Caught in the Riptide

(This is my entry for the

Nude Day Story Contest 2023

. I love to hear from my readers. Please rate and leave a comment. Thank you!)

Lilly Mayfield sat in her living room and fanned herself with a thin and ultimately useless paper fan. She took a sip of her weak tea, now stone cold. It was just SO hot out! She'd heard of a new-fangled invention called "air conditioning." It was supposed to make the inside of your house cool.

Would new scientific wonders never cease? Not that she could afford it. Lilly had just gotten an eviction notice. She had two weeks before the sheriff came after her. Lilly and Charlie's farm was set to be turned into a sub-development....whatever that was.

Ah, to sleep---perchance to dream. She had work tomorrow at Ross Burn's Shop N Save---if only she had a little more money, she just might be able to save the farm. If she was lucky, but that was a BIG if.

This farm had been her and Charlie's dream. They were supposed to--well, there were a lot of supposed toos. For better or worse, usually worse on Lilly's behalf, dreams fade, change and finally pass.

Charlie died in the war, as had a lot of men from Antelope Hill. So there was no use complaining about that since many others in Antelope Hill shared her circumstances. But, still, she questioned God, why Charlie...he had been so young, so sweet...so kind...he had been...well, he was HER Charlie!

Lilly fanned herself and wiped away a few tears. If she lost the farm, she'd lose their dream and one of the last remints of Charlie. How could she live with that? God, she just needed sleep, but it was SO hot.

She and Charlie had done this risque activity when they needed to cool off on hot nights like these----but he'd always been there to protect her. It was alright for a man to swim naked, BUT a naked woman would automatically be branded a whore, a slut, a pariah...especially in a conservative town like Antelope Hill, Wyoming. So women stayed in their lane and behaved, never doing anything daring.

Lilly could hear the old biddies, like Muriel Harper, gossiping about her scandalous behaviour already. If she went through with this, the rumours would balloon in size at the local Corner Cafe concerning her moral conduct.

She and Charlie had nearly been "discovered" in their naughty adventures twice by passersby. Charlie had just treaded water naked and conversed while she'd hidden in muddy reeds like a proper and respectable woman from Antelope Hill should.

Charlie always told her Lilly was beautiful and she shouldn't be so ashamed of her naked body. She should sunbathe and show it off. Still, on those warm summer nights, Lilly hid in the reeds, afraid of being branded as a strumpet by Antelope Hill's old biddies.

Tonight was different, though. The zenith of summer was here, and it was just SO HOT! Just a quick swim in the cool water would be so soothing! Since the war, the only person who lived that far out in the country was Callum Turner. Lilly knew Cal too. He'd been Charlie's best friend. They'd been two peas in a pod. Identical. As a young woman, she'd adored them both equally.

Lilly had heard that the Mormons, out in Utah or Hindus in far-off and exotic India, could have multiple wives...if only she could have multiple husbands, she'd have taken both Charlie and Cal. Lilly was a tenderhearted woman who was full of love. Women in Antelope Hill couldn't have multiple husbands, though.

The war in Germany was intensifying. Men were even signing up or being drafted every day. She couldn't wait forever; she was already twenty-seven going on twenty-eight. Women in Antelope Hill had to find a husband. It was what women of Lilly's day, who had few options, did.

Lilly didn't want to become an old biddy like Muriel Harper, spreading inane gossip at the Corner Cafe. So, for all these reasons, she'd said "yes" to Charlie when he'd asked. Although, she'd have said the same to Callum Turner if he'd asked first.

Still, the farm and been her and Charlie's dream. They were going to make their own way in the world, surviving on nothing but love and grit, as millions of young people had done before them...now with the impending eviction, Lilly blamed herself for letting the dream die. Despite working fourteen-hour days, Lilly thought she hadn't worked hard enough.

Lilly was ashamed. She hadn't "wanted" their dream enough. Lilly was frightened of the future, scared of losing Charlie and her's dream. She couldn't think about Charlie now. Hot, Lilly abandoned her paper fan and headed down to the cool stream.

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It was hot. It was late, but that didn't matter since he'd returned from Germany and was shunned by society. Callum Turner kept to himself and kept his own hours. Cal thought that the residents of Antelope Hill would be more grateful. He'd saved four of their men, after all. He'd tried to drag seven more, including his best friend Charlie, out of the muddy German trenches as bullets rained down upon them and thunderous guns sounded nearby.

To his great sadness and frustration, the other seven men hadn't made it. Only four survived. Cal knew it wasn't his place to question the Lord's ways. He was just a plain man---a simple farmer who toiled year-round in the fields. What did he know?

Cal loved, resented and despised his solitude and reclusiveness; his days were all the same, repeating, identical...an endless Groundhog Day of a life. He longed for a different life but had to be content, if not happy, for there was no other way to live the impossible life of his daydreams.

Callum never knew where his sprout of courage had sprung from---why he'd risked his life to save people he now considered "assholes." Callum had won a Silver Star from the USA and an Order of Newfoundland and Labrador for the two Canadians he'd mistakenly saved when he should have been saving his American buddies. Lately, at Vetern's Association meetings, the medals had become something to wear instead of badges of honour.

His heart was heavy. Now that he was nearing middle age, Callum felt a lot was missing from his life. He had a prosperous farm but no one to come home to. No wife or family. Nothing that was "his." Callum felt that he should have gathered accolades, friends and family, but he lacked what he thought he deserved.

Now Antelope Hill's veterans made pathic excuses and avoided him, perhaps ashamed they hadn't posed his valour. Their wives were the worst. They avoided Cal like the plague and gossiped about how he "lived a savage" on his farm.

Well, Cal had a thing or two to tell them...but he was a gentleman. Why did he have to be a gentleman? Why couldn't he be a narcissistic asshole like Ross Burns and forcefully seize what he coveted? Over and over again, Callum tried to live like that, but he couldn't bring himself to. For better or worse, probably worse, he was a gentleman.

On the rare occasions, Callum Turner did go into town, mainly for supplies like coffee, sugar, salt and supposedly a "healing" salve for his wounds. Lilly Mayfield was the only one who treated him like a "real person." She wasn't afraid to speak to him. She would look at him and treat him like she had before the war and his wounds. Her heart was so full of love...

Cal desperately wanted to ask her out, but how could he? Back in Germany, Cal had tried with all his might to drag her husband Charlie from the muddy trenches, he'd gotten him to the Red Cross aid station too, but Charlie just didn't make it.

Why did he have to waste all that time saving those two Canadians? He'd rescued them while Charlie lay bleeding to death! Cal shook his head. He was just a simple farmer. It wasn't his place to ask these questions. Still....Cal knew he couldn't ask Lilly on a date because he'd let her husband die in muddy German trenches.

Cal gave a groan and rubbed his leg. He'd taken an aspirin and rubbed the supposedly "healing salve" on his leg, but it was to no avail. Maybe...just a maybe a soak in the cool stream would help. It had before...Cal went down to the stream, seeking relief for his pain.

He'd just stripped out of his shirt when he heard a splash---probably a fish. Wyoming had no dark and nefarious behemoths of the deep like a Cthulhu. Still, beavers could get pretty fierce if you bumped against them in the dark. Best check before he dove into the dark stream. He didn't want to be in more pain.

Suddenly, to his great surprise, an angelic voice rang out. "Somewhere over the rainbow...way up high..." Cal was startled. It was a woman's voice. An enchantress, she was a siren beckoning him. This woman was melting his dark heart with promises of a new and better life "over the rainbow" was calling to him.

Cal brushed a few tears from his eyes...a place where the dreams he dared to dream came true? He couldn't get his hopes up; that would never happen...dreams never came true, especially his. Only nightmares existed in his bleak, solitary and friendless world.

Cal had to look. He had to see who this beckoning siren was. He knew by looking he was opening Pandora's box. Still, he had to see. Against his better judgement, Cal looked. Instantaneously Cal knew it was a grave error. Upon the opposite shore, he saw Lilly Mayfield riding herself of her remaining undergarments.

She'd just entered the cool stream free and unencumbered, totally at peace. Here in the stream and under the stars' eternal dance, Lilly had no todays or tomorrows, worries or concerns. Lilly could just BE. She belonged only to the Heavens.

Lilly swam deeper into the stream's ebb, singing a wordless madrigal. She was an angel. A songbird in spring. He loved how her long hair poured free over her shoulders. Cal drank up Lilly's beauty in the star light. Cal continued to watch spellbound as Lilly seemed to soap herself with moonlight. Cal watched Lilly's breasts sway in the stream's crisp current. He should look away. He had to look away. Cal was no voyeur. He was a gentleman.

Other men in his Army troop, including married men like Ross Burns, had visited French Burlesque Shows. But, he'd been too timid and stayed in camp. Those French burlesque women had known they were being watched. They made their living doing it.

Cal had stumbled upon the naked Lilly by cosmic accident. To Cal's deep shame, thoughts, such as a lion might have for its prey, entered his head. Cal turned away and headed home. Seeing Lilly naked in the moonlight awakened youthful passions in Cal. Still, no matter how much he wanted her, he and Lilly just weren't meant to be. It took every ounce of strength, but Callum turned around.

Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out. It took Cal less than ½ a second to turn around. Another to kick off his shoes and swim out to the struggling Lilly. She was floundering in the dark water, caught in a swift current. Lilly was being pulled into the stream's sinister icy depths. Cal dragged the soaking Lilly to shore.

As Lilly came out of shock, she found herself naked on the stream's stony banks. She was there. Cal was staring at her. She sputtered up some water. "Are you alright?" questioned Cal. Waves of worry crescendoed over him. What if he hadn't been there...then....then...well, he didn't want to think about "then" or "what ifs."

Lilly was still on the muddy ground breathing hard. "I'm okay..." she gasped out. "Got the wind knocked out of me...but okay...just let me sit for awhile." She still coughed out water.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph! I've never been frightened like that, Lilly---never, not even during the war! What, on Earth, were you thinking of swimming by yourself in the middle of the night?" Cal questioned sternly; lines of worry were etched on his face.

Lilly burst into tears. It was just too much for her. Sobs racked her slim body as she buried her head in her hands. Cal calmed down. He was angry but he hadn't meant to yell. He cared deeply for Lilly. "There, there--- it's going to be alright. You're safe," he stated, rubbing Lilly's back. It pained him to see tears flowing down Lilly's emerald-green eyes.

Now Lilly was attempting to cover her bare breasts. Ashamed at his thoughts of looking, Cal handed Lilly his shirt. "It's dirty from the mud and missing a few buttons," he said, trying to be inconspicuous in his glances. She put it on. It just graced her thighs, and she looked oh-so-beautiful in the moonlight. Callum braced himself against his animalistic intentions and forced himself not to have a lion's thoughts. Cal was a gentleman.

Lilly was shivering. Whether it was from the water's coolness or fright, she didn't know. "It's the middle of the night! What am I supposed to do now?" she questioned Cal.

How could Lilly confess to Cal she was scared? She was not just scared of nearly drowning but of being alone, scared about being evicted, scared about every aspect of her life. Lilly had been scared every night since her husband Charlie died in the war. Callum Turner had been so brave during the war. She couldn't complain to him about her troubles. They were her burdens to bear.

Unbeknownst to Lilly, Cal didn't think he was brave even when he was awarded the Silver Star and Order of the Dominion of Newfoundland and Labrador. During the war, Cal only did what had to be done. The men dying in trenches, his friends and fellow humans, need to be saved. So he had rescued them. True, he had a disfigured face and maimed leg, BUT Cal had saved fellow humans. He had saved his friends; anyone would do that.

Cal knew he was really a coward because back in Antelope Hill, he hadn't possessed the courage to ask Lilly, his great love to marry him. Only uncertainty existed in Cal's heart. Lilly was...well, Lilly. She was a lady, and he was unworthy of her due to his leg and facial scars.

He was a coward, afraid that Lilly's answer would be "no." Cal had "played it safe" by not asking, and Charlie had married her. It had broken his heart. He still dreamt of "what ifs," but Cal was an honourable man, and well... now he was unworthy of Lilly because of his facial scars and wounded leg. Lilly Mayfield was beautiful and kind. She deserved a whole man, not a broken one like him.

"Come stay with me," said Cal. He didn't know where that moment of courage had come from. He'd wanted to say, "Come stay with me forever. I'll love you and protect you. I just want you, Lilly." But he lacked the courage.

He didn't dare dream or hope because hopes and dreams could be fragile. Lilly was still frightened and cold from nearly drowning. She didn't want, couldn't spend tonight alone, or she'd go crazy. Callum Turner was a safe harbour with calm waters. Still freezing and only covered in Cal's shirt, Lilly followed him home, with the stars in the heavens looking down at them.

Apart from infrequent and obligatory visits by his little sister, no one visited Cal's small house. It was clean. It was Spartan. It was militaristic and practical. The house was as impersonal as a hotel room. Anyone could live there. As Cal ushered Lilly in, he turned up the heat. He took the worn knitted blanket off the back of the sofa. Lilly, her teeth still chattering, wrapped herself deeply in it.

"After a shock like that, you need something to eat. How do you feel about tuna fish sandwiches?" questioned Cal.

"Oh, not tuna, please! I don't think I'll ever eat fish again! Do you have something else?" Lilly questioned.

Cal smiled a little. Lilly had a point! "Well, tuna's the only thing I have that's not from the farm---everything else is made here." People in town avoided Cal for his peculiar behaviours. According to the townsfolk, eggs, butter, and bread should be bought in sterilized plastic containers and mixed with who knew what "protective chemicals" before being consumed. Cal took his chances and ate what grew on his farm.

"Fine by me--I'm starved.", stated Cal as he grabbed the butter from the churn, woodhouse smoked bacon and nine eggs. "Here, try this butter while I cook," Cal ordered, passing Lilly a tablespoon of butter. "Gosh, this is one of the best things I've ever eaten. What is it?" questioned Lilly.

"Butter, made from today's milk in a hundred-year-old butter churn dyed yellow from carrots in my garden," said Cal. He was proud of his butter. His buyer sold it to the Plaza Hotel in New York.

Lilly just nodded. She was impressed with Cal's talents. People said he "lived like a savage" but his house and cooking were orderly. He was so gentle and caring. The butter was too good to stop eating. Cal's thin smile broadened as Lilly devoured his butter . Since Charlie's death, Lilly hadn't taken care of herself; she was thin to the point of waifishness. Cal could see the sallowness of her skin; it was so thin he could see the phosphoresce of her bones. Lilly needed someone to care for her, and Callum Turner wanted to be that person.

Cal made hot chocolate, and they sat around the worn and chipped green laminate kitchen table.

Lilly and Cal conversed like a "real married couple." They spoke of how Ross Burns was buying up the town. He was changing Antelope Hill, and not for the better. Nauseous fumes from his slaughterhouse polluted the air, and toxic chemicals from Ross's factory seeped into the once-fertile soil. The chemicals withered the crops. Antelope Hill's beating heart was dying due to toxicity. Cal explained to Lilly that Ross had rerouted the stream for the slaughterhouse. He had made the stream deeper and swifter, so Lilly had nearly drowned in the unknown waters.

The two conversed about inane things, too, such as the weather. Any person in the entire world can always talk about the weather. After her traumatic experience, it was such a relief to have a friend she could rely on, an old friend who'd known her from childhood. Someone who was familiar as the rising and setting of the sun or the tides upon the sea.

At long last, Lilly wept bitter tears as she told Cal her heavy burdens. So far, Lilly had been carrying them by herself, and she felt a deep sense of relief speaking to Cal. They were no longer hers' to carry. Finally, finally, someone would share and perhaps ease her burdens.

Lilly wept as she told Cal when she was being evicted from the farm. She was failing Charlie by losing their dream. She had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Cal nodded sympathetically as he brought her small hand to his chapped lips and kissed it. Lilly's hand was warm and soft. It smelled of lotion and the coco she'd been drinking. Cal entwined his rough fingers in her delicate ones.

"Ross Burns is forcing me off my farm too---you think he'd be grateful since I saved his ass during the war, but he's still evicting me---not even giving me wholesale for the cows. You're not the only one who doesn't know what to do or where to go," said Cal. He loved the feeling of Lilly's small and soft palm in his. He felt safe with her. He felt he was at home with her. Cal could be his true self around Lilly. He had no dark secrets or black heart. Cal could just be himsef.

As to what would happen next, Cal had no plan. He wanted to take Lilly far away from Antelope Hill now that they both had no reason to remain in Antelope Hill. Cal once read that in Dante's Divine Comedy, the Gates of Hell read. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Despite having lived there for his entire life, that was how he felt about Antelope Hill. He and Lilly no longer had hope in Antelope Hill. They had to leave. It was no longer their home. Somewhere, perhaps over the rainbow, he and Lilly had to build a new home, hopefully together. Surely, they deserved that after all they'd endured.

Cal wanted to do something romantic...like running away to Paris, Rome or Vienna with Lilly. It was a wonderful plan. Fortunately or unfortunately, Callum Turner was a practical and meticulous man. He loved the fairytale aspect of the plan, but he worried about the long and perilous interval where he and Lilly had neither a job nor a home. He worried about the demoralization they'd face from having no money.