Andrew Ne

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

followed.
"Miriam, what did you mean by morning before last?"
"Morning before last means two days ago, Kevin," she said and turned on the water.
"I know that. Don't be so smug. It's not like you. You said you told me about your going up to the
penthouse."
"We all have the gold keys, and Mr. Milton said we should use them whenever we like. Enjoy the
penthouse, he said. Use the whirlpools, use his stereo. We're up there often."
"Who's we?"
"Norma, Jean, and I. Now can I take a quick shower so I can make us some supper? I'm hungry,
too."
"I'm not hungry. I'm confused. You implied that we made love morning before last."
She stared at him and then shook her head. Then she stepped into the shower stall. He pursued.
"Miriam?" He pulled the door open.
"What?"
"Did we?"
"Did we what?"
"Make love?"
"I didn't know you make love so often that you forget with whom and when you do it," she
snapped and pulled the shower door closed again. He stood there staring through the glass at her.
Then he looked down at the glass of scotch in his hand and quickly downed it.
What the hell was she talking about?
Really, what the hell was she talking about?
11
Miriam did develop a black-and-blue mark on her arm, one so large and vivid it made him feel
very guilty. He had gone back to the living room to make himself another drink and sit and think
when he heard her in the kitchen. She was wearing his robe again, but when she reached up for a
dish in the cabinet, the sleeve fell back and he saw the injury.
"Jeez, I didn't think I squeezed you that hard, Miriam."
"Well, you must have," she replied without turning to him. She started to set the table.
"Maybe you have a vitamin C deficiency or something. Makes your capillaries weak."
She didn't reply.
"I'm sorry, Miriam. Really."
"It's all right." She paused and looked at him. "I forgot to ask, how did your day go?"
He didn't reply immediately. Ever since he had begun working at John Milton and Associates,
she would greet him with that question, and then, before he could elaborate, she would cut him off
and tell him it wasn't necessary to relive the nitty-gritty details. But in Blithedale, she had loved
hearing about his work. She had apparently adopted Norma and Jean's attitude wholeheartedly
when it came to this, and he wasn't happy about it. It was as if they weren't sharing anymore, as if
they were off on two different courses, coming together only to participate in pleasurable activities.
"Do you really want to know? Can I tell you without your running away from it?"
"Kevin, I'm only trying to..."
"I know, help me relax. But you're not some geisha girl, Miriam. You're my wife. I want to share my
frustrations as well as my successes with you. I want you to be part of what I do and what I am, just
as I will be part of whatever you do and what you are."
"I don't want to hear unpleasant things, Kevin," she said firmly. "I just don't. Mr. Milton's right.
You should take your shoes off before you come in the door and leave the mud outside. A man's
home should be his private piece of heaven."
"Oh, brother."
"Well, it's worked for Norma and Jean. Look how happy they are and how wonderful their
marriages are. Don't you want that for us? Isn't that why you brought me here to have a
better, happier life?"
"All right, all right. It's just that sometimes I like to confide in you, to look to you for support and get
your impression of things, too."
"Like you did in the Lois Wilson case?" she snapped.
He stared at her a moment. "I was wrong then. I admit it. I could have considered your
viewpoint, too, and taken more time to explain my own, instead of going bull-headed into the
melee, but..."
"Just drop it, Kevin. Please. You're doing well. Everyone likes you. You have an important case
to try. We're making a lot of money and living comfortably. We have great new friends. I don't
feel like being depressed by someone else's hard luck or by the ugly crimes that go on every
day out there." She grimaced.
"Now," she continued, smiling so quickly and so mechanically it was as if she had become
robotic. "I picked up this gourmet chicken Kiev prepared by the chef at the Russian Tea Room.
There's this store on Sixth that sells it in 'the frozen food section. Norma found it. I'll put it in
the microwave and we'll have it in minutes," she sang. "So get ready to eat."
Kevin pressed his lips together and nodded. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay."
He did what she said, but he couldn't help feeling frustrated, even though the food was delicious
and the wine was wonderful. Miriam babbled on about her day, the shopping, the exercise
classes, things Norma and Jean had said, rumors about Helen Scholefield getting worse, Mr.
Milton's wonderful penthouse. She talked on and on, around him, around any attempt he might
make to bring up the details of his case.
Maybe because he was frustrated and confused, or maybe because he was more tired than he
thought, whatever the reason, the scotch and the wine hit him, and he fell asleep on the couch in
the living room watching television. He woke abruptly when Miriam turned off the set.
"I'm tired, Kev."
"What? Oh, sure." He got himself up and followed her into the bedroom. Moments after he
slipped into the bed beside her, he was asleep, and again he was haunted by an erotic dream. In it,
he awoke in the bed and turned his head slightly because he felt movement beside him.
Miriam was set upon a man, the man's legs bent at the knees to position his hardness. The man
gripped her just an inch or so above her knees. Her breasts shook emphatically as she pressed
herself up and down with a vigor that was almost comical because of its intensity. She moaned and
threw her head back. Then she leaned forward so the man could reach up and run his fingers under
her breasts and around her nipples, holding them gently between two fingers.
Kevin couldn't move. The sight gave him an erection, but he was unable to turn his body or lift it
from the bed. All efforts were in vain. It was as if he were glued to the sheets, his arms locked at his
sides.
On and on they went, Miriam reaching climax after climax, moaning, screaming with ecstatic
pleasure, and then finally throwing herself over the naked man beneath her as she caught her breath.
The man's hand slipped up around her shoulders, and Kevin could see the fingers. On the pinky
finger was his gold ring with the letter "K" He struggled to turn his head farther, and finally,
gradually, his head was completely turned and he was looking into the eyes of Miriam's lover.
Once again, he was looking into his own eyes, only this time his duplicated face was smiling
arrogantly. He closed his eyes and wished with all his might that the dream would end. It finally did,
and he fell back into a restless sleep. When he woke in the morning and turned to Miriam, he found
her facedown, out of the blanket, sprawled naked the way she had been over his duplicate in the
dream. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Linki