Mallory
By Katie McN <katie_mcn@earthlink.net> (c) Copyright 2002, Katie McN
Death was final once, but I don't think the Grim Reaper works that way
anymore.
She was a presence across four lanes of traffic. A blonde-haired look
of fierce determination. A vision who captured my complete attention
and never once knew I existed. There were other people there, of
course, but I couldn't see them. Not really. Not just then.
"Hey, Mary Kay, see that guy across the street - he's Josh Evans, my
ex-business partner. I heard on the street he was moving back to
Wilshire Boulevard so I guess the rumors are true."
How did he miss seeing her?
We were walking back from lunch on one of those hundred degree days
that only happen in California. The kind of day where I would want to
vanish into a some quiet little place like the one my always finds
when he takes his midday nap.
But not today.
I'd signed up a new client who'd probably keep the agency going for
another couple of years, and my boss just finished telling me I was the
most wonderful person in the world. I knew he didn't really mean it,
but it was real nice to hear anyway.
"Who's the babe, Al? Is she in the business?" I was waiting for Al to
fill me in, but he didn't seem to notice her at first. He does know
just about everyone in the LA advertising scene and has a reputation
for being a real nice guy even though A. Jardin et Cie is one of the
most aggressive agencies in the city.
"Oh, her, I think she's Mallory Kane. I heard Josh met her up in San
Francisco and sweet-talked the babe into taking a sales job with his
agency. She's a real nice looking girl, but I hear she's a killer when
she goes after an account." He knew a few war stories, and what he
thought was a killer sounded just like a lot of other effective women
who always seem to surprise the when they can work a little bit
harder and do just that much more, until the day they end up winning.
Funny, how always think of business as a battle instead of work.
Just something fun to do until something different comes along.
---
When I saw all the advertising people gathered there in one place, I
couldn't help wondering what the bullshit level in Los Angeles would
fall to if a bomb went off in the middle of the room.
"Thanks for letting me tag along with you, Al."
An agency open house was something new for me. I really wanted to see
how Josh decorated his new shop, but I think Al only came to see if he
and Josh could be friends again. Well, you know, anything's possible.
I was cool, calm and collected. Not.
I'd been planning my outfit for a week and changed my mind a thousand
times. I finally settled on business sexy, which works well in
advertising if you pretend you don't notice the checking you out.
A whole half day at the beauty shop and not just to have them fix up
my ponytail either.
I didn't think anyone could tell how excited I was to be around all my
heroes and I was kind of surprised that a few of them thought of me
that way, too.
I met a million people that afternoon, but I remember talking to only
one.
"Hi, I'm Mallory Kane and I know you're Mary Kay Nichols 'cause your
reputation precedes you, my dear. Josh talks about you and Al all the
time." Her voice was a smile that covered me all over with warmth and
tenderness. A sense of mystery and intrigue wrapped up in fun and
beauty. No smoke and mirrors here, just a real person, a person just
like me.
We got to talking like we'd known each other for the last hundred
years. A lot of business of course, but a lot of other stuff as well.
She could buy designer knock-offs for next to nothing and I knew a
place where the masseuse got rid of tensions you didn't even know you
had. We knew some people in common. Some of them we liked and some of
them well, you know how that goes.
"Come on, Mary Kay. Let's leave the party and get a glass of white
wine. I've had enough of these folks for one day."
We were off to the lounge on the first floor of her building. Kind of a
cute place with just enough light to see who you're talking with, but
not enough to give you a tan.
We became friends for hours and hours.
---
'Let's do lunch' really happened and we started meeting on and off
whenever we had a chance.
I don't know how it works with men, but women need to have a special
person to confide in and trust. A repository of secrets only the two of
them know.
We saw each other once or twice a week for almost two years. The two of
us became best friends and every time we met, it seemed like only a
minute or two had passed since the last time we were together.
November 17th was the day everything changed.
We went from friends to best friends to something we weren't sure of,
but we knew we liked. It wasn't a lateral move either, but a step up to
someplace I thought was just one notch below heaven.
It was my turn to show off and I invited her for some real New Orleans
style cooking.
When I was a kid living in Texas, my decided to hire a maid from
New Orleans because the help you find in West Texas was "just too
rustic." I didn't know what that meant, but I did know I loved Lucille
who taught me how to cook, introduced me to Zydeco music and looked at
life a little differently than most people.
A cowgirl in the big city is a sight to behold.
It takes me all day to cook a meal. First thing in the morning I'm off
to the store to get nothing but the best. I have to use those great big
ole shrimps, hot links made by someone named Zatarain, and a mess of
clams, oysters and lobster tails right off the boat. And, I need other
stuff when I'm making a meal that says a little bit more than "Are you
hungry?" We just had to have some ribs, gumbo, jambalaya, black beans
and dirty rice. Of course I'd have a little bit of Jack Daniels sipping
whiskey on hand and maybe a couple of six packs of long neck Tecates.
Yes, I still know how to make the best damn pecan anyone has ever
tasted. I didn't figure we'd be having a bonfire and roasting
marshmallows later, but I was ready just in case.
I never do follow a recipe for any of this. I just know by looking how
much Tabasco to use on the links, how much of this spice to sprinkle in
the crock pot and how many of those vegetables to add in to whatever's
cooking on the stove. I just somehow know a few of the secrets handed
down by all those good cooks from days gone by.
You know you're in trouble when you have to explain the meal before you
start eating. Mallory was hesitant at first, but she got into it and
made this little feel real good when she asked for seconds and
'how do you make this' and 'what do you call that?'
We found ourselves in the living room drinking Jack and Coke while we
listened to Professor Longhair bang out some down home music. Somehow
that became white wine and Air Supply encouraging us to do something
new and different.
The first real kiss is special. Something you might just remember for
the rest of your life.
"Mary Kay, I don't know what came over me. I felt like kissing you and
suddenly, well, you know."
Of course I knew, I was there enjoying everything she was giving away
and trying to give back as much as I could.
"Tell you what, Mal. If it bothers you that much, I'll just return the
favor."
The second kiss lead to the third and the fourth and the many more. The
living room somehow became the bedroom and
friends became lovers.
There's a secret only women know for the most part. It could be that
she plays a tiny bit hard to get at first, and maybe she acts like she
didn't really know what she was getting into. But, the real clue is the
underwear. You find a woman wearing a cotton bra and panties, you got
to figure all of it was a surprise to her. But, if she has on that sexy
little something special, well you know it just might be that somewhere
in the back of her mind she wanted to get laid and more than likely got
real happy when she was.
"Mary Kay, what cute lingerie! You look sooo sexy I can hardly stop
touching you."
Well, I did have my dress underwear on, but not for long. Mallory's
cute little things seemed to have drifted away, too, and now both of us
were able to enjoy each other like a buffet of gourmet surprises.
I touched her and felt the sensation flow to my mind and then
to another place where I keep those special feelings only I can
understand. Her hand was on my neck at first, and then slowly trailed
down my back until I felt a her tiny little hand sneak its way between
the crack in my ass. My tongue searched her mouth and found a welcome
there in that dark and friendly place. She pressed her against
mine and used both her hands to crush my sex against her body so hard I
thought we would end up as one person.
I found out that my tongue fit perfectly into her most private places
and she had a special way of trapping it there until all its work was
done. Somehow we could love each other without all the confusion that
sometimes happens when two people make love for the first time. Somehow
we could bring each other to a place where we'd never been before.
Somehow we could do it again and again and again.
When two women start out as lovers, they have to learn things. We
learned a lot that night and a lot more on all the other nights that
followed.
---
It worked out perfectly.
I had a lot of stuff in my apartment and she had only a few important
pieces in the place she owned. The moving didn't break a thing and
it seemed like no time at all until we felt like we'd lived in that
cute little house on Hillcrest Street forever.
Have you ever been loved? Have you ever been loved unconditionally by
someone who could have anyone and the only person she wanted was you?
Everyday was a treasure and everyday we loved each other more and more.
When I had to travel on business, I called home everyday and told her
how much I missed her and how I was longing for the day I would be back
in her arms again. When she was gone the house seemed empty and barren.
Not a home anymore, but a place where I had to stay until my world was
right once more. And when we got together we would celebrate and forget
the hours we wasted apart. We had everything and so very much more.
A year became two. Three slipped up on us before we even saw it coming.
We were just as much in love when four stopped by and we welcomed it
with open arms.
Well, I guess a person is only allowed so much joy in life and then
something else has to happen.
---
When you get the flu you know it'll be gone in just a few days. When
you're real sick you know it might be the end and you try to do your
best to use your life wisely. But when you don't know what's wrong,
it's hard to understand exactly what you should do.
Mal was sick, but the doctors didn't know what was wrong. She was in
the hospital for the third time in a year. Each time it took longer for
her to come out of the coma and each time she was a little worse for
wear. The shine was gone from her hair. She was frail and thin. Just
thinking about things was a bit harder for her than it used to be. We
were together, though, and our love didn't look a bit different to me.
The doctors finally found out what was wrong, but by then it didn't
really matter any more. When the day came that she died in her sleep,
the cold woke me up to say goodbye. The cold that takes over a body
when the soul has moved on to some other place.
---
Time is very interesting
Somehow time can erase so many bad things. And time can put a high
gloss on something that was kind of ordinary when it happened a long
time ago. It's been like that for me over the years. I'm convinced we
never had any bad times and I can still see my Mallory standing right
there talking once again with a smile that covers me all over with
warmth and tenderness while she waits for me to join her.
---
When I was a my told me marriage was two people
living as one. I didn't know what she meant then, but now I think I do.
The End
Tell me what you think about my story!
Katie McN <katie_mcn@earthlink.com>
Read more of my at my website
www.asstr.org\~Katie_McN\
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