She stopped the hover and turned it slightly so that I could see the cavern that the tunnel or cave ended in. It was huge and beautiful. She said, “I looked up the coordinates and found out I own this! Isn’t it beautiful? It’s right under my property and I didn’t know that it was here until recently!”
I said, “It certainly is breathtaking. Annie’s Cavern. Even the name sounds beautiful.”
She remarked, “I hadn’t thought of giving it a name, but you’re right. That does sound nice. It’s got a beautiful pool that’s fed by the same stream and it’s always this temperature. I went ahead and picked up a few items and brought them here to make it so that I could use it without tripping or falling in the dark. I’ll shut off the hover after I turn on the lights. I hope my choice of lighting is okay.”
“I’m sure it is,” I said before I saw just what she meant by her choice of lighting. She had used colored lights to illuminate the cavern and make it more breathtakingly beautiful. I stated, “Yes, it is beautiful the way you lit it up.”
She said, “I’m so glad you like it. Come on and let’s play here for awhile.”
I wondered if I was being seduced so that I would fall into a trap or even in love, not that I was afraid of either by then. Either her tender trap or love could be a possibility allowed to bloom then, since I was sure it wouldn’t hinder nor help me unduly. “Uh, sure we can play in here. You want to swim?”
She said, “Oh yes. You’ve got to experience this pool. It makes the lake seem cold.”
“Really?” I wondered if she was teasing me again. The lake was actually warm. I wondered how warm the pool was to make the lake seem cold. I ran after her and dove into the pool just behind her, discovering that she was again telling the truth. The pool was at least ten to twenty degrees warmer than the lake. I was wondering why.
She said, “I found out that there’s a thermal pool below it that continually feeds both the pool and the lake. The lake doesn’t have a roof to trap it, so the pool stays a lot warmer. I plan on coming here during the fall and winter.”
I remarked, “If that’s so, then I don’t blame you. This is a beautiful cavern. If it’s like this all year round, then you have a natural place to enjoy yourself.”
“I’d much rather enjoy it with you. Have you come to see me because you’re changing your mind?” she asked.
“I don’t honestly know. I wondered if seeing you would help me figure out what I want. By the way, you seemed to be looking for me. Why were you looking for me? Were you hoping I’d changed my mind?” I asked.
She said, “No, I was hoping now that you’re not in the military, I could get a ride in your ship, the Rust Bucket that you wouldn’t let me come near before.”
“Really? You came out just because you wanted a ride in my ship?” I asked in amazement.
She said, “Yes, I did. I really want to ride in a warship. I think it would be fun. Daddy would never take me on one. I was hoping that you might.”
I replied, “I’ll have to think about it and check company policy. After all, it’s still a warship and dangerous to be on.”
She said, “I’ll sign waivers if it’s required. I just want to ride on one.”
I said, “I’ll honestly look into it and give it some thought with an open mind. That’s all I can promise you at this time.”
“Okay, Dave. I’ll accept that for now,” she said with obvious disappointment.
We played around in the water and later got out of the warm water to lie down on some outdoor lounges she carried into the cavern so she wouldn’t have to lie down on the hard dirt and rock floor. She hadn’t brought much into the cavern, but she had enough to make it comfortable. Apparently, she had installed a solar generator somewhere and ran wire to provide electricity for lights and a refrigerator that held cold beverages and sandwiches. It was just enough comfort to make it worth staying the whole day. About the only thing she couldn’t do inside the cave was get a suntan or so I thought. I later discovered a sunlamp. For use in the winter, she claimed.
Eventually, she offered herself to me and I accepted her offer once more. I could do far worse than to marry her. With what I had saved in credits, I was almost as welloff as she was, except I didn’t own any land. Together, we’d almost be rich… The thought almost frightened me.
Me being rich? Become one of those rich families and have a kid who acted like the ones I knew? The thought almost paralyzed me. However, I realized after a few more moments of thought that combining our fortunes wasn’t even near what the rich families had stashed away. I stopped thinking that I would be dooming our child to that kind of behavior. We wouldn’t even get into the top half of the middle class with what we had combined. We would be comfortably well-off and not too worried about where our next meal would be, but nowhere near the accumulation of wealth that the rich families had.
Then I thought about whether Annie had enough to support herself and our child, especially if she left home from her father. After all, he might not approve of her having a child out of wedlock and ask her to leave. Oh yeah, I know that he didn’t mind his daughter fooling around. He even approved of me, but he had also been looking forward to having me as a son-in-law. So far, I was disappointing him for my own greedy goal of getting a regular commission. Was I disappointing Annie because I feared her wealth and the influence I thought her father might use on my behalf? Was that what was holding me back from having any feelings for her and the child of mine that she was carrying? But would she have enough to care for herself and a child?
I wasn’t sure, but I did know that I did care about what happened to her. Was that enough of a feeling to justify marrying her? Was love starting to blossom? Or was it merely guilt? I didn’t think that it was guilt. In the time we were apart from each other, I didn’t really think of her. But did she get pregnant deliberately? If so, why? Suddenly, I realized that Annie was looking at me with a worried look on her face.
“You all right?” she asked. “You looked like you’re being chased by a pack of demons.”
I replied, “I’m all right. I got lost in my thoughts.”
“About me?” she asked.
I admitted freely, “Yes, about you and our child. I was worried about you and our child and my own behavior.”
She said, “Why? You didn’t do anything wrong. I was the one who lied, not you.”
I said, “I know that, but I still feel responsibility for you and for our child. Some of my thoughts have become clear in purpose. Now I think I know what I feared.”
“But what?” she asked.
I replied, “But, I don’t know how to turn yet. I don’t know whether to ask you to marry me or stop seeing you.”
“Oh, please don’t stop seeing me, even if you never marry me! That would be the cruelest thing you could do to me. Whether you love me or not, I’ve fallen in love with you. Please don’t stop seeing me. You want me to beg, I’ll beg,” she said with tears forming in her eyes.
Somehow, I was convinced that she meant it. She looked like she meant it. I was scared that I might take advantage of her. I was actually scared of myself! She was handing me power over her that would be easy to abuse if I wasn’t careful. I had to stop thinking of what the consequences might be if I abused her to my own means. I was almost frightened away from marriage to her ever because of that much power. I wasn’t sure that I could trust myself in that situation. Not only that, but what exactly did she see in me that made her so willing to give me that much power over her? Was I missing something else so obvious that I couldn’t see it?
“Stop please,” I asked.