“You would.”
“Shouldn’t I? You kind of remind me of her, actually.”
“In what way?”
“You’re both women.”
“Asshole… You know what?”
“What?”
“What I want us to do is go in to the doctor and get checkups. Make sure there’s no AIDS stuff going on. I want to get past this rubber-on-the-dick stage real quick. I say we start our relationship with complete confidence.”
“You won’t take my word I haven’t got AIDS?” I said.
“I’ll take your word you don’t think you have it, and probably don’t, but you might not want to trust my word. I’ve been sexually active my whole life, Hap.”
“And all that practice has really paid off.”
“It’s not that I actually think I’ve been unsafe, but I want us to start with a clean slate.”
“All right,” I said. “It’s a deal. ’Course, as you know, I’ve just had a lot of blood work, so I think we can safely say I’m okay.”
“All right,” Brett said.
“You’ll look at my charts, won’t you?” I said. “Talk to the doctor?”
“Most likely.”
“All right,” I said. “One thing, though.”
“Shoot.”
“I’m old-fashioned in one way. Well, maybe lots of ways. But if this is a relationship, and not just a good time, I want it to be a relationship.”
“You mean I have to quit screwin’ the entire medical staff and the patients at the hospital?”
“Yep. And I’m giving up farm animals for you, baby.”
She snuggled in close. “Wow. Now that’s dedication of purpose. You know, there’s still several rubbers in the box.”
“I hate leaving a partial box, don’t you?”
“Absolutely,” Brett said.
“It’s so untidy.”
“Absolutely. By the way, Hap. Did I tell you that I used to be a man?”
I hit her with a pillow and she laughed and we made love again.
I guess it must have been around five o’clock when the phone rang and Brett stirred and got up and walked nude into the kitchen. After a moment she came back. “It’s for you, hon.”
“Thanks. I hope you don’t mind. I told a friend I’d be here.”
“Not at all,” she said. She was standing in the doorway, one leg cocked forward, showing me what I wanted to see. I got out of bed and went by her and she took hold of me and said, “I still got supplies in that box.”
I kissed her and she held me where I wanted her to hold me. I put my hand on her and said, “Did you shave it just for me, or do you keep it like that?”
“I shaved it just for you,” she said. “I thought it might be a little different. Besides, it keeps the lice out. You like it?”
“If you don’t know by now,” I said, “I don’t know what to tell you.”
After a moment I broke loose, went into the kitchen, practically having to walk around my dick. I picked up the phone.
“Yes?” I said.
“It’s me,” Leonard said, as if I were expecting someone else.
“I’m so glad,” I said.
“That lady I was talkin’ to? Is she the one?”
“She’s the one.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
“Did you call to congratulate me?”
“No, I called because your note said to call.”
“I was feeling very brotherly then. Right now I’m not so sure I want to waste my time with you. This woman, I think she could make me take a tire iron to Minnie Mouse.”
“That’s great… hey… really, Hap. Peace, man.”
“Peace, Leonard.”
“I was pissed. I’d had a few drinks. I’m fucked up over all this.”
“Nothing more needs to be said.”
“I love you, man.”
“And I love you. Listen up. Let’s find out what we can. I’m with you, but…”
“I have to behave myself.”
“Exactly.”
“I can only promise that up to so far.”
“We look around,” I said. “We find something. See how the police can be made to do something, we keep the blood off our hands. Got it?”
“What if we can’t?”
“We cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“When do we get started?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“The place where Raul got his hair-cutting experience. What’s it called?”
“Antone’s.”
“I’ll pick you up at your place at nine o’clock.”
“See you then,” Leonard said.
I went back to the bedroom. Brett was holding the box of prophylactics. She shook it.
“I say we tap the box out,” she said.
We didn’t quite manage that, but when we were finished, Brett pushed up tight against me and closed her eyes. “Spoons,” she said.
I held her, and soon she was asleep. While she slept, I looked at her and thought about her ex-husband beating her, raping her. How could he?
I thought about those nice long fingers of hers coiling around a shovel, squirting lighter fluid, striking matches. I kissed her cheek and lay against her and felt her warmth, and soon I too was asleep.
15
We awoke in the late afternoon and had dinner out of Brett’s fridge. Ham on white. While we sat naked, eating sandwiches and crunching potato chips, there was a knock on the door, and we had to rush to put on clothes.
Brett finished first by pulling on a long T-shirt. She went to the door while I continued dressing in the bedroom. I was having trouble finding my pants but finally located them under the bed in a wad. Found a sock behind a chair.
I finished dressing, went into the living room area. Ella was there. She grinned at me. She really did look like Brett’s younger sister.
“Well, I see you two have hit it off,” she said.
“We’re not doing much hittin’,” Brett said, “but we are gettin’ off.”
“Brett!” Ella said. But I could tell she wasn’t all that offended.
I smiled at Ella. Close up, I could see her very pretty face wore a black eye, partially hidden by makeup.
