"Just what kind of reinforcements are you talking about?," Claire asked as the two shared a gourmet luncheon. Neither woman had left the hotel suite since this morning, and Claire, in light of having her weekend of freedom in jeopardy, decided going out was not safe. That Ballard guy could be sitting in the hotel lobby right now waiting for Claire to make an appearance. Then he'd accost her, take her to Van and her parents, then Claire would have to face their wrath. It shook her to the core imagining what they'd do to her once they had her behind closed doors. Well, she just might find herself under lock and key. Van may even lay hands on her, and it wouldn't be the first time.
Claire recalled a situation just a few weeks ago when she and her mother had a
minor disagreement over the former's choice of wedding music. Naturally things
spiraled out of control, and Van, witnessing this little tiff between mother and
daughter, summoned Claire to confer with him in private. Instantly, neatly
secured behind the locked door of Howard's den, Van hauled off and slapped
Claire soundly across the face. "Don't ever let me hear you speak to your
parents that way again!," he hissed as he slapped her a second time. "And you'd
better not talk to ME like that!"
It was then that Claire realized Van would be nothing short of cruel to her all
throughout their married life. It was also the true reason Claire tried her
darnedest to get out of the marriage; she clearly could not spend the rest of
her life at the hands of an abusive spouse. So this is why she asked Aarien
about those "reinforcements". She wondered if Aarien was going to use one of
those sci-fi space weapons on Van, to which Aarien laughed uproariously.
"Oh no, Claire," she said between giggles, "nothing like that. But, given your
father and fiancé's mindset, I'm devising something else, something that just
may force your men to take notice. Just leave it all up to me." She then
handed Claire a small crystal so unlike Imyn's. It was as black as coal, trimmed
in platinum, and pointed at the end to suggest a dagger. Claire examined this
item with puzzlement.
"What is this thing?"
"We call it the Dream-Guard. It is used for defense purposes only. The main use
it to block any mental thoughts of negation, evil intent, narrowness, especially
when such thoughts are aimed at us."
"Sort of like mind control?"
"No, not like that, but if used properly, it can stop a person from acting out
what he or she is thinking."
Claire wondered if this was what Aarien meant about, "Stopping Van." She asked
just that, "Aarien, if I'm correct, I'm to use this on Van or my folks if they
decide to take me home?"
Aarien nodded. "Precisely, and especially on your father and this Van person.
They are dangerous, Claire, although I feel your mother may be just as..."
Her words were interrupted by the phone ringing. Such an ingenious device, this telephone, but it is rather intrusive. Claire answered and was surprised to hear who was on the other end. "Hello? Aunt Jen! How are you? I'm OK, but...Yeah, you know that, too. What? You want to come here? But that private eye Van hired...Oh, OK, I guess you know what you're doing. See you this evening."
When Claire hung up, she was quite puzzled. Aunt Jen had always been the one bright spot in Claire's life. While not exactly welcome in Howard's home, Jen visited at least three times a year – every Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. In between she regularly phoned and wrote to Claire. It was a long story, what happened between her mother and aunt. And Claire was quite anxious to tell Aarien all about her favorite auntie.
"She and my mother are so different," she began, "Aunt Jen is open-minded, loving, progressive, and...Yes, she is gay just like you and I. That's where it gets very sticky between Mom and Aunt Jen. Mom and Dad don't approve of her 'lifestyle' and tell her so every time she visits. I guess that's why she comes around just a few times a year. My folks told me they didn't want me to hang around Aunt Jen, but I still wrote to her, talked to her on the phone, even visited her at her house. She is a really neat lady, and I can't wait to introduce her to you."
******
Jennifer "Jen" Dorfman stood in the hotel lobby, ever wary of the man who had
followed her from the post office where she had run into Pansie Kramer. It was
that lady who tipped Jen about the man who claimed to be an old school chum.
Thanks to Jody, whose sharp eye for anyone suspicious, for phoning Pansie,
alerting that Mr. Ballard had to be a detective hired by Van Allen. Jen never
did like Van nor did she cotton to Howard Brown. In fact, she blamed Howard for
sister Emily's total turnabout in personality and character. Emily, the older
sister, had everything going for her: She was an accomplished scholar who had
hoped to go into teaching and research. However, a mindless indiscretion forced
Emily to abandon all her principles to marry Howard Brown. How that man drained
her of all she had ever known. Emily, once a vibrant, independent, free-thinking
woman, had been reduced to a mousy doormat. Whatever Howard said was law, and
Emily seemed content to walk just a few steps behind her husband, catering to
his every whim and demand.
Even though Jen was family, she never felt welcome in the Brown home. Those few
visits were trying in the extreme. While she got along famously with her niece,
Jen could not stand being in the same room as Howard. Every time, Jen could feel
the man's cold eyes upon her, judging her, condemning her for who and what she
was. And now, just when Claire finally broke away from her oppressive,
repressive home life, Howard wields the sword of 'respectability',
short-circuiting Claire's successful academic career. Jen knew all about her
niece's involvement in progressive politics and social causes, even cheered
Claire on. But the tide turned the moment Howard saw his daughter's photo
plastered all over the front page. That's when Van Allen entered the picture.
Van...
Last spring, when Jen last visited her sister, Van was there as Howard's guest. Apparently the men had run into each other at one of the several ultra-conservative PAC meetings. Van, a non-descript looking man who possessed all those pious, virtuous values, accepted Howard's invitation to dinner. "Come meet my family," he said. Ha! This was nothing but a thinly disguised scheme to pair Van with Claire. Oh, as Jen recalled, Claire seemed to like Van at first, even found him funny in a quirky sense, but as the relationship wore on...
Jen grimaced in her martini. From what Claire reported, Van literally
pressured her into accepting his marriage proposal. Of course, it was Howard who
pushed the two together in hopes of "turning Claire around." In other words,
re-mold Claire the same way he transformed Emily – Reduce the girl until she's a
docile, subservient doll — A Stepford Wife.
Then there were the beatings, the knocking
about, the verbal belittling all done behind closed doors, away from Emily and
Howard's eyes. Claire kept in contact with her aunt, relaying what she had to
put up with. She was also scared to death that Van would, once they said "I do,"
keep her a virtual prisoner in her own home. Claire told Jen that Van would tell
her how to dress, conduct herself, how to spend his money, when to talk (which
wouldn't be much, and NOT progressive politics). Such men have a past, and Van
had a doozy, but he successfully kept it under wraps, away from prying eyes. Jen
knew this but never shared with Claire. However, at this stage, with Claire
finally walking out – and kicking Van and her parents' collective asses – Jen
felt it was time to play that trump card. Detective or not, Van Allen was not
going to ruin another young woman's life. She finished her cocktail only to see
that man – Derek Ballard – enter the hotel lobby. He didn't see her, thank the
Goddess, so Jen quickly and deftly concealed herself in a crowd of
conventioneers. Lost among the throng, Jen finally made her way to the elevator,
to the 12th floor, to Claire's hotel suite.
******
"Etana was everything to me," said Aarien as she helped herself to more wine and cheese. She never had anything so good. Oh, on Edev there was such thing as spirits but nothing in comparison to this delicious California Merlot. And the cheese, this Brie infused with herbs and garlic was fantastic. The Edevian commander wanted to take a few samples of Earth foods back home, even dispatched her officers to comb the planet, get a crash course on the various agricultural and culinary treasures Earth offered. But getting back to telling Claire about Etana, her deceased lover...
Aarien wanted to level with her new love, that is reveal everything about Etana and why the Edevian soldier was so special. She detailed how they met: at a training camp outside Libasa, Edev's capital. Aarien told Claire that Etana was one of those bright young ladies destined for greatness.
"She, Etana, had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. She wanted to learn so much, to excel, to grow as both a woman and an officer." Above all Etana's drive and ambition, she had a loving heart, a deep compassion for her sister Edevians, and for justice. It was her desire to join the Edevian militia that fateful night. Aarien detailed the now-crushed rebellion: A circle of male renegades concocted a scheme to overthrow Queen Utina; they had hoped to gain access to Edev's Parliament and replace it with a more oppressive government of their own. She related how the leader Bamud, a well-respected leader of Edev's servant class, managed to gather several followers, ultimately besieging the port city of Albona.
"Bamud, for some unexplained reason, voiced opposition to our policies, our
very way of life. This could never happen, Her Majesty said to us when she
ordered the militia to quell the uprising. Now, don't get me wrong...I've always
admired Bamud. He just thought things would better if all the power rested with
the men, but he never quite realized that he and his followers were about to
undo nearly two-thousand years of culture...I thought I knew the man."
"But, Aarien," said Claire, "I thought men were content with their lot on Edev."
"Oh they are as a whole. It is ingrained in the culture; the men accept their
roles, but there was always that vocal opposition waiting for the right
moment..."
"Such as plotting to overthrow your queen and government, institute some sort of
tyrannical rule instead of the current open and fair system."
Aarien nodded, saying, "And, in the end, the plot got my lover killed. I
don't know how I managed to survive without her. Etana was my life, and I came
oh so close to taking my own."
She was now in tears recalling Etana's last moments and the ensuing grief that
never seemed to abate.
"To cope," Aarien said through sobs, "I threw myself in my work, even took on
this latest expedition, just to help blot out the pain. When our ship was thrown
off course..."
"It," said Claire, her arms thrown protectively around a sobbing Aarien, "led
you straight to me. Honestly, to tell the truth, I've even thought of suicide,
what with my predicament with Van and my parents."
Aarien gratefully accepted the tissue Claire handed her. She dried her eyes then said, "Darling Claire. Allow me to show my gratitude and my love...Will you be so kind to put on some of your Earth 'rock music'?" Claire obliged by turning on the radio, tuning to a commercial-free dance rock station. "This is quite popular here. No ads and no gabby DJ's. Just good dance mixes...Uh, Aarien?"
No sooner had Claire spoke that Aarien, clad in a shiny, super skintight black spandex jumpsuit, immediately launched into a wildly sexy dance. Her body wriggled and squirmed with a steady rhythm, her hips working like pistons. Stroking her body suggestively, Aarien treated her lover to a terpsichorean feat unparalleled. The shiny and tight suit gleamed in all the right places, catching the light in a way that exalted the alien's incredible curves. She wriggled up to Claire who remained seated on the couch at Aarien's request. Claire had her legs spread and sat back for the inevitable – another wildly creative erotic encounter. This Aarien is too much! Advancing dangerously close to Claire, Aarien slithered all over the girl's body, grinding her pelvis against Claire's crotch which immediately became wet with arousal. Claire let out a groan of delight as Aarien glided all over, allowing Claire to breath in the alien's sweetly perfumed sweat. An extraterrestrial lap dance. What could be more heavenly than this. Oh yeah, thought Claire as she endeavored to remain absolutely still as Aarien continued to slither and wriggle against Claire's dripping crotch, bringing the girl to endless screaming, raging orgasms. But the erotic rendezvous did not last long, much to the ladies' displeasure. An insistent knock on the door followed by a familiar voice forced them to end their unusual lovemaking session.
"Aunt Jen!," said Claire breathlessly as she tried to gather the strength to rise from the couch. But she couldn't move; she was that incapacitated from unfulfilled lust. Aarien laughed, then said, "Don't worry, darling. I'll answer the door."
When the door opened, Jen was quite taken aback as Aarien graciously
introduced herself. So this, thought Jen, is Claire's new lover...She is very
pretty, glamorous even...Where and how did they meet?
To Be Continued...Go to Chapter 7
Copyright©2004 by Pepper Shriver*
(PRP)
*My pen name :-)