by Anna Collins
“There’s something alluring about your smile, but I knew from the moment I came to work with you, you would always be one step ahead. I thought I might be wasting my time, but I have never been able to look at you without feeling that fire return. Everything about our sex life is explosive as if we are compatible in the way fire and gasoline would be. We exhaust every option, and we have been in some incredible positions. We have to let a few days pass so we can rest and make sure those muscles which were never used have time to heal,” Leslie said with a trace of humility coming from knowing where her paycheck was coming from.
“After dinner, I would like you to take Spencer… I mean Tristan and Willa down to see the facilities. You know your way around better than anybody. I didn’t mention this before, but I have asked Tristan to help you with your work. It’s not like I don’t trust you, but two heads are always better than one. A fresh perspective may reveal something you have overlooked. I know when I look at your work my head begins to spin and pound with the realization I could never hold a candle to you intellectually and especially scientifically. I’m smart enough to recognize an opportunity when it presents itself,” Spencer said as we enjoyed a crème Brule; it was really the ambrosia of the gods.
“I’ll be more than happy to show them around. You have had a long day, and it would be best for you to rest and wait for me to come to you in the evening. I don’t want any backtalk. If you really want me to help, then you will listen to me as you have always done before. I don’t know what has changed, but you seem to be more alert and alive than you have been in quite some time. It could be that you having guests are exactly what the doctor ordered,” Leslie said as she took one spoonful of the dessert and actually had the look of some woman who was in the throes of sexual hunger and desire.
“Having people around has given me a reason to think of something other than myself. I have to say if it wasn’t for you, Leslie I might have lost my mind completely. I was alone, suffering and I saw no glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. There was nothing to show for all of my money. I looked high and low for answers, but just when I thought I was getting close, then something came around and took hope out of my hands again. It was only when I found you, and you agreed to live with me, working underneath the same roof I finally began to live again. I hope I don’t embarrass you with this high praise, but you deserve a whole lot more than that,” Spencer said as I could tell Leslie was not at all comfortable being the center of attention.
Her expertise in this field of study was something she wanted to keep to herself. Having those speak to her and give their opinion on her expertise must have been hard for her to take with a straight face. I could tell from the way she was squirming, she would have loved to crawl under the table.
“I don’t want the two of you to listen to what he has to say. You can tell he’s biased on this certain subject. We have done things which would probably make a lot of people hesitant to join us in the bedroom. I don’t mind being in his bed because I like the way he pushes at boundaries of good taste. I’m definitely not going through the motions just because he is giving me exactly what he said he was going to. I’ve tried to fake my desire, but he won’t hear of it. He has been known to go down on me for hours until I’m lying there and completely at his mercy,” Leslie said putting Spencer on the spot, making him smile with the very idea he could satisfy a woman like this.
“She’s too modest, and the only way I can show her my gratitude is by pumping her…ahem…bank account full of cash. I’m sure you were thinking I was going a different direction with that, but I can assure you the thought didn’t even cross my mind,” Spencer said with dinner adjourning to the living room with hot apple cider seeping with liquor.
“I was wrong about the two of you. Leslie may seem like she’s out of your league and you are robbing the cradle, but I don’t see you’re hurting anybody with your affair of the heart. Age is but a number, and it’s obvious you both give what the other needs. What more is there to say?” Tristan said while we were sitting there as if we were part of the inner sanctum of the wealthy and famous people.
“I spent my time foolishly in pursuit of power and money all of my life. I know being with Leslie has given me a reason to forge ahead. I sometimes think it’s hopeless, but I’m not one to give up without exhausting every path,” Spencer said as he faltered for a moment before reaching for a bottle of pills in his jacket. He popped a couple of those capsules into his mouth and chased it with the very cognac in his hands.
That was not something considered healthy for anybody. I wanted to plead with him to be more careful, but I could tell this man wasn’t about to be told what to do without a good reason. The only thing Leslie had going for her was she could use her body to make men stand up and be noticed.
“If it’s all the same to all of you, I think I will go upstairs and get ready for bed. You can stay up for as long as you want. I even have a movie room with some of the latest features. Those who are not even out yet were given to me as a courtesy of my condition. They couldn’t exactly say no, but then again, I gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Anyway, I’m tired. I hope I will be feeling more refreshed to tackle this by morning with an even deeper determination,” Spencer said as he went over to Leslie. He kissed her, dipping her slightly, making her sigh with the heat of their bodies connected in this fashion.
“Before you go, I would like to ask if you truly think you have the resources to help me. I don’t want to believe I'm wasting this time on something more of a pipe dream than actual concrete proof to the contrary. This might sound ungrateful, but I have a lot invested into this. I would think you could say the same thing, but maybe you have found a way to handle your marching orders,” I said looking at Leslie and then back at Spencer hoping one of them could shed some light on any of this.
“You’re not the only one who has something invested into this. I don’t know if the answer to whatever causing this to the both of us is going to be here of all places. There are several test tubes and microscopes, not to mention machines which really haven’t been out on the market long enough to be considered mainstream,” Spencer said as if he was a desperate man, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at him.
“You and I are not alike. Whatever you have has progressed more than mine,” I said as I doubled over in the kind of pain which was only subjected on a female during childbirth.
“You might have just said more than a mouthful little lady. Leslie and Tristan can help you to the laboratory. I’m going to give you the same injection Tristan gave you. I don’t want you to think this is charity. I don’t usually do anything that doesn’t benefit me in some way. Having you at your best is better to take on the experiment. I don’t know what it entails, but I have been told from Leslie it has been very painful for her animal subjects. I seriously doubt this injection will take away your symptoms entirely,” Spencer said as I felt the pain like a searing knife in my gut.
Spencer didn’t look at all concerned for my well-being. In my mind, I thought I had it all figured out. The chances I had taken were worth it. The memories of Tristan’s fingers and my mouth on him were haunting me. I learned I had this strength inside me I hadn’t felt until I found out I was dying. My legs buckled and I fell to my knees as if I was worshiping the man above. While I was down here, I made an effort to give a silent prayer to help me in my hour of need.
I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I felt a pair of hands and a voice trying to reach me. “I need you to concentrate on my voice. Don’t think of anything and the pain will lessen considerably if you don’t give it any kind of power over you. I should know because I have been managing Spencer’s pain for as long as I can remember. I had to find something to work for him and meditation did him a world of good. I can teach you the same thing, but not until, you have the drug administered to you,” Leslie said as she and Tristan lifted me to my feet as if I was some kind of rag doll or maybe a puppet with its strings cut.
I looked toward Tristan for some kind of support and maybe a word of encouragement, but all I saw was the angst of worry creasing his brow. He looked concerned like this was somehow his fault. I still didn’t know the underlying reason for all of this. It was entirely possible I had done something to rub someone the wrong way. It seemed unlikely I wouldn’t remember something like that.
“I’m here with you. I’m not going anywhere. It doesn’t matter what kind of pain you are going through. Some might see this as an opening to exit stage left, but I’m not going to do this to you. Between the two of us, I think Leslie and I can come up with something for your condition. Just try to breathe through it and hopefully, it won’t last much longer,” Tristan said as I was dragged from the room with my vision blurred and my whole body feeling like somebody had set me on fire.
I don’t know how I was able to stand the pain without screaming my fool head off. If I were alone, I would be a basket case and most likely in a state of mind conducive of being institutionalized. I found certain strength from Tristan and somehow I was able to take it upon myself and use it to keep me from showing my weakness in front of others.
The wall in front of me disappeared. In its place were two double doors leading to an elevator. I had this sense we were descending, but it didn’t last for any more than a few seconds before I found myself sitting on a gurney; most likely something you would find in any hospital. I felt the pinch in my arm, and I turned abruptly to face a woman who had no bedside manner. This was something she had in common with Tristan. I hoped neither one of them would see they were a match made in heaven.
I felt like I was coming back and the comforting hand on mine made me want to give it all I had. I lay there staring at the exposed piping above my head. This was not always a laboratory; it had been turned into one for Leslie and whatever her evil genius was coming up with. She reminded me of a mad scientist. The only thing missing was a raging storm outside with the lightning penetrating the windows.
“That was not the kind of pain I would want to wish on my worst enemy,” I said as I looked at my arm and I could see all the little hairs standing on end.
“I want you to tell me what the pain feels like on a scale of 1 to 10. I’m sure you have noticed a remarkable improvement in your condition. I don’t promise it’s going to help you for the long term. Everybody has a tolerance to drugs which cannot be predicted. Your body may get used to it, and the pain will make you suffer needlessly because this is what it was designed for,” Leslie said as she continued monitoring my condition and making notations as if she was trying to figure something out. The only thing she would have would be my body to experiment on. A live subject was better than a dead one.
“I don’t feel like I’m on fire anymore. I would say that between a scale of 1 to 10, I would be at maybe a four. If you had asked me about 10 minutes ago, I would have said it was more like a 100,” I said believing it wasn’t just the drug, but also Tristan who helped to quell my pain. It wasn’t fair to ask him to stand by me during this.
“That’s interesting. I knew I had improved on the injection, but I never actually understood how much until right about now. It would be in your best interest to stick around for a little while. While I have you here, I have taken the liberty of taking some blood. I do hope you don’t find this a violation against your person. I just thought what better way than to get it than while you are already in pain. You wouldn’t even know it was happening,” Leslie said.
I was now seeing the miracle of living. I knew what it was worth to have Leslie and Tristan working together to give me back my life again. I noticed the difference, and it was getting better all the time. I was dreaming of a better life. I had made a pilgrimage coming here to save myself. I was looking for something, and I found more than I had ever hoped for. It wasn’t a cure, but the drug which had been improved made it easier for me to withstand the headaches and the pain in my belly.
Chapter 13
Hours had elapsed, and I could tell Leslie was in her element. She was mumbling to herself, and even Tristan had fallen into the old habits of a research scientist. He kept coming back every so often to make sure I was OK, but then he would join Leslie in her pursuit of the truth. They would have made the perfect couple, but I saw no obvious chemistry between the two of them. There was nothing there to indicate they would be “cheating” on both me and Spencer. They might have had a lot in common, but that made them uniquely qualified to be here for us both.
“I was a little unsure about you working with me, Tristan. I thought you would be a hindrance, but I see you have some insights I never thought of before. There’s something refreshing about seeing things through your eyes. It makes it easier for me to be able to accept this kind of help,” Leslie said as she came back over peering a light into my eyes.
I was a little sensitive to the light, and I had to turn my face away with her smiling as if she had a pretty good idea of how I was going to respond. It was her way to confirm her suspicion at the expense of the patient she was working to save the life of. I had spots in front of my eyes. I saw my reflection in a glass tube and my complexion was pale as a ghost’s.
“I know you probably think I’m horrible. I have never been one to get emotionally involved with my patient. I like to keep things separate, so I don’t have that on my conscience. I lost one patient many years ago, and this last one didn’t have me throwing myself on the mercy of the Board of Directors. I told them these things happen, but since I showed no compassion, they thought I was unfit to practice medicine anymore. They didn’t realize being stoic made it easier for me to conduct myself in a professional way. It’s their loss but your and Spencer’s gain. I’m here to help you through this thing,” she said as she went back to her machines, leaning over Tristan’s shoulder, making me feel a bit of the green eyed monster raising his ugly head.
There was no way I was going to leave tomorrow behind. I believed they could get me through this one way or the other. I convinced myself everything was going to turn out with the silver lining. There might have been some stormy skies in my future, but they would depart, and the sun would shine through once again. I would never forget today’s pain and the way I felt as if my whole body had betrayed me.
“What Leslie lacks in compassion, more than makes up for with a work ethic which goes beyond anything I have ever seen. She has worked tirelessly the entire time she has been here working on your behalf. I have a hard time keeping up with her. It almost makes me believe she has some pharmaceutical aid working to give her an edge over the competition. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn she has been getting some medication herself. If she thought she slowed down, then she would do everything in her power to make her into the machine you see,” Tristan said as Leslie was whirling from one machine to another like there was no possible way she could rest until she found the truth.
“I’m no expert in these things, but won’t this burn her out and exhaust her to the point of not being able to stand up on her own 2 feet? I’ve seen the effects of drugs in the past, and they haven’t been pretty. Those who do this think they need the boost to keep going,” I said with no energy to speak and a feeling of malaise which left me with a deep depression I wasn’t sure how to crawl out of.
“I can only hope she knows what she’s doing. I would say that whatever drug she is on keeps her working for hours on end. It could be she doesn’t even know she’s on it. I wouldn’t put it past Spencer for drugging her food to make her unable to rest with this pent up energy in her system. I’m guessing she hasn’t figured this part out or maybe they are both complicit in how they are conducting themselves,” Tristan said as he sat by my side and let me listen to the sound of his voice.
“I don’t think I could hope for any better outcome than having you fighting on my behalf. It really does make my heart skip a beat to realize you have done all of this for me. I know it has always been about your research, but it has gone far beyond that. We both know you were a lonely
man waiting for the right woman to come along and save you. You thought it was Jessica, but she only took pity on you when you were at your lowest. That’s not the same thing as love, and you can’t equate what I have for you as the same with what she feels for you,” I said trying to get up but then had to lie down as the world began to spin.
“I’ll be down here for some time to come, but both of you are free to leave at any time. I think I’m getting somewhere, but the poison in your blood is running rampant and continually mutating against any kind of defense. It’s kind of beautiful when you get a look at it under the microscope. It’s resistant, fighting back and it’s a strain of poison I have never come across before. I thought what I saw under the microscope from Spencer’s contribution was inspiring, but yours takes things to the next level. It’s no wonder you haven’t had any hope. Give me a few hours, and I’ll see what I can do. You never know, I might come across something to break it down and make it leave your body naturally,” Leslie said as I didn’t really want to think about what that meant, but knew in the back of my mind she only thought as a doctor should.