“I didn’t say I didn’t care, Leonard. I said-”
“Save it.”
“Don’t be mad. I-”
“I said save it.”
Leonard got up, gathered the tapes and the notebook, shoved them inside the Jiffy bag, and went outside. I didn’t follow. I sat on the couch until I heard his car start up and go away.
14
That night I slept poorly. My mind wandered from that sick video to images of what had happened to Raul, and finally to Leonard. Leonard and I often fought. Leonard was quick to lose his temper, but something like this, I didn’t really know what to think, what to expect. I wanted to help him, but bending the law was one thing, breaking and stomping the shit out of it was another.
I did what Leonard wanted, I’d have blood on my hands, and I wasn’t sure where we would stop once we got started. I had killed before, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t lose lots of sleep over it, as it had been self-defense, and no other alternative was available, but I thought about it and didn’t like it, and didn’t feel heroic. I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I had to kill.
I tossed and turned, finally got that business off my mind long enough to think about Brett. I thought about what she had done to her ex-husband. Was that self-defense or vengeance? Too bad Leonard was gay. He and Brett might go well together.
Jesus, I liked Brett, but did I really need to fall for an unrepentant firebug woman with asshole children?
Come to think of it, was I such a good catch myself?
That’s the way the night passed, back and forth, an occasional snooze here and there, but mostly me tossing and turning and considering.
I got up early, put on coffee, thought about calling Leonard, but didn’t. It was too early, and since he was already pissed, that wasn’t going to mellow him out any. While I mulled all this over, it started to rain. Good. Great way to start the day.
I hung out till daylight, finished breakfast, and decided to call Brett. She ought to be getting home about now, and I figured before she dropped off to sleep, I might speak with her. I calculated the time it would take for her to drive home, and phoned. She didn’t answer.
I waited a while, drank a cup of coffee, and called back. She answered this time. She sounded tired.
“Hey,” I said. “It’s me, Hap.”
“I still remember you,” she said.
“Well, hell, Brett. Now that I got you, I don’t know why I’m calling. I know you’re tired-”
“Are you?”
“What’s that?”
“Tired?”
“Actually, yeah. I’ve had coffee, but it isn’t helping.”
“You came over, I know something might invigorate both of us. That is, unless you’re so tired you don’t think you can be invigorated.”
“That’s me pullin’ up in your drive now.”
Fast as I wanted to get there, I took time to go by Leonard’s. I figured he was sleeping, so I didn’t knock. I wrote him a note and stuck it in the screen door. I gave him Brett’s phone number, told him to call me after noon. I wrote that I was sorry. That we should talk. I signed it “Mom.”
When I got to Brett’s place she opened the door and let me in before I could knock. I stood just inside the doorway trying to get my breath. She was wearing a pair of brief red panties, some brand-new flip-flops, and a small dark mole like a chocolate drop on her right breast near the nipple. A very nice nipple, I might add.
“If you don’t mind,” she said, “I thought we’d call this a second date.”
“I’m easy,” I said.
“So am I,” she said. “And I got a whole box of rubbers on the nightstand to prove it.”
“That’s what I call hospitality.”
“Well, I am excited to see you,” she said, “but actually I had to rub ice on my nipples so they’d stand up like this.”
She took me by the hand, led me to the bedroom. We embraced and kissed. She started removing my clothes, and I helped her. We lay down on the bed together.
She said, “If you have a shoe fetish, I’ll leave the flip-flops on.”
I laughed and she flicked them off. I helped her out of the red panties. I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. I used my tongue to taste the chocolate-drop mole. Much better than chocolate, actually. We made love for an hour, then fell asleep to the sound of the rain.
When I awoke, Brett was leaning over me.
“I really enjoyed that,” she said. “I even came.”
“I hope you don’t mean in spite of me.”
She laughed. “No. I don’t mean in spite of you.”
“Me too,” I said.
“What?”
“I came too.”
She laughed. “Men always come.”
“Ejaculating is not the same as coming, in my book. It feels good, but when you really get off, you know the difference. It’s not just a release of pressure. It’s a special state of mind. You know, like when you switch channels on TV, and surprise, it’s your favorite movie just starting.”
“By God, Hap, you’re a goddamn philosopher.”
“I know it.”
“What’s your favorite movie, by the way?”
“You’re not going to ask me my astrological sign next, are you?”
“I don’t cotton to that shit. I’m interested in movies.”
“ Casablanca. And I like slow walks in the park and I’m going to be a brain surgeon and try and help all mankind.”
She laughed. “I like To Have and Have Not. That’s my favorite.”
“That’s my second favorite.”
“My second favorite is The Sound of Music.”
“I like Casablanca and To Have and Have Not.”
“That part where they sing the do-re-me song, or whatever it is. I love that.”
“I like Casablanca and To Have and Have Not.”
She slapped at me. “You don’t like The Sound of Music? It’s the greatest musical ever made! I bet you think it’s kind of sissy.”
“Yeah.”
“Hap Collins, I thought you were a sensitive man.”
“I am,” I said, and pointed my finger at my eye. “Press right here and it hurts. But The Sound of Music, I’d rather have my dick nailed to a burning building than have to sit through that shit again, and I don’t care if the popcorn is free and you’re giving me each bite with your vagina.”
“Vagina?”
“That’s a medical term for pussy, honey.”
“God, Hap, you’re almost a doctor… So you don’t like The Sound of Music?”
“No. Actually, I loathe it. But you like To Have and Have Not. That’s good.”
“I was always nuts about Bogart. I like Walter Brennan too. I like where he talks about being stung by a bee.”
“Me too. I like Lauren Bacall too.”
