CHAPTER 9
O MIO BAMBINO CARA
Steve took off for New York City with a promise to be back in two weeks. Within minutes of him leaving I received a telephone call from Greg.
"I have two tickets to the Kennedy Center, Dame Kira Te Kanawa is singing for one night only, this Saturday. Are you in?"
"You're kidding? Wow! You know I love her. Sure, is it formal?"
"Afraid so, it's one of those special performances for the Arts."
"All I have is my prom dress. I'll have to go buy something."
"I bet that just breaks your heart."
"Ha-ha...what's the plan?"
"I'll pick you up at 6:00 p.m., we have dinner reservations at 6:30 p.m. and the performance is at 8:00 p.m."
I went out to the boutiques in Georgetown and found an evening gown that was on sale and which I thought looked nice on me. It reminds me now of the dress Julia Roberts wore in Pretty Woman. It was red silk with a red satin band around the empire waist with velveteen, off the shoulder sleeves. I bought a fake diamond choker and earrings and some black velvet heels. I had a black shawl that I added to the outfit.
Saturday night came and I put my hair up in a french chignon. I applied a light coat of makeup, brown eyeshadow, brown eyeliner, mascara. I thought my eyes looked bluer with the brown. No matter how much color I put on, my eyes were gray compared to Greg's. I changed out my purse from my day purse to an evening purse that Blythe had given to me. It had belonged to her aunt. It was a black and silver beaded purse with an intricate beaded pattern. The icing on the outfit was my black gloves that went up past my elbows. I think every woman secretly wants to wear a dress where you can wear gloves above the elbow.
I had just gotten the gloves on and was ready when there was a knock on the door. I was nervous. When I opened the door there was Greg, all 6'2" in a Armani European cut tuxedo with beautiful french cuffs. I wondered if he had bought it or rented it. He was clean shaven, gorgeous blue eyes, and his hair combed with a left side part. He made me feel like jelly inside. The whole time I was looking at him he was smiling at me and speaking. I finally heard him.
"...beautiful. I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life. So elegant. Maggie May you are stunning." He handed me a box, "I have this for you." It was a wrist corsage made of baby roses, all red. It was beautiful. I was a little shocked and so he took my wrist, opened the corsage box and put it on. It was lovely and so was he. I felt like I was going to the prom all over again, only this time I had my dream date.
"Are you ready to go?"
I managed to say, "Yes."
We arrived at the restaurant and I felt like a queen being escorted by a courtier. It was surreal. People turned and stared at us. One older lady grabbed my elbow as I went by and said, "You two make a beautiful couple." I told her thank you. We were given a table in the middle of the restaurant and all through the dinner we were stared at.
He leaned across the table, "You certainly know how to turn heads for someone so young."
"I think all these women are looking at you. I know I am. You look very handsome tonight. I have a question though. Why did you ask me? You could have asked Joanne or Cheryl or one of the others you've dated. Why me?"
"Simple, I knew that you really liked Kiri Te Kanawa. I didn't want to go with someone who didn't appreciate her talent."
It made sense, how can you talk about the performer to someone who doesn't even know the aria she's singing. "Well, thank you."
"You're welcome."
We made it to the opera and as we were entering a photographer yelled at us. We turned to see what he was saying and he took our photo. "That's going to be great for the style section. Can I get your names and permission to use your photo?" We gave him our names and Greg gave him a card. The photographer promised to send him a copy of the photo.
We went in and took our seats. I waited all night for O Mio Babbino Cara,' from the opera, Gianni Schicchi, by Puccini. When she finally sang it as her encore, the tears just streamed down my face. The song is about a young woman who begs her father's permission to marry a man he disapproves of or she will throw herself off the Ponte Vichy. In the end he says no and she does commit suicide. Greg took out his
handkerchief and gave it to me to mop my tears. I couldn't help it, even if you don't understand Italian, you can hear the pain and longing in the aria and especially in her
performance. The audience gave her a standing ovation.
As we were leaving he said, "I guess there's no sense in asking you which was your favorite piece." I was still mopping the tears and makeup. I looked up trying to look composed and he just chuckled and gave me a hug. "You're still pathetic Maggie May."
He was a perfect gentleman, he took me up the stairs to my studio, waited for me to unlock my door. He gave me a short closed-mouth kiss on the lips and said good night and then disappeared.
Two weeks later a package arrived in the mail. Inside was a Victorian frame with our photo inside with a note, "The photographer sent me two, so I thought you'd like one." I try to be modest but I have to admit that the photo was very flattering of both of us. Greg and I both look happy and beautiful. I loved it. I put it on the shelf and vowed that I would get a copy made for Blythe. She would love it too.
The fall semester of my junior year began and I had one literature course, a Creative Writing course, an Advanced writing course, Literary Criticism and a communications course. Steve had been down to visit several times and we talked almost every night on the telephone. I didn't tell Steve about the opera because something told me he would be upset. It was early October and I was studying for an exam in my literature course when I started thinking about the night of the Tango and realized that Greg had never given me the gift he said he had for me. I suspected it had been a lie to cover for not having a birthday gift at all. Otherwise, he would have given it to me by now.
That Thursday I received a phone call from Greg. "I have your gift sitting in my trunk, I keep forgetting to give it to you. Are you doing anything this Saturday? "
"No, I'm free."
"Then I'll come down around 6:00 p.m. , take you to dinner and give you your gift, ok?"
"Sounds great."
He came down and we went to a nice, but not fancy, restaurant serving Indian food, one of my favorites. Greg kept talking about clinic duty and how mind numbing it was. However, he did have a few funny anecdotes that made us laugh. I could tell something wasn't right.
"Greg, what's going on. You're distracted and worried."
He gave a look like he didn't want to tell me. But then he said, "I'm having a few problems with the administration at Hopkins. Seems my winning personality isn't winning them over. They have me on probation. My reviews are kind of like, brilliant, uncannily capable, but doesn't play well with others. Apparently, my bedside manner is more like the Spanish Inquisition."
I laughed, "Well, how long do you have to go before you finish your residency?"
"One more year to specialize in Infectious Diseases. Then I'm going to do a two year residency in nephrology. I was hoping to do it at Hopkins...looks good on the resume."
"Greg, this isn't new. You've had problems with authority before. You know how to play the game, it's just that you get exasperated and then you say and do whatever you please. You've always been that way. You don't suffer fools lightly. I can't change you. Frankly, I don't want to change you, but you have to play the game long enough toget you through your residency and you know it."
"I'd rather go in for a root canal. This is hard. I know what you're saying. I did better when you were around... going home and venting to you and arguing with you actually helped me deal with this crap."
"Well, maybe you need a girlfriend. You should put more effort in trying to establish a real relationship."
We walked back to my studio and he went to the car. He opened the trunk and pulled out a guitar case. "Happy Birthday."
I took it inside and opened it. It was a 1988 Ovation Collector Series acoustic guitar. It had a Metallic Silver face, a very unusual Collectors issue. I was overjoyed.
"Oh Greg! It's gorgeous. Oh, wow. Thank you." I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"When I was here I saw the old one I gave you and it looked pretty worn. I thought it was time for a new one."
"This is so exciting!" I started tuning the guitar. Greg grabbed the old one and tuned it. I started picking it and it had an incredible sound. "This is so crisp and clean."
Greg started strumming the guitar. We sat on some large square throw pillows on the floor at the edge of the bed. We leaned back against the bed for back support.
I asked, "Greg, when I was staying at your house, I didn't see any musical instruments, where were they?"
"Still packed away in the attic, I just haven't had the time to play music. And I haven't had the money to buy a piano. I haven't been able to get to it."
"That's ridiculous. You, above all people need your music to unwind. It would be good for you after all that mind numbing clinic duty. Instead of watching television, you should be playing."
He continued to strum and hum. I started to strum too. He had never heard me play. "Do you know Tim Buckley's, Once I Was?"
"I know Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah."'
"Tim Buckley was his father, they both died young. But he wrote, Once I Was' during the Viet Nam war."
"I think I might know it, play it and I'll try to follow. Are you in G?"
He shook his head yes and began to strum and then he started to sing:
Once I was a soldier
And I fought on foreign sands for you
Once I was a hunter
And I brought home fresh meat for you
Once I was a lover
And I searched behind your eyes for you
And soon there'll come another
To tell you I was just a lie.
Sometimes I wonder
Just for awhile,
Do you ever remember me?
Though you have forgotten
All of our rubbish dreams
I find myself searching
Through the ashes of our ruins
For the days when we smiled
And the hours that ran wild
And the magic of our eyes
And the silence of our words
And Sometimes I wonder
Just for awhile
Do you ever remember me?
I didn't join in at all. I had heard the song but I hadn't realized how beautiful the lyrics were and Greg sang it so hauntingly. "Greg, what a beautiful song...how sad."
"Well then, maybe you can join me in this one..." He did the guitar introduction and we both smiled,
"Wake up Maggie I think I've got something to say to you,
It's late September and I really should be back at school,
I know I keep you amused, but I feel Im being used,
Oh Maggie I couldn't have tried any more,
You lured me away from home just to save you from being alone,
You stole my heart and that's what really hurt...
We sang it together...and when we got to these lyrics he almost shouted them at me,
...All I needed was a friend to lend a guiding hand,
But you turned into a lover and
Mother what a lover, you wore me out,
All you did was wreck my bed,
And in the morning kick me in the head,
Oh Maggie I couldn't have tried anymore,
You lured me away from home, cause you didn't want to be alone,
You stole my heart I couldn't leave you if I tried...
He stopped playing and singing, putting his guitar quickly off to the side. He grabbed my arm, took my guitar and tossed it onto some pillows. He turned back to me and looked in my eyes and kissed me. We kissed again only this was mutual. I stood up and he stood up with me. He started taking off my blouse, one button at a time. With each button he would give me a deep kiss. There were five buttons and five kisses. My skirt was elastic, he pulled it down and I stepped out of it. I started unbuttoning his short sleeve dark blue shirt. He took it off and then grabbed the back of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. He kissed my shoulders, my neck and my lips again. He looked at my breasts nestled in my demi-cup bra and he kissed the tops of them.Greg reached around and unlatched the bra. I took it off and he held me next to his chest, putting his hand down the back of my panties as he kissed me again. I put my hand down the back of his shorts and pulled him closer. He went over to the bed, pulled down the covers and, after taking our underwear off, we got in together.
Greg was slow and gentle. His fingers played inside the folds between my legs until I was warm and wet. His tongue played in my mouth and then down my neck to my nipples which he took into his mouth and sucked with his warm, wet mouth. We explored each other hands, mouths, eyes, touching each other everywhere. We made love missionary style, but slowly, Greg looking in my eyes the whole time. When he climaxed his eyes closed and his mouth clenched. He didn't breath until it was over. Then he made sure that my pleasure was taken. Afterwards, we lay in each other's arms. There were no excuses or apologies. We both knew that this was what we wanted.
"Maggie?"
"Yes?"
"I've never touched anything so delicious as your skin. I don't think I can let you out of this bed, ever."
"Then let's not get out of bed...ever."
CHAPTER 10
FOR THOSE WHO WAIT
He kissed me and nibbled my ears. I did get out of bed, to get us some ice water, I was parched. We drank the water and returned to our lovemaking. I turned Greg onto his back and then took an ice cube out of the glass. With one hand I caressed him and with the ice cube in my lips I traced a line down from his chest to the line of hair that starts at the navel and goes down. He was very excited, and I straddled him while we made love. He was exhausted afterwards and said, "I'll never look at ice the same way again."
It was difficult getting out of bed the next day. Neither of us wanted to move or do anything to spoil our night together. But eventually we both got up and cleaned up. I made Greg some coffee and after I was dressed, he took me out to breakfast. We looked like one of those couples that can't keep their hands off of each other. We kissed each other deeply at every intersection and when we sat down. Greg ordered Eggs Benedict and I had French toast, he ate some of mine off of my plate. I was used to this, he had done it ever since the roast beef plate his Mom had served me.
"What do you want to do today?" He asked.
"Go back to bed." I said.
"Tempting, but let's take a walk before we do. I enjoy walking the mall."
"I do too. Can we go up to the Viet Nam Memorial?"
"I don't care where we go, I just like to walk."
We started walking and Greg started making up stories about the people we passed. One was a proctologist going to make a house call, he was caring a toilet plunger. The woman with the small dog was a jewel thief and the dog her accomplice, he swallows the jewelry she steals and then he passes them later after the police have searched her apartment. We had a great time making up the stories. We got out to the mall and started strolling. Every now and again we would stop and hug or kiss. When we got to the Viet Nam Memorial I was somber. I was always moved by the polished granite and the reflection of the trees off of the deep black panels. I made sure that I stopped and touched the panel with Lt. Larry Stevens, MIA. He was the oldest son of my Dad's friend and had been missing since Valentine's Day, 1969.
We then climbed the Lincoln Memorial and sat on one of the steps and we looked back at the mall towards the Washington Memorial and the Capitol Building. I then started to quote the Gettysburg Address without looking at it.
"Why in the hell would you memorize that?"
"I admire Lincoln. He was hated by so many people, including a lot of people in his own party. But he did what he thought was right even though it was incredibly unpopular, he started a war to keep the Union together. He was such a tragic hero, losing two of his sons, dealing with a wife with a borderline personality disorder and being haunted with dreams of his own death. He was a great human being and leader and he was a great writer. So, I memorized the Address as a kid in his honor. I think it is a beautiful five minute speech that captures the essence of patriotism. It brings tears to my eyes when it is read. How can you not be moved by the phrase, "Last full measure of devotion?" It sends chills down my arms, look..."
He looked at me and the goosebumps on my arms, "Maggie, you are one weird chick. Do you think if we have sex long enough then I will turn weird like you and start quoting the Preamble to the Constitution or Patrick Henry's speech?"
"Oh screw you Gregory House."
"Ok, honey let's go."
And so we did, we made our way back to the studio and straight into bed. We made love and as he was kissing me all over he looked up and said, "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, promote..." I took a pillow and hit him upside his head. We both laughed.
We didn't get out of bed for the rest of the day. We even had a pizza delivered so that we could stay in bed and eat. I gave him a massage and he fell asleep so I turned on the television and watched for awhile. When he woke up he reached over and grabbed me to hold me close to him. Around 9:00 p.m. he told me, "I've got to go. I have a 36 hour rotation tomorrow. But I'll be down Wednesday, ok?"
"I have class until 4:00 p.m. so don't get down here too early."
"Maggie May, when does your lease expire?"
"End of this month."
"Move back in with me."
"But Greg, are you sure you want to make that kind of commitment so soon?"
"You must be joking. I've just jumped off a huge cliff into the burning hell, Maggie May , there's no going back now."
"I guess you're right. I'll think about it and let you know Wednesday."
"Good night Maggie May."
"Good night Greg."
I stared at the ceiling all night. There were so many loose ends. I had to tell Steve it was over, I worried about what Blythe and John would say and I was concerned over what was going to happen to Greg and I. It became so overwhelming that I wanted to run away. But I eventually fell asleep and woke at 8:00 a.m. I got to school and had a hard time concentrating. I kept thinking that Wednesday couldn't come soon enough.
That night I dialed Steve. "Hello?"
"Steve, it's Maggie. How are you?"
"I'm well Maggie but you don't sound so hot, what's up?"
"I don't know how to tell you this over the phone but I wasn't sure when we would be seeing each other again."
"Let me see if I can guess. You and Greg House are seeing each other now and you want to break up."
"Wow, you're psychic. You're right, but how did you know?"
"I could tell from the minute he walked in and kissed you that you were in love with him. When he did it you closed your eyes like you do just before you climax. And then I saw that photo of the two of you that you stashed in the desk drawer. God you looked gorgeous and you looked in love, so did he. I'm disappointed. I think he's going to break your heart, but I can't stop that. I love you Maggie. Maybe if I had told you sooner this wouldn't have happened. But I can't go back. I really do hope he can make you happy."
"I don't know Steve, but I've been on this train since I was a little girl and I have to see where it's going. Thanks so much for everything. You are an wonderful human being and a great lover ."
"Good Bye Maggie."
"Thanks Steve, Good Bye."
Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. Greg showed up with a rose for me. He walked into the studio, "Mmmm, what's that I smell...God, that's making me hungry."
"It's chilli and cornbread." I walked over and wrapped my arms around him. I was so afraid that this was all going to be over soon and I wanted to just hold on him.
"Ah, Maggie, Maggie...you're squeezing really hard. I'm not going anywhere."
We sat down at my little table and ate dinner.
"I really find this place suffocating. Please come back home." He looked at me with a sweet silly face.
"I'm going to give up my lease and move back at the end of the month."
He reached over and kissed me on my lips, "Great."
We didn't go anywhere because I needed to finish a paper. Greg sat on the bed and watched television while I sat at the typewriter. He got up, went to the bathroom and then came back and started annoying me. He blew on my neck, nibbled my ear, reached from behind and grabbed my breasts, anything to get my attention.
"Ok, ok...just give me five more minutes? I have to finish my chapter and then I can direct my full attention to you, ok?"
He sighed and then went over by the bed. I could hear his belt dangling as he took off his pants so I turned and he was already stripped down to his shorts. Normally, this impatience would have bugged the crap out of me, but he looked so cute and happy. He looked like he was going to go to Disneyland. I had to giggle.
I finished the paragraph, turned off the typewriter, took a drink of water and jumped up. I told him, "You get one piece of clothing for each "real" answer to my questions. If I think you're not being honest, then I put a piece of clothing back on..."
"Oh, no, no. No way Maggie May. Just come over and let's make love."
"Let's start. What is your favorite color?" I started with an easy one to relax him.
"Blue."
"You've just earned my levis." I took off my jeans and threw them off to the side.
"Who is your favorite musical artist?"
"John Coltrane."
"I didn't know that! You've just earned my sweater." I threw it over to the side.
"What is your favorite sexual position?"
He smiled broadly, "Woman on top. The view is incredible and your hands are free to explore. You better hurry this up, I'm getting hot thinking about it."
"You've just earned my shirt." I threw the shirt over and sat in my bra and panties.
"Now, it gets harder. Do you ever see yourself getting married?"
His face dropped. I could tell his brain was trying to figure out how he could tell the truth and not upset me. "I honestly don't know. Not usually, I feel like I'd ruin it. But Maggie May, that doesn't mean I won't change my mind."
He sounded so pathetically honest I smiled sweetly at him to let him know it was ok."You've just earned the ...well, which would you prefer? Bra or panties off"
"Bra please..."
"And, since you answered the question of bra and panties, that means you get both!"
"Hallelujah brothers and sisters, I'm going to the promise land." Greg through up his hands in praise.
I took both off and walked over. He looked up and down and then grabbed me around my waist and pulled me down. He made sure I was just at the brink of climaxing and then he entered. We climaxed together and I could feel my muscles contracting around him. It was both pleasurable and painful.
Just after we both finished he said, "You have incredibly strong Kegle muscles."
"Should I be flattered?"
"Oh yeah baby, those muscles could give a dead man a climax."
"Well thank you sir."
"No. Thank You!"
"The pleasure was mine."
"No, I assure you, the pleasure was mine." and then he started to tickle me.
"Greg House, I'm not ticklish...ok there's one place, but I will never give that up. On the other hand, you claim not to be ticklish and I know that's a lie!" I started to tickle back and within minutes he was writhing on his back trying to keep my hands away from him.
He giggle, "Ok, ok, truce...truce..."
"I want to hear, "I surrender.."
"I surrender, I surrender...just keep those digits away from me."
We both collapsed. "Can you stay all night?" I asked.
"Yeah, I don't have work tomorrow."
"Great, you can come to class with me and I can show you off to everyone."
We started out sleeping in the spoon position and I could feel his warm breath on my back and neck. But occasionally he would move and it would tickle. This was the one place I was ticklish, except immediately after sex when I was incredibly ticklish all over. He was asleep so he couldn't see me moving my neck into a position where his breath didn't tickle.
During the night our bodies separated and I was sleeping on my side. It must have been around 4:00 a.m. when I woke up to him sliding up to me and wrapping himself around me. He was warm and toasty and his body was so long compared to me. Within minutes he was fondling me and he took me from behind. We had sex slowly and without fanfare. When it was over, he went back to sleep immediately. I was awake. Once he was snoring I knew I was doomed, I'd never be able to get back to sleep. Greg is a strange sleeper. Sometimes he wakes up at the drop of a pin, other times he sleeps through anything. After he has sex, he can sleep through anything.
I got up and turned on the desk lamp and started typing away. I stopped to see if he was going to wake and he didn't, so I worked on my essay. I edited it and retyped the pages with the editing. By 7:30 a.m. when the alarm went off, I had already had my
shower and was ready to go. When the alarm sounded, I got up and made a pot of coffee and a pot of tea. I made him wake up, reluctantly I might add, and go get his shower. I made us some toast and when he came to the table he looked so clean and shiny that I wanted to tweak his cheek. Which I did.
The day was a normal day of lectures. Greg fell asleep in my advanced writing course. When he started snoring the whole class turned around and the teacher, who liked me, asked, "Are we interfering with his beauty sleep?"
I prodded Greg and told the teacher, "He's a doctor, up all night with a patient. I'll wake him." Greg woke up with a snort and the whole class laughed including the teacher. When the class resumed I made sure by pinching Greg every five minutes that he didn't go back to sleep.
After class I told him to go back to the studio and sleep and I would meet up with him. He begged me to let him come with me to my next class, he just wanted to be with me.
The next class was my elective, "Creative Writing." I relented and on the way we got him a cup of coffee. As he was finishing it up outside the classroom, I went in to talk to my instructor, Professor Gerald Perkins. Professor Perkins was scrumptious. He was probably 30 and very handsome in the way that Robert Redford is handsome. In fact, he could have been his brother. Professor Perkins saw me and gave me a smile. I had to ask him about the next assignment and so we talked for a few minutes. He always made me laugh and today was no exception. After we were done I took my seat. Greg had been watching us from the doorway. He came and sat down next to me.
"That guy has the hots for you."
"Professor Perkins? Don't be absurd."
"I can read his body language and he wants to ball you."
"For God sakes Greg, he doesn't want to sleep with me."
"You're right, he doesn't want to sleep with you, he wants to screw you."
"Behave and pay attention."
"Well, if he doesn't want to, I do!" He gave my breast a quick feel.
During the class, Professor Perkins called on me several times. I was now conscious of the fact that he might be flirting with me and I was squirming when he showed me the least bit of attention.
After class, Greg marked his territory by putting his arm around me and giving me a kiss before we left the classroom. His hand slid down my back and onto the cheeks of my ss. I just smiled to myself as we walked back to the studio.