Steamboat Willy Ch. 04

I woke up the next morning and told myself I knew better than to drink that much. It was stupid on my part what if Sally needed me; I couldn't have gone to her. I went to the phone and checked the caller ID. There ware a number of calls. Some were from a Hospital. I called there immediately to see if they had a patient named Murphy; they didn't. I went to the bedroom and showered and shaved. I didn't look as bad as I felt. I was worried to death about Sally by now. I sat down at the phone and got out the phone book to find the Sheriff's Department non-emergency number. I heard a car in the drive. I rushed to the door. It was Sally. She looked terrible. She looked as if she had been crying for a long time and had slept in her clothes. I held out my arms and she walked right in them and hugged and kissed me. "Oh Rich, it was terrible." She started crying and I held her and petted her head.

I asked if she were all right. She nodded, "I'm fine now. Oh my god, look at that! Oh Rich! Look what you did for me and now it is all ruined. It is so beautiful. She started weeping. She cried uncontrollably. I kissed her and got her calmed down and I asked her if she would like some coffee or something to eat. She said she would like some coffee, she said she hadn't slept all night.

She told me that an old client's wife had a stroke, a massive one. She had died this morning about five. The children didn't get there in time and she hadn't wanted to leave him because he was so distraught and confused. He refused to believe his wife was dead. She tried to call in the afternoon on her cell phone. Then she was told she couldn't use it in ICU because it could interfere with the electronic gear.

She went to the lobby several times later and got no answer. She cried and said she had missed me terribly. When we finished the coffee I took her to the bedroom and undressed her and helped her get a quick shower and put a gown on her and tucked her in bed. She didn't want me to leave her. I told her I would be right back. I fixed myself a couple of pieces of raisin toast with a smear of peanut butter and a glass of OJ. I called Sally's place and told them we would be over later.

I knew Sally and I had unresolved feelings to talk out. I was very jealous even though I felt she was only trying to help a friend whose wife was dying. There was a long time when I didn't know what was going on. Hey, that was a problem in my brain. She had nothing to do with it.

It was three in the afternoon before she woke up. I fixed her some coffee, and some breakfast. She asked if I had gone to the boatyard at all that day. I said, "No, I stayed here with you. I didn't want you to wake up all lone. I know you are up set about your friend passing away and I hoped you would want my company."

She looked at me, "Of course I want your company. Why would you say that?"

"You didn't want or need me yesterday."

She looked me for a long time, and then tears ran down her cheeks. "I was wrong, I just didn't think. It will never happen again. I really could have used your comfort and help yesterday. Please forgive me, I guess I am not really used to being married yet. I am not used to having someone I can always call on no matter what. I have never had you before, my sweet love. I made a mistake, I did need you but it was too late when I realized it."

"Don't cry Hun, I guess I got a little jealous and hurt that you went off with out me."

"Yes and I spoiled your beautiful dinner you fixed too."

"Listen girl, how do you feel now? I really need to run over and check on things at the boat. It is starting to take shape now. They should be ready to start planking the hull now."

"I want to go with you, I feel pretty good now. Maybe we can have an early dinner somewhere and go to bed early and get in a long day tomorrow."

I smiled at her, "Sounds good to me. Let's get dressed an hit the road."

They did just fine without us; we needed to get a pair of cranes in to turn the hull over onto the ways or wooden tracks the boat would slide on down the hill to the water. A cradle was almost ready to receive her.

Within a few days the hull was proudly on its cradle and the boiler and the engine were ready to be lifted in by a crane. It took several weeks to get the machinery all in place and bolted down. The galley stove, sinks and the large icebox were in place too. Lots of plumbing had to be sorted out as others were working on the framing the super structure and installing the main deck floors.

When completed the steamer would have twenty-four staterooms with two bunks each plus bunks for the crew of eighteen. It was akin to building a small hotel. The structure grew day by day until the framework was completed. The smoke stack and all the plumbing associated with the steam engine were in place. The paddle wheel was fitted and ready. The paddlewheel on this boat, unlike WILLY, was completely enclosed within the hull. There were even doors that closed off the stern of the vessel hiding the wheel. Twin rudders sat behind the hull in the discharge from the paddle. The steering system was quite long; the steering wheel was in the pilothouse mounted on the front of the upper deck.

The vessel was an exact copy of the steamboat OKAHUMKEE built in 1873 in Palatka, Florida especially for the Ocklawaha River trade. Sally's father had picked the name OCKLAWAHA PRINCESS for this boat in his daughter's honor.

Sally and I were enjoying life much more now that we were back in the doublewide mobile home by ourselves. We attended the funeral for her friend's wife together and Sally loved being able to hold my arm for support during the whole ceremony. All of her old clients attended and were happy to see Sally again. We promised to go to the club more often.

The yacht was anchored in upper Lake George. We spent several weekends aboard her and enjoyed her very much. We made two trips to Miami and were home each night. We bought a slightly smaller Doublewide and put it behind our house. We outfitted it with all the communications gear so we could use it as an office. One of the secretaries from Miami moved up and lived in half the trailer. She was able to bring her disabled husband with her. He loved being able to get outdoors and enjoy nature. It worked out well for everyone.

One afternoon Sally stayed at the boatyard while I went back to the office to sit in on a meeting being held in the company headquarters in Miami. It worked very well; I was able to take part as if I were there. When we were finished I returned to the boatyard.

I didn't see Sally anywhere and went looking for her. She wasn't anywhere to be found and I went to her house and yelled for her and got no answer. I looked down toward the dock and thought I saw some movement aboard WILLY. I walked down the hill and out on the dock. My eye caught the movement again and I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw Jeb's naked black rump rising and falling between a pair of white legs. I saw blond hair flipping from side to side and I saw Sally's yellow dress draped over the back of the bench they were fucking on. I started to run towards them and my foot caught on something and I felt myself falling and every thing went black.

I heard people whispering and couldn't make out what they were saying. I tried to open my eyes and couldn't see anything; something was over my eyes. I tried to sit up and something was holding me down. I struggled and fought to sit up. Then it hit me. I had to get to Sally. I screamed her name and tried with all my strength to get up. I got one arm free and tried to pull what was covering my face off. Something pushed me back down. I felt soft lips on mine. I heard Sally say, "No Baby, be still, I'm here with you, and please don't move Sweetie. Please, you'll hurt yourself. I could tell she was crying and I could feel her tears on my jaw.

What the hell was wrong with me? "Sally is that you?"

"Yes Dear. How do you feel?"

"My face hurts, what happened, where am I?"

"You fell on the dock and hurt your face then fell in the water. Jeb saved your life. He jumped in and pulled you up on the ramp. You are in the hospital."

"Sally are you all right? I was trying to get to you to save you, then I saw you didn't need saving."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw you and Jeb fucking and you weren't struggling, you had your arms around his neck."

"WHAT?"

"I don't want to say it again. It hurts too much."

"Honey, I don't know what you saw but I was with your father and Uncle Eli when you fell. We were out in the oak grove looking at some logs I cut a year ago but haven't hauled out to the sawmill yet."

"I saw his black butt going up and down between your white legs and I saw your blond hair. OH! I saw your yellow dress too. The one your wore to the "Yearling" that time."

"Oh! You poor thing, I gave that dress to Helga Olson a month ago. She's Jeb's girlfriend. I'll bet that is who you saw."

"What? Oh thank god! I didn't know what to think."

I heard her sniffle, "You don't trust meeee!"

"Hey girl, I was running to save you, I thought you were being raped. Then I saw your arms around his neck. The dress carefully folded. Then I couldn't believe what I was seeing. That is the last I remember. Sally, please kiss me again. I love you."

"Baby, I am afraid to kiss you again, it looks as if you ran face first into a dock piling. You have split lips with a couple of stitches in them. Your nose is broken; you have a bunch of loose teeth. Your eyebrows are split and bruised. Everything is so swollen you can't open your eyes. Your chest and left arm are scraped and bruised. You have a gash in your right thigh and foot. Try not to laugh too much!"

"Thanks, you are all heart. Well, you won't have me bothering you for sex all the time now. You will be catching up on your sleep."

I heard her crying and I reached out trying to find her. I heard the crying fade way and sleep claimed me again. When I awoke again I heard someone say," Mr. Murphy, can you hear me."

"Yes, I hear you."

"Good, I am Dr. Rumalla, Rakesh Rumalla. I am going to remove the bandages over your face to inspect the swelling and to check your eyesight. OK?"

"Certainly Dr. Rumalla, Do what you need to do."

I felt some tugging and pulling at my face. Suddenly bright light shown in my eyes, I had to shut them. If I squinted I was all right, I could see fine. I told him that and he said to take my time and see it I could see if I could get then all the way open.

He hurt me some when he removed the bandages over my nose. "Does it hurt at all Mr. Murphy."?

"I am just fine Doctor, just a little discomfort on the nose and the cheeks, other than that I feel fine. That is normal isn't it?

"Yes some pain is to be expected. I will give you a prescription for a pain killer and you should be able to go home to day."

"Great." I tried to reach Sally on my cell phone. No luck. No answer at the house and none on her cell phone. I called the club and was informed she was there put couldn't be disturbed at that time. I was discharged and tried to reach Sally again and got the same answer. I got a cab to the club and was told she was in her office but was not to be disturbed.

I walked to the office and tried the door. It was locked. I knocked and after a few moments the door was unlocked and opened. It was Tommy; he looked shocked to see me. I asked if Sally were there, he said she was sleeping and said he would see if she were awake and turned and went to another door. I turned and left. I walked several blocks and saw a small park and sat for a few moments. What the hell was going on? I couldn't think straight. I got my cell phone out and called the Yacht. I told them to send the helicopter for me. I would meet it at the airport private aviation terminal. I called a cab and gave them my location. An hour later I was aboard the yacht and in bed getting some much needed rest.

I woke up and felt an arm around my chest and a warm body pressed against my back. I knew it was Sally and smiled before I went back to sleep. I awakened again later and was in bed alone. I sat up and looked around. I was on the yacht. Had Sally been a dream? I got up and found a robe and went out to the salon.

There she was. Sally saw me and rushed to me. She started crying and hugged me. "Damn it why are you so difficult to hold down? I love you Rich but you drive me nuts. You are supposed to be at the house and you are on the dock getting hurt, you are supposed to be in the hospital and you are at the club, you are at the club and I run out to find you had disappeared again. I called everywhere and finally found you here. I am setting here watching your door so you don't get away again. I love you Baby, but if you don't want to be with me just say so and I'll leave."

I looked at her. "Sally I'm sorry, please believe me, I love you with all my heart, sometimes I have trouble believing that a young beautiful girl would want me too. Look at me now. My face is a mess and we don't know what it will look like when the swelling goes down."

"Rich, dear boy, I didn't fall in love with you because you are so handsome, or rich, I never thought you were either of those things. I love you because you are just YOU. I can't stand to be away from you. I tried to sleep at the club last night and I couldn't sleep without you. Tommy and I talked for a while and he checked on me later. I was crying over you and he sat and held my hand until I fell asleep. He sat there for hours holding my hand; he is such a sweet old man. Please don't be jealous, but I still love him. Oh! Like a father, not like I love you."

"I can understand why he loves you. Any man would love you."

"He doesn't love me that way anymore. He thinks of me as the daughter he never had. Damn, I forgot, are you hungry, do you want something to eat or drink?"

"Yeah, I guess I am hungry. It will have to be something soft; my front teeth are till loose. I feel like something for breakfast. O.J., maybe oatmeal; then a couple of eggs over light with grits." Sally pressed the button near her and the steward walked in moments later. She gave him my order and ordered a breakfast for herself.

She grinned at me as we ate. "I don't want to get out of sync with you on our meals. I don't want to be having Shrimp Scampi while you eat breakfast."

After breakfast we went back to bed and just relaxed. It was wonderful to just cuddle with her or even just to hold her hand. She seemed very content to just do that. We talked and I was able to tell her a lot of things about my feelings for her. I asked her to be patient with me and how jealous I often got for little or no reason. I told her I was rock solid in my love for her but that I wasn't always sure she loved me."

She smiled at me and said, "I do not understand how anyone as wonderful as you are could doubt that I would love you. You are so self confident in your business affairs and you always do the right thing in an emergency. Please understand that I worship you, you are perfect for me, you are my soul mate, you need never be jealous about me, and no other man will ever touch me. I belong to you and only you, heart, body and soul, forever and ever. You are my love and I am yours."

"Damn Sally, you make me cry and the tears sting in my cuts. God! I wish I could tell you how much I love you. I'll do my best to not get jealous, lots of times I know you don't mean anything when you smile with another guy, but I feel that knife twist in my guts anyway."

"Honey, you are right, my smiles at anyone else don't mean what they mean when I smile at you. I have to confess that when you get jealous I feel a tingle because I know you treasure me, but at the same time I hate it because I know it hurts you and that hurts me too. Please just know in your heart that I well never touch another person sexually, I am your woman, I belong only to you."

She looked at me with tears running down her cheeks, "I want to kiss your sweet lips so badly but I can't. I dearly love kissing you. Oh, look you are hard as a rock. May I kiss that?"

"I would love that."

She pulled the covers down and untied my pajama string and I rose up so she could pull the pants down. She licked all over him. Her lips were oh so soft and wet as she closed her mouth around him. It felt so damned good I couldn't believe it. She pulled up for a moment and scooted down between my legs. She leaned down and sucked a ball into her mouth, I am very sensitive there and there is not much difference in pressure between what pleases me and what hurts me. Sally knew that and she did it just right so I felt the full pleasure and no pain. Wonderful! She slurped that one ball gently in and out of her mouth. Then she sucked the other one in and played with the first one gently with her hand and fingers.

Next her lips closed around the glans and she swirled her tongue around and around it. She moved off of the head and slobbered her slippery saliva all over the shaft. Her hands grasped the shaft and slid up and down him as she twisted her hands. Meanwhile slurped over and down the helmet. Her twisting and gripping hands followed her lips over the wet surface of my cock.

I reached down and grasped her by the hips. "Please stop and put him inside you, I want to feel your pussy around him." She crawled up astride my legs then straddled my hips. She reached between her legs and rubbed my cock up and down her slit. Then she inched down until the whole head was inside her. She looked down ad me and smiled. She said, "Ready?"

I nodded and felt her drop like a rock taking him to the hilt as her ass slapped against my pelvis. She moved slowly up and slammed down once more. She grinned and said, "Give me your hands and steady me. She worked one foot then the other in under her. She slipped down over him so juicy and hot only to feel as if she bounced off of my pelvis and back to the top not pausing a second before starting down again. She got her rhythm going I knew by the expression on her face and the keening and mewing sounds she was making that she was really into it. Then she looked at me, "unhun, I'mm 'bout ready, baby, how about. . . .Aghun yes, yes, oh yes, yes, my love, cum too sweety, cum with me, oh I feel it, that is soooo damned goooooood. YES!" She smiled at me and I saw that her legs were getting unsteady and helped her over along side of me, then I held her close to me, she was still trembling. I kissed her as best I could. She quickly pushed me away, "Your stitches stick me and I know that had to hurt you a lot."

"A little, but I needed to kiss you!"

"I love you for trying, it was a little like kissing a porcupine." I pulled her back to me and licked her lips.

"Mmmmm, now I liked that. Does it hurt you?"

"Not a bit if I do it right. Let me try again."

We had the chopper drop us off a Sally's house and we went to look at the PRINCESS. She looked huge. A lot of the outside sheathing was on, both the cabin deck floors were in place and the stairs were in place. The main stairs were in the stern over the paddlewheel housing. There were two outdoor stairs leading from the main deck to the front of first cabin deck, this part of the deck forward of the saloon was called the observation deck. The windows in the cabins on both cabin decks were tricky to build. Each window had a built in shutter that was kept closed whenever the vessel was under way to protect the glass windows from being broken by tree branches in the narrow parts of the river. Dad and uncle Eli had built jigs for the assembly of the forty special shuttered windows. About half were assembled and piles of the precut parts lay nearby. Sally's father had accumulated a large number of old photographs of various parts of the original boat. They were extremely helpful.