Crown's Law

by Wolf Wootan

  “No way, young lady! You’re going to be the most gorgeous girl at the ball! I’m going to sweep your hair up in back, up on top, then a waterfall of curls! You’re going to be smashing! First though, I’m going to manicure your nails. Sit over here. Let’s get this show on the road!”

  Later, as Bo worked on Becky’s hair with the curling iron, they chatted about various girl things, hairstyles, and Becky’s dress and shoes.

  At one point, Bo said, “I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be blessed with a mind like yours, Becky. What’s it like?”

  “I suppose it’s a blessing, if you can call a freak of nature a blessing. Sometimes, I think I’m cursed!”

  “Cursed? I wouldn’t think so!”

  “How would you like it if you couldn’t forget anything? Everything I read, hear, or see is in my memory banks forever. At least, that’s been the case so far. Sometimes, there are things I’d like to forget, but I can’t.”

  “Hmm. That could be bothersome,” mused Bo as she put aside the curling iron and started arranging Becky’s hair. “And acceptance by your peers must be quite a daily struggle.”

  “Now there’s a mouthful! Peers. Do you know what the word ‘peer’ means? To quote the dictionary, ‘A person who is equal in ability, standing, rank, or value.’ ‘Peer group’ can mean a group of the same age or with the same interests or abilities. Now, which ‘peer group’ are we talking about here? If we choose ‘ability’—as in mental ability—my peer group is a handful of old men with PhDs in math or the physical sciences. And the more I learn, and the more I ponder, the smaller that group gets. Then there’s the age group. I’m supposed to interact socially with kids my own age, some of them with the IQ of a gnat. Their main goal in life is to define things as ‘cool’ and ‘uncool.’ How shallow! But Dr. Sue says that if I’m to grow into a well-adjusted adult, I have to learn to fit in with that group, too. Like tonight. The prom.”

  Bo stopped working on her hair for a beat as she peered at Becky, actually feeling a little bit sorry for her. “I can see that your life is more complex than I had imagined. I guess I had never thought it through. Are you dreading the prom? I thought you were excited about it!”

  “Oh, I am excited! I’m sorry I made my life seem so miserable. I mix well with some kids my age. There are kids my age in charm school. And I like to dance and party. The prom is sort of like a final exam, though. As you know, teenagers—especially girls—can be very mean to each other. I won’t know most of the kids at the prom, but they all know about me. I expect a lot of snide remarks, but someone with my kind of mind has to be tolerant of ignorance. It will test my character, as Dr. Sue would say. I just hope it doesn’t ruin Billy’s night. It’s really his prom, not mine. He could’ve taken anyone he wanted, but he’s a good friend . . . to take me.”

  “I would say that he’s a very good friend. And he’ll have the prettiest girl there on his arm! Stand up and look at yourself in the mirror. Tell me what you think.”

  Becky went to her dresser mirror and looked at her hair. She was flabbergasted!

  “Is that me? My God, Bo, my hair has never looked this good! It’s like . . . professional!”

  “Glad you like it. Now, I’m gonna take a cig break and get another glass of wine, then we’ll get to work on your makeup. You do wear contact lenses occasionally, don’t you? We should lose the Harry Potter look for tonight.”

  While Bo was putting the finishing touches on Becky’s makeup, she thought she would try to ferret out more information about Sam—hopefully without upsetting Becky.

  “You really like Sam, don’t you?” she mused.

  “Like? Of course, but more than that! I love him! I respect him. I wouldn’t be even close to what I am today without Sam. He teaches me things that aren’t in books. Even things that Dr. Sue doesn’t know. He and his parents have taught me by example, too. I know I still have a lot to learn from them, but I’ll keep trying. When Sam plucked me up off the streets, I was only 13, and I was, to say the least, confused. Like I said before, my age group only knew two classifications: cool and uncool. Sam taught me that ‘cool’ is a moving thing. What’s cool one month becomes uncool a month later. But kids stake their mental and physical well-being on such nonsense. He also pointed out that ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ have that same property. The definition of what’s legal is different from place to place, and lawmakers can change the definition any time they want. He says the only constants are ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ Those never change. So just because something is ‘cool,’ or something’s ‘legal,’ doesn’t always mean it’s ‘right.’ Understand?”

  Bo shrugged, then smiled. “I don’t know. It’s rather complex. I don’t think things are that simplistic. How do you know what’s right or wrong? Good or evil?”

  “As Shakespeare said, ‘That’s the rub.’ I suppose it’s each person’s innate conscience. That’s why sociopaths can be so evil. You can’t use religious guidance totally either, because just look at the differences worldwide in religious teachings. But some things are obviously evil while others fall into gray areas,” mused Becky. “Philosophy of this sort isn’t my bag, but it is good brain food at times.”

  Bo had never had a discussion like this with a teenager before. In fact, she rarely had discussions of any sort with teens. The last time must have been with her brother’s kids when she went home to Colorado for Christmas. She couldn’t even remember what they talked about. She hadn’t pegged Sam as the philosopher type, but evidently he had deep discussions with Becky. Quite a man of mystery!

  “Not my bag either. Now let’s check you out in the mirror. I went light on the makeup. We don’t want a garish look,” said Bo, changing the subject.

  Becky was astounded at how beautiful her image was in the mirror. She had never looked this good in her entire life! She squealed and gave Bo a big hug.

  “Oh, thank you, Bo! You did such a marvelous job! I hardly recognize myself!”

  “You’re welcome, Becky. It was no job at all. I had a lot of natural beauty to work with. Let’s see, it’s only 5:50. I don’t want you in your dress yet. Let’s get you into your pantyhose and the Wonderwoman bra, then you can relax for a bit. I’m assuming the dress fits well—no alterations required?”

  “It fits perfectly! Nana had them alter it before we picked it up. I wish she was here to see me in it!”

  “Well, I’m sure Sam will take a lot of pictures!”

  Ten minutes later, they joined Sam downstairs, Becky wearing her robe. Sam couldn’t believe his eyes!

  “Who is this? What did you do with Becky?” he gasped.

  Bo said, “You haven’t seen nothin’ yet. Wait till you see her in her gorgeous dress!”

  “I sure appreciate this, Bo! She’ll be the belle of the ball!” exclaimed Sam. “Maybe we should go and be chaperons so we can watch her dance!”

  “Sam!” groaned Becky. “Don’t even think of it! I’ll have enough trouble without the kids thinking I’m dorky because I have a chaperon!”

  “Just kidding, Beck!” he laughed. “Let’s go out on the deck and have a drink, Bo. More wine?”

  “Sure, and a smoke break.”

  ***

  At 6:30, Bo took Becky back upstairs to finish dressing her. Sam stayed on the deck and nursed a scotch and water, listening to the surf. At 6:45, he heard the limo door slam, then the doorbell chimed. Billy had arrived. Sam let him in. He looked quite dashing in his white dinner jacket, suntanned face, and short blond hair. He reminded Sam of when he had been that age. That thought caused Sam’s stomach to knot up as he remembered his sexual escapades in those days!

  “Hi, Billy,” Sam said. “I see you remembered the corsage. I really appreciate you taking Becky to your prom. And you know better than I do that some of the kids might heckle her a bit.”

  “Yes, Mr. Crown. Some probably will, but I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry,” said Billy, shuffling from one foot to the other.

  “I’m sure
you will, Billy. Don’t get in any trouble over it though—no socking anyone. The limo driver will be close by with the limo, so you can leave whenever you want,” said Sam.

  “Thank you, sir! The limo is so cool!”

  “One other thing, Billy. I want you to make sure that you bring Becky home in the same condition as when you left. Get my drift?” said Sam.

  Billy turned red and replied, “Yes, sir. She’s safe with me.”

  Then they heard Bo say from the top of the stairs, “Ta da! The princess is ready!”

  Billy and Sam turned and watched as Becky floated down the stairs in her pale blue dress, a giant smile lighting up her face. She was a vision of beauty. Sam wanted to cry! Billy was stunned! He had never seen Becky look so beautiful! Everyone at the dance would be jealous of him when they saw her! And a limo, too!

  Billy gave Becky her wrist corsage, and Bo put it on her, adjusting it until it was just so. Sam thought Bo was being as fussy as a mother hen. Sam got out his best camera and shot up half a roll on various poses, including some with Bo. Bo took some of him with Becky, also.

  Then, Becky kissed Bo and Sam and the couple was gone.

  “I think I’ll join my drink on the deck,” mumbled Sam, his eyes misting.

  “Me, too,” agreed Bo, her heart throbbing with emotion.

  They sat on stools at the wet bar and Bo lit one of her long cigarettes.

  “I’m very jealous of you, Sam Crown. Being part of that precious girl’s life must be a delight to you!”

  “It is. In more ways than I can express.”

  “Thank you for letting me be a part of this tonight. It meant a great deal to me.”

  “Thank you for your help. You made her so gorgeous! And made her forget today’s violence.”

  “I didn’t do that much. She’s just naturally gorgeous, inside and out. And I enjoyed every minute of it!”

  They drank in silence for a moment—each with their own private thoughts—Bo puffing on her cigarette. Finally, Bo broke the silence.

  “Christ! I’m as nervous as if I were her mother, sending her off on her first date! Weird, eh?”

  “She’s gotten to you. She does that to people she likes. She’s like a tick. Bores into your soul. Don’t worry about her though. She’s a tough kid and can take care of herself,” he replied, taking a swig of his scotch.

  “But . . . she’s so young!”

  “Well, the limo driver is an off-duty cop—a good friend of mine. And I had a chat with Billy. But don’t tell her! She’d really be pissed at me if she knew!” laughed Sam.

  “Good! I feel better already! I like a father who takes precautions,” sighed Bo.

  More silence.

  Sam finally broke it. “After what happened today, I’m doubly glad that I have someone watching her. I wonder what that attack was all about?”

  Bo shrugged. “Perhaps we were a random target. Maybe they just wanted to steal the boat—didn’t expect resistance.”

  Sam shook his head. “We’ve never had an incident like that here. Did you bring some dangerous baggage here with you, Bo?”

  In the back of his mind, Sam was wondering about Becky planting the bugs. Could this be related?

  Bo’s thoughts were on the mole she was after. Could her itinerary have been passed on to the Dynology criminals? She shivered when she thought that she might have been the one to put Becky in danger.

  “I don’t know, actually, Sam. We’ll know more on Monday—see if those bastards have said anything useful. I’ll just die if I’ve caused Becky to be put in danger!”

  “Yeah. If they had hurt her, they’d be in the morgue now instead of jail,” murmured Sam. “As it was, she had a ball trying to ram those assholes! She’s something else!”

  “She is that! I hope she’s having fun at her prom!”

  “She will, I’m sure. Hungry yet?”

  “Not really.”

  “How about a swim then?”

  “Do we have time? It’s nearly dark!”

  “We have very strong spotlights mounted on the upper balcony. We use them for night swimming all the time. And grunion hunting. They shine out a couple hundred yards.”

  “Hell, why not? Let me go put on a suit. Might as well take advantage of this wonderful beach!”

  Chapter 31

  Saturday, June 2, 2001

  Capistrano Beach, CA

  Even though body-boarding wasn’t quite up there with white-water rafting when it comes to thrills, Bo was having a great time. The waves were large now, and they started building quite a ways out from the shore, so the rides were long and frothy. The sun had disappeared into the water behind Catalina, but the few clouds on the horizon had turned to various shades of red, orange, and purple—a phenomenon that only people with an unobstructed view of the sea experienced at sunset. Bo stood staring at the ocean, letting the last vestiges of the sunset seep into her, relax her. The dark mass of Catalina Island had loomed up on the horizon as the sun slipped down into the sea. Even San Clemente Island made a murky appearance.

  Sam had seen many incomparable sunsets from this beach. Now he was more entranced by Bo’s hard nipples trying to push through the material of her wet bikini top. The beach was deserted now except for the two of them. The spotlights created a spectacular show, frothy diamonds of sea spray sliding into the sand on each wave.

  Bo said, “Let’s catch one more wave before the colors disappear! I’d like to be out there when it turns black!”

  Sam was in no mood to deny her anything. She was in such a good mood! He wanted to keep her that way. She was either coping well with the fact that she had just shot a man, or she was overcompensating. Or perhaps the time she spent helping Becky get ready for the prom had mellowed her in some way.

  They slipped their rubber fins back on and paddled their body boards out to where the waves were forming. The wave Bo finally decided to take was a massive one and they both were tumbled, smashing the two of them into each other. Sam abandoned his body board and grabbed her, kicking his fins furiously, trying to straighten them out. Finally they were deposited on the beach, Sam on his back, Bo on top of him—chest to chest. She was gasping for breath and laughing boisterously at the same time.

  “Now, that was a ride!” she sputtered, her face only inches from his.

  For the first time, Sam was feeling her taut, firm breasts smashed against his bare chest and her pubic bone hard against his. He still had his arms around her back, gripping her tightly. Another wave lapped over their bodies, stopping at Sam’s shoulders, then receding out to form another.

  “I remember a scene like this in some movie,” whispered Sam as he ran his right hand up and down her spine, thrilled to be touching her.

  Another wave lapped over them. Sam put his hand behind her head and caressed her damp hair. She stared into his eyes, then she kissed him gently on the lips. Salty. Sexy. Still silence between them. She felt him getting hard down there, but she didn’t move. He wanted to kiss her back, but he let her take the lead—see where she was going with this. He didn’t want to ruin the moment.

  She finally replied huskily, “I remember the scene. Can’t remember the name of the movie.”

  “I remember it now,” whispered Sam. “It was From Here to Eternity. One of the classic war movies.”

  He rolled to his right, cushioning her head on his arm so it wouldn’t touch the sand. His left hand went to the small of her back, caressing her. She kissed him again, more salt and sand. She slipped her right arm over his back, pulled herself closer to him.

  “It doesn’t make any sense,” Bo whispered.

  “What?” he rasped.

  “The scene in the movie. They wouldn’t have done it there on the beach—or in the water. Can you imagine how painful that would be? For both of them. Especially her.”

  She giggled.

  “All that salt water and sand being shoved into her?” she continued.

  Sam remembered the movie well now. He had started to t
ell her that the two in the movie not only didn’t have sex in the ocean, they didn’t have sex at all. When they got out of the water, they started an argument and never got around to it. He thought it was better not to mention that and distract her. He liked her version. He liked hearing her talk about sex.

  Sam said instead, “But it made for a sensual, romantic episode. You’re too practical!”

  Bo knew that she had a decision to make. If she didn’t break this up immediately, she would end up in bed with him—just as he had predicted! Her tingling body finally made the decision for her.

  “Maybe, and it was a very sexual scene—and extremely suggestive!” She kissed him again. “My hormones are going crazy, and I’ve already detected your readiness. I would suggest that we move this scene to the shower in your room, but I don’t want to give you the satisfaction of having me as one of the notches on your pistol! This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

  “I’ll swear under oath that you seduced me! Then you can notch whatever it is you notch!” Sam moaned in her ear.

  “Never a boasting word? In fact, I don’t want anyone to know about it. Especially Becky!”

  “Agreed! No one! Never!”

  “OK, let’s move this inside before I change my mind!”

  They got up and climbed the wooden steps up to the deck.

  Sam said, “There’s a shower around by the pool.”

  “No. Let’s use the one in your bedroom. I want to be as close as possible to the bed when we come out of the shower.”

  She grabbed a towel and patted some of the sand and water off her bathing suit and body. Sam did the same. She dropped the bottom of her suit in front of the sliding screen door, then her top. The sight of her bare, white ass and breasts caused Sam to gasp! She disappeared into his room.

  Sam barely survived the shower as they got the salt and sand off their yearning bodies. Seeing her naked—finally—caused overwhelming emotions to circulate throughout his body.