Free Sojourners of the Sky by Clayton Taylor Page B

just talking about your wedding,” said Sonny with an evil grin. “I’m from Providence and I was just thinking that I may have bumped into your lovely bride previously. Anyhow, I asked myself…”
    Marie, completely overwrought with fear and unsure of what to do, looked at Sonny and said, “All right.”
    “Oh, excuse me; sometimes I ramble,” said Sonny. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
    “That’s perfectly all right,” replied Dirk. “Marie is beautiful, isn’t she?”
    “She certainly is,” said Sonny with a knowing nod. He then turned away and smiled, knowing that in the not-too-distant future Dirk’s new bride would be his for the taking.
    It took a while, but as Sonny spoke to her husband, Marie remembered her former patron. There were two men in her previous life that had struck her and Sonny was one of them. She recalled the black eye, the bloody nose and the bruises. As frightened as Marie was, there was a tiny ember of anger deep inside that was slowly intensifying. And that simmering hot coal’s name was revenge.
    *
    Lars slipped out of the cockpit and watched as Sonny smiled and nodded while the young woman sitting across from him rambled on. Sonny actually looked happy, but at the same time he appeared bemused. Lars hoped the young lady was greasing the skids for him--calming Sonny down and making him a little more approachable.
    The moment the young woman’s husband sat down, Lars made his move. His plan was to arrive at Sonny’s side soon after the couple resumed kissing. He was counting on the distraction of the smooching newlyweds to ease into the conversation, using it as a sort of ice breaker.
    As Lars walked toward Sonny’s seat, he could almost feel his neighbor’s powerful hands around his neck. Just the thought of it made him wince.
    “Sonny, can we talk for a minute?” asked Lars.
    Looking up as Lars approached, he extended his open palm and said, “Not now, Lars. Leave me alone.”
    “Sonny, can I please speak to you in private?”
    “There is nothing you can say that I want to hear.”
    “I’m going to go back and wait by one of the first class lavs. I’ll give you a few minutes,” said Lars, struggling to remove the emotion from his words as he spoke.
    During his walk aft, Lars twice chided himself to slow down. At the same time, he reminded himself that the burning feeling he felt in his neck wasn’t actually there…yet.
    When he arrived outside the rearmost lav, Lars did his best to act nonchalant, pretending to study the door frame as if it were broken.
    *
    Marie Myers was beside herself. Her heart raced and her head pounded. She was so angry with herself for having sold her body, even though she knew that it had been necessary in order to get through an extremely desperate time. Marie shook her head in utter disbelief at her sudden misfortune. She’d lied to her husband, there was no taking that back. She tried telling herself that if she did it just one more time it would all go away. But a little voice inside, a mere glowing cinder, slowly convinced her that if she gave in to Sonny he would blackmail her for the rest of her life.
    Marie sat perfectly still, consumed with regret. All she could think about was the impossible situation she found herself in. A tiny tear ran down her cheek as her adoring husband nibbled on her ear lobe. Rage, originating from deep inside, slowly worked its way to the surface. Marie was scared to death, but at the same time her mind began a measured, deliberate search for freedom. Gradually, through the tears of anguish and frustration, things came into focus. There was no way she could return to her previous life. Just the thought of being forced into servitude by a thug proved more than she could bear. It took a while for all the anger to well-up, and when it did, Marie knew what she had to do. She told herself that if Sonny came into the bathroom, pulled his pants down and tried to take advantage of her, there was no way he