Harry Potter and the Spellbook of Desires Chapter 40 The Third Task
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August 2, 1992, Chicago, Illinois
“Good morning,” I said when Michelle finally woke.
She turned to face me. We’d been spooned together since we’d finished making love.
“Good morning,” she smiled.
“How are you?”
“Perfect. It was perfect. You were perfect. Thank you!” she said softly, almost as a quiet prayer.
I smiled, “How do you feel?”
“Sore,” she said. “But how you made me feel? I had no idea!”
“The soreness will go away. That was from being virgo intacta. There’s probably some blood, too.”
“Isn’t there supposed to be? It’s supposed to hurt and there’s supposed to be blood.”
“Sometimes. It depends on the girl.”
“Move the comforter,” she asked.
I did and there was, indeed, a decently sized red spot on the sheet, and red streaks on her thighs and on my flaccid shaft. She giggled, then pulled the comforter over us.
“We’ll wash the sheets this morning,” I said.
“OK. So now what?”
“Now, we shower, have breakfast, and you go to Mass. When you come home, we’ll talk.”
“Mass?”
“Mass.”
“But...”
“But nothing. Go to church, Michelle. We’ll talk when you come home. Please?”
“OK,” she agreed, still puzzled. “I’ll see you upstairs in fifteen minutes.”
I thought about offering to shower with her, but something said to wait until we talked. I looked deeply into her eyes, then kissed her softly. She returned the kiss and we held it for only a few seconds before I rolled over and sat up. I pulled on my pajama bottoms, put on the top and buttoned it, and then pocketed the tube of K-Y. I got up, put on my robe, and turned to look at Michelle, who was still lying in bed with the comforter pulled up to her chin.
“Thank you for the wonderful gift,” I said.
She smiled at me; I turned, opened the door, and left the guest room. I walked up the stairs and opened the door and was greeted by a cranky four-year-old.
“Where were you, Daddy?” she asked, scowling, hands on her hips. “I looked for you!”
“I slept later than usual, Pumpkin, I’m sorry.”
“Did you kiss Michelle?” she asked.
I picked her up and hugged her and kissed her cheek.
“Yes, I did. And your mommies know I did. But we don’t talk about who Daddy kisses with anyone else. OK?”
“Yes. It’s a secret! That’s what my mommy says!”
“Yes, but you can always talk to Mommies or Daddy about kissing. Always!”
“Good!” she agreed. “You stink!”
I laughed, “I need a shower! I’ll go get one and then we can have breakfast, OK?”
“Yes!” she said kissing my cheek.
I put Birgit down and headed up the second flight of stairs and quietly let myself into the master bedroom. Jessica and Kara were awake, talking quietly and cuddling.
“Morning, beautiful wives!”
“Good morning, Tiger!”
“Good morning!” Kara added.
I went to the bathroom and took off my robe and pajamas, and adjusted the shower then stepped under the spray.
“I take it she’s OK?” Jessica asked, coming into the bathroom.
“She’s just fine. She’s getting a shower, then we’ll have breakfast, though if she has more than a piece of toast and tea, I’ll be shocked. After she eats, she’s going to church. I insisted. Then we’ll talk.”
“It sounds as if you’ve thought it out pretty well. Just once?”
I smiled, “We obviously had the same ideas. Last night was a single act of lovemaking. Just some kisses and intercourse. IF she wants to continue, we’ll worry about the fancy stuff.”
“If?” Kara asked, joining Jessica in leaning against the sink.
“If,” I said. “Let her go to church, pray, receive communion if she wants to, then come home and talk.”
“A reversal of the usual pattern where you talk them to death first,” Kara said, without even a hint of humor.
“First of all, I’ve done nothing but talk to Michelle for the past six months. Second, once she decided, there wasn’t really anything to talk about. I did ask, right before, to make sure. Now that it’s done, we can talk.”
“I suppose that does make sense.”
“I was met by the ‘Neighborhood Watch’ on my way upstairs,” I chuckled.
“Birgit?” Kara giggled.
“Complete with hands on hips and a scowl and a question of why I wasn’t up early to spend time with her. She did ask whether I kissed Michelle or not and I told her I had, but that wasn’t something to talk about except to one of the three of us.”
“I told her the same thing,” Kara said. “I mean, not about Michelle, but about kissing. We don’t need any repeats of Jesse telling the world what you’re doing!”
I got out of the shower and Jessica handed me a towel, smirked, and then she and Kara got into the shower together.
“Seriously?” I groaned.
“You need to have your talk with Michelle,” Jessica said. “THEN we’ll see about showering, or anything else, together.”
“What?!” I gasped, shocked.
“He’s still easy to wind up, isn’t he, Kara?”
“Forget it!” I chuckled. “I’m going downstairs to see my daughter!”
I picked up my pajamas and tossed them in the hamper, hung my robe in the closet, and dressed for the day, all the while trying to block out the giggling that was coming from the shower. When I was dressed, I headed to the kitchen where I found Birgit waiting for me, along with Michael and Albert.
“Hi kids! Breakfast?”
“Waffles, please!” Albert requested.
“Is that OK with your brother and sister?”
“Yes! Waffles! All of us!”
I got out the ingredients and mixed up the batter while the waffle iron preheated. I was just putting the batter in to make the first waffles when Michelle came into the kitchen.
“Hi, Michelle!” Birgit said happily.
“Hello, young lady!” Michelle replied.
She went, as usual, to the breadbox, got out two thick slices of bread, and put them in the toaster. I’d already put the kettle on, so she poured hot water into a mug, put some fresh English Breakfast tea into a tea ball, and put that into the mug. She sat at the island on one of the stools. A couple of minutes later her toast popped up, and she got butter from the larder and spread it on her toast, then sat back down and began eating.
“You should eat a better breakfast,” I said, taking the first waffle from the iron.
I split the waffle into four, put each piece onto a plate, added a dab of butter and a dollop of syrup and set one before each of the kids.
“Does everyone want two pieces?” I asked.
“Yes!” all three kids replied.
I started the next waffle just as Abbie came into the kitchen.
“Breakfast?” I asked.
“Bacon and eggs, if you don’t mind,” she said.
“I already have the oven on for the bacon,” I said.
That was my usual low-carb breakfast, though I did eat toast or a piece of a waffle occasionally. I got the bacon into the oven and started making eggs just as Jessica and Kara came into the kitchen with Ashley and Stephie. Michelle finished her meal, put her dishes in the sink, and announced she was heading to church. I fed the kids their second round of waffles, then served bacon and eggs to everyone else. Jessica and Kara each ate a piece of waffle as well.
“Morning,” Bethany said, coming into the kitchen, stretching.
I offered her breakfast as well, and she sat down. I poured her some coffee and began making her breakfast when Matthew finally came into the kitchen.
“You slept late,” I said.
“He was playing with his handheld video game last night,” Elyse said, coming in right behind him.
“In the closet?” I chuckled.
“Yes. I went to check on the boys when I went to bed and saw the light!”
“Matthew, are you supposed to play video games after bedtime?” I asked.
“No. But I wasn’t sleepy!”
“Then we can talk about a different bedtime, OK? But once Mom puts you to bed, you stay in bed.”
“Yes, Dad,” he sighed. “Is there a race today?”
“No, not today,” I said. “Next week. Abbie, did Jason say anything about Davey Allison?”
“Just that he’s in bad shape from that wreck at Pocono two weeks ago. I’m still shocked he raced with a skull fracture last week!”
“Jess, please don’t!” I sighed, seeing she was about to say something. “Can we leave it, please?”
She shot me a hard look, but didn’t say anything.
“He’s got a one point lead over Bill despite all his wrecks and injuries,” Abbie said. “Jason’s also happy because Alan is only 120 points behind Davey.”
“That can be made up,” I said. “One or two slip-ups by the guys leading the points. Heck, if Bill would have had a decent race at Daytona, he’d be ahead by eighty points or so. One race makes a difference. Ask Mark Martin!”
“Jason says he’s STILL livid about that. That engine spacer penalty cost him the Cup.”
“Then maybe he shouldn’t have been caught!” I chuckled.
“Maybe you shouldn’t try to cheat!” Jessica said snippily.
Abbie and I both laughed.
“Everyone cheats!” Abbie grinned. “You just don’t get caught!”
“Remember what I said about the rulebook being written in pencil with half the pages blank?” I asked. “Well, you push the rules, hard, because NASCAR can decide to screw you EVEN IF you follow the rules to the letter. Heck, all you have to do is look at the mystery cautions that conveniently come to bunch up the field or prevent cars from going down a lap!”
“If even the sanctioning body cheats, why bother?”
“Because they love to race and can make a living doing it,” I said.
We finished breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, and took the kids to play in the sunroom. About thirty minutes later, Kara and I walked Jessica to work, then returned home. About twenty minutes after that, Michelle came home and went to change. I made some tea, took it to the ‘Indian’ room and waited for her to come back upstairs. When she did, I poured us each some tea, and we sat in two of the basket chairs.
“How was church?” I asked.
“Strange. It felt like every single person in the church was staring at me, thinking ‘That girl just had sex’.”
“Did you go to communion?” I asked.
She shook her head, “No. It didn’t feel right. I need to go to confession.”
“And say what?” I asked gently.
“I have no idea,” she sighed. “I didn’t quite think this part through before last night.”
“And now?” I asked.
She frowned, then seemed to force a smile, “I have no idea. I mean, it was beautiful, and loving, and you made me feel really special. But what we did was sinful. Well, I thought so. Or I think so. I don’t know! It’s all so confusing.”
This was, more or less, the reaction I’d expected. She’d struggle with it, and come to one of two conclusions. And at the moment, I wouldn’t bet on which it would be.
“But you decided to do it anyway?” I asked.
“Yes. I wanted to. More than anything I’ve ever wanted. And it was beautiful, as I said last night. So close. So intimate. And that feeling at the end was incredible. Like nothing I’ve ever felt before! Sex ed at my school didn’t really talk about that.”
I smiled, “I can see how that might be a difficult topic in a Catholic school.”
“It was mainly about the mechanics, then about not defiling yourself with fornication, self-pleasuring, or unnamed things on which the church frowns. But we all know what they meant.”
“Pure, not ignorant?” I asked.
“Yes, but no longer pure,” she sighed.
“And is that a problem?”
“I don’t know. That’s just it. I have very mixed emotions right now.”
“Would you tell me?”
“Not wanting to sin, but hoping I can sin again with you very soon!” she said with a nervous laugh.
“I want you to take some time to think about it,” I said. “First, a couple of days to heal. If you were sore this morning, you probably want to wait at least a few days. Second, you need to decide what you think and what you want, and then, how to live your life going forward.”
“As a girl who isn’t a virgin? But who wanted to be one on her wedding night?”
I nodded, “Yes. Can you tell me why you changed your mind about that? Or are you not ready to?”
She smiled, “On January 19th, when you saw me naked and I saw you naked, I wanted you. More than anything I’ve ever wanted. I didn’t understand it. And I resolved to stay pure. But that feeling, that urge, kept coming back, stronger and stronger. There were a few times I almost demanded that you kiss me and then take me to bed.”
“When you held my hand in the sauna?” I asked.
“That was one. And a couple of times when you hugged me. I know you didn’t mean anything other than friendship, but my body and mind ran away with thoughts of you doing what we did last night. Only I couldn’t properly envision it from what I learned in sex ed. Then I was attacked, and I fought hard. Not just to stop from being raped, but because I wanted YOU to be the one. I wanted to be a virgin for you, and then not a virgin because of you.
“I stabbed his eye to protect myself. For you. But I couldn’t tell you. We talked about things like that in a general way, but it was something I couldn’t tell you or ask you. And I knew you would never, ever make even the slightest move towards what I knew I wanted. I had to find a way to tell you, but not tell you, if that makes sense.”
“It does make sense.”
“I tried to find a way, but because of how we’d talked, I really couldn’t. I was driving myself crazy. I almost kissed you about a week ago, hoping that you would get the hint, but I was afraid that would drive you away, or that would try to talk me out of it.”
I smiled, “I probably would have.”
“And then the situation with Alli yesterday gave me the opportunity. When you decided to talk to me, I realized I had a chance. So I made the comment about if you took her to bed, you would have to take me to bed. I was worried at first, because you thought I meant to NOT do it. But then we talked, and I realized that if I said it again, and told you I meant it, then you might consider it. When you told Alli to stay after lunch, I was sure.”
I nodded, “I know. But I wasn’t at that point. I talked to Bethany, who couldn’t say much, obviously, because she counseled you. But she did say you were mentally and emotionally able to give consent. And I talked to Jessica and Kara about it. And after those conversations, I told Jess and Kara what I was going to do.”
“Which was?”
“It’s a bit crude. I can tell you exactly what I said, or paraphrase it.”
Michelle laughed, “You took me to bed last night. I think I don’t mind a bit of crudity.”
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April 5, 1997, Chicago, Illinois “You missed cuddles this morning!” Birgit said accusingly when I walked into the house about 9:30am. “I know, Pumpkin, but I had a work emergency and had to go see Aunt Joyce and Grandpa A.” “And now we have to get ready for karate!” “I know. We’ll have some family time this afternoon. I don’t have any plans.” “Good!” I hugged her and the rest of the kids, then went to find Kara. We hugged and kissed, and went straight upstairs to get ready for...
September 3, 1989, Chicago, Illinois “Good morning, Sensei,” I said, bowing to Sensei Jim. “Good morning!” he said waving me to a chair in his office. “How was your trip?” I asked. “Enlightening. I spent most of my time acting as a manservant to Sensei Robert and Sensei Hiro.” “He who will lead, must first serve,” I said. “Someday, I’m going to send you to Sensei Hiro, should he live long enough. You understand.” “Does that mean you are now 6th Dan?” I...
October 29, 2000, Chicago, Illinois Birgit followed me as far as the stairs, then scooted upstairs when I went to the front door and opened it. “Hi!” Sophie said. “Hi!” I replied and held the door open so she could come into the house. I closed the door behind her then led her to my study where I waited until she went in, and then walked in, closing the door behind me. I nodded to one of the wingback chairs, she sat down in one, and I sat down in the other. “Is something wrong?” she...
August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois I walked in the near 90°F heat to Carla’s place. I was grateful that the humidity of the morning had dropped significantly; otherwise the heat would have been unbearable. By the time I walked up the steps to the apartment over the photography studio and knocked on her door, I had broken into a light sweat. Carla answered almost immediately and invited me inside her studio apartment. The air was moderately cool, and the window air conditioner was running full...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio On Tuesday morning, I kissed Kara goodbye and headed to my parents’ house for my usual morning routine with my little sister. She was happy that I could spend the morning with her and asked to take a walk, so we weren’t in the house with my mom. “Let me guess — this walk will end in the clearing,” I said with a smile. “Yes,” she said, taking my hand as we walked down Overlook towards Klondyke. As usual, we turned around and walked back, taking the path to the...
March 13, 1994, Chicago, Illinois “Hi, Steve!” Ailea said when she opened the door. “Hi,” I replied, accepting the offered hug. There was no touching of lips, just of cheeks, and I wondered if I’d misread her intentions at her birthday lunch, or if, perhaps, she detected my reluctance to return the offered affection. “Lunch is ready, so go ahead and sit. I’ll bring it in from the kitchen.” I went to the low table, sat down, and a minute later, Ailea brought miso soup and sushi, our usual...
April 3, 1997, Dallas, Texas “Remember what I said about drinking too much,” I said, as I poured bourbon into three cups. We’d stopped at a liquor store, bought a bottle of Blanton’s, and then returned to the small suite I’d reserved at the Westin. Deborah’s room was down the hall, and Krissy’s was two floors below. Krissy’s comment had caught me a bit off guard, but I hadn’t reacted visibly. I didn’t know her quite well enough to know if she’d been teasing with Deborah, so I was being...
March 28, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “This day belongs to you, Kara!” I said when the three of us woke on Thursday morning. “Happy birthday!” Jessica said. “Thanks,” Kara replied happily. “I think I’d like an amazing birthday fuck from our husband, and then a nice loving shower with my wife!” Kara said. “Do we have enough time?” I asked. Jessica giggled, “I set the alarm for thirty minutes earlier!” “Then let’s not waste any of it!” I said pulling Kara to me. Kara’s squeals as I plunged...
September 4, 2000, Chicago, Illinois On Monday morning I went to my study to make a surreptitious call to ensure that the surprise I’d planned for Kara was still going to happen, and after confirming that it was, Jesse, Matthew, Michael, and I began preparing for the Labor Day party by getting beer and soda into coolers, getting the grill ready, setting up tables and chairs in the backyard, and ensuring the liquor cabinets were stocked while my wives and daughters worked on food prep in the...
September 1, 1987, Chicago, Illinois “I heard that you have some kind of plan to help Ed,” I said to Connie. “There’s no plan,” she replied. “A witness who saw the shopkeeper alive after Ed left came forward.” That sounded convenient, and I wondered if the witness was real or someone that Anthony had put forward to solve the problem. Certainly, the videotape was real, because I couldn’t imagine how Anthony could have faked that, but the witness? Who knew? “So is he being released? Or is...
August 17, 1997, Chicago, Illinois We finished lunch and Marissa and the younger kids went to play, but Natalie sat with the adults to talk, with coffee, tea, or soft drinks. The Sarcus were very comfortable, but the Heaths were still struggling. But, vitally, they hadn’t left and hadn’t insisted Natalie leave the group. “Can you explain how you developed this attitude and approach?” Chris asked. I nodded, “It started when I was just a bit younger than Natalie. My mom was a total control...
July 1979 — Falkenberg, Sweden On Friday, when I got back from my run, Pam was in her bra and panties again. I whistled at her, she giggled, then finished dressing. I showered, and we went to breakfast and finished up our last day. Once class was done, we were pretty much free. On Saturday, we’d have several optional activities and then on Sunday we’d head back to our host families. After dinner on Friday, I took Pam’s hand and we walked towards the river. It was quiet and peaceful, and...
July 1980, Over the North Atlantic We reached cruising altitude, and I settled back to read my book. Pam raised the armrest between us, snuggled close to me and read as well. The cabin crew offered drinks, and I had my first Coke in a year! Meal service began about an hour and a half into the flight. After the cabin crew picked up the trays and offered drinks again, they passed once more, offering headsets for the movie. Trevor and Maria took them, but Pam and I didn’t, instead we turned on...
July 8, 1997, Chicago, Illinois “Is it really that surprising?” Leah asked. “I suppose not,” I replied. “I just didn’t read too much into the kiss on the cheek.” “I didn’t think it was a good idea to kiss you on the lips with all those people around, because I had no idea who they were or what they would think. You were VERY careful with our dance, so I kind of followed your lead.” Which showed very mature thinking on her part. Both of these girls were exactly the kind of students I...
November 8, 1993, Chicago, Illinois A dark fog swirled before my eyes as I tried to take stock. My head hurt, badly. I felt something on my face and realized, dimly, it was an oxygen mask. My right hand was uncomfortable and I recognized the feeling of an IV and pulse-oximeter. My left arm ached fiercely. On my chest I felt the pads and wires of an EKG. I didn’t feel anything else wrong as I continued taking inventory. I tried to open my eyes, but the fog didn’t clear. I tried to speak, but...
August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois In the morning Anala and I ran as we had the previous time, then showered together, carefully washing each other’s bodies in an intimate but non-sexual way. After our shower we went to the kitchen and I made breakfast and we sat down to eat. “Steve, may I make a suggestion?” she asked. “Sure.” “Broaden your circle of friends. Other than me, all of you are white, nominally Christian, 20-year-old Americans. And you don’t invite me to your Sunday...
June 23, 2000, Chicago, Illinois “Steve,” Kimmy said over the intercom, “I have a Suzanne Aavik for you.” “Thanks,” I replied. “Put her through, please.” A few seconds later, Suzanne was on the line. “Hi!” she exclaimed when I greeted her. “I’m in Chicago for three weeks. Can I still run away and join the circus?” I chuckled, “You might want to find out what the circus is actually like before you join! If you’re free, you’re welcome to come to the house tomorrow or Sunday and meet the...
March 1979 Monday was back to the normal routine of school. Debbie Courtney, who lived across the street and had turned fourteen the last week in February, started flirting more with me on the bus each day. Debbie Vaughn, who lived just down the street, would turn fourteen on March 16th and invited me to her birthday party. And Donna Woody, who lived just down the street in the other direction, would turn fourteen on March 20th. She had made it clear what she wanted for her birthday, and in...
June 2, 1990, Chicago, Illinois “My office, please,” Sensei Jim said after class on Saturday. I followed him to his office and waited for him to bid me to sit. He did, and I sat in the usual chair across from him. “She has a real problem, you know that, right?” he asked. “I do. That’s why I insisted she start seeing a counselor.” “I run a huge risk having her here with that kind of temper and her violent acts.” I nodded, “I understand. May I ask what you intend to do?” “I really don’t...
February 21, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “Hi, Sweetheart!” I said, greeting Bethany at the door. “Uncle Steve!” Nicholas exclaimed. I took him from his mom and he hugged me tightly. “Is Jesse with his moms?” Bethany asked. “Yes. They won’t bring him back over tonight so you and Nicholas can surprise him in the morning.” “Perfect!” “How was the drive up?” “The same as usual. Just a bit of traffic in Northern Indiana. Otherwise, smooth sailing. It was driving the other direction that was a...
November 4, 2000, Chicago, Illinois “Good morning, Sensei,” Miyu said when Kara, the girls, and I walked into the dojo on Saturday morning. “Good morning, Miyu.” “Do you have a moment, please?” I nodded and we went to the small practice room for privacy, as Sensei Jim had a family in his office. “What can I do for you?” “I need you to meet a young man,” she said. “I think you might be taking this ‘not do anything without permission’ a bit too far!” Miyu shook her head, “No, I’m not....
May 1979 The limo dropped me at home about 9:00pm. I took my stuff to my room, stripped, and hung up the tux. The rest of the things went into the hamper. I took a shower, put on shorts and a t-shirt, and walked down the hall into my dad’s office. I saw no reason to put this off any longer. “Stephen, you need to explain yourself!” my mom demanded. “I was in Mrs. McGrath’s, well, Mrs. Sanders’ now, wedding, as I said.” “You walked her down the aisle! You’re sixteen and not even related to...
November 3, 1990, Chicago, Illinois “I still don’t understand why you told everyone to leave Katy alone last night,” Elyse said on Saturday morning. “Because we weren’t going to talk her out of it. I could tell by the way she told us. I hoped letting her sleep on it would allow her to hear what we had to say. Obviously I was wrong.” “I was surprised that she wouldn’t talk to Jennifer at all,” Kara said. “I thought Jennifer would be the one to get her to listen to reason this morning.” I...
February, 1983, Chicago, Illinois Our first joining since the previous summer was slow and sweet, trying to express our deep love for each other through the motions of our bodies. When we finished, Karin held me tight and refused to let me move off of her. “Sleep there, please,” she whispered. I kissed her once more then adjusted my pillow so that I could rest my head next to hers. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it was what Karin wanted. The feel of her firm body under mine,...
July 3, 1996, Chicago, Illinois I blinked several times and took a breath before responding. It didn’t help. The best I could do was contain my visceral reaction at her completely out-of-line request and her wrong-headed assumptions when she had NO idea what had happened in my life the previous eight months. “What makes you think you can make that request after refusing to talk to me for nearly eight months? And equally importantly, without explaining Alexi? And without giving me the first...
August 12, 1994, Chicago, Illinois “Fuck ‘em all,” I sighed. “Especially Donald Fehr. Running to Federal Court, the NLRB, and Congress? I’m really tired of the government putting its thumb so heavily on the scale.” “Well, we’re not going to resolve that problem today,” Elyse said. “Jackie and Jeremiah want to come over.” I chuckled, “Why am I not surprised? I bet you anything he had a rough sketch done ten minutes after they hung up the phone.” “They want to discuss options. Kimmy felt...