MINNESOTA (1)
Chapter One
Darkness and cold, enhancing each other in the frozen metropolitan city. Pedestrians passing through and underneath the skyway matrix bundled up against the wind that threatened to numb and tear away the fattened flesh. Difficult to believe that in this city with its dirty snow and ice crystals, that humanity has so chosen to thrive. A unique breed that not only enjoys the biting and stinging cold, but also seem to excel in its presence. Gordon and Martha Babcock, two prime examples; he dressed in a warm down filled parka, with coyote fur lining the hood and overly large gloves, mimicked only by the dime store Santaâs. Born and raised in this part of the country, a descendant of the many Scandinavians that had settled here over the years. Gordon had donned the traditional three layers of clothing, including a pair of thermal underwear. He was fully prepared to face the night of bar hopping that both him and Martha enjoyed on a regular basis. Martha was a stark opposite of her light skinned husband. Martha had been raised on the West Coast, with plenty of sunshine and regular bouts of rain. She had come here as a promotion to a job after her college graduation out west. She had learned to adapt to the cold, but she would never be as comfortable in it as her husband. To make matters worse, Martha was very vain in her selection of clothes. She tended to dress more for fashion than for any function. Tonight was no exception, a small leather mini-skirt barely covered her posterior, and she had noticed several of the bar patrons trying to be sly and catch glimpses of her lace covered crotch as she would cross and uncross her legs. She liked the attention her clothing, or lack of drew, although she would never admit to being anything of an exhibitionist. Martha was a beautiful twenty-eight year old woman, and she liked to occasionally flaunt those gifts donned upon her by the genetic gods. Martha and Gordon stepped out from the McCairns Irish Brew House, and stood under the street lamps.
âAre you sure you donât want to take the skyway over to the car?â Gordon was genuinely concerned with his wifeâs health, dressed as she was in the cold. âWhy donât you wait inside and Iâll bring the car around.â
âOh donât be silly, itâs not that cold out and I need the fresh air to clear out those last two drinks from my head.â Marthaâs voice was not overly high, she had smoked through most of her teenage years, and even though she had quit, the nicotine had taken its toll on her. The voice was always arousing to Gordon, and he was feeling amorous to begin with. He had wanted to get in at least a âquickieâ before they had even left the house, but Martha had wanted to get out as soon as possible, promising to make it worth his while upon their return. Gordon was always a little leery of Marthaâs sexual promises. She had a tendency to want to stay out too late or drink a little too much, so that they were both too tired by the time they got home.
The two walked down Hennepin Avenue making their way south toward the parking garage. The wind started to pick up. Gordon occasionally turned his head into the multitude of strip bars and sex shop windows. The wind had a devastating effect on the eyes, burning away the moisture and causing them to feel dryer than the Sahara. The wind also had an exhilarating if not masochistic charge as it blew up Marthaâs short skirt. Her teeth started to chatter and she tried to snuggle into Gordon as they quickened their pace. Gordon offered her the jacket, but she wouldnât hear of it, besides it would still leave her legs and toes open to the elements. Better to be all the way cold, than just parts of her. More than six blocks to go and both were starting to regret having parked so far away. Gordon had wanted to park the car at his special parking garage, he thought it was safer there than the dark ones further up Hennepin. As another gust picked up and was intensified by the funneling effect the multistory buildings around them caused, Martha slipped into a doorway of an older abandoned building.
âOn second thought, can I wait here until you get the car?â Her teeth were really chattering at a face pace and were increasing with each breath she took in.
âHey no problem, Iâll be right back. You sure you donât want the jacket?â
Martha had stopped even bothering to talk, her teeth were clicking far too much to not have it sound comical. She shook her head and waved him off to hurry.
Gordon took off around the corner of the little alcove; not daring to run as the ice had not been scraped completely off of these sidewalks. His flat-soled Italian shoes gave absolutely no grip as he tried to speed walk down the street. He looked back to make sure Martha wasnât following or trying to get his attention. The light was very poor where he had left her, and he couldnât see anything. Better just to hurry and get to the car. Two blocks to go. He turned sharply, thinking that he had heard something. Gordon was starting to feel the cold even through his multiple layers; he felt a pounding of sympathy for his wife and a twinge of guilt that he had not forced her to keep the jacket. âSo much for chivalryâ he snorted to himself.
The car was bathed in a yellow light, and ice crystals had formed on the windows. âDarn, Iâve got to scrape these or I wonât even make it out of the garage.â Talking to himself was a way he had discovered to cope with the cold. Keep your mind on something else; ignore the cold he thought. Gordon fumbled with the lock. Manipulating the key without taking off his gloves, it seemed like it took him ten minutes just to retrieve them from his jacket pocket. His heart started to race as he thought about his scantly dressed wife out in this cold. âBet her nipples are hard as rock.â Gordon was starting to remember her promise, and his dick was already starting to rise to the occasion. One crank, two, damn cold was making it hard on the car. The car whined at each crank of the starter, moaning out its protest to having been left out in the elements instead of tucked away nicely in a heated garage. Finally and begrudgingly the engine turned over, it wasnât idling well. Gordon hopped out and started scraping the windows, noticing that a thin layer of glaze was forming on the inside of the window. The Ford was doing itâs best and the defroster was slammed over to it's highest setting, but this was Minnesota after all. It was going to take time for the heater to take its effect. After what seemed like an eternity Gordon was racing around the serpentine garage, making his way down to the third avenue exit, whipping it around to Hennepin again. At each turn the whine and groan of the power steering belt echoed throughout the garage. âShitâ Gordon slammed on the breaks as the stoplight turned red in front of him. He peered down the streets, figuring his odds of success if he should so choose to run the light. He revved the engine, hoping to increase the heat. The light changed, but still Gordon was forced to wait as a group of teenagers crossed the street against the solid âDonât walkâ sign. Gordon raised his fist at the kids; shit wasnât there a curfew for them at this time of night. Gordon prepared himself for the maelstrom of curses that Martha would no doubt inflict on him for not being quicker about picking her up. He started to get defensive, even though he was only arguing with himself, after all it wasnât his fault she had to go out dressed like that, he had asked her to wear warmer clothes. He became aggressive as he pulled up to the little alcove; this was actually all her fault, why couldnât she just listen to her husband. Gordon honked the horn and unlocked the passenger side of the vehicle. He peered into the alcove and waited for her to come racing to the car. There wasnât any movement that he could see through the darkness. Gordon unstrapped his seatbelt and crawled back out into the cold. âMartha, lets go.â He yelled into the alcove, his voice seeming to blare through the quiet of the night. Still there was no answer, Gordon figured that she must be hiding back there with her teeth chattering and couldnât answer, hell served her right for not listening.
Gordon walked to where he had left her, âHoney?â He was confident that this was where he had separated from her, but she wasnât there now. âGod damn it. Iâll bet she went back to the fucking bar. Shit it didnât take me that damn long to get back.â His anger was slowly rising and the blame was getting placed more and more on his petite wife. âProbably, back there flashing it off to those guys againâŚ. Shit, she thinks I never noticed.â Gordon turned and headed back towards his car and misplaced his footing. He came down hard on the ice, âOh that does it, she can take a fucking cab.â He turned to get his hands underneath of himself, and felt the firm feeling of something in his hand. The actual texture was beyond his sensation, his gloves obscured that. He lifted the object to his face. It was Marthaâs stiletto shoe. Gordon looked around for the other; he tried to fit the puzzle together. They would be hard to walk in, on the frozen ice, but he couldnât imagine her walking down the street barefoot. Gordonâs heart started to race, he left his car and ran down the street towards the bar. He continued to stumble without the traction of a good rubber sole shoe, but he was no longer concerned with falling. âJust let her be all right.â He started to chant to himself.