Chapter 3: A New Profession

WILLIE:

In all of my life, there are four nights that I will never forget. The first was that evening when I THOUGHT that my life had ended, but I then learned that Dee and Brenda and Frederick had other plans for me. The second was the night that I gave my virginity to Frederick. This night was to be the third, though very little happened that might interest the average reader. And the NEXT night ... Well, I'll just get to that when I get to it.

After we woke up from our little "nap" and Auntie highjacked Frederick, Brenda finished changing Lizzy and left her with Dee to nurse while I took her on a guided tour of Auntie's house. We stopped in the kitchen, where Mama Ann was busy with dinner. My favorite! Roast pork and fried plantain! I begged her to let us help and set things up to eat out on the patio, and of course, she agreed. The "patio" is sort of an interesting place. There are flat stones that make up a large part of it, but then it sort of just blends right into the jungle on both the left and right, while a steep drop affords an excellent view of the lagoon and sea to the west. Brenda helped me sweep, gather wood for the brazier, set the table, etc. As the sun was sinking lower over the ocean, we looked down toward the trail near the lagoon in time to see Frederick and Auntie walking arm in arm along the water's edge. They paused and stood looking at each other, when he suddenly grabbed her up in his arms, crushing her to him, and kissed her passionately. Her arms hung at her sides for several long seconds before rising and snaking around his neck. The kiss went on for quite a long time.

I shuffled my feet a little. "Brenda," I told his wife, "please understand that she just sort of has that affect on people." I stole a glance at her, and was surprised to find that she was smiling pleasantly as she watched them.

"Freddy is more than the other 'people, '" she told me, watching them. "Didn't you notice that the moment she saw him? That spark? No ... more than a spark. It was as if ... I don't know. It was almost as if she had already fallen in love with him ... never having actually met him ... and she'd just been waiting for him to show up on her doorstep. It was like she was greeting an old lover ... one that she would ALWAYS love. Does that make sense?"

I shook my head a little. "No," I answered simply.

"She told ME that she'd been waiting for me her whole life," she said quietly.

I sighed. "Brenda, sometimes Auntie doesn't make much sense."

"Is she ever wrong?" she asked.

I blinked. "No," I said quietly. "But when she speaks really ... um ... mysteriously, it's easy to interpret some of the weird things she says as the truth. Know what I mean?"

Brenda took my hand and led me back to the kitchen. "Yes," she answered. "I know what you mean."

Dee joined us, and she let Brenda take the baby while she dove joyously into the cooking chores alongside Mama Ann. I started lighting small lamps, just as Raul and Daddy John showed up with a cooler of cold beer. It was a party! And it was WONDERFUL! They called it my "homecoming!" Everything was marvelous!

We often cut off the generator to save fuel, and just as the lights went out, the sun set out in the sea. I brought Brenda and Dee and explained that I always watched for the Green Flash, an atmospheric condition that happens only very rarely, when a bright green "flash" streaks up from the sun at the moment the last of it dips below the horizon. I'd seen it only twice in my life (even with my awful eyesight), though I always looked for it. But there it was! We all saw it! It happened! We cheered, while Raul opened a bottle of chilled wine.

Frederick and Auntie joined us, walking hand-in-hand, and I saw a strange look on Raul's face. Surely, he wasn't jealous! Auntie had a string of lovers ... men AND women ... that I doubt even SHE could count. But, maybe I was mistaken, because the look was gone now, and he and I started talking about tarot.

We ate and ate, and we each had a glass of wine, and the sounds of the rain forest were all around us. We watched Daddy John light the wood in the brazier, saying:

"Dark night, that from the eye his function takes, The ear more quick of apprehension makes; Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense, It pays the hearing double recompense."

"Indeed, THIS is a Midsummer Night's Dream in the January!" Frederick announced, opening another beer.

Raul brought out his guitar and started singing a song. Frederick let us ladies have a second glass of wine, and we were suddenly very, very drunk! Auntie seemed puzzled by our abrupt lack of sobriety, and Frederick explained something to her, but I couldn't hear him. When Raul had finished, he began strumming a tune I'd never heard before, and out of the blue, Dee was singing ... singing beautifully. It was some ballad in Spanish, and her voice and the guitar were the only sounds in the night ... even the insects and small animals in the forest stopped to listen. Halfway through it, Raul started crying. I had no IDEA she could sing like that! The night was magic.

I don't really remember how things started to break up. We were singing and laughing and being silly, and suddenly I was in Raul's arms and he was carrying me inside and putting me to bed, and Brenda was there, sound asleep, and then Dee was next to us, and finally, Frederick, too. And I thought, as I drifted into a sleep I simply couldn't avoid, that it had been one of the best days of my whole life.

But the NEXT night... ! Well, I'll get to that.

BRENDA:

Freddy wasn't there when we woke up that morning. I'd been up with Lizzy once during the night, but Dee had her now, and I'd slept late, somehow winding up with my arms around Willie in sort of a "spoon" position, the breeze wafting through the window and across our bodies. She rolled over, and I kissed her and REALLY wanted to have sex with her. I was SO horny! It had been days since I'd done it with anybody! But we got up instead and went in search of the others ... and maybe some coffee.

As it turned out, the men-folk had gone out fishing and wouldn't be back until afternoon. Ann had whipped up a great breakfast, graciously allowing Dee to putter around her kitchen, as well, and was rewarded for her tolerance with several new recipes.

Just as I was finishing my eggs and toast, Auntie walked in with a man and a young woman. The man was obviously an official of some sort, though his "uniform" was rather nondescript; a short-sleeved shirt (badge attached) and brown shorts, knee-length white socks and brown shoes. The girl was dressed in rather tattered jeans and baggy tee shirt, sort of dirty and bedraggled, though it was obvious that she was slender and attractive.

"Ladies," Auntie announced, "let me introduce you to Marjorie and Constable Altman, from St. Vincent. Marjorie, here, will be your one and only lesson before I send you out to fend for yourselves."

Well, this was obviously one of those times Auntie was speaking "mysteriously." But I didn't really care about that. Suddenly, the only thing I was really concerned with was this Marjorie girl. She was in pain. Real pain, though the others obviously couldn't see it. I stood and walked to her quickly, taking her hands in mine and trying to smile. She looked into my eyes and seemed to clutch at my hands, as if I was a lifeline and she was drowning. A tear slid down her cheek.

"I'm Brenda," I told her quietly. "I'm going to help you." She burst into sobs and threw her arms around me, burying her face into my breasts. She was smaller than I, and I was able to wrap my arms around her head and smooth her hair, shushing her, rocking her gently with my body.

Auntie laid a hand on my shoulder. "Go wash up and get dressed first," she ordered me, looking around at Dee and Willie, as well. "Take your time. A little of Ann's tea will soothe her, and the Constable needs a cup of coffee. Willie, bring your cards when you come back."

"Yes, Auntie," she said, and headed back toward our bedroom.

I looked over the top of Marjorie's head into Auntie's eyes. "I don't want to leave her," I said earnestly.

Auntie smiled. "Of course you don't, dear. Now, do as I say, please."

We rushed back to the end of the hall, and Dee suggested I shower first and get back to the girl. We wound up sharing the large shower stall, first Dee and I, and then I got out and Willie got in with her. I dressed in cut-offs and tee shirt quickly, not even bothering with a bra, and was back out in the dining room in just a few minutes. Marjorie came to me and we sat together at the table, holding hands, while we waited for the others. I had no idea what the problem was, or how I was going to help. I only knew that I had to.

Dee and Willie joined us, and there were only the four of us at the table, Auntie and Ann and the constable standing around us, watching.

"What do we do, Auntie," Willie asked.

"What do you think, Little One?" she answered. "Brenda sensed the girl had a problem, and now you find out what it is."

Willie nodded resolutely. She picked up the carved box containing her tarot deck, took out the cards, arranging them into a single stack, and asked Marjorie to touch it. She hesitated, looking around at everyone in the room, and finally did so. Willie paused and put on her glasses, which are quite thick and make her look rather owlish.

"What are THOSE?" Auntie asked.

"After I started reading, I found that I couldn't read the cards very well," Willie answered. "I wear these glasses when I read, so I tried them for reading the cards, too. It works." She began laying the cards out in a pattern.

"But, that doesn't make any sense!" Auntie exclaimed.

Willie shrugged. "I don't care if it makes sense or not. It works." She scooped up the cards and began laying out new ones. The new pattern eventually formed a circle.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Auntie exclaimed. "I'd never have guessed THAT!" But then she fell silent and let Willie study her cards without further comment.

Willie suddenly gasped and reeled back from the cards. She put her hand to her throat. She was flushed and panting, and turned to glance at the girl briefly, but was unable to maintain eye contact for even a few seconds. Tears welled in her eyes. She turned to Auntie.

"I ... I ... don't think I can do this."

Auntie stepped behind her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You are a woman now, Willie. Your destiny is to help women ... with women's problems. You cannot do that if you won't face what must be done with the bravery that only a woman can muster." She took in the look of Willie's panicked eyes and sighed. "You are only one part of three, Little One," Auntie continued. "You can seek support from the other two sides of the triangle. Brenda and Dee will sustain you. USE them!"

Willie took in a ragged breath. She was shaking, obviously scared to death. Still, she was unable to look at Marjorie. Finally, she nodded, resolutely. "Okay," she said, more to herself than to anyone around her. "Okay." Another breath. "Okay, here we go, then." She took Dee's hand in her own, and then reached across the table and held out her other one to me. I took it automatically, still with no idea what was happening.