The Jilliad
Book 2
After the Necklace
Chapter 28 Back to (What Passes for) Normal
As Josie’s arraignment hearing and her processing out took less than an hour, the friends were back on campus by 10:30. Jason even wanted to go to Professor Alderson’s 11AM Business Ethics course. While Mark, Sarah and Alexis thought he was crazy, he said that he was feeling better and wanted to try to get back to normal.
Jason did actually look better. He still had some discoloration around his eyes , but the bruising was already showing signs of healing and his facial swelling had greatly reduced in size. Before class started, Jason whispered to Mark, “I don’t know what you did, buddy, but I feel a hell of a lot better than yesterday.”
“I wish I could take credit, but I haven’t done anything to you since Saturday Afternoon,” confessed Mark. “Well I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I almost feel well enough to practice today,” grinned Jason.
“Yeah, Josie will kill you first,” Mark grinned sarcastically as Alexis and Sarah snickered in the background.
“Well, maybe tomorrow then,” smiled Jason as his professor got up to begin his lecture.
Back at Elsie’s house Rich had decided to blow off his morning classes at BC to take Willow home. Jeff missed his classes to be with his sister, future brother-in-law and his beautiful Wendy. Last night, Jeff and Wendy had slept the way they had the night before and even “played” a bit more than the previous night. While Wendy was worried about Josie, she had become incredibly attached to Jeff and didn’t want to return with Rich and Willow. Then Jeff had an idea. “How about you come to Thanksgiving at our house? That will give us four days of being together!”
“I’ve already told Mom and Dad I was bringing my fiancée, so I’m sure Mom wouldn’t mind one more” grinned Willow.
“What did your parents say when you told them that we were getting married,” smiled Rich.
“I didn’t tell them who I was marrying. For all they know I’m marrying a homeless person. They were just thrilled that I was getting married, because my Mom was worried that I was gay,” laughed Willow.
“Single sex marriages are permitted in Connecticut. Let me tell them that I have met your fiancée and I think that “she” is wonderful,” laughed Jeff.
“You wouldn’t…” laughed Willow.
“After all the crap they have been giving you, I think they deserve it,” laughed Jeff.
“Go for it!” laughed Willow.
“I can try to sound feminine,” laughed Rich.
“Future bro, there’s nothing feminine about you,” laughed Jeff.
“I could do it,” said Wendy.
“No offense honey, your sweet voice could charm a bird out of a tree. They might even like you for their future son-in-law,” laughed Willow.
“Yeah, That’s not the position that I am hoping to fill in your family,” laughed Wendy.
“Yeah, I might get jealous of my own sister and I would hate that,” smiled Jeff.
“Actually, I was thinking that maybe I could have Josie do it as a favor to us. She has a really sultry voice,” proffered Jeff.
“You guys are being pretty mean to your folks,” said Rich.
“They’ll get over it. My dad is a huge football fan. When he learns that you are my real fiancée, he’ll get over it in a big way,” laughed Will.
Unlike her fiancée, Josie decided to miss her morning classes too. She and Amber went to Jason’s and her rooms to get a week’s worth of clothes and then put them in the back of Jason’s Lexus and drove them over to Elsie’s house. They got there at the same time as Mark, Jason, Trish, Alexis and Sarah. The friends said their goodbyes to Rich, Willow and Wendy. After big hugs from Trish and Mark as well as the others, Wendy and Jeff had to part again. Wendy decided that she wouldn’t cry this time. Instead she decided to be naughty. When Jeff went to hug her, she pulled him behind a bush and made out with him hard for about a minute. At the end, she moved his hands that were around her waist around her perfect bubble butt and smiled at him.
“Wendy!” Jeff said with surprise.
“This is just to remind you that I’m not a little girl,” she tried to husk, but her voice was too sweet.
Jeff didn’t laugh. He just gave her ass cheeks a tight, little squeeze which caused Wendy to moan and her knees buckled. She actually had her first climax. Jeff had suspected that and pulled her to his arms to catch her. He could smell her desire. He knew that she wasn’t a little girl, but she was not ready for much more… yet. He tightened his embrace and looked in her eyes. “I know. You are my sweet Wendy and I love you for that. When we’re ready to move in that direction, we will. Just to tell you, I’m not in any hurry to climb that mountain. I have a wonderful view from where I’m standing.”
Wendy cried. God, he was so sweet, he thought. They kissed deeply one more time and then returned to Rich’s car and a lot of razzing. They weren’t really paying attention. They were both too busy enjoying the view.
After the Boston contingent left, everyone helped Josie and Jason with their clothes as they were moved into one of the rooms with the queen sized beds. Mark’s dad looked on with amusement. Just to think, only about ten days ago, Jason had tried to hit Mark. Now Mark was treating him the way he would Marcus who had been friends with him for more than two years. He thought back to the phone conversation he had with Mark a couple of weeks ago. He told Mark that he should embrace his feelings and now he had seen that his son had done a lot more than just that. Mark had managed to transcend his feelings. Mark had embraced his feelings but he had additionally mastered them. The fact that Mark could embrace people like Jason and Josie showed Bill that Mark was capable of being a strong force for good in his life. While he suspected that the necklace might partly have been responsible, Bill had always suspected Mark of being special. Now he saw the proof.
Across the country in Reno Nevada, a woman sat at a computer. She was looking at CNN.com and she came upon a story of a girl name Josie Garnier who became a central figure in government corruption as a victim of wrongful prosecution. A look of worry crossed her beautiful face. The woman’s life over the past ten years had been a series of missteps. More than six years ago, she came to Reno for what many women come to do. She came for a divorce. In the years since, she did what many women who lived in Reno, Nevada did. It was an easy way to make of living, but it had a shelf life and came with a price. One was too short, while the other too dear.
Michelle Bergeron was at a crossroad in life. She believed that for once in her life that fate was pulling her in the right direction. She might be needed. She might be loved. She decided to do something long overdue. Michelle took out her suitcase, packed it, and pulled her lovely auburn hair with naturally gray highlights into a bun. She then called someone at an airline that she knew and got herself a standby ticket to Bradley International in Connecticut. She had no idea how she would be received. She just knew that she had to see her daughter. As it would turn out, her life would drastically change.
Once Josie had her and Jason moved into one of Elsie’s spare bedrooms, she went downstairs to check on her fiancée. Jason was sitting in the den with Mark as they were watching a piece on the undefeated teams in College Football and the bowl implications for those teams.
She forced her way in between the men and put her arms around their shoulders (being careful with Jason. “All moved in” she smiled. The men kind of grunted and went back to watching TV.
Amber walked in looking a bit tired from helping Josie and she plopped down on Mark’s lap and kissed him sweetly on the lips. “You know, you could have helped us with that last part,” said Amber after breaking the kiss.
“And missed this? Jason and I want to see if Rich is mentioned,” said Mark.
“Men and their sports. What are going to do with them?” moaned Amber.
“Love them,” smiled Josie as she caressed Jason’s arm. Jason looked over at Mark and gave him a surreptitious smile. Mark nodded and smiled back.
“Next we will look at Boston College and the Eagles’ surprise Heisman Trophy candidate when we return,” said the announcer’s voice.
“Quick, turn on the DVR!” exclaimed Jason.
Mark got up without bothering to put Amber down. Instead, he slung him over her shoulder and walked over to pick up the DVR remote.
“Hey, put me down, you cave man!” yelled Amber.
“If he was a cavemen, he would have been dragging you by your hair,” cracked Jason and everyone laughed.
After Mark started recording the show, he pulled Amber into a deep embrace and started kissing her deeply. Amber moaned into his mouth. Jason looked over at Josie.
“Don’t you even think…” started Josie, before she was silenced by a kiss from her fiancée. Josie started to moan her protest, but instead melted into the kiss. After about half a minute she broke it when she noticed that Mark had turned off the TV. “What about the show?” she asked.
“You are more important than any show,” smiled Jason as he winked at Mark.
“Besides, we’re recording it,” laughed Mark.
Amber who was still sitting on his lap pushed his head into the back cushion of the couch out of mock protest, before smiling and then recapturing his mouth with her own. Josie followed suit. After a few minutes Amber looked at Josie. Josie thought she knew what Amber’s look meant. Jason might not be in good enough shape yet to fuck, but there were other things she could do. As Josie climbed off the couch she got down on her knees in front of Jason. Amber scurried off Mark’s lap and assumed the same position.
Mark and Jason looked at each other uncomfortably. “Amb, I’m not so sure this is a good idea,” said Mark.
Amber just smiled evilly and then grinned over at Josie. “Come on baby, this is so hot,” she smiled as she began to strip him from the waist down.
“Yeah, Mark, don’t be such a prude,” laughed Josie as she carefully began to do the same to her fiancée.
Jason looked at Mark and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m in if you are, bro,” he said.
Mark shrugged. “I just hope my dad doesn’t come through the door,” he laughed.
Seconds later, the sexy auburn haired woman and the hot blonde former beauty pageant contestant were both topless and their heads were bobbing up and down on their respective men’s cocks. Josie took a moment to show Amber a little technique and she picked up on it quickly. Mark couldn’t believe it. While he had seen Josie naked before, he was amazed that both she and Amber had agreed to put their tits on display for each other’s guys. Neither Mark nor Jason lasted long as their women’s ministrations and seeing both their sexy bodies were too much as they almost fired into their partner’s mouths within seconds of each other.
Mark couldn’t believe it. He was sitting next to another guy naked while both he and the other guy were being blown and he did not feel uncomfortable. He felt relieved that he felt no sexual desire for Jason, but was shocked at how normal this felt.
Jason was having similar thoughts. This just seemed right. Mark had quickly become one of the most important people in his life. Jason never had a brother, but now he did. In fact this little exercise proved that he and Mark were even closer than brothers. While his feelings for Mark were not sexual either, he was certainly emotionally close to Mark. As their lovers were cleaning up their spend they kind of looked at each other sheepishly and fist bumped.
Amber and Josie just grinned at each other. Amber believed that she could not feel the same way sexually with Josie as she did her other sisters, but in many ways they had just as strong an emotional bond. What she and Josie had just done to their men had strengthened that bond. Josie was having a lot of the same feelings. To Josie, Amber was her sister. She wanted to share as much with her as she could.
While Mark’s mates were part of his family, so were Jason, Josie, Marcus, Angie, Kimmy, Pete, Wendy, Willow, Rich, Marie, his father, the Winthrops, Mike Caldwell and Lauren Hotchkiss. They all either had some kind of intimate contact with him or the Jiliad, so they would all be bound together in that regard. The only person who was part of their family who did not meet this description was Jeff Meyer. Jeff’s strong ties to the family connected him. This would eventually prove to be important.
A couple of hours later Jason was in his street clothes, but on the practice field. Josie allowed this under the condition that she could watch from the bleachers to ensure that he didn’t do something stupid (like try to play).
“Are you sure you should be here? When I went to the hospital this morning, they told me that you had checked out and now you are at practice,” said Coach Steve Hutchinson.
“Don’t worry. As you can see, I’m not suited up. I just can’t let Tyson rest on his performance last week. Somebody’s got to motivate his sorry ass to make sure he can carry us if I can’t play,” said Jason.
“If?” said Steve.
“Hey, I’m feeling like I could go out there right now and crack some heads,” smiled Jason through his fat, but less swollen lip.
“You are one heard headed son-of-a-bitch,” laughed Steve. “From what I hear, those fucking bench warmers almost killed my star player. And now you are telling me that you can get back on the field?”
“Maybe. Seriously, don’t worry Coach. I’m not gonna do anything stupid. Besides, my fiancée over there would kick my ass,” said Jason looking out at Josie in the bleachers.
“You’re getting married… to her?” asked a shocked Steve, pointing at Josie in the bleachers.
“Nothing personal, Coach, but you don’t really know her. She’s smart and amazing…”
“And pretty damn hot, but can you trust her? She made her way through half of last year’s team…”
“Maybe, but she only wanted one of your players and now she’s got him,” said Jason.
“Well, if she can keep your stupid ass in line, than I’m all for her. Congrats Martino!”
“Thanks Coach, but I’m telling you something. Don’t count me out yet. I want to play Saturday and I’m going to work hard so I can.”
“I can believe it, but if you play, it has to be Tight End. With Hill suspended, I’ll find somebody else...”
“That somebody else is going to be me,” said Jason.
“That’s crazy! You’d never be able to take the pounding.”
“If I can get back into shape I can. Face it Coach, our best shot at winning is with me at Fullback and Tyson at Tight End. Besides, a guy who will be drafted in the NFL draft thinks I have a shot at a pro career playing Fullback.”
“Yeah, right!” laughed his Coach. “And who is this future NFL player?”
“Rich Kiley.”
“The QB from BC?”
“Yeah. A good friend of mine’s sister is engaged to him,” said Jason. “He said with a sub 4.6 forty time and my strength, I have a good shot.”
“I never really thought about it because Division III players seldom make the pros, but he may be right. I was kind of shocked when I clocked you at 4.57 last Wednesday. I also can’t question your strength after what I witnessed in the game Saturday. Still, after what you went through…”
“I won’t try to play unless I feel like I can,” said Jason.
“That’s all I can ask, kid,” said Steve.
She managed to get aboard a flight and had arrived in New England. After she had rented a car, she called her mother and told her what she was proposing to do as she drove up Interstate 91.
“Mama, It’s Michelle.”
“Well the prodigal daughter deigns to call her own mother. What has it been two, or three years now?” said Elise Bergeron to her wayward progeny.
“I know Mama. I don’t need a reminder of what kind of a person I’ve been.”
“So, what honor have I achieved to gain an audience with you?” asked Elise.
“Josie.”
“What about her?
”
“You haven’t heard?” asked the daughter.
“About what?”
“Josie was accused of attempted murder!”
“What?!” exclaimed Josie Grandmother.
“Oh my God! You haven’t heard!”
Michelle explained the circumstances that she had read on CNN.com to her mother. Elise was shocked in some ways, but not surprised in others. Thankfully, according to the article, Josie was OK and not in any trouble.
“To be honest, Cher, I have not spoken with Josie in several weeks,” said Elise. “Your daughter has become very secretive over the last couple of years and your absence in her life hasn’t helped.”
“I know Mama. After what happened to her five years ago, I realized that there was no place for her in the lifestyle I was forced to lead.”
“Forced? You made your proverbial bed and chose to lie in it. You know I would have helped you…”
“Mama, you know there was no way that Josie would be able to go to the expensive college without my contributions. While Pierre has helped financially, I know he has not been much comfort to his own daughter.”
“You should have come home after Josie was hurt by those boys.”
“I know. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t feel that regret,” said Michelle.
“Well you should come home and tell her that.”
“Actually Mama, I’m in Massachusetts!”
“What?”
“I just flew in about an hour ago. I’m on my way to Smithville to see Josie. After I read that story on the internet, I knew that I couldn’t make that same mistake again.”
“Does she know you’re coming?”
“I don’t have her number.”
“Well I better call her to warn her.”
“No, Mama. Please let me do this. She may not want to see me. I just want to see her and make sure she is alright”
“And then you’ll go back?
”
“If that’s what she wants.”
“What about what YOUR Mama wants?”
“Do you want me back?”
“I suppose it would be nice to see you again,” said Elise.
“Then I will go on after seeing Josie,” Michelle began to cry, but tried to hide her shaky voice from the tears she was crying from her mother.
“Yes baby. I’ll see you then,” said Elise with tears in her eyes too.
As they hung up, but both women were sure that they would not meet as planned. For Michelle it would be too much pain and Elise knew that which made it much more heartbreaking to hear Michelle make the date. Still, she was happy the Michelle was seeing Josie. She was worried about her Granddaughter as much as her daughter. Maybe they could help each other find some peace. What both women did not realize was that Josie was actually happy for the first time in her life. Her mother’s appearance would not only complicate her life, but the lives of some others.
That night, Elsie had a huge dinner at her house. It was pretty well decided that Bill and Marie would be going back to Fairly Wednesday. While Bill had a lot of help on the farm and an outstanding foreman, he knew he needed to get back. He had been planning to return more than a week ago and after several false starts due to issues that Mark and his friends were having, it appeared that all the drama was over. Of course part of the drama involved him falling in love with Marie Simmons, so he didn’t mind.
Though it was a foregone conclusion, Bill and Marie officially announced their engagement. They were planning a wedding for Christmas Eve. The surprise was they announced that they were getting married in Smithville and Elsie promised to put people up and then have Christmas at her house for anyone that wanted to stay the following day.
Bill looked into the eyes of his beaming bride-to-be and understood that there were three people behind the smile. Ellen loved Bill the way that she had loved George and Mark. For the most part, she was content to sit back and enjoy the ride as she did with Mark when she was in Tricia’s body. Still occasionally, Marie would cede control of her body to Ellen or Jill during love making. No matter who was at the helm, all three felt great pleasure at the hands of their new master/ fiancée. Still, there was a restless part to both Jill and Ellen that would complicate things. While Bill thought the drama was over, he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Josie Garnier and someone told me that you are her roommate.”
“Yeah. You look a lot like her,” said Simone
“I’ve been told that,” said Michelle wistfully.
“I practically never see her anymore. Lately she has been at her boyfriend’s since he has a single. I think at Jackson.”
“What’s her boyfriend’s name?”
“Jason Martino. I heard he got hurt over the weekend and that he was in the hospital, but I thought I saw him at the practice field in street clothes today. I’m pretty sure it was him because Josie was sitting in the bleachers watching practice. Josie’s a lucky girl,” sighed Simone.
“Thank you Simone,” smiled Michelle.
“By the way, who are you if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” asked Josie’s mom as she walked away.
After Michelle went to Jackson, she determined from Jason’s RA that he was staying off campus recovering from injuries and she managed to get the emergency phone number he had left with the RA.
Back at Elsie’s the engagement celebration was going full force. People had adjourned to the conservatory for a little entertainment. Bill was a fairly accomplished guitarist and he sang and played a few songs to warm up for the main event. Amber and Josie had been working on some material every day after lunch last week (Wednesday through Friday and Saturday morning before the game). They were going to play at the Halloween party until they got sidetracked by Jason’s injury. As everyone listened, Elsie heard her phone ring and went to answer it. A couple minutes later, she returned to the conservatory.
Mark was sitting next to Trish with his arm around her, when he got a tap on the shoulder. “Mark, I need to talk to you for a minute,” said Elsie.
“OK,” said Mark as he followed the pretty nurse as they walked into the corridor and closed the door.
“What’s up?” smiled Mark.
“There is a woman on the phone who was asking to speak to Josie. When I asked who she was, she said she was an old family friend who heard about Josie’s problem over the weekend, and was just checking up on her to see if she was OK,” said Elsie.
“Did she give a name?”
“She said her name was Michelle,” said Elsie.
Mark knew that Josie’s mother’s name was Michelle. With everything that has gone on with Josie lately, he wasn’t sure that Michelle speaking to Josie was a good idea. “I’ll talk to her.”
Mark got on the phone. “Hello, I’m Mark Samuels. I’m a close friend of Josie’s and Jason’s.”
“Hello Mark. I’m a close friend of the family and I….”
“Michelle, you can save the lie. I know who you are,” said Mark.
“Then if you know who I am, then you probably know why I’m calling,” husked Michelle.
“I may have an idea,” said Mark evenly.
“Look Mark, I have made a lot of terrible decisions in my life.”
“One of them was going to Reno.”
“You know about Reno?”
“I know that you accidentally exposed Josie to one of your drunk tricks who started kissing her,” said Mark trying to maintain his cool.
What happened next surprised Mark. He was expecting vitriol for his remark. He believed Michelle to be a tough minded person. Instead she heard a strangled cry. “My God that was the second worst night of my life!” she cried.
“What was the worst night of your life?”
“When I heard Josie had been gang raped and her father had abandoned her,” she said, as Mark could practically hear the tears she was crying in her voice.
“What is your reason for your call?” Mark responded coldly. He was not completely convinced of her sincerity.
“The main reason is that I wanted to know that she was OK after what happened over the weekend and this morning. I also wanted to see her, if she was willing to see me,” said Michelle.
“See you?” asked a surprised Mark.
“I’m calling from Sanders. I’m on campus.”
Thinking on his feet, Mark pretended not to be surprised. “I can tell you that your daughter is a tough girl, who has overcome a lot of hardship in her life. Considering what she has gone through, she’s doing well. I’m not sure that seeing you would help her any,” said Mark, again expecting righteous indignation which never came.
“You may be right about that,” said Michelle grimly. “Other than financial support, I have neglected Josie terribly, which is something I have regretted for a long time now. ”
“Aren’t you even curious to who I am and why I am keeping your daughter from you,” asked Mark.
“I know who you are. You are someone who loves my daughter very much. I can tell by the tone of your voice when you talk about her,” said Michelle with a smile that Mark couldn’t see, but could almost feel. “Look, I’ll go back to Reno, but can you please tell me a few things about Josie’s life? Aside from what has happened, is she happy? Does she really love this Jason, or is this a casual thing? Do you know…”
Mark laughed at her eagerness “Easy, Ms. Bergeron. I’ll tell you all about her. You have a very bright daughter. She had a hard time for a while, but she has really come into her own as a person and I am honored to call her my friend. Jason is also a great guy and another close friend of mine. He and Josie are quite serious. He proposed to her yesterday and she accepted!”
Mark could hear the woman at the other end screaming exuberantly. Indeed, Michelle was quite happy and relieved for her daughter. “Mark, thank you so much! I feel much better now. I guess I can go back to Reno happy!” said Michelle’s happy voice.
Mark thought for a moment. He was surprised at Michelle’s attitude. It truly seemed that she cared for Josie and that perhaps she was trapped in a life that would continue to keep her away from her daughter. Did he really want to encourage her to go back to Reno to that life? He often felt that he was a good judge of character; perhaps his magic explained that trait. He sensed that in many ways, Michelle was a lost soul the way Josie was. Could he do something to help her without upsetting Josie? Did Josie really want to see her mother, after all? He was glad he had seen his mother before she died, but wished that he hadn’t waited so long. Everything pointed to his next decision, which was going to change the life of several people who were close to him, though he did not know that at the time.
“Ms. Bergeron…”
“Please call me Michelle, Mark.”
“Michelle, please come to this address.”