I was surprised that virtually every girl in the household wanted to get fully made up for the high school graduation Saturday. We'd be going to the Hacienda after the ceremony for another barbecue celebration, so most of the girls wore jeans, but they all wanted their faces made up and looking their best. Marianne wore a very pretty dress she'd bought at Charlotte's store. With the makeup she didn't normally wear, the girl looked older and more mature than her years and 'totally hot', as Tony referred to her when he saw her later. Of course, that was his and his brother's assessment of all the girls.
Richard wore a pair of slacks and a dress shirt at Brenda's insistence. He grumbled a bit that it was all going to be covered by a gown until he left to go to the Hacienda and Brenda told him "Too bad, this is a special occasion and I want pictures of you with and without that gown. You're lucky you aren't wearing a suit but it's a little hot for one under your gown."
He acquiesced to his mother's demands like I did with Lenore's and the Applegate boys did with Charlotte's. We all packed t-shirts to wear at the Hacienda. I reminded Richard to add a pair of jeans and his tennis shoes. "Already in the car, Uncle Bas," he confirmed.
Graduates had to arrive an hour early for orientation. That meant families milled around outside the convention center for a while and socialized while the graduates were busy inside rehearsing. I ran into a few old business acquaintances and people I recognized. Lenore, of course, knew many more of the attendees than I. High school graduations seemed to pull every one of the graduates' family members. Having grown up in the city, some of my younger slave girls met families they knew as their friends' younger siblings were now graduating. Most of my girls were mildly embarrassed to be seen as slaves, but as Angie put it, "Screw it! I bet the word spread as soon as we got collared. It's not gonna be a surprise for anybody we know that we screwed up and got enslaved."
Charlene and Robin arrived with Gary and Beth. "Hello, Bas," Gary greeted me politely. "Thank you for allowing me to attend Marianne's graduation. That was very nice of you." I nodded and kept my mouth shut, but I came very close to telling the asshole I did it for Marianne, not him.
The main reason I allowed him to still work as a lawyer at all, however limited his role may be, was to keep him in town and for me to retain some control over his life. Consideration for Charlene's, Robin's and Marianne's feelings were secondary. The same thing applied to Beth. I certainly did not need the money, however substantial, I received from Gary's efforts. I hated the man for what he tried to do to me and despised him for what he did to the women he coerced into prostitution. I stepped away before I said anything that would offend his daughter, Robin, or his sister-in-law Charlene, who I adored.
Lisa Townsend arrived, accompanied by a tall man who she introduced as Victor. "This is Laura's Uncle Bas," she said, as she introduced us. The man looked a bit confused for a second before he caught on it was an honorary title and a tongue in cheek reference to my relationship to several of the young men and women. I invited Lisa and Victor to sit with our group and told her we were all going to the Hacienda for a barbecue afterwards and invited them once again to go along.
"Thanks, Bas. Laura reminded me of your invitation earlier and insisted we all attend. We'd love to go," Lisa replied.
Beth, Harper's and Justin's mother, said, "Gee, my kids call Bas 'Uncle' too. Does that make us sisters-in-law or what?"
Lisa pointed out their kids' budding relationship and said "We aren't co-mothers-in-law yet and I hope not for a few years, but to hell with it. Bring it in, sister!" They hugged.
Our extended family occupied a large block of the seats, and we made quite a racket as each of 'our' graduates had their names announced and crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. We jumped to our feet as we cheered, whooped, and hollered as if they'd each received an Academy Award or Nobel Peace Prize. We even stood and cheered when Sheila LeBlanc's name was called.
I saw a group of seven about fifty feet away stand to cheer Sheila as well. I could see collars on three of them. Knowing what I did about their treatment, I wondered if the slaves' professed enthusiasm was for Sheila as much as to protect their butts from any reprisal.
Most of my girls left shortly after the ceremony but they all stayed long enough to pose for pictures with Marianne and Richard in groups and as individuals. They used their own cell phones and talked happily about how they'd share the photos. Once that was done and the graduates started moving around to visit with their fellow students and their families, Lenore released our girls. We would meet up later at the Hacienda for our private family celebration. Beth took Ellie and Barb with her. They would all go ahead to help Derek's girls set up for our party. I knew Beth had ordered at least one large decorated sheet cake and probably more considering the number of people we'd be feeding.
Charlene and Robin took her mother, Beth, and Gary away. They wanted to visit a little before they dropped the two back at their new homes. Harper and Justin decided to stay with Lenore, Brenda and me as we followed Richard, Marianne and Laura around to meet their fellow students and their parents. Of course, I did not know many of the other families but a surprising number seemed to know me. Lenore knew many as clients.
I received some puzzled looks when the school principal, John Hebert, warmly greeted me by name and shook my hand. He had been too busy with the ceremony to see most of the attendees. I told him his neice, Angie and Marianne's mother, Beth, had attended the ceremony but had already left. I'm glad you decided to let Beth attend. She asked me last week if I'd bring her. I told her I'd have to think about it. She looked shocked but to her credit, she did not whine or argue. The woman is finally learning to put a filter on her mouth and the world does not revolve around her."
