Annie XLIV Fonder Hearts

(Chronological index: New World Order #4)

Denise came out of her bedroom and looked around the apartment. Samantha had had them moved to a permanent residence deeper inside the Center.

A row of five sylph-sized bedrooms were in a row on the second floor. The backs of each bedroom opened into the room Ray would be returning to, hopefully soon.

The balcony overlooked a very large, very comfortable living room and den.

Annie was on the computer, probably emailing Ruth who was house-sitting for the Fosters down in Jax.

Pet was on yet another computer, talking to Buttercup by webcam.

Neither had noticed Denise step out and she planned to keep it that way. She wanted to run around for a bit, alone.

The sylphs knew she was lonely for Ray and wanted to keep her company. She loved the concern, and she loved them, but they weren't Ray. She really, really missed her husband.

She wondered if Amelia suggested the trip for that reason, to use absence to make the hearts grow fonder. It was working. She ached for him and regretted every fight, slight and night they'd spent apart since she sylphed.

So she stole down the carpeted stairs towards the door. Just as she reached for it, there was a knock.

Bonita, one of the sylphs that was willed to the Center, was outside. Bonita ran the orientation courses for new sylphs. These days it was entirely used for 'new-to-America' sylphs.

With the classified exception of Denise, no one had sylphed in over 20 years. But she still had allowed Denise to 'audit' the course, and answered questions about how they'd used to bring sylphs up to speed on what they could do.

"Hey, Denise!" Bonita said cheerfully. And loudly, of course. There was no way the girls would have missed her voice. "Can I borrow a few bodies?"

"Let me check the freezer," Denise said with a smile. Bonita just looked confused.

"Serial Killer humor is in very poor taste," Annie said. "Especially to someone that's never seen a horror flick."

"What do you need?" Pet asked.

"It's our monthly orientation tour," the staff member explained. "All the sylphs we've collected, we take them around and show everything.

"It's a big, organized tour, but I like to have a good tourist to guide ratio. I'd really appreciate you guys' help?"

"What do we do?" Annie asked.

"Oh, just join the tour, pick a buddy and stay with them. Or buddies, depends on how many extra guides I can get?"

"She looks so pitiful," Annie pointed out.

"We'd have to be absolutely heatless to turn her down," Denise replied.

"Lucky for us, I am!" Annie started to shut the door. Bonita screeched.

------

There were about forty sylphs collected in the conference room. Most were in groups of one or two, twenty of them were in a solid block.

They were mostly women, a few men and more sylph children than Denise had ever seen in her life. They had clothes that Denise vaguely associated with Africa.

And they were smiling, but it seemed like desperately hopeful smiles to Denise.

She wanted to grab them all in a hug and assure them they were safe, they were going to be happy here. But Bonita was already starting the tour.

There were descriptions of the access cards, the way to find their way back here, then she introduced all the extra guides she'd managed to get onto the stage.

When she got to 'Annie, Pet and Denise,' the block of refugees stood and cheered.

Bonita shrugged and waved the trio down to the Africans. "You are Denise?" one woman asked.

"I am," Denise said.

"Denise Foster?"

"Yes?"

"Your owner was right. You are very beautiful."

"My owner?" she asked. Behind her shoulders, the other two gasped. "You've met my...owner?"

"He was wonderful. He kept telling us we would be safe and happy. And that he would introduce us to his beautiful sylphs. He talked of you the most."

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Don't worry, dear," the woman replied. "I am sure he will be released soon."

"Released?"

The doors at the back of the room swung open suddenly. Amelia burst in. "Bonita! Tell me you didn't invite Denise to-" She saw Annie, first, then Denise out of the corner of her eye.

"Whoops! Gotta go!" She ran out.

"Like hell," Annie muttered. "Come back here!" she shouted as she ran after the woman. "WHERE'S MY MASTER!"

------

Bonita and her collected guides took most of the new sylphs on the tour. Pet and Denise sat with about half of the African refugees, trying to find out about Ray.

"Oh, I was so scared when we met him," Usiku told them.

"Scared of RAY?" Pet asked. She held Kesho on her lap, playing with the sylph toddler.

"We were all in cages," Usiku explained. "The revolution came so quickly. Our owners knew that the new President, Kisu Kikali, would not want sylphs in the country. So they took us to the embassy."

"There's a US Embassy in Sanc Dembuka?" Denise asked. "It seems odd for such a small country."

"I do not know the details," Usiku said.

"Oh, of course," Denise said.

Jioni raised her hand slightly. Denise smiled and gestured for the young woman to speak. She smiled because she knew that refugees didn't really deserve a crazy woman shaking them and shouting 'AND WHERE'S MY HUSBAND?'

Annie would either come back with Amelia, or with everything Amelia knew.

"I have heard that there is platinum in Sanc Dembuka," Jioni said.

"Ah. Well, Jioni, that explains a lot. Thank you." Jioni smiled shyly.

"So, there is a small building that the Americans hold near the capital. They were not prepared for all the sylphs. Our owners were desperate, and pleaded for us."

"Scary," Pet said.

"Yes," Asubuhi said. She cradled her own baby against her bosom. Denise couldn't imagine being handed about between strangers while taking care of an infant. These women had faced far worse than she ever had. She'd have gone out of her mind.

And Ray could take care of himself. Ray could take care of himself. Ray could take care of himself.

"So," Usiku continued, "we are all on these shelves in a tiny room. Rows and rows of cages. The Americans feed us and water us, and give us rags to keep the cage and our children clean.

"Then one day, I look up and I see that Kesho is on the floor! She got out of the cages and was walking over to where the food was."

"They kept the food away from you?" Pet asked.

"The food draws rats and bugs, Miss Pet," Jioni said. "And the bugs draw spiders. We don't mind being as far from the food as possible."

"Scary," Pet repeated. Jioni nodded.

"And I see things... moving around the food. I scream, but Kesho is headed for the kibble.

"Then the giant walked in. There was a shadow, and a human walking across the floor. Great big boots, headed straight for the food shelf. Headed straight for Kesho!"

"Eep!" Pet said. She squeezed Kesho tightly. The girl giggled and clapped her hands.

"Oh, my god," Denise whispered. "What happened?" She shouldn't be scared, part of her brain said. The girl was right over there, about to be hugged into two pieces by the terrified Pet.

"He stopped, he knelt down and he asked Kesho what her name was, where her mommy was, and if she wanted something to eat. Then he pulled a bag of M&M's out of his pocket."

"RAY!" Pet shouted.

"WAY!" Kesho echoed.

Denise burst into tears.

---------

Samantha gave me a ride to the airport. There we met with eight other men and women that she could tap for a favor like this. State Department, mostly, some Department of Defense, one woman from the Federal Reserve.

She told us about Sanc Dembuka politics. They mostly rhyme with AK-74. The last guy in charge liked sylphs, this guy didn't.

There was an embassy and an airfield. She was trying to arrange a private airplane to take us from Nairobi to Sanc Dembuka and back.

"Wait," one of the women asked. "You want us to come all the way back here, with ten sylphs each?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I know you want them as safe as possible, as soon as possible, but isn't that a big waste of time?" Sam started to glare, then relaxed, trying to be open

"What would you suggest?"

"Well, we get there, we go back and forth between Nairobi and SD, ten sylphs each. We take them to Nairobi, then go back. THEN we bring them back, without the ten-per-person limit."

"That...would be faster," Sam admitted.

"But I can't stay that long," one guy said.

"That's alright," Sam said, taking the ball and running with it. "You ferry them as long as you can, then when you come home, you take all the sylphs you can manage."

So we talked about the details for a while. I spent quite a bit of money in the little airport bookstore. Then Samantha gave everyone a hug and put us on the plane.

It was the first time I've ever flown alone. Oh, sure, the plane was full of people. But I didn't have anyone in my pocket. Or in a soundproofed case.

At first I stretched out. I could use all the leg room. I didn't have to share the armrest. No one demanded regular looks out of the window or extra trips to the little girl's sink.

And I had no one to talk to.

No one to do the 'we're going to die' dance during the safety presentation. No one to whine about the smell of the other passengers. No one to cuddle up against my shoulder until I lost all sensation in my arm.

We weren't even past the 12 mile limit, and I was missing my whole family.

I wondered if that was part of Samantha's plan. To force us over and around little petty details like trust and reach. All I wanted to do was get off the plane and pledge undying devotion to Denise.

But there were people counting on me. Annie'd never forgive me if I bailed. Pet would forgive me, of course. But that would be worse. The look of disappointment on that usually bright little face....

And last night, Denise had just barely accepted that being apart would be useful. She'd take my immediate return as a betrayal. Probably interpret it as not thinking she could take care of herself.

Ha. Denise can take care of me, the girls, Ruth and her parents all at once. It was a basic tenet of my life that Denise could take care of herself.

I leaned back in my seat, hand tapping the armrest where the carrier was supposed to be. Because I was more comfortable that way. Really.



---------

Annie marched back into the room with Amelia in tow. "Ray's under arrest," Annie said.

"What?" Denise asked. She was quiet because she was holding Asubuhi's baby while the woman took her older daughter to the bathroom. Another girl, Michana, was braiding Denise's hair.

These women reminded her of Ray's family. You show up, you smile, you're adopted. Or, you know, you burst into tears because your husband was alive, and wonderful, and you missed him, you're still adopted.

Pet, a single child in more ways than one, was soaking it up. Annie walked up but stopped at some distance from the group.

She'd love to be part of the family, Denise knew, but not until she could establish her own terms.

"I JUST found out," Amelia said. She gestured towards Usiku, and the whole group of refugees. "When Marcus brought these sylphs in, he mentioned the problem."

"PROBLEM?" Annie asked. "Ray's in an African jail."

"Why?" Denise asked.

"We're not sure," Amelia said. "Sam's making some phone calls."

"He is in jail," Usiku said, "because the other man was a sockfucking bastard."

Denise and Pet turned to stare at the other sylph. Annie snorted. "I should have been there. That man can NOT travel without a keeper."

"No," Pet said.

"No, no," Usiku said. "It was a good thing. A very Ray thing to do."

"Ray is an adjective?" Denise asked.

"Ray is a force of nature," Jioni said quietly.

"Tell me?" Denise begged quietly.

"Well, Ray came to the Embassy alone," she began. In the corner of her eye, Denise saw a young boy offer a plate of sliced strawberry to Annie. He smiled shyly. She took a piece and thanked him. He smiled wide, drawing one from her.

The cranky sylph didn't have a chance, Denise thought. Across the table from her, Pet caught her eye, nodded in their friend's direction and winked.

-----

Nairobi passed by quickly. And blurrily. Most of the others on my van were fairly alert. But they had jobs with lots of travel. I felt like my bit bucket was leaking.

A friend of Sam's was waiting for us at the Embassy. He handed out room keys. "Shouldn't be more than a couple of days," he said.

"What's the problem?" one of my cohorts asked. "Borders closed?"

"No, the airport's closed. President Kikali is consolidating his hold on the country. No flights in or out. No planes over the capital."

"Damn," someone said. "I have to be back in DC soon."

"I don't," I said. "Is there any other way to get to Sanc Dumbuka?"

"Well, you could drive in, I suppose. But you'd be stuck there until the airport opens."

"If I can drive in, why can't I drive out?" It seemed to be a stupid question. EVERYONE told me that you never cross borders in Africa with sylphs.

It was sort of like why you never left a sylph alone in a hotel room back in the states. I think. With seven or nine people explaining it to me, I only got the gist.

"Okay," I finally agreed. "I'm willing to drive in."

"Why?" our host asked. I guessed he wasn't THAT close a friend of Sam's.

"Because the image I got of the Embassy, they're busy with the government change. So I guess no one's in the sylph's room taking care of them and making sure they're not scared or in danger or whatever, and I can go there, and make sure they're ready for travel when the plane DOES come in and we can get them out quickly and I guess I must be tired because I'm talking like Pet." I shut up and stood there, waving a bit.

"You can go with Claude," he said after a moment. "He's driving food and mail in for the staff. I'll tell him to wait until you're ready." He turned to go. When he heard my footsteps he turned back. I was on his heels.

"Ready!" I said. There was a truck. There was a brief handshake with a tiny wrinkled old guy who I never, ever saw without a hand-rolled cigarette in his mouth. I also never saw any smoke come out of it.

He pointed at the back of the truck and mumbled something. I tossed in three of my bags, keeping the treasure close by.

He shrugged and we took off. I stayed away long enough to offer him a candy bar. He smiled wide and promised me mumble mumble forever. I nodded and sank down in my seat.



---------

"Ray handed little Kesho to the right cage. Then he gave every sylph a M."

"M AND M!" several of the children shouted.

"He's always been willing to buy love," Annie said. She'd moved to the table and held the boy in her lap. He'd leaned on her shoulder and fallen asleep.

"And here I thought he was always good with children," Pet said. Annie's head snapped around but Pet wasn't looking at her. Not at all, not even slyly. Annie scowled in suspicion.

"Then he asked if we knew what was going to happen to us," Usiku said. "We didn't. We knew that our owners had thought this was where we needed to be. And we knew we couldn’t go back. But the people there had no time to talk to us."

"So Ray did," Denise said. It wasn't a question.

"He told us about Amelia and Samantha," Usiku said. "And the center. And how we were going to get there."

"And," Jioni said, "he told us he had three beautiful sylphs waiting to welcome us. And he was right."

"Well, welcome to the states," Pet said. "And to the center and to DC and to Virginia and-"

"Yes," Annie interrupted. "You're very welcome."

"Thank you," Jioni said. "Then Ray told us about America. And the choices we would have. And he opened the cages."

"He what?" Pet asked. She hugged Kesho again. "The kids could get into trouble!"

"The men who put us in the cages made sure to split men from women," Usiku said. "They said they wanted no panky or hanky to go on."

"With all these children?" Pet asked. "What were they? BLIND?"

"Ray said...something about that," Usiku said. "I do not quite recall..."

"He was scornful," Annie said. "Leave it at that."

"Yes," Asubuhi giggled. "That it where it can be left."

"Ray said it would be best if the women and children were among the first to leave for safety, but while we were there, he felt that wives and husbands should be together." She paused. "Are you alright, Denise?"

"I'm fine," she lied. "Just fine. Go on?"

---------

I love joyful reunions. The little sylph families swarmed across the shelves, loving, hugging and kissing. There was no real privacy to be had, but a few couples touched each other in suggestive ways. They were probably under the influence of the chocolate.

I took a paperback from my pack and let them socialize for a bit. One apparently thought my peripheral vision was bad. I stomped a boot down in front of him before be could sneak out of the little closet they were using for a sylph locker.

He smiled and turned around.

"Okay," I said. "That's it. Everyone back in their cages!" They all moaned, very theatrically. "No, no. I trusted you all and someone tried to take advantage. Cages!"

I watched as they milled about. I leaned close to one couple as they tearfully kissed goodbye. "Damn. I did not mark you guys. I don't know which cage any of you came from.

"I guess I'll have to trust you one more time. Everyone make sure you're in the right cages. Because I won't be able to tell if you're in the wrong ones."

Some stared. Some dutifully tried to climb up or down to the cage they came from.

Some got it. This one woman, her eyes went wide and she started laughing. Then she shouted something in I guess Swahili. They all laughed, then. They nodded and they moved around. When they were ten to a cage....or so...I locked all the doors.

Not everyone had a full nuclear family. Still, they got a chance to group as friends or otherwise choose their roommies. Very important.

Everyone had fresh water and a ration of food. I promised I'd be back.

-------

It would be hard to know there was a revolution in progress if you hadn't been told. The city's life went on.

I got a few odd looks for being a white man they hadn't seen before. A few kids followed me around, but I didn't do anything interesting. After only a few hours they left me alone.

The market was open and business was... Well, not entirely dead. A row of wall-less shacks gave me an idea.

I went back to the Embassy and begged some scissors, paper and tape.

The 'Embassy' had a short and colorful history. One of our diplomats had passed through here a time or two before the seam of platinum was discovered. He had apparently been to Yale with one of the previous presidents. During a card game both had attended, ownership of one of the old colonial mansions had changed hands.

The diplomat had used it as a place to stay one or two nights a month. Then the mining had started. Businessmen used it as a place to stay for three months solid. When the revolution came, a platoon of Marines had dropped in to protect American business interests.

The official staff was about six people from the US and ten locally hired staff ran the place. They were up to their asses in American Business. They'd barely had time to throw food or water at the sylphs and were happy as clams that I'd showed up and taken over for them.

I sat in the sylph room and made a prototype for what I wanted.

I don't know what I talked about then, but I remember wanting to keep the sylph population relaxed. I probably talked about what a great place America was to live in.

Something impersonal, to make them feel better, but to keep my mind off Denise, Annie and Pet.

---------

"He never stopped coming up with a new story about Denise, Annie or Pet," Bado laughed. She bent to lift her son from Annie's lap. The sylph smiled as she looked down at Annie. "I had thought you would be taller."

"Annie?" Asubuhi asked with a laugh. "It was Denise he described as tall. Almost as tall as Ray."

"Pet," Jana said. "Ray talked about her smile. It was this big," she claimed, spreading her arms wide.

"Yeah," Annie agreed. Pet giggled.

"So the arrest?" Denise prompted.

"We will get there," the very patient Usiku said. "He made a paper basket. Design, he said, to get the women in the market to make. They made no sense to us. But he said they would be like carriers."

"They looked like the Ark," Michana said. "And he was going to take the sylphs by tens."

"Ark?" Denise asked. She leaned close to the girl's face. "How do you know what the Ark looks like?"

"Duh," she replied, without a trace of accent. "TV?"

"Our owners sometimes took us to church," Jana explained. "And sometimes there was power for the video machine."

"Then I guess you know what you're talking about," Denise said with a nod.

"And did they make them?"

"One for every ten sylphs," Amelia said. Everyone turned to see her coming towards the table. "They're pretty well thought out. We're thinking of putting them in the gift shop. Maybe even helping the women of Sanc Dembuka find a distributor."

"Word on Ray?" Annie asked.

"Can't find anyone who knows the status and has a working phone," Amelia admitted. "Someone said his arrest was old news, then we were cut off."

"Old news as in released?" Pet asked.

"Or," Denise asked, "Old news because he's in the middle of something worse?"

"No, no, no," Jioni said. She was growing less shy by the word, Denise thought. "You are not supposed to be the pessimist! This is Annie's job!"

"His being in the middle of something worse," Annie said, "IS the optimistic outlook. He could simply be dead."

"Oh!" Pet protested. "You didn't have to say that?"

"Pet, Denise has already thought of it. But this gives the women a chance to reassure her that he's not."

"He is not," Usiku said firmly. "He would not be killed for what he did to the other man."

"What DID he do to the other man?" the Foster girls asked.

---------

I made the basket design out of paper because I wanted to limit language problems. It was the size and the shape I wanted, with the details I wanted. Rather than drawings I could just hand it over and say, 'This!'

I picked an ark shape because I thought it would be roomier for ten passengers. And if all else failed, I could maybe find an illustrated Bible.

I'd gotten a sylph, Jioni, I think, to lay across the paper as I drew her outline. Little paper Jionis stood and lay and climbed and sat obediently still under the hatch.

When I looked up, it was dark outside. So I set the model carefully on top of a filing cabinet. Then I fed and watered the sylphs, helped them empty the litter boxes, and doled out more chocolate.

I made a big deal about how much chocolate would be available during the trip home. I hoped that it would limit escape attempts.

They seemed happy to get the candy and sincerely promised to stay put wherever I put them. It was like a tribe of Pets who'd never met Annie.

The staff had given me a sleeping bag. I unrolled it in front of the cages and tried to get to sleep.

In the morning, I did the sylph care thing again. Another installment on the chocolate bribes, and I went to the market.

The women making the baskets had some amazing skills. Piles of reeds and grass and I don't know what all just filtered through their hands and came out as beautiful objects for utilitarian use.

I approached one and haltingly described what I wanted someone to make for me. She smiled and nodded for me to continue.

Using small words and large gestures, I asked her to weave a sylph carrier.

Of course, it turned out that her English was better than mine. Annie would have warned me about that, I'm sure.

She opened the model and her eyes flashed with fear. Then she plucked out all the Jionis and crumpled the paper. "If this is a toy, it's fine. If this is for the little people, it may not be as fine."

"Oh. Right!" I may have risked arrest for sedition right there. I could hear Denise telling me not to underestimate the danger.

I told her I needed about sixty of them, as soon as possible. She looked it over and gave me a price. And a date. One was ridiculously low, the other ridiculously soon.

I got as far as 'uh' when I heard yet another voice in my head. Pet would just assume that she could do what she said she could do. So I agreed.

By this time, the other women in the market, weavers or not, had crowded around us. My contractor selected various women to collect the materials, others to weave one, two or three of the carriers.

"We will need some money to buy the materials," she told me. I handed it over easily. She nodded. "I will make one, so you see that it's what you want. And so does everyone else."

"Perfect! When do I -" I was expecting to come back in the morning. She was already done with the keel.

I sat back to watch.

---------

"Oh," Jioni said, "you should have seen the carrier he brought. It was woven, like the baskets."

"And shaped like a big boat," Jana added. "A great, big boat."

"He brought the first one to see if we could live in it," Usiku said. "He was so proud, but so scared that it would be too small or uncomfortable." They all laughed at the image, a giant seeking their approval. Pet joined in. Annie and Denise just shared smiles.

"He opened the cages and let us all climb down to take a look," Usiku continued. "It was like the Ark Noah used A long hull, with a wooden hatch that lowered into a ramp.

"We all came down and toured it. A long room with bays for people to sit, and a lower level with little stalls for people to sleep in."

"And while we were down there," Jioni said, "one of the embassy people came in."

"The ambassador?" Denise asked.

Jioni shook her head. "No, but I am not sure what his position was. Ray said he was the... Let me get this right. 'The Kendall appointed, tight, um."

"Tight assed?" Annie asked.

"Yes! Tight assed, mouth breathing, lip reading, finger pointing, brain..."

"Dead," Annie suggested. "Brain dead."

"Brain dead Minister of Paranoia and Party Pooping," Jioni finished triumphantly. Pet cheered.

"I taught him that," Annie said.

"Tell me he isn't in jail for that," Denise said.

"No, no," Usiku said. "He never said that where the Minister of Poop could hear."

"But he said it often," Annie said with a wicked smile.

"He did. The Minister saw all of us out of our cages. He let out a little scream."

"Ray said," Jana pointed out, "Dude, you're harshing my mellow."

"They argued for some time about whether or not the sylphs should be in cages," Usiku went on. "Ray said that we had promised not to escape. It did not seem to matter.

"So, to make the Minister stop whining, Ray told us to get back in our cages. The Minister saw that we were no longer split by boys and girls. He said it was a sinful arrangement.

"That's when Ray asked if the Minister was a Kendall appointee or just an inbred son of a sea cook. And he said he would fix it."

"Fix it?" Pet asked. "He put you back in separate cages?"

"No, Miss Pet. He opened his wallet and came out with a card from an Internet Chapel that made him a minister for lifetime of the IC.

"He held it up in the air and asked if any sylph wanted to be married to another sylph they were in the cage with.

"Well, many of us were married. But Ray offered an AMERICAN marriage! Very important. So we all took our partners and stepped to the front of the cage. Ray asked if everyone on the right wanted to be married, and we all shouted 'Yes!'

"The Party Pooper said this wasn't legal, but Ray pointed out that it was as legal as any sylph wedding he'd ever heard of."

"Which was enough for us," Jana said. The others nodded.

"Then the minister said that some of the women were holding hands with other women. Ray just asked if everyone on the left wanted to be married. We all shouted 'Yes!' once more.

"Then he said the magic words, 'Bada Bing, Bada Boom, youse is togetta forevva.' Then he turned to the Minister and said it was all legal."

"What'd the tight-ass say?" Annie asked.

"Nothing we could understand," Asubuhi said. "And Ray would not translate it. He said that he was too young for such language."

---------

After the wedding, I apologized for the fact that we had to use Butterfingers in place of wedding cake. The celebrants assured me that they could find it in their hearts to forgive me.

They also liked the carrier idea. I moved the sylphs from one cage into the prototype and called it a night.

For the next two days, I mostly schlepped back and forth from the market. Oh, and made one special order. The basket lady smiled and charged me outrageously. I think it cost me about as much as a good dinner at my favorite steakhouse.

The third day, the airport opened again. I was waiting at the airport with my wrinkled driver friend. He helped everyone into his truck and we went to the embassy.

Everyone was really impressed with the woven carriers. "But why?" they kept asking.

"Because the cages are uncomfortable and the children can break out of them," I explained. Everyone nodded.

So we all grabbed one boat of ten sylphs, promised the others that we would be back as soon as possible, and went back to the airport.

I was next to a guy named Marcus something. He was a statie. Since landing in Kenya, he'd learned that I was the sylph handler in Alaska. For some reason, that impressed him.

We got to talking, both of us looking down at our precious cargos.

"You know, it's too bad we can't just get these through customs, then come back and get ten more."

"Actually," he explained, "the local government is doing us a great favor. They don't have to accept us as the owners of these sylphs. If you abuse the system, there might be a price to pay."

"Okay," I said. "Don't push it. I get it."

At the airport, there were bills. There was a tariff on the carriers. I'd invented them less than a week before, and now they were an industry.

There was a tariff on the sylphs. And several of my candy bars disappeared. I shrugged and let it pass.

As we walked across the field that was the airport, a big Swede waiting for a flight asked me what was in the strange suitcase.

I shrugged and said that they were ten sylph women.

He laughed and pointed out that Russian mail order brides were easier to get, and you didn't need ten of them to get off.

I am not really sure what happened next. Well, the events were clear enough. But why?

Well, I suspect that I was more than usually protective of my charges. They were small and terrified and not in control of their lives...like Denise had been.

And the suggestion that they were nothing more than sex toys, just because they were sylphs, had me seeing red. Sylphs deserve better. MY sylphs sure as hell deserved better.

Marcus paused as I came to a full stop. I handed over my carrier. I asked the gentleman if he'd like to discuss the implications of- And I slugged him.

It was my only chance, surprise. And they always expect you to finish your sentence. He was down before anyone knew what was happening.

I don't remember saying anything, but witnesses reported rather a lot of profanity. Afterwards, Wrinkled Driver Guy spoke clearly just long enough to ask what a 'sockfucker' was.

---------

"And then security hauled him away," Usiku said.

"To jail?" Denise asked.

"Probably. We did not stay. Mister Marcus carried us onto the plane and we came here.

"We were only in Nairobi for a night, then he had to leave for DC. We were on four planes, then we were here." Usiku yawned.

Denise noticed that every one of the refugees was dead on their feet. She stood up. "Here, let's help you guys get to bed. We'll help carry the kids."

After tucking little people between clean sheets, they walked to Samantha's office. She was out, Amelia with her. An aide said they were trying to use military contacts to reach the Marine unit in Sanc Dembuka.

Pet wanted to see the ark. They wandered down by the gift shop to see one in the window.

"It's beautiful," Pet said.

"It's huge," Annie pointed out.

"I'll bet you anything it fits under an airline seat," Denise said. No one felt like taking that bet.

Then they wandered back to their rooms.

Annie turned on the TV set, half expecting to see a news report about war breaking out in a small African state. There was nothing alarming on CNN, but she sat down to wait.

Denise rubbed an aching neck and climbed up to her room. Pet followed along. Denise saw worry on her friend's face and took her in a hug.

"Um..."

"What, Pet?" She glanced down at the back of Annie's head. "Do you want to talk about something?"

Annie didn't move, but she did turn up the volume on the TV. Pet gave a small smile and nodded. Denise opened her room and led Pet inside.

They ended up face down across her bed. She rubbed Pet's shoulders for a bit, trying to relax the sylph. Mostly she just waited.

"There's a guy," Pet finally said.

"Oh?"

"Well, there are a lot of guys. Everywhere I go. There's a guy telling me how cute I am and asking if they can buy me dinner."

"Ah, ha," Denise smiled. "And you want to date one? Or more?"

"I want RAY!" Pet said, then covered her mouth. Denise stared. "I don't... Oh, Denny. I was so happy when we found your panties in the bed. And knew that Ray had taken them off you. Really!

"You and he belong together, I know that. But it's just..." She stopped and put her head down into a pillow.

"Pet?" Denise put a hand on Pet's hair. "Pet, talk to me. What is it?"

"I'm jealous," Pet finally said.

"Um..."

"When it was square? He owned one sylph, and she had a special connection and that was okay. And he had one wife and you had a special connection and that was okay. And I kinda wanted to have a connection with him, too.

"But I wasn't jealous. I was your sylph. You know?"

"Kinda," Denise admitted.

"Now, though, I'm his sylph. You're his sylph. Annie's still his sylph. And there are three connections. Two of them are special. I want...special."

"I can see that," Denise said slowly.

"But it's up to you. And Annie, I guess. I don't want to take anything away from you guys. But... I don't want to be jealous. So if you want, I'll get a boyfriend.

"Someone to take my mind off of Ray. I'll be good. I'll be careful."

"Oh, Pet, that's no basis for a relationship!"

"Why? Whoever he is, he'll get what he wants. Which is me, naked. And I get a distraction. Which lets me and my friends live together. And you don't have to share Ray anymore than you want."

"Pet... I don't know what to say," Denise said. She stroked Pet's hair, trying to figure out how she felt.

"That's okay," Pet said. "I don't need an answer right away." She yawned, the day's excitement catching up on her. "I just wanted to tell you before I chickened out." Her voice softened. She curled up on the bed.

Denise stood up and covered the sylph with part of the cover. She was already barefoot.

After that request, though, Denise wasn't ready for bed. She leaned down to kiss Pet's cheek before going off to think..

"I hope we find out where Ray is tomorrow," Pet murmured. "It'd be a great birthday present."

Denise gasped. How could she have forgotten...?

She tip toed to the door and turned off the light. She was trying to figure out what time it was and what might still be open.

Annie wasn't in her seat, though the TV was still on. She checked the bathroom and the kitchenette, both empty. She looked for the Center directory.

About then, the door opened. Annie wrestled a wrapped gift through it. It was flat and about a head taller than the sylph. The balloon-and-ice cream gift wrap had to be intended for Pet.

Well, at least she'd get something tomorrow. She started to thank Annie for remembering.

"Hey," the sylph whispered, "can a girl get a hand? We've got two more out there!"

When the three packages were leaning up on the wall, Denise saw the labels. One was for Pet, from Denise and Ray. Another was for Annie, from Denise and Ray.

The last was for Denise, from Annie and Pet. She turned to Annie and just stared. Annie shrugged and nodded towards the hallway.

"You're a little preoccupied," she said when the door was closed. "Pet saw this ridiculous cowgirl costume in a boutique downstairs. I, uh, got three of them."

"So we can all dress together," Denise said with a smile.

"Yeah, that 'three musketeers' thing will be the real gift for her," Annie admitted. She opened her arms as Denise started to cry. "Hey, don't thank me until you see the costumes. They really are ridiculous."

But once Denise started sniffling, the dam collapsed. The weight of the day on her shoulders bore down and she started to cry. Annie half carried, half dragged her inside. They ended up sprawled on a sofa.

Pet stepped onto the balcony and looked down.

"She misses Ray," Annie explained, stroking the hair of the head on her shoulder. Pet skipped down the stairs and sat on the other side of Denise, offering a hug and all the support she could muster.

"And you don't?" she asked.

"Shut up and tell her you love her," Annie snarled.

---------

Denise woke up on the recliner. She was tucked in under a huge quilt. Annie sprawled on the sofa, snoring gently. Pet sat on the arm of the sofa, bouncing slightly.

"Hey, Pet," she said, stretching and sitting up.

"Hey, Denise. Feel better?" She looked over at the wrapped gifts, then back. "I hope you feel better."

"I do, Pet, thanks." She stood and shook Annie awake. "Up, Annie. We need to go see if there are late-breaking announcements in the Ray news."

"RAY!" she snarled. "If I find out he got himself killed without me, I'll never forgive him for leaving me behind."

She stood and stretched, turning to see Pet. The younger sylph smiled at her. "What are you smiling about?"

"It's my birthday," she said. "And last night, I prayed for news about Ray and I told God that it would be a wonderful birthday present and God kissed me on the cheek."

"That was-" Denise started to say. Pet looked at her. "Um...a good birthday wish, Pet."

"It was," Annie agreed. "So," she pointed at the gifts, "if you have that going for you, I guess you don't need these. I'll take the extra presents back back to-"

"Would you like to unwrap your gift, Pet?" Denise asked.

"No!" Annie protested. "Then we'll have to unwrap ours!"

"Happy birthday, Pet," Denise said, waving to the gifts. Pet paused.

"Um...If I take them, we may not get the news about Ray."

"Superstitious?" Annie sneered.

"And who," Pet asked, "only scratches her lottery tickets with quarters that were minted in Philly during a year evenly divisible by seven?"

Annie snarled. "I have to brush my teeth."

-------

"The Marines kinda remember a sylph guy," Samantha said when they got into the Anthonys' office. "But he wasn't a diplomat, so they didn't pay much attention to him."

"And he wasn't there for the platinum," Amelia snarled, "so protecting sylphs wouldn't be protecting 'American Interests,' either."

"You're bitter," Pet said.

"I like her," Annie said.

"What about the embassy?" Denise asked.

"No one seems to want to talk about it. Except this one old-sounding guy that mumbled, called me a sock fucker, then laughed like a howler monkey and hung up."

"Oh," Annie said. "That might be my fault. I came across a vulgarity that submarine sailors use... But Ray has to be really, really mad to use it."

"From what the refugees said," Denise said softly, "he really really was."

"Well, I've got calls in everywhere," Samantha said. "We just have to wait until someone calls me back."

Just then, the phone on her desk rang. "Yay!" Pet shouted.

"We don't know-" Amelia said. Then she, and everyone else on the desk, shut up while Samantha spoke.

"Sylph Center, this is Anthony. Yes? Oh. Yes. Wait." She scribbled something on a pad of paper. Denise and Pet stood on tiptoe to try and see what it was.

Annie just walked over and tried to read over the woman's knuckle. Sam brushed her to the side before she could.

"Alright. Thanks for calling. I'll see if anyone's interested." She hung up and ripped the top sheet off the pad.

"Was...that about Ray?" Denise asked.

"Yeah," she said simply. "Flight 2203 from Paris. Lands in half an hour. Anyone want to go in the van with me?"

"Toldja," Pet said with great satisfaction.

"That means we can take the dresses back, then," Annie said.

"Dresses?" Pet asked. "Like...matching dresses?"

"No," Annie lied. "No, they're nothing alike." She was still trying to get out of ever wearing a fringed blouse as Amelia led her into the carrier.

---------

Ray was leaning against a pillar behind Reagan Airport when the van drove up. He had all his luggage, some strange packages...and four ark-shaped sylph carriers.

Samantha lifted the Foster women into his arms while she loaded the arks into the van. The back of the middle row of seats folded over to reveal something like a tiny auditorium. Rows and rows of seats for sylphs were lined up.

Amelia helped the passengers unload and got them strapped in, then Sam placed the carrier in the back and got the next one. The driver loaded the luggage and Ray kissed his sylphs.

They hugged at his furry cheeks and kissed the bags under his eyes and cried, just a little bit. He kissed each and every one on the head, the face, the belly and the head.

When everything else was loaded, Sam kissed his cheek and eased him aboard. Denise closed her eyes and curled up in the hollow of his throat.

She felt the other sylphs where Ray hugged them close, on either side of her.

He was safe. He was alive. The fear released. The anger grew. Annie went off first.

"You STINK, Master! What, they don't have showers in Paris?"

"Tight connection," he said, "and no one to watch the sylphs."

"We were so SCARED!" Pet said. She slapped him, letting her emotions out, knowing she couldn't actually hurt him. She slapped him again and again. He sat through it all.

"I missed you guys," he said. "I missed my family." That word crystallized a thought that had been running around Denise's head for a while. She knew what to do. They were a family, sure. But that would wait until they were alone.

She reached out to touch Pet gently on the arm. "Pet? Don't slap Ray."

"Why not?" Pet asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Annie added.

"Because your fingernails are sharper." She sunk both hands into his throat, fingers spread, and scratched her way down his windpipe.

"EEK!" he screamed as six hands reached for his jugular. But he kept them cuddled to his throat.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL?!?!" Denise shouted. Behind them, Amelia and Sam laughed. A few of the refugees laughed, but not all. Nowhere near all.

"You told me NOT TO!" he protested. That was such an outrageous lie! Denise sucked in a breath to object.

"I cannot tell which one is Annie," an African sylph protested.

"She must be the one drawing blood," another said.

"That only narrows it down to two," yet another said.

"In order, Annie, Denise, Pet," Amelia said. Denise shook her head.

"I NEVER would have said that!" she hissed.

"You said, and I quote, 'If we're going to be apart, let's really be apart,'" he quoted.

"That doesn't even make any sense," she said.

"'Let's not have phone calls at midnight because you messed up the time zones," Ray went on.

"Oh," Denise said. She let go of his neck.

"Let's not miss scheduled calls because you forgot, and I stay up all night worrying. Remember that?"

"A little," she said softly. Pet stopped her attack and wiped her hands on Ray's collar.

"No interrupted conversations because a satellite moves, but I imagine revolution, insurrection, leopards and crocodiles."

"Denise?" Pet asked. "Did you say that?"

"Let's avoid-"

"You won," Amelia said. "Let it go."

"Yes, Amelia," he said. Annie stopped.

"This is AMELIA?" Everyone turned to look at the refugees. One woman stood in front of her seat, finger pointed at the sylph, eyes glaring at Ray.

He lowered his hands slowly. "Yes, Kiku," he said. "That's the woman I told you about."

"You never said she was BLACK!"



---------

Amelia looked as shocked as the day she shrank. I've seen the tape a few times. I never, ever imagined a refugee having problems with her race but - Oh.

I eased the girls down by the seats. "Kiku, I told you that we were coming to the Center. And the people at the Center don't really care about your size, or your race, or your nationality, or your gender. I told you all that."

"It would have been a lot more comforting if we knew someone like us was here," the poor woman said. She was shaking, fighting tears. I could see that some of the others were tense, too. So I was speaking to all of them.

"Oh, Kiku. If I knew what you were scared of, I'd have told you. But really? If I was telling you that color was no big deal? And told you that Amelia was black? That would have made a big deal out of her color."

I was going to pick her up to comfort her. Pet beat me to it. She hopped up from where she sat and walked towards the frantic sylph.

Bright as a candle, she smiled and held out her hands. "You're safe now," she said loudly. Like me, she realized that Kiku wasn't the only one on the edge.

She took the woman's hands in her own. A dazed Kiku looked at her, lip quivering. "You're safe. But you don't DARE hope that it's real. You're looking for proof that they're lying to you. Then you don't have to hope anymore.

"But I promise you, and Amelia will promise you, and Samantha will promise you... You're safe." Kiku leaned into Pet's arms. She didn't cry. But several of the other refugees did.

Amelia, Denise and Annie moved through the crowd, touching and hugging.

Samantha sighed. I realized it was the first time she'd breathed in a while.

"So," she said, picking up one of my woven carriers. "Last we heard, security was dragging you away to durance vile.

"Now you're in DC, with four times the legal limit of sylphs. Spill it, Raymond."

I leaned back. I'd noticed that Sam never looked away from the sylphs as she spoke. I watched them, too. "Well, where should I start?"

"We've got everything up to the arrest," she told me.

My throat itched oddly. I rubbed at it, ignoring the blood on my fingertips.

"Arrest, huh?"

---------

After they knocked me down, I relaxed. When I shut up, the two security guys relaxed. Then the Swede stood up, arms swinging and face flushed. The guys tensed up again. Since they held guns, I lay really, really still.

They asked if he wanted to press charges and he did. But that would mean missing his flight. Since he didn't have a chartered plane like we did, there were likely to be long delays before he caught another flight.

Pragmatism overruled anger and he stormed off towards his loading flight.

I'd gotten my ten sylphs through customs. There was no such restriction on our flight, of course, so Marcus just kept walking. Another of our party shouted about being a lawyer but I just waved for her to go on with the refugees.

Then we got in the jeep and went to the jail.

They let me keep my wallet. I thought that was an oversight, but it's part of the fun. I had to buy a blanket. I had to buy meals. The honey bucket was free, but let me tell you, tip the guy that empties it. Tip well, to get him to come back regularly. Or at all.

After the first night, Wrinkled Driver Guy showed up with my breakfast. He kept me supplied so I didn't have to buy the jailor's slop for the rest of my visit.

The ambassador was too busy to see me, but Minister Party Pooper came by. He assured me I was somewhere on the embassy's to-do list.

And he'd rearranged the sylphs back into boy cages and girl cages. I just stared at him. Gloating's a cheap thrill, but not when no one takes you seriously. So I shook my head as if I was disappointed in him and turned my back.

Wrinkled came by with lunch about then. We ignored the attache while sharing a few sandwiches and discussing profanity he'd never heard before.

On the second day I looked up and there was a stranger outside the cage. He was an older man, dressed nicely. He had a small smile on his face the entire time we spoke. And he spoke with a slightly German accent.

"You are a very strange person, Mr. Ray Foster," he said.

"I've been told that," I agreed. "Sometimes it's a compliment, sometimes it turns out to be a problem." I looked questioningly at him, but he didn't bite.

"Most Americans get upset when they have to bribe the customs officials," he said. "You just nod and hand over the money. Most Americans want to haggle in the market. You paid what was asked, even though you clearly knew you were being overcharged.

"And the men here say you just paid for a blanket and a bowl of porridge, no whining or bluster or threats."

"I try to get along," I said. He started pacing in the little hallway.

"And yet, when another white man insults you, or your sylphs, you go, I believe the expression is, all drugged up monkey on him?"

"I've never heard that expression," I said. "I'll admit that I went ape on him."

"For insulting you?"

"Actually..." I thought about it. "I suppose he might have been insulting me. I never even thought of that. I thought he was insulting the sylphs."

"Interesting," he said. "You put up with shit from the black man, but not from the white."

"Sir? Frankly, I could give a fuck about his skin color. The workers at the airport, here, the weavers, they're just trying to get by. I actually respect the guys that arrested me more than the only diplomat that's visited me so far.

"And that's not because of their skin, it's because he's an ass."

"Hmmm. Why do you care about the sylphs?"

"I own, um, three. And I'm on friendly terms with the Anthonys. And... Well, they're scared and helpless and no one else seems to care. I guess they're in some danger, and I wanted to help with that."

"Not exactly in danger," he said. "There are two political and religious factions in Sanc Dembuka. One thinks that sylphs are devils, one doesn't care about them much either way."

"Which are you?"

"I don't really care about the sylphs. I care about my country. So I could ally myself with one party or the other. In my bid to control this country, I felt that the demonizers would be more useful to me."

"Kisu Kikali," I said softly. He pushed his hand between the bars to shake mine.

"Pleased to meet you, Ray Foster." It was a strong handshake. Firm, but he wasn't trying to hurt me. I found myself liking him at the same time I realized this was probably my trial.

"Please be assured, Mr. Foster, I have no particular animosity for the sylph population. It's just a political thing."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said.

"You've met Samantha Anthony?" he asked.

"Yes, a couple of times."

He nodded. "I was out of town when her family traveled through Africa with your President."

"Oh?" I wondered where this was going. Was he going to put the touch on Sam, through me, wringing some benefit from the situation?

"Now, the other miss Anthony?" he asked. "Are you on good terms with her?"

"I think so," I said carefully. "I wouldn't say we were friends, but she's done me a favor, I'm doing her one, so..."

"On the day that the plane crashed in our mountains," he said, "Miss Amelia's translations probably saved my father's life. He has long hoped to be able to give her the goat he promised her."

"You're..." I couldn't talk.

"There is a private plane at the airport, Mr. Foster. It brought three men from Texas to renegotiate contracts for our platinum mine. They have agreed to allow you to ride their plane to Rome. From there, you will have to make your own arrangements to get home."

"I, um, okay, thank you."

"And the three men have agreed to carry one of your wonderful baskets through customs. So you will have forty sylphs to take home with you. Unless that is too many?"

"No, sir! No, I can make that work. Thank you. Thank you very much!"

"Not at all, Mr. Foster. I am sorry to say, you probably should not come back to Sanc Dembuka any time soon."

"Okay, no. I can see that."

"I hope you will convey my thanks to Miss Anthony?"

"Yes, sir." We shook hands again. He gestured and a jailor appeared with the key. "I, uh, think this would qualify as a goat for her."

"I hope so," he smiled, finally showing teeth.

"So," I said, "I got out of jail on your karma, Amelia."

"That's wonderful," she said softly.

"Still should have called," Sam muttered.

"I was only allowed to call for emergencies," I told her.

All the Americans in the van stared at me. A few of the refugees did, too.

Except Annie. "Ray's an optimist," she said. "He's such an optimist, he would be sure things'd work out. Until the plane actually crashed, or a gun went off or they set the jail on fire, he'd still deny that there was any sort of emergency."

"Well, sure," I said. Many eyes glared at me.

---------

Ray was literally itching to get to their rooms and take a shower. Sam and Amelia told him he could go, with their deep thanks, but he wanted to stay with his charges.

He let the valets strip away the luggage, but he carried two of the arks himself. He didn't really relax until they were inside the conference room where the other refugees waited.

There was joyous reunion all around. Denise watched the two crowds rush each other in welcome. She got hugged about a dozen times, and she was on the periphery.

Pet was in the middle, spinning in place, hugging every three seconds, and never the same person twice.

Annie was actually lifted off the floor and passed around. She hollered gleefully and let it happen.

Amelia just disappeared. Sam actually had to pull a few sylphs aside to pick her up and let her breathe. "I'm going to put a leash on you, just so I can find you again!"

"No, no!" the sylph protested. "This is great! Put me down! PUT me DOWN!"

The mob finally calmed enough to go into their prepared rooms. Sam tucked an exhausted sylph into her pocket, hugged Ray, and went back to her office.

Denise stood happily as Ray scooped up Annie and Pet, then picked her up.

"Kesho was really glad to see you," she said. "I thought she was going to burst."

"Yeah, Usiku offered to arrange a marriage, me and her. I said she had to be taller than my driver's license before we could talk."

He got in the room and lowered the girls to the foot of his bed. "Okay, you guys wait here, I'll shower a few layers off, then we'll-"

"Wait!" Denise shouted. He halted. The others sat up. "We need to talk."

"Right after my shower," he promised.

"No, now," she insisted. He shrugged and dropped to his knees. She held out her hand and he took it between two fingers.

"Ray, do you remember the day we got engaged?"

"How could I forget?" he protested. "A sunny day in a field of daisies, you in your sundress, me in a tuxedo? I rode my horse-"

"NO!" Pet said. "Do it right!"

"Okay," he agreed. "I remember. I called you, you came back, I proposed."

"No," Annie said. "No, we proposed. You and I proposed to both of them."

"That's right," Denise said softly. "You and Annie, a couple, really, two people in love, asked Pet and me, two other people in love, to be in love with you both, forever and ever."

"What?" Pet asked. "Are you saying you didn't really get married because the four of us were really two couples already? Are you?"

"No, Pet," she said, drawing the younger sylph into a one-handed hug. "I'm saying that we're a family. That we've been effectively a four-person marriage all this time."

Ray whistled. Annie smiled. Pet looked confused. "Is that legal?" she whispered.

"My being married to Ray, right now, isn't legal, Pet. Do you think that matters? To us? Between us?" Annie said something terse and scornful. Pet just pointed at her friend and nodded.

Ray reached out to take Annie's hand. She wrapped her other arm around Pet and Denise.

"Are you sure about this?" Ray asked Denise.

"These are two of my best friends in the world, Ray. They love you. They're in love WITH you. It's...not fair to play favorites."

He started to open his mouth. Annie kicked him in the wrist. "It's okay to HAVE favorites, Ray. As long as you don't PLAY favorites."

"Oh. Okay, then." He nodded. "So, I have three wives?"

"And Denny's wife number one?" Pet asked.

"No, we should all be equal," Denise said.

"No, no," Annie said with a shake of her head. "You're first wife. That's clear. You're the first he married."

"But," Ray pointed out, "my being married to you was a simultaneous realization. So you're both wife number 2." Pet smiled and took Annie's hand. Annie smiled back.

"And you, Annie. You are my sylph number one."

"Damned straight," she said with a nod.

"But you became our owner the instant I shrank," Denise said. "So, Pet and I are both sylph number two." Pet squealed and kissed Denny on the cheek.

"But what would Pet be number one of?" Annie asked.

"Oh, that doesn't matter to me," Pet said. Her smile faltered for a second, though.

Ray lowered his head down to just over the bed cover. "You, Pet, are my number one morale officer. You make all of us happy. And what you did for Kiku... My God, Pet, that was wonderful."

"Yes," Denise said, kissing the blushing sylph. "I was so proud!"

"We all were," Annie added.

Ray moved forward to kiss all three of the sylphs again. He kissed Annie first. Her head nestled between his lips, just as they'd figured out in a long ago party. Pet and Denise sighed at the sight.

Then he kissed Denise the same way. She leaned into his face and they briefly touched tongues.

He pulled back a little bit and made eye contact with Pet. Her jaw dropped open. Strong arms from her friends held her up as her knees weakened.

Ray moved back in very slowly. His lips parted and gently closed against Pet's face. Denise heard the blonde gasp, and thought she felt her purring.

Their first loving kiss drew a deep sigh from all four of them. Then Ray pulled back and grinned.

"Okay," he said. "I really do need to show before this goes any further... Are there, uh, rules?" he asked Denise.

"Just...no favorites," she said.

"Then I guess you'd all better get naked," he said.

"Not as a favorite," Annie said, "but I don't think you've ever stripped Pet's clothes off." She pushed the other sylph forward gently.

"This is true," Denise said, pushing the other shoulder blade.

"Eep!" Pet said.

Ray let go of the other two and cupped his hands around Pet. She braced her hands on his thumbs and took a deep breath. Her expression was mixed excitement and fear.

Ray smiled. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to," he said. She relaxed a tiny bit. Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

"Your LINE," Annie shouted from the bed, "is SHUT UP and GET ON WITH IT!"

Pet just pointed at her friend and nodded. Ray nodded and edged a thumbnail under the edge of her t-shirt.

---------

Our wedding ceremony was a very private affair. Just those in on the secret of Denise's status. Oh, and the caterer.

We found out that both Samantha and Amelia were registered ministers. So we had a dual ceremony. Dual sized, that is.

Dionne and Deliah attended as witnesses. I rededicated my life to Denise, and dedicated my life to Annie and Pet.

Then we had a bundt cake with pudding filling the center hole.

Deliah broke into tears during the reception. All three of the girls gave me a nod to go hug her.

"It's so perfect," she sobbed. "Just like I Dream of Jeannie."

"Huh?" I said brilliantly.

"Years of calling Tony 'master,' and she ends up with a wedding ring."

"Oh," I said. "But only one of them's ever really called me master." Deliah slugged me on the shoulder and muttered something about people of the troublesome gender.

I didn't get any sympathy for the pain. And Deliah slings some big pots around in her kitchen, the girl's upper arm strength was nothing to laugh at.

But strangely enough, all three of my wives knelt down on our bed, later, and asked their master what his wishes were.

And I know I'm not the most brilliant conversationalist, but that night? I came up with the right answer.



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