Chapter 4

The interesting news the following week as far as Kyle was concerned was what Maria told him was the scuttlebutt going around concerning Major Javier Baro.

Maria said, “The Commanding General summoned the Major to his office and he could be heard shouting at Major Baro about what Baro was trying to do with the therapist and what he said he would do to Kyle. Major Baro is now Captain Baro, is off the promotion list and has been reassigned as an assistant supply officer at Fort Roca. If it wasn’t for the friendship Baro’s father had with the General, Baro would have lost his commission and been court-martialed. Supposedly Baro’s wife who comes from an influential family is not going with him to Fort Roca and is deciding what she will do.”

“Where is Fort Roca and what is the significance of being assigned there?”

“It is on an island just off our coast. As you Americans say, that is where they send elephants to die. His military career is over and he only has himself to blame for what has happened. I won’t mention names and she is no longer works here but this was not the first time he tried to do something like that. Alicia I am sorry to say didn’t do anything when that happened, probably because she was concerned for her safety.”

He thanked her for the information thinking that this fellow got what he had coming. He also thought that Elena wielded some power and he needed to be careful. That justice can be swiftly delivered in this country went without saying.

That evening he again thought about what had happened to Baro and remembered what Alicia had said about being careful and watching what he said. Maybe he was getting paranoid but he thought it wouldn’t hurt for him to be careful. Looking at the internet he ordered an RF detector that would tell him if there were any hidden cameras and wireless microphones in this house. He also ordered a nanny cam that looked like a clock and was motion activated.

Compared to that first week at work, the following weeks were fairly calm with no major problems. He had dated Emma a few times which resulted in some very enjoyable nights. She enjoyed making love and it turned out she was quite innovative in her approach to sex. It was either the clothes she did or didn’t wear or where she wanted to engage in this activity that made being with her quite interesting. He wasn’t however developing any strong emotional feelings for her. The truth was he enjoyed getting laid and he thought she was of the same mind.

There were times that when he phoned Emma and asked her for a date that she politely turned him down saying she had another commitment. She never volunteered what these commitments were but when he went stag to that same watering hole he saw that she was there with a date. He politely talked to her and then struck up a conversation with a female friend of hers Emma had previously introduced him to. The result was that Kyle had gone with this friend at the end of the evening back to her place and made love with her. If Emma knew this had happened she never mentioned it. He continued to date Emma but it was an on again off again situation.

Holidays were celebrated a little differently in this country. Thanksgiving was not a national holiday. That, however, didn’t stop Kyle from going to a restaurant that evening and ordering a turkey dinner. He wanted to uphold this tradition and laughed to himself in doing it.

One late morning Maria walked into Kyle’s office and said, “It seems like we are going to see if you still remember on how to administer physical therapy.”

“What prompts you to say that?”

“I just received a phone call from Lorena Pena who her doctor referred her here because of a pain in her hips.”

“Why would I be involved?”

“She is the wife of the Minister of Defense. She, as you Americans say, is “big potatoes” or something like that. She is someone you need to personally administer therapy to and to be careful when you do it.”

“Anything I should know?”

“Well, she is considerably younger than him, probably in her mid-thirties, comes from money and is said to get what she wants when she wants it.”

He thanked her for this warning and made it a point that night to look Lorena Pena up on the net and see what he could find out about her.

Kyle couldn’t say he was nervous but he would admit that he was a little apprehensive when Lorena Pena came in for her appointment. She was dressed like she was going out for the evening rather than coming to have physical therapy. He did see she was carrying a rather large purse. He greeted her introducing himself and pointed out where the changing room was. She said she would prefer to change in the room where the therapy was administered. He showed to the room where this was going to be done and before closing the door said he would be back in ten minutes.

Coming back he knocked on the door and heard her tell him he could enter. He could see she had changed into loose shorts and put on a workout shirt. He also thought by the indentations on the shirt that she had removed her bra.

She asked him to close and lock the door and said she did not want a female therapist in the room to observe. He didn’t like being put in this position since if anything happened he could put money on whose version of what happened would be believed.

Lorena said her problem is that she was having sore hips. In particular, her right hip was the problem. He asked her to lie down on the table and said he was going to need to touch her to do a little probing as to the problem as well as manipulating her legs. She told him that she expected him to do that.

He did some probing and discovered she had some well-developed firm hips. A few spots that he probed resulted in her saying that was the spot. Kyle thought it was just a case of bursitis. He started to do some stretching exercises on her legs. Once he had done that he gave her some elastic and showed her how to do some resistance exercises. After what was about three quarters an hour had gone by he told her that was enough for today. Lorena told him she felt much better and hoped it would last. Since the doctor hadn’t prescribed any inflammatory medicine Kyle suggested she take some Tylenol. After some discussion, she said he would be here twice a week for additional sessions.

Christmas was right around the corner. This was when the physical therapy operation in total would shut down for the holidays. All the therapists, Maria and Kyle would be off a week since this was one week of their two-week vacation benefit. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with that week off. Going back to the States was considered but he gave a pass on doing that. He would just express his good wishes by doing zoom calls with his parents and a few friends. He did make a point to go to the PX and purchased some Christmas gifts for Maria and his therapists.

Just before they shut down for the holidays he had a session with Lorena. She seemed disappointed to learn they were closing for the holidays as the pain she had been having was almost gone. She asked Kyle what he was going to be doing during that time. His response to not having any firm plans caused her to ask if he would consider coming in to give her a treatment during this off time. Feeling he was being pressured to do this he agreed to her request.