‘Well, Stepha,’ gestured Les innocently. ‘I did my best to be diplomatic.’
Stepha looked at the bleeding, unconscious men lying on the footpath and nodded her head. ‘Yeah. Yeah you did.’ She turned to Norton. ‘Les. Do you mind if I do something?’ asked Stepha.
‘No. Go for your life,’ shrugged Les.
‘Thanks.’ Stepha handed Les back his camera then walked over and kicked Burne in the groin, then kicked him in the head. ‘That’s for Friday night. You fuckin bastard!’ Burne didn’t feel a thing. Stepha kicked him in the balls again then spat in his face. ‘Arse-fuckin-hole!’ She turned to Les. ‘Okay. Let’s go.’
Les thought for a moment. ‘Yeah, righto,’ he said. ‘But your friends look a bit untidy lying here in the street. Hold on a sec.’ The wire fence in front of the church was only waist high. Les dragged Burne, Allan and Bucky across, then flipped them over onto the other side, leaving them lying on the church grass. ‘That’s better.’ He gave Stepha a smile. ‘Now let’s head for home.’
‘Yes, let’s.’
‘You sure you don’t want me to carry your bag?’
‘No. It’s quite all right, thank you.’
‘Okey doke.’
They walked on in silence. Les wiped any blood from him with his hanky. Stepha slung her bag over her shoulder. They got as far as the resort restaurant on the corner, when Stepha suddenly dropped her bag on the footpath and stared questioningly at Les.
‘All right Father Les,’ she demanded. ‘Just what the fuck are you? Some kind of Shaolin fuckin monk or something? And don’t give me any shit about being diplomatic. You’re about as diplomatic as a fuckin wrecking ball.’
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Les.
‘What am I talking about?’ Stepha pointed back to where they’d just come from. ‘I’ve seen Bucky knock guys out with one punch. Allan does tae-kwon-do. And Burne’s fitter and tougher than both of them. Which is more or less what attracted me to the prick in the first place.’
‘Go on,’ said Les.
‘But you just bashed the shit out of them. Like they were three girl guides selling jam lamingtons. What’s your story — boy?’
‘I dunno,’ shrugged Les. ‘I watch a lot of Jackie Chan videos.’
‘Ohh fuckin bullshit!’
‘All right. Don’t shit your pants,’ smiled Les. ‘I’ll tell you when we get upstairs. Anyway, you needn’t talk. I saw what you did back there. You vicious little monster.’
‘Vicious little? … Yeah, all right.’ Stepha humphed and picked up her bag then followed Les to the resort.
A man behind the desk wearing a neat grey suit and red tie smiled up when he saw them walk into the foyer.
‘Good evening, sir,’ he said.
Les returned the man’s smile. ‘How are you, mate?’
‘Evening, madam.’
‘Hi,’ said Stepha.
They caught the lift to the Anchorage level in silence. Les found his key, then they walked across the landing; Les opened the door and switched on the light.
‘Ohh wow!’ said Stepha. ‘This place is really cool.’
‘Yeah, it’s not bad,’ agreed Les, closing the door. He tossed his camera on the bed then pointed out the bathroom and kitchen to Stepha as they followed the corridor down to the lounge room. Les nodded to the lounge nearest the TV. ‘I reckon that’s the most comfortable of the two. I’ll get you a blanket and pillows from my room.’
Stepha placed her bag near the TV and flopped on the lounge. ‘Ohh yeah. This’ll do me. Thanks Les.’
‘No wuckin furries.’ Les rubbed his hands together. ‘Well, I’m going to have a drink. You want one?’
‘Thanks. I might go to the loo first.’
Les made two Jack Daniels with soda and sliced up an orange. He gave them a stir and added the orange as Stepha came back from the bathroom.
‘You got a spa bath in there,’ she said.
‘Yeah,’ nodded Les. ‘I haven’t tried it yet.’ He pushed Stepha’s drink across the bar top in the kitchen. ‘There you are.’
Stepha sat down on a bar stool round the other side, picked up her drink and clinked Norton’s glass. ‘Thanks Les,’ she said.
‘That’s okay, Stepha,’ replied Les. ‘Cheers.’
‘Yeah, cheers.’ Stepha had a mouthful, blinked at the kick then looked directly at Les. ‘Righto Mike Tyson,’ she said. ‘A little bit of explaining please. And forget the Jackie Chan videos.’
‘All right.’ Les came round and sat down on a bar stool next to Stepha. ‘The monastery where I was studying was right out the back of New South Wales. A couple of the other priests were Korean and into all that martial arts stuff. So a couple of us started training with them. There wasn’t much to do after prayer. And I finished up training about five hours a day for five years. Plus I’m fairly fit.’ Les shrugged his shoulders. ‘That’s about it. No big deal.’
‘No big deal?’ said Stepha. ‘Shit! I’m glad I’m not Burne and his mates. And how about showing me that one where you threw Allan over your shoulder. That was so cool.’
‘Yeah, I might later,’ said Les, sipping on his bourbon. ‘But just don’t ask me any more about the church. It’s a bit of a sore point with me.’
‘Okay. No worries.’
Les looked evenly at Stepha. ‘Do you think there’ll be any dramas with the police over what happened tonight?’
‘I doubt it,’ answered Stepha. ‘The cops have got their eye on Burne. And Bucky’s on bail for assault. And there’s no way they’ll admit just one guy beat them up.’
‘Good,’ nodded Les. ‘And you won’t have to worry about catching the bus in the morning either. In fact you don’t even have to leave.’
Stepha shook her head. ‘I’ve already lined up a job in Melbourne. But yeah, you’re right. I can catch the bus in peace now.’ She clinked Norton’s glass. ‘Thanks to Father Les. The fighting priest. Ooh, sorry. Don’t mention the church.’
‘That’s okay.’ Les walked across to the ghetto blaster. ‘You fancy a bit of music?’
‘All right. What have you got?’
‘This.’ Les pressed play on his ghetto blaster and Bernard Ellison started cranking ‘Fistful of Dirt’.
‘Hey. This is all right,’ said Stepha. ‘Rock ’n roll.’
‘It’s good for your soul,’ smiled Les.
They chatted away about this and that as the tape played. Les bullshitted about the family store in Rose Bay and how he’d been out of circulation up until a couple of months ago. Stepha told him about life in Box Hill, where she lived in Melbourne, working in Lorne and how she wasn’t much of a judge when it came to men. After a couple more drinks and knowing she was rid of the bar manager, Stepha loosened up. She also started taking a bit of a shine to Les, her knight in shining armour and new landlord.
‘For an ex-priest, you sure know a lot about drugs, Les,’ smiled Stepha. ‘That pay you gave Burne cracked me up. If I hadn’t been so worried at the time I would have burst out laughing. Boil up some Viagra. Where did you get that from?’
‘I dunno,’ Les smiled back. ‘I was amped up, and it was just the first thing that came into my head. I’m not into drugs. Though I’ve smoked pot.’
‘You have?’
‘Yeah. It was growing all over the place out west. We used to make scones with it. I think that was what made me give up the priesthood.’
Stepha gave Les a quick once up and down. ‘Would you like a smoke now? I got some hash joints in my bag. Courtesy of Burne.’
‘Sure why not,’ shrugged Les. ‘We’ll smoke ’em out on the sundeck.’
‘Unreal.’
Stepha went to her travel bag, found a plastic container and came up with two small joints and a lighter. Les walked across to the sundeck, opened the sliding glass door and they stepped outside with their drinks. Stepha stuck a joint in her mouth, lit it, took a hit and handed it to Les.
‘There you go,’ she said from behind a curl of smo
ke.
‘Thanks.’ Les took the glowing joint and had a hit.
They finished the joint fairly quickly. Stepha stubbed it out and lit the other one.
‘Drug City Mamma,’ said Les.
‘Just call me Amphetamine Annie,’ said Stepha.
They finished the second joint and took their drinks inside. Stepha sat on the lounge near her bag and kicked off her shoes. Les sprawled back on the one opposite. It wasn’t long before the hash kicked in and Les began to relax on what felt like a very comfortable lounge. The music sounded better and Stepha started to look like Miss Universe.
‘So how was that, Les?’ said Stepha, grinning like a Cheshire cat from the other side of the room.
‘Very good,’ Les nodded slowly. ‘Very good indeed. Hey, if you get the munchies later, there’s some biscuits in a cupboard, and a caesar salad in the fridge.’
‘Thanks Les,’ said Stepha.
Les started to slip deeper into the cosmos. He stretched and smiled around the unit too. ‘You know, it’s funny,’ he said slowly. ‘Just a few hours ago I was in Melbourne having a Brazilian. Now I’m in Lorne having a Jackies and smoking Johnny.’
Stepha spluttered into her bourbon. ‘What did you just say you were having in Melbourne, Les?’ she asked incredulously.
‘A Brazilian,’ replied Les.
‘A Brazilian? Oh my God!’ Stepha fell back on the lounge and started giggling like she was going to wet herself.
Les stared at her completely confused. ‘What’s the matter? Did I say something funny?’
‘A Brazilian?’ giggled Stepha.
‘Yeah. It’s a bloody fruit drink,’ said Les.
‘A fruit drink. Oh shit! I don’t believe it.’
Les shook his head. ‘Bloody hell!’ he said. ‘The hash wasn’t that good.’
Stepha straightened up and wiped her eyes. ‘Les. Do you know what a Brazilian is?’
‘Yeah. I just told you. A sweet, pink, fruit drink. With mint in it. Christ!’
Stepha shook her head. ‘No it’s not. Well maybe. But this is a Brazilian.’
Stepha pulled up her tartan dress, took off a pair of lacy blue knickers, then lay back on the lounge with her legs apart.
‘That’s a Brazilian, Les,’ she said. ‘A waxed fanny.’
Les gave Stepha’s bald ted a double blink. ‘Holy mother of God,’ he said. ‘Where did you get that?’
‘In Melbourne. Haven’t you ever seen one before?’ asked Stepha, holding her legs apart.
‘No. I told you. I’ve been out of circulation for five years,’ replied Les.
‘It ain’t just a fruit drink, baby,’ said Stepha.
‘Evidently not,’ said Norton. ‘All right if I have a closer look?’
‘Be my guest,’ invited Stepha.
With his drink in one hand, Les crawled across the room on his hands and knees and stared into Stepha’s freshly plucked business. In his confused state Les couldn’t think what it resembled. He gave it a little poke with his finger.
‘What a ripper,’ said Les. ‘It looks like … like a plate of veal schnitzel without the crumbs.’
‘Oh Lord!’ squealed Stepha.
Les shook his head. ‘I’ll tell you what though, Stepha,’ he grinned. ‘It might not be the same Brazilian I was talking about. But it sure looks just as pink and sweet.’
Les took a sip of his drink then pushed his face into Stepha’s lamington and found it slightly spiky. But very chewy and very delectable; and you didn’t have to pick pubic hairs out of your teeth. He gave it a reasonable going over while Stepha moaned and groaned on the lounge. After a while Les came up for air.
‘Hey, this is all right,’ he said to Stepha. ‘Forget macadamias and peanuts. From now on, I’m a certified Brazil nut.’
‘Yeah, well don’t stop,’ panted Stepha.
Les stood up. ‘Hang on a minute,’ he said. ‘I got an idea. Don’t go away.’
Les hurried to the bathroom, had a quick leak and ran the bath. He came back into the lounge room where Stepha hadn’t moved.
‘Hey. You feel like a spa bath?’ asked Les.
‘Yes. That would be good,’ replied Stepha. ‘Now how about …’
‘Coming right up,’ said Les. ‘Sorry. Make that going right down.’
Les finished his drink and got stuck into Stepha’s business again, like he was the guest of honour at a cannibal feast. Stepha sighed and howled then started to kick her legs before emptying out into Norton’s face. Les gave a howl of approval and came up with his eyes sparkling and his face looking like an iced Danish.
‘Oh baby that’s a what I like. Shake it, but donnn’t break it.’
‘Shit! What hit me?’ heaved Stepha. ‘Father Les. You’re a beast.’
‘Hey. What did I say,’ frowned Les.
‘Yeah, right. Don’t mention the church.’
‘Exactemondo. Now come on, Miss Brazil. Let’s go for a surf.’
‘Whatever you like.’ Stepha smiled sweetly up at Les. ‘But how about a kiss first, huh?’
‘Why certainly, my child,’ smiled Norton.
Les put his arms tenderly around Stepha and met her lips coming towards him. They were lovely and soft and Stepha had a hot, spicy tongue. After a while he opened his eyes and smiled into Stepha’s.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s get in the spa. It should be about ready.’
‘I’ll see you in there,’ smiled Stepha.
Les went to his room and got out of his clothes, then padded down to the bathroom. The spa had filled perfectly and the temperature was ideal. He got a bottle of spa crystals, dumped them in the water then ran the jets and watched the crystals foam up like clouds of white fairy floss, bubbling and crackling as they burst into the steam. He put his foot in the water, then slowly climbed into the spa bath and lay back against one side, closed his eyes and sighed as the jets of water softly massaged his body.
‘Ohh yeah. How good’s this.’
‘Did you say something?’
Les looked up and Stepha was standing by the side of the spa, naked. She had a whippy little body and pert boobs. Her skin was pale and across her ribs were several purple bruises. Norton looked at them for a moment and wished he’d smashed the bar manager’s head into the phone box a couple more times. Nevertheless, the boot in the balls Stepha gave him would give Burne something to think about when he woke up.
‘I was just saying,’ said Les, ‘how sweet it is. Give me your hand. The floor’s a bit slippery.’
Stepha took Norton’s hand and lowered herself into the spa. ‘Ohh yeah,’ she smiled. ‘This is unreal.’
‘All part of the service, ma’am,’ said Les.
Les poked his legs out and felt Stepha’s legs resting on top of his. He closed his eyes, leant his head against the side of the spa and let the sweat run down his face while the jets of water gently massaged his body. Stepha did the same. Les dunked his head under the warm water for a while and so did Stepha, then they sat in the spa smiling happily at each other. Les switched off the jets and it went quiet in the bathroom. The music drifted in from the lounge room and Les recognised the song as Johnny Lang bopping ‘If This Is Love’.
‘Hey Stepha,’ said Les.
‘Hey yes,’ answered Stepha.
Les tilted his head to one side. ‘How about a kiss, huh?’
Stepha batted her eyelids. ‘Why Les,’ she answered. ‘I never thought you’d ask.’
Stepha drifted across the spa and Les put his arms around her then they got into a steamy kissing session that matched the atmosphere in the bathroom. Stepha sucked Norton’s tongue and kissed him all over the face, Les kissed her neck and bit into it leaving a love bite under her ear as big as a fifty-cent coin. As Les kissed Stepha and felt her in his arms, he got the impression that beneath the bad language and the rough exterior, Stepha was just a little battler who only wanted to love and be loved in return. Plus she had a good, honest heart. She didn’t have much money and she could have
taken advantage of Les and put it straight on him to stay the night. But she offered Les what she could spare. Then found the extra five dollars when he niggardly asked her for it. And when Burne showed up, she told Les it was her problem. He didn’t have to get involved. Les could have easily walked away and left her. And when Les didn’t, she got between them and faced up to Burne, knowing she’d only cop it again. That showed plenty of heart. And a lot of honesty. Yes, thought Les, as he kissed Stepha’s eyes and gave her a big, big hug. The cheeky little waitress from Melbourne was all right.
Somebody else in the spa, however, had different feelings about the cheeky little waitress from Melbourne. Mr Wobbly. He’d been sitting up under the bubbles just biding his time. Now the evil little monster wanted in on the action. And why waste another minute. Les eased Stepha against the side of the spa bath, spread her legs then got between them and entered her, finding the little waitress firm and warm. Les then did his best to return Stepha’s honesty as sweet as he could, for as long as he could.
The steaming water churned in the spa, the bubbles rose and fell and water spilled over the side. Stepha held Les round the neck, sighed and went with him, kissing the big red-headed Queenslander tenderly. It was all too good; and after the hash joints, it was even better. Les got his arms under Stepha’s legs, held her against the side of the spa then thrust as hard and as deep as he could, and with a moan of pure ecstasy that echoed Stepha’s squealing, poured everything he had into her. The water in the spa bath swirled from side to side, bubbles went everywhere, then it all settled down just as the tape cut out in the lounge room.
Rosa-Marie's Baby Page 11
