Sherrys Sanctuary Ch 03

Chapter 3- Who are you?

Sherry and Dad stopped arguing when they heard me ask if Ms. Deveaux was ok. Sherry stared at Ellie and got a worried look on her face. She quickly jumped up and ran to Ellie, taking her face in both hands.

"Ellie! Ellie! Stay with me here," she called out gently slapping her cheeks. "Ellie, you said you were taking oxycodone, right?"

Ellie nodded, still wobbling.

"Ellie, how many were you taking a day? Ellie! How many?"

Ellie slurred that she was taking about ten to twelve pills a day.

"What was the dosage?"

Ellie again mumbled about nine milligrams.

"Now think carefully, when was the last time you took a pill?"

Ellie looked like she was solving a complex math problem.

"I'm... not... really sure," Ellie slowly replied. "It was... the... day I was arrested. Maybe 6 or 7 days ago, I think."

"Jesus Christ, Dad! She's in withdrawal!"

My father looked confused and just sort of froze. Sherry didn't wait for him to recover, or more to the point, sober up.

"Simon and Claude, take her to the pool house and lay her on one of the beds. I'm calling Dr. Marge. I know she works with slaves. She should be able help."

The parlor became a whirlwind of activity. Sherry ran out of the room to grab her cell phone. I jumped up to help Simon, but he just scooped her up in his arms and asked where to take her. He didn't even try to get dressed. I grabbed both sets of scrubs and told him to follow me. Simon took off after me, gently holding Ellie like she weighed nothing. My father didn't move. He just stared blankly at all the commotion happening around him. It looked like the bourbon had finally caught up with him.

We quickly went through the kitchen towards the back porch. Sherry caught up with us there and followed along holding her phone to her ear. She waved her hand impatiently towards the pool house and started speaking. I have always hated only hearing one side of a conversation but right now I was more worried about Ellie.

"Dr. Marge?... It's Sherry Breaux... Yes, it's good to talk to you too... Thank you, we miss her terribly. Listen, I don't mean to be short, but we have an emergency here. My father just picked up two slaves, and one of them seems to be going into opioid withdrawal... Yes... she told me oxycodone... about nine milligrams... ten to twelve pills a day, but she was pretty out of it. It may be more... She thinks about six or seven days... Uh huh... Ok... Hold on a second."

We had reached the pool house, and I opened the door to the nearest bedroom. Simon was right behind me and gently laid Ellie on the bed, then stepped back to let Sherry get closer. I quietly handed him his clothes, and he thanked me. I turned away while he put on the scrubs.

"Ok Dr. Marge, I'm putting you on speaker. Can you hear me?" Sherry asked.

"Yes, I can hear you. Ok, does she have a fever?"

Sherry placed the back of her hand against Ellie's forehead and replied, she felt a little warm, but wasn't hot.

"That's good. I'm guessing she's sweating a lot and shaking?"

Sherry confirmed her assumption.

"All right, I'm not that far away. I'll head over now to make sure everything is ok, but I think she will be fine. If you have a cold compress or a cool damp cloth, drape that over her forehead to keep her cool. Also, try and get her to drink as much water as she can. She's probably dehydrated as well. I'm on my way and should be there soon."

Sherry kept moving and issuing orders. She told Simon to go into the bathroom and wet a hand towel with cool water and bring it back. She ordered me to wait by the front door so I could buzz Dr. Marge in through the gate and lead her back to the pool house. We both dashed off in opposite directions. Simon ran towards the bathroom, and I ran back to the house. As I was passing through the kitchen, I saw Dad stumbling in towards the refrigerator. He paused and drunkenly asked me if the "slave" was fine. I yelled back over my shoulder that I didn't know, and the doctor was on her way. Leaving the kitchen, I thought I heard him mumble something along the line of "Not worth the fuckin' trouble", but didn't stop to engage.

I waited at the front door for what seemed like an eternity, but it was only about 10 minutes. When I heard the intercom from the gate activate, I didn't even wait for her to announce herself, but rather just pressed the button to open it. If my father was sober, he would have given me hell for not checking who it was first, but that was not a problem now. I wanted the doctor here as soon as possible. About two minutes later a very expensive Mercedes pulled up to the front of the house, and I got my first look at Dr. Marge Angelle.

Dr. Marge can best be described as a force of nature. I stood in awe of the woman walking up the pathway. Impeccably dressed in a very expensive looking pantsuit, she strode up to the door with a confidence I had never seen. This was a woman who was completely in charge wherever she went. Everything about her screamed she was not a woman to mess with. I had a fleeting thought that this is what our father dreamed we would become.

"You're Claude, right?"

I nodded.

"I haven't seen you since you were little. Anyway, take me to this slave of yours." And she just walked right through the door.

I had to walk briskly to get in front of her and led her back towards the pool house. As we passed through the kitchen, we saw Dad leaning against the counter drinking a beer. Dr. Marge glanced at him with a sneer.

"Nice to see you, James."

"Hey Marge! How ya' doing?" was my father's drunken reply.

Dr. Marge just kept following me to join the others. When we got to the bedroom, we were greeted with quite a sight. Simon was kneeling by the bed, holding Ellie's hand between his. Sherry was sitting at the head of the bed with Ellie's head propped up in her lap. She was gently stroking Ellie's hair, while simultaneously trying to get her to drink a glass of water through a straw. When she looked up and saw Dr. Marge, relief was apparent on her face.

"Dr. Marge, thank you so much for coming."

Dr. Marge just smiled and told her not to worry about it.

"So, what are we dealing with?" the doctor asked as she walked up to the bed.

Sherry gently laid Ellie's head back on the pillow and moved out of the way. Simon had already risen and stepped back to stand by me. Dr. Marge placed her bag on the end table next to the bed and began to pull out various instruments. I hadn't realized doctors still carried those old bags anymore. It looked like it was straight out of some old movie. Still, no one could say Dr. Marge didn't know what she was doing. She took Ellie's temperature, checked her heart rate and blood pressure, shone a light in her eyes, looked down her throat, and did a half dozen other things I didn't understand. But she was efficient. It took her about 10 minutes to finish her exam, and I had no doubt she had checked everything. We all stood there, trying to wait patiently as she put her instruments away. Finally, she turned and addressed us.

"Well, she seems to be in the final stages of withdrawal. The next couple of days are not going to be pleasant for her, but she's not in any real danger. She is going to feel like shit for a while, but it will pass. What you need to do is to keep pushing the liquids. She's probably going to have a bad case of diarrhea and continue to sweat a lot. Dehydration is the biggest concern right now. You may want to move the bed closer to the bathroom and maybe place a bucket beside the bed. She's going to be nauseous. The less she has to move to vomit or defecate, the easier it will be for her and the less clean up you will need to do. And for God's sake, take that damn chastity belt off her. The last thing she needs is to get a UTI or bad rash. Not to mention the mess she is going to make trying to have bowel movements in it. If James has a problem with that, tell him to come and talk with me. He'll be able to belt her back up in about a week."

Simon said he would move the bed, and I ran back to the house to get the belt key. He wasn't in the kitchen, nor in the parlor. I stood there wondering where he could be. God Damn It! There were too many rooms in this stupid place. I started running from room to room and finally found him in one of the living rooms, snoring on the couch. Two empty beer cans were sitting on the coffee table and the TV was showing the news. I ran up to him and started shaking him.

"Dad! Wake up, Dad!"

He blinked a couple times then groggily looked over at me.

"Dad, I need the key to Ellie's chastity belt."

He drunkenly asked me what the hell did I need that for? I'm too young to fuck her.

"Dr. Marge says we need to take it off for the next week. She's afraid of infections."

My father scowled and grunted at that but reached for his pocket. It was agonizing watching him trying to get his hand into the pocket, but eventually he did and pulled out the key with a triumphant smile. I snatched it out of his hand and raced back to the others.

When I got there, I saw that Simon had already moved the bed to sit next to the bathroom door. Sherry was coming back into the room with a bucket, and she placed it next to the bed. Dr. Marge was holding Ellie's wrist with a couple of fingers, while looking at her watch. I told everyone I got the key.

"Well, take the damn thing off," Dr. Marge told me without looking up from her watch.

"Uhh... I'm not really sure how," I answered blushing.

Dr. Marge dropped Ellie's wrist and looked up at me with a smile. I think she forgot I was only fourteen.

"Here, let me do it."

She smiled at me again and took the key. She turned back to Ellie and pulled the sheet down. She deftly unlocked the various locks and turned to Simon.

"Simon, is it?"

He nodded.

"I need you to gently lift her hips up so I can take this off her. Her joints are probably on fire right now, so this is going to hurt. Just lift as gently as you can but do it quick. We want to get her back resting as fast as possible."

Simon stepped up and lifted her hips. I was amazed at not only how effortlessly he lifted her, but the gentleness he showed as well. Ellie let out a soft moan, but did not otherwise react. Dr. Marge quickly slid the belt out from under Ellie and Simon set her back down. She handed the belt to him and told him to put it in the bathroom.

"Once everything settles down, make sure you wash it thoroughly. Lots of detergent, and multiple rinses."

Simon nodded and quickly placed it in the sink.

"All right, that's about as much as we can do right now. Someone will need to watch her tonight to make sure there are no surprises. And keep pushing the liquids. Sherry, can I talk with you and Claude?"

Sherry looked exhausted but nodded. She was about to ask Simon if he could watch Ellie while we talked, but he answered before she could ask.

"Is good, Ma'am. Will look after. Go talk with doctor. Ms. Ellie safe with me."

==============

The three of us moved into the pool house living area. Dr. Marge and Sherry took a seat, and I asked if they needed anything to drink. Sherry told me to look in the cabinet over the fridge and I would find a bottle of whiskey. Dr. Marge smiled at her and nodded. I grabbed it, two glasses, and a coke for me. I put the drinks on the table and started to sit, then rose and grabbed a chair from the kitchen. I excused myself for a minute to bring the chair into Simon so he would have something to sit on. As I took the chair into the other room, I heard Dr. Marge quietly tell Sherry "Your brother is a good kid."

It felt so good when I heard Sherry respond, "I know".

Simon thanked me again in his strange speech, and I went back to the living area to sit next to my sister. Dr. Marge took a drink of her whiskey and let out a loud sigh.

"You said she was auctioned today?"

Sherry nodded.

"What the hell are they doing down at the induction center? They are supposed to get them through detox at least before putting them on the block. I'm going to have a talk with them about this. Someone screwed up, and you can believe I will find out who. How she was even able to get up on the block, let alone stand at attention all afternoon, I have no idea. She's a strong one."

Dr. Marge just shook her head and turned to me.

"Where's your father now?"

I told her he was passed out on the couch last I saw him. She nodded and scowled.

"I assume he is not taking Sophia's passing well?"

I muttered that none of us were. She leaned forward with a smile and patted my hand.

"I know."

Dr. Marge leaned back in her seat and took another drink. Her gaze kept slowly moving back and forth between Sherry and me. She seemed to be evaluating each of us. Just as I was getting uncomfortable under her stare, she spoke again.

"The two of you impressed me today."

Sherry quickly said that I deserve the credit, I was the one who noticed Ellie wasn't well. She said she'd been too busy arguing with Dad. I interrupted her and said all I did was see she looked pale, Sherry was the one who figured out what was going on and took charge of the situation.

Dr. Marge laughed. "You both did great. Claude, you're a 14-year-old boy who had a naked woman standing in a blanket in front of you. The fact that you could even notice she was sick is admirable. Most boys your age would have been trying as hard as they could to get a glimpse of her tits."

I blushed at that, while Sherry giggled beside me.

"And you Sherry, that was incredibly quick thinking. You immediately assessed the situation, and you had all the pertinent information to give to me when you called. You had already done most of what I had suggested over the phone. I can't tell you how many 'emergency' phone calls I've had where we waste valuable time just trying to get an idea of what the 'emergency' is. You have the making of a great doctor someday. Have you decided on where to study?"

Sherry sat still for a minute, then quietly told her Baton Rouge.

Dr. Marge raised her eyebrows slightly, "Ahhh, you've been doing your research. So, it's to be oncology, huh?"

I realized that not everything Sherry had told Dad was bullshit. I guess the program was becoming well known. Sherry just mumbled that she wanted to keep her options open.

Something was going on. Why was Sherry acting so shy and mousy with this woman? Who exactly was this Dr. Marge? The good doctor noticed this too.

"Sherry, you've changed since last we talked. What's going on?"

Sherry just said she had a lot on her mind, and it had been a long day, again in a quiet voice. The change that came over Dr. Marge was frightening. Suddenly, the light-heartedness left her face and was replaced with a sternness that made me want to be anywhere but here.

"Young lady! I asked you a question and I expect an answer. If I need to put you over my knee and blister your butt, I will. And you know it. Now, what is going on?"

Once again, I found myself sitting with my mouth open. Sherry, however, was a different story. It took me a minute to figure out what she was feeling. I had never seen that look on her face before. Sherry was afraid of Dr. Marge. Not only that, but she was also afraid she'd passively let Dr. Marge spank her. This was not something I needed to be here for. I knew Sherry was going to tell Dr. Marge everything, and she did not need me making it more uncomfortable.

I excused myself from the couch and told them I was going to check on Simon. I went to the fridge, grabbed him a coke and headed towards the bedroom. On my way, I saw Sherry flash me a look of thanks, and more peculiarly, Dr. Marge gave me a warm smile. Gone was the stern, frightening lady, and the kind doctor was back. Sherry started retelling what had happened over the last few months as I entered the bedroom.

=================

Simon was sitting on the chair, holding Ellie's hand, and carefully brushing her hair off her face. It was hard to believe the two of them had only met this morning. I spent a few seconds studying this unusual man. At first glance, I could easily see why Sherry was originally worried about having him in the house with me. There was something subtly intimidating about him. As I had said earlier, he was obviously very fit and strong. He had shown that with the ease with which he had carried Ellie to pool house and how he had moved the bed in the short time it took me to get the chastity key. But that intimidation was overshadowed by the quiet confidence he displayed. It was as if he knew of his strength, but did not rely on it. Instead, he believed in himself and did not feel the need to show it. And seeing him so thoughtfully taking care of Ellie, I was now sure there was much more to this man.

I walked over to him, handed him the coke, and sat on the floor next to his chair. He immediately jumped up, saying, "Please, Master Claude. You take chair."

I told him it was no problem; I liked sitting on the floor. And to stop calling me Master. Claude is fine. He stared at me as if wondering if this was some sort of trap, but did sit back in the chair.

"Thank you, sir. Most kind. But please allow to address as Master. Is proper."

He opened his coke and drained half the can in one go, looked over at the sleeping Ellie, and turned back to me.

"Is good. Thank you, again. Now, have questions, no? Please ask. Will answer as best as can."

I had about a billion questions for him but blurted out the one that was probably least important, but the most nagging.

"Simon, what's up with the way you talk? I can hear a very faint accent, but you said you have been here since you were a boy. If you have lived here for so long, why does it sound like you just started speaking English?"

I immediately realized how offensive my question was and started to apologize. Simon just smiled and chuckled.

"Is all good. No offense."

He leaned forward in his chair and looked around carefully. Seeing no one else in earshot, he quietly said, "You nice. Feel I can trust." His smile became much wider, "I can talk the Queen's English just as well as anyone."

And my mouth fell open again. I really needed to work on my reactions. The fact that I hadn't swallowed half the bugs in Louisianna today was a miracle. He just softly laughed at my expression and continued.

"When we moved to the States, my father did not speak a word of English. But he spent hours a day trying to learn it. For a 40-year-old man, who had spoken Italian all his life, this was no easy task. Still, he learned, but English is a difficult language. It has all these extra words. Take pronouns. Other languages denote pronouns through the verb structure. The way the verb is conjugated tells the pronoun. So, when people who speak a foreign language try to learn English, they aren't just having to learn a new language, they are having to learn a whole new way of thinking.

"English is a very complicated language with a lot of strange rules. On top of that, almost all your rules have multiple exceptions. Written English gets even more complicated. For example, 'I before E, except after C, or cases of A as in neighbor and weigh'. As complicated as that rule is, it still has exceptions like the possessive 'their'. Understand?"

I just sat there dumbfounded but nodded.

"Then you have the different dialects. In just Louisiana, think of all the different dialects and ways of speaking we have here. Cajun, Creole, New Orleans English, Southern English, and that is not even considering how many versions of French and other languages are spoken here. It is a wonder that anyone understands each other."

I finally found my voice and asked, why if he could speak like this, did he talk in such a broken form of English.

"Mostly it was to honor my father. While he never fully got the grasp of the language, he never stopped trying. It became common for the family to speak like he did. Later, when I was in my fighting career, it became a bit of a trademark. People remembered me as much for my speech as they did for my fighting. It just kind of stuck with me. When I left fighting, I did not have a lot of options.