Chapter 25
Roger
According the Jacob, we were about halfway to our destination when we say the pulsing of police lights in the distance. My heart leapt to my throat. Somehow, I knew they involved Maggie.
“Park here!” I ordered Gregory, and before he was even fully stopped I was out of the car and sprinting towards the lights, with Danielle and Jacob right behind me. Though it was morning, whatever was going on was hidden in the woods, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden shadow.
“Maggie! My god!” I cried, spotting my daughter, clinging, like some sort of opossum, to the top of a fucking tree. There were a ring of police on the ground beneath her, and I noticed, right below where she was hanging, her little pink backpack lay, split open down the middle. It had fallen. My daughter had not.
Yet.
“Jesus Christ!” I yelled, and rushed over. One of the police officers saw me and tried standing in my way, but I was not having any of his shit. With the strength maintained from playing polo all those years ago, I barreled right through him, towards Maggie.
“It’s alright! It’s alright!” I heard Danielle exclaim from behind me. “That’s the girl’s father!”
At least now he wasn’t going to shoot me in the back.
“Maggie!” I bellowed. “Maggie! What the hell are you doing?”
She saw me, and let out of piercing scream.
“No!” She cried. “No! You promised you wouldn’t call my dad! You promised!”
She seemed to be yelling this at the police officers. Why would she be going that? I didn’t seem to be able to think straight. Every time I tried to focus all I could think of was the twenty feet of air separating my daughter from the ground.
But Danielle was there, and she was as strong as ever.
“They didn’t call us, Maggie,” she said. “We came looking for you.”
“W-we?” Maggie stammered. A tear rolled down her cheek. Meanwhile, I noticed at one of the officers had scaled the tree as well, but couldn’t venture out as far as she had because of his weight. We needed a way to convince her to go to him…
“That’s right, we,” I said, and then went over to Danielle to put my arm around her. She looked at me in surprise, but then took my hand as well.
“We,” she said. “Roger and me.”
And she kissed me on the cheek.
As lovely as it was, I had no time to appreciate it, because we needed to get Maggie down now! Fortunately, our words seemed to have calmed her, because she slowly, painfully, achingly, began making her way back towards to the trunk of the tree. The cop reached out, and in a flash his hands grabbed her, and he pulled her to his chest. She was sobbing uncontrollably at this point. A minute later, the cop made his way down to the ground, and I wrenched her from his arms as if she were the most precious treasure in the world. Which she was.
“Maggie,” I choked, realizing that I was crying now, too. “Maggie, what were you thinking?”
“I just wanted you to be happy,” she wept. “And when the cops found me I was afraid they’d take me home, and ruin everything…”
“Darling, haven’t you learned yet that putting yourself at risk is the last thing to make me happy?” I said, but there was too much relief in my voice to sound angry. I heard her muffled apologies, buried in the fabric of my shirt.
We clung to each other, letting ourselves shake and sob for what seemed an eternity. Distantly, I was aware of Jacob talking to the police officers. Evidently, he knew some of them, and they were soon clapping him on the shoulder and leaving. They didn’t bother saying goodbye to me and Maggie, for which I was grateful. After a while, when our tears had dried up, Maggie and I parted.
“I’m so sorry, Maggie,” I whispered.
“I’m sorry, too,” she said.
I felt a warm, strong hand on my shoulder. It was Danielle.
“Come on,” she said. She was touching Maggie, too. “Let’s get ourselves something to eat. Jacob and I have eggs and bacon at our place, and you guys would be most welcome.”
I hesitated, thinking it would be awkward to come over now that the crisis was averted – Danielle and I were still broken up, after all. But I saw the hopeful, happy gleam in Maggie’s eye and could not deny her.
“Besides,” Danielle chuckled when we both agreed, “You could probably use a shower. You smell like you rode a New York City bus and tramped around in the woods all day!”
“Imagine that,” Maggie replied, and we all laughed.
* * *
We returned to Danielle and Jacob’s house only to be accosted by what seemed like a half dozen wild boys, eager with questions about what had been going on. Danielle introduced me and Maggie to them, and they rushed surprisingly close in to examine us, just as if we were some rare species of insect they had discovered.
Maggie, calm as you please, stepped forward and said, “Hello, everybody! Let’s play!”
And immediately they were off as if she were a referee who had blown a whistle. Danielle and I looked at each other and chuckled, and then immediately averted our eyes.
It was very strange. For some moments, everything seemed not only normal, but wonderful. Danielle and I laughed and smiled, and enjoyed each other’s company as if nothing had happened. And then, for other moments, the memory of our break up loomed up, stinking and ugly, and made us cut our words and hide our gazes. It was in those moments that I remembered how much pain everyone was in – not just Maggie, but Danielle and myself as well. I hated those moments, and longed for the ones that made it seem like nothing had happened.
But nothing had happened, a sudden voice pointed out in my head. I thought about that, and it was right. Though the situation certainly looked bad, I hadn’t done anything to betray her. Perhaps, if I had tried, I would have been able to convince Danielle of the truth.
I looked at my daughter. She was seated on the floor amid Danielle’s brothers, playing something that looked like paper football. There was a triangle of paper, and every now and again someone would lean down and whack it, as hard as they could, with their fingernail and send it flying. Maggie tried, sending the thing flipping through to air all the way into the fireplace, and the horde of boys cheered. I was sure she had never played this game before, but already she was not only enjoying herself, but excelling.
She wouldn’t let Danielle get away, I thought. She was brave enough, at least, to try.
Then: And what did I do? Nothing. Just wallow in my grief. Exactly what I had been doing since Victoria died.
I looked now at Danielle, happily frying bacon and chatting with her brother. She looked so vivacious and alive, her cheeks red either from happiness or the heat of the frying pan. I couldn’t be sure.
My wife is dead, and that’s horrible, I thought suddenly, like an affirmation. But that doesn’t mean I need to be dead, too. There’s a wonderful woman here, who makes you and your daughter happy.
Don’t fuck it up, Roger Clifton.
I took a deep breath and stepped towards her.
“Danielle,” I said. “Will you step outside with me a moment?”
She looked a little startled, then glanced at her brother as if for permission. “I can handle the bacon,” he said, and then called, “Joey!”
One of the larger brothers immediately sprung to his side to help.
“Thanks, guys,” Danielle murmured, and then she stepped out into the fresh air with me.
We stood in awkward silence for a second, surveying the landscape. I, for one, was floored by its beauty. The New York skyline was always incredible, of course, but there was something stunning about the natural mountainsides that filled Danielle’s horizon. I wondered if it was growing up around all this nature that made her seem so inherently optimistic.
“Where’s Gregory?” She asked after a time. “I thought he was coming inside?”
“He went to sort out the helicopter. I landed on top of the local hospital, and let’s just say, everyone was pretty upset.”
“Oh, my goodness!” She exclaimed. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course. There’s little in America, a generous donation won’t fix.”
I chuckled. It sounded smugger than I meant it to, for a second later Danielle was scowling at me.
“That’s exactly what I hate about you,” she growled.
It took me about five long seconds to process what she had said.
“What?”
“That’s exactly what I hate about you!” She repeated, shouting this time. “There you are, looking like a good guy, a caring father – you know, someone who actually gives a fuck about the women in their lives – and then you go ahead and ruin it by making it all about the money!”
“All about the money? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Like just now!” She flared. “Thinking you can get away with anything, just because you’re rich! God, you rich people are all the same, going around looking down on everybody. On me and my family – ”
“I like your family,” I said quietly. “And this place is beautiful.”
But she didn’t seem to hear.
“And then there’s our relationship! Leading me on! Wooing me with promises of adventures and a fancy job – ”
“I just wanted to spend time with you!” I interrupted, starting to get angry now. “If you were only interested in the money, then that’s your fault.”
“I was not only interested in the money!” She screamed. “I liked you, goddammit!”
“I liked you, too,” I said. “I still like you.”
Her eyes narrowed. Her fingers balled into fists, and her elbows flared outward. She approached me that way, practically hissing like an angry goose.
Then, when we were practically nose to nose, she glared at me and growled, “Then why did you cheat on me?”
I did not speak. Instead, I took her chin in my hand and kissed her.
The touch was electric. It was like a warm energy flowing down my body from where our lips touched.
“I didn’t cheat on you,” I said. “Veronica tricked me. She claimed she was looking to be Maggie’s nanny, and then when she came in, she was dressed like…well, you saw. She tried to have sex with me, but I turned her down. She kept trying, and eventually I had to grab her to force her to stop. That’s…that’s when you walked in.”
Danielle stared. Her eyes looked blank and wild as she took several long moments to process what I had said.
“So…that’s why she had called me,” she said. “She wanted to me arrive…right on time. To see what you two were doing.”
I nodded. Yes! I thought. Yes!
Then, I noticed tears in her gaze. “But why would she do that to me?”
I gaze at her, and she looked so sad and wounded and beautiful that I swept her up into a hug.
“You truly don’t know?” I asked.
She shook her head, and a crystal tear sparkled as it flew through the air.
“It’s because you’re beautiful,” I said. “And smart. And caring. And hard working. And ambitious. And insightful.”
She gaze up at me, and it seemed like with each new word I used to describe her, another crystalline tear fell.
I took the sides of her face in both my hands. “But most of all, it’s because you are one of a kind, and I love you, Danielle.”
In that moment, did I kiss her or did she kiss me? I will never be able to tell. All I know is that we were kissing each other, and with every surge of pleasure we also felt peace.
At last, we broke away, breathing deeply.
“Veronica did those things because she is jealous of you,” I said, “and she is right to be, for you are the most amazing person I have ever met.”
Danielle blinked, smiled, and then took my hand.
“Come on,” she said. “There’s something I want to show you.”
Gentle as an evening breeze, she led me from the porch and into the field surrounding her house.
“This is Mr. Gaffer’s hayloft,” she said, after we hiked for a time and came upon a large, open building that looked like it came straight from the eighteen hundred. Hay bales the size of SUVs were piled everywhere, and there was a ladder, leading up into a loft. With a smile, she gestured me to climb it.
Feeling bemused and slightly silly (you know, in my ten thousand dollar suit) I obeyed, wondering what she had in store. As I emerged over the top, I saw that there was a comfortable little hollow, made soft by old wood and hay, with a large horse blanket spread out across the floor. When I turned back to overlook the barn I realized just how nice a spot it was, for, through the open wall of the barn, we could see out into the woodlands and fields and mountains beyond.
“What is this place?” I asked.
Danielle chuckled. “I think Mr. Gaffer uses it to get away from his wife – he and that old shrew argue terribly – but it always was something different to me. You see, back in high school, I always fantasized about…well, about making love here. I even secretly wanted this to be the place I’d lose my virginity – though we both know it didn’t end up working out like that.”
She blushed, and I smiled, both fondly remembering that first time. Then, she clasped her hands, as if she were waiting for something.
It did not take me long to figure out.
“So, would you like to make love here?” I asked.
Her smile brightened, and she kissed me in answer, making sure to press the lovely young tits against my chest.
“Wait a minute,” I said, pulling away. “What about Mr. Gaffer? We’re not likely to run into him, are we?”
She laughed. “Nope. Gaffer’s at his pig farm upstate – another great opportunity to get away from his wife. This place is abandoned half the year.”
For some reason, this made me think of New York. A building left alone for six months, filled with flammable materials – that would have been up in smoke or at least covered in graffiti by now. This really is a nice place, I thought. Just like Danielle is a really nice girl.
And then her shirt slipped away, fluttering down to the hay-strewn floor, and I forgot all comparisons between NYC and Vermont.
Danielle grinned. “So, Roger,” she said, “why don’t you teach me the best way to have sex outdoors?”
I grabbed her by the tit and pulled her close.
“I have an idea,” I said. I slid off her pants then stood back admiring her beautiful skin even as goosebumps broke out all over it. Tantalizingly slow, I reached down and began to undo my pants.
My cock was already bulging. I helped it from between the layers of fabric, until it jutted out like a flagpole, right at Danielle.
“What, aren’t you going to get completely naked, too?” She asked.
I laughed. “You think I want hay all over my butt? I don’t think so.”
And then I scooped her up, and fell over backwards, so that she was on top of me, her knees on either side of my hips. The floor beneath me felt soft from the hay, while my clothing protected me from any scratchy discomfort.
Danielle wouldn’t need to worry about that, because she’d be busy riding me.
With one hand, I reached up to flicker her nipples. The other I lay behind my head, as if I was the most relaxed guy in the world.
“Kiss me,” I ordered, flexing my hips so that she toppled down onto me. I could feel her surprised gasp, bursting against my neck, while her hands dug into my chest for purchase. I began rocking her against me, as if she were a boat and I a wave, and she moaned into my ear.
“Ride me,” I ordered, thrusting so that she was once again upright.
She seemed unsure.
“Lift yourself up, then slowly lower yourself down.”
She did so, and in a flash, I slipped my cock between her legs and set it against her opening. She descended, and as I began to enter her she cried out in shock.
“Ah! Roger! It’s too tight! You’re too big! Let’s start with me on my back, open me up…”
“No,” I grunted. I had felt the elastic tightness of her pussy and wanted it this way. Now. “Just go slowly…”
I pushed her forward, so her chest fell to mine again. I wrapped my hands around the back of her neck, digging right into her hair, and kissed her hard. Meanwhile, I rubbed my cock between her thighs, flicking her clit with it, and down along her folds. She moaned, and already I could feel the temperature of her pussy rising. Wetness trickled onto my tip, and I smiled.
“Now?” She panted into my ear. I was showing her how much she wanted it. Her pussy would open for me no matter what. It was important that she knew that.
“Almost,” I said, and then I released her hair. She collapsed against my shoulder, and my hands reached down to either side of her hips. I seized on the impressive mounds of flesh of her ass, and pulled them apart, pulling her center open.
“Oh!” She moaned, and the trickle of wetness from her opening became a flow.
“Now,” I said, and plunged into her.
She screamed, and it was a scream of pleasure, not of pain – as it would have been if I had thrust into her tight little pussy too quickly.
“Ride it!” I bellowed, and she began.
She gasped and moaned. Her tits heaved with each breath. Her skin flushed and her eyes rolled back into the whites. I knew that she had never experienced depth like this.
“Feel it?” I asked, pressing my hand down hard below her bellybutton. “Feel the outline? Every solid inch as I fuck you?”
“Yes!” She moaned, and bounced harder.
I raised my thumb. “When you want me to please you,” I said, “do this.”
And I put my thumb to her tongue.
Confused, she sucked it anyway, and a moment later I reached down between her legs. My thumb, wet from her licking, flicked over her clit, and immediately her pussy swelled with pleasure. Wetness streamed along my cock and soaked my balls, and my god, it was a wonderful view.
“Grab your hair,” I ordered. “Put your hands behind your head and grab you hair.”
She obeyed, scooping her flyaway tresses up and raising her elbows.
The effect was immediate and obvious. As her arms lifted, so did her tits, pointing her lovely pink nipples up at the sky. I gazed at her, loving the effect on the view. She seemed to sense my lust, for in that instant she began writhing her body like a stripper.
“Good girl,” I said. “You’re learning. Now, put your feet up.”
I grabbed her heels and demonstrated, yanking her feet into place. This spread her legs wider, giving me a wonderful look as her pussy rose and fell round the turgid outline of my cock.
“Roger!” She gasped, pounding harder. “Oh, Roger!”
“Be careful!” I warned. “This is deep. I don’t want to hurt you!”
But she didn’t seem to be concerned. She rode me harder and harder until she climaxed yet again. Wetness poured from pussy and made my balls and dick slicker, so that she could speed even faster, up and down, up and down.
I felt myself building.
“Turn over!” I bellowed, and then with a single thrust of my hips I heaved her upward and shot out from under her. Before she could catch her breath, we dropped to her knees, I bent her over, and I rammed it into her from behind.
“Yes!” I moaned. “I’m gonna cum! I’m gonna cum! Squeeze your pussy, Danielle! Squeeze!”
I could not see her face, but I could imagine her eyes furrowing in concentration as the concentric muscles of her pussy tightened, making me dizzy with pleasure. I felt the load building, and I forced myself to last a few seconds more, for her.
And then, at last, I exploded.
Both of us moaned in climax, and I kept thrusting, making sure to give her every last drop. “Massage my balls,” I told her. “It feels so good, afterward.”
Always eager to learn, she reached down between my legs and began stroking my buts. A soft murmur escaped me, as well as several more drops of cum. I softened, loving the way that both Danielle and I seemed to tremble in unison, until, finally, I slipped out of her, leaving a stream of wetness behind.
She shuddered, a quivering spasm of contentment, and then collapsed onto the horse blanket, spent.
Catching my breath, I nestled down beside her. The smell of her hair mingled with the sweet scent of the hay, and it made me feel so good I was dizzy.
“Will you marry me, Danielle?” I asked. The question came out of nowhere, but as soon as I voiced it, I knew it was the right thing.
“What?” She murmured. She seemed to be half-asleep, still dazed by her orgasms.
“Will you marry me? Please?”
My words finally penetrated into her punch-drunk brain, and her eyes flew open, and she looked at me.
“Why?” She said at last, and I sensed, deep down, that this was some sort of test. Even though she had forgiven me for my indiscretion with Veronica, there was still a seed of distrust there. Of course there was. I knew that she was thinking, because it was what everybody thought: What is he doing with her anyway? It must be for her body? A man with that kind of money is only after one thing.
If we were going to be together, and live happily ever after, I needed to dispel those thoughts once and for all.
I took a deep breath and said, “Because you make me happy. You make me remember that I still have a life to live, that it didn’t end with Victoria. And also…you are good for Maggie. She obviously cares about you, and you inspire her to be creative, and invested…even if not always for the best.”
I said my final words with a deprecating smile, and she chuckled. Then, however, her eyes resumed her seriousness.
“Roger,” she said, “How did you know where to find me in Vermont? I had told Maggie, but I never gave you this address, or even told you my hometown.”
I sighed. It had been such a touchy subject, that I was hoping to avoid this. “I tracked down Veronica,” I admitted. “And convinced her to tell me your address.”
Danielle nodded. “I suspected it was something like that. How did you convince her to tell you?”
“I guess that, when I showed up at your old apartment, she finally realized that I do care for you. And…me threatening to make sure she’d never work in New York City again. I know you don’t like my money affecting our relationship, but…sometimes it helps.”
I was worried how she’d take this. I didn’t want her to think I was manipulating her or her friend. I was surprised, therefore, when she smiled.
“Good,” she said. “Veronica needed a lesson. There’s enough hardship in the world without causing more. And with you, Roger…I feel like there’s a little less.”
I encircled her in my arms and held her against me.
“So does that mean you’re saying yes?”
“Not yet,” she said, and a pang went through my heart.
“Why? Is it the ring? I’ll buy you one immediately, as soon as we get back to New York. Whatever one you want.”
She chuckled, and then she kissed me. “It’s not that,” she said. “There’s one more person we need to check with. Then, I can say yes.”