Chapter XIX
And Now I Present To You These Two Tragic Miracles - I Shall Call Them Man And Woman
"I'm getting use to it," Eddie smiled solidly. "It's not so bad anymore."
"That's good." Ray Brown smiled down at him, his arrogant, pathetic eyes that make you just want to kick the crap out of him with a single glance, looking apathetically toward him.
It was strange to Eddie, coming back to work where he normally towered above his fellow coworkers, but now he was barely more than half their size. And he felt even more aberrant by the fact that he was wearing a hat, but he didn't really want to show off the wounds on his head.
"That's good." Ray repeated, nodding his head as if he needed to reassure himself.
"Well, if you need anything," Ray put his hand up to his ear in mimic of a phone. "Just call me."
With a slap on the back, Ray went on through the hall, on with his merry, pointless life.
"Bull shit I will," Eddie coughed into his hand, covering himself by running his hand over the stubble across his chin.
After clearing himself of all bad thoughts about Ray, Eddie pushed his wheelchair through the hallway, stopped by an unexpected voice.
"Hey Eddie," The stunning, dark woman that had once so blatantly written ASSHOLE on his ad for an apartment after he was kind enough to give her her earrings back was now smiling happily at him.
"Wh…hey Nina." Eddie smiled and nodded in her direction, stopping his advancement down the hall and shifting his bike gloves absently back onto his hands.
"I'm glad to see your doing okay." Nina seemed somewhat edgy, as if they were talking about things they shouldn't be talking about.
"Well, thanks." Eddie said in an equally embarrassed tone, refusing to connect eyes.
"Uh, it was nice seeing you…again…" Eddie forced another smile as he quickly went back to pushing himself down the hall.
"You too," There was almost a longing in her eyes as he left, he could have sworn it was there.
Eddie sighed appreciatively, his office door in sight.
As fast as he could, he rolled in and closed the door behind him, relaxing back into his wheelchair as the tensions of the day washed out through his feet.
Lazily, he rolled behind his desk and slumped down on top of it, closing his eyes. It was his first day back to work and he was already exhausted from just talking to people and pushing himself down the halls.
Suddenly, a pair of hands were at his shoulders and he nearly jumped five feet out of his chair, even though he was forbidden to walk around for at least two more weeks.
There was a small laugh as fingers hit specific pressure points in his shoulder blades and immediately sent him into bliss. Only Jane knew those special spots.
"How's work going?" Jane whispered into his ear, continuing to massage his strained shoulders and back, hitting his favorite spots.
"Terrible," He sighed, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head in pure ecstasy.
Jane smiled and kissed him on the back of the neck, putting muscle into her massage.
Eddie turned to jelly beneath her hands. "Holy shit that feels good…" He pushed back his shoulder blades, beckoning more.
Jane laughed as she pushed him out from his desk, slipping across his lap as she deeply massaged across his shoulders and down across his chest, knowing all the right places.
"Ah, Jane…" He whispered warningly as she began kissing him across the neck, her hands edging toward his shirt buttons and fingering them curiously.
"Relax," Jane said calmly between kisses, "I'm just playing." She smiled provocatively. "You've had a hard day at work, you deserve a break."
"I agree." Eddie finally submitted and allowed her hand to slip beneath the one undone button in his shirt, slowly trailing his chest. Eventually, she gave up kissing him and instead laid her head on his neck, nuzzling it.
"Oh, guess what I bought you?" Jane asked with a devilish grin, lifting her head and turning behind her for what she had bought him.
Eddie raised an eyebrow, then waited to see what she would pull out of the plastic bag he hadn't noticed on top of his desk. How she had carried the bag into his office without him hearing it, he had no idea.
Her smile widened as she brought out a pint of Dulce de Leche Caramel Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
Eddie threw back his head and laughed, shaking his head in disbelief as she opened it up in front of him, taking her finger and running it through the ice cream, gathering an augment of sticky caramelized dessert.
"Are you trying to tell me something?" Eddie laughed as she only smiled, bringing it closer to his lips, before allowing his mouth to close over her finger, taking the first bite.
Then she dug out another finger-full of golden, gooey ice cream and stuck it into her mouth, leaning over and kissing him deeply. The ice cream from both their mouths mixed openly, becoming a liquid transfusion of love from one enriched adult to another.
"Have you ever thought of why we're together?" Eddie asked as he broke away from Jane's lips, catching a loose trickle of melted ice cream on his chin with his finger, pushing it back up into his mouth.
"What do you mean?" Jane asked back, making him take another finger of ice cream just for the hell of it.
"I mean, why - of all the guys in the world - did you choose me?" Eddie said as she withdrew her finger from his lips, swallowing it down.
Jane jutted out her bottom lip in thought, sliding her hand beneath the undone button on his shirt to peruse her husband's chest again.
"I don't know, I suppose…your devilishly handsome looks," She smiled, continuing when he laughed lightly and leaned his head back in his chair. "Your incredible body…but mostly because I wanted to throw you off of that white horse of yours before you got a nosebleed."
"Oo." Eddie acted as if she'd just hit him. "Touché."
"Naw," Jane redeemed herself, "It's because you showed me the truth about men, even if you did have to step on my feet and prod me in the ass. You showed me that men aren't bulls, or cows, or any other form of quadruped, they're just men."
Jane smiled and slipped back onto his shoulder, her hand stationary under his shirt, the pint of Haagen-Dazs sitting safely on his desk.
Eddie smiled and leaned his head against Jane's, his eyes slowly sliding shut.
"Moo."
And Now I Present To You These Two Tragic Miracles - I Shall Call Them Man And Woman
"I'm getting use to it," Eddie smiled solidly. "It's not so bad anymore."
"That's good." Ray Brown smiled down at him, his arrogant, pathetic eyes that make you just want to kick the crap out of him with a single glance, looking apathetically toward him.
It was strange to Eddie, coming back to work where he normally towered above his fellow coworkers, but now he was barely more than half their size. And he felt even more aberrant by the fact that he was wearing a hat, but he didn't really want to show off the wounds on his head.
"That's good." Ray repeated, nodding his head as if he needed to reassure himself.
"Well, if you need anything," Ray put his hand up to his ear in mimic of a phone. "Just call me."
With a slap on the back, Ray went on through the hall, on with his merry, pointless life.
"Bull shit I will," Eddie coughed into his hand, covering himself by running his hand over the stubble across his chin.
After clearing himself of all bad thoughts about Ray, Eddie pushed his wheelchair through the hallway, stopped by an unexpected voice.
"Hey Eddie," The stunning, dark woman that had once so blatantly written ASSHOLE on his ad for an apartment after he was kind enough to give her her earrings back was now smiling happily at him.
"Wh…hey Nina." Eddie smiled and nodded in her direction, stopping his advancement down the hall and shifting his bike gloves absently back onto his hands.
"I'm glad to see your doing okay." Nina seemed somewhat edgy, as if they were talking about things they shouldn't be talking about.
"Well, thanks." Eddie said in an equally embarrassed tone, refusing to connect eyes.
"Uh, it was nice seeing you…again…" Eddie forced another smile as he quickly went back to pushing himself down the hall.
"You too," There was almost a longing in her eyes as he left, he could have sworn it was there.
Eddie sighed appreciatively, his office door in sight.
As fast as he could, he rolled in and closed the door behind him, relaxing back into his wheelchair as the tensions of the day washed out through his feet.
Lazily, he rolled behind his desk and slumped down on top of it, closing his eyes. It was his first day back to work and he was already exhausted from just talking to people and pushing himself down the halls.
Suddenly, a pair of hands were at his shoulders and he nearly jumped five feet out of his chair, even though he was forbidden to walk around for at least two more weeks.
There was a small laugh as fingers hit specific pressure points in his shoulder blades and immediately sent him into bliss. Only Jane knew those special spots.
"How's work going?" Jane whispered into his ear, continuing to massage his strained shoulders and back, hitting his favorite spots.
"Terrible," He sighed, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head in pure ecstasy.
Jane smiled and kissed him on the back of the neck, putting muscle into her massage.
Eddie turned to jelly beneath her hands. "Holy shit that feels good…" He pushed back his shoulder blades, beckoning more.
Jane laughed as she pushed him out from his desk, slipping across his lap as she deeply massaged across his shoulders and down across his chest, knowing all the right places.
"Ah, Jane…" He whispered warningly as she began kissing him across the neck, her hands edging toward his shirt buttons and fingering them curiously.
"Relax," Jane said calmly between kisses, "I'm just playing." She smiled provocatively. "You've had a hard day at work, you deserve a break."
"I agree." Eddie finally submitted and allowed her hand to slip beneath the one undone button in his shirt, slowly trailing his chest. Eventually, she gave up kissing him and instead laid her head on his neck, nuzzling it.
"Oh, guess what I bought you?" Jane asked with a devilish grin, lifting her head and turning behind her for what she had bought him.
Eddie raised an eyebrow, then waited to see what she would pull out of the plastic bag he hadn't noticed on top of his desk. How she had carried the bag into his office without him hearing it, he had no idea.
Her smile widened as she brought out a pint of Dulce de Leche Caramel Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
Eddie threw back his head and laughed, shaking his head in disbelief as she opened it up in front of him, taking her finger and running it through the ice cream, gathering an augment of sticky caramelized dessert.
"Are you trying to tell me something?" Eddie laughed as she only smiled, bringing it closer to his lips, before allowing his mouth to close over her finger, taking the first bite.
Then she dug out another finger-full of golden, gooey ice cream and stuck it into her mouth, leaning over and kissing him deeply. The ice cream from both their mouths mixed openly, becoming a liquid transfusion of love from one enriched adult to another.
"Have you ever thought of why we're together?" Eddie asked as he broke away from Jane's lips, catching a loose trickle of melted ice cream on his chin with his finger, pushing it back up into his mouth.
"What do you mean?" Jane asked back, making him take another finger of ice cream just for the hell of it.
"I mean, why - of all the guys in the world - did you choose me?" Eddie said as she withdrew her finger from his lips, swallowing it down.
Jane jutted out her bottom lip in thought, sliding her hand beneath the undone button on his shirt to peruse her husband's chest again.
"I don't know, I suppose…your devilishly handsome looks," She smiled, continuing when he laughed lightly and leaned his head back in his chair. "Your incredible body…but mostly because I wanted to throw you off of that white horse of yours before you got a nosebleed."
"Oo." Eddie acted as if she'd just hit him. "Touché."
"Naw," Jane redeemed herself, "It's because you showed me the truth about men, even if you did have to step on my feet and prod me in the ass. You showed me that men aren't bulls, or cows, or any other form of quadruped, they're just men."
Jane smiled and slipped back onto his shoulder, her hand stationary under his shirt, the pint of Haagen-Dazs sitting safely on his desk.
Eddie smiled and leaned his head against Jane's, his eyes slowly sliding shut.
"Moo."