Different Circles

Upon arrival, they found the scene inside pretty much as they had left it. Sarah, Julie, and Laura were sitting in the living room, chatting with each other and drinking iced tea while the television played on low volume. Laura was holding baby Everett in her arms, rocking him gently back and forth, occasionally smiling down at him and talking to him. Laura had been spending as much time with the baby in her arms as she could get away with.

Joey got himself, Jake, and Brian cans of Budweiser and they all sat down to join the conversation. They talked about the flight, the rude waitress, the upcoming trip to California (everyone became immediately excited about it) and their dinner reservations for the night.

“The Sandpiper, huh?” said Sarah. “Fancy. We’ve only been there once before, on our anniversary a few years ago.”

“We have to dress up for it?” Julie asked doubtfully.

“I asked about the attire when I made the reservation,” Jake said. “Business casual is fine.”

“Business casual?” asked Brian. “What’s that?”

“It means you don’t wear jeans or shorts,” Joey told him. “Put on a pair of slacks and one of those button-up shirts you have and you’ll be fine.”

“Oh ... I see,” Brian said.

Brian and his family left a few minutes later so they could go home and clean themselves up a bit. At around 6:00 PM, Jake and Laura retreated to Grace and Chastity’s room so they could change into their own business casual outfits. Jake looked longingly at Laura’s unclothed body as she stripped down to her panties. He tried to caress one of her breasts, but she slapped his hand away.

“You know the rules,” she said firmly. “Nothing resembling sex in my nieces’ room. It’s not right.”

He groaned a little in frustration. They had not been intimate with each other since the last night in Schweitzer—damn near a record for when they were actually in each other’s presence—making Pocatello the first place they had ever visited overnight as a couple in which they had not had sex. And that was not going to change on their last night here. She was very firm in her conviction that no hanky-panky (her phrasing for it) would take place in this room or even in this house. Copping a quick feel was not even acceptable.

“All right,” Jake said with a sigh, “but I expect a blowjob as soon as we get to cruising altitude tomorrow.”

She smiled. “Maybe we can do a little better than that,” she suggested.

“Oh yeah?” he asked, immediately interested. “What do you have in mind?”

“Something I’m sure the FAA would frown upon,” she said. “We’ll have to work out the logistics once we’re up there.”

“I’ll be looking forward to the experiment,” he said, leaning in and giving her a kiss. She accepted this affection until he tried slipping his tongue into her mouth. At that point, she pulled away and told him not to be naughty.

“Prude,” he accused.

“In Pocatello, yes I am,” she declared.

Joey drove them to Sandpiper’s in the Bronco. They arrived almost simultaneously with Brian, Julie, and Everett. They were seated immediately even though they were fifteen minutes early. The restaurant was moderately crowded, as it was a Saturday night, and they turned pretty much every head in there when it became known that Jake and Laura Kingsley were in the house. Some of the looks they received were disapproving, some curious, some neutral, but no one approached them and asked for autographs or tried to strike up conversation. Even the staff made no mention of who they were.

This had pretty much been the status quo with the locals since their arrival here. The Pocatello newspaper and the local news broadcasts were all aware that the Kingsleys were in town and were making a big deal about the visit of their hometown daughter and her sleazy husband. The mayor, who a few days before had talked of inviting the Kingsleys on a tour of city hall, was now on record as withdrawing the offer when his office was inundated with a flurry of emails and phone calls from the LDS population expressing disapproval. Local bishops of the LDS church were frequently quoted in their expressions of condemnation of the couple and the lifestyle they enjoyed. Everyday Pocatellons were interviewed and expressed a variety of opinions both in favor of the Kingsleys and against them. Every activity that the family made in public was reported on as well. But throughout all of this, not a single reporter had shown up at the Best home, or had called, or had made any attempt at communication whatsoever. And when the Kingsleys went out on the town, everyone stared and whispered as they were doing now, but no one had come up to ask for an autograph or to simply shoot the shit, no one had told Jake to his face what they thought of him. No one that they did not know even came within ten feet of the couple if they did not have to. It was very strange to be stalked, yet not stalked.