The Gentleman from Indiana

I had nothing to say. She was smart, competent, and well-organized. The warm climate and humidity made her bronze skin glow, in contrast to her long black hair. She was dressing a little more casually lately, which showed off her full figure. I was still mystified by her perfect diction.

"I have to get supper ready." She turned to go. I assumed that our conversation was now over. "Oh, by the way, I expect hot water in that shower by next week."

We both smiled. That was a first. I was feeling better about our relationship.

Tuesday morning was like Christmas. Instead of the jeep, we were visited by a small Isuzu truck. There were several boxes for me, but most of the things were for the kids. Maya got some generic vegetables and fruit and didn't look extremely happy. She had a list ready for the next week, which included staples and food items that she wanted. Bryan got the most things. The packages came from several sources and were of all sizes and shapes. He was grinning from ear to ear as he moved the 'treasures' into his room. I was dying to see what he had planned.

The mail was placed on the top of the refrigerator. We could look at it later. Before our delivery man could leave, Glenna pulled him aside, and whispered something to him. Maya hadn't noticed. Our island Santa, smiled, and waved to Glenna as he left.

I was ready for our daily trek to the beach, when Glenna told me that she was not going. She wanted to inventory her new things and arrange her room. That was fine with me, until Bryan came out and handed me a package.

"This one is for you, Mister Sorensen." Gee, I had to get all of these people to call me by my first name.

I was now the proud owner of a DC water pump.

"All the wiring and PVC plumbing fixtures that you will need are in the battery room."

As he walked away, I felt like a highschooler getting ready to do a science project. When I went past Maya going to the back of the house, I couldn't help snickering.

"When I get this installed, I will need you to help me test it."

Maya gave me a shocked look, smiled, and then hit me on the shoulder as I passed by. Things were starting to look up.

I won't bore you with all the complexities of installing the water pump to the solar collector. Let's just say that there was a lot of cursing on my part and a few giggles from Bryans room. I was so engrossed with what I was doing, that I skipped lunch. All the pump did was carry the water to the top of the solar panels and let it run down to the shower. It didn't make the water scalding hot, but it did make it a little more pleasant. Chaz was more than happy to be the first to use it. It would be worthless at night or during a cloudy, rainy day, but I was glad that it worked at all. I started thinking about other projects that I could tackle.

I was on the roof checking all of the water fittings, when I realized that somebody was using the shower. That made it much easier for me to check for leaks. When I came back down, Maya was coming out of the shower wrapped in a towel. She gave me an embarrassed glance and ducked into her room. It was worth all the time it took, if she was happy.

Things improved over the next few days. From out of nowhere, a local boy, who was about seventeen years old, showed up. Apparently, Glenna had asked the delivery man if he knew of anyone who could teach her how to surf. The guy's name was Teddy and he lived about three miles from the beach. The two of them seemed to hit it off right away. I didn't much enjoy playing the role of chaperone, but in this case, I could see that it would be necessary. I had to admit that she looked pretty good in a swimming suit. I was no longer watching Glenna to insure that she didn't hurt herself, I was now responsible for her virtue. I told Maya about this new development that evening and she was not happy.

Bryan was having no trouble at all keeping busy and I have to admit that I was envious of his skills and knowledge. In only a few days, we had a complete computer system set up, including a printer, and an internet phone system. I would have liked to get my cellphone back, but the boy genius still needed it for the internet connection. He assured me that he was working on it.

Chaz lost interest in the tidal pools and started spending almost all of his time in the undergrowth. For some reason, neither Maya nor I were worried about him.

Glenna was the big problem. It wasn't because she was doing anything wrong, it was just because she was a beautiful, young girl with a great body, spending everyday with an island surfer boy. I hate to sound like I am stereotyping, but that seemed to be the best way to describe him. There was nothing about Teddy that you wouldn't like, except for the fact that he was probably a horny, teenage boy. Glenna should not have been flirting and leading Teddy on, but she was a teenaged girl with raging hormones.

Maya and I were now engaging in conversation on a regular basis. It was usually about the kids or the house. She appeared to be accepting me a little more, but she was still cautious. She was not happy about my interpretation of the relationship between Glenna and Teddy. She blamed me for not watching them close enough. She was right.

A quite large package arrived with a ton of home-schooling supplies. Chaz was not too excited about the whole thing, though Bryan and Glenna were interested. Glenna would be leaving for college before the end of the year and Bryan was on a fast track to wherever he wanted to go. It appeared that their mother had all sorts of irons in the fire concerning their upper education. I decided that it was best if I kept my nose out of it. Maya did ask me to help, however, by setting up some sort of formal schedule for studying and testing.

I got my cellphone back when Bryan figured out how to combine all of his electronic gadgets to include the internet access. He got a satellite internet receiver that operated on DC from somewhere. He had an electronic panel set up in his room that would operate and recharge any DC operated electrical appliance. The first thing I did was call my parents. Everything was fine at home, but they had not seen or heard from Natalie. I called Wilfred Malik, because I didn't know who else could give me any kind of an update. The bad news from Malik was that he was not able to move me out of my apartment, because Natalie had moved back in. That was not good.

Glenna had elected to do her studying early in the day and her surfing in the afternoons. She and Teddy, seemed to enjoy wandering off behind some rock outcroppings, just to tease me. Usually, I ignored it, but one day I felt the urge to check it out further. Having my cell phone back gave me the opportunity to get a few pictures of Teddy and Glenna kissing and a little more. Glenna still had her bikini on, but that didn't stop Teddy from exploring. My quiet little cough broke up the fun and allowed me to walk home with an embarrassed young lady.

When she saw the photos, Maya was convinced that my suspicions about Glenna were correct. A short while later, I saw them having a private chat on the back lanai. I was glad that Maya was here because this was a conversation that I did not want to have. When Maya was finished talking to Glenna, she gave me a tongue lashing that I would remember for a long time. She was not happy with the lousy job that I had done watching Glenna.

Somehow or other, Bryan had completed all of his school assignments and tests, and contacted the admissions departments at a few schools that he was interested in. I was impressed with his efforts.

Chaz was also starting to get a little weird. After his afternoon excursions to whereever he went, he would sit in his room and make all sorts of notes and drawings. Bryan got him a small, digital camera and showed him how to load the pictures into the new desktop computer that appeared from nowhere. There were DC appliance plugs in every room of the house. The new computer that Chaz was using also had a small scanner. He was turning into a geek, just like his brother, except it was leaning in the area of biology instead of electronics.

I got my laptop computer back at the same time that a DC powered HDTV showed up. Things were looking pretty good, but I still wished that I had a microwave oven every now and then.

Everything was fairly normal for the next few weeks.The high point for me was when Maya confessed that she did not believe that I had any intention of hurting the children. She didn't elaborate on this and I didn't push it.

Glenna had her eighteenth birthday party.

Then things started changing rapidly. The first was when Maya told me that I no longer had to go to the beach with Glenna.

"I don't understand, Maya. You were greatly concerned about her safety and then about her close relationship with Teddy. What changed?"

"I have a lot of confidence in Teddy. I think he knows the water and the wave actions. I believe he can keep Glenna safe. I don't think she will hurt herself with him around."

"Come on Maya. You know what is going on between them. There is no way that you can leave them alone together on a deserted beach. You know what is going to happen."

Maya put down the laundry that she was folding and looked at me. "It's too late, Robert." That was the first time she called me by my first name.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you did a rotten job as a chaperone." She sighed as if she had failed at something. "They have already had sex. We can't stop it now. I know because I was young once. We might as well let them work things out between them and stop frustrating ourselves."

"What if she gets pregnant? What the hell are you going to tell Sonja?"

"I got Glenna started on birth control pills a few weeks ago. I also talked to Mrs. Heard about it. She understands and said that as far as she was concerned it was normal and healthy."

"How did you get her a prescription for the pills? Why didn't you tell me that you were in contact with their mother?"

Maya snatched up her folded laundry and walked out of the room. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. There are several roof panels that need to be fastened down. See if you can get it done before supper and whatever you do, don't fall off the damned roof."

I was being dismissed. I could easily tell that Maya had given me all the information I was going to get. I was beginning to feel comfortable about the whole situation and now I felt like an outsider again. I spent the whole afternoon on the roof hammering and moping about my inability to manage my own affairs.

I was quiet and sullen during the evening meal. Glenna seemed happier than usual, and for good reason. Bryan and Chaz were the same as usual. Maya noticed my unhappiness about the whole situation and let me know by sticking her tongue out at me when the children were not watching. She followed it up with a small smile. I spent the rest of the evening confused.

Since I no longer had to baby sit Glenna in the afternoons, I had a lot of time to spend working around the house. If I needed any parts or tools I wrote it down on the list that Maya kept on the refrigerator. I never did get a clear understanding of what my function was. The kids took care of their own schooling. Maya took care of the house duties. All I really had to do was hang around and play 'Mister Fix-it.'

After one of the evening meals, Chaz made a comment that interested me. He looked over at Bryan and simply said; "I miss Sarai. She could cook a lot better than Maya." There was a little more discussion about the food preparation, but I was just interested in who the hell Sarai was and why she wasn't with us?

I tucked the comment about Sarai away in my cluttered mind. It was not important enough to dwell on, but something I wanted to remember. I guess I could have just asked one of the kids about Sarai, but I didn't feel comfortable doing it.

Out of the blue, Bryan received an acceptance letter from MIT. He was scheduled to start classes in four weeks. It appeared that everything had been arranged and taken care of without my knowledge. I guess I didn't have a need to know. I insisted that before he left he had to prepare a manual explaining everything about the electrical system in the house in such a manner that I could understand it. He thought it was a good challenge and went right to it. He also got Glenna ready to take her final exams, and helped her get some college applications in.

Now I was really confused. If Sonja was going to let the kids leave the safety of the island to go to college, why were we sent here in the first place, and what were the kids being protected from? I was the idiot that threatened to kill them and I was being ignored. I had to assume they were here to protect them from any nasty news concerning the death of their father and prosecution of their mother, but with our TV and internet connections, that was not so. My presence seemed superficial. Maya laughed when she saw that I added a sixpack of beer onto the supply list.

Things got a little more complicated on the night of the monsoon. I think it was just a big storm, but we all liked to call it a monsoon. It had rained all day and Chaz never made it back for supper. Maya and I left Glenna and Bryan at the house and went to look for him. The constant rain had turned everything to mud. I happened to know that his favorite spot was in a deep ravine just South of the house. That was where we found him. He was Okay, just stuck. The sides of the gully were steep. During normal conditions, Chaz could easily get up and down with no problems. The rain changed things. What used to be footholds were now just slick mud. Maya took an immediate flop into the side of the trail. By this time she was soaked from the rain. I couldn't help but to notice that she had no bra on underneath her tee shirt. I was intrigued by the large brown nipples that were peeking through the thin, wet cotton. While I was distracted, I suddenly felt both of my feet fly into the air and I landed beside the wet and muddy Guatemalan beauty. Chaz was laughing his head off. He was covered with the sticky mud also, but didn't seem too concerned about it. It took us about ten minutes to pull him out of his hole. Maya gave him a little scolding, but nothing that wasn't deserved. I was just glad that we found him safe and that Maya didn't have a bra on. Oh, did I mention that before?

The rain helped to get some of the dirt off before we got back to the house, but not all of it. Maya made us leave our shoes outside, and then shoved Chaz into the shower. He handed his muddy clothing out to her, and, in return, she gave him a towel to wrap himself. Glenna took him to his room.

I don't know why, but I decided to join Maya in the shower. She was still dressed when I stepped in. At first she seemed surprised, but suddenly she relaxed as she turned her back to me. She had her arms over her exposed nipples. I took some shampoo and squirted it on the top of her head. When I started to wash her hair, she stood still and seemed to hold her breath. After a few moments, she exhaled and started to breath normally. She moved her head around to allow me easier access. I had to turn her around to rinse the suds out and she did not resist. When I started to pull her shirt over her head, she raised her arms. As I started to wash her body, she began removing my wet clothes. In a few minutes time, we were both naked. I spent far more time washing her breasts than was necessary, but I heard no complaints.

Both of us were breathing faster and deeper. I tilted my head down to allow her better access to my muddy hair and found myself directly in front of a pouting nipple. It seemed to be perfectly natural to want to kiss it. I was rewarded with a light smack on the top of my head, but she kept washing. Moments later, I kissed the second one, and this time she grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me closer to her.

Sex in a shower is definitely not comfortable, but it sure was erotic. It took less than five minutes for both of us to finish. Thank goodness it didn't take longer, because Bryan was beating on the door wanting to know if everything was Okay.

I left first with a towel around me. As I passed Glenna and Bryan in the living room, they were both giggling. I couldn't figure out if that was a good or a bad thing. All I know is, at the moment I felt good. Chaz was fast asleep when I got to the room. It must have been a big day for him. I decided to lie down for a minute and didn't wake up until the next morning.

I was expecting a cheerful and happy housekeeper the next morning, but all I got was a grumpy one. I was confused, but couldn't pursue the problem with the kids around. After a while Glenna, Bryan, and Chaz went their separate ways and Maya and I were alone.

"Maya. I am confused. You seem a little out of sorts. Did I do something wrong? If I did, I am sorry. I had no intention of forcing you to do something that you didn't want to do."

She put down the dish that she was drying. "No. You didn't do anything wrong: I did."

"I am sorry that you feel that way. It won't happen again."

She slammed the flat of her hand on the counter. "No, damn it. That's not it. It's is not you or anything you did."

"I don't understand."

Maya got two fresh cups of coffee and sat down at the table with me. "Do you remember when I had the talk with Glenna about two weeks ago? The day that you caught her kissing Terry."

"Yeah. I thought you did a good job. What went wrong?"

"I gave Glenna my birth control pills. I wasn't using them, or shall we say, I didn't have a need for them. I figured that she would get more use out of them than I would. At the time, I had not planned or expected anything to happen between us."

I took a big swig of coffee, even though it was too hot. "You mean that there is the possibility that..?"

She interrupted me before I could finish. "Don't even say it or think it. I won't know anything for a few weeks. In the mean time, keep that thing in your pants." She noticed that I looked a little dejected.

"At least, until I can get some more pills." There was a small smile on her face as she turned back toward the sink. For some strange reason, I was hoping that she was with child. I hardly knew this woman, but the thought of being a father to her baby was exciting to me. I couldn't explain it.

Chaz and I spent the most part of the day putting a new roof on the chicken shed. It was still too muddy for him to go to his sanctuary. I was in a good mood all day.

We were watching the news on the television, but not on a regular basis, so we were shocked as hell the next week when Sonja Heard showed up at the house.

I felt like an outsider again, so I stayed in the background and let her spend time with her children. Maya took me aside and gave me a brief rundown of what had occurred. It seems that the prosecuting attorney had quietly dropped all charges against Sonja, and she had been realeased with as little fanfare as possible. She immediately came to see her children and to hide from the Press. Appearently, she did a pretty good job, because when we did checked the news, everybody was speculating on her whereabouts. It appeared that there was a whole lot of forensic evidence collected immediately after the murder. None of it was compromised or planted, and none of it directly implicated Sonja. The prosecutor was trying everything he could to tie one thing to her and couldn't. Sonja's attorney kept quiet the whole time. They didn't protest or force the case to be dropped. They simply waited until the case fell apart on its own. Sonja spent all that time in jail, when she probably could have gotten out a lot earlier. All I could think of was; what did this all have to do with me, and why I was here?