Love in the Cross Hairs

For sure, finding a girl like her in this town was highly unlikely. He recalled one of his father's friends had once said, 'if you put a fence around this city you'd have the biggest whorehouse on the east coast.' It might not be that bad, but he had to admit finding a dove amidst a flock of crows wasn't always easy. He felt lucky; he might have found one.

Peter walked over to the planning shed where he found his buddy and new partner Max already looking over the plans for the small apartment building they were designing.

"Hey Pete, how was the weekend?"

"Pretty good Max, found a nice girl."

"Really? What's her name?"

Laurie, Laurie Stanton. She works downtown at one of the law firms. She's really sweet. I don't think she dates much. I think she's kind of pretty."

"Laurie Stanton? Is She one of the muckety muck Stanton's? You know the country club crowd?"

"No not her. She's a regular person. I'll ask her though."

"Good idea, you know some of those people think their shit doesn't stink. Oh they're nice and all, as long as you kiss their asses."

"I'll ask her, but it's a waste of time."

'Courtship'

Peter decided to go slowly with Laurie. He felt he detected a gentleness, a fragility in the young woman, and he didn't want to say or do anything to unnecessarily hurt her or worse drive her away. Their next several dates took them places he might not have ordinarily gone; they went to the movies, the city's most prestigious art gallery, they spent a day in the inner city visiting several historic sites and eating at one of the outdoor cafes. It was the shank end of summer, bees had become a modest problem, but if they kept the lids on their sodas, avoided bright colored clothing, and too strong perfumes even they weren't a problem. Still accidents can and do happen.

One Saturday afternoon, the first Saturday of fall; Peter and Laurie were sitting at a table at one of the downtown cafes. She'd ordered an iced coffee and a shrimp salad sandwich. Peter got a beer and a crab cake. They were laughing and talking about the things they'd seen, the beautiful weather, and the odd clothing some people wore.

Laurie had on a pretty light blue sun dress and a pair of white tennis shoes with matching short socks. Her hair was up in a ponytail. She looked every bit, even at twenty-nine, the young ingenue. He hadn't been happier. It was like she made the sun shine.

From out of nowhere a yellow jacket plopped down on her finger tips just as she was about to take another sip of tea. The dastardly little creature took a sniff of Laurie's finger and speared it with its stinger.

Laurie yelped in pain, "Oh Peter I'm in trouble. We have to get some Benadryl right away."

"Why, it's only a bee sting?"

"I'm allergic. It could kill me."

Peter jumped up, "Benadryl my ass!" He stepped to the curb, and hailed a cab. This wasn't New York; cabs were always about and nearly always available. A cabbie pulled up.

Peter shouted, "Get us to the hospital right away!"

"Any special one?" the cabbie asked.

"The closest!"

For some reason Laurie called, "No, take me to Mercy."

He looked at the driver, "You heard her!" It didn't make any sense to Peter, a hospital was a hospital, and all of them were top notch in this city. Peter helped her in the cab, and they sped away. As they drove, Peter watched his girl swell up like a balloon. She wasn't kidding. This was serious!

They got to the hospital fairly fast. It was only a few blocks away.

As soon as they got there she was rushed inside, someone gave her a shot, and they swept her upstairs to a bed. He followed along like a love struck puppy.

Peter was surprised. She got premier treatment for a bee sting. Someone had called someone, and before he knew he watched as two older big shot judges and a City Councilman were at her room. They went straight in. He had to wait outside.

A few minutes later the three stepped from her room. One came up to Peter. It was Judge Hammergold, "You must be Peter. Good thinking. You got her here just in time. Two or three more minutes and she might have been a goner."

Peter asked, "You know Laurie?"

The judge smiled, "I know Laurie? Everybody knows Laurie. She's my goddaughter."

Peter shook the man's hand, "Oh really."

The judge and the other two men smiled. One of the other men, the younger of the two, pulled out his wallet and lifted out a twenty, "Here, for your trouble."

Peter was stunned, "Keep it, she was no trouble."

The man shook his head, put the money back. They all left.

One of the nuns came over, "Would you like to see her?"

He answered, "Sure."

The sister led him in, "Don't stay too long. She should sleep a while."

Peter went over and sat beside the bed, "Hey kiddo, you really scared us. Who were those people?"

"Oh they're just some people I know," Suddenly it occurred to her Peter had no idea about her background. He was a regular guy, public schools, local public college, blue collar family, good people, different from hers. She got a little scared. What if he knew about her? He might be put off. It had never happened to her, but she knew other girls who'd lost good ones because of the stupid backward social stuff she'd had to put up with.

She lied; "Oh they're people who know me through my mother. My mom was a maid. She worked off and on at several of mansions in the north end of town. I used to tag along and help. They sort of adopted me I guess."

Peter was relieved, "My partner Max said something about a Stanton family; a bunch of really rich people, old money, real old money, a clan that stayed rich by slicing and dicing anybody that came too close."

Laurie broke into a sweat. Did he know? She lied again, "I know who they are. That's not me." She argued with herself, sure it was like a lie, but not exactly. It was her family, but it wasn't her.

Peter took her hand, "Boy am I glad. I sure don't want to get too close to anything like that, especially since my business is so fragile thanks to the shenanigans of the very people that family represents."

She asked, "You had trouble with that family?"

"Only indirectly, it's all history now."

She kept lying, "My mom worked for them a while. They're not all like that. In fact most of them were pretty nice."

He thought she looked tired. She was sweating too, "It's no big deal. Look, I wouldn't care if you were one of them. I know you. Look, if you were one of them, then they'd have to be pretty good wouldn't they. They'd have made you."

He changed the subject, "So you were like a maid back in the day. That's neat. I'm glad you're OK. By the way, why did you want this particular hospital?"

Laurie couldn't tell him her family had donated enough money to have a whole wing dedicated to them. This was sort of like her family's personal facility. They always got the royal treatment.

She decided to tell a little bit of the truth anyway, "I'm Catholic, I guess I panicked and knew there would be clergy here if...well...you know."

Gosh thought Peter, she really was scared, "It's all right honey. I like a good Catholic hospital too." Now Peter wasn't Catholic, Methodist in fact, but he had tons of Catholic friends, and had been to several of the other good Catholic hospitals that dotted the city.

He added, "I'm not Catholic. I hope that doesn't make any difference."

Laurie squeezed his hand, "Nobody's perfect."

They both laughed.

Peter knew he really liked this girl. Not a girl really, she'd said she was almost thirty. She just didn't act like it. She was more like a school girl, a kid, fresh, clean, and innocent, a far cry from his last girlfriend. She turned out to be a real liar, a manipulator, someone who'd do anything to get what she wanted. He never wanted to be around anyone like that again. Maybe he'd lucked out. Laurie was so honest, so good. Yeah, he might have stumbled into something, something really good.

Laurie smiled at Peter. Boy he really moved fast when he found out she was allergic. No foolishness there. He was really upset. He cared! She thought; he took it and her seriously.

Then other thoughts intruded. She wished those legal people, the judges hadn't shown up. Peter didn't know anything about her family. He thought she was a regular girl. Well she was a regular girl. She'd dumped all that pretentious stuff right after college; the boys the girls, most, not all, but most had been boring. Honestly she never cared anything about jousting, yachting, or trips to Majorca. She liked the public beaches, the Fire Department carnivals, and the state fair.

Her parents and her brother thought she was crazy. Her sister-in-law was the worst. Laurie didn't think her sister-in-law had ever had a regular friend. Jeepers, if she found out about Peter, if her parents found out about him, they'd throw a fit. It was bad enough she'd moved out and found a job on her own. She'd refused nearly all the money and benefits they'd offered. It was like she was the black sheep. Maybe she was. Maybe that was the way she liked it. Heck, if she hadn't gone out on her own she would have never met Peter.

She looked at him a little differently. She thought she knew him well enough. If he knew about her past, a girl with a life of privilege, he probably wouldn't care one way or the other. Still, she'd already made up one story. She wished she hadn't. He was the honest type. She figured he already liked her; maybe she should get more entrenched, dig in a little deeper, turn the liking into something more. Then if she had to modify her background a little she was sure it wouldn't matter. Right she thought; best to keep the silver spoon stuff under wraps; she'd play the maid's daughter for a while.

Peter stayed with her till very late in the evening. Around ten o'clock, hours after visiting time was over one of the nurses came in and herded him out. Another explained she'd be released tomorrow morning around ten. He could come by then and see her home.

++++++++++++

Bright and early the next morning Peter was at the hospital. The night before, after he left her, he'd gone to the all night garage and had the truck thoroughly cleaned out inside and out. He'd kept it immaculate since their first date anyway, but for a trip home from the hospital an extra clean vehicle might mean a little more. Furthermore, he thought this time he'd take her to his place.

Now, being a builder, he'd had ample opportunities to construct things he'd personally liked. One had been a big mansion out in the county, but that had to go with the recession. However, when he built one of the apartment buildings, he'd held on to the penthouse apartment. Since the down time he'd stayed there. Heck it was his anyway. He hadn't done anything in the way of redecorating, but it was clean, it sat atop a twelve story building, and the view from the yard was magnificent. He thought it would be a nice treat. He'd take Monday off, she could call in sick, and he'd wait on her all day. Nothing's too good for his girl he thought. No sir, nothing's too good for his Laurie.

He got to the hospital, and sure enough her release was all set. To add a little extra joy to the occasion he stepped into the gift shop thinking he'd buy her a balloon or something. He picked out one of those silly helium balloons with a sign that read 'I Love You'. What a great idea, better than candy he thought.

Just as he was set to leave the gift shop he saw her. But she was surrounded by a bunch of people. He didn't know any of them. There weren't any of the people who he'd met from the football game. These people were all new! He didn't know any of them, but he sure recognized a couple. He immediately caught sight of a hot shot city attorney, a real shark. In fact a guy who had been in on collapsing one of his investments. The guy, the creep, had seen the opportunity; he got to grab twelve suburban lots all ready for work. Peter lost a lot that day, and the guy walking beside Laurie was the one who'd made out. What was she doing with him?

There was another person he recognized, a woman, a woman maybe Laurie's age. He remembered her too. She'd been with the hot shot lawyer. He remembered the look she'd given him after they'd cleaned his clock, it was a look like they'd gotten something for nothing, and he deserved to be fleeced. He hated her that day; he hated her even more now.

He looked at Laurie. She was smiling at those two like they were her best friends. What did she have to do with them? Peter was getting really mad but then his better angels caught up with him.

Wait a second fool! Didn't she tell me her mom was a maid? Didn't she say she used to tag along and help? That was it. These were people who'd hired her mom. They must have found out she was at the hospital from the people who'd been there the day before. They came down just to be nice.

Well he could like them for being nice to Laurie, but he didn't have to like them himself. He slipped back inside the gift shop and waited. He'd call her later that night, stop over with the balloon, and talk to her then.

Laurie woke up Sunday morning after the bee sting feeling really sore and uncomfortable. Peter had stayed way late the night before and kept her company. She especially liked that even if it meant fighting to stay awake longer than she wanted. She hoped he'd stop in and help her get home. She'd particularly like that.

From the hospital hallway Laurie heard her brother and sister-in-law. Oh no she thought; the absolute last people she wanted to see that morning. She didn't like her brother much. She'd always found him deceitful and conniving. Even when they were children he was always playing the angles with their parents. And she didn't like her sister-in-law a lot either. She was sort of snobbish; but they'd made two great little kids, and she always liked babysitting them. She couldn't imagine how two sweet kids like that came from two of the worst pills she'd ever known. Now they were here.

Her brother and sister-in-law whisked Laurie up and out of the hospital without so much as a how do you do. They took her to lunch where they quizzed her about Peter. Laurie didn't let on about anything. Once they realized they weren't getting anything they dropped her off at her apartment and left.

She reached her apartment alone, tired, sore, and just a little weepy. Why hadn't Peter stopped in to get her? She got undressed, took a cool shower and went to bed. Later around six that evening she finally got up the energy to climb out of bed. Maybe she should call in sick tomorrow.

Not long after she was out of bed the doorbell rang. She peeked through the peephole and saw Peter. She opened the door, "Where have you been?" She said it in a kind of funny way hoping he'd see it as joke.

Peter held out the now nearly completely deflated balloon, "I went to the hospital this morning but you were already leaving with two other people so I thought I shouldn't interfere."

Laurie stepped back to let him in, "Oh a balloon. What does it say? Oh, it says I love you." She reached forward, hugged and kissed him, "I'm so pleased. I love you too Peter."

The warm greeting, the hug, and the comment was almost enough to get him to forget the people he saw her with that morning, almost, "I'm sorry I was just a few minutes too late. By the way, who were those people?"

Laurie paused a second. If she were smart she'd admit the little lie about her mother, tell Peter who those people were, and then they could get on with what really mattered - their courtship. That's what she should have done, "Oh Peter, you remember the men who stopped over at the hospital the day before. Well my mom was a maid at one of their houses. When we were real little, before they went to private school and me to Catholic school, we would play together. I guess they felt guilty or something. Anyway they stopped in, and took me home."

She gave him a flirtatious smile, "I would have rather been taken home by you."

"You looked mighty glad to see them."

"Oh I was. I hadn't seen them in years, but I was glad they left too. I wanted to be polite. They employed my mother for years, and they paid her well. I felt like I owed them something."

"What I bet you really liked them; you know like you were all real close."

Laurie never really liked them that much, but they were family. Yes, they were close, but she never hung around with them or particularly liked them, at least not until they had their two kids. She loved their kids, so she guessed she had to like the parents too. She lied some more, "You understand you can be around people and like them sometimes, but most of the time can't stand them. That's how it was. They did some things I liked, and still like, but more often than not I'd just as soon not be around them."

"You weren't around them that much anyway." He said that to let her off the hook, but also to sooth his own modestly hurt feelings. He'd especially wanted to take care of her today, show her his penthouse, and just make her feel all warm and loved. He was just a little put off that he didn't get to do that stuff.

Laurie put her arms around him, "You're so understanding."

Together they curled up on her loveseat and watched some television. He wanted to watch football, but it was her apartment, and she switched on something about a 'Good Wife. It wasn't a bad show, not his favorite kind of thing, but he liked being with her. How he ever thought all women were conniving manipulative strumpets was silly. This woman was everything a guy could want; pretty to look at, considerate of others, and totally, he meant, totally honest. He had to catch himself. He was afraid he was falling in...he caught himself before he used the word.

They spent the evening, or until ten o'clock cuddling, kissing, and just messing around. This was the farthest either had gone with the other.

She started rubbing his chest, and resting her hand on his thigh. She took her fingers and rubbed and down the back of his neck. She liked it when his hackles went up. She could see how his 'thing' got big, but she steered well clear of that. Nobody knew it, she'd never admit it, but at twenty-nine she was still a virgin.

He enjoyed the evening with her watching dumb soap operas and cuddling so much. She was wearing a pair of tailored pajamas He was very careful not to try to take advantage of her. He didn't think she had a bra on; her breasts kept whirling and undulating around under the soft pajama top she had on.

He kissed her as much as he dared. He didn't want to go overboard, not on what seemed to be becoming their first petting session. He kissed her mostly on her lips. She was wearing lip gloss. She had that perfume on again, and she'd had a shower or bath or something before he got there. She felt so soft and fragile. He had to get up a couple times to maintain his poise; she was that enticing. He loved the way he was able to caress her neck, run his fingers through that dark red luscious hair, and every now and then, rest a hand on her waist and once on a thigh.

He was careful. He didn't want to go too fast. He really wanted this one. She was absolutely, totally, one hundred percent, fantabulous.

Just after ten-thirty Peter called it a night. He advised her to stay home the next day. He said he'd knock off early so he could stop by. He asked her what she liked in the way of carry out, and he'd bring some. She said she didn't care as long as he was the delivery boy. That was all it took. He knew she needed a fresh seafood dinner from the best seafood restaurant in town. He figured two big crab cakes, a tossed salad, some crab soup, and maybe a small order of fries doused with Old Bay seasoning. Of course he didn't tell her. It would be a surprise.