Executive Solutions Chapter Five
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Just when you think you’ve got everything sorted, all systems running exactly as they should be, and everybody knowing and doing what they should, something will go wrong. Sods law. My old granny always used to greet this kind of thing with a sage nod and say, ‘shit happens even in Kansas’. And then she’d giggle. I have no idea why she said this, because to my certain knowledge she had never been to Kansas; in fact I would be surprised if she even knew where it was. She had certainly never been further abroad than a day trip to Paris. When someone mentioned Americans, that is those from the United States, she would always say, as did many of her generation, ‘Over paid, over sexed and over here”. And then she’d have another giggle. This was a saying that had been current in the later part of the second world war when she had been in her late teens to early twenties. I strongly suspect that she had benefited from some of the additional pay, and attentions of a not entirely unwelcome nature in the course of providing certain ... ah, shall we say ‘comforts’ for fit young men, very pleasurable I’m sure, whilst the rest of the country was benefiting from their presence as fighting men.
But then she’d also tell us that that there had been Russian troops in London in 1942, because her friend had seen them. She knew they were Russians apparently, because they had snow on their boots.
So even my guesses could be wrong, and just because dad could do a very passable Yankee accent, and let’s face it with the number of Hollywood pictures he and mum went to see when they were courting - the local fleapit having double seats in the back row - this is, frankly my dear, not entirely surprising. And if Granny and Gramps had got married in what appeared to be a bit of a hurry, there is no reason to jump to conclusions. Gramps was, after all, a Royal Marine commando, and stationed not too far from home at about the right time. Bicycling distance for a young man with a stiffy you could do pole vault with for sure.
So when Felice rang my mobile – we use mobiles around the place because they are so much easier - to tell me we had a visitor I had no inkling of the trouble that was in store, or indeed that, as is often the case, some sharp and lateral thinking would be called for to provide a solution.
The morning hadn’t started well because I had discovered that Joanna, my daughter, had been pulling a train in the car park of the Mucky Duck the night before. The pub is really called the Black Swan, but since everybody knows it as the Mucky Duck, if a stranger asks for the Black Swan they are liable to get a blank look. This makes people think that the locals aren’t too bright, which in a few cases has a good foundation in fact. I was somewhat pissed off by Joanna’s attitude when I remonstrated with her.
“I can’t get more pregnant than I am,” she snarled.
“You will do, you’re only a couple of months along, and you can catch a lot of things too,” I told her. “Especially off one or two of those yobbos. What do you want to do, name the child Chlamydia?”
Her reply couldn’t be spelt let alone printed, and I frog marched her to the dungeon, where she decided that her clothing allowance wouldn’t stretch to the total loss of her outfit, so she stripped herself. I should explain that the dungeon is really part of the outbuildings of the house that were originally a barn and stables and coach house with a flat over. These had been converted into an office, a workshop and a storage and dispatch area for our range of up market bondage items. These, together with a range of corsetry, much made to order for specific um ... body shapes, and containing certain additional items that would not normally be included in foundation garments, but allowed the wearer to be restrained, made up the present business, all of which is mail order. The dungeon is just a sound proofed room in this complex used for research and development. Or sorting out recalcitrant daughters, wives, or girlfriends.
“I don’t deserve this,” she said, as I attached her to the restraint frame.
“Yes, you do,” I replied. “This isn’t just for last night, or this morning. You’ve been asking for it for the last few weeks.”
“I will not be gagged,” she said, between clench teeth.
I reached around her from the back and caught a nipple between fore finger and thumb nail and gave a sharp squeeze.
“Ow...” and silence as the ball went into her mouth.
“And I will not have you waking the neighbourhood, you never know when we might have visitors.”
There was a snarl from behind the gag.
It was at this point that my phone rang. Diana and Ruth, my two lovely slaves, both now new mums, were at work, with the babies, at their gym, but the screen showed the call came from the house phone line. With the problems of the morning I had forgotten that Felice my gorgeous accountant was coming in, and had arrived during the time that I was in the dungeon attending to Joanna. Felice had just started work when there was a caller.
“There is a lady from the council to see you.” She told me.
“I’ll be right there.”
And I shut the door leaving Joanna to await her fate.
I entered the office to find a smartly dressed woman practically drooling over Felice. She turned to face me. Now, dog turds are not in any way sentient, and are, therefore, not blessed with feelings. However, if they were, particularly when stuck to the bottom of your shoe in the middle of an expensive carpet, I would know exactly how they felt. All of this was contained in the woman’s expression. Here, it said, is a man.
“I am Miss Forsyth, the planning enforcement officer from the South Mummerset District Council,” she stated importantly.
Oh bollocks!
I stuck out my hand. “Delighted to meet you, how can I help?”
The hand was ignored.
“You have been carrying out building and development work here and you have not notified the Council.”
“I don’t think that anything has been done that would warrant an application to the council, either for planning permission or building regulation approval,” I lied, knowing full well that it had.
“I shall be the judge of that.”
“Well,” I said, “let me show you around and you shall indeed judge. We have done nothing to the house since the alterations were carried out about five years ago, and I see you have plans of that in your file. If you would like to look around here, I will show you what has been done to these outbuildings.”
“I understand that you have created a new dwelling unit.”
Now it was coming together. Despite Mel telling me that everyone in the local village was shagging everyone else, that was not, as one would expect, entirely true. There was a clique, who largely comprised the parish council, who were too dried up or up tight, and who objected to both our life style, and to the merchandise that we made and sold. I was aware that questions had been asked at the council meetings as to what could be done, but it was now apparent that things had gone further, and the district council had been asked to take an interest.
Whilst I claim to have good negotiating and arbitration skills, when it comes to local authorities, particularly with the involvement of my personal affairs, things are slightly different. Basically my belief is that you only get a job with a local council if you cannot get a proper job anywhere else. And I include in proper jobs being a pianist in a brothel. So you see I rate politicians, estate agents, tabloid hacks and snake oil salesmen all above local council employees. Particularly those from the Planning or Building Control departments.
But, of course, along with the aforementioned skills in negotiation and arbitrage, as a practical engineer I have also been in sales and marketing, so smiling and concealing my real thoughts is second nature. And smile I did, despite being confronted by a woman who might just as well have had an embroidered badge from the Sorority of Lesbos on her sleeve. Dyke Division.
I took a good look at the woman. She was about thirty five years old, no lightweight, but then she was quite tall and carried it well. She wasn’t fat, but well muscled, I thought, with big tits and wide hips. Dressed in a dark blue pant suit she had an attractive face with very short fair hair. If she had smiled I could almost fancy her, but then I’m known for my eclectic tastes
“All we have done,” I said, “is to refurbish existing accommodation which has been here since the house was built, although not used for some time. The lady who occupies it isn’t here at present.” Wendy was away visiting her mother with Mel, “So I can show you, if you would like to follow me.”
We went up to the flat. There were various questions asked regarding insulation and drainage. She clearly knew her stuff, but there are ways of doing a job and there are ways ... I’m sure you know what I mean. And then:
“I want to see the rest of this building.”
So I took her down and showed her the workshop, the office she had already seen, the dispatch area with its shelving and packaging materials, tables and stock computers
“And what’s in here?” She said, ahead of me and suddenly opening the door to the dungeon.
OH, SHIT. I had completely forgotten about Joanna, who now presented a pretty sight splayed naked and gagged on the restraint frame.
I was at this point standing behind Miss Forsyth. She groaned and moved a step forward. Then she dropped her brief case, a file folder spilling its contents across the floor, and she made her way forward rather zombie like to stand in front of Joanna. She dropped to her knees and buried her face in Joanna’s crotch. Joanna’s eyes were bulging as she looked at me, and I spread my hands out, palm up and shrugged my shoulders. Gobsmacked. But not for long. I pushed the door shut, and grabbed my phone from my pocket, almost like a monkey trying to get nuts out of a jar in my haste. Bluetooth enabled, the pictures I was taking were going straight to my computer. Nice to know when you’re off the hook.
Joanna was responding nicely to a lady who must have had a long tongue, and definitely knew how to use it. I got the impression that a few mimutes later they had a simultaneous orgasm. Good for them. Particularly good because I released Joanna who was clasping hold of Miss Forsyth, Annette, as I had noticed on her briefcase, and I was able to cuff the lady and stand her up before she became compus mentis again, clipping her to the frame.
With her arms secured above her head, and Joanna starting to remove her pants, she suddenly became aware of her predicament.
Too late.
I held her eyes. “Are you going to make a noise?”
She shook her head.
Joanna had her pants off and I was undoing her jacket before she really began to realise what was happening.
“Noo, don’t ... what are you doing?”
Being a tall woman she was able to stand on the floor with her wrists secured and Joanna had to lift her feet onto the rests, and clip her ankle cuffs to the frame. She was now wearing just her jacket, undone to reveal a magnificent brassiere, something that with Wendy’s skills in corsetry I had come to appreciate, and a pair of silk French knickers.
“I can’t wear those,” said Joanna, who had removed her ball gag. Note to self to design one that cannot be removed by the wearer. “They disappear up into my bum crack.”
“You seem alright with a thong flossing your anus,” I told her, somewhat absently because of the vision before me.
I picked up the scissors, it seemed a shame but, as Annette watched with saucer eyes I snipped the bra between her tits. The pieces fell to either side to reveal a stupendous pair of tits. They had dropped under their own weight, but not a lot and I was able to lean forward and pay homage to such a wonder with my tongue and my fingers. She groaned.
Joanna removed the scissors from my hand and exercised them on her knickers to reveal, as I stepped back to look, the hairiest crotch I had ever seen. I kicked my stool into place, dropped my trousers and pants revealing a cock that could have been used to bore holes in granite, stepped up and in one thrust entered the tightest cunt that had passed my way yet.
“Nooo...” She groaned, “I don’t do men.”
“Thank Christ for that,” I replied, “neither do I.”
As I thrust up into her, Joanna stepped around the back a laid a couple of fairly gentle lashes on the lady’s ample posterior. These had an amazing effect, and as I fountained up into her she had another long and loud orgasm. Followed by sobbing.
Joanna and I released her.
“Umm ... sorry about your bra and knickers,” I ventured.
The sobbing turned into, “Oh god, what have I done?”
“Well, nothing anyone around here is going to say anything about.”
“But you took photographs!”
“Ye – es. But you don’t really think we would use them do you?”
She looked at me.
“Put it this way, Nettie. We haven’t done anything that is really much to worry about, so why should you worry about what you have done?”
“So,” she said, “I scratch your back and you’ll scratch mine?”
“I think we could say ‘These are not the droids you’re looking for’ don’t you? And I really am sorry about the...”
“Yes,” she said crisply, “I don’t think we need worry about that.” And she stood up, pulled her pants on and did up her jacket.
We passed the office and she said, “I’ll write a report that will show that there is nothing here that contravenes any regulations. That isn’t too much of a lie. I’ll wish you good day.”
I glanced down at her crotch. “I pass home on my way back to the office.” She said, and left.
I went into the office to talk to Felice and engage her attention whilst Joanna made a naked dash for the house. She seems to make a habit of that.
Felice said nothing, but I could tell she was itching to know what had gone on, and I was determined to say nothing.
It was about a week later that there was a sequel to this. I had been quizzed over the affair first by Joanna, who was somewhat bemused by what had happened, although had enjoyed it in the finish, and second by Ruth and Diana. They knew something had gone on, because when she called in at the gym Felice was brimming over with the fact that something had happened but she didn’t know what. I didn’t want Felice to know, because as far as I knew she was not party to what went on. Silly me, with a couple of blabber mouths like Ruth and Diana that was a faint hope.
I was sitting alone in the office when a car drew up, and out got Miss Forsyth, Annette has I had discovered.
I opened the door for her and asked her in. She seemed rather out of sorts and a little tongue tied so I sat her down and gave her a mug of coffee. With a little something to keep out the winter chill added.
“You’ve come to talk to me,” I said, “so you’ve got to say something.”
Silence.
“Shortage of underwear?” I tried a joke.
I was somewhat shocked when she burst into tears.
“OK, that wasn’t funny.” I gave her a tissue from the box on my desk. You were a bit shocked at what happened?”
She nodded. Contact!
“And since you’re a lesbian you don’t know what to make of it,” I hazarded.
“Yes.”
Bingo!
“And I’m a man and you hate men, we only want to go round sticking our vile private parts into women and ... that sort of thing?”
“Yes.”
Fuck, but this was hard work.
“Have you ever thought that not all men are like that, that some men treasure women, love them, worship the ground the walk on?” Laying it on a bit thick, but never mind. “And have you considered that what happened last week was a bit out of the ordinary?”
“Yes.”
Time to try a question that couldn’t be answered yes. “What did you feel?”
“I don’t know. I don’t like men, and one gave me an orgasm, and I was beaten.” Oh hardly. “But that girl ... she was just so...”
“Nice? Perfect? Too good to pass up?”
“All off those and much more.”
I went over to her and knelt in front of her chair so that I could look at her. I lifted her chin so that we had eye contact.
“Had you thought that what went on was just sex? Not love, nothing to do with the fact that I’m a man, or that you’re a lesbian. Had you thought that gay men can have children with women if they want, but prefer men, in the same way you prefer other girls?”
“What about that girl? Why was she there?”
I explained in some detail why Joanna had been there, that it was accidental and that it hadn’t been set up to catch her, Nettie that is, I finally got out of her that the diminutive her partner used was Nettie as I had thought. Yes, she had a partner too.
“How do I know that I’m really a lesbian?”
“Oh come on now, you’re what, thirty five? I’d have thought you were pretty certain by now. I’m not trying to convert you, I don’t believe that that can be done. But you might be bi, my wife and her friend are. You don’t go to the gym do you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll know Diana and Ruth.”
“That have just had babies? But they’re not...” and she trailed off.
“Yes, Diana is my wife, and so is Ruth really. You may have noticed their collars?” She nodded. “They are in fact my slaves, and we all love each other.”
“Oh” She sat thinking.
“I’ll tell you what, if you are still worried about it then I’ll take you off to bed now, and if you don’t have an orgasm you’ll know, won’t you?”
This was of course utter bollocks as well I knew, but I was feeling a bit frisky by this time, and I felt Nettie owed me for trying to sort her out. And I reckoned it’d be rather fun to get my hands around those big tits again. And I remembered that very tight passage.
“Would you do that?”
I took her hand and pulled her out of the chair and into a very deep kiss with lots of tongue. When we broke off I took her over to the house and up to the master bedroom.
I removed her clothing one piece at a time over about five or ten minutes, kissing each area that was exposed and enjoying the feel of her ample but firm flesh. I told her just how beautiful she was, and just how much she had to give to anyone she made love to. By the time we were both naked, and Nettie was laid on the bed, she was dripping juice and I proceeded to gently remove it, ending up with my tongue and lips applied to her lower lips and her clitoris. She was an extremely sensual woman, and it didn’t take above five minutes for her to orgasm. And then again, several times. Eventually I crawled up over her.
“Do I have to do that to you?”
“Not if you don’t want to, you only do things you like.”
And I gently entered her, at the same time deeply kissing her, and blow me she was off again. A few minutes and I was finished for the moment.
We lay there quietly, me playing with her ample assets.
“I’m not a lesbian after all.”
“Oh yes, I think you are, but you’re also a very sexual being, you just prefer girls as partners.”
“Hmm ... what am I going to tell Annie?”
“Annie?”
“Oh! My partner. She’s Annette too.”
“Now there I’ve no idea.”
We tried the orgasm thing again, just to see if she was a lesbian you understand, but she definitely had orgasms by me, so what you’d call that I don’t know. Normal, I should think. I know what to call me after that though. Bloody knackered, the woman was insatiable.
It was perhaps six weeks later that I met up with Nettie again, but before that quite a lot happened. When Felice came in the next day she could barely speak to me. About eleven o’clock I made some fresh coffee and sat a mug down in front of her.
“Tell me all about it.”
Silence. What is it with these women?
“Trouble with your love life?”
There was a sniff.
“Trouble is I don’t have one.”
“That should be easy enough for you to cure.”
“What do I have to do? Plead? You’re quite happy to shag that dyke.” How the hell did she know about that – how did anyone come to that. Unless ... Joanna. Hmm... “But do you want me? What is it, put off by the black skin? Doesn’t Massa wanna shag the li’l black girl?”
There was more in this vein, gradually pissing me off more and more. I don’t have a colour prejudiced bone in my body, and I mean, if she was that keen all she had to do was ask, that’s all Nettie had done.
I grabbed hold of her and stood her up, pushing her along the corridor.
“Do you know what is in here?” I asked shoving her into the dungeon.
I grabbed a couple of cuffs and in seconds had them on her wrists. There was a short struggle and she was secured to the frame.
“I don’t like girls wearing trousers,” I said, “because it makes it difficult to get straight to business.”
I unbuttoned her jeans, although she was kicking a bit, and shoved them down her legs. Unlike Nettie, Felice was quite short, so she was already on tip toe. She had low heeled shoes on that simply fell off and then I slid her jeans off too. I put ankle cuffs on and then moved her feet out to secure her.
She had been silent so far.
“What are you going to do?”
The question was so predictable that you could almost write the script beforehand.
“You’ll see.”
I picked up the scissors.
“Are you going to cut my clothes off.”
“Yes.”
“You only had to ask, I’d have stripped willingly.”
She was wearing a pretty embroidered tee shirt. But not for long. It slipped off to reveal a pair of perfectly shaped braless tits, the dark nipples standing out firmly. That just left her thong. I snipped the waistband at the back either side of the join with the bit that came up between her bum cheeks. Then I went round the front and gently pulled it through. She squealed.
“You only had to ask too. Instead of which you decide to act like a spoiled brat and insult me. So now you are going to get what horrid brats deserve. And come to think of it li’l black girls allus gits whupped by the Massa.”
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Sayuri was punctual, as Rachel had expected, and a ‘VISITOR’ badge was easily obtained for her. “The Gallery is quite extensive,” Rachel said, “Are there areas you’re interested in?” Sayuri pointed at a poster for a calligraphy show. “No problem.” [Calligraphy, or beautiful hand-writing, is considered the highest artistic achievement in many Asian cultures. Drawn from the Gallery’s collection and enriched with a significant loan from the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, this exhibition...
“How are you doing?” Patrick asked as he arrived home. “Good. I wrote some and had a long talk with Sayuri.” “Ooh?” “She really likes Al. Possibly seriously. But she thinks her father will explode. She also knows that Al has been sexually active and she’s quite virginal.” “Not my problem.” “No. But it may be mine. I’m going to call Al and ask about his intentions.” “You sound like a Victorian parent.” “No, I’m here in New South.” Patrick stared at her for a moment. “You’re not...
By the time Samuel was eight months old, Patrick had determined five more cases, only two of which were ‘simple’, the others being both time-consuming and complex. Rachel was working hard on the revisions of the Dupain and the Williams chapters of her dissertation. So Patrick had spent an increasing amount of time caring for Samuel – and once Samuel was into quasi-food, six or seven hours at a time. “Quasi-food” -- pureed vegetables, fruit and meat; Cheeri-Os, pieces of bagel; then bits of...
The door of Magus’ office opened and a middle aged man stepped out. He paused and looked at Claudia. He shook his head and started to take a step. He paused once again. Finally, he said, “That is a brilliant man.” “I agree,” Claudia said. This wasn’t the first client of Magus to call him brilliant. “A year ago a friend of mine in Washington D C told me to take my problem to Solutions Incorporated. I took my friend’s advice and went to visit Magus. I gave him ten dollars to solve a problem...
Stephen sat down in the chair heavily. Looking over at Magus, he asked, “Why did I take twenty-one hours this semester?” “So that you can get your degree in three years,” Magus answered. “That’s right,” Stephen said. “Are you signed up for your summer classes?” Magus asked. “Yes. Nine hours,” Stephen answered. It was going to be a busy summer taking three courses on the shortened summer schedule. “Excellent,” Magus said. “The final examinations nearly killed me,” Stephen said. He was so...
The IRS agent in charge stepped out of Titus’ office followed by his assistant. He said, “I think I’m going to hate Titus more than I hate Magus.” “Why?” “Do you remember my old boss?” “Yes.” “Do you know who does Magus’ tax returns?” “Don’t tell me.” “My old boss. Every time I audit Magus, that old bastard starts pulling out tax deductions that Magus didn’t take. I end up having to write Magus a refund check.” “That must hurt, Sir.” “You have no idea. I’m four years from retirement....
Looking worried, Stephen stopped at the front door of the house. He turned to Nestor and said, “Hagar, can you check out things in the house before I go in?” “Are you expecting a problem?” Nestor asked with a grin. “Yes,” Stephen said. He had several theories for what was happening, but no evidence sufficient to select one theory over another. Of course, the worst one was that Magus told her the key to getting him to propose. The problem with that theory was that it wasn’t very...
On Monday, Patrick called the Best Western at 13:00, but Olwen had not yet arrived. He left a message with his home number and his cell. And he thought about calling Sarah Mitchell, but decided to wait till after speaking to Olwen. He looked at what Rachel had written and thought about it. Were pictures like literature? C.S. Lewis wrote: A work of (whatever) art can be ether ‘received’ or ‘used’. When we ‘receive’ it we exert our senses and imagination and various other powers according...
“What are you doing today?” Rachel asked. “Thinking and writing. You?” “I’m off to the ‘Our lands’ show at the Gallery. It’s in its third or fourth week.” “What’s it about?” “The blurb says: Works from the Gallery’s collection that explore the tensions, conflicts, suspicions and political struggles that are central to any discussion about rights to land in Australia. I know that works by Gordon Bennett, Daniel Boyd, Brenda L. Croft, Destiny Deacon, Gordon Hookey and Djambawa Marawil are...
“Did you ever think about how much Australia resembles the American West?” “Are you kidding?” Rachel responded. It was Saturday. Patrick had narrated his meeting with Madam Minister, and Rachel had finished her gallery review for the Herald. Patrick had picked up another of his boyhood favourites, Riders of the Purple Sage. “Listen, the is the first chapter of Riders: ‘She wanted the sleepy quiet pastoral days to last always. Trouble between the Mormons and the Gentiles of the community...
“Are you OK?” Rachel asked. “Tired. Six hours driving and nearly three in Milbrodale. Plus lunch.” “I’ll get something ready for dinner.” “How was your day?” “Somewhat troubling. I was at the Gallery. I went to get another look at Emily Floyd’s installation. Really to walk around in it. The pieces are quite large.” “Is that what troubled you?” “No. It was the whole thing. Remember last week we were talking about cultural appropriation?” “Of course.” “Well, I no longer know what it is....
“Cut out two of the Flood books and one Zdanowicz. And Pritchard’s book on cameras. Maybe Fine Houses of Sydney, too.” “Are you kidding?” Patrick had just finished reading the final (Rachel hoped) version of her proposal for Dr. Garshin. He’d suggested only a few tweaks to the text. But this was nearly a quarter of her bibliography! “Be realistic. Your future adviser has to show power. It’s important to him to find fault. Two or three years down the road, he’s going to take credit for the...
Over lunch Patrick’s actions were clarified: he would communicate with the Minister as soon as possible and let Roy know the tenor of the conversation. He would then talk to the Council and to the group in the west. If necessary, Patrick would travel west, but his role was as a mediator, not an adjudicator. “Always a middle-man,” he sighed. “Better than either the hunter or the prey.” A chuckle ran around the table. “I will call the Minister in the morning.” “Not this afternoon?” “The...
Once the Beechcraft Baron was past Lithgow there was little to see. Flat is flat. It was only a bit over an hour to Parkes. The next leg ... Parkes to the Darling was even less fascinating. Eddie had been a bushpilot for a decade, then worked for the Flying Doctor Service [the RFDS one of the largest and most comprehensive aeromedical organisations in the world. It provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote and regional areas of Australia]; “now I’m...
The weekend passed quickly. Patrick devoted Saturday morning to writing a summary of his flight to Menindee and his suggestions. He pointed out that the group was aware of the arrangements made in Kakadu, NT, in the landmark agreement that gave the traditional owners, through the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, the right of veto and consultation over all aspects of the work on their land; and that the Mirrar people, supported by thousands of protestors, had successfully forced Energy...
No further calls disrupted Patrick on Monday. Tuesday served as a major contrast. The Minister’s PA called to ask whether he could come to a meeting at 1400. He had barely gotten off the phone when Jason called. Apparently he had also been “invited.” Patrick read him the Tribunal passage, emphasizing “Normally, the land will be passed down to future generations in a way that recognises the community’s traditional connection to that country.” “Interesting,” Jason said, “I’ll do a bit of...
It wasn’t till Friday that Patrick heard from Jason. “I now understand what Jenny had in mind!” he began. “You’ll have to be more detailed than that,” Patrick responded, “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” “She had an idea when we met. She said we’d ‘hear’ in a few days. Well, I think I’ve just heard. I know you don’t follow what goes on in Canberra. Well, yesterday King, the MP for Brand...” “Just south of Perth,” Patrick interrupted. “Yes. She rose to ‘inquire’ as to the status of...
Patrick was asleep when he became part of the Dreaming. The Dreaming is many things in one. Among them, it is a kind of narrative of things that once happened; a kind of character of things that are still happening; and a kind of logos or principle of order transcending everything significant for Aboriginal man. It is cosmogony, an account of the start of the universe, a story about creation. It is also a cosmology, an account of how creation became an ordered system. Patrick thought how the...
“I’m just going to write for several days,” Rachel announced at breakfast. “I want to bang out a draft of what I hope to turn in next month. Do you think Dr. G. will be in the week after Easter?” “No idea. What does the UNSW calendar say?” Rachel typed it in. “No luck. Recess 14 to 23 April. I’m not sure I can get it done by the eleventh.” “Do as much as you can by the tenth and email it to him. Ask for an appointment on the second or the ninth of May.” “OK. I should get a respectable...
“I’ll be back, Adelotus,” Patrick said later in the afternoon. “I think that if I give you most of a day a week, you can keep your head above water.” “Ah, you remember! That would be good of you. What were you thinking?” “Tuesdays or Wednesdays.” “Either would be fine. Thank you for what you did today.” “And thank you. We should keep one another informed.” “Yes. Perhaps when it’s over, you could write a piece of your own.” “Perhaps.” Adelotus brevis was Sean’s ‘totem’. The tusked...
“Does Canberra shut down for a week at Easter?” Patrick asked. “Probably, but I’m not sure. My dad would know. I owe them a call, anyway. What time is it?” “A bit after ten.” “They’ll be up, even if it’s Saturday.” It was a half hour before Rachel emerged from the bedroom where she’d been chatting. “Everything’s closed from Wednesday the 12th through Monday the 17th. But a lot of the government offices are shut down for all of the two weeks,” she reported. “But the big news is that Al’s...
“It may not last,” Rachel said when she got home. “What may not last?” “Al and Sayuri. She’s very Japanese. She’s quite demure about everything.” “That may be just what Al needs. Eddie was very aggressive. And that really pretty one from around here. Maybe he just needs to finish his degree, get a job and set up housekeeping. Sarah’s not like me; he doesn’t need to be like you. What are the pop-psychology theories about second children?” “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll Google later. How was...
“I still say it may not last,” Rachel said when Patrick got home. She went on to relate her conversation with Al and her advice that he talk to their mother. “Well, I wouldn’t sell either of them short, yet. The most unlikely pairings occur: I recall you predicting that Sarah and Henry were in a carnal relationship, but weren’t interested in marriage.” “True. My ‘spider-sense’ wasn’t working. Anyway, what was your day like?” “I read several things, had an idea, followed it a bit, and...
Easter Monday isn’t a holiday in New South Wales, as it is in the UK and in Canada, but not everything is open. So Patrick was surprised when a large, heavy parcel was delivered. From her reaction, he could tell that Rachel wasn’t. The package was opened and proved to contain the two volumes of the new edition of The Australian National Dictionary: Australian Words and Their Origins, gift-wrapped. “Happy early Birthday!” said Rachel. “This is wonderful! I know how expensive it was. And I...
Patrick got home only a little past noon. He was clearly somewhat depressed, and Rachel winkled the tale out of him. “Don’t let it get you. Reality is like that. Nonetheless, I want to bring a new Hollister into the world.” “Right. And I want to help.” Later, Rachel asked: “Dress nice?” “I think so.” “Then we’d best drive. OK?” “Yes. I’m going to shower first.” “Me first, I’ll need to dry my hair!” Later, Rachel asked: “What’s still irking you?” “I’m bothered by Craig’s pointing out...
“Well, now we’re sure.” Patrick said as they arrived home. “You were wrong. You’re at least two months and possibly three along. And it appears to be one of indeterminate gender.” “I must have been fertile within days of stopping the pill!” “So we know your metabolism works well.” “Don’t be snarky.” “And it doesn’t look as though we’ll have to change our diet much. We already eat everything she talked about.” “Yes. She didn’t even think I needed folic acid supplements.” “Yes. When she...
Michiko and Sarah were excessively excited. Chaz, Al and Henry seemed to take Rachel’s pregnancy as a normal biological event. The dealers were happy with the text and the selection of illustrations (Patrick had suggested six, knowing that only four would be used. The dealers suggested that Patrick give a presentation in the ACT, as he could give a presentation at the Aboriginal Dreamings Gallery. Rachel was delighted: she would see her parents and view the Dupains and the Williamses at the...
Michiko offered to come to Sydney for the last weeks of Rachel’s pregnancy. After a few minutes’ discussion, Rachel declined the offer. She countered it with Michiko coming from Canberra for the baby’s first week at home. Patrick promised to phone from the hospital. “What will you call him?” she asked. “We haven’t decided. Something ordinary, but not John or George...” Rachel told Patrick about the call when he returned home. “What will we call him?” “That which seems appropriate. One of...
Michiko and Charles arrived soon after noon. While the new grandfathers greeted each other, Michiko was already gazing at a sleeping Samuel. “He is a lovely baby.” “Thank you.” “You are not swaddling him?” “It’s not done in Australia.” “Do you need anything?” “No. I’m still somewhat tired, but that will pass.” “You need to eat well, too.” “Yes, mother.” Rachel was beginning to wonder whether she would last the week. “He looks OK,” Charles said. “Did he wake much?” “He seems to sleep...
Samuel’s first Christmas passed quite peacefully: at six weeks, he paid it no heed. Nor did the New Year’s fireworks have any effect. His grandparents bombarded Rachel and Patrick with excessive gifts. He also acquired some distant admirers. A Pitjantjatjara tapping stick, which Samuel would soon use to assail the slats of his crib; an oystershell ornament; a container decorated with meat ant and emu dreaming from Yuendumu, northwest of the Alice. The bands were showing respect for a new...
Karen had no idea what to expect when she showed up at Solutions Incorporated on Friday morning. The receptionist desk sat there in front of the door looking lonely and she assumed that would be her work area. She looked around the reception area thinking that it could use a bit of decorating. The three functional chairs and one potted plant just didn’t give it a very relaxing atmosphere. It wasn’t clear if that effect was intentional or not; all she knew was that it would be very...
The most recent edition of the local newspaper had eight pages. Odds were good that only one of those pages was actually going to be read by anyone. The whole first page of the paper covered a story exposing a price fixing scheme that affected the prices that farmers got for their crops. Farmers had been getting ripped off for years according to the article. The article named names and gave in-depth details about how it had been done. Hundreds of people were going to be sent to jail as a...
The two women entered the offices of Solutions Incorporated one behind the other. They were an interesting study in contrasts. The leading woman was graceful, elegant, sophisticated, and stunningly beautiful. The second woman was solid, blunt, earthy, and exceptionally plain. The second woman was studying the first woman like she was an unusual specimen at the zoo. Claudia frowned on seeing the two women. Magus had no appointments that day and he didn’t like clients to just show up at the...
Irene was seated at her desk doing absolutely nothing. She was kind of puzzled as to why they needed a receptionist. It seemed to her that she spent most of her time just staring off into space. The telephone had only rung about four times that week. They hardly ever had anyone come into the office. In a way, she felt that she was being overpaid. Of course, she wasn’t going to complain about that. This job was allowing her to escape from her abusive husband. “Stephen!” Magus shouted. Irene...
“Magus!” Irene shouted. “What?” Magus shouted. “Nothing.” Irene shouted. Magus shook his head and muttered, “That woman has a set of lungs on her and she has discovered that she likes using them.” “Magus!” Irene shouted. “What?” Magus shouted. “There’s a woman to see you!” Irene shouted. “Does she have an appointment?” Magus shouted knowing that he didn’t have any appointments for that day. “She says she doesn’t need one!” Irene shouted. “Who is she?” Magus shouted. “Stephen’s...
The first thing that Nestor did upon accepting the job at Solutions Incorporated was to quit his job at the Department of Motor Vehicles. After minutes of agonizing debate about how to best give notice, he chose to go with the short and sweet version, “I quit.” He did try to sound regretful, but the ear to ear grin and little victory dance probably undermined any appearance of sorrow at leaving he attempted. It didn’t matter to him that he looked a lot like a Russian dancing bear when doing...
Mel stood outside the house with her arms around Stephen. It was a bittersweet moment, an odd mixture of regret and anticipation. She was leaving him behind to begin a new adventure. She kissed him goodbye. “I’m going to miss you,” Stephen said. “I’m going to miss you,” Mel said. “I think you’ll like the program at UCLA,” Stephen said. “I think you’ll enjoy law school and work,” Mel said. She knew that she was trying to draw out this parting as long as possible. Now that the time to...