Independence Day

Sitting in her lounge chair by the pool, wearing an expensive designer Bikini and a transparent robe, Doreen enjoys the quiet of the area, everyone seems to have left for the Holiday's and she has the Pool to herself with no noise from the neighbors. Languishing in the afterglow of her call and ultimatum to Paul she sips on a tall glass of Ice Tea, she knows all to well, there is a possibility that her plan could backfire. Wondering if all is right and should she call Paul again, she reaches for the phone just as it rings; "Hello" Doreen says in her best vocal imitation of Marlene Deitrich. "Hey sexy mamma, what's shakin?" a Hispanic voice slurs on the other end of the phone. "I told you never to call me, now leave me alone!" Doreen slams the phone down and takes a deep breath as the Phone rings again. She scowls at phone and picks it up, "This better be important!" Doreen's screams into the phone. "Hey Dory baby, it's Carlos, I haven't seen you in a while, what's wrong?" Carlos ask's with total confusion in his voice. "Listen you Hispanic twit," Doreen states with a demanding tone, "I told you that night, that all we had was a one night stand, now leave me alone!" "What would the gringo Paul say if he knew about our hot passion we shared after your fight with him?" Carlos was very confident in his choice of blackmail, "I want to see you tonight, I'll be there in 30 minutes." "Well, Carlos, you're to late, I am on my way out, and won't be home." Doreen scrambles up from her chase lounge, scarred of the possible visit. "Oh, I think you will be there, if you know what's good for you," Carlos gets snide and overbearing in his voice, "be there in 30 minutes, and you better be waiting for me!" Doreen hears Carlos slamming down the phone, and slowly hangs up herself. She sits their wondering what she is going to do. Standing up and walking into the kitchen, she pulls out a bottle of Vodka and pours a shot. She stops, remembering the baby, and puts the shot down the drain. Wandering around the appt., she picks up all pictures of Paul with her, and hides them so Carlos doesn't see what Paul looks like. She starts getting worried about Carlos, what is going to happen, trying to find a way to control this maniac, and get him out of her life forever. She wishes that she never had gone to the Barrio after the fight with Paul. Doreen stops and realizes, if Paul knew she was in trouble, then he would come running to her side. Doreen dashes to the phone and dials up Tom's number..... ring...... ring...... ring..... on and on with no answer. She hangs up the phone, the doorbell rings, and a voice calls out, "Hey chicky mamma, it's your Carlos!" Doreen turns and looks towards the door, face ashen white, "Oh my God, he's here!" * * * * * "Well, I guess you two have seen us before," Isaiah says, "let me make the introductions, this is William Torgel, my "business" partner, and I bet you are Paul, Tom's life long friend, am I write?" Isaiah says extending his hand in a friendly greeting. "Yes I am Paul Buller," Paul says as he shakes his hand. "Please Join us, gentlemen, would either of you like a drink?" William Torgel ask's as the two sit down at the lavishly displayed table. "Yes, thank you, we will have what ever you are having." Tom say's as he glances for the nod of approval from Paul, Paul nods in agreance. "Good, I just love Dom Perinon," Isaiah states pleased as William pours two glasses, "A toast, to new beginnings and long lasting relationships." Both Paul and Tom look at each other and giggle a bit at the toast. They click glasses, they drink. Paul looks up at with a quizzical expression, "Why does the name William Torgel sound so familiar? Do I know you?" "Oh Please, the name is Bill, only my mother called me William," Bill says, "except when Isaiah is pissed at me, then he calls me William, I just retort by calling him Mother!" The four men laugh and drink again, now relaxed in the atmosphere of knowing they are with "family". "Paul, I retired a few years ago from the Chronicle, I used to have a column in the Sunday Paper." Paul nods at remembering why the name is so familiar. "I am glad for you Tom, that you had such a good friend to rely on after your parents died," Isaiah says, "in fact, you've grown up to be a very handsome young man, I'm proud of you." Tom sits his glass down as Paul looks over to his friend in confusion for where the conversation has gone. "Mr. Johansen," Tom says, "Please call me Ike," Isaiah interrupts him. Tom takes a deep breath as he looks at his hosts, "o.k. Ike, how do you know so much about me, and I have never even heard your name before?" Ike smiles and looks at Bill, Bill refills the four champagne glasses as Ike reaches into his jacket, and pulls out an envelope from his coat and hands it to Tom. "Please Tom, read this letter, then I will explain everything in minute detail." Tom reaches out to take the envelope which has his name written on it, "It's my mothers hand writing, how did you get this?" Tom is all but in a state of anger, as Paul reaches over and places his hand on his friends shoulder. "Tom," Paul says, "just read it, then Ike will explain." Tom's hands tremble as he opens the sealed envelope, and pulls out the letter, it reads;

My dear son Tom, If you are reading this letter, then something has happened to us before I could be the one to tell you in person what Isaiah Johansen will. I want you to know, your Father and I love you with all our hearts and are writing this together. I can't bare the thought of not being the one to tell you myself of a lie we all have perpetrated on you, but if it has to be that Isaiah is to tell you the truth, we can think of no better person to do the deed that we were unable to do. I want you to know, we never meant to lie to you, or to keep you from the truth, we were planning on telling all to you on your 18th Birthday, but I gather, if you don't know what I am talking about, then we aren't with you anymore. I have instructed Isaiah to tell you in his time, when he feels you are able to handle the truth, remember Son, we love you with all our hearts, please believe me, if you believe nothing else, believe that we love you, and always will. Listen to Isaiah, he will not lie to you, he will tell the truth that we were unable too. All our Love, Mom and Dad Paul looks on as Tom reads the letter, a tear trails down his cheek as all the pain and loneliness of his parents gruesome auto accident comes flooding back to memory. Tom looks up at Isaiah, who is also choking back the tears. Tom hands the letter to Paul. Paul starts to read as Tom looks at Isaiah, "All right, what is going on, how did you know my parents, and what is this lie they are talking about?" Ike reaches for a glass filled with Scotch and Ice, takes a sip, leans back in his chair staring into his drink. Bill leans over and gives his partner a kiss on the cheek, and a reassuring hug from the side. Ike took a deep breath while staring into his drink, he started, "I knew it would be difficult telling you the truth when the time finally came, and believe me, I almost decided not to tell you, but I couldn't handle the lie anymore. I want you to know Tom, that none of us ever wanted to hurt you, we all have been hurt enough by the actions of ourselves and our parents. I've played out this little scenario of how I would tell you, and now, the words just don't want to come the way I had planned it." A tear streaks down his face. Tom looks at Ike, "just go ahead and start at the beginning, I will not say anything until you are done, you have my full attention." "O.K.," Ike says, "here we go." Finishing his Scotch in one gulp, setting his empty glass down, and looks into Tom's eyes searching for the strength he needs.

Doreen slowly walks to the door as Carlos bangs again, rattling the ornaments on the wall, she can feel the floor quiver with every heavy bang. Unlocking the door, and opening it slowly. "Hello Carlos." Doreen greets him with as much warmth as a corpse. Carlos, a beautiful man, perfect bronze skin tone, muscles everywhere on his body. The drunken Mexican pushes himself in and grabs Doreen roughly, "Hey big mamma, ya miss your Mexican Stud," as he swings her around holding on to her waist, then hangs on to her and sways back and fourth trying to get his balance, she can smell the tequila on his breath and knows this is not going to be a pleasant visit. He lets her go as he struts into the apartment as an animal was strutting into his breading ground. Stops in the middle of the living room and turns to Doreen, swaying back and fourth, grabs his t-shirt at the neck and in an ineffective way of proving his masculinity rips the filthy T-shirt he had on into shreds, then groping the ever growing nine inch beer can sized bulge in his pants. "I know Jose' missed your pretty pink lips." Slurring and swaying back and fourth as his erection starts tenting the filthy jeans out to the obvious arousal that she knows exactly what he expects. Doreen can't help but notice the powerful chest of Carlos, the sweat running down between his massive pectorals, she closes the door and walks over to Carlos, reaching down and groping his erection, "I sure do need you Carlos, would you like a drink?" As Doreen lets loose of his jeans and heads to the Bar in the Dinning Room she prays she can get him to pass out and then call the police and report an intruder. She leans over to search for a bottle of Tequila when Carlos comes up behind, pins her against the bar, and rips her bikini shorts off of her. Doreen starts to scream and struggle against the muscular attacker. Carlos grabs her long hair, and pulls her head back, "Shut up Bitch, you want it almost as much as I need it! You scream again, and I'll really give you something to scream about, now SHUT UP!" Carlos pins her against the bar as he pulls out his beer can sized meat and shoves it up inside her ass. With every intrusion into her rear, Carlos pulls back on her hair. The pain is overwhelming as he slams in and out. Tears are running down Doreen's face as blood flows out of her ass. With out realizing it, Doreen reaches down into the drawer in front of her as Carlos bangs away, grabs her pistol, slowly, carefully, bringing it in front of her, she carefully brings it around her side, aims it in Carlos's direction, and fires. The bullet hitting Carlos in the chest with a force that yanks his erection out of her as he flies half way across the room. Doreen sinks to the floor and starts to cry uncontrollably, looking over to see the contorting muscles of her attacker causing his body to spasm and the pool of blood from his body to grow on the floor. She watches pointing the gun at him, expecting him to get up and come after her, she watches as the spasms finally stop, and he lay there, on the floor in a pool of his blood, his erection flows forth his orgasm landing on his chest. Doreen cries, sitting at the base of the bar, sitting in her own pool of blood, as she hears a dog bark, startled by the sound of the gun. * * * * * After a long silence, Ike settles back takes a deep breath and begins. "It all started exactly 30 years ago, I met your Mother Tom during the colleges rush week, she was something special, all the guys were after her for her attention, but she ignored them all, then our eyes met," taking a drink of Champagne and looking off into the distance as if he was reliving that part of his life again, "it was like a scene from a movie, with Gable and Lombard, staring across a crowded room we make our way to each other, with out a word spoken between us we start dancing slowly while all the other college groupies were beeboping to the latest Beatles Song, for that instant I knew that I had to get to know her, and I did. We started seeing each other regularly and after 6 weeks of serious dating, she took me home to meet her parents." Ike motions for the waiter to refill his Scotch. receiving his drink, downs it in one gulp and asks for another refill. "You know Tom," Ike continues, "I really loved your Mother, She was everything I ever wanted in a woman, but everything got out of hand when I met your Grandfather on that fateful Friday Night. Your family being strict Catholics and myself being Jewish, he wouldn't even except the pledge from me to convert. We were devastated. He physically threw me out of the house while your mother was held back screaming for me," shaking his head as to clear some horrible memory, "I can still hear her screaming to this day. Monday morning I heard that her parents pulled her out of school and she wouldn't be returning. Then... about 4 months later I got a call from her asking me to meet her at the Road House Cafe on Hiway 1 north of the city." When I got there, she was oh so beautiful, wearing a white flowing dress, and the most unforgetable smile silhoetted by the setting sun across the ocean, we walk the cliff, till we found a place to sit down." Ike looks at Tom as Tom is glued attentively to every word. "She tells me she is engaged to your father, and wanted to tell me inperson before I read it in the paper. She also told me that he knew she didn't love him the way that she should, but cared for him deeply. It was an arranged marrage, and that her parents set it up so she wouldn't go off and try to find me. I hated your Grandfather for so long, and even more then. The wedding was the next day, and she asked if we could have tonight together before she is someone elses. I took her in my arms and kissed her tenderly, passionately, we made love on the cliff, the waves roaring below and the occasional sound of a car rushing along on the hyway, only seemed to intensify our desire for the preverbial forbidden fruit." Paul was sitting on edge listening to every word Ike had to say, then turned to see Bill, staring at Ike, overflowing with love. "Then," Ike continues, "about 2 months later I get a call from your father. I was quite shocked, I didn't even know he knew about me. He asked if we could meet, just the three of us. I don't mind telling you I was excited about seeing your Mother Tom, but scared to death of meeting your father." Ike looked for some kind of expresion in Tom's face, nothing but complete attention, "We met here in this Resturaunt, infact, this very table, she told me that she was pregnant with you. This meeting went into a celebration, we toasted to you and to the new family. We were having a great time, until your father had to speak his mind, you see Tom, he was unable to.... that is he was able, but not able too..." Ike started to get very nervous, trying to produce the right words to complete the sentance. Tom leans back in his chair, takes Pauls hand and looks at Ike, eye to eye, "What you are trying so elequently to tell me is that you are my Biological Father, am I right?"

Doreen pulls herself to the phone, raked with pain, weak from loss of blood she dials, "Hello Police, I need help, I want to report a rape, and... I shot the guy who raped me." Doreen drops the phone to the floor, she can hear the 911 operator calling out to her, Doreen goes into fits of tears, slumping to the floor and passes out. In and out of consciuosness, Doreen hears the Police barge through the door, they check Carlos, and pronounce him dead, one officer leans over Doreen and checks her vitals, Doreen whispers, "Help me, I'm pregnant."

• • • • • More to come. B. A. Ratzlaff curator@babykake-usa.com