B. Alexander Howerton (4 page)

After a few moments, which seemed like an eternity, Menelos
got up on his knees and maneuvered between her legs.  He grasped her by the
back of each knee and pushed her legs gently apart and up, presenting her
maidenhood to him.  He slowly pushed forward until his genitals came in contact
with hers.  It was the first time for both of them, and they were not quite
sure how to proceed.  He reached down and awkward fumbled around a bit.  Her
sharp gasp of pleasure and pain accompanied the sensation he felt of being
surrounded by a soothing warmth.  He pushed in slowly, not sure of what to do
and not wanting to hurt her.  She reached forward, grabbed his hips as best she
could, and pulled him as close to herself as possible.  Slowly, the age-old
instincts of nature asserted themselves, and before long, Menelos was stroking
gently in and out, pushing a soft, high gasp from Alena at the apex of every
thrust.  Her legs jutted high into the air, and occasionally she would wrap
them around the small of his back.  Her arms held him tight, and their lips
kept meeting in passionate interchanges.

Without warning, Menelos let out a long, low moan and thrust
himself far forward, holding himself above Alena on his extended arms.  He had
of course experimented with himself, but the feeling he experienced now was
like nothing he had known, or could possibly imagine.  He sank down to her, and
she enveloped him with her body.  They held each other tightly, attempting to
recapture their breath and enjoying the lingering sensations.

Eventually Menelos rolled over onto his back beside Alena. 
The moon was setting, and the stars twinkled brilliantly above them.  A soft
breeze blew in from the sea, and the distant, crashing waves seemed to echo
their breathing and the rhythm of their hearts.  They fell asleep.

When they awoke, the soft strands of the first light of day
were just beginning to edge their way over the horizon.  They turned to each
other and smiled, then kissed.  Menelos stood up and donned his skirt.  As
Alena was doing the same,  Menelos said, “We should get back.  They will be
wondering about us.”

“Yes,” she replied, straightening her hair as best she
could.

Menelos was about to turn to climb back up the path, when a
flash of something in the cave behind him caught the corner of his eye.  He
turned and peered deeply into the darkness of the cave.

“What is it?” Alena asked.

“I thought I saw something.  Come. Let us see.”

He walked cautiously toward the cave.  He could make out
nothing.  As he advanced slowly forward, his eyes became adjusted to the
gloom.  Alena followed behind him, one hand on his shoulder.

The cave did not extend far back into the hillside.  The
roof above them curved down sharply, causing the cave to end about thirty paces
in from the mouth.  There, lying at the very back of the cave, Menelos perceived
a strangely-shaped stone.  It seemed almost to give off a light of its own.  It
was about half as large as a human head.  Menelos reached forward and attempted
to pick it up.  It was stuck fast in the ground.  He grasped it with both hands
and yanked.  It resisted for a moment, then came loose suddenly, causing
Menelos to stumble back a couple of steps.  He gazed at it in the dim light of
the cave.

“What is it?” asked Alena.

“I don’t know.  Let’s go look at it in the light.”

He carried the stone back out to the ledge, where the
approaching dawn was increasingly lighting the sky.  He held it out before him
in one hand, and turned it in every imaginable direction.  There was no
definable shape to the stone, yet it seemed somehow strangely symmetrical.  It was
not exactly opaque nor was it clear.  Menelos could not decide what color it
was.  It seemed to be all colors, yet no color, yet still colors he had never
before imagined.

At that moment the sun crested the horizon of the sea off to
their right, and the first brilliant rays of morning suffused the world.  A ray
of sun struck the stone, and it sent colors of every imaginable hue shooting
off in every direction.  Menelos and Alena started with surprise, but he held
onto the rock, and turned it to experiment with the myriad rays it would shoot
off as the sunlight struck it from different angles.

Suddenly a deafening explosion filled the air, and the two
instinctively reached up to cover their ears, Menelos dropping the rock.  The
explosion was followed by a low rumble.  The two slowly dropped their arms and
looked at each other in bewilderment.  Suddenly Alena cried out, pointing far
out to sea, “Look!”

A great, gray, roiling mass of cloud, or smoke, or
something, was churning into the air from over the horizon.  It rose
majestically upward, transforming into a mushroom shape.  The pair watched in
fascination and dread.  They could not conceive of what could have caused such
a calamity, except perhaps a war between the gods.

Menelos suddenly shouted, “The gods are angry at us for
lying together before we were wedded.”  He grabbed Alena’s wrist.  “Come, we
must quickly return to the temple and make appeasement, before we are all
destroyed.”  He pulled at her, but she remained frozen where she stood. 
Without warning, a scream of sheer terror escaped her.  Menelos turned and
looked to sea.  He saw a wall of water coming straight at them, rising higher
as he watched.  Within seconds it towered over them.  There was no escape.

We have disobeyed the gods, and now the whole island must
pay the tribute, thought Menelos.  It is my fault, and I truly regret it.  He
gathered Alena to him and clung to her tightly as they both fearfully watched
the raging water rise to impossible heights, then descend upon them.  The water
roughly slammed into them and smashed them violently against the cliff. 
Menelos knew nothing more.

Steve leaned over and whispered in Alan’s ear.  “Can you
believe it?  Jim and Jane are actually getting married.”

Alan smirked.  “Yeah, and we have to sit through this
ceremony before we can get back to the beer.”  He pulled at his collar in an
attempt to loosen the tie and become more comfortable.  They were sitting in
the pews, covered with crushed red velvet cushions, of the First United
Methodist Church of Albion, Michigan.  Long, thin, wrought-iron candleholders
at the end of each pew held aloft many candles, which suffused the church in a
warm glow.  “This is beautiful and all,” Alan commented to Steve, “But I’m
looking forward to the open bar at the reception hall.  I’m ready to nap after
all those prelims back at the motel.  I’ve got to get my level back up.”

Flowers bedecked the altar, where Jim and Jane stood with
their many attendants, facing the congregation, hymnals aloft.  The minister
said, “We will now sing ‘Joy To The World.’ ” 

Steve snorted.  “Hell, they ought to wheel a keg down the
aisle right now if they want us to sing hymns.”

Across the aisle, Carol reached into her handbag and pulled
out some tissues.  She handed some to Julia, who wiped gently at her eyes. 
“It’s so wonderful.  It’s just like Jane used to describe it to me.  Look at
her.  She’s so beautiful, and you can see she’s happy.  She’s glowing.”  Julia
quietly blew her nose.

“Yes, it’s so pretty to have the wedding right around
Christmas, but Jane told me she wished she hadn’t done it that way.  Too hectic
around the holidays.”

“I wonder if I’ll ever have a wedding like this,” Julia
commented.  A quiet sob escaped her.

Carol looked at her.  “Come on, now none of that self-pity
stuff tonight.  This is Jane’s night.  Who knows?  You might just meet someone
at the reception later.”

Julia cast a sarcastic glance at Carol.  “Yeah, right.”

“You never know,” Carol responded hopefully, then lifted her
hymnal and began to sing.

An hour later Alan and Steve were happily sipping on mimosas
at the reception hall as they appreciatively watched Jim and Jane cut the
wedding cake.  “This is more like it,” Alan told Steve.  “I hear Jane’s dad
bought out the local liquor store.”

“Good thing, with all the lushes his daughter and her new
hubby invited.”  They glanced around the festive hall, filled with revelers. 
Pink and white balloons and streamers adorned the hall, and at one end a long
buffet table groaned under the combined weight of all the food spread upon it. 
Jim and Jane stuffed pieces of cake in each others’ mouths, and the guests
cheered and shook the small sleigh bells that had been passed out to them as
they entered the hall.  Alan shook his bell, tied at the end of a loop of
ribbon.  “Cute idea, huh?” He remarked to Steve, then absentmindedly looped it
over his ear.

“Here, you need a matched set.”  Steve looped his bell over
Alan’s other ear.

“Do you think it’s me?” Alan asked with mock demureness.

“Only if you complement it with pink nail polish,” Steve
responded in a lisp, flipping his wrist down.

They laughed and finished their cocktails.  “I’m going to
get a refill,” Alan said, “then join the rest of the gang.”  He wandered off
toward the bar.

Carol brought two mimosas back to the table where Julia was
sitting, and handed her one as she sat down.  “Isn’t this fun?  They really
went all out to decorate this place.  I love that lattice archway by the door,
with the flowers and greenery all over it.  And how long do you think it took
to blow up all these balloons?”

“Thanks,” said Julia, taking a sip from the plastic cup. 
“Are you ready to get in the food line?  It’s gone down a bit.”

“Sure.”  They got up and joined the end of the food line,
looking around at the various tables.  “Who are those people over there?” Julia
asked Carol.

“Those are Jim’s friends from Grand Rapids.  You’ve met some
of them before.  Remember Fred’s bonfire last summer?”

“Oh, yeah, now I recognize some of them.  That’s Jeff and
Sandy, right?  But who’s that guy talking with them, the one with bells on his
ears?”

“That’s Alan Mead.  He was in L.A. for a while, then moved
back here.  I talked to him a little bit at Fred’s bonfire.”

“Funny, I must have missed him then.  What a goof, anyway.”

Carol reproachfully slapped Julia’s shoulder.  “Come on,
now.  How are you going to meet anyone with an attitude like that?”  She rolled
her eyes in mock disgust as she reached for a plate.

After the guests had eaten, the tables in the front of the
hall were cleared away, and the disk jockeys began playing disco tunes from the
1970s at a considerable volume.  “Come everybody,” The DJ screamed into the
microphone.  “Get up out of your seat and start moving your feet!”  At first,
only the young children jumped out onto the dance floor and started awkwardly
jerking under the multi-colored, ever-changing lights.  Before long, however,
the floor was filled with revelers dancing to music they would have otherwise
sworn that they were glad had disappeared from the popular scene.  Alan and his
gang of friends were in the midst of the dancers, and it was not too long
before he had his jacket and tie off. 

A particularly boisterous rap tune came on, and an impromptu
circle formed as various dancers tried their best to moonwalk or perform some
other feat of dexterity beyond their capacity.  Alan was struck with a sudden
inspiration, and he threw himself down on his back in the middle of the circle
and tried to spin around in an awkward attempt at break dancing.  The other dancers
clapped and cheered as Alan spun around on the floor as best he could, in an
awkwardly comical imitation of a street dancer.  He hopped back up and rejoined
the circle as other revelers jumped into the middle and spun each other around,
or pretended to limbo, or some such activity.

“Not too shabby,” Steve leaned over and yelled in Alan’s
ear, over the throbbing rhythm.

“Not bad for a white boy, eh?”  Alan grinned back.  He
grabbed the front of his shirt and flapped it vigorously in and out, trying to
cool off.  “That wore me out.  I have to go get some air.”

He broke away from the dance circle and made for the front
door, where he knew he would find some of his friends enjoying cigarettes
outside.  Halfway to the door he heard someone call his name.  He whipped
around.  “Carol, how are you doing?  I saw you earlier, but I haven’t had a
chance to come over and say ‘Hi.’ ”

“You really should leave break dancing to the street kids,
Alan.”

“Oh, you witnessed that impressive display?”

“Yeah.  Don’t quit your day job.”

“Everyone’s a critic,” Alan smirked.

Carol quickly changed the subject.  “Alan, this is my friend
Julia.”

Alan extended his hand.  “Pleased to meet you.”

Julia took his hand.  “The bells on the ears are an
interesting accessory.  Here, it’s not quite complete.”  She took one of the
white blossoms from her hair that was attached by a bobby pin, and shoved it
into Alan’s hair.  “There.  Now you’re properly dapper.”

“Why, thank you.” Alan bowed in mock deference. “I don’t
know what I’d do without your fashion expertise.”

“Probably continue to look ridiculous,” Julia said, and she
and Carol giggled.

Alan feigned an air of indignation.  “I can be abused like
this outside, where it’s cooler.  See you ladies later.”

“All right,” responded Carol, still laughing.

Alan went out and cooled off while talking with the smokers
congregated around the main entrance to the hall, then went back in, got a rum
and coke at the bar, and joined his friends for some more dancing.  After a
while, he went back to the bar for another drink.  As he turned back to join
his friends, he saw Carol and Julia approaching again.  He reached up to his
hair to check on the positioning of Julia’s bobby pin, but it was gone.  It had
obviously fallen out of his hair during his wild gyrations on the dance floor.

“I’m so sorry,” He said when they got into earshot, “but it
seems as though I’ve lost your wonderful addition to my attire.”

“Well, then,” Julia responded with mock snootiness, “I guess
we have nothing more to say to one another.”  She continued past him to the
bar.

Well, I guess I can knock her off of the checklist of
potential conquests tonight, Alan thought, and returned to his friends.

The wedding partiers carried on for another hour or so,
until the hall staff closed the party down.  “Back to the motel!  We still have
alcohol there,” rose the cry from several people who were under the impression
that they had not yet had enough fun.  After not too long a time, Alan and his
friends found themselves gathered in Jeff and Sandy’s room.

“This is great!” Jeff yelled, giving Alan a one-armed hug. 
“We should get some more people in here.”

Steve chimed in.  “I know where some of Jane’s friends are
staying.  Come on, Alan, let’s go drag them down here.”

Steve and Alan strolled down the hallway of the motel to the
other end, where a door was open and other partiers were gathered.  “Hey! Party
down the hall!” Steve exclaimed, entering the room.  Alan followed and spied
Julia sitting on the edge of a table, extracting bobby-pinned flowers from her
hair.  He was struck with a notion.  He quickly approached her, sank to one
knee, and took her hand.  Gazing into her eyes, he said, “I must beg you abject
pardon, my lady, for losing the gracious gift of your flower.  If you can find
it in your warm, generous heart to grant me another, I shall never lose it, and
cherish it always.”

Julia chuckled, more from embarrassment than anything else,
and looked around the room.  Everyone was watching her, silent and expectant,
wondering what she would do.  “All right,” she said.  “Here.”  She handed him a
bobby pin with a white flower still stuck in it.

Alan took it with one hand while kissing the back of her
hand that he held.  “Thank you, my dear.  You have won my heart forever.”  He
slipped the bobby pin into his hair, over his right temple.

Julia rolled her eyes and took her hand back.  The room
erupted in laughter.

Alan hopped to his feet.  “Party down the hall,” he
exclaimed.

There was a chorus of “All right!” and “Yeah! Let’s go,” as
some of the revelers made their way toward the door.

“See you down there.  Room 242,” Steve called over his
shoulder, shoving Alan out the door.  They sauntered back down the hall.  “And
just what the hell was that disgusting display?”

Alan shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I was just having fun.  I
don’t have a chance with her, anyway.”

“Yeah, definitely not now.  Whatever.”

They reentered the party room.  Alan made another rum and
Coke, then went and stood out in the hallway, against the doorjamb, to let the
people from the other room know where the party was.  After a few minutes,
Carol and Julia came wandering down the hall.  Alan called “Party over here!” 
He reached out for Julia’s hand as she turned into the room.  “How are you, my
dear?”

“I am doing fine.  You look ravishing with that flower in
your hair.”  She gave his hand a slight squeeze, then entered the room.

Hmmm, perhaps all is not lost, Alan mused.

The revelers carried on, drinking and laughing, squeezing
many more people than could comfortably fit into Jeff and Sandy’s room.  After
a while someone got the idea to serenade the motel with Christmas carols,
perhaps to generate some more funlovers for the party.  Alan and Julia were
dragged along in a group that wandered up and down the halls, belting out
carols at the top of their lungs.  Alan whispered to Julia, “I’m surprised
we’re not getting kicked out of here.”

She laughed and answered, “practically everybody here came
for the wedding.”

They eventually found themselves back in the party room,
Julia perched on the low dresser, and Alan sitting on the edge of one of the
double beds facing her.  Alan attempted to engage Julia in conversation.  He
asked, “So, where are you from?  What do you do for money?” and several other
innocuous questions, and receiving standard responses.  Suddenly Julia’s eyes
lit up.  She looked over Alan’s shoulder to where Steve was sitting behind him
on the bed, giving Carol, who was sitting on the edge of the other bed, a foot
rub.  “I want one of those,” She exclaimed.  She hopped over and flounced down
next to Carol, thrusting her feet toward Steve.  Alan pivoted around.  “I’ll
take care of that,” he said, reaching for and taking Julia’s foot.

Julia moaned in relief as Alan applied his hands to her
feet.  “That’s wonderful!”  She elbowed Carol lightly in the ribs.  “How about
this?  Two men, at our service.”

“We’ve got to do this more often,” Carol sighed.  Alan and
Steve grinned to each other and kept rubbing as the party progressed around
them.

After about ten minutes, Alan bent down and kissed the tops
of Julia’s feet.”  How’s that?

“Wonderful,” she replied, sipping from her cup of White
Zinfandel.

He patted her feet and set them gently on the floor. “I need
a drink of water.”  He got up, grabbed a clean plastic cup, and edged his way
around the other partiers toward the bathroom.

“Me too,” concluded Julia, and followed him.

They entered the unlit bathroom.  Alan turned on the water
and stuck his hand under the stream, waiting for it to get cold.  Julia stood
close to him with her cup, waiting.  They looked up from the faucet at each
other as best they could in the dark bathroom, the only light coming from the
entranceway to the room.  Before either knew what had happened, they were
kissing, exploring each other with their hands.  Steve came around the corner. 
“Hey, how long are you going to…  oops, sorry.  Hey, why don’t you two get a
room?”

Alan and Julia pulled their lips apart, chuckling.  “I guess
we better rejoin the party,” he whispered.