Four days later
"Cat we're running pretty low on food, Jennifer and Ruby have been hoarding snacks and watching movies" says Maria officially taking over for Dana duties for the week
"that's just the fridge, there's tons of shelf stable food under lock and key, here's the key, it's below deck in the closet area past the recording room" says Cat handing Maria the key
"you trust me to go down there, I thought your priority was giving Ruby and Jennifer privacy" says Maria
"they're in the guest bedroom, the food closet is on the other side of the yacht, you won't be passing their room and you won't be allowed to check up on them unless the lights on the door are green" says Cat
"why can't I check up on them, I know I asked for help because I couldn't teach what I don't know but you haven't told me anything about what rules you set" says Maria
"if it's red they're likely mostly naked, it's an option I gave them after they both made it clear they had no interest in boys whatsoever, they're allowed to look but not touch their 'girly parts' as Jenny calls them, I however did tell them they could touch themselves if they both agreed it was ok and they needed a sexual type release I made it quite clear that any touching with explicit sex intentions would get them separated for several hours and that I have a camera in there that I can check" says Cat
"I don't like the idea of camera pointed at them" says Maria
"unfortunately that bedroom is right next to the solar battery and engine room and it has in the past caught fire and if it starts a fire on the interior wall that camera is pointing at I need to know, it's only just barely glancing at the bed, catching the foot of the bed, it sees more of the tv than anything, I mentioned the camera being there as a means to enforce the new rules and a way to tell them I'll know if they lied to me about not touching each other" says Cat
"but you told me that it wasn't a good idea to let Ruby or Jennifer fear me" says Maria
"there's a difference between making them fear you and being strict about following rules, Jenny said that the reason they haven't kissed much is because Ruby was afraid you'd scream at her if you found out, I guarantee you she's played with herself thinking about Jenny and not told you because she's afraid" says Cat
"why wouldn't she tell me" asks Maria
"because it's an 'adult' act and she's not yet even a teenager, self gratification disorder combined with the heightened hormone levels she experiences, her mind drifts toward images of her and Jenny cuddling and her 'good' hand tends to wander even during online class and when she does or implies anything like that like say her desire to kiss Jenny in front of you, you tend to get angry and her ears are actually more sensitive than you realize so to avoid you raising your voice at her she decided keeping secrets from you was safer" says Cat
"Her ears are sensitive, that's the first I've heard that, her doctor never mentioned it to me" says Maria
"Because she never told her doctor, she stopped telling her doctor about new things she's having issues with after Enrique passed away because she remembers quite vividly how when she'd get a new diagnosis how you and Enrique would fight over how expensive the treatment would be and how often they don't work well enough anyway and with him gone she thought you'd take it out on her or Jenny" says Cat
"Enrique and I fought about the costs because he didn't want to put her through a treatment regimens that wouldn't work as we were told it usually does, the biggest fight we had was about a clinical trial about the extreme wrist flexion common in CP patients, granted the trial as a whole was a failure as over half the trial patients didn't get much in the way of flexion relief, Ruby did experience temporary flexion relief leading to a surgery to repair the nerves in her wrists as the month before the trial she tried forcefully to straighten out her wrists, she was part of the lucky few that got the good effects of the meds, before the meds she couldn't even open her door without using both hands and even then it was a struggle and sometimes she couldn't make it to the bathroom, now she has more use of her fingers and her wrists don't convulse as often now" says Maria as Ruby is laying just out of view
"what's up sweetie, you said this was naki cuddle time, lunch isn't ready yet" asks Lola
"jenny fell sleep, I needed to go pee but loo flooded and panty soak, I dot have spare and jenny spare dot fit" says Ruby making sure to hide under the blanket so her mom doesn't see
"ok go dry off sweetie, I'll figure something out by dinner for you" says Cat
"nuh uh, blanket not big, mom see and get mad" says Ruby already starting to copy Cat's old vocabulary
"I won't get mad, last time this happened it was in public and I had to rush to buy a towel to cover you, that's why I got upset and raised my voice, you should have told my your ears are sensitive to loud noises, I never knew I was scaring you" says Maria
"nuh uh you'd had been mad at me, fix expensive, you not afford it, when expensive bill come you get mad and yell and scream, it always happen" says Ruby
"Madelyn come on, these things are important, it doesn't change who you are, it just means I understand you better and won't scare you, I thought we had no secrets" says Maria as Lola texts Naomi to boat over a bunch of Ruby's panties
"not use that name, sacred, no use" says Ruby as she runs to the bedroom all upset
"I thought her name was Ruby not Madelyn" says Cat slightly annoyed
"legally it has been since Enrique passed, before that she was Madelyn, she was named after my first husbands sister who passed away from cancer when Ruby was four, nobody understood Ruby as well as Madelyn did, nobody could get her to smile like Madelyn could, Madelyn had pretty bad Cerebral Palsy, Ruby is named Ruby because she loves gemstones, Ruby's, emeralds, diamonds and sapphires, sapphires being her favorite, she wanted Sapphire to be her new legal name but the government person told her it would only make her more of a target so she settled on Ruby, I shouldn't have called her Madelyn, it's her sacred name, as far as I know only Jenny and Enrique are the only people she's ever let call her Madelyn" says Maria
"that's not fair though, you meant well, she won't hold that against you will she" asks Zoey
"given she uses voice to text to write stories about her killing all her in person school bullies I wouldn't hold my breath that she won't hold it against me, she tends to hold grudges so Cat your models at that big fashion show will need to make sure they only call her Ruby even if Jenny calls her Madelyn or she will lash out at them" says Maria
"I was surprised she was able to run down the stairs at all though" says Tori
"she got into one of Cat's special cookies" says Lola
"those are supposed to be locked up" says Cat upset
"I was getting one out for you for your anxiety, I'd set it on a plate on the table and I turned around put the rest away and relock it and I turned around and caught her too late eating it, I'm sorry, that's the problem with having kids on the yacht unsupervised" says Lola
"Blueberries are her favorite things to eat and your Blueberry Rose medicated cookies smell very strongly of blueberries, if she smells Blueberries, it doesn't matter if it's for someone else she'll eat it, though I have to admit she hasn't been able to support herself in years, her standing at all on her own is extremely rare, usually she crawls around, even if she only made it to the bottom of the stairs before crawling again, it doesn't matter, whatever Blueberry Rose does is helping her" says Maria
"I made these cookies myself before coming out here, Blueberry rose is designed for anxiety and pain relief, the cookies smell strongly of Blueberry because I juice blueberries and add it to the mix, it helps keep them moist longer and they last longer in the fridge too, also did her speech seem better to anyone else or was that just me" says Cat
"her speech definitely was a little better though when she got mad she reverted back to her normal way of speaking" says Maria
"is there any pain associated with her particular CP disorder" asks Cat
"her jaw isn't exactly very good, it's a bit wonky and does cause a little pain but most of the pain is in her legs, they're under developed, always have been, though I have been noticing they have been getting a little bigger" says Maria
"how much bigger are they than usual" asks Cat
"almost an inch bigger around for each leg, which is big because if there was no improvement she could lose her legs, he'll she could still lose them, I have to ask, her eating habits haven't changed so I'm curious if you've been giving her any special snacks" says Maria
"if you're talking about weed snacks no, I don't give anyone especially kids those, the second day we were out here in the yacht party block she asked if I could talk to a doctor on her behalf, she gave me a list of things she's experiencing, I emailed them to my doctor telling her that Ruby is a new model of mine and that she's kept these symptoms secret and that she explicitly doesn't want you in the loop about the symptoms" says Cat
"that's fair so long as she at least tells Jenny about them, though I'm curious about what you had me add to her pancakes, it made them smell off, I'm surprised she ate them, she's pretty particular about how her food tastes and smells" says Maria
"it's a liquid medication to help her body absorb nutrients better, its designed to be used in cooked food, my doctor couldn't be sure if her body would take to it but because of the way people with a sexual age older than their physical age as well as the self gratification thing, it tends to hog nutrients, so she'll feed good at the moment she's eating but the moment she exerts herself, it drains her of reserve energy leaving little for the rest of her body to absorb, the medication helps distribute the nutrients and vitamins evenly, her calves and thighs getting bigger, even just a little bit is a sign it's working" says Cat
"can't they make better selling versions" asks Maria
"they do but this yacht is basically a floating house without a proper address and they can't legally send or bill for medication to a house without an address" says Cat
"so when we move into that house we can opt for a better smelling and probably better tasting version" asks Maria
"her prescription says Blueberry flavor, they just couldn't sell it without a proper address on the prescription, I'll update it once the house is ready to be moved into, until then you can live here" says Cat
"but I have rent to pay too" says Maria as Lola gets a text back from Naomi
"nope, your rental agreement was bought out by an investor of mine and your apartment was packed up once I finalized the sale yesterday, everything is in the new house, just not unpacked" says Cat
"they went through my stuff" asks Maria
"no, anything with drawers or doors was taped shut and shipped as is, even beds were relatively untouched" says Cat
"please tell me you can guarantee they didn't touch Ruby's clothes because if she finds out somebody touched them she will throw them out, only four people ever got to touch her clothes, me, Enrique, Jenny and herself" says Maria
"no panties were touched and Ruby gave Jade and Naomi permission to if they had to, they personally cleaned up Ruby's room before the movers got there" says Cat as Jade sends Lola an active location map
"Jade's on her way here with extra panties for Ruby" says Lola
"ok now what about the toilet, does it need to be emptied" asks Maria as Tori returns
"no, the pressure hose that takes the salt water to the desalination part of the yacht malfunctions from time to time, sometimes it gets over pressurized if the self righting system is doing overtime in rough waters, luckily the bathroom floor drains itself in these situations, if she flushes twice it sends extra water to the toilet, which overflows it" says Tori
"she has a bit of OCD, things like flushing and turning on or off lights she tends to do twice" says Maria
"the lights thing is fine but not the flushing thing, I've already talked to her about it, Lola is Jade on her way" says Tori
"slow going but yeah, we're pretty far out and she's not exactly fond of the sharks that stay around the yacht" says Lola
"they're protecting us from the aggressive band of bull sharks in the area, Nicole helped raise them when they were in the marine rehab facility" says Cat
"really, great whites can be tamed" asks Maria surprised
"I wouldn't call them tamed by any means, it's more a loyalty thing, she can get them to do just about anything for a live fish, they scare me too but they aren't thrashing around and we're in a group of yachts and the bull sharks are pretty aggressive right now" says Cat
"any update on Jade's estimate for arrival, Ruby's not exactly one to sleep or stay in bed with no panties on, she tends to get upset about any fabric rubbing down there unless its her panties" says Maria
"she's twenty minutes out, she's terrified of great whites" says Lola as Tori goes to the back of the boat
"hey sharkies, we need space around the back here for a bit" says Tori throwing out some recently caught fish for them as the sharks scatter and don't immediately come back
35 minutes later as Jade arrives
"I was expecting tons of sharks, you know the ones Nicole helped nurse back to health" says Jade stepping onto the yacht
"yeah I sent them away a few times, they're loyal because Cat helped Nicole on several occasions and there are only six in total, unless you hit them with a paddle they're docile" says Tori bringing Jade into the yacht proper
"is that bag for Ruby" asks Maria
"yes, twenty pairs" says Jade
"how long until the marina is repaired, we're all dying to go home" asks Cat
"two days, you really should look at your holding tank if it flooded the bathroom like that" says Jade
"it was clean water, the pump I have for the bathroom has some sort of 'smart' detection issue, it thinks if you flush twice there's a clog so it pushes all reserve clean water to the toilet water line and tends to flood, its on the list of repairs but they have to rip apart the bathroom walls to get to it, that or my bedroom wall and I'm not keen on either and this is the first time I've had kids on the yacht, I've never had a big problem with it until today" says Cat
"are the walls hard to take down or something" asks Maria not understanding the build of the yacht
"that wall in particular is structural and things are spray foamed in, it's not an easy replacement but it can be done" says Jade
"and it will cost me nearly a quarter million dollars, it'd be easier to just have Jenny in the bathroom with her so Jenny can flush" says Cat
"that's crossing a line, I get that they're dating but at that age it would be inappropriate" says Jade
"Ruby's sexually more mature than twelve years old Jade, it's genetic, she has scarily adult like thoughts about Jenny and she has Cerebral Palsy and I can't take care of her forever, Ruby and Jenny have been spinning around this issue since they first met in daycare, Jenny lost her parents in the same quake that blinded Tori, Jenny lost everything, all her clothes, her toys, two siblings and her parents because their roof collapsed, she's been living with us in my now former apartment since then they've been sharing a bed, I can't take care of Ruby forever, I have back issues from having to lift her up the stairs since my husband passed because we lived six floors up in a building where the elevator only works for three hours a day, thankfully Cat got us a house that will have a reliable elevator" says Maria
"Cat how much is this elevator costing you" asks Jade annoyed that Cat's not willing to save even a penny past what she needs to survive
"a quarter million but Ruby's a model for me now, I've been needing a model with Cerebral Palsy for representation of that community, you know representation of the disabled community is important to the agency and Ruby's the only one I got, Jenny can somehow lift her with little issue but Ruby likes being able to do things on her own, that's why I insisted on the elevator, it has systems in place for quake damage prevention and a backup power supply for if the power goes out, I didn't do this as a favor to them, it's a quality of life thing, I know you don't understand, you don't have money restrictions, you can make what I make in a week in a day by making another play, having my models live life with minimal issues is important, Naomi almost lost her house because of how the FBI handled the whole rotten modelling agency problem, because of the way in which Naomi was able to afford that house by working for the evil agency he considered it an illegal purchase and was going to give it to me so I could rent it out, all this happened before I even moved here or you made that call to me about holding that fashion show to save the models here, I heard about it from my intelligence friend at the FBI and I went over that judges head and forced him to allow Naomi to keep it, had I not she'd have still been homeless or living with you at your house instead of you basically living with her at hers, there's a lot that went on because of bad protocol management at the LA field office, granted the office boss had no control over it, he was just following orders from the state but ALL models that had bought houses on that agency's payroll were going to lose their homes forever, I couldn't stand for it, I let you take the press win for that, media asked me about it and I told them I don't have the time nor connections to pull something like that off but that you do" says Cat
"figures you'd hide behind that airhead of yours, you do know I only know the FBI branch of the judicial system right, I have no idea how to get a judge to see the truth of matters, however you do have such connections" says Jade
"wait you know federal judges" asks Maria
"quite a few actually though not because I wanted to, they've made rulings that aren't favorable tax wise to certain companies, not too dissimilar to the whole former trafficking modelling agency way of acquiring international models for cheap, let's just say Jade's one end of the anti-trafficking, return to families intelligence network and I'm but one terminal, mainly for Italian families though I do help Latin families as well though Jade usually has another helper for them, the fact that I have six judges who 'owe' me favors that I never intend on cashing in for helping their daughters return home is besides the point, my life is modelling and music, my acts of kindness don't need to be public and I prefer it that way, I tried being open about it in Sicily and it only made me nervous and I got jumped by a doctor last year who wanted power over me in a sexual way because he felt someone like me doesn't deserve to be in the public eye so I keep my acts of kindness very personal, oh and by the way I will fire you if you mention the polyamorous relationship between, Tori, Lola, Zoey and I to anyone, this is a private matter" says Cat
"polyamory isn't for me but Enrique lived it most of his life so I understand the need for the secrets, he dropped it all for me and Ruby, anyway I really should get lunch ready, Lola If you don't mind giving Ruby that bag I have lunch to make" says Maria heading down to the food locker