Chapter 4

To taste, I know not what, in haughty power,
Thine own ecstatic life on all things shower,
Thine earthly self behind thee cast,
And then the lofty instinct, thus-- at last, --
I daren't say how -- to pluck the final flower!

Reprinted from 'Faust' Trans. Bayard Taylor. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1898.

Esmeralda responded with a smile and turned back towards the kitchen with the remark, "I'll bring ya hot plates out in a bit."

Bo slowly removed Betty Sue's arms from around his neck and gave her a wink. "That kiss shore was nice but I'm hungry as a bar and prob'ly smell like one too."

"Never let it be said I kept a man from a meal and ya smell mighty nice to me," she responded with a hot look in her eyes.

"Ya hungry. Do ya want me to order somethin' for ya?"

"No, I'm gonna go talk with Abuela and Esmeralda. Ya stay right thar'."

Bo finally looked at his plate and saw two tacos and a big scoop of guacamole on some shredded lettuce. Phil came back about that time and had a seat.

"Ain't that the split tail from the store I saw just now? What's she do' in here?" Phil whispered as he eyed his plate. "I shore hope this ain't all there is, cause I need more than rabbit food." Phil picked up a taco and brought it to his mouth before halting and asking his friend, "This ain't gonna kill the rest of my taste buds is it?"

"Nope, just don't put any of that there salsa on it and ya'll be fine." Bo took another big bite of his taco and mumbled, "The old man at ta store told her where to find us. I don't know what she has in mind, but she and the waitress know each other. Oh yeah, her name is Esmeralda and she speaks English." Bo took another big bite and rolled his eyes to the ceiling as he enjoyed the flavorful spices mixed into the meat of the taco. Not spicy, but the food was pleasantly alive with flavor.

"I know she speaks English. I heard her at the store." Phil held a smirk as he chewed knowing he was being difficult.

Bo sighed, "I meant the senorita ya smart ass."

Phil just smiled as he finished off the taco and reached for the other one. "Just jerkin' your chain. I still owe ya after that hot sauce incident. Ya could have given me a heads up ya know."

"What and missed the look on ya'r ugly mug. Besides, I think the sympathy vote got ya in good with Esmeralda."

"Ya think I gotta chance of tappin' that?"

"Yep, if ya just mind ya manners and all. She looks at ya like a hungry dog looks at a pork chop."

Both men just nodded to each other as they continued to consume the food before them. Just as they were finishing what was in front of them, Esmeralda and Betty Sue came out of the kitchen each carrying a hot, steaming platter. Abuela's head poked around the door with a happy grin on her face and quickly ducked back. The women put down the platters in front of the men with Esmeralda commenting, looking straight into Phil's eyes, "Be careful, they're hot." The concerned look she got back from Phil caused her to chuckle. "No sweety, I made sure yars was not too spicy but the plate is hot from the oven."

Betty Sue left and returned with a basket of hot, fresh flour tortillas while Esmeralda refreshed their drinks. Even though the hot food in front of them smelled fantastic, neither man could pass up watching the two young women's asses swaying away from them.

"Pesos to dollars, I don't think either of us is gonna have to worry where we're sleepin' tonight." Bo whispered as he looked down at his platter. Little did they know that the three women in the kitchen had been discussing the same thing; the guys didn't stand a chance in hell of fucking this up.

"Damn, I sure hope ya right." Replied Phil as he took in the feast before him. Three enchiladas, three tamales wrapped in cornhusks, and a sizable portion of thin sliced flank steak grilled with onions, red and green bell peppers and sliced tomatoes. The girls returned with a couple smaller plates covered with refried beans and lightly seasoned rice.

"Just give a holla' when ya need seconds," trilled Esmeralda with a big smile on her face. Both young women were laughing softly as they retreated to the kitchen. No, as long as they followed Abuela's directions, neither man had a chance.

Thereafter, the only sounds coming from their table were of cutlery on ceramic interspersed with smacking and chomping. Twice, each of the women came by and topped off the tea and water glasses. The food continued to disappear until the only thing left were small puddles in the bowls of salsa. Eventually, each man leaned back with a contented moan and pushed their belt buckles down to allow for their expanded bellies.

"I'm stuffed as a tick." Phil had almost forgotten the episode with the hot sauce now that his belly was full. "That was the best chow I've had in a while." Bo just nodded his consent.

As if on cue, Esmeralda came out with a small plate in her hand and asked with a smile, "Are ya'll ready for seconds?"

"No ma'am, If ya brought any more food out I would have ta put it in my pocket cause I ain't got any room nowhere else." Phil answered returning the smile.

"I guess that means ya wouldn't want any of my fresh homemade pralines." Esmeralda sat the small plate on the table as she pulled out a chair and sat close to Phil. He eyed the plate and saw what looked like four puddles of melted caramel and crushed nuts.

"You made them?" Phil looked at her lips and wondered just how sweet they were.

"Yes I did. Fixed 'em up while ya were eatin'. They're still warm." Esmeralda picked up one of the treats and slowly brought it to his mouth. Ever being a gentleman (yeah, right), he opened up and she slid the gooey confection onto his tongue and lightly brushed her fingertip against his lower lip as she removed her hand. The candy virtually evaporated on his tongue with an explosion of smoky sweetness and he chewed the crushed pecans left behind.

"Esmeralda's pecan pralines are famous 'round here," commented Betty Sue as she too pulled out a chair but saddled up next to Bo instead. "She has won a bunch of awards for them while we were in school and at a few cooking contests she has entered." Betty Sue picked up a praline and duplicated depositing it on Bo's tongue and softly brushing his lower lip.

Neither man could say a word as each was caught up in the sensation of a warm, full belly and the seductive way the women were hand feeding them the sweets.

"Where are ya'll heading' from here?" Betty Sue asked Bo with a look of promise in her eyes. "Ya'll looked like ya had been driven' all night when ya stopped for gas earlier."

"I guess we would be lookin' for a motel here bouts," Bo looked towards his friend. Phil was not paying any attention to the conversation as Esmeralda placed another praline on his tongue and he sucked on her finger before she extracted it. "A hot shower, some sack time and a change of clothes in that order."

"Well... the nearest motel is 'bout eighty miles, but I have a couple of spare rooms at my house..." Betty Sue had a pleading look in her eyes.

"Would it be alright with yar folks? I mean we wouldn't want to impose."

"No, it's just me in that big house. Pa's working a job out of country, Ma passed away before James went into the service..." The mention of her dead brother brought the beginnings of tears to her green eyes. "I mean Pa built the big house intending to leave it to James, but it is just little ol' me knocking 'round in it now."

"As long as it wouldn't be an imposition, I would be honored to accept your offer." Nope, they never had a chance.

The plan was that Bo and Phil would follow Betty Sue to her house and Esmeralda would come by after work and assist in preparing something for the boys when they awoke from their nap. At least this was the story the guys were given and believed. The part they left out was each girl planned on waking the boys with her hot naked body in the bed with them.

They followed her pickup out of town fifteen miles on blacktop and seven miles on caliche to arrive at what looked like an oasis. A huge, sprawling ranch home surrounded by huge shade trees and a well cared for lawn. The last two hundred yards of the road up to the house lined with mature pecan trees and the caliche replaced with washed river gravel. The road passed by several large, modern equipment barns large enough to hold a small commercial jetliner and stopped in front of a four-car garage. Betty Sue hit a remote and two doors popped up and she pulled into one stall and waved Bo into the other. The doors closed as everyone exited their vehicles and both Bo and Phil were amazed at both the spaciousness and cleanliness of the cooled garage. They grabbed their duffle bags (their only luggage) and followed her through a large mudroom and into the kitchen.

The lights came on automatically as they entered and the boys looked around at a moderately sized, well equipped kitchen with a counter top island and a dinette set with seating for six. The table sat in a nook that had a picture window overlooking a shaded yard and a huge, brick bar-b-que spit. The house was spacious and comfortable looking without appearing fancy. There was just the right balance of masculine and feminine with a distinctive rural Texas décor. A place you would feel comfortable coming into with dusty jeans and boots after working in the sun all morning.

"This was originally just a standard three bedroom house but Pa kept adding and upgrading over the years. It now has four two-bedroom suites as well as the master bedroom, a den, a TV room, a formal dining room, a formal living room and a spa." Betty Sue was proud of her home and rightly so.

"Before James joined the marines we used to have all our friends over all the time. But after he left and Harvey became a pest everyone avoided me like I was Typhoid Mary." Betty Sue didn't ask and didn't want to know what happened to Harvey. She just assumed he wouldn't be showing his face around these parts anymore. "Follow me and I'll show ya where to drop yar stuff. I'll put ya'll in two different suites so ya don't haf'ta share a bathroom." She opened a door on either side at the end of a short hallway. "Ya'll pick yourself; they're 'both the same."

They looked in the first one and noticed a room slightly larger than a standard hotel room with a Saltillo tile floor, paneled with dark wood and furnished with a couch and two recliners in dark brown leather. There was a writing desk with a telephone on it and a console television on one wall. Straight ahead was a wall of glass brick and through the open door they could see the bathroom fixtures. On either side of the room were doorways through which they could see queen-sized beds covered in patchwork quilts and full drape covered windows. "Ma, Pa, James and I each decorated a suite. This one is the one Pa did and those quilts on the beds were handmade by my Ma before she passed. The one across the hall was decorated by my brother." She pointed through the door and across the hallway.