Chronicles Of An Academic Predator - 43. Chapter 43

June 16, 1963

 

I lay in bed with Jeff splayed across me, his head nestled against my chest. I'd brought my really drunk boyfriend back here around 1AM. We'd made love and then he passed out. He'd only ended up on my chest this morning after he'd gotten up to puke. So there we were, with me stroking his hair and back, feeling oh-so-superior since I didn't puke and I didn't have a hangover, and he did.

 

The thing with Carol last night bothered me. I was trying to figure out what, exactly, it was that bothered me. Was it because he'd had sex with them instead of me? Or was it because she was such a skank that it pissed me off to see him with her? I finally decided that it was much simpler than that: I hated her guts for almost taking him away from me, and I expected him to feel the same.

 

With his usual perception, he moved up and nuzzled into my neck. I could feel his hard cock against my leg, and that made me smile. He smiled at me then exhaled in my face with his puke breath.

 

“Gross. You need to brush your teeth, puke breath.” He gave me a sour look and headed to the bathroom. A few minutes he came back and lay next to me, just where he was before.

 

He blew in my face with minty fresh breath. “Better?”

 

I smiled at him and kissed him. “Much better.”

 

“So you're not mad at me for last night, for fucking around with Stefan and Carol?” I guess he expected some kind of tantrum from me.

 

“It kind of bothered me but I figured you'd tell me about it. Plus, I think I did a pretty good job of getting rid of her.”

He cracked up. “I can't believe you farted in her face. That was classic.”

 

“I guess I hate her so much for almost breaking us up, I expected you to hate her too.”

 

He looked thoughtful. “I see your point. I was really drunk last night and Stefan told me to meet him upstairs. I knew what he wanted and honest-to-God I looked around for you.”

 

“Yeah right. Wanna sell me some swampland?”

 

He looked sincere. “No really, I did look for you.”

       

“Whatever. Keep going.”

 

He smiled, knowing now that I wasn't going to castrate him over this. “So I went upstairs and found him fucking her. At first she was pissed that I was there, and that kind of urged me on. And then Stefan was there, wiggling his cute little ass, and I figured I'd nail him while he nailed her. She was really pissed about that, but he kept pounding her and she finally got back into it.”

 

“That's pretty funny. I don't think any of us are very popular with her right now. But you know, we do have to figure out what kind of boundaries we expect from each other.”

 

“What kind of boundaries do you want to have?” he asked me.

 

“To be honest, if you're around, I don't need anyone else. I figured that out last week. But you're younger than me,” I held up my hand when he started to protest, “which means you're hornier.”

 

“I'm not sure if that's true,” he said, nuzzling my neck. I giggled.

 

“You're starting college, you'll be a big man on campus, Mr. Football Player, and lots of people will want you to fuck them.” He thought about that. I was glad he didn't just deny it, and proclaim that he'd be loyal forever. “So I'd rather you say you wanna fuck around with other people on the front end so I know what to expect. But remember, whatever freedom you want for yourself, you're going to be giving me the same amount of freedom.”

 

“What if I want more freedom than you?” he teased.

 

“You're not allowed to break up with me, so you're in no position to bargain.” He nuzzled my neck more and moved on top of me. He reached down and grabbed my hard cock and stroked it gently.

 

“Wanna fuck me?” he asked.

 

“Hell yeah!”

 

After that amazing experience, we both hit the shower, taking a long one, long enough for him to recharge and return the favor by fucking me. God he was an animal.

 

As we made to leave the room he pushed me on the bed and tackled me. “Look horn dog,” I said, “I need food. And I know you do too, since you emptied your stomach this morning.”

 

“JP, you know what today is?”

 

“No, what?”

 

“As of today, we'll be together. There's no school, no other obligations to separate us.”

 

I kissed him passionately for a bit, then pushed him off me with a big smile and said simply “Food!”

 

Jeff boldly walked out to the kitchen with me, which surprised me. I wondered if, now that he was done with high school, he was less paranoid about us being a couple. Probably not, he was probably only relaxed around my family.

 

Vella was in the kitchen and greeted us with a big smile. “I suppose you two are hungry?” We nodded. She rummaged around the kitchen and made us a fantastic breakfast. We were sitting there downing food when my mother strolled in.

 

“Do you mind if I join you?” she asked. My mother was the only lady I knew classy enough to ask if she could sit with someone in her own kitchen.

 

“Of course mother,” I said, aping her courtesy by standing and holding the chair for her. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure.” She smiled at my exhibition of good manners.

 

“I was thinking about Isidore and, what do you call him now? Ace?”

 

I was worried that I wouldn't like what was coming next. “What about them?”

“I'm assuming that the two of you want to bolt off to Chicago. Jeff hasn't seen your new place, and you've barely lived there.”

 

“Well yeah, I'd planned to head back as soon as Jeff was ready,” I said, unfairly tossing that ball to him.

 

“I was thinking that you could let Isidore and Ace spend a little time with us.”

“You mean leave them here with you?” My first reaction was “no fucking way,” but I had learned to stay calm and be rational.

 

“JP, she is new in this country much as I was. I think if you give me a few weeks with her, I can help her make the adjustment to this country, or at least make it easier.” Vella was in the kitchen, eavesdropping, so my mother added. “Besides, I think Vella might shoot you if you tried to take Ace away right now.”

 

“And that's the truth,” Vella said, oblivious to the fact that her eavesdropping was now proven.

 

“I feel bad just abandoning her here. I mean, I want her to be part of our lives.” I was trying to work through this in my mind.

 

“I understand that JP, and she truly wants that too. But maybe you two might like a chance to build your lives together, as it were, first.” Jeff blushed at that, but it made sense.

 

“Mother, are you telling us to take a honeymoon?” Jeff blushed an even deeper red and Vella almost choked. My mother just laughed.

 

“You are a big boy JP. You can do whatever you want.” Vella just shook her head while Jeff glared at me. Serves him right for last night.

 

I looked at him, deciding to make him really uncomfortable. “So honey, you wanna go to Chicago on our honeymoon, or would you prefer the Poconos?” Vella started giggling and my mother laughed outright. Poor Jeff just shook his head. He finally pulled himself together.

 

“I'll follow you anywhere JP.” I just rolled my eyes.

 

“Mother, I understand what you're saying and it's probably a good idea. Let me go talk to Isidore, OK?

 

“Of course. I was thinking that when Isidore is ready to return to Chicago, we could drive her. I want to see your new place and maybe do a little shopping. If you want to drive just one car, I'm sure Stefan and maybe Sammy wouldn't mind coming along too.” Now that sounded like fun, a big family gathering in Chicago.

 

So off I went to talk to Isidore with Jeff in tow. He was about to give me shit for teasing him but I stopped him. “You okay with this?” I asked.

 

“You mean spending time alone with you? Fuck yeah!” That got him a big grin. I talked to Isidore and I realized that she and my mother had worked all this out already, and that whatever I had to say was largely irrelevant. I had a lot to learn about women.

 

Jason had been sleeping in the study, where my parents had a sofa that converted into a bed. I'd offered to take him to Tonto's instead, but he wouldn't hear of it. I told him about my conversation with my mother and our revised plans.

 

“Do you think it would be OK if I stayed here? That way you two will have the condo all to yourself?”

 

“Sure Jason. Maybe you'll be able to hook up with Vivienne while you're here.” I said, teasing him. He gave me a dirty look. Vivienne was history; his focus was fully on Isidore.

 

       

 

June 17, 1963

 

We didn't leave Claremont until this morning. I was so used to us traveling light; I wasn't used to a real move. But that's exactly what this was, and that meant that Jeff had to clear most of his stuff out, or at least the stuff he wanted. It also meant tearful goodbyes, especially from Vella who had completely adopted him. For me, saying goodbye to my parents and Isidore had been sad, but saying goodbye to Ace had been agony. I was amazed at the paternal feelings I'd developed for him in such a short time. Jeff, of course, read my mind. This was going to get annoying.

       

“You got pretty attached to the little guy didn't you?”

 

I gave him a dirty look. “Yeah. He's great.” Jeff snaughed.

 

“What?” I demanded.

 

“You hate it when I guess what you're thinking.” Which is exactly what I was thinking.

 

“You trying to piss me off on purpose?” I demanded. He started laughing hysterically. Soon he had me laughing too, this time at myself.

 

“Hey, watch the road. I don't want you wrecking my new car.” We'd taken the Riviera so we could fit Jeff's shit in it. I let him drive.

 

“Don't worry. This car is too bitchin' to wreck.” That it was. Time to fuck with his world a bit.

 

“So did you give any more thought to our conversation?”

 

“Which one?” he asked.

 

“You know damn well which one,” I said teasingly.

 

“Oh yeah, that boundaries thing.” He made it sound casual, like it didn't matter to him. I knew better, so I rolled my eyes at him. And I remained quiet, making him speak first.

 

He reached over and grabbed my hand affectionately. “JP, I'd like to say that it will just be the two of us together forever, and that we'd never fuck anyone else. But I worry that I'll screw up, or you will, and then we'll have problems and I'll lose you. That's the most important thing to me. I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want to lose you.”

 

“You're reading my mind again, aren't you?” I said, joking, sort of. “I feel the same way.”

 

“You gotta know, no matter who I fuck, I'm yours. You've got my heart. End of story.” Awww. God I love this guy.

 

“I love you too Jeff.” I said, aping what he does to me whenever I go off on some rambling explanation of my feelings. He smiled at me.

 

“So what does that mean?” I asked.

 

“Let's do this. Let's try not to sleep with other people, but if we do, it doesn't become a big deal. No scenes. You walk in on me and catch me with someone, I don't want you to cry, I want you to join in.”

 

“Really? I can work with that. And I wanna know who you've been with. I don't want to hear rumors, or have to worry about innuendo.”

 

He looked sideways at me. “So if I fuck Jason, you want me to tell you?”

 

Good luck with that, I thought. “Yeah, I'd want to know.” I was quiet for a minute. “Have you?”

 

He laughed. “No. Have you?”

 

“I haven't fucked him, but he's fucked me,” I said. “Once.” That shocked him, but I figured this would be a good test to see how he handled it.

 

“Really? I thought Jason was straight.”

 

“He is. It was during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and we thought we were going to be vaporized. He didn't want to die a virgin.”

 

Jeff smiled at me. “And you were horny.”

 

“Well yeah.” He laughed.

 

“Was it good?”

I studied him carefully. “The best, the very best.” He gave me his hurt look and I cracked up. “Dumb ass. You're the best. He was painful.”

 

“Why, didn't he do it right?”

 

“No, he's hung like a fucking horse. That boy is huge. Why do you think Vivienne was all over him?”

 

“No shit? Wow.”

 

I figured we'd passed our first test, but I was under no illusions that this would be easy. I swore to myself that I would do whatever it took to make sure we stayed together and that Jeff was happy.

 

We finally rolled into Chicago around 6PM. It was one of those glorious summer days, the days that pay us back for all the crappy winter weather. We headed up the Drive with the windows down and the radio blaring.

 

We parked the car and I showed Jeff how the elevator worked and gave him a key. Then we flew up to the 21^st floor. The doors slid open, and there we were, home together at last. Jeff reached down and picked me up and carried me out of the elevator, over the threshold, as it were. I was laughing so hard he almost dropped me. I was glad Jason stayed in Claremont and we had the place all to ourselves.

 

“Holy shit!” he said, putting me down. “We sho' is rich now,” he said, imitating Prissy from “Gone With The Wind.”

 

I took him by the hand and gave him the grand tour. “JP, I can't believe you got all this done. This is amazing.”

 

“Thank my Dad. He got the contractors on the ball. I think I'm going to have to do some political entertaining for him next year to pay him back.”

 

“That will be easy for you. You are to the manor born. Your white trash boyfriend may be a little out of place.”

 

I led him to our bedroom, the biggest surprise of all. I'd gotten a new bed and it sat on a raised square dais. Coming down from the ceiling was a similar square structure; its sole purpose was to hide the mirrors that were on the ceiling above the bed. It looked like a tasteful whorehouse, if that's possible.

 

Jeff jumped on the bed, looked up and saw the mirrors, and doubled over he was laughing so hard. “So here's my plan,” I said as I jumped on him. “While I'm out schmoozing with the political hacks, I'm keeping you in here naked and if someone's being difficult, I just send them in to play with my boy toy.”

 

“You saying that my only social skills revolve around my dick?”

“Absolutely not,” I said kissing him. “You've got a nice ass too.” And then he rolled over on top of me and kissed me, but this time with a purpose. We almost tore off our clothes as we made out until we were both naked. I looked up at the mirror and I could see his magnificent body on top of mine, his cute little ass squeezing as he pushed against me, showing his adorable butt dimples.

 

He slid partially off of me to one side and turned me around so I was facing away from him. I grabbed for the Vaseline and handed it to him, basically begging him to fuck me. I turned my head so I could look in the mirror and watch him snuggle up to me and press his hard cock into my hole. Actually seeing him and his movements was an amazing turn on.

 

Then he wrapped both of his arms around me and hugged me tight, so tight that it almost hurt. I had no idea what he was doing until he rolled onto his back, taking me with him. Now when I looked up in the mirror I saw myself lying on top of him. His face was next to mine, nuzzling next to my ear, whispering in that husky sexy tone of his. My scrawny body was exposed with my hard dick straining with excitement. It looked so big like that, compared to my puny form. Jeff had bent his legs so they forced my legs apart, and he used them as leverage to drive into me. I had a new favorite position.

 

“You like this baby?” he said. “I do. I love watching your hot body while I fuck you. I have to slow down or I'll cum too soon. You get me so excited.” I was leaking like crazy.

 

And then he made love to my whole body. “I love your body. I love how you have such a smooth chest,” he said as he ran his hands over my chest and played with my nipples. “God your nipples are cute. Sometimes I just want to lay there and nibble on them all night.” All the time he was doing this he was moving in and out of me, but at a maddening pace, a pace that would never make me cum, but would keep me keyed up.

 

He moved his hands down to my hairless abdomen and fingered my belly button. “I love your trail here,” he said, tracing my treasure trail, “it's so sexy. It just begs me to follow it, follow it down here.” He ran his hands through my pubes and played with them, finally grabbing my throbbing cock. “And this, this tool of yours. It's so perfect. I never thought I'd want to have a dick in my ass, but yours fits so right, just like it was made for me.” I moaned and arched back into him. I wasn't really rational right now, just succumbing to his stimulation.

 

Then he moved his hands up and played with my head, the real one. “But this is my favorite part of you. You are so smart, and so beautiful.” He traced his fingers down my nose and across my lips. I darted my tongue out to lick one, and he rewarded me by letting me suck on it. “I love the way you think, and I love the way you hide all of your feelings, trying to be such a hard ass, when inside you're just a pussy cat. The nicest, most caring guy I know. And I love how it pisses you off when people see that side of you, but I love it most when you let down your guard with me, and let me love the real you.” God, he wasn't making love to my body, he was making love to my mind. I moaned loudly, really loud, an involuntary gesture.

 

“You want me to make you cum now don't you?” he teased as he picked up his pace. “You want me to make you shoot all over your chest. I can't wait to see you blow your wad, to watch it come flying out of that amazing cock of yours.” Now he was really going and he had me close.

 

“Gonna cum Jeff,” I said, panting.

 

“Oh yeah baby, do it. I'm gonna cum with you.” He nuzzled his mouth into my neck and latched on like a vacuum, moaning through my skin as he began to shoot. I watched his movement, his legs as he pressed into me urgently, and then I hit the point of no return. I stared up at the ceiling and watched my cock swell, and then I spurted out my load, a huge load, all over myself. After my initial wave I reached down and grabbed my dick, stroking it, milking every last bit of this orgasm out of me. I collapsed back onto him, his dick still in me, and just lay there with a goofy looking blissful smile.

 

“Happy?” he asked.

 

“I'm beyond happy,” I said. “Every time I think I've had the best sex I've ever had, you think of a way of making love that just makes it better still. I'm worried that in a few years you'll make me cum so hard I'll kill myself.”

 

He laughed. “Well, I'll remember to tone it down a bit then.”

 

“Don't you dare.”

 

We got up after awhile and wandered around the condo stark naked. It was so liberating, and felt so bad. I loved it. We checked out all the rooms, most of which were unfurnished.

 

“We need to buy furniture for these other bedrooms,” Jeff said.

 

“You're right. I'd kind of wanted to wait and let Isidore help decorate them, that way she'd feel more like it was her home. But if we have all those people coming to visit us, I guess I'd better just make the decisions.”

 

“She'll have enough to worry about. Besides, she can always change something if you really fuck it up.”

 

I glowered at him in a teasing way. “You questioning my good taste East Side boy?”

 

“Nope. But I'm wondering where we're going to put the spittoon and the neon beer signs.”

 

June 19, 1963

 

We had to take a break from our sexual athletics and go see my lawyer. Our lawyer. I was still adapting to being part of a couple. I'd never been one before. I made Jeff come along, even though he complained on the entire drive there, and continued to complain as we sat in the waiting room.

 

“Will you quit bitching?” I finally said to him, frustrated.

 

“I'm sorry,” he said guiltily. “You mad at me?”

       

“No, I'm not mad at you,” I relented.

 

“Too bad, because then I could apologize for a few minutes and we could sneak back to the condo and have make-up sex.” I just shook my head.

 

Just as I was about to throw out a witty rejoinder, Aaron Sanders came out to usher us back to his office. He looked at Jeff a little warily.

 

“Aaron, I want you to meet Jeff. He's my, uh, partner.” Jeff shook his hand nervously, and Aaron just smiled, a big grin on his face.

 

“Nice to meet you Jeff,” he said. “I always worry when a client brings a friend to one of our meetings, because of the attorney-client privilege thing, but now that I know your status, I'm pleased to welcome you.” I beamed at Aaron. He was treating us just like we were a married couple.

 

“JP, I wanted to talk to you about the situation with Isidore and Andre. I haven't delved into the military compensation issue, and that looks to be thorny. So I figured it would be best to resolve their legal position in this country first.”

 

“That makes sense,” I said, agreeably.

 

“Let me be candid with you. The easiest way for her to stay in this country is to marry an American Citizen. We can work on visas and the like, but I'm worried that none of that would give Isidore the same status as an American husband.”

 

“Well,” I said, gathering my thoughts, “I just don't see how that would work right now. I mean, she could develop feelings for someone, presumably, but can't we do something for her in the meantime?”

 

“What if you married her JP?” asked Jeff. I just stared at him, stunned. “It makes the most sense, and she knows about us. It would just be form, not function.”

 

“You've got to be kidding,” I said. The last thing I wanted to do is marry a woman. “If I marry anyone, it's going to be you.”

 

Aaron chimed in. “I'm a good lawyer, but I don't think I could make that happen.” That brought some comic relief to a tough situation.“Why don't you think about it, OK?” I nodded grudgingly. He continued. “In the meantime, I've gotten all the papers drawn up for you to legally adopt Andre Charles. That will make him a legal citizen, and it will give you joint legal rights with Isidore. The only trick is to get her to sign them.”

 

He handed me the contracts, of which there were two. One was written in French. This guy thought of everything. I took the contracts, thanked him, and we left.

 

As soon as we got in the car, I felt Jeff looking at me intently. He knew my thoughts and could read the uncertainties and fears this new twist was causing me. “JP, do you think that if you marry Isidore it will change anything between us?”

 

I looked at him and smiled. “No, at least I hope not.”

 

“I don't think it will either. We have to think about Ace.”

 

“Wait a minute,” I said. “Why should I marry her? Why don't you marry her?” He chuckled.

 

“Be realistic. You both come from the same social background. Her parents would have a cow if she married me. More importantly, Ace, and any other kids that she has would have a lot more advantages as a Crampton than as a Hayes.”

 

His logic was right. Still, it felt wrong. “I want to marry you,” I said.

 

He laughed at that. “Baby, I'd marry you in a second, but I don't know where to go to get that done.”

 

He seemed all for the idea. I liked Isidore. I figured we'd develop a relationship such that she'd end up as a friend, maybe a good friend, maybe even like a sister, although I wouldn't know what that was like since I'd never had one.

 

July 1, 1963

 

My mother's big plan had fallen apart because of one important event: the 4^th of July celebration in Claremont. She'd called me last week pleading with me to come home for the event. I caved, of course, but it was a little frustrating. Jeff and I had started to function as a couple in Chicago, with a good routine and great sex. Going back to Claremont, as I saw it, was always a risk. But there was the additional issue that I needed to deal with. I need to talk to Isidore about becoming my wife, a situation that seemed the ultimate in hypocrisy. So here we were, Jeff and I, heading to Claremont. We slept in so we wouldn't make it there until 8PM. The drive seemed so much easier when I was with Jeff. We truly were just like newlyweds.

       

We were expected, so we had a nice greeting. For me, the most important person was Ace. He seemed to grow a mile in just a few weeks, and he even smiled at me when I held him. Jeff smiled at me, and I knew this little kid would wrap me around his finger in no time at all. Jason was there too, looking the same.

 

The biggest transformation was Isidore. My mother had done some sort of complete makeover on her, showing her how American women dress, how they get their hair and nails done, and how they conduct themselves in polite society. My mother had even thrown a few soirées so she could practice. And her clothing was all new, designed to accentuate her breasts and hips in a subtle way that my mother had mastered a long time ago.

 

“Isidore, you look so beautiful. And so American,” I said. She smiled at me coquettishly. Jason was so enraptured by her he was speechless.

 

“I will try not to be offended by that second part.” I watched her that evening, trying to figure out if she was indeed an exact clone of my mother. I decided that they both had grace, charm, and poise, but the big difference was in the way they moved. Both glided with an ease that would have made them at home at Versailles, but my mother's movements were more structured, while Isidore's were more fluid. Sexier. She moved like a cat.

 

That night in bed after we'd made love, Jeff stroked my back as I lay on his chest. “You think she's attractive, don't you?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, I do. Don't you?”

 

“Yeah, I do. So if she wants to have another kid, would you fuck her?”

 

I wondered where this was going. “I don't know, probably, especially if you were there.”

 

“You'd think she'd go for a threesome?” The thought obviously excited him; his cock was getting hard.

 

“She will if she wants to have a baby.” He snaughed, and then I moved down and took care of his new problem with my significant oral skills.

 

July 2, 1963

 

I got up late again, showered, and headed to the living room. Jeff wasn't in bed when I woke up, but that didn't surprise me. He was an earlier riser than I was. I found him and Jason hanging out, watching television. Everyone else was gone, or napping. “Hey guys, I'm hungry. Let's go into town and grab lunch.” They both jumped at my suggestion. I'd never known either one of them to turn down food.

 

I was sitting up front while Jeff was driving. “Do you think I should drop down on my knee and ask her to marry me like you're supposed to?”

 

“I think you'd be better off just talking to her about it,” Jeff responded.

 

Jason perked up. “Wait a minute JP. You're going to ask a girl to marry you?”

 

I laughed. “I know, it sounded ludicrous to me too, but it's just going to be a marriage of convenience.”

 

Jason looked puzzled. “Who's the lucky girl?”

 

“Isidore. I'm going to ask her to marry me so she'll have legal status in the U.S.” If I gave him a puppy and then killed it in front of him I couldn't have gotten a more disappointed expression. “Is there something wrong with that?”

 

Jeff just looked at me like I was a complete idiot. “Someone has a big-time crush on Isidore. You just stole his girl away from him. And you're queer.” He seemed to think this was compellingly funny. I didn't, and neither did Jason.

 

“Jason, it's just for convenience' sake. Just so she can be legal in the U.S. It won't mean anything.”

 

He looked at me coldly. “So if I ever get lucky and strike up a relationship with her, and it gets serious, she'll have to divorce you to marry me.”

 

“I won't stand in your way or object,” I said, trying to treat it lightly. He wasn't buying that. “Anyway, you two aren't even dating yet. You want me to leave her in limbo in the hopes that you can make her fall in love with you?”

 

“Yeah,” he said plainly. I looked to Jeff for some help, but he just sat there trying not to laugh.

 

This was obviously important to him. “I'll think about it. In the meantime, you might want to try figuring out how you two are going to communicate. She doesn't speak much English, and you don't speak much French.”

 

Jeff chimed in. “Screw that. Just tell her you've got a big dick.” He was laughing by the time he got out the last word. I punched him and Jason cheered up. And then, as if to torture me for my kindness, he made Jeff and me try to teach him French while we ate lunch. When it comes to languages, he's not a quick learner.

 

“You know,” I said to Jason as we drove back up the hill, “if you need help with your French, Stefan is a really good teacher.” I was throwing him to the wolves, but I decided that I deserved to have a little fun now and then. Jeff was biting back some serious laughter.

 

When we got back home, Jeff and I headed to the living room where we found Isidore playing with Ace.

 

“Good afternoon,” she said cheerfully.

 

“Good afternoon,” I said in return. “Isidore, we need to have a talk.” Jeff made to leave, but I stopped him. “The three of us.”

 

“Is something wrong JP? Have I done something to offend you?” I felt bad. She was still understandably insecure about her status.

 

“No, you haven't. In fact, you're doing great. I'm proud of how well you've adapted.”

 

“Well, I still need lots of work on my English, but at least I can understand most of what people tell me, and can communicate roughly.” I smiled at her, trying to send her reassurance through my grin.

 

“I met with my attorney about your status in the US. I hired him to look into whether you'd need a visa to stay here, and what we should do for Ace. Before we talk about any of this, though, I need to know if you want to stay in the US, or would you rather return to France?”

 

She looked at me thoughtfully and reached over and grabbed Jeff's hand. “Ace and I have talked about it, and if it is OK with you, we would like to stay here and be a family, all four of us.” My heart went out to her.

 

“Ace's situation is the easiest to handle. If you're willing, I'd like to legally adopt him. That would officially make him our son. He'd gain full American citizenship. My attorney drew up papers for you to sign to do that,” I said as I handed her the French version.

 

“You had them written in French for me?”

 

“Actually, my attorney did. No one wants you to do something you don't want to do.”

 

She eyed me carefully. “JP, I need to speak candidly, and I do not want to offend you, but I may.”

 

I glanced at Jeff. “Please Isidore, tell me your thoughts.”

 

“If I sign these and give you parental rights over Ace, what is to stop you from tossing me out into the streets and keeping him away from me? I know you are a good person, and I don't see you doing that, but can you understand my concerns?”

 

I smiled broadly. She was bright, but I'd anticipated this. “I completely understand.” I handed her a check for $20,000. I was depleting my trust money like crazy. “I'm not trying to buy you, but my thought is that if for some reason I flipped out and did that, you'd have your own money to take care of yourself and hire a damn good lawyer to kick my ass.”

 

“I am not a whore,” she said indignantly.

 

“When are you going to get it through your head that I don't want to fuck you? Unless you grew that penis we were talking about.” She giggled. “It's not a bribe, it's not a payoff, it’s an insurance policy for you.”

 

“You will not mind if I think about this?” She handed me back my check, which I thought was a good faith gesture on her part.

 

“Of course not,” I said. Still, I hoped she wouldn't take too long.

 

We all relaxed for a bit, until something else dawned on Isidore. “You said that would handle Ace's situation. Forgive me for sounding selfish, but what about my situation.”

 

I was hoping I could dodge that bullet for a few days. “The attorney is working on alternatives for you, but quite frankly, the easiest solution is for you to get married to an American.”

 

She looked at us. “You are both Americans. Could not one of you marry me, just to solve that problem? I would not require you to have sex with me,” she said with that charming smile.

 

“Damn,” Jeff said, and she giggled.

 

I got into the spirit of things. “Isidore, are you asking me to marry you?”

 

She looked us over as if sizing up two farm animals. “I am not sure which one of you I want.” I just shook my head. She shot a mock-lustful look at Jeff. I was shocked, and about to get offended, when she and Jeff started laughing.

 

I brought them back down to earth. “You know that Jeff and I are a couple, but we are a new couple. I'd like to settle in a bit, all of us, and get adjusted before we embark on something as monumental as marriage. And there's no immediate rush unless you plan to start looking for work. Besides, you may meet a straight guy that wants you to be his wife, uh, in the full capacity.”

 

She turned on the charm. “In the mean time, I will try to decide which one of you bulls I wish to pick.” Jeff winked at her and I rolled my eyes.