Two Young Broken Hearts

As she parked the car I recognized her mother, the beautiful face and smooth skin gave her away. I had remembered her because I felt that is what Sweet Pea would look like now. I realized that Sweet Pea was even prettier than her mother.

I also recognized her voice when she spoke to her daughter, "You always said you would find your boy, I don't know why I ever doubted you. My, my; Spud you look even better than your dad!"

At that statement a car came around the last corner on the drive, I instantly recognized it was my family. Why were they here?

I was finally introduced to Mr Pete. As the day continued, more people arrived; most were relatives of one family or another. Others were important local people.

Early in the afternoon Mr Pete announced, "Lunch is served out near the pool." A special table was setup to the left of the serving line; we were invited to eat with Mr Pete, our parents and his other special guests. I was amazed to find myself seated next to the owner of the company we worked for. After we all had taken our fill and many of the guests had departed a story began.

Part three

Our host began; "Sue, um...excuse me...Sweet Pea, I am truly sorry for the abuse your father was subjected to by a member of my family. I had no idea.

I am heart broken to admit I was related to your step father. He was my older brother. He managed to drive my soon to be wife away from me. By the time I found her she had married another man. When she finally found out what he had done she was too far in love with the other man to leave. She admitted she still had strong feelings for me, but it was too late. She said she did not have it in her to destroy another man's life. I have spent time with them and agree with her. Because I loved her so much I was more concerned with her happiness than my own. I could never destroy her marriage and happiness. I told her so.

My brother wanted to steal my wife from me. She listened to his words and decided that she needed to get away from the entire family. If one person was as corrupt as he said I was, then the entire family must be the same. He bashed me too well to ever have a chance to win her. The week before we were to marry she slipped away with only an overnight bag under the cover of darkness. She drove five hours in the wrong direction. She spent the night in a motel charged to a card in my name and reversed course the next morning, dropping off of the end of the earth and out of sight. Her first job paid her as a contractor for two years before she met her current husband.

After she left me I was persuaded to sell my share of the family company to my brother. Frankly I did not like what I was seeing of him and didn't want to be financially ruined when he drove it out of business. I invested my money wisely and now live well for my efforts.

I returned from my quest to find my wife the week after your father died, your mother had already agreed to marry him by that time. I tried to talk her out of it. Your mother, Nancy, has always been a woman of her word, you should be proud of her. She did what she felt she had to, to keep your family together. She also made sure to never have a child by my brother, if she had one she felt that her children with your father were in danger.

Sweet Pea, when she sent you to me she knew I would do everything in my power to protect you. My brother never found out that I had impregnated my high school girlfriend. Her parents forbid that we marry. I have dutifully paid child support and visited my daughter every chance I dared. I willingly paid triple what the court ordered, to be sure she did not go without. I put money aside for her to go to whatever school she wished. Her mother died when she was sixteen, by then her grandparents were sorry we had not married and to this day welcome me into their home with open arms.

I was so impressed by your determination to find Spud that I took steps to be sure you had the best shot ever to return to each other." Then he handed us a penny "You will know what to do with this when the time comes."

Another man took over at that point.

I am William Armstrong. I am a retired state trooper. I now run my own detective agency. There were rumors for months that a person was looking for the best detective money could buy. When Pete came to interview me I was honored to speak to him. Three months later he returned to me and asked me to work for him.

He explained that no one was to know who he was searching for; that would be you, Spud. He explained that a young girl he knew claimed to still love her childhood friend. He wanted me to find that friend so he could get them together and see what happened." He spoke of the search and he too handed us a penny when he was through.

A number of others spoke on their parts of the investigation. Each handed us a penny when they were through.

The owner of our company, Mr Hanson spoke last.

"It's funny how life works. I personally made the decisions to hire both of you. My decision was without any input from anyone else in this room. I was most impressed by your academic records, I was proven correct when you both exceeded my wildest expectations as separate workers. I wondered what the results would be if I stuck you both together to work as a team. I have watched from the sidelines to see if the results were what I expected.

Three weeks ago Mr Armstrong came to me with a wild story about two of my best employees. I was intrigued by the story. When he finished he asked if there was some way to get you two together to see what happens.

He must have thought me to be insane as I about fell out my chair in laughter. I pulled a folder out of my drawer and threw it to him. As he read the details in that folder his eyes became wider and wider, before long he began to laugh too. This was the week before we sent you to the special project together, it was already in the planning stages.

I could see it in your eyes how very much you both wanted to be together, but you held onto a hope and a prayer that you would find the love that was taken from you as a child.

Your actions this weekend resolved our task to get you back together. I guess we won despite our best efforts. We, as a company, wish you well and offer any assistance you need."

Then he handed us a small stack of pennies, one each from himself and the entire board of directors.

When we went to Mom and Dad's the next time I went and got our piggy bank. I had placed that one aside and began another when they moved. She was amazed that I still had it. I let her pull the tape off the slot and we slowly put all those pennies in it. We spent the time between deposits kissing and holding each other as if life depended on it.

Part four

Pete, as we were instructed to call him, pulled me aside. "Next weekend I hope to ask Nancy to marry me. I already spoke to Sweet Pea and her siblings, and have their blessings. If she says yes, will you be my best man? Think on it for a while, please. And don't let on."

I promised not to tell.

We spent a lovely evening with our families. Rose and Sweet Pea were not sure how they felt about each other now that they were face to face. After the excitement and revelations of the day I drifted outside for some fresh air.

As I pondered the events of the day I felt a presence in the shadows. Softly I heard a question. Rose asked "Does this mean we can no longer be best friends?"

I contemplated the answer and soon responded "Is there a rule prohibiting more than one best friend?"

Somewhere on the other side, in the darkness, I heard a soft sigh and a voice said "Not that I know of, but you understand HIS BODY IS MINE!"

The giggle from the first side was wonderful, and soon followed by "Can all three of us be best friends, I would like that!"

Soon we were all laying together on the top of the steps watching the sky. A shooting star raced by as we lay back, arm in arm, in arm. The collective sigh filled our ears, then silence for a while.

The next weekend Pete asked Nancy to marry him, she broke down in tears before she finally nodded yes. They were married the next month.

As their reception was winding down Sweet Pea and I found ourselves wandering through Pete's gardens. We sat to rest on a bench in the rose garden. I reached over and held her hand for a bit before I finally calmed down enough to pull the ring box from my pocket and ask to marry her. Her response was : "I would have married you when we were seven, YES my love."

We returned arm in arm. Rose immediately noticed the sparkle on her finger and raced over to hug us both. "I knew it was going to happen today!" she laughed.

Soon, everyone else was surrounding us too; extending best wishes and commenting on how great it would be. We had all three made the same wish on the shooting star.

Pete and Nancy used the time to sneak out for their honeymoon, she was soon carrying their first child.

When the special project was completed we returned to our regular jobs. The second evening back we had dinner in my apartment. We sat on the sofa making plans for the rest of our life and fell asleep in each others arms. We woke the next morning stiff and sore from sitting there all night, still dressed in our clothes from the day before. As we untangled our arms and legs Sweet Pea began to blush and laugh "I guess we can now say we have slept together!" she joked.

Her lease was soon to run out and she moved in with me. We slept together and held each other every night; but saved sex for marriage. Rose spent most nights in the second bedroom, our door was always open.

Rose soon began to date the youngest of Sweet Pea's brothers, they were about the same age. They began when she needed a date for her senior prom. Soon they were inseparable.

Part five

We were in heaven. How could it get any better than this?

Sweet Pea returned to visit her Mother and Pete to finalize the plans for our wedding. It was less than a month away. Everything was going to be perfect.

Pete and Nancy had moved into the big house, This made Nancy happy, Pete...not so much.

During the darkest part of the night Sweet Pea woke to a presence in her room. She began to scream, a rag was held securely in her mouth, there was a sweet smell and it felt cold. She was carried out of the house through a hidden stairway. The door did not close and her captor was in too much of a hurry to return and pull it shut.

Pete arrived in the room seconds after they left and saw the door swinging wildly. Nancy was there just behind him. It took less than two minutes to return with a flashlight, dressed to pursue them. Nancy was on the phone calling the police.

By the time Pete exited the passageway to the basement and into the backyard they had disappeared into a fog-bank. He knew there was a dirt road less than two hundred feet off to the right, he headed in that direction. As he approached the road he heard a vehicle start and speed off to the north. He had to return to the house to report what he knew.

Sweet Pea woke in a cold dark room, it smelled musty like an old damp cellar. There was a single light-bulb glowing faintly in the far corner. Her leg was securely fastened to one leg of the bed she was laying on. She still wore her nightgown. She had enough length on her tether to just reach the toilet in the corner. Nothing else was close enough for her to reach and the bed was securely fastened to the floor. Hidden in the damp musty smell was a strangely familiar smell, it was slightly sweet like an old time brand of soap.

A short time later she heard someone slowly descending a set of creaky steps, they were around the other side of a huge chimney. When she heard the voice she immediately knew who had taken her. "I have finally managed to return you to my side, where you are destined to be for all time." it said.

"Chris, why have you done this to me?" she cried out.

"Sue,I was assigned a task by my father. That task was to keep you safe until your eighteenth birthday. I was to keep you as a virgin. On your birthday you were to become his bride, and your mother disposed of. You ran away and father died before he was able to have you. I was to receive you as a present after you had 3 babies by him. I've watched you in private for many years from a secret passage that ran behind your bedroom."

She was in total shock to hear the details of their plan.

He continued "My father was a cruel man, you don't know the things he has done to your mother. I was to be the kind man who treated you well and won your heart. No one knows much of me, or anything of this house or this room. I can hold you here until you willingly give yourself to me."

"I don't love you Chris, I love another. He will come looking for me. " She almost screamed 'will'. Then she suddenly stopped talking, afraid that she might have given away too much.

Chris was too lost in his own dream to hear much of what she said. "You will grow to love me. I know you have it in your heart to do that. We will be the greatest lovers of all time. I will be your guardian and protector..." He continued on and on in his own dream world, not paying much attention to her protestations.

Back at the big house the police and family were going over what they knew. There were the scream, the open door to the passageway and many idle scribblings on the walls of that passageway. After reading the prose and seeing the dried yellowing semen on the walls they were sure they knew the who and why of the case. And they had a better understanding of the situation. They just had no idea where to start

What Chris had not counted on was the openness of Sweet Pea and Spud's relationship. One time he had asked her if she had any boyfriends as a teen. She answered that no one had seemed to be interested in her except for one boy who was very attentive in a creepy sort of way. She attributed this to the fact that the entire town seemed to hate her step-father. Of course she knew even better than they exactly how evil he was.

She had been to the house a few times to have dinner with Chris and his mother. She had told him of the strange house that the boy lived in. She even remembered the sweet smell of the soap the mother used

The house reminded her of one built for a horror movie. It was less than 500 feet from the edge of a quarry. The house was built over a hundred and fifty years ago by tradesmen who never showed in town other than to pass through on Mondays and Fridays on their way into or out of town. No one saw them then either as the windows were curtained over to conceal the occupants of the coach. The money was too good to complain about the insane demands on the workers.

Spud managed to contact Mr Hanson who agreed to allow them the use of his plane to survey the countryside for the house. One flight over the only quarry in the region was all it took.

Spud called his father and they decided to take in a hunting trip to relieve the stress. The day before the hunt began there was a meeting at the hotel where they stayed. The biggest problem was how to approach the house without being seen. The drive to the house was completely visible for over a mile coming up hill. A group, or multiple groups, would be sure to be seen over that distance. The walls of the quarry were about fifty to sixty feet straight up with occasional ledges and outcroppings. The decision was for John, his dad, to walk up the hill in plain sight as if he were a hunter who did not know it was private land. He might be stopped and sent back, but that would take any attention away from the quarry walls. The younger ones would scale the walls and come up behind the house and spread out. James, John's twin would take care of holding on to the bottoms of the rope and securing the equipment before driving to a point near the front of the house, out of sight.

Early the next morning they drove to the wall in the abandoned quarry where people did recreational climbing on the walls all the time. In the photos that spot was about two hundred and fifty feet to the left of the house and came up into a wooded patch that would conceal them until they were ready to move. The first to climb was Edward, he was home on leave from the army. He was a superior climber. When all five climbers were at the top and rested they pulled the hunting rifles up on the ropes. It was decided to wait and see if there was any activity near the house. Every three to four hours Chris would take Sue for a walk. The men had spread out around the the yard area to better see what was being done and maybe hear parts of the conversation. Being closer they could see he had her on a leash.and in leg irons. The conversation was mostly tense and forced by him, many of her answers were short, one word or even none at all.

They decided to wait until the next morning. James and John went back to the motel for the night. The others spent a cold dark night about seventy feet away from the cliff. Their food consisted of survival rations and other things like jerky and trail mix. Early the next morning they were back in their places surrounding the house.

At daybreak John began his long hike up the hill looking for small game to shoot. He was not alone as planned. They were not sighted as they walked toward the house. A little after nine Chris walked out the back door off the house on his own. He walked to the same point he had the day before. He was happy and smiling and singing love songs to entertain himself. Occasionally he would remark to himself that she was beginning to fall in love with him. She would soon allow him to make love to her. He didn't say WITH her. "...women only had sex to reward their men." was his thought. He could wait her out, she was soon ready to give her virginity to him.

Without warning Spud stood up, slightly behind him and to his left. "She will never allow you to have her" he thundered.

Chris pulled out his pistol as he turned to face him. His face was clouded over in rage. His first shot was way wide to the right. As he sighted in for his second a rifle sounded from his right and a bullet hit his hand, knocking the pistol from, his hand. He didn't see the shooter. He bent to pickup his weapon and began to aim it again and another shot sounded. He heard the bullet pass next to his ear. Chris began to run toward the house and turned to fire wildly and nowhere in particular. He was aimed near enough to one of the cousins that the man shot his right knee, at the same time another shot hit him center mass of his chest.

Sweet Pea heard all the shouting and gunshots and her imagination was running wild. Who was shot? How badly was he hurt? She was sure she had heard Spud yelling at Chris just before the shooting began.

Someone had called the police when the shooting began. Chris was waving the pistol around calling Sue to come to him. No one dared to approach, for fear of being shot. Just before the police arrived his arm slowly dropped to the ground. He was still alive when he was loaded into the ambulance. He never made it to the hospital alive. He had lost too much blood.

Sweet Pea was beside herself with worry. Finally a trooper was able to take the time to check on her. She too was taken away by ambulance. She had little to eat or drink the entire time and was weak and dehydrated.

Somehow Pete figured out that they knew where she was being held and was allowed to accompany John up the hill that day. When he identified himself as family they took his word. After interviewing all the parties involved; the police were pissed but did not charge anyone since Chris shot first. They wanted to charge all of them with trespassing; but the property was owned by the company and Nancy refused to press charges.

Nancy was the first to arrive at the emergency room to be with Sweet Pea. All she could offer was that she was sure everyone would be fine. The phones and weapons had all been confiscated for the time being and no one was allowed to leave the scene of the crime; as the police called it.