play chess, let's play chess' she thought to herself. Squaring her shoulders, her body language conveying resolution, she looked him directly in the eyes as she explained her reasoning. "Miles, you are correct - there are several males closer to my age that are available from which I could have selected to partner. Oracle presented me with many alternatives, but I listed you as a person with whom I would like to partner. My reasons were simple. You offer clear advantages over others 'almost half your age'," she emphasized with air quotes, "such as an established track record of 'been there, done that', a decorated military veteran, a demeanor that speaks to your critical thinking skills, a mind that I admire, and a physique that I willingly admit I've rubbed off to on more than one occasion. I've had a crush on you since the second day of class last year, and if this is my chance to partner with my crush then, by all that's holy, I am going to take it!" she concluded with a fire in her eyes. "I was thrilled when the Air Force people told me that Sophia and I could stick together if that was our expressed preference. Also, it didn't hurt that Oracle said you and I matched in the high eightieth percentile."
"So, you're a lesbian couple, but willing to try sex with a male?" Penny asked Maddie.
"Oh, no - just speaking for myself, I'm definitely bi," Maddie replied brazenly. "Sophia and I were roomies with benefits before the lockdown began, and we sorta grew closer over the past few months. But a girl has needs, am I right?"
Sophia clapped her hand on Maddie's shoulder, cheering her on. "Preach, girl!"
Miles nodded, satisfied that both seemed to be walking into this situation with eyes wide open, and stepped forward to give each of them a welcoming hug before standing aside to let the other women on his team do the same. This broke the ice, and suddenly the room was filled with conversation as the women exchanged questions and led the two newcomers to the living room where they could all sit and be comfortable. Penny offered to bring them each something to drink, while Jan asked if they'd eaten yet. As his first two partners disappeared into the kitchen, Miles went to his den to fetch his tea, then returned to sit in his chair and enjoy the new partners getting to know the others. Occasionally he would speak up, interjecting some detail into the conversation, but mostly he sat back to observe and absorb. The two Air Force officers were very interested in hearing more about Maddie and Sophia's experiences as students with Miles as their instructor, each gaining new insights into how their man's mind worked, while the two younger women wanted to know more about how each of the other four came to know him and what their interactions with him were like before the current crisis.
Miles paid close attention as Penny explained their previous relationship, listening carefully for any pangs of regret, but all he heard was her sorrow at how they'd each endured significant personal losses, from their spouse to their oldest offspring, and that, when all seemed most desperate to her, he'd been there for her, to take her into his life on a new, deeper level and keep her and her daughter safe and loved. He relaxed as he heard Penny explain this to the others, all but Jan hearing this for the first time. There was no trace of regret to her choices, and she stressed that to all of them, saying that she was confident that some higher power was looking out for them all in this matter, and that Miles possessed the strength of mind and character that they would all need to see them through to the other side. He looked at the rest of their faces, seeing each of the women nodding in agreement, each looking in his direction with renewed respect. He fought down a sudden swell of emotion, Penny having so cleanly laid bare her thoughts that she plucked his heartstrings as would have a master harpist. Inside, he wept.
Jan went next, describing to the others how she came to know Miles and his family through the scouting program, how he'd taken the time to teach her what she needed to be a good committee member, and later the committee chair, and how the other adult leaders all held him in high regard. They laughed at a shared memory of the Pinewood Derby from this past January, when Miles had casually filled the empty time in between races by walking around the room with his microphone telling Dad jokes to keep the parents and cub scouts from getting restless. When Maddie asked him where he'd come up with the jokes, he admitted that he'd googled 'dad jokes' on his cell phone and was simply reading them from a website. This earned him some props from his other partners for being quick on his feet. Jan told one or two more stories about events that revealed how good he was at working with kids, which impressed her, raising her estimation of him considerably.
Debra picked up by discussing how funny Miles was when they had first met, despite the pain he must have been enduring, how he'd risen to playfully poke fun at the Air Force, and how this caught her attention. That this man, clearly enduring his own personal hell, was trying to lighten her burden - that made her take a good look at him. Then, as she became more tangentially involved in his life, and was able to observe how he shouldered the burdens that had befallen him, continuing to rise and move forward when other men would have fallen in despair, while remaining gentle with the kids, still caring about others - she truly admired this man. When word came down that the Air Force was going to push harder on her to join a team, she considered her options and her choice was easy. This man was caring, and capable of being gentle, possessing strength unbowed. As soon as she learned that Miles was going to be reactivated to fulfill a prime role in Operation Endure, she made her choice.
