Sintown Chronicles I: Behind Closed Doors (93 page)

Sean blushed instantly. “No ma'am. Penny Swanson said it would be okay for me to talk with you."

“You know Penny?"

“Yes ma'am. We've become very good friends over the past few days."

“Sean, you're positively glowing. She fucked you this morning, didn't she?"

His face again turned flaming red.

“Unless I miss my guess, it was your first time."

As he pulled the CPU out of the box he said, “We didn't have sex, Mrs. Nickels."

“But you came close and now you're pussy-whipped."

He laughed nervously as he sat the unit on her desk, keeping his back to her. “Penny warned me about you,” he said.

“You don't know what ‘pussy-whipped’ means, do you?"

He turned around and began to open another box. “No ma'am."

“When a young man has his first sexual experience,” she said gently, “he sometimes thinks he owes the woman something for being so generous. Oftentimes he thinks he loves the woman, but he doesn't. It's her pussy he loves and he will do anything to have another crack at it."

Leora held the box as he struggled to wiggle the tightly packed monitor out of it. “Mrs. Nickels, we didn't have sex but I do I think I love her."

She pulled the Styrofoam packing from the top and bottom of the monitor as he held it up. “Sean, you seem like a nice young man. Everything I've heard about you has been good, but you're so innocent. Penny is not a nice young lady. If I were you, I would cool it for a while."

“She told me all about it,” he said as he placed the monitor on her desk.

“Did she tell you she is pregnant?"

“Yes."

“Did she tell you about all the men in Dot she has been screwing?"

“She told me, but she didn't name anyone."

“Did she tell you about Al Young?"

He nodded.

“And she told you about the money, the tapes, the blackmail?"

“She told me more than I wanted to hear,” he said, finally looking her in the eyes. “I feel so sorry for her. What can I do to help?"

He unwrapped the keyboard, connected it to the CPU and plugged in the mouse.

“What did she ask you to do?” Leora asked.

“Love her."

“She's the world's greatest liar, you know."

“She told me,” he replied as he knelt to plug in the UPS and computer power cords. “I choose to believe she is not lying to me. I believe she came to Dot fully intending to turn her life around. She slipped into some old habits. She wants another chance and I want to do what I can to give her that chance."

“I think you would be better off if you didn't get involved."

“I'm already involved, but it's not too late to get out of it. That's why Penny wanted me to talk with you. But I don't want to get out of it."

“What Penny needs right now are some real friends and a whale of a lot of good luck,” Leora offered.

“Do you think I should go back to her house and wait with her for the deputies to arrive?"

“I think you should walk away from the whole mess,” Leora said, “but that's not what you want to hear. The only thing I can tell you is to be careful in obeying the demands of your heart and groin."

He pushed a button on the monitor, punched a similar one on the printer and threw a switch behind the CPU. There was a crackling sound and the Windows 98 icon flashed on the screen. “We're in business,” he said and he pulled up the straight-backed chair. “Would you hand me that box, please?"

Leora picked up the small box and expressed surprise at its weight.

“This is your main software package—Microsoft Office,” he explained. The weight comes from the manuals inside.” He pulled out a disk and slid it into the CD-ROM drive. “Loading the software is going to take a while."

Leora picked up the manual. “Holy horsehair!” she exclaimed. “Will I ever learn all this stuff?"

Sean laughed while keeping his eyes glued to the changing messages on the screen. “I'm going to teach you the basics of using Windows 98 and of opening and closing the various programs in Office. We'll spend most of our time playing with the word processor program, since that's what you'll probably use most often. I suggest that you learn by using the program. Play with it. You are not likely to do anything to harm the computer, and if you do, I'm just a phone call away. Only if all else fails should you read the manual."

“That's what Jo said,” she laughed.

He turned sideways in the chair and looked at her carefully. “Mrs. Nickels, Penny asked me to marry her. She told me she has agreed to let your son and daughter-in-law adopt her baby, but she asked me if I want to keep it."

“Did you agree to marry her?"

“Not yet."

“But you're going to?"

“Probably. What about the baby, Mrs. Nickels? How badly would it hurt Jo and Randy if we keep the baby? How badly would it hurt you?"

“You're not ready for marriage, Sean."

“Ma'am. Penny is the prettiest woman in the world. She's the only woman who has ever looked at me twice. She's the only woman I've ever dated. She's the only woman I've ever kissed. She's the only woman I've ever seen naked. This ship may never come my way again."

“Pussy-whipped,” Leora said with a smile.

“Maybe, but I like it. What about the baby?"

“If you keep the baby, it will be a constant reminder of Penny's past life,” Leora said.

“And a constant reminder of our present and future,” he countered.

“She's using you, Sean."

“I know. At least that's how it started. She says she now has real feelings for me. I believe her. I want to believe her. I need to believe her."

“Son,” she said, “you're opening the door to a lifetime of heartaches."

“Or happiness."

“A leopard doesn't change his spots."

“Penny's not a leopard. People do change. The preacher says we're never today exactly what we were yesterday."

“He ought to know,” Leora replied.

“You haven't answered my question."

“I know. I'm being selfish. If you and Penny keep the baby, it will hurt us all. That should not be a consideration of yours. You must consider what will be best for the baby."

“Shit. Oh, excuse me Mrs. Nickels. It's just that I hadn't thought of that.” He turned back to the computer.

“I appreciate your cooperation and candor, Penny,” Detective Borders said, standing on Penny's front porch. “And nice to have met you, young man."

Sean nodded.

“Penny, I'm truly impressed by your openness. This interview has gone much differently than I expected. Turns out I didn't need the search warrant after all. At the moment, I am inclined to forget everything you told me except for the money and how it may have caused Alfred Young's murder. You understand why I have to confiscate the cash that is still in your possession?"

Penny nodded, clinging to Sean's arm.

“When the IRS gets finished with taxes owed and penalties, you should still wind up with a nice little sum. Although I am going to forget about all your other schemes, I will suddenly have excellent recall if Mrs. Nickels tells me you didn't follow through with your promises."

Penny again nodded.

“Detective,” Sean said. “What are you going to do to protect Penny from these murderers?"

“What do you want me to do, son? Provide her with a twenty-four hour-a-day body guard?"

“That would be good for a start."

“We just don't have the manpower."

“I could hire someone if you will make a recommendation."

“I don't want that, Sean,” Penny said. “Maybe they don't know about the additional money and tapes."

“And maybe they do,” Sean argued. “At least you can stay at my place until the murderers are caught."

“I can't. I still have the greenhouses to look after."

“I thought you said Billy will do that."

“He will, but I'm not going to leave him here alone."

“Then I'm going to stay here with you."

“What about your business?"

“Screw it."

“Son,” Detective Borders asked, “do you own a gun?"

“Yes, Sir. And I have a permit for it."

“Do you know how to use it? Do you know how to really use it?"

“I took the civilian training course your department offers."

The detective nodded. “Don't use it unless you absolutely must. More innocent people than crooks are killed by civilian owned weapons."

Penny and Sean watched the fleet of deputy vehicles depart. “Sean,” Penny said. “Thank you for coming back. When you left this morning, I didn't think I would ever see you again. Take me to bed."

“No,” he said. “Penny, you seem to treat sex as if it were a necessary body function like a bowel movement. I want to have sex with you, and I will when the time is right."

“What I really want is for you to hold me."

He smiled and allowed her to lead him to her bedroom.

She lay in his arms, fully clothed, until he thought she was asleep. Slowly, carefully he pulled the shirt out of her slacks and inched it above her navel. She expected the shirt to wind up around her neck and to feel his hands on her nipples. Instead she felt his lips gently brush her protruding tummy.

“Little one,” he whispered, “you're going to have the best mommy and daddy in the whole world."

“Hello,” Billy said as he sat down in a dark blue plastic chair in the clinic's waiting room.

She neither looked at him nor replied to his greeting.

“Sure is bright in here,” he said, shielding his eyes from the florescent glare with both hands.

She placed her hands on the arm of the wheelchair and shifted her weight.

“My name's Billy Morgan."

“You don't look sick,” she finally said.

“I'm not. Penny and Mrs. Nickels are seeing the lawyer. They wanted me to come with them, but when we got here they told me to come in here and wait."

She looked away from him and checked her watch.

“Are you sick?” Billy asked.

“Are you stupid or something? Can't you see I'm in a wheelchair?"

“Yes, yes.” He answered.

“Yes, yes? What kind of answer is that?"

“You asked two questions. I gave two answers."

“You mean you can see that I'm in a wheelchair and you admit you are stupid?"

“Yes. Penny is learning ... teaching me to read. I can read the whole front page of the
Charlotte Observer
if I want to."

“But you don't?"

“No, not yet."

“Why not?"

“It takes too long. I have to look up most of the words in a dictionary."

“I know who you are. You're the boy they say jacks off and pisses in public."

Billy grinned. “Used to."

“Why did you stop?"

“Penny said it wasn't nice."

She laughed. “Who is this Penny? Is she your mother?"

“No. Penny is young like you. She is Billy's ... my very best friend. She lets me work in the greenhouses."

“Do you live with Penny?"

“Used to."

“Why don't you now?"

“Penny is in love with Sean. Sean lives with Penny now. I think they have sexual intercourse, so I have to stay with my mother."

She laughed again. “I believe Diogenes finally found his honest man."

“I don't know Diogenes."

“It's a wonderful story. You should read it sometime."

“Would you like to have sexual intercourse with me?"

Her mouth dropped open, but as she looked at him there was no guile or sarcasm in his face.

“Uh oh,” he said. “It's not nice to ask a lady that, is it?"

“No it's not,” she said with more warmth in her voice than intended.

“I guess the lady is supposed to ask the man."

“No. Not that either. They, uh, the two of them should get to know each other before they have sex."

“Oh. How can I get to know you, lady?"

“My name is Julie Cannon. Why would you want to know me?"

“Julie. Pretty name. Pretty lady. Julie,” he answered.

“For crying out loud, Billy. I believe you really are stupid. I am paralyzed from the waist down. I have scars all over my face. I may be many things, but I'm not pretty."

Billy stood and placed his chair directly in front of the wheelchair-bound woman and sat back down. He leaned forward and used his index finger to trace the long scar from her right temple down across her cheek, across the right edge of her mouth and down to its end just below her chin. “How did Julie ... how did you get the pretty scar?"

“Its not pretty, damn it,” she spat out.

“That's not a nice word."

“What? Oh,” she chuckled, “Penny told you that ‘damn’ is not a nice word?"

“Yes. Shit, fuck, hell, pussy and cunt are not nice words either."

She lost it.

“You think Billy is ... you think I am funny?"

“I haven't laughed like this for two years,” she said, tears forming in her hazel eyes.

“Maybe I am funny, but I do think your scar is pretty. How did you get it?"

“I was in a wreck, Billy. A damn—excuse me—darn drunk driver ran me off the road. My car tumbled down a steep bank and smashed into a tree."

“A tractor turned over on my daddy."

“It did? How is he?"

“He died."

She leaned forward and put her hands on his innocent looking face. “I'm sorry, Billy."

“I was just a little boy."

With her hands still on his face, Billy placed the fingertips of each hand on the top of her breasts and traced them in a semicircle. She pushed him away, but before she could scold him he said, “You have pretty breasts too. That's another bad word."

She was confused. She knew she should be angry. “Breasts is a bad word?” she found herself asking.

“No, silly. Tits. Nipple is okay though."

She laughed again.

“I have not seen you in Dot before."

“I just bought one of the new houses out on Lumbermill Road. They have only two completed. Some woman bought the house I preferred just yesterday. I waited too long to make up my mind. I'll be moving in tomorrow."

“Penny lives on Lumbermill Road,” Billy said. “How will you move in, Julie? You can't walk. How did you get to the clinic by yourself?"

She noticed that he was rubbing her thighs. She wished she could feel those strong hands. She took his hands in hers and held them as she answered, “I have hired people to move my furniture for me. I have a specially built van with hand controls that I can drive. It also has a lift that gets me in and out of it."