Darlene’s next words were submerged in a rising tide of conversation as the membership began to digest the implications of her statement. Every now and then I caught a sister glance in my direction as she talked to her companion. Several of the glances ended in smiles ranging from bold to shy.
I was surprised at the silence of the Moderator’s gavel. And was amazed she let the chatter run its course for several minutes. At the crest of discussion, she restored an easy silence with a few knuckle raps on the table.The subtle use of the human touch made the call to order more personal and less authoritarian. I smiled in spite of myself. She was likely a far better poker player than I thought.
“Thank you, Darlene, for the compelling testimony. Does any member of the Society wish to dispute the evidence of Mr. Richard’s innocence?” Crickets.
The floor is now open to general questions. Those wishing to ask Alice or Dennis questions relating to their survival experience, rise and be recognized.”
For the longest time, the invitation went unanswered. Then the woman sitting next to StarShine stood up and asked Alice, “What was it like being with a man, I mean Dennis, around the clock for seven days? You two couldn’t even take a shit in private? I would go crazy even if he were my brother.”
One of the members brought the house down with the cat-call, “I would go crazy if it was my brother.”
“Alice, you go first. Then I will ask Mr. Richards to respond,” Lisa leaned back in her chair and motioned Alice to answer.
I leaned slightly forward and rested my hand on my knee to keep it from shaking as the fear induced adrenalin-high from fear of a run-away lynch mob society abated. That was too flipping close for comfort.
“I would have gone crazy if it wasn’t for Dennis. I hate snakes. I was scared to death,” Alice said with a shiver as she fought to keep her composure. Phobias are not logical creatures, and mind fear can paralyze even an Olympic strong-man. Or woman.
I thought Darlene wore the crown when it came to the over-sharing of personal information. Darlene’s prize crumbled as Alice embarked on an explicitly detailed account of every moment we were together. Her account of lovemaking cut short by premature ejaculation left me blushing and fidgeting in my chair. I was getting sliced and diced like a laboratory rat.
My status was slightly redeemed when Alice pronounced me to be an excellent lover despite my deficiencies. I licked my lips and suppressed the temptation to smile. The mood of the assembly was shifting away from hostile toward almost friendly, or at least friendly curiosity.
My turn to answer came after nearly forty-five minutes of testimony when Lisa thanked Alice for sharing as she turned to me and said, “And what was it like to spend so much time with Alice? What kept you from going crazy?”
“As far as our time together? It was frustrating, aggravating, annoying, and wonderful roller coaster ride. We survived because we worked together and we needed each other. I kept in mind that as annoying as all this was to me, it had to be just as bad for Alice. We were stuck with each other for better or worse, so we made the best of it,” I shrugged and touched her hand with mine.
“We had a choice. We could be friends pretending to be lovers or lovers pretending to be friends. We decided to be friends,” I leaned back in my chair as I finished speaking. I had no more to say.
For the next hour, the line of inquiry from the membership meandered like a lazy river all over the map. Did we get bored with nothing to do? Sometimes, but mostly we were too busy being scared to be bored. Did we ever lose hope of rescue? Yes and yes. How did we spend our time? Sleeping, talking, napping, fooling around, feeling depressed, cheering each other up, screwing, and sleeping.
Gradually the sisters narrowed their questions and began to focus on my future status. It was Alice’s daughter who finally addressed the elephant in the room: “Dennis, do you want to join the sisterhood as a permanent member of the society?”
TO BE CONTINUED
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