River of Implications

The days turned into weeks, and Venita quickly found that she hadn't felt so good in a long time. She had an attractive woman to look forward to seeing most days of the week, she enjoyed the work she did, and she wasn't strapped for money for once, either. Jan could be a bit on the serious side at times, even bitchy, but her looks and smarts made up for her shortcomings thus far. She was, however, a little disappointed that nothing had happened between them, not that she'd expected it to. She was her boss, after all. She fell into the routine of working from 8 am - 4 pm, though sometimes she worked evenings. She learned that Jan had recently broken up with a fellow Native American woman from within her tribe. They'd been together for nearly ten years. She wondered why too, but didn't want to pry. Many times she wanted to confess her crush to Jan but was afraid of her reaction. She couldn't afford to get fired, even if this seemed highly unlikely. But then one day, she felt brave after Jan returned from rummaging through things down below. "How ya doin', babe?" Jan asked as she began sifting through a box she'd brought back up with her. "Ok." "Any plans to leave Klamath Falls soon?" "Well, I would like to go someplace warmer, but that's not going to be possible for a while yet." "So you'd consider sticking around?" Jan asked, still going through her stack of mail. "Like really, really sticking around?" "For the right reasons, I might." Jan smiled again as if she were amused. "Would working for me indefinitely be for the right reason?" "It very well could be." "What about both working for me and living with me?" "That could definitely be a reason to freeze my little tail off a little longer." Jan grinned but kept her eyes on her mail. "Well, you've got a few days before your rent's due, so here's what I was thinking." "What's that?" She put her mail down and then went to sit next to Venita. "I'd prefer you to do your actual work during regular daytime hours as you have been, but tomorrow I won't need you to work for me. I've got too many things going on tomorrow that I have to deal with that don't involve the store." "Ok," Venita said, not believing that the conversation was actually taking the turn that it was. "So I'll drop you off in a few hours and then pick you up again, not tomorrow morning, but the next morning." "You don't want me to take the bus?" "Nah, you don't have to. Besides, I'd like you to bring a few days' worth of clothes and whatever personal items you may need if that's ok with you." "Sure. May I ask some questions first?" "Of course. Anything you want." "I haven't seen you smoke or smelled it on you, so it's not something you do, right?" "Correct. I do not smoke." "Good. Then I guess if you're not a druggie or completely insane, neither of which seems to be the case, we can give it a try." Jan smiled. "Anything else you want to ask or tell me?" "Yes. I've got such a crush on you, and well, I just thought you should know it up front, cuz I don't know if I can hide it so easily if I'm going to be around you so much of the time." Jan herself never moved, but her face broke into a fiercely wide grin as she chewed her gum in that almost seductive sort of way. "I can totally accept it if you don't feel the same, don't get me wrong," Venita was quick to add. "I don't want people who don't want me any more than I'd want someone pushing me that I didn't want." "It's ok, Venita. I can handle it. But you do realize I'm getting up there in years, don't you?" Venita nodded. "Yeah, but age is just a number, as they say." Jan laughed heartily and playfully swatted Venita on the nose. "Really, you need not worry," Venita assured her, laughing as well. "I'm plenty used to rejection." Jan's face quickly turned to one of curiosity. "Rejection? Why in the world would you be used to rejection?" "I may be what most guys want, but I'm not usually what women go for. I basically have two marks against me, you could say." "And what are those?" Jan said, smiling seductively once again. "My femininity and my shortness." Jan said nothing for a while. She just sat there with a thoughtful expression on her face and Venita was starting to worry she'd said too much. Finally, Jan said, "Wow, just wow. It isn't every day someone so much younger comes out and tells me they have a crush on me." "So I take it you're not very happy?" Jan snorted. "Quit trying to guess me. You're rarely right anyway." "Ok, I'll quit Janalyzing." Jan grinned again. "So tell me something about yourself. What do you like to do?" "I like to keep fit – walking, running, bike riding. I like old movies and modern books. I like things that smell good and dreaming of warm sunny days on white sandy beaches. I like seafood, Chinese food, and all kinds of music." A thoughtful look crossed Jan's features again. "What's wrong? Too much info to process at once?" Venita asked. "No, just thinking." Another moment of silence, then Jan said, "Well, I don't know if I could love you, Venita, and personally I don't want to, but you are very attractive and you do have a way about yourself that's – I don't know – captivating." "Captivating?" Jan nodded. "You're definitely an interesting one." Venita smiled warmly, then her face took on a note of worry. "What is it, babe?" "I don't know. Something just doesn't quite feel right." "What do you mean, doesn't quite feel right?" "Well, I like you and you say you like me." "And?" "And it seems awfully fast. I like you a lot, but maybe moving in with you so soon isn't such a good idea." Jan looked almost startled for a moment. "Whoa, lady! Don't do this to me." Venita was shocked by the woman's sudden change in mood. "Do what to you?" "Jerk me around like this." "I'm not jerking you around. I'm being upfront with you." "Well, that's not how I feel. You were all thrilled at the idea of moving in a second ago, and now you don't quite feel right?" Jan began to raise her voice. "Well, I'm not going to have you tell me one thing one minute, then another the next. If you're going to work with me, I need you to be confident in what you want. I'll make damn sure the pay is worth it, too." "Ok, calm down, will you? Jesus, Scarlett said you were a bitch at times. She didn't tell me you were bordering on crazy." Jan's eyes turned jet black as they flashed with anger. Going from uncomfortable to nervous, Venita stood up and said, "I'm going for a walk." "It's nine o'clock at night." "I don't give a damn," Venita muttered, storming down the stairs and into the darkness below. She walked aimlessly for about ten minutes, thoughts churning in her head a mile a minute. Should she keep working for Jan but not move in with her? Should she move in? Should she not move in and quit working for her as well? "Hold it right there, sweet stuff." Venita's head snapped upward. A man holding a gun stood about ten feet away from her. "What do you want?" she stammered nervously. "I don't have my handbag with me and…" "Shut up!" hissed the man. "Just do as I say and you won't get hurt." "Oh, so you want to rape me?" "I said shut up!" Venita was scared. She looked around her, but the streets were dead. She wasn't in a residential area where someone might hear her if she screamed. She prayed someone would drive by and see what was going on, but that was unlikely anytime soon. She looked back at the man. He grinned psychotically and said, "Now, you're going to quietly come with me, understand?" Would he really shoot her if she resisted? "Please let me go. I won't say anything to anyone," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I swear!" The man turned a red laser light on the gun, aimed it at her forehead, and peered through the sights. "No! Please, don't kill me! No!!!" Pop! Pop! Pop! Venita began to scream hysterically. Reflexively, she raised a hand to her forehead as she continued to scream wildly. Why wasn't there blood gushing everywhere? Why wasn't she dead?! "Come here, Venita!" she suddenly heard as the man fell onto the pavement. Venita spun around to find Jan standing behind her, almost hidden in the shadows. She stepped out under the streetlight as she slipped her own gun into her coat pocket. "Wh-what the hell?" Venita screamed. "Jan! Oh, Jan!" She ran to her and threw her arms around her. "Oh, Jan, thank you so much!" "Come on, sweetie, let's go. We've got to hurry." Venita somehow managed to run back to the boat with Jan, as shaky as her legs were. It took a few minutes to catch her breath, and her heart felt as if it would explode once in the warm safety of the boat. "That's it, calm down now. Take a deep breath," said Jan, as she guided her onto the couch. Venita clutched Jan fiercely as Jan held her close, gently rocking her back and forth. Venita never thought she'd feel so safe in the woman's strong arms. Maybe moving in with her wasn't such a bad idea. Jan smoothed her hair along the length of her back and kissed the top of her head. "You're ok now, babe." "I'm sorry," Venita sobbed. "It's ok. You didn't know." Then Venita pulled back and looked at Jan. "Hey, shouldn't we be calling the police?" "Not yet." "Not yet? But Jan, you just shot a guy and he's probably dead!" "Yes, I know. But claiming self-defense isn't as easy as one may think it is." "But if they trace the bullets back to you, then you'd really be in trouble." "Venita, I know this seems confusing as hell, but you just have to trust me, ok?" Venita gazed at Jan incredulously. What in the world was going on? "I know what I'm doing in this case. I really, really do," Jan assured her. Venita was at a loss for words, though her mind reeled at breakneck speed. "Are you trustworthy, Venita?" "Huh? Trustworthy?" Jan nodded. "You do know what the word means, don't you?" Venita nodded methodically, without thinking. Jan hesitated, then stood up. "Come with me. I want to show you something, but first, you must swear to me up and down, left and right, that you'll never ever, ever under any circumstances repeat what you're about to see to anyone. Understand?" Again, Venita nodded numbly. "Does it have to do with what happened?" "Yes and no," Jan said and proceeded to lead Venita down below. "I don't want to go back out there!" Venita said. "Shh, relax. You're with me now. I'll take care of you. Guy's gone now anyway." "But where are we going?" "Just to the storage area." Jan placed a firm grip on Venita's wrist. She doubted she could have pulled away if she wanted to. Instead, she followed Jan back down into the darkness.