If you have not read the opening episodes, scroll down to the entry below this one where the story first begins. Meanwhile, here are the current episodes of TABINE.
THE DETOUR
Tabine smiled over at Hank as they drove along the coast of the Florida panhandle.
“You ever been to Galveston? “ he said, glancing over at her.
“No. I don’t even know where it is,” she answered.
“Its along the coast a little before you get to Houston. Its actually an island – a barrier island.”
“I like islands,” Tabine said.
“Yeh, islands are nice. I’d like to live on one day.”
“I was on an island over on the other side of Florida once. I loved it. In fact, I killed someone there.” Hank laughed.
“You are sooo funny!”
“Have you every killed anyone?” Tabine asked.
“Are you crazy?” Hank said, looking over at her.
“I probably am crazy,” she smiled. “So, have you ever killed anyone?”
“No. Of course not,” he laughed. He looked at her again. “You are one weird chick.”
“Is that a compliment?” Tabine asked.
“Yes,” Hank laughed.
“In that case, I won’t kill you,” Tabine said, with a smile.
“Good. Let’s make it a deal then. I won’t kill you either.”
“I’ve got to admit though, I was seriously thinking about killing you this morning,” Tabine said, glancing over at him.
“Do you watch a lot of weird movies, or something?” Hank asked.
“What’s weird?” Tabine replied. “I worked for this guy once who made movies.”
“What kind of movies?”
“Porn.”
“Let me guess,” Hank said. “You killed him.”
“No. My girl friend beat me to it.”
“Tabine, you are without a doubt, one of the craziest people I’ve ever met,” Hank laughed. “You ought to write movies. I’ll bet you’d be good at it.”
“We are in a movie right now,” Tabine replied.
“Oh yeh? What’s the name of it?”
“Umm…I don’t know. Maybe, ‘How Sally Killed Harry.’ “ Hank slapped the dashboard and broke into laughter again. She turned on the seat and smiled at him.
“I want to get out in Galveston,” she said.
“You mean you don’t want to see Houston? You’d be missing a lot. I mean, there are a lot of crazy people there – people just like you.” Tabine laughed and leaned back in her seat. She propped her bare feet up on the dashboard and wiggled her toes.
“ What color do you think I should paint my nails?” she said, glancing over to Hank. Hank looked at Tabine’s toes as she slid one foot across the dashboard and in front of his face.
“Umm, Something iridescent,” he said, chuckling at her toes wiggling at him just above the steering wheel. “Or maybe a glow-in-the-dark white,” he added.
“Oh I like that,” Tabine replied. ” ‘Glow Toes’! It might even help you see where you are going in the middle of the night.”
“Like when you have to go pee?”
“Exactly!” Tabine said, clapping her hands in enthusiasm. Hank smiled and looked over at her studiously. She seemed like a child in a way, but a child who knew too much for her own good…or a child who has seen too much perhaps. At any rate, she knew how to get it on in bed, that he knew.
GALVESTON
Tabine stared out the window curiously as they crossed the causeway over to Galveston Island. She oohed and ahhed at the boats moving up and down the intercoastal, and the gulls gliding and swooping all about. She rolled the window down and smelled the air. It reminded her of being with Cully and Penny in St. Augustine. And somewhere in the back of her mind she recalled the scent of the air on the northern coast of Denmark as a little girl, and a fleeting memory of her parents came and went like a rolling surf.
“So, this is Galveston,” Hank said. “Its kind of bleak in the winter. People here have seen what the sea can do when it gets pissed off.”
“Sounds exciting,” Tabine murmured.
“Let me tell you,” Hank replied. “You’d be much happier in a cozy little bar in downtown Houston. Are you sure you want to get out here in Galveston?” Tabine stared out at the water along the seawalls. It was choppy with foaming caps that rose and fell. The surf pounded against the wall, and splayed out into the air above it like a Japanese fan, then fell back. Tabine shivered.
“Maybe I do,” she replied. “You could come and visit me now and then. I could be your ‘island girl’.”
“Oh!” Hank exclaimed. “Since we are here, I might as well take you to Bolivar.”
“What’s Bolivar?”
“Bolivar Island. It’s actually not an island, its more like a peninsula. But, it feels more like an island than Galveston.”
“What’s there….on Boliver Island?”
“Not much, really.”
“Sounds perfect,” Tabine said with a strange smile.
FERRY TO BOLIVAR
Hank pulled the car slowly up onto the ferry among the other parked cars.
“Come on, let’s get out.” He said, turning off the motor and opening his door. He took her hand and led her toward the front of the ferry as it pulled away and the captain sounded a long wailing horn. They leaned against the railing, the wind spraying their faces with a salty mist. Gulls swooped and dived in front of them as though leading the way.
“Brr, I’m cold,” Tabine said, with a shiver. Hank put his arm around her, laughing.
“If you think this is cold, you can’t imagine a winter on Bolivar, girl, believe me.” Tabine stiffened a little. She hated it when people told her there was something she couldn’t do. Hank glanced at her. Who is this girl?
They drove down onto the beach. The tide was out, and the beach looked wide and empty. Not another soul in sight. They strolled along the water’s edge holding hands. The beach was strewn with the kinds of offerings the sea usually laid down - seaweed, drift wood, some small corals, broken bits of shells, and now and then a whole shell. But then there were colorful tangled knots of cargo rope and pieces of netting too. There was someone’s sandal, and a soggy shirt. Tabine ran about like an excited child picking up one thing after another. She turned to Hank.
“I want to live here!”
“Here? Hardly anybody lives here. People rent beach houses, but they come and go. The locals as such amount to a handful. And even they tend to go inland during the winter.
“Let’s drive around some more. I bet I can find a place to stay. I want to be an island girl.”
“It’s actually a peninsula,” Hank pointed out.
“Then I want to be a peninsula girl,” Tabine replied.
“What would you do here all by yourself?”
“Whatever island girls do. Maybe I’ll write a book.” She turned to Hank. “It would start like this:
‘Tabine, the lonely island girl of Bolivar Island strolled the lonely beach, her eyes scanning the horizon where the sea met the sky. She would wait for him forever, even though they say he was lost at sea and presumed dead. Then, one day,’ she said, dramatically dropping to her knees in the surf gasping in disbelief, ‘she saw a solitary figure out there amidst the waves. His arms flailing frantically. Could it be?!’
“But no,” Hank joined in. “It was nothing but a few boards floating to shore covered with barnacles. Sadly she admitted, she might as well go to Houston and get a life.” Tabine got up off the beach and turned to give Hank an expressionless stare.
“Party pooper!” she said with a pout.
(To be continued….)
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
TABINE (First draft...)
By way of preface, this is a follow up story featuring one of the characters in the novel, Nothing Comes From Nothing. I am hoping that one can read this current story and it will still make sense whether or not one has read its predecessor. Ideally, reading Nothing Comes From Nothing first would be the better way to go. Nothing Comes From Nothing is available for purchase, but the story is still available for free in its first draft form on one of my other sites. In my mind, I feel like I may be in the middle of a trilogy. If so, the third story would likely center on Penny. Time will tell. Meanwhile, here are the opening episodes of TABINE.
TABINE
"To do nothing is the way to be nothing.”
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
CHAPTER ONE
QUIETLY UNCAGED
After the blood bath that set her free, Tabine felt certain things inside her she had never felt before. For one thing, there was the frightening realization of how all her anger had erupted, not as an explosive rage, but in a calm and calculated sticking of the blade into the bitch's stomach. It was as though she had harnessed and channeled all that hatred, humiliation, and degradation into a ruthless yet calm clarity of purpose and action.
"Evelyn Kiriakas had it coming", Cully had said. This woman who had robbed her of her girlish innocence, trashed her very soul, and sold her into the sex trade as a mindless piece of meat deserved to die. She felt no pity for the woman even now. What she did feel was the sudden bewilderment of being free. It was as though she had been a caged bird who, upon seeing the cage door open, didn't know where to fly or even how to.
GOING IT ALONE
It was 3am when the bus pulled into Ft. Lauderdale where Tabine planned to buy a ticket to somewhere else, although she wasn’t sure where. She had waved goodbye to Cully and Penny from the rear view window at the very back of the bus as it pulled away from the terminal in St. Augustine. She could see them waving at her through the dark cloud of diesel exhaust as the bus began moving. Penny ran alongside the bus throwing kisses until she couldn’t keep up. Tabine waved back almost frantically as her friends got smaller and smaller - waving and throwing kisses until the bus turned onto a road out of town. She slumped down and wiped back her tears. She could see through the driver’s window up front the last glow of the sun that would soon leave her in darkness and doubt. She fought off the impulse to make the driver let her out so she could go running back to the only love she had known. She cocked her head and leaned it against the window lost in thought. The lush green Florida jungle flew by like a never- ending green ribbon growing darker as night descended. It had been her idea to strike out on her own - and to try to understand what it actually meant to be free. In the growing darkness it was an increasingly scary idea.
“If it is what you think you need to do, Tabine, then I think you should just do it,” Penny had said, as they sat there several nights ago looking at the map.
“Tabine,” Cully added, standing behind her and rubbing her shoulders. “You know we love you. “ Tabine nodded as she reached back, and gently ran her fingers over his embracing hand.
“I just want to try it, you know? I’ve never really been on my own before.”
“You know you can call us, Tabine – from anywhere, any time. We’ll come. You know that don’t you?” Penny said. Tabine nodded, wiped her eyes, and took a deep breath as Cully wrapped his strong arms around her and Penny leaned over to kiss her cheek.
FT. LAUDERDALE
Tabine sat in the lobby at the bus terminal wondering what to do. It was a strange time of night to arrive in a strange city all alone. She looked nervously about the room. A man nearby was slumped over and teetering on his seat obviously drunk. Two black dudes were hunkered down side by side on a bench, leaning into each other and talking quietly. They kept glancing over at her. She nervously ran her hand along her collarbone feeling for the thin silver chain and the small silver dagger dangling from it. It was a gift from Cully. He had given it to her shortly after she had stabbed Evelyn Kiriakis to death. A smile came to her face as she recalled the note attached to the gift. It said:
“You are now officially one mean bitch on a wild horse!” She reached for her brown leather handbag and caressed it. She could feel the Luger. She threw the black dudes a long icy unblinking stare.
“Just try me,” she said to herself.
She stood and walked over to the ticket-master’s window. It had bars in front of it. The old geezer was working on a crossword puzzle in a magazine.
“Excuse me,” she said, leaning her face up to the bars. “When is the next bus?” The man looked up at her over his wire-rimmed glasses.
“I guess that depends on where you want to go, Miss,” he said in a raspy coughing voice.
“I mean the next bus leaving for anywhere,” Tabine said. He pointed to a schedule on the wall with his pencil.
“There’s one leaving in about 45 minutes for St. Augustine,” he answered.
“No not there,” Tabine said.
“You just said the next bus going anywhere.”
“I know, but I meant anywhere but there,” Tabine said, fighting off an impulse to go running back to the safety of Penny and Cully.
“Look lady,” he said. “Here’s the schedule. The next bus after that is headed across Alligator Alley to the Gulf side. It leaves at 5:15.”
“I’ll take it,” Tabine said.
BLACK HOLE
Tabine sat quietly in the back corner of the bus as it cruised through the darkness of Alligator Alley. There was nothing to see out the window but the impenetrable blackness, but she knew there had to be alligators out there. It was a straight shot through the Everglades to the Gulf coast and whatever the next day might bring. Her mind wandered back through recent events as though leafing through a scrapbook. Pictures of her childhood just outside Copenhagen. Her famous and distant father who was persuaded to come to America and design bombs for them. Really big bombs. Her mother who was cruelly rational in dictating how she should live her life. She wasn’t bitter, but just sad about the fact that they no longer existed and simultaneously relieved they were dead.
“So, where is home?” she wondered.
FORT MEYERS BEACH
Tabine climbed atop a picnic table on the beach as the sun was sinking, her bare feet resting on the weathered cedar bench. She felt good, having showered at the motel. She snacked from a paper cup of shrimp on her way down to the water’s edge, and sat there finishing it off. Pelicans glided low across the water, and the sky reminded her of a pinkish popsicle she remembered from her childhood in Copenhagen.
“Who the hell are you?” she asked herself, gesturing with a shrimp in her hand.
“Who’s asking?” she answered, taking a bite. She broke into laughter.
“Having a good time?” he asked. Tabine jerked her head around as her body tensed in surprise.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t know anyone could hear me.”
“It’s a nice time of day isn’t it? He said, stepping closer.
“It’s quite beautiful,” she answered, as she looked him up and down. He seemed harmless enough. His smile seemed sincere. He was holding a book in his hand. “What are you reading?” she asked.
Oh, this? he said, holding it up. “It’s just something I’ve gotta read for one of my classes.” He handed it to her.
“An Essay on Liberation,” she said thoughtfully. “Sounds interesting.”
“You got that right, sister,” he chuckled, sitting down on the bench by her feet. He looked up at her. “You look pretty with the sunset on your hair.”
“Uh oh,” Tabine thought. “Here comes the pitch.” But, the pitch didn’t come. He took the book back from her, and flipped through the pages.
“This guy, Marcuse, was so ahead of his time,” he said. “I mean, like, he’s saying our ideas of freedom are becoming obsolete the more industrial society advances. And we’ve got to shift the whole paradigm that defines society. And not only that, he’s really saying it is time to get utopian. Anyway, I kinda dig the way this guy’s mind works.” Tabine nodded thoughtfully.
“I guess I’ve never really thought much about it. I will say this though, if you ever do get liberated, it’s a whole other thing to figure out what to do now that you are free.”
“Ooh, I like that,” he replied. “Are you going to school somewhere?”
“No,” Tabine answered. “I was at University of Alabama for awhile though. “
“No kidding? What were you studying?”
“Mostly self-defense.”
“Oh, that’s a good one too, “ he said. He took out a pen and wrote some notes on his hand. “It is so true,” he said, looking up at her. “All of growing up, and all of education gets to be about self defense when you come down to it. I like that.”
“Thanks,” Tabine said with a smile.
“Look, he said, standing up. “You wanna go get a beer or something?”
“Sure, why not?” Tabine answered, climbing down from the bench. “What’s your name, anyway?”
“Henry. But everybody calls me Hank. What’s yours?”
“Tabine. But everybody just calls me Tabine.” Hank laughed and took her hand.
POINTS WEST
Tabine blinked and rubbed her eyes as the morning sun came streaking through the crack in the curtains. At first, she wasn’t sure where she was. She sat on the side of the bed stretching and scratching herself. She contemplated a shower. She bent her head down and sniffed her arm pit.
“Definitely!” she mumbled. She stumbled toward the bathroom, pulling off her tee shirt and panties. She stepped into the shower and leaned lazily against the cold tile wall as the water hit her face and streamed down her body. Last night had been interesting. Hank was an interesting guy. A little green behind the ears, maybe, but then he hadn’t seen the things she had seen – things that made her feel older than her own years. As she began to slather her body with soap, she remembered the crazy dream she had. It was a party. Penny was pregnant. There were lots of people there. Even Tabine’s parents were there, and they are not even alive anymore. And Hank was there too. She scrubbed her face thinking about how crazy dreams are. But then, it occurred to her that maybe Penny was really pregnant. She took it as fact.
“Oh my god! Penny is pregnant!” She rinsed quickly and wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body, and sat on the bed next to the phone.
“Penny? It’s me. Tabine!”
“Tabine?” Penny’s voice sounded sleepy.
“Are you pregnant?”
“What?”
“You are, aren’t you?”
“Tabine, where are you?”
“I’m in Ft. Meyer’s Beach. You are, aren’t you?”
“Pregnant? No. I’m not pregnant. What are you talking about?”
“Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”
“I started my period yesterday. Do I need to show you the evidence? Are you ok, sweetheart?”
“I am more than ok,” Tabine giggled. She whispered into the phone. “I got laid last night.”
“Oh my god!” Penny exclaimed. “You’re probably the one who is pregnant!”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did he use a rubber?”
“No.”
“Tabine! “
“It’s ok. He’s a really nice guy. “
“And how long have you known him? A couple of days?”
“Well, actually, it was a couple of hours.”
“Tabine!”
“Anyway, Hank is going to give me a ride since he’s going back to Houston to school.”
“Hank who?”
“Umm, I don’t know. Our relationship hasn’t gotten that far.”
“Hasn’t gotten that far? Tabine, really!”
“Well, you and Cully got it on pretty fast.”
“Tabine, Cully and I had been together for several weeks, not two hours.”
“Weeks, hours, whatever. Listen Penny,” Tabine said. “I gotta go. Hank is picking me up in about twenty minutes.”
“You call me tonight - or tomorrow, Tabine. Promise me you will call.”
“I promise. I gotta go. Don’t tell Cully about all this, ok, Penny?”
“Ok. If you will call me in the next 24 hours.”
“I will. I love you, Penny.”
“I love you too.” Tabine hung up the phone, unwrapped her hair and shook her head. Penny is such a worrywort.
Cully sat up in bed.
“Who was that?”
“Tabine.”
“Is she ok?”
“I guess so,” Penny replied with a less than confident smile. “She just had sex last night with some guy named Hank.”
“Hank who?”
“She didn’t know his last name. She said ‘their relationship hadn’t gotten that far.’”
“Oh, great,” Cully muttered, falling back onto his pillow.
ON THE ROAD?
Tabine hurriedly dressed. Hank was coming any minute and they would hit the road together. She thought about Houston. That was as far as he was going. Maybe she would like Houston. Maybe she could make a life there. She threw her clothes into her bag and sat on the side of the bed waiting. She turned on the tv. Every channel seemed pretty stupid. She looked at the clock. He was supposed to show up 20 minutes ago. The clock kept ticking. She went to the window and drew the curtains back. There was a certain creeping doubt in her mind. She laid back on the bed, thinking about Hank.
“Yeh, you can stay with me. I’ve got a little apartment just off campus. Maybe you want to enroll and take some classes.” She could picture the whole thing. An hour passed.
“You fucking asshole!” Tabine shouted, jumping up from the bed and going to the window again. “You fucking asshole!” She emptied her bag back out onto the bed. “Big fat liar!, “ she screamed. “I can’t believe what a piece of shit you are!” She picked up the Luger and went to the window again, then paced the floor. “I’ll kill the mother fucker,” she muttered. She sat on the side of the bed and dialed Greyhound. “How much is a ticket to Houston?” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Oh shit!” she exclaimed, sliding the gun under the pillow. “Who is it?” she said timidly, trying to peer through the glass hole in the door.
“It’s me. Hank.”
“Uh, I’ll be right out.” She ran about frantically picking up her clothes and stuffing them back into the bag. “Oh my god. Oh my god,” she mumbled, reaching for the gun beneath the pillow and stuffing it down into her bag.
"Hey,” Hank shouted, with another rap on the door.
“I’m coming,” Tabine called back. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Are you ok?” Hank asked.
“Yeh, sure,” Tabine replied coolly.
“Well then, let’s blow this town.”
“Yeh,” Tabine said, giving him a kiss. “Let’s blow this town.”
THE DETOUR
POINTS WEST
Tabine blinked and rubbed her eyes as the morning sun came streaking through the crack in the curtains. At first, she wasn’t sure where she was. She sat on the side of the bed stretching and scratching herself. She contemplated a shower. She bent her head down and sniffed her arm pit.
“Definitely!” she mumbled. She stumbled toward the bathroom, pulling off her tee shirt and panties. She stepped into the shower and leaned lazily against the cold tile wall as the water hit her face and streamed down her body. Last night had been interesting. Hank was an interesting guy. A little green behind the ears, maybe, but then he hadn’t seen the things she had seen – things that made her feel older than her own years. As she began to slather her body with soap, she remembered the crazy dream she had. It was a party. Penny was pregnant. There were lots of people there. Even Tabine’s parents were there, and they are not even alive anymore. And Hank was there too. She scrubbed her face thinking about how crazy dreams are. But then, it occurred to her that maybe Penny was really pregnant. She took it as fact.
“Oh my god! Penny is pregnant!” She rinsed quickly and wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body, and sat on the bed next to the phone.
“Penny? It’s me. Tabine!”
“Tabine?” Penny’s voice sounded sleepy.
“Are you pregnant?”
“What?”
“You are, aren’t you?”
“Tabine, where are you?”
“I’m in Ft. Meyer’s Beach. You are, aren’t you?”
“Pregnant? No. I’m not pregnant. What are you talking about?”
“Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”
“I started my period yesterday. Do I need to show you the evidence? Are you ok, sweetheart?”
“I am more than ok,” Tabine giggled. She whispered into the phone. “I got laid last night.”
“Oh my god!” Penny exclaimed. “You’re probably the one who is pregnant!”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did he use a rubber?”
“No.”
“Tabine! “
“It’s ok. He’s a really nice guy. “
“And how long have you known him? A couple of days?”
“Well, actually, it was a couple of hours.”
“Tabine!”
“Anyway, Hank is going to give me a ride since he’s going back to Houston to school.”
“Hank who?”
“Umm, I don’t know. Our relationship hasn’t gotten that far.”
“Hasn’t gotten that far? Tabine, really!”
“Well, you and Cully got it on pretty fast.”
“Tabine, Cully and I had been together for several weeks, not two hours.”
“Weeks, hours, whatever. Listen Penny,” Tabine said. “I gotta go. Hank is picking me up in about twenty minutes.”
“You call me tonight - or tomorrow, Tabine. Promise me you will call.”
“I promise. I gotta go. Don’t tell Cully about all this, ok, Penny?”
“Ok. If you will call me in the next 24 hours.”
“I will. I love you, Penny.”
“I love you too.” Tabine hung up the phone, unwrapped her hair and shook her head. Penny is such a worrywort.
Cully sat up in bed.
“Who was that?”
“Tabine.”
“Is she ok?”
“I guess so,” Penny replied with a less than confident smile. “She just had sex last night with some guy named Hank.”
“Hank who?”
“She didn’t know his last name. She said ‘their relationship hadn’t gotten that far.’”
“Oh, great,” Cully muttered, falling back onto his pillow.
ON THE ROAD?
Tabine hurriedly dressed. Hank was coming any minute and they would hit the road together. She thought about Houston. That was as far as he was going. Maybe she would like Houston. Maybe she could make a life there. She threw her clothes into her bag and sat on the side of the bed waiting. She turned on the tv. Every channel seemed pretty stupid. She looked at the clock. He was supposed to show up 20 minutes ago. The clock kept ticking. She went to the window and drew the curtains back. There was a certain creeping doubt in her mind. She laid back on the bed, thinking about Hank.
“Yeh, you can stay with me. I’ve got a little apartment just off campus. Maybe you want to enroll and take some classes.” She could picture the whole thing. An hour passed.
“You fucking asshole!” Tabine shouted, jumping up from the bed and going to the window again. “You fucking asshole!” She emptied her bag back out onto the bed. “Big fat liar!, “ she screamed. “I can’t believe what a piece of shit you are!” She picked up the Luger and went to the window again, then paced the floor. “I’ll kill the mother fucker,” she muttered. She sat on the side of the bed and dialed Greyhound. “How much is a ticket to Houston?” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Oh shit!” she exclaimed, sliding the gun under the pillow. “Who is it?” she said timidly, trying to peer through the glass hole in the door.
“It’s me. Hank.”
“Uh, I’ll be right out.” She ran about frantically picking up her clothes and stuffing them back into the bag. “Oh my god. Oh my god,” she mumbled, reaching for the gun beneath the pillow and stuffing it down into her bag.
"Hey,” Hank shouted, with another rap on the door.
“I’m coming,” Tabine called back. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Are you ok?” Hank asked.
“Yeh, sure,” Tabine replied coolly.
“Well then, let’s blow this town.”
“Yeh,” Tabine said, giving him a kiss. “Let’s blow this town.”
THE DETOUR
THE DETOUR Tabine smiled over at Hank as they drove along the coast of the Florida panhandle. “You ever been to Galveston? “ he said, glancing over at her. “No. I don’t even know where it is,” she answered. “Its along the coast a little before you get to Houston. Its actually an island – a barrier island.” “I like islands,” Tabine said. “Yeh, islands are nice. I’d like to live on one day.” “I was on an island over on the other side of Florida once. I loved it. In fact, I killed someone there.” Hank laughed. “You are sooo funny!” “Have you every killed anyone?” Tabine asked. “Are you crazy?” Hank said, looking over at her. “I probably am crazy,” she smiled. “So, have you ever killed anyone?” “No. Of course not,” he laughed. He looked at her again. “You are one weird chick.” “Is that a compliment?” Tabine asked. “Yes,” Hank laughed. “In that case, I won’t kill you,” Tabine said, with a smile. “Good. Let’s make it a deal then. I won’t kill you either.” “I’ve got to admit though, I was seriously thinking about killing you this morning,” Tabine said, glancing over at him. “Do you watch a lot of weird movies, or something?” Hank asked. “What’s weird?” Tabine replied. “I worked for this guy once who made movies.” “What kind of movies?” “Porn.” “Let me guess,” Hank said. “You killed him.” “No. My girl friend beat me to it.” “Tabine, you are without a doubt, one of the craziest people I’ve ever met,” Hank laughed. “You ought to write movies. I’ll bet you’d be good at it.” “We are in a movie right now,” Tabine replied. “Oh yeh? What’s the name of it?” “Umm…I don’t know. Maybe, ‘How Sally Killed Harry.’ “ Hank slapped the dashboard and broke into laughter again. She turned on the seat and smiled at him. “I want to get out in Galveston,” she said. “You mean you don’t want to see Houston? You’d be missing a lot. I mean, there are a lot of crazy people there – people just like you.” Tabine laughed and leaned back in her seat. She propped her bare feet up on the dashboard and wiggled her toes. “ What color do you think I should paint my nails?” she said, glancing over to Hank. Hank looked at Tabine’s toes as she slid one foot across the dashboard and in front of his face. “Umm, Something iridescent,” he said, chuckling at her toes wiggling at him just above the steering wheel. “Or maybe a glow-in-the-dark white,” he added. “Oh I like that,” Tabine replied. ” ‘Glow Toes’! It might even help you see where you are going in the middle of the night.” “Like when you have to go pee?” “Exactly!” Tabine said, clapping her hands in enthusiasm. Hank smiled and looked over at her studiously. She seemed like a child in a way, but a child who knew too much for her own good…or a child who has seen too much perhaps. At any rate, she knew how to get it on in bed, that he knew. GALVESTON Tabine stared out the window curiously as they crossed the causeway over to Galveston Island. She oohed and ahhed at the boats moving up and down the intercoastal, and the gulls gliding and swooping all about. She rolled the window down and smelled the air. It reminded her of being with Cully and Penny in St. Augustine. And somewhere in the back of her mind she recalled the scent of the air on the northern coast of Denmark as a little girl, and a fleeting memory of her parents came and went like a rolling surf. “So, this is Galveston,” Hank said. “Its kind of bleak in the winter. People here have seen what the sea can do when it gets pissed off.” “Sounds exciting,” Tabine murmured. “Let me tell you,” Hank replied. “You’d be much happier in a cozy little bar in downtown Houston. Are you sure you want to get out here in Galveston?” Tabine stared out at the water along the seawalls. It was choppy with foaming caps that rose and fell. The surf pounded against the wall, and splayed out into the air above it like a Japanese fan, then fell back. Tabine shivered. “Maybe I do,” she replied. “You could come and visit me now and then. I could be your ‘island girl’.” “Oh!” Hank exclaimed. “Since we are here, I might as well take you to Bolivar.” “What’s Bolivar?” “Bolivar Island. It’s actually not an island, its more like a peninsula. But, it feels more like an island than Galveston.” “What’s there….on Boliver Island?” “Not much, really.” “Sounds perfect,” Tabine said with a strange smile. FERRY TO BOLIVAR Hank pulled the car slowly up onto the ferry among the other parked cars. “Come on, let’s get out.” He said, turning off the motor and opening his door. He took her hand and led her toward the front of the ferry as it pulled away and the captain sounded a long wailing horn. They leaned against the railing, the wind spraying their faces with a salty mist. Gulls swooped and dived in front of them as though leading the way. “Brr, I’m cold,” Tabine said, with a shiver. Hank put his arm around her, laughing. “If you think this is cold, you can’t imagine a winter on Bolivar, girl, believe me.” Tabine stiffened a little. She hated it when people told her there was something she couldn’t do. Hank glanced at her. Who is this girl? They drove down onto the beach. The tide was out, and the beach looked wide and empty. Not another soul in sight. They strolled along the water’s edge holding hands. The beach was strewn with the kinds of offerings the sea usually laid down - seaweed, drift wood, some small corals, broken bits of shells, and now and then a whole shell. But then there were colorful tangled knots of cargo rope and pieces of netting too. There was someone’s sandal, and a soggy shirt. Tabine ran about like an excited child picking up one thing after another. She turned to Hank. “I want to live here!” “Here? Hardly anybody lives here. People rent beach houses, but they come and go. The locals as such amount to a handful. And even they tend to go inland during the winter. “Let’s drive around some more. I bet I can find a place to stay. I want to be an island girl.” “It’s actually a peninsula,” Hank pointed out. “Then I want to be a peninsula girl,” Tabine replied. “What would you do here all by yourself?” “Whatever island girls do. Maybe I’ll write a book.” She turned to Hank. “It would start like this: ‘Tabine, the lonely island girl of Bolivar Island strolled the lonely beach, her eyes scanning the horizon where the sea met the sky. She would wait for him forever, even though they say he was lost at sea and presumed dead. Then, one day,’ she said, dramatically dropping to her knees in the surf gasping in disbelief, ‘she saw a solitary figure out there amidst the waves. His arms flailing frantically. Could it be?!’ “But no,” Hank joined in. “It was nothing but a few boards floating to shore covered with barnacles. Sadly she admitted, she might as well go to Houston and get a life.” Tabine got up off the beach and turned to give Hank an expressionless stare. “Party pooper!” she said with a pout. If you have not read the opening episodes, scroll down to the entry below this one where the story first begins. Meanwhile, here are the current episodes of TABINE.
THE DETOUR
Tabine smiled over at Hank as they drove along the coast of the Florida panhandle.
“You ever been to Galveston? “ he said, glancing over at her.
“No. I don’t even know where it is,” she answered.
“Its along the coast a little before you get to Houston. Its actually an island – a barrier island.”
“I like islands,” Tabine said.
“Yeh, islands are nice. I’d like to live on one day.”
“I was on an island over on the other side of Florida once. I loved it. In fact, I killed someone there.” Hank laughed.
“You are sooo funny!”
“Have you every killed anyone?” Tabine asked.
“Are you crazy?” Hank said, looking over at her.
“I probably am crazy,” she smiled. “So, have you ever killed anyone?”
“No. Of course not,” he laughed. He looked at her again. “You are one weird chick.”
“Is that a compliment?” Tabine asked.
“Yes,” Hank laughed.
“In that case, I won’t kill you,” Tabine said, with a smile.
“Good. Let’s make it a deal then. I won’t kill you either.”
“I’ve got to admit though, I was seriously thinking about killing you this morning,” Tabine said, glancing over at him.
“Do you watch a lot of weird movies, or something?” Hank asked.
“What’s weird?” Tabine replied. “I worked for this guy once who made movies.”
“What kind of movies?”
“Porn.”
“Let me guess,” Hank said. “You killed him.”
“No. My girl friend beat me to it.”
“Tabine, you are without a doubt, one of the craziest people I’ve ever met,” Hank laughed. “You ought to write movies. I’ll bet you’d be good at it.”
“We are in a movie right now,” Tabine replied.
“Oh yeh? What’s the name of it?”
“Umm…I don’t know. Maybe, ‘How Sally Killed Harry.’ “ Hank slapped the dashboard and broke into laughter again. She turned on the seat and smiled at him.
“I want to get out in Galveston,” she said.
“You mean you don’t want to see Houston? You’d be missing a lot. I mean, there are a lot of crazy people there – people just like you.” Tabine laughed and leaned back in her seat. She propped her bare feet up on the dashboard and wiggled her toes.
“ What color do you think I should paint my nails?” she said, glancing over to Hank. Hank looked at Tabine’s toes as she slid one foot across the dashboard and in front of his face.
“Umm, Something iridescent,” he said, chuckling at her toes wiggling at him just above the steering wheel. “Or maybe a glow-in-the-dark white,” he added.
“Oh I like that,” Tabine replied. ” ‘Glow Toes’! It might even help you see where you are going in the middle of the night.”
“Like when you have to go pee?”
“Exactly!” Tabine said, clapping her hands in enthusiasm. Hank smiled and looked over at her studiously. She seemed like a child in a way, but a child who knew too much for her own good…or a child who has seen too much perhaps. At any rate, she knew how to get it on in bed, that he knew.
GALVESTON
Tabine stared out the window curiously as they crossed the causeway over to Galveston Island. She oohed and ahhed at the boats moving up and down the intercoastal, and the gulls gliding and swooping all about. She rolled the window down and smelled the air. It reminded her of being with Cully and Penny in St. Augustine. And somewhere in the back of her mind she recalled the scent of the air on the northern coast of Denmark as a little girl, and a fleeting memory of her parents came and went like a rolling surf.
“So, this is Galveston,” Hank said. “Its kind of bleak in the winter. People here have seen what the sea can do when it gets pissed off.”
“Sounds exciting,” Tabine murmured.
“Let me tell you,” Hank replied. “You’d be much happier in a cozy little bar in downtown Houston. Are you sure you want to get out here in Galveston?” Tabine stared out at the water along the seawalls. It was choppy with foaming caps that rose and fell. The surf pounded against the wall, and splayed out into the air above it like a Japanese fan, then fell back. Tabine shivered.
“Maybe I do,” she replied. “You could come and visit me now and then. I could be your ‘island girl’.”
“Oh!” Hank exclaimed. “Since we are here, I might as well take you to Bolivar.”
“What’s Bolivar?”
“Bolivar Island. It’s actually not an island, its more like a peninsula. But, it feels more like an island than Galveston.”
“What’s there….on Boliver Island?”
“Not much, really.”
“Sounds perfect,” Tabine said with a strange smile.
FERRY TO BOLIVAR
Hank pulled the car slowly up onto the ferry among the other parked cars.
“Come on, let’s get out.” He said, turning off the motor and opening his door. He took her hand and led her toward the front of the ferry as it pulled away and the captain sounded a long wailing horn. They leaned against the railing, the wind spraying their faces with a salty mist. Gulls swooped and dived in front of them as though leading the way.
“Brr, I’m cold,” Tabine said, with a shiver. Hank put his arm around her, laughing.
“If you think this is cold, you can’t imagine a winter on Bolivar, girl, believe me.” Tabine stiffened a little. She hated it when people told her there was something she couldn’t do. Hank glanced at her. Who is this girl?
They drove down onto the beach. The tide was out, and the beach looked wide and empty. Not another soul in sight. They strolled along the water’s edge holding hands. The beach was strewn with the kinds of offerings the sea usually laid down - seaweed, drift wood, some small corals, broken bits of shells, and now and then a whole shell. But then there were colorful tangled knots of cargo rope and pieces of netting too. There was someone’s sandal, and a soggy shirt. Tabine ran about like an excited child picking up one thing after another. She turned to Hank.
“I want to live here!”
“Here? Hardly anybody lives here. People rent beach houses, but they come and go. The locals as such amount to a handful. And even they tend to go inland during the winter.
“Let’s drive around some more. I bet I can find a place to stay. I want to be an island girl.”
“It’s actually a peninsula,” Hank pointed out.
“Then I want to be a peninsula girl,” Tabine replied.
“What would you do here all by yourself?”
“Whatever island girls do. Maybe I’ll write a book.” She turned to Hank. “It would start like this:
‘Tabine, the lonely island girl of Bolivar Island strolled the lonely beach, her eyes scanning the horizon where the sea met the sky. She would wait for him forever, even though they say he was lost at sea and presumed dead. Then, one day,’ she said, dramatically dropping to her knees in the surf gasping in disbelief, ‘she saw a solitary figure out there amidst the waves. His arms flailing frantically. Could it be?!’
“But no,” Hank joined in. “It was nothing but a few boards floating to shore covered with barnacles. Sadly she admitted, she might as well go to Houston and get a life.” Tabine got up off the beach and turned to give Hank an expressionless stare.
“Party pooper!” she said with a pout.
(To be continued….)
TABINE
"To do nothing is the way to be nothing.”
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
CHAPTER ONE
QUIETLY UNCAGED
After the blood bath that set her free, Tabine felt certain things inside her she had never felt before. For one thing, there was the frightening realization of how all her anger had erupted, not as an explosive rage, but in a calm and calculated sticking of the blade into the bitch's stomach. It was as though she had harnessed and channeled all that hatred, humiliation, and degradation into a ruthless yet calm clarity of purpose and action.
"Evelyn Kiriakas had it coming", Cully had said. This woman who had robbed her of her girlish innocence, trashed her very soul, and sold her into the sex trade as a mindless piece of meat deserved to die. She felt no pity for the woman even now. What she did feel was the sudden bewilderment of being free. It was as though she had been a caged bird who, upon seeing the cage door open, didn't know where to fly or even how to.
GOING IT ALONE
It was 3am when the bus pulled into Ft. Lauderdale where Tabine planned to buy a ticket to somewhere else, although she wasn’t sure where. She had waved goodbye to Cully and Penny from the rear view window at the very back of the bus as it pulled away from the terminal in St. Augustine. She could see them waving at her through the dark cloud of diesel exhaust as the bus began moving. Penny ran alongside the bus throwing kisses until she couldn’t keep up. Tabine waved back almost frantically as her friends got smaller and smaller - waving and throwing kisses until the bus turned onto a road out of town. She slumped down and wiped back her tears. She could see through the driver’s window up front the last glow of the sun that would soon leave her in darkness and doubt. She fought off the impulse to make the driver let her out so she could go running back to the only love she had known. She cocked her head and leaned it against the window lost in thought. The lush green Florida jungle flew by like a never- ending green ribbon growing darker as night descended. It had been her idea to strike out on her own - and to try to understand what it actually meant to be free. In the growing darkness it was an increasingly scary idea.
“If it is what you think you need to do, Tabine, then I think you should just do it,” Penny had said, as they sat there several nights ago looking at the map.
“Tabine,” Cully added, standing behind her and rubbing her shoulders. “You know we love you. “ Tabine nodded as she reached back, and gently ran her fingers over his embracing hand.
“I just want to try it, you know? I’ve never really been on my own before.”
“You know you can call us, Tabine – from anywhere, any time. We’ll come. You know that don’t you?” Penny said. Tabine nodded, wiped her eyes, and took a deep breath as Cully wrapped his strong arms around her and Penny leaned over to kiss her cheek.
FT. LAUDERDALE
Tabine sat in the lobby at the bus terminal wondering what to do. It was a strange time of night to arrive in a strange city all alone. She looked nervously about the room. A man nearby was slumped over and teetering on his seat obviously drunk. Two black dudes were hunkered down side by side on a bench, leaning into each other and talking quietly. They kept glancing over at her. She nervously ran her hand along her collarbone feeling for the thin silver chain and the small silver dagger dangling from it. It was a gift from Cully. He had given it to her shortly after she had stabbed Evelyn Kiriakis to death. A smile came to her face as she recalled the note attached to the gift. It said:
“You are now officially one mean bitch on a wild horse!” She reached for her brown leather handbag and caressed it. She could feel the Luger. She threw the black dudes a long icy unblinking stare.
“Just try me,” she said to herself.
She stood and walked over to the ticket-master’s window. It had bars in front of it. The old geezer was working on a crossword puzzle in a magazine.
“Excuse me,” she said, leaning her face up to the bars. “When is the next bus?” The man looked up at her over his wire-rimmed glasses.
“I guess that depends on where you want to go, Miss,” he said in a raspy coughing voice.
“I mean the next bus leaving for anywhere,” Tabine said. He pointed to a schedule on the wall with his pencil.
“There’s one leaving in about 45 minutes for St. Augustine,” he answered.
“No not there,” Tabine said.
“You just said the next bus going anywhere.”
“I know, but I meant anywhere but there,” Tabine said, fighting off an impulse to go running back to the safety of Penny and Cully.
“Look lady,” he said. “Here’s the schedule. The next bus after that is headed across Alligator Alley to the Gulf side. It leaves at 5:15.”
“I’ll take it,” Tabine said.
BLACK HOLE
Tabine sat quietly in the back corner of the bus as it cruised through the darkness of Alligator Alley. There was nothing to see out the window but the impenetrable blackness, but she knew there had to be alligators out there. It was a straight shot through the Everglades to the Gulf coast and whatever the next day might bring. Her mind wandered back through recent events as though leafing through a scrapbook. Pictures of her childhood just outside Copenhagen. Her famous and distant father who was persuaded to come to America and design bombs for them. Really big bombs. Her mother who was cruelly rational in dictating how she should live her life. She wasn’t bitter, but just sad about the fact that they no longer existed and simultaneously relieved they were dead.
“So, where is home?” she wondered.
FORT MEYERS BEACH
Tabine climbed atop a picnic table on the beach as the sun was sinking, her bare feet resting on the weathered cedar bench. She felt good, having showered at the motel. She snacked from a paper cup of shrimp on her way down to the water’s edge, and sat there finishing it off. Pelicans glided low across the water, and the sky reminded her of a pinkish popsicle she remembered from her childhood in Copenhagen.
“Who the hell are you?” she asked herself, gesturing with a shrimp in her hand.
“Who’s asking?” she answered, taking a bite. She broke into laughter.
“Having a good time?” he asked. Tabine jerked her head around as her body tensed in surprise.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t know anyone could hear me.”
“It’s a nice time of day isn’t it? He said, stepping closer.
“It’s quite beautiful,” she answered, as she looked him up and down. He seemed harmless enough. His smile seemed sincere. He was holding a book in his hand. “What are you reading?” she asked.
Oh, this? he said, holding it up. “It’s just something I’ve gotta read for one of my classes.” He handed it to her.
“An Essay on Liberation,” she said thoughtfully. “Sounds interesting.”
“You got that right, sister,” he chuckled, sitting down on the bench by her feet. He looked up at her. “You look pretty with the sunset on your hair.”
“Uh oh,” Tabine thought. “Here comes the pitch.” But, the pitch didn’t come. He took the book back from her, and flipped through the pages.
“This guy, Marcuse, was so ahead of his time,” he said. “I mean, like, he’s saying our ideas of freedom are becoming obsolete the more industrial society advances. And we’ve got to shift the whole paradigm that defines society. And not only that, he’s really saying it is time to get utopian. Anyway, I kinda dig the way this guy’s mind works.” Tabine nodded thoughtfully.
“I guess I’ve never really thought much about it. I will say this though, if you ever do get liberated, it’s a whole other thing to figure out what to do now that you are free.”
“Ooh, I like that,” he replied. “Are you going to school somewhere?”
“No,” Tabine answered. “I was at University of Alabama for awhile though. “
“No kidding? What were you studying?”
“Mostly self-defense.”
“Oh, that’s a good one too, “ he said. He took out a pen and wrote some notes on his hand. “It is so true,” he said, looking up at her. “All of growing up, and all of education gets to be about self defense when you come down to it. I like that.”
“Thanks,” Tabine said with a smile.
“Look, he said, standing up. “You wanna go get a beer or something?”
“Sure, why not?” Tabine answered, climbing down from the bench. “What’s your name, anyway?”
“Henry. But everybody calls me Hank. What’s yours?”
“Tabine. But everybody just calls me Tabine.” Hank laughed and took her hand.
POINTS WEST
Tabine blinked and rubbed her eyes as the morning sun came streaking through the crack in the curtains. At first, she wasn’t sure where she was. She sat on the side of the bed stretching and scratching herself. She contemplated a shower. She bent her head down and sniffed her arm pit.
“Definitely!” she mumbled. She stumbled toward the bathroom, pulling off her tee shirt and panties. She stepped into the shower and leaned lazily against the cold tile wall as the water hit her face and streamed down her body. Last night had been interesting. Hank was an interesting guy. A little green behind the ears, maybe, but then he hadn’t seen the things she had seen – things that made her feel older than her own years. As she began to slather her body with soap, she remembered the crazy dream she had. It was a party. Penny was pregnant. There were lots of people there. Even Tabine’s parents were there, and they are not even alive anymore. And Hank was there too. She scrubbed her face thinking about how crazy dreams are. But then, it occurred to her that maybe Penny was really pregnant. She took it as fact.
“Oh my god! Penny is pregnant!” She rinsed quickly and wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body, and sat on the bed next to the phone.
“Penny? It’s me. Tabine!”
“Tabine?” Penny’s voice sounded sleepy.
“Are you pregnant?”
“What?”
“You are, aren’t you?”
“Tabine, where are you?”
“I’m in Ft. Meyer’s Beach. You are, aren’t you?”
“Pregnant? No. I’m not pregnant. What are you talking about?”
“Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”
“I started my period yesterday. Do I need to show you the evidence? Are you ok, sweetheart?”
“I am more than ok,” Tabine giggled. She whispered into the phone. “I got laid last night.”
“Oh my god!” Penny exclaimed. “You’re probably the one who is pregnant!”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did he use a rubber?”
“No.”
“Tabine! “
“It’s ok. He’s a really nice guy. “
“And how long have you known him? A couple of days?”
“Well, actually, it was a couple of hours.”
“Tabine!”
“Anyway, Hank is going to give me a ride since he’s going back to Houston to school.”
“Hank who?”
“Umm, I don’t know. Our relationship hasn’t gotten that far.”
“Hasn’t gotten that far? Tabine, really!”
“Well, you and Cully got it on pretty fast.”
“Tabine, Cully and I had been together for several weeks, not two hours.”
“Weeks, hours, whatever. Listen Penny,” Tabine said. “I gotta go. Hank is picking me up in about twenty minutes.”
“You call me tonight - or tomorrow, Tabine. Promise me you will call.”
“I promise. I gotta go. Don’t tell Cully about all this, ok, Penny?”
“Ok. If you will call me in the next 24 hours.”
“I will. I love you, Penny.”
“I love you too.” Tabine hung up the phone, unwrapped her hair and shook her head. Penny is such a worrywort.
Cully sat up in bed.
“Who was that?”
“Tabine.”
“Is she ok?”
“I guess so,” Penny replied with a less than confident smile. “She just had sex last night with some guy named Hank.”
“Hank who?”
“She didn’t know his last name. She said ‘their relationship hadn’t gotten that far.’”
“Oh, great,” Cully muttered, falling back onto his pillow.
ON THE ROAD?
Tabine hurriedly dressed. Hank was coming any minute and they would hit the road together. She thought about Houston. That was as far as he was going. Maybe she would like Houston. Maybe she could make a life there. She threw her clothes into her bag and sat on the side of the bed waiting. She turned on the tv. Every channel seemed pretty stupid. She looked at the clock. He was supposed to show up 20 minutes ago. The clock kept ticking. She went to the window and drew the curtains back. There was a certain creeping doubt in her mind. She laid back on the bed, thinking about Hank.
“Yeh, you can stay with me. I’ve got a little apartment just off campus. Maybe you want to enroll and take some classes.” She could picture the whole thing. An hour passed.
“You fucking asshole!” Tabine shouted, jumping up from the bed and going to the window again. “You fucking asshole!” She emptied her bag back out onto the bed. “Big fat liar!, “ she screamed. “I can’t believe what a piece of shit you are!” She picked up the Luger and went to the window again, then paced the floor. “I’ll kill the mother fucker,” she muttered. She sat on the side of the bed and dialed Greyhound. “How much is a ticket to Houston?” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Oh shit!” she exclaimed, sliding the gun under the pillow. “Who is it?” she said timidly, trying to peer through the glass hole in the door.
“It’s me. Hank.”
“Uh, I’ll be right out.” She ran about frantically picking up her clothes and stuffing them back into the bag. “Oh my god. Oh my god,” she mumbled, reaching for the gun beneath the pillow and stuffing it down into her bag.
"Hey,” Hank shouted, with another rap on the door.
“I’m coming,” Tabine called back. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Are you ok?” Hank asked.
“Yeh, sure,” Tabine replied coolly.
“Well then, let’s blow this town.”
“Yeh,” Tabine said, giving him a kiss. “Let’s blow this town.”
THE DETOUR
POINTS WEST
Tabine blinked and rubbed her eyes as the morning sun came streaking through the crack in the curtains. At first, she wasn’t sure where she was. She sat on the side of the bed stretching and scratching herself. She contemplated a shower. She bent her head down and sniffed her arm pit.
“Definitely!” she mumbled. She stumbled toward the bathroom, pulling off her tee shirt and panties. She stepped into the shower and leaned lazily against the cold tile wall as the water hit her face and streamed down her body. Last night had been interesting. Hank was an interesting guy. A little green behind the ears, maybe, but then he hadn’t seen the things she had seen – things that made her feel older than her own years. As she began to slather her body with soap, she remembered the crazy dream she had. It was a party. Penny was pregnant. There were lots of people there. Even Tabine’s parents were there, and they are not even alive anymore. And Hank was there too. She scrubbed her face thinking about how crazy dreams are. But then, it occurred to her that maybe Penny was really pregnant. She took it as fact.
“Oh my god! Penny is pregnant!” She rinsed quickly and wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body, and sat on the bed next to the phone.
“Penny? It’s me. Tabine!”
“Tabine?” Penny’s voice sounded sleepy.
“Are you pregnant?”
“What?”
“You are, aren’t you?”
“Tabine, where are you?”
“I’m in Ft. Meyer’s Beach. You are, aren’t you?”
“Pregnant? No. I’m not pregnant. What are you talking about?”
“Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”
“I started my period yesterday. Do I need to show you the evidence? Are you ok, sweetheart?”
“I am more than ok,” Tabine giggled. She whispered into the phone. “I got laid last night.”
“Oh my god!” Penny exclaimed. “You’re probably the one who is pregnant!”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did he use a rubber?”
“No.”
“Tabine! “
“It’s ok. He’s a really nice guy. “
“And how long have you known him? A couple of days?”
“Well, actually, it was a couple of hours.”
“Tabine!”
“Anyway, Hank is going to give me a ride since he’s going back to Houston to school.”
“Hank who?”
“Umm, I don’t know. Our relationship hasn’t gotten that far.”
“Hasn’t gotten that far? Tabine, really!”
“Well, you and Cully got it on pretty fast.”
“Tabine, Cully and I had been together for several weeks, not two hours.”
“Weeks, hours, whatever. Listen Penny,” Tabine said. “I gotta go. Hank is picking me up in about twenty minutes.”
“You call me tonight - or tomorrow, Tabine. Promise me you will call.”
“I promise. I gotta go. Don’t tell Cully about all this, ok, Penny?”
“Ok. If you will call me in the next 24 hours.”
“I will. I love you, Penny.”
“I love you too.” Tabine hung up the phone, unwrapped her hair and shook her head. Penny is such a worrywort.
Cully sat up in bed.
“Who was that?”
“Tabine.”
“Is she ok?”
“I guess so,” Penny replied with a less than confident smile. “She just had sex last night with some guy named Hank.”
“Hank who?”
“She didn’t know his last name. She said ‘their relationship hadn’t gotten that far.’”
“Oh, great,” Cully muttered, falling back onto his pillow.
ON THE ROAD?
Tabine hurriedly dressed. Hank was coming any minute and they would hit the road together. She thought about Houston. That was as far as he was going. Maybe she would like Houston. Maybe she could make a life there. She threw her clothes into her bag and sat on the side of the bed waiting. She turned on the tv. Every channel seemed pretty stupid. She looked at the clock. He was supposed to show up 20 minutes ago. The clock kept ticking. She went to the window and drew the curtains back. There was a certain creeping doubt in her mind. She laid back on the bed, thinking about Hank.
“Yeh, you can stay with me. I’ve got a little apartment just off campus. Maybe you want to enroll and take some classes.” She could picture the whole thing. An hour passed.
“You fucking asshole!” Tabine shouted, jumping up from the bed and going to the window again. “You fucking asshole!” She emptied her bag back out onto the bed. “Big fat liar!, “ she screamed. “I can’t believe what a piece of shit you are!” She picked up the Luger and went to the window again, then paced the floor. “I’ll kill the mother fucker,” she muttered. She sat on the side of the bed and dialed Greyhound. “How much is a ticket to Houston?” Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Oh shit!” she exclaimed, sliding the gun under the pillow. “Who is it?” she said timidly, trying to peer through the glass hole in the door.
“It’s me. Hank.”
“Uh, I’ll be right out.” She ran about frantically picking up her clothes and stuffing them back into the bag. “Oh my god. Oh my god,” she mumbled, reaching for the gun beneath the pillow and stuffing it down into her bag.
"Hey,” Hank shouted, with another rap on the door.
“I’m coming,” Tabine called back. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Are you ok?” Hank asked.
“Yeh, sure,” Tabine replied coolly.
“Well then, let’s blow this town.”
“Yeh,” Tabine said, giving him a kiss. “Let’s blow this town.”
THE DETOUR
THE DETOUR Tabine smiled over at Hank as they drove along the coast of the Florida panhandle. “You ever been to Galveston? “ he said, glancing over at her. “No. I don’t even know where it is,” she answered. “Its along the coast a little before you get to Houston. Its actually an island – a barrier island.” “I like islands,” Tabine said. “Yeh, islands are nice. I’d like to live on one day.” “I was on an island over on the other side of Florida once. I loved it. In fact, I killed someone there.” Hank laughed. “You are sooo funny!” “Have you every killed anyone?” Tabine asked. “Are you crazy?” Hank said, looking over at her. “I probably am crazy,” she smiled. “So, have you ever killed anyone?” “No. Of course not,” he laughed. He looked at her again. “You are one weird chick.” “Is that a compliment?” Tabine asked. “Yes,” Hank laughed. “In that case, I won’t kill you,” Tabine said, with a smile. “Good. Let’s make it a deal then. I won’t kill you either.” “I’ve got to admit though, I was seriously thinking about killing you this morning,” Tabine said, glancing over at him. “Do you watch a lot of weird movies, or something?” Hank asked. “What’s weird?” Tabine replied. “I worked for this guy once who made movies.” “What kind of movies?” “Porn.” “Let me guess,” Hank said. “You killed him.” “No. My girl friend beat me to it.” “Tabine, you are without a doubt, one of the craziest people I’ve ever met,” Hank laughed. “You ought to write movies. I’ll bet you’d be good at it.” “We are in a movie right now,” Tabine replied. “Oh yeh? What’s the name of it?” “Umm…I don’t know. Maybe, ‘How Sally Killed Harry.’ “ Hank slapped the dashboard and broke into laughter again. She turned on the seat and smiled at him. “I want to get out in Galveston,” she said. “You mean you don’t want to see Houston? You’d be missing a lot. I mean, there are a lot of crazy people there – people just like you.” Tabine laughed and leaned back in her seat. She propped her bare feet up on the dashboard and wiggled her toes. “ What color do you think I should paint my nails?” she said, glancing over to Hank. Hank looked at Tabine’s toes as she slid one foot across the dashboard and in front of his face. “Umm, Something iridescent,” he said, chuckling at her toes wiggling at him just above the steering wheel. “Or maybe a glow-in-the-dark white,” he added. “Oh I like that,” Tabine replied. ” ‘Glow Toes’! It might even help you see where you are going in the middle of the night.” “Like when you have to go pee?” “Exactly!” Tabine said, clapping her hands in enthusiasm. Hank smiled and looked over at her studiously. She seemed like a child in a way, but a child who knew too much for her own good…or a child who has seen too much perhaps. At any rate, she knew how to get it on in bed, that he knew. GALVESTON Tabine stared out the window curiously as they crossed the causeway over to Galveston Island. She oohed and ahhed at the boats moving up and down the intercoastal, and the gulls gliding and swooping all about. She rolled the window down and smelled the air. It reminded her of being with Cully and Penny in St. Augustine. And somewhere in the back of her mind she recalled the scent of the air on the northern coast of Denmark as a little girl, and a fleeting memory of her parents came and went like a rolling surf. “So, this is Galveston,” Hank said. “Its kind of bleak in the winter. People here have seen what the sea can do when it gets pissed off.” “Sounds exciting,” Tabine murmured. “Let me tell you,” Hank replied. “You’d be much happier in a cozy little bar in downtown Houston. Are you sure you want to get out here in Galveston?” Tabine stared out at the water along the seawalls. It was choppy with foaming caps that rose and fell. The surf pounded against the wall, and splayed out into the air above it like a Japanese fan, then fell back. Tabine shivered. “Maybe I do,” she replied. “You could come and visit me now and then. I could be your ‘island girl’.” “Oh!” Hank exclaimed. “Since we are here, I might as well take you to Bolivar.” “What’s Bolivar?” “Bolivar Island. It’s actually not an island, its more like a peninsula. But, it feels more like an island than Galveston.” “What’s there….on Boliver Island?” “Not much, really.” “Sounds perfect,” Tabine said with a strange smile. FERRY TO BOLIVAR Hank pulled the car slowly up onto the ferry among the other parked cars. “Come on, let’s get out.” He said, turning off the motor and opening his door. He took her hand and led her toward the front of the ferry as it pulled away and the captain sounded a long wailing horn. They leaned against the railing, the wind spraying their faces with a salty mist. Gulls swooped and dived in front of them as though leading the way. “Brr, I’m cold,” Tabine said, with a shiver. Hank put his arm around her, laughing. “If you think this is cold, you can’t imagine a winter on Bolivar, girl, believe me.” Tabine stiffened a little. She hated it when people told her there was something she couldn’t do. Hank glanced at her. Who is this girl? They drove down onto the beach. The tide was out, and the beach looked wide and empty. Not another soul in sight. They strolled along the water’s edge holding hands. The beach was strewn with the kinds of offerings the sea usually laid down - seaweed, drift wood, some small corals, broken bits of shells, and now and then a whole shell. But then there were colorful tangled knots of cargo rope and pieces of netting too. There was someone’s sandal, and a soggy shirt. Tabine ran about like an excited child picking up one thing after another. She turned to Hank. “I want to live here!” “Here? Hardly anybody lives here. People rent beach houses, but they come and go. The locals as such amount to a handful. And even they tend to go inland during the winter. “Let’s drive around some more. I bet I can find a place to stay. I want to be an island girl.” “It’s actually a peninsula,” Hank pointed out. “Then I want to be a peninsula girl,” Tabine replied. “What would you do here all by yourself?” “Whatever island girls do. Maybe I’ll write a book.” She turned to Hank. “It would start like this: ‘Tabine, the lonely island girl of Bolivar Island strolled the lonely beach, her eyes scanning the horizon where the sea met the sky. She would wait for him forever, even though they say he was lost at sea and presumed dead. Then, one day,’ she said, dramatically dropping to her knees in the surf gasping in disbelief, ‘she saw a solitary figure out there amidst the waves. His arms flailing frantically. Could it be?!’ “But no,” Hank joined in. “It was nothing but a few boards floating to shore covered with barnacles. Sadly she admitted, she might as well go to Houston and get a life.” Tabine got up off the beach and turned to give Hank an expressionless stare. “Party pooper!” she said with a pout. If you have not read the opening episodes, scroll down to the entry below this one where the story first begins. Meanwhile, here are the current episodes of TABINE.
THE DETOUR
Tabine smiled over at Hank as they drove along the coast of the Florida panhandle.
“You ever been to Galveston? “ he said, glancing over at her.
“No. I don’t even know where it is,” she answered.
“Its along the coast a little before you get to Houston. Its actually an island – a barrier island.”
“I like islands,” Tabine said.
“Yeh, islands are nice. I’d like to live on one day.”
“I was on an island over on the other side of Florida once. I loved it. In fact, I killed someone there.” Hank laughed.
“You are sooo funny!”
“Have you every killed anyone?” Tabine asked.
“Are you crazy?” Hank said, looking over at her.
“I probably am crazy,” she smiled. “So, have you ever killed anyone?”
“No. Of course not,” he laughed. He looked at her again. “You are one weird chick.”
“Is that a compliment?” Tabine asked.
“Yes,” Hank laughed.
“In that case, I won’t kill you,” Tabine said, with a smile.
“Good. Let’s make it a deal then. I won’t kill you either.”
“I’ve got to admit though, I was seriously thinking about killing you this morning,” Tabine said, glancing over at him.
“Do you watch a lot of weird movies, or something?” Hank asked.
“What’s weird?” Tabine replied. “I worked for this guy once who made movies.”
“What kind of movies?”
“Porn.”
“Let me guess,” Hank said. “You killed him.”
“No. My girl friend beat me to it.”
“Tabine, you are without a doubt, one of the craziest people I’ve ever met,” Hank laughed. “You ought to write movies. I’ll bet you’d be good at it.”
“We are in a movie right now,” Tabine replied.
“Oh yeh? What’s the name of it?”
“Umm…I don’t know. Maybe, ‘How Sally Killed Harry.’ “ Hank slapped the dashboard and broke into laughter again. She turned on the seat and smiled at him.
“I want to get out in Galveston,” she said.
“You mean you don’t want to see Houston? You’d be missing a lot. I mean, there are a lot of crazy people there – people just like you.” Tabine laughed and leaned back in her seat. She propped her bare feet up on the dashboard and wiggled her toes.
“ What color do you think I should paint my nails?” she said, glancing over to Hank. Hank looked at Tabine’s toes as she slid one foot across the dashboard and in front of his face.
“Umm, Something iridescent,” he said, chuckling at her toes wiggling at him just above the steering wheel. “Or maybe a glow-in-the-dark white,” he added.
“Oh I like that,” Tabine replied. ” ‘Glow Toes’! It might even help you see where you are going in the middle of the night.”
“Like when you have to go pee?”
“Exactly!” Tabine said, clapping her hands in enthusiasm. Hank smiled and looked over at her studiously. She seemed like a child in a way, but a child who knew too much for her own good…or a child who has seen too much perhaps. At any rate, she knew how to get it on in bed, that he knew.
GALVESTON
Tabine stared out the window curiously as they crossed the causeway over to Galveston Island. She oohed and ahhed at the boats moving up and down the intercoastal, and the gulls gliding and swooping all about. She rolled the window down and smelled the air. It reminded her of being with Cully and Penny in St. Augustine. And somewhere in the back of her mind she recalled the scent of the air on the northern coast of Denmark as a little girl, and a fleeting memory of her parents came and went like a rolling surf.
“So, this is Galveston,” Hank said. “Its kind of bleak in the winter. People here have seen what the sea can do when it gets pissed off.”
“Sounds exciting,” Tabine murmured.
“Let me tell you,” Hank replied. “You’d be much happier in a cozy little bar in downtown Houston. Are you sure you want to get out here in Galveston?” Tabine stared out at the water along the seawalls. It was choppy with foaming caps that rose and fell. The surf pounded against the wall, and splayed out into the air above it like a Japanese fan, then fell back. Tabine shivered.
“Maybe I do,” she replied. “You could come and visit me now and then. I could be your ‘island girl’.”
“Oh!” Hank exclaimed. “Since we are here, I might as well take you to Bolivar.”
“What’s Bolivar?”
“Bolivar Island. It’s actually not an island, its more like a peninsula. But, it feels more like an island than Galveston.”
“What’s there….on Boliver Island?”
“Not much, really.”
“Sounds perfect,” Tabine said with a strange smile.
FERRY TO BOLIVAR
Hank pulled the car slowly up onto the ferry among the other parked cars.
“Come on, let’s get out.” He said, turning off the motor and opening his door. He took her hand and led her toward the front of the ferry as it pulled away and the captain sounded a long wailing horn. They leaned against the railing, the wind spraying their faces with a salty mist. Gulls swooped and dived in front of them as though leading the way.
“Brr, I’m cold,” Tabine said, with a shiver. Hank put his arm around her, laughing.
“If you think this is cold, you can’t imagine a winter on Bolivar, girl, believe me.” Tabine stiffened a little. She hated it when people told her there was something she couldn’t do. Hank glanced at her. Who is this girl?
They drove down onto the beach. The tide was out, and the beach looked wide and empty. Not another soul in sight. They strolled along the water’s edge holding hands. The beach was strewn with the kinds of offerings the sea usually laid down - seaweed, drift wood, some small corals, broken bits of shells, and now and then a whole shell. But then there were colorful tangled knots of cargo rope and pieces of netting too. There was someone’s sandal, and a soggy shirt. Tabine ran about like an excited child picking up one thing after another. She turned to Hank.
“I want to live here!”
“Here? Hardly anybody lives here. People rent beach houses, but they come and go. The locals as such amount to a handful. And even they tend to go inland during the winter.
“Let’s drive around some more. I bet I can find a place to stay. I want to be an island girl.”
“It’s actually a peninsula,” Hank pointed out.
“Then I want to be a peninsula girl,” Tabine replied.
“What would you do here all by yourself?”
“Whatever island girls do. Maybe I’ll write a book.” She turned to Hank. “It would start like this:
‘Tabine, the lonely island girl of Bolivar Island strolled the lonely beach, her eyes scanning the horizon where the sea met the sky. She would wait for him forever, even though they say he was lost at sea and presumed dead. Then, one day,’ she said, dramatically dropping to her knees in the surf gasping in disbelief, ‘she saw a solitary figure out there amidst the waves. His arms flailing frantically. Could it be?!’
“But no,” Hank joined in. “It was nothing but a few boards floating to shore covered with barnacles. Sadly she admitted, she might as well go to Houston and get a life.” Tabine got up off the beach and turned to give Hank an expressionless stare.
“Party pooper!” she said with a pout.
(To be continued….)
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