Promises Pt. 11

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons is entirely coincidental. All characters depicted in sexual situations are at least eighteen years old.

As always, any political, social or religious views in this story are those of the characters and their circumstances, and don't necessarily reflect those of the author.

SPECIAL NOTE: This installment includes the description of a graphic and illegal act of extreme brutality, the morality of which is debatable. Reader discretion is advised.

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PART ELEVEN -- Homegoings and Danger Close

We manage to get Teri back into her bedroom with a minimum of fuss, but she's nearly comatose from the trauma of what's happened to her, and worse, what nearly happened. I can't blame her for being afraid; on the contrary, I blame myself for letting the creep get anywhere near her. It doesn't matter that he shouldn't have been able to find her, now he knows where she lives. It's up to me to make sure he never gets near her again.

I hire a company to install an eight-foot-tall chain link fence all the way around the sides and back of the property, enclosing the orchard and residence both, and mow down everything within fifteen feet on our side of it. I install spikes along the ten-foot-high stucco wall that surrounds the residence and replace the original gates at the street with ones much more difficult to scale. Then I install cameras and motion alarms on the fence and the wall, all hooked into a much more sophisticated, monitored alarm system.

Teri's nervous about the idea, but I teach Anna how to use my shotgun and have her practice dryfiring with a laser targeting system until she's comfortable with it. We store it loaded in the living room, housed in a custom coffee table with a hidden compartment. Either of us can get to it from anywhere in the house, given ten seconds notice. If it comes to that, we hope it will be enough.

No fortress is impregnable, but at least if the creep shows up here, he's going to have his work cut out for him.

* * * * *

By the day after her attempted abduction, Teri is able to join us through her Double. After a week, she can physically venture out into the house as long as one of us is with her at all times, but she won't swim or go outside, much less go anywhere in the motorhome again. Her forward progress has completely stalled out.

Anna and I know this constant fear can't be good for Teri, either mentally or physically, and we are, of course, willing to do anything to help her. There's still one avenue we haven't pursued, so I reach out for help.

* * * * *

Dr. Howard Jenson is the psychologist who's been seeing Teri regularly for the last few years. I'm very interested in meeting with him and hearing what he thinks about Teri's condition, but I'm not going to fly to Minnesota and leave the girls in the house without me. The good doctor, however, is more than willing to make a house call after I offer to fly him and his wife down to Miami for the weekend and put them up in a top-shelf beachside resort.

I ring the hired limo through the front gate when it arrives and meet him in the circle drive in front of the house. Dr. Jenson is a trim, fiftyish man with a remarkably thick gray beard and even thicker glasses. Teri and Anna are waiting for us just inside the door. Anna has a simple (for her) spread laid out, and we discuss how things have been going for Teri over lunch.

Dr. Jenson is impressed with the strategies that Teri had used to set Kira onto an even keel when she emerged the last time in Minnesota. He's even more so at the steps we took to make her comfortable when she transitioned back to being Teri here in Florida.

Anna and I tell the good doctor about how Teri had ended up in Cozumel, what had happened there, her subdued return to Minneapolis, and her more recent experiences in Florida, including the attempted kidnapping.

Teri tells him about Kira's discovery that her mother had been intercepting Maya's letters. Dr. Jenson nods. "I never had the opportunity to meet 'Maya', but it did strike me as odd that she never tried to leave anything for Teri."

"Her parents never had you talk to her during an episode?" Anna asks incredulously. "It would seem to be a slam dunk if they really wanted to get to the heart of the issue."

"I'm afraid I can't speculate as to their motives," he says. I have the feeling that he has some strong ideas on that subject, but his professionalism is stopping him from sharing them.

"So where does this separate personality of Teri's come from?" I ask.

"Well," he says, "Teri's fear and anxiety are somewhat typical for someone in her position. Her 'episodes' are more unusual, but hardly unprecedented."

"You've seen this kind of thing before?"

"Not personally, but there are many such cases in the literature. Conditions such as hers are difficult to diagnose, though. My best hypothesis is that her manic phases are a way of escaping the dread of her attacker when the fear has had time to slowly, but steadily, build to a flashpoint. I don't believe her transition is instantaneous, however. From listening to her parent's accounts, it seems that Teri has certain precursors to her manic phase."

"Really?" I ask. "Such as?"

"In the hours before the full-blown onset, she becomes less fearful and is able to do things that she's not usually able to do, even though she still thinks of herself as Teri. In this transitional period, she sometimes makes poor choices regarding her personal safety." He gives Teri an apologetic look. She waves it off.

I consider his words for a moment, then nod. "It's always seemed strange to us that if Teri was too scared to leave the house, how did she manage to walk out into the front yard to retrieve a newspaper? She says she has no idea."

"At the time I did it, it felt perfectly normal," Teri says. "In retrospect, I'm amazed that I could have worked up that kind of courage. With the way things have gone, my abductor should have been waiting for me at the curb."

"And that's probably why she got so scared when I surprised her," I say.

Teri nods.

"Exactly," Dr. Jenson says. "Another time, right before one of her episodes, her father witnessed her walking through the house wearing only her bra and panties. This was not something she would have normally been comfortable doing."

"That's very true," Teri says.

"Then there are the accounts of the wild scenarios that Maya, or Kira, comes up with during her manic stage," the doctor says. "This has been something of a puzzle for me."

Anna jumps in. "Kira told us that she believes she comes up with these to avoid facing the fact that, for all practical purposes, she's going to die when she leaves her manic phase."

He nods thoughtfully. "That's quite possible. All in all, hers is a most puzzling affliction."

"So, what's the best treatment for it?" I ask.

"Well, there are a whole range of drugs that can be used to treat anxiety, but with extreme cases like Teri's, their effectiveness is spotty at best, especially when you consider that her anxiety is actually quite reasonable for someone in her position. After some less-than-satisfactory experiences with them, neither Teri nor I believe that psychotropic medications are the answer for her."

"What about other kinds of strategies?" I ask.

Dr. Jenson sighs. "Normally, a change of scenery might help, like it seemed to be doing here at first. Unfortunately, it seems that the improvement was undone when her attacker followed her here." He looks to Teri, who nods. "How did he find you, if I might ask?"

"We have no idea," she says, "and I don't think moving again would help. He's just going to find me again anyway."

"We'll keep you safe from now on," I say.

She nods. "I know, but the idea that he could be just outside these walls terrifies me." She shivers. "And I hate the idea that you and Anna are stuck here, guarding me. That's not fair to you."

"Hon," Anna says, "we're not exactly adventure travelers. We'd rather be here with you anyway."

"Absolutely," I say, meaning it.

Eventually our visit is over. I walk Dr. Jenson to the limo. The chauffeur starts to get out to walk around and open the door, but I wave him back and do it myself.

"Doctor," I ask as he gets in, hoping to get a last word of advice now that we're not in front of Teri, "is there anything else that you might recommend?"

He leaves the door open and I squat down to be face-to-face with him. "Teri's best course of treatment would be to remove her source of anxiety," he says.

"So we need to catch him and get him locked up for good?" Like I haven't thought about that a thousand times.

He studies my face carefully. I can see that he's trying to decide whether to say something more. Finally, he does.

"I've treated many patients who have been through traumatic events, but what that poor girl has suffered is more than most people could handle. Her fear of her kidnapper is extreme, and unlikely to dissipate simply because he's in the custody of a rather porous legal system."

He pauses for a long moment. "This isn't really within the scope of prescription that I normally provide for my patients, but honestly, for her to have any chance of being free of her fear, I believe that she will need to see dramatic proof that the threat has been ended permanently." Again, the pause. "I'm sure you can work out the rest for yourself."

I stand up and close the door for him, then the limo rolls away. I ponder his words as I walk back to the house. If I'm not mistaken, the doctor has just told me that I need to kill Teri's assailant, and do it in front of her.

* * * * *

We get the news in mid-October that Anna is pregnant again, with a due date of late May. She's totally stoked when she gives me the news. I pick her up and spin her around in my arms. Gently. I also give her a big kiss, on the lips. Having Teri nearby has at least been enough to allow that, happily.

"I'm sure it'll go better this time," I reassure her, though with no evidence.

She nods happily. "I'm sure you're right. There was always this strong feeling last time that made me feel something was wrong with the baby. I tried to put it out of my mind, thinking I was being paranoid, but it turned out to be true. This time, everything feels perfect. I think this one's a keeper."

Still, we're both a little gun-shy about telling friends and family. Anna's mom had been nearly inconsolable after the loss of our first. Anna's little brothers had taken it hard too. We do tell Teri though.

"That is so awesome!" she enthuses. She excitedly gives Anna a chaste hug.

"We couldn't have done it without you," Anna tells her.

"Hey, I had nothing to do with it, other than convincing Kira to come down here."

"Like Anna said..."

Teri smiles and nods. "You're welcome. It was the least I could do for you guys after everything you've done for me."

* * * * *

Anna's pregnancy indeed goes well, and by Christmas she's got a definite baby-bump. It's only going to get bigger. A lot bigger, since the most recent ultrasound has revealed that we're having twins. I'm ridiculously proud of Anna, Kira and myself. We're all three working on baby names, two for girls and two for boys, because we've decided not to be told the sex of our children in advance. It should be a good surprise during the delivery.

Teri spends quite a bit of time video chatting with her folks in the run-up to the holidays, but there's no way she's going to be ready to travel. Her mom blames me, of course, both for her near kidnapping and for her daughter being away, but there's not much I can do about that.

Mick and Sandy invite us to come up to the farm for Christmas, so Anna and I have to explain about Teri and how, because of her, we're not going to be able to travel this year. We bite the bullet and enlighten them regarding the nature of our three-way relationship.

"I wondered if that was it," Mick says when we finish. "When you two explained about having another girl as a friend when you first met in Mexico, I wondered if she was a part of the 'certain very limited circumstances' that allowed you to get pregnant."

"I know all of this must sound really weird," Anna says apologetically.

Sandy's having none of Anna's contrition. "Well if that's what it takes for a loving couple like you to have kids, then God bless Kira, I say."

"I agree," Mick says. "We'd like to meet Kira, or Teri, as the case may be."

Again, I'm amazed at the acceptance they're willing to show us, in marked contrast to the narrow stereotypes that us city residents are liable to attribute to rural folk like them.

Anna and I invite them to come stay with us for the holidays. It's mostly as a formality, because we know that even outside of the growing season, they're tied to the farm by the necessity of taking care of their livestock. They surprise us once again by accepting, saying that Anna's Uncle Tim has been staying with them for a while after getting out of the service and can take care of the chores. We suddenly realize that we're going to have to get busy and make the place ready for company.

* * * * *

It's going to be my first real Christmas in a family setting and I'm like a... well... like a kid at Christmas. My mom didn't do much for the holidays when I was a kid. She'd been raised a good communist, and even after a decade in a free country, she hadn't been able to shake the belief that religion was a "tool of the bourgeoisie" and "the opiate of the masses," not that Christmas in America was much of a religious holiday by then. As a kid, I'd always gotten a present or two, but there had been little Christmas spirit in our tiny apartment.

Anna and Teri have gone all out, though, (with my enthusiastic help) and decorated our home like something out of a magazine. Multiple tall trees, wreathes, lights and (at my suggestion, and with only a small eye roll on Anna's part) a big inflatable Santa Clause with sleigh and reindeer on the roof. The only thing missing is snow, which is hard to come by in southern Florida.

Our biggest concern about their visit is the worry that Teri won't be able to handle having four strangers in the house for a week. Teri has insisted that it's not a big deal, and that she'll just hide out in her room if that turns out to be necessary.

* * * * *

If we had imagined a relaxed Christmas with everyone just sitting around, we would have been badly mistaken. Mick and Sandy aren't used to sitting, and they're not about to do it now. Sandy bustles around helping her daughter with the final preparations while Mick lends me a hand on home repair projects I've been putting off. Even though I could afford to hire those things done, I do them myself to avoid having strange men in the house near Teri. There's also a nice sense of satisfaction that comes from knowing you can fix whatever goes wrong by yourself.

To be a good host, I've put my PRT project aside for the duration of their visit, but Mick is very interested in what exactly I do for a living, so I take him on a tour. It takes him a bit to wrap his mind around the concept of Personal Rapid Transit, but when he does, he comes up with a couple of insightful objections and suggestions that I hadn't thought about. The man's no dummy, and if he hadn't chosen farming as his living, I suspect he might have made a fine engineer.

He positively drools over the high-tech machines in my shop, but with a lifetime's experience of maintaining complex farm machinery on a budget, he's able to show me a trick or two. Mick's a good man, and being around him reminds me of just how much I missed having my father while I was growing up. I find myself hoping that I can form a good relationship with him.

Jacob and Ethan, now eleven and ten respectively, are impressed beyond words by our place, and the very concept of warm weather at Christmas positively delights them. They spend a lot of their time and energy hanging out in the pool, playing video games on my latest and greatest consoles, and exploring the orchard. I get my first feel for what it will be like to have children in our house and decide that I'd best continue my exercise routine if I'm to have any chance of keeping up with them.

Amazingly, Teri seems to really enjoy hanging out with the boys when they're indoors and manages to put them to shame in both swimming and gaming (which they have little time for at home.) Perhaps it's the feeling of security that comes from having more people between her and her abductor, but Teri is more carefree than we've seen her since the day at the beach.

For all of Jacob and Ethan's rambunctiousness, they're amazingly polite, well-spoken and respectful of adult authority. Anna informs me that this is due to strict, but loving and consistent discipline, and that we'll be applying the same to our own children.

My only thoughts about parenting to this point (when I've thought about it at all) have been to spoil my kids with everything my newfound wealth can buy. Upon further reflection, though, I come to realize that the kids I've seen raised that way tended to be insufferable by the time they reached the Jacobson boys' ages. I realize for the hundredth time just how lucky I am to have married Anna.

* * * * *

After a wonderful Christmas holiday, things settle into a relaxed routine during the first few months of the year. We know that Kira could return at any time, but by the last week of March, she still hasn't put in her appearance. She's late.

As if that isn't worrisome enough, we get some scary news from Minneapolis. Teri's dad has slipped and fallen on the ice trying to make his way down the steps in front of the house. It was at almost the exact spot where Teri and I first met. He's hit his head and there's swelling in his brain. His doctors have put him into an induced coma to help reduce the swelling, but it's touch and go.

"Oh God," Teri moans when she hangs up with her mom after hearing the extent of her father's injuries. "I need to be there, but I can't."

"We can try," I say. "I'd be more than willing to drive you."

"You'd do that?" she asks.

"Of course I would. We just need to get you back to the point where you can ride in the motorhome."

"I would do whatever it takes," she says, "but I'm just not sure I can handle the idea of traveling back to where the creep lives. He was able to track me here, so maybe he'd know if I was back in Minneapolis. The thought of being near him again is enough to give me the shakes, but I can't stand the idea of not being there for my dad, either."

That's a tough one, and I can sympathize with her wanting to be with her father. "Teri," I say, "if we go, I promise to do everything in my power to protect you."

She looks me in the eye. "You promise?"

"You have my word on it."

She nods. "Good enough for me."

By the next afternoon, Teri has taken up residence in the motorhome, trying to get herself as used to it as possible. We all know that it's one thing for her to ride eighteen miles to the beach in it, but another to travel eighteen hundred to Minneapolis. She sticks with it, though.

Teri knows that she can't go into the hospital itself. That's just way more than she'd be able to handle, so there's no sense in going to Minneapolis yet. We'll have to wait until her father comes home.

Carl is brought out of his coma after three days and is able to talk coherently with Marsha and the nurses, a major relief. After two weeks, we get the word that he will be going home in a few days. It looks like he's going to make a full recovery, but Teri is still adamant about seeing him.