Nude Tea 2
The Rental
photos and text (c) Stephen Martin
Re-entering college at the age of 55 is hardly what anyone
would deliberately plan on when starting out on life's road.
But for Henry Littlecomb life bore few options.
It never was a life of many options for him.
| When Henry was a child, his older brothers kept him cornered,
pinned, bent and twisted, and crying 'uncle.'
When he came of age, age came with factory work, and the bill-collector crush strong-armed him into needing higher wages, longer hours. His wife kept him thinking that the children were his and she pushed him into a 2nd job at night to pay the expenses. "Don't worry, I'll be warm," she assured. It was when half his life was gone that he finally heard his son accidentally say to him, "Last weekend my dad and me went ..." and Henry at last woke up ~ and entered into a very bad dream. |
| A second marriage didn't make Henry a happier person, and it was only one month before she was having sex in the sun next to the picnic basket on the lawn with another man ~ a smarter man, a better looking man, a stronger man, ~ but she only divorced Henry after meeting the richer man. |
| "Of course we trust you," said the security guard
seated at the college office.
"Don't we look like we care?" said the cadet who to Henry looked like a twenty-two year old frat boy in costume. The sorority blonde next to him played with the shiny badge on her shirt. "Sure we do," she agreed with a complacent snap of her gum. "Sign here," the obese Student Loan officer said as she handed Henry the forms. Rolls of fat hung from her jowls and disappeared into the collar of her soup-stained button down blouse. "Five contracts?" he balked, holding the stack of documents in his hands. "Six," she corrected. "Your apartment is cheap for a reason. That's the way it works. You get cheap rent and a low interest loan to cover it while you go to school and get yourself a degree at something. You got a plan, right?" "Yeah. Child Development." |
| There was a snicker of laughs from the two guards as
they covered their mouths, exchanged glances and mumbled to
each other, "He wants to teach kids. Isn't
that just c-u-u-u-u-te?" "And your part of the deal is you rent out these other places to other people. See?" she continued. Henry didn't know where to begin. He'd taken on 16 units worth of classes. Plus who knows how much homework that will entail. And now he had to find renters? Screen them? Fix their broken toilets and stopped up sinks in the middle of the night? And then beg them to pay rent when the next month comes around? Henry shook his head in disgust. Another life wasted right in the middle of what was supposed to be his good years. "Alright. Fine. I'll just take it one step at a time," he groaned. He clutched the stack of papers against his chest. "Apartments. Maybe they'll be good ones. Probably next to gangland. No, they'll be in the forest." "I'll just put a sign on the door. No shoes, no shirt, no problem. No pants, no dress, no problem. Skinny dipping allowed. Mandatory. Party all night long and do it naked." He figured he'd rent the places quick enough. And then ... then ... then he'd get out the knife. Balance out his side of the scale called life. And no one would ever miss those rotten kids. Yes, he'd get an apartment building in the forest. All the rents would be paid on the 1st, even if it takes a fresh batch of tenants each month to do it. "Peace will exist on earth for Henry Littlecomb," he mumbled with a sneer.
|
| "Like your sign on the door," she said. |
| Henry watched the little thing prance in like she owned
the place. Barely 19 and weighing less than a hundred.
Blonde hair to the roots and arms wiry thin as the spaghetti
straps of her braless tank top.
"You do, huh?" he replied. Boyfriend sitting in the car, no doubt, he mumbled to himself. Send the pretty girl in for a cheap rent deal. I know your game. |
| She flexed the springy waistband of her grunge sweat pants, giving him a peek of her turquoise thong while her eyes meandered the one-room office ~ slash home ~ slash living room ~ slash bedroom ~ slash kitchen. "Love the place! OMG! You have a kitchen! Mind if I cook something for you?" |
| Henry watched her scamper to the hot plate on the counter by the sink. Her nimble fingers grabbed the knob and gave it a sharp twist, causing heat to radiate on the hot mid-August afternoon. |
| Henry kept his hands locked on the handle of a butcher knife under his desk. Ok, I got it, he mumbled. You come in here and seduce the landlord while your boyfriend's out in the car upside down pulling quarters out of the carpet to support you while you're in here showing your tits to a stranger. I know your type. |
| "Hot?" she sang out with a giggle and she pulled off her top. "Sorry. Hope you don't mind. I always cook naked. Naked, naked, naked, that's me." She thrust her flat tummy forward with the pout of an innocent schoolgirl while she grabbed the skillet and spatula. "Tell me you don't mind." |
| Henry dropped the knife on the floor as he struggled to even remember to breathe. Maybe I'll do her once. Just let me do her once and then ... then I can .... the image of the knife doing its business came to mind and made him smile. |
| "What was that?" she balked. "What was what?" Henry replied. Melanie ran to his desk and looked underneath. He had to kick the knife quickly behind his boots. "It sounded like you got a big piece of wood that just jumped up and hit the bottom side of your desk," she giggled. "I just wanted to see it." |
| "I don't have a boyfriend," she confessed while
skittering slices of beef sizzled in a sauce on the skillet. "Have you seen the guys my age? Dorks. All of them.
Stupid liars and idiots. I'm done with guys my own age." Henry kicked the blade a little further behind his feet. Repentance began to run its course. Maybe there is hope for a future. I thought I heard that younger girls are going for older men these days. No. But it must be true after all! I mean, here she is. He adjusted his belt as the possibilities of love came to mind within his pants. "There it is again!" she laughed out loud, and she hopped over to his desk like a bunny rabbit, her diminutive breasts bobbing up and down. "I hear the sound of wood in the forest!" she sang. Henry chuckled and blushed. "It's been too long since I've had sex with a man who cares about me, Henry," she whined. "A grown up, mature man is what I want. Is it okay if we have just casual sex all the time?" She shoved her palms along her tummy, pulled down at the front of her sweat pants with the stretchy elastic waistband. "Wanna?" she begged. |
| Henry gasped at the sight of the pink diamond with the
pinker heart. She pulled him out of the chair and onto the floor. He scrambled to get on top of her but his heart was palpitating with age. He was like the caged boar that finally broke free only to find himself on the freeway with headlights swirling all around him and it made him just think it would just be better to go back to the sofa and lay down and just watch and he won't be so scared anymore. "OMG!" she whined as she pulled him closer. "I can't believe these things come to mind at the freakenest wierdest times!" She froze in place, her legs half open, half locked shut. "Henry. Put my mind at rest so I can relax. We can work out a cheaper deal on rent right? I'm kind of between jobs." Henry said I know! How about I take care of the rent and you just lay down on your back? "I do like you!" she whinnied with delight. "Only I can't get pregnant. Oh no, that would screw my life up completely. How about you don't stick that thing in me, I'll just hold it in my hand. Ok, there you go. Yeah, you like that huh?" And while she turned her face away so he could kiss her somewhere away from her mouth, he reached under his chair for the blade.
|
About This Story
Disclaimer: This tale is not intended to suggest that reaching for a knife is a good anger-management resolution when finding ones self besotted with problems. Especially with women. My best friends have always been women.
About: I'm inspired towards the dark side from time to time after watching Twilight Zone or Tales from the Darkside. Sometimes I'll read a Steven King novel and end up thinking it'd be fun to write something wicked.
Problems occur when trying to put that on the web though because all my sources of website gurus advise bloggers and other writers against being long-winded online. So I had to keep it brief.
The Rental was inspired by a dream I had where I was this guy seeing a student loan officer at the college and being told this and that about having to rent out these apartments to people.
The part where the girl makes her entrance and begins cooking dinner for the guy was inspired by a photo I found when reading a Wordpress blog about cooking. Not wishing to use another person's photo but finding myself needing to give a tip of the hat to whom it is due, I edited the photo to a lowbrow form until I can remember where I found that blog.
Again, don't go around knifing people who tick you off. Especially if she's cute.
Make love not war.
My Pages:
Home Page of course
Nude Tea 2 Not at all like the original Nude Tea ~ these tales are not for children.
The Ballad of Norman Knudleman
Robert Graves, Symptoms of Love
To Be or Not To Be, by me as well as Shakespeare
William Wordsworth, We are Seven
William Morris, The Sirens
Zennor, the Mermaid Legend