Cabin Fever

Bettina was busier than ever too. She worked full-time at the drug store and part-time helping her mother and grandmother at home. But she never failed to go back to the cabin at night, against her mother's wishes, to sleep, fuck and wake up with Travis.

After a couple of weeks Travis started checking his P.O. box more often hoping for a letter from a publisher. He thought maybe he should get a phone installed but nixed the idea. It would probably be expensive for the phone company to run a line out to his cabin, plus the only person he'd want to call lived with him.

The first correspondence he received back from a publisher was a form letter saying thanks, but no thanks. It wasn't what they were looking for. Then a couple weeks after that he got a letter from another publisher saying they had received his manuscript but they were currently backlogged and would be in touch if they thought it was something they'd like to pursue. After that, another Dear John letter from a third publisher.

Finally, on a Wednesday a few weeks later, a fourth letter was delivered to his mailbox that was a little different. It had a sense of urgency, they were interested. It asked that Travis call at his earliest convenience. Travis walked over to the bank and bought a roll of dimes and then found a pay phone in the lobby of the hotel.

Somehow Travis's manuscript had landed on the desk of an editor named Ed Wright who loved the book and also happened to know an editor at the magazine that was planning to publish the excerpt. They spoke and were both enthusiastic about the work and exchanged ideas about promotion and perhaps allowing the magazine to run several excerpts and perhaps an interview in consecutive issues if Ed's firm published the book.

Travis inserted two dimes and dialed the long-distance number and an operator came on the line and told him how many more dimes to put into the slot for the first three minutes. A woman with a pleasant voice answered and he told her he wanted to talk to Ed Wright, and that Ed was expecting his call.

Three minutes came and went while he was still on hold. He was dropping more coins into the slot when Ed came on the line.

"Hello, Travis, this is Ed Wright, how are-," he said. And then: "Are you calling from a pay phone?"

"Yessir, Mr. Wright. I don't have a home phone."

"Goodness gracious. Does that phone have a number on it?"

"Yessir," Travis said, and gave him the number.

"Okay, Travis, don't move. I'm going to call you right back. We need to talk without you having to put coins in the phone."

"Thank you, Mr. Wright."

"Call me Ed. Talk to you in half a minute."

It didn't take that long, and Travis picked up instantly. Ed told him that he loved his book and the story and the passion with which it was written, and a couple other editors had also read it and think we can sell it. He said he felt like he'd been to war with him. He'd wanted to cry tears of pain in the first part but tears of joy at the end. He said he knew people at the magazine too, and they'd already discussed cross-promotion. He had a good feeling about this.

"We have to get you up here to New York, to meet our team and talk about publishing this book. How soon can you come up here? I'll send you a round trip plane ticket and we'll pick you up at the airport and put you up in a nice hotel for a couple of days."

"I could come up next week," Travis said. "But I'd rather not fly. Could I maybe take the train? There's a depot not too far from where I live. An airport is hours away."

"Of course, Travis, whatever you're comfortable with. I'll get working on this right away. I'll send you the train ticket express mail. We'll plan on meeting next Wednesday and Thursday, would that work?"

Travis said it would. Ed told him to check his mailbox on Friday and he should have the ticket, if not sooner. Travis walked on air, as nonchalantly as he could, back to his truck.

--

Travis couldn't wait to tell Bettina the good news. He bought champagne and put it on ice and packed a picnic basket with bread and cheese and meat and fruit and other eats. He stowed them in the boat along with a quilt and a couple blankets.

When Bettina got home Travis and Bella were sitting on the porch waiting for her. There were two glasses of champagne on the table. She sat down beside him and asked what was up.

"A toast," Travis said, handing her a glass. "To this maybe-author maybe getting his book published."

Her eyes grew big as saucers. "Really?"

Travis shrugged. He told her about the letter and his phone call with the editor and his upcoming trip to New York.

"Oh, my god that's wonderful! I can't believe it. They're going to publish your book!"

"Maybe."

"They will, I know it," she said, and stood up, whooped and hollered and danced around before hugging and kissing him. They tapped glasses and drank with her sitting on his lap.

"Will you take care of Bella while I'm gone?" he asked.

She gave him an are-you-crazy look and said yes, of course, that was a dumb question.

They all three got in the boat and Travis took them out on the river to a quiet, private cove. They ate their dinner and drank champagne to celebrate and then spread the blankets and made love under the stars while the boat bobbed in the gentle tide and Bella kept watch.

--

The afterglow of good news did not shimmer for long.

On Friday afternoon Travis went to town to pick up his mail. He was pleased to see he had received the envelope from the publisher. It included a round-trip train ticket, an itinerary, and a brochure about the publisher with Ed Wright's business card attached. He would board the train Monday midday and would arrive at Penn Station in New York City twenty-seven hours later. A driver would greet him and take him to his hotel. The schedule showed that the train would go through many towns on the trip north.

He shopped at the market and then visited the hardware for some supplies. He was planning to stop at the drug store but he didn't see the VW parked in the side lot where Bettina usually parked it. Travis figured she was out making a delivery. The pharmacy had customers they delivered prescriptions to and the employees made the deliveries. Bettina had mentioned a few times how nice it was to have the bug and not have to ride her bike.

He and Bella rode back to the cabin together. He wanted to wash the truck and the boat before supper.

When the chores were done Travis grabbed a cold beer and sat on the porch to wait for Bettina. In between throws of the tennis ball he was thinking to himself, looking forward to the weekend just beginning. He was getting hard thinking about Bettina, and the next three nights of lovemaking they would share before he left on Monday for five days.

Finally Bettina drove up, got out of the car and walked toward the porch. Travis could tell immediately by her stride and the look on her face that something was terribly wrong. When she stepped up onto the porch he could tell she'd been crying. She sat down beside him without even saying hi.

"Bettina, what's the matter?" he asked.

She instantly burst into tears. Travis took her hand in his and she squeezed him tight. Then he took her in his arms until the sobs had abated some. She took a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes.

"It's Momma," she said. "It's really bad."

"What is it? Tell me."

"She's a lot sicker than we thought. For weeks and weeks she's been going to doctors and specialists and labs and taking tests and having x-rays, and been bounced around to so many offices, running up bills. Over a thousand dollars already, and my parents don't have good insurance, and don't have the money to pay."

Bettina blew her nose into her saturated tissue. Travis got up and quickly returned with a handkerchief and handed it to her.

"Go on," he said.

"Well, they found a tumor. In her lung. The doctor thinks it's malignant. So far it hasn't spread to any other organs, but he said it's aggressive and probably would if they don't go in and get it out.

"But it's expensive. We already owe so much and they want another fifteen hundred dollars just to agree to do the operation, and that's not all it will cost with any complications and recovery and follow-up and who-knows-what. Oh Travis, what are we going to do?"

She broke down into tears again. Travis held her and kissed her face and forehead.

"How's the rest of your family?"

"Daddy's a wreck. He doesn't want to leave her side but he knows he's gotta work. And I gotta be there to help out, with the kids, the house, the cooking, the chickens, even though I'd rather be with you..."

"I understand," Travis said, patting her back and hugging her tightly. "Of course you need to be with them. They need you."

Bella knew something was wrong. She quit playing ball and rested her muzzle in Bettina's lap. Bettina stroked her ears and smiled through her pain.

"You wait here, Baby. I'll be right back," Travis said.

He went into the cabin and walked to his desk. He took a large envelope out of the hutch and walked to his bedroom. He moved the rug, lifted up the floor board, and pulled out the steel box. He opened it and pulled out three rubber-banded bundles of a thousand dollars each and put them in the envelope. He replaced the box, floor board and rug and walked back out on the porch.

He sat back down beside her, took her hand and kissed it. He handed her the envelope.

"Here's three thousand dollars," he said. "Pay her bills first thing Monday morning, and then pay the doctor for the surgery. Schedule the operation as soon as is possible, don't wait, the sooner he can get it out the sooner your Momma can heal up."

"Three thousand dollars? Oh My God!" Bettina said, holding the envelope like it was radioactive. "How did you get..."

"Don't worry, it's my money. I didn't rob a bank or anything. I don't spend a lot of money, so I save it."

Bettina looked like she was in a trance. "Travis, I can't accept this. Plus I don't know when they could ever pay you back."

"Let's not worry about that. I love you, and it's your Momma, and you love her. Take it, it's for a good cause, don't you think? It's the right thing to do."

"I can't believe this. And after the way she spoke to you..."

"I'm doing it for you."

"Travis, I don't know what to say."

"How about, 'I love you' and 'Goodbye'? I would love to throw you across the bed and make love to you right now, but your family needs you. I'll be waiting, as long as it takes. Just remember I'll be gone Monday through Friday this coming week, and don't forget about Bella."

Bettina kissed Bella on the top of her head and then kissed Travis on his mouth.

"God, I love you," she said.

"I love you too. Now you better get going. Your family needs you."

Travis spanked her on the rump as she left the porch. He watched her drive off and then threw the tennis ball across the yard and watched Bella tear after it. He picked up his can of beer and took a sip. It was warm as piss so he went inside to get a cold one.

--

The following week was a whirlwind for Travis. He couldn't sleep on the train so by the time he reached New York on Tuesday afternoon he was dead-tired. At the station there was a guy standing on the platform holding up a sign with his name on it and they walked to a waiting car and the chauffeur dropped him off at his hotel. He ate something and went straight to bed and slept all the way through till morning.

Wednesday and Thursday Travis was like a blind man in a maze. Tours, meetings, lunches, dinner, demonstrations, a non-stop overload of information, planning and sales pitches. When they dropped him off at the train station Thursday afternoon he was tired and confused and looking forward to being alone on the train with no one to talk to. He had a signed contract in his hand. It was the standard contract for new authors and he would receive a fifteen hundred dollar advance. It sounded good to him.

When he got back to his cabin Friday night the place was dark and empty but there was a note from Bettina. It read:

Dear Author,

Welcome home!

When you read this please go out to the dock and play your trumpet for a few minutes. Play something happy, I'll be listening. Then me and Bella will be here in 15 minutes.

Love,

Bettina

P.S. Can't wait to get you in bed!

Travis took his horn down to the dock. He blew what he thought was a rather swinging version of 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo' out into the night. It seemed appropriate after spending twenty-seven hours on a train.

--

When Bettina and Bella showed up a few minutes later there was a semi-menage a trois on the front porch with hugs and kisses all around. Bettina had brought fried chicken and collards and potatoes and while they ate they filled each other in on what had happened that week. Travis told her about his trip and having signed a publishing deal and Bettina told him all about her week too.

Her parents were flabbergasted that Travis would loan them the money, especially after the way she had spoken to him. They swore they'd find a way to pay him back someday. Momma is very appreciative and very sorry, and wants you to know that. They paid their outstanding bills on Monday. They paid the surgeon as well, and the operation was scheduled for the following week. Momma and Daddy seem to be better because some of the worry is lifted.

"You made it all possible, Travis. Thank you," Bettina said.

"You're welcome," he said. "But now it's payback time. I'm gonna take it out in trade."

She giggled. "What you gonna do?"

"You're gonna be sore all over by the time you leave here, girl."

"That sounds good."

He stood up and walked behind her chair. He bent over and kissed her neck and fondled her breasts.

"How you want it first?" he asked.

"In my mouth," she said, and turned her head to kiss his lips. "Then vertical."

Bettina loved to fuck standing up or against the wall or facing Travis as he sat on a chair or the bed. She loved to control her movements up and down because she could slam her cunt down and grind it on his cock and feel it being shoved up deep inside her.

They went to the bed and undressed as they kissed. It had been over a week and they were starved for each other. Once Travis's shirt was off Bettina tore at his pants. His cock was hard and it sprung upward as she pulled off his boxers and she sucked it into her mouth with a slurp.

Bella spread out on the rug and took it all in stride. She was used to the sounds of her Mom and Dad fucking and sucking.

--

The next few months were very busy.

Bettina had her job at the drug store, and even though she had moved in with Travis, she had her additional responsibilities at her parents' house. Along with her grandmother, she had to look after the younger kids, cook and tend to the garden and animals. Her mother's operation had been successful but her convalescence would take time. But even after her long days Bettina always made it back to the cabin to go to bed with Travis. The girl loved to fuck.

Travis traveled back and forth to New York several times while his book was being readied for publication. He had to meet with his editor, approve the jacket cover and blurbs, and read every single word of the galley to be sure it was mistake-free. There were interviews to do, which he loathed. The magazine had published the excerpt to positive reviews and it would be publishing a second excerpt and then an interview in the next two issues. Despite the thrill he was getting from being published and watching his book take shape, he was always anxious to get back to the cabin, and to his two girls. Especially Bettina, because he knew she'd be ready to fuck his brains out. He'd had plenty of girlfriends in the past, but none had ever wanted sex as much as Bettina. Every which way.

He'd gotten back on a Saturday evening after a few days in New York and Bettina and Bella met him in town. They went to a little barbecue place that had seating outside under an awning surrounded by pine trees. They ate ribs and drank beer while Bella lay beside them and was the happy recipient of occasional, intentional pork droppings. They didn't get the funny looks they used to get; townspeople had become accustomed to the mixed couple, the local black girl and the white loner from the point.

The small town talk had made the rounds and everybody had found out where the money for Jolene's medical bills had come from. And they knew that Travis had gotten himself a book deal and an excerpt had been published in a prominent national magazine, and that particular issue had promptly sold out everywhere in town. Their little town was suddenly on the map.

After the ribs they went home and they were barely inside the front door of the cabin before Bettina was removing her clothes and leading Travis to their bedroom. They were no sooner naked in the bed before she had his dick in her mouth.

They stayed naked for the next fifteen hours. They only got up to piss, get a drink or brush their teeth. And they put Bella out one time. They would both look back on it as the longest and most intense session of crazy sex they'd ever had. There was cock sucking and pussy eating and cunt fucking and ass licking and butt fucking and screaming orgasms. Bettina got it up against the wall and sitting on Travis's cock while he bounced her up and down like a Pogo stick. They did sleep a few hours but then on Sunday morning they did it all again.

It was early afternoon before they hauled their asses out of bed. Travis had just ejaculated into Bettina's asshole for the second time and collapsed on top of her. They were both tired, sweaty and very hungry. Bettina jumped out of bed and threw on one of Travis's t-shirts, and went to the kitchen to whip up some breakfast. Travis put on a pair of pants and a sweatshirt. Soon the aroma of eggs and sausage cooking filled the cabin.

Travis put Bella out to take care of business, but after a couple minutes she hadn't returned to the door. She was outside barking. He looked out of the window to see a wood-paneled station wagon pulling up to the cabin.

"You better go put some clothes on, girl," Travis called to Bettina. "Your Momma's here."

Bettina ran to the window. "Oh God, she brought the whole family," she said, and hustled into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of jeans. Then she turned off the stove and they walked out on the porch. Travis stood with his arm around her. Bella sat beside them, the sentinel.

Bettina's father was behind the wheel and her mother was in the passenger seat, with the little girl between them. Grandma and the two boys were in the back.

Bettina's father Robert was a large man. He got out and walked around and assisted his wife out of the car. Both were dressed in their Sunday best. Jolene held onto her husband and they walked a few steps closer to the porch.

"Good morning, Momma. Good morning, Daddy," Bettina said.

"More like afternoon, ain't it?" Jolene said. "See you missed church again, too."

"Would you like to come inside?"

"No, we'll just be a minute," she said, and took a step closer. "I come to see you, Mr. Travis. I wanted to come sooner but I'm just now getting back to feeling better and getting around."

Jolene took a deep breath before she continued.

"I come to thank you and tell you how sorry I am. I pray that you can find a way to accept my sincerest apology. I feel so bad and was so wrong. I don't know how you found it in your heart to loan us that money after the way I spoke to you. It was mean-spirited and uncalled-for, and I'm ashamed. Sometimes a part of me comes up from deep inside and I have no idea where it came from. Robert and I feel truly blessed that Bettina has found a man like you. We'll find a way to repay you somehow. So thank you and please forgive me."