The Space Freighter Libereco - Kurgio is Called to the Core - Part 3

Stepping off of the cargo ramp, you look at the red sun low in the sky.  It has been jaros since you were here. The landing terminal is all plasteel and duraglass.  The curves of the buildings are supposed to give it an organic look, but that makes it look so artificial and fake. Out on the Rim, you had a mix of prefab and hand made. Here, it is all so industrial but made to look natural.

As you enter the terminal, your minividi beeps. Skipper sends a voice link. “We’re leaving, once we are cleared to take off. Reach out if you need anything.”

“Will Do. Safe travels.” You say as you shift the strap of your bag, higher on your shoulder. 

The signs point to “Planetary Arrivals” and “Planetary Departures”. A smaller sign on the arrivals side points to “Intraplanetary Transportation”.

At the Arrivals desk, a friendly woman greets you. “Bonvenon al Sankta Koro. Cu ci, tio estas via unua visito, kaj cu vi restos longe?”

You hold your minividi against the reader and it pulls your information.

“I’m here to visit my family.” You respond in flawless Esperanto.

“Dankon. Guu vian restadon.” She replies as your planetary access is granted on your minividi. You give her a quick smile, which she returns with a long practiced familiarity, and motions you to move before she says, “Sekva” and helps the next person.

You walk past the Medical Access office and flash the “All Clear” stamp on your minividi. If you didn’t you would have had to answer a long questionnaire and receive, robotically, whatever shots you were missing.  While still on the Libereco, you did all that in advance, and made sure you were medically cleared. That last thing you wanted was to be placed on a “medical hold” because you forgot a shot or didn’t properly record it on your medi-log.

You follow the signs to the intraplanetary transports.  They always remind you of large bugs.  The flying ones are like libeloj, and the land ones are like skaraboj. 

You go the large round passenger door of a flying one. “Where would you like to go?” the computerized voice asks you.  There is a human in the driver’s seat too, but he is basically “emergency backup” if the computer fails.

You give him the address of your childhood home. “Very good. We should be there in approximately one hour.” The voice responds as you put your bag in the luggage space and strap in the seat. The large door closes and the engines power up.  The large flapping wings start to move and vibrate until they generate lift.

You lean back in the seat and close your eyes, feel it ascend, and drift off to sleep.

When you wake, you are circling over the family home as the ship verifies that the neighborhood landing pad is clear.  “We will be descending in 5 minutes, please prepare yourself.” The computer voice announces.

It touches down softly and gently. When the engines pause, the voice says. “Please take all of your belonging and exit the craft.”

You unstrap, get up, grab your bag, send a few valutos as a tip, and wave to the human in the cockpit. He gives you a lazy “thumbs up” and then checks his vidi for their next passenger.

The house is a short walk from the pad, so you are home in minutes.

It looks almost the same as when you left it. Standard UGA construction. Not too big nor too small. Environmentally friendly and plugged into the local grid.

As medical professionals your family made a comfortable living, similar to UGA teachers or other necessary planetary civil servants. The Core is “fair and structured”. At least that is what everyone believes.

You hold your minividi to the electronic lock and the door opens. Your mother is walking into the foyer.  “Ionny! You made it.” She says as she hugs you tightly. It has been over 10 jaros since anyone called you Ion or Ionny.  Ion Ladipo Novak is your full and official name. But you prefer Doc or Kurgio. Ion seems like it belongs to another person.

Your mother kisses your cheek. Her naturally dark skin contrasts against your lighter tone. She then steps back.  “Let me look at you. You mustn’t see any sunlumo. You have gotten pale.” But she then squeezes your arm.  “But you keep in shape. Good. I worried that you’d let your muscles atrophy with all that space travel.”

“Panjo, you know we have artificial gravity on the ships. And I spend a fair amount of time planetside on the various Rim Worlds.”

She kisses you again. “I am so happy to see you. Your brother will be too. Go put your bag in your room. Then come down and we can catch up.”

You hug her tightly again and then walk upstairs to your old bedroom.

The door is open and you see your old furniture: a durasteel frame bed, a faux wood dresser, a plasteel desk and matching chair, and of course your old wardrobe. The place you played in as a child.

You set your bag on the bed. You will unpack it later, because you want to know what happened to your father, so you head back downstairs.

Your mother is sitting at the dining room table, sipping a mug of coffee. “Ionny, do you want some coffee or do you still drink tea?”

“I still like tea, Panjo. Do we have some in the kitchen?” you ask, realizing that your mother wants you to sit and drink with her, like she taught you kids to do when there was something serious to discuss. 

In the kitchen, you easily find a mug you preferred when you lived there, an old style, hand-thrown ceramic mug. Perfect for tea or coffee. Then you find a box of tea cubes. The mixture of herbs and seasonings that your father preferred, and you learned to like.

Instahot water fills the mug and the cube quickly dissolves, creating the hot, fragrant mixture you enjoy so much.

You sit in a chair close to your mother and set the mug on the table. “Panjo, what happened to Pacjo? How did he die?”

She takes a slow sip of her coffee, then sets it down. “Kankro.” She says.

You sit back for a second and think “Cancer? That doesn’t make sense, not with all of the technology available.” You reach your hands and grasp hers.  “What kind of Kankro? And why didn’t it get found during his physicals.”

Tears well up in her eyes. “Ask your brother. Matty treated him before he died, and knows what happened.”

You feel confused. Mateo is a very good doctor but not an oncologist. Your frateto is a general doctor, doing rotating shifts at various local hospitals. “Tell me what you know.”

You say holding her hands more tightly.

“After your father and I retired, we talked about traveling. Visiting other parts of the Core, and maybe even seeing some of the new Rim.” She pulls her hands free of yours and takes her coffee mug. She sips it again before continuing. “He started volunteering at some of the local clinics, which were shorthanded, and staffed by Medi-comps.

“We have one onboard the ship, but I never use it. Pacjo told us to never trust them. Go on.” You say taking a moment to sip your tea.

“UMP paid him for his time, on top of his pension. So we were saving up the valutos to take a trip. It was easy money for him, just verifying that the Medi-comps diagnoses were correct before patients should follow them.” She continues.  “After a few months of doing it, he seemed run down and tired all the time. I asked him to get a physical at the hospital. They said it was stage IV and spreading through his system.” Tears run down her face.   

“Why didn’t it get caught earlier?” You ask genuinely curious.

She took a tissue from a dispenser near her and wiped her eyes and face. She then paused for a moment. “You should ask your brother.”

You sip your tea and wonder what isn’t being said.  It seems like your father was keeping secrets from your mother. You finish your mug, get up, go to rinse it in the sink. You see the sonic scrubber and use it to clean the cup, then set it where it was.

“It’s been years since I use one of those.” You say aloud. “Our ship is an older one and has a water reclamation and recycling system.”

“None of that here.” She says, following you into the kitchen. “Water is for cooking and drinking. Welcome back to the Core.” She finishes her cup and then cleans it, too. Quick and efficient, just like UGA proclaims everywhere.

“I’ll unpack and then link with Matty.” You lean and kiss your mother on her cheek, “Thanks for the tea, Panjo.”

 After hanging things up in the wardrobe, and putting things in drawers, you sit on your bed and look at your minividi.  You could link with your brother but you aren’t sure if he is working, or even awake right now. He might be on the other side of the planet, if he is even on Sankta Koro. You stare at the blank screen. You have too many unanswered question concerning your father. You close the door to your old bedroom and sit down on the bed. You tap your brother’s name on the contact list. In a moment his face fills the screen.

“Ionny! Panjo said you might send a link. From the look of the background, you’re home.”  He says, the collar of his scrubs and coat are just visible.

“Frateto, are you at work? If you are busy, this can wait.”

“Ionny, don’t call me that and, I won’t call you maljunul.  I thought we outgrew all of that.”

You smile for a moment. “Of course Matty. Or would you prefer Doctor Novak?”

“If we both ‘Doctor Novak’ each other, we won’t get anywhere.” He says with a wink and a smile. “So what do you need, Ion?”

You sigh for a moment, realizing that the playful banter is over. “Realistically, I need answers. You were Pacjo’s doctor? What happened?”

His eyes glance off screen. “I’ve got about 5 more hours on shift. Why don’t you take the metroo over to my place.” He taps his screen and an address and access code are added to your minividi. “Make yourself at home. Heck you might even enjoy the hospitality of some of my neighbors.” He says with a grin.

“Ok. Will do.” You say. He taps his screen closed before you can say anything else.

 You tell your mother you are going to Mateo’s house. You hadn’t seen it but he invited you over. She kisses you and says “Be careful.” All of a sudden you feel like you are a 10-jaro old kid going out to play at the local park. You shake your head at that and walk to the metroo.  You had been away from the Core for so long, you forgot that metrooj run all through the planet, connecting communities with a clean and easy way to quickly move lots of people. When you are at the statio, you look at the map on the vidi. Tapping the screen, you see which lines you need to take to get to your brother’s house, or at least to his city and neighborhood.

You download the information onto your minividi and board the tube. Minutes later you are at the main city station.  This line continues where you need to go so you wait a moment and then you are in his city.  Your minividi shows you how far you need to still walk to get to his house. “I forgot how easy somethings are in the Core.”

(Come back for the next part of the story.)

The Space Freighter Libereco - Kurigo is Called to the Core - Part 2

 

While the ship is planetside, you are standing on the gangway and watching as both crew and colonists unload the cargo. It is all in non-descript boxes, but Cookie scans the code on each box, and ticks off on her minividi. You have your emergency bag beside you, and are waiting in case something happens. More than once, you have joked with the crew that if this ship was in a story or a video, something would go wrong all the time and you would have to patch up blaster burns and bullet holes, but it is reality, and people just want what they paid for. No cheating or double dealing. If they did, then no independents would service them, and SG would enforce their shipment with Maristos. That is something that no “Free Holder” out on the Rim really wants.

You watch Skipper shake hands with the lead of the trading team, as Cookie gives a “thumbs up” to her. Everything paid for was received. You sigh and pick up your medbag to put it back in Med Bay.

“Doc.” You hear Cookie call. “When you are done, meet Skipper and me in her cabin.”

“Will do.” You say as you walk away and hear the ramp of the cargo bay lift up and close.

After putting the bag away, knock on the open door of the captain. “Skipper, you wanted me?” You see her sitting in her chair with Cookie sitting on the bunk.

“Doc, Shut the door.” She says.

You close the hatch behind you, “What’s up? This looks serious.” you ask in an extremely curious tone.

Skipper pulls up a star chart on one of her Vidis. “We need to take you to Sankta Koro. That will take us through a lot of main shipping lane checkpoints.”

“I’m sorry about that Skipper. Should I find a commercial transport or…”

Cookie interrupts. “No need. We just need to have you sign agreement where you have chartered us as ‘non-standard medical transport’.”

“Yes” Skipper continues. “You have spent the past few jaros visiting and providing routine and emergency care to rim system colonists.”

Cookie gets up and clicks on another vidi. A multi-jaro log fills the screen. It has dates and locations already filled in. Some have your stamp next to the entries, and others are various colony stamps. “This is your medi-log. It has your name and not the Ship’s Doctor title on it. Keep the Libereco Med Bay log separate. While we are traveling though the Core, this is your medi-log.” She explains.

You give both of them a confused look. “Why?” and then it dawns on you what they did. “As a charter, you have reason to travel to various planets, and wouldn’t require SG stamps. You aren’t carrying cargo; you are ferrying me from place to place. I got it.”

They both nod. Cookie points out the dates and the star chart lights up. “Anyone verifying our travel logs will show that we went to each of those worlds and the dates coincide with an entry in your medi-log. Most were routine “health checks” but in those few cases where you gave medical attention to someone, we used your entry from the ship’s medi-log and copied it.”

“Wow! That’s brilliant. Is there anything else you need from me?” you ask.

Skipper pulls up a prefilled financial statement, “I need you to sign and say that you paid us these amounts on these dates.”

“But where did I get the valutos for that?” you ask.

“From the colonists you provided treatments for. Remember, it’s the Rim. If you want to charge for services, you can.” Cookie says.

“But I would never…” You try to protest, but realize you have to show that you are paying the Libereco and it’s crew somehow. “Ok. I get it. I’m charging the colonists, the same they paid for whatever we delivered.”

Cookie sits back down on the bunk, smiling. “Yep. It balances our books, explains our travels, and makes you look like a medical hero.”

“Ok.” You say and sign the statement.

Skipper gets out of her chair and shakes your hand. “Thank you, Doctor. As of now we are officially working for you. We will set a course for Sankta Koro, as per your official request.” She says as she nods at the last entry on the log “Travel to Sankta Koro, due to request from family member.”

“All of that should keep the Uggos happy.” Cookie says with a twinkle in her eyes.

You are a couple of days from a saltopunkto. Once you get there the pordego will jump you from the Rim to the Core lanes. You spend that time reading Cookie’s log entries. They are mostly true. You try to remember the things that are exaggerated, in case you have to explain them. Then you modify your Med Bay to look more like a traveling doctors facility and less like a ship’s doctor’s bay. You adjust and place more emergency trauma kits in easy reach, and pack two large bags with ‘standard colonist needs’.

When you are about done, you hear. “Wow! Kurgio, you really changed things around.” Meko walks in, looking at how you rearranged everything. “Why? Was there something that wasn’t working for you?” the curious mechanic asks.

“No. But if you are my Medical Transport, I should have things better set to reflect that.”

“Ok.” But Meko gets a serious look across his face. “Is this going to change what or how you do things?”

You realize that he is doing that “plan for every emergency” thing that makes him such a good mechanic. “No. When it comes to ship board emergencies, nothing has changed. This layout makes it easier to go and grab things to take off ship.”

The young mechanic nods, then quietly says “I’m sorry to hear about your father. I’ll make sure we get you home.” He then turns and leaves.

Right before the saltopunkto, there is a Maristo inspection station. Skipper has you stand by in the Med Bay, watching on your vidi and ready to respond if needed. You hear Skipper come across the link, “We are the Independent ship Libereco, chartered as Medical Support for a UMP doctor working the Rim.”

You hear a bored Maristo respond, “Transfer your logs but prepare to be boarded.”

“Will do.” Skipper responds, but you click on the link.

“Oficiro, is this really necessary? I have an official request calling me back to the Core. Specifically, to Sankta Koro.” You transmit a copy of the message from your mother.

He reads it, opens the log that Skipper sent, glances at a few entries, then quickly closes both.

“Go through. Sorry to delay you, Doctor.” He says, still with a bored tone to his voice.

You strap yourself into the chair in Med Bay. You hate going through a pordego. You know the theory behind it, that subspace is opened and the ship passes through and comes out the other side. You know that, medically it doesn’t do anything to you, but you always feel like it does something to you. In your mind you imagine being pulled and stretched, and passing through a tiny hole until you are in normal space again. If you were to monitor your vitals, it would show that nothing really happened. The ship just moved from space through subspace and back into space, all because of the technology of the saltopunktos.

On the other side of the pordego, you once again hear the Skipper say, “We are the independent ship Libereco, chartered as Medical Support for a UMP doctor working the Rim.”

Another Maristo, with the same bored tone and a look that made almost the twin of the one on the other side. “Transfer your logs but prepare to be boarded.”

“I really didn’t miss the bureaucracy of the Core.” You say to yourself as you unstrap and repeat what you did, again.

As you move through the Core systems, there are more stops and checks. Being an independent freighter, it’s like having a big target on your back, and everyone wants to check you out. Skipper and Cookie were right that listing them as a “chartered transport” shuts down most of the questions from the Maristos. Your Med Bay gets searched a couple of times, along with the main cargo hold. When one oficiro sees the animal pens and cages, collapsed and set aside in the hold, you and Cookie explain that on some rim worlds there are animal diseases too, and the pens are used for quarantine purposes. He quickly steps back and then leaves.

“Kurgio, We will be in orbit of Sankta Koro soon.” Navs says on your vidi.

“Thanks.” You respond as you finish packing. You take a week’s worth of clothing, and download most of your valutos from your account in the ship’s vault.

Skipper knocks on the open hatchway. “Hey Doc, are you almost packed?”

You look at her with a slow smile. “I think so. I’m taking my share of the profits. I have no idea how expensive things will be planetside.”

“I figured as much, when you asked me to connect the vault to the system. When you finished withdrawing funds, I disconnected it again.” She says as she steps in and looks around. “It’s going to be strange without you here.”

You look at her as you seal up your travel bag. “It feels strange to be leaving. Even for a short trip.”

You take a moment to realize you have been onboard the ship for over 10 jaros. “Wow, Skipper, I hadn’t realized until now how long we’ve been doing this.”

She gives you a sad smile, “Yeah when you signed on, It was just Cookie and me.”

“We picked up Navs and Helm a few jaros later, and then we added Meko after that.” You comment in a sad wistful tone.

“We’ll put down at the main planetary terminal. Will you have someone meeting you there?” She asks in a slightly professional tone.

“Yeah. I’ve been sending links back and forth. My mother will send an intra-transport. Will you guys be okay?”

She looks around the Med Bay again. “Yes. Navs wants to see her parents and Meko said something about family on Ciela Ripozo. So after you disembark, we have places to go. Once we drop you off, we are a ‘recently released charter, allowing her crew to take some much needed leave in the Core’.”

You pat your bag, “I packed enough for a week, but I am going home. Is a week enough for the crew to do what they need?”

She turns and places a hand gently on your shoulder. “Is a week enough time for you to do what you need?” she says in a soft tone.

You really hadn’t given it much thought. “I’ll send you a link if I need something different than a week.” You respond placing your hand on hers.

Helm comes on the vidi. “Skipper, we’re in orbit. Shall we request a clearance code?”

“I’ll be up in a second.” She says and taps the vidi, closing the link. “Are you ready or should we orbit a few times?”

“I’m ready. Let’s land.” You say.

She nods and leaves.

(Come back for the next part of Kurgio is Called to the Core. If you enjoyed this, leave a comment. If you enjoy my writings and stories, Follow and Subscribe.)

The Space Freighter Libereco - Kurigo is Called to the Core - Part 1

 

“Shit. What’s this?” you ask as you see a message pop up on your minividi. Your ship, the independent space freighter Libereco, pulled into a supply point after months of supply runs. As ship’s doctor, you have had a pretty easy time of it. A few scrapes and busted knuckles, and even the occasional STD to treat, but all in all a pretty easy time, as a ship’s doctor. As a member of the crew, that’s a different thing. You have helped negotiate and deliver more than a few supply runs, and of course, once a colony or settlement heard that you are a doctor, they come out of the woodwork to get looked at.

It’s ironic, if the colonists stayed in the Core systems, medicine would be free and available. All preventive medicine and treatments are overseen by the Union of Medical Professionals, or UMP, (you always hated how that sounded. “Ump” which rhymes with “hump”, “thump”, and “chump”). In the Core systems, the costs of medical treatments are paid by the taxes and duties paid by everyone. It’s a good system, but you know there are those who don’t agree with it, which is why they moved out to the Rim.

Your minividi is blinking that there is a message for you and it appeared when you connected to the stations network, so you could check for news and updates. But this message isn’t from the ship or Skipper but from the Core.

Everyone on the ship just calls you Kurgio or Doc, but this message is addressed to your given name, something you haven’t used in jaros. You download it and disconnect from the system and set the minividi for “stand alone” mode. You use the minividi’s shield program to check and see if it is a fake or a scam. It says that there’s nothing harmful on it, and by disconnecting from everything, there’s no way to “back door” something onto it. You open the message. It’s text. You expected a video or something, but it is just written message. A letter.

“Son, there is no easy way to say this, but your father is dead. The funeral will be next week, but I doubt you will get this in time. I don’t know how long it will be until you open this. I know your father and you disagreed about your choices. But he is dead now. Just come home. Your loving Mother.” At the bottom of the message are your parents’ official UMP codes. You could scan them to verify their authenticity, but you recognize them.

“Shit” you say out loud.

Meko comes up behind you, “Anything wrong?”

You turn and look at the ship’s mechanic, a young wiry guy, who sometimes irritates you. But this time the look of concern on his face is genuine.

“I need to talk to Skipper. I need to go home.” You say blinking back tears in your eyes.

You walk through the ship and knock at the Captain’s Quarters. “Come on in.” you hear her say.

“Skipper, I need to go home. I got a message calling me back to the Core.” You tell her, trying to keep a steady tone to your voice.

“Are you sure it’s legit? We aren’t registered with the SG, so I don’t think your name is connected to us.” She says with a slightly defensive tone.

“Skipper, I don’t think it was directed at the Libereco. If it would have been, Oficiro Lee or someone official would have sent us a link. I think it was set for me.” You explain the best you can.

She is silent for a moment. “Ok. We have to deliver these supplies to the client. Then we can go to the Core systems.”

“Thanks, Skipper.” You say and turn to leave.

“Kurgio, have Cookie check the message. She’s good at spotting fakes. If it is legit, she should be able to tell you.” She says in a softer tone.

You nod and head for the cargo bay.

Cookie is doing an inventory of the supplies as Helm and Navs unload the intraship transport. “How is it going?” you ask.

She doesn’t look up from her minividi, “I think we are good. Everything seems to be here. Do you need something Doc?”

For some reason a nervous feeling moves into your throat and you swallow it down. “I got a strange message. Skipper suggested you check it when you have time.”

She quickly glances up at you, “Head for the galley. I’ll look at it when I’m done.”

“Can we do it in the Med Bay?” You ask in a slightly serious tone.

She nods. “See you there, once I’m done.”

You connect your minividi to the ship and put the message on the Med Bay’s main vidi. As you reread it, you can almost hear your mother’s voice. “Damn it.” You say to yourself, as you lie in the reclining med couch.

A little while later Cookie knocks at the open hatchway. “Doc, you need me to check something?” In her hand she is carrying two steaming mugs. “Here, I made a cup of your herbal tea. You sounded like you need a little something to help relax.”

You sit up and take it from her. You breathe in the warm aroma and then take a sip. It is hot but tasty.

She looks at the main vidi. “Oh damn, Doc. Your dad’s dead?”

You take a deeper sip and swallow. The hot tea burns the back of your throat a bit as it goes down, but the pain makes it all seem more real. “Yeah, it looks like it. Skipper wanted you to verify the UMP signature stamps.”

She touches the screen and pulls up a toolbar and clicks on a tool near the Stamp Verification tool you could have used. “Do you have any doubts?” she asks.

You take another sip and slowly shake your head.

She taps the screen a couple of times, reading the results. “This was a month ago. The dates and data check out. If it’s a fake it’s better than what I can make. It’s got not only UMP code, medical license number, but the verification of the hospital they were assigned to. Even in retirement that doesn’t leave your code.”

“What’s that?” you ask as you stand up and look closely at the screen.

She taps the verification tool again and shows you the codes. As you read it, their names, status: retired, then you nod and say “Yes, that is the hospital they both worked at.”

“Your mom is a doctor?” Cookie asks in surprise.

You shake your head, “No, she worked in hospital administration, so part of the UMP.”

Cookie nods. “That makes sense. Good to know.” She takes a sip of her tea. “Did Skipper say when we are going?”

“Right after this run. When the client pays, we’ll head to the Core.” You say as you close the letter. You pull up a blank document and put your UMP stamp on it. Without the tool it looks like a digital UMP Stamp. But by using the tool she had opened, you read the data. It has your real name, your license number, title of Ship’s Doctor, assigned to Freighter Libereco.

“Cookie, Can you remove data from a stamp?” You ask.

“Doc, I can do a lot of things, but that’s your Medical Stamp. That authorizes meds, treatment, hospital access, and everything that the system will allow. If I alter it, it could damage your permissions.”

“But as it is, it could be used to trace me.” You say, tapping the screen.

“You aren’t on the run. You are a ship’s doctor, and a member of the Libereco crew. What’s the issue?” She says with a tone of confusion.

“I’m probably just being silly but, I didn’t think I could be tracked. I thought I disappeared from the system.” You respond.

“No, Doc. As much as we try to tell ourselves we are ‘free holders’ living on the rim, we are in reality, plugged in. We skirt the law, keep our heads down and don’t attract attention. ‘To live outside the law, you must be honest’. That’s what we do.” She says tapping off the tool and closing your blank document. “You said this went directly to your minividi when you connected to the station. If it was looking for our ship, it would have loaded when we landed. This message was waiting for you and you alone. Probably on all the supply stations’ networks.”

“One last question. Who can read the Stamps the way you just did?” You ask genuinely curious.

“Anyone with a code verification and scanning program. Maristos, Cargo Chiefs, Admins, and anyone who needs to verify that a Stamp is legit at a deeper level than just a surface verification. Out on the rim, it’s not done much, but…”

“But back at the Core, it’s done all the time. Got it.” You say now that you understand.

Now it makes sense that your mother would place both her’s and your father’s Stamps on the message so you could verify it is real.

You finish your mug. “Thanks Cookie, and thanks for the tea.”

She takes the empty mug from you. “I’m heading back to the galley, so I’ll take it. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, nothing you can help with.” You say.

Over the next couple of days, You spend as much time exercising as you do anything else. Between using the treadmill, lifting weights, and the resistance machine, you work out to remove stress and tension, as much as you do to maintain muscle mass and bone density.

Helm comes by as you are on the treadmill, wearing a pair of tight shorts and a form fitting shirt. “Kurgio, are you doing okay?” he asks as he gets on the resistance machine.

“Yeah, Helm. I’m just trying to relax a bit. It’s been jaros since I was back at the Core.” You say, as you jog at a steady pace, wearing a similar exercise outfit, good for wicking sweat from the body.

“I’m sorry to hear about your farther. Were you close?” Helm asks.

“Not really.” You say in an almost distracted tone.

He adjusts the tension on the machine and then starts doing arm repetitions.

“How about you?” you ask to try to shift your focus.

Helm switches arms. “My father was a Komandanto on one of the big Ataka Sipos during ‘Unification and Civilization’, so I didn’t really see him much.”

“Damn” you say as you wipe some sweat off of your forehead with your towel, still jogging. “So your father glassed colonies and relocated them? That must be tough.”

He switches the machine so he can do crunches. “I didn’t really know much about that until I was at the Academy. I just knew he was away, and working for ‘the greater good’.”

You slow down your pace to a walk. “Wait a second, you graduated from the Stela Floto Academy? Why aren’t you piloting an Ataka, Armea Transporto, or a Krozipo?”

“Kurgio, I never said I graduated. I said I was at. So was Navs.” He says as he starts doing crunches.

You continue walking to cool down as he does a couple of sets. Then he switches it to work his legs.

“Are you deserters?” you ask in a low tone.

He laughs. “Nothing so exciting. We fell in love, and both decided to fail out together. We heard that independent freighters didn’t ask questions so we took a risk, and lucked out.”

“So why didn’t you just finish and graduate?” you ask genuinely curious.

“We both came from military families. We knew the life, and what would be asked of us. When our families enrolled us in the Academy, we believed in the cause. “Unity and Civilization”, but as we learned more and got closer to finishing, we just stopped trying. We both knew we had the skills and knowledge to make it on the Rim, so we both washed out.” He starts working his leg muscles. “What about you?”

You have learned more about Helm and Navs in the past 20 minutes than you had in the past couple of jaros.

You step off the treadmill and stretch your legs. “My parents wanted me to work at one of the Research Hospitals. I was slated to work at the Emergency Trauma facility on Sankta Espero, but I turned it down.”

“Holy Shit Kurgio, when you said Core, you really meant Core. Hell I thought we were going to Luma Vojo or Ciela Ripozo. Does Skipper know we have to go to Sankta Espero?”

You wipe the sweat off of you, and sit down for a moment. “Actually my home was Sankta Koro. So, we will have to go there when we finish this delivery.”

“Damn. We might as well be visiting Brila Monteto too. Hell, Navs’ parents would probably love to hear that she isn’t working as a whore in a Pleasuredome.” He says in a darkly sarcastic tone.

“Who’s a whore at a Pleasuredome.” A familiar female voice asks. Navs is wearing a tight exercise suit. She sees both of you, sweating and she gives a wolf whistle. “You both look so sexy all hot and sweaty.”

You know she is just being playful as she goes over to the treadmill and starts with a warmup walk.

“On that note, I’m heading back to Med Bay. You two have fun.” You say.

“Not too much fun. Skipper threatened to strand one of us on the next planet if she caught us having sex on these machines again.” Helm says.

“But the showers are still okay, my love.” Navs says with a wink and an exaggerated shake of her hips before she speeds up.

You shake your head chuckling to yourself as you leave. “They really are just horny kids.” You think to yourself.

(Come back for the next part of Kurgio is Called to the Core. If you enjoyed this, leave a comment. If you enjoy my writings and stories, Follow and Subscribe.)

Roadside Assistance

You are an auto mechanic working for a roadside assistance company.

For years, you worked at various garages, always one of the few female mechanics. But you had gotten tired of working for someone else, so you tried to start your own repair shop, but it was harder than you thought and closed it.

You heard that some roadside assistance companies were looking for experienced mechanics and offered to pay more than you had been earning in a shop. The other thing you like is that you get to drive around.

You offered to take the late shift. You really aren’t a morning person, and you don’t mind being on the road at night. The company issued you a truck with their logo on the side, compartments for all your tools, and extra floodlights mounted on the top.

It’s a sweet truck.

Because you are one of the few female mechanics, some guys refer to your truck as “the Candy Machine”.

At first you thought it was a dumb nickname, compared to “Breaker Bar”, “Jack Stand”, or “Power Driver”. But after a while, you appreciated hearing, “‘Candy Machine’ we have a stranded motorist off the highway.”

Especially when it was a new driver that needed a tire changed or stuck in a ditch. Whether it was a guy or girl, they were grateful that you were a bright light in the darkness, putting a smile on their face, and sending them on their way.

After a while, you even enjoyed calling in, “This is Candy Machine; we are done here. The customer is satisfied.”

Tonight, you got the call that a driver has a flat tire on a country road, away from the highway. After plugging the signal into your tracker, you call in. “This is Candy Machine. I’m on my way. I should be there in about 20 minutes.”

Turning off the highway, you get on to a narrow-paved road, flanked by fenced off farmers’ fields. In the darkness, you aren’t sure what they are growing, but you have a feeling you wouldn’t want to be stranded out here.

A dark country road with only car headlight providing light.

Even though you are only minutes from the highway, without any lights along the road, the whole area feels unnerving and spooky. You are glad you’re in your truck. You turn on the fog lamps to help push back the darkness.

It helps, but you still want to find the driver, help them, and get back to where there are lights and people.

You keep glancing at your icon on the map. You have a good signal, which you are thankful for, but the whole thing reminds you of a bad horror movie.

As you get closer, you look ahead and see red hazard flashers. You slow down and pull up behind the car. You put it into park, but leave the engine on.

Flipping on your floodlights, you bathe the whole area in bright light, but that just makes the fences on the side of the road look that much more imposing.

You see the silhouette of someone in the driver’s seat. The left rear tire of the car is obviously flat.

You get out, go to the tool box on the side of your truck, and pull out a tire iron. It feels cold, and heavy in your hand.

Even with the floodlights on, the whole area looks spooky. You slowly walk up to the driver’s door and knock softly with your knuckles.

“Driver’s Assistance. You called for help?” You say in a polite but slightly nervous voice.

The driver’s side widow rolls down. “Thank you.” Says a young woman. “I was driving, made a wrong turn, got lost, and then I had a flat tire.” You hear the fear in her voice, but she also seems to relax a bit seeing that you’re a woman.

You smile at her, “I understand. I’ll get that tire changed and we’ll get back to the highway. Can you find your way from there?” you ask in a friendly tone.

“Oh, Thank You! Yes.” She says as she breathes a sigh of relief. You notice her hands had been gripping the steering wheel tightly, but she is now relaxing a bit.

“No problem. That is what I am here for. Do you know where your spare tire is on your car?” you ask as you step back a bit, relaxing the grip on your tire iron. You hadn’t realized you were scared too.

She pops the release on the back of the car, unbuckles her safety belt, and gets out. The floodlights of your truck shine through the thin material of her light cotton dress. She has a nice figure, but you are here to do a job and focus on it.

“I think it is here.” She says as she lifts the back and the floorboard.

You look in and see never used spare tire. “Good. Let me grab a few things, and we will get you on your way.”

You grab your jack, the long air hose, your air wrench, and the correct size socket. After connecting one end of the hose to your air compressor, you unroll it to the back of her car. You connect your air wrench and set it on the ground.

You pull out the spare tire, and the woman helps a bit. “You don’t need to do that. I am here to help you.” You say as you roll it and lay it down.

“I know. But it feels so dark and spooky out here, and I feel better being near you and in the light.” She says.

“Okay, then just keep back.” You say as you put the jack under the axle and start pumping it up. You raise it just a bit, and then use the air wrench to loosen the nuts.

Then, you raise it higher so that the tire is fully off of the pavement, and pull it off.

She stands the spare up and rolls it to you. “Thanks.” You say and then put it into place. Quickly, you hand tighten the nuts and then release the pressure on the jack. Once the car is down, you use the air wrench to fully tighten the nuts. “You did that so quickly.” She says in a tone of awe and admiration.

“It's what I do.” You respond in a light tone. “Here, let’s put that old tire in your car. There’s a truck stop on the highway. If we time it right, we might have the night mechanic look at it. They can tell you if you need a new one or just need it patched.”

“Ok, I like the sound of that. At the truck stop, can I get you a cup of coffee or something?” she offers.

You smile, “That sounds good about now.” You say as you put away your tools.

She closes up the back and gets into the car. You walk up. “Follow me. I’ll get us out of here.” She smiles and nods.

You pull ahead, your truck’s floodlights still on, helping blaze the way down the dark road. On your map app, you see where there is a crossroad ahead. If you get on it, even though the road will be twisty, it will lead back to the main roads, and from there to the highway.

You keep your speed slow, and keep her headlights in your rear-view mirror. In places where the road dips, there are light patches of fog, which adds to the spookiness. You try to relax your grip on the steering wheel, but sometimes the floodlights make strange shadows. “It must be scarecrows or something.” You tell yourself.

You call the shop. “This is Candy Machine. I helped the motorist and am leading her back to the highway. We will stop at the truck stop to have her tire checked.”

“This is Driver Assistance Home-base, we read you loud and clear. Call if the situation changes.”

You hit the button and focus on the road. You feel a bit better, knowing that Home-base knows your status. But you still want to get to where there are lights and people. “It must be worse for her.” You think to yourself about the driver behind you.

It took longer to get back to the main roads using the twisty farm road than the road you came in on, but once you see the street lights, you slowly exhale.

Turning onto the main road, you turn off the flood lamps, but keep the fog lights on, allowing you to see a bit more into the darkness. You keep your speed slow, just under the speed limit, so she doesn’t lose you.

After a bit, you merge onto the highway. She is still on your tail. A few minutes later, you turn into the Truck Stop. The bright lights of the fuel pumps, garage, and café are welcome.

You park, and she parks next to you. “Follow me.” You call to her as you head for the garage. “Hey, Big Mike? Are you still on?” you yell as you enter the garage.

A deep voice booms back. “Yeah, who wants to know?” You see your old mechanic friend. “Oh, it’s the Candy Machine.” He says in a playful tone. “What can I do for you tonight, darlin’?” he asks as he wipes grease from his hands.

You point to the lady. “This nice lady had a flat tire. If we bring it in, can you see if it needs patched or if she needs a new one?”

“Sure, just roll it to the side door. I’ll look at it after I finish what I’m doing. It’ll take about half an hour.” “Okay, we will be in the café.” You say.

Quickly, both of you return to her car, take the old tire and roll it to the side door. The bright fluorescent lights of the truck stop make everything seem more comfortable and friendly.

“How do you take your coffee?” she asks. You tell her, and she orders two coffees. You find a table and sit down. She hands you your cup and you take a sip. The strong smell alone is what you need, but the hot liquid feels so good as it goes down. She sits across from you. “By the way, I’m Ann.” She says, extending her hand. You softly shake it and tell her yours.

“But he called you ‘Candy Machine’?” she asks with a puzzled look on her pretty face.

“That is the name of my truck, because it is sweet and leaves a smile on their faces, when I am done.” You respond.

“Oh. But I was so glad to see you when you knocked on my window.” She says. “It was so spooky out there. I felt like…”

“Like you were in a bad horror movie.” You finish her sentence.

She reaches out her hand and places it on yours. “I kept having thoughts of getting attacked by some “hillbilly” cruising the back roads looking for helpless women.”

You set your cup down and place your other hand over top of hers. “I know what you mean. If you noticed, I walked up carrying my tire iron, but I never used it to change the tire.”

She thinks about it for a second. “Oh. Oh, wow. So, I wasn’t the only one thinking like that?” says as she places her other hand over top of yours. You hold each other’s hands, helping to reassure yourselves that you are safe.

She releases yours and takes her coffee cup in both hands. “So, how long have you been a mechanic?” she asks, trying to change the subject.

You tell her an abbreviated version of your story. “So, what do you do Ann?” you ask.

“I am a college nursing student. I never thought about being a mechanic. Most of the women I knew growing up were moms, teachers, secretaries, cashiers, or in the medical field. I really hadn’t noticed any working as a tradesman. It sounds exciting.”

“I enjoy it.” You say taking another sip.

After a while, while you are chatting, she gets another round of coffees. Returning to her seat, she asks, “So with a “butch” job like a mechanic, are you into women?” You take the cup from her hand.

“Not really.” You respond with a slight pause. “Are you?”

“I have dated both guys and girls. Many of us in the nursing program have guys who want to be doctors, asking us out all the time, but I hate to admit it. I find more pleasure and comfort in the skilled hands of my class mates than with the guys.”

She takes a drink from her cup and sighs.

“Do you know what I was imagining when I watched you fix my tire?”

You shake your head. “No, what?”

“I pictured you, on your knees, licking me and then using a dildo attachment on your air wrench.”

You laugh at that. “Oh Honey, the torque on that wrench would tear a body up. I would never use something like that on someone as pretty and cute as you.”

She smiles, “You think I am pretty?” she asks in a soft voice.

You nod “Though I prefer guys, you are a pretty little thing. If we had some time, I’d enjoy learning what you and your classmates are doing. I tell ya’, I still feel a tingle left over from being scared out there.”

She stands up, and takes your hand. “Leave your coffee and follow me.” She guides you to the Ladies room and takes you into a stall.

Kissing you, softly you feel her warm lips on yours. “Would you like to see what I have learned?” she asks you. You nod and kiss her back.

Her skin is soft and smooth compared with your rough calloused hands.

As you stand there, she unbuttons your shirt and kisses your upper chest. You place a hand on her head. Her hair feels soft. Everything about her is soft and pretty.

“I’m lucky tonight.” She says as she opens the clasp at the front of your bra. Your full breasts are freed, as the empty cups hang to each side. She grabs each tit and then licks around each nipple. Her tongue is so wet and smooth. Then she sucks your right nipple, as she reaches down and opens your pants.

It feels so good, your panties are getting damp, and you press down on her shoulders. She moves down to her knees.

You feel the thick denim of your pants against your skin as she slides them down your ass and hips, then hit the floor around your ankles.

You grip the top of the stall to steady yourself as you feel her gentle fingertips move the crotch of your panties to the side.

Looking down you, you see her smiling face looking up as she slowly licks your wet pussy lips. She licks up and down, then you feel her tongue on your clit.

You bite your lower lip to stifle a moan as she licks and sucks it.

“You taste so good. You are a Candy Machine.” She says as she licks and sucks your clit harder. You feel her fingers slide into your pussy, thrusting and twisting. Going deeper and harder.

You grip the stall with one hand and grab her hair with the other. Bracing yourself, you feel pleasure building and moving through you.

“Yes! Cum for me. Let me taste you, my Candy Machine.” You hear her say in a soft tone.

You grip her hair tightly as you press her face into your pussy and cum. You bite your lower lip harder as you hear a low moan echo in the bathroom.

It takes a second to realize that moan is coming from you.

Ann stands up and kisses your mouth. Her lips are wet, and you taste yourself.

“I think we should get back to our table. I think “Big Mike” might be done with my tire.” She says as she opens the stall and washes her face in the sink.

You exhale for a moment and get dressed.

Washing your hands in the sink next to her, “I have never felt something like that. I mean, I’ve had guys eat me, but that felt great.” You say in a low tone.

She kisses your cheek. “Maybe on your day off, we can get together and teach you what I did. We learn a lot at college.” She says with a wink.

Going back to your table, you see the coffee cups have been cleared away, so you get a fresh cup. In a “to go” cup this time.

“There you are.” You hear a familiar voice say. “I was looking for you ladies. The tire is patched. It had picked up a nail. It is as good as new. Pull your car into Bay 3 and I’ll change it for you.”

“Thanks, Big Mike. Do we owe you anything?” you ask.

“Just the cost of the plug and my time.” He hands you a quickly scrawled estimate. You look it over. “That’s fair, and covered under the service plan. I got it.”

Taking the company card from your wallet, you head for the cashier.

“Are you sure?” Ann asks.

You nod. “It is all part of the service package. Go move your car to Bay 3, it will be the one with the garage door open.”

She kisses your cheek, “Thank you.”

After paying the cashier and getting the receipt, you head back to your truck, sipping your coffee. You call into the shop, “This is Candy Machine. We are done here and everyone is satisfied.” You say with a smile.

(This was the second story of the female mechanic, if you want more, tell me. If you enjoyed this; leave a comment. If you enjoy my stories, follow and subscribe.)

The Mechanic

 

You are a mechanic at a local garage. Part of why you love your job is that you enjoy the way your nipples rub against your t-shirt in your coveralls, when you wear a t-shirt. There are times when you pull it off, and the rough cotton rubs against your sensitive nipples at you reach, stretch, and work. Today is a warm day, so you remove your t-shirt and bra. Every time you need to get under a car or reach over a engine, you feel the warmth of the cooling metal through your jumpsuit.

I bring my car in for a maintenance check-up. I’m surprised the main mechanic is you, a beautiful woman, but I trust you will do what needs to be done and charge me fairly. I wait in the “break area” as you and your other mechanics do what needs to be done.

I see you working and think how sexy you are under your coveralls. From time to time, I swear I see your hard nipples visible through your thick coveralls. I imagine how beautiful they are, and how they would feel in my mouth. I watch you stretch and see how the curves of your body look. I imagine how sexy you would be naked. I am sitting on the couch, lost in my erotic fantasies.

“Sir, you have a problem. We need to replace the control module. Here is the write up, and here is the cost.”

“Oh Wow. That is more than I thought. Is there any way to reduce the cost of that?”

You look down at the bulge in my pants. You smile, “If you pay me cash for the part, and come back at the end of the day, I will see what we can do.”

I leave out and head for the bank. It is a few blocks away, and I walk to it. It is warm out, but I am not passing up on saving money.

You go back to work. You finish up my car, and then concentrate on doing a few others. Oil changes, lubricating bearings, changing tires, etc. You and your team spend the day finishing up all the cars in the bay.

The sun is going down. The doors are open to ensure the heat goes out as the evening slowly cools down. Your crew is a mix of guys and gals (some of whom date each other), they ask if there is anything else that needs done. One of them nods towards me, sitting in the waiting area. “What about that guy. I thought we did his car hours ago?”

“Yeah, he had to get me the money. I will take care of it. You go. I’ll lock up.” You tell them as they all head out. You close up the large doors, make your way securing up the building. Then you come to me. I am sitting on the couch, I had been sweating, my polo shirt and slacks are damp from earlier.

I stand up, reach into my pocket and hand you a large wad of $20’s “There you go. The cash you asked for. Is there anything else you need, before I get my car?”

You pocket the cash. You unbutton your coveralls and free your breasts. You reach into my pants and grab my soft cock. “You will satisfy me. And if you do a good enough job, I will give you your car. If you do a poor job, then you owe me the cost of labor on the bill.” As you say, you firmly squeeze my dick. It hardens a bit with that. “Yes. Ma’am.” I say. I slowly caress your lovely breasts. You feel my hand slowly move across them, around them, and cupping them. I bend my head a bit and slowly lick around your left nipple. You feel the slick smooth texture of my tongue slowly moving around your nipple. My fingers slowly caress your right nipple at the same time.

You release my dick and put your hands on my head. Your skin smells of sweat, oil, grease, and GoJo cleaner. I slowly but firmly suck your left nipple. You feel the suction of my mouth pull on it. At the same time, my fingers firmly grasp your right nipple, and I smoothly pull with a similar pressure. You grab my hair. “Mmmm that feels pretty good,” you tell me. “Thank you, I try my best.” And I slowly lick my way across your chest to your right nipple. You feel my warm breath and my cool saliva as slowly lick across.

I lick around your right nipple, as my other hand caresses your left nipple. I continue licking and caressing until I suck firmly and pull both nipples simultaneously.

It feels so good, your pussy is tingling, and you know it’s getting wet.

You let go of my head and finish unbuttoning your coveralls. “I want you to lick my pussy next. If you can do that, we might have a deal.” You strip them off, and all you have on is your cotton panties. You sit on the couch and lean back against the arm rest. Your legs are spread wide, and your panties visibly damp, but that could be from sweat too, I think.

I get on my knees, I slowly kiss the inner thigh of your right leg. You feel my soft lips with gentle angel kisses on your skin. Soft and warm. I occasionally use the tip of my tongue and lick your smooth skin for a second, creating a pattern, kiss, lick, kiss, lick, as I move close to your panty covered pussy.

You feel the tip of my tongue slowly lick across the fabric of your panties. My tongue licking the outline of your pussy through your damp panties. Licking up… across… down…and…around. You feel the texture of the wet cotton fabric slowly moving on your sensitive pussy lips.

I slowly pull the crotch of your panties to the side and lick between your pussy lips. You feel the tip of my tongue going up. I lick around your clit. My fingers gently push back the hood, exposing your lovely clit. I slowly lick around it.

Then you feel my warm wet mouth clamp down on it as I suck it firmly. The pressure feels so good. You grab handfuls of my hair as I suck it.

I gently work a finger into your wet pussy. Your lips are open as I suck harder. You feel my finger slowly going in and out, twisting as I continue sucking. Then I stop sucking and lick around it. “Is this good enough for my car, or do I need you to cum first?” I ask.

“Help me cum first,” you say as you pull my hair bit. You feel two fingers going in and out of your pussy as I lick your clit some more. Thrusting and twisting. Going deeper each trust. You grab my head and hump my face. Your pussy is so wet with pleasure.

I move my mouth down, and you feel my tongue deep in your pussy. I use my two slick fingers to rub your clit. Slowly, in tight circles at first, but then faster and harder.

You tighten your thighs around my head. “Oh God, this feels so good.” You pull my face tight against your pussy. I feel it pulse and throb against my mouth. “Yes cum, on my face.” I say. I rub your clit harder and faster until you cum.

You are breathing hard, and your body is tinging a bit. You see lights come on in the business office. “Shit, I forgot to finish locking up. That is the manager probably checking to see why the alarms weren’t set.” I help you up and help you into your coveralls. “Your keys are in the office. Wash your face off first. I will tell the manager that you were late getting here with your full payment.”

I go to the restroom and you go to the office. “I’m sorry about not setting the alarms, but we had a client who was late getting back here with his payment.” I hear you explain as I wash your tasty juices from my face, and wish we had more time to properly finish. Maybe next time I need my car serviced.

(If you enjoyed reading this story; highlight, clap, and comment. Come back for a follow up story about the Mechanic, when she takes a different job and helps out other clients.)

Saturday with the Family and Music

It is just another Saturday morning. Before you start running errands and go shopping with the family, its “Saturday Morning Chores”. Something you and your wife agreed to when you first got married, during the week keep the place clean and orderly, and on Saturdays, do the hard cleaning; bathrooms, floors, laundry, and anything that you don’t need to do daily. When you were first married, the little apartment you shared was easy to clean, and you put on music to help keep the mood up.

That was a decade ago. Two kids later and a house in the suburbs, you still start off Saturday morning doing chores. The kids are getting to a point where they can help a bit now. So as they are putting their cereal bowls in the sink, you start cleaning the bathroom. Your wife puts a load of laundry in the washer and then cleans the kitchen. As you are bleaching the toilet and wiping down the faucets you hear her turn on music. The kids cheer and you hear them putting away toys and books as they sing along.

Before the kids were born, your wife might have picked something a little sultrier and more sensuous, but she picked one of the Postmodern Jukebox albums. You laugh to yourself at that. They kids love them because the tempos are “so old time”, and they like to dance as they clean. The lyrics of some of the songs are very sexy, but the kids never notice.

As you scrub the sink you hear “Listen Girl, I’m not like all these other fella’s” as Wayne Brady sings his version of “Thriller”. A Cab Calloway style take on the old MJ hit. Your kids are clapping and singing with it. As you finish the sink and move to the tub, you are moving your hips in tempo and singing.

Soon the song switches to “Bad At Love” performed by Amber Eyes. A “runaway bride Jazz”-style cover. You go to the kitchen to get the mop, and see your wife swaying back and forth as she wipes down the cupboards. You place your hands on her hips for a moment and sing along and then whisper in her ear, “You’re not bad at anything my love.” Then you kiss her cheek and take the mop into the bathroom.

“Daddy, can I vacuum?” your son asks. “All our toys are up. I’m big enough to do it.” You set the mop down and look at the living room. Everything is off the floor.

“Ok, do you know how to do it?” you ask as he plugs it in. He pushes the handle release and then the power button.

“Yep. Mommy showed me.” He says with a grin.

“Ok, ask if you need help.” You say as you go back to do the bathroom floor.

“Daddy, can I help mop?” your daughter asks, standing by the bathroom door.

“No baby, but have you dusted in the living room?”

“I’ll get the swizzer and do a good job.” She says heading for the mop closet. You hear “Crazy Train” by Jennie Lena and think “Yes this place is a crazy train.”

When you finish the bathroom, you rinse the mop and bring it back to the kitchen for your wife to use. 

You hear yelling from the living room. “Daddy told me to use the swizzer to dust!”

“I got to finish vacuuming first. It’s a Swiffer not a swizzer, dummy.”

“Mommy said don’t call names.”

“Don’t be a dummy and I won’t.”

“That’s enough! What’s going on?” you yell.

They both stop, as the music “Million Reasons” keeps playing.

“He started it.” Your daughter says angrily pointing the dust mop at your son.

“Uh-uh. You started it. I was vacuuming and you started dusting where I vacuumed.” He says defensively.

“He called me a dummy.” She starts to respond.

“Stop! Both of you.” You sigh for a second, and then look at your son. “You are the older one. You know better than calling your sister names. Are you done in here?”

He lowers his head, “Yes, Daddy I am.”

“Ok. Apologize to your sister and put the vacuum away.” Then you turn to your daughter. “Did you finish dusting?”

“Uh-uh Daddy, he wouldn’t let me.” She says, her head bouncing in tempo to “Despacito”.

“Ok, Baby, finish dusting and then go to your room.” You say, without realizing that you are also moving in tempo with the song.

You look in the kitchen and all that is left is for you to mop it. Your wife must be down in the laundry room. You mop slowly swaying in tempo to Kenton Chen singing a torch song version of “Look What You Made Me Do”.

As you finish you hear a wolf whistle from behind you. “Yeah, Shake your money maker.” You hear your wife say. She has the laundry basket in her hands. You move in an exaggerated motion, using the mop like a dance pole, for a second.

“Do you need help folding those?” you ask.

“Sure. Finish up and join me in the bedroom.” She says with a smile.

After hanging up the mop, you wipe your hands clean and go the bedroom. “And… We… Can’t… Stop…” you hear the opening strains of the acapella version of “We Can’t Stop”. Your wife is singing along as she sits on the bed folding clothing. 

“And…We….Won’t…Stop.” you respond as you help fold. Both of you are happily singing along as you get to “This is our house….this is our room…”

The kids quietly walk in, humming as you both are singing loudly. They take clothes from the basket. Your son folds his socks and underwear. Your daughter hands you one of your wife’s bras, which you take still singing “We own the night…” and hand it to your wife. When the song ends the basket is empty and there are four piles of clothes.

The kids take theirs and put them away.

Your wife leans in and kisses you. “If they weren’t here right now, I would show how much I want you right now.”

You hug and kiss her. “Maybe later, Love.”

With all of the chores done, you all load up and run errands. There are a couple of stores you have to stop at and get things for the week. Your wife reminds you to go to the craft store for things the kids need for their end of the school year projects. You nod, thinking “Glitter, glue, construction paper, crayons, markers, and everything that makes a mess.”

Then to the grocery store to stock up for the week. Juice boxes, pounds of ground beef, macaroni, and of course more of those stupid frozen nuggets. The kids point and squeal, “Daddy, the dino shaped ones!”

But you grab the family sized bag of the regular ones, because they are on sale. The kids make an “Awwww” sound, but your wife says, “Maybe next time, if you are really good.” Which brightens them up.

As you fill up the back of the car, your son points out that the Ice cream shop at the end of the block opened up. You look where he is pointing and see waving flags reading “Season Opening” and “Welcome Back”.

Your daughter grabs your pants leg, “Daddy, Please. We helped real good today. Ice cream.”

Your wife smiles as she closes the back of the car and grabs the empty cart. “Take them and I’ll follow in a minute.”

You take your son in one hand and your daughter in the other and walk down the block. “I scream….You scream…. We all scream… for Ice Cream.” You all laugh and sing.

Inside, it is just like last year, lots of bright colors and a dozen or so flavors. Your son begs for a bowl, but you tell him that you are just getting cones for everyone today. He nods and quickly says “Chocolate” Your daughter says “Cookie Dough”, your wife walks up behind you, placing a hand on your ass. “I think I want Rum Raisin.” You look at the list of flavors, “I don’t see it, Dear, You’ll have to pick something else.” You think back for a minute, something about when your daughter was conceived, both of you were eating rum raisin on the living room couch and you went from eating ice cream to eating each other. “They have Black Cherry, or Mint Chocolate chip” you comment.

“If I get the Black Cherry, will you get the mint? Then we can have a lick of each other’s.” She winks and smiles. Yes, she is in one of those moods.

On the drive home, the kids happily lick their cones and drip ice cream all over the back seat. You knew it would happen, which is why you will wipe it all up when you get home.

Your wife holds both cones as you drive. She puts one to your mouth to lick, and then the other. At a stop light, you look over at her as she is seductively licking around the tip of each one.

“Are you enjoying them?” you ask playfully.

“That’s not fair, Mommy is eating Daddy’s ice cream.”

“It’s okay. We are sharing. See.” Your wife says as she holds a cone to your mouth again.

“There are times I am glad I don’t have a ‘vanilla’ wife.” You say in a soft tone.

“If I can get the kids down for a nap, I’ll show you.” She responds.

Once you are home, everyone helps carry in groceries, then you wipe down the back seat and the kids’ car seats, to keep things from getting sticky.

When you walk in, your wife is washing the kids’ hands and telling them to put a movie on in the living room. You head straight for the living room and pick a Disney film. You know that if you let them pick, they will fight and argue but if you have one already selected, they will sit quietly and watch. They sit down on their cushions. You hear microwave popcorn popping and then your wife comes out with two small bowls and two juice boxes.

“Thank you, Mommy,” your daughter says. “Yes, Thanks Mommy” your son replies, never taking his eyes off of the animated characters.

Quietly you both head out of the room and creep to your bedroom. Silently you close the door and lock it. She kisses you. You taste both flavors of ice cream on her.

“I thought we were going to wait until bedtime?” you ask.

She takes off her t-shirt and bra. “Maybe you want to wait, but I want you now.”

Her nipples are so beautiful and perky. Perfect for sucking on, but she isn’t waiting for that as she strips off her jeans and panties. She backs up onto the bed, pulling you along.

“We are going to have to be quiet.” You say as she sits on the edge of the bed, her legs spread open.

“I think I have a better use for your mouth, than listening to you talk.” She says as she pushes you onto your knees and pulls your face between her legs. You smell her excitement. Gripping her hips, you slowly kiss the inside of her right thigh. Slowly, softly, kissing your way inside her thigh, moving closer to her damp pussy.

“You are teasing me.” She whispers, “That’s not fair.”

“I’m being quiet.” You respond and use the tip of your tongue around her damp lips. Then you have a wicked idea. You put your mouth over her clit, and hum “We Can’t Stop”.

She grabs handfuls of your hair. “Damn that feels good.”

You shift your hands so you grip her ass and alternate humming and licking. She starts quietly singing along, but she changes some of the words, “It’s my body, we can do what we want…. It’s my body we can say what we want….It’s my body, we can love who we want……we can kiss who we want, we can live how we want.”

You stop licking for a second and whisper. “I like that.”

She is so wet and tasty. She was probably distracting herself to keep from cuming too quickly. “Stand up…I want to see how hard you are.” She whispers back.

You do, unbuttoning your jeans, pulling out your mostly hard dick. “Is that good enough for you?” you whisper.

She leans forward, licks the tip and then takes it in her mouth. She starts humming where she left off with the song. The vibrations move through you and you put your hands on her head. “La da di daddy..I like to party…We’ll do whatever we want….This is our house, this is our room…” You try to quietly sing. She grips your shaft and balls. She sucks you firmly for a moment. “Damn, do you want me to cum in your mouth or your sweet cunt?”

She stops sucking. “Fuck me now.” She says in a low growl.

She lies back as you lift her bent legs and rub your tip along her very wet and open lips. You thrust into her, gliding in so easily. Between her excitement and saliva on your cock, she is ready for you. Normally you would take your time, but you remember that the kids are only watching a movie, so you go fast, hard, and deep. She bites her lower lip as she grips a nipple with one hand and uses the other to rub her clit.

“She won’t last long.” You think as you grip her tighter and fuck her harder. You are breathing harder, but you keep your mouth closed tightly to try not to make noises.

You feel her pussy tighten around you as she orgasms, stifling her noises by putting a hand to her mouth.

“Yes, cum for me my love.” You say in a loud whisper, as you thrust and hold it. Your cock spasms inside of her, filling her with your hot jizz. You are both sweating a bit.

“Join me in a quick shower.” She says as you slide your softening member from her.

“Good idea, It gives an excuse why we are naked.” You respond as you grab bathrobes for both of you from the hooks on the back of the door.

Barefoot, you both quietly leave the bedroom and peek in on the kids. They are still watching the movie, but it is close to the end.

“Mommy and I are going to shower. You enjoy the movie.”

They both make a distracted “Uh-hu” sound.

Your wife starts the water. “We better make this quick.”

“I agree. Just washing, no shower sex.” You nod.

“This time” she says with a mischievous grin.

“I love Saturday’s like this”. You say as you hand her a washcloth.

(Thank you to Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox for inspiring this story. This was taken from the songs on ‘Jazz Me Outside, Pt. 2’. If you haven’t heard their versions of the songs I described, you really should. If you enjoyed this, leave a comment. If you enjoy my writings, follow and subscribe. See you next week.)