Any Port in a Storm: Chapter 34

This was one of THOSE chapters.  One of those stubborn chapters I just can't get quite right.  I've tweaked and chopped and rewritten and I still don't like it.  It's rough but I'm going to post the chapter as is just so I can move past it.  Sorry you guys had to wait so long for it.

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Ash's Story

The day passes slowly.  I mostly watch Makea work chopping and gathering firewood but I help out whenever and wherever I can.  I wanted to do more but I was a 'bad worker' and Kea refused to let me move around and work on my own outside of her sight.  She is still worried about her little brother but after talking with me she seemed far more at ease than she had been.  Each time we carry the lengths of dry wood back to the Kane home Kea would stop just before we arrived and pile a few extra logs onto my load to make it appear I was working harder than I actually was.

Makea was not the brightest star in the sky but she was a good egg and one hell of a hard worker.  Truly a tireless machine when it came to manual labor.  But she was far from simple muscle.  Seemingly skilled in various crafts she took time out of the day to make a quick alteration to the dress I was wearing so that it would fit better without me constantly having to adjust it.  She spoke about making the cloth for this garment as well as crafting the twine used to sew it.

Due to the work we were doing we don't have too much time to chat, and much of that is taken up wondering about Tony and Marama, but it is an increasingly pleasant interaction as the hours pass.  As the day wears on the pair of us become more and more accustomed with each other and by evening we are downright chummy.  Kea's genuine down to earth personality was impossible not to like.

In the time I did have with my thoughts as Kea worked an unsettling realization had grown into a full blown epiphany.  I was deeply worried about Tony but...not like I should be.  Not in that all consuming soul wrenching concern one usually reserves for parents or siblings or children or spouses.  I worried about him as I would a long time friend.  The epiphany comes as it hits me at last that I had fallen out of love with my husband.

While the recognition hits me in a flash it didn't come as a surprise.  My mind was just catching up to what my heart already knew.  The times had been tough for us over these past few weeks and under this extreme pressure another couple might have forged bonds stronger than before.  Not Tony and I.  The stress had laid bare the truth and pried our comfortable relationship apart.  The exact moment of my falling out of love with him started with his accusatory anger at me losing the radio and finalized in the instant he revealed his true feelings around having children.

Something that didn't help either, despite knowing that he had little choice, I wasn't thrilled he had taken off and left me behind at the mercy of this family.

I didn't exactly know what that meant for us given these peculiar circumstances and I also knew that we weren't beyond all hope.  I didn't hate my husband, in fact I still loved the man.  I just wasn't IN love with him.  Given time we could probably still patch things up if we wanted to.

Along side all of this was an equally unsettling concern for the incredible warrior woman Huali.  She was more than a match for my husband, especially given his current state, but if he caught her unaware or she had stroke of bad luck it was possible he might injure or even kill her if he was desperate enough.  While it wasn't at the same intensity as my worry for Tony, I did not wish Huali to be hurt either.  It was becoming impossible to deny the physical attraction I had for her.  My guilty mind was ashamed of it, but my body knew what it liked and it very much liked Huali.

We bring in the final load of firewood and pile it with the rest in small open sided lean-to they had built for the purpose.  We surely had enough for the week at least.

As Leinani cooks an incredibly exotic yet delicious smelling stew Makea and I enjoy a hard earned rest and big drink of coconut milk.  The search party straggle in one at a time as the sun begins to set.

The first to pad in at a jog was Miru.  I notice right away she was missing her spear which, needless to say, worried me.  She explains that she broke it as she vaulted a boulder however and that she would work on making a new one tonight.  She says she didn't find a trace of the missing duo in the central jungle.  She gives me one long unsettling stare, but then attends to her normal business.

Cormac is next to return.  He grumbles something unintelligible and sits down heavily in his usual spot.  He barks a few questions toward Miru which told me he hadn't found anything either.  This was a huge relief.  Of all of them he was the last person I wished to find Tony.  He asks Makea how I did today.

“We worked hard.”  His daughter answered semi-truthfully.  As a unit we did work hard today, though individually the workload was severely unbalanced.  She covered for me and I appreciated it.

Huali is last back. I see her long powerful form cruise along the edge of the treeline before finally breaking cover.  She swings by her hut before returning to the central fire to give her report.  As with the others she found no sign.  Wherever Tony and Marama were hiding it wasn't anywhere obvious.  She seats herself beside me on the long log bench where Makea and I sat.  I felt like a dwarf sitting between these two enormous sisters.

With everybody back food is soon served.  Cormac is first followed by a very hungry Makea.  I was sure it took a lot of grub to fuel the big woman's tireless engine.  Miru is next to grab a bowl.  Huali goes to get up but I pat her knee to stop her.

“Let me.”  I say.  She looks at me perplexed.  Standing up I approach Leinani and take two of the wooden bowls, one in each hand, and hold them out.

The woman looks to her husband.  He gives me a long hard look before finally nodding.  “She worked, she eats.”  He then follows that up with what I assumed was a similar sentiment in Leinani's language.

The bowls are filled with the steaming succulent smelling stew.  Leinani plops a thick wooden spoon in each bowl as well.  I return to my spot on the bench and hand Huali her bowl.

“Thanks for the dress and...everything.”  I smile.

She looks at the others in surprise then takes the bowl from me.  “You are welcome Ashley.”

Leinani serves herself last and after Cormac says grace we all begin to eat.  Makea sucks hers down with the efficiency of a shop-vac then quickly goes for seconds.  The rest of us eat our meals at a more reasonable pace.  Conversation is sparse and I got the sense this was not unusual.  The Kane's seemed comfortable with the silence, though my presence did seem a constant distraction.  I do my best to be as invisible as possible.  I endure Cormac's occasional slight or insult against me with a meek calm, never arguing or sniping back at him, even though I was boiling on the inside.

At one point Cormac, Miru, and his wife are across the fire conversing and I seize the opportunity for a quick moment with Huali.

As subtly as possible I bring my right hand behind the bench then reach over to run it up the Huali's lower back.  She stiffens at the touch then slowly relaxes again. 

“I missed you.”  I whisper just loud enough for her to hear me.

She looks over at me with a sidelong gaze.  I stroke my hand lightly up and down her back and enjoy the smooth warm feel of her flesh.

“You were in my thoughts today.”  She replies, also whispering.  I could see she wanted to say so much more but didn't dare in front of the others.

“I worked today, as much as I could anyway.  I helped bring firewood.”

Huali nods.  “An important job.  Not difficult, but important.  The family...”

“I didn't do it for them.”  I say.  “I did it for you.  I work to please you Huali, not your family.”

This leaves her speechless.  She continued to look at me out of the corner of her eye and I could sense her mood shift.  She licks her lips and at last whispers back.  “I am proud of you Ashley.  You did a good job.”

“Thank you.”  I smile sweetly.

As I picked up on this family's simple but odd philosophy on life.  Providing for and working for someone was highly valued here.  I was absolutely working to seduce and manipulate my powerful roommate, but this strange form of flirting was also incredibly thrilling.  Doing it under the nose of her parents, with such high stakes if we were caught, made me feel like a naughty highschooler again.  I pet down her back and over her ass.

“I'm tired. Can we go to bed Huali?”  I purr, sexual suggestion dripping from my words like honey.  “Mmm?”

She swallows hard and smacks her suddenly dry mouth.  I loved the effect I was having on her.

“What are you two talking about?”  Cormac snaps and startles us both.

“I was just saying I was tired.”  I reply.  “I'm not used to working like this.”

He laughs in genuine amusement.  “Soft.  Useless.  Weak.”  His insults flow off of me, I couldn't care less what Cormac Kane thought of me.  “Not so easy without your husband here doing all the work, is it whore?”

“No.”  I answer dutifully.  “It is difficult.  I am weak.”

I could feel both Makea and Huali squirming uncomfortably to either side of me.  Leinani busied herself with the dirty dishes.  Miru watched the interaction closely but I could not get a read on her feelings about it.

Cormac looks to the others.  “See why I raised you to be strong?  See how weak they are out there?  She can barely manage firewood.  Probably never put in an honest Godly day's work in her miserable sinful life.”  He turns back to me.  “You better get used to it here girly.  You've got no skills we can use so hard work is all you can offer.”

“Yes Mr Kane.”  I nod and keep my eyes focused on the ground in submission.  “I'll do my best.”

He laughs again and waves me away.  “Go to bed then woman.  Huali, watch her.”

“Yes Father.”  Huali says in a low flat voice.

We rise as one.  I say a friendly goodnight to Makea then lead the way back to Huali's hut.