Oil of Roses Ch. 24

"That was cause for a red alert at our house, things like that had happened before when Mama had jimmied the lock or gotten in some other way, but all my father did was grab Rosie, pull her into his lap and hold her, her face against his chest while he told her to hush, tears rolling down his face like rivers.

"I'd never seen my father cry before and I've never seen it since.

"So we all sat there and watched my father cry for what seemed like hours. Finally he got up, told us to stay exactly where we were, in that ‘Big Vic voice' that can stop a charging rhino, and went upstairs. He had us trained so well that when we heard the crash of glass, we didn't move. He came back down with the knife, called the ambulance.

"The official cause of death was ‘death by misadventure'... she'd been taking a shower and had fallen into the shower door, broken the glass and slashed both her wrists from the wrists themselves damn near to her inner elbows. It was a very common accident for my mother. Big Vic told the Catholic priest, and then the local bishop, that accidents happened all the time, and unless she received a Christian burial under the auspices of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, a few more might occur.

"So she was buried with the blessings of the Church."

"Holy shit," Eddy muttered, "you hold a grudge against your old man for all that?"

"Not anymore," Nick replied, "it was all over and done with a long time ago, none of it can be changed... none of it can be fixed. If there's a God, he'll deal with my father, just as He's dealt with my mother. And if there is no God..."

Margo got up and went behind Nick, hugging him. "I'm sure there is, Nick, and I'm sure It's dealt fairly with your mother and will deal as fairly with your father." She turned his head to face her and patted his cheek. "You're a good man, Nick Philouma.," she said, then gave him a peck on the cheek and went back to her chair.

As everyone at the table expressed their feelings of sympathy, Nick said, under his breath and so softly that no one heard, "If only that were true."

* * * * *

At one point in the evening, while Eddy was in the restroom, Nick got a phone call and took it outside the private room, out of earshot of the rest of them. When he returned he explained it as ‘Family business'.

Eddy came back from the restroom a few minutes later.

* * * * *

The after-effect of Nick's story was that it seemed to lance a great hidden wound that no one had wanted to acknowledge. It had been as though everyone had been unwilling to talk about what they were feeling for fear that voicing those emotions might invite further catastrophe.

The friends and family sat around the table for hours, talking about hard times and bad times, sharing their stories and their strength, one with another. There were tears, many of them... not the first nor the last that would be shed in their present circumstances, but there was laughter as well, the healing laughter of relief as they helped to wash the wounds their fears had left on them, cleaning them and binding them in the knowledge that none of them were going to face this alone, no matter what the outcome.

In fact, the only one of the family who was alone was Harry himself.

* * * * *

Somewhere inside, a million dreams away from the hiss and beeps of the machines that monitored his condition, Harry drifted free on the swells of an infinite subconscious sea, right on the edge of what he knew but didn't know... what he thought he knew but deep within knew differently.

He kept trying to fly up towards wakefulness, but the harder he struggled the harder it became. So at last he just quit trying and floated there, alone with himself.

Outside of Harry, the doctors kept up the fight to keep him sedated so that he wouldn't feel the pain and thrash about, undoing their efforts to keep him alive.

* * * * *

After dinner Nick escorted them as everyone caravanned to their respective homes and picked up clothes and toiletries before returning back to the hotel. Margo had called and reserved a second room. It had been agreed at supper that no one was be alone until the situation had been resolved. The next day Karen would be returning to work, as would Margo.

Eddy, and his team, continued to use accumulated vacation time.

"Yeah, it kinda blows when you love your work as much as we do," he'd quipped. "Ass-rape some company's security set-up, leave it screamin' like the littlest monkey, go home, have a couple of beers, start workin' on the next target. Who needs a break from that shit?"

Tatiana had, without telling anyone, decided she'd be playing den-mother for awhile. She liked these people a lot and they could use someone like her.

She booked her own room at the hotel and called Peter, telling him he could either deal or move out, she really didn't give a fuck which.

Nicki opted to take the couch, leaving Kelly the rollaway bed, which they'd moved to the sitting room. Eddy and Tamara and Karen and Patricia were taking the other hotel room. Margo and Carol settled their luggage into the bedroom.

Nick said his goodnight's and left as he had arrived, as covertly as possible.

As the two women prepared for bed Carol once again slipped into a deep melancholy, one that Margo couldn't fail to notice.

"Precious, what's wrong?"

"Madam, no matter how many ways I tell myself differently, no matter how many times all of you tell me... it's my fault he's hurt. If I'd had my razor or even my cell phone..."

"Precious, stop that, don't think that way-"

"But you don't understand, Madam, I failed! I failed him, I failed you, I failed myself! How can I ever look any of you in the eyes again?" Her body started to shake with sobs. "After all he's done for me, the one time he needed me to have my shit together and all I could do was run-"

"That's quite enough of that, Little Cunt!"

"-run and blow that stupid goddamn whistle! He could've died-"

Margo grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. As Carol continued to try to take the blame for what happened Margo continued to shake her until Carol finally quieted and Margo released her.

Carol hit the floor and went into a kneeling posture of submission.

Margo squatted beside her and gently raised her face until they were eye to eye.

"Do I have your full and undivided attention now?"

"Yes Madam."

"You saved your Master's life. You need to stop listening to those voices in your head that want you to take the blame for this and listen to me, listen to me very carefully.

"If you'd had a cell phone, you might've stopped running and tried to use it too soon. They may have had guns. You might've been shot, or they might've caught you and beaten you to death. If you'd had your razor, you would've fought. I'm relatively sure you would've disobeyed Harry and fought no matter what he told you to do... correct?"

Carol turned her eyes to the floor. "Yes, Madam."

"And it's quite possible, given your alcoholic intake that evening... or even without that, that you would have been defeated, as Harry was defeated, and the two of you would have been at their mercy.

"Don't you see, Little Cunt? That would mean I lost both of you. I'm quite certain that the only reason they did such a half-assed job of killing my husband, your Master, your husband, is that they knew they didn't have much time. There was a woman running up the street towards a phone, blowing a whistle with every breath, and they had to rush. If you'd had your razor, things would have been very different, and not for the better, I fear. If you'd had your cell phone, well, that's a little fuzzier, but it still could've ended very badly, for you and for the man we love.

"Given what was happening, I'm convinced, with every fiber of my being, that we achieved the best possible, realistic outcome. He's alive and we owe that all to you. I owe you my husband's life, our husband's life..."

Margo slumped to the floor, wrapping her arms around her pet and her lover.

"Don't you ever," she said, tears beginning to well up out of her eyes, "don't you ever blame yourself for what happened. You're my hero. You saved our husband's life. Don't you ever dare think it's your fault. I love you so much. I can never repay you for what you did. Thank you..."

As Margo's crying deepened, Carol joined her in her tears.

"I'm sorry for shaking you like that, Baby Girl... but don't you talk about yourself that way ever again... I will not tolerate it."

Carol shook her head.

"It's alright, Madam. I earned it. I won't do so again."

And the two women huddled on the floor, holding each other tightly.

* * * * *

Kelly was wandering around like a ghost. She'd lost Jess, she was sure of that. Now she'd almost lost Harry... and her feelings about that... confused her.

She wasn't in love with Harry... that was absurd. She wasn't in love with a man who was already married to a wonderful woman whom she adored, with a pet that was the lustiest and most fun playmate Kelly could imagine.

But the way she was feeling... she needed to talk to someone about it... to her it made sense that it be Margo and Carol.

She knocked softly on the door, not wanting to disturb anything, as she'd heard part of the discussion earlier and figured the two of them might have been relieving some stress in a Madam and Pet fashion, but she hadn't heard anything since.

"Come in!"

She opened the door to see Margo inadvertently mooning her as she dug in her luggage, looking for something, the t-shirt she was wearing to sleep in having pulled up in back.

It was significant that Kelly was so lost that she didn't comment.

"Uh, I know you two are tired, but I really need someone to talk to."

Margo whirled around and Carol scooted up in the bed and flowed into sitting in a cross-legged position. Margo joined her, sitting with her back against the headboard of the bed.

"What is it, sweetie? Talking with you is no trouble at all," Margo said. She patted the bed in front of her and Carol. "Why don't you come sit here and tell us what's bothering you?"

Kelly climbed on the bed and sat as they did, cross-legged, completing the triangle of women.

"What happened to Harry... is happening to him... it's just... hitting me harder... much harder... than I thought it would. I don't understand why... it's not that it shouldn't hit me hard, I expect that, but this is like I almost lost a... I don't know."

"Well-" Margo began but stopped as Carol put a hand on her leg.

"Kelly, my darling, do you realize you're in love with him?" she asked gently.

"That's... that's not it... I can't be..."

"Why not?" Margo replied. "He's a damn good man. We are, why should you be different?"

"But that's just it, you're his wife, she's his pet... and yours... I'm lucky to have him as a friend and fuck-buddy but his heart is already... it's already spoken for. I can't be in love with him."

Carol looked at her and smiled. "Kelly, honey, when did a heart ever listen to reason? Trust me; look deeper into your heart... you are in love with him."

"Then I need to... if you're right I've got to... I'm not going to..." She began to cry. "I'm too fuckin' tired for this shit right now! I'm too tired and too scared and too worried to... Mistress? Madam? Please?"

The two women leaned over and pulled her to them, ending up lying on either side of her and holding her as she cried.

Carol raised her head to enter Margo's field of vision. She lifted an eyebrow questioningly and Margo gave a little nod.

"Princess? Princess honey, listen to me... it's going to be alright. Do you hear me?"

Kelly's cries softened a bit and she nodded her head.

Carol got up and retrieved a box of tissues from the vanity. She handed a wad of them to Kelly.

"Princess, your Mistress and Madam, your friends and lovers, your sister and mother, Carol and Margo, assure you everything is going to be alright. There's no need for you to do anything right this moment."

With the two of them holding her and stroking her she finally calmed down enough to get herself under control, blowing her nose and wiping her face.

Carol got up and went around the bed, shucking off her jersey and panties as she went. Once on the other side she worked Margo's t-shirt off of her, disrupting Margo's comforting of Kelly as little as possible. Then she went back to her side and unbuttoned the somewhat threadbare men's dress shirt that Kelly was wearing, working it off of her. Then she hopped back in bed behind her and pulled up the sheet.

Margo offered her breast to Kelly who latched onto it like an infant and began to suckle at it, deriving comfort instead of nourishment, as Margo stroked her back.

"That's it baby, Big Mama's got you, it's going to all be okay," Carol continued. "When Jess left you, we talked about this, she and I, didn't we, Big Mama?"

"That's right, Princess, we did. Carol and I talked about it and came to a decision. That's what Carol went off to talk to Harry about when they headed for the park."

"And Kelly, Harry loves you... he loves you as much as you love him. He thought Margo and I were uncomfortable with how you feel about him and that we'd want you to leave."

Kelly drew back from Margo's breast, fear and loss warring on her face. The brash and brazen woman was gone, replaced by someone who had lost one she loved and now feared losing her family as well.

"No, no, no, no... don't worry," Margo said, hugging her tightly. "We don't want you to leave, we're happy with you and love you too much. Carol and I discussed it and we both agree.

"Princess, Kelly, Lady Kay, Third Mate Bum... the two of us would like you to marry the three of us. We'd like you to be as full a member of our partnership as any of us. In a way, to us at least, it feels like it would just be recognizing something that already exists... and stopping denying the truth."

Kelly gazed in wonder at Margo, then at Carol, unable to miss the love and acceptance on their faces and in their eyes.

"What did Harry say?" she asked, some small measure of fear remaining to show through in her voice.

Carol looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, Kelly, he never really gave me his opinion of the idea. At least, not verbally... I know in my heart that he loves you as much as we all do, and I know that he went from looking like the world was caving in on him to being ready to fly off into the night from sheer joy when I explained Margo's and my position. I know what his answer will be, but before he could actually give it to me, all hell broke loose. I have no doubt that he will approve of the three of us asking you formally, as soon as he's able, to become a member of this group marriage. What do you think, Margo?"

"I know Harry pretty well... everything tells me that he'll have no reservations whatsoever about us all proposing to Kelly. You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to know he loves Kelly."

"So my love, what will you say when we all ask you?" Carol asked, caressing her lover's face.

The tears were running down Kelly's beautiful ebony cheeks as she said, "Yes... I'll say yes... and thank you... and I love you... all of you... and I've never been so happy in all my life."

The three women hugged and held each other for a long time. Then Carol looked at her friend.

"Kelly?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it going to be difficult for you to get time off from work to be here in case you're needed? Is it going to be hard for you to go to work with Jessica working there as well? Would you rather find another job?"

"Yeah, it'll be hard to get a lot of time off, and I really feel my place is here. And yeah, working with Jess will be somewhat painful. I enjoy my job... but perhaps something else would be better right now."

"Alright sweetie," Carol said, "would you like to help me around the house for awhile? I can cover any of your expenses and such, that's no problem. And it seems to me that right now you need to be taken care of. How does that sound to you? Wanna be a kept woman for awhile?"

A shadow of the old Kelly showed through her fear and worry.

"Just how you plan on keepin' me and what're you gonna want me to do for my keep?" she asked, a glint of mischievousness in her eye.

Carol slid her legs open with a sinuous motion. "Oh, nothing you haven't done before."

"Hell woman, that I do for free... I thought you were gonna have me start trimmin' your toenails and shit."

The three women laughed together and then the sounds of laughter were replaced by softer, more erotic sounds.

* * * * *

From the sitting room Nicki could hear them as they made love. Everyone had somebody tonight... everybody but her and Tatiana. Resolving not to feel sorry for herself a second longer, she grabbed her room key and went down the hall to the older woman's door. She wanted company and drinks in the bar with Ms. Turov would certainly fit the bill.

* * * * *

As they lay in bed together, Theresa could faintly make out her Edward's face in the dimness of the room. There was a peace there that she hadn't seen since news of the attack had reached them.

She stroked his cheek as he slept. The subterfuge at supper might have fooled the others, but not her. Edward and Niccolo had spoken privately and something in that conversation had calmed Edward's need to ‘do something'. She feared an arrangement had been reached and that someone would die at her beloved's hands.

Still, it was what he needed to do, and she understood it completely.

She again took pleasure in the peace and calm of his features, curled up next to her master and drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

In the next bed over, Karen held Patricia in her arms, listening to her lover murmur softly to herself, and to her God.

"You amaze me, Trish," she whispered.

The murmuring stopped. Patricia's face turned towards her and Karen could make out a smile.

"How so, my love?" she whispered in return.

"You're still praying for him, aren't you?"

"You bet I am, Liz, for him and for all of us."

"It's just I've never seen you this way before."

"You've never seen me when I felt the need for serious prayer... we've been so lucky and so blessed."

"You really think you can sway some Creator of the Universe with your requests? Change what's going to happen?"

"Hell no, I don't pray for that... what will be, will be. I pray for us all to have the strength and grace to handle whatever happens, as best we can. I don't believe that my pleas can change the course of events, but I do choose to believe that they can help each of us with what we must face."

"It's just a side of you I've never seen."

"I hope it doesn't freak you out or anything."

"No my love," Karen responded as tears began to flow, "it just makes me more grateful than ever that you gave me that second chance."

The two of them curled up and Karen went to sleep to the soft murmur of her partner's prayers.