Antonio was transferred to Pennsylvania infantry around the 7 month mark of Julia's pregnancy. He was given 72 hours leave upon arrival in Pennsylvania to get situated with Julia, but if a call came he'd have to leave and go on the call. There hadn't been a call in several months, the longest any free state had gone without one. Chess was proud of that. His state was the most efficiently trained aside from New York. There was an occasional border skirmish, zoms spilling over from Ohio or New York or north out of Maryland. Nothing pissed him off more than losing his people or putting his people in harm's way because of another state. Infantry occasionally would dispatch and assist over the border if requested.
Currently they waited for peace in sector three, formerly New Jersey. Many wondered, could it be completely contained? Odds are that would be where Antonio was heading. The infantry did 3 month tours at a time, then would be replaced, then would go back in after a couple months off. There were infantry from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New York making little headway in the state formerly known as New Jersey. It was not a free state yet, but Alex was young. The next gen free state, Julia liked to call it. That's where the next generation leaders would get their come-uppance, pay their dues and try some new ways of doing things. It was all out insanity over the river. Julia hated that Alex was playing around there, but he had to learn to lead somewhere. Any new weaponry, vehicle, any new type of warfare was tested out in Jersey first. All by the kids 18-25. Those that stood out would make a name for themselves. There was everything from hand to hand combat to long range shit going down. They were still, after all these years dealing with humans there. So many Jersey natives had refused to leave with the evac crews. The human factor, the abject poverty and the desperation of the feral humans was also a test to the next gen-ers. Not only were they actively exterminating and fighting zoms, but they were at war with people as well. People who refused to give up their state. No one had to give up their state. They only had to create something new. Jersey's human population looked on the infantry as an invasion as opposed to an assist.
Julia begrudgingly went to the fortress first. Seven clearance checks from the road to the inside of Chess's castle, formerly the Mastro Boys Reformatory. Freeman was in awe of the massive stone structure. The look on his face said it all. Triple layer barb wire fences, multiple guard posts and perches. By the fourth security clearance, Julia was bored with the protocol.
"Chess, just let me in." She yelled as the man on post spoke through the walkie-talkie.
"This is heavy." Freeman said under his breath. He felt nervous heading inside.
"The difference between Napoleon and my ex." Julia mumbled. "Tavin Keller's house, man, you can walk up and ring the fucking door bell. Not him. He's so fucking guarded all the time."
"Does he have a lot of enemies, Morgan?"
"Oh, shit, yes." She nodded, taking Freeman's hand. "Can I have a tour, Julia?"
"The only thing we're touring once we're inside is my bed." She informed him as her hand crept across his lap. She started massaging his dick, getting him hard.
"Morgan, stop it." He said, swatting her hand away. "I can't get out with my dick hard."
He held her exploring hand in his and shook a little.
"Oh, Freeman, don't be nervous. It's my house for crying out loud."
Once through the main gate, the vehicle parked and Chess and Macy met them there. Bundled up in the dead of winter. How did he manage to get Macy outside in January? Antonio got out first, then helped her down from the SUV. He went to the rear of the vehicle for the bags.
"No, Freeman. No. There's people for that." Chess yelled.
"Sir, I can get my gear, Sir."
Julia reached for his hand and he took it. "Please, stop. Let it happen, Antonio."
"I'm not sure how to act here, Morgan." He admitted.
"You can stop calling him sir."
"No, let's not go that far." Chess stated, extending his hand to Antonio. He shook it. "Just kidding."
He hugged Julia, "Welcome home, woman."
Chess and Macy escorted them inside through the courtyard past the kids' swing set and toys and bikes and all their accessories. Children were always kept in the courtyard and guarded back then...Julia's thoughts carried her back to a different time in this monstrosity of a place. So much prettier during the spring and summer for sure. The whole place looked desolate and empty during the winter.
"Macy has your room ready."
"Thanks. I'm tired."
"You get settled in. If there's anything you need, let Macy know."
"Sure, Chess. Let Macy know." Macy repeated, peeling off her coat and hanging it by the door. She was as pregnant as Julia, which surprised her. Chess hadn't mentioned this. They rode the elevator to the second floor, all quiet inside. When the doors opened, all the noise hit them at once. The second floor rec area was over run with children of all ages.
"Dadddddyyyy!" Layla screamed at the top of her lungs, running toward Chess. He picked her up and set the child on his hip.
"Hey, peanut." Julia smiled, touching her brown locks of hair.
"Aunt Julia. Hello." She smiled
"You got so big."
"I'm 6." She smiled, gaps in her smile where she'd lost teeth. Julia saw all the boys, Macy's pride and spoiled joy. All 4 of them carbon copies of each other, all the spitting image of their mother from the black hair, to the brown eyes, to the smooth olive skin. A rowdy little bunch, Macy stayed pregnant.
8,7,5,4. Chester, Charles, Loren, and Devon. Julia felt Macy's bump, then pulled her hand away.
"Y'all wanna know?" Julia asked.
"It's a boy. She hangs low with each boy. This one's no different." Chess answered.
"A daughter, Jules?" Macy said hopeful.
"Mine, yes. Antonia." Julia nodded. "Chess manufactures boys evidently, except for this pretty gal right here." Julia said, tickling Layla. She looked at Macy's belly, a surprise for both of them when the girl would scream her way into the world. They both honestly believed she was a he. "Do you have names picked out?"
"Who cares at this point?" Macy groaned. "Five." She answered, guiding them through the noise and toys room and through the sitting area to the rooms. They'd renovated a bit, knocking down some of the walls and creating larger bedrooms for all the kids plus a master suite for him and her. Down the long hall past the family rooms were the guest rooms. Julia never wanted a suite or anything built and remodeled. She was still in the mindset she only needed a bed and a desk since that was where her life centered. She worked at her desk and she maintained her relationships in a bed. No need for the extras, the belongings, the stuff that everyone accumulated. Part of her feared she could and would lose it all over again. Part of her never wanted to put roots down anywhere. She preferred people and words to stuff and materialistic things. She had considered the farmhouse her home since the first nights. The fortress was her home by default.
"Are you sure you wanna room in this old dilapidated room, Julia?" Macy asked, taking her hand as she stepped inside. She turned on the light switch.
"Yes, that's my bed and that's my desk. Just the way I left it." She answered.
"This is no type of room for a newborn." Macy told her, squeezing her hand softly.
Antonio stood in the doorway, peering over top of both shorty's and was not surprised by Julia's room at all. The girl traveled light. Some books and a bag or two. Her life was lived out of a bag. Where she laid her head was her home.
"I'm not living here, Macy. So it doesn't matter."
"Where are you going? You just got back." Macy asked, her voice sounding kind of sad.
What happened to the feud? Were the pregnancy hormones interfering with their jealousy and dislike of each other? Were they calling a truce because of the girls in their bellies?
"I'm going to the farmhouse, Macy. I have discussed this with Chess."
"That's so far away. I thought we could spend some time together. Maybe raise our kids together."
"That's a long ass time, Mace." Julia replied. "You want me to live here in the castle? With you? You know that won't work. Baby, I love you, but that's crazy."
Macy looked back at Antonio who stood silently watching them talk.
"It's only crazy when it's not convenient to you." She said, leaving go of her hand. "Antonio, it is nice to meet you. If you need anything, let me know."
"Yes, ma'am." He replied, letting her pass by him. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Call me ma'am again and I will have you shot." She called, waddling back to the noise and toys.
"She's serious." Julia told him, sitting on the end of her comfy bed. She stuck her foot in the air and Antonio knelt in front of her, untying her boots one by one and placing them at the foot of the bed. Julia scooted back on the bed, dragging her body inch by inch, she felt huge and uncomfortable.
"Antonio." She said, laying back on the bed.
"Yes, Morgan."
"Your nervous energy is driving me nuts. It's ok to be here. Relax."
"It feels strange." He admitted, peering out the door and down the hallway. "She's mad at you."
"I realize that. I told you about me and her, Freeman."
"Oh-"
"I won't go to bed with her if you don't want me to."
"You guys are pregnant."
"I have had her pregnant. When isn't she pregnant? She's always in some stage of pregnancy. He keeps her pregnant, holed up here in the castle."
"He didn't do that to you?"
"After the first nights and while they were at war. War was the worst, but we had a war going on of our own right here."
"Oh,"
"The history that is not in the books." Julia said, thinking back to those times. "Wow, times have changed." Julia observed. "You know it is a damn miracle any of us are still alive. When it's like that, that end of days, it can get rather...when in Rome-like."
"Wow, I wish I coulda been there. It was all so important the stuff they did back then."
"Where were you, Freeman?"
Young Antonio Freeman saw no zombies as a kid. He'd never come face to face with one. He'd been evac'd out of the zom-zone with his parents and housed in the Okeechobee Correctional Institution. He had a fairly normal childhood inside the prison. He, like so many others, went in after the prisoners were released. It had been no holds barred back then, every man for himself. Some prisons hadn't emptied out at all, in fact, some never released the prisoners. They were left to their cells to die. As the coordinated effort across the states took place, he lived unscathed inside the prison. He didn't have much, but he had his life. He had his family. That's what she'd worked so hard for where her own children were concerned. Any child they had at the farmhouse or the fortress never had to witness that version of life. They were shielded from it. She was happy for him. He was the same age as Alex. She had allowed Alex to explore that which Antonio had been sheltered from. The kids were fairly similar, strong willed and soft hearted, but both led such different lives. Alex was in the thick of it, even caught the tail end of the extermination. Julia had armed him and sent him out there and left him live his life the way he saw fit. He fought along side of Chess and Tavin and Jay. She'd never been so scared in her life.
"What if they'd put a gun in your hand and sent you out there, Freeman? At 15 and said go fight the fight."
"I would have gone. Mami wasn't having that." He shook his head. "I played and I worked. I had a girl or two. It was normal."
"My Alex, he's your age. He went to war at the very end, when they were finishing out sector one. He was 15."
"That's when we were released. When I was 15. It was all clear. I remember trying to get back into a normal way of life after. It was strange. Being outside and constantly looking and waiting. Around 17 was when the drills started. The evac sites were set up. The sirens were put in place. I remember mandatory town meetings. It was no joke. Everyone had to attend, no excuses. The army was in charge in southern Florida."
"The protocols. Yeah. I helped create them. Those sirens used to go off all hours of the day and night. Scared people crying wolf."
"It was mandatory though and every single time they went off we had to run. What a pain in the ass."
"It worked itself out. It's endless training. Installation and training. What do you think I do all day?"
"How much do you get paid?"
"I get paid nothing." Julia answered. " I do it for free. I do it to keep my people safe. That's all it has ever been about. Keeping people safe. All I get is what you get. That's why it's tied into the military. Depends on where I work. Eventually, hopefully, that will be in sector 3. That's gonna take a decade to rebuild, put all the protocols in place."
"That's where I am headed, Morgan."
"Straight into hell."
"Thanks, Morgan." He said nervously.
"I wish you'd have more confidence in yourself. If you only saw you the way I see you."
"How's that?"
"A fucking leader. I don't choose losers. Never did. I only connect with the strong ones, the ones with a purpose, who will be..."
"Will be what?"
"Whatever the fuck you wanna be. Go there. It's where they'll remember your name like you remember theirs."
He laughed, "Go hard or go home."
"Go for the glory, Antonio. Why just missions? That's a thing of the past. Jersey's where it's at. Or God forbid California. They should just blast that shitty zom infested crevice into the ocean. That's a freaking clusterfuck out there. No helping them. Jersey though. It's yours for the taking. Gosh, I'm getting all excited."
"Yes, you are." He laughed at her.
"But you're scared though. That's completely normal and there's not one of them over there that isn't, except for the feral humans that live there. They're a band of complete savages, especially in and around Camden. I've only heard stories."
"Why not leave Jersey alone? If they don't want us there?"
"Oh, well. I never thought of it that way. It's-" She paused. "Always an option I suppose."
"You say you want people to be safe, but if they choose to remain there, leave them live whatever way they choose."
"Let the savages alone?"
"Yeah, why not? Unless there's something going on in Jersey you guys want or need? I thought you had enough to go around? Enough to survive and we survive the way we choose to survive. Who's to say their way of life isn't ok with them and why do you think yours is any better?"
"Oh, Freeman, why did you join the military cause you sound so fucking humanitarian now."
"I wanted to defend my country from the hordes and keep it from happening again, make a difference. I didn't sign up to go to war with my own people."
"So that's why you're conflicted. It isn't the fear, it's the moral of it all?"
"Yeah, Morgan." He said. "The missions, they'll never be a thing of the past. That's where it's at, the nest. That's where I wanted to be. That's why you dragged my ass in there, right? War, though, Morgan. I could see if we were invaded or something, but really? Destroying our own people. Savages or not. It is wrong. Then when the war is over, there will forever be that animosity, that oppression, like that shit that carried over from the slave days. That tension between people that lies just beneath the surface. We got no more right to that sector than anyone else. The people that are there need to decide their fate. Present them their options, offer them a way out. If they choose not to accept, then fuck it, walk away. Say the bridge is right there. When you want a different way, we're right over here. Just send someone. Till then, get infantry on the boarders and make sure it doesn't spill into neighboring free states. You want the next gen, I am the next gen."
"Which feral human would you like us to talk to?"
"The leader. Everyone has a leader. If I was coming here, I would come looking for Chester Morgan. Depends on the sector, Morgan. You know that. Did they ask for your help or your involvement?"
"Actually, no. They didn't. We evac'd people out that wanted to go."
"And then what? The ones who stayed just get slaughtered to make way for what? You people have enough land. You have peace. Why start a war with people that didn't pick the fight?"
Freeman stopped talking when he heard the footsteps coming toward the door. Hector delivered their bags on a cart. He'd been with them since the first night and stuck around as Chess's go to guy and gopher. He basically ran errands, did whatever Chess asked. He lived a good life inside the confines of the old reformatory. He'd trained Jayson as janitor a very long time ago.
"Freeman, I was told to get you and show you around." He announced. "Hello, Miss Julia."
Hector waved his frail hand through the door to her room. He was older, shorter than she remembered, a balding man with salt n pepper hair. Tough and wrinkled brown skin. He wore his sweater over his brown polo with his brown work pants. He only spoke with a hint of an accent anymore. They'd inherited Hector with the building. The bearer of the keys to the kingdom. An honorable and loyal man. He worked there and Julio was schooled there a very long time ago. Julio...Julia thought...what a bad ass kid he was...so misunderstood. A fucking warrior.
Julia started to get up and Hector stopped her. "No, Miss Julia. Stay. You rest."
"Hello, Hector. How is Julio?" She asked, thinking back to that fine son of his.
"He is well. Many grandchildren." Hector replied.
"Please tell him hello. Will he be joining us this weekend? I would love to meet the familia."
"No se." Hector replied.
"The tour?" Freeman asked, too excited to be walking through Julia's house.
"If that's what you wanna call it."
"Give him the full tour too, Hector. He wants to see it all. Throw in some history." Freeman looked to Julia. "Go, it's all you been talking about for a week."
Freeman stood and went with the tour guide.
As Julia brought the bags inside and started unpacking, Chess appeared and made her stop.
"Third floor, woman." He said, giving her a hug. She took his hand and he led her down the hall to the rear stairs. Up a split flight of 15 stairs each to the locked door. He held the only key on a band around his neck. The third floor had been closed off years ago as the people returned to the community. Chess had transformed part of this third floor into the office/rec area for himself and for his pals when he entertained. It was secluded and no one was allowed up there unless he invited them in. No exceptions. The third floor would not be included in Antonio's tour of the vast facility. Third floor used to be the war room.
"I didn't think I was gonna make it up those steps, Chess." She said, breathing a bit heavily. "I am outta shape."
"You tend to exaggerate." He said as he locked the door behind him. He removed his shirt and his tee shirt beneath that. He unzipped his trousers and moved her to the bed. She pulled her sweat shirt over her head and shimmied off her sweat pants. "God, you're pregnant." He said, pulling the hair tie from her tail and letting her hair fall over her chest and back.
"Where's my ring, Chess?" She asked as he guided her onto his bed.
"In my pocket where it always is." He answered, reaching in and retrieving it for her.
"It won't fit. My fingers are swollen." She observed as he tried to slide the zombie ring over her finger.
"I'll be damned." He said, setting it on the table next to the bed. "Wanna drink, Julia?"
"Water's good."
"I have some apple juice. Layla likes it. When we come up here, she has to have her apple juice."
"I wanna see Tatia. Does she know I am home?"
"She's around here somewhere. The entire family will be here. Macy wanted to surprise you."
"Great. You ruined the surprise."
"Bitch, you're psychic." He snapped back at her.
"Hey, Chess. I was talking with Antonio about New Jersey."
"I didn't come up here to talk about your baby daddy."
"If I asked you to keep him out of Jersey and put him on infantry would you do that for me?"
"Yes. If that's what you'd like. Still doesn't mean he's home every night-"
"I realize that he's got an obligation to the war machine. That's not why I ask."
"So you are not being entirely selfish?"
"No. Not at all. If I was being selfish, I wouldn't have climbed the stairs to the fuck room."
"Hector will have him occupied for a long while."
"He will. He's excited about the tour, you know."
"As excited as we were when we sent Jay in here as our feet on the ground." He said.
"Remember his janitor uniform. Oh, my he looked like such a nerd. I can't believe that kid hung here for as long as he did as a janitor."
"Who would think he would have liked being a janitor?"
"I miss him, Chess."
"So do I. Think you're the only one that misses him?"
"He reminds me of him so much." Julia said, referring to Freeman. "So much it hurts sometimes."
"You chose him for that reason."
"Sometimes, like earlier, when he was talking about Jersey, I swear to God it coulda been Jay. Same ideals, same thought process, same mannerisms."
"I don't see it, Julia. I have only met the kid a couple times, but from the interaction we had I don't see it."
"Well, Chess it's cause he's scared of you. You're this person he put up on a pedestal."
"As I should be." He laughed.
"Yeah, can you believe this shit, Chess?"
"I had help. Wasn't just me. No one remembers that. I was not this awesome person that they make me out to be. It was a lot of awesome persons. It was all of us with a really fucking awesome idea."
"I really wanted to go and be part of that."
"It wasn't your place. End of story. Pussy is a straight distraction from the work at hand. You don't like hearing it. But it is what it is."
"We will never agree on anything." Julia told him, picking up her ring and trying it again on a different finger.
"It's not going on those sausage fingers." He took the ring back and put it in his pocket. "It'll still work without the ring, my Julia."
"I know. But I love my ring, babe. It's got the magic in it. It-"
"Fine, hold onto it if you need it." He said, reaching into the pocket and placing it in her hand. "I can't wait till you can drink. I wanna fuck my wife." He smiled, laying her back on the bed.
"The bump gets in the way."
"I know my way around the bump, Julia. I been fucking her and her bumps for years."
"Is it really just us two?" She asked as he licked between her legs.
"Huh?" He asked, looking around her belly at her.
"Are we your only women? You can tell me, Chess."
"Right now, yes. Is that really important?"
"Just curious."
As Chess pleased her and licked her, Julia held onto her zombie ring, hooked it around her pinkie at the second knuckle. It felt strange, gave off a vibe that was unfamiliar.
"Chess, has someone else been wearing my ring?" She asked, pulling it off the pinkie and looking at the design of it. "It's got some strange energy on it."
"No, absolutely not. Never. That is your ring." He said adamantly. He moved between her legs, kneeling between them as she lay spread wide. He entered her and it felt fine, felt good. She kept staring at the ring. Innocent energy, virgin energy?
"I told you no. I mean it."
"A virgin. You got any of those stashed away here?"
"I fucking wish."
She concentrated on her husband, moving the way he liked her to move on him. She tired easily, the extra had her feeling confined and insecure. The ring wasn't helping her at all.
"I'm going in, my Julia." He warned her.
"Fuck your wife, Chess." She sighed, feeling awkward with him. It was on the outskirts of pleasure, his lovemaking. She'd never be able to come like this, he wasn't Antonio.
"God, my Julia, this feels good." He said, pushing deeper and further into her.
"Fuck your wife, Chess." She said, reaching for his hands. His fingers interlocked hers and he moved harder, faster. "Chess, fuck your wife, Chess." She knew he loved that, when she played with the wife word, because he was in love with his wife. He loved to make love to his wife and he loved to fuck his wife. The baby, on the other hand was not enjoying the fuckery and she started to protest in her abdomen.
"Gonna cum, Jules." He called.
"Fuck me hard, Chess. Cum, baby."
Chess let her hand go and pulled out, using that free hand to finish and he came on her instead of inside her.
"Chess, what the fuck are you doing?" She asked, lifting up on her elbows and looking around the belly. "You trying something new, babe?"
"Not on the baby. No." He answered. "Not my baby." He replied, picking up the ring off her chest. "Layla." He told her, looking at the ring as he relaxed. "She's your virgin."
"Oh. I was feeling some kinda way."
"I know. I could tell. Babe, that's your ring. No one wears that ring."
"Ok. I believed you."
"No you didn't." He said, climbing out of bed. "Stay there. I'll clean you up."
By the end of the tour, Freeman returned to Julia rather excited to have all his questions answered. He'd seen the inside first, then Hector put him in a jeep and gave him a drive around the outside. They'd been gone roughly 2 1/2 hours. He was like a kid in an amusement park who'd left without souvenirs.
"Was it everything you hoped it would be, Freeman?"
"And then some." He said, joining her on the bed. "There are so many animals here. It's like a petting zoo."
"They used to be just outside the courtyard. We had this half assed barn we raised out of pallets and wood we scavenged. Barn raising was not my area of expertise." She laughed. "Hey wanna see something really cool?" She pointed to her closet. Antonio got out of bed and opened her closet door. Boxes stacked one on top of the other. "Good they're all there. Pick one."
He lifted the top box and brought it over to the bed. When he removed the lid it was like a hope chest. Trinkets from the past. All things that were personal to her. A scarf. A bandana. A cell phone. He held the cell, hadn't seen one in so long. All communications had gone back to land lines. A notebook. A red cover. She'd written Jayson around the cover multiple times with scattered hearts and smiley faces.
"That's the last box. The first box is on the bottom."
"What is this?" He asked as he watched her dip into the other contents of the box. She removed her other books and replaced all her trinkets inside.
"Oh, this. Look at this." She smiled, opening up the map. "When the guys came home, look, they brought me a map. I love paper maps. We fucked this map up. New borders. This is what it looked like when they got done their tour." The map of Pennsylvania, a marker had been used to cordon off multiple areas with names written inside. Each name was that of a sheriff. Over the reformatory was a star with Chess's name over it. "This right here was a party. Our guys were home in one piece. Sector two was cleared out. This hung in the war room till sector one was cleared."
"Where's the war room?"
"Third floor. Now it's Chess's private area."
"You ever been in there?"
"Yeah. It's the war room, now it's a man cave."
"What's up there?"
"Hell if I know. Used to be tables and chairs. It's all open up there. You can see out, but no one can see in. In the beginning it was a safe room, those first nights everyone went up. Women and children first, till the place was secured."
"That's where you went?"
"No. I was working. We organized, cleaned, secured, went on supply runs, built stuff. We already had the plan, we needed to put it in place." She put the notebook with Jayson written on it back in the box. "That's my personal book. But these are the books. The plans, the problems, the solutions, who did what and when and where. I wrote everything down." She pointed to the closet. "Each box goes further and further back, Freeman. The bottom box is the original plan and all the pictures."
"Pictures of this place?"
"We had a plan for when the first nights happened. We had a plan for when it all ended and here we sit. I think you'll find it all very interesting."
"That closet is the history of sector two."
"Yes, what I wrote down and recalled about it. That closet holds the truth."
"Who does this now? Keeps the record?"
"No one I assume. It's all very basic and boring right now. The missions are all documented. There's field journalists on each team that goes out and he documents the affairs and writes the reports for the sector leader to read over. There's a meeting after each mission and the reasons for the incident are hashed out and if there's a critical need, then I go in and we figure out how to prevent or keep it at a minimum. Sometimes all it is, is someone sleeping on the job, sometimes the operators need more help or training. It all depends."
"What about sector one?"
"Freeman, I wasn't in sector one. I was in sector two. This details the ideas and the vision, that sense of community and taking back what is ours. Sector one could have its own historian. I also was not in the battles. If they'd let me go, this story right here would have been very different."
"Why weren't you allowed to go?"
"Chess said no."
"So-"
"It is as simple as that. Pussy, my Julia, is a distraction from the work at hand."
"But you kick ass."
"But it wasn't my place."
"I think women should have that place, if they can do it."
"No." Julia replied. "I am an exception to the rule. That's all."
"With proper training and-"
"Antonio, I appreciate your inclusive nature, but that's not possible."
"You are a strong woman. You're having our daughter who I want to be a strong woman."
"I didn't say I was weak. Being a woman has it's disadvantages. Right now as I am, what on earth would I be able to do? And from here on out, what on earth will I be able to do with a child at my side?"
"You should have thought of that before-" He stopped himself, realizing he was going too far.
"Say it. It's all I have heard all my life. I should have thought of that before I opened my legs."
"I'm sorry."
"For what? I have heard this all before. Think you're the first man I have had this conversation with?"
"I'm the last man you'll have this conversation with." He said.
"But I am not the last woman you will have this conversation with?"
"Why not, Morgan? Why do you have to think that way? I am not interested in other females."
"Cause there aren't any, Freeman."
"There are, Morgan. They're everywhere. There was this fire chica on me earlier. I didn't think of it."
"Where's the fire, Antonio? I been with you all day. I have seen no fire."
"Here. On the grounds. She was on the shooting range." He said, pointing to the door. "I get free time. I have been out there, too. The girls are very grateful for clearing the threat. You go out with us and it's fucking professional. Afterwards, it's all...well, you get the idea."
"Oh, really."
"So saying you're the only girl is nonsense. I just choose to wait it out and ride back to you."
"You don't have to. If you see a girl you want, Freeman, take her."
"You are my fire, Morgan."
"Freeman, I love when you talk like that to me."
"It's not talk. I mean it."
"Ok, I'm the fire."
"Fire pussy. I love it. It's right fucking here. I'm no fucking dog either."
"Well if you see fire again, point her out please, cause I like to play with fire. This condition unfortunately restricts me from that sort of thing. But I wouldn't mind looking."
"You know I really believe that."
"You should, Freeman. We got pregnant real quick. You have no idea what I am like."
"What are you like then?"
"Let's get Antonia out before we go down that road."
At dinner Antonio pointed out the fire chica as she entered the room. God, she looked exactly like her mother. The long brown hair, ample chest, a small waist and wide hips. Long legs. Julia couldn't play with that fire. Some lines weren't crossed even in the new world with the new rules.
"Fire, Morgan." He said, eyes immediately drawn to the teenager.
"Put the fire out, Freeman. That's my sister." She said, getting up from her seat.
"Julia, " She said excited, hugging her. She smelled so good. "Hi, I am so happy to see you."
"It's been a while, little one." Julia said, hugging her back tight. "There's so much we need to talk about."
"I see, making me an aunt." She smiled. "Is that your grunt?" She asked, looking over her to Antonio.
"This is Antonio."
"I met Antonio, didn't I?" Tatia replied, separating from Julia and putting an arm around her.
"Why are you here? I thought you were with Tavin."
"I was, then I went with mommy Karen and daddy awhile and now I'm here. I like the fortress in the winter."
"You like the grunts." Julia pointed out, taking her to a seat next to her and Antonio.
"Oh, I do. I admit it. They're all so cute." Tatia replied, looking over Antonio. "But this one. They don't make em' like this here in sector two."
"I assume uncle Chess has you on guard." She said, looking over to Chess as he sat with Layla by the fire.
"I can't have any fun. He lets me shoot though. He takes me hunting. He takes me fishin' on the pond too." She looked around the room. "I just wanna kiss boys, ya know."
"These are not boys, these are men, Tatia. Men don't want to just kiss girls."
"I wanna join juniors infantry." She said loudly so Chess could hear her. "Julia, talk to him please."
"There's no juniors infantry for you."
"You know how he feels, Tati." Julia shrugged.
"Julia, you created juniors infantry. I want to. Why would you create something I can't be a part of?"
"What? I didn't create shit, Tati. That wasn't my idea. I don't like kids doing men's work."
"It was your idea."
"Why train me then at all? Why put a gun in my hand and a knife in the other and train me to kill if I am not allowed to go kill anything?" She yelled at Chess.
"Tatia."
"Seriously, Uncle Chess." She said, lowering her voice. Julia observed this pent up energy and absorbed it for her. It was flowing off her from so many different sources. The sexual energy was revving high with the kid as well.
"She has a point." Freeman piped up.
"Tell them, Julia."
"Pussy is a distraction from the work at hand." Julia said. She'd heard it a million times.
"Sir, with all due respect, I worked with Morgan and I was not thinking of her pussy at the time."
"Freeman, if I tossed you two into an incident right this minute would you say the same thing? Freeman, side by side now, without her sitting there with child, would you put the mission ahead of her life and her well being?"
"No."
"End of story."
"But, sir. I think that if we weren't fraternizing-"
"Could you say that you and all men would not fraternize?"
"Female juniors infantry." Julia said. "Keep them separate but with the same ideals and protocols."
"Julia Morgan."
"Yes. Create a female junior infantry."
"No."
"Daddy, that's fun." Layla said. "I want to-"
"What other female would be interested in that, Tatia? Other than you? Can you say it's more than wanting to meet cute boys?"
"Chess, the energy coming off the kid is strong. She needs something to do."
"She would not last a day." Chess said.
"Try me." Tatia stood up on her long legs. "Please." She crossed the room and sat on the floor in front of him and Layla. "Please, Uncle Chess. One day. I can do it."
"Daddy, I wanna go too. I can do it too. Let us go." Layla said excited and full of confidence.
"Yo, you said Layla was your next leader. What kind of leader has no infantry experience these days? How would anyone take Layla seriously if her own daddy doesn't?"
"Julia, you gotta clear this with-"
"You're clearing it with me. I'm fine with it. It's one day on the course with the boys."
"How is she supposed to drop in? She hasn't started from the beginning?"
"We been scrapping with her since she was a kid. She shoots fine and she's been trained to an extent. At that level of the game it's about smarts as much as-"
"Alexander went to freaking war at 15, Uncle Chess. He was clearing sector one at my age."
"We are not dropping her into an incident. She'd never live through that, but one day of grunt training, Chess. Anyone could do that."
"Anyone? Julia, times have changed since it was created." Chess said, looking at Tatia's hopeful brown eyes.
"This woman saved you a handful of times. Do you recall? Sometimes love has the strongest tie to survival."
"And sometimes that love gets people killed." He replied, jabbing her in the heart. He covered Layla's ears, knowing it was coming.
"Fuck you, Chess. If I wasn't pregnant,"
"Lucky for me you are." He shot back at her.
"Here we go." Antonio said, so reminiscent of Jayson, leaning back in the chair, eyes scanning the dining area and waiting for things to go down a personal road.
"What? What'd he say?" Chess asked as the hair stood up on his arms.
"I told you, Chess." Julia looked to Antonio.
"Oh, that's creepy." He said, shaking off the shiver he got.
"So I can go?" Tatia asked.
"I'll make the call. First thing Monday morning. We'll see how it goes, Tati."
"Tomorrow."
"No, tomorrow is skills weekend and you don't have any skills. It's hand to hand and you could get hurt. No."
"Fine. First thing Monday."
"Five am."
"Excuse me." Tatia asked.
Julia giggled, "Cute boys rise early."
"There shall be no special treatment." Chess warned.
"I don't want it anyway."
"Spend some time this weekend with Alexander. He'll get you ready."
"What's your end game here, Tatia, if you don't mind me asking." Antonio asked.
Tatia rose from the floor and kissed Chess's forehead. "Jersey, of course."
"As if you will ever be permitted to enter-"
"Uncle Chess, I got plans."
"Next gen plans. Like-" Antonio asked. "It's gonna be savage in the land of savages."
"Hell, yes. I want that boardwalk. It's gonna be lit. All the free states will wanna go there. You might want power, but I want power and money. Jewels. Fine dresses and heels. I want it all. It's my empire. It's my play land. It's all fun and games, adult stuff."
"Adult stuff? What do you possibly know about adult stuff?"
"I grew up with you people and if I learned anything about people it is 1-they like to drink. 2-they like to smoke. 3-Men will pay anything for a woman. 4. You like to gamble. So you can keep your state, I want the boardwalk."
"Oh, Lord." Julia smiled. "Can I come? I may have some input."
"Sure, anytime."
"This child has a point." Chess said, rising off the sofa, setting Layla down on his empty spot. "Hector!" Chess called.
"Yes, Mister Chess." He answered from his chair by the window. He was never too far from Chess.
"Find me a map of the great state of New Jersey."
Hector rose from the chair slowly, bones aching. He may take an hour, but he would return with the map. His brain was churning, looking at Antonio. "You."
"Yes, sir."
"How would you get to the shore without crossing New Jersey to get there? Savages are primarily on the western side of the state. The shore is uncharted because we can only get so far inside."
"A boat. I wouldn't go in blind. I'd sit out there and watch a while, gather a little Intel."
"Girl, you, what's the plan?"
"I heard Alexander talking to Tavin. They can't break through the ghettos. Go around the ghettos. What's in the ghetto anyway? Trash as far as I'm concerned. Leave them alone. They want what's tangible, territorial they are. Let them have their territory."
"I haven't met these savages, but I wouldn't dismiss them as trash. But I agree, let them live. Give them the farmland too. Teach them how to farm. Stop blowing up their shit and burning their shit down."
"I need Alexander here."
"Chess, what are you doing? This isn't your war, it's next gen. Let them figure it out."
"They'll figure it out this weekend." Chess said, leaning on the table. "You." Chess pointed at Antonio. "You're in on this right here. Where is Hector with my map?"
"Are we gonna eat soon?" Julia asked, rubbing her belly.
"Macy! Woman!" Chess called, leaving the dining area.
"Well, Tati, you broke the cardinal rule." Julia said.
"What's that, mama?" She asked.
"You gave him your plan."
"I thought you are sisters."
"We are." Julia replied. "But she's my baby, too. I changed her diapers."
"Best of both worlds." Tatia told him.
Chess rounded up Macy and the male offspring and brought them all into the dining area. Hector returned with the map and sat to dine as well. Julia served him a plate as well as the others. Old Hilda, the cook who'd been around as long as old Hector sat with the family and dined also. Chess had Antonio sit at his end of the table and looked at the map of Jersey.
"How old is this map, Hector?"
"Is from Encyclopedia Britannica, Mister Chess. The best I can do."
"This is fine. Thank you, Hector."
Julia hadn't spent a meal with the Morgan's in a long time. All their children were getting on her nerves. The war talk at the end of the table, for once, did not interest her in the least. She and Macy made dull chit chat, skirting around the private issues she wanted to bring up with Julia. She kept private-private. The elephant in the room was Tatia eyeing Antonio.
"Must you do that?" Julia asked her.
"He's so cute though. I can't look at him. Julia, what's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"You know."
"Old and boring." Macy said, spooning some mashed potatoes in her mouth.
Julia glanced at Macy. "Um, depends really. Antonio is not old and boring."
"Wait till you get to the fifth baby."
"There are not words." Julia replied, looking at Chess and Freeman.
"There's more to life than a boyfriend."
"Yeah, but it's great having one around." Julia added. "Or two. Or three." Tatia left out a little gasp. "That's an exaggeration." Julia said. "But your day's coming. Don't give that up randomly. Use it to your advantage. Hook the lifer and then play around when it gets boring and old."
"That's easy for you to say." Macy criticized.
"Yeah, really. You get out of here at least. You get to go out and find the Antonio's of the world. We're stuck here. Guarded."
"I'm working, ladies. I'm not just out looking for the Antonio's of the world."
"Work..." Macy repeated.
"Yeah, and let me tell you the honest truth. If he dared lock my ass up, I would still do what ever I choose to do. I live for me and no one else." She rubbed her protruding belly. "Well, till now of course."
"Where there's a will there's a way." Hilda said out of the blue.
"Yes, Hilda. Exactly."
Julia got up from her seat and started collecting the dirty dishes and placing them in the cart to roll back to the kitchen. That conversation gave Tatia the motivation she needed and she got herself up and excused herself. "Behave yourself, child." Julia called after her. "Who's she interested in?" Julia asked Macy, when she was out of ear shot.
"A kid from the school named Leo. They meet out there after dinner every night. She thinks we're stupid, Julia."
"They all do."
"Jules, can we have some time?"
"Ugh, Macy. please. Look at us."
"We can cuddle."
"Oh, no. I don't wanna. I don't even feel good."
"You are rather puffy."
"I'm all water. My ankles, my feet. My hands. I'm heavy. My blood pressure is high. I'm tired all the time. I shouldn't even be out of bed."
"I will have the OB see you first thing. Would you like me to call him now?" Chess asked.
"Nah. There's nothing I can do. Just ride it out. Hope for the best." Julia replied. "Are you guys almost done?"
"You want me?" Antonio asked. "I'll help you up, Morgan." He said, leaving the leader and his map at the table. Freeman helped her up and walked away with her toward the elevator. Waddling all the way.
"Chess." Macy said.
"Yes, Mace." He answered, making some adjustments on his paper where he'd been scribbling ideas.
"Chess, dammit."
"What, Mace?" He asked looking at her. "Oh, babe. I'll get you. Come on." He said, helping her up too.
"I'm just as pregnant."
"I know, my Macy. I love you." He said, guiding her back to the elevator where they waited for it to come back down for them.
"I think we should spend some time together."
"Now?" He asked.
"Yes, now. New Jersey can wait."
"It's waited this long." He agreed.
"Have you been to bed with her yet?"
"What Julia and I do is not your business." He guided pregnant Macy through the room to the hall toward their suite.
"I could ask her."
"You'll get the same response." He reminded her as he shut the bedroom door. "You know I have never liked this jealousy you two have put in between us. I feel it from you and I feel it from her. She gave you what you wanted and you're still bitchin'."
"What did I want, Chess?"
"This, Mace. She was perfectly happy here after Jayson died. With us, in our home. She came home, to us. You drove her away from here."
"And you've been angry with me since then."
"I am not angry with you. Because Julia came first doesn't mean a damn thing to me. It's you. I don't play favorites and I never will." He undressed Macy, dropping her clothes to the floor at her feet. "Julia does as she pleases. Within reason, I allow that. If I choose to bring her here and keep her here, I'll do it. But it wouldn't make her happy."
"I'm not happy."
"What do you want from me, Macy? I can only do so much. What will make you happy?"
"I need her."
"Then I'll get her. You want me to go get her? I can occupy him with New Jersey."
"You'd rather hover over that map anyway."
"Why'd you do this? Macy, you never could just say what you mean." He complained. "I am not a mind reader."
"She is!"
"So she knows you want her and she didn't come?"
"Yeah," Macy said sadly.
"Then she doesn't wanna be in here with you. I don't know what to tell you."
"But if you tell her-"
"Why? What did she tell you when she said no."
"That we're pregnant and she feels like shit."
"And you? Do you feel like shit?"
"No, Chess. I feel pregnant."
"She's sick, Macy."
"She can make love to him. And you, if you demand it."
"I don't demand it from her. If she comes to me, she comes voluntarily. I don't force myself on her." Chess was pissed. "Demand it. Not with her past or yours. I would never force that. Not on any woman, Macy."
"I didn't mean it like that, Chess." She said. "You know how you are, when you come to me. It's understood that's what's happening."
"You never once told me no. Stop. Get off. Leave me alone. Not once." He argued. "Is that true or not?"
"It's true, but-"
"It's true. Are you crazy? Baby, have you completely lost it?" He asked putting his arm around her. "Macy, you're having this argument with the wrong person."
Macy started crying. "You don't understand."
"Explain it to me. Mace, there's nothing you can't say to me."
"I wanted her to be more excited to be home. I wanted her to be more excited to see me. I want her to stay home too. Like when he leaves her, which he has to, why does she have to go to the farm house?"
"She considers the farmhouse home. She was at peace there."
"She was at peace?"
"For a long time, yeah. Mace, she's a complicated bitch. You are not."
"I am too."
"Macy, you're predictable. You're two different people. I like that you're different."
"She makes me feel so stupid sometimes. Cause she's strong and I'm just this weak thing that stays here, sheltered and safe."
"She doesn't like sheltered and safe." He said, sitting her down on the edge of the bed. "Enough of this. Don't do this to yourself. You always think you're not good enough when she's around and you are. You only gotta be good enough for me. No one else."
Nine straight years of this insanity, convincing number two that she was equal to number one. Macy may have come second in line, but she never left him. She never had the itch to escape the confines of the fortress. She had weathered everything with him, had his children, ever faithful. She never looked to another man for company or love. She kept his life simple, kept his life straight, kept him grounded and secure. She always made him feel like a man should feel.
"I know how to stop this. I started it." He said to her, leaving go of her. "You are no longer allowed to sleep with my wife. You may not invite her into our bed. You may not lay down with her or think about her or suggest that she can satisfy you. This belongs to me and me only."
"What? You have got to be kidding." Macy said. "After all these years-"
"Yes. It's done. I forbid it." He said. "You are not married to her. It ends here and now."
"But Chess."
"What goes on in our bedroom is ours and ours alone. You will not discuss it with her. You will not share that with her. You may not hold hands with her or touch her or hold her in any way or at any time. You wouldn't dare do it with another man and you will not do it with her."
"Are you absolutely sure that's what you want?" She asked.
"I am." He replied, standing in front of her.
"So what happens when you want us together?"
"I don't. It's done." He shook his head as he undid his pants. "You're a better lover, Macy."
"I am?" She asked, having a hard time believing those words as he spoke them.
"You give better head for sure." He assured her, dropping his pants to his ankles. He took himself in hand and guided Macy's head down, her mouth taking him in.
He may have lied to her, but it was what she needed to hear. Macy did have a point. What would happen when he wanted them together?
"Tia, slow down, you know they're watching." Leo whispered as he was pinned against the wall by the suddenly over confident girl.
"Take me inside there, Leo. There's gotta be a place we can sneak. Please." Tatia cooed in his ear as her hands groped at his pants.
"Your Uncle is gonna shoot me if I-"
"Fucking pussy." Tatia yelled at him, pulling her lips from his neck and backing across the walkway.
They stood between the main house and the school wing like every other night. She met Leo there after dinner, slipping out when no one noticed. Macy would busy herself with the kids and Uncle Chess would do whatever sector leaders do at night. They'd sneak to meet in the dark corridor and make out a little. Leo was always so worried about getting caught he limited himself in the way he touched her or moved on her. "Fuck you, you fucking pussy." Tatia yelled.
"Tia, Shhh. Stop it. You're gonna get us caught." He urged her to be quiet. Tia was not the kind of girl that liked being told what to do though. She was loud, pushy, stubborn, rude and had a foul mouth. She looked fine too, real easy on the eyes.
"Excuses. I do what I fucking want to do."
"I don't wanna die in the process of you doing- what all do you want to do?" He said, looking around. He imagined there were guns on them and if he stepped out of line he'd get shot. Chess Morgan was not a man to kid with.
"Leo, don't you want more?" She pouted, opening up her jacket. "Of this. On that." She teased, coming toward him with the very tight shirt exposing a lot of cleavage.
"Tia, I'm dying here."
"Take me inside, Leo." She demanded.
"I know a place." He whispered, snatching her by her hand. "You better be worth dying for."
They followed the long corridor from the main house to the rear entrance of the school, which he'd propped open with a stick. A small amount of light escaped the stairwell onto the concrete walkway. Leo opened the door and led her inside to the stairwell. She let him lead her through the door into the rec area, past a bunch of boys playing air hockey and darts. He went left to the gymnasium. Her Leo stood as tall as she did, his blond hair short cropped to his head, amazing blue eyes. They slipped beneath the bleachers to the gym mats that were piled up beneath. Their soft spoken voices echoed through the gym. Tia dropped her jacket on the gym mats, then she dropped with him on the gym mats. Leo peeled her shirt off first, exposing her breasts in a white bra, which he quickly unhooked and tossed aside.
"That feels good, Leo." She whispered as his hands awkwardly touched her chest. "Leo, have you done this before?"
"No." He answered, lowering his head to her chest. He put a nipple in his mouth. "No, Tia, but I like it."
"Leo, I think about you all the time." She confessed. "I think about you doing things to me."
"Me too, Tia." He mumbled, kissing her as he fondled her. He let his hands explore a little further around her body. She had a beautiful body.
"My pants, Leo." She said, pushing his hand down. "Touch me there, Leo. You first, then me." She urged as he lifted the waist band on her pants, pulling at the elastic waist band. "Or should we do it?"
"Do it?" He asked caught by surprise. "You wanna do it?"
"You don't?" She asked, pushing at his hand again. "Leo, just fucking touch me."
Leo's hand went inside her pants and her underwear and found her wet and when he touched her in the right way, she gasped and moaned for him.
"Tia, shhh, you're loud." He warned her as she moved on his hand. She only got louder. "Tia." He said again, pulling her head to his chest. "Quiet, T. Someone's gonna hear you."
"Leo," She cried out. "Keep rubbing me there, Leo. Please, don't stop, Leo. It's happening."
"What's happening?" He asked, but he followed her direction, kept rubbing her up front on her little nub just inside of her. Tia's body rocked on his hand and trembled and she shook quite a bit all from his fingers rubbing her between her legs. The wetness formed on his hand and in her panties.
"Uh, that is fucking awesome." She squealed. "That is the best thing that ever happened to me." She said, breathing heavy onto his shoulder. "Ok, now you." She said, unbuttoning his pants and pulling the zipper down. He lay on his back and shimmied his pants down a bit and when she took him in her hand, she expected more. Despite her disappointment, she kept it to herself. "Show me how." She said to him. He placed his hand over hers and moved it up and down, over his small member till he came a moment later. That didn't take very long at all, she observed. In fact, she'd taken longer to have her pleasure than he did his own.
Being a female raised with all brothers and male cousins, she'd accidentally seen some things in her time. She'd accidentally walked in on things happening at times too. It was hard not to sneak a peak at a penis when you're brothers and cousins piss on a tree while you're outside playing or running around in the compound. She'd learned that boys piss anywhere over the years. Although her two eldest brothers always kept that part of themselves covered, she'd caught Alex with quite a few girls over the years. She didn't have much to go on, but even her male cousins, Chess's kids, had more going for them than Leo did.
"Tia, I love you." Leo said, kissing her lips.
"I need to go back before they notice I'm gone." She said, playing it off that she'd been missing too long. She redressed hurriedly and pulled her jacket back on.
"Wait, T. I'll walk you back."
"I got this." She called on her way through stairwell exit.
She made her way through the kitchen through the first floor and impatiently waited on the elevator. She stalked the hall to Julia's room and knocked on the door. "Julia." Tatia opened the door and observed them on the bed. Freeman was going through the boxes, flipping through the old journals. Tatia leaned in the doorway, looking at the beautiful brown skinned man her sister brought home.
"What's up?" She asked from her bed, sitting Indian style and nude. Unfortunately Antonio was not similarly attired.
"How big exactly should a penis be?"
Silence.
"Like how do I know before I go too far, like before things start, like when I meet a guy that's awesome. How do I know how big it is or small it is, so I know how to avoid the small ones and not waste my time on that at all?"
Silence.
"Maybe I am not making myself clear."
"It's luck." Julia answered.
"Luck? That's not good enough."
"Short of pulling it out and observing it, yeah. It's luck."
"But what if you really like the person and it's small? Then you're stuck with that bad luck?"
"Pretty much. But that also goes the opposite direction. Too big. Then what?"
"Too big? Is there such a thing?"
"Oh, yes there is. That's just as bad as too small."
"It's about the fit." Antonio said, flipping through the pages of the book. "Does it fit and feel fine?"
"It fit in the palm of my hand. And it didn't feel fine."
"That's not what I meant by fit and that's not what I meant by fine." Antonio chuckled.
"Always go with your gut, little one. How's that?"
"Well my gut says no."
"Why were you doing things that you had no business doing?"
"There's things going on that needed taking care of. That felt fine."
"You need to take care of things on your own, little girl." Julia pointed at her crotch.
"I don't do that."
"What's the point, Tatia?"
"The point being I thought you'd understand."
"I do. I am right there with you."
"Uh, don't mock me." She groaned, stomping off down the hallway.
"You're right there with her?" Antonio asked, looking at her sideways. "I'm a little more than the palm of your tiny hand, Morgan."
"I got no complaints."
"Y'all always talk like that?"
"I have always told her there was nothing she couldn't say to me. Don't do anything that you can't tell me about. If ya can't talk about it, then you shouldn't be doing it."
"You're fine with her laying up with some guy?"
"When did you start laying up with girls, Freeman?"
"17. I had an awkward phase, Morgan." He smiled. "You?"
"14. I'm still in my awkward phase." Julia paused. "Was she a girlfriend?"
"Yeah."
Tight lipped about the girlfriend scene. Julia kept it moving. He didn't want to get into it, then neither would she. How awkward could his phase have been? Curiosity was killing her. She never reached inside Freeman's past despite her ability to do so. She never linked in, because she wouldn't like anyone linking into her past. She'd rather have him volunteer information than to deliberately pry into his psyche.
"Da me la mano, Antonio." She said, holding out her hand. He gave her his hand automatically without thinking about it. She lay on her left side, facing him. He pulled the sheet over her pale skin as opposed to closing the door to the room. Distracted by the notebooks and the history, she felt comfortable sliding into his deep memories. She only wanted to peek at his awkward phase, not pry. A snap shot of the kid that sat beside her bed.
"What are you looking for, ma?" He asked, feeling her energy creeping up his arm and into his head. A gentle energy, noninvasive and calming.
"I wanna see you awkward, Antonio." She said, tugging his hand gently. She flashed him a memory of her at 14, like a snap shot.
"You look the same, Morgan." He commented.
He showed her 14. A tall, skinny kid in a field with the prison behind him. The hair...she thought.
"Long hair, yeah, it was a phase." She left go. She'd seen enough.
"That's not awkward. You're handsome."
As she tired and started to fall asleep, he'd reached the box with the pictures. The final box from the closet. Maps and pictures and folded up, large blocks of paper with intricate drawings of the reformatory. Old photos, fading photos.
"Is this your boyfriend, Julia?" He asked, holding the picture in front of her face. "Is this him?" He asked, rousing her from that space in between asleep and awake. Julia's eyes focused on the picture of Jayson. The tall, skinny kid in front of a prison fence, sun shining bright on his long hair almost making the black hair shine. A picture he'd taken during his first week of work at the reformatory. It was warm out, he'd pulled the long sleeved uniform shirt off and stood there waiting on a bus in his tee and work pants. He always smiled for pictures. Loved having pictures taken of him.
"Yes, that's Jayson." She answered, feeling the pressure develop in her eyes, the moisture building up and a few tears as they leaked from the corner of her eyes. She smiled, touching the photo. "Yeah." She looked up at Freeman. "Put it away, please."
"How long?"
"Um, that was about 9 years ago."
""How long were you together?"
"10 years."
"Was he your first, ma?"
"Yeah." She smiled as he set the photo in the box with the rest.
"You wanna see her?" He asked, taking her hand. "That's why you were in my head, right? The girl."
"Only if you want to."
"Her name is Angie. I think you'll be able to find her in there."
Angie wasn't hard to find at all. Angie left her fingerprints all over Antonio's brain. She was a tough one, gripped him first around the most basic, primal part of him first and then spread out through the rest of his head like a wave hitting the shore. She was that girl, the it girl. Julia was flooded with obsession. He'd been hooked by her and she sunk her nails in.
Angie never went in to the safe camps. She weathered the storm on the outside of the walls and fences. She kept herself alive. Julia sensed strength and experience and confidence and sex...a lot of sex. The girl kept herself alive. Julia felt a deep understanding of her predecessor. Julia realized he'd sought the same energy that she had. No wonder the kid showed up at her tent without hesitation.
They shared no facial or physical familiarity. Angie was built like a woman, shapely with an ample handful of tits and ass. The hair though, Julia observed. Exactly on point with hers. Her fair skin, the freckles that broke out on her arms in the sun. Irish blood. Old Irish, it was a blood line. Scottish perhaps.
"What she wanted with me is still a mystery, Morgan."
"I know what she wanted. You can smell it on her." Julia replied, separating from the memory of that redhead. "I'd love to meet her."
"When we go home, you can."
"Can I have her?"
"Huh?"
"Don't act surprised. She's never held back with you obviously."
"I had my suspicions about you, ma."
"I'm restricted here, Freeman." Julia replied, rubbing her belly. "I had my own self imposed restrictions and then you gave me yours."
"You gonna break my heart like she did."
"Nah, you have to be down for the ride of your life, Freeman. She was the starter pack. We're young, you know. We only live once. It can be a party or a drag. That's up to you."
"Which is this, a party or a drag, Morgan?"
"Oh, the bigger I get, it falls somewhere in between."
"It'll be over soon." He said, rubbing her belly. "Oh, ma, she's almost ready."
She's almost ready. Ready. She's almost. She's...she is.
ORIGINAL 6/22/2015. EDITED AND DIVIDED 8/17/2021
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