Chapter 3

Rita was telling me about different friends of my sister in the picture where I recognized Sammy. I learned about Angie too. Angie was quiet, and one of the richest in the group of friends. “Angie wasn’t really a party girl. Her problem was she attracted the opposite sex that wanted to control her and ultimately her money. Brian was the alpha male who captured her heart. I’ll learn more about what happened when I become her confidant like I was when we were in school.”

“What was my sister like?”

“Sweet and a good friend of everyone. She talked about settling down and raising a family. I’m not surprised she has done just that. Geez, two kids and another on the way at thirty.”

“What about you. You’ve been married and divorced. What are you looking for going forward in your life?”

“I don’t know as I ever want to get married again. If I make it working in your factory, I’ll concentrate on doing well. I’ll find someone to slip into bed with occasionally to satisfy my needs. I’m the same age as your sister and it is a little late to get started raising a family, hence the idea of not getting married.”

“You don’t have to have kids. But a bout in the bedroom whenever you want it is always nice.”

“I’ve found it doesn’t work that way. Most likely I’d end up with someone who didn’t care about sex or cuddling the way I do. I’m giving you a lot of thought, though.”

“Maybe, but somehow I’m going to be married and have at least one child started by the time I am thirty. That gives me three years to get it done.”

“You mean if I slid into your bed on occasion, you’d kick me out. I knew I was taking a chance last night, but I had an itch and needed it scratched.”

“I tell you what; you can slip into my bed until I become interested in someone else. By the same token, if you become interested in someone, tell me so I won’t be expecting you ... pact?”

“Pact. On that note I think we should christen the bed where I’m going to be sleeping until I find a more permanent place.”

“Angie may want to have you move in permanently.”

“No, I wouldn’t feel right about doing that. Besides it would cramp my style. Angie might get jealous if I had a man in and I want to keep her as a friend.”

“We’ll take it one day at a time then. Are we on for tonight though?”

“I don’t want dessert. Can we get started now? Will you be embarrassed if I give the waiter my credit card?”

“Of course. In my world, the man pays. After all it is a dinner among friends.”

“You’re sweet. I did want to go out to dinner. I couldn’t very well ask you to take me.”

“You could have and please remember that.”

“I will.”

I had to remind Rita I would be up at five. I was always at the factory at six-thirty. I didn’t go to my house across the street until midnight. “I’ll talk to human resources before you get there at nine to apply for a position.”

I did just as I said I would, informing Human Resources that there was a woman coming in looking for work this morning. I was always busy on a Monday morning and put her out of my mind. It was a little after ten when I left the factory for my vehicle. I had about six hours work to complete before tomorrow. I couldn’t spend time being intimate with Rita tonight.

I did go to the hospital on my way home to visit Angie just like I said I would. She wasn’t in her room because she as off getting some of her injuries checked for healing progression. Not wanting to wait, I left word at the nurses’ station that I would try to see her this evening. I picked up some groceries at the store and headed home.

I went up to my office and laid out work for this evening. I was a little tense and instead of just organizing my work I looked at it. I got involved immediately. This was something out of my routine. I realized it when my stomach growled telling me I hadn’t eaten lunch. I made a cold meat sandwich and had a dish of ice cream deciding if I was going to see Angie today I had better leave for the hospital now.

When I arrived there, I met George coming across the parking lot. “Hey Jack, Angie has her cast off and she also can sit up for short periods of time. She is some happy person this afternoon. She has been wondering if you were coming in today.”

“I left word with the nurses.”

“Maybe they didn’t tell her. What do you think of Rita?”

“Why?”

“She has been with Angie all afternoon. She thinks she has the job she applied for. I guess they are checking her work history. They told her if everything was in order, she could start work next Monday.”

“George, that’s good to know. Rita stayed at Angie’s house last night. I left word at the factory she would be in looking for work, but didn’t see her this morning.”

“She is not as beautiful as Angie.”

“George, I think she is attractive enough. Maybe a little too tall for some people’s taste. You can’t really say Angie is attractive, scarred up as she is.”

“Jack, no, maybe not, but she was before this and will be again someday.”

“I agree about the last part of what you just said, but as you say, I didn’t know how she looked before.”

“Let me tell you, she had a beautiful face and a hot body.”

“Okay, but what’s inside is what counts with me. I’ll get up to see her. I have work to do tonight. Are you able to come in every day?”

“Yes, but it will have to be evenings. I’ve been taking time away from the office and I promised I would get back on schedule.”

“I wondered.”

I could hear girl’s laughter as I was coming down the hall to Angie’s room. I knocked softly on the partially open door. “Hi, sorry I didn’t get here earlier but I had some work for this afternoon.”

Rita turned and almost charged me, kissing me boisterously. “Jack, I got the job. I start next Monday and I thank you for putting up my name.”

“That’s great. I really didn’t do anything. I just said I knew someone we might use.”

Angie, spoke up. “Hey, I need a kiss too. George is the one who hired Jack to go into my house where he saw a picture of Sammy. I now have two of my friends here with me. I think that rates a kiss for me. You had better before I get my face fixed. If you wait until after, you’ll be kissing my butt.”

I sobered, and leaned down when she put her face up. I kept my eyes open. Hers weren’t, for she closed them just as our lips met. I pulled back and whispered, “Before or after, makes no difference to me.”

Rita couldn’t hear. She demanded, “What did Jack whisper?”

“You may be my friend, Rita, but I’ll never tell. He is a good kisser, though.” I went on to ask how Angie’s day went.

“Jack, better than I expected. They ran me through the MIR machine and did X-rays and it looked like my vertebrae were healed. It has been six, almost seven weeks. My arm is knitted well. It still aches, but I’m getting there. The doctors are going to decide when I can have my knee replaced. I’m not looking forward to that. I understand it is very painful and it seems like I have had enough pain. It isn’t fair.”

“But you are alive.”

“Yes, but, I won’t be able to leave the hospital for a week after and then they say it may be as much as three weeks in rehab at a different facility. I really am discouraged. I try not to be. If my friends and you hadn’t rallied around I would wish I had died. You know how I felt the first time you were in. It was only a short time ago wasn’t it? I can’t remember because I seem to have known you forever. George has been wonderful through all of this, too.”

“Well, yes, it is difficult, but look back to a week ago, or think back to when you first woke up here seven weeks ago. You are gaining all the time aren’t you? Look ahead for the same amount of time. All you will have left for injuries at that time is your face, and I tell you that can be fixed.”

“Oh, I know I’m getting well. I guess that’s good. George asked when I get my wheel chair to get around in he is taking me out to dinner. I look forward to leaving the hospital.”

“Will you be coming home before your knee is operated on?”

“I’d like to. I have been exploring hiring someone to be with me during the day. Rita will be with me at night I think that will be only for a week before the operation, and then I’ll be in rehab. By the time I get out of there I should be able to take care of myself.”

“And what about your face?”

“I won’t consider having that done until after everything else is working perfect. Maybe I’ll just be a recluse. I have enough money to live on so I won’t have to go out into public if I don’t want to.”

“That won’t work. You will want a mate someday to make your life complete. The only way you can find one is to get out of the house.”

“There is always George. He says he will always take care of me.”

“Is that what you want? I do know he loves you.”

“I guess so. It is the best option I have at the present.”

‘****’

Angie had up and down days. She did get into a wheel chair and was home for a week before the knee operation. This was a serious operation. There was a lot of repair work to be done when the replacement joint was put in. The week Angie was home, I spent a lot of time with her even though she had a hired care giver. Rita and George were the ones to take over when the woman left at six in the evening.

I was curious as to why Angie was apparently well off and one day she explained. Her money came from a maiden Aunt Maggie who had died prematurely. Aunt Maggie was a twin sister of her father and Angie was her only heir. Angie’s husband, Brian was spending it at a fast rate until Angie stopped this and only gave him an allowance. That is when Brian began to abuse her. George was a friend of the couple which complicated matters when Brian realized that George had feelings for Angie.

Maggie ... I remembered Pa Driscoll referring to Angie as Maggie. I wondered about it at the time. He must have been thinking of his sister when he spoke.

I didn’t see much of Rita. There was twice that Rita had come knocking on my door late in the evening. This was before Angie’s knee operation. While Angie was recovering from the replacement, I saw Rita even less. She told me she was dating someone and she wouldn’t be over to see me to spend an evening again. That was okay, it was just sex, anyway.

By the time Angie had recovered enough to be home alone Rita was going out on dates several times a week. George wasn’t in evidence as much either. I only ran into Rita at the factory occasionally. She was happy working there and my uncles where well pleased that she was working for the corporation.

George was at Angie’s one evening. Rita and Angie had invited me and George in for dinner. During the course of the meal George informed us he was going on vacation in two weeks and would be gone for two weeks. He asked me if I would look out for Angie’s needs while he was gone. I said I would.

Turning to Angie, I said, “I guess you will have to come visit me in my office if Rita is out on a date. I can’t keep rearranging my regimen for my friends.”

“I have never seen your office and I wondered what you do. If you are working, I can sit in the corner and watch you work.”

“You’ll be bored.”

“Jack, half my life I’ve been bored.”

“That’s because you aren’t being productive.”

“How can I be productive with a face like mine?”

“Angie, you need a hobby. Take up painting or writing or dress design. All those things can be done without going in front of the public. When are you going to get your face fixed, anyway?”

Tears appeared in Angie’s eyes. “I told you I was going to be a recluse. You’re mean.”

“Maybe, but you’re lazy not finishing up getting your body back together. You’ve done well in the last four months and I don’t see any reason to not finish it. But then, if you are resigned to having a face that will scare little kids, so be it.”

George and Rita both were shouting at me how awful I was to Angie. It was so bad I folded my napkin and got up and headed for the door. No one said anything as I left. I went upstairs into my office and began where I had left off before I went across the road to dinner.”

The next morning I was in my office at the factory when Rita came in. “We have to talk.”

“Okay, but if it was about last night, I don’t want to talk about it. I was just telling the truth. We all in one way or another want Angie to get well. I don’t want Angie to be a recluse and that was my way of waking her up.”

“Bullshit. You were just being mean. But I want to ask if I’m out on a date, and Angie needs you, will you see what it is if she calls you?”

“Of course, that hasn’t changed. I’ll be there for her if she needs me.”

“Good, that restores my faith in you. Your way of treating your friends are almost as bad as the way you do your work. You’re just plain weird.”

Rita whorled and was leaving when I shouted after her, “And I love you, too.”

I looked across the road when I came home. Should I go see Angie this morning? What were the results in the future of what I had said to her last night? Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. Screw it, I ate a ham sandwich and went upstairs.

My phone rang at one. “Jack, I need a hand. I was hoping you would come over when you got home, but you didn’t.”

“I’ll be right over. Can I bring something?”

“Just yourself. That’s all.”

Angie was draped over the couch when I came in. She was wearing a sweater and a skirt. Over that she was covered with what appeared to be a beach robe.

“Hi, Jack, I’m feeling lonely. I had a cramp in my leg and Rita has gone out on a date. I need someone to massage it. That always helps.”

“George isn’t visiting tonight?”

“No, he said he wasn’t, did you hear from him today?”

“No, but I did hear from Rita. She came into my office this morning and blasted me about what I said to you last night.”

“I don’t doubt it. She is more upset with you than I am. The truth hurts, but I realize it is the truth so how can I be upset with you? You may start rubbing my leg anytime. There is a terrible knot in it.”

I sat down on Angie’s left and she laid down full length on the couch so I could pull her leg across my knees. I could feel the tightness, and I began kneading it. Angie sighed with relief. Slowly her robe parted and her skirt, which was knee-length, rose up baring her thighs. I reached up and pulled it down.”

“Chicken.”

“Angie, are you trying to seduce me?”

“The thought has crossed my mind. I was seeing how far I could get.”

“Angie, maybe someday, but it is too soon after losing your husband.”

“I didn’t lose him, I got rid of him.”

“I know and that is some of what bothers me. I realize it was necessary and I’ll get beyond that in a few more months. Give it more time. Have you worked on George the same way?”

“Yeah, but he won’t even rub my leg. I’m not surprised he never found a mate. I swear he is afraid of women. I know you aren’t. I’ve watched you gaze at Rita. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t already been intimate. Have you?”

“This is something I will not discuss with you. Your seduction has failed and I’m not going to tell anyone you even tried. Rita is a good friend to both of us. Look how she went to bat for you this morning?”

“You’re sweet. Let me up and I’ll get us some coffee. I did bake a coffee ring today.”

“Cinnamon and raisin? I love that.” I swung Angie’s leg off my lap and stood and raised her to her feet. I opened my arms for a hug and she came into my embrace.

“Jack, just so you know I took your words to heart. I have thought about them all day. I will find something to do that will hold my interest. I also called my doctor and told him to begin looking for someone to make me look a little more like a human. Even if it doesn’t come out too well and I’m left with visible scars, you will know I tried.”

I leaned down and kissed Angie. I received one back, but she didn’t hold it overly long. I watched her head for the kitchen. I couldn’t at the moment figure her out. I followed her out to the kitchen and sat at the table watching her. I could tell she was just going through the motions of living. Even when kissed the emotion had been minimal.

Thinking back to when I was massaging her leg, outside of the joy of having the pain relieved, there was little emotion showing. She called me chicken when I didn’t follow up coming on to her when I could have easily have; not much there either. There was just no purpose in her life.

“Angie, lets visit your father this weekend. We’ll leave Friday evening, spend all day Saturday with them and come home early on Sunday. You said it only takes three hours to get there. We can surprise them. We’ll get there an hour before they go to bed. I’ll bet they would like to see you.”

“Oh, Jack, can we? They can’t get away from the farm that often and Mom doesn’t drive long distances alone. We’ll take my BMW. What time can we leave?”

“I’ll make it a short day at work if you want to leave before five.”

“Oh I do. Can we leave at two?”

“Sure.”

I had a bag ready, packed the night before. I took a quick shower and got into some loose traveling clothes. I walked across the street and threw my case into the back seat. Angie’s was already there. She came out and I held the car door open while she slid in. “Hi, Jack, This is such a treat. You know I haven’t been anywhere since I got hurt. I haven’t been home to see the farm for ever so long either. Mom and Dad are going to be so surprised to see us.”