“Is dat vhat happen, Ellen? Dem big boys who say nasty tinks? Dey hurt you?” Eva was shaking from fear of what may have happened to her daughter.
“Yes, me and Katia vere valking home and dey—” Ellen began to cry.
“Ellen! Vat dey do? Dey take you … bloomers off?” Eva's anxiety was mounting.
“They did to Katia. Somebody come before dey get to me. Dey ran. Katia ran home. I ran home.”
“Yeesus Christ,” Eva said under her breath. She ran to the phone and called Liam. She gave him an abbreviated explanation.
“Can you get Sheriff? Den you come, please.” Eva hung up the phone. She went to the kitchen and found Saimi making a cup of hot chocolate for Ellen, now sitting at the kitchen table.
“Pappa on his vay home. He gonna haff Sheriff, too.”
As soon as Liam arrived home with the Sheriff, Ellen ran to him. Liam picked her up, cradling her in his arms.
“It’s all over, Ellen. Ye’re safe now, darlin’,” Liam said soothingly. He reached out a hand to Eva, still cradling the half-grown girl who was crying.
“Do you know who it was, Ellen?” the Sheriff asked.
Ellen answered from Liam’s embrace. “It was David Haskins and Steven Albert. They are older boys.”
“I have to ask you, young lady, what did they do to you?”
“They said they were looking for a puppy and they needed help. When we went behind the garage of the house, they pushed us down on the ground. David had Katia and got her undergarments off. I slapped Steven and the owner of the house came home and the boys ran. Then Katia and I ran home.”
“Thank you, Ellen,” the Sheriff said. “I’ll go talk to the other girl. They live on Maple Street? I know the man of the house very well.”
When the Sheriff was ready to leave, Liam put Ellen down. Eva scooped up her daughter, while Liam followed the sheriff out on the porch to speak privately.
“We’ll arrest both of them, Dr. Dady. The girls may have to identify them before the judge.”
“I want to talk to least one of them. I want to scare the shite out o’ him, and I promise I won’t hurt him—too much. Just turn yer eye for ten minutes.”
“I’m not all in favor, Dr. Dady, but I can understand a father wanting to set things right for his daughter and her friend. I understand the other girl’s father isn’t all that much of one, nor is he much of a husband. So, if you promise not to kill him or hospitalize him, go ahead. David Haskins has been a thorn in the town’s side for a few years now. He should be in reform school. Maybe now he’ll be heading there.”
After the Sheriff left, Liam got the address of the leader of the duo from Ellen. He also found out where their meeting places were, and he set out that very minute to find David Haskins. He knew Eva didn’t get the gist of what he was going to do. She’d get it later.
“Go crack him in the head, Pappa Liam,” Ellen said with a tinge of retribution on his way out the door.
The last thing Liam wanted to do on an evening after a long day at the hospital was to hide behind someone’s lilac bush, waiting for a juvenile delinquent to appear. It reminded him of an earlier point in his life, though he certainly assaulted no girls, just eejit Protestants in Belfast.
~~~
Thanks to a bit of good luck, Liam spotted the kid Ellen and the sheriff described. He seemed slightly bigger and taller than Liam, but Liam knew himself to be smarter and probably more agile, not to mention a former highly skilled fist fighter. The longer he watched the arsebite coming toward him, the more Liam's anger burned thinking of the innocent nine-year-olds Ellen and Katia. In his mind, it felt like Shaughnessy the pimp and Dolly all over again. He instinctively changed his posture, loosened his neck, and changed his facial expression to something ominous.
As David Haskins passed, Liam stepped out from behind the bush. He scared David to such an extent that the boy nearly collapsed to the slate sidewalk.
“What the fuck,” David sputtered, awkwardly reconfiguring his body into a defensive stance.
“Yer not so tough, are ye, when ye’re alone?” Liam stood, shoulders square, fists at his side.
“Who the hell are you?” David tried to sound tough, but was still in protective posture. Liam could see Haskins sizing him up.
“Right now, I’m yer worst enemy.”
David tried to snicker, but with lightning speed Liam grabbed him by the coat lapels with both hands and shoved him against a large maple tree next to the sidewalk. He knocked the wind out of David, who by now had completely lost his composure at the full strength behind Liam's controlled anger.
“Who do ye think ye are, Haskins, trickin’ and attackin’ two defenseless little girls? Which one o’ yez geniuses thought up the lost puppy lure?” Liam slapped Haskins’ face, hard. His voice got firmer and more menacing. “I said, who the fuck do ye think ye are?” Liam shook him by the lapels.
“Nobody, nobody … just … don’t hit me.”
“Ye fuckin’ coward. Look at ye cowerin’. Now ye know how those wee girls felt today.” Liam slapped him again and in seconds smelled a vile smell. He looked down at Haskin’s crotch. “Am I makin’ ye piss yer trousers?”
“Yes … just stop.” David was now pleading in fear, arms in defense position, protecting his face. “I’m sorry.”
“If ye ever touch my daughter or any other girl in this town again, ye just may not live to say sorry, ye fuckin’ piece o’ shite.” Liam loosened his grip on David’s lapel, remaining strong and steady. He was still seething on the inside.
David Haskins, who’d been leaning against the tree with both hands up, must have thought the assault on him was over, because he lowered his arms. He was wrong. Liam punched him square in the solar plexus, leaving him floundering on the cold sidewalk and gasping for air.
Liam turned and left David in a fetal position on the ground. He walked back home slowly in an attempt to dissipate his anger. Now that he handled Haskins in his own way, the Sheriff would handle the legalities.
~~~
That night, Liam spent the rest of the evening consoling Ellen. Eva was there, too, in Ellen’s bedroom, but it was Liam Ellen wanted. Eva was in the rocker. Liam and Ellen had been reading on the bed.
“Ye know, ye can’t ever be afraid of boys, especially now. And ye can’t hate all of them either. There’s always a few ‘bad apples’ but don’t let them spoil the whole bunch for ye.”
“I know vhat you mean, Pappa. Dere are good boys at church and at school.”
“Shall I read more for ye?”
“Is Katia gonna be all right?”
“I think she will. Her attack didn’t go as far as ye think. She was bruised and scared just like you. If ye think her Mam will let her come over more often, she can spend more time here with you, with us. That may help.”
“It’s a good idea,” Ellen said. She stayed with Liam, his arm around her as they sat on the edge of the bed. After some time, she said, “Pappa, vhen I grow up, I vant a man just like you.”
“I think you’ll find just that someone, Ellen. You are not a girl to settle for anythin’ less.” He felt he was putting on airs; he did not think he was anything too special, but he understood what Ellen was trying to say.
During the whole exchange, Eva was mending socks and the dress Ellen had been wearing when she and Katia were attacked.
“Mamma, I’m not sure I want to wear that dress ever again. Can you put it away?”
“I can do dat, sveetheart. I not like it eidder.”
“Mamma, can I sleep vit you and Pappa tonight?”
“Yes, you can, yust tonight. You have to be stronk tomorrow.”
~~~
The next morning, Katia came with her mother to see Liam at the hospital to be examined. She was bruised and still traumatized.
“Let’s take a look at ye, darlin’,” Liam said to Katia in the exam room. Susanna was present at his request.
“How did ye sleep last night?” he asked.
&nb
sp; “I slept with Mamma. I’m still scared.”
“Well, those boys are in jail and will go to trial. They won’t scare ye any more. You may have to tell on them in front of the judge, then ye’re done.”
“Did Ellen sleep with her Mamma?”
“Yes, but her Mamma said just one night. Today she has to be a little stronger.”
Liam told Katia what he told Ellen about not being afraid of every boy. “Ye’re in charge of your life, Katia. You get to say what happens to ye.” Liam saved one question for last. “Did anyone put his penis in you, Katia? It’s important ye tell me and yer Mamma.”
“No. I would’ve told you.”
“That’s good news. That’s for yer husband someday, who loves ye.”
As the nurse helped Katia get dressed, Liam took Susanna to a private room. Liam had thought Susanna was about to faint when he asked Katia the last question. He got her a drink of water from the wash sink in the room. “She’s fine, Susanna. She’ll need yer support and love. If she wants to talk about it, just be reassuring. Those boys won’t be around to harm anyone again.”
~~~
The whole town was talking about the arrest of David Haskins and Steven Albert for the assault of two little school girls. Liam hoped that the girls could remain anonymous, but one never knew with the newspapers, especially with reporters willing to pay for the information. When a reporter came to the hospital for the scoop, no one gave him any names. Dr. Andersen had made it quite clear that anyone in employment suspected of talking to the papers about either girl would be dismissed. He promised extra in their Christmas bonuses, and if anyone talked, no one would get the bonus at all. Liam would have to talk to the Prosecutor about anonymity for the girls at the trial if they were to testify, and how it would work if he testified in their stead as the case physician.
A few weeks later, Katia and Ellen were allowed to give their testimony before the judge in his chambers. The prosecutor and the boys’ attorneys were present. The defendants were also present, as were Liam, Eva, and Susanna. It would not be a jury trial. The judge was to decide the defendants’ fates. Liam testified as the victims’ physician. David Haskins and Steven Albert were guilty of assault as charged. Both were given two years at a boys’ reformatory in Minneapolis.
~~~
Eva had loved the attention and pampering, but not the scolding, during these last months.
“Let me rub yer feet,” Liam would say at night while getting into bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress, pulling her swollen feet into his lap. She would moan and groan in pleasure and soreness.
“You vant me rub you somptink else, now ve are in bed?” Eva would want to reciprocate.
“Does it have to be my feet? Or do I get a different choice?”
On weekends when he wasn’t on call, Liam would set her up on the sofa covered with a blanket, while she knit baby blankets and socks. He brought her mehu or other tidbits of food.
“Next time I like cake, Liam. Don’t brink me apple, yust cake.”
“Yer hips are tellin’ me apple, though.”
“I don’t hear my hip. I hear my belly. Cake, please.”
Liam smiled and acquiesced.
Ellen, trying to get into the act, set herself up next to her Mamma, feet up, knitting her prospective brother or sister things to wear. That didn’t last long, though. It was Ellen’s imperative to be up and about, so Eva suggested to her that dusting and sweeping would be a big help. Ellen swept and dusted the foyer, but didn’t offer to do it again.
~~~
A week before Thanksgiving, Eva thought it would be a wonderful idea to have a turkey dinner and celebrate their first Thanksgiving. Eva had always been resistant to the American holiday, thinking she would be betraying her heritage, but Liam thought it was a grand idea.
“We can toast to Teddy Roosevelt,” he said in jest.
Saimi knew what to do about all the foods, since she had been a cook in an American household for years. She, Eva, and Ellen had fun procuring everything they needed and set about preparing an authentic American Thanksgiving feast. A farmer that Saimi knew butchered and cleaned a turkey. Eva did not want to do it herself. Being well into her sixth month of pregnancy, she felt queasy about it. Saimi agreed that it would save them some time in preparation. Mr. Tikala delivered the twenty-two-pounder, wrapped in butcher paper in a wooden box, on Wednesday afternoon. Eva had him put it on the sauna porch where it was cold but not yet freezing.
~~~
On the morning of Thanksgiving, Eva woke up at her usual time. She knew Saimi would be up before dawn, peeling rutabagas and cooking them to mash and make into a casserole, preparing the bread stuffing, then dressing the turkey and getting it into the oven. Dinner was scheduled for one o’clock. Saimi had decided to bake the two pumpkin pies the night before. They were in the cold pantry covered with linen towels. Eva’s mouth watered at the fragrance that permeated the house and couldn’t wait for the whipped cream and pie. She smiled when she recalled Liam teasing her about having one of the pies for her own. “The rest of us will make do with the second,” he said.
Ellen, who always rose with whoever was up first, was probably still sound asleep, having not made her presence known as far as Eva could hear. Saimi left the kitchen when the turkey was put in the oven for its five to six-hour slow-roast. Eva could hear her footsteps walk down the front hall, then up the stairs in the foyer.
Eva was six, going on seven months pregnant, and couldn’t get enough sex. She was so aroused around Liam. As she lay awake, she decided to use the chamber pot instead of going outside or upstairs. Returning to bed, Liam stirred. He rolled to Eva and gave her a sweet kiss.
“Good mornin’,” he said.
“I vant you,” she whispered.
“I thought so. Ye’ve been makin’ me go to bed unusually early for weeks now. The minute ye’re satisfied, ye want it again. Ye fell asleep last night, though.”
“I was givink you rest.”
He chuckled. He rolled over to use the chamber pot on his side of the bed, then snuggled back under the covers. “Are ye ready?”
“I vas ready haff hour ago.” She gently grasped his erect penis. He pushed into her hand.
He laughed silently and began to inch her night gown up, kissing her engorged breasts. This roused her like nothing else. She splayed her arms and arched her back to give Liam full access. Her knees and legs spread to give his hand, or whatever else he wanted to use, full access.
Liam, propped on an elbow, looked at his wife in the pale dawn. He knew she was completely under the influence of his skillful foreplay. Her eyes were slits, her breasts heaving. She moaned as if she were purring.
He whispered, “I want to be inside ye.”
She looked at him through her half open eyes, smiled and wiggled her bottom. He climbed on top with alacrity, careful not to put his weight on her belly. He found her slick and ready. He entered her and barely began a rhythm when she climaxed. He thrust a few times and came himself, so roused by her. He rolled off.
“Minä rakastan sinua,” she murmured. She rolled to her side, facing him, and drifted off to sleep.
“I love ye, too,” he whispered. He snuggled up to her, feeling the cozy pregnancy heat coming from her body like a stoked coal furnace. He laid his hand on her baby belly and dozed peacefully until the exuberant, sing-song voice of Ellen sounded in the kitchen some time later. He smiled.
~~~
As the women, including Ellen, helped each other in the kitchen in the late morning, Liam kept a close eye on Eva. He knew that a prolonged time of standing could cause her feet to swell. He went to the kitchen, barely able to sit and relax with the boarders in the parlor.
“I think you’ve been on your feet enough. It’s time for you to sit.” He escorted her from the kitchen to the sofa, sat her down, and put a hassock under her feet. Her bag of knitting was next to the loom. He fetched it for her.
“Liam, I don’t vant to knit right now. I am fine, a
nd Saimi need help in kitsen.”
“Saimi is doing fine. Ellen and I can help.”
“Liam—”
“Eva!” he snapped. “Just sit.”
Ellen, standing next to Liam, interjected. “Liam, I don’t vant a fight, so let Mamma go help. She is fine. I’ve seen her. She knows when to rest.”
Liam, standing in the middle of the parlor, looked at his two women for several moments, trying to out-think them. He opened his mouth as if it would help to continue to be so adamant, then closed it and threw up his hands in defeat. He did not want to break the fragile bridge he and Ellen had made with the Haskins incident. In his head, he knew Eva was all right. His heart and emotions were much stronger than his head, though, when it came to Eva and the pregnancy.
“Go ahead, but I’m still watching you,” he said. “And do not go on the stairs to the cellar. Call me if ye need to get anythin’ from the stores down there.”
“I tell you vhat, I vork fifteen minute, den I come sit for ’vhile. I yust have some potatoes and carrots to peel and Saimi can have rest, too.”
Liam sat in a large upholstered chair and picked up a magazine. “Fine, but I’m not altogether happy.”
Eva walked to him, bent to give him a kiss on the nose, and then turned to go into the kitchen. He loved her and his baby growing inside her. He smiled as she waddled away putting her hand on her back for support. He almost changed his mind, but stayed mum with great willpower.
Liam eyed Ellen heading to her room, then back to the parlor, and then to the drawer in the parlor cabinet. She brought out the playing cards and sat on the floor in front of him.
“Let’s play Eights.”
“I may as well, your mother’s not listenin’ to me,” he said. He smiled at Ellen and sat on the floor opposite her.
Ellen shuffled, smiling back, but in a devious way. “Let’s play for nickels,” she said. She plopped a large handful on the floor next to her knee, still smiling deviously.
“Ye think ye’re gonna take me for all I’m worth?”
Ellen gave him a toothy grin.
Eva and the Irishman Page 49