The Courier Ch. 07

But most of all, Maria Elena fantasized about herself with Victor...Her desire to serve him and her desire for him to hold her and comfort her. There was something about him that she found very desirable...but what? It was strange, he was not particularly good-looking and he even had sons who were older than her, but she desired him...

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The next morning, Cecilia noted Maria Elena's behavior during breakfast. She suspected that the prisoner might have developed a crush on Victor, which wouldn't have surprised her, given her circumstances and traumatic arrest.

Cecilia had very mixed feelings. She was relieved that the Colombian had so quickly adapted to her new role in the house. She was very happy that she no longer had to worry about anything other than caring for her nephew. She also was glad to see the possibility that Victor could move beyond his wife's funeral. To be honest, she found her host's nightly praying sessions in front of the portrait rather creepy.

However, Cecilia was becoming increasingly concerned about what was witnessing at the table during meals because she did not think that any romantic involvement between Victor and the prisoner was a good idea. There were plenty of young men at the Socrates Club and as soon as Maria Elena met some of them she probably would forget about Victor. She just needed to wait...

More importantly, Cecilia was convinced that Prisoner # 101025 did not understand what being a collared criminal actually meant. She was not Victor Dukov's personal servant; she was property of the Danubian government. The Ministry of Justice, through Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, could reassign her whenever it chose to do so, according to the perceived needs of the Danubian state. For example, at a moment's notice she could be forced to live in a camp at the other end of the country and participate in a public works project. Cecilia suspected that if Kim knew what was going on, Maria Elena would be moved immediately. She did not want the courier transferred out of Victor's house, for purely selfish reasons.

On their way to the university she decided to talk to her housemate, not about her growing feelings towards Victor, but about what was expected of her as a criminal:

"...you need to understand that you don't belong to Victor. You've been assigned to live in his house, but that's because of me and my Spanish. It has nothing to do with him."

"But...I thought you told me that I was supposed to help him out. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"

"It is, but you gotta look at it this way. You're being kept at Victor's house because, for now, that's the most convenient place to keep you. When the government needs you somewhere else, you're gonna get moved and no one's gonna care about what you or Victor think about it. I'll give you an example of what can happen. Last spring a canal overflowed near the river upstream and flooded a bunch of farms. They had to sandbag the area so the Public Works people could get in there and fix a levee. To do that, the Ministry shipped in 600 criminals from Danube City and kept them there for three months. For three months those criminals never saw their families, and that whole time their employers had to figure out how to get along without them. No one: not the criminals, not their families, and not their bosses, had any say in the matter. The Public Works Ministry said 'we need 600 criminals to fill sandbags' and the Justice Ministry said 'sure, where do you want us to send 'em?' Whatever was going on in any of their lives didn't matter. They got called to the Central Plaza, they were loaded onto buses, and three months later they came back. The point is; it could have been a year. Or three years. Or the rest of their sentences. That's what it means to belong to the government. You have to understand that."

"But...did they go back home...I mean, afterwards?"

"In that case they did. But that's not something you can count on. Home is wherever the government decides to put you."

Cecilia continued: "I think you've done very good adjusting to things in Victor's house and helping out. I'd bet had you been from the States you'd still be crying and moping and feeling sorry for yourself. You've actually adjusted extremely well. You just need to remember who you belong to."

A question popped into Maria Elena's thoughts. She felt it was general enough to not arouse Cecilia's jealousy:

"What about Jason? Does he have to do all that stuff too?"

"No. As long as he wears a Church collar, he's property of the Church. He doesn't have to do anything for the government, but trust me; those Priests keep him plenty busy. Sometimes I wish, if he has to be collared, that he was just an ordinary criminal, because he's always busy on the weekends."

"But...could he quit...I mean, lead a normal life...if he wanted to?"

"He could, but that's between him and the Creator. I've never said anything about it because it's not my Path in Life to question his conscience."

Cecilia's last comment opened up a bunch of new questions in Maria Elena's mind, but the conversation needed to end because they had arrived at the university. Cecilia had to chaperone yet another group tour, while Maria Elena had to report to the groundskeepers to find out what she needed to do that day.

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The rest of the day was the first out of many that would be Maria Elena's routine: work, lunch, class with the norteamericanos, and exercise class. Carmen's bottom still was clearly marked with the two welts from the day before, but she seemed none the worse for the experience.

"Everyone's gotten at least a swipe or two. The instructor watches to see what you're capable of doing, and then if she thinks you're not putting everything into the workout, you'll get it. I got lazy yesterday...can't argue with that...my fault."

"She hasn't hit me..."

"...because she hasn't figured out what you can do...how fit you are. Once she has that figured out you'll get hit if you're not putting 100% into your workout. But at least she's fair about it. She knows that 100% effort for someone else isn't 100% for you. And if you're sick or got a sprain or whatever, all you have to do is tell her before class and she'll have you do something else, as long as you don't try to BS her."

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Maria Elena thought about what Cecilia had told her, but decided that she should continue trying to get as close to Victor as possible. Her efforts that night were crimped by the presence at dinner of not only Cecilia and Pedro, but also Victor's youngest son and his fiancé. The young woman was absolutely beautiful and elegantly dressed, leaving the naked prisoner feeling very intimidated. For some reason she felt extremely uneasy kneeling in front of that young Danubian, in particular when she gave her several haughty looks. However, Maria Elena's unease made her even more determined to ingratiate herself with Victor.

For the first time Victor was eager to be alone with the naked prisoner. After dinner he put on the prayer robe that she had laid out, but his prayer session was somewhat shorter than usual. For the first time in four months he had something else on his mind besides guilt. His thoughts were on the naked Colombian and his own desires to...to do what with her? Hold her? Touch her? Comfort her? Make love to her?

Maria Elena went about her daily chores while he was praying, but she had the hot water boiled for tea and was vigilant to make sure she was ready when he finished. She was a bit surprised when he ended his prayer early, but she was prepared. She quickly poured his tea, knelt, and presented him with the cup.

When he sat down, their glances met. She stared at him with her intense dark eyes, thinking: I'm here for you Victor. You can take me if you want, because that's what I want. I'm yours. I don't care what the government says, I'm yours...

Victor stood up and motioned for Maria Elena to stand up. He wasn't ready to make love to her...and yet he wanted to...at least touch her. He wanted to talk to her, but the language barrier was still insurmountable. But her expression...no language barrier there...Prisoner # 101025 was offering herself...there was no doubt about it...and he badly wanted her...

Without saying anything, Victor shyly reached out to take Maria Elena's hand. However, the moment their skin touched they heard a thud upstairs. That was followed by footsteps running to the bathroom, a door slamming, and more footsteps. Then they heard Cecilia's voice in English: "Pedro, just stay there. I'll get you some water."

Cecilia came running down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen. She glanced at Victor and Maria Elena on her way back up.

"Pedro just threw up. Stomach virus. I need you to help me with his sheets."

And that was it for that night. Maria Elena was drafted to help Cecilia deal with her sick nephew.

However, as she went up the stairs, Maria Elena turned to look back at Victor. They exchanged a final glance. Victor Dukov and Prisoner # 101025 felt connected, that they understood each other. So much separated them: language, culture, age...and yet, they felt a bond that neither of them could have described or even understood.