Lawrence "Larry" Casey was sitting underneath one of the windows on the east side of the Sheep Pen intently listening to something that was going on inside when TJ Wiley and Bobby Boyle saw him as they were walking over from the flight line.
"Casey what are you doing?" TJ asked running over to him with Boyle following close behind.
Casey put a finger to his lips indicating for them to be quiet. "Jim and Lauran are in the Sheep Pen," he explained.
"So," Boyle replied. "What's wrong with that the nurses have always been able to come over to the Sheep Pen anytime they wanted to?"
"I think they're up to something and I'm trying to find out what, without getting caught and Jim beating the crap out of me," Casey said.
"Interesting," TJ and Boyle commented.
"Any idea how long ago they went in there, or what they're doing?" TJ asked.
"I don't know when they went in, but I was planning on working out some possible trade deals on paper and wanted to lay out all the lists of what we've got available to trade on one of the tables, so I could see everything at once instead of trying to keep items in my head while I went through the papers individually. However," Casey didn't finish his sentence because at that moment Lauran's voice could be heard inside the Sheep Pen.
"Jim, oh my that's huge," her voice was shocked.
"I know darlin'," Jim replied. "It took me awhile to get it in my pants."
At that statement, Casey, TJ, and Boyle looked at each other with stunned looks on their faces.
"We didn't just hear Jim say what I think he said?...Did we?" TJ whispered.
Casey and Boyle, choked out they'd heard him correctly.
"Oh my, I don't think I've seen one that big," Lauran exclaimed. "Do you think it will be big enough to let us finish in time?"
"I don't see why not now if you'll just help me get this off, we can get started."
At that statement Casey, TJ, and Boyle thought they'd faint from shock.
"I don't believe what I'm hearing, Pappy's going to shit bricks, chew Jim's ass out from here to next year, and beat him senseless if he walks in on them and see what they're doing," TJ whispered.
"He left this morning after we got back from that bombing mission over Choiseul. He told me that he had a meeting with General Moore and General Kenlay on Espritos Marcos and that he wouldn't be back until late as General Kenlay was buying the three of them supper at the Officer's Club," Boyle said with a sigh of relief.
At that moment, the voices inside the Sheep Pen caught their attention.
"I don't think it's going to fit," Lauran's voice could be heard gasping from inside the Sheep Pen"
"Don't worry," Jim replied. "It'll fit, if I have to, I'll force it."
"Don't ram it in there Jim I don't want either of us to be injured and you don't always know your own strength when it comes to things like this."
"Just relax darlin' I'll go slow, now if you'll just spread those apart, I'll start out using light strokes and if that doesn't achieve the desired result, we'll try heavier strokes with a firmer pressure.
The three of them, their knees tired from squatting, were sitting against the Sheep Pen with their backs to the outer wall, their bodies were covered in sweat everywhere they could possibly secrete sweat from and it wasn't just from the heat and humidity on Vella La Cava, the images being formed in their brains from the forbidden sexual heat that was apparently being generated in the Sheep Pen between Jim and Lauran also were a contributing factor. The three of them looked at each other upon hearing that last statement. The sounds they were hearing only succeeded in cementing in their minds the fact that something very intimate was going on between Jim and Lauran.
"Watch it Jim," Lauran's voice cried. "You're going to have a mess if you're not careful."
"If you'd stop moving around and hold still, I could do a better job," Jim replied.
"Lower, Jim, I think you need to go lower, ahhh yes that's perfect right there, now just hold right up against me like that…..ummm that's wonderful. "
By this time the three of them had been joined by Bragg, French, and Anderson who'd been on the beach with Meatball, Greg's white bull terrier. Meatball was now lying in the shade next to Greg's tent. He'd been having fun running through the waves and splashing in the water along the shore for most of the afternoon and in his opinion, it was time for a nap before supper.
"What are you all doing?" Anderson asked as he blotted his damp forehead with a handkerchief. It looked like they were up to something and if that was case, he definitely wanted to be a part of it, anything that had an air of shenanigans and trouble was something he definitely wanted in on.
"Shh, just listen," Boyle said.
Soon they were all intently listening to whatever Jim and Lauran were doing in the Sheep Pen and it sounded to them like the two of them were engaged in some very erotic activities.
"Just a little more, Jim, if you can squeeze it in a little more, I think that will do it," Lauran's voice cried out from inside the Sheep Pen.
"Damn," Anderson whispered. "I can't believe Jim and Lauran are actually in there going at it like there's no chance of them being discovered by Greg or anyone else.
The others were too stunned to answer.
"I don't think I can last much longer," Jim groaned.
"Just a little further, a few more inches and you'll be completely in."
"That does it, I can't listen anymore," Bragg said sliding backward until he could stand up without the risk of being seen by either Jim or Lauran in the Sheep Pen, although from the sound of things it appeared that they were too preoccupied to care about what was going on outside.
The others except for TJ, Anderson, and Boyle agreed that it was probably a good idea to leave so as not get caught.
"Ow, that hurts, you're squeezing too tight," Jim groaned.
By this time the other three Black Sheep were ready to leave as well. This was definitely getting more intense than they cared to be a witness to, even if they were only hearing what was going on inside, it was defiantly enough for them to form a clear picture of in their minds of Jim and Lauran naked and engaged in some very intimate activities inside and those images would be burned into their minds for a long, long time. Having heard everything that they could stand to hear TJ, Anderson, and Boyle crawled backwards away from the Sheep Pen until they too were able to stand up without being discovered. Then, like Brag, Anderson, and French, they got as far away from the Sheep Pen as they could and tried to find something to occupy themselves as well as take their minds off of what they had just heard and imagined.
Meanwhile, in the Sheep Pen, Jim and Lauran stepped back from what they had been doing and looked at each with very pleased looks on their faces.
"Thank you, Jim, I don't think I could have done it by myself," Lauran said.
"Not a problem, darlin, I know Greg had been after somebody to finish the job and since no one else acted like they wanted to do it, I thought with Greg being gone now would be a good time for both of us to do it and surprise him."
"I wish I could see the look on his face when he discovers what we've done, but I'm on the evening shift at the front nurses' station tonight and won't be here when he gets back from his meeting and dinner with General Moore and General Kenlay," Lauran said the tone of her voice clearly indicating that she'd love to see the look on Greg's face when he walked into the Sheep Pen.
"I didn't think it would take as long as it did, though or be as heavy to lift as I thought, plus we were cutting it close as far as being able to put it where we did," Jim admitted.
"I'm sorry about your hand, are your fingers all right?" Lauran asked gently taking Jim's left hand in hers and examining his fingers, several of them were starting to bruise and she was worried they might be broken.
"They hurt, but I can move them a little, so I don't think anything's broken, I'll stop by the hospital in a couple of days if they're not doing any better, they start to feel numb, or the swelling gets worse," Jim assured her.
"Make sure that you keep ice on them as much as possible and let Greg know what happened. I think you'll be able to fly with no problem; but I want him to make the final determination as far as that goes since he's your commanding officer," Lauran instructed him.
Jim gave her a mock salute.
"Yes ma'am," he replied.
"Okay, I'm going back to the hospital and get cleaned up before I have to be at the nurse's station, so if you have any concerns about your hand don't hesitate to come over no matter how late it is," she said as she left the Sheep Pen with Jim following her out the door. It didn't escape the rest of the Black Sheep's notice that both Jim and Lauran looked like they'd been doing something very intense. Jim's hair was mussed, he looked flushed and his clothes were wrinkled as if they'd been quickly taken off and thrown in some far corner, there was also smudge of something on Jim's face, but he was too far away for them to tell if it was lipstick or dirt. Lauran's hair and clothes were in the same state and she had a very satisfied smile on her face. TJ, who had been sitting on a sandbag reading H. M. Pulham, Esquire by John P Marquand, glanced up doing his best to make it look like he wasn't watching Jim and Lauran. Casey, Anderson, and Bragg continued tossing a baseball to each other, but at the same time were watching them leave the Sheep Pen as well. French and Boyle were sitting on the steps of the Ops Shack discussing Boyle's latest romantic problems with Kathlynn, those seemed to be never ending due to the fact that Boyle couldn't stop flirting with other girls when he and Kathlynn were at the Officer's Club despite Greg and the rest of the Black Sheep telling him to cut it out or risk losing her for good. A few nights ago when Greg had treated the Black Sheep and the nurses, who weren't on duty, to dinner at the Officer's Club, Boyle had been flirting with Pansy and Deirdre, two nurses from the USS Angel of Mercy, that had stopped in for supper while their ship was in port at Espritos Marcos for refueling, getting supplies, and picking up some Australian pilots who'd been receiving treatment at the hospital and were now well enough to be discharged back to their base on Sidney. Kathlynn had ignored that since he'd only been making flirtatious comments to them about how beautiful they were. She'd come to the conclusion that if he was being all talk, she'd let it go, especially, as in this particular case, he'd had a bit too much to drink. What did make her blood boil was what happened a few hours later. She and Claire had put on their shawls and were going to wait outside while Greg had paid the bill and talked briefly with the members of the Muddy Cat Jazz Combo, a band that frequently played at the Officer's Club, and picked up the containers of food that he was going to send back with the nurses who'd been able to come to dinner, as a surprise for those who'd had to work. The two girls had heard a noise in the bushes of tropical frangipani and white ginger that were filling the air around them with beautiful scents. They had just turned to go back inside in case it was a nocturnal animal prowling about when Boyle had staggered from the bushes wearing only what he'd come into the world with and carrying Scarlett Erison. She was Colonel Ellington's secretary as well as being one of his many sexual conquests. It was a well-known fact among all of those stationed in the South Pacific that she liked to go after any man in uniform she could her hands as well as her lips on and any sailor or other enlisted man who had any common sense what so ever avoided even looking in her direction, least she get the idea to lure into her web of seduction. She was at this particular moment in the same state, clothing wise as Boyle. It was clear what they'd been up too and Boyle's hands were positioned on Scarlett's body in a way that allowed him to still pleasure her as they'd exited the bushes and the sounds, she was making clearly indicated that she was enjoying it immensely.
That had been the final straw for Kathlynn she flew into a fit of rage kicking pulling Scarlett's hair, which caused her to scream scaring Boyle to the point that he dropped her on the ground, Trixie, one of the USO hostesses at the Officer's Club that evening had ran to the supply closet and returned with a large table cloth for Scarlett to cover herself with before being taken to one of the unoccupied rooms in the BOC to wait until Colonel Ellington, who she'd requested come get her, arrived. Then Kathlynn proceeded to kick Boyle in a certain area of his anatomy that was very much exposed, still very aroused, and when her kitten heeled pumps made contact was very painful. Then for good measure she made certain the heel of one of her shoes made direct contact with his balls. Boyle doubled over clutching himself and screaming for her to stop it and that he was sorry.
"Sorry doesn't make up for half of what you've apparently been doing tonight YOU TWO-TIMING weasel. I thought after that incident with Roxanne Delgado you'd wise up and quit sleeping around with other women behind my back. I don't mind the verbal flirting, but when you start getting biblical with them that's where I draw the line. I warned you that next time you were sexually involved with anyone else as long as we're dating that was it, we were through, and I meant it. Bobby Boyle, until you can control your sexual urges and quite jumping between the legs of every two bit whore that shows up in this part of the South Pacific I don't want to speak to or see you ever again!" Then noticing that her outburst had caused the rest of the Black Sheep and the other nurses to come outside she broke down in tears. Claire tried to comfort her with little success and motioned for Jim and French to come over and help her back to the Douglas C-47 Skytrain that was waiting to fly them back to Vella La Cava. The two of them talked softly to her and after they were on the plane French sat beside her quietly whispering that in his opinion she had every right to be angry, everyone had warned Boyle countless times since he'd contracted a yeast infection from Roxanne that had spread to his bladder resulting in spending several days in the hospital and all the Black Sheep undergoing STD checks and having to sit in on review lectures regarding safe sexual practices and the dangers of having unprotected intimate relations as well sleeping around with more than one girl, especially if she had the far reaching reputation as an easy roll in the hay that Scarlett did.
Boyle had been as celibate as a monk for the past several months, other than when he was intimate with Kathlynn, and he had no idea how'd he'd gotten so drunk that he'd let Scarlett talk him into a quickie in the tropical flowers to the side of the Officer's Club. He was beside himself, wishing that Kathlynn would forgive him. French told him that from the looks of things purple pigs were going to fly over Vella La Cava and Hell would freeze over, and he wasn't referring to the town in Michigan, although it's residents undoubtedly did freeze in the winter months, before Kathlynn forgave him and he'd just better accept that was the way things were going to be for quite a while.
A few hours later, the sun was casting lengthening shadows across the island, signaling that soon the sky would be a dazzling canvas of brilliant shades of gold, red violet, purple, orange, and pink as the day drew to a close and darkening shades of indigo and black spread across the sky the darkness broken by diamond like stars. The Black Sheep had stopped what they were doing earlier, TJ, Bragg, French, and Boyle were standing by Casey and French's planes talking with Hutch and Amos. Casey, Anderson, and Jim were sitting on some sandbags outside the Ops Shack with Meatball talking. Jim's fingers had begun to swell worse after Lauran had left, to the point he could barely bend them. No one dared ask what had happened, although Casey went to the mess kitchen and got some ice from the freezer, that they'd won in a poker game a year ago with some pilots from VMF-221, Jim now had his hand in a bowl covered with the ice, it really wasn't helping and as soon as Greg returned he'd ask someone to drive him over to the hospital and have it looked at. Henry, Stan, Amos, and Micklin were outside the Maintenance Shed talking about how the weather had been so nice that they were due for a visit from General Mud at any time and that would mean constant rain for several days making things a mess with mud the consistency of unset concrete covering everything.
Greg flew in about an hour later and after taxiing his plane into an empty space off the flight line got out and walked over to the Sheep Pen waving at the Black Sheep and the maintenance crew as he did so. Several of them returned the wave, but Casey, TJ, and Boyle looked at each other with a look that clearly said "The fireworks are about to start any minute."
It didn't take long before Greg came back outside and looked over at the Black Sheep who were still where they'd been when he landed.
"What went on in the Sheep Pen this afternoon?" Greg yelled across the camp. "I want to know who was responsible for what I just discovered."
"Jim and Lauran were in there most of the afternoon," Anderson called back.
"Jim get over here I need to talk to you," Greg said.
"Jim's in for it now?" Boyle whispered to Casey glad for once that it wasn't him or Anderson who were in hot water with Greg.
What happened next however surprised everyone speechless.
"Jim thank you I knew I wouldn't have time to take care of that matter due to that meeting today and then we've got three missions over the next five days that I have work out the logistics for as well as assign each of you a new wingman for one mission, just to play with those rice balls minds a little bit in case they can tell by our planes who flies cover for who. Lauran didn't mind helping you, did she?"
"No Greg, as a matter of fact, I'll admit that she was quite enthusiastic about it and I can honestly say that when we finished both of us were very satisfied with how things fit together, tired but satisfied. I did injure myself in the process. I told Lauran I didn't think it was that serious, but I think I may need to go to the hospital after all."
Jim held out his left hand, all four fingers, despite being under ice, were swollen to the point they looked like large, dark purple, green, and yellow bruised sausages. Seeing Jim's hand Greg knew he was going to be short a pilot for the upcoming missions, but hopefully one of the other squadrons in the area could send a pilot to fill in for Jim, so no one would have to fly orphan.
"Well, I'm glad that you and Lauran felt comfortable being together and if the two of you want to do anything like that in the future it's certainly all right with me, meanwhile let's get you over to the hospital and have someone take a look at that hand, although, Jim, I've got a bad feeling one if not more of them are broken and you'll be manning the radio in the Ops Shack during the upcoming missions," Greg told him not liking having to say that any more than Jim liked hearing it."
After they left to head over to the hospital everyone else stood around too shocked to say anything.
"I can't believe Pappy didn't beat the crap out of Jim for having sex with Lauran," Bragg said.
"Yeppers, something's not right there," Anderson agreed.
"Especially, when he said that Lauran was quite enthusiastic and they both were very satisfied when they were finished. I expected Greg to knock him clear into the next century," French said.
"Not only that he pretty much gave Jim permission to sleep around with Lauran," Bragg added his voice so shocked he could barely get the words out.
Casey headed toward the Sheep Pen.
"I'm going to go see if I can find out what Jim and Lauran were doing in there all afternoon," he called over his shoulder and the others, curious to know why Greg had been so calm about what had went on between Jim and Lauran while he was on Espritos Marcos, followed with Meatball tagging along after them.
Inside the Sheep Pen everyone stood by the door, their eyes scanning the room in an attempt to figure out where Jim and Lauran had spent the afternoon intimately enjoying themselves, even Meatball was looking around a confused expression on his face. Just then TJ's eyes focused on something lying on the bar.
"What's that?" he asked.
French walked over to the bar and picked up the extra wide paint brush that Louis Marchant with the Pacific Pirates had had his father make for Jim. Mr. Marchant ran a hardware store in Hearthstone, Iowa and enjoyed puttering around doing carpentry and woodworking projects in his spare time, so coming up with the extra wide paint brush was something he'd agreed to work on with all the anticipation of a child looking forward to seeing what Santa Claus would leave for them on Christmas morning. Next to it was a couple large pieces of two old T-shirts that were now covered in white paint. The sight of those two pieces of the puzzle caused the Black Sheep to take a closer look around the Sheep Pen, unless Jim and Lauran were into some pretty weird things intimacy wise why was there a paint brush and paint covered remnants of two of their old T-shirts on the bar.
Just then everyone's gaze turned towards the wall behind the bar where the large book shelf that Jim and Lauran had painted with some beige paint that Jim had found in one of the sheds scattered around the island that they stored their black-market trade goods. Jim had stuck the paint brush in the waistband of his pants, pulled his undershirt over it, and then put his holster on over that. He'd entered the Sheep Pen through the back entrance, so that it would appear to anyone seeing him walking across the camp that he was just going to get in some target practice at the area they'd cleared for that purpose and no one would, hopefully, discover what he and Lauran were up to. It had only taken one gallon of paint to cover the entire bookcase twice and luckily it hadn't taken long for the two coats to dry. While it was drying Jim and Lauran had been busy deciding where to put it once it was completely dry. After, looking around the Sheep Pen, considering, and deciding against three locations they'd finally decided the only place that might work was behind the bar. After much shoving, pushing, straining, and sweating, not to mention Lauran accidentally smashing Jim's hand between the shelf and the wall, they'd finally managed to get it into the space where the other Black Sheep had discovered it. The two of them had then arranged dishtowels and dishcloths, as well as paper plates, cups, and napkins on the top shelf, followed by cans of beer, boxes of chips, bags of peanuts, and other snack items on the remaining three shelves.
The rest of the Black Sheep looked at each other speechless, even Meatball let out an erf of surprise.
"I don't believe it," Casey said.
"We were had," TJ gasped.
"No wonder Greg was so calm about everything," Boyle replied.
"Well," Anderson said as they left the Sheep Pen the looks on their faces clearly indicating that what they had thought was a forbidden love affair between Jim and Lauran had, in reality, been nothing more than the two of them spending an afternoon innocently assembling, painting, positioning, and organizing a bookshelf for storage purposes. "We can say we learned one thing this afternoon and that's things aren't always what they seem."