Kal, Male, 36

	- Narrator, disaster survivor and castaway

	- 6'1, 190lbs, straight, shoulder-length dark-brown hair

Bailey, Female, 13

	- Disaster survivor and castaway

	- 5'2, 110lbs, golden-brown tanned skin, shoulder-length light yellow-brown sun-streaked hair

Keekah, Female, 14

	- daughter of Manu, sister of Hakee and Mie, cousin of Poln

	- 5'3, 125lbs, mocha-brown skin, waist-length mostly-straight black hair

Hakee, Female, 17
 
	- Survivor from Hahonoko, daughter of Manu, sister of Keekah and Mie, cousin of Poln

	- 5'9, 150lbs, mocha-brown skin, butt-length straight black hair

Amy, Female, 15

	- Stowaway from California

	- 5'6, 115lbs, pale skin, shoulder-length straight black hair

When I woke just before dawn, I was on my back. Keekah's head was on one shoulder, Amy's on the other, both with a hand on my chest. Bailey was wrapped over the pale-skinned fifteen-year old, holding her and keeping her warm. I smiled to myself and kissed Keekah's forehead, then Amy's.

Amy stirred softly and looked at me with sleepy eyes. She smiled and kissed my chest. I listened to Keekah snore softly, could hear Bailey's light breath on Amy's neck.

I tried to decide in that moment if it was all a mirage. A hallucination. A really long and vivid dream. For a moment, it couldn't be real. I held three sweet, beautiful teen girls close to me, in my bed, one of them my wife, two my lovers, and a third... probably would be soon. It couldn't be real.

I drifted a few minutes, in that space between waking and dreaming, where the mix of the imagination and awareness created odd sensations and false memories. Amy's body moved against mine, I felt myself grow hard. Her hand slipped down to stroke me. And then she was snoring softly, her head on my shoulder, her hand still resting on my chest. I realized that I had imagined her hand moving down.

And then I knew for sure this was real. Dreams... hallucinations... there's no lucidity. Not really. No strong connections from point to point, from moment to moment. I recalled everything since I'd been on the island. All my time with Bailey, and Keekah, Gale, and now the survivors from the boat. Now Amy. I could place each one of them in context, draw meaning from each interaction, and in that moment, I started laughing hysterically at my good fortune.

It woke everyone. Bailey looked concerned, but I couldn't stop laughing. I lost it. Felt so good, I felt whole. Felt more than whole. Whatever horrors the rest of the world was suffering, in that moment it felt like I balanced it out with the overwhelming joy and pleasure and love that had surrounded me. I laughed and laughed.

When I finally settled, Bailey eyed me with a half-grin. “What's got you going?”

I smiled, tried to put it into words, finally came out with, “I... just... feel... alive. Everybody hug me.”

They all leaned in, even Amy and wrapped arms around me. I felt lips on mine, and on my neck, on my arms. Amy kissed my chest and breathed on my nipple. My sore dick even tried to rise, but it wasn't about that. It was a very human, a very emotional moment. Not a sexual one. As arms and legs and bodies pressed into mine, I felt like the most fortunate person to have ever lived.

Slowly we untangled ourselves and met the day. Clouds had rolled in overnight, along with a steady breeze, and the surf was whipping strongly against the shore. From the deck, I said, “we really need to fill water today, but it looks like it will be too rough to load up the raft. Ah... we've got a good supply, what say we take a day off? We've still got plenty of things to do... but... yeah, mostly... a day off.”

Bailey held my hand and said, “sure... so, what do we do with a day off, anyway?”

“Well, there's a soccer ball. Amy, I know you are still getting your strength back, but feel up to kicking the ball around?”

She grinned, her nakedness forgotten already. “Yeah. Love to. Think I can give it a go.”

Keekah jumped down to retrieve it, and I ducked into the storage to roll us a quick joint. Bailey made me coffee and herself a cup of tea while Amy sipped water and Keekah ran down to the surf to urinate.

We ate a bit of of the smoked fish Hakee had prepared a couple of nights before, and soon the four of us were kicking around the soccer ball as the wind picked up.

Just a few minutes in, Keekah was feeling sluggish and tired and went back to the cabin to lay down. Amy also tired quickly, though she kept at it longer than I thought she would, and the three of us sat with our backs to the boat as we watched the storm clouds move in from the East.

I pulled Bailey to me and kissed her, then offered the same to Amy. She hesitated and I backed off. Something in her look said she wasn't sure, and I wondered if things were progressing far too quickly for her.

Bailey said to her softly, “what is it?”

Amy shook her head. “I dunno... just... just give me a minute...” She was breathing heavily. The teen looked to be perspiring despite the relatively cool morning breeze. “I... I sometimes get panic attacks...”

I asked, “what can we do that will help?”

“Something to drink, can I have rum? Think that might help... A wet cloth. I need to walk around.” She ran a hand to her throat and seemed to struggle to breathe.

Bailey headed off to get the cloth and rum, and I helped Amy to stand. I held her hand as we paced down to the surf and back. She barely got out, “talk to me... anything. Just talk to me right now...”

So I told her about my life before the island. I described Kate, and Nina, about my work and my travels. I don't know why that's what I said to her. I'd just come to accept that all that was really, truly behind me, come to accept the relative utopia I'd landed in, and here I was telling this panicking girl about everything I'd lost before ending up here.

Bailey came running with the cloth and the rum. Amy sipped while she walked, and I kept talking as Bailey followed us. I told her of my trip several years ago to Honduras, about a month I spent in Hong Kong. And I talked about San Diego, where we were both from.

She started to ask me questions as we walked. “Did you ever go across the border?”

“Yeah, twice. Spent a week in Tijuana, back before it was as bad as it is now... er... was when I left, anyway.”

“Yeah, I've been there, back before my parents started moving around. Doing missionary work. Did you like Mexico?”

“Sure, it was fine for a visit. I never got to see much outside of the city, I expect I missed the best parts.”

“Ah. I know what that's like. When my parents decided to be missionaries, they told me I had no choice but to go. I was eleven at the time. I guess there wasn't a choice for me, but I felt really sick about it. Sick about everything. The first place they took me was Micronesia. Not Canada, or France. Micronesia. We stayed in a small house, no bedrooms, no toilet. I hated it. We prayed with them all morning, then helped feed them in the afternoons, then more prayers. I got really sick of all the praying. I liked helping people, but the rest...”

I kept my thoughts to myself as she sipped her rum, then continued. “Praying, praying, praying. That's all my parents believed worked. Prayer would solve everything. Just believe and pray. They really believed it. But... when the fighting started a few weeks ago, I spent every hour of every day praying I'd find them, praying they were ok, praying to get away from the fighting, praying that I'd be alright. And all that time, no one listened. No one answered. I don't know what I really believed before, but after all this...”

Amy grew silent and I thought about how to respond. I certainly was no believer, but I wasn't sure how to say so without making it worse. Instead, what came out of my mouth was, “well... you're here, safe now, right? Maybe some prayers just take a little extra work to make happen... You're alright now, with us. Maybe someone, out there, helped that happen.”

Bailey eyed me funny but I figured I'd explain my reasoning later. Amy thought a moment and said, “I don't think so. No. No, I don't believe that either. I think it didn't work because it can't work. There's no one listening. At least... no one listening that cares, or can help. I think it's always just people helping people. Like you, all of you. You've helped me, made me feel safe, I don't think you needed an old man with a beard to tell you to do that. I think you did it because you're good people.”

“I can't argue with your logic. Does it make you sad? To think that no one is listening?”

She bit her lip and was quiet, walking with me and Bailey in wide circles around the camp. “It makes me sad that my mom and my dad believe it and it's not true. It makes me sad that they wasted so much time teaching people, teaching me, that all we had to do was pray, and it just wasn't true.”

Amy had calmed a lot. It seemed like we were just walking as a means of keeping the conversation going. Her color had returned, the sweating minimized. She no longer held a hand at her throat or took deep breaths. Her pace slowed a bit.

I replied to her thoughts, “Amy... I think you are wise beyond your years. What always matters most, the only thing I can see that makes a difference, is just doing what needs done. Helping, building, creating. The idea that prayer will bring anything that your hands and your mind can deliver is as nonsensical to me as it is to you. Accepting that isn't always easy, but once you do, you find a way to see value in things, to make a difference because you can, not because you think some deity has demanded it.”

I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. “Here, Amy, here, there are no gods and no missionaries and no one to claim rain is Thor pissing from a mountaintop.” She laughed. “All we have is in front of our eyes, and more important to me than anything else are the ones I love. That we all love. That. That is all we can deal with, all we can trust, and in that, we have more solid proof that we alone control our lives and not some sleepy god who won't answer his phone.”

Amy stopped and chuckled, sounded cheerful finally, and leaned into Bailey. She kissed Bailey's lips, then wrapped her arms around her. They locked in the embrace for a moment before Amy turned back to me. “Ok. I can accept all that. And... can I have that kiss now, Kal?”

She leaned in to me and I met her lips with my own, drawing her body to mine, feeling her warm skin press into me. Her tongue danced across mine and she relaxed herself in my arms. Bailey came up behind her and squeezed her from behind, wrapping her arms outside mine and catching my eye. The love I saw reflected there was deep and wonderful.

By the time we walked back to the boat, Amy had finished her rum and rain was beginning to fall. I covered the fire and cleared up our breakfast items. Keekah was snoozing in the cabin so I grabbed a couple of things and led the others down to one of the shelters.

Amy was feeling very tired, so we laid down with her until she'd fallen asleep, then Bailey and I walked out in the rain. There was no lightning, we heard no thunder, so we just walked down the beach to the West, back toward the old camp and the stream.

“Reminds me of the first time I tasted you down there. In the rain. That was an amazing day.”

She smiled, “yes. Hard to believe that was us. It feels so far away... but I still remember it. I remember the way you licked me, made me cum...” She shuddered and flushed. I think I did the same. Bailey changed the subject. “Think she'll be ok?” she asked me quietly.

“Yeah. I think so. I've seen a panic attack or two before. Sometimes they are dangerous and frightening. She seemed to have something on her mind after I got her talking, maybe she had a moment of existential crisis that set her off.”

“Existential?”

“Thoughts of meaning, the point of being alive, thoughts of gods and our place in the universe. You know, the big questions.”

“Got it.”

“I think she's going to do fine. She's a bright young woman, and I think that once she gets her strength back, she'll be a real asset to us.”

“Ok... cause... I really like her.”

“Me too, Kitten, me too.”

I watched as someone sprinted out of the woods and ran in our direction. Dark skin and the outfit suggested it was one of the Hahonokoans. Bailey and I stopped a minute before we were sure it was Hakee. She ran up, a pack strapped to her back. We worried only a moment before she smiled, pointed to the sky, and ran off toward the boat.

We followed her and ducked into the shelter she shared with Hona. Inside, she snagged a towel and dried her skin, then immediately shed her clothes. Bailey and I smiled as the cute older teen exposed her body to us for the first time. The girl paid us no mind and used the towel to wipe herself dry.

She was beautiful, really. Tall, lovely mocha breasts that swung heavily from her chest. A dark patch of pubic hair covered her Mons and when she dried her legs, I could see her dark brown labia between her thighs. Hakee even turned and bent over to dry her feet, pushing her curvy, round ass up. Gorgeous labia stuck together between her legs, hairs thick around her clit and becoming sparse further back. Her tight, dark anus was barely visible between her firm, perfect cheeks.

The view lasted just a moment before she dropped the towel and started dressing once more. She said “Owwhh” and stopped her dressing with only her pants on. Hakee reached for the bag and pulled out a note scribbled by Gale. I read it aloud:

We need two or three more days up here if you four are ok at the boat. The cabin was knocked over but we have fixed it. There is another section we want to clear to plant some things they brought. Hakee is going to bring back a few things we need, I've included the list below so you can help her find them. Otherwise, we'll be back in a few more days. If you want to make the trek up, we wouldn't complain if you dropped in with a bottle of rum. – Gale

“Ok, well. I dunno when that rain is going to let up, but we might as well get you packed up for when it breaks.” I nodded to Hakee and tried to make her understand that I would gather the items. “Uh... Hakee... any chance you speak English? Maybe a little English?”

“N-no.”

“No?”

“No... uh... No Engesh. No.”

“Ok.” It was a shame that I couldn't communicate better with her, but I let her know to stay with Bailey and rest while I gathered the items she needed. Hakee nodded and sat on the mattress, her half-dressed state seemingly forgotten.

By the time I returned with the things she was to take back, Keekah had risen and joined her sister and Bailey in the shelter. Hakee was still topless and I enjoyed seeing three beautiful sets of young breasts turn my way when I entered. I handed the bag to Hakee, said, “rain's about to let up, dunno for how long.” I pointed to the sky, tried to show rain and then a pause. I dunno if it made any sense, but Hakee rose and reached for her shirt.

She paused when she saw me looking at her tits, then smiled and laughed. She chattered to Keekah, who also laughed. Hakee demonstratively thrust out her chest in my direction and shook back and forth, sending her luscious breasts swinging wildly. She laughed again, looked me in the eye a moment, then broke into a big smile, finally putting her shirt on and slinging the bag over her shoulder.

Hakee nodded briefly as if to say thanks, then headed out into the drizzling rain. She dashed back to the East and was soon lost from sight.

“What did she say about me?”

Keekah laughed, replied, “She say you look at all tits. Mine, hers, Bailey's. Everyone notice, and smile. You always look.”

“Guilty as charged. Am I that obvious?”

Bailey responded, “Yes. I don't think you've missed a boob since I've met you. It's like boobs have magnets that attract your eyes.”

“That may be the most accurate thing anyone has ever said about me,” I replied, my eyes locked on Bailey's young breasts. “I wanna check on Amy, be right back.”

I left the shelter and walked a few paces to the next and went inside. Amy was snoring. I slid in next to her and brushed the hair from her face, kissed her cheek, then leaned back. Her eyes opened slowly and smile spread on her face. “Hey, Sweetie. You doing ok?”

“Yeah... I'm good, thanks... just sleepy.”

“Ok. Get some rest. It's a good day for it. I'll check in on you again when we get a meal together.”

“K. Thanks, Kal...”

I kissed her lips lightly and left the shelter. The rain had slowed a bit but still came down softly. The wind was alternating between moderate gusts and moments of calm. I went to the boat a moment and grabbed the rum and rolled a joint. I returned to Hakee's shelter and climbed inside.

I was greeted to the sounds of heavy breathing and soft moans, and before me, Keekah was on her back, Bailey laid over her and between the dark-skinned girl's parted thighs. The two were an arousing sight.

I sat against the wall and watched as the girls made love. Kissing, touching and caressing each other's breasts. Keekah ran her hands through Bailey's sun-bleached hair, down her slender back and held her ass, squeezing and pulling her closer. Bailey's hands ranged over Keekah's swelling breasts, one trailed down to the fourteen-year old's hairy vagina.

Keekah arched as Bailey's fingers found her wet sex. I could smell arousal and moist pussy in the room, inhaled deeply and felt my penis get hard. I groaned as the flesh stretched over raw spots, and the discomfort made it clear I wasn't going to be using it on either of them that day.

Keekah moaned loudly, held Bailey's head to her chest where the thirteen-year old sucked on her nipple. I saw Bailey's fingers slip into the girl's pussy, becoming sticky and slick as she penetrated Keekah's vagina. She stroked in and out, letting her thumb circle the girl's clit while her pinky slid around Keekah's asshole.

The dark-skinned girl arched again and shuddered, again, tensed, held Bailey tight, and screamed out as she orgasmed. “AHHHHH... NNNNEEAAAHHH... NNNNNEEAAAHHH... AAAHHH... OOOAAHH...” Bailey's fingers slid in and out as Keekah climaxed, driving her digits through the teen's slippery channel. She only slowed when Keekah collapsed back onto the bed and breathed heavily.

Bailey brought her fingers to her mouth and licked Keekah's juices from them, purring as she savored the teen's wonderful and rich flavors.

Keekah flipped Bailey and immediately buried her face between the thirteen-year old's legs. Bailey's thighs were spread wide, legs in the air, her eyes watching the dark head bobbing below. Bailey was very aroused, and she built quickly as Keekah ran her tongue up and down her slit, dancing across the her clit, then over her labia, circling her anus, and then back up. Over and over Keekah's tongue chased laps around Bailey's genitals, and in moments, the girl shuddered into a climax.

“nnn... unnn... UUHHHNN... UHNNN... UHHNN... Ohhh... ohhh...” Bailey's legs kicked and then squeezed against Keekah's back, her breasts were flushed, her cheeks rosy. She cried out, her sounds loud in the small room. She fell back on the mattress out of breath and smiling a toothsome smile.

Keekah raised up and came to me, sat on my legs and brought her mouth to mine. I tasted Bailey's pussy on her lips and on her tongue, the sweet, pungent juices a rich flood in Keekah's mouth. I drank it in, kissed her deeply, licked away every drop of Bailey's wonderful vaginal cream. Keekah eyed me, said, “now you.”

She started to slide down to my cock and I stopped her. “Sorry, Sweetheart. I'm willing. I want to. But... I'm still pretty sore. Look.”

I showed her the red, raw marks on my shaft. I didn't need to tell her what had caused it. “Ohh... my butt tight, yes. My butt tight. Ok...”

She slid back to Bailey and started licking her pussy again. As my young wife began to moan again, my hand slipped over something cool and firm. I looked down to see a long brown stone between two towels, sticking out onto the floor. I pulled the item out and had to smile.

I held in my hand what could only be a stone phallus. It was probably five inches long, very smooth, cool to the touch. The 'head' end was just slightly larger, rounded.

I looked up in time to watch Bailey orgasm again, her legs again crushing Keekah's head between them. She rocked back and forth as her body trembled, euphoria washing through her as the girl licked her little thirteen-year old genitals.

Keekah rose up and saw me turning the phallus over in my hand. She grinned as she sat beside Bailey. “Ah, my sister saved her man.”

“Her man?”

“Sure. When you have no man, that is your man.” She leaned over and took it from me, eyed it with a wicked grin and sniffed it. “Ok... it's clean. Now...”

Keekah parted Bailey's thighs once more, slid the phallus through the girl's slippery labia. Bailey's slick discharge coated the stone, I could see light cream streaking it after just a few strokes. Keekah slipped the phallus inside Bailey's pussy and my wife let out a long, powerful moan, rocking down to take the stone inside her.

Keekah plowed it in and out, using her other hand to rapidly stroke Bailey's clit. I watched as Bailey seemed to bunch up, her body trying to cram around the penetrating phallus. She shuddered harder with each stroke, with each touch on her clit. Bailey's head rose, her back came up, her knees went higher, she let out a long cry, and she exploded in Keekah's expert hands.

Bailey rolled as she came, pounding her pussy down on the phallus, Keekah continuing to stroke it in and out with steady force. Ejaculate shot out of her snatch, splashing on the floor and soaking the mattress. Three strong squirts left their mark on Keekah's arm as well. When she finally came down, Bailey pulled herself off the stone and closed her legs, lay trembling and panting heavily. She managed to whisper, “wow... oh, wow...”

Keekah pulled the phallus to her nose and sniffed, “smells like you now.” She sucked it into her mouth and cleaned all the various fluids from the stone dick.

Bailey sat up and took it from her. Keekah got on all fours on the mattress. Bailey looked unsure what to do next, so Keekah offered, “be the man. Just like a man.”

Bailey seemed to understand and slid behind Keekah, between her parted thighs, and brought her Mons against Keekah's hairy slit. For a moment, Bailey humped against the girl, eliciting sighs and soft moans. She started to get into it, grabbing Keekah's hip with one hand and thrusting against her as if she were fucking the fourteen-year old with a penis.

After she got the rhythm and had Keekah moaning and humping back against her, she brought the phallus to Keekah's pussy and slid it inside, then held it in place as she retook her position. Bailey humped her, let the stone move with her body, in and out, in and out. She moved her hips as if she were moving the phallus, and Keekah was building quickly.

I watched the phallus disappear inside Keekah and reappear as Bailey withdrew. In and out, in and out, loud moans filling the air. Both teens were sweating, panting very hard. Keekah's body thrust back against the stone. As she got closer to release, the fourteen-year old's hand slid back and touched her own clit, and she erupted in an powerful orgasm, Bailey fucking her from behind with the phallus.

Keekah clenched her ass and bucked against the penetration, slamming herself back and grinding down hard. Bailey's body humped her, slapped against her, and the look in her eyes told me Bailey was loving the feeling of fucking Keekah.

The two finally sank down on the mattress, and they were clearly exhausted. They lay panting, touching each other lazily, the phallus laying on Bailey's stomach, soaking in a pool of Keekah's juices.

I slid behind Bailey and kissed her neck, stroked Keekah's stomach idly. “My, my... that may have been the single hottest thing I've ever witnessed. You two...”

They just grinned and tried to catch their breath. They were both dozing before too long and I carefully removed the phallus from Bailey's stomach and sniffed it. Keekah's aroma was dark and rich on the stone.

I took it outside and rinsed it in the rain, then returned it to its spot between the towels.

Keekah spoke up, said slowly, “I will go to Gale tomorrow if ok. I think she might miss me.”

I replied, “Ok. Take her a bottle of rum, will you? She asked for some in her letter.”

“I will. I'll go in the morning.”

Bailey spoke up. “I'd kinda like to go, too. There's a bunch of bugs I've seen but not catalogued yet on the East side of the lake. That ok, Kal?”

“Sure, Kitten. Sure. I'll miss you two, but yeah, go help them and have some fun. Sure. I'll need to stay here. Amy's in no shape to make that trek, and she can't be left alone here.”

While the girls dozed, I put together a meal that wouldn't require the fire being exposed to the rain. I gathered some of the dried lamb and dried bananas, the last of the fresh sweet cherry peppers, and a handful of chocolates. I smoked the joint I'd rolled earlier as I waited out a downpour in the cabin, and enjoyed a couple of fingers of the vanilla rum.

Amy opened the door and came inside. “Oh, hey. Where is everybody?”

“Napping in the last shelter. Just waiting out that downpour to bring everyone some food. Hungry?”

“Yeah, definitely.” I passed her the joint and she hit it a couple of times before passing it back.

“How you feeling?”

“Pretty good. A lot better than earlier. Thanks, again, thanks. That's happened to me a few times. I never seem to know when they are coming, I just... suddenly I'm really scared and feel awful. Sometimes... sometimes it makes me puke...”

I nodded my head. “Well, I'll do what I can whenever I can. What we did earlier, that usually help?”

“Yeah, walking and talking seems to get me out of it. Dunno why. What you said... about praying... that really struck home with me. It made sense. I dunno why I never saw it like that before all this.”

“Don't be hard on yourself. You were brought up to believe and so you believed until you saw for yourself that it wasn't so. And, the strong thing to do, the hard thing to do, is to change your mind. That takes guts, and you, Amy, you have a lot of guts.”

She chuckled, “I dunno. Sometimes I feel like I'm just in the way, not doing anyone any good. Ever. Like here. You all have done so much for me... and I've done nothing.”

“Your turn will come. All of us will need to be carried at times. Right now you need our help. Later, it might be me. Or Bailey, or someone else. I've already had my run of being the one in need.” I told Amy about the bomb and the long, slow, painful period of recovery I went through months earlier. “I felt worthless for awhile. I couldn't find wood or fish or get water. I couldn't do anything. It sucks, I know. Don't waste your time, though. You may not feel good enough for some days, but if you have an idle moment, do something with it.”

“Like what?”

“Draw, write, read.”

“Read? You have books?”

“There two big tubs full of great books in the storage below. When I was recovering, I read a lot of them, and it really helped me to get through. What do you like to read?”

“I dunno. Mysteries, some fantasy, sci-fi. Adventure.”

“Ever read Island of the Blue Dolphins?”

She shrugged, “don't think so. What's it about?”

“Well, it's a fictional story, based though on a true story of a girl who was stranded alone on an island for almost twenty years. It's sad, it's joyful, it reads like an adventure. Really puts in perspective all that we have here. Compared to her, we've got a kingdom of comfort.”

“Yeah, cool. I'll read that. Thanks... Didn't you say there was some food?” She grinned at me and I roached the joint, then grabbed the box I'd put together for the meal.

I took Amy's hand, pulled her to me and kissed her. “Give it time. It just takes time, ok? You'll be able to start doing more soon, I promise.”

“Ok. I know.” She smiled and leaned in for another kiss. The look in her eyes said she wanted more than just a kiss, and I sank into her for a few moments before I took her hand again and led us out of the cabin.

The girls were stirring when we came in, and the strong smell of wet, horny pussies hit us immediately. It was a wonderful, intense aroma, and I inhaled deeply several times. Amy sniffed the air lightly, but said nothing, showed no reaction to the arousing odors.

We sat around, drinking water and eating our modest feast. The dried lamb was really good, if a bit time consuming to eat. I wondered if it would be easier to chew if we threw it in a stew pot for an hour or two. Regardless, we had our fill and relaxed as the rain pounded down and the wind began to blow again.

The sun set as we chatted about the books I knew were available in the boat storage. Keekah mentioned that she'd like to learn to read, and Amy offered to teach her. I told the girls about how I'd found the Proust set, but their eyes glazed over when I described the plot. “It's much better than I make it sound. Really.” Bailey grudgingly agreed she might try it 'some day,' but Amy was the one who said she'd give a shot, after Dolphins.

“So Keekah and Bailey are heading North tomorrow to help Gale and work on Bailey's nature journal. I wish you could go, too, Amy, but it's a bit of a hike, couple of hours through a few rough patches. We'll get you up there soon, though.” She looked a bit dejected. “Don't fret, there's enough to do around here and I'm staying, so we'll keep busy. They're just going for the day, they should be back before nightfall.”

When Keekah and Amy wandered down to the surf to urinate, Bailey leaned into me, kissed my neck, said softly, “Kal... I like Amy a lot, and... I know you do too... you are going to be alone... with her tomorrow. If... If you and her... If you want to... I'm ok with it. Really. I want her to be happy, too.”

“Kitten, I thought that you really wanted to be her first, if that's what she wants.”

“I know, I mean be her first girl. But... I think you can be with her first and make her happy. If that happens tomorrow... Just tell me about it, ok? I want to know.”

“Well... ok, Kitten. I will. I... well, I'm not planning to do anything with her, she's still pretty weak, but she does seem to have taken a liking to me. Just tell me if you aren't ok with anything. You're my first, my most important, ok? Always you.”

She smiled and kissed my cheek. “I know. I trust and love you, Kal. This is good for all of us, I think. Amy will be good for all of us. Just tell me, ok?”

“Ok.”

Bailey and I rushed down to the surf to do our nightly emptying and cleaning just as Amy and Keekah were rushing through the rain to climb into the cabin. We were quick and soon joined the teens on the boat, drying ourselves before climbing into bed.

It had been a worthless day in terms of the logistics of survival. We caught no fish, filled no water, mended no sheets, and tended no plants. But, as I lay surrounded by three women I cared for, who cared for me so strongly, I knew the day lost to rain had been good for our emotional survival. Despite the panic attack, or maybe because of it, we'd built our bond with Amy and drawn her in to us even closer. That bonding, that emotional connection that the girl in Dolphins didn't have on her island, is worth more than a day of lost fish and water and sheets. I kissed each girl goodnight, and thanked the universe for placing me in a place where such a powerful message could be delivered.