Warning: The tags are given as an indication. It does not mean the story is centred on that. In fact, a number of themes (tags) are pictured in the story: spanking/punishment, fucking in front of others (in a family circle, not in public), anal, mature couple, young couple, virgin but each is a minor part. It's the sum of it all that makes the story. I hope you derive as much pleasure reading it as I had writing it.
All characters in this story are fictitious and those implicated in sexual activities are all at least 18 years old.
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Jean looked at the children all playing together on the large grass field in front of the veranda, at the back of the tropical mansion, under the motherly supervision of his daughter-in-law Penelope, with the help of his prospective daughter-in-law Indira and his youngest daughter Farrah. The other mothers were busy in the kitchen with his wife Georgette preparing the evening meal while the men were seated at the veranda table around a game of cards. This serene family scene, peaceful despite the frequent top voice screams of one or other of his grandchildren, brought contentment to his heart. That was the reason he insisted on having every one of his kindred at these Grand Family Gatherings. To keep the bond alive, to knit together the next generation, to make the in-laws feel that they belonged. He was now the patriarch of the D'Avignon family, some would say dynasty, owner of the Family Estate that had been passed down to the eldest son for generations since the time of French colonisation.
The Grand Family Gathering, a pompous name jocularly coined by previous generations because it brought together all the members of the D'Avignon clan for at least three days for the End-of-Year celebrations. Over time, it no longer really assembled all members, some having emigrated to Australia, Canada or France but the patriarch, the eldest son, heir and manager of the Family Estate insisted that at least his sons, daughters and in-laws be present on that occasion and Jean, the present patriarch was no exception. Other members of the family, uncles, aunts and cousins, members of previous, present and future generations knew that the Estate was open to them at that time during that period, as long as they informed of their coming to make provision for their presence. Not because of money, the family was incredibly rich; nor space, the estate was large enough to accommodate a great number of people; but more as a matter of convenience and preparation. Anyway, anybody just dropping in unannounced would still be welcomed.
Jean liked it when the Grand Family Gathering occurred on the holiday itself, either Christmas or New Year but he could understand that his in-laws would also want to spend one of these festivities with their own family. So, he had come up with an alternative that allowed him to still have his 3-day Grand Family Gathering whenever that was not possible neither for Christmas nor for the New Year, and that was to hold it in between the two festive days. This was easy in the past because in the island tradition the twelve days after Christmas were traditionally considered end-of-year holiday and most businesses followed that tradition to keep their employees happy. But lately this had started to change for economic reasons and in some sectors, people now worked between Christmas and the New Year. Jean knew that in the years to come, they would have to find a new way to keep the Grand Family Gathering tradition going.
That was why Jean was now sitting in the veranda, preparing his slide show for the Memory Game that assembled all the family together. He liked this type of game because it bonded the family together despite the low frequency of those big reunions. The demands of modern life were making more and more dents in the family structure and he wanted to keep knitting all the family strands together for as long as he could, hoping that, when he would be gone, his sons and daughters would be so close that they would want to come together at least once a year. This year, because of commitments the in-laws had with their own families, the official gathering started on the 26
th
and would end on the 28
th
.
He had started this game around pictures of past events four years ago and it had become a moment everyone looked forward to, from his mother who had unfortunately passed away two years ago, to Charlotte's twins now 4 years old but still infants the year it was started. This was going to be Indira's first time at the game. Lewis had just started dating her last year and the relationship was still too young for her parents to release her for Christmas even though things were getting serious at that time, and there were talks of betrothal and marriage. Jean decided to include two or three slides which would centre around her and Lewis. He knew that these pics were often a pretext for affectionate leg-pulling and family bonding.
He noticed that Indira and Farrah were getting the younger children ready for their bath. The elder ones had already left with Penny. Time to set the place for the slide show. He called to the four men playing the island's version of rummy to finish their game and help him set the place for the coming Memory Game.
Soon, the veranda table had been pushed at the back, the portable screen set at one end of the veranda, near the door leading to the kitchen, Jean's rocking chair positioned a few metres away from and directly facing the screen. Julien fetched a small table and the miniprojector from Dad's office inside, while Lewis, Rajiv and Peter scattered around in the veranda the chairs that normally went with the table. While Jean and his eldest son were busy connecting and adjusting the projector, lowering the bamboo windbreakers to block out the bright light of the setting sun, Florence came in with two small trays containing two lighted mosquito coils. These insects never took a holiday, not even in the festive season. That was also part of Summer in the Tropics!
The veranda was now in semi-darkness, not ideal but sufficient for the first few pictures to be clearly discernible on the screen. As the night would set it with its darkness, the next pictures would gain in sharpness and contrast. Just then, blinking coloured lights began shining through the glass-panelled door leading to the dining room, indicating that Georgette or Charlotte had put on the lights of the Christmas tree. Another European tradition that had found its way into the local homes over the last twenty years. Fortunately, the angle from which the lights came and their lack of brightness did not affect the screen's visibility.
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The mood was easy-going as each slide brought up its load of souvenirs. The game had been very lively in the beginning, with the children competing as to who would give the answer first, not only recalling the event itself, but also going into details of when and where, even bringing up some particular anecdote that happened then. Lots of laughter, of side memories of the one or the other, of teasing and leg-pulling in all directions, children with children, children with adults and vice-versa and even sometimes between the adults.
After the dinner break, the game resumed with other slides that reflected events further in the past. The children could not always remember because they were too small at the time it occurred, some even not born. The adults took over, teasing the one or the other, sometimes even a group according to the event the slide depicted. The children were by now feeling sleepy, particularly the younger ones, after all the activity of the day. Georgette called for a break to give them their nightcap before putting them to sleep.
Jean wanted to continue, to keep going the family spirit he felt in the teasing. He knew that if the mothers left to put their children to bed, it might be the death toll for the evening. He acknowledged however the validity of his wife's suggestion. He looked at the clock in the dining room through the glass panel of the door and saw it was ten to nine. 'Too bad,' he thought, 'I still had so many good slides that would have bonded us together.' Trying to close the different applications that were open on his laptop, he put on a brave face and said,
"It's eight fifty; shall we call it a day? I suppose the mothers won't want to come back once you put your children to sleep."
"Oh no!" Farrah exclaimed, "We were having such a good time! Eight fifty is still early."
"That's true," Penelope agreed, "We could continue some more once the children are in bed. That is if Dad has some more slides for our game."
Just then, Georgette and Florence came back with the children's nightcap.
"That's easy for you to say, Penny," Charlotte remarked before her father could confirm or deny his daughter-in-law's assumption, "your children are old enough to be reasonable. With my twins, it's gonna be more complicated."
