The Enlightenment of Hanna Ch. 10

"The boy, he's yours?" Curtis asked, recalling the birth announcement they'd found lying on Addy Brown's dead body.

Hanna smiled brightly at his mention and said, "He is. He's nine now, though he's big for his age. He's going to be tall like his daddy."

"And the younger girl?" Curtis asked.

"That's Zara, Damian Jr.'s younger half-sister. She's Haley's little girl," Hanna explained as she stared off to where the children played.

Turning her attention back to her ex-husband, Hanna read the thoughts going through his mind as he watched the kids chase the ball around the yard. There was no anger or animosity present in his mind as he stared over at Damian's progeny.

When he finally turned his attention back to where Hanna sat putting out her cigarette, Curtis's mind returned to his original question.

"Why have you brought me here, Hanna?"

Leaning forward in her chair, Hanna smiled and said, "Because I think you've punished yourself long enough, Curtis and I want to help you get your life back on track."

"What makes you think I need your help," Curtis replied, a hint of resentment creeping into his tone.

Hanna shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe you don't. But if I hadn't had people watching you, you would have overdosed."

"Wait, what people?" Curtis asked, sitting forward in his chair suddenly tense. Hanna felt sad at the apparent distrust in his voice, though she supposed she had earned it.

Holding both hands up her palms out in a sign of supplication, Hanna said, "Hold on, Curtis. Let me explain, please."

Hanna related her tale of how she'd kept track of him over the years, leaving out some of the more devious things she'd had done to track him but letting him know she'd always had people there to ensure his safety.

"I may never have been in love with you, Curtis, but I did love you in my own way. I still do. I've carried a lot of blame for the role I played in what happened to you after we split. You may or may not need my help. But you would be doing me a big favor in alleviating a lot of the guilt that has plagued me over the years by letting me help you get on your feet."

Hanna felt Curtis relax a bit upon hearing her words. They'd been honest, and she'd done her best to try and convey the depth of how much she sincerely wanted to improve his lot in life.

They both sat in silence for several minutes. Hanna knew that pressing him on the matter wouldn't be of any benefit. The link between their minds now secured. Hanna understood Damian's repeated assurances that Curtis was not yet ready for the love he had promised Hanna that he would provide.

She had been thrilled the night before when Damian told her that now was the time, but that she should proceed cautiously with Curtis so as not to spook him.

Wrapping his arms around himself as if he were cold, despite the warm sunshine, Curtis said, "So, what would this help entail?"

Knowing that he was still teetering on the edge of going either way and that she could potentially lose him forever if she wasn't careful, Hanna said, "Well, the first step would be at an inpatient rehab facility here in town. It's out by the beach and very exclusive, with a lot of great amenities."

Curtis didn't say anything, but Hanna could sense his sudden fear at the thought of some swift detoxification process.

"They use medication to slowly wean a person off their drug of choice. After a certain amount of time, when it's no longer necessary, they stop that too. Meanwhile, you'd take part in therapy and counseling to help you come to terms with any issues you have. Things that might prevent you from maintaining your sobriety."

Feeling his mental state relax a bit, Hanna dared to go on.

"They offer things like daily yoga classes and a nutritionist. Everything you need that could help you return to full health. Hell, you'd likely come out of it in much better shape than before all of this happened."

Curtis sat back in his seat. Though he hadn't yet accepted her offer, Hanna was pleased to see in his mind how enticing the possibility of it all sounded.

His voice obviously trying to convey the fact he was still not committing to anything, Curtis said, "And what comes after my time in this place, Hanna? Am I just supposed to go back to living on the streets?"

"No, that wouldn't work, and we both know it. Afterward, you will move into a cottage on a nearby ranch that acts as a kind of half-way community environment for former addicts trying to put the pieces of their lives back together. You'd live in a cottage on-site with a sober living companion. While you were there, you could maybe take some college courses online while working there on the ranch." Hanna explained.

Sensing the next question in his mind, Hanna added, "Curtis, Damian and I have more than enough money to last ten extravagant lifetimes. Even if it took you ten years of living there before you felt comfortable with moving on with your life, the cost would just be a drop in the bucket of what I could afford to spend."

When he still didn't respond, and Hanna could see that his mind was non-committal, she said, "Would you at least take the night to think it over and then meet with me again tomorrow?"

After a moment, Hanna was pleased when Curtis simply nodded his head in reply.

Standing, she made her way over to him and held out her hands. Curtis stood and accepted the hug she offered.

"I do love you, Curtis. You are family to me, and I don't want to see you suffer anymore. Please let me help you."

Curtis accepted a kiss on his cheek and then surprised his former wife by saying, "I want to meet him."

Hanna studied Curtis's eyes and was pleased to see the faintest hint of the boy she'd grown up with lurking back at her. The real Curtis before her mother had sought to mold him into her own image

"I'd like that, Curtis, and I know he would too."

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Though their meeting was a bit uncomfortable for Curtis at first. Hanna was pleased when she sensed her former husband, at last, relaxing in Damian's presence. Hanna knew the mystique that had built up around her fallen angel, and rightfully so, she wasn't surprised by how intimidated Curtis had been when she'd introduced the pair. After all, the man had taken his wife right out from under him.

After the two had time to converse for about an hour, Scottie appeared to remind Damian that he had a conference call with some business concerns in South Africa.

Damian finally excused himself after wishing Curtis the best and leaving Hanna alone with her former husband.

"Let's go for a walk," Hanna said as she stood and held out a hand to Curtis.

Hanna was pleased when he took her hand and stood. She interlaced her fingers with Curtis's, and the pair casually made their way through the impressive mansion and outside into the warm sunshine.

A paved path ran the perimeter of the property just inside the twelve-foot wall that surrounded the compound. The security teams used it to patrol the grounds in golf-carts, but Hanna and the other women of the house used it to stroll on whenever they weren't traveling.

"How are you feeling? I know they've been giving you something to prevent you from going into withdrawal. I hope it doesn't feel too unpleasant," Hanna asked as they strolled along in the sunshine.

"It's okay," Curtis replied with a slight shrug, "It keeps me on an even keel, more or less. I don't feel any real feelings of withdrawal, yet it doesn't make me feel stoned either."

"That's good," Hanna replied, before studying her former husband carefully and adding, "or at least I hope it is."

Curtis nodded his head in reply but didn't really elaborate.

The pair walked along in silence for a few more minutes. Hanna could see in Curtis's mind that he had something he wanted to ask. But his thoughts were so disjointed that she had a hard time putting together exactly what it was.

Finally, the former preacher said, "Hanna, when did you know? About Damian, I mean. I know that we weren't really meant to be together as husband and wife, though it took me a long time after it was over to accept that. But I often couldn't help but wonder, even if we had been, was there ever any real hope that I could have kept you?"

Hanna thought back to those days and the turmoil she'd put herself through. She had pondered similar thoughts while wandering the woods surrounding her Uncle's mountain home. What if Damian was just a man? What if Curtis had been more romantic and attentive? Would she have even been contemplating being with the handsome black man?

Though it had taken her days of strolling the countryside near her Uncle's home, Hanna had finally decided on an answer while sitting by the waterfall she'd found deep in the woods. Though sheltered while growing up, the gorgeous blonde had still encountered many white men in that time, and none of them had elicited any real spark of desire in her.

It had taken just one glimpse of Damian though to awaken something in her. A single glance out that window at the handsome and powerfully built black man had ignited a flame in her that Curtis could have never extinguished. Even now, she could remember the attraction she'd felt in that instance.

"No, I don't think anything could have kept me from him, Curtis," Hanna said as she gripped her former husband's arm tighter. "I know now that I was his the moment I laid eyes on him. God, I fought it so hard. I wanted so badly to live up to how I was taught a good wife should be. Yet every fiber of me yearned to be with him."

Stopping, Hanna turned to Curtis and said, "I promise you, Curtis. I never touched him nor any other man until the night I returned from living with my Uncle, not once. I wanted it more than you could imagine, but I resisted until the night I finally left you."

"It doesn't matter, Hanna,"

"It does to me," Hanna insisted. "I felt like I gave you every chance to reclaim me, but you never made an effort to do it. It was like the shame of divorce was all that mattered to you, not me. And that told me it was time to stop fighting things."

His head hanging, eyes unable to meet his former wife, Curtis conceded his wife's point.

"Everyone kept telling me to come home and lay claim to what was mine. I knew it was what was expected of me, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

Staring back at her former husband as compassionately as possible, Hanna said, "You couldn't bring yourself to do it because you didn't want me, honey. You never did. I know you cared for me, that was never in doubt. I always got the feeling that when we were together sexually, the act made your skin crawl. It wasn't me you were disgusted with, but being with me in such a way."

Hanna waited a moment to allow her words to sink in for Curtis.

Grasping her former husband's cheeks, Hanna said, "I was born to be with a black man, but unlike my father, I wasn't willing to live under a cloud of shame as I hid that fact from the world. For me, a big, black cock is everything. The way it stuffs me and fills me up. The manner that it can pound at me all night long and make me climax over and over. The way he can dominate me with his strength and power makes me his in every fashion."

"You're, father? Curtis asked while trying to make sense of her implication.

"My father and Tyrone Washington have been in love with one another since they were teens. They would meet up once a week under the guise of business at the cattle auctions so that they could make love. Since you left there and moved to Houston, Dad and Ty have been sharing a bed every night."

Hanna paused there, what she was saying now was more for Curtis's benefit than hers. The gorgeous blonde wanted her husband to finally stop battling who he was. She could see it in his mind. Now it was only a matter of getting him to accept it.

"I was born and bred to enjoy a big, black cock. Damian's specifically."

"Why are you telling me this, Hanna?" Curtis asked with a quiver to his voice. Hanna could see in his mind that her words had found purchase.

"Because, while you are recovering, you need to finally be honest with yourself about what excites and attracts you. What is that one thing that occupies your mind making it nearly impossible to concentrate when you need to? You need to learn to accept that feeling that way doesn't make you a bad person."

The rest of their day together was less confrontational and emotional. Hanna did introduce him to her son, as well as allowing him to meet Zara and Grace.

They all had dinner together that night, the kids included. Curtis finally seemed to relax and take in the sights and sounds around him. Despite the total obliteration of the typical nuclear type of family he was raised around, it was apparent that there was an abundance of love around that table.

As it got late, Curtis said his goodbyes to all the children, gaining a hug from Grace and Zara. Damian Jr., however, only offered his hand and best wishes.

Haley offered her former youth pastor a hug during which she received a much-belated apology from Curtis over her sudden ouster as a youth worker in the ministry. Haley had merely smiled and kissed his cheek, promising Curtis that he was forgiven.

Hanna then said her goodbyes at the top of the steps. She promised that she would come to see him as regularly as possible and gave him her cell number should he ever need anything.

It was Damian, though, that walked him down to the car. The two men stood for several minutes, talking. Those standing around watching could hear nothing, but Hanna heard it all. Damian's rich voice spoke slowly, his cadence and tone hypnotic as he lectured of how Curtis should continue to resist the thought of using drugs. He explained that the cravings Curtis's body yearned for would disappear to be replaced by a hunger for knowledge and more carnal needs.

And with that, Curtis was gone to face his personal demons. It comforted Hanna that she would receive daily reports on his progress. And the knowledge Hanna would know his mind from anywhere in the world gave her even more peace. She prayed that Damian's parting words held power and that Curtis would find the strength to make it through the year-long program.

"Think he's strong enough to make it?" Hanna heard Scottie's voice ask behind her.

"The real question is, can he let go of his past and shed his upbringing. Getting rid of his body's desire for drugs will be a breeze in comparison.

"And?"

"I badly want to believe he can," Hanna replied, her voice full of hope.

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Over the next nine months, Hanna kept close tabs on her former husband, visiting him whenever she had time. During the numerous times that she was too busy, the gorgeous blonde used her gifts to keep a mental eye on Curtis's recovery.

She'd made sure that the former youth pastor would receive the best care possible. The facility's medical and mental health staff was second to none. The doctors included the creme de la creme of southern California.

The training staff of the place was merely adequate, however. That wasn't good enough for Diane. She used her influence to arrange to have one of LA's top trainers come out five days a week to train Curtis personally. Hanna knew from her reading that her former husband's first four to six weeks would likely be hell. According to the articles she'd read, sleep would be hard to come by during that time. One of the critical ways suggested to help with the problem, was to make sure that Curtis took part in as much physical activity as possible.

Hanna visited Curtis four times over that first month and a half. If anything, his appearance seemed to deteriorate at first. He'd gone from looking gaunt to emaciated, and there was an exhausted look around his eyes that added lines to his face.

His doctors, aware of who she was, assured her that this was normal and that the worst of Curtis's issues were done. He'd gotten through the morass of often debilitating symptoms that come with withdrawal with minimal problems, at least compared to some. They assured her that as the days went by, his appetite and sleep patterns would return to normal, and his health would improve.

Hanna spent most of the next month in Asia with Damian and their entourage. Damian had been working behind the scenes in Malaysia to create instability in the ruling party. The group had been fervently resistant to his overtures in the past, so they had to go. The government's collapse would create strife and instability within the country that Damian's people would be able to take advantage of behind the scenes. He had been carefully cultivating a relationship with the group he planned to help seize power. Billions in profit could be made from such a silent coup, but that was incidental to Damian. It was influence and control that were important to him. Real power lay in having dominion over every living soul within the region, and his grip tightened on their lives each day that passed by.

Hanna had done her part to help. She'd seduced the wife and daughter of the man who Damian had handpicked to take power, delivering them to the fallen angel so they could have their strength and will be blissfully sapped by his big, black cock.

Curtis looked markedly improved the next time she saw him. He'd gained weight and gotten some sun, and the despair that had been present in his eyes was gone, replaced by just the faintest hint of hope.

As the months ticked off the calendar, the former pastor's health and appearance seemed to blossom. Though he never gained any more weight than what he'd weighed the day the two had returned home on their honeymoon, everything had vastly been redistributed. His soft and doughy middle was a thing of the past. His midsection was now flat and taut, with just the hint of a six-pack starting to define itself to the naked eye.

Gone was the pallor of an office worker. His skin now radiated health from the hours he'd spent swimming laps in the pool and out walking the trails that followed the bluffs that surrounded the rehab on three sides.

The swimming and weights had also sculpted his upper body, providing a bit more width to his shoulders and upper back. The result was a natural taper that made his waist and hips appear even smaller.

Even Curtis's hair, which had been long and stringy the night he'd overdosed in the park, now appeared to have a returned luster. The way the facilities stylist had cut it seemed to detract from the noticeability of how much it had thinned and receded over the years.

Hanna had even arranged for Curtis to be taken to see a cosmetic dentistry specialist. His drug use and life on the street had done a number on the condition of his teeth. But over a series of visits, that was another issue that went by the wayside.

It was almost nine months to the day that Curtis entered the facility, that he was released into the care of the long-term care community. Hanna and Haley were there to see to it that he got settled in comfortably.

And though they didn't make a big deal about it. The pair were also curious to see Curtis meet his sober care companion.

Reggie Collins also looked vastly improved since the last time Hanna saw him. Gone was the scruff of afro hair that had adorned his head the last time he'd been in her presence. The shape of his bald head was a pleasant one. It shone with just a bead of sweat as he came out to meet his new charge for the 'first time.'

There was no hint of recognition on Curtis's part. The loneliness and distrust fostered by the vagrant lifestyle had prevented Curtis from getting to know any of the people he lived around in the homeless camp.