by Davis, SJ
Lena cleared her throat and took a handful of crackers. “That’s all, huh?”
“That’s it!” Annie cut a lime in half, drew a slit across the middle and sliced each half into three pieces. “Oh, there’s one more thing…he’s great in bed.” She tucked her hair behind her ears revealing dangling stars as she pulled the gold chain on her neck free of her blouse. In place of Jake’s Claddaugh ring, a golden pendant shaped like a crescent moon dangled from the links. “Look…he gave me these last night. Aren’t they beautiful?”
Lena took the pendant in her hand, turning it to catch the light. “Is it real gold?”
Annie laughed. “So what if it isn’t? It’s the thought that counts!” She bent across the bar, her voice a whisper. “I want to marry him, Lena. I want to have his children and start a life together.”
Lena stared at her, shocked. “You always said you never wanted kids!”
Annie turned back to the bottles, wiping each one down efficiently. “I know, but things are different with Thor. I can honestly see myself spending my whole life with him, kids and all. Speaking of which, how’s the baby-making going for you two these days?”
Lena reached across the bar and plucked a maraschino cherry from the bin. She held it before her and dropped it onto the napkin with a dispirited shake of her head. “Believe me, if I were pregnant, you’d be the first to know. On top of a hangover, I got my period this morning.”
Annie shrugged. “Maybe if you stopped trying so hard, it would happen. That’s how it went for Jimmy and Suzanne.”
Lena smiled despite herself. “Yeah, I remember. And they weren’t even married!”
“Hang in there, Lene. What does your gynecologist say?”
“He says we shouldn’t hold our breath.”
“How about adoption? Have you considered that?”
Lena sighed. “Can you honestly see Alex Walker welcoming an African-American or Chinese baby into his home?”
“Truthfully?” Annie shook her head. “Is it you or Alex?”
“Me,” Lena admitted.
“Did you get a second opinion?”
“We got three, and they were all the same.” Lena looked away as her eyes filled. “So there it is…we either get pregnant by some miraculous fluke or we don’t have children.”
Annie shrugged. “So you don’t have kids. It’s not the end of the world.”
Lena twisted toward the lake. It glittered in the bright morning sunlight. She blinked back tears and changed the subject back to Annie’s love life. “When did you meet him?”
“Who? Thor?”
Lena nodded.
“Two months ago.”
“And nobody else knows?” It seemed incredible. Greenville was a typical small town; it was hard to get anything by the neighbors.
Annie grinned. “Nope. You’re the only one.” She twirled a strand of straight blonde hair around her finger. “Can you imagine what Jake would do if he knew? It would send him off the deep end.”
Lena frowned. “You and Jake have been breaking each other’s hearts for years. I thought for sure he’d be over you by now.”
Annie shook her head and smiled ruefully. “Trust me, Lena, he’s still in love with me. I know it for a fact.”
Lena’s head dropped to her arms. She sighed. “Everybody’s in love with you, Annie. Even Alex.”
Annie took her empty glass and dumped the ice without ceremony. “Cut the bullshit. You’re tired and hung-over. It doesn’t suit you. Get out of here and go for a long walk…it’ll help you clear your head. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get the call-back from Marge.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Lena dragged herself off the stool and gathered her jacket and purse. “If I don’t see you before we leave, I’ll be in touch. Alex and I want to close as soon as possible to get the place ready for the last half of the summer.”
“Are you really going to try to do the work yourself?” Annie shook her head. “You’ve never been one for messy jobs.”
“Not all of it. I’ll definitely need a hand.”
“Call Jake.” Annie scribbled a number on a cocktail napkin and handed it across the bar. “He’s fast, and he’s good, and I know he could use the work. Just don’t tell him I told you so.”
“Thanks Annie. I’ll see you in a couple of months.” Lena pocketed the number and pushed her stool away. At the door, she turned back. “What exactly does a botanist do in Greenville in the middle of the winter, anyway?”
Annie smiled. “He checks out the area and gets to know the locals…one local, in particular. Now off with you. I’ve got a lot of prepping to do. And Lena? Don’t forget to bring a can of Deep Woods Off with you when you come back. Mid-June’s peak black fly season.”
Lena shook her head. “That’s the second time I’ve heard those exact words in two days. Has everyone in Greenville forgotten the fact that I grew up here?”
Annie turned away; she plucked a bottle from the shelf, wiped it, and replaced it. “You’ve been gone a long time, sweetie. A person could forget a whole lifetime in twelve years. Everything and everybody.”
“Not me,” Lena said. “I’ll always love you and I’ll never forget you.”
“Ditto that.”
“See you in a couple of months,” she called back over her shoulder.
“Not if I see you first,” Annie replied, refilling the bowl of Goldfish.
Chapter 8
The God propped himself on one elbow. His finger traced the contours of the woman in his bed. She stirred and reached for him. “Did I wake you?” he said.
“No. Yes.” She squinted at her watch and groaned. “It’s late. I have to get up anyway.” Pushing the sheet away, she swung her legs to the side.
He shivered as a rush of cold air hit his chest. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her back. “Quit,” he said. “Stay with me. I’ll make you breakfast. We’ll spend all day in bed.”
“I can’t,” she said. “I’m not rich. I have to work.”
“I am. Move in with me… I’ll take care of you.”
“No!” She laughed and pushed him away. “I love my job. I’m not ready to be a kept woman yet. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Really?” He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll move in tomorrow?”
She shrugged and shook her head. “You take everything I say too literally. It was just a maybe…don’t hold me to it, okay?”
“Why not?”
She smiled and bent to kiss him. “I don’t think I’m ready yet, is why not.”
“Then when?” He tried out his best imitation of a pout. It seemed to have the desired effect. She kissed him again.
“Give me a little more time. A month or two.”
He frowned. “Don’t you want to live with me?”
She traced his cheekbones with her fingers, suddenly serious. “Of course I do…you know I do. Give me one more month. If everything goes as well as it has been, I promise I’ll move in.”
He cocked his head and smiled. “One month? Really?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die,” she said. “Now let me go before I’m late.”
The floorboards creaked as she crossed the floor and pushed the door of the bathroom open. He watched and waited until it closed firmly behind her before he followed, selecting, instead, the door to the hallway. Except for the noise from the shower, the house was silent. He stopped at the front door and looked out the side-lites at the dawning day. A hint of green graced the trees; the pile of snow in the driveway was melting. Spring was finally underway.
Wandering across the foyer, he entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, scanning its contents. While the shower continued to run, he started the coffee maker and made a sandwich from leftovers. The rest of the shelves were bare; he’d have to make a grocery run. Sitting at the table, he picked up the pictures she’d brought, fanning them before him as he took a bite and chewed. It was almost hard to believe how good his luck was this time around. Two goddesse
s for the price of one! It didn’t get much better.
When the shower shut off, he placed the pictures by her purse and poured her a cup of coffee, leaving it black. She never ate in the morning. He knew that. He knew just about everything there was to know about her: what she liked, what she didn’t, her perfume, her style of dress, her favorite book and movie, her secret dreams, her goals, and her innermost fantasies.
She thought that she knew everything about him, too…but she was wrong.
After she left, he took the steps to the basement, humming as he unlocked the door at the rear of the utility room and closed it behind him. When he flipped the wall switch, the woman on the floor looked up, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light. He smiled and she shrank visibly, curling in on herself as if to disappear.
“Are you comfortable on the floor, love?” he said. “I’d have thought the bed more to your liking.”
She remained still, her mouth closed and eyes averted. He took a step toward her and she wrapped her arms around her legs with a whimper. It was the only sound she could make. The gag in her mouth was held in place with a metal band that looped over her head and around her neck, insuring her silence. A heavy chain dangled from the beam across the ceiling, anchoring her to a space of four by four feet.
“Are you hungry, then?” he said, extending his arm. “I brought you something.”
In his hand, he held a plastic tub of fruit. He watched closely as her eyes widened and she began to tremble. The bouquet of fresh pineapple filled the room, intense and cloying. She shook her head, but her eyes remained fastened on the fruit.
“No?” He covered the ground between them in two steps and bent to unlock the silencer. Removing it from her head, he watched her fumble with the cloth in her mouth. Freed from her vocal restraints, she maintained her silence. She reached for the bucket beside the single twin bed and drank deeply. He pushed the container of fruit closer. A strangled sob escaped her throat.
“Eat, Aurora,” he said.
“No,” she whispered.
He frowned. “Eat.”
He took a piece of the pineapple and held it, dangling, from his fingers. Her stomach growled. “Eat,” he said for the third time, pressing it against her clamped lips with one hand. With the other, he grabbed her wrist and twisted it behind her back. “Eat the fucking pineapple, love.”
She opened her mouth. He shoved it in, watching as she chewed and swallowed.
“Good,” he said, reaching for another piece.
When she’d finished, he placed the tub out of reach and jerked on the chain that hung from her neck. “Time for the bathroom. You can have the rest later.”
She rose unsteadily. He led her through the basement to the bathroom and waited while she used the toilet. When she was finished, she washed and he led her back to her cell. Placing his fingers beneath her chin, he tilted her head toward the light. “Look at me,” he said.
She opened her eyes. He kissed her.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Slowly, he unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it from her arms. It dropped to the floor beside her feet. He reached for her panties and discarded them as well, nodding with approval as she stood before him naked and trembling. She gazed up at him, her pale eyes reproachful as his hands traced the contours of her body, the swell of her breasts, the hollows of her ribs, the pulsing blue vein in her pale white neck. Her skin rose in gooseflesh beneath his fingers.
“Everything about you is beautiful,” he said, placing her hand against his jeans. “See what you do to me?”
He pushed her onto the bed. She lay across the blankets, still and silent, while he removed his clothes. Without protest, she allowed him to part her thighs. He stroked her breasts as he hovered above her. When there was no response, his erection faded.
“Damn it!” he said. “Out of all of them, I never thought you’d be the one to give up.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Why don’t you kill me then, and be done with it?”
He shook his head “You want to die? Really?”
She shrugged. “Anything’s better than this.”
He held her wrists with one hand and placed the other against her neck, squeezing lightly.
Her eyes widened in alarm. She gave a grunt of protest.
“What? You don’t like it? I thought this was what you wanted, Aura.” Tightening his grip, he watched with amusement as she tried to fight him off. He could sense her panic; smell her fear. Her body bucked as she tried to breathe. Aroused, he forced her legs wide, allowing her one deep breath before choking her throat closed. Her face turned red, then purple, as he thrust inside her. Her eyes rolled back in her head; her body went slack. With a shudder, he climaxed and released his hold. Sighing, he lay beside her, tracing the prints of his fingers on her bruised skin. The alabaster white of her neck bloomed red and ugly. He wondered if he had, in fact, killed her this time.
The suspense was short-lived. The woman took a shallow breath, then another and her eyes fluttered open; she raised her hand to her throat, gasping. Fixing him in her sights, her pale eyes narrowed. “You should have done it,” she whispered, her voice thin and raspy. “You should have killed me.”
He smiled and pulled on his Levis, relishing her contempt as he snapped her chains closed. “Have another piece of pineapple,” he said, standing in the doorway of her room. “It’s a sure cure for a sore throat.”
“You should have killed me,” she repeated.
The God laughed. “Be careful what you wish for, little girl,” he said. And pulled the door closed behind him.
***
Outside, the day was shaping up beautifully. Leaving the house, he pulled a sweatshirt over his head and headed for his truck. Slowly, he traversed the rutted dirt road that led the three miles from his driveway to the pavement. Taking a left on Lily Bay Road he headed north, a route that would take him over open logging roads to the city of Millinocket. It was a long trip but the larders were empty; he had to eat. Ten miles later, he stopped for gas in Kokadjo.
“Fifty bucks of premium,” he told the attendant, a pock-faced kid no older than eighteen.
“Cash or charge?”
“Cash.”
The boy turned to the pump while he reached for his wallet. His pockets were empty.
“Damn,” he said, opening the door and stepping out. “Hold up a minute.”
He searched the front seat and the glove compartment. No wallet. Stooping, he checked the floor while the kid waited. “Sorry,” he said. “I guess I’ll have to go back.”
Turning around, the God drove the ten miles back to Burnt Mountain Road and turned up the hill. When he reached his home, he swore again. Annie’s Subaru was back in the driveway, parked in front of the house.
Warily, he approached the front door. “Annie?” he called. There was no answer from within. Moving quickly, he crossed the threshold and entered the kitchen. “Annie?”
Her purse and cell phone sat on the table, but there was no sign of the woman herself. “Shit,” he muttered.
Systematically, he went through the first floor. The pantry and living room, like the kitchen, were empty. Without panic, he checked the powder room and office. She wasn’t there. At the door to the basement stairs, he stopped. It was ajar. Carefully, he pulled it open and slipped down the first four steps. From the depths below he could hear voices. One was low and reasonable, the other, close to hysteria. The God smiled. She’d discovered his secret.
“You have to go for help,” the hysteric said. It was Aurora.
“Not without you,” the calm voice replied. “Just give me a minute. I’ll get the key and be right back.” Annie.
“Don’t waste time looking for the key.” Aurora. “He probably took it with him. Just go! Bring back help before it’s too late.”
The God took the remaining the steps down to the basement. Except for some boxes in the corner, a couple of bikes, and a lawnmower, it was
empty. He moved to the utility room. The voices were coming from beyond the wall, the section that he’d portioned off to house Aurora. He was close enough, now, to hear their words distinctly.
“Calm down,” Annie. “It’s an hour from here to Greenville round-trip. Two hours to Dover and at least three to Millinocket. At the very least, he’ll be gone for another half hour. We’ve got plenty of time to get you out of here before he comes back.”
“You don’t know him!” Aurora. “He’ll kill you!”
“He won’t kill me.” Annie. “He loves me.”
“No...” Aurora. “Please, I’m begging you, leave me here and go for help. Don’t come back without the police.”
“I can’t leave you alone in this hell hole.” Annie “Just give me one minute. I’ll be back, I promise.”
The knob turned. The God tensed. The door swung open. The God pounced.
Chapter 9.
“Are you sure you’ve got everything you need?” Alex surveyed the packed Suburban and shook his head. “There’s barely room for the dog.”
“If I don’t, I can get it there.”
“I won’t be able to come up for at least two weeks, so if you forgot something--.”
Lena laughed. “They have stores in Maine, Alex. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
“Will you miss me?”
“You know I will.” She placed her head against his chest and willed herself to have patience. “Listen Alex, if you’ve changed your mind about me going up without you, I understand. I’ll wait. We’ll go up together when you have time.”
He shook his head. “No. This is how we planned it. Go on up and take charge of the place. You’ve been about as patient as anyone could expect since you signed the P&S.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Go. I’ll be so busy I’ll never notice you’re gone.”
Lena pulled away from his embrace and opened the door of the Suburban. “Okay, then, I guess I’m off. I love you.”