"He's met up with her look he's smiling" Patrice said in tears for how romantic, her version of the story had ended, Dot stood witnessing the facial gestures and honestly he believed it too
Sam's Flash
"I see you" she said as they moved closer to each other
"Can I kiss you?" Sam asked as he got to her
"No" Mercy said making him laugh, as she suddenly became serious and kissed him "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before you passed, but I'll always love you" she said holding his left cheek
"You did, I read the letter you wrote, Tiny showed it to me" he said pulling her closer to him "And I'll love you forever too" he said as she turned and started walking into the light, her man by her side as promised
End of Flash
Monday 5th December 2016
That night all three stayed in the room with him and at 04.27 that morning he passed, they would have wanted to say peacefully in his sleep, but the man was near laughing. Eventually the doctor was called and he was taken to the mortuary before Dot called his parents to let them know. His Dad cried loudly over the phone while his Mom had to take control and get instructions for them to get there. At 07.00 there was an unusual glow in the sky bringing a smile to their faces as they all quietly imagined Sam had just married his Mercy and merriment was being had from all four corners of the universe
"I guess we sit and wait now for your Dad to get here?" Tiny asked Dot as they stripped and re-spread the bed and made ready the room for either Mercy and Patrice or Dot's parents. Nobody ate lunch they just pottered around the house waiting for this confrontation Dot had told them to expect Patrice and Tiny being more nervous than him.
Cain and Claudine were coming to visit for some young company and she was sure Mark would have gotten wind of it and he'd be turning up too "I'm sorry but I invited friends round this evening obviously I didn't realise you know" she said pointing at the bedroom
"That's fine more young people, always good" Dot smiled "They've landed" he said looking at his Mobile "They'll get a cab from the airport, it's easy enough" he laughed as Tiny made herself busy in the kitchen doing nothing just calming nerves. He couldn't help watching her as she walked around touching things that didn't need to be touched, watching her backside swing as she moved, from side to side and up and down, her mouth had a constant corner smile on it, like she knew what he was thinking and agreeing with it. What was he doing sitting in the kitchen of his Grandfather's lover peeling the clothes off this woman he barely knew the name of and dreaming about rubbing himself on, around and in her, he chuckled
"You alright Dot" Tiny asked smiling
"Actually I am Tiny" he smiled back
Twenty minutes later and he was stood at the front door welcoming his parents, "Mom Dad this is Tiny and Patrice, Mercy's daughter and granddaughter" he said as he walked them in the house
"Patty?" Daniel said to Patrice amazement "Dad spoke of you often" he said hugging her "I know he loved you, sometimes I thought more than he loved me" he laughed as she looked at him not knowing how to take that "Don't worry we got that straight" he smiled "I was definitely his Prince while your place was as a mere princess" he laughed "And you really are a real life princess" he said hugging her again "I'm actually happy to meet you finally but the circumstances" he said shaking his head as his mood changed
"Sorry for your loss" she quickly dropped in
"He gets that from Grandma he'll talk you to death if you don't stop him" Dot said shaking his head "He's not going to so, this is Michelle my Mom" he finished as Michelle said a quiet hello and sunk back into Daniel's background
"Hi Michelle" Patrice said hugging her followed by Tiny as they showed them into the main room "You can settle in the main room or the second bedroom" she told them as they walked
"Which one was Dad in?" Daniel asked
"The main room" Patrice answered
"We'll have that one if you don't mind" he said as Dot and Tiny brought their bags to the bedroom. They sat talking for a long while before the bell went and Tiny informed them that she had to apologise for friends turning up and she'd ask them to leave if they didn't want the noise right now
"No that's fine you young ones go try have some fun" Michelle said having come out of her shell a bit since arriving
"Claudine" Tiny said going in for a hug when she opened the door
"So much drama at the Anderson abode" Claudine said hugging her back before she hugged Cain and then Mark
"This is Sam he's Granddad passed this morning" Tiny said as they all passed on their condolences "Drink anyone?" she asked as they moved towards the veranda
"We have liquid refreshments" Cain said holding up a bottle as Tiny dragged Claudine with her to get glasses
"He looks alright" Claudine said to Tiny as they stood at the cupboard looking at Sam on the veranda stood listening to Mark and Cain
"Yeah he is easy on the eye" she smiled
"Very" Claudine said wiggling her eyebrows
"Err Cain?" Tiny asked raising her eyebrows back at her
"Cain's fine" she said knocking Tiny as they laughed out loud making Dot look through the window at them and smile back as he saw Claudine's eyes roll and he knew they were talking about him
He stayed in his conversation with the guys, catching looks at Tiny as he watched her hand grab the glass how her fingers confidently curved around the stem of the glass and her thumb rubbed the side of the glass as she stood speaking to Claudine. He imagined that thumb stroking him on his face, his lips, back, pulling his hips into her and stroking him soft enough to enjoy but hard enough to get him off "Wooo" he said stopping the conversation
"You alright Sam?" Cain asked looking at his line of sight as Mark caught on
"Don't even bother friend, we've been trying for a lifetime, it's not happening" Mark laughed saying
"Don't know what you're talking about" Dot laughed
Finally Claudine and Tiny came out with the glasses and they poured drinks and sat chatting for what seemed like an age "Work in the morning" Mark finally announced as everyone got up to exit "We'll go round the back you guys stay were you are" he added as Mercy sat back down after hugging Claudine. Cane and Mark came down to hug her while Sam stood and hugged Claudine and man hugged Mark and Cain then watched them leave before walking past the chair that he was sitting at opposite Tiny and sat on the swing chair with her
"Great friends you have" he smiled as he picked the bottle up and poured himself another drink before offering her one which she took
"They're alright but right now I'm more interested in you" she said knocking glasses with him "Who is Sam 'Dot' Evans?" she asked
Dot started almost from birth as he led Tiny through his life, of school, trying college and finding himself in the Navy "Granddad would have loved me to have done music or art or something like that he loved those things, and I can play at those but I need something stable you know the kind of career you can raise a family on?"
"I guess I do really" she said looking at her hands before carrying on to say "I'm all things music, I sing, play instruments everything and I'm hoping it will get me somewhere" she smiled "I'm going into teaching"
"That's brilliant" he said excited for her "God" he said calming down again
"What?" she asked with concern
"My Granddad's just died and I'm sitting here thinking you're ticking so many of my boxes I can't concentrate"
"I don't actually understand any of that, but let's sleep on it" Tiny said fully understanding that meaning but preferring to play dumb about it
"Yeah lets" he said getting up and taking a step before he realised he'd left her on the chair "Sorry" he said stepping back "Ladies first" he said gesturing for her to go in front of him "Sorry if I offended you saying that" he almost whispered in her ear as she stepped off in front of him
"Oh I see you're sleeping out here, so good night" she said rushing through the main room and down the hall to the bedroom she was sharing with her Mom
Mercy got in the room looked to see what her Mom was doing before flopping into the vacant chair, she sat watching her Mother sleep as her mind and body went into turmoil. 'Tiny his Granddad just died, his emotions are all over the damn place and you've got him, undressing you slow and seductive, undoing your skirt, removing your underwear, laying you on that damn garden chair, grabbing your nipples in his hands and ….' "Stop" she whispered to herself as she looked around the room 'What he said wasn't even sexy' she told herself puzzled at her reaction to him 'It was the heat of his breath it undressed me and made love to me, God I need him to make love to me' "Stop" she told herself again as she got up out the chair this time and went towards the bathroom to get ready for bed
Dot had stood by the couch watching Tiny walk away from him, yet again wondering why in God's name he hadn't grabbed hold of her and laid her out right there. She'd long gone but he was still kneeling on the couch watching the space she'd just occupied, reliving that ass move 'He'd grabbed her back to him as she walked in front of him pressed her up against the veranda window, hoisted her leg up onto his hips, moved her panties to the side and dived into her soft, warm, wet skin' "Calm Down Dot" he told himself as he felt movement, he lay there for a long while looking like he was sleeping in a tent, forcing himself to think about his Granddad until sleep found him.
Tuesday 6th December 2016
"Morning Dot" Tiny said laughing as she walked through the main room the scenic route to the kitchen
"Morning" he said stopping all activities when he saw she only had on pyjama shorts and top with something that might have passed for a mini dressing gown, he was back there again his mind in overdrive with a risk of grown ups fogging the picture any minute now "You're warm then" he said pulling the blanket up to cover more of him
"Not so much warm as hot" she said looking over her shoulder at him, looking all 'take me now' with a dare on her face
"I'll say" he shouted as she disappeared round the door as he sat up trying to get rid of the evidence before his parents entered the room "God I'm like 23 and I'm still not in control of this shit yet" he said concentrating on cooling down "I was though, I know I was" he said as he heard his Mother's voice and suddenly his problem was solved
"Morning Dot" she said going in for a hug
"Dot" his Dad came in saying with a smile "Sorry about the couch"
"We agreed last night after breakfast today we'd deal with the funeral" his Mom told him
"You're both aware Granddad wanted to be buried here with Mercy yeah?" Dot asked
"No" his Dad said stopping his walking flow and turning to look at him
"Dad" Dot jumped up saying, making sure he had the blanket in his hand to cover himself "I know you want him to be with Grandma I do too, but it's his wishes"
"No way, he's going home, he's my Dad and I have the last say, he's going home" Daniel said walking off leaving Sam to himself, so even if he wanted to say anything else, the platform wasn't there
"What's the matter?" Tiny asked as Daniel and Michelle came into the kitchen obviously angry at something
"Dot said Dad wanted to be buried here" Daniel told her
"That's right he told us before he passed" Tiny said to Daniel's horror
"Why is everyone making plans about my Dad behind my back?" he stood in the kitchen shouting as Patrice came in from the veranda and Sam walked in from the main room, to find an open mouthed Tiny standing at the fridge looking at Daniel
"Dan everyone knows he's your Dad, why do you think you're here?" Michelle asked him as he spun to look at her "And this conversation is exactly why he didn't call you before he passed" she said walking off out of the kitchen obviously upset
"Sorry" Daniel said looking around at everyone before following his wife back out of the kitchen
Sam's eyes followed his Dad out the door before turning back to focus on where Patrice was, as he saw her stepping back out onto the veranda he started again "So Tiny" he smiled going towards the fridge where she stood "How do you feel about the forces?" he asked
"I don't know, I don't really know anyone from there, you're my first one" she grinned at him saying, he saw all sorts of come on in that grin
"I feel like I've told you everything about me and I know nothing about you" he told her as he picked up and apple and washed it before biting into it
"You're sorting the funeral out today I hear" she told him
"We're sorting the funeral out today" he said back side eyeing her
"Okay we, I was just waiting for the invite" she smiled
"When are you not playing games?" he asked as she'd brought a smile to his face
"When I'm serious" she told him too busy concentrating on the cooking she was doing to turn and look at him this time
"So" he said making her look in his direction "Your story tonight on the veranda, should we say after dinner?" he asked "I'm excited to hear it" he smiled taking another bite of his apple before making his way to the dinning table to sit and watch her work
"I'll think about it" she said after watching him make his way to the table
"What time is breakfast?" Patrice came in asking
"It's ready just get Daniel and Michelle and we can start" Tiny said as she visually followed her Mom leaving the kitchen
"Do you do that naturally or are you laying it on thick for my benefit?" Sam asked he couldn't take the suspense any longer
"Do?" Tiny asked her face totally blank
"Walk around looking so freaking fit" he said a major smirk on his face producing a lopsided grin 'What the hell was that?' Mercy asked pulling herself together trying to catch her breath as her heart beat ten to the dozen like it was going to burst out of her t-shirt. She was aware it was beating but that first bang had caught her off guard and she was busy getting over it conscious that Sam had asked her a question and she needed somehow to provide him with an answer 'Thank you' she thought
"Thank you" she said grateful for her dark skin right now
"What?" he laughed asking
"For em, for saying that I'm fit" she smiled and walked off back to the cooker "Grab some plates please" she asked him with her back to him pointing to the cabinet 'Seriously if I believed in it even I'd say I just felt love but is that possible, no girl not right now when you've just planned your life out, newly qualified, got your new job in Ohio, made your mind up to keep this damn house, no' she told herself as he came near her left side with the plates
"Okay let's eat" Patrice said walking back in with Michelle and Daniel following her, they sat down and ate and made plans for the funeral, Daniel had no more talk of what he needed obviously Michelle and Patrice had done a number on him
Patrice helped with booking the Church, while Daniel and Dot chose the coffin, hymns were a joint venture and then they left to go sort out clothes for Sam and have them delivered to the funeral home before they went to got clothes for themselves. They took a break at 2.30 pm for a late lunch before finishing off clothes shopping and then focusing on flowers, wake and food, they weren't expecting more than just them so it was agreed they go for a late church and early dinner while having one drink at the local for the happy couple. Daniel broke down at the parlour because he'd missed his Mother's funeral with being in hospital at the time, surprisingly it was Patrice he went to for comfort and by the time they got home there were definite bonds made between Michelle, Daniel and Patrice
After dinner, Patrice called Neville "Sweet, things are near the funeral here and I just wondered if you had time to come down?" she asked
"Am I really needed there?" he asked
"I always need you Sweet, come down" she said whining "Please?" she asked
"Okay, you Anderson women" he laughed
"Thank you" she smiled saying "11 o'clock then" she said "Bring a suit" she pulled the phone back up to her ear saying "Tiny, Dad's coming tonight" she shouted through the house
Dot and Tiny were settling out on the garden swing with glasses of wine in hand and cake on the table in front of them "So" Dot said when they'd settled in properly "This is your life" he laughed, as Tiny licked her lips and started talking started from what her Father had told her happened on the day she was born, through first school into bullying senior year because of her talent, finishing at opportunity knocking University and landing the job in Ohio
"Ohio?" Dot asked
"Yeah, I'll be going there when term starts in about 5 weeks" she said happy
"I was going to be based near Lima about 6 months ago, I turned it down, might jump at it next time" he said excitedly
"We'll have to get a coffee sometime, if you do, when they let you out that is" she laughed
"I'm not locked up" he laughed with her "Will you sing at the funeral tomorrow?" he asked
"We'll see what your Dad says about that shall we, wouldn't want him bursting a blood vessel again" they laughed before Dot got serious again
"Tiny, there's something going on here, I don't know what it is, but it's going on" he said looking at her demanding her attention, "I know this has come at the worst time but I don't know, I don't think I've stopped thinking about you since we met"
"Dot this isn't possi..." she started to say as she got up
"Wait" he said standing up with her "I'm sorry, I know timing is bad and everything, let's park this" he said as he looked into her eyes 'Damn she's so damn fine don't check her out look in her eyes, I'm nervous as hell right now, I'm not going to ask I'm going to take that kiss' he told himself as he watched her tongue sweep across her lips leaving them wet and willing "But I need to..." he said as his hand involuntarily came up and cupped her cheek 'My God what the hell is that' he thought dragging his hand away "Did you feel that?" he asked her rubbing his hand
"Yeah I did" she replied rubbing her cheek for the shock she just got from his touch
"Sorry" he said going in to touch her cheek again "Shit" he said when he felt the pain again, but this time he forged through it "I got to do this" he said aware that Tiny's eyes hadn't left his since they stood up. They stood him with his hand on her cheek unable to move it and her fused to his hand feeling electricity mixed with a warmth that made her want to close her eyes and fall asleep in it. "I'm going to.."
"Tiny" her Mom shouted from the main room "Your Dad's here" she said, Tiny's normal reaction would have been to race past her Mom and hug her Dad but she couldn't move from the hold Dot had on her
"I need to go see my Dad" she told him "You need to let go of me" she said still looking into his eye
"Sorry, we've fused" he smiled "I'm not holding you"
"I don't think I want to go" she smiled
"Your Dad's waiting" he said as her Mom called her again, then the struggle for both of them started as they forced themselves away from each other smiling awkwardly not actually understanding what actually happened, as they walked towards the main room door
"Dad" she said running to him for her hug
"Tiny" he said "It seems too long since I saw my only child" as he hugged her back "And you must be Sam?" he asked Dot as he stood back watching Tiny with her Dad, a smile on his face at their interaction
"Yes Sir" Sam said grabbing his hand and giving it a good solid shake "Thank you for coming"
"No sweat, great to meet you all" Neville said smiling around the room "I'm sorry but I was at work first thing on a plane for 6 hours and now I am wrecked I need my bed" he laughed grabbing hold of Patrice and his case "Where are you tonight Tiny?" he asked
"In the den I guess" she smiled as she watched them leave
"Catch up tomorrow guys" he said as he exited the room
"I'm whacked too" Tiny announced not looking at Dot, as she turned to leave the room
"Where's the den?" he asked
"Under the house" she said as she left
Dot sat listening to his parents talk in the background pretending to watch the TV, his mind was focused on what happened between Tiny and him 'I felt electricity for Christ sake, shocked; I was electrically shocked for touching her and she felt it too, that twinge I felt a few days ago is big, mega, I could tell she was as dazed as I was, and she stands there trying to act like shit didn't happen. I know she felt that she told me she did, I'm in love one touch and I'm in love, Dad will think I'm crazy if I bring this to him, he'll blame it on grief or something but I know, hold up is it grief?" he asked himself as his eyes closed to take it all in and let it all out
Tiny's head was so fuzzed she literally jumped into bed dragged the covers over her head and willed herself to sleep to forget it all nothing was interfering with her plans
Wednesday 7th December 2016
The house woke up as was normal this past week, Daniel and Michelle went to dress their Dad while Patrice checked out the arrangements and Tiny talked Dot into singing a song with her if he was up to it. By 2 pm everyone was back at the house looking to get ready for the 3 pm funeral, everyone went off to the Church shocked to see so much of the community had turned up for this unknown man but out of respect for Ms Mercy. Daniel wanted a traditional service so the choir led the singing proceedings and everyone was fine with that, Sam held his Dad for most of the service and came out blowing hard as he looked at Tiny with his water filled eyes
"It's a hard day" he told her when he realised she was staring at him
"I know and I feel so helpless" she frowned at him saying, as she walked towards him
"You're here that helps" he smiled
"Dot" his Dad shouted making him turn to see what the matter was, to find his Dad's outstretched arms waiting for him. He turned back to look at Tiny for a second before walking off to be with his Dad, unable to imagine what it would be like to be standing there saying goodbye to him but knowing that in the scheme of things that was more than likely going to happen
They got to the graveside and Daniel decided he needed to say something, Patricia was broken all she could see was her Mother a few months back and the pain was still so raw, Tiny kept filling up and demanding of herself to be brave for her Mom because her Dad was forever breaking down too and someone needed to keep order
"I'd just like to say a few words" Daniel said as they stood looking down at the coffin "Dad has finally been laid to rest, I guess I always knew this was what he wanted he never stopped talking about Mercy" he laughed to himself "Most guys would have been going on about the one that got away, not my Dad, he was on about the one he was going to end up with" he said rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he spoke grabbing hold of Michelle's hand and pulling her to him "I think if I'm honest Mom and Dad knew they were second best for each other and they were content with their lot, I guess her skeletons are yet to come out" he chuckled "I loved my Dad and I know he loved me but his heart was taken real early on in his life and I respected him for always making sure that he kept things above board and told it like it is, and the love of a good woman did that for him, I sort of know what that's like" he smiled at Michelle saying "When it gets you it gets you Dad always said" he smiled looking down at the coffin "I'll love you forever Dad" he said throwing a flower on the coffin and hugging his wife "You got me" he told his Dad
"I guess as his name sake I should say something" Dot said as his Mom hugged him "I wanted to sing a song for Granddad, but I didn't think what we did together was appropriate for church so I missed but, if you don't mind, I'd like to sing it now" he said smiling nervously "I wish I had a guitar" he said looking around
"Hold up" Neville said leaving the grave and returning a few minutes later with a rather old guitar "Mom brought this for Tiny years ago, we keep it in the car, I think she's played it maybe twice" he smiled at her, while handing the guitar to Dot
"Thanks" Dot said quickly tuning it up as everyone sat about talking or watching him do his thing "Granddad liked me to sing to him, he seemed to think, or should I say wish, it was my calling, I like it because it's something we did together, and I dedicate this to him and Mercy actually" he said as he started strumming the guitar and when he'd composed himself he started singing his version of 'Granddaddy's Chair' by Kane Brown when he finished Tiny went up to him and gave him a hug, his heart beating as if it was trying to burst out of his chest made her look up at him
"You alright?" she asked concerned
"Yeah it's you being so close" he smiled down at her
"Sorry" she said pulling away as he grabbed her hand when she made to walk away from him and they made their way back to the house for eats
"Mom, Dad" Dot said when they'd all settled in "I love you both and we'll always remember Granddad in our own way but please no more Dot as the only living Sam in our family I'd like my name back" he announced as everyone stood looking at him shocked at his speech
"And while Sam's being reborn so to speak" Tiny said looking around the small group, before looking up at Sam "I guess we can bring Mercy back too" she smiled at him saying. Both of them unable to loose the hold they'd got on each others hand from the graveside as the electricity, they were getting used to now, surged through the connection
"And I have no problem with that" Daniel said "You can be called whatever you want to be called" his smiled back at him looking between Tiny and him as he spoke "But" he said pausing to think "I, sorry, we had you and we'll call you anything we see fit to call you which for me is Dot" he smiled wider "It's said with affection Son not ridicule and Dad gave you that name because you were a tiny dot fighting for your life in that incubator all those years ago, it was a seriously scary time for us" he said looking at Michelle "I for one never want to forget how precious you are"
"And don't be standing there telling us you're not who we say you are" Neville said pointing at Tiny
"Okay we get it" Dot said, smiling at Tiny "You guys have the right but please not in company"
"Agreed" his Mom said looking up at his Dad
"Agreed" Tiny's parents said together
"I'll put that back in the den shall I?" Sam said looking at the battered guitar before picking it up and walking towards the door into the unknown, Mercy closely following him, not because she really wanted to but their hands were fused together, it was obvious neither of them could break free. "Where was it?" Sam asked when he got into the den looking around at the furniture in the room an old sewing machine had pride of place on a massive dining table "What was that used for?" he asked pointing at the table
"Only Grandma would know that one, she probably brought the house with it in and didn't want to offend the sellers by throwing it away" she laughed pointing over by the old piano at a guitar stand "Why are we joined at the hand?" she asked as she found herself moving with him towards the guitar stand
"You try letting go" he told her
"I don't know that I want to" she giggled as she watched him trying to straighten the guitar with one hand "Do you need some help there?" she asked moving round to be his right hand as they got into sync and set the instrument straight. On straightening up herself she found Sam standing directly in front of her as their eyes met "We can't walk around forever connected" she smiled up at him trying to break the tension
"We can do what we've been dying to do for the past few days" he told her
"Pray tell what have we been dying to do?" she said her eyes playfully daring him to say the word
"You're playing with me again" he smiled down at her as she noticed the small dimples in his cheeks as his nose almost scrunched and his mouth opened producing the perfect smile with white perfect teeth flashing at her as his blond brown almost non-existent hair shone in the dark from the expensive shampoo he used 'God just kiss me' she thought as she stood looking up at him
Sam stood looking down at Mercy and all that was in his head was 'I need to kiss her' on repeat as he stood aware that his face was set on smile and pretty soon she was going to think he was mad or something, he needed to say something anything fast but his mind just said one thing and his body wouldn't allow him to pull himself together. Suddenly he felt his face getting closer to hers as his mind still only registered those five words 'Holy shit this is it the first kiss' he said to himself as he felt the tips of their lips fuse together, there was no warning just a total surge of energy and the feeling of going totally inside someone else's skin getting comfortable in it and then suddenly he was being told to leave. He needed to be in that place that safe place and no he wasn't leaving not just now not ever, he told the force that he was fighting against as his hands went up and pulled her closer to him guarding her, like he was in battle with everything external to them and he was confident he was going to win this war.
Mercy felt herself being physically lifted up off the ground and thrown into the body of this other person, it scared her and she struggled to break away and be safe, she seemed to be struggling for a while before her instincts told her to scream for help. Just as she'd built up enough resources to put in a half decent scream she felt arms grab her from the mouth of the beast and she felt safe, warm and horny, she fell into the feeling willing it to stay that way forever
Eventually, they needed air, the room became a shell as they stared into each others eyes again, having heard the resounding sound of drums playing the rhythm a heart should beat, at normal rate, they fought to get in sync with it. "Interesting" Sam said smiling with satisfaction
"Very" Mercy said removing her hands from his chest, when she realised where they were "Sam this can't happen, my life is planned, we come from I don't know where we come from but seriously I don't date white boys"
"That's fine, I don't date black girls, which makes this all the more real for me" he grinned
"I got to get out of here" she said walking away from him as he stood watching her for a second before he followed her back up to the main room
"Dot" his Mom said when he entered the room smiling "Jane's just been on the phone is your mobile switched off?"
"Yeah I just want to focus on Granddad for a while" he replied looking across at Mercy when he finished talking
"Who's Jane" she asked giggling
"Dot's girlfriend" Michelle offered "They've been together since school" she smiled
"Mom" Sam said feeling all kinds of messed up for not saying anything to Mercy before now, as the conversation filled out with more talk of Jane and where his parents thought their relationship was going. Sam sat red faced for most of the conversation not knowing how to tell his parents to shut up about Jane because, he'd just made a move on Mercy and he really needed to see where that could go.
"I'm bushed" Mercy finally said when she could take no more, she got up kissed her parents and bid everyone goodnight
"Goodnight" Sam looked at her saying as she passed him but it fell on deaf ears
That night Mercy spent the night getting that lying, cheating, smug kissing gigolo out of her mind, she sat listening to records on the old gramophone. Sam was up in the main room verbally slapping the shit out of his Mom and trying to get himself a story together to serve Mercy in the morning. A few times he'd thought of leaving the couch to go see her but decided against it as he felt sure they'd be raised voices, and once the parents got wind, it would all be over.
"My Granddad got buried today" he said to himself punching his pillow, before burying his head in it to wait for sleep
Thursday 8thDecember 2016
Sam had been in and out of sleep all night and was exhausted when he saw daylight come through the thin curtains of the main room, jumping up when he realised it was almost 10 and he hadn't been woken by noise coming from a clattering kitchen or Mercy walking through making as much noise as she could to alert him to the early morning problem he was going to have. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?" he asked as he entered the kitchen to find just his parents sitting in it "Where is everyone?" he asked looking around
"Tiny and Patrice went to go get her some stuff for her new job and Neville's down cleaning up the mess Tiny made in the den last night" she said making sure to look at Sam "You know anything about her being mad enough to smash things up?" she asked him
"No, maybe it was delayed shock from the funeral and stuff" he offered
"That's what her Dad said" Michelle smiled at him
"Where did you say she'd gone?" he asked his Mom again
"To the Mall, they won't be long"
"We're going home later today Dot, when you got to be back to barracks"
"In the morning about 11" he said "My flight back is at 3 today and I need to say bye to Mercy and stuff she's been a good friend"
"I'm going to meet them for lunch in a minute" Neville came in saying "You can come see them on your way through"
Meanwhile; Mercy was sitting at the fountain in the Mall waiting for her Mom to finish at the nail shop, still banging about and itching to hit something "How dare he" she said out loud as she reflected on her situation
"How dare he what?" he Mom's voice came back at her saying as her head sprung up, she didn't know why but she broke down and inevitably everything came out at her Mothers door about her feelings, what had happened and then the revelations last night after the feelings they'd just shared.
"I fear you might have romanticised this based on Mom's letters, and the namesake thing doesn't help" Patrice told her "It just seems like it's supposed to be because you live in Mom's shadow so to speak, it's not real" she assured Tiny
"I guess" Mercy agreed as they got up and got on with shopping
Sam said bye to his parents and jumped in Neville's car to go find Mercy, he was sure Neville didn't know what was going on otherwise his reception would have surely been more frosty "Tiny and you have become close" he said as they drove along in silence
"Yeah she's a good friend" he said as Neville raised an eyebrow, before driving the rest of the short way in silence, until the car came to a halt and the two men got out
"They're in here" Neville said pointing to the Cafe they'd parked a bit down from as he pushed the door and let Sam walk in before him "There they are" he said pointing in their direction as they stood almost at the counter of this very small cafe with maybe 8 tables in with four chairs round each, very cosy looking with menu's in wooden slats in the middle of the plastic covered tables and cushioned chairs all very dated
"Nev" Patrice called as she saw them enter "We need to talk" she announced grabbing her coat as she spoke
"Patrice" Sam said to deaf ears, as she walked past him, making him roll his eyes at the familiar drama, he decided at that minute he was not up for the drama, he'd sit quietly and let her have her say, then get up and leave who were these damn people to him anyway, why was he even contemplating taking any shit from this woman she wasn't even significant in his damn life. He begged nobody for nothing, why did he now feel the need to beg this woman he'd known for three days, for any type of forgiveness "Hi" he found himself saying as he stood towering over Mercy sitting at the table
"Hi, is that it?" she asked finally looking up at him with an anger in her eyes that burned through his skin making him stand to attention like a spoilt child being chastised "I can not believe you took me that far knowing you had a girlfriend waiting in the wings, how dare you treat me like some trick you just met in some bar" she said her voice raising with every word as Sam looked around at the attention she was attracting "Never mind everyone else" she said watching him looking around "What about answering me?" she asked as he stood there wondering how to handle this unfamiliar situation
"Is this venting" he asked trying to figure out what was happening
"Venting?" she almost screeched "You think I'm venting?"she laughed a laugh Sam knew wasn't really a laugh as concern set in for him "So now I can't have feeling about this situation I just vent, you act like you don't even care about the way you treated me, is this normal for you? I feel sorry for June or whatever her name is if it is"
"Of course I care I don't just do things like what we did with anyone, and seriously Mercy I felt something, this has taken me by surprise" he said as his phone rang
"Don't you think June will be out of her mind with worry not hearing from you for 4 days?" she smiled a smile he somehow knew wasn't really a smile "Answer it"
"I'm not answering the damn phone" he said throwing the phone on the table as he finally sat down with her 'Why do I feel like shit, why do I need her to like me?'
"What now you want to show me some respect?" she laughed "You know what I need to get out of here before this conversation goes somewhere it has no business going" she said getting up to leave the cafe. Suddenly she felt that electric shock again and she knew they were skin to skin somewhere but her whole body was tingling she couldn't figure out what he was touching, she turned to look at him, to fight the urge to throw herself at him and made the mistake of looking straight into his eyes
"Shut up and kiss me" he said, his breath touching her skin with every word, leaving her mind reeling and making her body want and all she could do was obey his command moving in as he pulled her to him and she fell into his trance.
For a short while she was lost in his touch before a vivid picture of some blond, pretty looking, slender white girl waiting for him slipped into her mind jolting her out of his grip "Are you trying to shut me up?" she looked up at him saying as she pulled herself out of his space
"No I'm not trying to shut you up, I just need to calm your shit down" he said almost angry at her pulling away from him "I should have said something but seriously it seemed insignificant at the time" he said much softer, looking into her eyes "I'm sorry" he said with sincerity in his tone as she looked up at him unsure what to say next
"Lucky for you I didn't get sucked into all that" she smiled at him unable to stay mad at him, especially not being able to properly feel her face after that mind blowing kiss "But it will take a lot more that one sorry" she said stepping off with her last word
"Mercy" he said stopping her walk "I don't know what else to say without sounding insincere" he said rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke "I'm leaving in like 20 minutes and I need for us to be at least talking by then"
"We're talking Sam" she smiled "Just don't kiss me again we don't need that kind of complication"
"Okay, I'll take that for now but I promise the next time I come to you it will be real" he smiled cheekily at her saying "Hot drink and a bun to remember us by?" he asked smiling
"Hot drink and a bun" she said smiling as she sat down and they had a friend conversation for the last 20 minutes Sam was in Carolina "Bye" she finally said hugging him as if her life depended on it "Now I guess I'll be scanning the Navy papers looking for information about my friend, stay safe"
"And I'll be buying concert tickets to hear that voice of yours you keep so guarded" he giggled "Don't be a stranger" he said taking the opportunity to hold her smell close to him and closing his eyes to seal in the memory