Chain Lightning II: Sheet Lightning

for Cathy and Penny...


Battle of the Dragon
by
s. nicks, g. nicholson, j. jarvis


This was not pre-planned, but after some calls
I decided to go to the other side of the world.

I see something, I see a handsome soldier.
I see myself remaining when all of you are gone,
And the reason that I paint you in my paintings,
And the reason I record the sound of your voices.

No one walks away from this battle,
From the power, it's so strong,
Like a fury.
Keep that fury deep inside you
And wish it to end,
And when your friends start asking you why,
You just say nothing.

The beautiful and the sensitive and the oh so very young,
We are adapting to your silence.
I can live here without you,
At least I'm learning.
But I cannot live without your songs.

Who have you been with?
Have you been with friends...or is there more?
(You're not listening to me)
Have you been writing? Well, you say it's harder now.
Well, I got the message, stay among the living.

From what I can tell I need to be here.
You say someone's looking for you, nothing is wrong.
Well, I can, and I will go on.

When this battle is over,
I feel I will survive.
In the battle of the dragon
No one walks away.
Oh, you wish it to the end...
Wish it to the end…


Phases and Stages: Battling Dragons


Liv knew who it was before she even picked up her phone.

“Did she tell you anything?” This was, of course, Billy.

“Not so much as a hint,” said Liv. “When I asked, she went into some story about selling peanuts at a roadside stand down in Florida when she was a kid.”

“A what? A roadside stand? In Florida?” Billy sounded truly confused.

“I forget you aren’t American, sometimes,” Liv laughed briefly. “It’s a southern thing, Billy. That was her way of telling me to go to hell.”

“Jean is a southerner?” Now Billy sounded really confused. “She doesn’t have an accent like a southerner.”

“Well, you know, Florida relies on the tourist industry, Billy,” she explained. “Some southerners learn at a young age to turn off the south in their mouth when they’re around people from the other side of the Mason-Dixon line. Just because they talk slow doesn’t mean they are slow. It also means they don’t mind telling you where to get off in their own way. That’s what she did with that story. She told me to go to hell and mind my own business. It got worse. When I tried to get her to talk to me about it again, she said ‘well, bless your heart.’ A very nice southern way of telling me to go fuck myself.”

“Wow, I had no idea…” Billy paused for a heartbeat and Liv could hear the gears turning in his head. “So, she’s southern. Just how are they different in other ways?”

“My dad told me this story – when Jimmy Carter was President, a reporter asked a southerner about their manners. The answer was ‘we’ll be real nice, until we get to the part where we kill you.’ Some of these people still have that attitude, Billy. I’m thinking Jean might be one of them. Has she ever told you about her great grand-parents?”

“Can’t say she has. What should I know about that?”

“That generation was the last children of the eastern pioneers, Billy. They have an idea of justice and honor which a lot of modern people don’t get, including myself. Viggo and Sean are right, she’s up to something, and I can’t get it out of her. Keep an eye out for her, Billy. She may do something rash.”

“Where is she now?”

“On her way to Sean’s place. At least that’s what she told me.”

There was a long silence. Liv had begun to think she had lost the connection and was about to put her phone away when she heard Billy at last say, “I’m going to Sean’s place. I’ll talk to you later.”

Billy noticed Sean pull into the drive just before he did, and hastily parked his car behind Sean’s. Billy shot out of his own car and ran to catch Sean before he went to the door. Sean leaned against his car, waiting for Billy to catch his breath.

“I just talked to Liv, Sean,” Billy began…

Jean stood quietly watching the two men conversing from Sean’s kitchen window. The expression of concern on Sean’s face as well as Billy’s barely contained animation spoke volumes to her. ‘There they go,’ she thought. ‘Trying to fix what they never broke. Boys, don’t either of you know you’ve done all you can? Hell, you’ve done more than I ever thought was possible. The rest is mine to tend to. You planted the seeds, and it’s up to me to get rid of the weeds. I’ll let you plant your feet in my garden, but by God, I’m the one that has to hoe this row.’

They weren’t talking anymore. Billy seemed focused on his shoes. Sean ruffled his hair and nodded towards the front door and the two of them walked slowly to the house. Jean met them at the door with a kiss for each.

“Dinner’s almost ready, you two,” she said, turning on her heel and padding back to the kitchen. Over one shoulder, she added, “Fried chicken, red beans and rice, corn on the cob and for dessert, key lime pie.”

Sean waited until she was out of earshot before he spoke. “Sounds good. Bill? Did you notice something… different, about the way she kissed us?” Sean waited for some time for Billy to answer. Finally unable to bear the silence one second longer, he nudged Billy with an elbow.. “Billy? Penny for your thoughts…”

Suddenly shaken from his reverie, Billy responded, “Hmm? Oh, yes, it was different, wasn’t it? Somehow softer. And longer, too. I was just thinking…”

“What?”

“Key lime pie,” Billy replied, and headed for the dining room.

Dumbfounded, Sean watched Billy walk away.

Table-talk was slim to none that evening. The three went through their usual, comfy routine, the men retiring to the living room to watch television while Jean did her cleaning up. This evening she went about this chore slowly, methodically. Billy went to the kitchen to fetch beer. He watched her silently, and she, unaware of his presence, moved about the kitchen in a slow dance. Her cleaning cloth moved about the oven, counter and sink as if she were caressing these things, and he saw a small, sad smile creep up on her.

Billy cleared his throat to make his presence known, then went to get the beer.

“Grab three, would you, bro’?” Jean smiled. The sadness, at least for now, fled. She padded after Billy to join her men, and fondly watched Billy’s ass as he walked. She liked to watch him walk. She loved the shape of his ass as it moved under the denim of his jeans. She liked the way it moved when he walked; almost but not quite a strut.

Their cozy little ritual tracked along as it usually did until eventually they wound up in Sean’s bedroom. Sean watched her fluff the three pillows on his bed, and he felt himself smile. Somehow the gesture touched his innermost being.

Jean slowly undressed, her eyes flicking from one gorgeous male body to the other. She kissed first one, then the other, her kisses long, deep and lingering, her arms tight around them. Even their three-way kisses she lingered over, as though drawing strength from them.

As Jean straddled Sean and guided his prick into her cunt, Billy watched their faces closely. Sean took in every nuance of her face and body, while there seemed to be an undercurrent to Jean’s demeanor that could only be described as almost sad and desperate. She reached out to Billy as if to draw him to her, and Billy couldn’t help but comply. She kissed his mouth deeply, and Billy felt the difference in her kisses once more. Billy felt her usual greed and hunger in her mouth, but now something more than this crept in, something he could only describe as sadness and possessiveness. She kissed her way down his body to capture his cock in her mouth, and this, too, seemed possessive. Even her orgasm seemed different, somehow laced through with an un-named pain.

She made them come swiftly, almost brutal in her desperation, then had them exchange places. Again, she seemed to be filled with a desperate and possessive fury, like a starving animal at last at the feast. When she and Billy curled into each other between Sean’s legs to share his cock, she stopped frequently and pulled Billy’s face to hers so she could kiss him again and again. The men exchanged places, and when she and Sean shared Billy, she kissed Sean over and over. Her behavior was markedly different this time, and both men didn’t fail to notice it, but said nothing.

She wanted to sixty-nine with Billy while Sean plundered each in turn from behind, and her passion at this point went beyond desperation and possessiveness. Now it was almost like panic.

Again and again she took them in every way until the three, finally and utterly exhausted, collapsed in a glowing tangle of arms and legs. When Sean took their mouths in their three-way kiss, her little arms held them together for long minutes, then she curled up between them, kitten-like, and slept like the dead. Billy and Sean, lying on either side of her, could barely keep their eyes off of her, as though she might vanish, as insubstantial, fleeting and frail as a curl of smoke. The two men finally tore their green eyes from her placid, sweet, scarred, girlish face. Nuzzling her soft, fragrant neck, they both cradled her little form tenderly, as if they could preserve this moment forever by virtue of embrace alone.

When they woke, she was gone. They somehow knew before they ever found her note.

“My darling boys,

“We always knew this day would come. I know you both expected this to happen when one or both of you finished this project, but it seems our time has been cut short. I have to go home. Something unexpected has come up. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be just fine. I never expected either of you to feel obligated to me for anything. We had what we had while we could, but now I have other obligations. My mother needs me, and to tell the truth, I need her too, and I need her now, so this couldn’t wait.

“What we had was beautiful, more beautiful than either of you know. You two will always be in my heart. Please never think otherwise. I came here scarred inside and out. I’m leaving here healed and much happier. I know you’d like more of an explanation, but please understand there are some things I just won’t do. If I stay here it would only result in the unhappiness of you both, and I can’t have that. There’s a special bond between you two. Please keep it strong and safe. If you ever cared for me, keep that bond between you, because it’s one of the sweetest and most beautiful friendships I’ve ever seen. It’s so rare to have that kind of friendship, so please take care of it.

“Don’t ever think that either of you did something wrong that caused me to leave. I’m doing this because I have to. I no longer have a choice. I’ll miss you and love you always. Please tell Liv and Viggo and Dom I love and will miss them, too. But you two I’ll miss and always love in a special way that can’t be explained or repeated with anyone, ever. Never forget that, and never turn your backs on one another. Please, please believe me when I say I’d stay if I could, but like I said, I no longer have a choice.


“I love you both so much this really hurts. But if I stay, all three of us will only be hurt even more. It’s so hard to write the next words, but I have to do it.

“Goodbye,
and be good to each other,
Love,
Jean”

Billy and Sean read her note together over and over and over yet again before the gravity of it all seeped into their hearts. Sean pulled Billy to him, tucking Billy’s head under his chin with low, soft, comforting sounds, as though to sooth away sadness. Billy did not fail to appreciate the irony; though Billy sniffled, Sean was openly sobbing.

Billy drew back a little and wiped Sean’s face with his sleeve, then tugged Sean’s forelock playfully. “Enough of that, you big nancy-boy!”

Sean grabbed Billy in a head-lock and knuckled his head. “Who’s the nancy-boy?” Sean laughed. “Oh, well, I guess that’s me. I’m the one who was crying like a little girl, eh?”

“Yeah, you were, you great git!”

Sean regarded the smaller man affectionately. “Come on, then,” he smiled. “I’ll make breakfast before you run off to get your hobbit on.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It would be a long flight, so the woman with pretty green eyes and a scar on one cheek settled back in her seat. She had a seat by the window. She looked down at the beautiful land of New Zealand beneath her, and though she smiled, a tear coursed down the cheek with the scar on it. The tear found the scar and ran down the length of it like a stream down a little gully.

It takes a big heart to love enough for three. Once she had thought she would never love again, that life was, for her, over. She did not believe that now. Not now. Now, she knew better. She knew this because she had learned to love again, to love first herself, then two others. And finally to love more, yes, and more deeply, too. It takes a big heart to love enough for three. But now her heart was so very much bigger than it once had been.


Once she had been old, old in her soul. Not now. Now she was so much younger. Life can do that to you, make you old before your time, and as easily rejuvenate. But it didn’t happen by itself, oh, no. These things require a catalyst, and she had had not one catalyst, but three. The first had been toxic; this was the one that had made her old. The latter had made her younger, younger and healthier.


It takes a big heart to love enough for three. And the heart of Jean Bartram was now very big indeed.

TO BE CONTINUED…