The Dangers of Pain - Part 2 - A Change in Plans
After the night in the treehouse, with extra sex thrown in, Sally Calhoun was a five foot bundle of energy as she drove up and greeted us. Quickly, we were in her car, a Cadillac sedan that was a great vehicle for a real estate woman. The first apartment was an upstairs unit in a nice garden setting about a mile from campus. One bedroom, but a generous front room that could take a sofa bed.
"Sally, I need a quiet room to work on my thesis, so I hope the other choice is two bedrooms."
We were now on the east side of town, and the choice was actually a very small bungalow in a neighborhood that had seen better days. "These are mostly retired folks here. This house is a rental because the owner went to assisted living and her family doesn't want to do anything with it until she is gone."
It was perfect. The three of us could be our own fixer-uppers and there were actually three small bedrooms. I gave Sally a check, but she asked that I come along to meet the owner and her son, who wanted assurance that students were not going to wreck the place. I did my best behaved grad student routine and they seemed happy.
We were almost back to Tom's place when my mobile rang. Sally said, "The bank won't honor your check. Says there is a hold on your account. What's the story?"
I bit my tongue and told her she would hear from me in minutes. That bastard David!
I got the manager of my Seattle bank on the phone, seething. Before I could speak, she said, "Your significant other reported you were missing and someone might try to steal your funds."
"Annette," I said, "that no account guy is no other of mine. For your private information, he beat me up and I left him. I'm not going back. Period."
"You would like me to honor this check and release your account?"
"The check is a deposit on a rental that I am going to be sharing with some student friends. Please do not disclose my current address to anyone, and I mean anyone. He could be dangerous. And he might hire someone to come after me."
"Sounds bad, real bad. Sure you don't want to go to the police?"
"I'm paranoid, but not that paranoid - yet. I will be living with friends who know the situation. Thanks for your help."
I called Sally back and said it was a simple misunderstanding and the check was now good. And let out my breath carefully. Jeff and Denise were trying not to invade my privacy anymore than being in the car with me already was. They looked anxious.
I said, "Sorry you had to hear that. He's history, and you are helping me to forget him."
The rest of the day kept us busy moving stuff from the treehouse to the bungalow and doing some cleaning, especially in the kitchen. Denise and I left Jeff with a bucket and went to the store with a long list.
At five, a nice stew was simmering and we were on the back porch with beers. I closed my eyes and decided I needed to tell my young friends more about David.
"About that phone call, I should tell you a bit more about me."
Denise broke in, "Alexis, we are happy with you keeping that private..."
"No, you've been open with me, and that has built a lot of trust. You know I am a writer. What you don't know is that until a few weeks ago, I was hooked with a guy in Seattle. An architect. We thought we loved each other. At least, I did. But we both worked hard against tough deadlines and there was friction. A lot of friction sometimes, that we mostly worked out through good sex. But my partner, David, started pushing my boundaries. I'll spare you the details, but a hot afternoon session one day turned into his beating the hell out of my ass, and liking it. I asked him to stop, and he didn't. The next morning, I knew that we were history unless I became his little sex slave and sub. That's not me. I grabbed my stuff and ran. I have a friend in Portland who went through an episode with her guy that ended with him promising to behave. The verdict is not in. She has a friend who loaned me the cabin up on Mt. Hood where we met."
I looked at them, and smiled a little. "So there you have it. Girl likes guy. Girl moves in. They fight. He beats her. She splits. She needs to reboot her life."
I took a long drink of the beer. Jeff said, "He's really a dumb shit for not knowing what he had in you."
I laughed and said, "I'm writing that down, 'Jeff says David is a dumb shit.' "
Denise was behind me, working on my scalp and playing with my hair. "Does it help that we like you a lot. Maybe even love you?"
I stood and we hugged tightly. "That makes a world of difference. Right now, I need all the friends I can get. Especially ones that are good for me in bed!"
Dinner was relaxed. I looked forward to getting on the phone and reviving my writing assignments, covering my present arrangements carefully. Denise and Jeff sat on the sofa, chatting about life on their own terms, not their parent's and not the school's. It was going to be tough, but they had a new look of resolve. I would offer help if and when they needed it.
I went over and sat down. "I know you want to make it on your own, but for the next few weeks, please let me worry about money so you can concentrate on school and working out things with your parents."
Denise put her head on my shoulder and was teary. Jeff took her hands and held them.
"Another thing. We need to keep this address as quiet as possible. We should all get P.O. boxes, and avoid any kind of consumer contact that gives away our location. You don't know what crazy thing your parents or the school might do, and I don't know what crazy thing David might try."
Jeff said, "This is a CIA safe house, and we are not inviting visits!"
Someone was kneading my shoulders and the smell of fresh coffee was nearby. "Jeff and I are going for a run. Do you want to come along, or catch up on your sleep?"
I reached for the coffee. I'd slept well, even in the lumpy bed, and a run sounded good.