Auntie’s Island

Chapter Three – A New Profession


WILLIE: 

In all of my life, there are four nights that I will never forget. The first was that evening when I THOUGHT that my life had ended, but I then learned that Dee and Brenda and Frederick had other plans for me. The second was the night that I gave my virginity to Frederick. This night was to be the third, though very little happened that might interest the average reader. And the NEXT night …. Well, I’ll just get to that when I get to it.

After we woke up from our little “nap” and Auntie highjacked Frederick, Brenda finished changing Lizzy and left her with Dee to nurse while I took her on a guided tour of Auntie’s house. We stopped in the kitchen, where Mama Ann was busy with dinner. My favorite! Roast pork and fried plantain! I begged her to let us help and set things up to eat out on the patio, and of course, she agreed. The “patio” is sort of an interesting place. There are flat stones that make up a large part of it, but then it sort of just blends right into the jungle on both the left and right, while a steep drop affords an excellent view of the lagoon and sea to the west. Brenda helped me sweep, gather wood for the brazier, set the table, etc.  As the sun was sinking lower over the ocean, we looked down toward the trail near the lagoon in time to see Frederick and Auntie walking arm in arm along the water’s edge. They paused and stood looking at each other, when he suddenly grabbed her up in his arms, crushing her to him, and kissed her passionately. Her arms hung at her sides for several long seconds before rising and snaking around his neck. The kiss went on for quite a long time. 

I shuffled my feet a little. “Brenda,” I told his wife, “please understand that she just sort of has that affect on people.” I stole a glance at her, and was surprised to find that she was smiling pleasantly as she watched them.

“Freddy is more than the other ‘people,’” she told me, watching them. “Didn’t you notice that the moment she saw him? That spark? No … more than a spark. It was as if …. I don’t know. It was almost as if she had already fallen in love with him … never having actually met him … and she’d just been waiting for him to show up on her doorstep. It was like she was greeting an old lover … one that she would ALWAYS love. Does that make sense?”

I shook my head a little. “No,” I answered simply.

“She told ME that she’d been waiting for me her whole life,” she said quietly.

I sighed. “Brenda, sometimes Auntie doesn’t make much sense.”

“Is she ever wrong?” she asked.

I blinked. “No,” I said quietly. “But when she speaks really … um … mysteriously, it’s easy to interpret some of the weird things she says as the truth. Know what I mean?”

Brenda took my hand and led me back to the kitchen. “Yes,” she answered. “I know what you mean.”

Dee joined us, and she let Brenda take the baby while she dove joyously into the cooking chores alongside Mama Ann. I started lighting small lamps, just as Raul and Daddy John showed up with a cooler of cold beer. It was a party! And it was WONDERFUL! They called it my “homecoming!” Everything was marvelous! 

We often cut off the generator to save fuel, and just as the lights went out, the sun set out in the sea. I brought Brenda and Dee and explained that I always watched for the Green Flash, an atmospheric condition that happens only very rarely, when a bright green “flash” streaks up from the sun at the moment the last of it dips below the horizon. I’d seen it only twice in my life (even with my awful eyesight), though I always looked for it. But there it was! We all saw it! It happened! We cheered, while Raul opened a bottle of chilled wine. 

Frederick and Auntie joined us, walking hand-in-hand, and I saw a strange look on Raul’s face. Surely, he wasn’t jealous! Auntie had a string of lovers … men AND women … that I doubt even SHE could count. But, maybe I was mistaken, because the look was gone now, and he and I started talking about tarot. 

We ate and ate, and we each had a glass of wine, and the sounds of the rain forest were all around us. We watched Daddy John light the wood in the brazier, saying:

“Dark night, that from the eye his function takes,
The ear more quick of apprehension makes;
Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense,
It pays the hearing double recompense.”

“Indeed, THIS is a Midsummer Night’s Dream in the January!” Frederick announced, opening another beer. 

Raul brought out his guitar and started singing a song. Frederick let us ladies have a second glass of wine, and we were suddenly very, very drunk! Auntie seemed puzzled by our abrupt lack of sobriety, and Frederick explained something to her, but I couldn’t hear him. When Raul had finished, he began strumming a tune I’d never heard before, and out of the blue, Dee was singing … singing beautifully. It was some ballad in Spanish, and her voice and the guitar were the only sounds in the night … even the insects and small animals in the forest stopped to listen. Halfway through it, Raul started crying. I had no IDEA she could sing like that! The night was magic.

I don’t really remember how things started to break up. We were singing and laughing and being silly, and suddenly I was in Raul’s arms and he was carrying me inside and putting me to bed, and Brenda was there, sound asleep, and then Dee was next to us, and finally, Frederick, too. And I thought, as I drifted into a sleep I simply couldn’t avoid, that it had been one of the best days of my whole life.

But the NEXT night …! Well, I’ll get to that.


………………….



BRENDA:

Freddy wasn’t there when we woke up that morning. I’d been up with Lizzy once during the night, but Dee had her now, and I’d slept late, somehow winding up with my arms around Willie in sort of a “spoon” position, the breeze wafting through the window and across our bodies. She rolled over, and I kissed her and REALLY wanted to have sex with her. I was SO horny! It had been days since I’d done it with anybody! But we got up instead and went in search of the others … and maybe some coffee. 

As it turned out, the men-folk had gone out fishing and wouldn’t be back until afternoon. Ann had whipped up a great breakfast, graciously allowing Dee to putter around her kitchen, as well, and was rewarded for her tolerance with several new recipes. 

Just as I was finishing my eggs and toast, Auntie walked in with a man and a young woman. The man was obviously an official of some sort, though his “uniform” was rather nondescript; a short-sleeved shirt (badge attached) and brown shorts, knee-length white socks and brown shoes. The girl was dressed in rather tattered jeans and baggy tee shirt, sort of dirty and bedraggled, though it was obvious that she was slender and attractive.

“Ladies,” Auntie announced, “let me introduce you to Marjorie and Constable Altman, from St. Vincent. Marjorie, here, will be your one and only lesson before I send you out to fend for yourselves.”

Well, this was obviously one of those times Auntie was speaking “mysteriously.” But I didn’t really care about that. Suddenly, the only thing I was really concerned with was this Marjorie girl. She was in pain. Real pain, though the others obviously couldn’t see it. I stood and walked to her quickly, taking her hands in mine and trying to smile. She looked into my eyes and seemed to clutch at my hands, as if I was a lifeline and she was drowning. A tear slid down her cheek.

“I’m Brenda,” I told her quietly. “I’m going to help you.” She burst into sobs and threw her arms around me, burying her face into my breasts. She was smaller than I, and I was able to wrap my arms around her head and smooth her hair, shushing her, rocking her gently with my body.

Auntie laid a hand on my shoulder. “Go wash up and get dressed first,” she ordered me, looking around at Dee and Willie, as well. “Take your time. A little of Ann’s tea will soothe her, and the Constable needs a cup of coffee. Willie, bring your cards when you come back.”

“Yes, Auntie,” she said, and headed back toward our bedroom. 

I looked over the top of Marjorie’s head into Auntie’s eyes. “I don’t want to leave her,” I said earnestly.

Auntie smiled. “Of course you don’t, dear. Now, do as I say, please.”

We rushed back to the end of the hall, and Dee suggested I shower first and get back to the girl. We wound up sharing the large shower stall, first Dee and I, and then I got out and Willie got in with her. I dressed in cut-offs and tee shirt quickly, not even bothering with a bra, and was back out in the dining room in just a few minutes. Marjorie came to me and we sat together at the table, holding hands, while we waited for the others. I had no idea what the problem was, or how I was going to help. I only knew that I had to.

Dee and Willie joined us, and there were only the four of us at the table, Auntie and Ann and the constable standing around us, watching. 

“What do we do, Auntie,” Willie asked.

“What do you think, Little One?” she answered. “Brenda sensed the girl had a problem, and now you find out what it is.”

Willie nodded resolutely. She picked up the carved box containing her tarot deck, took out the cards, arranging them into a single stack, and asked Marjorie to touch it. She hesitated, looking around at everyone in the room, and finally did so. Willie paused and put on her glasses, which are quite thick and make her look rather owlish.

“What are THOSE?” Auntie asked.

“After I started reading, I found that I couldn’t read the cards very well,” Willie answered. “I wear these glasses when I read, so I tried them for reading the cards, too. It works.” She began laying the cards out in a pattern.

“But, that doesn’t make any sense!” Auntie exclaimed.

Willie shrugged. “I don’t care if it makes sense or not. It works.” She scooped up the cards and began laying out new ones. The new pattern eventually formed a circle.

“Well, I’ll be damned!” Auntie exclaimed. “I’d never have guessed THAT!” But then she fell silent and let Willie study her cards without further comment.

Willie suddenly gasped and reeled back from the cards. She put her hand to her throat. She was flushed and panting, and turned to glance at the girl briefly, but was unable to maintain eye contact for even a few seconds. Tears welled in her eyes. She turned to Auntie.

“I … I … don’t think I can do this.”

Auntie stepped behind her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You are a woman now, Willie. Your destiny is to help women … with women’s problems. You cannot do that if you won’t face what must be done with the bravery that only a woman can muster.” She took in the look of Willie’s panicked eyes and sighed. “You are only one part of three, Little One,” Auntie continued. “You can seek support from the other two sides of the triangle. Brenda and Dee will sustain you. USE them!”

Willie took in a ragged breath. She was shaking, obviously scared to death. Still, she was unable to look at Marjorie. Finally, she nodded, resolutely. “Okay,” she said, more to herself than to anyone around her. “Okay.” Another breath. “Okay, here we go, then.” She took Dee’s hand in her own, and then reached across the table and held out her other one to me. I took it automatically, still with no idea what was happening. 

Dee looked quizzically at her. “What are we doing, Willie?” she asked.

“We’re going inside,” Willie answered in a small, frightened voice. “You’re going to take us inside. I’ll guide you, but you have to take us.”

Dee didn’t even hesitate. “Alright then.” She reached across the table toward Marjorie.

The girl looked frantic. “What are you going to do to me?”

“We’re going to help you,” Dee said resolutely. “Trust us.”

Marjorie turned to face me. “I trust HER,” she announced to everyone.

“We are one,” I told her calmly (though I most certainly didn’t FEEL calm!). “If you trust me, then please take Dee’s hand.”

Marjorie nodded, a look of absolute, pure, unadulterated faith in her eyes. She didn’t think I would let any pain come to her. Would I be able to earn that trust? What was about to happen? Their hands touched. The circle was closed.

Emotions. Good. Bad. Great. Terrible. 

Joy. My wedding day is coming! Only a few days away now! Oh, the wonderful anticipation! Sex! Oh, I can’t wait! Will it feel anything like my finger at night? Oh, concentrate! The dress? Perfect. The plans for the reception? Always a problem.

Fear. Footsteps behind me. Getting closer. Why did I choose this path to the florists? Stupid! A man behind me! Chloroform! He’s picked me up off the ground! My feet flailing! The smell is AWFUL! Burning my nasal passages. My arms are so weak! I can’t move anymore. I’m sinking. Sinking. 

Fear. Naked. Tied. My arms above my head, tied at the wrists, tied to the headboard of the bed. My legs spread. I pull, but the rope hurts my ankles. HE is lying next to me. His fingers stroke my nipple. I look at his face. I know him. I’ve seen him. And worse, I know that because I see him now, he will not let me live. He is the one that has been taking the girls … the girls that have been disappearing.

Fear. His hand strokes down my body to my pussy. No, please. I’ve been saving myself for SO long! Stroking. Stroking. I moan. I can’t help it. Oh, it feels SO good. He’s going to kill me!

Lust. OH! Stroking. Stroking. He’s sucking my nipple.  Oh. Oh. OH! Cumming! Cumming! OhGoshOhGoshOhGosh! CummingCummingCumming!

Fear. He’s positioning his body over mine. He’s going to do it. Then, he’s going to kill me. OH! Pain! So full! So full! Pain! OH! He’s pulling out of me! OH! Back in again! OH! Oh, no, please, please, please, not again. I CAN’T let it again! In and out. In and out. InandOutandInandOut. Cumming again! Oh, no, please! CummingCumming.

Shame. He did it inside me. I feel it oozing out, onto the bed underneath me. Shame. He made me cum. Oh, such shame. 

Fear. He’s going to kill me now. Is he asleep? My hand! I can move it inside the rope. I can move it! It’s loose! Don’t wake him up! Oh gosh, I just jostled him! But he’s still asleep! Drugs? Is he passed out? Can I reach my foot? Yes! Now, the other one! I’m free!

Fear. Get out! Get out! Don’t worry about clothes. Naked. Outside. But no one around. Nothing anywhere. Just some sort of white lake. I walk to the water’s edge, everything white, but there’s nowhere to go. Fear. I’m leaving tracks in the soft white soil. I remember an old American movie. I back up, putting my feet into my own footprints. Back up … all the way to the house. I slide under the house … into the crawlspace. I hear footsteps above me! I frantically wipe away the traces in the white soil that show I’ve crawled down here. He’s outside! Looking around. He can’t figure out the tracks. He’s laughing! He thinks I’ve gone out into that white lake and drowned myself! Laughing, he gets into his car. He drives off.

Shame. Walking down the road naked. Only shame now. I walk for hours. I walk forever. A man in a pickup stops to pick me up. Oh, the shame.

(Brenda, Dee … we can go further! …, What? Where? …. They were joined. They were one. Follow the link ,… Why? … The other girls … Where are the other girls? …. I don’t want to .… But, that’s why the constable’s here … follow the link … go into HIM! …. Okay …. Here we go!)

HORROR!  

I pushed back away from the table so abruptly that I fell over sideways onto the floor. I groaned and sobbed and stifled a scream that welled up into my throat. I’d NEVER seen anything so … so awful! I rolled over and looked up. Marjorie was staring down at me, fear and consternation evident in her face. Auntie and Ann and the Constable were looking on with questioning looks. Willie and Dee were standing, holding each other tightly, crying. I stood up and ran around the table to them and they opened up the circle of their arms to let me in, and we held each other and shook and bawled like babies.

Eventually, we broke it up. “We need to speak to Marjorie alone, please,” I told Auntie.

“No way,” the constable told us. “I came all this way, and now I’m going to get some answers from that girl!”

“Brenda, we really need to know ….” Auntie began.

“GET OUT!” I shrieked. It took me a long moment to realize that the three of us had screamed that together, in perfect unison. Had we maintained some of that link between us? Whatever the cause, our outburst had an immediate reaction. The man backed away from us as if we were the three witches from Macbeth. I found myself wondering if maybe we were, at that. Wouldn’t Jonathan have a field day with this one? I had an intense desire to cackle: By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes!

“Auntie,” Dee said firmly. “You were the one that started us on this path. Now let us finish!” I was absolutely amazed at the forcefulness behind her words. Was this our meek, subservient Dee?

Auntie nodded. “Right,” she said. She turned and ushered the officer and Ann out the door, onto the patio. The three of us took our old places at the table. 

Marjorie gawked at us, unsure yet hopeful. “You only held my hands for a few seconds,” she said quietly.

Willie had begun laying out her cards again. “My God, it felt like hours,” she muttered. She paused to put on her glasses again.

I took the girl’s hand and turned her toward me. “Marjorie,” I said, with much more composure than I felt, “you must not look upon passion as something shameful. It’s only natural for a woman’s body to react … to situations … to a man’s touch. And some women have much stronger reactions than others. Just because you are one of those women is not a dishonorable thing. You’ve done nothing wrong!”

The girl lowered her head. “You know!” she accused us in a whisper.

“The man is a monster!” Dee interjected. “The fact that your body betrayed your wishes and reacted to his touch … or to sex … does not make him any LESS a monster. HE is the evil one here! You were the victim. Do not let ANYONE tell you otherwise!”

“They won’t understand,” she responded quietly. “Dustin won’t understand. I could never explain it to him.”

“Don’t tell him,” I suggested. “Don’t tell anyone! It’s no one’s business but yours.”

“No, Brenda,” Willie countered, still looking down at her cards. “Marjorie, tell him. Keep no secrets from him. Ever. He loves you. He’ll understand. It’s going to be alright.” She looked up at us now, removing her glasses. “Your love will endure. Forever. Keep nothing from him. He values your honesty, and longs for your passionate nature. You will marry him next week. You will bear him children: three girls and two boys. Each of THEM will bear you grandchildren. And even THEN your passion, your sexual excitement, your fervor, will keep your marriage strong and vital and interesting. Your love is to be envied, Marjorie.”

She sat back and, for the first time, seemed to relax a little. “This is the truth?” she asked us shyly. “He won’t hate me if I tell him? You promise? I should not be ashamed?”

I smiled. “If Willie says it, it will be so,” I told her confidently.

She smiled timidly. “Those three girls … I will name them for you.”

“Yes, I know,” Willie said. “Thank you.” I had to laugh at that, remembering Freddy’s assertion that if you told a psychic ANYTHING, she would inevitably say “Yes, I know.” 

But now, it was finally time to bring in the constable. I refused to say anything else until Marjorie had left the room, so Ann took her outside. “I need to talk to that girl!” he insisted. “Did she identify him? Will she testify? I have a killer on the loose! She HAS to talk!”

“No she doesn’t,” Dee said, once again with enough strength to make everyone else fall silent. “She is out of this now. WE will tell you more than you need to make your arrest … IF you guarantee us that this man will never again be in a position to harm women.”

“If you give me enough to make a charge stick, then yes, you have my word.”

“His name is Wendell Cronk,” Dee said.

The constable started. “I know that man! A shrimper who has a house in the country!”

“There’s a small pond behind his house,” Dee continued. “All white. Everything’s white.”

“A lime pit,” he said. He was silent for a long moment. “Oh, my God!” He was visibly shaken. “How many? Do you know how many?”

We were all shaking. “Nine,” I whispered. “There are nine of them in there.”

He seemed to struggle to his feet. He took out a bandana and mopped his face. “My niece has been missing for four months now.” Finally, he straightened his back, put on a false air of official pride and told us: “Yes, I can promise you, emphatically, that this man will never touch a woman again. I give you my solemn oath.” And he turned and left without another word.

Auntie saw them out and watched for a few minutes as they walked down the trail toward their boat, then she came in and joined us again. “You did so very well,” she said quietly.

Dee sighed. “What have you done to us?” she whispered.

 “Individually, you are special,” Auntie told us. “Together, you have a purpose. The number of women you help … the number of women you SAVE … will be … well … remarkable … incredible. I have shown you your fate, ladies. I have shown you your destiny.”

She rose and left us. I looked around at Dee and Willie. Our little surreal “trip” had left me tired, shaken, nervous … and something else. I didn’t think it appropriate to put it into words. Leave it to Willie to voice the obvious … even when it probably shouldn’t be.

“I am SO horny!” she said, still looking down at her hands. I looked up quickly at Dee, then we both cast disapproving glances at her. She stole a peek, first at me, then at Dee. Her lips twitched. We held it for as long as we could … maybe five seconds … and then burst into laughter.

“I can’t WAIT for Freddy to get back!” I said, giggling. 

“I’ll flip you for him!” Dee snickered, reaching into her pocket for an imaginary coin.

“Rock-paper-scissors!” Willie insisted.

“Girls! Can you help me with these potatoes, please,” Ann said, coming back into the kitchen.

We all sighed audibly. I don’t think I’ve EVER needed sex so badly.
