Chapter 2

After Lisa had served my uncle he indicated for her to kneel on a small pillow on the floor next to his chair. With another self-conscious glance at me she lowered herself demurely to her knees. She folded her hands in her lap and rested back primly on her heels. She lowered her eyes and would not meet my continued frank appraisal.

As we talked I examined my uncle. I figured his age in the mid-thirties. He was tanned, tall, lean and looked very fit. He was very serious man and was not one to chat. I had attempted to turn our talk toward the mystery of his life. But, he was not forthcoming in this regard, but would adroitly dodge my queries. The conversation seemed to center on me almost as if I was being interviewed.

We had been discussing my parents and I had been suddenly overwhelmed with grief. There was a pause and we both sat and stared at the fire. He had politely shifted his attention until I had composed myself.

He turned to Lisa and told her to bring the cigar humidor. She rose, repeating her carefully demure rising movement. She crossed the room and unintentionally refreshed my memory of her extraordinary beauty.

Bringing a heavy wood canister towards us, my uncle indicated for her to serve me first. She came to me and again bent forward to expose the wide expanse of her breasts. She lifted the lid blocking my view to reveal an array of cigars.

"Cigar, Master?" she murmured.

I picked a large Cuban make I recognized as an Upmann. For a moment I was at a loss to how to prepare the cigar when my uncle spoke. "She will do it for you," he said with a slight smile.

She looked at him and then to me. I shrugged and held it out. She set down the humidor and took the cigar. Using a knife from the table she expertly cut off the end. Holding the cigar to her puckered mouth she rolled it between her pursed lips to smooth the rough edges. Then in a very businesslike manner, she ran her extended tongue around the tip. I caught her eye as she performed this last task. I had a sudden image of her performing fellatio and I inadvertently smiled. She saw my expression and looked away. I had an intuition she knew exactly what I was thinking.

My uncle spoke up. "She is well trained in her duties," he said dryly.

I turned to see if he was being sarcastic but his expression was deadpan.

Then using her fingernail she struck a wooden match and lit the cigar. She exhaled and there was smoke between us. Her eyes came up and locked with mine through the smoke cloud for a timeless moment. She bowed and offered the cigar to me. Then she turned to my uncle and performed the same task.

When she had returned the humidor to its proper place, she returned to kneel at my uncle's side. He laid a hand possessively on her head and gently stroked her hair.

"Before we retire we need to discuss Lisa," he said. He brushed her hair from her face. She was staring at the floor.

"I found her in Italy after the war," he said. "Well, let me correct that. She was given to me as a gift... in return for a favor. Lisa and I entered an agreement. I would bring her to the States and take care of her and in return she would belong to me. I have promised when she turns 25 I will secure her American citizenship and have guaranteed her a generous income the rest of her life. So she is not a slave. Those days are long past in this country, but more of an indentured servant. Then he added, "She is twenty now and was fifteen when she first came to me. We have come a long way."