Together As One

 

TOGETHER AS ONE

 

 

The woman had entered the dimly lit hotel lounge twenty minutes earlier, and she was stunning. Wearing a black skirt ending a few inches above her knees, high heels and a long sleeve, dark-red silk blouse that revealed a modest amount of cleavage, she sat at the other end of the bar and ordered a drink. She crossed her long shapely legs, revealing several more inches below the hem of her skirt.

In the short time she had been there, the brunette had rebuffed the advances of three different men. It was obvious that she drew men like a lamp attracts moths.

And now this seductive vision was sitting next to him, literally having invited herself to join him. David was still having trouble breathing. He didn’t consider himself bad looking, but this dream was way out of his league. Besides, as it turned out, he had never been that good with women, not even with his wife.

The discreet neon lights on the wall behind the bar highlighted her thick, dark hair, curling down her shoulders. She focused her heart-stopping smile on him. “Thank you for buying me a drink and saving me from those persistent jerks with over-inflated egos.”

David could feel the glares of the other men from across the lounge. “I…uh…my pleasure.” He caught a hint of her light perfume, reminding him of dew on rose petals in the early morning. He was still trying to remember to breathe and managed not to choke on his beer.

She was smiling and looking at him. Her complexion was tanned and flawless, her lips full and red, her eyes dark and fathomless. She was achingly beautiful. She touched his hand lightly and said, “By the way, my name is Estrella.” She was looking at him expectantly.

He was again breathing without panting and even remembered the power of speech. Sort of. “Uh… my name is… um… David… ah… Latimer.”

She held out her hand, smiling, ignoring his anxiety. “Pleased to meet you, David. Do you come here often?”

He took a deep breath, composing himself before taking her hand. Estrella’s grip was warm and firm. “No, the first time. I was here for a convention over the weekend; I stayed a couple of extra days.”

“Tell me about yourself,” she said

 

And somehow, he did. David told her about his job, his ex-wife and their divorce. She listened with a half-smile on her lips, her penetrating eyes caressing him. “Uh… what brings you here… what do you do?” he finally managed, his mini-speech grinding to a halt.

“I’m on my way home to Dallas from a visit to San Francisco,” Estrella replied. “And I’m self-employed; I make jewelry.”

As if on cue, he noticed the thin gold chain around her neck and the small pendant between the swell of her breasts. It was bronze-colored and triangular with an odd design. He felt awkward looking at it, considering its resting place.

Estrella laughed softly. She reached behind her neck, undid the clasp and handed him the pendant. “Here, one of my gifts to you.”

Taking it, David ran his finger over the intricate design on the front, turned it over and looked at the minuscule writing on the back.

She continued, “The design represents an earth goddess from the ancient civilization of Samaria, and the inscription means ‘Together as One’ in their dialect.”

He looked at her with a puzzled expression. “You said one of my gifts to you?”

Estrella leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “Oh, that other gift would be me.”

David could smell the scent of morning roses and feel the warmth radiating from the closeness of her body. His heart was pounding; he was trying to remember to breathe, think, and talk all at the same time. She was the most beautiful, desirable woman David had ever seen, let alone met, and she—“But… but… why me?” he finally stammered.

Her smile was gone, replaced by an expression of disdain, maybe scorn. Her voice was still low but somehow harder. “You could say I’m an independent woman. I choose the men I want to be with. They don’t choose me. I select the correct ones.”

David wondered at the odd choice of words, but everyone had their idiosyncrasies, he guessed.

Her half-smile had returned. She handed him a hotel key card. “Room 306. Just give me ten minutes.” She slid out of her chair and headed for the elevators.

David was in a daze. He could hardly think. He could still smell her perfume, feel the touch of her hand, the sound of her voice. He concentrated on finishing his drink. He didn’t know if it was ten minutes or ten hours, but he got up and headed for the elevators and room 306.

He didn’t remember getting there but suddenly found himself entering her room. A lamp was turned down low, and Estrella stood by the window looking out, her floor-length, silk nightgown silvery in the glow from the city lights outside. She turned, undid the gown’s sash, opened it, and let it fall to the floor. David had never seen anything or anyone as beautiful as this woman, like a Greek goddess, come to life. Without a word, she came towards him—a Sumerian goddess.

 

A scream broke the silence, a guttural roar of agony. Or maybe ecstasy; it was difficult to tell. The scream lasted no more than a second or two before abruptly being cut off.

Irene and Charles, celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and returning from an evening on the town, were strolling down the hotel hallway arm in arm. The diminutive, grey-haired woman jumped, falling into her husband. “Oh my God, Charles. What was that?”

Her dapper, sport coat-clad husband nodded at the door immediately to his right. “I think it came from in there.” He walked up and put his ear to the door.

His wife was clutching his arm. “Maybe we should call hotel security.”

After several more seconds, he moved back from the door with a puzzled look.

Irene’s grip tightened. “What was it? Could you hear anything?”

“I’m not sure. It was so faint. It was like when we used to go camping, and I would break up the small branches for the campfire. You know, the snapping sound. And I thought I could hear a sucking noise, like a milkshake through a straw, but I could be imagining that. I don’t know; maybe we should knock and see if everything is okay.”

“No way, Charles. We’ll call security from our room, and they can check.”

The security guard was knocking on their door five minutes later. The guard, almost as old as they were, didn’t seem too impressed. “Are you sure it wasn’t a loud TV, or maybe kids playing around?” Their thin-lipped frowns were his only answer. He gave in. “Okay, okay, I’ll go check.”

He went to Room 306 and knocked discreetly, and after several seconds, a beautiful brunette opened the door in a satin nightgown. He inhaled, stood straight, sucked in his stomach, and attempted to adopt a more officious demeanor. “Hello, I’m James Dugan, security for the hotel,” he said. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I had a report of a possible disturbance coming from this room. Somebody screaming?”

With a radiant expression, she answered, “I’m here alone, Mr. Dugan. My name is Estrella. I didn’t hear anything. Maybe I had the TV on too loud. But you’re welcome to come in and check if you like.”

It took him only a minute to verify that no one else was in the hotel room. Although he was at least 35 years the woman’s senior, he felt it strangely difficult to leave. “I’m sorry to have bothered you, miss.” He looked down at her distended and bulging abdomen, his feigned professionalism forgotten. “If you don’t mind my saying, ma’am, you’re as big as my wife Betty was with my son Johnny. Looks like you’re expecting pretty soon.”

The woman’s radiant smile engulfed him. “He’s a big boy, but he’ll last a little while longer in there. I took real good care of him.”

Warmed by her presence, the security guard reluctantly took his leave. “You have a nice evening, ma’am. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

He returned to the old couple’s room, updated them, and advised he would check any other occupied rooms along the corridor. After leaving, he stood musing in the hallway for several seconds. If he were 30-35 years younger, he would have followed that Estrella woman around like a puppy dog.

 

Estrella finished packing the suitcase, placing the rest of her clothes on top of David’s. Securing the pendant back around her slim neck, she patted her distended belly tenderly; it was already slightly smaller. But David had been a big man; he would nourish her for a good month or so. As with countless others, they were now united—together as one. For the seductive and uncontainable goddess, once worshiped by a long-dead civilization and known by many names over the millennia, that’s how it had always been.

 

 

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Impressum

Texte: John C. Laird
Lektorat: Alexandra Laird
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 29.01.2012

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