Chapter 25

It was a good thing that Mr. BLM wasn’t on the hill as they walked about the estate arm in arm, talking about things that would be nice to do in this corner or that. Making plans for the future. Sharing each other’s company. Touching hands or other body parts or just sharing a look. There was a new closeness between them all.

As evening drew near, Cindy said: “My turn to cook.” and pulled herself away after a quick hug and kiss from each of them.

John and Theresa continued arm in arm as they sauntered about the grounds.

“Why do you think most religions wouldn’t like our ... or more specifically mine and Cindy’s relationship?” she asked.

“Oh ... I think that’s fairly obvious. It threatens the status quo. It’s easy to think about a man and a woman together being natural. You’ve got a nice warm niche, I’ve got a plug that fits it. When men and women get their unique parts together, most often children arrive some time later. Life is a wondrous, mysterious and therefore must be a spiritual thing. To wit; men and women getting together to see if their parts fit must somehow have something to do with spirituality, because when they do it a mystical thing quite often happens.

“When two women get together and rub special parts, nothing so spectacular occurs. Thus men and women doing it is spiritual, women and women doing it isn’t ... and must therefore be wrong. Of course the same applies equally to men and men...”

“Okay ... that makes sense ... I guess.”

“Well, add to that that those rules were established a long time ago. When there weren’t all that many people. There was strength in numbers. When the same sexes got together, the tribe didn’t grow. And not only that, but the two of them fulfilled their sexual desires and thus didn’t go off and do what they were supposed to with others as well.”

“Cindy said much the same thing ... it also makes sense. But what about you and I?”

“You mean the age thing?”

“Yes ... I guess. At least society wouldn’t make so much fuss about it if I was closer to your age. It may raise an eyebrow or so over the fact that we weren’t married, but basically they wouldn’t much care. But because of the fact that I’m under a certain age ... and because you’re over a certain age ... well they would seem to care a great deal about it.”

“Well ... I guess that rule developed as a means of protecting children. It would be incredibly complicated to try to decide on a case by case basis, so it becomes a general rule that applies to all people. That’s one of the problems with rules, they take on a greater significance than the thing they were created to protect. But look at it another way. Suppose that I had kept you here against your will. That you only came to care for me because I had brain washed you into it. That I had forced myself upon you. That you had been a virgin when you came and I had raped you, and that you had no choice but to submit to me because your only other option was to be cast out to freeze to death. Now wouldn’t the rule against our relationship seem to serve to give you some sort of legal recourse to protect you from that. That my fear of the penalties would serve to dissuade me from doing those things.”

“I guess so ... but you didn’t do any of those things.”

“Ahh but ... there are others in the world who would. Those particular rules were designed to protect you from that.”

“But what if I don’t want protecting?”

“Well ... In Law, there’s a thing called Prima Facie ... Now if I understand it right, then its purpose is to deal with exceptions to rules. It seldom gets applied. Usually judges follow the letter of the law. But Prima Facie is meant to deal with the spirit of the law. Many states have Prima Facie traffic laws. Now say you get a ticket for running a red light. You can fight that ticket if you can prove that it was safe for you to do that. The conditions of the offense may be used to mitigate the charge. Now it’s going to make a big difference if you ran the red light at three in the morning, after stopping completely and looking both ways. Having full visibility in both directions for several miles. You see no cars and cautiously cross the intersection. That is a lot different than running a red light at rush hour, without slowing down or looking.

Society’s rules, however don’t always have a prima facie clause to them. Sometimes even the hint that a person might be breaking them is enough to garner the punishment, whatever that may be.”

“So ... how does that apply to us?”

“Oh ... if the authorities were to catch us ... Say Mr. BLM had a cousin who knew Cindy’s folks and Mr. BLM showed a picture of her to him and he recognized Cindy. He knows that Cindy is missing and puts two and two together. He notifies the authorities who first talk to Mr. BLM and he shows them pictures he took from the ridge. Now the local authorities from your area have a missing persons report on Cindy, listing known associates ... You. And you’re also missing. They have a description of you which coincidentally matches a girl in the photo’s that Mr. BLM took. Now the authorities borrow the picture and take it back to your home town and ask your folks if it’s you. Both they and Cindy’s folks say: ‘ that’s our little girl! ‘ After that they take that information to a judge who signs a search warrant. Then the commando’s and swat team descend upon our little enclave here. They haul you and Cindy off to Juvenile hall and me off to Jail. Now they bring us before a judge. Who will try to ascertain just why two run away juveniles are living with an old man in a hole in the desert.”

“But...”

“Let me finish...”

“OK...”

“Okay ... Say the judge is a fair one. He follows the spirit of the law. He actually asks both you and Cindy how you came to be living out here in the middle of nowhere. You girls both tell him the truth and the whole truth concerning your relationship with me and the fact that you were both escaping the abuse of your folks. Now I get grilled too. The judge is magnanimous and actually lets me talk. I point out the facts that you’re both happy and healthy. That you have not been forcefully abused. That you have been studying diligently for your GED’s and that I have provided a financial foundation for your further education’ once you obtain them. Now the judge, if he doesn’t have to answer to any local do- gooders or doesn’t give a shit about re-election may look at the case in regards to the spirit of the law. He may give me probation and shuttle you two off to foster care until you two are eighteen. But, it’s highly doubtful that he will fully dismiss the charges.