Authors: Ruth Ann Hixson
She knew he couldn't be too drunk or he wouldn't have the coordination necessary for that. She tried to kick him with the other foot but remembered all too well what one of those spike heels could do. She didn't want to hurt him. She just wanted him to stop.
He unzipped the boot and flung it aside. The other one followed. He leaned down and pulled off the mini skirt and panties together. He dropped to his knees and pushed down his sweat pants and shorts.
She decided not to fight him so she lay still and let him have his way. As soon as he rolled aside and sat up, she jumped up, grabbed her pajamas and ran up to the bathroom. Mark's anger dissipated as he sat staring at the archway through which she'd disappeared. The reality of what he'd done hit him hard. He'd just raped the girl he loved. She'd probably call the cops. Enticement. That's what he'd say it was. He gathered up the boots, mini skirt and panties. He paused at the bottom of the stairs. Maybe he should go up and apologize. She probably had the door locked. In the dining room he picked up her bra. He found an empty WalMart bag on the table in the kitchen and jammed his evidence in it.
He left the lights on and the door unlocked. In the truck he choked back tears.
Oh, God, what
have
I done?
Jan was in the kitchen when he went in. He tossed the truck keys on the table and went on through without speaking but she saw the look on his face: anger, fear and loathing.
Frank snored from the den. She crossed the hall and shook him by the shoulder. "Frank, wake up."
He opened his eyes and smiled up at her, "Time to go to bed?"
"No! Mark just came back. He had a bag."
"I didn't even know he went anywhere."
"He wasn't gone that long. He could only have gone to Sherry's"
At the mention of Sherry's name Frank's feet hit the floor folding the recliner back to the chair position. "I'll go up and find out what's going on." All he really wanted to do was go to bed and sleep some more. He opened Mark's bedroom door. The dim light from the hallway cast his shadow across the room. The all-night light out by the garage shone through the slats in the blind.
He could see Mark sitting on the bed, elbows on his knees and his head bowed forward on his hands. Frank reached over an flicked the switch to the overhead light. Mark's head jerked up showing trembling lips and tears running down his cheeks.
"What's wrong?" his father demanded.
"I..." Mark's voice quavered. "I just raped the girl I love. I lost control when I saw her done up like that." He was talking to the wall.
Frank was running back the hall yelling, "Jan! Jan!"
Jan ran to the bottom of the stairs. "What's wrong?"
"Go see about Sherry. Mark said he just raped her."
Jan ran. She grabbed the keys Mark threw on the table and went out the door not bothering with her coat or purse. She tried unsuccessfully to move the truck seat ahead. It was stuck and she didn't have time to fool with it. "Darn long-legged men." She climbed in and started the engine. She had to slide forward to reach the pedals but she wasn't going that far.
Frank went back to Mark's room. He shook his fist under Mark's nose. "If you weren't my son I'd bust you one in the chops."
"Don't let that stop you. I deserve it. Oh, God! She just looked so sexy done up like that. I told her she looked like a hooker. She said she was just getting in touch with her sexuality. I lost control. I'm about half drunk." He shook his head woefully.
Jan hadn't taken time to get the key to Sherry's house. She jammed on the brakes and shoved the gear shift to park. Through the breezeway window she could see that the kitchen door was open.
She yanked open the storm door and turned the knob on the inner door. "It's not locked." Overhead she could hear water running.
The dining room was changed from the last time she been there. The mattress wasn't there. She crossed the hall to the living room, dimly lit by a night light, and switched on the overhead light. The one bulb in the four light ceiling fan gave sufficient illumination for Jan to see that the green comforter was rumpled with a wet spot in the middle where the semen had soaked in.
She turned off the light and retreated to the hallway. At the bottom of the stairs she paused to listen. Water was still running in the upstairs bathroom. She went up the steps and knocked on the bathroom door. "Sherry." The water still ran. She knocked again. "Sherry?" A little louder. The water stopped running.
Jan turned the doorknob. She stepped into the steamy bathroom. "Sherry, are you all right?"
"No. I'm half left." Her voice sounded as if she'd been crying.
"Frank warned me not to ask you that."
"I'm okay," Sherry responded. A hand reached from behind the vintage shower curtain with its pink flamingoes wading in turquoise water to take a towel from a rack beside the tub. A couple of minutes later the hand reached out to retrieve the other towel from the rack. Sherry wrapped the towel around her and pushed aside the shower curtain. "Would you mind turning around?"
Jan complied with her request. "Taking a shower is something you shouldn't do if you are raped."
"Rape? Is that what it was?" Sherry dried herself. "It was my fault. I guess I just pushed his buttons a little too hard." She dropped the towel on the floor and stepped out of the tub.
"You can't keep turning him on and pushing him away," Jan declared. "He's only human."
"I know." Sherry pulled on her black sweat pants. "I didn't know he'd been drinking." She pulled the towel from her head. "I didn't try to fight him. I got what I wanted but not the way I wanted." She tugged her sweat shirt over her head.
Jan turned around. "Did you..." She stared at Sherry. "What did you do to your hair?"
"What does it look like? I had it cut and dyed it. I thought Mark likes blondes. What were you going to ask me?"
"Did you call the cops?"
Sherry bent down to pick up the towels. "I'd have the chance of the proverbial snowball in hell. I enticed him. Besides, why should I call the cops. I don't want him arrested. I want him back in my life."
Jan followed Sherry down the stairs. "Are you in love with Mark?"
"I think so. What do I know about love? I just know I want to be with him." She started for the kitchen followed by Jan. She tossed the towels in the basket in the downstairs bathroom. When she returned to the kitchen Jan held the picture of Mark kissing the blond.
"Is this why you thought he likes blondes?"
Sherry nodded. "I thought he found someone else and I knew I couldn't give him up without a fight. I guess what I did was pretty stupid. Please tell him I still want to talk to him. Somehow we must find common ground. Tell him I'm not mad at him. It was my fault. If he can't come back over tonight ask him to call."
"I'll tell him but I can't promise anything." Jan went out to the truck and headed home. She was angry with Sherry but she understood why the girl did what she did. Even though Sherry was taking blame for what happened, Mark was equally at fault.
Chapter 21
"I'm not making excuses for what I did," Mark told his father. "I know it was wrong, but she just looked so sexy. She has her hair cut and dyed blond." He motioned to the bag on the floor beside his bed. "That's what she was wearing."
Frank bent down and pulled the mini skirt from the bag. "That sure didn't cover much." When he held up the skirt Sherry's panties fell out. He bent down and picked them up. "Oo! Zebra print."
Mark snatched them away. "Sherry's panties are none of your business."
Frank pulled the matching bra from the bag and held it up between his thumb and index finger. Mark grabbed it. "Gimme that."
Frank took out a brown boot. "Sherry wouldn't even be able to walk in these."
"She couldn't. If I wouldn't have had a hold of her arm she would have fallen. God! I wish there were something I could do to make up for it all."
"You can." Jan walked into the room. "Sherry still wants to talk to you. She said if you can't come back over tonight, call her."
Mark stood up. "I go over."
Frank held up the mini skirt and said to Jan, "Why don't you dress up like this for me?"
"Because you'd have it off of me quicker than it took me to put it on. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."
Frank put his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear.
"Why you dirty old man." Jan said.
Mark hid a grin as he headed for the stairs. He couldn't get to Sherry fast enough. He turned off the lights and locked the door as he left. He didn't plan on coming home that night. If Sherry would allow him to stay.
Sherry sat at the table willing the telephone to ring. When she saw the flash of headlights against her kitchen window, she knew Mark had come back to her. He turned off the outside light and locked the breezeway door on his way in. She knew then he planned to stay. When he stepped up to the kitchen she ran to him. His arms went around her and he pressed her close to his chest.
"Oh, Sherry! I so sorry for what I did to you. Please forgive me."
"I guess I'm as much to blame as you. I didn't know you're half drunk. I'm sorry."
His arms tightened around her. "I love you so much."
She tried to pull back. "I love you, too, but you're hurting me. My ribs aren't completely healed yet."
He released her. "I'm sorry."
She stepped back and held up her finger. "One more problem. I cannot stand the smell of beer. It reminds me of one of Mom's boyfriends who tried to molest me. There's mouth wash in the bathroom."
Sherry sat at the table. When he came back she motioned to the other chair. "We need to talk."
He ran his hand across his hair making it stand up. "Now? It's already past eleven. I have to get up early. And I'd like to be cold sober when we talk. Please. Can we just go to bed?"
"All right. But don't try to wheedle your way out of it tomorrow. We really need to talk if we are to be a couple. We need to understand each other."
"I agree."
He looked so pitiful she couldn't object. She stood up. "I must brush my teeth. So do you."
"I didn't bring my toothbrush. May I use yours. I promise I'll buy a new one tomorrow." He was frowning when he came from the bathroom after brushing his teeth. "Did I hear you right? Did you say you love me?"
"I...I think I do. I don't know much about that kind of love. You'll have to teach me."
When they went to bed she ordered him to the side next to the wall. "I still can't lie on my right side and I don't intend to turn toward you and smell your beer breath all night."
He folded his body around hers. "I love you, babe."
"Don't call me babe. I don't like it. Good night."
It seemed like she'd just closed her eyes when she heard the phone ringing. She threw the covers aside and stumbled to the kitchen. "H'lo."
"Tell Mark if he isn't over here in fifteen minutes I'm coming after him."
She moved to where she could see the clock. "I'll tell him." She started the coffeemaker before she went back to the living room and leaned down to shake Mark by the shoulder. "Wake up. Your dad says it's time to milk the cows."
He groaned and turned toward the wall. She caught hold of the covers and pulled them off him. "He said if you aren't over there in fifteen minutes he's coming after you."
He sat up and gazed at the clock. "Holy cow! It's almost five o'clock. Can you make coffee?"
"It's already brewing." She poured a cup of coffee for him while he was in the bathroom.
He took a swig."That's hot! Don't you have a travel mug?"
"Nope."
"I gotta get moving. I'm running late so I won't stop by on my way to school. I have to shower and shave. I'll talk to you after school. I love you." He kissed her.
She nipped him on the earlobe and whispered, "Time to milk the cows."
****
Sherry lay looking at the ceiling. Though she'd been awake about fifteen minutes, she was reluctant to leave her warm bed. The sound of air brakes out front brought her from her bed.
She ran to the window and pulled the curtain aside just enough to see out. The red tanker truck had Fetterman's Fuels on the side. A man was pulling a hose toward the corner of the house. Without bothering with her slippers she ran to the door. "What are you doing?" she yelled at the man.
"I have orders to fill your oil tank," he answered.
"Not from me. I just called to find out if I could become a customer. I didn't order a delivery."
The man was looking past her. "Well?"
"Go ahead and fill it up, Drew," Frank called.
Sherry whirled around as Frank came up the steps. "Who died and left you boss?"
He grinned at her. "Mark said he about froze last night. He told me to have Drew fill the tank so you'd have heat."
"He did not freeze!" she shot back. "He hogged the covers. I'm the one that froze."
He turned her around and pushed her toward the door. "You don't even have shoes on. It's below freezing. Inside before you catch your death."
"Does Mark think he can just move in here and take over?"
"You'll have to take that up with him. I have some things out in the truck for your breakfast."
Sherry gathered up the clothes she'd need and headed for the bathroom. When she came out Frank stood leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee. Mitzi was rubbing around his legs mewing to be fed.
"I think someone's hungry," he said. He went to answer the front door. After signing the delivery statement, he went down to the basement to start the furnace.
Sherry fed the kitten and went about getting her breakfast. It would be so easy for her to stop trying to be so independent and just let the Blakelys take care of her. But that wasn't her style. She'd been in control of her own life since she was fifteen, but she had to admit it would be nice not to be cold all the time.
She moved her eggs to a plate, added buttered toast and carried it to the table with her glass of milk. Frank washed his hands at the sink. "Are you going to marry Mark?"