Rust Bucket (32 page)

      For that day, I only had two things planned. One was so easy, I figured that it would only take a few minutes. The other, I wasn't sure I wanted to do. I had no idea why I wanted to see Annie.

      I finished my breakfast and went out of the ship and through the building to the street. I didn't have far to go to find a public terminal in order to check the directory. I stepped up to it and spoke my name, expecting to be given a message that there was no listing. Instead, my name came up listed as a civilian who served as a Captain in the Navy during the Ape-oid-Human War. My decorations were listed along with names of the skirmishes or battles, depending on one's view of such things, in which they were earned. A few things about me were unavailable as being classified defense information. The most glaring things listed as classified were the ships on which I served. It was a perfect hero's directory listing. My address was given as the address of the building in which the Pennyweight Shipping Company was in.

      To say the least, I was surprised to see that I wasn't invisible. Nor were Frank and a lot of other people I looked up. Only three people remained invisible to my inquiries. I wondered how many other people were invisible whom I hadn't met yet.

      If nothing else, that convinced me to go ahead and take a Yellow over to the base to see if Annie would admit me as a visitor. She had information about things and a way of looking at things which I didn't have. If she would see me, then maybe she would let something carelessly drop in her inimitable way. Perhaps, I would be able to discover if I felt any different about her.

      I turned away from the terminal and was about to walk down the sidewalk to find a Yellow when I realized that Annie was in her hover at the street looking at me. She was apparently waiting for me to finish using the terminal. My curiosity was itching with a burning sensation that demanded I seek relief. Why was she there?

      "Hi there, sailor! Need a lift?" she asked as I approached.

      "Annie! I was just going to grab a Yellow and see you at the base, that is, if you would have accepted me as a visitor. How are you?" I asked.

      "I'm fine. You're looking good. Want to go for a drive?" she asked.

      "Sure!" I got into the passenger seat.

      Annie hadn't kidded me before about her driving. She drove recklessly, just as she said she did. I was gripping the seat enough to turn my knuckles white.

      "You look like you'd rather drive. I'll pull over and let you take the controls," she said as she did just that.

      I got out and went around while she slid over to the passenger seat. Then I got in behind the controls. "Where to?" I asked.

      "Would you mind going to the island?" she asked.

      "Okay, the island it is." I knew where it was by then, so there was no need for her to give me directions as I drove. "I wanted to see you, but I wasn't sure why."

      "You are now?" she asked as she untied her blouse to let the wind flail away at her.

      I said, "Not really. I'm still unsure why I want to see you. I thought you were pregnant. You don't look it."

      "Oh, silly! I won't get fat for a few more months. Then I'll blow up like a balloon for a few months before I give birth. But, don't fret. I'm definitely pregnant. I throw up about half of everything I eat. I don't regret it either, even though you didn't marry me. How about you? Do you regret it?" she asked.

      I said, "I'm still not sure if I did right at the time by not marrying you when I kept to part of our understanding of no obligations. I thought then that it might influence my career unfairly. I've since learned that it wouldn't have, at least not as far as your father is concerned. I understand that your father doesn't pull strings for anyone. I can respect that."

      She said, "I guess I should have told you that, but I thought then that you wouldn't believe me since I lied to you about some other things."

      I replied, "I imagine you're right. I probably wouldn't have believed you on that. I'm glad that you didn't try to dissuade me then on that basis. Anyway, you saved me from hiring a Yellow to get over to the base and cleared up my mind about whether you'd see me again."

      She said, "I'm glad about that. I'll show you a secret when we get to the island today."

      "Oh? What kind of a secret?" I asked.

      She replied, "I don't want to spoil the surprise. I found it by accident myself or almost by having an accident."

      I said, "This sounds like an interesting story."

      She said, "It is, but it will have to wait until we get there. I don't want to spoil the surprise."

      "Okay," I agreed.

***

The sun was up enough that the heat was beginning to bake the ground. I parked the hover and was only a little bit behind Annie as she dove into the water after removing the last of her clothes. She had helped me some by loosening the seals on my clothing after I took the last turnoff. We swam a bit before I remembered that she had a surprise for me.

      "What about the surprise?" I asked.

      She exclaimed, "Oh yes! Come on. Back to the hover. That's the only way to get there."

      She ran and jumped into the hover without picking up any of her clothes. I reached out to pick up mine and put them on.

      She said, "Don't! You'll only get soaked. Leave them there and get in."

      "Naked? Are you sure?" I asked.

      She said, "We're not leaving my property. Come on. You're going to like this."

      I got into the hover, feeling a little self-conscious for the first time in a long time about being naked. Knowing Annie, she was daring enough to take the hover back off her property with both of us naked and cruise the highways just for fun.

      She drove over the water, picking up a little speed. "I was basically driving fast on the lake for the fun of it and because I was bored when I glanced away to look at a strange bird."

      "Hey, don't look at me!" I said. "Keep your eyes on your driving!"

      "Anyway, I glanced away and went right into the waterfall just like this!" she said merrily.

      She drove straight at the waterfall. I expected us to be crushed into the lake or to hit the cliff behind it. Instead, we went right on through because of the hover's speed and into blackness instead of a cliff.

      She said, "That's how I found this cave! I thought I was done for, but I found this cave instead and stopped. I wasn't sure how deep it went in. Anyway, I didn't want to survive just long enough to hit the end of the cave." She turned on the headlights and continued to drive into the cave. "Anyway, I finally realized that I could turn on the lights and take a look without getting out of the hover in case it was real long. It goes on for a long distance, almost two kilometers and then you wind up here!"

      She stopped the hover and turned it slightly so that I could see the cavern that the tunnel or cave ended in. It was huge and beautiful. She said, "I looked up the coordinates and found out I own this! Isn't it beautiful? It's right under my property and I didn't know that it was here until recently!"

      I said, "It certainly is breathtaking. Annie's Cavern. Even the name sounds beautiful."

      She remarked, "I hadn't thought of giving it a name, but you're right. That does sound nice. It's got a beautiful pool that's fed by the same stream and it's always this temperature. I went ahead and picked up a few items and brought them here to make it so that I could use it without tripping or falling in the dark. I'll shut off the hover after I turn on the lights. I hope my choice of lighting is okay."

      "I'm sure it is," I said before I saw just what she meant by her choice of lighting. She had used colored lights to illuminate the cavern and make it more breathtakingly beautiful. I stated, "Yes, it is beautiful the way you lit it up."

      She said, "I'm so glad you like it. Come on and let's play here for awhile."

      I wondered if I was being seduced so that I would fall into a trap or even in love, not that I was afraid of either by then. Either her tender trap or love could be a possibility allowed to bloom then, since I was sure it wouldn't hinder nor help me unduly. "Uh, sure we can play in here. You want to swim?"

      She said, "Oh yes. You've got to experience this pool. It makes the lake seem cold."

      "Really?" I wondered if she was teasing me again. The lake was actually warm. I wondered how warm the pool was to make the lake seem cold. I ran after her and dove into the pool just behind her, discovering that she was again telling the truth. The pool was at least ten to twenty degrees warmer than the lake. I was wondering why.

      She said, "I found out that there's a thermal pool below it that continually feeds both the pool and the lake. The lake doesn't have a roof to trap it, so the pool stays a lot warmer. I plan on coming here during the fall and winter."

      I remarked, "If that's so, then I don't blame you. This is a beautiful cavern. If it's like this all year round, then you have a natural place to enjoy yourself."

      "I'd much rather enjoy it with you. Have you come to see me because you're changing your mind?" she asked.

      "I don't honestly know. I wondered if seeing you would help me figure out what I want. By the way, you seemed to be looking for me. Why were you looking for me? Were you hoping I'd changed my mind?" I asked.

      She said, "No, I was hoping now that you're not in the military, I could get a ride in your ship, the Rust Bucket that you wouldn't let me come near before."

      "Really? You came out just because you wanted a ride in my ship?" I asked in amazement.

      She said, "Yes, I did. I really want to ride in a warship. I think it would be fun. Daddy would never take me on one. I was hoping that you might."

      I replied, "I'll have to think about it and check company policy. After all, it's still a warship and dangerous to be on."

      She said, "I'll sign waivers if it's required. I just want to ride on one."

      I said, "I'll honestly look into it and give it some thought with an open mind. That's all I can promise you at this time."

      "Okay, Dave. I'll accept that for now," she said with obvious disappointment.

      We played around in the water and later got out of the warm water to lie down on some outdoor lounges she carried into the cavern so she wouldn't have to lie down on the hard dirt and rock floor. She hadn't brought much into the cavern, but she had enough to make it comfortable. Apparently, she had installed a solar generator somewhere and ran wire to provide electricity for lights and a refrigerator that held cold beverages and sandwiches. It was just enough comfort to make it worth staying the whole day. About the only thing she couldn't do inside the cave was get a suntan or so I thought. I later discovered a sunlamp. For use in the winter, she claimed.

      Eventually, she offered herself to me and I accepted her offer once more. I could do far worse than to marry her. With what I had saved in credits, I was almost as welloff as she was, except I didn't own any land. Together, we'd almost be rich . . . The thought almost frightened me.

      Me being rich? Become one of those rich families and have a kid who acted like the ones I knew? The thought almost paralyzed me. However, I realized after a few more moments of thought that combining our fortunes wasn't even near what the rich families had stashed away. I stopped thinking that I would be dooming our child to that kind of behavior. We wouldn't even get into the top half of the middle class with what we had combined. We would be comfortably well-off and not too worried about where our next meal would be, but nowhere near the accumulation of wealth that the rich families had.

      Then I thought about whether Annie had enough to support herself and our child, especially if she left home from her father. After all, he might not approve of her having a child out of wedlock and ask her to leave. Oh yeah, I know that he didn't mind his daughter fooling around. He even approved of me, but he had also been looking forward to having me as a son-in-law. So far, I was disappointing him for my own greedy goal of getting a regular commission. Was I disappointing Annie because I feared her wealth and the influence I thought her father might use on my behalf? Was that what was holding me back from having any feelings for her and the child of mine that she was carrying? But would she have enough to care for herself and a child?

      I wasn't sure, but I did know that I did care about what happened to her. Was that enough of a feeling to justify marrying her? Was love starting to blossom? Or was it merely guilt? I didn't think that it was guilt. In the time we were apart from each other, I didn't really think of her. But did she get pregnant deliberately? If so, why? Suddenly, I realized that Annie was looking at me with a worried look on her face.

      "You all right?" she asked. "You looked like you're being chased by a pack of demons."

      I replied, "I'm all right. I got lost in my thoughts."

      "About me?" she asked.

      I admitted freely, "Yes, about you and our child. I was worried about you and our child and my own behavior."

      She said, "Why? You didn't do anything wrong. I was the one who lied, not you."

      I said, "I know that, but I still feel responsibility for you and for our child. Some of my thoughts have become clear in purpose. Now I think I know what I feared."