Chapter 30

Paula used me for about an hour, then thanked me seriously, kissed me heavily, dressed quickly, and started to leave.

It was sort of surreal.

We'd had wild passionate sex, and ten seconds later she was walking out the door.

"Would you like to stay?" I said it softly, so as not to scare her into fleeing.

Paula looked at me like I just suggested she have herself skinned alive, and snorted.

Even expecting her to make a move, I never expected it to be so blatantly self-centered. If I had to guess, I'd say she was desperate to have sex with either her father or brother(s), and used me to pretend. If so, then she is doing without instead of doing them.

It got me thinking about family relationships and how toxic they can become. It was possible she had never slept with a family member, and the thing she did with me was as close as she ever got, so it was more like a fantasy than a memory.

"Didn't you get what you wanted?" She looked at me like I was simple minded.

"No. You got what you came for, but I would like it if you snuggled up with me for the rest of the night, woke up in my arms tomorrow morning, and we took our time sharing a shower and breakfast before you go to work."

Paula looked like you could buy her for a dime and get nine cents change. That told me no one had ever wanted to be with her, but only wanted to do it with her. She got a little misty eyes, so I crawled out of bed and hugged her tightly. She allowed me to cradle her, but fought the idea of falling back into bed. Eventually she kissed me and said, "Thank you for that. It's been a long time since I was with anyone ... Nice."

She picked up her purse and quickly left.

Ok. So it took approximately five hours to find out that Paula was very damaged, terribly lonely, had a brutally bad self-image, and was accustomed to being used for sex. By whom and how often was another question.

I took my time getting ready, and just as I would have checked out, I made arrangements to keep the room through the weekend. It was Friday and maybe the DeBusque clan wanted to include me in some weekend activities. Breakfast was a quick drive through, for the breakfast of champions, and I was on the way to Jonesville once more.

The receptionist recognized me as I walked in and directed me to Tom's office without comment. He was obviously expecting me, and instead of Tom, I found Elizabeth waiting for me. "Paula said you were nice to her last night," she said, gently. "When do I get a turn?"

Ok. I wasn't expecting her to kiss me. I let her put her tongue in my mouth and returned the favor. When we parted, she smiled and said, "That was nice. I can see what Paula was talking about. Can I come visit you at the hotel tonight?"

She was being coy, so I played along. "As long as you realize we will be playing grown up games, you can come as much as you wish."

"Ohhhh ... Someone has a dirty mind. I can't wait to find out how dirty..." We stepped apart just before Tom walked in and announced that we were going to his house for lunch, and that Elizabeth should go collect her sister.

The DeBusque manse was a huge, wooden, plantation style house, complete with wrap around porch, second story balcony, and tall, old trees for shade. As we exited Tom's Escalade, the front door opened and a maid, complete with maid's uniform, and a young girl came out to greet us. The maid informed Tom that lunch would be on the table in about ten minutes, then disappeared back into the bowels of the house. The girl hugged Tom and the ladies, then stared at me with frank interest.

Her stare was a bit unnerving, and Paula ended the stare down by introducing me. "Noah Guthrie, this is my brother's daughter, Angela. She is fourteen and trying on womanhood for size, so be warned. Angela can be a handful." She said the last with giggle in her voice, and I thought that they were very close.

Angela continued to stare at me like she was seeing a ghost. Elizabeth noticed my discomfort and nudged Tom, who kissed the little one on her head, teasingly swatted her rear, and said, "Let's ALL get washed up for lunch – especially YOU young lady." Angela giggled, hugged her grandfather again, and ran off to obey.

Paula gave me a bit of explanation. "Angela is different, Noah. She isn't like other fourteen year old girls. There is nothing average, or usual about her, but I love that child, and give her as much attention as possible." As we walked through the house to a downstairs half-bath, Paula said, "Angela is more like a thirty year old in a fourteen year old body, than any fourteen year old I've ever seen. My brother is a bit of a lout, and he ignores Angela because she's inconvenient. The only thing my brother cares about is the business, the money he's making, and the woman he screws.

"It's really too bad. If he wasn't such a self-centered snob, he could be anything at all. He has that much ability, talent, and brains. What's missing is any humanity, decency, or conscience. Angela came along when Ellen, one of Daddy's secretaries, discovered she was pregnant and admitted to us that Tom was the father.

"Daddy about had a fit, made Tommy marry her, and when the marriage didn't help Tommy grow up any, Ellen had one to many to drink one night, and hit a truck coming over the mountain. Angela was in the car, but survived with only a bad head injury and nothing else.

"It was apparently too much for her at ten years old. So to cope with Tommy's lack of interest in her, she created her own world, with Beth, Daddy, and me as her playmates..."

We arrived in the dining room to find an enormous lunch set out for us. Tom's cook had outdone herself, and I raved about her cooking, offered to marry her just so she could cook for me, and considered moving to Jonesville just to eat.

As soon as I said, "I tell you what, Mary; If you will cook for me, I'll buy a house and move to Jonesville, just to eat your cooking..." I felt the mood change. The girls looked at their father, and Tom looked at me as if he were appraising a steer at the cattle yards.

Even Angela perked up and started to pay attention. She was thin, small, and had yet to go through puberty. Her body looked like it belonged on an eleven year old boy instead of a fourteen year old girl. I would have bet that she spent hours and hours in front of a mirror, agonizing about when her breasts were going to arrive. Angela was all elbows, knees and freckles.