JC: William Redman Carter Noble Savage Chapter 44 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2005 Following behind Rock and Natalie, Lucy and William entered their home with a sigh of relief. They had both been very busy since their graduation. The summer had started with locating, hiring, and delivering Dante to Harry for the purpose of creating a statue of the elderly Druid. That had been followed by their wedding with a week of parties, their honeymoon, visits to a number of tribal councils, and a few visits to Homeless Hotels around the country. Exhausted, they planned to stay at home for a month. Lisa was in the house waiting for them and pointed to the stack of towels. With a grin, she said, “Everyone is at the pond.” “Who’s everyone?” “The whole staff,” answered Lisa with a huge grin. William thought she looked way too happy. Their arrival home couldn’t be that special for her to be grinning from ear to ear like that. He asked, “What’s going on? You’re acting funny.” Glancing in the direction of her bedroom, Lisa answered, “Nothing. Uh…, would you mind sending that husband of mine here when you get down to the pond?” “Let him take a break. We don’t need to have our luggage carried into the house right away,” William answered with a smile. Lucy hit William on the arm and said, “William!” “What?” William asked confused by her reaction. “She doesn’t want him to come here to take our luggage out of the car,” Lucy said. “Then why does she want him here?” William asked looking from Lucy to Lisa and back again. “The whole staff is here and swimming in the pond,” Lucy said. “So?” Staring at William, Lucy couldn’t believe that he didn’t understand what she was telling him. Glancing over at Lisa who was looking wide-eyed at William, she said, “He’s down there with all of our very attractive staff. I’m pretty sure that he’s getting a little excited by the visual treats. Lisa might want to take advantage of all that excitement he’s feeling.” “Oh,” William said with a frown. He wondered why he hadn’t realized that obvious deduction. He shook his head as if he had water in his ear and was trying to clear it. “Are you okay?” Lisa asked concerned for him. She’d never seen him act so out of touch with what was going on around him. “I’m fine. Lucy, why don’t you head on down to the pond? I’ll be there in a moment,” William said. His voice conveyed that his mind was elsewhere at the moment. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Lucy asked reaching out to touch his arm. “Yeah, I’m fine. Go on, I’ll be there in a little bit,” William said pulling himself together and giving her a smile intended to reassure her that all was well. “Okay,” she said rather than confront him about what was obviously a lie. Moving slowly, she undressed at the door and watched William for a minute before heading down to the pond. She wasn’t going to make a big production out of it, but she was very worried about William. She wished that he would tell her what was wrong with him, but knew that he wouldn’t say anything until he understood what was the matter. William grabbed a soft drink and went out to the patio. Sitting down, he popped open the can and took a long drink from it. After setting the can down, he rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers in a soothing circular motion. It wasn’t that he had a headache. It was that the entire world seemed enveloped in a fog that he was having problems seeing through. It reminded him of the day when he was doing the interviews and had been confused by Lucy’s actions. Looking up at the sky, he asked, “What kind of training is this? I feel cut off from the world.” There was no answer from the Two-Sided One. William sat in the chair wondering what it all meant. He would have scheduled a brain scan except his father had told him that the Two-Sided One had said it was training. It made him wonder what kind of training would have him lose his awareness of the world around him. For thirty minutes he sat in the chair trying to identify exactly what was wrong with him. With his attention turned inwards, he didn’t notice anything around him. He didn’t notice the body guards walk past on their way to the pond. He hadn’t noticed that Ken had stopped and watched him for a minute before heading into the house. When he did look around, it was as if he were looking at the world through frosted glass. The trees, lawn, house, and animals looked flat and lifeless. The problem was that it wasn’t a visual flatness. It was like being suddenly deaf, but he could still hear. He knew that his sixth sense had turned off once again. Normally when he looked around he saw the past, present, and future overlaid one atop each other. It was a depth of perception that he had known his whole life and it was suddenly gone without him realizing when it had left. Finally the fog lifted and William could sense the ebb and flow of events around him. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. Looking up at the sky, he asked, “What was that all about?” There was no verbal answer. This time, though, a cloud in the shape of a fat man moved across the sky shaking a finger like he was telling William not to question him. William watched the cloud confused by what he was seeing. He looked around, but there was nothing in the area to give him a clue. He looked back up at the sky and said, “I need to understand.” A voice behind him asked, “What do you need to understand?” Startled, William turned around to find Tim looking at him with a confused expression on his face. William answered, “Some strange things are happening in my life and I need to understand why they are happening.” “Is this Druid stuff?” Tim asked. Usually when William did something strange, Tim just attributed it to his being almost a Druid. He wasn’t sure what it meant to be almost a Druid, but that is how Eddie had described William’s situation to him. “I’m not sure,” William said shrugging his shoulders. Giving up on getting an answer to his earlier question from the Two-Side One, he said, “It sure feels like it.” “Do you know where my parents are?” Looking over to the side, William knew Lisa and Ken were in bed with each other. His full awareness of his surroundings had returned. He answered, “They are busy at the moment. Is there something I can do for you?” Tim frowned for a minute while he considered the question. He trusted William and valued his opinion, but this was a very personal matter. After half a minute, he asked, “Do you promise not to laugh?” “I promise,” William answered. Licking his lips, Tim inhaled and then, pointing downwards, said, “I think there is something the matter down there.” Having a good idea what was the problem, William asked, “What’s the matter?” “I know it is supposed to get stiff down there, but today it wasn’t going down,” Tim said. He was approaching twelve years of age and his body was beginning to undergo the normal changes that came with growing up. Normally, a teenager would have hidden an erection, but swimming naked in the pond made that very difficult. He was sure that everyone had noticed and was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with him. “Ah,” William said with a knowing nod of his head. He asked, “Is there something different down at the pond today?” “Not really. It’s just that all the people you hired are there today,” Tim answered. “And they are all real pretty, aren’t they?” “Yes,” Tim admitted. He could hardly look in any direction without seeing a very pretty lady. He’d had a few thoughts of which he wasn’t exactly proud. “That’s the explanation,” William said. Seeing the concerned look on Tim’s face, he said, “Your body reacted to all of the pretty women down there. It’s all perfectly natural. There’s nothing to be worried about. There’s no need for you to feel embarrassed or ashamed.” “But they all know that I was thinking dirty thoughts,” Tim said in horror. “What dirty thoughts? That you thought they were beautiful?” William asked. Seeing the slight nod of Tim’s head, he said, “There is nothing dirty about that. It is no dirtier than your mouth watering when you smell your mother’s spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove.” “Can’t I control it?” “Only by becoming comfortable with them,” William answered. Wondering how he could possibly become comfortable with such pretty women, Tim asked, “How?” “You’ve become used to seeing Lucy without her clothes and don’t react to her in that fashion,” William said. He wasn’t going to mention that his mother was often naked at the pond as well. “You’re right,” Tim said after thinking about it for a moment. “Hold on,” William said. He went into the house and removed his clothes. Coming out, he said, “Let’s go down to the pond.” The path to the pond had been covered with pebbles that were easy on bare feet. Ken had lined the path with flowers. Tree limbs cast shadows over the path. A few steps away from the path, the natural features of the landscape dominated. The result was a pleasant walk that appealed to touch, sight, and smell. When the birds sang, the ears were treated as well. When they reached the pond, Tim charged into the pool hoping to beat his body’s reaction to the women gathered there. William paused to look around the pond. He noticed that Ken had cleared a small area and put a small table on it. An ice chest containing bottled water was on the table. Seated on the table was Barbara Gray, their personal assistant, and Amanda Bricks, the receptionist. Barbara was naked while Amanda was wearing a one-piece bathing suit. Since this was the first time that he had seen any of the staff since hiring them, William thought it would be proper to talk to them about their jobs. He walked over the table and took a seat while he said, “Hello.” “Hi William,” Barbara said. “Hello, sir,” Amanda replied relaxing now that she knew who had come over to the table. William turned to Barbara and said, “Thanks for taking care of the funeral arrangements.” “I didn’t really do anything except pass the message on to Sandra. She made all the arrangements,” Barbara answered. Seeing that William was there to keep company with Amanda, she said, “I’m going back into the pond for a minute.” “Have fun. Splash my wife for me,” he said with a smile. Barbara looked at him for a minute trying to decide if he was serious. That wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that an employee did to an employer. She smiled and said, “I just might do that.” Turning to Amanda, William asked, “Amanda, are you looking forward to going to your new office?” “I guess,” Amanda said. She hoped that the new office was equipped as well as the old one had been. Somewhere they had found a switchboard telephone with tactile indicators for lines that were active. She could tell which lines were ringing, on hold, in use, and available just by running her finger along the side of the phone. She had a computer with the largest Braille monitor that she had ever encountered. William said, “You don’t sound so sure.” “Well, it was a pretty nice setup at the other office,” she answered. It was always difficult going to a new place and learning where everything was located. She had spent a month in the previous office and had only just become comfortable there. “I’m sure that the new one will be just as good,” William said with a smile. Mary Gold, as her last act of support for William, had made sure that a specialist had designed the reception area for her. He hoped that she would be surprised. “I hope so. I really liked the telephone that was there,” she said. “Have you been in the pond?” “Yes, but I’m not really cut out for the outdoor life. The pond isn’t as regular in shape as a swimming pool.” “Ah, it’s too easy to get turned around,” William said. “You might say that,” Amanda said. She shifted and turned to face William a little more directly. Lowering her voice a little, she asked, “Is it normal for everyone to swim naked?” “Yes, but that is just a result of our first rule. If it harms none, then do it,” William answered. “What does that mean?” “It means that if you are doing something that harms no one, then no one can complain. No one is harmed because someone is swimming naked. As a result, people are free to swim naked here.” “So it isn’t required?” “No. Forcing someone to swim naked would violate the second rule that we live by. Protect the weak from the strong,” William answered. “Are you saying that I’m weak because I won’t get naked?” William laughed and said, “No. Standing up to any simple pressures to act in a way that you don’t want is a form of strength. I’m saying that forcing you to do something that you don’t want to do because of any advantage of strength that we might have is wrong. I hope that you haven’t felt any undue pressure to swim naked.” “No one has said anything to me,” Amanda answered. She couldn’t see how people looked at her and that generated doubts if they were as accepting of her stance as they said. “And no one will.” “But I don’t know what they think of me,” Amanda said. “What do you care? If they have problems with you wearing a swimsuit, then that is their problem,” William said. Amanda was silent for a moment and then asked, “Are you making an exception for me because I’m blind?” “No. Donna is still wearing her swimsuit and no one is pressuring her to take it off,” William said pointing to Donna cavorting in the pond. He realized that his gesture was lost on Amanda. “She worships the ground that you and Lucy walk on,” Amanda said. “That will change,” William replied with a smile. He noticed Donna heading his way with a slightly angry expression on her face. When Donna arrived, she asked, “Were you talking about me?” “Yes,” William answered. “I’m not taking my swimsuit off,” she replied. No one had said anything to her about that, but she was sure that they all thought less of her because she continued to wear her swimsuit. “Okay,” William replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “What do you mean?” she asked. “I mean that no one cares one way or the other what you are wearing or not wearing while in the swimming pool. Well, if you were wearing lead weights we would care,” William answered looking Donna in the eye. She couldn’t look him back and lowered her head. When she realized that she was looking at his cock, she blushed and looked up again. She didn’t know what to say. Amanda asked, “Why would you care if she wore lead weights?” “She’d drown,” William answered. Still looking at Donna, he said, “Donna, look at me.” The young woman looked at William with concern. He said, “We live by two rules. If it harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. No one is harmed by what you choose to wear in the pool. No one will force you to do anything you do not feel comfortable doing. You may wear swimsuits in the pool from now until the end of time and no one will say a word against you. Some might even find your continued moral stance a good example of strength.” “A good example?” Amanda asked feeling confused by the assertion. “Yes. It shows that she has a mind of her own and is unwilling to compromise herself just to fit in. So long as she doesn’t adopt a superior attitude, she harms no one.” Donna frowned and asked, “What has a superior attitude got to do with things?” “That is one way to force others to adopt your behavior,” William answered. There was a subtle strength in William’s voice that let her know that he felt strongly about people forcing others to behave in any particular way. It made her consider his words with a little more care. She said, “You are Talks with Animals. Your word carries great weight.” “I’m very aware that it does. That is why I’m very careful when I speak,” William said. “I heard that you have addressed many of the tribes with words of caution,” Donna said. “Yes. We must protect the weak from the strong. There are many out there who will take advantage of our people. All I did was remind people of that fact,” William said. A squawk from a nearby tree caused William to look up at the Raven perched on a branch of the tree that shaded the table. Turning to the pond, William called out, “Rock, we have undesired company coming.” The bodyguard was out of the pond in a flash and pulling on a pair of pants. Within fifteen seconds he was racing up the path with a pistol in his hand. Natalie appeared from beside the path and joined him in the race to the house. Donna was staring at William. It took her a moment to recover and then she said, “It’s true. You do talk to animals.” “Yes, it is true,” William said. He turned to the bird and spoke, “Thank you for your warning, my friend.” The bird squawked and then flew off to the front of the house. Donna said, “That’s amazing.” “We have many visitors of a non-human kind that drop by on occasion. There is a bear that comes by once a year. We’ve had a long tailed cat come through here,” William said. Amanda, voice squeaking, said, “A bear?” “Yes, a bear,” William answered. He reached into the cooler and pulled out a bottle of water. It was ice cold. “Won’t it attack us?” she asked nervously. She came to the conclusion that the woods were not a good place for a little blind girl. “Not unless you mean to harm me,” William answered. Rock returned with a look of disgust on his face and said, “It was a reporter. I chased him off, but I’m sure he’ll return.” “I thought so,” William said. “Natalie is up at the house and will stay there,” Rock said with a frown. “We’ll hire some guards for the front of the house,” William said. Despite the fact that he didn’t want to hire even more people, he knew that trying to chase off trespassers was not Rock’s real profession. He was a bodyguard, not a watchman. “Why bother when you have black birds?” Rock asked pointing to one of the ever present birds perched in a tree. “Do you speak Raven?” William asked with a smile.