Chapter 10

Sleep was something I craved ever since the shooting. My body needed rest and alerted me to that fact constantly. I gave Constance the left side of the bed. It was closest to the bathroom, and I left the nightlight burning in case one of us needed to get up in the middle of the night.

Constance snuggled into my side and slept like she'd been awake for days. Her regular breathing lulled me off to sleep, soon after.

A fist smashing into the side of my head woke me up some time later.

It hurt.

Really!

Constance was fighting off some bad guy, in her dreams and hit me again, after I was awake, but at least not in the head that time. I grabbed her arms gently and talked her awake. "Shhhhh ... Constance ... It's Ok. You're safe. No one is trying to hurt you. It's me, Kevin, and you're with me in the carriage house, out in Chevy Chase ... Shhhhhh ... It's Ok ... It's Ok..."

She opened her eyes, stopped fighting and buried her face in my chest, weeping almost hysterically. I held her, stroked her face and head, cuddled her body tightly against me for warmth and security, and let her cry it out – whatever it was.

My chest was wet with her tears and when she felt the wetness she sniffled a couple of times, wiped her eyes, and looked up into my face. "I'm so sorry, Kevin. I was having a terrible dream. Some boys from high school were holding me down and tearing my clothes off. I kept screaming at them to stop, but they just laughed and hurt me some more.

"It was so real ... and really terrible ... I kept begging them to stop but they just laughed and kept hurting me..."

She was embarrassed, shy, and needy, all at once. I was needy but not for a good cry. As I started to disengage to go to the bathroom, I realized if I had to go, she probably did too, but was too scared to let go. Rather than make a big deal out of it, I pulled her up and led her to the bathroom, gently tugged her boxer briefs down and guided her onto the commode, saying, "Go ahead," and stepped out to give her some much needed privacy.

I heard her flush and when she came out to wash her hands, I went in and did the same.

Constance was waiting like a frightened, loyal puppy, when I came out. She stood right beside me while I washed and didn't resist when I put my arms around her to lead her back to bed. I held her until I felt her heartbeat normalize, and shifted us so we were lying down, with her lying fully on my chest. We stayed that way, and she drifted back to sleep after a few minutes.

I woke up later and she was still draped across my chest, with one hand inside my tee shirt for comfort, or support, if not both.

Neither of us was anxious to roll out of that nice warm bed in the morning, but Constance had to go to work, and I needed a car. To give her privacy, I got out Kevin's laptop and found a Lexus dealer near Chevy Chase. The sales manager was happy to come to the phone and inform me that they had a new, four-by-two, SUV in Black, that was fully loaded and available for delivery within a couple of hours.

I purchased the car, arranged for electronic payment, and gave them address of the estate, with instructions to deliver the car to the carriage house off to the left, away from the main mansion. He was happy to make a quick sale, and promised quick delivery. By then Constance was sitting at the breakfast bar, enjoying the hot coffee I'd brewed while she showered and fixed herself up for work.

Shyly she asked, "Did you really take me to the bathroom, pull down my underpants and sit me on the potty, like my mother did when I was four?" She gave me a look full of wonder, affection, and embarrassment.

"You were so upset from your nightmare that I figured that if I needed to go; you most likely had to, too. You didn't resist, so I figured I'd guessed right. Please don't think I took advantage of you, because I didn't. You needed me and I wanted to help. That's all that happened."

She smiled sweetly. "I know you didn't try and take advantage of me, because if you had, I would've given in to you on your first try. You have a special way of making me feel safe, and loved, and ... ohh, I don't know ... sexy.

"I feel so sexy when you treat me the way you do. I've never really felt like you make me feel, but I also don't understand, or trust the way you're making me feel..." Constance drifted to stop, looking confused, and uncertain.

She seemed to be embarrassed about baring her soul to me, and I didn't wish to make it worse, so I let her have her space.

For her part, Constance was the professional women, through and through. She glanced at her watch, reached for her phone and called someone. "Shelly, its Constance. I'm tied up all day helping Kevin Townsend get settled out in Chevy Chase. George knows all about it. He sent me out here yesterday with orders to make sure everything – and he meant everything – was "just right." She said that in a man's voice and it got a giggle out of Shelly.

"I have no idea how long I'll be, but I will have my phone with me, if anyone needs me. Ok? Thanks."

He hung up, put her phone back in her purse and said, "So. Now that I cleared my schedule for the day, what shall we do?"

I smiled, and she wagged her finger at me, gravely, saying, "In your dreams, buddy," and we both laughed. It took a few minutes to clean up the kitchen, make the bed, and pick things up, much to the displeasure of Joseph Cotton and the woman dressed as a maid that came in with him.

"What ARE you doing? Mr. and Mrs. Kirby will have my head for letting you do the maids job. You do not do housekeeping when you stay at the Kirby Estate." Gesturing to his companion, he said, "This is Emma, and SHE cleans the house. Do you want to put this woman out of a job? No? Then let her do her job."

We both laughed, as he went on, dramatic as could be, "Emma will not approve of your cleaning skills, so now she has to redo everything. It's Just Not done! I don't know what they teach you people in public schools these days. I just don't KNOW!..."

He prattled on and Emma got to work.

My Lexus showed up before Emma was even halfway done. That woman was a cleaning dynamo. Constance and I went out to meet the delivery person and dragged him inside so I could sign all their papers, including some insurance forms, as the dealer got their insurance agency to issue me a policy.

When he was done, Constance and I decided to take the Lexus and find a nice place for lunch, then hit some men's wear stores to see about a new wardrobe, and an office center to find a much better laptop and computer gear.

Our shopping expedition, which commenced shortly after lunch, could have taken all day, if I didn't play out so quickly. We were at Eduardo De Pandi, a wonderful men's store on Wisconsin Avenue, in Chevy Chase, when I felt the weariness coming on, I asked the sale person to assort an entire wardrobe, have it sized properly, including a selection of footwear for all occasions, along with outer and underwear, have it delivered to the carriage house. I offered to pay two delivery charges to have them bring out everything that was ready now, and then make another trip after alterations were done, but he waved me away. However, he was very happy to take my debit card information, and go spend some money.

Just before we got out of the store, the clerk came running with a portable phone. "Mr. Townsend, Mr. Cotton is on the phone for you." I took the phone and he went back to his tasks.

"Yes," I said and waited.

"Well! Are you TRYING to get me fired? I am quite certain I told you that Mr. and Mrs. Kirby have house accounts at every shop worth visiting in Chevy Chase, and you were to have any purchases put on their account.

"I know I told you that. I KNOW you heard me. I just KNOW you want to get me fired..."

"Now! I told that awful, insensitive, and very rude salesman that your purchases were to show up on Mr. Kirby's account, and he said you bought an entire wardrobe, AS IF that made a bit of difference. You will get me fired if Mr. or Mrs. Kirby find out I failed to take care of these things, so STOP MAKING ME LOOK BAD!"

He was so worked up that I didn't have the heart to tell him we'd spent money in a couple of other places, besides De Pandi, but I did have a question for Joseph. "How did you track me down, here?"