The Enlightenment of Hanna Ch. 08

The next morning, Hanna was up and dressed with the sun. She packed a suitcase with enough clothes to last her a week. If she were gone much longer than that, she would just have to wash her things or wear them dirty.

She ate a banana and downed a glass of juice before heading out into the backyard to attend to the plants there. Not bothering to plant what was left, Hanna instead finished laying out the design she had initially envisioned. She then lightly watered each of the potted plants before typing Haley a text and scheduling it to be sent at three in the afternoon.

That left her just enough time to shower, dress, and be sitting outside when the beat-up old pickup truck pulled up in front of the house.

Hanna hadn't seen her Uncle Dale since she was ten years old. Her mother's oldest brother, he had always been Hanna's favorite relative as a child. Though she only saw him four or five times a year, the two had crafted a special relationship during their limited exposure.

Dale and his younger sister had never seen eye to eye on much in life. A war veteran, the older man had long since set aside the Christian beliefs the pair had been raised with during their upbringing. Instead, he'd adopted a more far-east approach to his spirituality, marking him as an idolator to her mother. Once their parents had passed on, Hanna's mother had cut him out of her life, and thus Hanna's.

She still remembered the day he had watched as she wrote down his phone number and could recall his exact words when she was finished.

"Now Lil' Bit, if the day ever comes that you need my help, you just dial that number. I promise that I will answer and be there to help you when you need me."

And he had lived up to his word. Hanna had half expected the number to be disconnected by now. But her Uncle Dale had picked up on the fourth ring, and after listening to what she wanted, promised that he would be there to pick her up by ten in the morning. He'd done so without asking questions and had exhibited no hesitancy in filling her request.

The door to the seventies model F-150 creaked open as the older man disembarked from its confines. Hanna's eyes drunk him in, seeing the toll the years had taken on his face. His hair had gone gray, and the lines weathering his face were now plentiful. Still, the twinkle in his eyes that had always been there remained despite his advanced years. He smiled down at her, where she sat on the stoop, revealing a mouth full of slightly yellowed teeth.

"You're still just as pretty as you always were, Lil' Bit," Dale said as Hanna stood to greet him with a hug. His embrace brought tears to her eyes. It was the first she'd had in a long time that didn't come with strings or expectations attached.

"I'm so glad to see you, Uncle Dale. I didn't know who else I could turn to for help. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Wanna fill me in on what's going on?" he asked as he studied her face.

"Or don't," he quickly added when he saw the pained expression Hanna's gave at his query.

Her expression relaxing somewhat, Hanna said, "Can I tell you on the road after we've put a little distance between us and this town. I really need to get away if only for a week or two."

Dale simply nodded his head and retrieved her bags, hefting them into the bed of the truck. He helped her get the door on the passenger's side of the ancient vehicle unstuck. Once she was seated on the bench seat and buckled into the lap belt, Dale closed the door behind her.

Once they were outside of town, Hanna checked her phone and noticed several texts from Haley and Meghan checking on her. Haley was checking in to see how she slept while Meghan simply texted reminding Hanna to eat breakfast. There was nothing new from Scottie since her text the night before announcing their plans to return home by this evening.

Thinking of Curtis, and not wishing to worry him or set off a search, Hanna addressed a text to him. She scheduled it to go out at the same time as the one Halley would receive. She was afraid if she sent it now, that Curtis might attempt to contact Haley seeking information on her whereabouts. By the time either of them knew for sure that she was gone, Hanna would be on the other side of Atlanta.

Once they approached Atlanta, Dale left the interstate saying it would be best to stick to state highways until they'd gotten north of the city. They'd been on the road nearly two hours when Hanna finally began to fill him in on the situation she found herself in. The gorgeous blonde omitted critical details about Damian, of course. For one, she didn't know how her uncle would react to Damian being black. You never could tell with people from his generation, particularly those from the south.

And because she didn't want him dropping her off at the nearest mental institution, she left out any reference to him being the devil.

Dale listened intently to the entire tale. When she was finished, Hanna studied him carefully as he took it all in.

"So, this husband of yours doesn't sound like he's a bad guy. A bit naive maybe and not very assertive, but you think it was a mistake to marry him?"

Hanna nodded her head. "Curtis is a good man. He's just wholly indoctrinated into the church and its more hard-line dogmatic teachings. And I'm just not sure that I can live that way anymore."

"What's changed in such a short time?" her uncle asked.

Hanna tried to think of a way to explain herself without giving too much information away. There was no magical means for her to go about doing it without going into detail about how she could know the things she did. So, Hanna settled for being as vague as possible.

"Well, I learned that my mother lied or misled me about a lot of things that I was taught my entire life. And I discovered some not very flattering things about quite a few people in my church. Things that don't wash with what they've always professed to me as teachings of the church."

Her uncle laughed heartily and said, "Your mother is a bitter woman, honey. She has been since she was a little girl. I sometimes used to think she popped out of your grandmother that way. As far as the hypocrites you've discovered in your church, I encountered the same thing when I was your age."

Hanna shrugged and said, "It turns out that I was every bit as naive as Curtis. Not as stubborn at accepting reality perhaps, but very naive."

Dale reached over and patted his niece's shoulder. "You're young yet, Hanna. A part of your twenties is the journey of self-discovery. It's always been that way. You have to figure out what parts of your upbringing you want to keep, and what doesn't fit the life you want to live.

"Yeah," Hanna said, "I think that's what I'm trying to do right now. But there was just so much noise back in Clayton that I couldn't focus. I haven't been eating good, and sleep has been a challenge."

"Now, what aren't you telling me about this mysterious suitor," Dale asked.

"What do you mean?" Hanna asked, feeling a hint of panic.

Her Uncle Dale cut his eyes over at Hanna, making her feel small for her subterfuge.

"The look on your face and even the sound of your voice were completely different when you talked about this Damian guy than they were when you spoke of your husband," Dale pointed out. "It was apparent that you cared a great deal about this Damian, maybe even love him a little."

Hanna groaned, staring out the passenger's window, suddenly wishing she was anywhere but where she was. She knew her feelings extended beyond pure, animalistic lust. But love? Was that even possible?

"You already told me that you plan to divorce Curtis. Yet something is holding you back from acting on your feelings for this Damian fella," Dale said. "So, I'll ask again. What aren't you telling me?"

Hanna sighed deeply and said, "Damian is black, Uncle Dale. Not that it matters to me, but he is. That type of thing doesn't go over very well in Clayton."

She studied her uncle for his reaction but saw none. His face was as impassive now as it had been their entire trip.

Finally, Dale said, "Pardon my french, Hanna. But who gives a rats ass what those sanctimonious bigots think? What's important is what you're feeling and what you want. What is it that's going to make Hanna happy?"

Hanna pondered his words. Could it be that simple? She craved everything Damian had to offer her. The money, prestige, and travel were all enticements that anyone would be hard-pressed to pass up. Add in the number of supernatural enhancements Scottie claimed were a part of the package, and Hanna believed that all but a few zealots would capitulate without indecision.

And then there was his big, black cock.

The wild desire Hanna felt to encounter Damian's mighty, black python had not abated. The beautiful blonde was still dreaming about her fallen angel, though, her nocturnal emissions were no longer the hyper-realistic visits she'd enjoyed each time Damian had visited her there in the past. These left her yearning to feel his dark torpedo slice through her pink waters and sink her arousal.

"I think I want to be with him more than anything else I've ever wanted, but there are things he wants of me that I'm not sure I'm willing to give."

A contemplative silence stretched out between them for another ten miles. Hanna was so lost in her thoughts that her uncles gravelly voice startled her when he finally spoke.

"This thing he wants of you. Is it illegal?" Dale asked.

Hanna thought of the best way to answer. She was tired of having to dance around the details. Unbiased advice was like gold to her at the moment, so Hanna risked offering more specifics.

"Illegal? No, not of any laws of man I'm aware of, but God might not be too happy with me."

"Is that what you think, or is it your mother talking?" Dale asked intuitively.

Hanna shook her head, "I can't blame her for this one. I've read it in the bible myself."

"Which means what?" Dale scoffed. "Some old man in ancient times related a tale rife with his prejudices and moral beliefs? You don't think God sat down and dictated his word to some ancient transcriptionist, do you?"

Hanna grinned at the thought. "No, I guess not. But what if by doing what he wanted, what if it cost me, my soul?"

"Aghh!" Dale said, waving his hand in dismissal of the thought. "A lot of eastern religions would argue that it isn't even possible to lose one's soul. There are also more that believe it's all horseshit, and the time we get here on earth is it."

The truck turned off the state highway onto a side road that led into the foothills of the north Georgia mountains. They had been traveling for almost four hours, thanks to the traffic surrounding Atlanta, and still had an hour to go before reaching Dale's cabin. Hanna knew she was less than an hour away from her texts going out to Haley and Curtis. Once that happened, the speculation and panic were likely to begin in earnest. She chanced to turn her cell phone back on, wondering if she had received any new text messages.

Once booted back up, Hanna saw to her alarm that the jig was up. A plethora of texts and phone messages awaited her when she studied the screen. Reading through them, Hanna kicked herself for not realizing what might happen once she didn't respond to Meghan and Halley's queries. Several texts from Haley had come in shortly around the time Hanna and her uncle had been on the road an hour. There had been nothing else until just past noon when Meghan had texted Hanna reminding her to please eat something for lunch. A half-hour later, when those had gone unanswered, was when the first phone message had been left, a call from Haley. A series of texts followed that with the pair begging for a response. When those hadn't been responded to, the flood gates opened for good around the one-thirty mark.

When Hanna had failed to answer their calls or texts, Meghan had decided on her own, or more likely at Scottie and Damian's urging, to do a welfare check. Hanna had long assumed that with Damian being the actual homeowner, he would own keys to her home.

When it was discovered that she wasn't home, texts started coming in at a pace of about one every minute or so with Haley in a seeming panic. Realizing she needed to calm the mind of her sweet friend, Hanna canceled the scheduled text and set about trying to put out the potential forest fire.

Hanna: Haley, I'm okay. I just needed to think. I couldn't do that in Clayton. Don't worry about me; I'm with a friend.

The response came almost immediately.

Haley: Don't do that to me! Do you know how frantic I've been? And poor Meghan is convinced that Damian will blame her for not keeping an eye on you. Where are you?

Hanna groaned, drawing a look of concern from her Uncle. "They figured out I was gone about an hour ago. I didn't think they would notice until my texts went out at three," she explained.

She quickly responded to the concerned teen.

Hanna: I don't want to say. I want my privacy and time to think without all the mental clutter I faced back home. I'm okay, though, so don't worry about me.

A few minutes later, her response came.

Haley: Scottie wants you to call her. She wants to hear your voice. She's upset because she thinks this is all her fault.

Hanna leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. This wasn't at all what she wanted. There would never be any peace for her if she didn't handle this now, but Hanna dreaded making the call. Hanna resented the fact she had to soothe her friend's feelings when it was they who'd refused to give her the space she needed to breathe.

Hanna: Okay, I'll call her, but after that, I'm turning my phone back off, and you guys are just going to have to trust that I'm okay.

Hanna opened her contacts and selected Scottie's entry. The phone rang several times before she heard her friend's voice, the tension in it evident.

"Hanna, are you okay?" Scottie asked with concern.

"I'm alright. I just needed to get away for a bit. I'm tired of feeling as though I'm being tended like an irresponsible child that needs to be monitored continuously."

"Nobody thinks that, honey. We just know you've put yourself under a lot of stress over this decision your facing and wanted to look out for you," Scottie said with just a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"Maybe so, but it sure felt like I was constantly bombarded with reminders of what all I'd be missing out on by not taking Damian up on his offer. It got to the point I felt like I couldn't breathe," Hanna retorted.

Her voice sounding calmer, Scottie said, "Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's you putting all this pressure on yourself, and not us?"

Hanna was so flabbergasted by the redhead's suggestion; she found it hard to reply.

"Hanna, all I mean is that maybe you're comparing the happiness you see in us, with the discontent you're feeling in your own life right now. And perhaps you've already made up your mind what it is you want to do, but twenty-plus years of dogmatic indoctrination has you shy of pulling the trigger." Scottie said when Hanna failed to answer.

"It's hard," was the only response Hanna could muster.

"I know it is, honey, but this is something you're going to have to come to terms with on your own. The girls and I are here if you need us, but we don't want to push you any further away."

"I glad even if I don't always show it," Hanna said appreciatively.

Almost hesitantly, Scottie asked, "Have you spoken to your husband?"

"No," Hanna replied before adding, "he has called quite a few times, but I haven't returned any of them. I sent him the same text I sent Haley. They both went out around the same time. Why?"

Hanna heard Scottie let out a light laugh. "The county sheriff showed up here at the house with a few deputies less than an hour after your text went out."

"You're kidding me," Hanna said with exasperation in her voice.

"No, I wish I was, but I'm not," Scottie said. "Damian and I were just getting ready to land when Meghan called us. She said Haley was already kind of emotional after getting your text but lost it after the sheriff said Curtis had accused us of absconding with you."

"I'm so sorry, Scottie," Hanna said, I didn't even think..."

"Why would you? Your text was pretty self-explanatory," Scottie replied. "It was nothing more than a power play on his part. Your husband is incredibly naive and timid, but he's not stupid. He knows whatever is going on with this change in you, that Damian is at the root of it. This was an effort on his part to use the church's influence in the community to get what he wanted."

"What happened?" Hanna asked with concern in her voice, "Did Damian freak out?"

Scottie laughed, "It would take a lot more than that to rattle him. No, he told Meghan to allow them to search the house for you and spoke to the sheriff himself, explaining that we would be home within the hour. When we got there, I gave them our itinerary and a list of numbers they could contact to confirm our presence overseas. The sheriff apologized for the inconvenience and promised he'd inform Curtis he was mistaken."

Hanna sighed, "I guess I should call him as much as I don't want to right now. I'll call the sheriff's office too, so the church doesn't end up sending him on any more wild goose chases."

The two women said there goodbyes with Scottie promising to pass along Hanna's apologies to Haley and Meghan, no matter how unnecessary.

Hanna then called her husband, who answered right away.

"Where are you?" he said in almost a demanding voice, immediately raising Hanna's hackles.

"Where I am, isn't any of your concern. I explained in my text that I needed to get away to decide what I wanted to do. I'm okay, though, and safe. I just wanted to let you know, so you didn't send the sheriff on any more wild goose chases."

"He may have fooled the sheriff, but I know Damian had something to do with your disappearance, and there are others in town that are taking notice of him too," Curtis retorted. "And what do you mean once you've decided what you're going to do? You're my wife, Hanna, and your place is with me, here in the church."

Curtis tried to brave and self-assured, two traits that Hanna didn't readily associate with him. Beneath the bravado, though, Hanna could hear the scared little boy she'd grown up with begging for help.

"Curtis, I've come to you with my concerns and asked that you take them seriously. All you've done is dismissed them outright and treated me like I was an errant child instead of your life-partner. You refuse to see me as an equal in our marriage. I don't want my parent's marriage, Curtis. I want one where we make each other's needs a priority, and that includes my sexual needs."

"What's wrong with your parent's marriage, Hanna? It's one of the best Christian examples I can think of in this community."

"Ha!" Hanna scoffed at his reply. "I hope you don't believe that, Curtis. If you do, it's a sadder commentary based on our marriage, than I could have possibly imagined. My father has never been in love with my mother, and I'm not even sure she knows what love is."

"That's not true!" Curtis argued. "The way your mother included me and cared for me after my mother died shows she knows what love is. You're just cruel now, Hanna."

"No, I'm honest," Hanna said, calmly. "My mother did what she did for you out of her self-interest. Doing it raised her status in the church community, and among that cadre of self-righteous crones, my mother calls friends. It also allowed her to groom my future husband into the mold she wanted him to fit. She was terrified by the thought of me finding someone that might try and make me happy."

As soon as the last words were out of her mouth, Hanna knew she couldn't take them back. Yet despite how much she cared for Curtis and the fact she knew they were hurtful to him, she thought maybe they were words he needed to hear.