William Redman Carter: Chapter 14

Posted: November 03, 2005 - 12:08:18 am



"Mom, can I ask a favor?" asked Lucy while putting some eggs in a pot of water

to boil. This was the first chance, since arriving at the house the previous

evening, for her to talk to her mother alone. William and her father had gone

fishing, leaving them alone in the house.

"Sure," answered Ann while peeling a potato. There were a handful of peeled

potatoes in a water-filled bowl and a small pile waiting to be peeled. She was

making a potato salad for dinner that evening.

"I was wondering if you could take me to a doctor," said Lucy. Her voice came

out as a squeak. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the thought of what she

was about to request. Her hands were trembling so much that she had to set down

the carton of eggs before she dropped it.

"What's the matter? Are you feeling okay?" asked Ann suddenly concerned. She

turned to look over Lucy trying to see if there were any symptoms of disease

that she might have missed.

"Uh, I kind of want a prescription for, uh, birth control pills," answered Lucy.

The last three words of her sentence spilled out one atop the other. She had

butterflies begetting butterflies in her stomach and was beginning to get

concerned where they would all live.

"What?" asked Ann in a near scream while turning to face her daughter with a

look of shock on her face. She couldn't believe what she had heard.

Lucy cringed at the expected response and, timidly, repeated, "Birth control

pills."

"Are you telling me that you've been having unprotected sex all this time?"

asked Ann ready to explode. She'd thought she had raised her daughter to be more

careful than to have unprotected sex.

"We haven't had sex," said Lucy dazed by the revelation that her mother had made

that assumption.

"What do you mean? You've been dating that boy for years."

"It's been a year and month," corrected Lucy.

Ann had lost her virginity at fifteen. She hadn't been the first one among her

friends to lose it. That experience made it difficult for her to believe that

her daughter could have been with William for that length of time without having

sex, Ann asked, "Are you telling me that you're still a virgin?"

"Yes, mom," Lucy answered.

"I'm shocked. I'm absolutely shocked." Mind reeling, Ann looked around for a few

seconds and then made her way to the kitchen table. Taking a seat, she gestured

to a chair across from her.

Following her mother, Lucy took a seat in the indicated chair. Confused by her

mother's reaction, she said, "I don't understand why you're so surprised. I'm

smart enough to know better than to have unprotected sex."

"I know that. I just figured you went to the university nurse and got the pills

there," said Ann realizing she should have brought up the subject six months

ago. Reaching across the table to take her daughter's hand, she said, "It must

have been tough resisting his advances."

"Um, not so tough," said Lucy waffling on the issue. When they had their first

real opportunity to do more than kiss, she hadn't resisted at all. It had been

William who had done the resisting. She would never forget that when she lost

control, William had kept her from making a mistake.

"Is everything alright between the two of you?"

"Everything's fine, mom. In fact, right now I expect that William is asking

Dad's permission for us to get married," answered Lucy. Even as the words came

out of her mouth, she knew she should have found a better way to break the news

to her mother.

Ann stared at her daughter unable to believe what she had heard. This entire

conversation had been one shocking revelation after another. Taking a deep

breath, she said, "Let's start this conversation all over again, but let's start

at the beginning."

"With the birth control pills?" asked Lucy not sure what her mother meant.

"No, with you and William meeting," said Ann.

"Well, you know how we met. I guess our first real date was a little after I

moved into the private dorm. We went to a lecture sponsored by the music

department on the works of Bach. After the lecture we went out for a bite to eat

and then William walked me back to the dorm," said Lucy.

"Did he kiss you?" Ann asked.

"Yes, he did," answered Lucy blushing. The memory of that first kiss still

curled her toes.

"Is that a typical date?"

"Well, we don't really date that much. Usually, we are together around campus

and I spend time at his house. We spend a lot of time at his house," Lucy said

finding it difficult to characterize their relationship.

"What do you do at the house?"

"We do our homework, read, and talk. When the weather is good, we play

badminton, croquet, and swim in the pond. When the weather is bad, we play

Monopoly, Chess, and video games."

"How about intimacy?"

"We talk about what's important to us. You know, our feelings, interests, and

ambitions."

"I meant sex. I mean, if you're over at his house all of the time then you must

be doing something."

"Well, we kiss and touch each other," answered Lucy blushing at telling such

details to her mother.

"So you've been engaging in mutual masturbation and oral sex?"

"No!" answered Lucy energetically.

Thinking that she had raised a prude who was afraid of sex, Ann asked, "Why

not?"

"Are you kidding? With Ken and Lisa at the house all the time, there just isn't

a chance to do that kind of stuff. It would be like doing it here at home with

you and Dad in the house," said Lucy blushing brightly.

"So when did he start talking about marriage?" asked Ann wondering why he had

decided that it was time to propose. Given his wealth, she would have expected

them to live together for a year before getting married.

"We went swimming after my last final. Tim was off at a party so Ken and Lisa

decided to go out for dinner. Realizing that we'd be alone, I finally went

swimming without my swimsuit."

A year before, Ann and her husband had been in the pond without their swimsuits.

The entire Carter Clan had been present. Her daughter had seen her parents

swimming naked in front of everyone. She couldn't believe that her daughter

hadn't ever done it given that kind of permission from her parents. Ann

interrupted, "Are you telling me that two days ago was the first time you went

skinny-dipping with him?"

"Yes."

"Is that the first time he's seen you naked?"

"Yes."

"Go on with your story," said Ann shaking her head. She had no doubt that

William had been naked in the pond on every occasion when they went swimming.

"Later that evening, William got news about the White Buffalo. He went outside

to think for a while. When he came back in for hot chocolate and brownies, he

announced that he was going to ask Dad for permission to marry me." Telling it

in that fashion, she realized that he had never asked her if she would marry

him.

Ann listened to the story wondering if teenage boys had changed since the days

when she was young. She had jokingly referred to her time spent dating as the

years she had participated in octopus wrestling matches. The idea that William

would wait for more than a year to pursue any kind of sexual relationship was

incredible and demonstrated a respect for Lucy that she didn't think possible.

Amazed, she sat back and said, "I didn't think that kind of relationship was

possible in this day and age."

"What kind of relationship is that?"

"One based on respect," answered Ann. She wondered if the respect was only in

one direction. She asked, "Are you willing to do things for him?"

"What kind of things?" Lucy asked.

"Things like handjobs and blowjobs."

Blushing, Lucy answered, "I'd like to do them, but I don't know how."

Reaching over to the fruit bowl for a banana, Ann said, "We need to talk."

William and Dave were in an aluminum fishing boat that had three bench seats

with an outboard motor on the back end and a trolling motor on the front end.

Seated at the front of the boat, William cast his line beside the cattails

growing along the shore. He smiled when the lure plopped into the water right

where he had been aiming. As he cranked the reel, he said, "Mr. Wilkins, I have

something to discuss with you."

"What?" asked the man while looking through his lures. He hadn't had a bite in

the last hour and figured that a lure change was definitely required. He was

seated at the rear of the boat where he could control the motor.

"I'd like your blessing," William said.

"For what?"

"I'd like your permission to marry your daughter," answered William still

reeling in his line.

"Ouch," screamed Dave as a hook embedded itself in his finger. He pulled the

lure out and checked his finger. Satisfied that the hook had not embedded itself

to the barb, he removed it. A small bead of blood welled out while he stared at

it. He muttered, "Shouldn't tell a man something like that when his hand is in a

tackle box."

"Pardon?" asked William as the lure left the water. He reached back and cast

again.

"I stuck my finger on a hook," answered Dave. Looking over at William, he

frowned and asked, "She's not pregnant, is she?"

"No, sir."

"You are taking appropriate precautions, aren't you?"

"We haven't done anything," answered William.

"Huh?"

"We haven't done anything."

"You and her have been swimming naked together all this time and you haven't

done anything?" asked Dave incredulous.

"Two days ago was the first time we were both naked when we swam. She has always

worn a swimsuit," answered William wondering why they were talking about such a

personal subject.

"So you want to marry my daughter. When are you expecting to do this?" asked

Dave wondering what the rush was all about.

"Next year when we both are eighteen."

"So why ask me now?"

Smiling, William said, "I believe that the women are going to want to plan a

wedding. Those take time to arrange, if I understand the process correctly."

Shaking his head, Dave thought about what was going through his mind when he had

proposed to his wife. His thoughts about the matter had been carnal rather than

nice. He commented, "You're a smart kid. I wasn't thinking about the ceremony

when I proposed to my wife. I was just thinking I was ready to start living with

her."

Laughing, William said, "I guess that's not that uncommon. You might say I have

to think about things like that."

"So you want to marry my daughter."

"Yes, sir."

"And you want my blessing."

"Yes, sir."

"That's a rather old fashioned concept," Dave said wondering if he'd even heard

of anyone doing that any more. He understood the reason for it. William had

wanted to make sure that the relationship between father and daughter was not

harmed as a result of his proposal.

"I suppose it is," said William.

"Well, I guess you have it," Dave said. He didn't know what else to say about

the matter. He knew his daughter was too young to get married, but they were

talking about going through the ceremony when they'd be old enough. He knew that

by the time they married, William would have his doctorate and his daughter

would have her bachelor's degree.

"Thank you."

"Let's get back to fishing, otherwise we're going to have hotdogs tonight," Dave

said. He hated showing up at the house without enough fish for everyone to eat.

His wife and daughter would tease him unmercifully for making them eat dogfish

rather than catfish.

William watched Dave reach into the tackle box. He was half tempted to ask what

the other man thought of pre-marital sex. He chuckled and cast out his line,

thinking that the timing would be too cruel.

Two casts later, William hooked a nice three pound large mouth bass. Once he had

reeled in the fish, the boat suddenly lurched. William, holding the fish, and

Dave, having just cast his line, each looked towards the other. They each

intended to chastise the other for rocking the boat. Instead, they found

themselves staring at a very large Bald Eagle standing on the seat between them.

The bird emitted a loud screech and looked at William. It was a magnificent

example of its species. William removed the hook from the fish's mouth and said,

"It is yours, my friend."

William placed the bass onto the seat next to the eagle. The proud bird stepped

onto the fish, preened for a second, picked up the fish, and flew away. On the

seat were three small feathers that had fallen from the chest of the eagle. In

trade for the fish, it had given him three feathers for his medicine bag.

William reached over and picked them up, placing them in his pocket with great

care.

"Does that happen often?" asked Dave once he recovered from the sight. He

wondered if anyone would believe the story of what happened.

"Not really," answered William as his eyes sought out the retreating figure of

the bird. He shouted, "Thank you for the gift."

"I didn't even know that we had Bald Eagles around here," said Dave deciding

that no one would believe the story.

Looking over at Dave, William said, "It looks like we're having hotdogs

tonight."

After a dinner of hotdogs and potato salad, William had formally proposed to

Lucy. After a rather sedate affirmative from Lucy, they had gone on to talk

about other subjects leaving Dave and Ann staring at them. An hour later,

William was seated on the couch reading a science fiction book. In her normal

position with her head on his lap, Lisa was reading a different science fiction

book. Both were oblivious to the television blasting just a few feet away.

Dave watched the couple from his comfort chair while shaking his head. William

would turn a page and then lower a hand to gently rub her stomach. She'd turn a

page and go back to running her fingers along his arm. The weirdest thing was

that they'd turn the pages at the same time. He'd never seen anything like it.

Across the room, Ann was already looking up web sites that dealt with planning

weddings. She'd been at it for over an hour and had just found a site with

detailed checklists of the things to be done. Looking over the list, she

wondered if a year's notice was enough time. She went over to the love seat and

said, "I don't know how we are going to manage this wedding."

Looking up from his book, William said, "Come to Arizona with me and talk to

Cathy or Mary. Tell them what you want and they'll make sure it happens."

"Who are Cathy and Mary?"

"They are the family managers," answered William. Everyone in the family had a

different name for the job performed by Cathy and Mary. Dan had the most

succinct way of referring to them - the bosses. Even before he was married into

the family, Dan had learned that if he went where they told him and took with

him the material they handed him that he never had any problems.

"I'd hate to put them out," Ann said.

"That's their job. Besides, they won't be doing all of the work," William

replied.

"Still, I'd rather do it myself," Ann replied feeling a little upset that the

wedding was being taken away from her.

"Are you really prepared to deal with the logistics associated with several

thousand guests?" asked William looking over at Ann.

"You're kidding?" asked Ann with her mouth open. She had thought that they would

have a hundred guests at most.

The entire family turned to stare at William. When Lucy had dreamed of a

wedding, it was a regular wedding with a typical sized crowd. William was

suggesting something that sounded more like a royal wedding.

"Not at all. My sister's wedding had around two thousand guests and she didn't

have all of the Native American connections. My guest list will include friends,

Druids, Chiefs and Medicine of all the tribes, members of my tribe, classmates,

family members, executives of charity organizations, homeless folks, government

officials, and business partners. I imagine that we'll reach three thousand

people without much difficulty."

Stunned, Dave could only think about how much that would cost. It was up to the

bride's family to pay for the wedding, but there was no way that he could afford

that kind of event. He had figured on having the wedding in the local church as

a way to save money. That place could seat two hundred, not three thousand.

Staggered by the thought of what would be involved, he asked, "Where can we fit

three thousand people around here?"

"I guess the first question to answer is where you want the wedding. You have

your choice of locations from all over the country. There's the reservation, the

Druid College, the Native American College, my parent's place, or any large city

in the country. Of course, we'll have to make arrangements at that location for

the halls, hotels, excursion trips, and food," said William.

"Excursion trips?"

"With that many people involved, there's no way that Lucy and I can meet with

all of them over a single day. We'll have to have several days of parties to

meet and greet the guests. With guests staying that long, they'll need things to

do while we're busy with other activities."

"How long are you saying it will last?"

"Three or four days," answered William with a negligent shrug of his shoulders.

Lucy leaned over so that her mouth was over William's ear and whispered, "My

parents can't afford all of that."

Looking at Lucy, William said, "Your parents only need to worry about paying for

their share of the wedding. Since the wedding guests of my family will

constitute almost all of the guests, let my family pay for that. Since the

number of guests imposes other costs, such as location, housing, entertainment,

food, and parties, let my family pay for that. Taking all of the things that my

family should pay for into account, that leaves flowers and a wedding dress. I'm

sure your father can afford that."

"You're kidding!" Dave declared trying to decide if that was a good deal or not.

He hadn't realized when William had talked about it taking a year to plan the

wedding that he hadn't been joking.

"What does that leave for us to do?" asked Ann thinking that the whole wedding

was being taken out of her hands. She had dreamed for years of planning her

daughter's wedding.

Laughing, William answered, "Everything. You'll have to work with the wedding

planners to select the site, the food, the excursion trips, and everything

else."

"Wedding planners?" asked Ann thinking back to the list she had just read on the

computer. She had not seen working with wedding planners anywhere on the list.

"Sure. When you talk to Cathy or Mary, they will identify a set of wedding

planners who will take care of the details. If you say that you want chicken

served at the wedding reception, they'll arrange for a dozen caterers to deliver

chicken, waiters to put the chicken in front of the guest, and hired help to

clean up afterward," answered William.

"You make it sound like this is an everyday kind of thing that you have to do,"

said Dave.

"It is when your family controls several billion dollars," answered William in a

very serious tone of voice. No one made a sound. The television blared away in

the background. William looked at the stunned expressions on the faces around

him. In a sad voice, he added, "Welcome to the world of William Redman Carter."