Justin Caas - The Third Sex

“Of course. Uncle is family and if the girls want to explore their sexuality with him, then who am I to object?”

“A thought occurs to me. Does uncle restrict his loving attentions only to the daughters who have attained legal age.”

“No. Not really,” Lucy admitted. “If he did that there would be slim pickings for him. The older girls consider themselves to be too sophisticated for any dalliance with uncle. It’s the younger ones who are enthusiastic about games.” She paused in thought, “Except Gina. That girl’s a puzzle. She’s happy, outgoing, funloving is into everything with her sisters, but is modest about her own person.”

“Nothing wrong with that, surely?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. She’ll join in without hesitation to take her turn at bringing uncle to a climax orally. It’s just that she’s not so keen for him to return the favour.”

“Sounds like a great daughter to have,” I observed.

“I suppose you’re right,” Lucy agreed. “It is a bit strange though.”

Retirement didn’t happen straight away. Natasha was indeed ready for a baby, and had already chosen her twentieth birthday as the timing when the big event would take place. She had registered with the Ministry and had named me as the prospective father. In due course and with the glacial bureaucratic slowness for which the Ministry is renowned, her application was approved and her name entered as an official candidate for Bureau assistance with finance for all those expenses associated with bringing up children. The farmhouse had plenty of room after the new additions ten years ago and the Ministry was grateful that a nominal allowance for accommodation was all they would need to provide in the way of housing.

I got to know my remaining daughters better as time went on, and as Lucy had predicted, none was actually shy about expressing loving attentions. They knew what men looked like of course. Uncle had done sterling service there in bringing them up to date with the most intimate details of male anatomy, but a Stud, that was unknown territory and of course a source of intense speculation and curiosity.

Already a year had passed since my arrival at the farmstead and Natasha now had a little son. The other girls were correspondingly a year older, Elise now nineteen, Kseniya seventeen, Tansu sixteen, Elva fourteen, Fawn thirteen and Gina now eleven. At first I had puzzled over their names but Lucy explained that each was given a name suitable to the dominant ethnicity of the city in which I was posted at the time of conception. Imaginative at least.

Our nearest neighbours were Sally and Jim. They farmed a plot of land similar to our own, but to the east. Their home was positioned at the western extremity and ours in the eastern, so we were only a five minute walk away. Lucy had taken a liking to them both and urged me to meet Jim.

I had nothing particularly to do one sunny Friday morning, so decided to stroll over to make my acquaintance with him. Their homestead was similar to our own, weathered wooden siding, an iron roof, a wide verandah on three sides and a cluster of mature trees scattered around the house itself. I knocked at the door, called out but there was no reply.

Of course I had met both Sally and Jim when we first moved in with the girls, but that was a year ago and there just seemed so many things that needed doing I had never got around to actually getting to make a closer acquaintance with my neighbour. Jim had a barn and also a stable for his horse and I caught up with him at the stable. Jim was energetically engaged with his mare and catching sight of me hastily disengaged himself, pulled his jeans up. “Hi Jim, I was just saying to myself that it’s about time to become better acquainted with my neighbour. I guess your current engagement counts as better acquainted?

Jim showed a moment of embarrassment at the unexpected interruption but quickly recovered, “Good to see you, Erin. If I’d known you were coming I’d have offered you first option.” He laughed. “Let’s go up to the house. I’ll make us a drink.”

Jim was a fit young man in his early thirties, slim and hard muscled as most manual workers are. He had a cheerful disposition and as we relaxed in the warmth of the garden drinking tea, he explained our unconventional meeting. “When I fell for Sally, it wasn’t long before I wanted to marry her. She’s that sort of a girl, really gets to you. Sally was vague for a start although I could tell she really liked me. After we’d been going out for nearly a year Sally agreed to marry me but said I might not like the conditions.

Well I thought that was a bit strange but the conditions turned out even stranger. Sally said she’d had a very bad experience with men when she was very young. As a teenager she’d had one or two boyfriends but they turned out to be bad choices too so in disgust she resolved to keep to herself. I guess Sally should be telling you this instead of me, but I don’t think she’d mind—seeing how we’re into confidences right away on account of you catching me with young Bella just now.” Jim looked a bit sheepish.

“Don’t worry about it. Life is full of surprises, most of them harmless.”

“Okay, thanks. But anyway I’m not a big one on secrets, especially as we’re neighbours, like. So it turns out that Sally’s big marriage condition is that there will be no intercourse with me, something to do with bad karma from the past. I was a bit stunned by that and asked her what I was supposed to do for loving relief. Sally said that ever since her teenage years she had been having regular intercourse with the family dog, had gone off men completely and before meeting up with me had a couple of her own, the latest one being Rollo as no doubt you’ve seen.”

I had indeed noticed Rollo, German Shepherd cross, very bouncy but with a placid temperament.

“Well we came to an understanding because I loved Sally enough to want to marry her even though the prospect of celibacy didn’t appeal to me. Sally made no restrictions about other women, but I just didn’t feel it was right and anyway, start playing around with other women and before long you fall for one and then your own marriage is over. So I turned to my mare for relief, me being still young and vigorous and thinking at the same time it wasn’t really being unfaithful to Sally because there was no emotional involvement.”

Noticing Jim’s expression, I ventured, “But you discovered something unexpected?”

“Yes,” Jim said slowly. “I did. I found that after a while there was a real bond growing between us. I always treated Bella with respect and soon came to see that she was really welcoming my attentions.”

“How did she do that?” I was curious.

“Well, little things. She’d trot out to meet me if I needed to ride her over the far fields, but she’d also come up sometimes if she was in the mood and nuzzle against me in a familiar sort of way if you get my drift. And when I approached the business end I could see she was very ready for loving attentions. So yes, that was a surprise. But I no longer feel guilty about the being unfaithful part and of course Sally accepts it as being very right and proper and natural. So eventually I just took it for granted that this was the way life was going to be.”

As time went on I got to know Jim quite well and we often shared farm tasks. Keeping fences in order is a never-ending chore and we’d often ride the boundaries together to do whatever repairs and maintenance were necessary. Sometimes our wives packed a sandwich lunch and relaxing in the shade after strenuous exertion is a good time for conversation. Jim turned to me, “Sally and Lucy’ve been talking, as women do and Sally tells me—hope I’m not speaking out of turn here—that you are having regular intercourse with all your daughters. That sounds to be a mighty fine thing to me, if it’s true.”