by Simon Archer
“Making nice with the Lindys, I see,” said Henry. I thought I heard a hint of disdain in his voice. The remark got him a sharp look from Alan.
“They’re an exceptionally nice couple, aren’t they Henry?” Alan asked, trying to cover the negative tone Henry had taken.
Henry quickly recovered and said, “Absolutely they are.”
Alan and Henry sat down while Kennedi, and I remained standing. “Gentlemen, it is time for us to head home,” I told them. They both stood back up.
“Not quite yet, we have something for you,” Alan said quickly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver credit-card-sized envelope and handed it to me. The paper it was made out of was obviously expensive, and there was an embossed logo on the front with the letters ‘OC’.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Open it,” Henry ignored my question.
I looked at Kennedi, who nodded toward the envelope. “Open it,” she said. She already seemed to know what was in it.
I turned the envelope over, broke the thin, red wax seal that held it closed, and opened it up. Reaching inside, I pulled out what looked like an actual credit card. The front had the same logo that the envelope had, so I flipped it over. I took a moment to read the back while Alan and Henry held their breath for my response.
The card read, “Present this card at any Omnicorp Maid to Order store for the privilege of crafting your very own, brand new, cat girl. This card is good for the latest model, an all-features-included unit with a special skill of your choosing and unlimited updates, free-of-charge, for the lifetime of the unit.”
I looked back at Alan and Henry. “Gentlemen, to what do I owe such an extravagant gift?” I asked suspiciously. I hadn’t needed a cat girl when I found Kennedi, and I certainly didn’t need a second one. They must have figured that out, at least.
“Clark,” Alan started, “you may not understand how much money you made us in your last match. Millions. This is a small token of our gratitude. A mere gesture to show our appreciation of you agreeing to return.”
Just as I started to hand the card back to Alan, Kennedi reached for my hand and stopped me. She looked at me for a long second and then addressed Alan and Henry.
“Thank you. This is very thoughtful of you. We will be sure to bring her to meet you once she is built,” Kennedi said sweetly. She was a stellar actress as I knew she despised both of the men she was addressing.
“Yes, thank you,” I said. “Now, we really must go.”
“Of course, let us see you out,” Henry said and started to lead the way to the glass double doors.
At the exit, I shook hands with each of them, both men nodded at Kennedi, and we walked out. We made it back to the elevators we’d ridden up in and saw our young driver waiting for us.
The three of us were silent on the elevator ride down to the main floor of the casino, and the silence continued on the drive back to Theo’s ranch. After we’d arrived, Kennedi and I stood in the drive and watched the boy drive away.
“Go get in the car, I’ll be right there,” I told her, giving her a little push towards my car. “I want to show you something.”
I’d had an idea during the ride. I wanted the evening to end on a good note and had thought of something that always worked for me when I needed to melt stress away. While she got in the car with a puzzled look on her face, I slipped into the barn and went to the loft to get the wine that Theo said he’d left there.
Sure enough, there was a bottle of red and a corkscrew on a tray by the lounger. He had also left two wine glasses. I grabbed the bottle and glasses, dropped the corkscrew in my pocket, and headed out to the car. I opened the backseat door and wrapped the bottle and glasses in a blanket I had on the backseat. I closed the door and climbed in the driver’s seat.
“You’re going to love this!” I said as we pulled away. Her smile just added to my excitement.
17
I pulled out of the drive onto the main dirt road and turned left. It would take about fifteen minutes to get where we were headed.
“Where are we going?” Kennedi asked excitedly.
“It is a surprise. I think you’ll like it. No more questions, though,” I answered.
“Okay, no more questions,” she confirmed and turned to look out the window. I don’t know what she was looking at because it was pitch black out. Even the headlights from the car barely cut through the dark far enough for me to keep us on the road. Curiosity got the better of me.
“Can you actually see anything out that window?” I asked her.
She giggled and said, “Of course I can.”
“How is seeing in the dead black of night an ‘of course I can’?” I asked her teasingly.
“Cats can see very well in the dark. I think sometimes you forget I am a CG, Mister Clark,” she teased back and continued to look out into the darkness.
When I saw the turnout I was looking for, I slowed the car and pulled in. The headlights lit up an open area filled with nothing but sagebrush and dirt. When the car came to a stop, Kennedi sat up straight and looked all around her.
“There aren’t any buildings here,” she observed.
“Nope, there aren’t,” I agreed. “Stay here. I have to grab some things out of the back.”
I left the headlights on and walked around and opened the trunk. I pulled out three blankets and an electric lamp I used for camping. I walked out in front of the car, looking for a spot with the least amount of rocks to lay the blankets out. About thirty feet out, I found one. I spread two of the blankets out and put the third on top. I lit the lantern and left it on the ground next to the blankets and walked back to the car.
I opened Kennedi’s door and waited for her to get out. Once she was standing beside me, I crouched into the car, reached across her seat and turned off the headlights. I pulled the keys from the ignition, grabbed the wine and glasses, and backed out of the car. I closed the car door and took ahold of Kennedi’s hand. With the headlights turned off, the blackness fell in on us, and the only thing visible was the weak light from the lantern. I led her toward it, and when we got to the blankets, I had her sit down with me. I set the wine and glasses down next to the lantern.
The light from the lantern showed the curiosity on her face as I laid down, face up, and tugged at her arm until she did the same. Once she was settled, I reached over and turned the lantern off. The darkness was immediate and complete. She had her head turned toward me, and even though it was only inches away, I couldn’t see her any longer.
“Why are we lying in the desert?” she asked curiously. “You must not be able to see a single thing.”
“There is only one thing to see out here when it is this dark,” I told her. I brought my hand up to where I’d last seen her face, found her chin, and gently turned her head towards the sky. I heard her breathe in sharply, which was the reaction I was looking for.
Above us, from hundreds of thousands of miles away, millions of stars twinkled down on us. They were more visible here than I’d ever seen them in all the places I’d been. Some were clustered, some stood alone, and the more I looked, the more layers I could see.
“Have you ever just looked at the stars before?” I asked her in a whisper.
“Never,” she replied breathlessly. “I’ve looked at stars before, of course, but not for their beauty. They’ve always only been a way to tell time or location.”
“They are for more than that,” I told her. “I think their most important function is to do exactly what they are doing for us right now. I wouldn’t know how else to explain why they are so beautiful,” I told her.
“Well, they twinkle because the light that the nuclear fusion creates has to pass through changes in atmospheric temperature and density before it reaches us,” she said, clearly missing the point.
“That is a ‘how,’ Kennedi. I’m talking about a hypothetical ‘why,’” I said with a smile she couldn’t see. I found her hand next to mine in the dark and inter
laced my fingers with hers.
“Oh!” she exclaimed quietly. “I understand now. They truly are a beauty like I’ve never seen before. What made you think to come out here?” she asked.
“I wanted you to end this day relaxed and happy and maybe with a little bit of wonder. We’ve been under nearly constant pressure of one sort or another since we met, and it is time to let that go. Stars are great at taking stress away.”
“That is very thoughtful of you, Clark,” Kennedi said. She’d turned her head towards mine, and I felt the warmth of her breath on my neck. It sent an excited chill throughout my entire body. I turned my head toward her, and my lips found hers without needing any light at all. As I kissed her, I felt her hand squeeze mine just a little. When I pulled away, she let out a long, sensual breath and turned her head back towards the sky.
As we laid there, I took a moment to analyze some of what I’d been putting off over the last several days. There was something about Kennedi that was comforting and exciting at the same time. I’d had fuck-buddies and even girlfriends in the past, but there hadn’t ever been one I’d wanted to share experiences with. I hadn’t wanted to show nature’s beauty to any of them. I’d never felt any desire to stand up for them or make any of them happy for no apparent reason. I wanted her happy, though, more like I needed her to be happy. Somehow, I felt like I could win at anything as long as she thought I could. All of it was so new to me. I enjoyed it but was unnerved by it at the same time. I didn’t live the life I had, up that point, by needing someone else. Even when I found her antics completely ridiculous, there was something endearing about her.
A slight breeze brought my mind back to the place I was in. The temperature was dropping quickly. I sat up, clicked the lantern on, pulled the extra blanket up over our legs, and reached for the wine bottle. I fished the corkscrew out of my pocket and opened the bottle. I poured two glasses, and Kennedi sat up with me when I offered her one.
“Thank you for all of this,” she said and took a sip from her glass. “I’ve never been in a romantic situation, but I think this would qualify as being very romantic. I am now a fan of romance.”
I took a sip of wine and chuckled. “I’m a fan of romance too, then,” I said. “You know, I’ve been to some very romantic places but didn’t really appreciate them for it. I think if I ever go back, I’d have a better understanding of what the appeal is.”
“If you ever go back, I’ll help you appreciate it, now that I know what it is. Who wouldn’t want this type of evening?” she asked, not looking for an answer. She raised her glass, and we made an unspoken toast to romance.
After we’d finished our wine, we laid back down and spent the next hour pointing out constellations in the middle of the desert and talking about the stories that brought them about. The temperature continued to drop, so when it got down into the forties, we packed up our blankets and headed back to the barn loft. That night I slept better than I had since I’d been in Nevada.
18
I woke the next morning to the sound of someone climbing the ladder to the loft. Kennedi was still next to me, so I sat up, alarmed.
“Who’s there?” I called out.
“It’s just me, Theo,” he answered. “What’s got you so jumpy?” He laughed as he continued his climb.
“Habit, I suppose,” I said. I rubbed my eyes to help them adjust to the dimness of the room.
When Theo’s head popped over the top of the ladder, he stopped climbing. “Bev sent me. She has this ‘thing’ about serving cold food, and you two are usually moving around well before now. Better get yourselves to the house, or you’ll get a cold stare with your cold eggs!” he said with a chuckle and began his way back down the ladder before I could respond.
I looked over at Kennedi. This is the first morning I’d woken up next to her. Usually, she’s up hours before I am. She was looking back at me and smiling.
“Good morning!” she said happily.
“Good morning. Decided to sleep in today, did you?” I joked.
“Oh, I don’t sleep at all,” she informed me. I’d never thought about the fact that she wouldn’t need to sleep.
“What do you do all night if you don’t sleep?” I asked.
“I process data. If I could update, I’d do that at night, but since I can’t, I make sure all the information I’ve acquired through the learning process is analyzed and thoroughly embedded.” She sat up and bounced toward the end of the bed. She climbed over the trunk and stood up. She was completely naked, standing in front of me with her tail swishing slowly behind her.
“You are making it hard for me to get motivated to get out of bed,” I told her as I looked her up and down. My eyes settled on that damned curve between her waist and hips again. It was so perfect for holding onto.
Kennedi turned around and walked over to the lounger. She picked up one of my t-shirts and tossed it at me. It landed square on my face.
“Remember the ice-cold stare you will be avoiding by getting that on and getting into the house,” she said teasingly.
By the time I got the t-shirt on, she was completely dressed in tiny jean shorts and a button-up flannel that hung perfectly off her nipples, showing just enough shape to her tits to make me want to rip the shirt right back off her to see the rest. I looked down and shook my head, trying to re-route my train of thought.
Kennedi just laughed, walked across the room, and climbed down the ladder. “I’m going to see if Bev needs help,” she called back to me on her way out of the barn.
I flipped back the comforter and stepped out of bed. The room had a chill to it, so I hurried into the rest of my clothes and headed down the ladder after Kennedi. When I stepped out of the barn, the cold air practically slapped me in the face. It was colder than I’d ever felt in a desert state. I hurried to the house and climbed the porch stairs in two strides. I was quick to close the door after going in. The change was instant. The house was toasty, and the smell of frying bacon permeated the air. As I walked closer to the kitchen, I caught the faint scent of bananas, and my mouth started to water.
“Good morning, Bev,” I said when I entered the kitchen. “This place smells amazing!” I looked forward to eating whatever it was I could smell. “What do we have in here?”
“Good morning, sleepy.” Bev grinned at me. “Banana bread and omelets. Kennedi already has the table set, and Theo’s in the living room. Will you go tell him to come sit down? Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Sure thing.” I turned and headed to the living room. When I got there, I saw Theo stooped over near the fireplace, messing with one of the stones near the hearth.
“Hey Theo, Bev sent me to fetch you for breakfast,” I told him.
“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute,” he replied.
“What are you fiddling with over there?” I asked when he stood up, and I saw the mild scowl on his face.
“Oh, the damn thing has stones coming loose all over the place,” Theo said grumpily. “I’ve been putting off rebuilding it for a couple of years now, but it looks like I’ve finally got to buckle down and do it.”
“Well, hell. That won’t take too long if you let me help you,” I told him. “I bet you we could have it torn down by lunch and back together by dinnertime.”
“You think so?” Theo looked at the fireplace and then back to me.
“Absolutely. Do you have a stone supply here, or do we need to go into town?” I asked, ready to move the project along. I finally felt like I had something more than ‘thank you’ and some cash to offer him for all the kindness he had shown me.
“I’ve got stone here. It’s behind the house near the coal shed,” he said distractedly.
“You have a coal shed? Why? You use propane heat, don’t you?” I asked, surprised.
“Yeah, we use propane now, but when we moved in this place, we heated it with two coal stoves, one in the kitchen and one right here.” He pointed at the fireplace.
“Okay, well, we can get to it rig
ht after breakfast. Speaking of, I have to get you to the table, or it will be both of us getting that stare-down!” I said, laughing. “Let’s go.”
Theo and I walked to the dining room, where Bev and Kennedi were already seated. We apparently made it just in time because we each only got a quick scowl from Bev.
The entire center of the table was covered with plates and baskets of food. A large serving platter sat right in the center with a steaming heap of perfectly folded omelets on it. Next to it, on the right, were small bowls with freshly diced tomatoes and green chilis. On the other side was another large platter full of both bacon and fried ham slices. A dish of yellow mustard stood next to it. At the top of the table, near where Theo sat, two loaves of piping-hot banana bread were sitting, waiting to be sliced. There were individual butter dishes near each of our place settings. I had, once again, never seen a meal look or smell so inviting.
“This looks amazing, Bev,” I complimented her. “I do believe everything on this table should be on the menu at your restaurant.” I winked at her as I sat down.
“Oh, Bev! Are you going to open a restaurant?” Kennedi asked excitedly.
“No, dear. Clark is just kidding. We’d talked about exactly why I won’t be opening a restaurant the other day. It’s just his way of telling me he thinks my cooking is good.”
“He is absolutely right,” Theo said to Bev with affection in his voice. She smiled back at him, and I was surprised to see she blushed just a little.
Bev started slicing the banana bread and passing it out while the rest of us dished up our omelets, ham, and bacon. When our plates were full and we’d begun eating, Kennedi, who’d gotten in the habit of eating when Bev cooked, swallowed and, addressing Theo out of the blue, said, “What do you know about the Lindys?”
Without any sort of pause, Theo answered, “Charlie is one of the only good men who wears a suit in this town.”