Signed First Edition

Now, thus far, you might have thought that this narrative is just that ... a sequence of events with no apparent rhyme or reason. You would be wrong. There is not only a rousing conclusion in the offing, but an actual moral, of sorts. And indeed, it is THIS chapter that will bring about that conclusion. Further, before we get on with it, I'm going to tell you how the story ends ... without so much as "spoiler alert" warning. We all lived happily ever after. There; you know. Ah, but getting from there to here covered an awful lot of territory.

The event that changed all our lives did not transpire immediately. Indeed, it took a year for circumstances to line themselves up properly. And so, once again, please hang onto your hats while I hit the high points.

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JANUARY 21st, 2012

The day after I sent Sandy off to get her hypnotic training, I phoned my brother to ask how things were going and to make sure he had received his own signed first edition and the accompanying velvet bag. I was expecting just about any reaction ... but he told me that he couldn't talk at the moment ... that he was busy getting yet another blow job from his dedicated hypnotic sex slave girlfriend, and would I mind if he returned my call later?

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FEBRUARY 4th, 2012

There was an injury on the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team earlier in January. (The Summer Games were scheduled that year in London.) There was already an alternate to take her place, but trials were held on this date to replace the athlete for the alternate spot on the U.S. team. It was a Saturday, and more than sixty girls showed up to compete (from the L.A. area alone) ... including Sandy. I hadn't known until now that she WAS a gymnast, but it sure explained her athletic build. Elaine and I went to cheer her on, of course, and together with Tod and Pop, we managed to make a lot of racket. I thought she did a tremendous job in the floor exercises, but she was eliminated after the first round.

We all went out to eat French Dip sandwiches at Philippe's afterwards, and Sandy announced her retirement from gymnastics (at the ripe old age of 25). She told us she had other preoccupations to keep her busy, and she hugged Tod's arm rather affectionately.

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FEBRUARY 20th, 2012

We went to Pop's for dinner, along with Tod and Sandy. It was Washington's Birthday, a federal holiday (we also call it "President's Day," but officially, old George has it all to himself). Okay, for you folks who are not from the U.S., it wasn't REALLY Washington's Birthday ... that's actually the 22nd. But we recognize ten federal holidays per year, and many of them fall on Mondays, because we love our three-day weekends more than we love accuracy. So this was the date for that year. Make sense? Pop grilled steaks.

And Tod and Sandy announced their engagement. Hugs and kisses all around.

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MARCH 11th, 2012

This was the one-year anniversary of the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. I had purposefully scheduled three major medical tests that day. Some were repeat tests for past positive results. Elaine was sort of hovering around me wherever I went. We both knew she didn't have to go, but she insisted ... to emphasize that we were in this together through thick and thin, I guess.

Bottom line: they were all negative. As I mentioned earlier, these tests are prone to produce false positives ... and that, obviously, was what had plagued me. Nothing more.

Remember a few paragraphs back when I told you there was a moral to this story? I'll spring that on you early, too. It's this: If you are ever faced with severe medical problem, and if you are a true fighter, you should face each day as if you expect to live ... not as if you expect to die. Life is NEVER long enough. I wasted too much of mine being negative.

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JUNE 11th, 2012

It was awfully expensive, but I rented part of a party room at Dodger Stadium for the Angels game. I invited Reggie and Cathy, as well as Tod and Sandy. I don't know why it surprised me, but Tod and Reggie really hit it off, despite rooting for different teams.

Pujols got a game-winning hit in the top of the ninth, and the Angels won 3-2.

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JUNE 17th, 2012

Sandy is now officially a Mrs. Haversham. The wedding was at some fancy B&B mansion in Riverside, not quite halfway between LA and Palm Springs. It wasn't a large affair, but it was really nice, and Sandy looked spectacular. So did Elaine, as a very pregnant maid of honor.

Pop sent them to Hawaii for their honeymoon.

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AUGUST 4th, 2012

Zachary Edward Haversham entered this world at 11:03 am, tipping the scales at seven pounds, one ounce. Mom and son healthy and happy.

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NOVEMBER 6th, 2012

The second Tuesday in November is Election Day in the U.S., and this was a presidential election, to boot. We all know how that turned out, of course; or if you can't remember, you can look it up. Tod and I usually don't vote, and we renew our pact not to every election day. He's a moderate Republican and I'm a liberal Democrat, so we just cancel each other out, anyway. This year, Sandy rather vociferously insisted that we do our patriotic duty.

So, we went ... and cancelled each other out.

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JANUARY 12th, 2013

The night that changed our lives was a Saturday. Tod and Sandy had come over for dinner, and I had done the honors in the kitchen, pounding the hell out of some chicken breasts to make scaloppini, with linguini and red sauce for a side. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. Tod had brought a large bottle of nice Cabernet, and even Elaine had a glass while she nursed Zack (a nurse-practitioner had told her that if she drank a single glass while nursing, the alcohol should all be out of her system by the time she nursed again). I had strongly suggested that she stay in the room with us while she breast-fed, and she had blushed, but complied. I think it turned us all on a little ... especially her. She sort of gets off on humiliation.

The girls wandered off to play with the baby in the nursery, but Tod and I had things to discuss that evening, and we planned and plotted secretly, just like we did when we were kids. I had to put the meal on hold for about half an hour while we waited for the baby to fall asleep, but eventually, he was down at his regular time of eight o'clock. Recently, he'd been sleeping through until about two in the morning, then one changing and feeding, and he was asleep until around seven. A "schedule" had been a long time in coming, but we were happy with the way things were turning out. There was a white noise generator in his room, and the sound was with us in the dining room, too, through the baby monitor.

The dinner conversation was mostly about Tod and Sandy's latest ski trip to Big Bear, where they had met up with Reggie and Cathy, and even visited their new place at Lake Arrowhead, which is only about forty minutes west of there in the same mountains. It sounded like a fun time, and I was sort of jealous of their freedom.

We chattered about the baby a lot, of course, and I talked as much as I dared about my thesis (which was due in a few weeks) without boring them to tears. We all pitched in on the dishes and then retired to the living room, where I lit a fire in the fireplace using one of those wax logs that last three or four hours. Sandy had consumed two glasses of wine, which isn't much, until you consider the fact that she only weighs a hundred pounds. In other words, she was comfortably tipsy. Finally, with a nod in my direction, Tod decided to get our plan underway, and he reached into the pocket of his jeans and tossed me his little green velvet bag.

The girls, who were sitting side-by-side on the couch, gasped in unison at the sight, and the room fell into a silence which was only broken by the droning white-noise sounds in the baby's room through the monitor. But, for some reason, that only seemed to intensify the girls' drowsiness when I pulled the little hourglass-shaped crystal into view. We had never attempted to hypnotize them together before, and it was a bit of a shock to watch them. They had the same look of shocked surprise, the same wide eyes, and then those eyes drooped and blinked at precisely the same time. They sagged into each other on the couch, their shoulders and arms relaxing, their necks struggling to hold up sleepy heads, which nodded and finally rested onto one another's.

I didn't even have to say anything for a long minute or so, but finally, I started giving them guidance. "You are about to surrender and fall asleep together," I intoned softly but authoritatively. "You are going to go very deep tonight ... and so, follow my words, and watch the gem. Let your thoughts ... just slip away. Slip away. Think of nothing. Nothing at all ... because my words ... will become your thoughts. So just let them go ... and be sleepy for me. Sleepy for me. And so ... surrender ... and let your thoughts ... go away ... now!"

They were both gone, deep in their trances, propping each other up in the center of the couch. Their arms hung limp at their sides, and between them, Sandy's right hand had fallen naturally into Elaine's left. Tod and I just stood there, watching them. I was a little shocked when Sandy sat up, opened her eyes, looked directly at me and said: "I am very deep, Master." Only a few seconds later, Elaine followed suite, also looking at me, and saying distinctly: "I'm there, Master. I'm as deep as I can go."

I sighed and turned to Tod. "You're sure you're okay with this, right?"

He was smiling at the two of them. "Yes ... just as long as YOU'RE okay with my new rules."

"I'll be good," I promised him. "I'll go back into our bedroom and leave you two all alone. You remember everything you did that evening? It's been more than a year."

He barked a laugh. "I doubt I'll ever forget it, as long as I live." He paused a few seconds. "She's breast-feeding. Isn't it hard to get pregnant when you're breast-feeding?"

"There is a statistical reduction in the odds," I admitted. "But her cycle is prime again, and since we want the kids close together in age, we don't have a lot of choice. This is the best night, considering all the factors."

"And it's going to be Elaine I'm making love to, right? I want her to know what's happening. I don't want any alter-ego floozy ... I want the real thing."

"I may be a floozy, big boy," Elaine said in a rich, sultry voice, "but I bet I can curl your toes and make you howl!"

"Shut up, Elaine," I said calmly.

"Yes, Master." And she fell silent and stared straight ahead.

I turned back toward Tod. "Give me ten minutes with her to get her ready, then she's all yours. And she'll be cognizant, I promise. You can put Sandy to bed in the spare bedroom."

He nodded, then went and took Sandy's hand and gently ordered her to get up and follow him. She rose, but to our astonishment, she looked directly at me, her eyes almost curious. It slowly dawned on me that I was the one who had put her under. Perhaps she was awaiting orders from me instead of him. "Sandy, go with Tod. Do as he commands."

She nodded and answered: "Yes, Master." Tod gave a little laugh and led her toward the hall.

I plopped down beside my pretty wife and took her hand in mine. "What do you think of our plan?" I asked her. "Do you think she's going to freak out?"

"Why don't you just leave me in charge, Master?" she responded deviously. "I can pretend to be Miss Prissy, give him the ride of his life, and he'll never know. I'll bet I can turn him on so much that he'll fill me with enough sperm to make me have twins. That's what you really want, isn't it, Master? Twins of your own?"

I smiled and shook my head. "You know ... one of these days, with my REAL wife's permission, I'm going to give YOU a try, you little vixen."

"Oh, Master ... I could rock your world."

I gave her another laugh. "Enough!" I held up the gem again, and her eyes locked onto it obediently. "I need you to go deeper for me ... and deeper, still. No thoughts ... no thoughts at all. Just be blank ... perfectly blank ... so that my words become your thoughts ... become your beliefs. Let me know when you are there."

Her face was slack and empty. "I'm there, Master."

"Very good. Stand up ... that's it ... and now, take off your clothes. All of them. Give them to me ... you will not need them the rest of the night. Alright, now sit down again, and listen carefully, because my words will define what you will do tonight." I sat back down beside her and took her hand. "You know what I'm going to tell you to do, don't you, Pet?"

"You're going to tell me to make love to Tod again. You're going to try to make me pregnant again." Her voice sounded resigned ... almost sad.

"How does this make you feel?"

She sighed. "We knew you were going to do this ... but it scares her. In fact, it terrifies her."

This answer only elicited two more questions ... but I felt rushed. Tod would be coming back into the room in just a few more minutes. I decided to tackle the important question and find out later how she already knew about my plan. "What do you mean it terrifies her? Why would Tod scare her?"

"Tod doesn't scare her; he excites her. But BEING with Tod scares her. Oh, Master, what would she do if she fell in love with him? Don't you see how close she is to doing that now? She tries to force herself not to think about him ... but sometimes ...."

"What do you think would happen if you did? Everybody keeps telling me that he is in love with YOU. And yet, he is obviously very dedicated to Sandy. Do you think his attraction to you reduces his love for HER?"

"I ... I guess not. We love you SO much, my Master! It's just that emotions make us so confused ... so ...."

"Enough!" I ordered. "Tonight, you will obey. You will obey every order given to you ... no matter who commands it. Tell me what obedience is, Pet."

"Obedience is pleasure. Obedience is necessary. I must obey."

"Tonight, your pleasure will be doubled when you obey. That will be your reward for complete and total obedience."

"Thank you, Master."

I took her wrists in my hands and began tracing my fingers around and around first one, then the other, and finally both together. She watched intently as I did so. "You are bound and helpless tonight. How does that make you feel?"

"Nervous. Expectant. I think so MANY things are going to happen to me tonight ... and I am helpless ... and ..." (a shudder seemed to wrack her body) "... obedient."

"And when I count to three, you will awaken. And all the things I have told you will be true for the rest of the night. You will accept them as real and undeniable, and you will not try to resist them. One, two, three."

She blinked up at me, shuddered, and again leaned forward into me, her "bound" wrists lowered so that she pressed as much of her naked body into mine as possible. "Oh, Rod, what have you done?" she whispered.

"I've done something that you have no power over, my pet. Whatever happens, it is not your fault. Simply surrender and obey." She shuddered yet again. I heard Tod's footsteps thudding in the carpeted hallway, and I rose, grasping her by the shoulders and lifting her to her feet beside me. Gently but firmly, I turned her around so that her back was toward me, facing my brother.

"Tod," she said. I couldn't see her eyes, but her voice carried a note of awe.

Tod's eyes seemed to take in every detail of her nude form. "Elaine," he said simply.

I let go of her and stepped around her, walking past Tod and toward the hall. "I'll be in my bedroom," I said rapidly, as if I was suddenly afraid I'd back out of my own plan.

"Read the letter, Rod." It was a simple sentence, but it shocked me. Because it was Elaine who had said it.

I spun around to face them. "What letter?"

"In the bedroom," she answered simply, but when I cast looks full of questions toward her, they went unnoticed. She was looking only at Tod, and she appeared mesmerized by him. They just stood, facing each other, for ten long seconds, before he opened his arms in a welcoming gesture and she rushed forward to be engulfed in his embraced. I had felt this way before, fourteen months ago ... jealous and unsure ... but everything had worked out alright since then. I started to say something, but thought better of it, and simply licked my suddenly-dry lips. Then I turned once again toward the hall and left.

Now, I am not, generally, the type of person who is inclined to jump when someone hollers "Boo!" And so, I can say with some degree of confidence that I did not cry out (as some people later said I did) when I opened the door to our bedroom and Sandy jumped me. I should say, rather, that she jumped ON me, leaping as if she had vaulted from some mini-trampoline, and she wrapped her arms completely around my neck, pressing her left cheek into mine. My hands just sort of naturally went to her waist, and they told me instantly that the little lady was naked as a jay bird. Her lower body hung limp, pressing itself all along the front of me, and the first rational thought I had was that there was little about her body that was like Elaine's, save for the inalterable fact that they were both very, very feminine. Elaine's breasts were full, soft and wonderfully pliant. Sandy's were far from flat, but they were most certainly smaller in size, and they seemed smaller still in this stretched-out posture. Her nipples, however, were much longer than my wife's and incredibly erect, so that I felt them pressing into my chest in such a way that my mental abstraction was only acerbated.

"Oooohhh, Rod, you're here!" she announced.

I swallowed hard and tried to push her away. This had a sort of comic effect, since her toes were a good ten to twelve inches from the floor, and she refused to lessen the grip of her arms around my neck; so that her body swung out away from me, like a half-swing of a pendulum, then rushed back to my own with a sort of plop. I couldn't help but be assaulted by the fact that she was amazingly light, and I thought that, if I had to, I could hold her effortlessly for a very, very long time. She sighed. "You don't think you're going to get rid of me that easily, do you, lover?"

My hands went up to her arms. My God, she was strong! "Sandy, what in the world?" I tried again to wrench her free of my neck, but she clung emphatically.

"I KNOW you want me," she growled in my ear. "I've seen the way you look at me. You looked at me that way the first time I met you. The mouse almost bolted, the little nit! I want you to rape me!"

"Rape you!?!" I repeated incredulously.

"You know ... ravish me. Violate me. Enrapture me. Defile me. Fuck me until I beg you to stop ... which I promise I won't do until tomorrow afternoon."

"This was NOT part of the bargain!" I said through clenched teeth, trying again to push her marvelous body away from mine.

And suddenly, she let go. "OH! The letter!" she exclaimed, then turned toward the bed and grabbed up a folded sheet of paper. I couldn't help but take in the marvelous view of her back. There wasn't an ounce of fat on the girl anywhere, and her skin was young, smooth and without blemish.

"What is all this about a letter?" I queried, snatching the paper from her hand. She made as if to leap toward me again, and I put out my hand toward her, like a linebacker avoiding a tackle. She barked a delighted laugh, grasped my wrist, and stepped forward until her breast nestled into my palm. I tried to ignore this, but failed, and I gulped nervously. I shook the paper with my other hand until it unfolded itself. The "letter" was not long at all.