«You smell wonderful,» I said. «What did you do?»
She pulled my hand away and put it to my nostrils.
«Not bad,» I said, «what is it?»
«Guess!»
She got up impulsively, went to the bathroom and came back with a small bottle of perfume. She spilt some into her hand and rubbed my genitals with it; then she sprinkled a few drops on the pubic hairs. It stung like fire. I grabbed the bottle and soused her with it all over, from head to foot. Then I began licking her arm-pits, chewed the hair over her cunt, and slid my tongue like a snake down the curve of her thighs. She bobbed up and down as if she were having convulsions. It went on like this until I had such an erection that even after I shot a wad into her it stayed up like a hammer. That excited her terribly. She wanted to try all sorts of positions and she did. ‘She had several orgasms in succession and almost fainted in the process. I laid her on a small table and when she was on ‘the verge of exploding I picked her up and walked around the room with her; then I took it out and made her walk on her hands, holding her by the thighs, letting it slip out now and then to excite her still more.
Her lips were chewed to a frazzle and she was full of marks, some green, some blue. I had a strange taste in my mouth, of fish glue and Chanel 976 Ѕ. My cock looked like a bruised rubber hose; it hung between my legs, extended an inch or two beyond its normal length and swollen beyond recognition. When I got to the street I felt weak in the knees. I went to the drug store and swallowed a couple of malted milks. A royal bit of fucking, thought I to myself, wondering how I’d act when I met Woodruff again.
Things happened to Woodruff in quick succession. First of all he lost his job at the bank. Then Ida ran off with one of his best friends. When he discovered that she had been sleeping with the fellow for a year before she ran off, he grew so despondent that he went on a bat which lasted for a year. After that he was knocked down by a car and his brain trepanned. Then his sister went crazy, setting fire to the house and burning her own children alive.
He couldn’t understand why these things should happen to him, Bill Woodruff, who had never done anybody any harm.
Now and then I would run into him on Broadway and we would have a little chat standing on a street corner. He never gave any hint that he suspected me of having tinkered with his beloved Ida. He spoke of her bitterly now, as a thankless slut who had never showed a spark of feeling. But it was evident he still loved her. However, he had taken up with another girl, a manicurist, not so attractive as Ida, but loyal and trustworthy, as he put it. «I want you to meet her some time,» said he. I promised I would—some time. And then, as I was parting from him, I said: «What did become of Ida, do you know?»
«She’s on the stage,» he said. «Where she belongs, I guess. They must have taken her on her looks— she never had any talent that I could see.»
Ida Verlaine. I was still thinking of her and of those free and easy days in the past as I took up my post at the entrance to the dance hall. I had a few minutes to kill. I had forgotten about the money in my pocket. I was still riveted to the past. Wondered whether I would stop by the theatre one day and have a look at Ida from the third row front-Or go up to her dressing room and have a little tete-a-tete while she made up. I wondered if her body were still as white as ever. Her black hair was long then and hung over her shoulders. She really was a bewitching piece of cunt. Pure cunt, that’s what she was. And Woodruff so bewildered by it all, so innocent, so worshipful. I remember his saying once that he used to kiss her ass every night, to show her what a devoted slave he was. It’s a wonder she didn’t pee on him ever. He deserved that, the imbecile!
And then I thought of something which made me laugh. Men always think that to own a big cock is one of life’s greatest boons. They think you have only to shake it at a woman and she’s yours. Well, if anybody had a big cock it was Bill Woodruff. It was a veritable horse cock. I remember the first time I saw it—I could scarcely believe my eyes. Ida should have been his slave, if all that stuff about big cocks be true. It impressed her all right all right, but the wrong way. She was scared stiff. It froze her up. And the more he pushed and plugged, the smaller she grew. He might just as well have fucked her between the teats, or in the arm-pits. She would have enjoyed that more, no doubt about it. Woodruff never had such ideas, though. He would have thought them degrading. You can’t ask the woman you idolize to let you fuck her between the teats. How he got his nookie I never inquired. But that ass-licking ritual made me smile. It’s tough to be crazy about a woman and then find that nature has played you a mean trick.
Ida Verlaine. I had a hunch I’d be looking her up soon. It wouldn’t be the same smooth-fitting cunt any more, no use kidding oneself. By this time it had been well reamed, if I knew Ida. Still, if there was any juice left, if her ass had that smooth, slippery feel, it would be worth having another go at it.
I began to have an erection thinking about her.
I waited around for a half hour or more, but no sign of Mona. I decided to go upstairs and inquire. Learned that she had gone home early—with a sick headache.
9
It was only the next evening, after dinner, that I found out why she had left the dance hall early. She had received a message from home and had rushed out to see her parents. I didn’t press her to talk, knowing how secretive she was about this other life. For some reason, however, she was anxious to get it off her chest. As usual, she circled about with mysterious swoops. It was difficult to make head or tail of her story. All I could gather was that they were in distress—and by «they» she meant the whole family, including her three brothers, and her sister-in-law.
«Do they all live under the same roof?» I asked innocently.
«That’s neither here nor there,» she said, strangely irritated.
I said nothing for a while. Then I ventured to ask about her sister whom she had once told me was even more beautiful than herself—«only very nor-mal», as she put it.
«Didn’t you say she was married?»
«Yes, of course she is. What’s that got to do with it?»
«With what?» I asked, getting a little peeved now myself.
«Well, what are we talking about?»»
I laughed. «That’s what I want to know. What is it? What are you trying to tell me?»
«You don’t listen. My sister—I suppose you don’t believe I have a sister?»
«Why do you say that? Of course I believe you. Only I can’t believe she’s more beautiful than you.»
«Well she is, believe it or not,» she snapped. «I despise her. It’s not jealousy, if that’s what you’re thinking. I despise her because she has no imagination. She sees what’s happening and she doesn’t lift a finger. She’s absolutely selfish.»
«I suppose,» I began gently, «that it’s the same old problem—they want your help. Well, maybe!….»
«You! What can you do? Please, Val, don’t start talking that way.» She laughed hysterically. «God, it reminds me of my brothers. They all make suggestions—and nobody does anything.»
«But, Mona, I’m not talking in the air. !…»
She turned on me almost fiercely. «You’ve got your wife and daughter to look after, haven’t you? I don’t want to hear anything about your help. This is my problem. Only I don’t know why I have to do everything alone. The boys could do something if they wanted to. God, I supported them for years. I’ve supported the whole family—and now they’re asking more of me. I can’t do any more. It isn’t fair…»
There was a silence and then she continued. «My father is a sick man—I don’t expect anything of him. Besides, he’s the only one I care about. If it weren’t for him I’d turn my back on them—I’d walk off and leave them flat.»
«Well, what about your brothers?» I asked. What’s holding them back?»
«Nothing but laziness,» she said. «I’ve spoiled them. I led them to believe that they were helpless.»
«Do you mean that nobody is working—not any of them?»
«Oh yes, now and then one of them gets a job for a few weeks and then quits for some silly reason. They know I’ll always be there to rescue them.»
«I can’t go on living this way!» she burst out. «I won’t let them destroy my life. I want to be with you—and they’re pulling me away. They don’t care what I do so long
