Traveler

Cassie tried so hard not to cry out, just as I tried so hard not to place too much pressure on so much damaged area. Sadly that night neither of us got our wish, once I dropped the used tissue into the bowl and pulled my hand away the blood was clear to see. I washed my hands and Cassie told me not to worry, that Doc Hartman had told her that something like that was likely to happen.

I carried her back to bed, got a pad and placed it into her panties before putting them on her. She smiled at my clumsy attempt, and helped when she could. We both knew what she was tempted to say; I was just glad she didn't. Cassie slept once I gave her one of the doctor's pain meds. I sat in the chair opposite her and tried to sleep as well.

Sadly, it was an exercise in futility. Her crying woke me up. When I figured out she was crying in her sleep, I left her to it. Both the Doc and Cassie had warned me this wasn't fixable overnight.

*******

For the next week, we had a very loose routine going for ourselves; bandages changes twice a day. I figured her bathroom breaks out as well, and planed accordingly. Her one great fear was still the one that had her doubled over in terror, but that always seemed to be late evening, before bedtime.

We had tried giving her a pain med when she started to fidget and show signs of anxiety. In both our minds, we hoped it was taking the edge off. The bleeding would last for a few minutes, and I would continue to change her pad.

"Go on, admit it; you're more used to getting girls out of their panties than into them."

I saw the bait, and refused to rise to it. Doc Hartman was pleased with her progress. I was just pleased that she wasn't screaming out in pain as much at night when her body forced her to do her bathroom rituals. The crying in her sleep became periodic as well. By the third week, the doc wanted to send her for a scan.

At least this nurse didn't cry at the damage to Cassie, although I get the feeling that she assumed I was the culprit. Doc Hartman called us into his office a couple of days later and showed us the pictures. He had a smile on his face and used words that only women seemed to understand. When he looked at the confused look on my face, he rolled his eyes and mumbled that I was to keep doing what I was doing.

Those words I could understand. The color of the bruises around her pussy had changed to a more acceptable skin tone. Her hand wound still needed to be kept covered since the palm of the hand took longer to heal. The doc wanted us to come back in a few days to take some stitches out and take another scan.

It was the weekend, and she knew I was due back to work on Monday. The only time we ever dressed was when we went to the doctor. To give Cassie some quiet time so she could rest, I grocery shopped alone. We did get a phone call Saturday morning. Detective Daniels was checking up on us both, to see if we had killed each other yet.

Cassie spoke to him for a few minutes. He told her that all three of the Mendez brothers had pleaded guilty, so she would not need to be at the courthouse. Cassie thanked him and put the phone down. It was clear she didn't wish to talk about it further. I think the look I gave her made her change her mind.

"Abe Mendez and my father went way back. He knows that making his sons plead guilty will get them out quicker, and he's also paid the debt he owed my father. The slate is clean now; if I go anywhere near the waterways as Traveler, then honor would mean he'd have to kill me personally."

Cassie stood and walked back into the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window. I left her alone for a few minutes, but wasn't about to leave her stewing too long.

After ten minutes, I leaned against the door frame and said, "Get dressed, I'm taking you to meet someone."

"Who?"

"The guy who started all this."

I phoned ahead to make sure he was there, and we were on the road thirty minutes later. The sign for Barry Mitchell's boat yard came in view as the clock above his door reached mid-day. When I introduced Cassie, it was like I was introducing royalty to him. For the next hour, although I heard the occasional boating term, they may as well have been speaking Japanese.

It never occurred to me that the water people had their own language. He took Cassie on a tour of the yard and the maintenance sheds. When Barry took us back into the office, he pulled out what looked like an architect drawing. They both leaned onto his table and pointed to parts of it. I swear the man was trying to hide an erection. For my part, I found the coffee pot and made myself comfortable.

The scene in front of me both bewildered and encouraged me at the same time. This was the first time since her incident that I had seen Cassie so alive. The river ways were now a death sentence to her; I just wondered if coming to my friend's boat yard would be enough for her.

Even with her body healing up nicely, Cassie still insisted on the naked thing. The bandage between her tits was never replaced. The stitches were due to be taken out mid-week, as was the wound on her thigh. She wanted as much air circulating around the wound as possible. Although her pain meds still came into effect for her bathroom rituals in the evenings, she could at least go with some semblance of dignity now.

I watched this woman every day as she dealt with what had happened to her body. High pain threshold or not, she had never given up. Her spirit through these last weeks had been tested to its extreme, and she just got on with it. I was proud of her and told her so every single day. Sometimes that comment was welcomed, other times I ignored the tirade knowing that the woman was in more pain than I could ever conceive.

The following Sunday, we spent time going over phone numbers she could use if she needed to contact me. Her computer skills put mine in the shade, so I didn't bother going over stuff she already knew. On Monday morning, I still put Detective Daniels' phone number on a note and taped it to the computer screen. It was the weirdest feeling being let out of my apartment by a naked woman as she asked what I wanted for dinner.

*******

I spent almost an hour going over the Traveler story with my editor, and bringing him up to date with her medical progress. We both knew it would be a death sentence to publish it- even a heavily edited version of it. So once I got back to my desk, I shredded everything I had about Traveler.

A report of a drive-by shooting came in soon after, so I was out of the office most of the day. Other than Cassie calling my cell to make sure I wasn't going to be late home, it was just another day at the office.

On Wednesday, Dr. Hartman took more of her stitches out and sent Cassie for another scan. He gave her one more prescription for pain meds, and warned her that he would be taking her off them when they ran out. He smiled a lot more when he got the scan results back, and mentioned that, other than the hand injury, there was little left to do but go out and enjoy life again.

Cassie was more subdued on the journey back to the apartment. At least she saved what she wanted to say until we had settled down for the evening.

"Please don't fight me on this- but I have to talk to Abe."

I'm almost sure the words 'are you fucking nuts' got used more than once that evening. Cassie let me rant, and then tried again... and again. It was clear she wasn't going to budge on this.

"It wasn't a request for your permission, Bobby. You know us, probably more than you should. When and where, I don't know yet, but I have to talk to Abe."

Just how short a memory did this damn woman have? Three of his own sons had almost killed her, and now she wanted to talk to their father.

"Why, Cassie? Just tell me why. Help me get my head around the temporary insanity you seem to be diving into."

Cassie actually thought for a moment, knowing I wasn't impressed with her wanting to go anywhere near her old haunts again, especially since just going there could get her killed. For my own peace of mind, and to know what I would be putting on her headstone, I just needed her to explain it all to me.

"Although the slate is clean, Bobby, it would be too easy for either of us to stumble into something that we shouldn't. I don't want an intermediary involved in this, so I have to talk to Abe myself."

Cassie got up and went to her room. I went through the motions of watching some TV, gave up, and went to bed an hour later- although it was well into the early hours when sleep came for me. The morning didn't bring a shift in her decision. The outline of the elephant grew within the room; it just got bigger when we talked about every topic but the one we needed to discuss.

By the end of the next week, the doctor was happy to remove the last of the stitches. His last scan of Cassie meant he looked far happier than he did when I first brought her in. Our social life started to develop, by accident. A casual question from her asking me if I liked opera got us tickets, although I insisted on paying for our meal afterwards.

When I asked her why the sudden going out, she reminded me that she was still part of the water people- even though they would never consider her one again. She needed to be outdoors. The apartment was fine while her body needed repair, but she was now fit enough and, when clothed, would pass for normal- and not a punching bag. She needed to breathe air that wasn't passed through an AC unit.

Cassie had us out on the town at least once a week; opera, the theater, even a football game. I had tried to broach the meeting with Abe to her, but all she would do was smile and hug me. The elephant sat waited patiently in the room.

The worst of it was I could talk to no one about this. My first thought was Detective Daniels but, since no crime had been committed, I just wasn't sure he would listen to me. And since my initial outburst, Cassie had kept the meeting with Abe close to her chest. So other than her supposed need to talk to him, I had nothing.

It was the last Sunday of September before Cassie mentioned Abe again. After three months of silence on the subject, I awoke on Sunday morning with her in my bedroom, telling me I had to get up. Although she didn't tell me straight out where we were going, she did give very specific directions.

By two o'clock that afternoon, we were both walking through Oak Dean Memorial Park. I only knew that much because the sign over the entrance told me. Cassie was out of the car as soon as I switched the ignition off. She stuck her hands in her pockets and waited for me, before we set off walking along the path at the river's edge.

The path itself eventually split; one continuing along the river, the other headed towards a children's play area that had about a dozen picnic benches placed all over the area for folks to rest or make a day of it in the park. Cassie came to a stop and asked me to sit. When I did, she eased herself in next to me.

"Look, I know to you I'm acting all James Bond but, you're an outsider, and by the rules, you shouldn't even be here. Abe agreed as long as you would sit and stay here. Don't take notes, and keep your cell in your pocket, even if it rings."

Before I could answer, someone sat on the other side of me. When I looked towards the woman who now sat smiling at me, Cassie got up and walked away.

"Hi, I'm Cindy."

Her smile made you want to look closer at her. Cindy was a brunette with the darkest brown eyes I have ever seen. She folded her arms in front of her and then looked towards Cassie, who was almost a hundred yards away, sitting on another bench next to a man whose back was to both of us.

"Why are you here, Mr. Robert Douglas? Traveler made it a condition, you being here. Even Uncle Abe couldn't figure out why, so he agreed. You've become an enigma to Uncle Abe, Mr. Douglas."

Even I had to admit to a smile when I heard that word. I had called Cassie an enigma so long ago when the story of Traveler was given to me by my boat builder friend. As I looked at Cindy, it was clear her attention was still focused on the two people who sat on the bench in front of us.

"It's a warm day, Mr. Douglas. Feel free to take your coat off, if you wish. Just place your hands back on the table when you're done. OK?"

"Can I ask you a few questions?"

Cindy looked at me and smiled again, before looking back at the bench in front of us, and the two people who sat there."

"I guess that would be the reporter in you talking, Mr. Douglas. The answer is no. But, I can tell you what you should do. Pray real hard because one of two things will happen soon, Mr. Douglas. Traveler will either live happily-ever-after, or she will be dead within the week."

The smile vanished from her lips; her eyes became real hard.

"I said put your hands back on the table, Mr. Douglas."

Very slowly, I placed my arms back on the bench. Her smile returned. It never got as far as her eyes though. Cindy went back to looking in front of her.

"Traveler must think a great deal of you, Mr. Douglas. You're an outsider. You have no business here, and yet she asked that you be included."

I was too stunned by her comment to say anything, much less do anything. Cassie and the man still talked. Cindy watched both like a hawk; although I had no doubt that any move I made would be noticed instantly by her.

Twenty minutes later, Cassie stood and faced the man she was talking to, bowed her head to him, then took a step back and started to walk toward our picnic bench. Cindy let out a little giggle and started to clap her hands.

"Oh, goodie, Traveler gets to live happily-ever-after."

Cindy stopped clapping and looked towards me. Her smile was genuine, though her eyes looked like they had filled up. She stood and took a step away from the bench.

"Look after my cousin, Mr. Douglas. If you don't, I will find you and kill you myself. You will never know what she has given up to be with you. She's your woman now. Cassie has relinquished the title of Traveler. I enjoyed our chat, Mr. Douglas, but if we ever to see each other again, it would be the last time you breathe air. Treat her right. She's given up everything for you- remember that."

*******

By the time I looked at the bench that Cassie had just vacated, the man was gone. When I turned to look for Cindy, I couldn't spot her either. I had sat on this bench for a good thirty minutes and was as clueless now as I was then.

"Do you want to talk here or back home?"

Cassie's question pulled me from my thoughts. She hadn't sat down because she was waiting for my answer. Taking a breath, I picked up my coat and we walked back to the car in silence. Neither one of us even turned the radio on as we traveled back. The only sounds Cassie made were to tell me when to turn. Even that stopped when the area became familiar to me.

I made it into the apartment before I turned to look at her. "Cassie, I..."

"No. You had your choice, and that was the venue. You don't get to choose the rest. Get your clothes off; I'm getting us some drinks. When I come out of the kitchen, I will be as naked as you."

She didn't even stop to see if I would. Cassie was stubborn when she wanted to be. We were also talking about her life here, and I figured that would allow some latitude even though I thought the naked part was past us now that she was almost completely healed.

True to her word, Cassie came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with drinks for us. She must have left her clothes to pick up later. The tray was placed on the coffee table. She sat next to me, hooked her leg onto the couch, and leaned against the back of it so she could also face me.

"I'm sorry about Cindy; she's always had a big mouth, even when we were kids. It was Abe's insistence that she looked after you while I talked to him. I couldn't tell you everything because I simply didn't know the outcome of the meeting until I stood up and walked back."

I had been a reporter all my adult life and yet in this one instance, I was reduced to one question.

"Cassie, what have you done?"

She leaned over, took her drink off the tray and sipped it before replacing it.

"Between Abe and me, we have sorted out the rules that I can live by. He also wanted payment for losing his three sons. Once I pointed out the stupidity of their actions and that a girl beat all three of them in a bar fight, he agreed they are in the best place- to remind them of that fact."

"Cindy said you're no longer Traveler?"

Cassie shook her head. She looked down at the couch for a moment, and then gave me a glimpse into a life that was so close-knit. Her words reached to every level of water life, leaving me to sit in awe. I could have filled a book with the knowledge and depth of history that came from Cassie that evening. Traveler wasn't a name granted to the head of the family, Traveler was the head of the whole family.

Her grandfather was Traveler, but his lust for life meant he could never keep it in his pants. In this case, his wife Constance Marshal and mistress Angelina Mendez both gave him sons. When he died, Cassie's father became Traveler.

"It's best if you think about it like a crown, rather than a title. When daddy became head of the family, it also included Angelina Mendez and her son. The laws of our community gave them no choice. The resentment grew though. Daddy was wise and sought peace with his step-brother. To a point, it was a peace that earned them all a great deal of money, so the resentment took a backseat.

With the death of her father, the title of Traveler was automatically given to her. The resentment grew once again between the new Traveler and the Mendez family. Cassie kept to the deal that her late-father had with Abe, and for a while, an uneasy peace reigned. When the three Mendez brothers came across Cassie at the bar, they saw it as an opportunity.

She was sure that Abe hadn't instigated the confrontation, but with Cassie dead, Abe would have become Traveler. What George Beckwith had said was true; since Cassie lived, the family structure started to split. People were taking sides, and with the head of the family in hospital and her boat destroyed, the rift in the family became deeper by the day.

"But you came here after the hospital... How did you stop the civil war that was coming, if you were hold up here?"

"Our traditions may be dated, yet still work- but that doesn't stop us from using technology. Every time you went out, I used your computer. I had a TracFone, and money delivered to me using the same method."

Her hand once again reached for her drink; she smiled after taking a sip.

"One of my cousins sat outside in the street for ten hours, waiting for you to leave, so he could deliver those items though."

My first instinct was to say that he could have knocked- until I remembered that, to them, I'm the nosey reporter, as well as the outsider. We stopped talking while we made something to eat. Once Cassie was comfortable on the couch again, I put some music on and joined her.

"So, what happens now?"

"Are you ready for me to answer that, Bobby? You only get one shot at that question."

The way she was looking at me made me wonder if this whole conversation had been building up to this exact question. After a pause, I nodded my head. Cassie stared right back at me for a moment, and then reached for my hand with both of hers. Before placing it on her thigh, she spoke.

"You stuck by me when I was at my lowest. When I didn't even have the strength to stand, you carried me. When I screamed and cried through the pain, you held onto me and cried right alongside me. When I showed you all the damage to this body... You hung in there and kept me going."

One of her hands wove her fingers into mine as she paused to take a breath before starting again.