© Copyright 1999-2001 by silli_artie@hotmail.com
This work may not be reposted or redistributed without the prior
express written permission of the author.
A work of fiction, meant for adults. Read something else if you are
not an adult, or are offended by stories with sexual content. Then
again, if all you’re looking for is in-out, in-out, in-out, you
should probably read something else. I welcome constructive comments.
Enjoy.
Miss Yellow
I was deep in thought when I heard the door open. Moments later I heard a voice say, "John? Oh I’m so glad..."
I looked around to see a very pretty oriental woman, looking quite shocked.
I stood up slowly. "Christine? I’m Bill. Please sit down, I’ve got some news for you."
She looked quite uncertain. I motioned to the dining table. "Please, sit down so we can talk. I promise, I’m not going to hurt you. We’ve all been hurt too much already."
That seemed to do it; it might have been the emotion in my voice, which surprised me. She sighed mightily and sat down.
"Thank you. Would you like a glass of wine?"
She smiled weakly and said, "Yes, please."
I got the bottle and another glass from the refrigerator and put them on the table. I poured her a glass and refilled mine. I raised mine in a silent toast. We both took a sip; she took a fairly good-sized one.
She gave me a questioning look.
"Would you like me to explain?" I said softly. She nodded her head.
"Did you know John was married?" I asked her.
She sighed again and spoke, softly, and with a voice on the ragged edge of losing control. "He never told me, but I suspected it."
I didn’t ask if she was or not; it was none of my business.
I took another sip of wine. "Well, he was, but that didn’t stop him. Last Friday he was on his way to Tahoe with my wife. They were both killed in an auto accident."
Her head dipped forward a bit and she sighed some more. Then she lifted her head and emptied her glass. She held it out to me; I filled it again.
"I knew it was wrong, and kept looking for a way out, but..." she said.
"Well, now we’ve got it," I told her, taking another sip from my glass.
She frowned. "But how did you know my name? Ohh...." She blushed and covered her mouth with a hand.
"No, you’re wrong. I knew your name was Christine from records he kept. I know he made a number of videos, but I have not looked at them. In fact, I’ve erased the tapes, and I’ll give them to you, along with the camera. Wait here for a moment."
I stood up and went to the office. I got the camera, the tapes with her name on them, the camera bag from the closet. Then I grabbed the envelope with the money. I returned to the table. She was still sitting there.
"Here are the tapes, and the camera. We’ll check to see if there are any other pieces around. And this is for you as well." I handed her the envelope. I had no idea how much was in it. She looked inside, gasped, and looked up at me with a questioning look on her face.
"Christine, keep it. It’s yours. I don’t know your last name, anything else about you. You don’t have to tell me anything. I give you my word that if we find more tapes in Tahoe, we’ll destroy those as well. It’s over."
She sighed, then said, "Tahoe?"
I laughed a little. "Yes, he didn’t tell you he had a place in Tahoe? We think he had someone else to go with it, but we’re not sure yet."
Her look of astonishment turned to soft laughter. I picked up my wineglass again and raised it to her. "That’s the idea; you either laugh or cry. Might as well laugh, if you ask me."
She smiled and actually relaxed in the chair a little, and took another sip.
"I work near here," she told me. "Some times I come over at lunch to swim and, uhh, relax." She blushed a bit at that. I had a hunch how she relaxed. "I thought I’d heard on the news that John had been in an accident, but I wasn’t sure. Today was the first day I could get over."
There had been some news coverage, but it had been sparse. There had been obits for him in the local press, not mentioning Janet at all, just his former wife and kids, and Nancy. Should I call his ex-wife?
We both turned and looked to the sound of the door opening again. Nancy was back. I stood up quickly. She approached us, a large bag in each hand. She saw Christine sitting there. She put the bags down slowly and took another step forward.
Christine stood and stepped slowly to Nancy. When they were about three feet apart, they suddenly held each other and both began crying. I got the bags and put them on the kitchen counter, and got out another glass. I filled all three. Then I walked over to the two women, still hugging, still crying. I put my arms around both of them and tried my best to give them my support. I led them back to the table.
They separated and sat down. I said, "Christine, this is Nancy. Nancy, this is Christine, our Miss Yellow."
Christine looked puzzled, but she smiled. I explained, "Dear John color coded his calendars. You were yellow, my wife was blue, Nancy was green, and we still have a Mystery Miss Brown."
I pushed glasses in front of them. "One last toast to the person who brought us together. May he rest in peace." We raised our glasses and took a sip.
As I put mine down Nancy said under her breath, "The bastard!"
Christine said a little louder, "You can say that again!"
I added, "The kinky old bastard!"
That got some nervous laughter, helping to break the ice.
Nancy said, "Christine, I’m so sorry to meet you like this, but glad we got to meet."
Christine said, "Nancy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know."
"That’s okay, none of us knew. Now we pick up the pieces, clean up the loose ends, and go on."
Nancy looked at the tapes, camera, and envelope on the table.
I piped up. "I’m giving these to Christine, along with any other camera stuff. The tapes are erased, and I told her any others we find will be erased as well. Okay?"
Nancy nodded her head. "I agree." She turned to Christine again. "What brought you by today?"
Christine sighed. "I come over at lunch some times, to swim, eat..."
Gee, she left off the "relax" this time, I thought to myself. She was quite pretty; a nice complexion, nice smile. She was a little smallish on top, but had a good waist and hips. She looked to be in good shape. Almost an oriental version of Janet in fact, mid to late twenties.
"What’s so funny?" Nancy asked me.
I shook my head. "Random thoughts. Well, we’re here for lunch, is lunch here?" That seemed to be a good place to turn things.
Nancy stood up with a frown. "Men." Then she smiled and said, "Yes, lunch is here. Where did the bags go?"
Christine stood up. "Let me help."
Both of them walked into the kitchen. It was amazing, seeing them standing together and helping each other. Nancy would ask for something, and Christine would get it for her, or show her where it was.
I listened in to the conversation without being too nosy. Christine had just finished her MBA and was working locally, still living at home with her parents. Good, at least she wasn’t married.
We had different salads and stuff to make sandwiches. I fixed a plate for myself, and got another bottle of wine from the refrigerator. We sat around the table eating.
At one point Christine gave us a funny look. Then she smiled, sighed, and said, "I’m so glad this is over!"
Nancy and I both nodded. Nancy looked at me and said, "So are we."
Christine looked at Nancy and said, "How long ...?"
Nancy said, "We were married a little over four years."
Christine got a solemn look on her face, and said, "It was a little over two years."
I added, "What a bastard -- and a bit over six months with my wife."
That brought a round of sighs and some nervous laughter.
We finished lunch with a minimum of small talk. Christine picked up her purse and got out her keys. She took one key off the key ring and put it on the table. She looked at us with a teary smile. "I won’t be needing this any more." The emotion in her voice put a lump in my throat.
"Christine," I said, "you can still drop by at lunch for a while if you’d like. We’re still figuring out who owns this place, and what we’re going to do with it."
"Oh," she said, "it’s leased. He signed a five-year lease, and paid it all up front. That was a little over a year ago, so there are around four years left."
I looked at Nancy. Did that make things easier, or harder? I wasn’t sure.
"And I won’t be coming back." She sighed. "Some things I’ll miss, but it’s over." She got two business cards from her purse and gave one to each of us. "If you need to contact me, please do. Again, I’m sorry."
Nancy said, "Christine, we’re sorry as well. Thank you for being so understanding."
She answered, "No, thank you."
As Christine stood, I got one of the paper grocery bags and put the camera stuff in it. I handed her the envelope with the money. "Here, you should put this in your purse."
She took it and looked me in the eye. "Do you want me to have this?"
I nodded and smiled. "Yes, we do. He left it here. Maybe something good can come out of this."
She put it in her purse and smiled. "Something has." She gave me a warm hug. Nancy stood up and hugged her as well.
Christine laughed a little and wiped a tear from her eye. "I feel like we’re all family somehow."
I hugged Nancy and Christine both. "We are; we are. I just didn’t know it until you told us."
She picked up her purse, and the paper bag and sighed once again. "Back to work for me. Maybe we will see each other again."
She let herself out.
Nancy and I hugged each other, then got our wine glasses and sat on the leather sofa.
"When did she get here?" Nancy asked.
"Oh, about five minutes after you left. I was sitting here on the couch when she walked in. She was quite surprised."
Nancy laughed a little. "I can imagine. I certainly was when I walked in. But she handled it well."
"We all handled it well."
We finished our wine. Nancy asked, "What’s next? I’m almost afraid to ask."
I laughed. "We should call Jill. And, I was printing out updated calendars and checking email. It looks as if he used email to send updated calendars around."
"How much money was in the envelope?"
"I didn’t count it. From the size, between eight and twelve grand I’d guess."
Nancy shook her head. "Let’s go to the office and call Jill."
We walked to the office. I took the pages out of the printer and handed them to Nancy. She sat on the futon. I put the speakerphone on the chair and dialed Jill. Her secretary put us through.
"How are you two doing? Want to know about the place you’re in?" Jill asked.
Nancy spoke up. "He signed a five year lease last year and paid it all up front."
Jill said, "Very good! Where did you get that?"
Nancy gave me a grin and said into the phone, "From Christine. She dropped by for lunch."
"What?!" came the shriek from the phone, followed by laughter.
Nancy and I filled her in on our meeting Christine, what we’d discussed, and what we’d given her. Jill thought everyone had handled it well.
"So what do we do with this place?" Nancy asked. "I don’t think we need it." She looked at me and I shook my head no. "But it’s a shame to just walk away from it."
I had an idea; I slapped my leg and said, "I know what I’d like to do with it. Tell me if this will cause any problems."
Nancy looked at me quizzically. Jill said, "Okay, what is it."
"At the place I used to work -- gee I guess I have made up my mind about quitting after all. Well, we just moved a young engineer and his wife out here from the East Coast. They’ve been having one hell of a time finding an affordable place to live, as you can imagine. How about we let them take it, they pay the utilities, and they can have it through the end of the lease? After that, they’re on their own. What’s wrong with that?"
Nancy smiled and nodded her head. I squeezed her hand; I was glad she agreed.
Jill’s voice came from the speakerphone. "I’m thinking of the tax consequences for them. It feels like a gift. We might want them to pay some nominal rent."
"Wait a minute," I said, "I’ve leased this place, and I’m responsible for it through the end of the lease. I need caretakers to keep the place up, keep it safe. Maybe I should be paying them a little to do the job?"
Jill laughed. "I’m worried about you, Bill. That’s an argument I’d expect a lawyer to make. And I think it’s a winner. I’ll talk it over a bit and let you know, but I think that would work just fine. Especially with the extenuating circumstances we have. Anything else?"
"Yes. I want to buy a new car. I figure we give the two old ones, mine and Janet’s, to a charity. But I want something new, larger. What do I do?"
Jill laughed a little more. "Pick out what you want. One way or the other, we’ll get you a checkbook. Don’t do anything outlandish though."
"Don’t worry. I want a new Grand Cherokee. I like the way they ride, and we’re going to need to go to Tahoe, probably next week."
"That sounds fine with me. Want to have Karen start arranging details?"
"That would be good. And I should probably start changing my address to the Woodside house. Oh, do you have the phone number here?"
Jill didn’t, so we gave it to her. We agreed to get together Friday morning at her office; tomorrow would be tied up chasing the mattress delivery people around.
After we hung up the phone, I held Nancy’s hands. "Does this make sense? Are we doing the right thing? Am I doing the right thing? Help me, please."
She gave me a wonderful soft laugh. "Bill... None of this makes sense, but I think we’re doing the right thing. I think you’re doing the right thing. What do you want to do next? Tell me about the lucky couple."
I told her about Josh and Linda, and about giving them the place furnished, pretty much as is.
She raised an eyebrow at that.
I laughed a little. "Oh, I thought we’d take the gas bottles, the fur coat, the toys we want, and probably give the other clothes away. Unless you find something you like."
She smiled; I saw her nostrils flare. "You might see something you like."
I laughed. "Okay. We’ll move stuff over to the big house. That means we’re going to need something to move it in. Will you come with me to buy a car?"
"I’ll go anywhere with you."
That reminded me. "I want to know more about this trip to Europe. I think we should go. I’ve never been to Europe."
She threw her arms around me. "Yes, yes, yes! Do you have a passport?"
"It’s at the townhouse," I said between crushing hugs.
She laughed and let go of me. "Okay, let’s get going. We’ve got a lot to do."
We’d passed a Jeep dealership on the way over. As we walked out to Nancy’s car, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. She asked for Jill, and told her to have someone meet us at the dealership with a checkbook. Unless they were assholes, we’d be buying a car there.
We drove up in Nancy’s slick little turbocharged two seat Mercedes. We were descended upon by salesharks practically before we got out of the car.
I was looking around, looking at colors, and hardly noticed Nancy had taken over. Before I knew it, we had one salesperson, a gal with gray hair, walking around the lot with us. We took a test drive. When I got in the driver’s seat a twinge reminded me I didn’t have any underwear. Oh well, don’t think that’s going to stop the sale. It was very nice to drive. I liked the seats, the features, and especially the view from a higher vantage point than my old sedan.
We drove back and I pointed to a blue one. "That color okay with you?" I asked Nancy. I’ve got blue eyes, and I do like blue. She nodded and we went in to the office.
Our kindly grandmotherly gray haired sales gal had a wall full of shark plaques -- top sales -- for many months. I sat back in amazement as Nancy dug in her heels and beat out a very good deal. I would have paid a lot more.
As we were waiting to see if our latest offer would be accepted, Karen showed up. She handed me a checkbook. "Jill says be careful. It does have a bottom." Nancy and I laughed. The sales gal came back with another guy. He wanted to know how we’d be financing this. I waved the checkbook. "One hundred percent down, nothing a month." He started to hem and haw. Nancy gave me a glance and stood up. I took the cue and put the checkbook in my pocket and stood up as well. The guy held out his hand and said, "You’ve got a deal."
I laughed a little and shook his hand. He left to go get it ready to drive off. We sat down to fill out paperwork. As we started, Karen leaned over to Nancy and I and said, "Jill said to put it in your name only for now. She’s talking to Duncan about something. Okay?"
I looked at Nancy. She smiled and nodded her head.
Filling out the paperwork was a little weird. I had to ask Nancy for my address. I wrote out a check for the full amount, which they took back to verify with the bank. The manager came back a few minutes later, addressed me as "Sir," and thanked me for my business. I guessed the check would clear.
Nancy said, "I’m going to pick up some packing boxes. I’ll meet you back at the passion pit." With that and a kiss, she took off. Karen laughed and said, "Need me for anything?" I told her no. She was heading over to the townhouse to gather things. She’d see us late Thursday or Friday at Jill’s.
Other than the extended warranty, I didn’t go for any other add-ons. The thing had just about everything you’d want on it to start with. Another half hour later, I drove off the lot in the first new car I’d had in my life.
I parked as close as I could get to the passion pit. The door was unlocked. When I went in I shouted, "Honey, I’m home!" Oh well, no response. It was a good try.
Nancy was upstairs. She’d packed three boxes already. One was labeled "Toys, etc.," another "bathroom," the third "clothes."
We hugged. "Did you get it?" she asked.
"Yes, and thank you for your help. I would have paid a lot more."
She gave me a tight smile through pursed lips. "I thought so."
"So what do I take down first?" I asked, changing the subject quickly.
She sighed. "Let’s get the gas bottles in, the other stuff is light."
Luckily, the bottle rig was on a nicely designed wheeled carrier and was easy to take down the stairs. I flopped the rear seats forward and it fit in without a problem. The carrier even provided protection around the mixing assembly. We lay the garment bag with the coat on top of that, and boxes around it. We put the rest of the video camera stuff in a separate box that we’d take to Christine’s office. Nancy had a bunch of empty boxes. I put about half of them in the jeep.
Back inside, I had a thought. I picked up the phone and dug my insurance agent’s card out of my wallet. When I started to tell him about the new wheels, he told me he’d just gotten the information from my attorney. He was very sorry to hear about Janet, and would take care of things on his end. He had the change of address, and would drop all but mandatory coverage on the two old cars, as he understood they would be transferred shortly. A refund check would be in the mail to the new address; he’d send the updated information in a day or so.
I hung up the phone. Nancy put a hand on my shoulder. "What is it?"
I looked up at her and laughed. "Jill is very thorough. I was going to tell my insurance guy about the Jeep, but he already had the details."
Nancy smiled. "Jill is great."
We walked through the place from top to bottom. "I want to bring over a ladder and check the attic," I told Nancy as I looked up into the top of the now empty closet in the master bedroom. In the office downstairs she asked, "You going to give them the computer as well?"
I shrugged. "Might as well, we’ve got plenty. Don’t worry, I’ll erase all the funny bits first."
"Feel like swinging by the townhouse?" I asked her.
She smiled and gave me a hug. "Okay."
"No, if you have things to do back at the big house, go ahead. I can do it by myself. Really."
She laughed. I wanted to bite her neck, the way she showed it when she laughed and her head went back.
"I know you can. I have things to do at the house."
"Okay, I’ll meet you back there."
We kissed, locked up the place, and left.
I drove over to the old place; I had my keys, Karen had Janet’s. Karen’s Jeep was still parked in front. I opened the door and went in. What the hell, try it again. "Honey, I’m home!" I was trying to be funny, but after I said it, a lot crashed in on me. I leaned up against the wall, feeling the tears well up.
Karen came down the stairs with her clipboard in hand. "Bill, you okay?" she asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I looked at her and smiled. "I think so. Some parts of this are still very hard."
I got my passport; it was still valid. Karen came out to look at my new wheels, comparing what had been changed from her model. She helped me carry boxes upstairs, and watched as I started packing Janet’s clothes into them. Some things I moved with tears. Every once in a while I’d see something expensive, something I didn’t recognize. The tears went away.
As I closed up one box I asked, "Anything you want to check?"
Karen shook her head. "No, I’ve been through things already."
I packed up most of the boxes I had. I left some empties downstairs to pick up my CDs and things later.
With the boxes in the Jeep, I still had room left over. After a moment’s thought, Karen helped me load the computer into the Jeep. While doing that, I checked our desk for the secret compartment. It was there, to Karen’s surprise. It held a jewelry box with some very nice things in it, another envelope with cash, and some prescription medicine bottles. All that went into a box with miscellaneous computer stuff.
I signed the transfer paperwork for the cars; Karen already had them filled out. I thanked her for her help and headed off.
I stopped at Good Will and dropped off Janet’s clothes. They asked me if I needed a receipt; I told them no. I sat in the Jeep for a few minutes after that. I did feel better going through that myself. I still had part of the closet, her dresser, and all the shoes to do. Oh well.
I also stopped at a Mac store and got the cable I’d need to connect the two machines together and transfer files. I also picked up a USB CD writer and a bunch of blanks. When the guy at the counter asked how I wanted to pay for that, I reached for my wallet, then said, "I’ll be right back." I went out to the jeep and dug into the envelope, pulling out a stack of crisp 100 dollar bills. I went in and paid cash. Thanks again, John.
The garage door was open when I got to the house. I backed part of the way in to make things easier to unload. Nancy appeared at the doorway as I was getting out.
"You’ve been crying," she said as she hugged me.
I looked at her. "So have you."
She smiled. "I asked first."
I laughed; she joined me. "I cleaned out a lot of Janet’s clothes and dropped them off. It hurt, but it does feel better. Jill was right. How about you?"
She smiled. "I was packing some of John’s things. I saved some that you might like. Let me help you unload."
It didn’t take us long. When I gave Nancy my passport she broke into a big smile. "I already called the travel agent. Since we had insurance on the trip, it won’t cost us anything extra to switch things over to you. Oh, I’m so looking forward to this trip. I’d been looking forward to it before, but now I’m really excited."
I held her and laughed. "I’m looking forward to it as well. Don’t tell me any more -- I want it to be a surprise."
The computer, gas bottles, and the desk stuff were the last to come in. Nancy took care of clothes upstairs while I did digital madness. I set up the other machine and networked them up. Then before doing anything else, I hooked up the CD writer to the one from our old house and started backing everything up. While the CD was writing on the old machine, I did a Jaz backup on the other one, overwriting one of the movie disks.
The phone rang, but as I reached for it, I saw the light on it change. Nancy must have gotten it. I waited for a moment, but didn’t hear anything.
That reminded me. I picked up the phone and used the other line to call Josh at work. He was apologetic and happy to hear from me. He was also surprised to be invited to dinner with his wife on Friday. I gave him the address, and directions. No, they didn’t need to bring anything. We chatted about work for a bit. He had questions about the project. I could tell from my answers that my heart wasn’t in it anymore. I should call Dale. No, I should go in and talk to Dale face to face.
I hung up the phone and turned around in the chair. I looked at the futon behind me and the world did one of those weird shimmering things. I was flooded with memories of being on a futon earlier in the day, wrapped in warmth, softness, and perfume. But that had been at the other place. I was laughing to myself; what a trip. He’d replicated this setup in three, maybe four places. How many times had he had similar experiences? With how many women? With how many married women?
I glanced at the confusers; the Jaz copy was finished, the CD was still chugging along. Had I wasted money in buying that thing? I’d have to be careful. Just because I could buy things didn’t mean I should.
I heard Nancy’s laughter coming down the hall. I turned and smiled as she came in the room. She plopped down on the futon.
"I just had a very interesting conversation."
I smiled, focusing on her. "Oh? Tell me about it."
The call had been from the mattress delivery people, confirming tomorrow here and at the beach house. She confirmed those, then asked about the Sunnyvale place. That caught them a little off guard. After she gave them the address and the phone number there, they admitted that yes, they were doing that one as well, but that was supposed to be last. She chatted with them for a while, and they admitted that it would be easier to do that one first, then the house, then the beach place.
I laughed along with her, and told her Josh and his wife would be there Friday. We talked a little about menu. I suggested spicy Indian with meat. She lit up and told me she knew just the place to cater it.
Then she frowned. She stood up and put her hands on my shoulders. I looked up into her eyes. "Bill, I have a very important question for you."
I took a breath. "Okay, what is it?"
"Do you like red meat?"
I laughed. "Very much. Is that the right answer?"
Still serious, but more mock serious now, she said, "How do you like it cooked?"
"Have you put it on yet?" I asked her.
She smiled and said, "Not yet."
"Good, then it’s not overdone."
She smiled and said, "Good answer. I can keep you." She hugged me, and for some reason I broke into tears, my arms tight around her waist.
"Bill, what is it?" she asked softly.
"I don’t know. I don’t want to be alone. I don’t like waking up alone. This is happening so fast. Please hold me."
She held me and was soon sobbing softly as well. We held each other, rocking gently, finally straightening up.
We kissed, then sat back on the futon, wiping off each other’s tears.
"Bill," she said, "I’m not going to let go of you. Please don’t let go of me. I should be the one that’s worried."
I brushed her cheek again. "Don’t worry. I’ll help you, you help me, wasn’t that the deal?"
She nodded and stood up. "I’ve got more calls to make for Friday’s dinner, and I need to get ours going. Would you like to barbecue the meat for us?"
"I’d be happy to. When will you need me?"
She looked at her watch. "I’ll come down in about forty minutes. Okay?"
I kissed her hand. "Whenever you need me."
She sighed and left the office.
I labeled my Jaz backup and as I did, said, "Idiot!" out loud. I found the network connection icon and double clicked it. He had a cable modem, and damn it was fast. I picked up email and installed the newest versions of his calendars, not that I’d really be needing them anymore. Then out of curiosity I pulled out the list of drugs and started searching on the net to see what I could learn. After searching a couple, I got the ones from Janet’s secret compartment. They fit the pattern, and all came from the same Dr. Feelgood.
I shook my head. I wasn’t sure if it was that I knew so little about the woman I married, or that she’d changed so much. What about Nancy? How long had I known her? Part of me said to be careful, part of me was... Did I even want to admit it to myself, think it through to myself, what I felt about her? What kind of person married a man twice her age? Did she marry for money?
I looked over at the futon again. What was happening to me? What was happening to us? Was I checking my brains, my sense, at the bedroom door? Am I being taken for another ride?
I needed to talk to Jill. Was all this money making me paranoid? I felt better, more comfortable, around Nancy than I’d felt with Janet for a year or more. I shrugged and snorted at that; a year ago. What had happened between us a year ago? Something in me evidently spotted that as a turning point.
I needed to talk to Jill, or to someone. As I stood up I realized I still wasn’t wearing any underwear. Oh well; the problems of the world could wait. I went upstairs to change into something more comfortable.
When I walked downstairs again I was laughing to myself, in a much better mood. Maybe I should take some of the drugs I’d looked up, help even out my manic-depressive swings. No, that’s not the answer; if anything, it’s a bigger problem. I decided to just go with what happens, and keep my eyes open. Maybe I should talk to that Marshall character.
So I walked into the kitchen and put my arms around Nancy, kissing her hair and squeezing her. She was cutting up stuff for a salad.
"Mmmm... You’re nice. The coals should be just about ready. Want to check?"
She had a seasoned tri-tip in a glass dish, along with a long fork. I gave her an additional squeeze and picked it up. She pointed to the sliding glass doors.
I don’t know what I was expecting, something fancier I guess, some overblown gas operated stainless-steel monstrosity. Instead I found a venerable and well-used black Webber kettle, with a chimney style charcoal starter sitting in it. The grill was also well seasoned, and was hanging on a nail in the fence. So maybe John had his good points as well. There were a pair of heavy gardening gloves on the table next to it. I put them on and used an old garden trowel to dump out the hot coals and arrange them with a gap in the middle. I put the grill in place and put the cover on to heat up the grill, making sure the top vent was open.
I turned smiling to see Nancy approaching, two wine glasses in one hand and a bottle of red wine in the other. I started laughing.
"What’s so funny?" she asked as she poured us each a glass of wine.
"I expected some gas-fed, stainless-steel monstrosity. I’m so glad I was mistaken."
She chuckled and took me by the hand. We walked around a corner of the patio area. When we turned the corner, I could see the pool -- a beauty, a spa to the side, and there on the other side of the pool, resplendent in its tile surround, a stainless steel grill.
I broke out laughing. Nancy laughed with me, finally saying, "The kettle is my old one. I like it better. The big one gets used for catered parties and for occasional breakfasts."
We walked over to the side of the pool. I was wearing sweat pants and a T-shirt; I dipped my toes in the water. It felt great. "Mmmm..."
"We have time for a dip if you’d like," Nancy told me.
I gave her a questioning look. She quickly peeled off her clothes and dived into the pool. I stripped and followed her, learning another advantage of living in the hills.
The water was warm and wonderful, and Nancy was a very strong swimmer, stronger than I. I chased after her for a while, finally giving up. She got out next to the big patio doors. I’d never seen the drapes on the other side opened. She opened a cabinet and took out two large towels.
I swam slowly over to her and got out. She handed me a towel and we dried off.
"How was that?" she asked, a lilt in her voice.
"Great. How much does it cost to heat though?"
She pointed to the other end. "It has a very good cover. I opened it when I started the charcoal. And I don’t know what it costs to heat. There’s some solar stuff on the hillside though; it does the pool and helps with the house."
Something for me to investigate later I thought. I nodded and walked back to get our dinner on the grill.
"I figure about eight to ten minutes a side. That okay with you?"
She ran a hand over my shoulder and neck. "Mmmm... Sounds good. I’ll be right back."
I’d fished my watch out of my sweat pants pocket and started the timer. I put the towel down on a chair and had a seat. I looked out over the valley and took a sip of wine. I liked the view. I liked taking in the view stark naked sipping a glass of wine. I could get used to this.
I heard her approach and felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and she handed me a terrycloth robe.
"Thanks," I said as I took it. For now I just laid it across my lap. "So what’s the schedule for tomorrow?"
She ran fingers through her hair and said, "Which place do you want to take?"
I looked out at the valley and swirled my wine. "There’s a ladder in the garage. I’d like to do the passion pit so I can check out the attic. What do I need to do? Are they taking the old stuff away?"
"Yes, so all you need to do is be there by nine and strip the bed down. Just pile everything up, I’ll remake the bed later. You could dump the linen in the wash if you want; who knows what condition it’s in. You want to meet me at the beach house, or back here? I thought you could drop off some boxes for me near the passion pit."
I nodded; boxes of John’s things for the Good Will place near the passion pit. "I can do that. You don’t mind doing here and the beach house?"
She smiled. "No, no problem. I’d like to make the drive. I like driving. We should spend the night tomorrow back here, so we can get to Jill’s office Friday morning."
I shook my head. She said, "What?"
"I don’t like getting up early."
She laughed as I checked my watch. I got up and flipped the meat over. After putting the grill cover back on, I put my robe on.
Nancy got up. "That gives me ten minutes for the rest of dinner."
We had a brief hug and she went back in the house.
I sat again. I could drop off stuff, then go back to the old townhouse and do another batch of stuff there.
Or, I could give Jill a call and see if she could get together and talk for a while.
Nancy brought out a tray with plates and silverware, salad, and garlic mashed potatoes. I went in to pee, and brought out a pitcher of ice water and a pair of water glasses. Nancy was slicing up the meat.
We had a quiet dinner as we planned the next few days. Tomorrow would be pretty much devoted to the mattress stuff. Friday morning was with Jill again, then we needed to finish up the passion pit, assuming we’d turn it over to Josh and his wife that evening. We’d get to rest on the weekend.
We hauled things into the house; Nancy showed me the controls for the pool cover. As we cleaned up dishes inside, I said, "So, want to know about Halothane?"
She gave me a look. "What? Oh, the small bottle. An anesthetic?"
I raised my eyebrows. "A very fast acting anesthetic. Emphasis on very fast. Has a reputation for catching professionals and flattening them. It’s not your easy-going happy-sleepy party stuff like the nitrous. One whiff and you’re out. Too much and you’re dead. Serious stuff."
She smiled and shook her head. "Oh, must be a cousin to Fluothane. I thought so. The way the valve is set up, you hit the plunger and it releases a measured amount into the stream."
She looked at me more intently. "John didn’t figure that one out on his own, and I didn’t show him; someone told him about it. Was there anything stored on the computer on that?"
"Didn’t look for that, but I will. How about the nitrous part?" I’d done my share of nitrous in college.
She laughed. "Oh, that has quite legitimate uses in therapy. I’m well trained to use it, and Fluothane. And you’re quite right about Halothane and Fluothane -- they are easy to use, but command respect. With nitrous, you adjust the mix to keep the patient happily buzzing but still partially here; it’s great for working out adhesions and the like, which can be quite painful. Then you turn up the mix a little to induce unconsciousness, do the rough stuff, and then go to straight oxygen to purge the system. That’s what I did the other day to trim your suture ends. Did you like that?"
I leaned against the counter. "It’s a little scary at first, but yes I did. And that tape of Janet...."
I saw her reaction as she dried the salad bowl. "I want to try that. Would you like to learn to please me like that?"
"Yes," I admitted softly, "I would."
She put down the towel and the bowl and stepped to me, putting her arms around my neck. "And what would you like this evening? You look tired."
I shook my head, feeling her waist with my hands. "I don’t know. I’m confused. What can I do for you? How can I help you? You’re doing so much for me. How can I help you get through all this?"
She sighed; her smile faded a little. "Right now, focusing on you, helping you, is the only thing I’ve got. Please don’t take that away from me."
I touched her cheek with my hand. "I don’t understand."
She kissed my hand. "Neither do I. Let’s go upstairs."
We went upstairs and got ready for bed. I set the alarm as we got in.
"On your back," she whispered in my ear.
I don’t know what I felt; I was sort of numb to start. She slid down my body, running her hands, her lips, and her breasts over me. I closed my eyes and let my body respond to her.
Soon I was moaning, incoherent, hungry for her, and still she kept teasing and caressing me. Finally she was on top of me and I was inside her. Once again she took my wrists in her hands and held them over my head, leaning forward and pushing my face into her breasts. As I struggled she rocked strongly on top of me. I was way past the point of no return, and as I cried out in ecstasy she released my hands and held my head to her. I held her as she milked me, moving her hips as she held my head.
Afterwards she cleaned us up, then held me to her again, softly this time, and rocked me. I went to sleep in her arms.
Tales of the Golden Mule
Tales of the Golden Mule
by silli_artie@hotmail.com
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/artie/www
© Copyright 1999 by silli_artie@hotmail.com