Straight Up Interfererence

by Rose von Barnsley

  "I'd like to go with you, if that's alright."

  "Yeah, that's great."

  We went to a town that was nearly an hour and a half away. He drove an old beat up truck that had no radio. When that was brought to my attention, I wondered where he had heard that sad song. He was younger, like me. It was not something we would know, like a common nursery rhyme or anything. He started humming again, but this time, it was funny. I picked up on the tune right away and decided to sing along.

  "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands," I clapped. "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands…"

  He chuckled, but sang along with me instead of humming. "If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it, if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands," he laughed and sang out loud with me.

  We had fun coming up with different things to put in the song, and instead of clapping, he would stomp one foot, and then we stuck out our tongues, shouted hooray, wiggled our noses, and flapped our arms like chickens. We had fun coming up with things he could do while still driving.

  We were grinning, giggling messes by the time we got to the home improvement store. He grabbed a flatbed cart, as we went into the garden side of the building. "Hey, Jan," he called to an older woman.

  "Hello, Daniel," she answered with her back to us, but when she turned around, she startled. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine."

  "I am a friend of yours," he chuckled.

  She scrunched up her face, looking at him closer. She must have finally recognized him, because she suddenly looked surprised. "Where's you beard?"

  He shrugged, and his cheeks pinked. "I shaved it."

  Her eyes landed on me, and she realized I was with him. "Oh, I see." I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but I think she got the wrong idea about us. "Who’s this lovely young lady?" the grandma-aged woman asked grinning.

  "This is my friend, Gabby. She's staying with me for a while.”

  "Really?" She sounded way too excited.

  You could tell Daniel was getting a little flustered, when he stumbled over his next words. "Get anything new in?"

  "We did get in a new order of birdhouses."

  "Birdhouses? I love birdhouses! Where are they, can I see?" I asked.

  The woman's grin got huge, and she winked at Daniel, who blushed even more. She led me down an aisle, and on the end of it was a huge collection of different birdhouses. They all looked like different stores. I was giggling, as I took in their detail. Outside of the bird general store was bags of feed and hay for nesting. The library had a few bird-titled books. The restaurant sported a menu in the window with different kinds of seed and berry dishes.

  I felt Daniel come stand behind me. "Why don't you have any birdhouses?" I asked. It was strange that he had so many feeders and no houses.

  "Well, they have houses, in the trees." I looked back at him and frowned. "But you can pick out some if you'd like. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to have some of them hanging around, too, now would it?"

  "Really, you don't think it's silly, or going to mess with the rustic look of your home?"

  He smiled wider. "Go ahead and pick out a few." He picked up a doctor birdhouse and chuckled. "They can't go without a doctor."

  We ended up getting six of the different birdhouses. We were reading off the silly things written on them, which had me distracted, and I almost fell into a display pond. Daniel caught me before I hit the water. "Are you alright?"

  He carefully righted me and looked down toward the pant-covered shin I had bumped.

  "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I got a little distracted by the bird town." I looked back at the pond and got an idea. "Hey, Daniel, why don't you have any sort of water out for the birds?"

  He looked over at the pond and then back to me. "Next weekend?"

  I got excited. "That’d be so cool!"

  "We'll see how cool you think it is with all the digging and moving of rocks."

  I hip checked him. "You know it'll be fun."

  He got a huge grin on his face. "Yeah, I think it might be."

  When we got home, he pulled out a huge ladder and a toolbox. I held the ladder, while he mounted the birdhouses in the trees. I swear it scared me half to death when he would go up so high, and I told him as much. He confused me, when he said thank you. He was thanking me for being worried? I didn't get him.

  The following week, every night after dinner, he would call me over to his office, and we would look online at different water features the home improvement store had. It was sweet of him to let me have some input on the project.

  We walked around and looked for a place the animals would feel comfortable coming down to the ground to get a drink. We also wanted to make sure it wouldn't be too deep, so they wouldn't drown. I came up with the idea of putting a low rock in the middle they could get to if they did fall in. He called me a genius.

  I was bouncing in my seat come Friday afternoon. Daniel quit working early, so we could pick up the stuff for the pond and grocery shop. He asked me what I liked, and if there was anything I missed eating. I suggested ice cream. When we came to the toiletry items, he sent me to pick out my girl stuff. I told him I would find a way to pay him back, but he insisted it wasn't a problem.

  I came to the feminine products and realized I would need some very soon. I was startled, when he came up behind me and looked at the wall of tampons. "Do they have the brand you like?" he asked, as if we were talking about shampoo.

  My face burned deep red in embarrassment.

  "I do have sisters, Gabby. You really think I was never sent to the store for tampons before?"

  I snatched a box off the shelf, and he chuckled at me. "You need some painkillers to go with them?" He pointed to the shelf with PMS painkillers. "My sisters swear they work better than the regular stuff, why don't you try some?"

  I was mortified. I couldn't believe we were actually discussing this. I went ahead and grabbed a box, just so we could get the hell out of this aisle. I didn't think I could handle it if he suggested a feminine wash.

  He didn't even flinch, when he set my stuff on the conveyer belt at the checkout. I didn't know why I thought he would. He grabbed a couple of chocolate candy bars and tossed them up there, too. I didn't even want to ask if he was buying me PMS comfort food.

  Could you actually die of embarrassment?

  Chapter 13 – Rocky Road

  Once we put everything away and had dinner, we planned out our Saturday. We needed to refill the feeders and dig out the hole for the plastic pond mold. We had decided to leave it raised a little, so the larger animals wouldn't have to bend down so much.

  The next morning, he was out in the yard, clearing some brush, so we could dig the hole. I started on breakfast. It was the first time I had cooked for him, but I felt more comfortable with doing it after shopping with him to buy the food.

  He came in smiling. "You made breakfast."

  "I saw you were busy, so I thought I'd help out."

  "Thank you, that was very kind." When he said that, I felt bad for not cooking earlier. I would have to make it a point to cook for him more often.

  When we went out to work on the pond, I realized he had already dug out the hole. "I was going to help you with that."

  "I know, but I didn't want you to wear yourself out. I'm gonna need a lot of help with placing the rocks, and some of them are really heavy."

  The pond had a little bit of a waterfall feature. It was supposed to help keep the water fresh. It also gave the taller animals a higher drinking point, not to mention it was pretty. We stacked the rocks around the base, making little natural-looking steps. It had a float to keep the water level steady and not waste water at the same time. The pond itself was only six inches deep, and a four-inch wide rock was placed in the center of it to keep small animals from drowning.

  It was well past lunchtime, when we stepped back and turned the water on. "Now we wait and see if the animals take to it," he grinned, p
retty sure they would.

  We took lunch at the window seat in his room. It had a perfect view of the pond, and with us inside, it gave the animals time to inspect it. It didn't take long for some birds to make their way down, and the squirrels were in it quick. I was thrilled, when I saw a deer come sneaking in cautiously and take a drink.

  It was suddenly spooked, making me frown.

  "Someone's here." He didn't sound too upset or excited.

  "Danny, where are you, sweetie?" Mrs. Valente called.

  "My room," he answered with a deep sigh and went back to looking out the window.

  She opened the door and glanced at the bed, as if she expected us to be there. She grinned even wider, when she saw us with our lunch plates by the window.

  "We put in a pond for the animals today. Come see it. There was a deer here a few minutes ago." I stood up and offered her my seat. Daniel stood up as well, taking our plates to the kitchen.

  Mrs. Valente sat down in his vacated spot. "How are you doing out here?"

  "Good, I've really enjoyed my time here. Daniel let me pick out some birdhouses," I pointed out a birdhouse mounted up high in the trees, "and it was my idea for the pond."

  "I'm glad you're having a good time. I have some papers for you to sign. Victor sent them. They're for your trust fund. I left them on the table in the kitchen." She led the way into the main room, taking a seat at the little table.

  "That's good. I was hoping to use some of that money to go to St. Mary's for the last semester. I'll probably have wait and take my classes during the second semester starting next January." I looked out the window and focused on the squirrels going crazy. "Have my parents asked about me at all?" I already knew the answer, but one could hope.

  She squeezed my hand and changed the subject. She gave me my answer without actually saying it. "We're going to cover the cost of you finishing your last semester. It's the least we could do, since we had to have you sequestered out here in the middle of nowhere."

  "Thanks."

  "Now, let's go over the trust. I had him set a large portion aside for education. You're a smart girl, and I had a feeling you'd want to go to college."

  "Yes, I've had my eye on a few colleges. I'll have to adjust the dates on my applications, if I can even get them. I left them at my parents’ house."

  "Don't worry, honey, we'll get your stuff, no problem."

  I looked down at the seven figure number. It would be more than enough to cover college. "I won't have to get a job with this. I applied for scholarships, but they only cover so much. I would've needed to get a job."

  "Well, now you don't." Her eyes glance to my arms, and I was tempted to hide them. "You seem to be doing well here."

  I shrugged. "I like it here. It's nice, Daniel is nice." I looked back out the window. "He picked that birdhouse. It's a doctor's office," I smiled, remembering.

  "I brought some books for you to help keep you busy."

  "That sounds good. I spend a lot of time watching the animals. I guess I could read, too. I really love that back porch swing. Daniel has to pry me off of it most days."

  "What else do you do out here?"

  "There are trails and stuff. The animals are really entertaining."

  "You coming to stay here didn't seem to bother Daniel. He's handled you being in his home very well. I was a little worried, but I knew he wouldn't turn you away. My little grump usually likes to be by himself."

  I grinned, thinking about all the fun we'd had together so far. "I don't know about that. We like goofing off together."

  "Goofing?" She glanced at the bedroom door, and my cheeks burned red.

  "Not…we sang 'If you're happy and you know it clap your hands' and a few other silly songs on the way to and from town. We fill the feeders together and talk. He cut me my own path and named it after me. It leads to this beautiful grove full of ladybugs."

  She squeezed my hand. "It sounds like you being here has done him some good. I'm happy to hear that."

  We heard a gun go off, and we both ran to the front porch. I could only guess that Mrs. Valente's driver had stepped out of the car. Daniel had the rifle pointed at someone hiding behind a car door.

  "That was a warning shot," Daniel growled.

  "Christ, Danny!"

  "I warned you, Ann. I wasn't kidding around."

  She moved in front of him, pushing the gun up between them, but not grabbing it. I had been so focused on the pair that I hadn't noticed who was ducking behind the driver's side of the car.

  "Gabby!"

  When I heard his voice, it blindsided me. It was shocking how much it hurt to have Marky here in person, it ripped me apart.

  "Do you see that?" I heard Daniel say, but I didn't know what he was talking about.

  "Baby, I figured it out. Call off my crazy uncle, and I'll tell you all about it."

  I didn't move from my spot.

  "Give him a minute, Daniel," his mother pleaded.

  "Gabby, baby, please."

  I was finding it hard to breathe, but I felt my body charge as soon as he started to come closer. I heard Marky run up the steps, and he swept me up into his arms. I buried my face in his chest, as I burst into tears.

  "I've got you, baby, I'm here now. I'm so sorry." I felt him kiss my hair, like he had so many times before. He lifted me and carried me into the house, keeping me crushed against him. "I've missed you so much, the smell of your hair, your skin..."

  His lips were on my neck and then quickly moved up to my lips. He kissed me lightly and pulled back. My eyes met his that were full of pain and desperation. "I can't stand you being away, baby. I need you. I think I've found a way for us to be together." He had carried me into the bedroom and pulled me down on the bed with him. His arms held me in a vise grip. I felt him take a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm losing it like this. God, you've got me all fucked in the head, don't you."

  He smiled down at me, and I tried to temper my feelings. I tried to stop the hope from growing. His lips dove into mine, and I did nothing to stop it. His hands made quick work of my clothes, like they always had. They burned my skin and made me want to forget how wrong this was. He pulled back from kissing me and wiped a tear from my cheek.

  "I'm here, baby, I'm gonna fix this. I can fix this." His mouth moved down my body. I prayed he was right. He moved up my body, undressing himself and kissing my skin. He paused to suck my nipple, and then he moved his lips to my mouth. I felt his cock bounce on my clit. I was begging god that Daniel had a condom in his nightstand.

  Marky pushed against me, but I caught his shoulders. "Whoa, hold on, condom."

  "No." He pushed again, and I shoved harder.

  "Stop, we have to get a condom or do something else." I went to reach for the drawer, but Marky pulled my hand back, pinning it to the bed. He nuzzled my neck, trying to make me forget, but there was no way in hell he would distract me enough to forget protection.

  I felt him shift to line himself up again, and I caught his shoulder with my free hand. "Marky, we have to stop."

  His lips hit mine with more desperation. "We can't, not now, we can't. We're so close, I need to if this is going to work," he panted between kisses. I felt him try again, but I shifted my leg, blocking him. He cradled my head in his hands, his eyes were pleading with me, but I would not give in on this. "Baby, it's the plan, it's how we can fix everything, how we can be together."

  I didn't fully understand what he was saying. He grabbed my knees and pulled my legs wide, ready to push forward again. "What?" I stopped him again. He needed to explain himself better.

  "I need to fuck you hard, baby, so hard and knock you up. Fuck," he rubbed hard against me. "I want to knock you up so bad."

  Knock me up? "What the hell?" I shoved him off me.

  He reached for me, but I scooted away, grabbing my shirt.

  "Gabby, baby, listen to me, if I get you pregnant, then you can be mine."

  I yanked on my jeans, shaking my head. He was making no sense.
He pulled me back against him, his hand sliding down my unzipped fly. "You want my touch as bad as I want to give it to you, baby." His other hand was on my breast. God, he could cloud my mind in seconds. His lips were on my neck, his cock grinding into me, while his fingers did their magic. "I want you to be mine, only mine. I can do that, baby. I can keep you, marry you, and be with you the rest of your life."

  It sounded too good to be true.

  His hand started shifting my jeans down again. "I just need to put a little something in you. I need to fuck you right." He was moving us back to the bed, and I hated that my body had no will to fight him. "Once you're pregnant with my baby, we can tell the others, and then I can marry you."

  HOLD. UP.

  My mind caught every last word. My arms shoved him off of me. "You're not getting me pregnant!"

  "Gabby, please, I swear, you'll be good in the eyes of the church. You'll be my wife, so no foul there."

  I shoved him away and stormed into the main room, needing to be away from the bed. Marky and I near a bed never ended well. He came out of the room, hopping into his jeans. "Come on, baby, you know it'll work. It's perfect."

  "Perfect? How is you getting me pregnant perfect?"

  "Because I can choose you. If I have to marry a knocked-up girl, I want it to be you."

  "And what about the maid, Luisa Marie, and her child? They aren't going to just go away, Marky."

  He tried to reach for me, but I stepped away from him.

  "Don't worry about them."

  "No, what are you going to do about them, Marky?"

  "She'll be my goomah," he shrugged, like it was nothing. I felt like I had been doused in ice water.

  "Your goomah?"

  I heard the rifle cock, and then Marky was jolted away by his ear. His mother looked furious. "Knock her up and have a goomah? That's your ingenious plan?"

  "Ouch, Ma, cut it out!" he tried to squirm out of her grip.

  "Wait until I tell your father about this!"

  "You know he'd be all for it. He loves her. He wanted me to knock her up before. That's how we got into this mess in the first place. It was his damn plan. He wants smart grandkids, not stupid whore grandkids!"