The Janitor's Girl Pt. 03

Part 3

One of the first things Darnell learned was that he was supposed to take his pain medication with food otherwise he'd act like a drunken, drugged up fool, as had proved the case the night before.

As the week passed it was yet another venture into the surreal.

To his utter humiliation, Heather cleaned and bandaged the wound in his gut twice a day. It was all he could do to keep himself from pushing her away.

When she first unbuttoned his trousers and began to pull his pants down he grabbed her hands to stop her.

"They're hurting you and irritating the wound," she stated firmly. "Just let me do what I have to do. Okay?"

Unable to refute the fact, he nodded and, flushing in humiliation, reclined on the couch, spread his legs and watched as she sat on the floor between them. This gave her the best access to his wound. Looking at her blonde hair, her brow furrowed in concentration, blue eyes intense as she tended to him, his eyes couldn't help but stray down the loose-fitting cotton blouse she wore. He found himself watching the firm mounds of her breasts rise and fell slowly as she breathed and stared at the most interesting and beautiful cleavage he'd ever seen. He couldn't help it, he felt himself getting hard. He snatched up the pillow she'd used the night before and covered his crotch, telling her that she could lean against it if she needed to.

She wasn't touching him anywhere other than where he'd been hurt but she had noticed the large growing bulge in the loose-fitting pants he wore. She pretended not to notice the growing bulge or his staring eyes and continued to tend to him, though she felt a strange pleasurable flutter in the pit of her stomach.

"Um... are you sure I can't take care of it myself?" he asked, trying to distract her so she wouldn't notice his condition.

He might be a short man but he wasn't short in other places. As a matter of fact, the few women he'd been with had all told him that he was probably one of the most well-endowed men they'd ever seen. He wouldn't know and didn't really care. None of them came back anyways so obviously it didn't matter.

When she finally finished she insisted on checking on his broken nose.

He stared at the lovely face just inches from his own as she rinsed his cuts with hydrogen peroxide and put a fresh bandage on his nose. Perfectly arched dark blonde eyebrows, long lashes the same dark color as her brows enhanced her vivid blue eyes, with her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was absolute perfection. He could easily picture her in a makeup commercial or a magazine advertisement walking down a runway modeling expensive clothes or underwear.

What is she doing here, he asked himself? I'm sure she has something better to do or somewhere else to go.

Screw it, he thought. Why question it, why fight it? Just enjoy the attention, enjoy the scenery and go with the flow.

And so they got to know each other and every day they became more comfortable with each other. They developed a mutual respect and as they drew closer, they came enjoy each other's company.

They rose early every morning. He showered quickly and left immediately after she checked his wound. Heather took an hour getting ready, quickly getting dressed, brushing out her long blonde hair, and putting on light make up.

He worked slowly but efficiently through the day but he wasn't able to get as much done as he needed. It didn't help that he was distracted... the face and body of a blonde angel were constantly in his mind's eye. He kept pausing in his work so the day just seemed to drag along, he didn't get much done.

Heather went to class as normal but she couldn't help thinking about Darnell. He was on her mind all day also. She smiled when she pictured his big swollen nose and the grey spongy hair around the sides of his head, his pate bare and shiny.

She frowned in concern when she thought that his wound might be hurting him. He had to be doing a lot of bending and lifting, all the things the doctors had told him not to do.

I'll help him out when I get out of class, she thought to herself.

He was slowly but meticulously sweeping one of the class rooms when she finally found him. She wore the same cheer-leading uniform she'd worn when he rescued her from the thugs and her hair was in a shiny blonde ponytail, swinging and bouncing with every step she took.

He couldn't help but admire her long slender legs and the uniform hugging her womanly body as she strode quickly towards him, at the lovely rounded curves of her, at the bounce of the shiny blonde ponytail.

"I've been looking all over for you, Darnell," she said, stopping close before him, frowning darkly. "You've been doing too much. I can tell!"

And she could. He was sweating, his skin was ashen and he looked exhausted.

"Look white girl, I'm fine, I have a lot of work to do," he said gruffly. "There ain't anybody else to do it."

He sounded gruff and impatient but the smile on his face at the sight of her told her that he was glad to see her.

She'd noticed the way he'd looked at her and liked it from the very first. She caught him admiring her body when he thought she wasn't looking, making her stomach flutter strangely and pleasantly. It felt like a caress, admiring, not lustful like the way most boys looked at her.

"So... what do you need help with?" she asked.

Mouth open, he stared at her.

"What do you mean!?" he asked, startled.

"You ain't getting your hands dirty scrubbing bathrooms or getting calluses mopping floors!" he exclaimed indignantly.

"Look, Darnell, you need the help and I want to help you so let's just stop arguing and get everything done so we can go relax. Okay?" she said smoothly and reasonably.

Darnell stared at her for several seconds then chuckled, his round belly bouncing in merriment. She smiled her best dimpled smile down at him.

"All right white girl, you're right, I could use your help but you have to change into something you don't mind getting dirty or torn and you have to wear gloves, I don't want you getting blisters," he insisted.

And so the rest of the week passed. Every day she helped him at work after she finished school, she changed his dressings, they watched movies, took turns cooking and cleaning, and talked late into the night. It became a routine they both enjoyed.

Strangely, though neither one of them admitted it, their time together was the highlight of their day.

Both of them thought the week had passed way too fast when Heather's mom came home the following Saturday.

Dawn arrived quietly that afternoon, standing quietly in the doorway watching them as they sat relaxed and comfortable on Darnell's couch, watching a movie. Actually, Heather was leaning against Darnell and he had his arm casually draped around her shoulders. They were both laughing, obviously watching a comedy. Darnell's deep booming laugh made his large belly bounce and quiver comically, making him flinch in sudden pain. Her daughter, not noticing his flinch, was laughing uproariously and had turned to bury her face in his chest.

Looks like they're getting pretty close, she thought to herself. But I'd say everything's okay. They look like fast friends.

"Hey guys, what are y'all watching?" she asked loudly, making them jump in surprise.

"Mom!" Heather exclaimed happily, jumping up to hug her.

"I thought you weren't coming back 'til tonight. How was your trip?"

"It was good. I've just got our company ten more clients," she replied. "Business is good. So, what movie are you watching?"

"The first Ace Ventura," said her daughter with a giggle, giving her a kiss on the cheek and another warm hug.

Darnell stood slowly. His wound was obviously bothering him but it was healing and he did look much better. He didn't have that weird "ashen" look.

"Welcome back, Ms. Galen, I hope you had a smooth trip," he said sincerely, giving her one of his big-toothed smiles.

He put out a hand unsure. She ignored it and gave him a quick hug.

"Darnell, please call me Dawn," she said, smiling. "From everything I heard from Heather, it sounds like you really made her earn her keep while she stayed with you."

"Actually I didn't want her to at first but to be honest, I needed the help. I would have had a really bad time without her help," he said. "And don't worry, I made sure she did her homework and sent her home to make sure everything was okay."

Heather went to stand beside Darnell and put her arm casually and comfortably around his shoulder and he put his a bit hesitantly around her slender waist. Again, Dawn was forced to notice the contrast between her tall, young, lovely daughter and the short, ugly old black man. There contrast between them was blaring, but there was a strange vibe between them. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

"We've found out a few things about each other since I've been here," Heather was saying with a dimpled smile. "As it turns out, Darnell is short, fat and he isn't very smart."

"And Heather is tall, skinny and has a head as empty as a balloon," Darnell went on smoothly. "I think every blonde joke ever told was really about her."

All three broke out laughing.

Half an hour later, after several hugs and kisses on the cheek, and promises to call, the mother and daughter climbed up the stairs talking merrily and were gone.

Now he knew what an empty tomb felt like. His place felt empty and hollow. Her absence left a vacuum filled only with emptiness and silence. His spirits crumbled. He sat back on the couch and turned off the movie. Five minutes later he turned off all the lights and went to bed though it was only late afternoon.

Back to the real world, he thought to himself before he drifted off to sleep.

The phone woke him about an hour later.

It was Heather, "Hi, Darnell," she said hesitantly. "It sounds like I woke you. Why don't you go back to sleep. We can talk tomorrow."

"Are you kidding?!" he exclaimed. "No way! This place is empty without you. I've been pretty bummed since you left. That's why I went to bed early."

He paused, "to be honest I didn't think I'd ever hear from you again."

They talked for almost two hours about the movies they'd watched, books they'd read, about their lives in general. Finally both agreed it was getting late. Heather promised to stop by the following day to help him at work and to check his wound again. She knew it was almost healed but she wanted to be sure.

And so it continued. She would come to help him after school then do her homework, help him around his place, and cook sometimes. They actually went to the movies several times and ignored the looks people gave them. Several times young men tried to hit on her or tried to pick a fight with him and the two of them would end up leaving but it didn't stop them... they just went to the movies another day or went to another theater.

To be continued...