Sail to the Sun Ch. 07

"No," he said with a laugh, while dragging me toward the limousine. "You belong to Walt Reardon now. Bought and paid for. You'll be happy to know that the innkeeper asked for an outrageous sum—and that Reardon immediately agreed to it. I'd say you must have some sweet ass for Reardon to put that much money down, but as I know—and I expect you not to say anything about to any of the Reardons—you do have one sweet ass."

Sold. Ownership had moved on. I was being bundled from one owner to another. All of what Buddy and others, had told me about America was just a bunch of crap. People could be bought and sold and held in chattel here are well as in Thailand or anywhere else.

I felt so alone and controlled. I railed at Buddy for having given me hope in a hopeless situation, for building me up and then dashing me down and casting me aside. It would have been better to never have been given a glimpse of the heavens beyond this cruel earth. No, I then thought, as the chauffeur shut the limousine door on me and I watched the Reardons emerge from their separate cabins. No, even a glimpse of freedom is better than not knowing it at all.

I turned and looked at the main inn building. Hoagie was standing at the kitchen door, watching the departure. He looked pleased with himself. There no longer was any wondering that I might be spirited away without his consent. After all of this time, I was still just a commodity. I knew why he was smiling—and where the money was coming from to make up for the basement club shutdown time and for its renovations.