Chapter 25

Danville, Virginia
June 24, 2011

On the train back home, I tried not to pay attention to the news too much, but it was quite inescapable. South Carolina was well on its way back into the Union, due to haggling between the Republican Front and the sketchy state government in Columbia. What a far cry that was from 1860, I grinned as I recalled that the Palmetto State had the dubious distinction of being the first ever state to secede from the Union back then.

“Mind if I join you?” I heard a rather feminine voice as a very tall and elegant woman joined me in the dining car.

“By all means, ma’am,” I smiled at her and caught sight of her chestnut locks as well as her dark green eyes.

“Juliette Charbonneau,” she returned my smile somewhat awkwardly, “the shaved head is rather striking, I must say.”

“Thank you. I got it in prison,” I confessed, causing her eyes to widen just a bit.

“For an ex-con, you have very good manners,” she dared to blush and laugh at herself, “you’re also quite sharply dressed.”

“Military discipline and protocol, you know. Gotta face forward and fly right. Stay neat and clean,” I intimated.

“You’re Militia?” she asked me now with surprise.

“Butterbar,” I winked at her.

“Butterbar? Is that your surname or nickname?” she teased me.

“It’s a euphemism for my rank. Second Lieutenant Ralph H. Walker, Militia Nursing Corps. We’re called ‘butterbars’ because we have a single gold bar instead of a single silver one, such as the first lieutenants have. I just finished my tour of duty in North Carolina. Winston-Salem, Raleigh theaters,” I explained, even as she prepared to order something from the waiter.

“Well, then, on a field nurse’s salary, I dare say that I should pick up the tab. I work for Saul Levinson. You might have heard of him. Chairman and CEO of Saul-Mart. Assistant Legal Counsel for Mergers and Acquisitions. What would you like to order?” Juliette had a rather determined expression on her face, as if daring me to decline her offer.

“To be honest, almost anything that they have here beats field rations and most of the mess menu as well,” I freely admitted, “but if you’re in a generous mood, I’m sure that my fiancee will appreciate you feeding me tonight. What I really want is a classic grilled cheese on Texas Toast with tomato basil soup and maybe a sweet tea.”

“Very well, but you’re getting a beer, too. My treat. Maybe it’ll loosen your inhibitions enough to stray. I love fucking married and engaged men, especially the happy ones who don’t seek to hurt their ladies. They just want a little harmless recreation. I dare say that a soldier boy like you has more than earned it, Lieutenant. Oh, and get me a baked ziti with minestrone stew and garlic bread. A glass of Merlot with that, too.

“A field nurse, eh? Impressive, given your criminal record. That’s quite a turnaround for one man in so little time. And she should appreciate it. I’m getting her man home to her in tip-top fucking shape, wouldn’t you say? Gotta keep that heart nice and healthy for sex, and the best way to do that is ... more sex. Gotta replace the calories that we’ll burn together, too,” Juliette was very forward, but that was excellent news from my perspective.

“Well, to be perfectly frank, Summer and I ... let’s just say that we’re very ... understanding of each other’s needs in that sense. Otherwise, that might get rough on the others,” I dropped another ball as she ordered for us.

“Others?” Juliette’s jaw nearly dropped, “how many others? Is this like a polygamy thing?”

“Kinda. There’s Summer, my fiancee. Then there’s Summer’s brother, Barry. And his fiancee, Kayla. And then there’s Joanna. They’ve been keeping each other company in my absence, while I’ve had plenty of strange with certain comrades when possible. Anne, Kara, and Aaron, just to name a few. Sorry to disappoint, but it won’t take much seduction to lure me into bed with a sultry beauty like you. I’m not a challenge, if that was more your style,” I warned Juliette.

She laughed softly and pulled me closer for a kiss, “Actually, it’s refreshing to skip past the moral protestations, rationalizations, excuses, and self-loathing for once. The only parts that I really love about it nowadays are listening to happily married men exchange sweet nothings with their wives while they fucked me forty ways to Sunday. Dollars to donuts, the wives had to suspect or know, given how out of breath the men were. They weren’t asthmatics, after all. Not most of them. Judging from the lack of divorce cases these days, maybe most folks are tired of that jealous, sanctimonious rubbish anymore. Maybe we’ve finally left that claptrap about fidelity behind us.”

“Maybe. One can only hope. The Republican Front is certainly less than priggish as movements go and the Militia is much the same compared to armies of the past. Doesn’t keep all of the damn prudes out, but it limits their bad influence. I think that such morals are luxuries of a safer, more certain world. We all have bigger fish to fry nowadays, wouldn’t you say?” I replied.

“Tell me about it! My boss has been screwing me and my colleagues for months now and that kind of thing used to risk his career. Not anymore. Human resources folks are thinner on the ground than they used to be, and even when they’re around, their last concern is who slept with whom in an obvious path to advancement by the ladies in question. Might sound cynical, but you know very well that one’s definition of harassment depended heavily on the attractiveness and career prospects of the men. HR people don’t need that kinda drama, not now that the Feds aren’t pushing for it. It’s a lot less of a headache for us in corporate law, I assure you of that,” Juliette let her secret slip through the medium of the dry red wine that she used to wash down her dinner.

“That explains a few things, such as how a ravishing woman your age is still so unattached,” I chuckled as I finished off my soup and sandwich.

“Yes and no. I’m single and all that jazz, but I’m a lot more ... attached, as you put it, to Saul than you might imagine. He’s gladly very reasonable about sharing me on these field trips. After all, he can’t stuff my holes 24/7, not if he runs a growing retail chain. We’re basically his harem at work, several of us ladies who service him gladly.

“Sure, it makes me a whore, but a rather well-kept one. And sometimes, I get to be the jane instead of the harlot, such as now with a strapping young officer for a gigolo. Have I paid enough for your services yet, Lieutenant Walker?” Juliette made her invitation quite explicit by now.

“Let’s just say that I hope that I get to call Summer very soon, maybe while you’re talking to Saul, so we can fuck while speaking to them on our phones. Would that turn Mr. Levinson on, as it would excite my fiancee, Ms. Charbonneau? Would it arouse him to overhear you getting plowed by a junior officer in the Militia? Would it make you wet, for that matter, to do it where he can hear us screw?” I teased my newfound companion now.