Also in that line were real movie stars and producers. David was there, of course, and had lovely words to say to us concerning our talent and the beautiful sound we made together. Charlie and I danced and tried to assuage our need for each other by being close and moving together in sensual and easy steps. The only time I left Charlie was when I was asked to dance by Michael or one of my boys.
While I was dancing with Kevin I looked at Charlie to let him know that I was thinking of him. I knew that he was uncomfortable in certain social situations. He was surrounded by young pretty women; all of them trying hard to get his individual attention. He smiled and pretty much did nothing else. When the dance was through I went to him. He reached for me as soon as I was within a few feet of him. He took possession of me and used me as a shield from all others. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me soundly in front of anyone who cared to look. When the music started again, he danced with me and wouldn’t let me go or let anyone cut in.
The hour was late when we finally got home. Michael and Lu retired to the guest room after I removed a sleeping Tut. Tut had a number of places that he slept so I just took him to the office, his second favorite place to sleep.
When Charlie and I were finally alone in our room, Charlie performed his clothing removal process; it took longer than usual. The process complete, Charlie sat on the edge of the bed and stood me right in front of him. He put his hands first on my breasts and then around my waist.
Looking me in the eyes he said.
“Watching you up on the screen, I thought about how lucky I am that you love me, nobody me.”
Not saying a word I moved in as close as I could get and when we couldn’t get any tighter, I whispered in his ear.
“To me you are everything. Can I have you now?”
“Oh woman, you stole my words.”
At that we caressed each other and loved each other in the tenderest way during that first go round. After that sometimes things got a little rough but I remember hoping that we weren’t too loud. We did have house guests who were just in the other room.
When the two of us had satisfied each other to the max, I decided that I needed nourishment and suggested that we make a middle of the night snack run to the kitchen. Charlie stopped me from leaving the room naked reminding me that we had others in the house.
Michael and Lu were of like mind for they were already in the kitchen checking out the contents of the ice box. They turned as soon as they felt the fingers of the reconnect reach them.
We got together for our hug and then I went right to the stove and made two giant batches of popcorn. As much as both Charlie and Michael loved popcorn, I knew one batch just wouldn’t be enough.
Glad that we were all up, Michael and I had a few things to discuss regarding our red spark travel planned for the following day. While the four of us munched away on the popcorn I explained what I’d learned about the red spark portal and the cylindrical column that lead to the decent and distant history and to the ledges and layered files. I asked Michael to think of a day that he wanted to visit and the person that he wanted to focus on within that day.
It was important that Michael understood that I was aware of his need to allow people their privacy and that the only thing that we wanted to see was intent or pervasive attitude, or a person’s motivation, and the bigger picture. I told him that I could steer clear of individual thought.
When I was finished with my explanation, Michael seemed at a loss for words and had almost no questions.
“Has the ‘down time’ changed?” Michael was asking if I’d gotten the process down so that it didn’t take so much ‘real time’ from us.
“The farther the decent, the longer time it takes. If you don’t travel too far back in time then it won’t take as long.”
“Can you show me the system without taking an actual trip?”
Michael was getting the picture of what the portal was like and wanted to see it first so that he could gather his own true understanding. Caution was smart and since I’d already pioneered my way through the learning process it would be easy to show it to Michael.
For the entire conversation up to a point, Lucy was quiet. When there was no one speaking for a few seconds Lu asked her question.
“Elena, when you and Michael go to space, what do Charlie and I do?”
Lu was used to getting an assignment during experiments. She liked to help and to do her part.
With an adoring look at Charlie, I explained.
“Charlie has set up a monitoring system, a camera to keep an eye on us while we are out of commission. Maybe you could assist him – more eyes on us to see if we are in trouble would be good.”
“Elena, how can you get into trouble?”
Lu looked at Michael with a worried expression on her face.
“There’s no way that I can say for sure that we won’t have difficulties. Lucy these are experiments that I’ve never known anyone else to be involved in so we are playing it by ear.”
I stopped to see if she understood that what we were doing was not without risk, even though I couldn’t say what the risk might be.
“As an observer, it will be important for you to note any changes. You could help us understand the time issue with this experiment. When we’re under, you can be timing how long each trip takes. Is that something you think you can handle?”
Lu smiled her cooperation and understanding.
During our conversation Charlie didn’t say anything. He watched me and listened to the explanation I presented to Lu. At one point he laid his large hand over mine for support.
It was nearly morning when we parted for a few hours sleep. We were all in good moods and excited about the plan.
Charlie and I talked for a few minutes before we made love and fell asleep wrapped up in each other. After two sleep cycles, about three hours, I got up and left Charlie snoring gently.
The sun was just breaking the horizon when I took my coffee to the garden. I was there as usual first to think and then to gather the freshest produce available. Our breakfast would be hearty and satisfying.
Just as I was about to give a toast to the day, I felt Michael’s approach and stopped before I actually got started and waited for him to join me. He set his cup on the table and then put out his arms for me and we hugged up and sighed.
“Oh my God Baby, I can never get used to how good this feels. Even if I’m a mess and the rest of the world is going mad, I can always count on you fixing it all with a single hug.”
“Baby, that’s back atcha,” I whispered.
“You know,” Michael continued.
“Our combined voice is a gift to the world but wouldn’t it be better if we could give this feeling to the world?”
We didn’t drop our hook up and I heard Michael chuckle.
“Helen, you are my drug of choice.”
Before we sat, Michael raised his coffee to the sun and made the toast for the day.
“To gaining greater understanding and appreciation , cheers, thanks a lot, eh.”
We sat quietly for a few minutes before Michael spoke again.
“I’ve decided on a date for our destination and I want to see the bigger picture. Does that narrow it down too much for you?”
“We’ll first go to examine the portal before we actually take the trip so that you can see what we’re dealing with in regards to just how intricate and complicated the system really is. It’ll