Idle Hands Ch. 05

She shook her head. "It's all right," she said. Breaking eye contact, she slipped out of bed, not terribly surprised to see she was naked. She dressed in the clothes she had borrowed from Rachel the previous evening and turned to see Althea regarding her curiously, the sheets puddled around her waist.

"It's not all right," she said. "What I did to you...it's nearly unforgivable. Especially considering your history."

"I don't want to talk about it," Yasna said shortly. Her hands, she was ashamed to see, were shaking. She wished she had her doctor's scrubs. Or a jacket. Anything to ward off that kind, penetrating gaze.

"You're going to have to deal with it sooner or later." The tenderness in Althea's voice nearly broke her heart. "And you have seven people here who will help you. No judging. No anger. No talk about the will of Allah. Or how much you are hurting your parents. All we will offer you is love, Yasna."

She hesitated, torn by the desire to unburden herself to this impossibly beautiful, incredibly compassionate woman, who seemed to be able to see into her secret heart. But the barriers guarding her soul were too strong, too old.

She turned away, and therefore didn't see the hurt in Althea's eyes. "I'm hungry," she said. "I'll see you at breakfast."

******

"Good morning," she said, as she entered the kitchen. Josh was the only person in the room, nursing a cup of coffee and reading the morning newspaper.

"Good morning," he returned. "Help yourself to whatever you would like for breakfast. Sarah and I are going to make a supply run later on today, so if there is anything you'd like for us to get for you, let us know."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly..."

"Nonsense," he said firmly. "You're our guest, and it's our fault you're here in the first place. The least we can do is try to make you feel at home."

She murmured something noncommittal and started opening and closing cabinets, looking for something to eat. With Josh's help, at last she found a package of cinnamon-raisin bagels in the pantry. Sighing in relief, she split one and dropped it into the toaster, then ransacked the fridge for cream cheese. As it toasted, she stared blankly out the window, then blinked.

"What happened to the trailer?" she asked. The rented attachment which they had used to transport Althea's body back from the hospital was conspicuous by its absence.

"Oh," Josh said. "That." He made a pained face. "I dropped it off this morning. Very early, before anyone from the rental company would be there. I put a note on the windshield saying that it had been damaged by vandals and that they were welcome to bill me." He sighed dramatically. "Next time I'll get the optional insurance coverage."

"Wasn't that...dangerous?" Yasna asked hesitantly. "From what Rachel and Althea told us last night...should you have gone out alone?"

"Probably not," he said agreeably. "But Althea is just one person. And if we count on her to protect all seven of us until we can put down Kincaid, then we're going to either end up prisoners here or run her ragged. No disrespect to my wife, but she doesn't know everything.

"Oh. Hello, dear," he said, his voice changing suddenly. Yasna turned to see Rachel Wainwright standing in the doorway, dressed in a light sundress. She was shaking her head.

"I should be pissed at you," she said. "But I know better by now. You'll do whatever you think best, and to hell with what the rest of us think. Fair warning, Yasna," she said. "The man you're eating a bagel with may very well be the most stubborn, pig-headed man alive."

"Guilty," Josh admitted cheerfully. Yasna looked away, blushing, as the two engaged in a long kiss.

"So what are the plans for today?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I'm going to go grocery shopping with Sarah. It won't take long for all of us to eat up everything we have here. I mean, we're set up for a household of three. Or four, counting me. Not eight. Now we've got Jeremy, Althea, and Yasna. Maria, too, I suppose. And Althea told us last night that she needs to get her things from the hospital, and that Yasna was going to help. But neither of them have a car. So maybe you or Jeremy can drive her and Althea up there.

"Sarah has nothing going on," he continued, ticking members of the household off on his fingers. "But Alex has his rehearsal at COD."

"Alex isn't going anywhere," Althea stated, entering the kitchen, dressed in a bathrobe. "Good," she sighed, taking in the three of them. "It's just the grown-ups. We can make the decisions before the kids come down." She smiled at their expressions. "Come on. Don't tell me you've never done the same thing yourselves."

"Maybe," Rachel said. "But why should Alex stay here?"

"Kincaid. It wouldn't take much for him to figure out that Alex is going to be in a play. Just a quick internet search about your family. You and Josh have hardly been inconspicuous over the years," she said wryly. "And attacking your family would be just the sort of thing he would love to do. Not a frontal assault. Oh, no. He's too much of a coward to attack us openly. But by going after your son he would hit you where it hurts the most."

"But Alex has been looking forward to this play for months," Rachel protested. "He'd never forgive us if we kept him out of it."

"You'd never forgive yourself if he died," Althea said bluntly. "And I'm not saying this is permanent. Just for today. Maybe tomorrow. Until we've had time to make plans.

"I've warded the house," she added. "There's no way Kincaid or any of his ilk can get inside. Or even approach closely. It would take the spiritual equivalent of a nuclear bomb to attack us here. So we're safe for the time being.

"Let's see. I think a grocery run should be safe. He would have no way of anticipating that. But I don't think I should go to the hospital. There would be too many awkward questions if I show up like I haven't been in a coma for the last two weeks. Maybe Yasna can go with Sarah and Jeremy to pick up my things. And Jeremy should definitely stop at home to get what he needs before he comes back here. His family will be worried."

Yasna looked at her, open-mouthed. "You seem to have made all of our decisions for us. And won't the hospital be dangerous? You told me last night you didn't want me going home."

Althea nodded soberly. "It's not without risks. But remember. Kincaid is a predator. He works best from an ambush. There's no way he could stake out an entire hospital. Your home is another matter.

"Ah," she said brightly, as Alex and Maria entered the kitchen through the door that led outside. "Here are two of them now." She smiled dazzlingly at Rachel's son and the dark-haired Latina maid. "And here are the other two lovebirds," she continued, as Jeremy and Sarah trooped in from the other direction.

"So," she said, dropping gracefully into a chair and stealing half of Yasna's bagel. "Let's get to work."

*****

In the end, it was decided that Josh would drive Yasna to the hospital to pick up Althea's personal items, and to also stop at a store to buy some things for Yasna, as she absolutely refused to be wholly dependent on Rachel's charity. Secretly, Althea was pleased by the spark of independence the gorgeous young doctor was showing. Every time she challenged her made it less likely she would fall back into mindless obedience.

Maria, Sarah, and Jeremy would take care of the grocery trip, and also run to Jeremy's house to reassure his family. Maria fretted about not being around to clean the house, but was told that there were more important things to take care of at present.

"I don't care what you tell them," Rachel told Jeremy, as they were about to leave. "Camping trip, eloping to Australia, whatever. Just pack a suitcase with what you need and get back here. Don't spend any more time there than you have to. Once we've taken care of Kincaid we can worry about all the piddly shit."

Meanwhile, Rachel, Alex, and Althea would stay at home. Rachel had some potential clients to screen. Althea said she was going to be busy making plans for Kincaid. Alex, while vaguely aggravated that he was going to be under "house arrest," as he called it, nonetheless took the news with a measure of good grace.

Yasna gave a relieved sigh as Josh backed Rachel's car out of the driveway and headed for the tollway. There were so many subtle currents of tension swirling around the house she didn't know how to deal with them all. Even pleasant young people like Alex and Maria seemed to have a subtle edge. And Althea and Rachel were flat-out terrifying.

Josh, on the other hand...she smiled and relaxed into leather seat of the car. Josh was soothing. Calm. There was no sense of the otherworldly about him. He was nothing more than what he was. A good-looking man driving a car with casual ease.

"I should apologize, I guess," he said quietly, as they made their way onto the expressway.

"Apologize?"

"Well, we have pretty much turned your life upside down, haven't we?"

She shook her head. "My life was turned upside down the moment I laid eyes on Althea. All the rest of you did was give me the opportunity to actually talk to her."

He smiled and cocked one arm out the open window. The other guided the car effortlessly around a slow-moving pickup.

"She is something, isn't she? I mean, she's beautiful. Anyone with a working set of eyes can see that. But her personality...she's overwhelming. I don't blame you for being obsessed. Or for my wife for falling in love with her.

"So, I didn't really get the low-down on you last night," he continued. "What with the entire nearly-getting-killed-by-a-horrible-demon thing we had going on. And then the orgy, which I was not expecting." His eyes were shrewd but kind. His glance fell on her left hand, where a wedding ring was conspicuously absent. "How come no one has snapped up a pretty young woman like you?"

"One did," she said shortly. "But he reconsidered."

"Would you like to talk about it? I promise, it goes no further than my ears if you'd like to keep it private. And if you don't want to talk, I'll never bring it up again."

They'll get the story out of you sooner or later. Might as well tell someone you're comfortable with.

"No, it's all right," she sighed. She sat still for a moment as the western suburbs drifted past. "It was right after I graduated medical school," she began. "Number four in my class. My parents were so proud. I was going to start my internship here at Adventist in Bolingbrook."

"Good place," Josh nodded. "I've been there once or twice."

"But my parents were worried that I wasn't looking for a husband. I was the only child, and they wanted grandchildren. Especially my father."

She blew out a deep breath. "I tried to tell him. That I wasn't sure if I even liked men. But you know how conservative some people can be. They don't hear anything they don't want to hear.

"So my parents started bringing men by the house. Sons of other families who had left Iran when the Ayatollah seized power. And nine months later I was married to Tabor. It wasn't precisely an arranged marriage," she said, catching his glance. "But I never really had the opportunity to say no, either. Everyone simply acted as if it had all been agreed on, and nothing I said made much of a difference.

"He wasn't a bad man." Even to herself, the words sounded weak, as if she were still trying to convince herself. Why? It's been three years since the divorce became final. Why are you still making excuses for him? a hateful part of herself sneered. "But he wanted a traditional wife. Like his mother. Someone he would come home to who would have supper on the table, be modest and discreet, and who would give him the children he wanted.

"Well. I had a career, too. And I wasn't going to throw it away just so I could fit into his feminine ideal."

"Good for you," Josh said forcefully, and she smiled.

"We went back and forth, trying to reach a point we could both live with. But it never worked. He couldn't accept the hours and the time away from the house."

She took a deep, steadying breath, and told the secret she had never revealed to anyone, not even her parents. "But it was the way he treated me in the bedroom which made me file for divorce."

Josh was silent, but touched a button to roll up the windows. She nodded gratefully, glad she wouldn't have to raise her voice to be heard.

"I told my father that I thought I might be a lesbian. He wouldn't listen." Her voice became harsh with strain. "Not me. Not his daughter. Lesbians were deviants or mentally ill." Tears filled her eyes and her hands fisted on her thighs, trembling in anger. "He was a doctor. He was my father. He should have known better!

"And Tabor...he thought it was my job to please him. Not his job to try to please me. It was never good between us. And by the end..." she gave a bitter laugh. "I won't call it rape. But I wasn't a willing partner, either."

"If you weren't willing, Yasna, then it was rape." She looked to her side, surprised by the suppressed anger she heard in his voice. Josh's face was stiff with fury. "Tell me where this piece of human garbage lives," he said. "And I will teach him the proper way to treat women."

She smiled at him and shook her head, laying one hand on his arm. "No. It is done now. He is gone and I have no need to ever see him again. And by the grace of Allah, there was never a child. It would have given our parents the perfect excuse to try to keep us together."

Josh drove on, his face thoughtful. "So, you've never found happiness with men. And women..."

"I've never been with one."

"Ah." He was quiet for a long time. "No wonder you're terrified around us. Rachel and Maria and Althea offer what you want, but have been afraid to reach for. And Jeremy and Alex and I are what you have been taught to fear."

Yasna blinked slowly. The man's insight is unholy. Not even her therapist had ever been able to set forth her problems so simply.

"We're not all like that, you know," he said at last. "Men, I mean."

She smiled at him. "I know."

"I'm not trying to hit on you, by the way," he added hurriedly. "If you spend enough time around us, you'll find out that we have a pretty open set of relationships. Although how it happened is still a bit of a blur. But no one, no one," he emphasized, "will push you to do anything you don't want to do. If anyone does, tell me, and I'll have them out of the house so fast they won't hit the ground. Even if it's my own son."

"Or daughter?"

"I don't think you have to worry about Sarah," he said wryly. "The next time she looks at a woman as a potential partner it will be the first."

"Pity," Yasna said, her voice wistful. "She's very attractive."

"Yes," Josh said, pulling into the hospital parking lot, the scene of last night's terror. "She is. We're lovers."

Yasna stared at him, disbelieving.

"Like I said," he told her. "An open set of relationships."

*****

"So how are you and my brother getting along?" Sarah asked as she pulled away from Jeremy's house. The visit there had been blessedly uneventful. Both parents were at work. Jeremy had left his father a voice mail with a cock-and-bull story about being invited on a camping trip as Sarah helped him fill a suitcase and a duffel bag with what he needed for several days away from home.

"Won't your dad be pissed that you're blowing off work?" Sarah had asked. Reggie Edwards ran a landscaping business.

"A little," Jeremy had replied. "But I told him last week I didn't intend to put in as many hours this summer. I wanted to enjoy my last summer vacation. He'll deal with it."

"We're getting along very well," Maria now replied to Sarah's inquiry. She stretched out on the back seat, her long legs gleaming in the sun. "My master tells me that if I am very good, he might agree to lead me around on a leash this evening when we come down for dinner."

Silence fell over the car like a damp blanket. "Oh," Sarah said at last. They drove on for several minutes, making their way to the grocery store. "Maria," she asked, her voice hesitant, "you told me once that you would explain. Why you enjoy being a submissive."

"Of course," Maria smiled. She closed her eyes. The promise Alex had made, in a whisper before she left the house, made her belly churn with suppressed arousal. Inside her shirt, her bra-less breasts were sticky with sweat, her nipples pulled up into hard little points. She fought to keep her hands away from them.

"First of all, it's not that I enjoy being a submissive. It's that I am a submissive. I couldn't change that any more than I could grow six inches or give myself blue eyes. It's a part of me. And for me, it's all about the surrender," she said, her voice soft. "Ever since I was a young girl, I was the responsible one. The good girl who kept the house clean and cooked the meals and took care of my sisters. I was always carrying that load of duty.

"So when Alex orders me about, tells me what to do, how to please him..." she shivered in happy memory. "Dios Mio, it makes me hot. Horny. The only thing I have to worry about is making him happy. And he is so gentle. I know he would never hurt me. Even when he is throwing me around on the bed, pounding me with his wonderful cock, I know I am safe.

"That's what it is all about, Sarah. A safe place where I can surrender and put all my other responsibilities aside. Alex does that for me. If I come to dinner tonight wearing nothing but a velvet choker and a lead, it's because I feel safe with him. I wouldn't do that for any other man."

"Not even me?" Jeremy said from the passenger seat.

"Oh, Jeremy." Maria leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "You are almost as gentle as my master. But do you really want to lead me around on a chain?"

"Well, no," he admitted, with a quick glance at Sarah. "I'd feel pretty silly."

"But I bet if you were making love to Sarah tonight, and you held her wrists down on the bed, and she was struggling underneath you just a little, it would turn you on. Wouldn't it? To feel like you were dominating her, and there was nothing she could do about it?"

She could see his throat work as he swallowed, and he made a show of fanning himself as they pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store. "Hell, it's turning me on a bit right now."

She smiled and ran her fingers through her hair. "And now you understand. A little. We all have our own kinks, Jeremy." She turned towards the woman who she thought might soon be her sister-in-law. "Don't be afraid to explore them, Sarah. You might find out more about yourself than you think."

*****

My life has turned profoundly weird, Alex thought.

He was sitting in the family room in the house, idly doing research on his laptop. He had called Professor Olson earlier, faking an illness, to tell him he wouldn't be able to attend rehearsal. There had been a long pause at the end of the line, then a reluctant acceptance.

"You will be here tomorrow, won't you, Alex?" he had asked. "If not, we're going to have to get Wally ready to take your place on Friday."

"No," he had said hurriedly. "It's just a stomach bug. I'll be there."

"Good. Until tomorrow, then."

It had seemed better to lie than to tell the old man that he was in protective custody because a demon wanted to kill him and everyone in his family. That sort of thing had a tendency to unnerve people, he thought with an inner smile.

His mother came into the family room, carrying her laptop. "Keeping busy?" she asked, seeing him working on his own computer.

He nodded. "Looking into the plays that Northwestern has been putting on over the last few years. If I get into their communications school, I should be familiar with the sort of thing they're doing. How about you?"