It surprised me that it was Wendy who had spoken. I got down, resting on my haunches and took her face in my hands. “I can’t wait for the day you give me the gift of a child who is made of you and me and the love of all of us.”
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She put her arms around my neck and I felt the need that was spearing through her. I also felt her determination not to cause me any more pain by her need, how she was struggling to control it. I opened my mind to her and as I slowly undressed and caressed her, I let her feel the pleasure it gave me. She was able to sense that the tingling excitement her body gave me was not just because she was female, that it was not just because I love her, it was also made up of the particular size and age of her, so that she can see there is a positive side to her still being a child. It is an odd fact, that our gifts have not rid any of us of our fears and doubts about being worthy of love.
“You have really turned into a child lover Roberto.” There was mostly amusement in Dommi’s eyes, but I sensed a fear behind it. Wendy surprised me when she nodded with a tiny smile and I gave her a big kiss.
I got up and slowly began to undress Dommi, with Cherine helping me. I ran my hands down her fuller hips (though they are narrow for a Greek) and she felt the pleasure it gave me. She tilted her head back, eyes closed, letting my feelings mingle with her own as they washed over her. Little hands tugged at me. Cherine pulled me away and her hands began to explore and caress Dommi while her own sensations of pleasure flooded us all. Wendy joined her and I stood by watching and experiencing their three-way torrent of loving, their emoting swamping me.
My hands began to roam, a caress starting on one body and ending on another, enjoying the difference in textures, scents and shapes. Unconsciously, not intending it, as if being pushed to it, I projected the three of them, as I thought, into one girl of about eleven or twelve, small breasts just beginning to swell, pubic hair a soft light fuzz at the top. The scents and textures all melded into one, becoming a unique combination that was of all of them, yet something new. The face and body morph was a creature of extreme and exotic beauty, having taken the best of each of them.
I looked and fell head over heels in love. The girls saw through my eyes and I felt their own responses of love.
This was impossible. Our circle had grown, taken in this new creature of love - and I was convinced she does not even exist!!!
“I will be Diana.”
I nodded, dumbstruck, my heart hammering at the magic of the love I felt for her. She sent back to me her own love and it had a feeling, a taste, that was unique.
“Diana, how can this be, the three of you in one…”
“I am not three Robert. I am of the five and all their love for you. But I am also Diana. Just Diana.”
She did a pirouette showing off her almost adolescent beauty. I was paralysed, in shock at the strength of my feelings of love and passion, the ache a raging need for her. Her cool long slim fingers tentatively touched my burning face. She smiled shyly. “Are you going to just expect me to make love with you or are you going to woo me?”
“I would much rather woo you.”
Chapter Forty Five
I collapsed, sitting on the edge of the bed. I was caught, I thought, in a dream-world and I did not want to wake. I could sense my three loves, we were still linked, yet they did not seem to be immediately present. I stared at the lithe dream-girl who had so suddenly enslaved my heart. She has long dark hair, her face slim with the strangeness of Wendy and Dommi in her almond shaped eyes. Her dark lashes are impossibly long and her iris a liquid darkness with specks of gold floating in their depths. Her eyebrows are also dark and full, giving her face the sense of reality I need.
Her slim shoulders, boyish in their youthfulness, lightly tanned, well formed, with all the little hollows in the right places. Her long arms, slim from shoulder to wrist. Those delicious long slim fingers I so love in girls. Though her breasts were only just swelling, the perfect rose nipples were well formed, showing her own need for me.
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Her adolescent body narrows at the waist with her tummy bulging out and her hips, narrow, but oh so feminine, with long thighs and legs stretching down forever. I saw the light shading of dark hair, glistening almost golden in the light, on her arms, legs and just at the top.
“Well sir? Do I meet your expectations?” She had born my inspection with a hint of a smile and now she had a saucy, impertinent look that promised not only a good sense of humour, but a deeper darker spirit of passion. She is so much my ideal I was the adolescent teen again, shy and tongue-tied. I suddenly realised I have never wooed a woman. Even with Dommi, we were just friends and when I fell in love all I did was tell her so. How can I woo a fairy creature of such beauty, who has stolen from me my ability to think?
“Diana, please put something on. At least wrap a sheet around you. I can’t think - how can I woo you with you standing there like that - looking like a goddess?”
I had expected her to laugh at me, but she suddenly looked like a little girl chastened and shy and she wrapped herself from shoulders to feet. She sat next to me, looking at her feet. She was not being coy, she really was feeling shy.
“Do you really have a mind of your own? You are not just acting under the influence of the girls?”
“I am Diana. They have buried themselves below my mind so that I can be independent. I am also made, or full, of the love they all feel for you. I was only teasing, you don’t have to woo me Robert. I already …”
Quickly I cut her off. “That you can tease is a beautiful detail they remembered to add - I’m very glad. Oh, don’t say that please, I want you to feel special, at least as special as you are. I want you to come into my arms because you want to, not because you were ‘pre-determined’ to be my lover. Okay?”
Sadly she said, “I cannot be with you often, can I?”
I avoided answering her. “Do you have a soul of your own Diana? I felt the circle grow, it expanded to include you. How could it if you do not have a soul, if you cannot dance with us and be part of our Kaleidoscope World?”
“You want to dance with me?” She sounded insecure.
“Not now. If you are all of what is most beautiful in my three girls and my daughters and you have a soul, dancing with you would be the most dangerous thing I could do.”
She gave me a look from the side of her eyes. “That was a compliment?”
I was caught up in my thoughts and spoke aloud without intending to. “Why. Why did they do this?”
Her slim fingers rested on my hand and I looked at her. “Robert. You have two daughters and one lover who are all too young for you to make love to. This way they can all make love to you without you having to fear you will damage them. When they made me, I think they forgot that I would also have my own needs, that I would also yearn to be your love.”
“They sure opened Pandora’s box.” I brought her fingers to my lips and then kissed the palm of her hand. “I too want to love you and be loved by you. Diana, I am confused. I need some time to think this through, to understand how I can have you as a part of my life without losing you or the girls. Can this happen?”
I could feel the pain at the thought of not seeing her again. I shut my eyes.
“Robert?” I looked up at Cherine. I saw the other girls were still on the other side of the bed, where I had last seen them. I was afraid to turn and see the emptiness of where Diana had been. “Look my love.” Cherine was smiling.
I turned and saw Diana sitting there!
“How can this be?”
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Cherine took both my hands in hers. She was looking deeply into my eyes and did not hide the fear. “We gambled. We felt the need of Wendy. We felt the needs of our babies after they danced with us. There is no way you can make love to them. That was why we kept you out of their minds. We lied to you so that Diana can be a surprise.”
“I knew you had.” I smiled at her.
She, they, knew I had, but they were curious. “How?”
“If one of them were a boy, how would communicating with its mother give it a ‘male’ mind? Okay. What was your gamble?”
“We gave her a part of ourselves. We don’t know how it was done, our children did it; in some ways they have talents greater than ours Robert, but they say we will have all their gifts soon. We made sure she was made of the best part of each of us, including from our daughters, as they will be years from now. She is real Robert. She will stay with us, she is one of us now.
Our gamble? If she is only of the best of all of us, you may end up loving only her and not want us anymore.” Her fear was still tightly held, but easier to see now. I turned and looked at Wendy and Dommi. There I could see the fear too in the way they held to each other. I thought of making another Robert, one who only has all the qualities they love in me, with none of my bad habits or traits. It was fucking scary.
“You girls, you have got to be the craziest people in the world - maybe it is why I love you so much?” I shook my head and looked at Diana. I saw a resigned look in her eyes. I also saw a deep pool of misery which she was trying her best to conceal.
“I better go Robert. I’m sorry I teased you, I would have loved to make love with you at least once.”
I demanded of her, “You think I am going to let you all off that easily?”
She hunched her shoulders, “Please Robert. I told you I love you, but I did not tell you that I also love all five of them very deeply. I will only harm them if I continue to exist.”
I searched her eyes, “That must have either been the Dommi or Wendy part of you. Not Cherine. She is a fighter.”
I now looked at Cherine in anger. “It has been done. She was made a full human being, not some damn robot for you to do with as you will. You will not allow her to stop existing. You, all of you, took a gamble. Now you pay the price and just hope for the best,” gently I asked, “understood?”
I turned to Diana. “You may either stay or go to sleep in the guest room. Either way, I want the time to woo you first. We will not make love to each other tonight. And,” I smiled at her, “welcome to our life and circle. Now I have four children!”
Diana wanted to go to the guest room, but the girls kept her with us. As I had known how miserable she would have been alone, I sent my approval and love to them. I could sense they love her, but not as much as they usually love each other. I suppose the rest of it will come with time. As for me, apart from the effect Diana was having on me and the love I felt for her, I was also quivering inside me, still unable to believe that my girls could create a human being just by deciding to. I also wondered, could this become another way of having children for the future generations? I hope not, I love the entire process of having/creating babies.
I gave Dommi a slightly dazed smile. “We will have to take Diana shopping tomorrow. By the way, we cannot use the name Diana. Wendy, all your papers are made in the name of Diana.” I asked Diana, “Do you want to choose another name for yourself?”
“When we are alone, can I be Diana? I feel it is my name. When we are with other people I can be Wendy. That way you can never make a mistake by calling her Wendy.”
“It sounds too complicated, but I’ll go along with it for a while. Diana, it is after midnight so your birthday will be the day after the wee one’s. How old are you starting off at?”
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“Twelve?”
I was not going to disagree, but Cherine intervened. “Diana, you are not going to grow older faster than us. Isn’t it going to be a problem if you are twelve? Start at nine or ten, then it will be longer before anyone expects you to look like a teenager.”
I raised an eyebrow and smiled at Diana. “Your choice baby.”
“Cherine is right, but I’m too tall for nine and I feel older, I’ll be ten. Robert, I just realised, I have five mothers, but no real father. You called me your daughter. Will you really be my father?”
I grinned. “You forget two of your ‘mothers’ are my daughters. Hmm, does that make you partly my granddaughter, and daughter from the other three? I don’t feel old enough to be a grandfather.”
“I am part of them, not from their ova. So even from them you are partly my father.”
“Ha, trust you to spoil it for me - there I was thinking I could end up making love to my granddaughter!!” I gave her a leering grin and they all laughed.
Cherine whooped. “That is my degenerate Robert, he is back to normal girls, we can relax again.”
“You want to relax Cherine!!? Okay, How about you Dommi and Wendy? Also want to relax?”
They both clambered over me, laughing and giggling and had soon stripped me. I thought Cherine would join us as I felt the fires in her, but she went and sat by Diana and put her arm around her. What a contradiction my Cherine is, such a fighter and yet with depths that still surprise me. I saw Cherine examining her, running her hand over her arm, feeling the magical soft golden down, she put her nostrils to the long dark hair and inhaled. I saw the pleasure she took in their creation. Diana smiled at her, but her eyes were on me and the girls. After that I had no time to watch them.
I grinned at Dommi. “Anybody hears I made love to you less than twenty four hours after giving birth they will call me an insensitive animal, a brute.”
“I want you to be an animal. Please don’t be gentle tonight Roberto.”
“Ahh, you trying to scare off Diana?”
“Just do it!!” First I looked at Wendy and seeing she understood I let myself go. I blanked the others - my awareness of them - without cutting them out of me. I felt my lust, which had also been wildly stoked by Diana’s presence, and Cherine fed me Dommi’s animal needs and the more she augmented the wilder we became.
Afterwards I lay on Dommi with my full weight, lightly supporting myself on my elbows, the feeling a comfort to the both of us as I caressed and kissed her, murmuring my words of love. Finally I felt her subside into a luscious warm feeling of being loved and of satisfaction, just needing to doze off within her sweet feelings. I gently removed myself off her.
As I lay by her side, Cherine lay by me to whisper in my ear, “You should have seen Wendy’s eyes!! They were black and I saw like gold fires in them!!”
I pulled Wendy to me, but I also saw behind her the Madonna face of Diana - and I found that her beauty is still unbelievable, almost what is called unearthly. No, I decided, she is aptly named Diana - she looks more like Diana the hunter. A lithe Amazon - I have a premonition she will be wild in her lovemaking, taking me to the limits of my endurance. As if she had heard me, she looked up at me and I saw the hunger behind her innocent look.
I was happy to have Cherine back in her normal form, with her lovely little tummy just swelling in its softness. Once I carefully started thrusting in small movements to enter her, I felt an obstruction. I stopped. Cherine moaned and tried to hump her hips up at me, but I gave way, not letting her.
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Once her trembling had subsided, she let go of a very frustrated Wendy and looked at me angrily.
“Why!?”
“It is very unusual of you not to be putting Wendy before your own anger - you must be very angry!” She just stared back at me. “You are a virgin again. Seems when you were repaired today you made yourself a virgin again.” She nodded. “Well, each time I take your virginity my love, it has to be something very special. Not just another ‘slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am’. Just wait and see, I’ll plan something quite nice for us. Okay?” She calmed down and so became conscious of Wendy. Knowing Wendy and her fixation, she did not try to return to her, but got out from under me so that I could concentrate on my little butterfly.
Diana obviously had something on her mind for she came up against Wendy and pulled her face to her, interrupting us. She was looking deep into her eyes, and I felt she was reaching into her mind, as she spoke softly. “How did you do it?”
When I saw Wendy drop her eyes I knew there was something going on, but felt it was not the right time. As I was about to tell Diana so, she gave Wendy a kiss on her cheek and moved away.
Wendy opened herself to me even as Cherine began to swirl between us our feelings. Having both the mind and bodily sensations of Wendy I was struck by how sweet her feelings are, even under the waves of passion. With her, I imagined, the passion, her physical needs are an extension of her deep love for me. Apart from the usual reasons any man would enjoy feeling loved like that, to me it is very special, for it means she has let go the memories and pains of her past. It is as if, I thought, to her, her body and mine are but instruments for her to give her love to me. I was so touched I faltered a second, wishing I too could give her back that kind of loving.
If they were but instruments, they were damn good instruments, especially hers. I took time to look at her perfection in detail; she paid my body the same attention, sending, though not intentionally, her pleasure at what she thought of as a perfect male body. Mentally I could not help chuckling, for I am far from a perfect specimen of male-hood. Still it is wonderful what being seen like that can do for the ego.
I realised Cherine was being naughty again, transmitting our feelings and including all of us, using the full variety of emotions with their mixture of signatures (tastes for Wendy) to raise the two of us into planes of excitement Wendy and I do not often reach on our own. Even my adoration of her was reinforced by similar feelings of the others so that it became more like a holy veneration. To prolong the sensual beauty of the moment I turned her over again. She has lost that starved thinness which had made my heart ache for her, now rounded in all areas she should be, but with the leanness that preserves all the little hollows.
Wendy felt that I was being overwhelmed by her perfect beauty, by the storm of not only love and awe, but even the fire that was burning within me. She took it and began to use it with her own, becoming the aggressor.
Later, I gently massaged her legs, but she actually dozed off in her contentment. When she awoke, she slowly turned to come and lie in my arms, her sweet weight a comfort upon my chest. Cherine was lying alongside me and Wendy gave her a kiss and we all felt a sense of gratitude flow from her to Cherine. Cherine gave a little gasp and I saw through her eyes the heart-shaped face of Wendy from close-up with her eyes seeming to loom in a hypnotic emerald darkness.
Dommi came to me, half asleep again, to lie with my arm around her and her leg twined around mine. I moved Wendy to one side and Cherine climbed onto me also, holding onto me and Wendy. I looked across at Diana and she slid alongside me and her gentle breath was on my skin as she too fell asleep held by me. I asked the healer to switch off my sensitivity to Diana so that I could also sleep a while.
Chapter Forty Six
I had not thought of it, being a first time father, so I woke up when Dommi moved. Our two girls had called to her. She came back with them cradled in her arms and lay next to me as they suckled. Then I remembered how they always make jokes about how you lose your sleep when you have a baby. Not a peep from my two darlings. Another side-effect of our gifts I decided, and lay there watching them greedily drink. Their baby scent with the milk smell were the sweetest imaginable - I so wanted to hold them in my arms but only sent my love across to them. Rose and Tina both stopped and looked up at me, then returned to their suckling, but now I felt their warm happiness flowing into me.
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Maria and Kosta left early, thank goodness, as I would not have known how to explain the presence of Diana - not that I’ll be able to avoid it for long. They placed a note on the kitchen table explaining they have to go to work, but will contact us soon.
We were all a bit subdued as we had breakfast, but there was an uncontainable flow of happiness swirling around the table and I really felt I have been blessed. I kept looking at my miraculous beauties and wondered how life could have changed so fast for me. From a lonely, morose, moody and sad person, with little or nothing in my future, no expectations of ever finding love, to meeting Cherine and my life changing so fast I still have not caught my breath. I know that I’ll never grow to feel I deserve their love. I sensed Wendy was waiting for me.
“Wendy love. You want to tell us?”
She did not pretend. She glanced at Diana shyly, avoiding the eyes of our loves.
“When Cherine suggested we all give a little piece of ourselves, the piece you love most about us and with the help of Rose and Tina make one new girl for the babies and me to share with you, I let them have my piece as we agreed. Then I remembered how you loved and played with the me that is only five and also how she loves you. So I took some of her and added her in. Then I became afraid to tell everyone what I had done. I’m sorry.”
“Diana, how did that affect you?”
She shrugged and even that casual movement was fascinating to me. “It feels like an extra small miracle is part of me.”
Wendy wept and we all sat enjoying the deep happiness that was making her cry. Cherine caught my thought and snorted before giving up and smiling at me.
“Wendy love, can you feel the happiness in everyone? There was no need to do it secretly was there? Please try and be more open to your wives, that is if you are comfortable with marrying us - you are not just marrying me, you understand?”
I felt her gulp and she nodded. “Robert, is Diana also going to be my wife?”
“I do not think so, not now. I still have to woo her remember? But that brings up another problem or two. First, I took it that your ban on me communicating with my daughters is over - as I did last night. It was wonderful.” No one said anything. “The second problem is, how do we explain Diana to everyone?”
“With the truth Roberto, how else?” Dommi was genuinely puzzled. I laughed.
“Boy, have you changed. You have become so used to being a part of what you used to call ‘magic’ that you have forgotten how it would sound to others. We might even scare the hell out of some of them, especially those who are religious.”
“Not pappou Alki!! He will love her.”
“Everyone will Cherine. How could anyone not love her. Actually, Dommi is right, there is no story we could make up that would explain her existence - and that she is already a part of our family,” I grinned, “unless we pretend she is an alien…let’s do the easy ones first. Cherine you want to call your mum and pappou? Tell them to bring over my mother also - if she is there!”
We got the coffees and tea for my mother ready so when they came we sat and poured and just made small talk while they cooed over the babies, without mentioning Diana who was staying hidden in the bedroom, waiting for her cue.
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“Cherine, you named your daughter after me, if we are both called Rose, how will she and I know who is being addressed?”
“Mummy, you will know. As you become more open to the link you will always know. Would you prefer we call her Rosie?”
Being called ‘mummy’ by Cherine sent my mother in a spin. She got up and gave Cherine a kiss, whispering in her ear, “Thank you for calling me mummy.”
“Alki, Marian and mum. We called you over for a very serious discussion. First of all, we have some exciting news for you, though I guess it will cause you a shock, Alki, your biggest ever…so get yourselves ready - not that I know how you can...oh well, try to brace yourselves. Yesterday we did not give birth to two baby girls.” I paused to give them time to wonder about it. “We gave birth to three!!”
“How can this be. We were here during the births. There was no third baby!!”
“Well, she is not exactly a baby. We’ll call her in just now.”
“Are you trying to drive us all crazy? What are you talking about, how are you going to call in a baby born yesterday?”
Cherine called out, her voice almost singing with her joy, “Oh pappou, you are going to love her!”
He visibly deflated. For the first time they all looked at my girls and saw the glow in their eyes and all of them became a little bit afraid. The clincher was Wendy. All good manners were forgotten as they stared at her eyes. I decided the time for games was over and tried to be more gentle.
“I’m sorry, I really did not know how to tell you this. Please suspend your disbelief and try to understand. You can ask any questions you want afterwards. I’ll give you some background first.
The girls realised we were going to have a very serious problem. You all know how we need sexual contact after dancing? Well, what about the babies? Yes, I know you are shocked, but it is obvious isn’t it? Do we make them suffer for a hundred years or do we make love to them? Remember, they are going to stay babies for years - many years. They’ll only be six years old in sixty years time…
There is also Wendy. She desperately wants to be my woman, but I refuse, part of the reason being that I want her to be a daughter to me for a while. She has understood and is willing to wait for as long as she can - which I doubt will be very long. In the meantime though, she suffers from her need. Sorry mum, I see you are still getting shocked, but for us these are facts of life. We have to be able to talk openly between us, even when it makes our hearts ache at times.
The girls, with the babies, our daughters, who obviously have gifts we had not even imagined were possible, got together and yesterday, last night, created Diana. She is a girl of about ten or eleven. They created her by giving the best parts of themselves, the parts that make them loveable to me. She is a real person, not some kind of doll, and she has her own personality and character. If you want I can answer, or try to, your questions or I can ask her to join us. Be prepared for a miracle though, even if she is embarrassed as she does not have clothes that fit her - Alki, another shopping expedition?”
“Roberto, this is not possible, you cannot just ‘create’ a human being!! You mean she is a…projection?”
“No! She is real! I should have also said this. If she and I make love, the babies and Wendy will feel as if I am making love to them, satisfying their own needs, helping to anchor them to their bodies after visiting the void. It is the primary reason they created her - which is a bit callow of them, but due to their young ages is forgivable. I personally think that even should it be as they planned, as she grows her soul, her spirit and mind, they will find all they have is another sister, wife or daughter. By the way, the moment I saw her our circle expanded. The girls all loved her already and I fell in love with her the instant I saw her.”
We sat watching and listening to their reactions. As they quietened down I got up and went to the bedroom door, opened it and smiled at Diana. She came, putting her hand in mine and smiled back at me, her eyes trusting and full of adoration. I trembled at the touch of her fingers, but controlled myself and drew her into the room.
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There was a stunned silence as their wide eyes stared at her. I took her to Alki first.
“Diana, this is your pappou Alki, Alki, this is your new granddaughter Diana. By the way, she also speaks Greek. This is the sister-daughter of my five young loves.”
He stood up, but did not touch her. He could see the fawn-like fear in her eyes of being rejected and his big heart melted.
“I am richer today than I was yesterday. Diana the huntress, my granddaughter, may I hug you welcome?” As she tearfully hugged him it was obvious he was smitten - but then, they all were enchanted by her.
I introduced her, one by one, to each of them. When my mother got up and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go, I felt a lump in my throat, making it impossible for me to speak. Dommi gave her baby to Wendy and came and hugged me while I buried my face in her neck. She held me until I stopped trembling. She then took Diana by the hand and returned her to the bedroom.
“Why are you taking her away? Why can’t she sit here with us?”
“We made a mistake mum. We made her too much exactly everything Robert would love. He begins to fall apart if he is near her for too long.” Cherine looked almost sad.
I went to her. “How can you be sad my Cherry-baby? You, the one who not only can see into my heart, but who also lives in there. Do you think I will love Diana more than you, or my Wendy, or Dommi? What about my babies? You are all a part of Diana, by loving her I am loving you all, for the parts of you that I see in her.”
She sniffed. “It’s okay Robert. You were right, she is a person and you will love her because she is Diana. She is more than just parts of us. We did not think of that - we forgot to think of what the combination would become.” She gave a fatalistic shrug. “As long as you do not stop loving us also. Please don’t forget us.” She buried her face in me, clinging tightly. When I heard a sniff I saw Wendy was also crying. That explained it! Her fear of losing me had changed her last night! As she saw my eyes on her she too came into my arms.
Once they had calmed down and we settled on a sofa, my practical mum spoke up. “Rob, they are right. We can all see she is a rare beauty, those big dark eyes, they are enough to make anyone love her. The way I see it, the girls did not only take the best parts of their personalities, they also married the physical features you love most of each of them, creating what would be your ideal girl. Can you really resist that?”
Alki told her, “Maybe you do not know your son so well Rose. He has a heart big enough to love the whole world.”
“Looks that way - at least the younger female part of it.” I was tickled by my mothers’ acerbic answer and laughed.
“Alki, you mean well, but you are making things worse for me. Never argue with an Irish woman. Anyway, there is no way we can second-guess what the future will bring. I have been looking into my heart. Yes, she has a spirit almost too beautiful. Her body, the texture of her skin, her face, those eyes of hers, her luxurious long dark hair are all irresistible to me. They have taken it further than that. The scents of her set my whole body a-trembling.
Yet, I look back. I loved Dominique. Then I met Cherine and my love for her was unbelievable, yet it did not steal one iota of the love I had for my Dommi - it actually enhanced it. Then sweet Wendy, my little fairy girl came into my life. The delicate sweetness of her captured my heart. Still though, I love my first two loves, if not as much as I ever did, then even more. Each new love that has come into my life has been able to increase my capacity to love. Do you think I could love my girls less because of my babies - or that I could love my five girls less because of Diana? If she is able to make my heart grow with love, then all of them, and I, will be richer.”
My mother shook her head, but kept quiet for the sake of the girls who had looked at me rapturously as I spoke. I could guess what she was thinking and was grateful for her tact.
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“Alki. How do we tell Themi, the doctor, Tasso and so on about Diana. It might frighten them. After all, what the girls have done was supposed to be something only God could do.”
During the ensuing conversation Cherine mentioned to her mother my insistence on ‘wooing’ Diana. When Marian came over and kissed me everyone wanted to know what that was about and she told them. For the first time that day I saw a gleam of happiness and pride in my mothers’ eyes.
Dommi bundled up Diana in clothes that are supposed to be loose and floppy. We left for the shops in Kifissia to buy her clothes, with Alki coming along while Marian and Rose stayed to watch the babies.
As he drove, I spoke to Alki of my worries about the immediate future. “Alki. I need to earn some money fast. We are now going to need papers for Diana. Expenses are going up and that clinic is going to drain me.”
“At last! I’ve been waiting to see when you would remember your job. We have a number of enquiries. If you have the appetite for work you could make anything between a quarter to a million dollars. It is up to you Roberto.”
“If that is the case then we better get this wedding and adoption thing over with. Otherwise the girls will never let me concentrate on my work.”
The shopping spree put quite a dent in my bank balance. The girls have an eye for what is the most expensive and only bought imported clothes. It also seemed the right time to buy all of them new gear so that they all feel they are wearing the most up-to-date in fashion. Dommi was not buying anything as we were in shops for kids. Luckily I saw in a window some clothes that seemed to have been made for her and I insisted we get them. Once in the shop the list grew and grew. It was a nice feeling buying all they wanted and I admit it gave me as much pleasure as it gave them.
Our Diana came out of the shops looking unbelievably chic and beautiful. It was amazing how many grown men stopped and stared at her. Alki stayed by her side and was very possessive, glaring back at the men who stared at her. When she came and hugged me to say thank you, I felt my knees giving in as I inhaled the sweet fragrance of her. When she stared at me from close up, I felt as if my world had lurched and I was falling into the dark pools of her eyes. Cherine came and pulled her away from me, while Dommi held herself to me, as if she were just a woman being held by her man, but she was actually helping to stabilise me. I thought to myself, why do I always end up forcing myself into impossible situations, how can I woo a girl who has such a strong effect on me?
As we passed Eidelweiss, Nicko came rushing out, insisting we all join him. We pushed a couple of tables together and sat down, with Cherine excited that she can introduce Diana to a Baked Alaska. I smiled at her innocent joy and then noticed how Nicko was staring at Diana. Well, I noticed him because of the way Alki was glaring at Nicko. I looked at Dommi and was surprised to see a look of concern on her face. She was frightened, afraid that Nicko is smitten by Diana.
“Robert, who is this lovely girl - aren’t you going to introduce us? Where did you find her?”
“Nicko, you are going to hate me for this. I’m sorry to tell you, she is part of our circle. You do understand?”
“You mean she can never love anyone outside your circle?”
“That is right. It is totally impossible. It is going to cause us a lot of problems, as she is far too beautiful for men to ignore her. Alki has spent the last couple of hours glaring at guys of all ages.” I leaned over to him and whispered. “He is supposed to be her ‘pappou’ now, but to tell you the truth, I would not be surprised if he is actually infatuated with her.”
“And you Robert?”
“I am totally devastated. You could say she was made as the ideal girl/woman for me. She is almost more than I can bear.”
380
“You better become a Moslem and hide her behind a veil. She is more than just beautiful Robert. There is something about her which is irresistible I think to most men. She will cause you big problems. God, even I…she is still just a child and I…”
“I know Nicko. I’m sorry.”
“But where, I mean how did you find her? She is not Greek, but she speaks Greek like a Greek. There is no way she could have lived here without her being noticed.” He stared at her and I could sense questions seething in his mind and wondered how I should deal with them, since this was not the place to speak the truth. It also hurt me, for I was certain he is going to be hurting for a long time. I sensed from Dommi that she also felt the same way.
At that moment a rather stout man came to our table, shaking hands with Alki. “Alki, file mou, (my friend,) where did you discover such a jewel? I must have her. I will make a movie just for her. She will be a star. Come on Alki, you must introduce me to her parents.”
Acidly, Alki spoke forcibly as he tried to control his temper, “She is my granddaughter and you will not have her, for a movie or for anything else. I am sorry to be rude, but would you mind leaving us now? We are giving the kids a treat and would prefer to keep this gathering private.”
“Nicko,” I whispered, “come home with us. It is the ideal opportunity for you to meet your nieces and we can talk.”
“The babies. My god, how could you leave your babies Dominique?” He was actually angry with her.
“Relax Nicko. My mother and Marian are with them. Also, you are forgetting who we are. The babies are here with us and we are there with them. My protector is watching them too, nothing can go wrong. You are right though, we must return soon, they are getting hungry.” The orders arrived and I watched them enjoying themselves. “Nicko, just as important as the babies are my girls. Look at them, do you know how rare it is for them to be out and enjoying themselves like this? The babies have agreed to wait, so let them enjoy themselves.”
He was oblivious to everything else. “Does she know how beautiful she is?”
“She knows how beautiful she is to me and to the girls. That would be all she would notice or care about. I think she is also suffering because of her beauty. She wants me to love her, but knows that I get overwhelmed, that she is more than I can bear. She is also afraid of being the cause of unhappiness amongst the girls.”
“You speak in riddles. Two days ago, as far as I know, you had not even met and now…are you saying that because of your gifts and by joining your circle, she is suddenly so devoted to you?”
“Nicko, wait until we get home. I promise to explain all, but it will upset you and I do not want that happening here.”
He knew I was watching him and yet he could not keep his eyes off her. Dommi was still troubled, but silently agreed with me. We had to tell him the truth. I grinned at Nicko and spoke softly, not that it would stop them from hearing me, but just to give him the feeling it was in confidence.
“Nicko careful. You will make Cherine jealous. After all you did propose to her and now you do not even notice her…” It shows how besotted he was with Diana, for he did not respond to my tease and did not even glance at Cherine.
When we got home Nicko was given but a minute or two with the babies then Dommi took them to the bedroom to feed them. We all sat in the lounge and I explained about Diana to him, with Cherine adding a few details. I pointed out to him that since his sister and his nieces are a part of her, he is also related to her.
I was not surprised when he began to shout at us, for we could feel how it was his fear and also his pain that were driving him wild. He told us that this is unnatural; how dare we do something like this. Do we think we are gods? And so on.
Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου
(Alexander Zenon Eustace)29th March, 2019
- posted on Steemit: 29th March, 2019
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