((Disclaimer: I do not own Richard Condon's masterful work The Manchurian Candidate. Please don't sue me. Cos I'll sue your ass right back.))
Raymond's Love
by The Bellman
"Mrs Raymond Shaw," she said dreamily as she smiled at his dormant figure. Her new husband, the proud Mr Raymond Shaw, lay on his side, facing her directly. He who always had that one last sarcastic remark for those he hated or just one more loving welcome for the woman he loved, was silent, save for the little whistling noises that came from his nose.
Jocie's mind was cleared of negative thought and had been since she saw him at the costume party. He really had liked her costume, hadn't he? The Queen of Diamonds.
. . . reminiscent in so many ways of his dearly loved and hated mother . . .
Nothing more. He stirred in her embrace.
"Good morning, Raymond, darling," she breathed, her chestnut tresses tickling at their faces.
"Jocie," came the husky-voiced reply. Did his voice always sound like that in the mornings? It was so seductive . . . she couldn't help but smile. "Jocie, dearest . . ." His strange feline eyes (Jocelyn had since determined their colour to be a very strange green, though they were closer in truth to yellow) opened, heavy-lidded and tender. They could be by turns sweet and vicious. Only she could inspire the sweetness, but soon they would be glazed with salty sadness. Neither of them knew what lay ahead.'
Raymond drew his beloved in for a soft kiss and both of them felt their rightful yet short-lived happiness.
Raymond knew love.