Chapter 81: Beth and Flight 706

Sunday, June 6, 1971

The gray light of dawn filtered through the windows that I had forgotten to pull the drapes on last night. I fumbled for my watch on the nightstand beside me, groaning as I saw the time.

“This is crazy!” I thought as I made my way to the bathroom. It seemed as if I had just gone to sleep a few minutes ago. “You can’t be up this early!” I told myself unconvincingly.

But I knew better. I was still worried. And when I was worried, I just couldn’t go back to sleep once the sun was up. And it should be up almost any moment now, according to the almanac, because my new watch said it was 5:25 a.m.

“But there’s nothing you can do about it!” I told myself for the hundredth time.

I took care of my duties in the bathroom, making sure to check my face and back in the mirror.

I don’t think I would have been surprised to find blood. Not after the night that I had with that wildcat, masquerading as a teenaged girl, who was still asleep in my bed.

Truth be told, we spent a good deal of time last night, just talking. Both of us admitting that we didn’t love each other. I don’t think she was lying as much as I was.

Randi, who will be eighteen in a few of months, is a year and a half older than me. That age difference means little to twenty-something’s and practically nothing by the time you’re in your thirties. But, to teenagers, it can seem like a huge gap. And when it’s the girl who’s older, the gap becomes an unfathomable chasm. So when we finally went to bed last night, Randi, with her very limited experience, decided she should be the one in charge.

I may look sixteen, but in reality, I’m considerably older. So I watched in amusement as the almost-eighteen-year-old, rising high school senior, tried to show the fifty-six-year-old, rising junior how it was done. When she finally realized she wasn’t going to show me any new tricks that would cause me to blast off prematurely like she had in the shower, she changed tactics and began trying to outlast me. In the end, though, she just gave in, opting for as many orgasms as she could stand.

So while Randi spent the rest of the night taking advantage of my ability to know exactly what she needed, I discovered that wildcats could endure lots of orgasms!

I knew I needed to work out, so I threw on a t-shirt and some shorts along with my running shoes and headed downstairs. First stop ... coffee!

None of the family was stirring as I made my way to the kitchen, where I set about making a pot of coffee. A strange man stuck his head in the door of the kitchen, and said good morning. I scanned him and found he was one of the extra security people David had brought in to help for the weekend.

I bid him a good morning and we both went back to what we were doing. A few minutes later, a still very sleepy Beth wandered into the kitchen.

“What in god’s name are you doing up at this hour?” she asked, yawning.

“Fixing me a cup of coffee before I go running,” I explained, trying not to let my grumpiness show.

Beth frowned, unsure how to tell me the news.

“I’m sorry, Michael. There is not a safe place for you to do that, and we’re not really staffed or prepared for it,” she replied apologetically.

“I don’t really need protection, Beth. I’ll be fine,” I told her.

“Yes, sir. Then I’ll go get Penny up. She’s required to go with you,” she said resignedly. “Can you give her a few minutes to get ready?”

“Don’t do that,” I said with a sigh. “I’m sure she is worn out this morning.”

Beth cocked an eye at me, suspiciously.

“I mean it’s been a long week, and she was up late last night. I’m sorry they woke you also. I didn’t know he was going to do that,” I told her, obviously referring to the security guy who had stuck his head in earlier.

“Oh, it’s okay,” she lied.

She accepted the cup of coffee I offered and sat down at the kitchen table. I poured myself a cup and sat down across from her. We drank our coffee without any more words.

“Do you swim? I mean, the old Michael couldn’t swim very well. But if you do, the pool is ready, and you could still get in your work out,” she suggested, breaking the silence.

I guess that was her subtle way of reminding me of our conversation from Friday night, when she overheard me trying to explain to Candy why I could suddenly cook, when I couldn’t before.

I studied her for a moment, but she was too sleepy to really read anything other than the obvious questions about who I really was.

“Yes, I like to swim. And I thank you for the suggestion. I believe I’ll take you up on it,” I told her as I refilled my coffee cup and headed out to the pool.

I didn’t want to stay in there with Beth, because I wasn’t sure what Catherine had told her. And I wasn’t getting a clear picture from her, due to the emotional conflict that I caused in her when I was around her. I could tell that Beth liked order, and hated chaos. And right now, I represented the ultimate chaos for her. Because the truth was so far from her acknowledged perception of reality, and she did not bend easily.

The house blocked the sun, so the pool was temporarily in the shade, but the air was warm. I hadn’t brought a suit, and didn’t really want to traipse all the way back upstairs to get one. So I shucked my t-shirt, shorts, and shoes, and dove naked into the cool water.

I had swam about half the laps I was aiming for, while enjoying the freedom from clothes once again, when I detected Beth coming towards the pool. She had on a robe, and was carrying a stack of towels in one hand, and her coffee cup in the other.

Placing the towels on one chair, she sat down in another, and just watched me as I swam. She would glance around the perimeter occasionally, but she knew there were other security personnel about. I hadn’t thought of them when I stripped. Oh well!

I finished my laps, and waded to the steps in the shallow end. Walking out of the pool, I headed to the chair with the towels. I truly had forgotten my nudity, but her eyes went wide as I climbed out of the pool, following me like a laser, as I approached her.

“May I,” I asked, nodding towards the stack of towels on the chair that was now the only thing separating us.

“Ah ... yeah. I brought them for you,” she stammered slightly, her eyes still glued to Little Mike.

“Thanks!” I told her.

“You’re welcome...” she said absently, her eyes having never risen above my waist since I exited the pool.

“Uh, Beth?” I said wiggling my eyebrows at her as her eyes slowly traveled up my naked torso to my face.

“I’m so sorry!” she said blushing. “That was so rude of me!”

“Don’t sweat it!” I laughed.

“No! I should never have stared like that!” she got up quickly to leave.

It was clear that she was upset. But maybe it was because I was preoccupied, that I couldn’t see a reason why.

“I’ll be off the grounds as soon as someone can get here to take over,” she said, starting to cry.

“Beth?”

Maybe it was because I was so tired too, but somehow, I missed it. She had leaped from embarrassed to resigning in nothing flat.

“Please, forgive me. I know I never should have stared. Especially since you’re still a minor. I realize that you can have me arrested, Michael. Please! You don’t have to, I’ll leave. And I’ll keep your secret about your...” Beth’s words disintegrated in a torrent of tears as she collapsed wearily back into the poolside chair.

“Beth? Please, don’t cry. You have done nothing wrong!” I said soothingly as I scanned.

“Why does that never work?” I thought to myself, as Beth continued to cry.

After last night, I realized that I was just physically and emotionally too tired to wade through the jumbled morass of her emotions.

“Michael?” Catherine thought to me. “What’s wrong? Why are you upset?”

I replayed the last three minutes for Catherine without answering.

“Stay right there! I’ll be down in a minute,” she thought to me. “Don’t let Beth leave either!”

“Yes Ma’am!” I replied, emotionally saluting her.

“And Michael?”

“Yes, ma’am?” I answered.

“For goodness sakes, put something on!” she said exasperatedly.

Catherine arrived a few moments later, going directly to Beth, who was still sniffling. As they began to talk, I interrupted them.

“I’m going to get a refill on coffee. Would you like some tea?” I asked Catherine.

“Please,” she replied.

“Beth, how do you take your coffee?” I asked her.

“Black is fine,” she replied flatly, as I headed for the kitchen.

Of course, I monitored them, as I went for the coffee and tea. Turns out that Catherine really hadn’t explained anything to Beth Friday night, just reassured her that what she heard was true and that we’d give her the whole story later.

Beth was distraught though and kept insisting on resigning. Partly because of this morning, but mostly, it seemed because she thought something was not right at the Wagner mansion.

“Beth, I will accept your tentative resignation,” Catherine finally told her. “On two conditions. One, you talk to Michael. He will answer all your questions. And two, you accompany Nicky and Amy when they leave with him tomorrow. They will be gone about two weeks, which is what your contract calls for as a notice to terminate anyway.”

“How did she know?” I wondered. I had just suggested it to Nicky and Amy late last night, and they weren’t up yet to have told her.

“Vickie contacted me last night. They wanted me to go with them to Vivian’s this morning,” Catherine supplied, as she waited for Beth to consider her offer.

I handed her the cup of tea I had brought, and handed Beth another cup of black coffee.

Beth took it without looking at me. “Thanks,” she mumbled instinctively.

Finally, Beth looked at Catherine. “Okay. I guess that’s fair. But I’m not promising anything. And if I catch him lying to me, the deal’s off and I’m outa here.”

“Beth, I promise that Michael will not lie to you. If he does, I will know it. He will even explain how I’ll know it, if it will make you feel better,” Catherine told her.

“How much do I tell her?” I thought to Catherine.

“Ask me out loud,” she thought back. So I did.

“All of it, Michael. We’re asking Beth to lay her life on the line for this family. She’s never given me any reason to doubt her commitment or her confidentiality. So tell her everything and answer all her questions. Even about Greg,” Catherine said with finality.

“Yes ma’am,” I said.

“Beth, dear, I am going to ask you, for right now, not to discuss this with David or the others. Not because I don’t want them to know, but simply because I want to be the one to tell David, and we haven’t had the chance yet,” Catherine said.

“Okay. I understand. But only if it’s not something illegal. If it is, I have to report it to David and the authorities, right away,” Beth replied.

“If you feel it is something you need to report, I promise you, I will go with you to the police. But hear Michael out first, before you make up your mind,” Catherine told her.

Then turning to me she said, “Michael, why don’t you two stay here where you’re less likely to be disturbed. I need to wake Nicky and Amy and get myself ready to face Vivian. If you want, I’ll have you some breakfast sent out.”

“Thanks! That would be great! Would you like some too?” I asked Beth.

“No thank you. I’m not very hungry right now,” she replied.

I just shrugged my shoulders at Catherine as she got up to go back to the house.

The house was no longer shading the pool and the morning sun already had temperatures rising.

“Are you okay here in the sun? Or would you like to move into the shade? Maybe under the cabana?” I asked Beth.

The cabana was the covered area spanning the width of the pool at the shallow end. It led directly into the pool house, which I hadn’t had time to explore yet, but it looked pretty big.

“I’m fine right here,” Beth replied defensively. “I’m also armed.”

Beth opened her robe enough for me to see the leather shoulder holster she had on over her t-shirt.