Unbeknownst to her she therefore represented a mirrored representation of these polar opposite and conflicting duel feelings of both love and pain and his only defence mechanism he could use against her was too simply try and forget about her and focus upon other pressing matters of concern. He had also heard through the reliable office gossip grapevine that she was now happily dating Merlyo in his absence which made him happy for the both of them because regardless of their complicated past love triangle, he felt that they both deserved happiness within their separate solitary lives. He would however occasionally reminisce about her and thought about calling her on many separate occasions but this feeling was always outweighed by his own shame and guilt and so he always opted to simply not communicate. The fear she unwittingly produced within him also added to his reluctance to communicate but he also wanted her and Merlyo to enjoy there wonderful new relationship together and was adamant that he would not become the same shameful creature that had decided to burn down the homes of the homeless again and forsake another lost little girl to an unknown future.
However upon seeing her outside of the window in the pouring rain in those alluringly high heels made him instantaneously forgo his self-imposed exile as he instinctively wanted to hold her again within his loving arms. This instinctive desire was dangerous however because it could potentially result in rejection by her and the inevitable emotional pain that would ensue from this unwanted outcome would probably test his resolve for not taking his beloved opium again. This instinctively wondrous feeling of warmth and love that he still had for her stubbornly persisted however and no matter how much well developed defence mechanisms he had slowly built up over the last year, he would destroy them all within a heartbeat just to hold her within his arms again. Seeing her walk past the window, albeit briefly, was totally different to thinking about her and he immediately forgot about his guilt, shame and fear in all its absurd totality as it was completely submerged by his unspoken feelings for her which still ruled his yearning heart.
The preoccupied Ness then hastily said goodbye to the disappointed but smiling veteran whom found his obvious preoccupation with the beautiful woman whom had just graced there window a pleasant distraction from his otherwise boring and mundane daily existence. The blissfully excitable Ness then quickly ran back to the main entrance in order to give her the impression that he was leaving the veterans building of his own volition and had nothing whatsoever to do with her miraculously surprising appearance. As he cunningly implemented this clever plan at harmless deception he realised that his attempt to block her from his memory and contain her within a prison in his mind was utterly futile because with a mere glimpse she had instantaneously and effortlessly eroded these well-crafted defensive walls. Not only that but he had willingly sabotaged these defences himself because of the happy memories of her which now alarmingly resurfaced within his reanimated mind.
As the excited Ness rushed to greet her he speculated that she had probably come here to see Merlyo for dinner that evening at the nearby Italian restaurant that he knew was covertly owned by an affiliate of the Polizzi’s Mayfield Road Mob. Regardless of that enlighteningly irrelevant fact it was common knowledge that the expensive food was truly fantastic and was known throughout Cleveland as a specialist in Italian cuisine, as well as an intensely romantic destination for any loving couple. The calculating Ness then rushed towards the opening door as he saw the struggling Poppy quickly lower her umbrella and rush in, pretending to be leaving and purposely bumping into her whilst she was halfway in before he awkwardly spoke “Oh! Poppy! Hi? What a pleasant surprise! Fancy meeting you here?”
A surprised Poppy replied in courtesy as they both awkwardly stood midway within the entrance whilst she tried desperately not to show her embarrassment “Oh! I’m sorry! Eliot? Peter didn’t say you’d be here?” Ness smiled as he keenly looked at her and marvelled how attractive and alluringly sensual she still remained, carelessly oozing sexuality whilst her beautiful new hair extenuated her subtle yet gentle facial complexion and rosy cheeks. Her near perfect and blemish less porcelain fair skin was pleasantly accompanied by her liberally applied and sweet smelling perfume that he was unnaturally drawn to like a bee to honey. Right then and there and in the uncomfortably awkward small doorway of the veterans home administration building, the happy Ness could feel the last of his cumbersome self-defence walls utterly fall under her unspoken assault and he decided to hopefully continue this pleasurable encounter in the privacy of his silver Scarab as he spoke again “Please I was going out for a cigarette, would you care to join me?”
Poppy stood there for a second or two in silent deliberation and quiet contemplation as she pretended to struggle with her wet umbrella before she replied whilst smiling “Sure! Ok! It’ll be nice to catch up. But it’s raining rather hard outside?” The smiling Ness then carefully looked up at the gloomy swirling clouds above as if he was quietly debating his own request, which he was not and soon replied “Well! It’s lucky that we have your umbrella then isn’t it?” She instantly recognised this characteristic cheeky smile of his all too well and even after a year of dating Merlyo, she still knew what he was thinking. She was curious however to continue this little game of flirtation outside even if only to see how a year had changed the troubled man. She then willingly accepted his polite invitation with a nod and both slowly walked into the relentless rain under the single white umbrella.
Meanwhile back inside the veterans administration building the preoccupied Merlyo had ascertained that there surgeon suspect had voluntarily admitted himself into their care several times to treat his rampant alcoholism and some of these times conveniently overlapped with the times that Gerber had theorized that the Mad Butcher was killing his victims. It was increasingly apparent that the doctor’s frequently self-imposed hospitalizations provided a perfect alibi for him but only if none dared to scrutinise the times, dates or the homes ability to monitor their separate clients. Then the wily detective also discovered an important issue regarding the doctor’s genealogy which he told a curious Zalewski whom in turn stopped and looked at his partner in utter amazement upon receiving this important revelation.
The curious Ness saw this stunned reaction from the detective because he was covertly observing the two detectives facial expressions from his vantage point outside in the rain. As he stood by his shiny silver Scarab he curiously watched both detectives talking to an unknown staff member on the second floor and theorized what could had caused such a reaction to develop upon Zalewski’s face. He then squinted his eyes as he tried to get a better view of them through the persistent rain haze and conveniently kept Poppy’s umbrella low so that he could keep an ever watchful eye on their whereabouts because he did not wish to be rudely interrupted whist sharing a precious few moments alone with his stunning ex-girlfriend.
Both Ness and Poppy casually stood by the impressively gleaming silver Scarab in the veteran homes vacant driveway as the rain frantically funnelled down the old gutters and under their stationary feet. They both cowered under the single solitary umbrella which was acting as there only shield against the relentless rain as they both then separately lit up a cigarette and eagerly smoked. Ness then spoke again after a few silent moments of enjoying the tobacco filling up his lungs before being blissfully expelled out again “You sure you don’t want to hop inside the Scarab? It’s awfully bad weather out here!”
As soon as he had uttered the words he had regretted it not just because of the bad memories that the Scarab unwittingly contained for Poppy but also because he did not wish to lose his advantageous viewing location on the interesting events that where currently transpiring within the veteran home’s second floor. Also if the clever Merlyo found them together within his silver Elegant Mess outside and in the unobservable rain, he might get the wrong idea about their harmless encounter. The eagerly smoking Poppy then replied with a surprisingly unexpected answer “No thanks, I kind of like the feeling of rain and wind on my skin an
d the live electricity within the air. Can you feel it? The coming thunderstorm? It’s like lightening will strike at any moment! People don’t spend enough time enjoying the simple things in life like the elements, you know?”
The agreeing Ness nodded and was always surprised by the unique assortment of descriptive words that sometimes came out of her mouth, utterly special in her assessment of any given situation no matter how mundane. He then cunningly looked at his beautiful companion through the corner of his eye as she elegantly smoked the freshly lit cigarette with such immense sophistication and purposeful grace that it would even put the most skilled smoker to shame. He was glad that he had forgotten his own umbrella because it gave him an excuse to shuffle up closer to her and be nearer to her enticing smell, making him instinctively about how much he had truly missed her company and how much he longed to pleasure her again in secret ways that he knew only he could. She glanced across at him and caught him looking at her with hunger in his wanting eyes and she knew, just from this slight glance, what he was imagining but she would continue to tease him because it amused her to do so. She had no intention of getting back together with the emotionally dangerous Ness but was immensely curious about how he had changed himself within the space of a single year. Of course she still had strong feelings for him because once she had opened her heart it was impossible for her to close it when somebody had entered its confidential walls but these feelings had now changed in an indiscernible way.
On her numerous official bodyguard activities with his socialite mistress she had discovered that Evaline would never bring him up in casual conversation because she considered him and his work somewhat of a tiresome bore. Evaline was far happier discussing the finer things in life such as clothing and hair styles, fashion and her own illustrations at the Higbee Company because she had big dreams for her future and intended to create children’s books as an illustrator later in life. She had an unquenchable thirst to create a children’s book about a cat entitled “Sam, Bangs and Moonshine” and was even considering a potential move to Washington in order to pursue this particular artistic endeavour. Evaline was the polar opposite of Poppy and the type of shallow and self-absorbed person that she would ordinarily avoid but she had slowly become closer to her as time wore on and wanted her to succeed within her art career in the future.
Poppy then secretly looked suspiciously at Ness and considered if this was indeed an accidental meeting or had he been planning it for a long time in advance, possibly thinking about her and hoping that this meeting would once again initiate there turbulent and passionate love affair again. She had absolutely no intention of resurrecting their relationship again unless he had beaten his own demons that previously raged within him and it surprisingly truly did appear to be so as she constantly analysed his facial movements, eyes and slight mannerisms for any hint of the opium that used to inhabit his body with such dominant ferocity. Ness then caught her looking at him through the side of her eye as he smoked, to her embarrassment, and then they both awkwardly smiled as they were conveniently interrupted by the group of old on looking veterans whom where keenly viewing them from the buildings large communal room window.
Both the pleasantly surprised Poppy and Ness looked on amazement as the same smiling veteran whom Ness had been previously questioning purposefully turned up the radio’s volume so that the front lawn was flooded with the music of Ella Fitzgerald’s tragic murder ballad, Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today). Even though the crackling reception was poor and the signal broke occasionally, the two could not help but secretly reminisce about the romantic evening that they had danced to this very same song upon their first official date a few years ago.
Poppy embarrassingly smiled and so did Ness as the famed love song continued to irregularly play on the crackling radio, filling their minds with fond memories of the past that felt like a lifetime ago. They both pleasantly smoked and listened to the meaningful words that emanated from the window as all the onlookers eagerly watched the two lovebirds and awaited there well deserved reward for bringing them back together again, which for them meant a kiss. Under there solitary umbrella’s and within that blissful moment both had wished that things had turned out differently in the past and both had regrets of precious moments lost in time and irrational choices made. They stood there in a lingering and sad silence as the beautiful song unfortunately finished playing and all that could now be heard was the crackling of the bad reception in combination with a polite nurse’s voice whom was telling the residents to disperse and go back to the mundane existence of drab conformity.
Both then noticed that by their feet a constant river had developed under the stationary silver Scarab as rain water cascaded down the buildings complex drainage system and into the surrounding uncut grass. Ness then bravely spoke after watching this fluidity and considering how much it represented the changeable nature of relationships “I’ve missed you and I’m so sorry that I’ve been out of touch recently but I’ve been trying to sort myself out and I’ve been working a lot. Everything has been all consuming and er? I don’t know where to begin really? So let me just start by saying that I’m sorry for being a complete jerk and I’m sorry about how things turned out between us, truly I am. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel bad about how I behaved and I’m even embarrassed to talk about it so er? How have you been?”
She quickly replied as she satisfactorily took another puff of her cigarette and enjoyed Ness’s newly formed insightful and regretful personality “I’m ok thanks and I’m glad you’re sorting yourself out, that’s really good to hear. Your apology is accepted and please let’s not dwell on the past because you cannot change it and it’ll just eat you up inside, believe me I should know! I’ve wanted to ask you this for a while now but does Evaline talk about me? I’m just curious” The cautious Ness slowly released the cigarette smoke that he had kept within his lingering lungs for a sensual moment before he looked up at the turbulent sky and replied “No she doesn’t mention you but I don’t ask. You see she’s always been like that, a law unto herself and she keeps her private affairs well? Private! You’ll find that you’ll really catch her interest if the topics of conversation revolve primarily around her and her alone”
Ness felt uneasy at his last statement as he replayed it quickly back to himself within his frantic mind and did not like how judgemental he sounded with his vanity insinuation about Evaline and he also hated how he stated that he “did not ask” about her because it may of offended Poppy’s feelings. Poppy however did not seem to mind as she continued to effortlessly smoke whilst listening to the rain tapping off of the umbrella’s fabric roof. She finally broke the awkward silence as she finished her cigarette and skilfully flicked it into a nearby puddle “Where close friends now you know and I must confess that she doesn’t talk about you much either but I know she’s he’s in love with you, call it a woman’s intuition”
Ness did not look at her because he knew that she would be politely smiling at him and feared her superior ability to read his facial expressions and so simply looked down at the puddle that she had discarded her cigarette into and reluctantly replied as he watched it spin around “I know she loves me” After a momentary pause whereby Poppy was surprised at his pointedly short answer, she calmly pressed this uncomfortable topic and asked him another sensitive question because she was curious as to where he stood on each of his current relationships “What about Edna?” The retreating Ness had nowhere to run and simply continued to stoically look down at the same puddle and at her still spinning cigarette as he calculated his reply with care. A hugely overwhelming feeling of sadness then crept upon him as he thought about his wife and then, as if he wished to escape this particularly uncomfortable feeling, he broke his viewing of the spinning cigarette and looked up into the turbulent dark sky again.
The impressively ominous dark sky’s spiral clouds swirled around whilst making fantastic shapes as lightening dramatically passed through
them before he looked back down at the puddle again and saw his distorted reflection looking back at himself. The topic of Edna was always a constant taboo for him because he had always felt guilty at how their relationship had evolved into something little more than a passing friendship. This saddened him and made him feel uncomfortable as he recalled his past regrets and it was a though his very soul had become distorted and deformed, much like his unrecognisable and lightening highlighted reflection that now strangely starred back at him. Ness then reluctantly answered her question after a long pause “Unfortunately we don’t see each other now at all except for the occasional public engagement in order to keep up my ‘marriage façade’ for the ravenous newspapers. They already know I’m seeing Evaline but as long as I can show that I still attend engagements with Edna, then I have an argument against their public attacks. It’s a shame how life works isn’t it? Relationships always start off with so much promise and end up changing into something else over time and…”
Poppy felt bad about letting her curiosity bring up these sensitively complicated topics of the heart and interrupted him as she was eager to make him feel better about himself “That can sometimes be a good thing! A more constant love that is not fleeting or momentary and has to endure the trails of time” The smiling Ness looked at her endearingly and nodded in agreement before he continued “I still love her and always will but we’ve just drifted apart as the years have worn on and we both understand that. Still, even understanding that you’ve both changed doesn’t make it any less painful” Ness felt immensely sad and regretful within his aching heart as he paused to take another puff of his cigarette and she could easily see how emotionally troubled he was no matter how much he tried to hide it from her.
The Noir Evil Page 48