The Reign: Destiny - The Life Of Travis Rand

by Lance Berry

  “Good. I missed you,” he blurted out, then glanced at the floor, embarrassed by the admission. She cupped his chin in her hand and raised his eyes to meet hers. “I missed you, too.”

  She reached up, gingerly kissing his lips–a testing measure, he knew, to see how he would respond. When he did nothing, she looked at him curiously. “Are you seeing that girl?”

  “Danielle?”

  She nodded.

  Travis held out a second more, then smiled slyly. “No.” The concern which had been on Marion’s face melted instantly, giving way to mild indignation. She slapped his chest with her hands. “Then kiss me back, you dope!”

  He chuckled, then pulled her to him, and they kissed deeply, intensely. Marion’s tongue almost seemed resistant to his at first, as she was an individual who was used to getting her own way, being in charge of any given situation. It was one of the reasons she decided to go into command training at the Citadel, and it was a part of her personality which Travis admired greatly…in fact, it was something which made her very attractive to him. Finally though, she did give way, letting him take charge.

  The kiss grew more intense, more passionate. They released each other at the same time, the both of them breathing heavily. There was an animal heat rising between them, and the look of shared, anticipatory knowledge in their eyes confirmed it.

  “I was hoping it would be like this,” she said finally. “I managed to have my roommates hang in other quarters tonight. Would you like to–“

  “Shit, yeah!”

  “–come back to my place and play some backgammon?” She said teasingly, as if to signal he was being premature in his tactical assessment of the situation. She swatted playfully at his chest again, and he gently drew her into another kiss, which she lovingly reciprocated.

  The couple went back to her room down the hall and just as Marion had promised, when Taps began to play, her fellow occupants were nowhere to be found. Marion closed the door behind Travis and led him over to the bed. She readily admitted that she was not a virgin, and Travis accepted the news casually, although privately he felt an odd mix of relief and regret. They kissed, undressing each other as they did so. “Damn,” Travis remarked, impressed that Marion was in such perfect shape. He was pleased in turn that when she got around to undoing his pants, her eyes widened a bit and she couldn’t keep the expression of pleasant surprise off her face when she got a good look at him. She reached between his legs, holding it as if in disbelief, and he pulled her to him. He found her kisses even more eager than before, if such a thing were possible, and they began to climb into bed. Marion snapped her fingers, remembering something, then stretched over to reach her nightstand, which stood at the foot of her lower bunk. She opened the drawer and pulled out a condom. She didn’t bother to close the drawer as she waved the prophylactic proudly. With a shared giggle, she moved into the bed with him and they kissed again, unwrapping it together.

  The lovemaking was unique in Travis’ experience; more passionate and intense than he had ever felt. Marion was very giving, but she was more experienced than him, and from time-to-time offered direction. It was gentle however, never demanding–and so Travis accepted it and found that her ideas enhanced the experience tenfold. Like Gilda, Marion was amazed at Travis’ stamina. Although she very much knew what she was doing, Marion had never been with a partner like this before, and the act of lovemaking reached a new level for her. The two of them took very few breaks, mainly for water to re-hydrate themselves, and made love throughout much of the night. When they were finally done, they drifted into sleep together, content in the fact that they were the best thing for each other.

  Chapter 21

  Before Travis knew it, reveille sounded. He snapped awake, almost bashing his head against the bottom of the higher bunk as he started to sit bolt upright. At the last second, however, he caught himself and slapped his hand against the top as he brought himself to a sharp halt.

  “Are you alright?” Marion asked sleepily as she looked up at him with one eye closed, the other open. “Yeah,” he said as he lay down partially, resting on his elbow. “I just have to get back to my room, that’s all.”

  “Okay,” Marion said as she closed her eye. “See you in Macavee’s class?”

  “Definitely,” he replied, and leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips. She replied eagerly, reaching one hand around to hold the back of his head, keeping him in position almost a minute. As they finished the kiss, her eyes opened halfway. “See you later, handsome.”

  He smiled and pecked her on the lips. He climbed over her carefully, got out of bed and put on his underwear and pants. She slapped him on the butt, making him start as he headed toward the door.

  In the corridor, some cadets had already gotten a head start on the morning, and were already on their way to formation. As Travis walked to the far end of the corridor, wearing only his pants and shoes and slipping on his shirt, a few gave him curious looks. Most paid him no mind. He reached C-15 to find his bunkmates up, as expected. Ali and Chang were already halfway dressed, while Francis was just climbing down from his bunk, slow-moving as ever. All of them gave Travis an expectant look upon his entrance.

  “We-heh-hell,” Francis said groggily. “What happened to you last night?”

  “I think more likely, it’s ‘who’ happened to him last night,” Ali stated.

  Travis sighed lightly. He had hoped to awaken well before morning bugle, so that he could escape having to give an explanation for his whereabouts, but no such luck. “Marion’s back, okay?” he answered with a shrug.

  “Marion Holmes?” Chang said with surprise. “I thought she had gone back to the Citadel for good.”

  Travis opened the closet he shared with Francis, looking for a fresh uniform as he spoke. “I guess they taught her all they could. She’s back here for permanent.”

  “And of course, there was only one way to welcome her,” Francis said with a chuckle. All laughed, and Travis casually flipped them the bird as he laid out his uniform. “Laugh all you want, but last time I checked, I was the only guy in this room getting some,” he said as he began to change. “Now, Ali I can understand, ‘cause he’s Muslim. You got that whole thing going about not having sex until you’re married.”

  “Yes,” Ali confirmed. “Although I have been e-chatting with a woman back in my country, who may be transferred here next year, if she achieves enough service credits.”

  “And that’s all well and good,” Travis agreed. “But as for you other two, aside from being terminally fugly, there’s no excuse.”

  “Oh, you’re harsh,” Francis said as he took a step back, pretending to clutch his heart in pain. “You’re just too wrong, Rand.”

  The first quarter of junior (cow) year went exceedingly well, and Travis and Marion became quite the item. Whenever they didn’t have class or if their schedules synched up, they spent every moment together. Marion’s roommates became frustrated that she had asked them to spend so many nights sharing quarters with either their boyfriends or other friends, so Travis asked his bunkmates for help in this regard. There was some mild protest, especially from Ali, who didn’t morally agree with Travis’ ongoing out-of-wedlock sexual activity, but finally he and the others agreed. This actually turned out to be a good thing for Chang and Francis at least, since they ended up meeting new people through their friends and each wound up with a girlfriend as a result of Travis and Marion’s sleeping arrangements. After about two weeks of musical bedrooms though, Colonel Wentwell came very close to finding out what was going on when he bumped into Francis in the corridor one night very late after lights out. Francis told Wentwell he was just on his way to the head, and didn’t realize that Wentwell was waiting on the next landing when he finally came out of the bathroom.

  On instinct, Francis headed back to his own room, nearly giving Travis and Marion coronaries when he entered. He managed to keep them quiet while he explained what had happened, and then waited in the room with them for
an hour, hoping Wentwell wouldn’t decide to do a spotcheck. The colonel was satisfied when Francis didn’t come back out, however, and went back to his own quarters. Travis had to wake Francis, who in the interim had fallen asleep on Chang’s empty bunk. He left, and the next morning, to the relief of both Marion’s and Travis’ bunkmates, the couple announced they would only get together once a month for safety’s sake.

  About midway through the term, the cadets with the highest grades across the board were given two-day passes off-base. Travis and Marion decided not to go to the usual getaway destinations other cadets took, and instead headed back to the old house in upstate New York. When they arrived, Travis noticed that new people had moved in to the Ramirez place, but said nothing openly about it. He took her inside his father’s house and showed her around.

  Surprisingly, nothing had changed. Although Jack was still in the institution, apparently Mrs. Harcourt was still contracted to do the cleaning. The house was immaculate, and Travis was very pleased that he hadn’t brought Marion home to a dusty, cobwebbed setting which might have resembled something out of an old horror film.

  “So?” She said expectantly, pointing her eyes upstairs even as she set her luggage down beside the couch. With a knowing chuckle, Travis dropped his shoulder bag, took her by the hand and led her up to his bedroom.

  The Independence still rested on his nightstand as proudly as ever, and Travis briefly told Marion the story behind his assembly of the model. She nodded, impressed, and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll bet you were a good boy, weren’t you?”

  Travis laughed. “For my mom, yeah. My dad would have other opinions about that.” He kissed her back, then turned toward the bed, about to pull the covers down. He froze suddenly, and stood straight once more, unconsciously nibbling on his lower lip. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.

  “I lost my virginity here. In this bed.”

  “I’m surprised the Smithsonian hasn’t been in contact with you about that yet. Preservation of such knowledge does belong to posterity, after all.” She giggled, but fell silent as he looked away, staring at the bed without really seeing it. “Wasn’t it good?” she asked.

  Now he looked at her, and nodded decisively. “It was wonderful.”

  Another thought came to her, which she tried to word gently. “What was her name?”

  “Gilda,” he said quietly. “She…she was a good friend.”

  Marion nodded empathetically. “She died?”

  Travis said nothing, and it seemed for a moment as if he were on the verge of tears. She gently cupped his face in her hands, lifting his eyes to look at her. “I hope she would have liked me.”

  Travis smiled and nodded once more. “I think she would have liked you a lot. You’re very different in a lot of ways, but I think you would’ve been friends.”

  “I love you, Travis. Being with you is wonderful, and even though we get it goin’ a lot, it’s not all about sex. I know I haven’t said that before, but it’s something you should know. I love you very much.”

  Travis exhaled lightly. “Thank you. I love you too, Marion. And there’s something I want to ask you…”

  He got down on one knee, pulling a small black box from his jacket pocket as he did so. He held it up, releasing the catch. It opened automatically, revealing a decent-sized sparkling diamond ring. “I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. And once we graduate, I want us to be together forever. Will you marry me?”

  Marion’s mouth had dropped open, and her eyes were as big as dinner plates. She started to speak, nothing came out, and she realized this and tried again.

  “y-y-YES!”

  She hugged Travis as he got to his feet, and they kissed lovingly. She pulled back slightly, wiping tears of joy from her eyes, and Travis realized that this was the first time he had ever seen her cry. Even with tears falling, she was still amazingly beautiful. She slipped the ring onto her finger and gasped in delight at how perfectly it fit. She kissed him again, and they kissed for quite some time before finally going to bed together, this time as man and wife-to-be.

  Once they were done, Travis couldn’t wait to tell his Aunt Lisa about the engagement. At his suggestion, he and Marion hopped a tram down to Virginia. It was early evening when they arrived, and Lisa was happily surprised to see Travis and to meet Marion. Travis took silent note that it appeared Lisa had barely aged in all the years he had known her; after all this time, she was still strikingly beautiful. Lisa took them out to dinner, and didn’t realize until Marion showed her the ring that the couple were engaged.

  “Oh my God,” Lisa exclaimed in amazement. She took a moment to gather herself, then got to her feet and moved to kiss them both. “I’m so happy for you,” she told them as she sat once more. “So, how long have you been planning this? When’s the wedding?”

  Marion pointed at the ring. “I didn’t have any idea about this until Travis proposed to me a few hours ago. We don’t have a date set yet, but we’ve planned to do it after graduation.”

  “Good choice,” Lisa said.

  Marion reached over, gently rubbing Travis’ cheek. “Well, your nephew’s usually full of good choices,” she said appreciatively.

  Lisa smiled. “So, Travis–have you told Jack yet?”

  “Not yet,” he admitted. “I was thinking, since Marion and I are down here, maybe we could all go visit him tomorrow, before we have to head back to school.”

  “Sounds great,” Lisa agreed. “Then we’ll get up nice and early and head on over. For now, though,” she said, raising her wine glass, “Here’s to the happy couple.” The trio clinked their glasses, and enjoyed the rest of the evening together.

  The MacLean-Barque Institute was a two-story building in a secluded section of Falls Church, about an hour from Lisa’s house. The main hall was the traditional stark white of such psychiatric institutions, while the walls on both floors past the central hall were painted a collage of sky blue and oceanic scenes designed to set a relaxing tone. Lisa, Travis and Marion were greeted by Doctor Gibbons, a moderately rotund gentleman in his late thirties. He had been Jack’s psychiatrist since his admission, and had a genial nature about him which Travis liked.

  “Miss Pfeiffer, Mister Rand–good to see you both again.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Lisa said pleasantly. “This is Marion, my soonto- be niece.”

  “Well, well,” Gibbons said as he offered Marion his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Marion.”

  “You too,” Marion replied, a smile on her lips. She had liked it when Lisa referred to her as she did.

  “How’s my dad doing?” Travis asked.

  “Not bad at all,” Gibbons answered with a positive nod. “His therapy is going well, we’ve addressed some issues he had, both personal and professional, major and minor. He’s coming along quite well. I believe he may actually be ready for release within the next four-to-six months.”

  “That’s great,” Travis said, honestly pleased to hear such news.

  “Why don’t you folks come this way,” Gibbons said as he gestured down the hall. “Under the circumstances, I think it would be fine if you all visited him together.”

  The trio was led to a small private meeting room, with a circular table which had a pitcher of water and several glasses set upon it. There was a large window which looked out onto the verdant grounds, and a couch set in one corner. Lisa and the others took seats at the table while Gibbons went to get Jack. When he was led in, Jack was wearing a light blue hospital shirt, pants and slippers. A pulse sensor around his left wrist kept track of his heart rate and temperature. He looked much better than the first few times Travis had seen him, and he had put on a little bit of weight–just enough so that he looked more healthy than he had after his rescue. He smiled warmly when he saw Travis and Lisa, and when he looked upon Marion, he kept the smile there; he didn’t know who this young woman was, but he reasoned that she must be there for good reason, if Travis and Lisa felt it was alright to bring h
er along.

  “Lisa. How are you?” Jack asked in a calm, steady voice.

  “I’m fine,” she answered as she and the young couple stood. “How are you, Jack?”

  “Doing okay,” he answered honestly. “It’s good to see you again, son,” he told Travis, and his smile grew wider.

  “You too, Dad,” Travis replied, and he and his father shared a brief hug. “This is Marion…my fiancée.”

  Jack did a double-take, and let out a little laugh. “Well, bless my soul,” he said in surprise, then held his hand out to Marion. “And how are you, my dear?”

  “I’m just fine, sir,” she said as she shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Travis has told me a lot about you.”

  “Oh, no,” he said, and laughed a little harder. “Believe me, I’ve changed since then.”

  They all laughed a little bit. Doctor Gibbons took a seat out of the way, on the couch…content to keep a discreet eye on the proceedings.

  “Well, it’s not every day I become a father-in-law. Please, let’s have a seat. Tell me all about yourself.”

  They sat together, and all chatted for a good hour at least. Jack was impressed with Marion’s sense of self, and the fact that she was confident in who she was and what she wanted to achieve in life. He was also pleased to see how far Travis had come along. At one point, Marion inadvertently made a comment about what had happened on the training slalom in Macavee’s class, and Travis reluctantly laid out the details to Jack and Lisa. Jack listened intently to the tale, and never admonished Travis for not having intervened between Chang and Theo sooner– something Travis realized he would have done years earlier. Instead he praised the decisiveness of his action in saving Chang’s life, and to Travis’ surprise, remarked to Marion that his son had always been selfless in defending others. Jack gave a cliff notes description of the time Travis beat up the boy who had been bothering Gilda, and Travis was relieved that Marion sat through the tale with a poker face, nodding politely and being suitably impressed. She knew that Travis had never told his aunt or father about his former girlfriend’s death, and he was silently thankful that neither Jack or Lisa thought to ask how she was doing.