Angel of Mercy (15 page)

He began to unbutton her uniform. As he did so, Perry stroked her hair and then leaned in to plant a soft kiss on her neck. She closed her eyes and moaned. Todd worked her uniform over her shoulders and down her arms to let it fall to her feet. Instantly, Perry inserted his fingers under the elastic of her panties and slipped them down her legs.

Todd took off her bra.

“I hate those aseptic-looking white socks and white shoes,” Todd said.

He squatted to untie the laces and she lifted each foot to permit him to take off the shoes and the socks. All of them were naked now. She waited as they drew closer, sandwiching her between them. She felt their erections prodding, Perry’s lips moving over her neck and her shoulders, Todd’s lips sucking and kissing her face, her mouth, her breasts.

She was too weak to stand and began to sink to her knees, but Perry lifted her from behind and gently brought her to the bed. He put her on her left side at first and continued to make love to her from behind while Todd made love to her from the front, fondling her breasts, running his fingers down the center of her stomach until he reached her pubic hair. She moaned and shifted her legs.

Then Todd pulled her on top of him. She straddled his body, her hands on his shoulders and he entered her quickly. She subdued a cry by biting so hard on her lower lip that she tasted the salty taste of blood. As Todd worked himself farther and farther into her, moving with a rhythm that reached into her deepest and most quiet places, Perry suddenly took hold of her shoulders and brought himself in from behind.

Her whole body sung. It was as if she had fallen into some pit of sexual ecstasy that turned each and every cell of her body into an erogenous zone.

The two brothers worked with a harmony that bore out her suspicion they had done this often before.

Never did one move against the other. Their rhythms were perfectly coordinated. She barely caught her breath after Todd’s thrusts when Perry’s overwhelmed her. But it was wonderful and when they all came together it was an explosion of orgasms the likes of which she could never dream to duplicate.

Perry rolled ?“o er first, and then she did and Todd followed. They all lay there, breathing hard and fast, happy with the feeling of exhaustion and the way their bodies cried for air. It was an exquisite agony.

“That was… wonderful…” she gasped. “Wonderful.”

“You deserved it.”

“Every moment,” Todd said.

“Just lay there, rest. Close your eyes,” Perry said.

“Relax. That’s it.”

He planted a kiss on her right nipple and Todd planted one on her left.

Then she felt them lift off the bed. She remained on her back, her eyes closed, savoring the delightful cooling down of her skin, the quieting of her sex, the slowing down of her heartbeat. She even fell asleep for a few moments.

“Can I open my eyes now?” she asked. There was no response, so she did.

They weren’t there.

“Todd? Perry?”

She rose from her bed and went out to see if they were still in her apartment. Maybe they were having a cool drink.

“They’re gone,” Susie said. She was standing by the curtain, looking toward the parking lot. She turned slowly. “They said they had to get home to their families.” Susie smiled licentiously. “How was it?”

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you. I’m sure you had your ear to the door.”

“I did no such thing,” Susie replied with indignation. “I don’t spy on you. I leave that to Mr. Kaufman next door. But,” she added with a laugh, “he won’t be doing that too much longer.” Faye stared.

“What did you do?” she finally asked.

“I went next door like you told me to and cleaned their place.”

“And?”

“And changed Morris’s prescription,” she said.

“You didn’t do that,” Faye said, a look of surprise on her face.

“You wanted me to do it.”

“I didn’t.”

“Yes you did. Don’t say you didn’t now that I have.

Don’t start doing that again. You always want me to do it and then when I do, you pretend you didn’t and you act horrified.”

“I am horrified. And besides, you shouldn’t be so damned happy and full of yourself,” she snapped.

Susie’s smile wilted.

“Of course I should. You’re just tired and irritable.

Go to sleep so you don’t accidentally give your patient the wrong medicine.”

Susie stared her sister down and Faye retreated.

Why not be happy and full of myself?. She thought.

Why not? She snapped on the radio and unpinned her hair. The uplifting Latin sounds of the Gipsy Kings filled her with excitement and she moved to the rhythms, shaking her shoulders, twisting her hips, repeating the choruses.

Her own laughter echoed around her. Then she heard the sound of an airplane that had just lifted off the runway of the Palm Springs airport and was now circling to pick up its flight path east, carrying people back to Chicago or New York. She went to the window and looked up.

There was a whole world out there with endless possibilities. How she wished she could be everywhere at the same time. There were lonely and pathetic people everywhere, people who had just lost loved ones, people who needed her or someone like her.

She looked back toward Faye’s bedroom. How could she say that… full of myself. She’s jealous, that’s all. If only… if only I had a boyfriend in whom I could confide my secrets, she thought. Most of the time Faye was wonderful and understanding, but it would be nice to have a lover in whose arms she could cuddle, someone with a heart as big as hers and a purpose as big as hers.

But that was not possible, was it? A romance, a relationship, was just not part of her destiny. It was the price she paid for such a meaningful role, for being the Angel of Mercy. For now, she was more than willing to pay it, but that didn’t mean she denied her longings, her great desire to have her own beloved, someone to join her when it came her time to depart.

Someone who would want to and wouldn’t be afraid. Surely he was out there, waiting.

Corpsy parked in front of the Village Deli and got out of his car cautiously. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched.

People might call him paranoid, but during his brief nap in the motel room, he dreamt that his mother had hired someone to follow him and make sure he wasn’t making a fool of himself by chasing after some young woman. It wouldn’t be the first time she had asked someone to keep an eye on him and report back to her. She often did that when he was in public school and even when he went to college. How did he know? He knew by what she revealed she knew about his activities. That’s how he knew. And when he accused her of spying, she always broke down in tears and moaned that she was just trying to look after him properly, just trying to be both a mother and a father. How could he blame her for it?

He couldn’t even blame her now, even though it annoyed him to suspect that someone was keeping tabs on him while he pursued the woman he loved. If Susie should suspect they were being watched, she would surely be spooked and want to get away from him.

That would enrage him and he would blame his mother for his failure.

He panned the parking lot for a moment, studying the driver in each and every automobile that had entered after him. No one looked especially suspicious.

Most were with other people. The only possibility was a young man who parked in front of the video store, but he didn’t even gaze Corpsy’s way casually when he emerged from his car. It was all right; he wasn’t being watched.

He went into the restaurant and ordered a turkey hero sandwich with a side of fries and peas. He had a beer and ate slowly.

He couldn’t wait to get back up to their apartment complex and wait for his first opportunity to make contact. Perhaps Faye had an evening shift. If she did, he would follow her to the hospital and make contact there. Maybe he would pretend to have taken a position at this hospital, just to temper her initial shock at seeing him and not frighten her. Once she accepted him, he could tell her the truth. He was glad now he had put his hospital blues in the car trunk.

After dinner, he went out and got them and then went into the bathroom to change. When he emerged, the waiter looked at him with surprise, but he didn’t linger long enough for the man to question him. He got into his car quickly and drove back to the Sullivans’ apartment. He parked his car in the same dark spot and waited, his eyes on their door, his heart beating a little faster, his tongue moving over his lips.

He saw Faye come hurrying out of the apartment, get into her car, and drive off as if she were heading to an emergency. He started to follow, but then he thought about Susie, alone in the apartment. At least he assumed she was in there. He tempted himself with the idea of going right up to that apartment door and pushing the buzzer. He would just introduce himself to her, go for it head on. It was a tantalizing idea.

He rubbed his fingers up and down the door handle, caressing it, pressing down and then pulling back before the door lock snapped open.

He was parked in a dark area of the lot so he wasn’t afraid of being discovered, but when he opened the door, the car light would go on and he knew he couldn’t start out and then stop and then start again. That would attract attention.

Still, the thought of getting out and walking up to that door excited him. If he only had the courage, he thought. It was just that he was so terrified of making a mistake at the beginning of the courtship, a mistake so big he couldn’t correct it and he would lose his Susie.

He put his hands in his lap and closed his eyes and tried to get control, but the little animal in his stomach kept clawing away, climbing up to his heart, tickling it, and then scurrying down to his loins and curling up around his penis.

Why couldn’t he simply walk up to that door? Other men approached women they admired and introduced

” themselves, didn’t they? He wasn’t without charm, without intelligence. He would know what to say. He wouldn’t stumble and stutter and look stupid. He certainly wouldn’t frighten her. ‘

I can do it, he chanted. I can.

He took a deep breath and then with an impulsive energy, snapped open the car door. The car light had seemed brighter than it was and when he caught his reflection in the glass, he looked ghostly. He swallowed and pushed on, nevertheless. He closed the door softly and then, almost tiptoeing, headed toward the apartments, reciting his words.

“Hello. I’m Arnold Ratner. We haven’t met, but I’m a friend of your sister’s from back in Phoenix. I just arrived in Palm Springs and decided to pay you guys a visit.”

He took the first step.

“Hello, I’m Arnold Ratner…”

On the patio, he paused. He was so close now, so close. Susie was just on the other side of that door. His heart was pounding. He thought he could actually feel his blood surging through his veins and arteries.

His hand trembled and shook as he raised his finger toward the buzzer.

Inches from it, he hesitated and listened. There was music coming from inside. It sounded like soft rock. He liked soft rock, too. He smiled to himself. He had just learned something else about his beloved before he had even met her. But if she was listening to music and relaxing, she might not want to be disturbed, he thought.

It was wrong. It was wrong to just appear like this, unannounced. He pulled his hand back, but he couldn’t stop being intrigued. He looked around and saw that there was no one in the parking lot, no one walking on the pathways, no one would see him. Then, he leaned to the right and peeked through the open blinds. The lamp was on in the living room, but Susie wasn’t there.

He saw what he thought was her shadow on a wall through another doorway that he imagined to be the kitchen. Maybe she was cleaning up after dinner. He perused the living room and spotted what looked like Susie’s maid uniform draped over a chair. Over that was abra.

It was as if he had seen her nude. He pulled back, his heart thumping, the sweat trickling down his temples and over his cheeks. His neck was soaked. He took a deep breath. She might be walking about nude.

If he looked through the window again…

The sound of a car coming into the complex sent him scrambling down the steps and into the sanctuary of shadows. He walked slowly toward his own vehicle, and fortunately so. It was Faye returning. He crouched down as she pulled into her parking space and quickly came out of her car. She hurried up the pathway and at one point was so close to him, he could see her teeth pressed down on her lower lip.

When she entered the apartment, he ran back to his car and got in. He sat there, catching his breath, calming the animal.

Where did she go and come back from so quickly?

He didn’t notice any bags in her hands. After what seemed like only minutes, the apartment door opened, and this time his beloved appeared.

She came down the steps slowly. Mesmerized, he watched her hobble along. His heart went out to her as she headed toward their car.

Where was she going? he wondered. Maybe she was going supermarket shopping.

That would be great. He’d follow and then he would pretend to just happen to bump into her. It would make it all so much easier. ,

, When she drove out, he followed behind her, but she didn’t head toward any malls or supermarkets. She drove away from Palm Springs into Rancho Mirage and pulled off Highway 111 into a side street that led to a row of upscale homes. They climbed up a rise until she stopped in front of a house and turned off her lights. He slowed down and pulled to the side, expecting her to get out. But she didn’t. She remained in her car, waiting.

Waiting for what? he wondered. What was she doing? She sat there in the dark for nearly forty-five minutes, and he sat in his car, his eyes fixed on hers, not moving, not doing anything to alert her to his presence. Finally, another car came down the street and turned into the driveway across from Susie. The car entered the garage and the garage door closed. Not more than a minute later, Susie got out of her car and approached the house. Corpsy watched intrigued as she went up to the door and pushed the buzzer. An elderly man opened it. They said a few words to each other and Susie entered the house.