Sociopath? (24 page)

And so his patient campaign began.

He faithfully followed his workout regimen.
They got friendlier as time went by.

“I appreciate your help, Kaddie. It seems to
be working.” He ran his brown hand across his cut abs. She had the
urge to do the same.

Eventually, she said, “so, tell me about
Rafe’s Riders? That’s what seems to infuriate Helene the most.”

“It’s not the big deal she thinks it is,
Kaddie, and it doesn’t happen as often either. Sometimes, when I’m
really burnt out on school, I take out my Corvette and just drive
and then I stay at a hotel to get away from the dorm for a night.
On occasion, I take a girl with me.” The smiled gleamed. “I don’t
just snatch them off the street and force them into the car. I
always ask politely first if they want to go.” He shrugged.
“Sometimes they say yes.”

“I love Corvettes.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I do. I’d go for a ride with you if you
asked, Rafe.”

“I’m asking then, Kaddie. You name the time
and place and I’ll be there.”

Helene is going to spend tomorrow night with
her parents. I get off at 7:00. Pick me up then.”

*

“That was just yummy, Rafe.”

“Why are you with Helene when you seem to
like men so well, Kaddie?”

“I don’t like men so well. They’re usually
too fast and too hard and too self-centered. Women are slow and
soft and generous. But you’re as good as a woman, Rafe.”

He laughed. “I guess, considering the source,
I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Oh, yes, I meant it as a compliment.”

“And I have a cock too,” he added
meaningfully.

She giggled. “Yes, and that’s an added bonus
if a man knows how to use it.”

“I know how to use it, Kaddie,” he said,
showing her.

“Yes, Rafe,” she breathed, “you certainly
do.”

*

“Where were you last night, Kaddie? I tried
to call until late but you never answered.”

“Oh, there was a going away party for one of
the trainers who is leaving Shapes, Helene. I guess I got carried
away and had a little too much to drink. I didn’t think I was safe
to drive so I stayed over with one of the other girls.”

That wasn’t like Kaddie. It made Helene
nervous. Kaddie was lots younger than her. She had never loved
anyone else so much. It worried Helene that she might be attracted
to one of the pretty little girls who came into Shapes. Maybe she’d
better think twice about leaving her alone again all night.

*

Kaddie was a sweet girl. He felt a little bad
that she was going to end up being, what term did the military use?
Oh, yes, collateral damage, that was it. But sometimes that
happened in times of war.

*

“Kaddie,” he crooned into her ear. “Let’s go
to your place.”

“Oh, no, I can’t do that, Rafe. It would be
such a betrayal of Helene.”

“Yes,” he thought, “and that’s exactly what
we’re going for here, a betrayal of Helene.”

“She’ll never know,” he said, “aren’t you
familiar with her schedule?” (He himself knew her fucking schedule
backwards and forwards).

“Yes, but….”

“Come on, Kaddie. I’ll be gone long before
she gets out of class.”

“Well, okay, but we’ll have to watch the time
really carefully.”

“We will.”

*

And they did watch the time very carefully on
that occasion and the next and the next.

*

“Kaddie, I don’t want to leave you yet. Let
me stay just a few minutes more?” His hand was between her legs,
his lips were nuzzling her neck.

“Just a couple more minutes, Rafe, then
you’ve really got to go.” The couple turned into a few.

She didn’t hear the door knob turn but he did
because he was listening for it. And she didn’t hear the steps
coming down the hall but he did. When Helene came through the door,
his mouth was on Kaddie’s breast.

“Oh, my God!” The cry was anguished. She
doubled over as if she’d been kicked in the stomach. Kaddie sat up
quickly, pulling the sheet over her nakedness. Rafe got up and
started slipping his clothes on. (He always wore what he thought of
as a “quick get-away” outfit in situations that could turn
dangerous, such as liaisons with married women….or the possibility
of outraged lesbian lovers - running pants with elastic waistbands
and no pull-over shirts, which gave you that moment of blindness
when you slipped them over your head.)

When Helene straightened up, tears were
flowing down her face. The same with Kaddie.

“Kaddie, how could you, how could you? Not
with him….”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Helene, I never meant for
this to happen!”

Helene looked toward Rafe. She got the
message his black eyes were sending her - “I did, though, Helene.
It’s exactly what I meant to happen.”

He didn’t seem to be hurrying but he was
almost to the doorway now.

“It’s my Times Ten rule, Professor,” he told
her, as he headed down the hall.

* *

Helene forgave Kaddie. Not only forgave her
but exonerated her. But in order to give Kaddie a free pass, she
had to impute to Rafe more power than he actually possessed. She
had to make him virtually invincible to explain away how he’d been
able perpetrate this monstrous invasion of her very being, coming
right into her home and plundering the possession she prized most.
She sold her grandmother’s antique bedstead. She didn’t think she
could ever stand to lie on it, or even look at it, again, without
thinking of him being there. She replaced it with a brand new bed
with a headboard that looked like it was made of metal pipes, not
at all like what usually appealed to her.

Unwittingly, Kaddie made it worse.

“I bet he even could have got to you, Helene,
if he’d put his mind to it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kaddie.”

“I bet he could have,” the other woman
insisted.

(Helene had made a conscious decision to
become a lesbian in college in rejection of a male-dominated
society but she wasn’t completely inexperienced with men, as Kaddie
knew).

Could he have, she asked herself? There was a
time she would have said absolutely not with complete confidence in
her own strength of will and in the values she held. Now her
self-esteem was in tatters and the charge carried a tiny pin prick
of doubt.

Everyone noticed how subdued she was. She was
no longer the confident, out-spoken, even argumentative woman, she
used to be. They wondered why.

“Do you think it’s a health problem?” they
asked one another.

“I heard it had something to do with Rafe
Vincennes,” said another, “but I don’t know the whole story.”

No one ever did find out the whole story, not
even Gil, who usually had a sensitive finger on the pulse of the
Princeton grapevine. All anyone knew was that Rafe Vincennes had
somehow got Helene Barnes, got her bad judging by the consequences.
Helene never told anyone what happened, and Kaddie never told, and
of course, it would never have occurred to Rafe to tell.

*

He heard about the changes in Professor
Barnes but he didn’t feel sorry for her. He thought if people
wanted to go swimming, they ought to find out how deep the water
was first.

* *

Christmas came and went again. Everyone made
it home except Wyatt. He was in Iraq, but Belen came with their
baby, Wesley. All three cribs in the nursery were filled this year.
In addition to Wesley, there was Mariel’s blond little Victoria
Grace and Jocey’s, Kianna Marie. Magdelene thought they were
single-handedly starting their own little family version of ethnic
unification as she fondly considered her three newest
grandchildren, Wesley with his dark Hispanic hair and eyes and
Gracie, their little blond British princess, and mocha-toned
Kianna, strikingly beautiful as the combination of black and white
so often is. Magdelene could look fondly at these babies because
all she had to do was look and maybe hold them now and then…. as
long as they were being good.

*

Renny and Magdelene didn’t take a trip this
year. Lane was bitterly disappointed that she and Rafe wouldn’t
have free run of the house and she couldn’t spend the whole night
with him but she tried to make the most of the time she had.

*

“Hi, Ren.”

“Hey, Gil, how’s it going?”

“Doing good. One reason I called. I’m taking
two week’s vacation in February, spending it at our Mobile place.
Cindy and I thought maybe you and Maggie could join us there. It
would be fun, Ren. Like old times, just adults. I love these kids,
Renny, but sometimes I just need a break from them.”

“I can relate to that, Gil. Just let me know
when you’re going. I’m all but retired now so my schedule is
flexible.”

“I’ll let you know for sure soon. In the
meantime, a progress report on Rafe. I take it you decided against
talking to him about graduating in three years as I suggested?”

“Yeah, you know, I thought about it but
mostly life comes pretty easy for Rafe. He doesn’t have to struggle
for grades or to do well in sports or, it sounds like, to get more
than his share of women. And I spoil him myself in some ways,
buying him the Corvette, for instance. So, I figured it would do
him good to face a less than ideal situation and have to work his
way through it.”

“You don’t think he’d ever quit before he
finishes, do you?”

Renny laughed. “There isn’t the remotest
possibility in the world of that happening. Rafe is my most
independent one but not even he would dare to take me on, Gil. Why
do you ask? Do you think he’s struggling more than I realize?”

“No, nothing like that, Ren. I was just
curious. In fact, he seems more accepting this year than last. He’s
still carrying an A in all his classes. He did really well in
baseball again. Most home runs, most RBIs. Now it’s football, of
course. Coach loves him. Says he’s the most unique player he’s ever
had. Says he just gives Rafe a play and then sits back and watches
it happen. Says if he praises him for it, Rafe just looks at him
like, “what are you all excited about, it’s what you told me to do,
isn’t it?”

We did have one little incident. I’m still
not clear on what took place.” He laid out what he knew had
happened between Helene and Rafe. “That’s all I know. The rumor
mill says he got back at her somehow but no one knows what
happened. She’s not telling and neither is he. She’s a different
person though, from an opinionated feminist to a whipped pup, so
whatever it was, it must have been devastating to her.”

“Do you want me to try to find out when I see
him next?”

“No, it’s their business and they obviously
want to keep it that way. I’m just telling you for
information.”

Renny stored it in the file drawer in his
brain labeled “Rafe”.

“Well, hey, I’d better get busy. I’ll let you
know for sure about Alabama.”

“I’ll look forward to it. And thanks again,
Gil.”

“No problem. Talk to you later.”

* *

Rafe - I just had some bad news. Cal’s dad is
being transferred to California. He’s going ahead and the rest of
the family will be leaving as soon as school’s out. I don’t love
Cal, not like…well, you know, but still, he’s so sweet and we’ve
had lots of good times together and I’ll miss him a lot. Guess
what? Denis and Jeff are going to be Daddies! It’s a sad story,
really. The parents were recently killed in a car wreck. Denis and
Jeff were the god-fathers of their two kids. They had it in their
will and everything that they wanted the guys to get the children
if anything ever happened to them. The little girl, Raquelle, is 4
and the little boy, Donovan, is 2. They’re broken up about their
friends but I think they’re really happy about having the kids.
Going to be a lifestyle change for them, huh? So anyway, the
Vincennes family just got bigger by two. Nothing else new here. How
is it going there? All my love, Lane.

*

Hey Lane - I think Denis and Jeff will make
terrific parents and hell, what’s a couple more members to our
family? I can barely remember all their names now - haha! If Gabe
marries an Oriental and Annecy marries a Muslim, we’ll have all our
bases covered - the United Nations of Vincennes. Everything is okay
here. I’ve been working on a project so it has filled my time. I
completed it though so now I have to find something else to keep me
occupied. I’m really sorry to hear about Cal. I like Cal, thought
he was the ideal boyfriend for you. Now I have to worry about a new
one and whether he’ll be good to you. God help him if there’s ever
one who isn’t. R

*

Rafe - what about us? Who are we going to
marry? Love, Lane

*

Lane - I don’t know about you but I seriously
doubt I’ll ever marry anyone. Don’t think I could ever settle down
to just one. R

*

Rafe - I wish I could settle down with just
one. I love you, Lane

*

Dear Rafe,

We just wanted to let you know what’s going
on with the fan club. You have a website now -
www.rafevincennes.com. It’s just getting up and running but
eventually it will have your schedule, a FAQ section, pictures and
links to any articles written about you and other race sites, a
comment section, etc. We’ll add more as time goes on. You’re okay
with that, aren’t you? We’ve also started a newsletter that we’ll
be sending out to members and anyone else who asks to be put on the
mailing list. We’re all getting really excited about you coming
back for the summer although that’s still too far away.

We miss you,

Jeri

PS - do you have Chet’s e-mail address so I
can send this information on to him?

*

Hi Jeri - I’m amazed. You all are something
else. I checked out the website and it looks terrific. No, I don’t
care if you do it as long as you don’t put anything too personal on
it! Trust me, you’re not looking forward to this summer half as
much as I am. Thanks for all you do. I don’t know Chester’s e-mail
address. We don’t keep in that close of touch during the school
year. You’ll have to call him - Chester Hughes Racing in Benedict -
don’t know the phone number off hand either. Love you girls, R