JC: Harry and Shadow: 4

Posted: February 03, 2005 - 10:45:14 am



As time passed, Shadow and Ginger had become comfortable with each other. Shadow

told Ginger about growing up in a household under the watchful eye of an over

protective mother. Ginger talked about how she had left home and found that the

only way to make enough money to live on was by dancing. Shadow had never

thought about how women entered the adult entertainment industry.

The days had settled into a nice rhythm. Breakfast, morning workout, lunch,

afternoon errands, diner, and then quiet evenings together marked the passage of

the day. The different afternoon errands marked the week as he rotated between

laundry, vacuuming, mowing the lawn, dusting, shopping, and gardening. Sundays

he was free in the afternoon.

He learned how to cook dishes other than stew, but they both admitted that he

didn't have what it took to be a chef. However, with time his cooking had

improved and neither of them died of food poisoning. There were a few dishes

that they couldn't finish and they became the subjects of easy jokes.

The longer that Shadow lived with Ginger, the less concerned she became about

covering herself when he was around. It seemed like every day that he caught

glimpses of her breasts or panties. Everyday after her shower, he used the

excuse of cleaning the bathroom to spend thirty minutes in the bathroom to

relieve his erection that watching her workout produced. Jacking off when he

took his shower in the evening helped keep him from doing anything that would

upset her.

Ginger seemed oblivious to the tensions that raged through Shadow. She was too

busy dealing with tensions of her own. At night, she would lie in bed rubbing

her clit getting rid of some the tension that raged through her. As far as she

was concerned, Shadow was a fantasy come true. She wondered how many women could

possibly find a man that would take such good care of her.

As time went by, the sexual tension in the air became thick enough to cut with a

knife. Their conversations became longer and more intimate. The silences became

less threatening. Neither one was willing to give into their individual urge.

Shadow because he was completely clueless about how Ginger felt about him.

Ginger was unwilling because she was unable to see the effect that she was

having on Shadow.

Shadow waited as Ginger went about the business of getting ready for her

appointment. He had set out a nice outfit for her to wear to the doctor's office

and she was in her room behind closed doors getting dressed. Shadow's

imagination worked overtime as he imagined what she looked like while she

prepared. Her gorgeous legs, full breasts, and womanly shape were firmly etched

into his mind. He sighed, but kept his thoughts to himself. There was no sense

letting her know that he was a pervert at this late stage.

When she opened the bedroom door, he raced over to it and took her hand. As

always, he said, "Let me lead you to your chair."

"I'd prefer to sit on the sofa with you today," replied Ginger. There was a

nervous tremor to her voice that let him know how worried she was about the

appointment.

"Okay, Ginger," replied the ugly man. Both of them knew that at this point, it

was unnecessary for him to lead her around the room. She could navigate the room

without any problem, but they went through the motion anyway. He led her over to

the sofa and waited until she sat down.

She patted the seat beside him and begged, "Sit here and hold me."

Once Shadow sat down beside her, she turned and settled against his chest. Not

knowing what else to do with his hands, he put his arms around her.

Unconsciously, he pulled her tight against his chest as though afraid of losing

her forever. In the tone of voice that one would use to calm down a skittish

horse, he said, "Everything will be alright."

She settled against his chest feeling protected. For the first time in her life,

she felt safe and that it had come in the form of being held by a man surprised

her. The fact was that she had never expected to fall in love with a man. Her

mother and stepfather had killed all desire to find someone to love. Being

beaten by her mother for not sexually satisfying her stepfather made it

virtually impossible to hand her heart over to anyone.

After living with Shadow for almost three months, she had come to love him.

Loving him had crept up on her and she couldn't quite pinpoint when it had

happened. She knew the stages that her feelings for him had passed. At first,

she was terrified of living with a stranger while blind. After a while, she

found herself trusting him to take care of the problems associated with being

blind. As time went by, she realized that he hadn't made any unwanted advances

upon her. That's when she realized that she could trust him to take care of the

real her - the person inside the body. It was about that time when she realized

she loved him.

She sighed and said, "I'm so worried about the doctor's appointment. What if I

can't see ever again?"

The question tore Shadow apart. He had come to have very strong feelings for

Ginger and feared what would happen when she had her sight back. As strong as

his fears were, there was no way that he would ever wish that she would remain

blind. He hugged her and answered, "I'll take care of you."

"You would, wouldn't you?"

As her head rested against his chest, the smell of her scented soap tickled his

nostrils. He inhaled enjoying the scent and tried to etch it into his memory, so

that he would be able to recall it even after years had passed. Tears ran down

his face as he answered, "For as long as you needed me."

She cleared her throat and asked, "I know that you must have been tempted, but

why didn't you ever try anything with me?"

"It wouldn't have been right to have such beauty marred by my ugliness,"

answered Shadow. He felt like his chest was about to explode at admitting his

feelings for her. He felt her body tense as he gave his answer. From the

expression on her face, he knew what she was going to say.

"I love..." she started, but was cut off when he put a finger against her mouth.

"Don't say it," he interrupted.

"Why?"

"You haven't seen me yet. You don't know what kind of horrible monster I am," he

answered.

It hurt her to hear him talk about his appearance in that manner. He was a good

man and deserved happiness. She replied, "Promise me that you'll be here when I

get back."

That was the one promise that Shadow wouldn't make. He was spared from answering

when there was a knock on the door. He sighed in relief and said, "That'll be

Harry."

She shifted so that Shadow could get up and answer the door. He rose and paused

to look down upon her. Her face was positioned as though she were looking at

him. Her vulnerability touched him, but he didn't know what to do. An additional

knock forced him to turn his attention to the door. He answered the door and

said, "Come on in, Harry."

Harry looked at Shadow taking in the streaks left on his cheeks by tears. Rather

than comment, he looked over at Ginger. She looked just as upset as Shadow.

Raising an eyebrow, he looked from one to the other. In a cheerful voice, he

said, "Today is the day."

Shadow, forcing as much cheerfulness into his voice as possible, said, "Yes. She

gets her sight back today."

Reaching down, Harry took Ginger's hand and said, "We had better get going."

With a weak nervous smile, Ginger nodded her head. As Harry led her to the door,

she paused and, in more of a question that a statement, said, "I'll see you when

I get back."

"Sure," answered Shadow after an uncomfortable pause. He glided over to her and

hugged her. As he pulled back, he said, "I love you, Ginger."

Shadow put a hand on the Druid's arm. Harry turned and looked at Shadow in

surprise. In a serious voice, Shadow said, "Take care of her."

"Of course," answered the Druid. He smiled felling extraordinarily pleased that

his plan for the two of them to bond over the months together had worked. It was

with a light step that he led Ginger to the roach coach.

Shadow watched from the window as the roach coach pulled up to the curb. Holding

his breath, he waited to see if Ginger had her sight back. He was so nervous

that he was close to pissing himself, but his hands didn't drop the pack with

his clothes in it. He clutched it even tighter when the door of the vehicle

opened.

Ginger stepped out of the truck and, after taking a few steps to the middle of

the yard, turned to wait for Harry. As she waited, she raised her arms and spun

in place with her head thrown back as she watched the sky turn overhear. It was

a genuine display of joy at having her sight back. She smiled and said something

to the Druid, but Shadow couldn't hear over the pounding in his ears. He didn't

need to hear to know that she had gotten her sight back. Feeling like the lowest

form of life on earth, he fled out the back door and disappeared into the

alleyway.

Harry and Ginger stepped into the house talking about how wonderful it was to

see the world once again. She looked around to find Shadow, but there was no

sign that he was there. She ran from room to room seeking him, but he wasn't

there. Her face fell as she realized that he had left. Turning to Harry, she

held out her arms as she broke down and cried. Harry stepped up to her and

gathered her into his arms. He rocked her and rubbed her back while singing a

soft song to ease the hurt. They had talked about the likelihood of him running

off, but she had denied that it was a possibility.

Shadow waited until dark before climbing out of a manhole at the end of an

alley. A liquor store was less than a hundred yards away and the street was

nearly deserted. All that he wanted was to reach the liquor store, purchase a

bottle of the strongest rot gut whiskey that he could afford, and drink himself

into oblivion. He had been doing that a lot lately, driven by his self-loathing.

He hated himself for having run out on Ginger. He knew that it had hurt her, but

couldn't believe that it was anything compared to how much it had hurt him to

leave. Just thinking about it brought tears to his eyes.

Someone stepped out of one of the stores and headed in his direction. He pulled

back into the alley to wait for the lone pedestrian to pass. He waited five

minutes but no one passed by. Giving up, he stepped out onto the sidewalk and

promptly doubled over when he was hit in the stomach. As his breath left his

lungs, he collapsed to his knees. From the ground, he stared up at the face of

the man that had hit him.

"What?" asked Shadow as he struggled to recover his breath. The shock at getting

ambushed prevented him from saying more. Harry stood in front of Shadow, leaning

on his shepherd's staff while watching him struggle.

Happy Harry was anything but happy at the moment. He glowered at the prostrate

figure at his feet and answered, "You made her cry on what should have been a

very happy day for her."

Bitter at the hand dealt him by fate, Shadow answered, "Better that she cry than

realize what she had shared her house with all of this time."

The sound of the slap echoed through the empty street. Harry shouted, "You hurt

her!"

Shadow stared at the Druid. The happy-go-lucky little man was gone, replaced by

a force of nature that wouldn't be denied. Feeling the emptiness of his words,

he shouted back, "I had to."

Grabbing the ugly man by the back of his shirt, Harry said, "It's time for the

ugly man to disappear."

"Huh?"

At a gesture from Harry, three men stepped out of a doorway and grabbed Shadow.

He struggled, but accomplished nothing. They manhandled him to the roach coach

and threw him in the back. Climbing in, they held him down as Harry sat in the

driver's seat. Turning to look at his passengers over his shoulder, Harry

shouted, "Hold on folks. This thing rocks hard enough as it rolls down the road

to deserve admission into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

Terrified at what was going to happen to him, Shadow struggled. His efforts were

ineffectual as the three powerful men held him down without difficulty. He

recognized them from the streets and knew that Harry had helped them in the

past. They owed Harry and would do anything to help him. Desperate, he said,

"He's going to kill me."

The biggest man grunted and replied, "He said it was time for the ugly man to

disappear. If Harry says you have to disappear, then I'll help him make you

disappear. I might not like it, but I'll do it. Now shut up."

A hood was put over his head blocking out the view. The rest of the trip was

made in darkness. Shadow lay, curled into a ball, on the floor of the roach

coach. Shaking uncontrollably, he cried like a baby as he thought about what he

had done to deserve this treatment. His tears were driven by the knowledge that

he had hurt a beautiful woman who he loved.

An hour after being thrown into the roach coach, hands drug him out of the back

of the vehicle and set him on his feet. He was roughly led away. With the hood

over his head, there was no way for him to know where he was being taken. The

destination didn't matter to him nor was he worried about what he would find

when he reached it. He felt like he deserved whatever was going to happen to

him.

Shadow was pushed roughly to his knees and the hood removed from his head.

Looking up, he found that he was staring at another green robed Druid. The man

stared down at him and then looked up. The Druid asked, "What's going on Harry?"

"This man has been going around harming people because he feels ugly," answered

Harry. He glared down at Shadow as he said, "That's got to stop. The ugly man

has to go."

The other Druid knelt down and grabbed Shadow by the face. Turning the man's

head from side to side, he nodded and said, "No problem."

"How long will it take?"

"A couple of weeks," answered the man.

A couple of weeks? Shadow reeled as he heard the answer. He wondered what kind

of death could take a couple of weeks. As his imagination kicked up into

overdrive, he fainted.

The man standing at the door of the strip club was the biggest man that Wally

Benthusen had ever seen. The scowl on his face seemed to be a permanent fixture

rather than just a passing comment about the man standing in front of him. Wally

attempted to step around the man, but was stopped when a huge paw landed on his

shoulder. The man grunted, "Private party today. Can't go in there without an

invitation."

Wally licked his lips nervously and asked, "Is Ginger here tonight?"

"Have you got an invite?"

"No," replied Wally, "but I know Ginger. I just want to talk to her."

The big man was about to throw Wally to the street when he paused to examine the

man. After taking in Wally's features, the bouncer looked thoughtful for a

moment and then frowned. It was incredible to Wally that the bouncer's face

could get even meaner looking. The bouncer asked, "Are you Shadow?"

"Yes," answered Wally admitting to the name that he had been known by for more

than a decade. He hung his head in shame.

"I outta beat the shit out of you, you fucking son of a bitch," snarled the big

man. He raised a fist getting ready to hit Wally when a movement from near the

street captured his attention. When he noticed who was standing there, the

bouncer brought his arm down. He grunted, "You can go in, but don't cause a

scene."

Wally went into the club. When the man was gone, Harry walked over to the

bouncer and said, "Hello Dargo."

"Hi, Harry. What's up with the shit head that hurt Ginger?" asked the bouncer as

he turned to look inside the club.

"Don't worry about it, Dargo."

"So why are you here, if it ain't to take care of that asshole?"

Harry smiled and answered, "I'm here to cheer up the ladies."

Dargo chuckled at the answer knowing that Harry's visits were always fun for the

ladies. It amazed him that women that wouldn't give the time of day to a man

without money being involved, would fall all over themselves to play with Harry

for free. He watched as Harry entered the club holding up his robe in front of

him while performing a rather lame imitation of the 'Can-Can.' Shaking his head,

he said, "Damn that man knows how to have fun."

Inside the club, Wally picked a chair in the back of the room. He was far enough

away from the action that he could watch what was going on. He had never been

inside such a place and had no clue as to what he was supposed to do. A number

of men were sitting around a stage watching a red head dancing. She was wearing

nothing except for a g-string. They were making comments and throwing dollar

bills on the stage. Wally watched them, confused at the exaggerated excitement

generated in the men from watching the rather plain woman gyrate on the stage.

The guys seated around the runway were having a great time. It didn't take him

long to figure out that it was a bachelor party for one of the men. The

prospective groom was led onto the stage to sit on a chair. A brunette came out

and gave him a lap dance. As she lost clothes, her activities with the groom

became ever more explicit. When she was down to her g-string, she started

rubbing herself on the groom's leg and thrusting her breasts into his face. His

friends were yelling and shouting their encouragement. More money flew to the

front of the room.

After the dance, the groom was led to his chair where he was greeted like a

hero. While that was going on, a waitress came over to Wally and asked, "What's

the matter? Aren't you going to join your friends?"

Wally looked over at the woman. She was wearing lingerie that covered the

essential parts, but left little to the imagination. He answered, "I'm not with

them. I'm here to see Ginger."

The waitress frowned at him, studied his face for a moment, and then asked, "Are

you Shadow?"

The question made him wonder what they had heard about him. He answered, "Yes."

The waitress slapped him and then stalked off with an angry stride. His face

stinging, he watched her leave in shock. He rubbed his face, trying to ease the

sting from where her hand had connected. He wondered how many more slaps he

would get before he had a chance to talk to Ginger.

A song came on and a new dancer stepped out onto the stage. His heart started to

beat faster when he recognized Ginger, but he sat back as he stared at the

stranger that moved out onto the stage. She moved with grace, but there wasn't

any spirit driving her. Having seen her dance, he knew that it was a pale

imitation of what she was capable. The men around the runway looked as bored as

she did. The sight of her moving mechanically through her routine hurt Shadow.

He hung his head in shame, knowing that he had hurt her and killed the spirit

that had lived within her.

The dance ended and a very listless Ginger walked off the stage. The disk jockey

attempted to bring the energy of the room back to the level it had been at

before Ginger had danced. His efforts failed until he announced that the dancers

were coming out into the room. A couple of the dancers entered the room and

started to mix with the men. The party resumed, with the men becoming even

louder than before.

Wally put his head in his hands and started to weep. The pain, frustration, and

anger from years of self hate surged forward in a desperate attempt to escape

through his tears. His shoulders shook as he lost control. He was only dimly

aware of a voice asking, "Hey, why are you crying?"

Deciding it was time to purge his guilt, he answered, "I hurt her. I didn't mean

to hurt her, but I hurt her real bad. All because I didn't want her to see how

ugly I was. God, she must hate me."

"Shadow?" The question came in the middle of a silence that had descended on the

room.

He looked up to find that the voice belonged to Ginger. He stared at her, his

chest tightening to the point where he couldn't breath. It was only with the

greatest effort that he answered, "Yes."

Her hand trembled as she leaned forward and looked at him. Half of his face was

a little darker than the other half, but he wasn't nearly as ugly as he had told

her. When her anger at having been abandoned took control, she slapped him as

she shouted, "You bastard. Did you honestly think that you were that ugly?"

Wally didn't say a word, but stared at the table knowing that he deserved every

mean thing that she would say. He didn't even know or care what was happening

when huge hands lifted him out of his seat. A growl by his ear said, "I told you

I didn't want any trouble."

Fully meaning his words, Wally answered, "Kill me and put me out of my misery."

Seeing the anger on the face of the bouncer, Ginger shouted, "Dargo, set him

down. He didn't do anything."

The bouncer set Wally down on his chair with a growl. He snarled as he said, "I

don't want any more trouble out of you."

With her arms tightly crossed on her chest, Ginger waited until Dargo had left.

Sitting back, she said, "You aren't that ugly."

His face colored as he heard 'that ugly.' He knew that she hadn't seen him at

his worst. He explained, "Not any more. Harry found me a couple days after you

got your vision back. He took me to another Druid, a doctor, who operated on my

face. Over the course of a month, he performed four operations on my face to get

rid of the veins that caused the disfiguration and discoloration of my face. My

face just healed and I came to apologize to you for running out."

Ginger stared at him wondering what he had looked like before the operations.

Four operations suggested that it had been pretty bad. She didn't say a word,

but stared at him.

"I had to go."

"So as soon as Harry picked me up, you left?" asked Ginger. It had hurt her that

he hadn't even waited around to see that she was okay.

"No. I waited until you returned. When you got out of the truck and spun around

on the front yard, I knew that you could see. I ran out the back door rather

than risk letting you see me," answered Wally. He looked down at the table

feeling like a worm.

"So you didn't abandon me?"

"I ran like a coward," answered Wally.

Ginger relaxed as she realized that he hadn't run out without knowing that she

hadn't required his help anymore. It still hurt that he didn't trust her to

accept his appearance, but he had always been honest that he didn't want her to

see his face. She reached across the table and put a hand on his hand. She said,

"Yes, you did."

Wally stared at her hand, unable to believe that she had reached out to touch

him. They sat there for ten minutes without talking. Wally didn't know what to

say to her. He fingered the photograph of the before picture that rested in his

pocket. The last thing that he wanted to do was to show it to her. She sat there

trying to decide what to do with him. Finally, she asked, "Do you work?"

"No, I don't," replied Wally. He didn't even have any plans for his future.

After years of being homeless, making plans for a career, education, or any

other kind of commitment was pretty foreign to him. He shrugged, "I haven't

gotten around to thinking about that yet. I guess I'll do something."

After a minute of thought, Ginger stood up so that he was able to see her

clearly for the first time. She was wearing a bra and panties with a transparent

robe that left very little to the imagination. The sight took his breath away.

He asked, "What now?"

"I get dressed and we go home," answered Ginger with a smile.

He watched her walk away, appreciating the sway of her ass. She was a beautiful

woman and he had come so close to losing her. On second thought, he realized

that he hadn't come close to losing her - he had come close to never having her.

A commotion from the other side of the lounge caught his attention. Looking

over, he spotted Harry in a chair with two of the women that worked there. Harry

was touching the women in places that should have gotten him thrown out of the

club, but the women were having a good time and would never complain. He watched

Harry play connect-the-freckles on the redhead's body. She was making noises

that he was supposed to be playing the game using his tongue instead of his

finger. The other women was running a hand under his robe and laughing at some

joke. It sounded to Wally as if she was curious about what Druids wore under

their robes.

Wally wondered why Harry was there. It was unlikely that it was a coincidence

that Harry had chosen to come to this club and at this time. As far as he could

tell, it had nothing to do with him since Harry was having lots of fun with the

women. Another women came up and slipped off her bra so that she could frame

Harry's head between her rather substantial breasts. The sound of laughter

echoed around the room. Wally shook his head wondering how Harry managed to

charm so many women.

Harry caught his eye and winked in his direction. Harry's attention was

distracted when the woman with her hand under his robe discovered what he wore

under it. With a loud yell, the old man shouted, "The Gods and Goddesses love

randy women!"

When Harry put his hands on the breasts of the woman whose hands had disappeared

under the robe, he added, "And you, my dear, are doubly blessed!"

Wally smiled as he watched the antics at the other table. It was a few minutes

before Ginger stepped out of the back wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt. She

looked more like the girl next door than an exotic dancer. He liked her better

in jeans and T-shirt. As they left, he heard Harry shout out, "Remember that

it's supposed to be fun!"

At the house, Ginger went over to the entertainment center and turned to look

over at Wally with a smile. He fidgeted while wondering what she was thinking,

but didn't ask. After looking through a stack of CDs, she selected one and put

it in the CD player. As the music filled the room, she said, "Come here and kiss

me."

Wally went over to her and hugged her. Bending down, he did his best to kiss

her. Puckering his lips tightly together, he pressed them against hers. Ginger

was startled by the bizarre kiss. She hadn't had a kiss like that since she was

six years old and the boy next door had kissed her. Wondering why he had kissed

her like that, she asked, "What's the matter?"

Embarrassed, he answered, "I've never done this before."

The exotic dancer stared at him in shock. Unsure that she understood what he

meant, she asked, "Are you telling me you're a virgin?"

Wally turned bright red in embarrassment as he answered, "I'm afraid so. I've

never even kissed a woman."

"Oh, wow," she replied as the full implications of what he was saying became

clear to her. As a grin came over her face, she said, "I'll just have to teach

you how to do it right."

For the next four hours, Ginger taught Wally how a man makes love to a woman.

Wally paid close attention to her instructions and practiced every lesson

repeatedly until he got it right. Ginger was in heaven. She returned the favor

and showed him how a woman made love to a man. Wally was in heaven. Together,

they discovered that Harry was right, it was supposed to be fun. They kept that

in mind for the rest of their lives.

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Posted: 2005-01-31

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