Willie watched her with his one eye, wishing his other one was functioning too, just like the day before. She was too beautiful, with golden hair skimming his bare chest and pink cheeks and lips. "I'm okay," he said huskily.
And he thought he just couldn't deal with the fact that Maria was gone. He shoved her death carefully into the back of his mind, along with his mother, his grandpa and ghosts. Susie was right. His life was insane, absolutely insane.
But she was there and she kissed him again, a longer, slower kiss this time. Her lips barely touched his as she said, "I missed you, Willie."
He groaned, and pulled her closer with one hand as the other hand touched her cheek. He kissed her softly and sucked gently on her tongue.
"You can kiss, Willie," she whispered. "I bet you've had lots of practice."
He smiled at that. Actually, he'd only kissed one other girl way back in seventh grade, then one last year and no tongues were involved in those sessions. Kisses with Susie just seemed so right and natural.
Susie was dressed in vibrant blue silky shorts with a white sleeveless top and flip-flops on her feet. His hand moved down to feel the silky shorts. She lifted her top and he could see both her breasts.
His breath came out in a long sigh, as his hand moved to her large nipples. They contracted at his touch and he smiled. "You like that," he whispered as he watched her face.
"The mirror," she pointed to the headboard on his bed, "do you ever watch yourself?"
Shaking his head, he looked in fascination as she knelt on the bed next to him and pulled down her shorts. He had heard about pussy but he'd never seen it up close before. She had it almost all shaved off, just a little hair left in the center.
He could see all of her now, and he was so captivated that he forgot his hard-on for a minute. She took his hand and said, "There," and moved two of his fingers inside her. She was wet, so wet, and he moved his fingers in and out like she wanted. She watched herself in the mirror, pinching and moving on her own breasts. Then, she pulled his fingers out a bit, spread her legs more, and said, "That's my bud, Willie. Rub it, okay?" He did as she requested and she gasped. "I've never done this with anyone before, Willie. It feels so good."
He suddenly became acutely aware of his own needs. "Sus..." Where was the condom? He couldn't think where he'd put it.
But he felt the small bud growing, as she gasped harder. Deal with it, he told himself. Get a grip. He realized if he concentrated on her, he could do it. As his one hand moved her bud, his other moved inside her, in and out. After a minute, she tensed, threw her head back and drew a quick breath in. Her legs shook as she fell forward a bit.
Willie grinned. While he hadn't gotten off, she had. Then he smiled. Now, he knew the secret.
She sat up and righted her clothes, smoothed her hair. "My God, Willie. You are so sexy with that smile of yours. Hard to resist. But I don't want your mom to be mad at me."
He was still smiling. "We'd better be good. She might come in. You never know who might come in here lately."
But he said, as his hand came behind her neck again, "Kiss me now. Just one more. I love the way you kiss."
After Susie left, Willie made his way down to the back porch. Spence sat alone, looking melancholy. Willie slowly sat next to him on the wicker couch.
"How you feeling champ? How're things with Susie?"
"Good." Willie paused. "Spence, it's all about the woman, isn't it?"
Spence smiled. "You need more supplies? I can get you a twenty-four pack today."
"Nah, nothing like that. I mean the sex thing. Being with someone special. You have to please the woman or the whole thing is no good."
"You hit it the first time out? Yeah, buddy. You got it down now. It's all about the woman." He smiled and Willie realized it was the first time he'd seen Spence smile for days.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Meg came in the kitchen to sit with her mother, Karl and Mark, who all sat silently as if waiting for someone to speak.
Her breath came out in a long sigh as she poured herself vanilla coffee. But, as she sat at the table, she watched Lila. "Are you all right mother?"
"Do we know where the body is?" she answered.
"In the M.E.'s office," Mark replied. "I called a few minutes ago. Maria's whole family has been calling the M.E. on and off. The guy says they're hoping to release it to Carmen later on today. My guess would be the funeral will be tomorrow."
Lila just stared at him blankly. "I would guess, then, you could go home after that."
"Mother!" Meg cried, shocked at her rudeness. Then to Mark, "Pay no attention to her, she doesn't know what she's saying."
Karl said, "Am I missing something here? I thought Mark was staying to help Spence out. Also, we have a deal swinging in the wind over in Rushburg, he and I. So put a sock in it, mother. We have plenty of room."
Lila's hand came up to her mouth as she fought off tears. "All these years. You're just so clueless." She ran upstairs.
"Sorry to have upset her, Meg," Mark said carefully. "If it would be more convenient, I could stay at the Roadway Inn."
"That crummy, run down dive?" Karl said loudly. "No way. You stay here. I'll deal with mother." He left the room and ran upstairs after Lila.
"Life at our house, Mark," Meg said ruefully, "it never changes."
Willie came in from the porch and sat next to Meg.
"How are you doing sweetie?" She pushed back his hair. "You ready to go to Rushburg today and get the bandage off your eye?"
"On Saturday? Yeah, I guess. Listen Mom, there's a party tonight. I know it's soon after Maria...but all the kids will be there and I need a break from my room."
She smiled at him fondly. "It should be okay. I'll wait until the doctor's report though. We don't want to take any chances with your eyesight."
Willie nodded as Big Jake came in the back door.
"Where's your mother?" he said to Meg as he stood in back of Mark's chair.
Meg's heart sunk then. She looked at Jake then back at Mark. The resemblance was unmistakable. And her bitterness at Jake grew. She'd been the fornicator? Hardly. He'd done worse. He was an adulterer. After all these years, she finally knew why he and Lila fought like they did. It was clear to her now. What Lila said made sense now, too. It made so much sense.
"She's upstairs," she said stiffly, "I wouldn't bother her right now."
But suddenly, as she grew angrier, the house began to shake, and plaster fell from the ceiling. The shaking grew worse, and Spence made his way quickly in from the back porch.
"Meg!" he said loudly, as he reached her and shook her hard by the shoulders. "Stop! Meg!"
She couldn't. Much as she tried, the thing was bigger than she was now.
Professor Tim Granger strolled up to the Cowell's front porch. But as he rang the bell, he heard a thumping noise from inside the house. Then, the house rattled and shook. Earthquake? he thought with interest. They happened so seldom in Arizona, so he noted the time and date on his pad.
Then he heard people yelling inside the place. Maybe a bad time to do his research, he thought. He hated to give up though, after he'd come way out here again.
The house shook then and seemed to settle on its foundation.
He went around the back and up the stairs, which now had separated from the house. "Interesting," he said to himself, as he saw the huge crack. He knocked loudly at the screen door. "Anyone home?" he said.
The door opened quickly. "What do you want?" The man was barefoot, with t-shirt and jeans, and he looked exasperated. He ran a hand through his brown hair.
"Is Margaret here please?"
The house shook again hard.
"Who?" the man yelled.
"Oh," Tim laughed, "I guess they call her Meg."
"Who the fuck are you?" The man peered at him closely.
Shocked momentarily at the language, he replied, "I'm Professor Timothy Grainger from the university. I spoke with...Meg yesterday."
"S
hit," the man cried, as the house jostled and more plaster fell from the ceiling.
"Funny," Tim said to him, "I'm not feeling the quake out here on the steps. Well, at any rate, can you please tell Marg...Meg I'm here to see her?"
Now, the man seemed interested in him. "Hey Meg," he yelled, "some asshole here to see you."
Tim was offended by the reference, but tried not to show it as the man led him into the kitchen.
"Hello, Meg," he said with a smile. But her eyes were wild as they settled on him. Then they narrowed and the house stopped shaking.
"Tim," she said.
Everyone sitting in the room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief as the house settled out.
"Wow," the young boy said.
Then Timothy looked at the boy closely. "Do I know you?"
*****
Renee picked up her cell phone reluctantly. It was hard adjusting to the real world again after she'd experienced Lex's mind.
He understood, though, and smiled at her while they drank morning coffee.
"A person could get lost in there," she muttered. "Yes," she said into the phone, "this is Renee."
She listened carefully to Meg's long explanation. "Wow. Okay, I'll come over right away. Sounds like you'll be busy later on."
She hung up and filled Lex in on the happenings at Cowell house. "How can she control it?" she asked him.
"Sounds like Tim controlled it this time. He took her to a different place, a different plane. That's what she needs to do. Get outside herself. I wonder if Spence could help her with that? You might want to work with them both."
But, when Renee finally pulled up at the Cowell house, she heard loud voices.
She recognized Spence's voice as she walked up the back steps. "You're letting him into your life now?"
"Do I have a choice?" Meg asked bitterly.
"Hell yeah, you do. Tell him to get lost. And by the way, why could he stop you from shaking the house down, and I couldn't?"
"I don't know."
Renee was seriously eavesdropping now, but she felt like it was for research anyway so she didn't feel guilty.
"Maybe I should leave," Spence countered angrily.
"Maybe you should."
Silence followed, and Renee took the opportunity to knock on the back door.
"I'll pack my things," she heard Spence say, "and Mark and I will be at the Roadway Inn. Maybe I'll be able to leave town in a few days. Get out of your hair for good."
Meg answered the door and looked shaky. "Come in Renee. The usual Cowell house drama today."
"I'm sorry Meg. Couldn't help overhearing. Can I do anything?"
She sighed and poured Renee some coffee. "Help me control this thing," she said as they both sat at the table. "I couldn't control it today. It was like a wild beast-"
Renee held up her hand. "No. You can't look at it that way. It is not separate from you, or is it wild. It is part of you, a very significant thing, but the key word here is 'part.' If you let it take you over, you'll never be free. You'll always be a slave to it."
Meg nodded. "But, it just comes. When I'm upset."
"Okay," Renee said softly, "what is upsetting you now? Just in general."
"Well, aside from Spence leaving, there's Willie who's out there following Tim around like a little puppy. He doesn't know Tim is his father."
"Wow. Yeah, I noticed the resemblance. Okay, focus on that, then. What are you feeling?"
"In the pit of my stomach. The butterfly feeling."
"All right, see the glass over there on the sideboard?"
"Yes."
"Lift it up."
"How do I--"
"Just concentrate on it. Seriously now."
Meg frowned and continued staring at the glass.
"Now think," Renee said softly, "about how upset you are at Tim."
The glass jerked so one side, then spun around.
Meg smiled, but as Spence came in again it faded.
"I'm out of here," he said, "and Mark is too. I'll leave you to Tim. Let him calm you down." Mark followed him and they left through the back door.
The glass rose in the air and crashed down on the floor. The house shook slightly.
Renee sighed. "We're getting there, Meg. Let's do a few more exercises."
Willie was fascinated as the professor went about his work in the field next to their house. He was glad they were in the part furthest away from where Maria died. He didn't want to see Maria's blood. To him, she was an angel now, complete with wings. He even dreamed about her before Susie came over.
"So," Willie said, "how do you know where to dig?"
Professor Tim went on, his eyes scanning the ground. "Well, sometimes people will happen upon a site of dinosaur bones or even old Indian bones and tools. That's what occurred at Berilian Flats."
The two kept walking. "What's that?"
Tim sounded thoughtful now. "It was such an unusual finding. For all intents and purposes we realized it was a huge battlefield where the Berilian Indians had fought another tribe."
"Cool." Willie said. "You mean with knives and stuff?"
"We think they had special battle clubs. Some of the skulls are caved. That, along with broken bones, tells us there was something heavy used as a weapon. The site is only about a half mile from here."
"My Mom has dreams sometimes. She'll get clubbed in the head, or dragged along."
"Fascinating," Tim said. "I'll have to speak to her before I go."
Then he stopped. "Now this looks interesting." He picked up a small cylindrical object. "A possible bone fragment." He perused the area, then took some stakes and string out of his pack. "I'll mark this off. Be sure to make certain no one walks on this area."
"No one comes out here. Don't worry prof."
Meg called Willie from the back door.
"Well, prof. Gotta go to Rushburg now. I'm hoping they'll take off my eye bandage today."
Tim smiled at Willie. "Okay. Next time I come out here, I'll come to the house and get you. Then you can help me. It's not very interesting work sometimes, but we might uncover something, you never know."
"Cool," Willie said, as he waved, "see you then."
*****
Mark watched Spence pace up and across the ratty motel room carpet. He'd stop occasionally and take a sip of tequila he'd bought at the market.
"I shouldn't have left her," Spence said, as he strode up and down, "and especially Willie."
Mark sat against the bed pillows. "Well, they've been there how many years without you now?"
Spence sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I had that coming. Okay, maybe that's why I never married. I've never loved anyone else, but then I couldn't seem to face coming back here again, back to the old ghosts and demons."
Mark smiled. "They're all inside, bro. Speaking of which, does Meg do that 'move the house' trick very often?"
"Just lately," Spence said offhandedly, "and for some reason, she stopped right when the professor came in."
"What's the deal on this guy anyway?"
Spence looked at him. "Willie's dad."
"Oh. Now I get it."
Spence continued pacing. "What do I have to offer her?"
"Oh, Spence. Come on. You have money, bro."
"I'm not talking about money, Mark. It's me. I'm a failure. A wash out."
"How can you say that, Spence? You've made a tremendous difference in a lot of lives. Like the Teens Club wouldn't even be around if it wasn't for you. And coaching Little League--"
"Not that stuff," Spence said irritably, "the career. I have no career. What have I done with my life?"
"D.J. is a career. Of sorts." Mark began flipping TV channels.
"Not really."
"Okay, so you're a pitiful loser who has a tendency to get drunk sometimes. Happy now? I can't talk to you when you're like this."
"And by the way," he added, "this motel sucks. Why don't you do something with your life and go get us some ice?"
Spence swore softly but did as requested.
The day was growing dark, Spence noticed as he exited the room. Mark was right. The place was a dump. The neon sign out front was halfway gone, and it was badly in need of a paint job.
Then he realized he would have to leave the motel eventually, and Meg and the whole Cowell clan as well. It was coming and he just wasn't ready for it. Or maybe not. If he was convicted of killing his parents, he'd be in some jail somewhere serving who knows what term.
He was so deep in thought that he bumped square into Tammy's ample chest.
"Spence," she said, running a hand down his sleeve, "so nice to see you. Trouble in paradise?" She was dressed in a skin tight red rayon mini dress with red heels. He could tell she wore nothing underneath the dress.
"Tammy," he said abruptly, and he kept walking.
She grabbed his arm. "Why are you here Spence?"
"Not that it's any of your business but my brother and I are staying here." He felt the pressure of her breast on his arm as they walked along.
"Hmmm, too crowded at the Cowells?"
He shook his arm loose. "None of your fucking business."
"My, My. We're sensitive today. Raw, exposed nerve."
She sounded so dramatic, he had to smile.
"And I thought you were never going to speak to me again."
"Can't be rude," he said as he kept walking. "What are you doing here? Not that I care, mind you. Just being polite."
"Well, I'm meeting a friend." They passed the office, and she waved. "Hi, Luke!" she called.
Spence noticed the man didn't wave back, just looked at her blankly.
"You must be one of his best customers."
"Well, hell Spence, I never pay. Simon does. Ooops, forgot he was your lawyer."
"Yeah?" he turned to look at her. "Well I never tell him who to sleep with. That's the last thing on my mind right now."
Just then, Ned rode by in his Chevy truck. "Hey!" Ned called, "Dirty white boy!"
"Still here!" Spence called back, as he waved.
But, when he turned around, Tammy was gone.
"Good riddance," he muttered, and continued his hunt for the elusive ice machine.
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