In May Came Summer

We grow old and die, and so too our memories. Some fade away with time, whereas others follow us to the grave. I am no longer the child I once was, but even now in my early thirties, I have one of such memory that I know will follow me to my grave. It is the story I would like to share with you, if you will permit me to first lie back on this lounge chair and recall its details ...

My aunt's name is Marie Rossi, and this is her story.

1.

My aunt was a happy woman, or at least as happy as I knew her to be, until she lost her husband. Heart attack, was what I later found out it was. He'd been out in the garage tinkering under the floorboard of his car when it happened. Aunt Marie wasn't home at the time, and even if she were, she probably wouldn't have known. It was one of the neighbors that found him; Mrs. Cavendish. She was strolling past their home, walking her dog when something made her turn her head and she saw Edward's legs sticking out of his car unmoving. She hollered out to him but got no response. Curiosity got the better of her and when she realized what was about ran back towards the street, screaming for anyone to come help.

Marie was two blocks away fixing her hair. When she returned there was an ambulance, a police car and a growing crowd of onlookers hovering and milling about her driveway. Baffled, she'd had to wade through the crowd, becoming afraid when she saw a body being pushed on a gurney into the back of the ambulance. It was Mrs. Cavendish who came to her rescue.

"Oh Marie ... I'm so very sorry—"

Reality stung her right there and then. Her body felt numb even as an officer came beside her, asking her if she knew the deceased. She barely listened to him. Her eyes followed the covered-up body being shoved into the ambulance. It was then she came back to life.

"Edward! Edward!" she cried out as she approached the ambulance's doors. She would have jumped inside it had there not been officers and one of the ambulance attendants holding her back as suddenly she broke into wrenching tears.

"Oh God ... Edward! Edward!" she mumbled between tears.

Her neighbors watched with sympathetic eyes and two officers dragged her away from her husband's corpse. I don't think you need the word 'dead' here, unless you want to amplify that it's a corpse.

My Aunt was never cut out to be a widow, not when she still had the rest of her life ahead of her. She was thirty-eight at the time. Her skin was creamy white, with long auburn hair and the loveliest pair of green eyes you could ever come in contact with. She had been a ballet dancer back in college, though she didn't last through the program. She'd added much weight in specific areas, but not enough to make her plump. Her body still retained that supple levity any college girl would die for. Her cheekbones were always quick with a smile. But when Edward passed away, that smile kind of went away from her. She became cold, weary, and distant. Life still went on for her as it normally did, but you could tell the light she once had wasn't there anymore. My parents felt sad for her. I used to hear them talking about what they could do to ease her pain. She's still young, I overheard my mum mention once. She could still find another man to fall for...

The weeks became months. My parents debated this issue back and forth every now and then though neither ever thought of confronting Marie about it. They wanted to, but didn't know how. They were afraid she'd take it the wrong way. As for my Aunt, she grew depressed as the weeks turned into months. She barely carried on with herself, taking care of the house as well as her job as a municipal secretary. I took to spending time with her. My parents allowed it as it would help ease her burden somewhat, as she and Edward had never had any kids.

Things changed in the early weeks of May.

It was getting towards the end of April when my Aunt decided the time had come to rent out the upper room above the garage. It wasn't like she seriously needed the money—she's a contentious woman, my Aunt has always been. My later guess was that she wanted to hear the sound of someone else's feet that didn't belong to mine or hers. Sometimes the house can get real claustrophobic, I tell you.

She put out an ad in the newspaper and I helped her paint one on a mini-billboard and we nailed it in front of her driveway. It had been three months to the date that she lost Edward; his presence hung over the house like a shroud and it obviously worried her. She was still fighting to get herself back. Though she did smile, you could tell it was perfunctory-like. And she wasn't the sort who spent many nights chatting with friends or going out.

I can't recall the exact date, though I remember it was the early week of May because then I was off from college. I was in her driveway fixing my friend from down the street, Daniel's bike when this taxi drove past our home. The taxi screeched to a stop and my friend and I stopped what we were doing to look at it. The cab reversed till it came to a stop in front of our driveway and the side door opened and this tall, black man stepped out of it carrying a bag over his shoulder. He wore a leather jacket with a blue shirt and jeans. His head was shaved and he had a goatee beard. He settled the cab and then stood there turning his head around like he was checking out the neighborhood. Daniel and I approached him. He turned his head and looked at us and smiled disarmingly at us; he had a nice smile.

"Hi," Daniel and I said almost simultaneously like we were twins.

"Hi," he replied. "How're you kids doing?"

"Fine," we both said. Then I asked: "Who are you?"

He turned to look at the billboard standing beside the driveway and pointed at it. "Do you know if it's still available?"

"You mean the room? It sure is. Though you'll have to wait, my Aunt isn't home yet."

He looked at the house. "Your Aunt, is she the one who lives here?"

"Yes, she is. You can sit on the front porch. She'll be back in the next hour."

"Thank you, I'm much obliged," he said to me.

"I'm Jerry," I said to him and pointed to my friend. "He's Daniel."

"Nice meeting you both," he said to us then shook our hands. "My name's Curtis."

And that was how I first met Curtis.

2.

He sat on the porch and brought out a book and read it while Daniel and I returned to our bike-fixing, though we kept glancing at his direction, murmuring under our breaths. He seemed a real quiet person. I asked him if he wanted a glass of water but he said 'no thanks'.

My Aunt returned home from work some minutes later. She too, was surprised to find a stranger seated on her porch with me playing a few feet from him. Curtis got up from where he sat the moment her car pulled into the driveway, leaving his book and bag behind.

"Good afternoon," he said to my Aunt and she allowed him to shake her hand. "My name's Curtis. I saw the billboard about the room you had for rent."

My Aunt looked at him with startled surprise and a little of something else in her eyes. It was like seeing something for the first time. I couldn't understand what it was then, but years later I did. It was her first time meeting someone like Curtis. Not that she hadn't met blacks before ... but there was something different about Curtis. I felt it too, though didn't know at the time. He had some sort of... energy about him. The way he walked, the way his voice sounded... my Aunt felt drawn towards him, though not yet realizing it, then.

"Yes, yes, there is ... I do have a room for rent. How long have you been waiting there?"

"Couple of minutes. Your nephew and his friend here kept me company."

"Did you really, Jerry?" my Aunt turned to look at me, and I couldn't help but blush. "Anyway, please, let's go inside."

It was a big room and formerly had served as a sort of attic until Marie had cleaned it up. Much of the junk stuff that had been in there was mechanical stuff my Uncle Edward was always tinkering with but had never found the chance to fix. Aunt Marie, trying to get rid of his ghost, had gotten rid of his stuff and given the place a whole new look, including installing a king-sized bed in it. I'd been in that room numerous times when Uncle Edward had been alive and even I couldn't recognize the room as it was now.

I stood at the doorway while my Aunt led Curtis into the room.

"The rent is three hundred a month, plus a fifty dollar deposit. You'll have to share the bathroom and toilet which are down the hall, and kitchen too, that's downstairs. I hope you find it comfortable here and please keep it neat."

"I am indeed, Mrs—"

"Rossi," she said. "But please, call me Marie."

"Very well, Marie. I do like the room and would very much love to take it."

"That's very nice of you. May I know what you're doing and how long you might intend to stay?"

"I'm a research student. I'm working on a thesis project at the State University. For now, I'm not certain. Three months at the most."

"That's good to know. Is everything you need with you in that bag you're carrying?"

"No, I left the other half at the airport, but I'll head out to get it. As long as we finalize the rental contract here."

Marie directed to her bedroom to fetch her receipt book and within the hour they'd concluded their transaction.

-----

Curtis settled into my Aunt Marie's home quite nicely. He was a cool sort of guy, knew how to cook and knew how to make anyone laugh too. I got to find out that his father was a doctor while his mother a kindergarten teacher. I wasn't always at my Aunt's home, but it wasn't long before I realized she too, was getting along nicely with her new tenant. Before, when I'd stay with her we ate together in the kitchen and it was usually a dull affair.

I was surprised when I came by one morning. Standing by the doorway listening to the sound of her laughing, for a minute I thought I was merely hearing things. I went into the kitchen and there the two of them were. She sat by the kitchen table while Curtis was making an omelet by the stove, both of them laughing at some joke I'd happened upon too late. I stood there staring at my Aunt, seeing the happiness in her eyes and the sound of her laughing. It really was lovely hearing her let loose.

"Oh, hi there, Jer," she smiled at me and pinched my cheek. She always called me 'Jer' whenever she was in a good mood. She said it reminded her of one of her favorite entertainers, Jerry Lewis. "You been a good boy today?"

"Always am, Aunt Marie," I smiled, coming over to kiss her cheek. "You look nice."

"Thank you, my dear," she said. "I went out yesterday and had my hair done."

It was getting obvious that my Aunt was slowly moving off from the spell of widowhood. There were subtle differences about her that I noticed. For one thing she was laughing again, and she was getting herself back into the presence of things which was pretty hard after Uncle Edward passed on. Her skin was becoming translucent once again, and it was only later I found out who was responsible for it... and why. Though at the moment, the 'why' was yet to happen. What mattered was the 'who'. It is what happened that I'm going to let you in on.

3.

Curtis and Marie got on well and though they were subtle cagey with each other—at least Marie was the one who was this way. No one could blame her for that. She'd been a widow some months now, and here was this handsome black fellow renting one of her rooms, practically a stranger to her.

Still, it was difficult for them to ignore each other's presence. It hardly seemed like they were operating a landlord/tenant relationship. Anyone stumbling upon them in those first few weeks would have thought they were already sleeping together, or at least about to.

The first couple of weeks came and went with both of them trying to establish some sort of routine with each other. They did little talking except the perfunctory 'Good morning', 'Hi there', 'Good night' stuff. They each tried to stay out of each other's way. Though my Aunt soon became less worried, as she came to see how nice a fellow her tenant was. He did go out often but never stayed out late. He never returned with any stray friends, in fact sometimes it felt as if he didn't have any. Some days he spent much of his hours in his room seated before his laptop, hard at work on his research paper. A couple of times he came downstairs to watch the TV. I remember coming by once and saw he and Marie seated far from each other in the living room watching CNN or some cable movie. Like that, they kept meeting and running into each other and eventually they began conversing.

Curtis established some type of routine for himself while he was there. Some mornings he jogged around the neighborhood. Other times he'd perform some calisthenic exercise out in the backyard. Marie got to knowing when he was involved in such, and on weekends when she didn't have to go to work, she stood by her window facing her backyard and watched him do push-ups and sit-ups. He'd spread out a mat and perform his exercises on it. Marie hid behind her curtain and watched him. Her eyes soaked up every inch of his body. She watched the way the muscles of his arms pushed inward and out every time he flexed his body ... the way the sun reflected on his dark, sweat-slicked skin as he went about his workout. She had never before met anyone with such gorgeous a body as this.

While she watched him, her hand pushed past her night gown to feel over her body. Marie was a buxom woman and her tits were one of her favorite assets, although she hardly thought of such. Her nipples stood to attention like a pair of missile cones and she muttered a sigh whenever she felt her hands over them. Her other hand left the curtain though her eyes remained centered on Curtis as he did his exercises. She had one hand caressing her big pair of tits while the other roamed around her pussy. Her breathing became heavy and her thighs rubbed against each other. She kept on with her self-punishment while downstairs Curtis, not knowing he was being watched, kept on with his body workout.

When eventually he stopped, grabbing his towel from where he'd left it and stepping back into the house, only then did Marie turn away from the window, somewhat disappointed that it was over. She went and lay on the bed and the sound of her voice grew into deep moans as she fingered her pussy. She grabbed one of her pillows and shoved it between her legs while still inflicting punishment on her pussy. Her eyes clamped shut as she brought back images of her tenant doing his exercise. In her mind's eye she pictured herself rubbing oil lotion over his sweaty body while he did his push-ups over her...

Such were the images that played through her mind as minutes later she experienced a rounding? Not sure about this adjective? climax unlike any she'd had in a long while.

Marie momentarily fell into a doze after she experienced such overwhelming sensation. When her eyes fluttered open, there was the sound of someone singing coming from down the hallway. She knew it was Curtis taking a shower from his exercise. She placed her ear against the wall and imagined she was in the shower with him; that she was naked, holding the sponge in her hand, soaping it all over his abs and torso...

Marie snapped immediately to her senses. She couldn't believe she was having such licentious thoughts. It was as if she was being possessed by something else or someone... Something strange was coming upon her that she normally wouldn't be feeling. It made her feel ashamed of herself. That afternoon she got dressed and hopped in her car and drove to her departed husband's resting place in a cemetery, located not far from her neighborhood. She knew the way to his headstone even with her eyes shut. A minute after she'd entered the cemetery compound, she knelt before his headstone and began weeping.

"I miss you, darling," she mumbled to the headstone with her husband's name etched into it. "I miss you so much every day. I used to be different... but now I'm getting confused. I don't know why. Please tell me why, darling," she beseeched the headstone, her eyes welling with tears. "Please give me a sign that you're still here with me."

Nothing happened. The only sign she presumably got was the whistle of the wind blowing against the tree branches above her head. That, and the silence that was ubiquitous around her. She remained like that for a long time and still nothing happened. Finally she got up and left. Her feet felt heavy as she walked back to her car. Her husband's headstone remained rooted to the ground unmoving.

4.

Neither of them could have been any prepared for what happened two days later. It was as if all the avoidance and space they'd been trying to give each other was soon going to come to a clash, and no better than on a day when they were least prepared for it.

It was a morning just like any other, although the sky had opened earlier with heavy showers of rain. Marie was running late for work. She had just finished having her bath and was hurrying off towards her bedroom down the hall. Curtis was coming up the stairs, having just finished off breakfast, and upon seeing how heavy the rain was falling, was rushing back to his room to shut his windows. Curtis was on the top of the stairs, hardly looking forward and gave a startled 'Look out!' shout too late before Marie collided into him.

They fell to the floor with Marie landing on top of him. Her towel came loose and as Curtis tried to help her up they both realized she was naked with her breasts pressed against his chest. They muttered quick apologies to each other. Their eyes held each other as if charmed. It was then that it happened.

Their faces moved simultaneously and their lips met and enclosed in a kiss. The kiss felt rushed, nearly tentative. Seconds later their lips parted and together their tongues met at the junction. Marie's towel slid off her body. They rolled on their side, their lips locked in a fierce kiss while their hands caressed each other's body. Marie was gasping for air when Curtis finally broke it off. He got up to his feet and helped Marie up. They stood there holding hands, staring into each other's eyes. Marie's features were flush with excitement. Drops of water dotted her body; her nipples stood straight from their areola ring. Goosebumps broke out on her arms. She was nervous and at the same time excited, standing there shivering like a school girl who'd just gotten her first kiss. Curtis, too, was just as nervous and excited as she was, though he tried to remain cool about it. He, too, had been wanting for this moment to happen and never figured it ever would. He was aware of Marie being a widow, and little did she realize until then that he too had been having a lot of midnight thoughts of her building in his mind.

"Well," she said, then laughed nervously. "Where do we go: your room or mine?"

"Let's make it mine," he answered almost immediately.

She felt relieved when he said that. She didn't think she was ready to have any person climb into the same bed she had shared with Edward ... at least not yet.

Curtis scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards his bedroom door. Her towel lay forgotten on the carpeted floor.

He kicked his door in and laid her on the bed. He went to close to windows from the rain splattering inside then turned around and began taking off his clothes. He threw them on the floor and Marie half sat up on the bed, her mouth unhinged as she marveled at his physique. She told him to come closer. Curtis climbed upon the bed and Marie felt her hands on his chest. She cupped his hardened pecs, loved the muscled outline of his abs, and felt over the hills and valleys of his arms and shoulders. She sensed her pussy raging like a dam about to burst its walls any second. She hadn't been this sexually fired-up in a long time.