She said, “Why not? I’m yours whenever you want me. You can take me anywhere and I won’t mind. I’ll do anything you want except give up your child.”
I said, “Annie, please don’t give me this much power. I don’t trust myself with it.”
She said, “I trust you. It’s yours whether you want it or not and whether you use it or not.”
I was stymied. She wasn’t budging on the issue. I could have told her to crawl the length of the tunnel on her bare belly. She would have done it for me. I wasn’t sure what to say or do. I was stuck with it no matter how I felt about it. I hoped I could end the impasse I felt we were in. “Okay, we’ll not discuss it for now. Besides, it’s getting late and I have to show up for work tomorrow.”
We got into the hover and left after she turned off the lights. I could feel her naked warm body next to mine as we went through the tunnel to the roaring waterfall and picked up enough speed to sail through it without being dunked into the lake. We reached the island and retrieved our clothes. I was tempted to ask her to keep her blouse tied or even buttoned as we left and reached the roads, but I resisted using the power I now held. If anything, I didn’t want to change her. If I was falling in love, I wanted the same bright, eager, woman who I first met and not what I might make her into. That much I was sure of. I didn’t want the excitement to ever go out of the woman I might marry.
We eventually reached the Pennyweight building where I got out of the hover and waved to her as I went inside. I felt more depressed than the night before.
The next week was filled with getting the Thurman fully in shape for escort duty. All the repairs were rechecked to be sure they measured up to our standards. Crew members were assigned and I went over their records with the company management. New shipping schedules were set. Then we were back in a business as usual mode.
Each night, Annie dropped by to see me. I would talk with her or ride around town for a few minutes with her before returning to the ship. By the end of the week, I was positive that she meant what she said. She was totally in my power as long as she could see me. We didn’t have to go to bed and have sex if I didn’t want to, but she was just as willing to stop in traffic and open her legs for me if I wanted her that way, too. The whole time, I was frightened that I would unduly take unfair advantage of her, especially since she was in love and wouldn’t complain. I wondered if that was how people in love behaved. Would I someday act that way? If so, I didn’t want to fall in love, not if I was going to build a career and then throw it away because I fell in love. I could understand why some people might marry for wealth if that was the case. But, how did one prepare oneself against falling in love? I only knew that I needed some advice and I needed it fast.
One thing I learned real fast was that I had a lot of discretion concerning my time and whereabouts since I was the captain of a ship. I had very few people to account to for my actions and the authority to delegate some responsibilities in some situations if need be. To date, I had delegated authority and responsibility only to enhance other people’s learning processes. I sought out Penny and checked with her.
“Penny, I’m going to need a little time off today to get some advice from the Sarge. Is there anything urgent here that I don’t know of that you want me to take care of?”
Penny said, “If it’s about…”
I replied, “Uh, no. I need some advice about women.”
“Really? Are we talking about Annie?” she asked.
I said, “Yes. I’m scared that I might take advantage of her irresponsibly.”
She said, “I thought you already had.”
I responded, “Uh, no. That was something we discussed together before it happened. She was the one who took advantage of me. This is a different problem concerning us.”
She said, “Well, sure. There’s nothing urgent, but I’ll be happy to give you some advice from a woman’s point of view, if you’d like.”
“Thanks. You’re probably right. I should get some advice from a woman as well. Do you have the time now?” I asked.
She replied, “Sure. Close the door so no one else has to hear your problem.”
I turned and closed the door. Then I took the seat that she motioned me to.
“What’s the problem as you see it?” she asked.
I blurted out, “Well, Annie has professed her love for me.”
“That’s a problem?” she asked.
I said, “There’s more. She’s said that she’ll do anything for me just so long as I let her continue to see me. That’s even without me ever marrying her.”
Penny said, “I see. She fell for you hard. If that’s all you’re worried about, then there’s nothing to it.”
I asked, “Are you sure? I mean, she leaves every decision to me now. She’s not like she used to be. She’s more like a zombie instead of the bright, bouncing off the walls, young woman I first met. I’m afraid that I might hurt her with all the power she’s given me over her.”
Penny replied, “Well, that’s a lot more thought and consideration than most people give to others when similar things happen. But just be yourself. She’ll return to normal eventually.”
“How long before that happens?” I asked.
She said, “Well, some people fall that deeply in love and stay that way for years and years. Most just stay that way for a short while.”
“How short?” I asked.
Penny said, “Uh, well, that’s kind of hard to say. I mean, with some people the severity of the love gradually fades to something more natural and bearable in a year, but doesn’t completely disappear. With some, it returns back to normal after a few weeks or a few months. Anyway, you’re asking something now that I’m only advising you about based on a few friends I’ve seen in the same situation. Let me guess, you’re afraid that you’ll start acting that way, too. Aren’t you?”
“Some,” I admitted.
She said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s only most evident when you’re with the other person. Otherwise, you’ll think about the other person a lot, but you’ll still be able to function and be your usual self. Besides, love doesn’t always hit both people in a couple that hard. If it did, they’d never be able to function while together. She got it hard. You’ll probably get it a lot lighter, if love bites you, too.”
I asked, “Did you get it hard?”
Penny replied, “No, Sarge did. He told me about your conversation. I wish I could tell you what you want to know about that, too, but I can’t. Back to love though. He’d show up whenever he could get off duty. Then he did some of the strangest and most marvelous things to win my hand. I couldn’t help fall in love with him then and agree to marry him. After we got married, he gradually became more normal, like he was before he fell in love, but he still goes out of his way to do things for me. You might as well face it. Annie’s in love with you for sure. There’s no way of telling beforehand how long it will last nor how strong it will be. If you want her to snap out of it sooner, then marry her.”
I replied, “I’m wondering if I should marry her because I think I might have been afraid of marriage for the wrong reasons.”
She said, “Well, think about it. If you want to get the Sarge’s advice, go for it.”
I said, “Penny, I think you’ve given me an honest appraisal and some good advice. I don’t think I’ll need to see the Sarge this time. Thanks for your time.”
“You’re welcome anytime, Dave. Is the Rust Bucket going to be ready tomorrow?” Penny asked.
“Yes. That reminds me of one more thing. Annie once asked me to take her up in the Rust Bucket when I first met her. I refused her on the grounds then that it was a military ship. I checked our policies and couldn’t find any guidance on things like that for us. Anyway, I promised that I would check into it and think about it. I’m still not sure that I want to take her up in a gunship. Regardless of how I feel, what is the company policy?” I asked.