Chapter 3

On June 28, 2000, at the age of 37, I saluted the officer of the deck, stepped off the gangplank of the Ohio for the last time, and started towards the transportation center in order to catch the next bus into town. I watched as other members of my crew were met by loving wives and smiling kids. As I walked, I saw a face that sort of looked familiar. As we made eye contact I realized who it was. My mom was still as beautiful as ever; she still looked ten years younger than her age. When she saw the smile on my face, she approached me at a brisk pace and threw her arms around me holding me tightly.

"Mom, what are you doing here? Are you OK? Are you here alone? Where's William?"

"I'm fine; yes I'm here alone; William's back at home. And as to the reason why I'm here; I never got to see you off when you left for the Navy; I was damn not going to miss welcoming you back home. This way, I have a rental car, grab your things and let's get going. We have dinner reservations back at my hotel. You look so handsome in your summer whites, do you mind staying dressed that way for dinner?"

"Not as long as I'm dining with a beautiful woman like you. Besides, all I have left is my work clothes and they're pretty grungy."

As we entered the hotel, we got more than our share of looks; whether it was my dress whites or the beautiful blond on my arm I'll never know; but neither did I care. We had about an hour to kill before our dinner reservations and I hesitated when I asked if we should wait at the bar.

"Tom, I've been sober for more than nineteen years, but I'm a grown woman and I can handle being in a bar." We sat at a table and she ordered a club soda with a twist. "Please, Honey, have a drink; we're here for a celebration." I ordered a pint of Guinness. When the waitress brought our drinks, Mom lifted her glass and made a toast: "To my son; he turned out to be one hell of a man." We talked for over an hour, catching up on nearly twenty years worth of the things that don't get written in letters. They had indeed gotten married and had made themselves a wonderful life together. They had moved to Nebraska, where William was from, and had opened a retail shop and done quite well. They had sold the store when he turned sixty-two and after a couple of years had retired in Arizona.

At one point in the conversation I couldn't help but ask, "So Mom did you ever learn how to cook?"

With a chuckle and a gleam in her eyes, she shook her head and said, "No, but he never seemed to care." We both laughed and soon we were being called for dinner. I paid the bar tab, over her objections, and proudly walked her into the dining room, where the conversation continued. When the waiter brought our check, it was my turn to object when she grabbed it from my hand and charged it to her room. We walked out of the dining room, and I turned to kiss her good night.

"Tom, where are you going? You have no place to stay and it's too late to go anywhere. Why don't you just sleep in my room tonight?"

For a fleeting moment, visions of that night all those years ago, flooded into my brain, and I hesitated to give her an answer.

"Oh, please! I promise to be on my best behavior, and besides I'm old enough to be your mother." With a hearty laugh, she took my arm and led me to the elevator. When we reached her room I was relieved to see that there were two beds. We each showered and changed into our night-clothes, separately of course. I was already in bed, when Mom came out of the bathroom. I don't know why I did it, but as I heard the door open I looked at her just before she shut the light. She was back-lit by the light from the bathroom and her body, while more womanly than I had remembered, was still just as sexy.

"Good night, Mom," I said when I knew she was in her bed.

"Good night Tom. It's good to have you back again."

The next morning we had breakfast together. I told her of my plans for the immediate future. That I wanted to see this great country of ours and that, after being cooped up in a tin can for nearly two thirds of the last eighteen years, I wanted to do it on my terms and at my pace. I told her I planned to hitchhike all over the country, and that I was going to start by seeing Alaska.

"Please be careful. Will I ever see you again?"

"Of course, Mom; give me your address in Arizona, and maybe I'll surprise you someday."

"Call first," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "William can be such an animal sometimes; I think I created a monster."

I filed that under 'way too much information', then got serious and gave her a big hug and a kiss. "Thank you Mom, you can't image how much I enjoyed this time we had together."

"Me too Tom, me too," she said as the tears rolled down her cheeks. We parted company, each going our separate ways, each knowing that we had lost so much precious time, but thankful to have completely reconciled again.

I found a Sears store in a mall not too far from the hotel There I bought a pair of jeans to go with my navy work uniform; a couple of shirts, both long and short sleeved; a one-man tent, and a heavy duty back pack. I packed everything I could into the backpack, I had given my dress whites to Mom for safe- keeping, and anything that didn't fit in the pack was tossed into a bin for goodwill. I stood at the entrance to northbound Interstate 5 before a trucker stopped to pick me up.

"Where you headed, Son?" he said eyeing my USS OHIO cap.

"Anchorage."

"You on leave?"

"No I'm out for good; now I'm ready to see the USA."

"Come on, hop in. I can take you as far as Vancouver."

He dropped me off near an entrance to Canada's Route 1, but not before calling out on his CB and arranging for me to get picked up by another trucker who was heading to Fairbanks. I got picked up about an hour later; the trucker's name was Red. He was an older man, unshaven and overweight, but he proved to be a really nice guy, which was good, because the drive to Fairbanks was over forty hours long.

"Can you drive?"

"No, sorry. I have a drivers license, but I've been on a submarine for the last eighteen years, so I'm a little out of practice, and there's no way I could drive a rig like this."

"Too bad, we could have cut a day off our trip if you could drive."

For the next two days, Red would drive nearly eighteen hours a day, then pull off to the side of the road and get into the sleeping berth in the back of the cab. When the sun came up, he would head back out onto the road again. Being an experienced sailor, I could fall asleep standing up if I had to, so I had no trouble sleeping in the front of the cab with my head resting against the side window. There was no shortage of conversation during our trip. We talked about how he became a trucker, my life in the Navy, and any other topic that came to mind. It seemed that Red was just as happy to have me along as I was to get a ride.

When we reached the city limits of Fairbanks, Red explained that we first had to drive through the grounds surrounding Fort Wainwright, which took about twenty minutes. Soon, we were driving through the city. I had heard of Fairbanks before, and had pictured a much different place. At this time of year, if somehow you had been transported and found yourself standing on any of the streets in the downtown area, without looking at license plates you would be hard pressed to figure out where you were. You could be in any small city in almost any part of the country. There were small one-story houses, convenience stores, small two- and three-story office buildings, residential developments, and parks and museums.

I thanked Red, we shook hands and said our goodbyes, stepped down from the cab, slung my backpack over my shoulder and went exploring. To the south of the city I found a rather large river and a lot of open land covered with pine and fir trees. I set up my tent in an area near the river, at the end of a dirt road. From here, I could walk into town; have my meals and experience life in Fairbanks. During the day the temperature was in the high sixties and at night it dropped down into the low fifties.

I spent a day at the local branch of my bank, making arrangements to have my credit card tied into my savings account. I called Charlie Taylor, who had taken over my account when his Dad retired, and had him transfer ten thousand dollars from my money market account, where the dividends from my stock were being deposited, to my savings account. With all my financial business completed, I felt free to spend a little of my sailor's pay. I replenished my food supply, bought a CPO jacket at the Army/Navy store in town, and even splurged one night by staying in a bed and breakfast. It felt really good to sleep in a real bed again, if only for one night.

I stayed in Fairbanks for about three weeks and then I decided to go back to my original plan and head for Anchorage. Bright and early the next morning I packed up my campsite and headed south. After about a half an hour of walking, a guy in an old pickup stopped.

"Where are you headed?"

"Anchorage."

"Hop in; I'm going in that direction."

We drove for about an hour and a half, talking mostly about the weather and scenery; then he said, "Well, this as far as I can take you, from here it's about one hundred and fifty miles; just stay on the George Parks Highway and I'm sure someone will pick you up; eventually. Good Luck."

I got out of the truck, waved as he turned east, picked up my pack and headed south. There was very little traffic headed in my direction and the ones that were heading south didn't seem inclined to pick up a hitchhiker. I walked all day, through the nearly barren countryside. Out in the distance on either side of me I could see low mountain ranges, covered with trees. Along the road, a small river meandered from one side of the road to the other, then disappeared completely only to reappear a couple of miles later. I must have covered about thirty miles before I decided to leave the road and set up camp for the night. Even though it was only the end of September, the nights were all ready getting cold. That night, as I gazed up at the amazing display of stars, I spied a "shooting star" cross from the west to the east and I made a wish. 'I hope I get picked up tomorrow, otherwise I have four more days of walking ahead of me.'

The next morning I started out at sun-up. Traffic was still light and I had little hope that I would get a lift anytime soon. It was a little after one in the afternoon; I'd been walking for about five hours, when I decided to have a snack. I had a bag of trail mix and emptied my bottle of water. About a hundred yards to the right of the road I could see the river. 'I'd better refill my water bottle.' The water was cold and clear, so I filled it and snapped it back onto my belt. After another couple of hours, I stopped and took a drink. The road, at this point had climbed a low hill and I found myself standing at the top, looking down at the valley below. I watched as the old beat up pickup truck that had passed me only minutes before, headed east along what appeared to be a dirt road and soon disappeared leaving behind a cloud of dust. I took another long drink and resumed my trek south. It took me about a half hour to reach the turn off that the pickup had taken, when I suddenly felt a grumble in my gut and an intense pain. Panicking, I crossed the road and ran a short distance down the dirt road. I suddenly felt nauseous and up came the trail mix. After a few minutes I felt a little better and then suddenly I had an attack of a different sort. 'Oh, shit.' I dropped my pants, leaned against a tree and unloaded. When the crisis had passed, I cleaned up as best I could, pulled up my pants and took a couple of steps back towards the road, when I felt another attack coming on. Afterwards I thought 'There's no way I can go on now; maybe if I travel up this road, I can find the guy with the pickup and he can put me up for the night.'

I started up the road, which at times became only a path between trees and seemed to branch off in various directions. I stayed on what I thought was the right path for what seemed like a mile or so. With each step I felt weaker and weaker. I began to sweat and had another attack until I knew there was nothing left inside of me. The path turned to the right around an outcropping of rock and when I turned the corner I was confronted with a large hand painted sign: "Black Jack Mine No Trespassing".

Suddenly I heard the pump of a shotgun and a moment later a booming voice yell out, "Who the fuck are you? Can't read? Get out!" I looked, and just before I passed out, I thought I saw my mother, only bigger, pointing a shotgun at me.

I woke up in a strange bed; the room had no windows and was lit by a single candle. "Hello, is anybody here?"

Suddenly I heard a chair scrape along the floor and the body of a woman filled the doorway. "I see you finally woke up, Tom Walker; how are you feeling?"

"My head is killing me and my body aches, but other than that I'm fine. How do you know my name?

"From your driver's license, you're a long way from home back in Georgia."

My hand shot under the covers, searching for my wallet. Not only was my wallet missing; everything else I was wearing was missing as well.

"Don't worry. After I carried you back to the house, I had to get you out of your clothes, get you cleaned up and put you to bed. Your clothes are hanging in the shop; they should be dry by now."

I tried to get up, but when I did the room started to spin and I flopped back down onto the bed.

"Easy Tom, you've been out for two days. The fever broke last night, but you're going to feel really weak for the next couple of days. What did you do; drink the water from the river?"

"Yeah, I guess it was about an hour before you found me."

"I had the same reaction to it when I first came here with my husband and daughter. Your body gets used to the bacteria after a while, but in the beginning it hits you really hard. I boil most of our drinking and cooking water; it kills most of the bacteria."

"Can you please give me my clothes so I can get dressed and get going; I don't want to cause you anymore trouble?"

"No, I don't think I will. First of all, a cold front came through yesterday. Last night we got twelve inches of snow and it looks like we're going to get more tonight, so it won't be safe to travel anytime soon. Secondly, I have plans for you. I think you can help me with a problem I have. And finally, I've been awfully lonely out here since my husband died a couple of years ago; I certainly could use some company."

"Well can I at least have my clothes?"

"No, not yet; not until I'm sure that you won't try to leave."

"I can't walk around naked; what about your daughter?"

"You have nothing we haven't seen before; in fact, for a little guy, I'd say you've been truly blessed. And as for my daughter, she's eighteen and old enough to learn about men. For now, you just rest; I've got some things to do; I'll be later to check up on you."

She got up from the chair she was sitting in and as she started to walk towards the door I studied her more closely. She was tall, looked to be about six feet in height, but I didn't have any reference point to judge by except for the doorframe. She had blond hair, blues eyes and a hard, tough expression on her face -- until she smiled, which softened her features. Although she was wearing a flannel shirt, I could tell that she had broad shoulders and a large chest. Her waist was thick, as were her legs; her jeans were well-worn and clung to her like a second skin.

"I don't know your name."

"Katrina, but you can call me Kat, and my daughter is Ella."

"Where is she?"

"She's outside working; she'll be in later for dinner."

"Kat; thank you for helping me."

"There's no need for thanks. Here in Alaska, we help each other when we have a problem; it's the only way we can survive out here. Now get some rest."

I turned over and fell back to sleep.

When I woke up again, the candle was considerably shorter then it was before. I looked over at the chair and saw a shirt, a pair of underwear and my jeans. I guess Kat had had a change of heart. I got up, got dressed and walked out into a large room. It appeared to be a combination living- and dining-room. There was a small pot-belly stove in one corner; a table and four chairs were close by. On the other side was what appeared to be a very rustic, handmade leather sofa and two matching chairs. A small fireplace and chimney were centered on a wall. There was a door in the center of another wall, flanked by two windows, one on each side. They appeared to be the only windows in the house. I looked out one of the windows and was surprised to find that the house was actually situated in a cave with a large entrance, which let light in through windows. The front wall of the house appeared to be about three feet thick.

I opened the door and found myself in a small foyer. 'Ingenious, ' I thought, as I closed the door behind me before I opened the second door which led outside, 'it serves as an airlock, just like in a sub, but instead of keeping out the water, it help keep out the cold.' I stood on what served as the front porch; there were two rocking chairs and a small table. I was still at least ten feet inside of the cave, the roof of which protected the house from the elements. Outside, everything was pure white, covered with about a foot of snow, and it appeared to be starting to snow again. I turned around and re-entered the house.

Just then, Kat appeared from somewhere off to my left, carrying a large pot.

"I see you're up. Are you hungry, I made venison stew for supper?"

Realizing that I was I said, "I'm so hungry I could eat a bear."

"Sorry, we ate all the bear last week." She must have seen the expression on my face and burst out laughing. "We don't get many bear in this area, they stay closer to the larger rivers; better fishing. Let's get the rest of our meal ready, Ella will be back soon."

I followed her, admiring the way she walked. I had been pretty close; now standing next to her, I figured she was a little over six feet tall. From a wooden cabinet she pulled three large bowls and three sets of knives and spoons. I set the table as she cut large chunks of homemade bread. The smell from the pot of stew, which she had placed on the stove, was filling the room. I hoped that Ella would get here soon.

Suddenly I heard the pounding of boots, and a few moments later the sound of the outer door slamming shut. Two more minutes went by and then the inner door opened. I was staring at a carbon copy of Kat, only bigger. Ella was at least six inches taller than her mother, more than a foot taller than me. She had the same blond hair and blue eyes and she was very pretty.

"Ella, why don't you show Tom where the shower and the outhouse are while I finish getting dinner ready."

"Sure, Mom; just let me get a change of clothes." She left the room for a few moments and returned with her clothes rolled up under her arm. She put on a pair off moccasins just as Kat handed me a pair.

"Come on, Tom; follow me." She grabbed my arm and practically pulled me across the room and out of the house.

We walked off to our left through a small opening between two rocks, down a short tunnel and emerged in a second, smaller cave. At one side was a small waterfall, forming a pool of water at its base. The water from the pool flowed across the back of the cave and down into a small alcove about thirty feet away, a crude but effective seat was built into a thick board that spanned the running water beneath; which continued to flow out of the cave.

After I inspected this indoor-outhouse I turned and started walking back to the shower. Apparently Ella was not the least bit embarrassed about her body. While I was gone she had stripped off her work clothes and was now standing completely naked, the water cascading down over her head as she lathered her body with a bar of soap. Instantly my body reacted to her nakedness, my cock coming alive. Her big breasts seemed to defy gravity, each topped with a large erect nipple, and her pussy was tufted with blond hair. But it was the size of her arms and shoulders that caught me the most by surprise. As she soaped up her head, the muscles seemed to explode out of her thick arms. I watched spellbound as she turned her back to me. I could see the muscles of her back ripple as she moved, and her ass was tight and well formed. There didn't appear to be any fat on her body.

Quickly, before she turned around, I ran back the way we came, slowing down when I was out of sight, praying for my erection to subside so I could re-enter the house. I took my moccasins off before I went inside. When I looked into Kat's eyes she smiled at me and laughed.

"From the color of your cheeks, I can assume you've discovered that Ella is not at all shy about undressing in front of strangers. Don't worry, I'm not mad. In fact, that is part of the problem that I want you to help me with. You see, Ella has always been around nudity. When she was growing up her father and I hardly ever dressed when we were in the house. We weren't ashamed of our bodies and didn't see any reason to hide ourselves from Ella. When her father died, Ella and I just continued the practice. The only reason we're dressed now is because you're here. I figured you'd be more comfortable if we put on clothes rather than have you remove yours."

I heard the outer door open and turned just in time to see Ella shut the door behind her; her hair was still wet and her shirt was only half way buttoned exposing almost half of her substantial breasts. "There you are; I was hoping you found your way back here. I didn't see you come back from the outhouse, I must have missed you when I was washing my hair." Kat gave me a knowing smile and turned her back to us as she finished with her preparations.

"Please sit; Tom, you sit here across from Ella."

She placed a large bowl of the stew at each place setting; there was bread and corn on the cob. The stew was very meaty, along with potatoes and sliced carrots. It was delicious.

"Isn't my Mom a great cook?"

"It's wonderful," I replied, forcing myself to look away from Ella's chest and into Kat's eyes.

After dinner, I helped Ella clear the table, but when I offered to help Kat with dishes, she told me to stay and keep Ella company. We went into the living room section but, before we sat down Ella, took me by the hand and led me to her room. "This is my room; it's basically the same as Mom's as you can see." I looked around the room. There was a large bed, a chest of drawers and a chair, just like the other room. That's when it hit me: if these were the only two bedrooms, where was I going to sleep tonight?

We returned to the living room and sat next to each other on the sofa. I had to admit it was very comfortable. We talked for a while, I told her that I had just gotten out of the Navy and that I had served on a submarine, which she thought was really cool. She asked if there were any women in the crew and when I told her that they don't let women serve on subs, she gave me a puzzled look and asked why. "Because," I told her, "it would cause a lot of problems, they would have to redesign the sub to put in separate bathrooms, showers and sleeping quarters and that would take away from the space needed for other equipment, and it would cause a lot of sexual tension having men and women living together in such close quarters.

"I don't know why the women couldn't just use the men's bathrooms and showers. I know that's what I would do." I laughed as I imaged her trying to fit into our sleeping berths and the riot she would cause taking a shower; fights would break out trying to get in the shower next to hers. That's when I realized just how young and naïve she was.

She suddenly changed the subject to her mother, telling me all the great things about her. How her Mom and Dad had settled out here in the middle of nowhere; how they had built the house; what a great cook she was; and how lonely they've been ever since her father had died. I had the strangest feeling that she was trying to hook me up with her mother and that Kat was trying to hook me up with her daughter.

I asked her what she was doing today. After a slight hesitation, she said, "Well, this morning I chopped down a couple of trees and carried them back to the shop where I split them for firewood. I brought some wood into the cookhouse for Mom. And in the afternoon, while she still in Fairbanks, I worked the mine; carrying buckets of dirt up to the sluice box, looking for gold."

At that moment Kat re-entered the house, smiled at us both and went into her bedroom. I watched her as she straighten up the bed and, figuring that this was as good a time as any, I asked, "Kat, this is your bed; where am I going to sleep tonight?"

"Right here with me," she said with a smile.

"If you want, I can sleep on the sofa."

"And why would I want you to do that? There's plenty of room on the bed, and if you're thinking about getting out of line, I'm warning you right now, nothing is going to happen in this bed unless I want it to happen. I suggest you make a trip down to the outhouse now, while the air is still relatively warm in there, because by the middle of the night it can get pretty cold. Oh, and you better take a candle with you; the one I put in there this afternoon was getting pretty low."

I did as she suggested, and afterwards, as I dipped my hands in the pool of water to wash up, I was surprised to find that the water was very warm. When I returned to the house, I saw that Ella's door was closed and when I entered Kat's bedroom I found her lying on one side of the bed under the covers. I was about to get undressed, planning on sleeping in my shorts, when I realized that the candle was still lit. I crossed the room and was about to blow it out, when I heard Kat whisper, "Don't; I want you to be able to see." Thinking she meant so I won't bang into anything, I left the candle, took off my shirt and jeans, and pulled back the covers so I could get into bed. In the flickering light of the candle I could see that Kat was completely naked and just that alone sent the blood surging to my cock.

"Tom, just take them off too, and come to bed, please."

As if in a trance I did as she asked and soon I was snuggling up next to her magnificent body. "Tom, it's been a long time since I've had a man in my bed, I'm a little nervous."

"Kat, I'm just as nervous as you are; it's been a long time for me as well. In the navy, aboard a sub filled with men you have a tendency to bury those kinds of desires. For me, I buried them really deep. Being here with you and Ella has brought them back up to the surface; I hope I won't be a disappointment."

I slipped under the covers and felt the heat radiating off of her body. One of her long arms snaked under my shoulders and pulled me close; soon I found myself lying on top of her. Our lips locked in a sweet embrace. My hand caressed her shoulder and slid down her body coming to rest on her breast. It felt heavy and solid; her long hard nipple poked into my palm. A soft moan escaped her lips as I felt her arch her back trying to force more of it into my hand. I took her nipple between my thumb and finger and gently rolled it back and forth. Kat broke the kiss and hissed, "Suck on my tits," as she pushed me down her body.

I took the nipple between my lips, and flicked it with my tongue, occasionally nipping on it with my teeth. I switched to the other nipple and repeated the process. I slid my body off to her side, still attached to her nipple, and my hand moved lower down her body. I felt her legs open granting me access to her pussy. With an open hand, I gently rubbed, up and down her lips. I could feel the heat emanating from her, as her hips gyrated up off the bed. Her hand suddenly grabbed hold of my cock and alternately squeezed and pulled quickly bringing me dangerously close to the point of no return. I slipped two fingers into her already dripping opening, as I bit down on her nipple. Her ass flew up off the bed, her body shook, and the hand that was holding me squeezed me so hard that I was momentarily fearful that Kat might pull it right off my body as she let out a low guttery moan. Time seemed to stop. There was nothing except Kat and me. And then she stiffened and fell back down on the mattress.

I felt her hand slowly and gently move along my length. "Kat, please, I can't control myself much longer."

"Then don't," she responded as she turned me over onto my back and moved up over me kneeling between my legs. Leaning forward, she moved her hand down and her mouth over the head, her tongue circling the crown.

"Oh God Kat, I'm cumming, I'm cumming," I yelled as I surrendered to her onslaught of my over-stimulated cock. I felt the pressure of her sucking increase as I exploded. It felt as if she was turning me inside out. Momentarily emotionally and physically exhausted, I collapsed back onto the bed as Kat sat back, and smiled her hand still wrapped loosely around my cock.