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| Note: This Tatoo is my Selection Based Upon Story. It is not described in detail in novel...http://www.freetattoopicture.com |
"It'll take your mind off the pain."
"I did learn one thing in getting this tattoo. Truth is like air. You can hold your breath all you want, but when you stop the air's still there."
Spenser's remark felt more like an insinuation directed at her. It made Dana uneasy and eager to redirect his focus from her to him. "So what happened? Last time you said your dad had shipped you off to Hawaii," Dana said as she continued to work on Spenser's back. "You promised me last time to tell me all about it. Tell me about Hawaii. I've always wanted to go there."
"All right, as long as you keep massaging."
"I arrived on Oahu a year to the month after the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. December, 1942. At that time the city of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, was where everything was. Pearl Harbor, the city, everything. The other islands of Kauai, Maui, and the big island weren't even on the map. The Navy had pretty much gotten things straightened out, although there was still a lot of confusion. War is like that, confusion and death. Along with a large dose of incompetence as I later learned...
~~~
T a t t o o
By Willem Pain
Cool Book! Thoroughly enjoyable read with a heartwarming story running underneath... I loved the guy with the Tattoo...You will too is my guess... Don't miss this one. It's a memorable tale...
Dana is a battered wife of Kirby. She is also a masseuse and makes the money for the family. But that doesn't stop him from hurting her, mainly while he is drinking. As of now, she has not filed
charges against him, even though the Sheriff is quite willing to take him in... She had learned to become a masseuse because her best friend, Belinda, operated a shop and would give her a job.
Although it had been another bad night, Dana dragged herself into work and was immediately asked to take a new client, from the V.A. Hospital. But when she went into the room, he was sleeping and having a nightmare, crying out just as she was near him, yelling and scaring her into falling back, knocking over a table. He immediately turned around and grabbed her, asking, "Who are you?"
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| Nick and Kirby both looked at each other and then at Dana. "Sure we'll drop our charges," Nick agreed. "I mean, we'll still have to testify. It's the local DA that's prosecuting Spenser. Not us. But we'll do everything to let the court know that Spenser was just crazy. That he really didn't mean to hurt anyone." "So Spenser won't have to go to jail? Just some psycho ward or something? Right?" Dana confirmed. "That's the deal my attorney has worked out with the DA. All they need is your corroborating evidence," Nick reassured her. "My attorney will present your testimony to the DA and then he'll just go over it with you on the stand. Just like they'll do for us. My attorney thinks that if we all tell the same story the chances are real good that Spenser will be judged incompetent. Makes sense?" "Okay, that makes sense," Dana agreed as she got up from the table. "Call me at work to let me know when and where to meet your attorney." Dana began to leave the table and then turned back. "And what you said before still stands?" "What's that?" Kirby and Nick both replied. "That Kirby will sign the divorce papers." Nick and Kirby looked at each other with indecision and then at Dana. "Yes. Sure. Of course. Right, Kirby?" Nick replied as he gave Kirby a stern look. Kirby nodded reluctantly. "Before I testify," Dana added before she turned and walked away, her heart beating so fast that she had to cover her chest with her hand. ~~~ |
After an unusual introduction, Dana was able to get everything settled and she began to massage Spenser. She was immediately drawn to the tattoo that covered his back, especially since he had requested most of the lighting be turned down--the tattoo was not the only alterations to his body...
Soon, Dana was the only person he was willing to have work on him and she began to ask about the tattoo, how he had got it and about his life... Of course, she only learned as much each time as an hour permitted, so she waited anxiously to learn more, especially about the tattoo since he had refused to do anything, but start from the beginning--when he had entered the armed forces...
And then one day Kirby came to the Hospital looking for Dana and Spenser was there... Needless to say, Spenser stopped Kirby from doing what he'd planned to do. And not only that, he offered his old trailer for her to live in!
At the same time, a friend of Kirby was telling him he needed to keep on good terms with Dana, especially since she was working with Spenser, who owned a major land site that had beachfront property...
One Fortunate thing had come out of Kirby's abuse. Dana had made friends with her physical therapist and hoped for more...
But, of course, nothing could be considered as long as she was still married. And then she got a request that she couldn't refuse...
Nick, a real estate agent, and Kirby promised that Kirby would sign divorce papers if she would tell them about what she was learning from Spenser during his massages. They hoped to figure out how to get him to sell his property or at least a right of way to the beachfront.
Then they realized there might be another way, considering that Spenser had already attacked Kirby. They figured if he could be proven to be incompetent to handle his affairs that they could maneuver something to benefit them. So they were exploring more, trespassing on his property...
And then one day Kirby came to the Hospital looking for Dana and Spenser was there... Needless to say, Spenser stopped Kirby from doing what he'd planned to do. And not only that, he offered his old trailer for her to live in!
At the same time, a friend of Kirby was telling him he needed to keep on good terms with Dana, especially since she was working with Spenser, who owned a major land site that had beachfront property...
One Fortunate thing had come out of Kirby's abuse. Dana had made friends with her physical therapist and hoped for more...
But, of course, nothing could be considered as long as she was still married. And then she got a request that she couldn't refuse...
Nick, a real estate agent, and Kirby promised that Kirby would sign divorce papers if she would tell them about what she was learning from Spenser during his massages. They hoped to figure out how to get him to sell his property or at least a right of way to the beachfront.
Then they realized there might be another way, considering that Spenser had already attacked Kirby. They figured if he could be proven to be incompetent to handle his affairs that they could maneuver something to benefit them. So they were exploring more, trespassing on his property...
Spenser instinctively bent down, not sure of what he had
heard. Suddenly the sound of Japanese language mixed with the flashes of
explosions rocked the trailer. Spenser fell to the floor, unsure of what was
happening. The angry words of Japanese filled his ears along with the
reverberation of what sounded like bombs. Spenser felt himself slipping away as
his present reality became Nggela Island in the Pacific so many years in the
past. He looked about the trailer for a weapon, breaking off a broom stick
before he scrambled out of the front door.
"Once outside Spenser was greeted by
a hail of explosions that seemed to light the sky, the shouts of Japanese
troops seemingly everywhere around him. Spenser dove into the thick grass and
looked about not sure of where his enemy might be.
"He looked down the road and
spotted the faint outlines of two vehicles in the distance. Without hesitation
he knew what he would do. Disable the enemy before killing them. Cut off their
retreat. Spenser moved silently through the tall grass as he made his way
toward the vehicles under the thunder of explosions overhead. He rolled under
the fence and crept to the rear of the car, first making sure that no sentry
was visible. Spenser used the broom handle to pry open the gas panel from the
car and quickly unscrewed the gas cap. He pulled off his tee shirt and tore a
measured strip of cloth from it. Spenser stuffed it down the gas line and then
repeated the process to the truck that stood nearby. He flipped open his
lighter and lit the strips of cloth before rolling back under the fence.
Spenser spotted the area from where the artillery was being fired. He decided
that whoever was there would be his first kill when his diversion took place.
Spenser crept back through the tall grass, retracing his route past Dana's
trailer just as the truck exploded in a hail of fire. It was followed
immediately by the car. Both vehicles soared into the air as if catapulted by a
rocket, only to fall back to earth in a mighty ball of fire. The explosion
happened with such fury that it knocked Spenser to the ground, freezing Nick
and Kirby in their tracks. Bits of flaming debris filled the air like molten
snowflakes as the cloud quickly overtook Spenser's and Dana's trailers. Spenser
pulled himself up from the ground and shook the cobwebs from his mind just as a
lighted ember was blown under Dana's trailer. The spark was just enough to
ignite the cloud of gas that had been gathering there. In a heartbeat Dana's
trailer exploded with the fury of a twenty-ton bomb, the trailer bursting apart
like a smashing pumpkin. The power of the blast lifted Spenser in the air and
threw him several yards through the illuminated sky...
!!!
And with his drinking and dreaming, Spenser himself created the situation for his arrest...
Spenser's story is sadly poignant and as Dana listened, she became close to him, loving him as a father--he had done everything he could to make sure she was safe...
But Dana was still so afraid of Kirby that she was willing to do almost anything to get free from him, and possibly begin a new life.
I found it interesting that the Tattoo was never described, although we do hear how Spenser had received the tattoo--and it wasn't at his request! LOL Sometimes you just have to take the bad with the good I guess. "When" you read this one, let me know if you think I chose an appropriate substitute for when, where, and how he got it...
Spousal abuse and PTSD--two major issues in today's world have been effectively spotlighted with realistic characters, as well as how the potential interaction with those individuals might actually occur. The ending was far from what I expected, but I loved it! Highly recommended for romantic suspense of a different kind...
GABixlerReviews
About the Author
After receiving a BA/BS in Accounting and Political Science as well as an MBA in Marketing, Bill Kuypers attended the American Film Institute as a Screen Playwright, receiving the first scholarship ever granted by AFI's director, Charleston Heston. His writing credits include several episodes of the TV sitcom WKRP In Cincinnati as well as scripts for Irving Lazar Productions. Mr. Kuypers attended UC Irvine and studied Creative Writing under Sol Stein after holding writing positions on his school newspapers. His most recent writing endeavors have included media director services for TYCO Corporation and marketing for 3M Corporation as well as having authored several mystery novels and served as copywriter for many online websites. When not sailing and diving the Caribbean or surfing distant shores, he serves in a consultative position for both screenplays and novels, providing collaborative editing, story structure and dialogue expertise as well as SEO/SEM online marketing and PR.
Kaydie was a very proper Bostonian, born into a wealthy, connected family. Somehow two out of three of the daughters found their way out of the social structure...all the way to living in Montana!
