The Lost Swords

by Dave Hicks

 

Chapter 1

1

 

I stood in line at the cafeteria counter, with the rest of the students. Megan, had been standing behind me with her great breasts provocatively pressed firmly into my back. We carried our cups of coffee to a table and sat down. She put her hands under her massive heavy breasts, gave them a lift and dramatically lowered them onto the table.

Eleanor joined us. She rarely speaks. She has an attractive face with large, dark eyes and dark brown hair. Eleanor is not overweight like Megan but her breasts are even larger than Megan's generous bosom.

"Would you feed any man who asked you to?" Megan asked Eleanor.

Eleanor shook her head.

"I must be a tit tart then," Megan laughed, with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "Hey, what's the big deal? I'll feed anyone who wants it. It's only milk. And it beats the hell out of using a rotten pump. I hate the damn things. Sometimes, I rather just let the bloody things drip and put up with the discomfort than use those bloody things. Only then my bra gets soggy, if I do that."

Eleanor unzipped the front of her dress and opened the front of her bra. She removed one of her massive breasts from its cup and tapped me lightly on the forearm.

"I think Eleanor is trying to tell you something," said Megan, laughing.

Eleanor held beneath her breast with one hand and wiped away a dribble of milk, running from her large erect nipple, with a handkerchief.

"I suppose you'd better milk her," suggested Megan, with an impatient sigh, "otherwise she'll only pester you all day, until you do."

"Don't be so hard on Eleanor," I said to Megan. "You know I think she's gorgeous."

"I'd much rather you sucked mine instead of hers, that's all." she replied. "You must like her because her because she's so bloody big. How can a girl hope to compete with a pair of udders like that? They're even bigger than mine."

I pushed my chair back from the table and invited Eleanor to sit on my lap.

"Okay," Megan said, rising from her chair. "I'll find someone else to empty me then. But I'll be back."

Eleanor sat on my lap and I began to suck on her nipple. It's not hard milking Eleanor. Once the milk starts flowing, it just pours out. After I had emptied her first breast, she turned around and I fed again. She gave me a kiss on the cheek, returned to her chair and sat looking at the glass of juice she had in front of her.

"What's the matter with men today?" Megan asked, reoccupying her chair. "No one wants to suck my boobs. What's wrong with them? I've got gorgeous tits."

Eleanor tapped me on the forearm and pointed to Megan.

"I think Eleanor wants me to empty you too," I smiled.

"Thanks Eleanor," said Megan, getting up from her chair and sitting on my lap. "I'm glad someone's on my side."

After I'd emptied what I could from Megan's breasts, she sat at the table again. My stomach was getting full.

"That'll keep me going a bit longer," she said, feeling her breasts.

Eleanor makes an abnormal amount of milk. It didn't leave a lot of room for what Megan was carrying. Tracy arrived and sat at the remaining chair opposite me.

"I don't know how you two can stand having milky boobs" she commented, seeing Megan fastening her bra. "It seems like so much trouble to me. And the bras are so ugly. But these days, it seems the only way to get a man. If you don't have milky boobs, they don't want to know you. Men - who needs them, that's what I say."

"They didn't want to know me just before," commented Megan.

"It could be your personality that's the problem," remarked Tracy.

"There's nothing wrong with my personality," replied Megan. "I've got tons of it. More than anyone else I know."

Megan and Tracy gossiped on various trivial subjects for a while. I sat there and let it wash around me, glancing occasionally to admire Eleanor. Megan announced she was going to get something to eat. Eleanor and Tracy rose with her and Eleanor cocked her head towards me, to ask if I wanted her to get me something also.

"No thanks," I said, patting my stomach. "Where would I put it?"

She smiled and joined the others at the counter. They returned and started eating.

"Cheer up," Megan laughed at me. "Think of all the money you're saving on food."

"I'm not complaining," I joked. "I'd be happy just living on milk. It saves so much on preparation and doing the washing up later."

"I might've thought I'd be able to hold you to that," warned Megan. "Only, I know you secretly have your eyes on Eleanor's mighty bosom."

She turned to Eleanor.

"How did you get so big Eleanor?" Megan asked. "What's your secret?"

Eleanor simply smiled at her, and said nothing.

"Getting an answer out of Eleanor, any answer, is like talking to a stone wall," Megan said to Tracy. "She never says a word."

 

2

 

After lunch, Eleanor and I went to our lecture. She sat next to me. When the lecture was over, Eleanor followed me to my car.

"My home?" she asked, with a smile.

"Sure," I replied, thinking she only needed a ride home.

I'd never been to Eleanor's house before. She pointed the way through an exclusive suburb, to a pair of large, ornate metal gates. I drove up a long driveway and stopped before a mansion.

"Is this your place?" I asked.

She nodded. She opened the car door then pulled gently on my forearm to follow her inside. We met by a matron, with a very large bosom, in a dark gray, loose dress. She took Eleanor's bag and informed Eleanor that her mother was in the library. We entered the library and were greeted by another very large bosomed woman. She rose from her chair as we entered.

"Hello darling," she said to Eleanor, giving her a hug.

They both turned to me.

"You must be David," the older woman said. "My name is Loretta, I'm Eleanor's mother."

"I'm very pleased to meet you," I replied, extending my hand. "I didn't know I was expected."

"Eleanor mentioned she might bring someone home to meet me, called David," she replied.

Loretta motioned us both to a couch. Eleanor sat next to me.

"You're the first person Eleanor has ever brought here," Loretta said. "Eleanor doesn't talk much about her friends at university."

"She doesn't seem to talk about much at all," I said, with a smile.

Eleanor rose from the chair and left the room.

"It's okay," her mother assured me, seeing my concern. "She's just getting coffee. You haven't offended her. She never takes offense. But you're right, she is very quiet. When she was young, I though, for various reasons, there might be something wrong with her. But it seems that's just the way she is."

"Sometimes I find it a little hard to understand what's she thinking," I said.

"There have been times when I've wondered if she can read people's minds," Loretta smiled, "and she assumes the rest of can do it too. I know it sounds ridiculous but she can be quite uncanny. She has eyes that seem to look straight through a person."

Eleanor returned carrying a tray. She placed it on a low table and poured three cups of coffee from a silver pot. Eleanor sat next to me again.

"What will you do when you leave university," Loretta asked me.

"I've returned to university to do an extra year to study art," I replied. "Before that, I worked in the family business as a architect."

"Eleanor's father said he was in the stock market, when I met him," remarked Loretta. "I didn't know until later he was a con-man."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I commented. "I hope you don't think I am."

"Of course not," she laughed. "Nothing of the sort. I'm sure Eleanor's not the sort of person to make the same mistakes I did."

I waited for Loretta to continue.

"I seem to feel the need to tell you about our family. I'm sure Eleanor would've told you very little."

Loretta looked at Eleanor.

"Have you?" she asked.

Eleanor shook her head.

"It's a long story," she said, picking up her cup, "so I'll keep it short. I was pregnant with Eleanor when I suspected my husband was having an affair with other women. He always found excuses for not feeding from my breasts. And other things, only a woman can sense. I hired a private investigation firm. They discovered he'd been having affairs with various women, ever since the time I met him. When I confronted him with what I'd discovered, he became very violent towards me and put me in hospital, for quite a long time. They managed to save Eleanor's life but it meant I could never have any more children. I was young and a hopeless romantic. I never want Eleanor to make the same mistake that I did."

"Please," I interrupted. "You don't have to tell me this."

"It's okay," she smiled. "It was a long time ago. Anyway, as I was saying - he was charged, convicted and sentenced to slavery. That meant we were automatically divorced. It didn't seem to mean anything to him, I nearly lost his baby - and my own life. They said he never felt any remorse for what he'd done to us."

Eleanor moved closer to me and held my hand.

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"I kept tabs on his whereabouts all those years," she replied. "A few years ago, I was able to buy him from his previous owner. I turned him into a woman. It might shock you to hear me say that but his previous owner had already removed his genitals anyway. That's the person who met you at the door, when you arrived."

"I guess I can understand you being a little worried about me then," I reflected. "But I don't do things like that."

"I know," smiled her mother. "I must confess, when Eleanor mentioned your name, I had an investigation done. You're much more wealthy than I am and I'm not poor. So you certainly aren't after her money. You're very well respected in your profession and you don't have a criminal record. I'm telling you all this so you can understand why I'm so cautious when I comes to Eleanor's welfare. As I said before, I never, ever want what happened to me, to happen to her."

I took a sip of my coffee, not knowing quite what to say next.

"Do you love my daughter?" she asked.

I thought for a moment. Eleanor gave my hand a firm squeeze.

"I don't really know," I said. "It not something I rush into. I do find her very attractive but I don't know very much about her. I don't even know if she loves me. She never speaks much. My mother told me that true love grows slowly. I don't know if that's correct or not. My parents always seemed happy enough."

Loretta smiled.

"Thank you for giving me an honest answer," she said. "I know my daughter loves you passionately. I do know my daughter."

I turned to Eleanor.

"You never mentioned anything," I said to her. "I didn't know."

Eleanor smiled and looked down at her bosom. Loretta rose from her chair.

"Well," she smiled. "You've had your interview with the old dragon. I'll leave you both in peace. You'll stay for dinner."

Loretta left the library. Eleanor stood and gently pulled on my hand to follow her. We walked outside the house to a small ornamental lake. She sat on the grass beneath a large shady tree, overlooking the water.

"You're mother must've been pretty suspicious of me," I said. "Judging by what she said before. The investigation and everything."

Eleanor nodded.

"Did I pass?" I asked.

She nodded again, with a broad smiled. She cuddled closer to me.

"Why is it you don't talk much?" I asked her.

She tapped the side of her head with her forefinger.

"People think you're mad?" I laughed, trying to understand what she meant by the gesture.

She shook her head and laughed.

"You can read minds," I guessed, "just like your mother said."

She shrugged then nodded.

"Yes," she replied.

"Seriously?" I asked.

She nodded again.

"What number am I thinking of?" I asked, imagining the number '4'.

She held up four fingers and smiled.

I thought of the number '2127'.

"What number now?" I asked again.

She rolled her eyes and laughed, looking down at her hands. She picked up a small stick and wrote the number '2127' on the palm of my hand.

"That's amazing," I said.

She shrugged and smiled.

"How many people know about this?" I asked.

"Just two," she said.

"Just your mother and me?" I said.

She shook her head and pointed to herself and then to me. I was silent for a while. She undid her dress and bra, releasing her impressive breasts and gently pulled my head to her lap.

 

3

 

It was getting on dusk when we returned to the house. She took me to her bedroom. The walls were covered with a large collection framed paintings and drawings of me. Many pictures just of my face, others full length - both clothed and naked. They were all faultless works of art. I realized she was a brilliant artist. I looked at the dates they'd been painted or drawn. Some of them were many years old.

While I was looking at the pictures, she removed her dress and put on another. I was a full length silky and dark blue, that fell straight down from her bosom. I thought she looked very delightful. She read my mind and smiled. We went down to the library where her mother was seated, reading. She looked up from her book as we entered.

"I hope you're staying for dinner," Loretta smiled.

"Time just seemed to get away from us," I said.

A youngish woman, in a black maid's uniform entered the library and informed Loretta that dinner was ready. We moved to the dining room.

"Eleanor is a wonderful artist," I said to Loretta, over dinner.

"She is, isn't she," Loretta agreed. "All the paintings in the house are hers."

After dinner, Eleanor played the piano for us. Again, she was brilliant. Later that evening, she invited me again to her bedroom. We undressed and got into her large bed. After I'd fed from her breasts, we made love. Gently and quietly. Afterwards, as we lay beside each other, she spoke to me.

"Did you find that nice?" she asked. "Was I pleasant to make love to?"

"Yes I did," I replied. "And, yes you are. Very nice. Wonderful."

"I thought it was very nice too," she said. "You're a wonderful lover too. So very gentle and caring. Just like I imagined you'd be, only better. I've dreamt of this moment many times. It's so hard to believe it's actually happening at last."

I turned to her in amazement.

"You're talking," I said. "Whole sentences, I mean - not just single words."

"Am I?" she laughed. "Look carefully at my face. Can you see my lips move?"

"No!" I cried, in amazement.

"Well then," she chuckled. "You must just be imagining it. I mustn't be talking at all then."

"How can you do that?" I asked.

"It happened when we were making love," she thought to me. "Something seemed to click in your mind - and in mine. I felt it. Something fell into place - like the opening of a lock of some kind. Suddenly, you could hear me."

"Can you hear me now?" I concentrated.

"You don't have to shout," she laughed, putting her fingers to her temples. "Yes I can hear you. I always could."

"It's amazing!" I thought. Quietly this time. "Can you talk to anyone else?"

"No," she said. "This is just between you and me, I suspect. It's never happened with anyone else before."

I sensed she wanted me to massage her breasts. I sat on her thighs, with my legs either side of her and gently massaged her massive breasts with the tips of my fingers.

"Mm," she said. "That feels wonderful. That'll have to be one of you jobs from now on."

"I was hoping you'd say something like that," I laughed. "Your breasts are beautiful."

Afterwards, she changed the sheets on the bed. I caught a glimpsed of blood on them.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she smiled. "I was a virgin until tonight. I'm not in pain, just very happy."

 

4

 

During the night, Eleanor woke me to feed. I discovered it's impossible for her to lie on her side successfully. Her breasts were just too large and heavy. She sat on my legs and hung her breasts over me. I could massage them at the same time. In the morning, I fed from her again.

"You always make a lot of milk," I commented.

"Yes I do," she smiled. "Do you mind?"

"No," I replied. "Not at all. It's going to keep me busy, though."

She laughed. We shower and dressed. A different maid, dressing in a gray uniform and white apron, severed us in the dinning room. She was a little older than the maid I'd seen the night before.

"Are they all slaves?" I asked Eleanor.

"Yes," she replied. "And the cook, the driver and gardeners."

She looked into my eyes, over the table.

"You don't approve of slavery, do you sweetheart?" she asked.

"Not really," I replied. "It just doesn't seem right somehow."

"Just suspend your judgment until you find out a little more," she smiled.

"Okay," I smiled at her, in return. "I'm sure you have a very good reason for asking me to do that."

"I have," she said. "Be patient, my love."

Loretta joined.

"Good morning," she greeted us. "You two are up bright and early."

"I stayed the night, at Eleanor's request," I replied.

"I somehow suspected she might ask you to," she smiled, as she sat at the table. "I want you to know you're always welcome here."

"Thank you," I said.

I was looking at Loretta when the realization suddenly struck me. All the servants were originally men that Loretta had turned into women. I'd seen into her mind.

"Is that true?" I asked Eleanor. "Are they all men? Why does she do that?"

"Except for my father," she replied. "They're all convicted rapists or murdered their wives, for some reason. She feels it's her mission to let them feel what it's like to be a woman. It's an obsession with her. She doesn't treat them cruelly. She just wants them to know what it feels like, to be vulnerable."

I thought for a moment.

"Don't be too hard on her, my lovely man," Eleanor said. "What my father did to her was very bad. It's her way of compensating for the pain she went through. She has ever really come to terms with it."

"I suppose so," I replied.

"You're not eating much this morning. David," Loretta commented.

"I don't feel very hungry," I said. "Coffee's just fine for the time being, thanks."

I could see Loretta had guessed that Eleanor was feeding me. A smile flickered across her face. I sensed that Loretta felt happy about it. The maid returned carrying plates that she set out before Eleanor and Loretta.

"She looks like she's always been a woman," I thought to Eleanor, looking at the maid.

"Mum is a highly skilled cosmetic surgeon and genetic designer," Eleanor replied. "We've a fully equipped operating theater here."

The housekeeper entered the room and placed some mail on the table beside Loretta then left.

"Do you have any feelings for your father?" I asked.

"None at all," she replied. "I never knew him. I don't think of her as my father. She's just the new housekeeper, as far as I'm concerned. They're always very different people, once my mother's finished with them."

The maid refilled my cup. As she did so, her breast rubbed against my shoulder.

"Her breasts are mostly plastic," Eleanor thought to me, with a chuckle. "Don't get too excited."

"It's going to be hard to keep secrets from you, from now on," I smiled at her.

"You never could in the past," she laughed silently. "Today's no different."

"I love you," I said.

"I know," she smiled, briefly touching my hand. "But I like to hear you say it, all the same."

 

5

 

We drove to my apartment where I could change into fresh clothing.

"Why are you doing an arts course?" I asked her, as I changed my clothes. "You should be teaching it."

"To be near you," she stated.

"Some of those drawing in your bedroom date back as far as fifteen years ago," I commented. "How did you know?"

"I just did, my sweet man," she smiled. "I have no idea how - I just did."

"I just realized something," I said.

"What's that?" she asked.

"If someone was listening to this conversation, they'd think I was talking to myself."

"They shouldn't be listening in the first place," she replied.

"Maybe I should just think everything," I thought to her. "It's something I'm going to have to get used to."

"You will," she smiled, holding my hand.

We went to the university and sat in the lecture together. Somehow studying art didn't seem very important anymore. I'd much rather just be with Eleanor. She picked my feelings, patted my hand and smiled at me.

The next class involved sketching a live nude. My attempt was up to its usual pathetic standard. I leant over to see what Eleanor had drawn. I looked like something a student would do. Nothing like the amazing drawings I'd seen in her bedroom.

"That looks awful," I though to her.

"I'm only a student," she chuckled silently. "I'm still learning."

The lecturer came over and inspected Eleanor sketch and proceeded to tell her how she could improve it. Eleanor nodded at the appropriate times. When the lecturer had gone, she lifted up her drawing to reveal another she'd drawn beneath. It was splendid. She removed the hidden drawing, folded it carefully and put it in her bag. As we left, at the end of the class, she dropped the drawing in the trash can.

"What a waste," I said.

"I can always draw another," she smiled. "It's not important."

We sat outside the building, on a grassy mound and she fed me.

"You're feeling restless," she observed, after I'd relieved her breasts.

"I'm not sure I really want to study here anymore," I replied.

"I was getting that feeling from you," she replied. "What would you like to do?"

"Well," I replied. "It's seems rather pointless you staying here. You certainly don't need to do the course. There's nothing they could possibly teach you. You said you were here to meet me. You've done that. What would you like to do next?"

"Just be with you," she answered.

She opened her bag and removed a packet of sandwiches. She offered me one. I shook my head.

"You really should eat," she commented.

"I just don't feel like it at the moment," I said.

"All the same," she smiled, "you can't just live on my milk."

"Who says I can't?" I asked.

"Silly man," she laughed. "There's not a lot of fiber in it, for one thing, is there? You'll get all clogged up."

"I don't care," I smiled.

She reached over and hugged me tightly.

"Do you like sailing?" I asked. "Just the two of us - for a few days, if you like. The weather should be good."

I pictured image of my yacht in my mind.

"It looks lovely," she said, rising. "Oh yes. I'd love to. Let's do it."

 

6

 

I secured the car in the marina's compound and we carried our gear along the jetty to the yacht. The trimaran rested just as I'd left it, a week earlier. We stowed the gear and prepared to leave. She changed into a short skirt and a loose top. Eleanor seemed to know exactly where everything needed to be stowed. It was as if she'd spent all her life on the boat. I left it to her to take the yacht out of harbor under power, while I started readying the sails. When I returned to the wheel-house, she had a map open on the table.

"Where to, my captain?" she asked, giving me a cheeky salute.

"How does the islands sound to you?" I inquired.

"Yes," she agreed. "They'd be perfect."

I took over the helm while she called Loretta on her mobile phone; to let her mother know we'd be away for a few days. I registered our voyage with the authorities. Soon, I stopped the motor and went forward to raise the sails. Once set, I rejoined her in the wheel-house.

"How do you know this boat so well?" I asked.

"It's all in your head," she smiled.

"Ah," I exclaimed, as the realization hit me. "So you now know as much as I do, about all this."

"Yes," she smiled.

"Isn't that cheating?" I asked.

"I'd share anything in my head with you," she said.

"Can I do that?" I asked.

"Have you tried?"

"No," I replied. "I never occurred to me to do it. Anyway, that's spying. You might have things in there you don't want me to know."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," I laughed. "Things. Private things. Things that only women should know about. Dark, foreboding and secret things. Where all the bodies are buried or something. Anyway, I don't know how to do it."

She laughed and looked up at the mainsail to check its setting and the wind direction from the telltales, fluttering from the stays. I checked the radar and the satellite positioning system. I stored the latest weather information into the computer.

As land started to slip below the horizon, the wind picked up and changed direction. By the late afternoon, we dropped anchor in a sheltered bay, at one of the larger smaller islands. I attended to the sails while Eleanor started dinner. I joined her in the galley. While the meal was cooking, I relieved her breasts.

"Have you had a good day?" I asked her.

"Wonderful," she grinned. "I'm looking forward to going to bed tonight."

At dinner I discovered I didn't feel like eating.

"You have to eat," said Eleanor

"I can't," I replied, shaking my head. "I just face it at the moment. I'm sorry, since you went to the trouble of cooking it for me but I just don't feel like it, for some reason."

"I hope you're going to be okay," she said, with a little concern in her voice.

After dinner, Eleanor rang Loretta again; to let her know she we were safe. While Eleanor tidied up in the galley and got ready for bed, I checked topside to make sure the boat was secure for the night. When I descended to the stateroom, she was sitting naked on the edge of the bed, drying her hair with a towel. I had a quick shower. When I returned to the bedroom, she was rubbing her shoulders. I stood in front of her watching. I ran my fingers over the permanent groves in her shoulders, her bra straps had made over the years. Suddenly, I felt the ache of her shoulders and back. I sat down beside her.

"I didn't know you were so sore," I said, rubbing her shoulders. "I just felt your pain."

"That's what I get for having such big breasts," she smiled. "I've had such a wonderful time, I forgot to take the weight off them during the day. I usually rest them, when I can."

"Isn't there something you can do about it?" I asked. "Make them smaller or something?"

"No," she smiled. "It's much too late to change them now. Anyway, I don't want to. You like the size I am. That's the reason I made them grow this big. Also, they have to be big enough to feed you."

"How did you do that?" I asked. "Make them as large as they are?"

"Mum has drugs and hormones she uses on the slaves, to make them look like women," she replied. "When I was close to puberty, I started taking them. I could see in Mum's mind which ones I needed. I'd make my breasts even bigger, if you wanted me to. I'll make them whatever size it takes to feed you properly."

"I'm not so sure," I said, "if they cause this sort of pain."

"It's okay," she reassured me, patting my arm. "I'll be fine, once I lie down for a while."

I rubbed the small of her back, where I knew she was sore. Then we lay together.

"I could really feel your pain," I thought to her.

"Yes, my darling," she replied. "That's the down side of being in someone's head. If you ever leave me, you'd feel my grief and sorrow as much as I would. We're pretty much joined together now."

"Will I ever be able to see inside your mind?" I asked.

"In time you may, my love," she smiled. "Don't forget - I've done this since I can remember, so I've got quite good at it."

We were silent for a while.

"Can you see everything in my head?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "if I want to. Anything you're aware of. I even know the things you don't want anyone to know about."

"This you mean?" I asked, briefly touching a secret place in my mind.

"Yes," she replied, holding my hand tightly.

"Did it shock you to discover that about me?" I asked. "I didn't quite know how to tell you. It's something we have to talk about sometime."

"You're over a thousand years old?" she asked. "Maybe a lot more?"

"Yes."

"At the time, I was very surprised," she said thoughtfully. "A little like when you discovered I could read your mind. But I had to believe it. It was there, in my face. Now I just accept it. I knew you'd talk to me about it, when you were ready."

I pressed closer to her and stroked her body. She held my head against her breast. Later, we made love.

 

7

 

Just before daybreak, I went topside. Eleanor was still asleep and I didn't disturb her. There was hardly a breeze about and we'd be needing a good full day's sailing to get to the next safe anchorage. With no strong wind, it meant we'd have to spend the day here. I wasn't prepared to risk any night sailing, with Eleanor aboard. Maybe later.

Another yacht had arrived sometime during the night and was moored a little way from us. A cruising, deep ocean trimaran, like our own but a little smaller. There was a woman on deck, dressed only in a pair of white shorts. She gave me a wave, which I returned. I was looking at the latest weather map when Eleanor called to me. She gave me a hug as I sat beside her.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"I love you," I replied, kissing her.

"Mm," she said sleepily, pulling closer to me and stroking my cheek. "My beautiful man."

She smelt warm and feminine beneath the coverings. She pulled down the blanket and offered me her full breasts. Eleanor's breasts seemed to fill about every four hours.

Later, she showered and put on a loose top and short skirt, similar to the previous day. She started making breakfast. With binoculars, I read the number on the side of the other yacht. I matched it on the computer. It belonged to a couple from Europe. They were a very long way from home.

"Breakfast," called Eleanor, in my head.

I came down from the wheel-house to the galley and sat opposite her. It happened again. I couldn't eat. I saw a look of concern flicker across her face for an instant.

"No good?" she asked, shaking her head.

"No," I replied. "I'm sorry."

"I need to phone someone," she said, reaching for her phone on a nearby shelf.

She took her phone up on deck. I wandered up to the wheel-house and could see her at the bow, talking into her phone. I could sense she was angry but that was all. I went to the stern and started taking a winch apart that stuck occasionally.

Later, she sat next to me. She looked upset.

"How did you go?" I asked.

"I know what's happened now," she replied. "I'm not looking forward to having to tell you."

I waited for her to collect her thoughts and continue. She put a hand on my arm.

"My mother has done something. To cut a long story; she's paranoid about you ever leaving me, after what my father did to her. My milk has changed and it's now addictive. Probably after we made love for the first time. She arranged it this way, so you'd never leave me."

She paused for a second.

"I didn't know she'd done this to me," she continued. "It's like something out of a horror movie I saw once. She should've asked us first. That's what I'm most upset about."

She held me.

"I don't have a real problem with it," I smiled.

"What!" she cried, pulling away from me and looking into my face.

She looked at me for a moment.

"It's true," she smiled. "Do you really do want to be dependent on me?"

I nodded.

"It's fine by me," I assured her.

She looked out over the water for a while. I put my arm around her waist.

"I'll call her," she thought. "I should apologize for horrible things I said to her. I'm not forgiving her for what she did, however. As soon as we're back on the mainland, she will be putting things back the way they were - or else."

"You call her," I nodded.

She phoned Loretta. After the call, she was thoughtful for a while and said nothing. I sat with her, waiting until she was ready to talk to me.

Eleanor turned towards me and pulled my head gently onto her bosom. She held it there for a long time.

"I think you're wonderful, my love," she thought to me. "I believe you'll never leave me."

 

 

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© 2002 by Dave Hicks. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.