Chapter 10: Good Taste

Why hasn’t it occurred to me before now? Sharon is in Florida, hasn’t returned, not once since her claim to be Hermione’s biological mother was vindicated. Only winning the argument against Elaine mattered, not her daughter Hermione. Hermione is effectively motherless now. It’s most natural I should adopt her too.

Hermione gladly joins Dick and me in exploring the maze. The tunnels now ring and echo with the music of delighted child laughter. Whenever a new tunnel or branch is discovered, we reward ourselves with a skinny dip at Waif’s beach and a cuddle nap for three afterward. Sometimes we go to the beach just because we enjoy it and want to. A cause for celebration isn’t required.

The months sped by and my children were born. My son Ash was birthed by Elaine. Lilli delivered us a daughter, whom I named Plum because I agreed with Joey long ago, we would name a daughter Plum. We also planned to name a son Jack. I like Ash better and no way would I name him Jack Ash! Simple Ash and Plum. My and Joey’s long-desired offspring. Beautiful babies.

Joey is a typical one-year-old, crawling and tasting everything.

I decided it’s time to share a secret with Hermione and Dick. I told them there is an evil witch, descended from a vicious pirate, locked up in a dungeon somewhere in the maze. The story of the piratess Anne Bonny I made gruesome. They were hugging each other and shivering with fright at the conclusion, my telling was so convincing. They swore a blood oath worthy of a pirate, to keep the secret and divulge it to no one. For months after, I paid close attention to the grapevine and the other children at play. Not a word about a witch did I hear. Eventually, I became satisfied Hermione and Dick were discreet and could be trusted, were honoring their oaths of silence. It’s time they should meet the witch Elaine and my son Ash.

“Momsin, don’t feed us to the witch. We’re sorry for whatever we did that made you so mad.”

“Don’t be scared darlings. I won’t let the witch hurt you. What would make you imagine such a thing? I just want you to know she’s real. Besides, she’s expecting you. I told her I’m bringing you to meet her. She has presents for you”

“In Hansel and Gretel and the gingerbread house, witches cook and eat children in that story. You don’t have to prove she’s real, we know she is. We believed you when you told us about her, Momsin. We never told anyone, just as we promised, we swear we didn’t. Please don’t let the witch have us.”

“You’re trustworthy, good kids. That’s why I think you should see the dungeon where she lives. My son baby Ash lives with her. She feeds him from her witch’s tit to make him grow strong and healthy.”

“Yuck! Does he like it?”

“See for yourselves. Maybe, if you ask nicely, she’ll give you a taste...”

“Do you want to see her, Hermione? I will if you will.”

“Sure, I trust Momsin, don’t you? Don’t be such a dick, Dick.”

“Don’t be such hemorrhoid, Hermione. You’re a pain in my ass!”

“Let’s not fight over it, just go see. You’re my intrepid explorers, are you not? When have you been afraid before? Never. Why now?”

“We’re afraid of her pirate’s ghost.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that bloody ghost. Maybe you two should go on alone, it’s just a short way, I’m too afraid. I’m going back!”

“Momsin? Don’t leave us!”

“Just teasing, kids. I’ll never voluntarily leave you. Come on. It’s just another of our grand adventures. It’s not much farther. Let’s go on. Let’s do it! We’ll go for a swim afterward. Deal?”

Elaine made a deal with me before meeting the kids. She needs to pass on her wealth of knowledge to the next generation. That is my suggestion. She reminded me, she earlier trained Cassie voluntarily, without my spurring her to it. We are already agreed on the principles before we began discussing them. I asked her to please train Hermione and Dick as a favor to me. She’s delighted at the prospect of interacting with them, seeing them again, and delighted to please me, she says.

Elaine claims she doesn’t want to be freed. Won’t leave me, even if I gave her freedom. She has adapted and become enamored of being my bitch. She loves me and only lives to please and pleasure me. It’s the Helsinki syndrome. Wikipedia defines as:

“A psychological syndrome in which a person being held captive begins to identify with and grow sympathetic to his or her captor. After Stockholm where a hostage in a 1973 bank robbery became romantically attached to one of her captors.”

There are conditions to be met. My help, but her way. I’m to assist Elaine in any way she deems beneficial to the project. Reservations inhibit me from giving her carte blanch. I don’t trust her completely and agreed only to reasonable requests, retaining an ultimate veto power myself. We discovered we agree on most aspects, and nowhere do we strongly disagree, and in good accord, the pact is made.

Our first discord was over the clothing. We agree she needs to wear clothes, but not on what she should wear. Elaine wants to dress up.

Not dressing for a formal dinner but as a frightening caricature of a witch. Why? Elaine patiently explained. A teacher can’t teach if the students have no respect for her. Presenting an imposing presence can overcome her being chained to a wall. Chained up doesn’t bolster the teacher’s authority. Establishing fear in the students can offset that detracting detail.

My babies have soft woolly lambskins to lay on, ordered from the Internet. Advertised as comfortable bedding encouraging and enhancing infant’s sleep and to possess other added health benefits for babies. Elaine wants the lambskins. Fine, I’ll order two more as replacements for the two given to Elaine. She wants butchered goat fetlocks with hooves. The settlement keeps many goats for milk and meat. Getting a pair of goat’s hooves the settlers frequently throw away is easy. Elaine requests an old worn-out grass hula skirt. I’ll ask Lilli for one. Elaine wants a seashell macramé potted plant hanger. They’re locally handmade and sold in tourist shops everywhere on the island. She wants an old used one. Didn’t I see a couple in the garden shed? Probably the cotton cord is rotten. Elaine says rotten suits her, she won’t expect them to support any weight. Her final costume requests are for a small rug, black socks, ace bandages, cosmetics, a mirror, a teasing comb, and a brush.

The second list of wants is for the children. Each to receive from her hand, a beach bucket with the shovel, gardening gloves, a magnifying glass, a sprouting jar, a mason jar with screw-on lid, packet of litmus papers, set of measuring spoons, and a graduated measuring cup. One small shared bottle of olive oil and garden packets of celery and mustard seeds also to share.