Oil of Roses Ch. 18

Many thanks to Literotica author 'englander1961' for her help, editorial services, encouragement and a title much better than my original, which has elevated her to the status of House Goddess of Sexy Story Titles. Thanks to Sammi Scott, aka Titsy McYarn, the Cute at the Heart of the Abyss for her help and valuable critique. Thanks to Literotica author 'KY ridgerunner' for the stories that planted the idea in my head months ago. A belated and much overdue thanks to John Hasty for his peerless editing. Bounteous thanks to Kevin for his incredibly thorough critiquing and voluminous notes.

After you've read this, if you have any inclination at all to comment, please do so, either by email or on the comment board... The best way for me to grow and improve as an author is to hear from the people who read my work.

I welcome constructive critiques and non-abusive comments. I will answer, in at least a semi-prompt manner, any email that comes with an email address.

If you feel you must respond in a hateful or angry fashion, you may put your head down upon your desk and do so, quietly to yourself, for as long as you feel it necessary. This story may not be copied to other sites without my permission.

If you have not read the earlier installment(s) of this tale, it would probably help you to make sense of this one if you did so.

* * * * *

First thing in the morning the entire household was awakened to knocking on the front door. Harry rolled out of bed, threw on a pair of pants and answered the door. It turned out that he and Eddy were parked in the driveway and had to move so machinery could get into the back yard.

"Gawddamn motherfuckin' workmen couldn't wait till 10 o'clock like any normal slackin' off cocksuckers, no, their asses had to be here before 8 gawddamn AM in the fuckin' morning."

"Eddy, I guess I better fix you some coffee before you go eat some of the workmen and I have to pay you to put in the pool and renovate our bathroom," Harry said.

"Fuckin' A, buddy," Eddy said, heading for the guest bath. As he relieved himself, Theresa came in and began washing her face. "Theresa, start thinking where you want me to take you for breakfast."

"Yes, Edward." She turned and smiled at him, her face covered in soap suds. "And then you'll show me our new place?"

"Yes, precious one, and then I'll show you our new place."

In the kitchen Harry watched out the window as the crews and equipment began working. Both sides of the coffee-maker were going and the divine smell was already wafting through the house. He had to go in to the office, even though Mondays were one of his new days off on the reduced schedule. For the schedule to work, they needed an Executive Director and interviewing of applicants was beginning that day.

In the bedroom, Margo looked at her suits as she decided what to wear. Her day was going to be spent looking for a family practice clinic that would take her on, as well as a cosmetic surgery practice that would let her work out of their offices one day a week. She knew neither would be too hard to find; the number of doctors willing to go into family practice was dwindling and her reputation as a cosmetic surgeon would make her welcome almost anywhere.

"Will Madam require help in dressing?" Carol asked.

Margo turned and kissed her pet. "No, beautiful, no help dressing... but I am spending the day with my professional peers so I'm thinking that when I get home tonight I'll probably need a screaming orgasm or two and several stiff drinks. Think my wonderful husband could help me out with those?"

"Margo," Carol said, smiling, "if he's too tired to take care of you I certainly will... but I can't imagine him ever being too tired to make love to you."

Carol grabbed a t-shirt and shorts from her closet and dressed. She faced the day with something of a sense of dread. She was planning on examining her bequest from Tony and knew that bittersweet .memories would haunt her though the whole process. For him to leave her his music... it was a very special thing he'd done. By the end of the day she was pretty sure she'd need a few stiff drinks herself.

Upstairs Kelly woke up hearing the pounding on the door to find Jessica next to her. That was enough to make her rude awakening worth it.

"Hello, beautiful"

"Good morning, my sweet, sexy Jess. You look good enough to eat."

"Can it wait till I pee first?"

"Hmmm, maybe, if you hurry... otherwise you'll just to have to hold it."

"I'll hurry," Jess said, giggling as she scampered off to the bathroom.

Kelly thought about her day. She worked from 10 till 5. She'd probably have Jess come along when she went in and apply. She didn't think there'd be a problem, especially if she put in a good word with Mrs. Cao. She'd been driving for them for two years, the most senior driver in a stable whose members rarely lasted more than three months. She and the Cao's were, well, not friends, but they were certainly friendly.

By the time Jess got back, two things had distracted Kelly's desire... her need to hit the bathroom herself and the aroma of coffee coming up from downstairs. She was saved from having to admit the embarrassing truth by Jess.

"Kelly, it's not that I don't want your head between my legs, but that coffee just smells too good to wait for."

She smiled at Jess. "I was just thinking the same thing, lover. Let's talk more about sex after some caffeine."

In the kitchen Harry had been joined by Eddy and Tamara. She had barely started on her first cup while Eddy was already pouring his second.

A naked Kelly came barreling down the stairs. "Harry, unless you want me to turn my attack-trained girlfriend loose on your nuts there better be enough coffee there for me."

She spun into the kitchen, saw the second pot, untouched, as Harry started another brew cycle for the first pot.

"God love you, Harry, you are a wise, compassionate and very handsome man," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning Sasquatch, Miss Tamara, how are you today?"

Tammy smiled, "Fine, thank you."

Eddy growled, "You come down here naked and bellowin' for coffee, talkin' to me like you're Karen Jr., callin' me 'Sasquatch'... why the hell don't I pick you up and throw you out back, let them workmen take care of you?"

"First off, you hairy nightmare of the gene pool, because I'd fuck them all into submission. Second, I'd tell them there was a big ol' boy in here who said if he couldn't whup all their asses at once, he'd pay 'em each a thousand dollars."

"You are an evil, evil woman, Kelly, and if I weren't so fond of you, I might have to have you killed."

"You're too chickenshit to do it yourself, Eddy?"

"Hello Kelly, I sit in the 'crazy, not stupid' section."

The kitchen broke out in laughter. Harry said, "This round to Kelly."

Kelly sat down next to Tamara and kissed her on the cheek. "You are looking so much better than you did a couple of nights ago. It's hard for me to believe that a few regular meals could make this much difference."

Tamara cut her eyes up to Eddy. "Well, that's not all that made the difference."

Kelly winked at her. "I know, but don't tell him that or he'll be impossible to live with. He'll start thinking he's in charge and shit."

Carol came in. "Harry, please tell me you love me enough..."

He pointed to the second pot. She squealed and ran to give him a big hug and kiss.

"Anything you want, Harry, anything, you just name it," she said.

Harry gave her a long hug and a kiss in return. "I have everything I want, precious," he said.

Jess had been upstairs, worrying about to what to wear. Last night, tired and horny and stoned, a towel or naked had been okay, but things were different in the light of day. Finally she'd decided on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and headed down, hoping against hope that there was coffee left.

She walked into the kitchen. "Harry, please tell me-"

Raising his voice Harry said, "Alright, time for an announcement!" Turning to face the assembled crowd, he continued. "I am in a house with six women, any one of whom could fuck and/or beat me to death, Tamara included. The only other male in the house is a great hulking bear of a man who would ass-rape the Pope while ripping the raw flesh off live children with his teeth if that's what it took to get coffee. I love you all, and I love me in one piece. Worry not, there will always be coffee and if you should, by some freak of timing, come in when there's not a pot ready, I know exactly how long the procedure takes. From start to finish, dry pot to full steaming pot, four minutes twenty-three seconds," he said, grinning at them.

Everyone looked at him, slightly stunned. Then Jess said, "Harry, have you considered switching to decaf? You seem a little testy."

In the bedroom Margo heard the laughter, loud and prolonged, from the kitchen and wondered what she was missing.

By the time she'd finished dressing and made it to the kitchen, the smell of breakfast tacos were filling the house. As she stepped through the door Eddy turned to her.

"Whatever the fuck you do, don't ask if there's any coffee... Harry's liable to go berserk and start humpin' the teakettle."

"Well, is there-"

"YES!" the room answered in unison.

She went to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. "Well, since we're all together, I have a surprise I've been saving. I think Benjie tried to take a drive in his Diablo. I've got voice mail from him... haven't listened to it yet, figured it might be good for a laugh."

While Harry finished making breakfast for everyone, the story of the Diablo and the bed was relayed to those who didn't know it.

"Y'know Margo, you're just a gawddamn evil bitch... if I didn't have Tamara, I could fall in love with a woman like you."

As everyone gathered around the table and ate she played the message Benjamin had left.

"Very funny, Margo... the Diablo model kit was a particularly nice touch. I hope you're enjoying your new bed, you fucking bitch." The voice on the message was calm... hateful, but calm.

"That was most unusual," Margo said. "I expected incoherent screaming and death threats."

Eddy looked troubled. "Yeah, that's what I was expecting too. You say that's unusual for Benjamin?"

"Yeah, when he gets upset everybody knows about it. Small screaming man making everybody's, and I do mean everybody's life a living hell."

"Is Benjamin a violent man?" Eddy asked, as he stared off into space.

"No, he'd threaten and bully, but he was too scared to really do anything. Benjamin is a small and ineffectual man in a world of people who can kick the shit out of him. I've never worried about Benjamin doing anything physical."

"I'll be right back," Eddy said as he headed for the front door.

Harry walked to the bedroom to dress for work and Carol followed him in.

"Sir, from now on I'll make breakfast on work days."

"Why? I thought the breakfast tacos turned out well."

"Oh, they did, Harry, but as the lady of the house cooking is part of my job. You and Margo have work to worry about. If you want to get in there on days when you're not going in to the office I'll gladly let you, you're a damn fine cook. But please let me do it on days you have other things to worry about."

"Have I told you lately you're one of the two people I adore above all others?"

She hugged him again. "Not today, sir, and although I love hearing it, you don't have to. I know it. You demonstrate your love a thousand different ways, every day, without even thinking about it."

"Well, I'm going to keep telling you... mmm... and if you don't stop rubbing your delectable body against me, I'm going to be late to work for a very good reason." He smiled and patting her on the butt, shooed her out of the bedroom as he returned to dressing.

After he was ready for work he went in the kitchen to get a last cup of coffee.

Eddy came in from outside and found Margo and Harry still in the kitchen.

"Margo, Harry, I need you to trust me."

"Of course Eddy, what?"

"Margo, when someone who might be considered a threat starts acting in a way contrary to their usual behavior, security people get nervous. It's a sign that they're no longer predictable and we like predictability. We like it a lot. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, if a subject is behaving in a way consistent with their normal behavior patterns, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. That one out of a hundred, well, those are the ones that give us a nightmares. Do you know what we consider the threat likelihood of a subject behaving in an atypical manner?"

"No clue, Eddy."

"Seventy-five percent... a three out of four probability that the subject's going to do something we really don't want him to. Your soon-to-be-ex-husband is acting in an atypical manner and that worries me."

"Eddy, are you aware that when you speak in a professional capacity the quality of your use of the language improves dramatically?"

"Yes, Harry, yes I am. I'm not a retarded Neanderthal; I just play one during most of my life."

"Alright, so you view Benjamin as a threat. What do you want me to do?" Margo asked.

He handed her a small black object with metal prongs at one end. "This is a stun gun. Any time you leave the house and aren't in the car or in a building, I want it in your right hand. Make sure that the strap is around your wrist whenever you're carrying it. This model has a pin arrangement. Someone rips it out of your hand, the strap pulls a pin out of the bottom of the unit that disables it so they can't use it on you. If someone behaves in a threatening manner towards you, you jam the prong side into them and press here. Keep it triggered till he goes down. If you have more than one assailant, use this." He handed her a can labeled 'Mace Brand Triple Action Pepper Spray'. "This stuff is a mixture of pepper spray, tear gas and a UV marking agent. There's enough for thirty-eight one-second bursts and it's got an 8 foot range. Whenever you're out in public, I want the stun gun in your right hand and your left hand in your pocket next to this can." He handed her a whistle on a chain. "Wear this around your neck at all times. When, and only when, you have your assailant or assailants down, put the whistle in your mouth and blow for all you're worth, while you're running away. Don't ever forget that last part. Find people, find a building, find a place to safely use your cell phone and call the police. Then call me. Then call Harry.

"Now Margo, honey, I want you to be very, very aware of your surrounding at all times. Don't be walking along, lost in thought. Don't get out your keys and prepare to get in your car until you're sure the area around you is secure. Tonight I'm going to have Perry and Bevy back over here for you to meet them. They'll be shadowing you until Harry and I feel that there's no longer a threat to you from Benjamin. Please try not to get too nervous and inadvertently mistake them for someone stalking you."

She laughed. "I'll try not to mace your boys, Eddy, but even with him acting, how did you put it, 'atypically', I don't think the little chickenshit will do anything. But I will certainly follow your instructions anyway... I'd hate to have to deal with you and my husband if I didn't and I was wrong."

"I'm going to be tailing you today. Sorry Theresa; we'll have to go by the new place tonight."

"That's fine, Edward. This is more important. I understand that completely and I agree with you. I'll stay here and catch up with Carol."

* * * * *

The week passed uneventfully for the household, in spite of Harry and Eddy's fears.

Eddy and Tamara were moved into their new apartment. True to her word, she had loved it and was happily making a home for her beloved owner. Their shopping trips had revealed that their tastes in furniture were remarkably similar: simple and functional.

Margo had found a family practice clinic that was more than happy to have her. Her Wednesdays were going to be spent at the third most prestigious cosmetic surgery practice in the state. Margo was going to hate Wednesdays, but the contacts she'd make would be worth it... she hoped.

Jessica had indeed been hired on at Lotus Hunan. As a new driver she got the shit shifts and Kelly, already working days Monday thru Wednesday, went ahead and gave up her Friday and Saturday night shifts for Thursday and Friday days so they could work the same hours.

With help from Jess and Kelly when they were available, most of Carol had spent most of her week shifting their room into the old office, the old office into the downstairs guest room, and Tony's gift to her into Harry's old bedroom where Kelly and Jess had been. She'd been studiously ignoring his bequest otherwise, even the envelope with her name on it in his handwriting. She just wasn't ready to deal with it yet.

Harry and Karen's week had been one of frustration. It would require a special sort of person with a special sort of temperament to fit in at Grimes & Pinard. So far they were having absolutely no luck finding that person. Five days of interviews with some very qualified people had failed to find anyone who could handle the divine insanity that was G&P running at its best.

Friday night found everyone meeting at Micky & Miguel's, an Irish pub and Tex-Mex restaurant on Austin Blvd. Margo had done her best den mother impersonation and called ahead to reserve a room.

Margo felt sure she'd be first to arrive but when she was shown to the room she was greeted by Eddy and Tamara. The two of them were deep into some Micky's-style appetizers, soda bread and small bowls of lamb stew.

"Margo me darlin', come have a seat and start thinkin' about what you'll be wantin' to drink," Eddy said in a passable growl of an Irish accent.

"Sorry Eddy, I'm going south of the border tonight, not across the Atlantic," she replied, grabbing a seat.

Eddy looked sadly at Tamara. "What can I say? She's a heathen." He picked up his Guinness, Tamara picked up her Harp. "Fuck the English!" they said in unison and drank.

Margo marveled at the change in Tamara. Most people, presented with a photo of the woman taken one week before when she'd been almost carried into Chez Bubba's and one taken tonight wouldn't have believed they were the same person. The hollows in her face had filled out, her whole demeanor spoke of happiness and contentment, she moved with confidence. Her deference to Eddy and the leather collar and wrist cuffs she wore did nothing to diminish her air of self-assuredness. In fact, they seemed to be an integral part of her happiness with herself.

The waitress came in and Margo ordered an appetizer of quesadillas and two shots of Cuervo Especial and a Miguel's Martini as a chaser. The Miguel's Martini was a top shelf margarita of surpassing smoothness, worthy of its reputation as 'medicinal'.

"Eddy, is there any reason why Perry and Bevy can't join us for supper this evening?" Margo asked.

"I can certainly call and ask them." Eddy pulled out his cell and soon had Perry on the line.

After he hung up he said, "They'll be here in about a half hour. I had told them I was meeting you here, so they went off duty once you were safely inside. They were going to a showing of some film at the Alamo Drafthouse tonight, but the mention of me picking up the tab for supper changed their minds."

"That's lovely Eddy, but I'm picking up the tab and if you argue, I'm going to have Kelly do vile things to you."

"Okay, I'm not going to argue."

Harry arrived next, looking frazzled, with Carol in tow. He kissed his wife, very thoroughly.

"You look fried. What's wrong, my love?" Margo asked.

"This is nothing. I was much worse before I stopped by the house to grab our pet. The heavenly hand job our darling gave me while we were driving over has calmed me down considerably."