Chapter 23

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Jake was up early. He took his laptop with him to breakfast and composed a message.

From: 23b7d5i@gmail.com

To: Donna.Glenn@morningjournal.com

Subject: re: Family is what counts

Dearest Donna,

It is probably best if we keep our distance. I admit that I have seen you in the courtroom. In fact, I was quite taken with you. But you would have been disappointed if you had met me. I am 97 years old and I haven’t been able to find my teeth for the last week. I don’t cut a very dashing figure.

I loved your story. It’s amazing how you took my little collection of facts and found convincing corroboration. I really think you are one of the best.

You’ve hit Tommy Cox hard twice. He’s the vindictive sort. Be sure to watch your back. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you.

“I want to learn how to stimulate nerves,” Ellen said, “like you’ve been doing to us.”

She was sitting on the bed in Jake’s hotel room.

“Sure. Glad to. Why?” Jake asked as he dressed. He had just finished taking a shower.

“So I can help you turn Kara and Leanne into mind readers. Progress on them has been slow.”

“But no new telepaths until further notice. Agreed?”

“Yes, master.”

Jake opened a channel to Ellen that showed her his view of her nervous system.

“Let’s take a look at your parietal lobe. See the large nerve that runs from this location forward to the prefrontal cortex?”

“Yes, it’s beautiful,” she said.

“It is now that it’s active. What we’re really seeing is the electrical activity moving down the nerve. It was inert when I started working this nerve Thursday. All the signals that you can see on it are the result of two days of effort.”

“What exactly do you do?”

“I’m making sure that the signals that get put on one end make it all the way to the other end. The problem at first was dead regions — areas that prevented any signals from getting through at all. Now I’m looking for inefficient regions. See how the nerve starts out so bright but it’s only about half as active at the insertion to the mind-reading area?”

“Yes.”

“So let’s start at the beginning. Whenever I find a region that is not transferring charge efficiently, I’ll stimulate it.”

Jake followed the nerve for half an inch before he found an inefficiency.

“It’s easy to detect an inefficient region because we can see the signal strength diminish along a short stretch of the nerve. Just like we have here. Can you see it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“The principle that applies is that neurons have Hebbian behavior.”

“What’s that?”

“The synapses of unused nerves weaken over time while the ones that are having lots of stimulation strengthen in both the number of axons they put out and in their efficiency at overcoming inertia at each synapse. Got that?

“I think so. Strong signals tend to get stronger,” Ellen said.

“Exactly, and weak signals tend to get weaker. I energize the neurons that are not carrying their weight. It fools them into growing new axons. New axons mean more efficiency. The fact that these neurons already have strong input because of the work I’ve been doing upstream ensures that our intervention produces permanent results.

“Now watch what I do.”

Jake thought a moderate flow of energy into the nerve and held it for a few seconds.

“That’s it. I’ve never dared use more power than that because I don’t know what the results would be. Now I head downstream looking for another inefficient stretch.”

“Can I try it?” Ellen asked.

“Sure. You should be able to do some good now. Your resolution will improve over the next few days but you’ll be able to see the big nerves already. Or you will once you’ve picked up the knack.”

“What knack?”

“It’s something I do. I can see normally or I can see neurons. I can switch back and forth at will. I’m just not sure how I do it. Jan learned it in just a few minutes.”

Jake guided her as best he could into the proper way of seeing nerves. It didn’t take long. It only took a few more minutes after that to teach her how to direct energy into Jake’s occipital nerve.

“And there you go,” Jake said. “A little practice will make you better, but you’re doing great now.”

Jake shaded his hand against the sun and looked to see if his women had arrived. He didn’t see them. He, Nina, and Brian had been there nearly an hour while the rest shopped for new swimsuits.

Nina had dressed at the hotel. Jake and Brian had rolled her into the water park and helped her into a lounge chair. Brian had run off to the water slide. His dark, good looks and muscular body helped him make new friends easily. He had been splashing with several girls his own age ever since.

Nina wore the rather sexy bikini that Jake had bought her several weeks earlier. Despite the cast that covered the length of her right leg, she looked good. A considerable expanse of her large breasts was exposed.

Jake decided it was his duty to apply sunscreen.

“You haven’t been getting any sun for two months. You’ll burn to a cinder in minutes.”

Jake pulled up a chair and began rubbing in lotion, starting with her left foot and working up. He was very thorough around her bikini bottoms, lingering over the areas that he discovered were erogenous zones. He felt Nina getting horny as he rubbed in the lotion unhurriedly. He moved in turn to her belly, shoulders, neck and face. Then he started on her breasts where her suit left them bare. He slowly stroked the tops and sides of her breasts, tarrying over the white flesh.

“If you look over at two o’clock, there’s an 18-year-old guy with a big hard-on. Behind his sunglasses, he’s been staring at you as I’ve been putting the sunscreen on your tits.”

“Jake, this is Branson, in the Ozarks, the heart of the bible belt. You’re practically making love to me in public. The mob is going to be here soon with a shotgun to make you marry me. And if they don’t, I’m going to jump you and fuck you because you’re getting me very hot.

“Can you have an orgasm quietly?”

“Not particularly. I’m a moaner. I can’t help it.”

“Then desperate times call for drastic measures.”

Jake paralyzed her entire body. Her head fell back to the lounge. He lightly energized her clitoris-handling circuit. She stared forward, her eyes blinking occasionally. Jake continued to rub her breasts.

“That feels good, doesn’t it?” Jake said, speaking to her quietly. “Of course, I know it feels good. I’m feeling what you’re feeling. I can feel your horniness, how you want a big, hard cock to push into your vagina like you haven’t felt in months. I feel that tickle in your clit and how the tingly sensations are spreading out from there. We’ll let it build slowly. I’m not in any hurry. You’re not either, are you? Just say something if you want me to go faster.”

Jake paused.

“No? Okay, then we’ll go at my pace,” Jake said. Nina’s frustration swelled and Jake laughed.

“But if you want to know who is in a hurry, it’s a guy about ten feet away at nine o’clock. He’s here with his two young sons, ages seven and nine. They’re in the water right now where the lifeguards are watching them, which is for the best because all of his attention is on you. He’s wishing that his wife’s tits were as wonderful as yours are. Those are his words, not mine, though I agree with him wholeheartedly. He’s fascinated by the way the flesh gives as I press on it with my fingers.

“That’s his wife on the other side of him. He’s right. Her tits are nothing compared to yours. Oh, she’s just noticed him staring and now she’s glaring at us. She’s wondering what kind of a pervert you are to let your little brother fondle your tits out in public like this. Now she’s looking around for someone to complain to. Wait, now she’s not anymore. Inexplicably, she decided to mind her own business.”

Nina’s breathing was coming faster. Sweat broke out on her forehead. Her nipples were conspicuous bumps.

“Over my left shoulder is Tammy. She’s here with her boyfriend but she’s much more attracted to you. She loves your tits. She’d give anything to have them. She wishes she were putting this lotion on you herself.”

Jake lit up Nina’s feedback circuit. The only outward sign was an increase in the speed of Nina’s breathing. The eight-year-old boy to Nina’s left noticed and stared at her curiously. Only the crowd noise kept her from being heard by everyone around them.

Jake stared into her eyes as she peaked. He kept the feedback circuit running. After a minute her eyes blinked owlishly and then they closed. Jake eased off. She was asleep. Her breathing slowed. Jake unparalyzed her.

He sat back in his chair reading the thoughts of the people around him. There was a twelve-year-old girl behind them who was fascinated by him. It was a good thing her view of what he had been doing to Nina had been blocked. He turned to her and winked. Her eyes opened wide and then she fell into her companion, a girl of the same age, in wild giggles. Her mother, an attractive thirty-something who nicely filled out her one-piece suit, looked on with mild exasperation. Jake gave her a smile.

He grabbed the bottle of sunscreen and approached the mother. The girls grew silent.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I just realized that I’m starting to burn. Can I ask a big favor? I need someone to help me with the sunscreen.”

The mother stared at Jake for several seconds, considering.

“Do you mean me or my daughter and her friend?”

Jake glanced at the girls. They were staring wide-eyed.

“I would get better coverage from you, I expect, and enjoy it more, but they do look like they would approach the chore with enthusiasm.” He lowered his voice. “I promise I won’t treat them with anything but respect.” Jake extended his hand. “My name is Jake Fielding, by the way.”

“I’m Lizzie Broadman, Jake. My daughter is Emily. Her friend is Kelly.”

“The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Broadman.”

“I don’t enjoy being called Mrs. Broadman. Please, call me Lizzie.”

Jake peeked. There had been a bitter divorce a year earlier.

“Of course, Lizzie.” Jake turned to the girls. “Hi. I’m Jake, Emily. Hi, Kelly.”

Emily and Kelly launched into giggles again.

Lizzie took the bottle of sunscreen. “Sit in front of me, Jake. I’ll do your back.”

Jake grabbed his towel, spread it out, and sat on it, facing away from her.

“Where are you from, Lizzie?”

“Cedar Rapids. You?”

“Texas. Is this a family vacation for you?”

“Yes. Emily and I are here for a week.”

“And Kelly?”

“I think she’s a local. She just met Emily an hour ago and they’ve become fast friends.”

“Well, I’m here with a big party. There are nine of us.”

“I only see one.”

“That’s Nina. Brian’s here somewhere. I last saw him flirting with some girls down by the wave pool. Everyone else went shopping for swimsuits. I’m beginning to worry that they’ll never get here.”

“I’m sure they only got hung up for a while. It’s hard to shop quickly. The choices are important. Especially for bathing suits.”

Jake looked up at her and smiled. “None of these women are the kind who need to worry about making bad decisions when it comes to their swimsuits. Not any more than you do.”

She looked at him, startled by the casual compliment. “And what do you know about how women choose clothing?”

“I flatter myself that I understand people, including women, as unlikely as that may sound.”

Lizzie finished his back. She gestured for him to lie down. She knelt next to him and began to apply the lotion to his chest.

“Jake, how old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“That’s not old enough to understand people.”

“I could take that as a challenge.”

“If you want.”

“You’re here without a husband. That might mean he just couldn’t get away or he died untimely, but it doesn’t. I can tell that you’re divorced from the way you talk. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t friendly. You and Emily are both lonely. You’re reconciled to it. Emily is thrilled to find a friend and has latched onto her hard and fast. You don’t have much family support, do you?”

Jake checked and saw that her family lived back east and that Lizzie wasn’t close to them. Her ex-husband’s family no longer took much interest in Emily.

“No, I don’t have much family support. The divorce was unpleasant. And yes, we are lonely. I’m not sure how reconciled I am to it.” She looked over at the two girls. “Emily, Kelly, why don’t you two do Jake’s legs. I’m sure he would appreciate it.”

Lizzie gave the sunscreen to Emily and sat back on her chair. She wanted to think about this odd encounter with the boy who knew too much.

With much giggling, Emily and Kelly put lotion on their hands and began to spread it on Jake’s legs. They started down near his ankles and worked upward tentatively. He rolled up the bottoms of his baggy trunks to give them a stopping point about halfway up his thigh.

Jake wanted to laugh as he read the chaotic, excited thoughts the girls were having.

“You missed a spot,” he said, pointing to a random place near his knee.

“Nuh-huh,” Emily said, but she ran her hand over the spot again.

Jake turned over on his belly.

“Would you get the backs of my legs, too?”

They did with alacrity.

“Thank you, Emily,” Jake said when they had finally finished. “How are you enjoying your vacation so far?”

“It’s neat,” she said shyly. “Iowa’s flat and all you see are corn and sorghum fields. The mountains around here are so beautiful.”

“It’s flat where I come from, too. I just got out of eighth grade. How about you?”

“I’ll be in eighth grade in the fall.”

“Then I can tell you all the answers. I’ve still got them all up here.” He gestured at his head.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Emily said. “You don’t know what my questions are going to be. And even if you told me the answers, I wouldn’t be able to remember them.”

“How can you know that? You’re only through seventh grade. If you had finished eighth grade you’d know better. You tell her, Kelly.”

“I just finished seventh grade, too.”

“Maybe your mom remembers eighth grade then, Emily, even if it’s been too long for her to remember all the answers.”

“Are you saying that I’m old, Mr. Fielding?”

“I’ll say. You’re probably in your mid-twenties,” Jake said winking at her.

Emily laughed, ready to jump in and tease her mother about her age.

“You better not say anything, Emily,” Jake said. “She can’t do anything to me. But I’ve seen how hard 25-year-old women can be on their daughters. They are secretly jealous of their daughter’s youth. They can’t help but lash out.”

“I won’t correct your math, Jake,” Lizzie said laughing. “But I promise you that I am not in the slightest bit jealous of my daughter for having to suffer through adolescence.”

“Was yours unpleasant?”

“Are any of them nice?”