Chapter Fourteen The Army and the Lodge

Major Collins agrees to be subordinate to the Mayor of Petersburg. Tensions erupt between the Rangers and the villagers.

Chapter Fourteen

 

The Army and the Lodge

 

That night, Major Collins and Lieutenant Kennedy talked about what they had witnessed in the village of Petersburg.

"I was going to demand to be allowed to speak to these people," the Major reflected.  "I was going to offer to move them to our post, where we could protect them.  But the truth is, they are better off here, aren't they?"

His eyes met those of the lieutenant, who looked uncomfortable and did not answer.

As they ate breakfast the next morning, Gabby passed by and gave them a gloating smile.  Lieutenant Kennedy scowled at her.  She stuck her tongue out at him.  Mike, Jacob, Lily, and Howard were sitting with the officers.  Yuie came in and saw them.  Reluctantly, she sat down across from Lieutenant Kennedy.  He smiled at her, and she frowned at him.

"Good morning," he said.  Yuie glanced at Mike and decided that she had to be polite.

"Good morning," she muttered.

"I hope you’ve forgiven me for thinking that you were romantically involved with your leader," he said winningly.

"You mean, have I forgiven you for thinking that I was screwing the Chief?  Sure, I forgive you," she answered sweetly.

He winced and tried again.  "I hope your boyfriend was not too upset about it?"

"I don't have a boyfriend," she snapped, and then she grimaced.

"Ah," he said with a triumphant smile.

"Damn," she muttered, and then she said, "Well, have you military guys cased this place yet?  Figured out how to take us?  I don’t suppose that you have any nukes handy."

"I beg your pardon?" said Kennedy taken aback.

"Nothing," said Yuie with a private smile.

“So, are you one of those anti-nuke peaceniks?” he asked.

“Yes, I am definitely one of those anti-warmongering peaceniks that don’t like you nuclear-bomb-dropping military types,” she replied proudly.

Kennedy was annoyed.  "That’s ridiculous.  The United States has only used nuclear weapons twice," he stated stiffly. "And that was in a dire emergency."

"Yeah, I bet that the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki thought it was a dire emergency," she shot back.

"It was wartime," he said, outraged by her statement. "Dropping the bomb saved countless lives by us not having to invade Japan."

"Why would there have been any need for us to invade, Japan?" she countered.  "The Japanese were beaten.  The only thing they had left was their homeland.  Why should we have invaded?  The war was over.”  She gave him a so-there smirk.

He fell silent for a moment, and then he asked softly, "I wonder, how do you think the Chinese would have felt about that?"

"What?" she replied, confused by his question.

"The Chinese, the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Burmese, and a lot of other Asians were still living under the occupation of the Japanese Army.  Murder, rape, and torture were still happening.  But not to us.  We could have just walked away.”

He stood and went to the trashcan to clean his paper plate which the villagers would reuse.  For a moment, Yuie stared after him, and then her gaze shifted to the others at the table.  Everyone else was studying their plates. Yuie stood up and left the dining hall.

Two days later, Mike and the officers were strolling out by the graveyard. The officers had been told about Luis.  They saw the fresh grave in the graveyard, making it the third grave that had been dug.

"We’ve been luckier than you, so far," Major Collins admitted. "We’ve only had to dig one grave.  One of my engineers had an accident.”  

Collins hesitated, and then he said, “Mike, I would like to hear your version of the hanging.”

Mike looked up at him, and then he looked back at the graves.  “I thought we would probably starve to death after we ran out of food, or maybe we would freeze to death during the winter.  All of the adults were gone, except for Jackie, and she wasn’t any use to herself, much less to us.  It was just us kids.

“But I wasn’t ready to give up and die, so I tried to convince the others that we had to prepare for whatever might happen.  And it seemed to be working.  Some of the others started helping me.  I began to think that we might have a chance.

“Then those guys came, and they killed Pete, and they took Jackie and Maria.  Looking back, I guess it was crazy to think that we could get Jackie and Maria back.  But we had to try, anyway.  We were too late for Jackie, but we saved Maria.  We killed three of them, but one of them was still alive.  What were we going to do with him?  Let him go?  He would have come back and killed more of us, I believe.  We couldn’t hand him over to the police.  We didn’t have a jail.  Maybe we could have guarded him night and day.  But we needed everyone’s help just to get ready for the winter.

“I thought about all these things when we were marching back to our camp.  So I decided to kill him.  But I didn’t want to just kill him; I wanted to make sure that everyone understood why we were killing him.  So I had everyone speak who actually saw what had happened.  And when everyone was convinced that he was the person who killed Pete and Jackie, I killed him in a way they would think of as an execution not just a killing.  I think that by killing him, I prevented us from having to dig more of these graves.  And that’s my answer, Major Collins.”  

Mike turned at the head of the graves and looked back at the Major and the Lieutenant.  Standing at the foot of the burials, Major Collins fell silent as he contemplated the graves.  He wondered what he would have done had he been in Mike’s place.  Silently, he admitted to himself that he very likely would have done the same thing.

"So, what do you think of Petersburg, Major?" Mike asked.

"I like this place, Mike," the Major replied.  "I like what you have accomplished here."

"I’ve been thinking," Mike said.

"Uh oh," the Lieutenant muttered, his words barely audible. “Here it comes.”

"I've been thinking about what our next step should be.  I started thinking about it, when I realized that you were probably coming here, Major Collins," Mike said.

"What made you think I would come here?" the Major asked.

"Mainly, it was the way you handled that gang, Major," said Mike.  "You rescued the kids immediately.  That same night.  You took my suggestion that you approach quietly on foot.  You were more interested in rescuing the children than in capturing the gang.  I saw how you took care of the kids.  I bet Erin really likes it there."

"I hired her as my orderly," the Major admitted, and Mike laughed.

"Major Collins, who does the Army report to?" Mike asked.

Wondering at the reason for the young man’s question, Major Collins said, "Ordinarily, the Army reports go up the chain of command.  All the way to the Defense Department, if they’re important.  Why do you ask?”

"Then who do you report to?" Mike asked, ignoring the Major’s question.  "A better question is, who will you report to?"

"I suppose that when I contact a recognized civilian government, then I will report to them," the Major replied slowly. “I will inform them of my presence and status and ask for their advice on how to proceed.”

Mike turned to fully face the officers.  He was standing by the graveyard markers, ancient signs of human civilization.  Behind him, stood the dark and threatening woods, and the low sun cast gleaming fingers of light through damp clouds, framing the young man's face.  As the officers watched, his whole demeanor changed from the kid he still was, to the young man he had been forced to become.  Collins felt the presence of power, and the small hairs on his nape and on his arms stiffened, as he stared at this person.

"Very well, Major Collins," Mike said, raising his voice slightly, his words firm.  "Report."

For a stunning moment, the Major opened his mouth to comply with the command, and then he caught himself. He stared at the young man, for in that voice he recognized authority; the authority that some men and women learn to project, and that for others, comes naturally.  Now he knew what Mike had been planning, since Mike had realized that the Major would come to Petersburg to ensure that the people here were not in danger.  He was telling Major Collins openly, I am the civilian authority here.  I am the civilian government.  You say that you will report to the civilian authority? Very well, report.

"I'm sorry, Mike, but I am not willing to recognize your authority just yet.  Sorry," said the Major, while taking a deep breath and with a conciliatory smile.

Mike smiled back, and once more he was the boy.  "Take your time, Major," he said easily.  "This village isn't going anywhere.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."  The soldiers watched as the young man walked back toward his office.

"That kid’s got big brass ones, I’ll give him that," the Major mused.  He glanced at the Lieutenant who remained silent.  The Major’s eyes narrowed.

"You aren’t thinking that I should report to him, are you, LT?" he asked.

Lieutenant Kennedy thought for a moment before answering.  "Sir, I have a question for you?  Suppose you were the civilian in charge here, and I was in your place?  Would you want me to report to you?"

The Major thought about it.  "I take your point," he said reluctantly.  "And the truth is, yes, I would think that you should report to me.  It's our way.  The American Way.  The Army reports to the civil authority, because in the end every officer will someday be a civilian unless he or she is killed while serving.  Give me your advice.  Should I report to this government of kids?"

"Respectfully Sir, yes, because it is the fastest way that I can think of to get them to accept your advice and guidance, but there would have to be conditions."

"Conditions?"

"American governments are elected, Sir, not imposed."

"Ah.  Another good point.  Let's head down to the dining hall.  I'll have to think about this."

The conversation at dinner that night was pleasant until Lieutenant Kennedy and Yuie got into another heated argument.  He and Yuie began arguing back and forth about the morality of war.  Yuie insisted that wars usually resulted from aggressive behavior by military machines.  Kennedy countered, saying that wars fought by the United States were always defensive.

Finally, the Lieutenant demanded, "Name one war that America fought, in which we were the aggressors.  Name one."

"The Mexican-American War,” Yuie answered.

Kennedy opened his mouth, and then he shut it.  Furious, he got up and left the dining hall.

"I guess you win that round," Kathy said.  

Yuie said nothing.  She did not feel like the winner.  Major Collins and Lieutenant Kennedy went to the track the next morning.  Yuie and Mike were running.  The officers stripped off their shirts and ran a lap.  When they finished, Yuie and Mike were waiting for them.

"I love these high ankle moccasins Jean made," Collins said.

"Yeah, they're cool," Mike concurred.

"LT, Yuie, I wonder if you would excuse us for a minute?" the Major said.

As Kennedy and Yuie walked away, Mike heard Kennedy sat to Yuie, "You were right about the Mexican-American War.  It was a war of aggression."

Yuie sighed.  "And I see what you mean about the atomic bomb and the people who were still living under the Japanese occupation.  That doesn't mean that I like the military though," she said stubbornly.  Kennedy laughed.

When Mike and Major Collins were alone, the Major said, "I’ve thought about what you said.  I have decided that I am willing to report to the government of Petersburg provided you agree to certain conditions."

"Which are?" Mike asked.

"The Lieutenant pointed out that, in America, governments are elected not imposed, even by the most decent of people.  I would be willing to report to an elected government.”

"I see," Mike answered slowly. "And the other conditions?"

"Just one.  I want the title of Chief changed to Mayor."

"That's certainly not a problem," said Mike. "Those are the only two conditions?"

"Yes, Mike, but I do have a strong piece of advice for you," the Major replied.

"What's that?" Mike asked.

"Step down, Mike.  Step down, and let someone else run the government for a while.  It would be the clearest signal you could give to the rest of the people in this village that you mean it when you agree to change to an elected form of government.”

Mike looked up at the Major.  He looked around the village that he had been instrumental in developing.  He thought about the people he had protected.  He decided.

"Major, the year before I came to this camp, my social studies class studied the Presidents.  My favorite President is George Washington," Mike said.

"Ah," said the Major as he nodded his understanding.

Mike presented the Major's conditions to the Council later that morning.  Some were troubled by the implications.  Some were enthusiastic.  Only Yuie was adamantly opposed.

"It's a trick," she insisted. "You can't trust them.  We are doing just fine by ourselves.  Mike," she pleaded.  "You're the Chief."

In the end, she was outvoted.  They agreed to form an elected government and to elect a Mayor.

"One more thing," Mike said.  They waited for him to speak.  "I am not going to be the Mayor.  Someone else will take that position."  

There was a chorus of protests at his announcement, but he was firm.

"I've been your leader for two years now," he said.  "Now I'm asking you to follow me one last time.  This is what I want."  

With glum hearts, the Council agreed to honor Mike’s decision.

Later, when one of villagers grumbled about it, another said, "We had to do it that way.  He's the Chief; at least for now."

By the time that Meeting arrived, everyone had heard about the changes that were coming to the village of Petersburg.  It was a quiet group of people that listened as Mike explained the situation.  Then he announced that nominations for Mayor would be made the following night.  The election would take place on July the Fourth.  The following morning, Major Collins told Mike that he was leaving that very day.

"I'm leaving Lieutenant Kennedy as my liaison.  But it will be better for Petersburg, if I'm not around when the nominations for Mayor occur.  I assume that you have your choices in place, and that you know who will be elected?"

"Yes," Mike admitted.

"Good.  There's nothing wrong with good old fashioned politicking," said the Major.  "Good luck, Chief, and come see me sometime.  I promise, you will always be welcome.  And by the way, Washington is my favorite President, too."

Major Collins left the village.  The guard was changing at the RV guard post, so he rode to the post, sitting behind the next guard.  Collins hiked up Logging Camp Road to Davis Brown Farm Road, and soon after the sun went down, he arrived at the Brown Farm.  Mary retrieved his rifle from her gun case, and Ralph promised to deliver Lieutenant Kennedy’s weapon to Petersburg.  Mary offered him a late supper, and the Major gratefully accepted.  Mary and Ralph were very interested to hear about the changes that were coming to Petersburg.

When Ralph heard that Mike would no longer be the Chief, he only grunted, but later that night he said to Mary, “Yeah, right.  I don’t care who the new Mayor will be, Mike will always be the Chief.”

The next morning, Major Collins found that Mary had hitched her horses to the wagon.  Ralph and the male members of the guard post were ready to go with him.  He protested to no avail.

"Just for two days, you understand," said Mary.  "That will get you as far as the lake.  It's another fourteen or fifteen days walk from there, according to Jacob.  You can catch fish in the lake, and then, with the food that you take in the wagon, you’ll be well stocked for your journey to your post."

"You guys be careful," Mary admonished Ralph and the male members of the guard post.  She kissed Ralph goodbye, and she waved as they rode off.  She kept a firm grip on Comet's hand.

As the Major was having dinner at Davis Brown Farm, Mike opened the nominations for Mayor of Petersburg at Meeting.

"I nominate Howard," Yuie said, just as Mike had instructed her, but she was glum as she said it.

"I second the nomination," Jean said.

"I nominate Eric," Desi said.

"Me?" Eric exclaimed.

"I second the nomination," Ahmad said.

"What?" Eric said.

"I move that we close the nominations," Rasul said.

"I second the motion," Hector said.

The motion was voted on and passed, and the nominations were closed.  The election for Mayor of Petersburg between Howard and Eric was officially set.

The month of May came to an end, and June began.  The weather was warmer this year, and the grain was growing tall.  Desi was also growing.  John was worried about her, but Diana pronounced Desi fit and in good health.  The baby was kicking.  There were only two months to wait until she was due.

“It feels like two years,” Desi moaned.

When the fog had first arrived, some of the tribe had been as young as twelve years old.  Now, no one was under the age of fourteen except Diego, Imee’s baby.  He was growing, too.  One day, Imee asked to talk to Ahmad.  She stood before him nervously, carrying Diego.  Her head was bowed, and she felt very embarrassed.  She stared at her feet as she spoke.

"My son needs a father," she said.  "I need a man I can trust.  I know I am not a desirable woman, but I am strong, and I am willing to work.  I would do whatever you want, if you protect me and protect Diego."

Ahmad looked at her with pity filling his heart, and his voice was gentle when he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Imee," he said.  "But I am Muslim.  When I take a woman, I want her to be of my own faith.”

“Imee," he continued.  "Talk to Rasul.  He likes you.  He likes you a lot more than you realize.  Talk to him, Imee, and be sure to tell him that you will respect his religion and his culture."

A few days later at Meeting, Ahmad saw his friend and the Filipino woman.  Rasul had his arm around Imee's waist, and he was holding Diego.  Imee looked happy, and Rasul was smiling.

"Allah Akbar," Ahmad whispered.  He went to sit next to Yuie.

Yuie and Major Kennedy could not get along.  They argued about the changes that were taking place in Petersburg.  They argued about politics.  They argued about the role of religion in society.  Someone remarked that they would argue about which side of the sky was higher.  

One day at breakfast, as Kennedy walked by, Yuie said, "Good morning, Linc."

The Lieutenant stopped, and he scowled at her.  "My name is Lincoln," he said.  "Not Linc."

"Oh, sure," she replied, pretending to be apologetic. “Sorry.”

He waited for her to say his name correctly.  She returned to her oat cereal.  Steaming, he walked away.

After that, Yuie called him, Linc, at every opportunity.  No matter how many times he corrected her, she always pretended to forget.  

Then one morning, after she called him, Linc, he replied, "Hey, Yu."

Yuie sputtered.  She looked around at her friends, expecting them to be outraged on her behalf.  All she saw were covered grins.  After that, the bickering only got worse between them.  Everyone knew that things were coming to a head.  Finally, he confronted her one morning after she had finished her laps.  She watched him warily as he approached.

"Tell me the truth.  Is it my race?" he asked her, his face stony.

"What?" she asked with genuine surprise.

"You heard me.  Is that why you hate me?  Is it the color of my skin?"

"You're crazy.  I don't hate you," she replied.

"Oh, right," he replied bitterly.

"I don't hate you," she snapped, her anger rising. "I just despise you, because you came in here with your militaristic bullshit, and you took over.  Are you happy?  You got control.  You military types always like to be in control.  You get a kick out of it.  Control people, and if they don't do what you want, then kill them.  Do you get a kick out of that too?  Have you ever killed someone, Linc?"

"Yes, I have killed," he responded hotly.  "Are you happy now, Yuie?  Are you satisfied, now that you know I'm a killer?"

"I knew it all along," she spat, as she moved to within an inch of him.  "Did you get a charge out of killing?  When you saw their dead bodies, did you get a thrill?"  

Her voice was shaking, and her face turned red.  Kennedy grabbed Yuie's shoulders, and he pulled her tightly against him onto her toes.  

"What about you, Yuie?" he asked coldly.  "Did you get a thrill when you killed that man?  When you put an arrow into the man's belly, did you get a thrill?  You're just as much of a killer as I am."

In an instant, Yuie's face went from red to white.  Tears began flow down her cheeks.  She tore herself out of his grasp and ran away, towards the narrow wooden bridge.  Kennedy shuddered, feeling his heart pounding.  As he waited for his body to calm down, he watched Yuie's progress as she ran past the dining hall and past Chief’s Headquarters.  Already, he knew that he would regret his harsh words.  Yuie disappeared into the Lodge.

Yuie was trying desperately to hold back her tears, as she knocked frantically on the door of John and Desi's room.  When she was told to enter, she opened the door.  She stood there, choking back sobs.  Desi was sitting on the bed.  When she saw Yuie, she simply held out her arms.  Yuie flung herself at her friend and started to cry, loudly.  Desi just held her and stroked her hair.  After a while, Yuie's tears tapered off.  Still, she clung to Desi and sniffed.

"Lincoln?" Desi asked.  She felt Yuie nod.  Desi sighed.

"Okay, Yuie, forget the fact that he is a soldier.  What’s really the matter?"

"I don't know," Yuie confessed. "It's just that everything is changing.  Mike's not going to be the Chief.  We have to have elections now.  I just don't want everything to change.  I was happy with the way things were."

Desi smiled.  She took Yuie's hand and placed it on her belly.  "Feel," she ordered.

Yuie felt, and after several moments her eyes brightened.  "He kicked," she exclaimed in excitement.

"He's changing," said Desi.  "I'm changing.  Do you really wish that we wouldn't?"

Yuie laid her head against Desi's stomach.  "No," she mumbled.

Desi stroked Yuie's hair.  "If the fog had never come, Yuie, we would still have to change.  We were just kids.  We still are, actually.  Lincoln is like the change guy with a big sign.  He's a stranger, new to us.  We've been changing all together, so we haven’t noticed those changes.  He comes in, and we can see changes happening.  But it's not his fault."

"I know," Yuie said.  She winced remembering.  "I said some really bad things to him."

"Hm... I don't doubt it.  Sweetheart, I have to say this.  Please don't be mad."

Yuie looked up at Desi.  "What?" she asked.

"Time to grow up, Yuie.”

Yuie sighed.  "I know.  What should I do, so he doesn't hate me?"

Desi laughed.  "Oh, I doubt that Lieutenant Lincoln Kennedy could hate you if he tried," Desi replied.  "But, Tomboy, it might be time to do the girly thing."

Yuie grimaced.  "I'm terrible at that."

"I know.  It's because you haven't practiced.  Well, it's time to practice.  Just like running.  You have to stay in shape.  How do you think I keep that knucklehead of mine in line?"

"All right," Yuie replied gloomily. "What should I do?"

"Guys like to be praised, and they like to be touched.  Especially by girls they like," Desi told her.

"And I guess I should apologize," Yuie said.

Desi shrugged.  "Not really.  At least, not at first."

Yuie was surprised.  "Why not?" she asked.

"Because, he won't believe you.  The two of you have given each other so many fake apologies, that one more won't be believed.  Wait until you’re sure that he trusts you.  Wait until you’re sure that you believe him when he apologizes."

Down at Chief’s Headquarters, Kennedy waited patiently and sadly as Howard finished some work.  Eventually, Howard looked up.  

"Hey, pal, what's up?" he asked.

Lincoln sighed.  "I made Yuie cry," he confessed. "Sorry."

Howard lifted his eyebrows.  "Shouldn't you be telling this to Yuie?"

"She wouldn't believe me if I did," the Lieutenant replied.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Actually, I came to see Mike.  I know that he and Yuie are close.  I thought that if I flung myself on his mercy, maybe he wouldn't hang me."

"Jeez, he hangs one guy, and no one ever lets him forget it," Howard complained.

"Sorry.  Joking is better than crying," Lincoln responded.

"True.  Look, it's no use arguing with Yuie.  She was born to argue.  If you want to have a relationship with Yuie, you've got to change your strategy."

Lincoln looked up.  "Who said I wanted a relationship?" he asked grumpily.

Howard just stared back at him.

Lincoln coughed.  "Well, just suppose, hypothetically I mean, that I did want a special relationship with Yuie.  What do you mean, ‘change your strategy’?"

"When Yuie pushes, don't push back.  Change the subject.  And give her gifts.  Girls like to get gifts," Howard said.

“Girls like to get gifts?”

"Yes," Howard said firmly.

"You're only nineteen.  How would you know?"

"Which one of us has a woman in his bed every night?" Howard asked, smirking.

"You got me there," Lincoln admitted.

"Believe me.  Keeping Jean happy would make a man out of anyone," said Howard with feeling.  "But anyway, I would say that the best thing you could do would be to run with Yuie."

"How will that help?" Lincoln asked.

"Because, Yuie like’s to run.  Because you’ll be with her, but neither of you will be talking.”

"Good point," Lincoln acknowledged.

Kennedy was not brave enough to approach Yuie the next day or the next, but one morning when he saw her doing her stretching exercises, he walked down to the track.  Yuie saw him coming, and she thought about beginning her run, but she stayed put.  The closer he got, the more nervous she became.  He sat down to exchange his boots for a pair of borrowed tennis shoes.  Then he rose and stepped onto the track, close to her.

"Hi, Linc," she said in a subdued voice, and then she added hastily, "I mean, Lincoln."

He hesitated and then said, "It’s okay if you call me Linc, Yuie.  My grandma use to call me Linc when I was a little kid.  When I got older, I wanted to feel like a grownup, so I made everyone call me Lincoln.  It's silly, now that I think about it.”

"Um... I don't mind, ‘Hey Yu,’ that much," said Yuie. "It's kind of funny."

Lincoln was silent for a moment, and then he said, "Yuie, you were partly right about me.  One day, when I was in Iraq, one of my people was killed in an ambush.  We returned fire, and I killed two of the enemy.  But my man, a father with two little kids back home, was dead.  When I went and looked at the bodies of the enemy, I was glad that I had killed them.  And I still am in a way.  But I'm also sad that it changed me.  I wish I had never killed anyone."

Yuie could not speak.  There was something lodged in her throat.  She turned away from him, so that he would not see her moist eyes.

"Let's run," Lincoln suggested.

Together, he and Yuie ran two laps.  It was a long way around the meadow.  There were twenty acres of grain inside the track.  One side ran close to the river, and Lincoln and Yuie passed some kids who were fishing.  No one had ever caught anything, but people swore that they had seen fish in the river.  Mary Brown had suggested creating a manmade pond in a wide spot, and then stocking it with trout from her pond.

Every day that week, Lincoln and Yuie ran the track together.  They made a point of not talking much.  After running, they would walk separately to the Lodge, hoping that no one would be taking a shower at that time. Once, Lincoln forgot to take in a change of clothing, and he had to come out of the shower room wearing only a towel.  Yuie, standing there waiting her turn, was moved by the beauty of the soldier’s hard body.  But on his right side, she saw two puckered scars.  They puzzled Yuie, until she realized that they were old bullet wounds.

June moved along.  The residents of Petersburg were anticipating the coming election.  Gabby did mock polls, and announced that neither candidate was likely to win.  Eric made a speech and promised that if he was elected the shower would be converted into a mud bath.  No one believed him, and Desi accused him of pandering to the boys.

"I thought about saying I would take down the wall and convert it into a girls’ mud wrestling contest arena, but I was afraid that I would get all the boys’ votes," Eric confided to Hector.

Hector was in a state of uncertainty.  Kathy seemed nervous around him all of a sudden, and he had no idea why.  He gave her his usual nonchalant pat on her butt one day, and she squeaked like a mouse.  He took some time to think about it, and something dawned on him.  She was sixteen now.  He thought about it some more, and when he finished thinking, he had a wicked grin on his face.  The next afternoon, he asked her to help him survey a site for the sawmill.  He took her along the river, down to the end of the meadow, where they were out of sight of the Lodge.  They found a dry spot and sat on a patch of low grass.

They talked for a bit, and then Hector said to Kathy, "You are sixteen now, aren't you, Kat?"

"Uh, yes," she said, surprised at the change of subject.

"You're old enough now, aren't you, Kat?"  Dropping his voice, he murmured the words.

"Um... I guess," she replied cautiously.

"The rules don't apply to you any longer, do they, Chica?"  His voice became silky.   He placed his hard hand firmly on the back of her neck.

"Um... well..."

"We’re free to do it now, aren't we, Chica?" he murmured, his voice sensuous in her ear.

"Um..."

"We can make mad passionate love.  Maybe, right here.  This would be a good spot for our first time.  Right now," he said as his voice dropped to a whisper.

"Now?" she squeaked.  

Hector put his hands under her bottom and lifted her.  She stared into his eyes.  Her heart was pounding, and her palms were sweaty as their lips met.  Hector kissed her long and deep, and then he set her down.

"But," he said while looking around, his voice back to normal.  "It is cool today.  And I think there are some mosquitoes buzzing around.  We could wait a month or two, until it warms up and become dryer."

"Oh.  Yes," Kathy replied, catching her breath.  "We could wait a month or two."

"It might be a cool summer.  In that case, we could wait until next year.”

She stared at him for a moment, and then she understood.  She flung herself into his arms, and he caught her easily.  

"Hector," was all she said, as she held him close.

Then after a time, Hector said, "Kat, just because you are now sixteen does not mean we must begin to be intimate.  We have a lot of time, Kat.  A lot of time.  Stop worrying about it."  He felt her nod against his chest.

They stayed in the meadow for a while longer, and then they walked back to the Lodge together, hand in hand.  Someday I'll look just like Desi does now, Hector, Kathy vowed silently.  On their way, they passed Yuie, who was casting furtive glances toward Lieutenant Kennedy, and Kathy felt a pang of pity for the other girl.

Yuie and Kennedy were ignoring each other, except for the time that they spent running together.  Howard was right, Kennedy thought.  When we run together, we are comfortable together, and we don't talk.  Talking just gets in our way.  The Lieutenant thought about some of the other things Howard had told him, including the Admin’s comment concerning gifts.  I should give Yuie a gift.  But what?  He thought about the traditional gifts that a man could give a woman.

No florist shops around, he said to himself.  On the other hand, there are plenty of wildflowers in the meadow.  But how do I give them to her.  What if she gets embarrassed, or what if she thinks that giving cheap wildflowers to a girl is stupid?  Better give them to her in private.

He borrowed a clear plastic bag from the kitchen.  “Bring back the bag and the twist,” he was told.  He went looking for flowers, and he gathered an assortment of red monkey flowers, yellow marigolds, blue gentians, and pink violets.  He cut off the ends of the stems near the bottom, and then he stuck the stems in the bag along with a small amount of water and used a plastic twist to hold in the water.  He gently wrapped the bouquet in one of his clean t-shirts and put it in his bag.  He was ready.  After their next run, as Yuie was about to return to the Lodge, Lincoln asked her to wait for a second.  He pulled out the bouquet and gave it to her.  She stared at the flowers.

"These are for me?" she asked.

"Uh, yes," he replied.

"Oh.  Thank you, Linc.  I'm sorry.  I meant to say, ‘Lincoln’," Yuie said hastily.

"You're welcome," said Lincoln.  "Yuie, you can call me Linc, but just when we’re alone together, okay?"

"Oh.  Alright, Linc," Yuie said.

For some reason, she liked having the permission he had given her to call him something that no one else could.  Yuie left him and went straight to Desi, who was in her room lying on her bed.  Yuie showed her friend the flowers Lincoln had given.

"They're nice.  Where did you pick them?" Desi asked.

"I didn’t pick them.  Lincoln gave them to me," Yuie said.

"Really?" Desi sat up. "He gave you flowers?"  Her voice was suddenly excited.

"Yes.  What do you think it means?" Yuie asked.

"Dummy, it means he likes you," Desi exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Yuie asked, giving her friend a look filled with doubt.

"Yes!  Did you praise him?  Did you touch him?" Desi asked.

"What?”

"Did you tell him that the flowers were beautiful, and that he has good taste?  Did you touch him?  Did you, like, put your hand on his arm or something?  Like I told you," Desi reminded Yuie.

"Oh.  I forgot.  He might not like to be touched.”

"You'll never know unless you try, Yuie," Desi said.

Lincoln and Desi made their usual run the next day, but afterwards Yuie did not walk away as she usually did.  She lingered until she had gathered her courage.

"Linc," she asked.  "Can I touch you?"

Lincoln’s look was a puzzled inquiry.  "Uh, sure.  Right now?"

"Yes, if it's alright with you.”

"Okay."

Yuie raised her hand, and she placed it on Lincoln's bare chest.  She rubbed him.  

"So hard," she murmured.

Lincoln was trying desperately not to get hard.  He was learning something.  Sometimes a girl’s touch can be torture, and sometimes torture can be sweet.  He broke out in a sweat that had nothing to do with his run.  Yuie stepped back.

"Thank you," she said.

She turned and ran away.  Lincoln stopped holding his breath and expelled, wondering what had just happened.  Yuie went to Desi, and she told her friend what had happened.  Desi was puzzled by her account.

"You asked Lincoln if you could touch him?" Desi asked, trying to understand.  Yuie nodded.

“And then you touched his chest.”

Yuie nodded again.

"How did he like it?"

Yuie frowned.  "I don't know.  I wasn't watching,” she confessed."  Desi sighed.

"Well, did you like it?" Desi asked.

"Yes, I liked it.”

"How much?  Did you really like it?"

"Yes, I really liked it,” Yuie said.

Desi’s eyes narrowed in frustration.  "Did you really, really like it?" she demanded through her gritted teeth.

"I loved it," Yuie admitted.

"Yes!" Desi exclaimed, making her fist pump.

Lincoln had really, really liked Yuie touching him.  I should give her another gift.  He thought of the various things that he had heard girls liked.  Then it came to him.  Lincoln Kennedy had a dark secret.  It was a secret that no one at the Army post knew about; not even Major Collins.  It was a secret that no one here in Petersburg knew about; not even the Chief.  He could share his dark secret with Yuie.

Yuie was surprised when Lincoln approached her after dinner.  They usually avoided each other, except when they ran.

"Meet me behind the dining hall during Meeting," Lincoln whispered.

Yuie was surprised.  What’s this all about?  She thought about ignoring his command, but she was much too curious.  When Meeting started, she slipped away.  He was standing apart from the dining hall, near the trees.  When he saw her, he gestured to her, so she approached him, cautiously.  He looked around to make sure no one else was watching.

"Yuie," he whispered.  "Will you trust me for one minute?  One minute.  That's all I ask.  I promise you won't regret it."

Yuie stared at him.  No Yuie, her mind screamed.  Don't trust him.

"Alright," she heard herself say.

"Close your eyes," he said, and after hesitating another second, she did so, but she was even more nervous, now.

"Open your mouth.”  

Trust him.  She opened her mouth, and then felt the intimacy of his fingers as he placed something in her mouth.  She closed her mouth.  It was too dark to see her expression, but Lincoln could feel her amazement.

"Don't chew," he warned her. "Suck on it."

Yuie sucked until she couldn't stand it any longer, and then she bit down.  It was heaven.  It was absolute heaven.  Too soon, it was over.

"Lincoln," she said, breathing out the word softly, amazed that he would give this to her.

"Don't tell anybody about this, Yuie," Lincoln warned her.  "It’s our secret."

"All right," she said, and then she went straight to Desi.

Desi knew immediately that something was up.  "What?"

Yuie shook her head.  "I can't tell you.”

"Is it about Lincoln?"

"Yes.”

"Did you have sex with him?”

"No!" Yuie exclaimed.

"Hmmm... did he give you something?"

"Yes."

Desi frowned.  "Hmmm... he already gave you flowers.  What else?  Maybe something to eat.  But where would he get it?  Oh, your head is bleeding.”

"It is?  Where?"  Yuie put her hand on her head, feeling for the wetness of blood.

"Here, let me look at it," Desi said.  

She leaned close to Yuie's head, and then she sniffed Yuie's breath.  Shocked, she sat back on her bed, her eyes wide.

"Chocolate," she whispered.  "You ate chocolate.  Lincoln Kennedy gave you chocolate.  I hate you."

"And it was good," Yuie said smugly. "It was really, really good."

The next day, Gabby said to Tyler, "Did you hear?  Lieutenant Kennedy gave Yuie a piece of chocolate."  Soon the whole village was abuzz.

"I'm so sorry, Linc," Yuie wailed. "She tricked me.  She got close, and she smelled my breath.”

The Lieutenant clapped his hand to his forehead.  "Damn.  I should have warned you.  You have to drink some water afterwards to get it off your breath."

He gave her another piece.  She hoarded her chocolate.  She kept it close.  Someone searched her bag.  Finally, one day, she decided to eat her precious piece.  She went to Chief’s Headquarters.

"Hi, Chief."

"Hi, Yuie."

"Uh, Chief, I'm tired and the Lodge is noisy.  Can I take a nap in your loft?"

"You want to take a nap in my loft?"

"Uh huh.”

“Where you’ll be all alone?”

“Uh, huh.”

Mike scowled.  "Just eat your damn chocolate, Yuie," he barked enviously.