Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 62430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
I could see the exchange as real as if it were a memory. Every inch of her was already familiar, her expressions when I filled her canal as natural as her professional smile. I came all over my hand, my muscles bunching up and my spine contracting. I curled up on my side, feeling waves of relief crash over me. That climax had been a long time coming. This entire stay in the institution had been one long build to a vista I was never going to see. The best I could do was fantasize about her, and the only way I was ever going to touch her was in my dreams.
I wiped my hand off on the bedsheets. I knew the cleaning staff would find out what I had been up to, but I didn’t care. It was worth it. I felt better than I had in years. I was finally over the toxic withdrawal symptoms and felt like myself again after being absent for so long. And now, having dispensed with the pressure that Gina’s proximity aroused in me, I was reborn. I fell back asleep for the last few hours the program would allow me and woke refreshed.
10
GINA
“Come on, Evil.” I tried to coax my pesky feline out from under the bed. Somehow, she knew that we were going to the vet and was determined to thwart me. “You can’t take over the world if you’re a sick kitty.”
Evil darted out from under the bed, making a beeline for the window. I scooped her up and slipped her into the cat carrier, neatly missing all her claws and teeth. It wasn’t my favorite pastime either, but as a conscientious pet parent, I wanted to make sure she got her yearly checkups.
At the vet, there were two other people in the waiting room. One gentleman had a dog almost as large as me, who was seated patiently beside him, making no fuss. The other occupant had a parrot in a cage. I went up to the front desk to check in, then took my spot as far away from the massive hound as possible. I wasn’t afraid of dogs; I just preferred them to be cat-sized. And I didn’t know how Evil would react to such a creature, nor did I want to find out.
After the other customers were called back, it was my turn. I picked up Evil’s carrier and took her into the examination room. The doctor was a young woman about my age. She opened the metal grate and reached into the plastic cube to remove my beloved nemesis.
“Evil,” the vet said. “That’s a funny name.”
“Well, she’s planning world domination,” I explained.
“I see.” The vet stroked Evil, gently placing her on the examination table.
For once the cat was behaving herself, and I could see that she was frightened. The exam took less than five minutes, and Evil was all too eager to climb back into the carrier once it was done. I took her home and cuddled for an hour, reading a book on the sofa. She was purring by the time I was done.
Next up on my agenda was to visit my mother’s grave.
She had fallen down the steps outside her apartment building one morning—drunk, even so early in the day—and died. They tried to save her. Ambulances had been called, and emergency personnel attempted CPR, but it was a lost cause. I was in college at the time, learning all about addiction and what it could do to the body.
It didn’t help the pain, knowing that she had brought it upon herself. I still mourned for her. My brother, George, had just graduated from high school and was still living with her, though his reaction was completely opposite from mine. He wouldn’t talk to me or help in any way. The day of the funeral, I could tell he was high. I made one ill-fated attempt to talk him out of his stupor, but he would have none of it.
“Doesn’t it make you think?” I pulled him aside at the funeral home, within sight of Mom’s casket.
“What?” he slurred.
“Mom died because she was drunk. Aren’t you worried that the same thing might happen to you?”
“We can’t all be perfect,” he spat, ripping his arm away and stumbling off.
That was the last time I had seen him. I was the only competent adult relative, so I became executor of her “estate.” It was an estate in legal terms only; she had more debt than money. I also coordinated the funeral, picking out the casket, putting a notice in the paper. Lincoln had been too young to really be of much help. A few people sent flowers. My father and stepmother came to show support for us which meant a lot considering the relationship was strained at the time.