The Secret Billionaire At The Commune

Chapter 7

The drive back to Anavrin was peaceful and it was a beautiful day for a ride. Alexis turned the old truck up the tree lined driveway by the farmstand and noticed the trees were all apple and peach trees. It was carved through the mountains, with a lush meadow to one side and high bluffs to another. She noticed cows grazing in the meadow but also saw movement among the wildflowers. As she drove closer, the movement turned out to be a naked man and woman, just going at it in the middle of the pasture with utter disregard for anyone happening to pass by. They were so completely into each other that Alexis felt a tinge of jealousy, yearning for that type of passion. As she drove past them, the couple stopped and waved, as if they were doing mundane yardwork instead of just straight up f*****g in the grass. Alexis waved back. She had an hour and a half to contemplate commune life and had assumed free love would be one of the tenets that Sasha had told her about but she wasn’t exactly prepared to be greeted with such a stark example of their principles right off the bat.

The driveway seemed to last forever until it finally opened into a wide valley. A shimmering mountain lake hosted nude children splashing in the water and Alexis was relieved to see their clothed parents watching them play. An ancient and massive yellow farmhouse was surrounded by immaculate gardens, fenced by the same twisted branch handiwork that Nana had guarding her plants. Alexis was ecstatic to see something so familiar. Sasha and Jerry motioned for her to park in a covered area off the road by a few other older vehicles and they began to help her unload her things. Toting her bags up to the yellow farmhouse, other people began to appear to greet the newcomer. They were cheerful, warm and welcoming and picking flowers and placing them in Alexis’ hair. The trio made their way up the cobblestone path to the front porch of the house, where a younger woman kissed Alexis on the mouth.

“Welcome to our home,” she said, “My name is Strawberry.” There was no doubt that Strawberry was beautiful and her yoga toned body glowed from fully embracing the clean eating, farm-to-table diet that the commune was able to provide from its fields. She seemed to embody everything that Anavrin was about - an intentional community, living with gratitude, everyone contributes to the greater good. Strawberry and everyone else at the yellow farmhouse seemed to radiate kindness and made Alexis feel welcome in the community. A gorgeous man appeared behind Strawberry. He looked like a Jedi knight, clad in a long linen tunic, his long, blonde hair tied back and his beard wild. “This is my partner, Charlie,” Strawberry introduced him. A fitting name for a commune leader, Alexis thought. Sexy and handsome with a certain je ne sais quoi that made her instantly wary of him. Strawberry and Charlie shared the master bedroom in the yellow farmhouse, which boasted four other bedrooms upstairs. One was occupied by a delightful couple called Jeff and Doug; Skylar and Kat lived in one, Jenny and Lizzie in another and Alexis was to share a room with Sunny. All the women who lived in the yellow farmhouse were Alexis’ age and all seemed very amicable. Alexis was introduced to the couple she saw in the field earlier, Brian and Caitlin, who lived in one of the yurts by the creek with their two children. There were two other families with their own yurts and the elders of the community shared a large log cabin higher up the mountain, which boasted incredible views of the surrounding mountains. Besides Sasha and Jerry, there was Megan the chef and Tom the self-proclaimed crazy Vietnam veteran. Alexis was grateful for their hospitality and impressed with the group as a whole.

“Everyone seems to be so talented,” she said after the initial introductions, “I hope I can keep up.” She laughed nervously.

“Everyone here offers something,” Strawberry explained sweetly, “We all host activities on a rotating schedule to teach each other a trade or a craft.” Alexis was looking forward to that; she had been admiring Skylar’s pottery at the farmstand.

“The day my Nana died was also the day the bakery I worked at closed,” Alexis explained. Megan, one of the elders, piped up.

“I could use your help in the kitchen,” she said, “And one of those outbuildings was a bakery in the 90’s that needs a deep clean but could potentially be functional with some elbow grease.” Alexis was excited at the prospect of running a bakery at Anavrin, of being able to contribute.

“Megan is being shy,” Sasha wrapped her arms around her old friend, “She was a Michelin-rated chef until the industry burned her out.” Alexis’ jaw dropped. That’s why Megan had looked familiar - she had seen her on the cover of Nana’s culinary magazines before.

“I would love to cook with you,” Alexis said, trying not to appear starstruck. Megan gave her a curt nod before heading back to the kitchen in the yellow farmhouse.

“Dinner should be ready soon,” she called behind her back.

“Come,” Sasha said, “There are still a few people you’ll need to get acquainted with but I’ll show you your room.” Alexis began to walk away with Sasha before Strawberry stopped them.

“Did you give Alexis a rundown of our principles?” Strawberry asked Sasha, who rolled her eyes in response. Strawberry turned to Alexis, “I think you’ll be an amazing fit here, I really do. But just a few things before you get too comfortable. We don’t do cell phones, laptops, tablets - we don’t have internet, we don’t do social media, we don’t even have a TV. We have to do a chore daily, whether it be weeding and watering the gardens, mucking out stalls at the barn, feeding the animals, collecting eggs;” Caitlin clearly scoffed at that from the corner of the porch, which Strawberry ignored and continued, “We all pitch in where help is need,” she said. “As you saw on the way in, we practice free love and don’t practice religion, so this isn’t a religious cult thing, if you’re worried about that.” Alexis laughed, feeling a little more at ease. Charlie definitely gave off the cult leader vibe. “One last thing,” she continued, “When you’re ready to make this your home, we have an initiation ceremony where you make love in front of the community to show your openness and commitment to the group as a whole.” Alexis was taken aback; she was still a virgin and definitely didn’t picture her first time to be a group activity.

“That is an old tradition,” Sasha interjected, “Really, only if you’re completely comfortable with it and consent to it 100% but no one really cares that much about it.”

“We’ve all done it,” Strawberry pressed but Megan stopped her.

“Don’t scare off my new baker,” she chided Strawberry and slipped her arm around Alexis. “Sasha can show you your room later, I need some help in the kitchen.”