Tease to Please Ch. 11

"You are so bad," Arthur whispered.

"You mean I'm so good," Elise corrected him. "And don't you forget it."

"No way I could; not ever."

Elise struggled to her feet with Arthur's help. Her legs were asleep. She stood unsteadily before him, clutching his arms for support. Arthur held her by her elbows. They both laughed at the state they were in. Elise's face, neck and bare legs were soaked. The front of her sweater was streaked with drool and cum. Arthur's pants and boxers were too. The carpet was disgusting.

It took a quarter of an hour for them to get clean again. While Elise was brushing her teeth she noticed how sore her throat was.

'Great,' she mused, 'On top of everything else, now it hurts to swallow.'

Once clean, she changed into the most boring outfit she could find; jeans, a sweatshirt, sneakers and no makeup.

The two of them were soon settled behind their respective desks in the lab, and the remainder of the morning slid by in an uneventful stream of work. The highlight was a lunch delivery at noon.

After eating, Doctor Peters spent the early afternoon upstairs with Doctor Yamamoto, leaving Elise by herself on the first floor, checking spreadsheets in Excel.

At two thirty in the afternoon, her phone rang.

Elise took a deep breath before answering. She wanted to sound cheerful. Not only was she trying to hide her displeasure with her mother's impending visit and divorce news, but she also needed to conceal her underlying pelvic discomfort. And now her throat hurt too, which seemed to be making her voice a bit deeper. Clearly, Elise thought, having this much sex with Doctor Peters was not a sustainable pastime.

"Hi mom!" she answered as brightly as she could.

"HellOOoo!" Sylvia greeted her. "I've just landed and my goodness what a horribly crowded flight that was! I couldn't get a martini and the man next to me watched the most violent movie the entire time and now, would you believe, the rental car people have given me a PURPLE car?! Have you ever heard of anything more ridiculous? It's like a grape, honey. Anyway, I'm off to the hotel and the car apparently knows the way. It keeps interrupting me with some nonsense about keeping left! I don't know how anyone gets around out here, it's all a zoo..."

Elise closed her eyes and exhaled, forcing herself to remain silent as the familiar nattering melodrama streamed through her phone. It was the soundtrack of her childhood.

"Mom, mom... MOM!" she finally interrupted. "What time do you think you'll get here?"

"Oh... well, I need to get settled at the hotel first and freshen up a bit. Then I'll drive over. You sent me the address, didn't you?"

"Yes. It was in my text yesterday. Did you get it?"

"Oh, I don't know, Honey. I'm sure it's in my phone somewhere, but I'll have to look later. You know how I despise all this technology. I suppose I should be there by mid-afternoon. Have you asked Arthur for a good restaurant nearby? Make it someplace with a decent wine list, for God's sake sweetie."

"No, I haven't. And I don't understand why you even want to take him out to dinner anyway, Mom. It's just weird. If anything, he should be taking ME out to dinner."

"Don't be ridiculous Elise, you've only just met him. Plus you're an intern and he's the head of the company! People don't take interns to dinner, for God's sake... that would be silly! Don't suggest any such thing or he'll think I've raised you with the manners of a -- Good Lord, lunatic! Almost hit me! How do these people survive?"

"Mom! Watch the road. Please! Anyway, that's not my point. Why are you guys going to dinner? You said yourself you haven't even seen him since you were like twenty or something."

"We'll, Darling, we were actually much older than twenty the last time, but, in any case, you know what they say: A woman never forgets a man who's good in the feathers!"

Her mother's laughter tinkled through the cellular connection. Elise became rooted to the carpet. A freezing ball of angst materialized in her stomach and immediately threatened to explode outward.

"Wha—what?!" she stammered.

"Oh, didn't he mention that? Hmm, how professional! I suppose he didn't want you to think I was the reason you got the job. Isn't that sweet? Well, anyway, I don't mind telling you... we were the "it" couple back in the 'Eighties. But he's right. It's not really an appropriate thing for him to talk about with you, Darling. Besides, it was a long time ago and we've both been married since then, so... I'm sure we'll just have ourselves a good laugh about it, seeing each other after all these years. That's all."

Elise's jaw clenched so tight her teeth began to squeak.

Her mother's voice carried on talking but Elise did not hear a word. Revulsion blared within her brain like a short-circuited car horn, blocking out all sound.

"I... I have to go," Elise announced robotically. She was not sure her mother had even heard her, but she hung up anyway.

She needed to be alone; very alone and very celibate for a very long time. Her entire body felt unclean.

For a while Elise was beyond speech. Then she heard Arthur's footsteps descending the staircase from the second floor, and she went into a fury. She charged out to the main hallway and confronted him about her mother. She yelled all sorts of things, including that she never wanted to speak with him again. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Arthur's face reflected panic and abject guilt. He found no words to counter her assault.

Eventually Elise ran out of unanswerable insults and walked away. She felt emotionally hollowed-out. Arthur was left standing alone in the hallway, looking despondent.

Elise shunned him, hiding out at Jacob's empty workstation and quietly cursing the afternoon away.

Eventually she rose to her feet and starting pulling herself back together, at least enough to look presentable for her mom. She promised herself to never admit this latest misjudgment to Sylvia. Even thinking about it made her feel disgusting.

She went to the main restroom and washed her face, then pulled out her ponytail and parted her long auburn hair down the middle. She brushed it straight down either side, encapsulating her head in a defensive hood. There was no way in hell she wanted her mother to know that she had been crying.

Arthur still cowered in his office behind his big desk, surrounded by bookcases.

By the time Sylvia parked her rental car outside the laboratory, dusk was approaching. She sent Elise a text message, letting her know she was outside. Elise rose from Jacob's chair and began the long walk down the hallway to the delivery entrance.

As Elise walked, she steeled her nerves. She wanted to seem totally nonplussed about Doctor Peters and instead focus on her mother's crazy divorce plans. She needed to find out what was motivating that process, she reminded herself, if she and her sisters were going to have any chance of reversing it.

Just inside the delivery entrance Elise stopped. She tucked her hair back behind her ears and tried to make her expression completely neutral. Then she hit the button on the wall that opened the heavy steel doors.

Her mother's purple rental car was parked crookedly against the curb. Its driver's side door was wide open, blocking half a lane. She saw her mother still sitting inside the car, checking her make-up in the rearview mirror.

"Jesus," Elise muttered under her breath. Then she stepped over the threshold and waved.

"Hi Darling!" Sylvia called out as she clambered from her seat.

Elise did a double-take once she saw what her mother was wearing; patent leather heels and a little black cocktail dress that looked new. And her hair had been professionally straightened.

Elise felt her face scrunch up with unhappy concern.

"Why are you wearing that?" she blurted as soon as Sylvia was halfway up the delivery ramp.

"Hello to you too, Darling. What a way to greet your own mother! Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into you. Give us a kiss."

Sylvia stopped right in front of Elise, her be-jangled arms spread wide.

Elise grudgingly accepted her mother's embrace. Then she noticed the smell.

"You... why'd you change your perfume?" she asked over her mother's shoulder. Her concerned deepened.

"Oh, it's just a little something I used to wear. I found it the other day and wanted a change. What, with everything else that's going on, I needed something fun. Do you like it?"

"I guess so. It's better than that rose stuff."

"Well, there's no need to be rude, 'Leesie! Now take me inside. I'm cold."

Elise stepped aside and held the door for her mom, saying: "Maybe if you were dressed normally you wouldn't be. What's up with the dress anyway? Is it new?"

"Yes. Do you like it?" Sylvia asked, doing a sprightly twirl across the threshold.

"Hmm, it's... different, I guess. Maybe a bit small for you though, don'tcha think?

"Oh, Darling, for God's sake let your mother have a little fun. Do you know how long it's been since I've been out to dinner with anyone besides your father?"

"Eww! Don't -- just don't say stuff like that. It's gross."

Sylvia sighed dramatically and marched up the hallway, leaving Elise to trail behind. She walked briskly, almost as if she had an idea where she was headed.

"Mom, slow down. You don't even know where you're going. It's like a maze in here."

"Well alright, Honey, show me the way!" Sylvia answered without breaking her stride.

Elise had to jog to catch up. She tried and failed to divert her mother away to the empty main labs so they could talk alone, but no excuse seemed effective. Reluctantly she showed Sylvia the way to Doctor Peters' office. Their awkward reunion seemed to be her mother's inevitable objective. It mattered not that Elise found the whole idea abhorrent.

Sylvia stopped still, framing herself in Doctor Peters' doorway with one hand lifted high in faux surprise and the other on her hip. She was blocking Elise.

Arthur looked up from his desk like a startled deer. His eyes absorbed Sylvia's hair, dress and shoes. They were all raven-black.

"Oh my dear Arthur, look at you!" Sylvia exclaimed with a dramatic smile.

Arthur slowly rose in his chair, eyes still wide. He had to remind himself to smile as though nothing was wrong.

"Hi... Sylvia," he began awkwardly, feeling the strangeness of that greeting on his tongue. "It's been quite a while, eh?"

His heart was racing. His forehead felt sweaty. Still, he forced himself to walk down off the dais to greet her.

Just behind Sylvia he could see Elise. She was scowling.

Sylvia gave him a long, lingering hug, pressing her chest to his and squeezing her fingernails into his back. Her perfume teleported him directly to 1989.

"It's wonderful to see you, Arty. Are you keeping yourself well, I hope? You were always such an ox when we were young... don't you remember? All those football practices..."

Arthur smiled uncomfortably, still trapped with his face hanging above her shoulder. Glancing up he saw Elise fold her arms tight. There was nothing remotely friendly about her expression.

"You've put on a little weight I think" Sylvia continued with a falsetto laugh. "But then again I supposed we're all guilty there, aren't we? Uh! So many years, Arty! Far, far too many."

Sylvia finally relinquished her embrace and stepped back. She returned one hand to the air and slowly turned in a circle, remarking pointlessly about the room.

Elise knew exactly what her mother was doing. She was trying to get Doctor Peters to check her out in that damn dress. This entire situation was nauseating.

Arthur looked at the ceiling, then at the wall, doing everything he could to keep his gaze off Sylvia's body as she pirouetted in front of him. He, too, felt a little nauseous.

"Well!" Sylvia continued brightly. "I supposed Elise and I ought to run off to some rabbit hole and catch up for a few minutes. But when we're done I want to see you dressed for dinner Arty! I'm taking you out. It's the very least I can do after all the help you've given my little lamb here. What do you say?"

"Uhhhhh..." Arthur stalled. "That's really not necessary, Sylvia. You two go... and take your time! I have a whole lot of work to do this evening anyway and—"

"Nonsense, Arty. I'm taking you out. I'm just dying to hear what-all you've been up to!"

"Well, but we're actually right in the middle of a big transaction and—"

"Don't be silly," Sylvia said with a bright smile. "I never knew you to be so industrious. Don't go and grow up on me now! One little bitty dinner is all I ask... I won't take no for an answer. We'll go someplace nice and have a little wine. It's Saturday night after all... It'll be good for you."

From where she stood in the doorway Elise couldn't be sure, but her mother's head dipped to one side as she spoke in a way that suggested a wink.

A clammy shiver ran down Elise's arms. She barked something barely sociable to get her mother's attention and then hauled her out of the room by the hand.

They retreated to the main laboratory together, much to Sylvia's displeasure. Within a minute Elise had her mom seated in a distant corner of the giant room. She began interrogating her about the divorce.

The conversation did not go well. Sylvia just kept repeating what she had said on the phone, about needing to be herself again. It became apparent to Elise that this family catastrophe really had been years in the making. Her mother was fully committed.

Elise's efforts at inquiry were made more challenging by her own distraction and disgust about Doctor Peters. The fact that she and her mother now shared that unmentionable commonality seemed like the most miserable and depressing reality she had even had to face. It kept her mind off-track. She was bumbling and repeating simple questions, unable to hear the answers.

Long pauses intersperse their conversation, in which Elise's mind wandered to her own future. She had to quit the internship. That much was clear. There was no way she could work for Doctor Peters knowing what she knew now, and certainly no way she could share his apartment, let alone his bed.

It was like mentally processing a break-up. Doctor Peters had somehow become her boyfriend despite her self-assurance that it was only a physical thing, and now she actually cared about him a lot... which made his dishonesty all the more hurtful.

Elise began to cry, right in front of her mother. Sylvia rubbed one hand up and down her daughter's back a few times and tried to say some conciliatory things, but even she knew she was no good at this part of parenting. Tears just made her uncomfortable.

Elise, naturally, made no attempt to let her mother off the hook, even though Sylvia had no idea of the real reason for her tears. Elise purposely rubbed it in, sobbing that it was all her mother's fault and that she was being selfish by abandoning the family.

There was only so much of that talk Sylvia could take. Her mind was distracted too; by a wholly different and long-imagined agenda. Dealing with an ungrateful and weepy daughter was not high on her list of priorities today. She was, after all, dressed for fun!

"Don't you have somewhere you can lie down?" Sylvia asked.

Elise recognized this instantly for what it was; a thinly-veiled escape attempt. She sniffed back her tears and looked away from her mother.

"Fine. Just go," she whispered.

"Oh 'Leesie Dear, that's not what I meant," Sylvia lied.

"Yeah it is, Mom! Just go already, okay? It's so obvious... all you wanna do is hook-up with your stupid precious 'Arty' again. It's fucking gross."

Elise stood up and walked away before her mother could answer.

Sylvia was left behind, dumbstruck. Being so directly called-out by her daughter actually made her pause and consider, which was not her forte at all.

Elise disappeared from the room and climbed the main staircase as quietly as she could, hoping to hide out upstairs without getting roped into any actual work by Doctor Yamamoto.

Sylvia sat by herself for a few minutes. When Elise failed to return she stood and began to gather herself for what was, in her mind, the main event. She pulled a compact from her purse and re-powdered her face.

Her black hair was still arranged perfectly. Nothing short of a tornado was likely to dislodge it, so intense had been its dousing with hotel hairspray.

Once satisfied, Sylvia tightened her expression into a wide smile and sauntered across the main hall into Arthur's office.

She found him there, pacing behind his wide desk.

"Oh, Arty, do get changed, would you? Elise is in a bit of a state, I'm afraid, and I think she'd prefer some alone time. That's how she's always been, you know. She seems to be taking all this news rather badly. Did she tell you about it? That Dan and I are splitting up?"

The smile on Sylvia's face held fast, waiting for his answer.

"Uh, yeah," Arthur began. "She mentioned it a few days ago. Do you think she'll be alright? I don't want to—"

"Oh of course! She's a tough one. Don't let her quietness fool you. She'll be fine in an hour or two, you'll see. Now... where would you like to go to dinner?"

"Uh, look. Like I was saying earlier, tonight's probably not the right time, Sylvia..."

"Nonsense, Arty. How long has it been since I've seen you? Twenty years or something? Go put on a nice jacket and let's hit the town. We'll turn that frown of yours upside down."

"No, listen... Really. I just can't."

"Well... in heaven's name why not Arty? It's not like your married!"

Arthur flinched. "How... how did you know? Did Elise tell you?"

"Oh honestly, Arty. Do you think I've haven't kept tabs on you?! Of course I know. Three years ago, right?"

"Yeah, but—"

"You see? Wasn't so hard was it? Believe me, I couldn't possibly judge you about that. After all, I'm doing the same thing right now."

Sylvia smiled directly at him again. Goosebumps appeared on the back of Arthur's neck.

"No, uh... no. My situation was not the same, at all. I was—"

"Oh pish! Don't YOU start crying over spilt milk too, Arty That's kid-stuff... Let's just go have some fun."

"Wait... honestly Sylvia, I can't go to dinner with you. It's nice of you to offer, and to stop by and visit with Elise and all that, but I just can't go. There's a ton of work to do this weekend, and my partner is upstairs right now. He probably needs my help to—"

"Arty, hush," Sylvia announced, her voice exchanging a falsetto lilt for its natural tone. "Listen... I just want to talk. That's all, okay? I'd hoped to have this conversation over a pleasant dinner, but if you're going to be a stick in the mud we can do it here instead."

"What... Talk about what?"

Sylvia stepped up onto the dais and sidled over to the edge of Arthur's desk.

"You and I," she began softly, "have quite a history, don't we?"

Arthur nodded silently. Such proximity to Sylvia escalated his discomfort. He glanced at the hallway door, anxious to know whether Elise was nearby, or within earshot.

"We were good together, weren't we?" Sylvia continued, planting one hand on his desk and leaning slightly toward him. "You know... Dan was always my second-fiddle. You know that right? You were the real one... for me."

Arthur shook his head in silent refusal.

"Haven't you always wondered if someday we might get another chance? You've wondered, Arty, haven't you?"

Arthur back away, confused and in panic. He was hemmed in on three sides by bookcases. Sylvia dragged a fingernail lazily across the top of his desk, feigning nonchalance.

"Well I know I have. We could have been great, you and I."

"Sylvia—"

"Do you remember that night I found you outside Tosca's? Standing around with all your drinking pals?"