Dune Dame

"They tell me I have that kind of second degree burns that probably won't leave scars when they heal," she said softly. "Until the last three days I tried to stay on the shady side of the cliffs whenever a boat wasn't going by, but after that I didn't have the strength anymore. Before that, I wasted a lot of energy trying to climb the cliff to get out."

"Well, you're out now. How you feeling?"

"Oh, I hurt all over. That little bikini I was wearing didn't keep the sun off much. I used all my sun lotion the first two days."

"Difficult to anticipate the future in a situation like that."

"Boy, are you right!"

The bandages on her face crinkled a bit. I think that was her attempt at a smile.

"Hurts a lot, I guess."

"Yeah, but I'm alive, thanks to you."

I liked the tone of her voice, even if it was pretty weak, yet. "No problem. I just wish I'd known sooner your were in trouble there on the sand, instead of just waving to be friendly."

"I'll be really friendly to you from now on. You just wait and see."

As she said this, a commotion rose in the hall outside her door. The guard deputy turned that way a moment, then ushered in a couple my parent's age. The woman was nearly in tears, and the man not far behind. Dad and I stepped back out of range.

Once inside the room, the woman broke down completely, weeping and gushing, the man held up better. He looked at the guard deputy as if to ask who Dad and I were.

"This is the boy who brought her in, and his father."

Boy? I'd just saved this woman—and by now I'd seen enough of her to know she definitely qualified as a woman—and all I rated was boy from this deputy? Oh, well. Be a gentleman, Dyer, and play your adult cards.

I stepped past Dad and held out my hand to the man—the woman didn't look emotionally all there yet—but the man did, so I bet on him.

"Hi. I'm Dyer Strait, sir. I found Katt stranded on a dune at the lake, pretty bad condition after two weeks of no food and no protection from the sun. So I brought her here, with the help of Doctor Mattocks, his wife, and a state cop. Just now got back up here from home in Sommerston."

"You? They told us she was kidnaped. When she didn't come back to the college that night, someone told the school she disappeared somewhere from the lake. Was that you?" His manner said I was the closest person to blame for his wife's anguish, so naturally I was to blame.

"I just found her and brought her here to the hospital. I ...."

"Daddy?" A weak voice from the bandages on the bed said.

The man's head spun around so fast I feared they'd be treating him for whiplash.

"Oh, Baby! You're awake?"

"Yes, Daddy, I'm awake. Momma? I'm okay. Don't worry so much. They say I'll be all right in a few weeks."

"Two weeks?" the woman bleated. "So you're really not okay now?"

"Good enough, and getting better. I'm so glad you came up. I want you to meet my hero. He saved my life. I was almost done in when he came along, found me, and brought me here."

"But they said ...?"

"And they're wrong. It was my own stupid fault getting so drunk I passed out where nobody knew where I was. They left, thinking like drunk people do, that I was somewhere else, fine, so they didn't worry about bringing me back."

"Oh, Baby!" the woman said, more tears this time.

"Momma! Daddy! You be nice to this man. He saved my life. He could have gone right past where I was like hundreds of other boats did. But he was smart enough to figure out I needed help. He came, got me, and brought me to help."

***

Her parents were there, so the rescued's and rescuer's parents met. For the life of me I don't see what all the hubbub the police were making of this was all about.

The whole thing seemed a mishmash of conflicting facets, the most important to me being finding out if Katt was all right. The most important to Katt seemed to be finding out everything about me, which I didn't mind one bit, either.

After a week in Eatonville Hospital, Katty reached a state where they released her to a care facility in her home town, 200 hundred miles away. I suppose that was better for her parents, but left me way out in the cold. When I checked at the junior college, they'd tell me nothing except that she'd been withdrawn from school, so I was farther yet out in the cold. Maybe that was best, as 200 miles would have been a long trip on my gas budget just for a visit. Short of having Dad get his attorney to find contact information, I went back to school and tried to forget Katt. If I really mattered to her, she'd figure out how to get us reconnected. If not, well then, the trip had been an interesting way to spend a Saturday.

After school closed for 1^st Quarter, I set about enjoying my time off—mostly working for a TV and appliance store whose owner treated me like a son—earning tuition, books, and fees for the up-coming quarter at JC and a little pocket money to boot.

One day our receptionist—who doubled as our accountant and billing department—handed me an envelope as I passed the front counter on my way to the shop.

"What's this?"

"Don't know. Came in today's mail."

So I looked at the address: Letz Appliance & TV, our street address, town, state and zip.

In the envelope's lower-left Attention position it said only: Dyer.

So I ripped it open. After all, who'd be sending me a letter at my part-time employer? The government, maybe? Both colleges had my home address, so did my old high school, and my limited circle of friends.

Dear Dyer (Hope I spelled that right and it's okay to address you that way),

It took me a long time to find an address for you. Nobody would tell me your address; I don't understand why.

I remembered you work part-time for a TV and Appliance store in Summerston, and Letz TV sounded like the best bet in the Yellow Pages. If this letter comes back, I'll try Summerston General Appliance next. If not, I hope you will want to know what's happened to me and won't mind hearing from me.

I left Eatonville Hospital after about a week; got another ride in an ambulance—much slower this time than your driving from the lake to Eatonville. Mom and Dad and the burn doctor kept me bottled up in a care facility in High Castle for the next two months, but now I'm at home. Did I tell you I'm from High Castle?

I gathered so during my meeting her parents at the hospital, but no one told me per se. And no one official—Hospital, college, sheriff's office, or anyone else—gave me a clue.

I hope you cared enough about me to find out that I had to drop out of school. There was no way I could finish the quarter, so I dropped everything. I'm feeling pretty good now, and most of my burns have healed. The only scar I'll have is the one around my middle where you tied me to your boat so I didn't slide off when we hit those bumps in the middle of the lake.

I love that scar—because I got it from you. Hope you like it, too.

Now, I gotta know more about you—other than you're tall, dark, handsome, have a really fun little boat, play tennis very well (I'm assuming), and drive like crazy when a lady in distress needs you to.

You're a sophomore, right?

Where is your home? An address and phone number would be nice, too.

What's next for you? A 4-year school somewhere? Where?

What you studying to be?

Next year will you live in a dormitory? Or an apartment?

Will your next school have courses in Artistic Design like I want to take?

What do you do for fun beside play tennis and fly that little boat of yours?

What do you do for this (I'm assuming) employer?

Do you already have a girlfriend?

If not, would you like to have one who adores you? (I know an enthusiastic and willing candidate.).

And, if the doctor lets me loose in time, would you like to meet me at the start of the JC's Spring Quarter? I'll be living in the dormitory again, but staying away from people who drink too much and abandon stupid freshman girls at the lake.

With love (as if you haven't already guessed),

Katty Hanks

36029 No. Madison Street

High Castle

Well? So this would take a while to answer. The answers implied much more planning than I'd accomplished so far.

That night I sat in my room at home and did my best:

Katty:

Your questions are quite welcome:

Sophomore? Yes. Still.

My folks live at 12320 East Harvard Canyon Rd, Summerston, 237-0112. (It's our Farm)

Next year? Eastern State College (I hope).

Engineering, Mechanical, Mechanisms

Hopefully live in an apartment

Don't know about Eastern having an Artistic Design Department.

I play folk music, work on my pick-up truck & boat, build things in Dad's shop, hunt and shoot, & I like ballroom dance (as well as play tennis so-so).

For Letz TV I'm a delivery boy, but I do some minor repairs, too. I normally work six days during the holidays,

I'm taking applications for girlfriend, so you'd be welcome to apply (And I hope you will!).

Glad you found this address and wrote. Now I need your phone #.

Dyer Strait

The following week was eight days long, I swear. I could have driven to High Castle in one day, and back home that evening. But then again, patience had never been my forte. I'm certain I seemed preoccupied as I went about our after-Christmas deliveries at the TV shop.

"Boy, you're off in Never-Never-Land today, Dyer. Problems?" our owner said in the hall back toward the warehouse area.

"Girl problems."

"Ah. Those can be the best kind ... or the worst."

He would know about the best version of the best kind. He'd married a stewardess, and daily, I believe, thanked his lucky stars. Two healthy pre-school daughters, a good business, and a good wife; how could any form of life beat that?

"If she's a good one, hang onto her for dear life. If she's a bum one, get rid of her quick and find a good one."

"Still finding out."

"Ah, the most fun of all!" He gave me a pat on the back, ready to leave me to decide how best to accomplish that. "Meanwhile, Sam needs help delivering that double door fridge-freezer out on Summitview," he said over his shoulder.

"I"ll be right with him."

"And good luck with the girl. Bring her in the store, sometime. I'd like to meet a girl you'd go for. I'll bet she's a dandy."

Dandy or not? How would I know, having only seen her blistered with sunburn and wrapped in bandages? But, she wrote a good letter.

***

The beginning of Spring Quarter finally arrived at JC. Difficult to consider I'd known Katty for nearly five months, yet had seen her only the first week of all that time. But when you're broke and working your way through school, 400 miles worth of gasoline for a visit is out of the question.

You can bet however, when the appointed day arrived, I stood on the dormitory steps two hours ahead of the arrival time stated in her letter. Among the multitude of arriving parent's cars, I missed her parents' half hour early arrival because I was preoccupied looking at somebody's new Corvette I'd never be able to afford.

A hand took my elbow to get my attention.

"Captain Strait?" she said, a bit on the tentative side. "Dyer?"

I turned toward the intrusion.

"Katty?" I didn't recognize her, stylish short blonde hair a Hollywood model would aspire to, slim, medium-tall, and smiling like I had hoped that day at Jenson's Landing she would some day.

"Duh! Well, what you see is what you get, Dyer."

"Katty?" Yes, I'd like to get what I saw, you better believe!

By now her father had caught up with her. "You okay, Honey?" he said.

"Fine, Daddy. But I think Dyer here is a bit in shock. Better treat him gently."

He sort of elbowed between us, but held out his hand. "Good to see you again, son. Been a long time since last September in the hospital up there."

"Sure has. How do you do, Sir?"

Things went a little stiff between us for a moment, but Katty picked up the slack.

"Oh, Honey, I'm so glad to see you. Since the hospital, I kept hoping you'd come visit me."

"Couldn't afford it. Fact of life. Come see the prettiest girl I ever rescued? Or go to school next fall."

"I know, but that didn't make it any easier. I'd have come see you if the doctor would allow me."

"If it made you heal up quicker, I'm okay that you didn't. But not easier for me, either."

"How about this, then? Just promise you won't squeeze me too tight around the middle where I'm still a little sore, okay?" With that she threw her arms around me and planted a no-doubt kiss on my lips.

When she pulled back, she whispered, "That's better for me. How'd you like that?"

I think my eyes crossed. Somewhere that girl had learned how to take a man's breath away. My memory harkened back to my boss's description of his stewardess wife. If she was half as good as Katty had been just then, I saw easily how she elicited such appreciation from him!

"Come on, Kat," her father said. "You can continue that once we get your stuff into your room. I gotta get you settled and head home for work tomorrow."

I turned and made a grab for a pair of bags I figured were hers.

"Here, let me," she said, taking my hand off one of the bag's grips. She turned toward me slightly and put on the hint of a smile.

"You know where you're going?" I said, looking at her and then her father.

"Not yet, but I have a room number. Two-sixty-two. Not far from my old room on second floor."

I'd never had to worry about that. No way I could afford to live here in a dorm. But it was just over ten miles home, so it mattered little. A parking pass and gas were cheap compared with room and board in a college dorm.

Our arrival on the second floor turned into a homecoming, somewhat. A half dozen girls remembered Katty, the freshman, from Fall Quarter and wouldn't do without a complete report on all that had happened since. Her father took her key, went on down the hall and put the two bags he carried into Room 262. When he returned, he brought with him Katt's new roommate, a friend from 1sth Quarter, who had already joined the loop via information Katt had sent in interim letters.

"So? Is this the guy you been so wound up about?" she said, nodding toward me.

"Yup. That's him."

"Doesn't look like a kidnaper."

"He's not, I guarantee you."

"Too good looking to be bad."

I was becoming uneasy with all this. Several hands that weren't Katt's came in contact with me, bringing on more uneasiness.

"He'll graduate this quarter, and then he's on to a 4-year for mechanical engineering."

"Ooh, a good one," several said under their breath.

"He is."

"What else's he do?"

"Well, plays tennis—I don't know how good, yet—has the little boat he used to rescue me, likes to dance, so I'm taking social dance this quarter, works for a business here in town as a deliveryman, helps his father out on their ranch, and is putting himself through school."

"Not rich, then?"

"Believe me, not rich but working at it is far better than rich and worthless like that guy who got drunk and abandoned me on the lake last fall."

I figured Katty won that argument in my favor.

"Well, ladies—and Dyer—four-thirty and I gotta get headed home," her father said. "Can you make it from here, Katty?"

"Yeah, Daddy. Thanks for giving up your golf game for me today."

"Didn't mind at all. This way I got to have another look at Dyer, here. You been raving about his so much I had to have another look."

"And?" I said, looking straight at him.

He nodded. "I think you'll do. Take care of my little girl, okay?"

I nodded. I sure as hell planned to!

Katty beat me to saying what I thought. "He will daddy, 'cause I'm gonna take such good care of him he'd have to be completely stupid to do otherwise. And he's far from stupid. Right?"

"Okay, I'm finer with that. Thanks, Dyer. Thanks for everything so far, and in the future."

"You're on." With that I urged him toward the elevator.

"Where you going, Dyer?"

"Walking your father to his car. Just being neighborly."

"Well, don't be neighborly too long. I'm taking you to dinner. I have a pretty full evening planned to make up for all this time I've had to do without you. Understand?"

I nodded and continued herding her father toward the parking lot out front. I figured, from the tone of Katty's remark, I better get on her father's good side quick as possible. Otherwise he might send some muscle to tend to the guy spending a 'full evening' with this daughter of his I hadn't seen for six months.