Promise Me Eternity (44 page)

Dr. Patterson nearly told him that he didn’t
kill her and that it was all a setup, but the guard wouldn’t let
him get a word in.

Tuttle said to Simon, “Yesterday, for
instance, she said I was a pig. Can you imagine that? Just because
I left my underpants on the washing machine. Why’s that such a big
deal? I forgot them, so what? But she goes and calls me names
because of it.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to do. It’s
getting worse and worse. She keeps humiliating me. You can’t even
begin to imagine it. Last week I helped her with the shopping, but
she started telling the butcher how useless I am and that I’ve
never fixed anything in the house. I had to stand there for nearly
ten minutes holding heavy bags while she was putting me down. How
about that?”

Simon could do nothing but nod. In front of
him was an open book about modern psychology, but the guard
wouldn’t take the hint and leave him alone.

“I’m afraid I’ll snap once and hurt her.”

Simon pushed the book away. “Why don’t you
divorce her, then?”

The guard took a step back. “I’m not doing
that. She’d get half my property.”

“Yes, but what’s property to you if—”

“Never! When we married she had nothing. I
inherited a house with land from my parents. I’m not letting her
get her hands on it.”

“It sounds pretty complicated.”

“It is. And that’s how it’s going to stay.
I’ve gotten used to the idea.”

Obviously the conversation had no end.
Looking out of the barred window, Simon changed the subject.
“Lovely weather out there, isn’t it?”

“Yes, you’re right, Doctor. It’s very nice
out there. It hasn’t rained for two weeks.”

“Don’t call me doctor. I’m finished with
being a doctor. Call me Simon.”

The guard gave him a strange look and shook
his head. “No matter what you did, you’ll always stay a doctor in
my estimation. It’s a respectable profession which requires good
and capable people. Well, I’m definitely not that. Otherwise I
wouldn’t be a prison guard.”

“And look where I ended up. Locked up for
twenty years. I don’t know if any of it makes any sense.”

Paul put his hands on his hips. “Don’t say
things like that. People can get used to anything. At first it’s
hard, every prisoner misses the outside world, but slowly you’ll
get used to the life here. You’ll always miss what goes on outside,
but at the same time you won’t have such a bad time here. Know what
I mean?”

“I’m not so sure.”

“It’s in people’s nature to forget. If, for
instance, someone that you loved very much leaves you, it’s very
hard at first. You don’t think you’ll make it. But slowly the pain
fades. It still hurts, only less. That’s because you begin to
forget. That’s the way it must be, otherwise we’d destroy
ourselves.” He stopped for a moment. “The same goes for this place.
You’ll begin to forget how it is outside and miss it less and less.
Of course you’ll never completely forget, but it’ll get a lot
easier.”

Simon thought for a moment. “I doubt it. I
keep on thinking about the beauty of nature. I imagine I’m lying on
a beach, sunbathing. I sometimes think I’m in the mountains and
things like that.”

“That’s normal. It won’t go away. Look, there
are different phases in your life. One was when you were still a
child. In the second phase you married and lived with your wife.
Now you’re in the third phase, which you will spend in prison. Then
you’ll be left with the fourth phase, when you’ll be free to do
whatever you want.”

They talked every day, and Paul Tuttle always
called him “Doctor.”

Chapter 97

_______________________

Dr. Jerry Duncan had changed in the past ten
months. His separation from Anita Carter had affected him greatly:
he looked bad, he had lost weight, and hadn’t had his hair cut for
at least four months.

At first he still called her often. “Anita, I
beg you, take me back, I can’t live without you.”

She repeatedly told him to stop calling her,
that it was over. “That was in the past, Jerry. Get it into your
head, will you?”

He tried to forget her. He kept telling
himself he didn’t love her and that he’d soon meet someone else.
The passing days felt like years. Every day was hell.

“Time is your best friend,” she advised him.
“The first six months are the hardest, then it’ll get easier.”

“What do you mean, easier?”

“The pain in your heart will ease. With time
you’ll start to forget. It will all sort itself out.”

As it still wasn’t better after ten months,
he decided to wait for Anita in front of the hospital.
When she
sees me, she’ll remember our love. And we’ll be together again,
he thought.

“Jerry, what are you doing here?” she asked
in surprise.

Jerry couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was
elegantly dressed and as she walked, the light from the setting sun
reflected off her glossy black hair. Her high heels made her almost
taller than him.

He wanted to say something to her but the
words got stuck; his tongue froze completely.

“You don’t look so good.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I’m not used to you unshaven
and with long hair. You’ve also lost weight.” She didn’t tell him
just how bad he looked.

“But you look good, Anita. I had to see
you.”

She walked toward her car. “I’m in a hurry,
Jerry. I need to be home in twenty minutes.”

He felt like she’d stabbed him in the
stomach. “What’s the hurry? We haven’t seen each other for more
than nine months. I’d like to talk to you.”

She came to a halt. “OK, I’m listening. What
do you want?”

Now he was confused. He’d hoped that he would
be able to tell her that he couldn’t live without her and that he
loved her ….

“I …”

“Yes?” She glanced at her watch. “I really
have to go.”

“I love you, Anita. I can’t live without
you.”

She blew out through her teeth. “I thought it
would be something along those lines. Wasn’t I clear enough? Our
relationship is over.” She looked him in the eye. “I don’t love
you, Jerry, and I never did. I’m in another relationship now.”

“But …”

She put her hands on her belly. “I’m
pregnant. Henry and I are expecting a baby.”

“But Lawson’s married. You’ll always be his
lover. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

“Oh, come on. He sleeps over at my place
every night and his wife has finally consented to a divorce. If
everything goes as planned, we’ll be married in a month or
two.”

Tears were forming in his eyes and his voice
shook as he spoke: “But Anita, I want to marry you, I love
you.”

“Forget me. I never loved you, Jerry. I’ve no
time for wimps,” she said before getting into her car and driving
off.

“Who’s a wimp?” He punched a nearby wall hard
enough for a bit of the stone to crumble off. “I’ll give you a
wimp. I’m going to kill that frigging Lawson!”

Chapter 98

_______________________

The policewoman was acting as his bodyguard
for two weeks before he finally told her he was very much in love
with her and wanted to marry her. Of course, Caroline was surprised
to hear this.

“But you don’t even know me,” she said to
him. “We’ve only been together for two weeks. Things don’t go that
fast. I have quite a few bad qualities as well, you know, and I
don’t want you to regret your decision later.”

“Everyone has bad qualities, including me,”
Dr. Miner answered blissfully.

“Here’s what I suggest. I like you too.
You’re kind and you know how to listen. If you can put up with me
for at least six months, then we can get married. Why not?”

For a while he wrinkled his forehead, not
knowing what to say.

Caroline interrupted the silence. Taking hold
of his hand, she pulled him onto her lap. She was so strong that he
landed abruptly.

“You’re mine now, honey,” Caroline said.

She started kissing him as assertively as a
man normally kisses a woman. From below her, he shook all over,
looking into her eyes.

The next day, Dr. Miner emptied the basement
room of all its torture equipment, scared that Caroline would find
it and leave him because of it.

But many pleasant surprises awaited him over
the next few months. Caroline got bossier. The more they got to
know each other, the more relaxed she became and her voice was more
imperative. “Look what a mess you’ve left in the kitchen. Clean it
up, now,” she would order.

And he’d run for a cotton cloth to quickly
clean up the crumbs he’d left earlier while eating.

“And make me a sandwich, I’m exhausted.”

He made her a protein-rich sandwich with meat
and eggs and vegetables. “Here you go, honey. Now tell me, how was
work? Did you put anyone behind bars? You know how I love to
listen.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll tell you, but first bring me
the salt. And you can put some black olives on my plate.”

He found her so alluring when she was telling
him her stories. “Oh honey, let’s go to bed,” he said.

She took hold of his ear and shook him. “Is
that all you can think about?” She passed him her empty plate. “Put
this in the dishwasher, and then we can go to bed.”

When six months had passed, he again asked
her to marry him.

She answered, “You still don’t know
everything about me. If you stick around for another six months,
then there really won’t be any reasons against it.”

He was disappointed, but didn’t dare
contradict her.

One evening, when Caroline started moving his
furniture around, they had their first fight.

Surprised that he dared speak to her in a
harsh tone of voice, she said, “Don’t talk to me like that.”

“I don’t want you moving furniture.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with a little
change?”

“Nothing, but it’s my furniture.”

Caroline wouldn’t give in. She stuck to the
fact that she thought they should move the wardrobe, and he
persisted in contradicting her. This went on until Caroline lost
her patience and slapped his cheek. Robert Miner stopped abruptly
and looked at her with fear in his eyes.

“I don’t want you to move the wardrobe,” he
said.

She slapped him again.

First his hands started to shake, then his
legs, followed by his entire body and, lastly, his teeth began to
chatter.

Caroline apologized, afraid that he was going
to have a heart attack.

“Nothing’s wrong with me,” he told her.
That’s when he admitted he was madly in love with her and was
attracted to her strength and bossiness. He told her about his
hidden masochistic dreams and she listened to him with
astonishment.

“Well, I never,” she finally said. “I thought
you were having some kind of attack. So everything is OK. I’ll
confess something too. Sometimes you get on my nerves so much it’s
hard to hold back from beating you. Now I know what to do.”

Again he started shaking. “Caroline, don’t
you see how we fulfill each other? I’ve never loved a woman like I
love you.”

She leaned on her elbows, thinking. “I
suppose you’re right. Why postpone it any longer? We should get
married.”

Happy, he lay on her ample bosom and
murmured, “I love you madly.”

Chapter 99

_______________________

Anita thought of Jerry while walking up the
stairs. “Thank God I got rid of him. He’s a loser. I hope I never
see him again.”

Unlocking the door, she shouted, “Henry, you
home?”

There was no answer.

Disappointed, she sighed and put down her
shopping bags. “He said he’d wait for me here. This is getting on
my nerves.”

While putting the food in the fridge, she
thought about what to prepare for dinner. Anita had never been a
good cook, but she had found a few recipes. She decided to make
toasted sandwiches and add peppers and tomatoes.
Henry adores
peppers. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.

At nine in the evening he finally showed
up.

“Where have you been?” Her voice was
angry.

“Sorry, Anita.” Henry pulled her to him,
hugging her tightly. “I had a long conversation with Valerie and
couldn’t get away any sooner.”

She pushed herself away from him. “I don’t
understand. You were with your wife again?”

“Don’t be jealous. We finally had a normal
conversation. I think she understands at last that there’s no point
anymore. She promised to sign the divorce papers.”

“I hope she does. You’ve been talking about
this divorce for ten months. It’s about time.”

He gave her a quick kiss. “Getting divorced
is never easy. Especially when there are joint assets
involved.”

“I don’t want you to give her more than her
fair share.”

“Of course not. If everything goes as
planned, we can get married next month.”

She jumped up in excitement. “Oh Henry, I’m
so glad it’s finally happening!”

When he’d showered and put on a sweat suit,
she told him about meeting Jerry.

“What did that idiot want?”

“He’s still in love with me,” she boasted.
“He asked me to take him back.”

“I can’t believe it. I’ll have a talk with
him tomorrow. Did you tell him we’re getting married?”

“Of course I did. Don’t get all
irritated.”

“How could I not, after news like that.”

“I like it when you’re jealous.” She smiled
at him and sat down on his knees. “I was never into Jerry. I need a
real man, like you. Kiss me.”

“And you’re the right woman for me, Anita.”
He lifted her up.

“Oops, where are you taking me?”