Triplets: the Saga Continues

***AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've gotten a LOT of requests to continue this series. It's been a long, long time since I first wrote anything in this genre, so I'm a bit rusty. You will most likely need to read the first two Triplets stories to understand what's going on here. I hear-tell that they're very good (it's sometimes hard for the author to judge, which is why FEEDBACK is always a good thing... hint hint). Part Two will soon follow. Keep in mind that this story is set eighteen years in the future, so I've taken some "sci-fi-like" liberties with the surroundings. "Life in the future", for the most part, hasn't changed all that much... and probably won't, I think.***

So it's been eighteen years since Lydia and I got married. The other two-thirds of my family, my twin sisters Samantha and Danielle, never left the house, choosing instead to stay with me and Lydia. In a way, my sisters actually became more like second and third wives to me, but none of the women in the house were treated with preference or less lovingly than any of the other two. They all three were able to somehow get along and win my heart equally- I loved them all as much as any single man could, I suppose. We did, however, leave the rolling hills of Tennessee after some time- we decided that, while our unique lifestyle hadn't yet been discovered by the general public, we didn't want to temp fate. We moved lock, stock and two smoking barrells to Montana, where it was more spacious, quieter and- fortunately- less populated. We chose a town that was far from anything remotely urban, a pleasant little town outside of Bozeman and settled down for a life of quietude and simplicity, savoring each other in the most hedonistic and depraved ways we could imagine. We did not, however, sell our parents' house, and have kept it was a winter home, when Montana gets just too damn cold for any of us to bear.

I continued to invent things, as was my trade and gift in life, and even managed to sell some more of my inventions for more princely sums than I'd ever be able to spend in a lifetime. I retired at the ripe old age of thirty five. Dani, ever the sharper business-woman, stayed on with her company as a silent partner but sold her controlling interest for even more money than I got from my inventions, allowing her to "retire" before any of us. Sammie, the graphic and web designer, decided to "throw in the towel" on her career and just lived on my and Dani's excess, which didn't bother us a single bit because she turned out to be the most frugal of us all. And Lydia? Lydia, after she married me, managed to sell a few of her own inventions. In all, the four of us were able to sock away more than $40 million. We wouldn't be hurting for money and neither would our children... hell, even our childrens' children would have some spending money by the time they hit college.

And speaking of children...

Holly, Beth, Adam, and Mike are a true joy to behold. Holly and Beth (identical twins... naturally) are Lydia's, Adam is Sammie's and Mike is Dani's, while I am the father of all four. None were born with defects of any sort, all are quite healthy and normal and they get along just as famously as I did with my own sisters. More so, actually. Well... more than I did when I was their age. At eighteen years old, with just a few months between the four, they're all as affectionate with one another as four siblings could possibly be. They're all wonderful kids, even in their teens, like small adults. We've never had troubles out of them that I can remember, which speaks well (I hope) of how we raised them.

We never hid the truth from our kids. We told them about what happened between my sisters and me at an early age. We didn't want to damage, surprise or frighten them later on in life and decided that honesty would prevail in our household. Mind you, we didn't flaunt it in front of the children and were very discreet about it when Dani or Sam were horny. The kids haven't once caught us in delecto flagrante- I'm actually quite proud of that fact. At most, we'd kiss and swat each other on the ass, but in front of the children, that's as far as it went. Lydia and I, however, were a different story, since our bond is more "conventional", and while we didn't fuck out in the open, we were quite affectionate whenever the mood took us. And not surprisingly, the kids have all understood and not breathed a word of their heritage to anyone outside the family. This wasn't due to fear of getting arrested (the law forbidding incest was finally repealed when conclusive scientific evidence showed that inter-family breeding could no longer present troubles in a society that did genetic screening on a regular basis), but there WERE still some prudes hanging about the country and we didn't want to deal with them. More to the point, Holly, Beth, Adam and Mike don't really associate with ANYONE outside the family if they can avoid it. Mike says it's because we raised them to be intelligent and open-minded while their peers and classmates all seem to be the most backward bunch of any generation. While I can't really argue with the logic, their lack of social enthusiasm has concerned me of late. At eighteen years old, kids should get out and date more. They should be involved with school activities and stuff outside the home. Their senior year was coming to a close and none of them had talked much about college, which was another concern of mine.

I hadn't spoken about my worries with my... well, with my wives, I guess you'd call them now, even though Lydia and I were officially married while Sam and Dani stayed with us under the pretense of "single mothers with nowhere else to turn." Lydia, Dani and Sam were all three incredibly intelligent women who, I was sure, would have come to the same worries and concerns as I. I had every confidence in them to talk to our children at some point, but I still hadn't heard anything about such talks nor had I been invited to them. So, one night, I sent the kids out to go see a holographic movie, something with Christian Slater as the sly, experienced brains behind some sort of elite group of tech-thieves. In truth, I wanted to go see the movie with them (I hadn't seen Christian Slater in the movies in almost ten years), but family business took precidence.

As soon as the kids were gone, Lydia took a seat next to me on the family sofa. Her red hair was as long as ever, but now she had a beautiful and sexy streak of gray that extended from her left temple to the very ends- a single streak that drove me nuts with lust, and I still don't know exactly why. She was just as trim as when we'd gotten married, having devoted a good deal of attention to keeping fit and slender and healthy after she gave birth to the twins (happily, my sisters had the same kind of dedication and look just as beautiful as Lydia) . Lydia stroked my thigh as I watched the stereobox (a holographic TV, basically, which displayed holographic images "in stereo", so that the human eye could see it perfectly, regardless of which eye had dominance) without really paying attention to it. There was a news report on about the Migonians, an alien race which had presented itself to the human public about five years ago- old news. I was still trying to figure out how I wanted to broach my topics of concern with the women.

"What is it, Jake?" Lydia asked quietly after a few minutes. She could tell that I was brooding. I guess husbands and wives come to know these subtle mannerisms over the years and all three of my wives can pick my brain with a glance. "I know something's bothering you, m'lad," she said gently in that Scottish accent of hers. "Ye wouldnae sent the kids out t'see a movie on a weekday if ye didnae have somethin' on your mind."

I smiled feebly and looked at her. Lydia's eyes sparkled with that same quality of wisdom and scrutiny that I've come to love and respect in her. "You're right," I answered. "Something's bothering me and I wanted to talk it over with the three of you first. Where're Dani and Sam?"

Lydia smiled. "Waiting for me t'go get them in case we're all nutters an' we hadn't figured this mess out already. Listen, mate, we've all been watchin' ye mighty close lately. An' we've been payin' attention t'how ye look at the kids an' all. We think we've sussed it out: you're worried about them not gettin' out much, aren't ye? Worried about how close they been actin' lately, not datin' much. School's about over and they ain't picked a college yet. That it?"

I opened my mouth at first to express my surprise and shock and then snapped it shut. They've pulled this trick on me before, a hundreds times already- I should be used to it by now. Dani and Sam know me better than anyone and can spot my body language like card sharks, but Lydia knows my heart better than even myself. The three of them together could probably read my mind without resorting to telepathy, but the end result wouldn't be any different than if they HAD used telepathy. I nodded soberly. "That about sums it up, yeah. Lemme guess: the three of you have already figured out a solution, too. Right?"

"Aye, we have. But we want ye to approve it, first. They're your children, too, and ye deserve to be a part of this kind o' decision."

I chewed on that for a brief moment and then asked, "How long have the three of you been talking about this, anyway? Sounds like you've already got it whipped and you're just waiting for the marching orders."

"Status quo, mate. This has been under our hats for a month now. That's how we run things around here. Ye should know that b'now."

I sighed in resignation. "Yeah. I do. Okay... Volume mute," I told the TV, the stereobox went silent and then I turned to Lydia. "Hit me."

Lydia took a deep breath. "Okay... well... what we've got here are THREE problems. First, there's you worrying about the kids. Second, there's the kids' lack of motivation and desire to get out of the house. Third, there's the kids' sexual frustration..."

I held up my hand quickly. "Whoah! Hold on. WHAT sexual frustration? Where in the hell did that come from?"

Lydia blinked at me, looking for all the world surprised that I hadn't already considered it. "Jake... TELL me you're not that obtuse. Dontcha KNOW why the kids're so damn lazy? Honey, they're all still virgins!"

"Virgins?" I repeated, like I hadn't heard the word before. I found my bearings quickly, though. "Hmm... Holly and Beth, I can understand, but the boys? C'mon... the boys... they're... well... they're a handsome guys, if I do say so myself. The girls should be all over both of them. And Holly and Beth... they take after their mother, easily. Guys should be pounding down the door to date them."

"But they aren't," Lydia noted. "And Mike, handsome devil that he is, isn't INTERESTED in the girls at his school. Ye know why not?" I shook my head like an idiot. I've seen some of the girls he and his brother go to school with- a good number of them are pretty damn cute and I know for a fact that some of them think the same thing about my sons (I've seen some of those same girls watching them with intense interest as they get into the car with their sisters when I used to pick them up before giving our kids their own cars). Lydia went on. "Dumb as posts, is how he puts it. I've talked with him and Adam about it a bit. They're of the mind that the smartest girls in their school are the ones they happen to be related to, their sisters. Neither one of them wanna waste their time on cheap thrills, Jake. They're in the market for someone challenging."

"Yeah, but they're eighteen," I replied. "When I was their age I was practically BEGGING to get laid. Are you sure they're not...."

"Gay?" Lydia finished for me. She shook her head. "Definitely not. Dani found some holovids under Mike's bed, magazines under Adam's. Ye might guess what they were?" Well, that question was answered, at least. Okay, so my sons weren't hitting for the other team. I'm not necessarily opposed to homosexuality, but all things being equal, it's a challenge in lifestyles that I wouldn't choose for any of my kids. Bisexuality is one thing, but homosexuality is a whole other kettle of fish. "Nor are the girls," Lydia added with a wink. "Buzz-buzz." By this, she meant that either one or both of the girls owned a vibrator, which is also good news, I suppose.

"So... they're interested in sex, they know how it's done, but they aren't pursuing it?" I summed up. "What're they waiting for? A neon sign that reads 'GO FOR IT'? We've taught them about protection and the consequences of certain choices. And what does this have to do with their not wanting to go to college?"

"They WANT to go to college, Jake," Lydia answered, "but they're worried that they'll just find more o' the same. Holly and Beth're of the same mind as their brothers. They avoid the jocks like the plague and geeks were fashionable thirty years ago, but still rather stupid on the whole. The girls're surrounded by ruddy boys when what they want is a man... like their brothers."

Suddenly the warning bells started ringing in my head. "Uh-oh," I muttered. On the bright side, at least my daughters weren't eyeing the Migonians.

"Precisely," Lydia said conspiratorially, sounding almost glad to know that I was now on the same page as her and my sisters.

I waved my hands in the air. "No. No way. Once in one generation is enough," I said. "You CAN'T be suggesting what I THINK you're about to suggest!"

Lydia took another deep breath. "Honey, there comes a time in a parent's life where they have to realize the kind of effect they've had on their children. The kids know about us, about you and your sisters. In a way, we've all but TOLD them that incest is okay."

"For US, but not for-"

"Them?" Lydia finished. "You'll find our children a very unsympathetic audience, I think, Jake. They haven't come right out and said it yet, but I think they're all independently thinking the same thing. And it's not like it's against the law anymore."

"Sex with each other?" I squeaked. Two boys and two girls. Do the math, dummy, my mind shouted.

Dani and Sam then came into the living room. Dani casually turned off the stereobox and Sammie took a seat on my open side, opposite of Lydia, on the sofa. "We heard the last bit," she said. "We were just as astounded as you when we first realized it, bro, but it kinda makes sense."

Dani turned around and sat on my lap, completing the set and effectively trapping me where I was, surrounded by three beautiful women I loved very much. "So the question we REALLY have to ask is this: should we stop them or should we help them?"

"An' this is also where we can solve your own worries, Jake," Lydia put in.

I turned to her questioningly. "I don't get it," I said flatly.

"When the kids finally learn to accept themselves and their desires, they'll learn that it's okay to have OTHER desires. They'll learn that it's okay to follow through with those desires," Dani said as she kissed my cheek. "Whether they talk about it or not, I KNOW those kids want to go to college. They LIKE learning things and expanding their knowledge, especially now that NASA's taking on younger astronauts. We did, after all, teach them to love using their minds."

I blinked and tried for the life of me to figure it out. "So... you're saying that if we let the kids fuck themselves silly, they'll get inspired to go to college and date other people? Maybe see the stars?" I tried my best not to sound incredulous.

The women all three looked at themselves silently. "In a manner o'speaking," Lydia said, "yeah."

Jake The Cynic couldn't keep quiet for long, however. "That's absurd," I retorted.

Lydia sat back a bit and looked at me carefully. "If you've got any other ideas, we're all listening."

That shut me up pretty quick. Jake The Cynic doesn't stand a chance against these ladies. Never did. But that didn't mean I wasn't still a little bit skeptical.

"What makes you think they haven't already moved in that direction anyway?" Dani prodded.

That shook me pretty hard. I snapped my head around to look at her, to see if she was just joking. She looked dead serious. "They wouldn't," I said weakly. "Not without consulting us first. That's a big step."

"And NASA's a big company," Dani rejoined. My dead-pan look must have been priceless, as I was not amused. She held her hands up apologetically. "Just kidding."

Sammie snuggled in to me, comfortingly. "Don't worry, we don't think they have done it yet, but it's smart to consider that they MIGHT if we don't do something soon."

"Like how soon?" I asked.

Lydia looked at her watch. "They'll be home in less than an hour, I should think," she said casually.

"What?" I said with a start. "TONIGHT? Are you kidding me?"

Lydia suddenly became very stern. "Listen, bud. They're OUR kids, too, okay? We're just as concerned about them as you and don't think we hadnae wringed our hands silly like a bunch of silly old goats about it! The kids graduate from uni (university = high school to Lydia... she hasn't completely been Americanized) in two weeks and what then?"

I blinked. "I dunno," I said blankly. "We talk about it then?"

Dani shook her head. "We thought of that. Doesn't wash, Jake. When kids get out of high school, they start to think of themselves as free agents. You can BET they'll take matters into their own hands at that point and exclude us from the decision making process. We've got to clear the air with them about this BEFORE then."

"Now's as good a time as any," Sammie concluded, as she pulled away a bit. I realized, objectively, that now my three women were in "mother mode", and were absolutely certain that theirs was the best decision. I was resisting them and they were having none of that.

I sat there for a long moment of silence, thinking it over, turning it around from every angle that I could imagine, trying to project and predict years on down the road. How would this affect the kids when they were our age? Dani and Sam never did try to date other men after we started having sex, but then again, they both had their own kids to look after and I was pretty much filling the role of "husband" even though we never officially wed. My head spun and spun, but I couldn't think of anything to argue against. As their parents, we had taught them about a certain lifestyle and we owed it to them the CHOICE to either take it on for themselves or support them in another direction. We had never really given them that choice and it was coming down to the wire.

Allow my sons and daughters to have sex with each other? Well... it was good enough for me and my own sisters... why not for them?

I sighed heavily. "Okay. As soon as they get home, we'll talk it over with them. Let them know that it's an OPTION if they want it, but we won't crowd them about it, okay? Holly and Beth... they've been using a vibrator?" Lydia nodded. "Then they're virgins only in the technical sense, I take it?"

"A vibrator's kinda useless if it only goes in an inch," Sammie pointed out.

"Exactly," I said. "And Mike and probably Adam, too, have been watching porn. So they know the mechanics of it. Our biggest concern is birth control."

"Taken care of," Dani piped in. Mike being her son, I figured she meant that she'd already bought him and Adam some condoms and had neglected to tell me about it. "Holly and Beth have been on BC since they were seventeen and take it religiously."

I arched my eyebrows in surprise. I hadn't been informed about this and I would never would have noticed, since birth control no longer affects a woman's body in the old ways and is now 100% effective. Lydia huffed in exasperation when she saw my reaction. "It's not like you need to know EVERY little thing about them, honey. That's kinda personal."