Chapter 37

I really didn't know what to expect to hear from Margaret Boon, a Marine, and former driver who I had served with. We hadn't been close over there, and I don't remember her being close to anyone. I really didn't have any close friends either, so Maggie, as we knew her, and I weren't that different. We weren't unusual, as everyone there had to deal with where we were and what we did on their own terms.

The fact that Etta and Julie were included along with Lisa, Tina, and Jane, in this interview, meeting, or whatever it was going to be, was interesting. Etta was assuming more of a leadership role as time progressed. Julie had her role, and Etta had hers. The two women were close in age and attitudes, so that made them allies from the beginning.

As soon as I entered the house through the family room that extended to the kitchen, Etta told me, "Come back to your office. I think it's the best place for this."

I was surprised to find so many in my office when I went in. I expected Lisa, Tina, and Jane, and even figured that Julie might be there. I didn't expect Missy, Mercy, and Sue, to be there too. Etta pointed at my big desk chair and told me to have a seat. I don't like to sit across the desk from people I talk to, but Etta was being insistent. It was good that we had a couch along with the small table and chairs so everyone had a seat.

Etta said, "We all want you to listen to the story Margaret, or Maggie, is going to tell you, Chuck. Don't interrupt her, and listen to everything she has to say. I'm sure you'll be interested in what she tells us, but hold your questions until she's done."

Margaret expectantly looked at me, and I smiled at her. I didn't say anything, but gave her a nod and a smile.

Maggie began, "I was just a farm girl with nothing in my future before the Marine Corps. I would probably have married a local guy, become a housewife or farmer's wife, and raised babies. My life up to then hadn't been that good, being the only girl in a family of four boys older and younger than me. I knew that I was going to end up pregnant or beat up when my dad and the boys began taking advantage of me, and eventually began screwing me whenever they wanted, because they weren't gentle with me. They treated me as chattel, and used me at their leisure. My mom knew what was happening, and had me on birth control from the time I was thirteen on."

"I applied to the Marine Corps when I finished high school, and was accepted. My dad and brothers tried to keep me out, but I was eighteen and could do what I wanted. The Corps was perfect for me and I excelled in everything I did. They put me in the motor pool because I couldn't be in combat, and I became a driver. Something went wrong on a mission, and the other driver tried to blame it on me. I had nothing to do with the towel heads attacking our column, but he thought I did. The result was that it became just like back home. They raped me over and over again, saying that was how I could repay them for fucking up so bad."

I watched as a tear streamed down Maggie's face. I wanted to hold and comfort her, but heard in my head, "Wait, she'll tell us more."

Maggie continued, "I wanted to shoot every one of them, but they were just being assholes following the Platoon Sergeant who started it. I shouldn't have let them, and shouldn't have let it go, but I didn't want to be kicked out of the Marine Corps for not being a good troop. I somehow thought that's what I should do to be a Marine."

I was shaking my head with my eyes closed, when Maggie added, "It was then that I think the motor pool Sergeant knew there could be trouble, and I was transferred forward and began pulling duty driving for Chuck's group. He was all military and respectful of everyone on what he called 'his team'. I was one of his team, and he made sure I was protected and was briefed on every mission. We had a couple of near misses when we entered a few villages, but Chuck was usually a step ahead and had us protected. He was leading as usual that last time, but a mortar hit his vehicle, and he was hit by an RPG while he was dragging his men from the burning Humvee. Even with most of his leg blown off, Chuck continued to drag his men to safety after he had tied the upper area of his leg off to stop the bleeding. I know he pulled me from the burning truck and pulled me to safety."

There was total silence in the room as everyone held their breath. Maggie looked around and said, "Chuck had called it in, and I did the same when we were hit. Chuck dropped enemy after enemy that were trying to advance to capture him and the men he had saved while I tried to cover him. I moved closer to him and kept firing, knowing they would quit if the fire was intense enough. What I did was enough, and they left. A rescue helicopter dropped a team and picked up the men who were hurt the most a few minutes later. Chuck was one of them."

There was a long pause before Maggie said, "When I got back to base, I was told that I was being removed from driving duties, and being sent back to the states because of my injuries. I didn't know whether that was good or bad, but I was ready to get out of there. Chuck's group was good to me, and never took advantage of me like the previous bunch. It could have changed in the future, but I don't think so. Chuck's men were respectful and dedicated to getting the job done."

Margaret looked up at me and smiled. "You were, and are, a real man who I can respect, Chuck, thank you."

I smiled at Maggie, but she held her hand up. "I'm not done yet. Let me finish."

"There was enough of an injury that the Corps thought I should separate after I healed. I was given an honorable discharge and sent back into civilian life with a small pension and no knowledge of what lay ahead of me. I sat in a cheap motel for a couple of weeks, trying to figure out what to do. I decided to hunt for a job to see what I might get after about the fourth week."

"I found a job with a small distributor in Miami that needed a delivery driver. I was strong enough to handle the packages and the panel van they had was easy to drive. One of the other drivers really thought I was special and we began dating, and that led to him giving me a ring and asking me to marry him. He knew I wasn't new to life, and that I previously had some not so nice experiences. That didn't faze him, and we were married not long afterward."

Our good times lasted a year until he insisted I produce a child. I didn't think I could be a good mother and told him that. I begged him to let me become a more relaxed person so that I could be a mom, but he was insistent, attempted to hide my birth control pills, and constantly forced sex on me. He began inviting his friends over to fuck me every night when he didn't get me pregnant right away. He told me that one of these guys was bound to breed me. He beat the shit out of me when I objected, and refused to let me go to work with black eyes. I was terminated for not coming to work."

"That made everything worse, because we didn't have enough money to meet the bills now, and he was still having his friends over, but was now charging them for what had been a freebie. I was my husband's whore."

"I couldn't do it any longer and left. I packed my bags, used what money I had, and took a bus to go home. I somehow knew what was there wouldn't be good for me either, so I found a cheap motel at a truck stop where I could get my head together."

"I didn't want to go home to be abused by whoever wanted to abuse me. I wanted to be on my own and become something, although I had no idea what I wanted to be. The answer was that the place I was staying at was a layover for a lot of truck drivers. I could drive just about anything made, so I hooked up with a man who needed a driver. The problem was that he was trying to get into my pants the first time out. He dropped me off at the first rest stop we came to when I refused him. I begged rides back to Florida from there and put out enough to get home. Well, home wasn't what it should have been. Dad had passed away, and my oldest brother was now the head of the farm. He thought I would work out as a comfort station, and raped and beat me within the first hour I was home."

"That wasn't going to work, so I ran. I actually stole one of the farm's pickups and drove straight through to Tampa and using the documents in the glove box, traded the truck for a tiny car on an even trade. I think the dealer knew I was on the run, and didn't report the transaction. I saw the pickup in the back of his lot just last week."

I ran out of money and sold the little car for food and to rent a cheap tiny apartment on the bus route. I didn't have an address to receive my disability pension.

Maggie was almost smiling. "You know that I found a job with S&S, and have enjoyed a couple of weeks with them. I'm doing a good job and want to continue with them."

Lisa leaned over to Maggie and kissed her. Margaret blushed, but said, "You guys are the first people to really show me that I'm a regular person and that I belong."

Julie gathered Maggie to her in a hug, and told her, "You need to spend a few months down on Chuck's and my island. You need to decompress and be a part of everyone down there. You are perfect for our family, Maggie, but you need to learn to relax and know that you'll be taken care of."

I asked Maggie, "What do you think? You know that I'll keep you here as long as you like. You're welcome to go to Costa Rica and enjoy that island and the tranquility that it brings."

"We're also about to go to sea and sail through the Panama Canal and up the west coast of California all the way to Friday Harbor Island north of Seattle."

Maggie looked around at everyone a couple of times, and finally said, "Can I sail with your family?"

That was the deal. Margaret wanted to be with us. Lisa kissed my ear while Tina attempted to kiss my eyes. Etta would have kissed me, but pushed Maggie to me for a kiss. Maggie swooned and hugged me to her. We were on our way.

I held Maggie away from me, and told her, "You're welcome to travel with us, and be a part of our family, Maggie, but please don't decide to be more than a family friend or member for a long, long time. You've had a very violent time and have been abused beyond what can be believed. We all want you to heal, physically and emotionally."

Margaret smiled and said, "I'm healing right this second. Every one of your family has made me feel special with them. No one has pushed me to any form of sex, and no one has pushed me toward doing anything crazy. I somehow know that I fit with you and your people, Chuck. You always were a special person over there, and now you are that special person here. Please, let me stay with you."

Lisa was whispering in my head, "Keep her, Chuck. She's not like us, but she will be important to the family one of these days."

Etta smiled at me, but didn't mentally talk to me. She just looked over at the smiling Margaret and back at me. That's when Lisa said, "We brought what Maggie had in that tiny place where she was staying over here. She can go to work from here, and I think we need to see what will be best for her."

The women found a place for Maggie to sleep and put her to bed. We went to bed and none of the women wanted more than hugs and kisses before we snuggled up and went to sleep.

I was up early as usual, and made coffee before going out to the grass to enjoy my morning forms. Also as usual, I had a lot of company by the time I was presenting my first form, and it included Marion and Virginia this time.

I noticed Maggie watching as I brought my forms to a close. Her eyes bulged as she watched the people who had been with me throwing their clothes off and dive into the pool. She walked to me when several others came from the house nude to dive into the pool, and asked, "Is this good? Do you do this all the time? Am I safe to swim nude with you and the others?"

I held out my hand and pulled her toward the pool. Maggie held up and said, "Strip, I want to see you nude. I'm going to get that way too."

We both stripped before jumping into the water and splashed everyone around. Maggie was watching, following everything I did, when Peaches came to me for my morning hug and kiss. It was Nancy who broke Maggie's concentration when she snuggled to me and was obviously playing with me underwater. We kissed as Nancy left me to swim for the stairs. Jane pushed Maggie from behind just then, and whispered in her ear. The two of them came and hugged me. Jane was just a little more aggressive than Maggie, but they both gave me kisses on the cheeks and ears before swimming toward the stairs.

I was watching them when Julie came to my side and said, "I think you've cleansed the soul of another worthy young lady. What are you going to do with another?"

Nodding, I told Julie, "I don't think she'll be more than a great friend. Margaret needs someone who is permanent. She needs commitment, as well as love. She'll be fun to have around, but she won't be one of you – or my – ladies."

I told Maggie, "You need to get ready to go to work, and someone from the patio will take you and bring you back this evening. They probably need you and will want to replace you if you leave. Talk to Judy about what you're thinking."

Margaret nodded and went to the room the girls had given her to get ready.

Wanda later asked me at the patio, "Are you done? Will you come in again, or are you leaving tomorrow or Sunday?"

"Probably Sunday or Monday. I can come in if you want me to come in to do some paperwork. What's up?"

Wanda smiled and said, "I really haven't had much time to be with you, and haven't been able to spend any time with you either. You don't need to come in. You've kept up with everything via the internet for so long that you probably could do the job from anywhere. You direct everyone by telling them when and what to do. Sam needs to follow how you interact with your men. I'm going to miss you, Chuck, and I hope you'll come back to us."

Lisa hugged Wanda and told her, "You've made room for me in your office and in your heart. Thank you, Wanda. I wish I could have been a part of that early group when Chuck was enjoying you ladies then. I'm sure you had a good time."

Wanda told Lisa, "You were around, but just not with us. The only thing we did differently was to enjoy Chuck with Bobby, and the five funny females came to capture our man when she left. I was going to be his, as was Jan, but then Jan found Don, and I found John. Chuck's Female Five found him more and more women to enjoy meanwhile."

Lisa hugged Wanda and told her, "Run Margaret through the service and through our other employer. Let's make sure we're dealing with who we think we are. We need that right away, so do it for us today and give me a call."

Wanda hugged Lisa and told her she would get right on it.

I wanted to make sure the boat was in good working order, so I talked Steve into running over to Clearwater to check it out. We went through it from bottom to top, checking everything we could think of. We noticed that the storage room was jammed with diapers and toilet paper. I had to laugh as that was going to be an ongoing problem with my women for at least another couple more years.

Steve poked around in the lounge's bar area, and started making a list of the booze he thought we might need. I told Steve, "Didn't you see the back wall of the storage room? There has to be fifty cases of booze back there. Check to see if what you want is already there. I know there are at least fifty cases of beer for us too."

Steve went down to the storage room and looked at what was there and came back up while I was checking the musical instruments on board. There were already multiple keyboards, as well as some guitars, but also reams of paper next to a laser printer/copier. There had to be thirty or forty music stands, so Bonita was planning on having the Lucky Lady Blues Band do some work.

"It looks like the ladies have us covered," Steve told me. "There's plenty of the morning mix, as well as Beefeaters and Dewar's. They even bought some special single malt for us to enjoy. We do have some special women."

We pulled the cushions up to check on the rifles and shotguns stored there, along with the ammunition for each. We hopefully wouldn't need them this time.

Steve went to his main plant when we got back home to make sure everything was going to be OK, and I ran out to the airpark to see the guys out there. The two guys in charge of accounting were there, and I bullshitted with them for a few minutes. They assured me that everything there and down in Costa Rica was operating smoothly.