by Smith, Skye
"Well, if she agrees then, yes we do. We don't want to know who the biological father is, so we must both be in there," Erik explained. That illicited a gasp, and he turned to the lady and gave her a wai of apology. "Hey", he whispered, turning back to their table, "let's keep it down a little."
"You mean Karl wasn't kidding about the babies?" she hissed, jaw dropping.
"Don't worry about the age difference," muttered Karl, "in any non English-speaking country we are perfectly matched for age. We are old enough to already have careers and a home and can afford a wife and family, and you are young enough to be in your prime fertility years." He burped.
"Our age difference was certainly not the first thing that crossed my mind," she replied. "I mean, like, that is way down the list of things to worry about."
"I knew we should have done this at home, all cozy in the hot tub," Erik said staring daggers at Karl. "Drink some water, Karl, and no more wine."
"Say 'yes', Maya," said Karl, "Say 'yes' and we will work it all out."
"Slow down guys. It's a bit bizarre, I admit, but I can actually visualize me having your children. What I can't visualize is what happens if you two split up."
"She has a point you know," slurred Karl, "every good contract should include a workable exit strategy."
"Shush, Karl. She just said 'yes' to the babies. Now we have a reason to work out the details. We don't have to work them out here."
A most graceful woman glided towards them to take their food order. Being Thai, she automatically went towards the oldest-looking man who, of course, would do all of the communicating. Maya grabbed her softly by the arm and drew her in close. "Chicken Pad Thai for three, to go, and the bill, please."
The waitress glided away. Maya looked at her two guys staring at her, "What? We can eat at home and discuss this in the hot tub while watching the stars. Now, both of you hand me your car keys."
They left the Mercedes safely parked in Karl’s work space, and drove home in the minivan so that Karl could stretch out on the back seat. At the police stop check on the big bridge, she quietly explained that she was the designated driver. She was again so glad that the trench coat hid her movie costume, or else for sure the guys would have been locked up.
Once home, the guys wanted to snooze but she forced them to eat some Pad Thai to soak up the alcohol, and drink some water so they wouldn't suffer the hangovers they both deserved. She had lots of experience with drunk men. Her mother was a magnet for them.
She poured them into bed and realized that here it was, the weekend when they could all sleep in, and she had already agreed to a threesome, and yet for the first night in three, she was going to sleep alone in her own bed.
All three of them, of course, had forgotten about Emma, who knocked on the door shortly after Maya got the guys to bed. She was dressed to kill, so she obviously expected to spend at least some time with Karl. Maya was still dressed to attract predators, so when she answered the door they both each just stared at the other's outfits for a pregnant moment.
"That is so becoming," said Maya, "so feminine. So expensive."
"Yours isn't," replied Emma, looking at the almost spit-through blouse and the mini kilt. She looked over Maya's head, hoping to see either man.
"They are both in bed, a bit under the wine," Maya explained, catching the look.
"Oh, that's too bad. I wanted to show Karl what I was wearing to the wedding tomorrow. You know, so he has some idea of how to dress to complement me."
"And here I was thinking you had come to talk to me. Were you on your way to one of the family parties? We can always talk tomorrow. Karl will be better by then."
"Is it that obvious that I wanted some attention from him?"
"Yes, but when you look as feminine as that, you deserve some attention. If either of them had found you on the doorstep, they would have swirled you inside and then danced you around the room. The green looks fabulous on you, and that skirt was designed for dancing. Look how it flips when you sway."
"Do I sense a note of disapproval? You, walking around wearing porn clothes, dare to lecture me.?
"Oh this? This is work wear. I got off work and had to drive them home. This is what passes for a movie costume these days. It sure is working with the guys, though." She looked at the frown that suddenly filled Emma's face and felt guilty for teasing her. Still, she let the silence go on for two more beats before saying, "they both told me today that they love me like a daughter." She was rewarded when Emma began smiling again. "Do you want some pad thai? We have lots."
"Yes, please."
"Do you want an apron to protect your new dress? Noodles always seem to flick soya sauce."
"Yes, please." As Maya walked by her, Emma reached toward her and plucked out one of her long blonde hairs.
"Ow, what are you doing?"
"For DNA testing."
"That is illegal without a warrant."
"I'm not the police."
"You are an officer of the court." She angrily shoved chop sticks, a plate and a box of pad thai towards the psychiatrist. "Here, help yourself."
"Do you want to see a picture of the man you killed?" Emma pulled a file folder out of her attaché case.
"I didn't kill him."
"The girl collar had a hair stuck to it. Thanks for that tip, by the way. The U.B.C. bozos had completely missed it. I wonder if this hair will match the one on the collar. Our lab guys are really good, and thorough. I wonder if they found any hair in that kidnapper's van last week."
"So the task force is calling it murder?"
"No. They are calling it an accident. He slipped and fell in the fog. There is no sign of violence. Did you go to the beach yesterday?"
"Did you find any of his victims?" Maya countered. "Tied up or locked in a room somewhere?"
"I am not at liberty to say," Emma spoke quietly.
"Then neither am I."
"He lived in a huge house on the U.B.C. endowment lands. It had a cellar. The cellar had been sound-proofed and had a smaller sound-proof room built in. It contained a bed, complete with strap downs, like in a psych ward. Forensics found hair and other things. They are checking the DNA against all women reported missing that we have samples for."
"What about the women killed along those trails?" Maya asked.
"Of course. Maya, why are you treating me like this? I'm trying to help you."
"Because you are an agent of the court."
They stared long and hard at each other. Emma had lost her appetite and pushed the pad thai away. She ripped a piece of empty paper off the kitchen pad, grabbed the kitchen pen, and scribbled for a minute. Then she shoved it over to Maya and said, "Give me a dollar."
Emma noticed with a bit of alarm that the trusting young woman reached for her purse and gave her a dollar without even reading the paper. "Read it," she said.
Maya's lips moved as she read. "Received from .... payment in full ... psychiatric consultation ... signed and dated." She put the paper down and looked up at Emma, who had pulled the pad thai back towards her. "So what does this mean? A dollar. What does that buy, a second of your time? "
"It doesn't matter how much of my time it buys. What matters is that you are now my patient and I am bound by medical ethic to treat your information as confidential." Emma looked up from her chop sticks and saw Maya's face soften and then light up as she realized the significance.
"Then I can tell you things."
"Anything."
"So what now?" Maya asked.
"Some tea would be nice, or else I will surely pig this whole box of noodles."
* * *
Maya snuck in to the guy's room. They were wrapped around each other and snoring disgustingly. She could almost see a booze haze floating gently above them. She grabbed Karl's silk robe with a reminder to herself to get the guest robe back from Karen. Downstairs, Emma had already hung up her new dark green silk taffeta cocktail dress and the matching stole well out of harm's way. She stood in he
r slip. "Hot tub or couch?" she asked.
"Couch," chose Maya, "isn't that more usual like, with a shrink?"
They didn't settle in the usual shrink way. Emma sat at the end of the couch where she could put her cup of tea on the end table, while Maya stretched out with her head in Emma's lap. Emma had her recorder on the table but she didn't turn it on. She sat and listened to Maya's story of the foggy afternoon on the beach trail.
She only interrupted her once, at the part where the man was smothering her and sending electric shocks through the collar. She ran to the powder room supposedly to pee, and was gone a while. The heaves turned out to be dry, but she had to wash all her makeup off to hide the fact that she'd been crying.
"Okay, sorry I took so long," she said settling into the couch again and then stroking Maya's hair as she lay in her lap again. "We left off at the shocks from the collar."
"That was the scariest moment of my life," whispered Maya with a shiver.
"The shocks hurt that much?"
"No. Yes, but that was not what was scary. That was just shock. What was scary was that after the shocks my aura had disappeared. Completely disappeared. I felt so alone and vulnerable and I realized that a nightmare was beginning that would end with me dying, and that I would probably be praying for death before it came. So I prayed, and that is the only reason I put my hands together again."
Emma told her that she didn't understand the significance, and Maya realized, that of course, Emma didn't know about the monk. "Later, I'll explain that in the hot tub, later. Let me tell the rest of the story so that I am free of it."
By the time the story reached the call on the pay phone, Emma's lap was damp from Maya's tears. Maya felt the dampness and pushed herself up and turned a light on low. "Oh dear, look what I have done to your new slip. Take it off and I will wash it out ready for tomorrow." She lifted the fabric. "My hair is dirty from acting the scenes in the vampire cave. That and tears and makeup. Here, take it off. I brought you Karl's robe."
"Karl's robe?" Emma said, and she hurriedly stepped out of all of her clothes so she could feel Karl's robe against her skin. "I'll go and uncover the hot tub." She rubbed her cheek against the silk, and sniffed the lapels. They smelled like him.
Maya watched her walk away fondling the robe and whispered to herself, "The guys have a real problem." Then she took the slip to the laundry room, treated the stains and watermarks, and dropped it into a delicate load along with some office shirts and blouses that had accumulated.
She poured more tea, and joined Emma on the deck. Emma was just lowering herself into the tub, so Maya stepped out of her own clothes and left them in a pile on a lounge chair and slipped in with her.
"What are those?" asked Emma pointing to her breasts.
"Oh, plaster tape. I put them over my nipples for the jiggle scenes. Apparently women’s nipples aren't considered necessary for families, or at least the family censors."
"Our leaders have turned our society upside down," sighed Emma.
Maya ducked under and floated just to get the dust out of her hair. Emma sat nipple-deep trying not to ruin the hair that Gerry had worked on earlier that day. She was growing it out and it was in the 'hard to manage' stage of not being short and not yet long enough to tie back into a ponytail.
After watching the stars,(how could there be stars in fog season?), Emma started asking questions, attempting to glean critical information from Maya's story. It didn't take long. Maya knew nothing of her attacker other than the ten minutes she had spent under his control on the trail.
Then Maya told her the story of the Tai Chi master and the monk.
"You allowed a complete stranger to put you under deep hypnosis?"
"It worked."
"But the risks! Oh Maya, always have a friend present."
"He was more interested in Erik and like, his computers," reflected Maya, wondering why Emma was so worried that she had trusted a monk. "He taught me this and this," she said showing Emma the prayer pose and the elbows pose, and then explaining them.
By this time they had soaked so long they were prunes, and it suited Emma to get out of the tub because she wanted Maya to demonstrate the raising and lowering of her aura. She handed Maya a towel and they were quick to get dry and clutch their robes tight to keep the foggy cold air away from their skins.
"So Emma, are you a regular doctor too?"
"Yes, but never in practice. I was racing through med school to my specialty."
"If a woman loses the ability to have children because of an abortion, can she ever get it back again? I mean, like if she hadn't had a period for a dozen years, can it suddenly come back?"
"I am embarrassed to say, and considering I am a woman doctor, I am very embarrassed to say, that I would have to look that up. Do you know someone who needs a doctor? Someone from the beach?"
"I was just wondering. What does ataphy mean?"
Emma looked at her and was about to say she didn't know when she realized, "You mean atrophy? It means losing function from lack of use."
"And can a woman's womb atrophy?"
"That is a bizarre question. Perhaps some of the functions of the womb. Her period came back. That would signify a blockage, not atrophy. The blockage cleared and the flow began again. But doctors check these things when they do abortions, and women in this country are usually quick to see a doctor when they suspect something is wrong down there."
"How about in Texas? An abortion done by a dentist."
"Those effing Americans. They can't get it through their greedy heads that the way to keep medical costs low is to encourage sick people to see a doctor as soon as possible. If it is nothing, who cares? If it is something, then it costs dollars to fix, not thousands of dollars.
A dentist, really, a dentist. Oh Maya, have her see a doctor immediately. Anything could be happening. I despise the whole concept of abortion as a form of birth control, but to force a girl to walk in the back door of a dentist's office? That is truly despicable."
"She is seeing a doctor soon. I was just wondering if damage from the abortion could fix itself."
"After so many years. Doubtful. If the body couldn't mend itself then, why would it mend itself now?"
Maya glanced at the stove's clock as she sided the dishes. "Emma, it's after midnight. Why not sleep here tonight? I mean, that way you could show your dress to Karl in the morning, and take him shopping if his wardrobe is like, lacking."
"What's the probablility that a gay guy's wardrobe would be lacking? No, I'll go home."
"No, you won't. You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch."
"Then we'll share your bed," said Emma. "Besides, if you can now control the strength of your aura, I would be interested to try sleeping next to it. For professional reasons, of course."
"But I'm a cuddler. I don't..."
"Then cuddle. How is that different than lying with your head in my lap. Shush now. It's decided."
* * *
Karl staggered to the bathroom and relieved himself and then drank two glasses of water. He walked out past the bed where the love of his life was curled into a pillow and showing the toned muscles of his thighs and calves. If he hadn't felt so rough, he would have caressed him awake. No, it was late and he had to clean himself up for a wedding.
He walked into the common room and had a thought. She had said yes. She had said yes to having children by them. He looked in on her, and then backed away and hurried back to his own room.
"Wha!" Erik said holding his head to stop the shaking. No, something was shaking him. He opened one eye and saw Karl bending close. "Not now. Go away. I have a headache." He held onto his head so it wouldn't bounce away on him.
"You have more than that, love. We have a big problem." Karl hauled him up and walked him to the bathroom and splashed water in his face until Erik could do it for himself. Erik was very fit and rebounded quickly once his eyes were working. He slurped water directly from the faucet and then presented himself to h
is lover.
"Not now, and certainly not without a shower first. And put that thing away. Here is your robe." Karl looked around. "Have you seen my robe?"
"It will be on the floor at the end of the bed where it is every morning. You lay it so carefully over your feet and then immediately kick it off."
"No, it isn't. Never mind, I will use that striped cotton bathrobe that my aunt gave me for Christmas."
"What do you need a robe for? Let it all hang out. It's not that cold in the house. The sun has been up for a couple of hours." Erik watched Karl belt his atrociously striped Wal-Mart robe, and then watched as Karl came to him and belted his silk one. He let himself be tugged towards Maya's room.
He whispered urgently, "No Karl, not like this! We stink of spilled wine and other things. She deserves to be wooed and pampered first."
Karl pushed him into Maya's room and then pulled him back out. They looked at each other and whispered in unison, "We have a big problem."
They crept downstairs to make coffee but kept whispering. "Do you think they did it?"
"Even if they didn't, they did. She slept in Maya's aura. She will be feeling for her like we do."
"Not like we do. We know it is the aura. Emma might think it is the real thing, love, like we did with each other in India. You shouldn't have bedded her the other night. Now our problems are snowballing." Erik thought about his words and began to chuckle. "That's so apt."
"Look, we've been through this before." Karl ran his hands through his hair to help him think.
"Not for a long time, and for good reason. Remember what happened last time? Three women in love with both of us at the same time."
"That was eight years ago," replied Karl too loud at first, and then whispering. "We couldn't believe how many young women wanted to save us from homosexuality. Eight years ago we were horny sods. We were younger and cuter. We took advantage, and advantage."
"And advantage." Erik couldn't wait for the pot. He stuck his mug right under the coffee maker. "This is different. Now with these two women, I feel like karma is booting us in the ass for our past sins. Maya told me that Emma is pining to have children. She is bent on stealing you away from me."
