Corpulent Carl

"I know. You had so many others that wanted to see you tonight. I could wait."

"I couldn't! This night wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for you! Thank you!"

Before it was all over Mom had corralled Mr. Simon and insisted he and his wife join us, and of course Annie and her mother came over too. We spent hours, into the early morning, eating pizza while gathered round the piano and singing together, just enjoying ourselves.

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Annie and I became inseperable. We didn't date as such, but if one of us went somewhere, the other went also. Of course, Ted, Jermaine, and James became a big part of my life as well, and you could count on seeing the four of us guys together a lot of places. I'm sure it was rather incongruous at times, big old white me, with the three of them, James being not much bigger than Annie, and as black as could be. The four of us worked together with the Student Council on race relations in the school, and Ted's turn-around made a big impact. I personally had never cared one way or another about race, just trying to take people as they came. Before my new-found notoriety that had not been an issue as mostly I left people rather than took to them, but now I found I was in the position of having people coming to me, wanting to be my friend. At times I found it trying, especially when some of the girls who never would have deigned acknowledge my presence tried to make nice with me to get things from me. I had little time for them, and I'm afraid I wasn't always as nice as I should have been.

The rest of the school year rocked along pretty well. I did agree to work with the Jazz band, much to Mr. Simon's pleasure, and I had a lot of fun, although it still was trying for me to perform in public. My piano teacher also, with my mother's connivance arranged a recital, but instead of it being held in conjunction with all of her other pupils she had me put one on alone. "This is catch-up for all of the others you missed, Carl!" I got even with her, though, because I went back through all of my old books and picked out the songs she would have had me play at each stage of my progress, and I played them for the recital, starting with of course, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". I did arrange them at my level of play now though, with just enough of a hint of what it would have been to make her squirm.

Annie and I both met with the District Attorney on a couple of occasions, making plans for the trials of the three punks that attacked me. Their trials were delayed significantly due to the time necessary for them to recover from their injuries, and then their attorney kept getting continuances and delays so that they didn't actually go to trial before late summer. The outcome was never in doubt, and all three of them were sentenced to extended periods of time in the penitentiary, having been tried as adults rather than as minors due to the severity of the attack.

Their attorney appealed the convictions based on a technicality of something the judge said during the proceedings, and the verdicts were thrown out by the appeals court, and a retrial was ordered, but due to the backlog in the system it couldn't be scheduled until after the beginning or our Senior year of school. All three guys were ordered to leave us alone, and of course were not permitted back into our school, but were assigned to an alternative school. For the most part we were able to forget they existed, other than an occasional note from the DA or somebody about the case.

Both Annie and I had early birthdays in the school year, mine being in late September, and hers the second week of October, so we turned eighteen at the very beginning of our senior year.

I knew I was in love with Annie, and I knew she loved me, but we had never done anything beyond hold hands and an occasional light kiss or hug. We both had been brought up to respect each other's person, and to withhold sex until marriage. As much as we loved each other and wanted to be together, and as much as I wondered what sex with her might be like I was content to wait. It was an anxious contentment, to be sure, and I worried about our size differences and whether I could possibly make love to her without hurting her. I know she wondered the same from a few very light conversations we had on the subject, always in the subjective, and always in the future. We knew marriage was in our futures, although I had not actually proposed. We talked about what "our" home would be like, and about "our" family, but like I said, we weren't in any hurry.

Annie was in my home much of the time, and I was in hers as well, even though both of our mothers worked and didn't arrive home until much after we got home from school. They trusted us, and being the kind of kids we were, we honored that trust. I know, it seems hard to believe, but it is true, and to be honest, it was a lot more true of many of our friends than people would believe. Sure, some of them fooled around more than did Annie and I, but very few of them were actually sexually active. I don't say that is necessarily true of the student body in general, but among our circle of friends it was so.

Maybe one reason was it frequently was not just the two of us hanging out at home together. Ted and Corrine, his girlfriend, and/or James and Joyce, or Jermaine and LaTicia hung out with us. Quite often there would be others around as well. I was amazed. From being a social outcast, nearly a pariah, I had turned into not a social butterfly, but more of a social magnet, drawing people to me like iron filings to a magnet. With my background it was often the socially inept or ignored that tended to gather with us, although we often had quite an eclectic mix of personalities, blending different social strata together nearly seamlessly.

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It was the night before Annie's eighteenth birthday, and I was taking her out to dinner, all the bells and whistles as on her birthday it was to be a celebration at home with her mother, although of course I was to be included. I dropped her at her house to get ready and walked on over to my place to prepare. This was going to be all out, with coat and tie and everything. You couldn't even get in the door of the restaurant I was taking her to without coat and tie. I was really pleased with myself, and looking forward to a fun evening when my world was shattered by a scream from Annie's house. "NO! Please don't!" I heard, and that was all it took. I started running back to her place, only to find her door locked and dead-bolted. Inside I could hear her crying and trying to scream, but it was muffled now. I stepped back and slammed my shoulder into the door, and trust me, as solid as that door was it was no match for four hundred eighty pounds of fury and fear for my Annie!

The door bounced off of the wall, taking a good bit of the door frame with it, and I saw three people I had hoped never to see again other than in court. I heard a slam, and felt a whip of air go past my ear as Dave, the same guy as hit me with the pipe before, fired a gun at me. Behind him I could see Tim and Josh had Annie down on the floor, and had ripped her clothes from her. Tim had his cock out and was trying to rape her while Josh held her down. I dove at Dave first, determined to get the gun away from him before someone got hurt, and I had just reached him when I heard and felt a slam of a bullet as it hit my left shoulder. I grabbed him around the throat with my right hand as I tried unsuccessfully to get my left arm to work, but it wouldn't respond. I felt no pain, the adrenalin was to strong. I felt another slam, this time with the gun pressed against me and I squeezed with all my strength and felt his neck snap.

I dropped him to the floor and swung a kick at Tim, knocking him off of Annie, and then had to dodge as Josh came up from the floor with a knife in his hand, slashing at my belly. My left hand wouldn't respond, leaving me badly limited, but I was able to catch Josh's wrist and force the knife away from me. I couldn't do much about it because Tim dove for the gun Dave dropped and tried to fire at me. I jerked Josh around, trying to get the knife free from him just as Tim fired, and the bullet intended for me hit Josh in the belly, and he dropped the knife.

I had no choice but to dive for Tim, who turned back to Annie and pointed the gun at her. "Stop right there, or she gets it!"

Somehow, I knew better than to stop, but instead I dropped down and grabbed the knife from the floor and threw it as hard as I could. I had no idea I'd do any good with it other than I was doing all I could to deflect his attention from Annie. It worked. Tim instinctively lifted his arm to ward off the knife, and the point went in deep into his armpit, and blood spurted out in a fountain.

I looked over at Annie, and for the first time saw what she looked like naked. Trust me, it was not what I wanted to see, nor the way I wanted to see her! She curled up in a fetal position, weeping. I stripped the table cloth from the dining room table and covered her then grabbed the wall phone and dialed 911. Suddenly, the adrenalin wore off, and the pain began. It was a sharp burning sensation that radiated and pulsed throughout my shoulder and upper chest. I fell to my knees and clutched my shoulder with my right hand, and was waiting there in that manner when the police arrived just moments later.

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I woke up groggily several hours later in the recovery room after three hours of surgery on my shoulder. My shoulder was put together like a jigsaw, and held together with wires and screws. The Brachial Artery had been grazed, and why I didn't bleed out I don't know, other than Swanny, Officer Swanson, was the first officer on the scene, and he had served two tours of duty as a Corpsman with the Marines in Afghanistan. He knew how to deal with wounds of the sort, and he had me stabilized before the EMT's even got there. Had it not been for him this story would not have been written.

As soon as I started to stir a rather haggard Annie leapt from the chair in which she had been waiting and threw herself around my neck on the right side carefully so as not to hurt me further and wept into my neck. A nurse heard the commotion and hurried in the door calling for the doctor. She tried to pry Annie away from me, but I grabbed hold tightly and held her to me as best I could in the stupor in which I found myself. "Let her be!" I kept saying over and over. Mom was there beside Annie, as was Annie's mom. Mom gently disengaged Annie, saying she could come back to me in a couple of minutes, but the doctor needed to check me over first. When he got through checking my conditions the doctor allowed Annie back over by me; but he asked her to please be careful not to disturb me any more than necessary. It was only a little while before they transported me to a regular room, where I would spend the next two weeks, with Annie refusing to leave my side, except to go to school.

The hospital wanted to raise a fuss about her staying since we aren't married, or blood kin, but Mom, being a Nurse Practitioner pulled some strings and since Annie turned eighteen while I was in surgery she was allowed to stay.

My arm was put in a cast that looked somewhat like the claw on a fiddler crab, and stuck out awkwardly. It was held up in traction, keeping the weight off of my shoulder as much as possible. Pain was nearly continuous, with all of the bone fragments seeming to rub against each other, and I was kept on some pretty high doses of pain killers for a few days, which scared me, because I've heard way too many stories and seen way too many people get hooked on the things.

Officer Swanson visited me with questions about the altercation as soon as the doctor would let him. He took my statement and had it typed up for my signature, but I had no problems. It was clearly an open and shut case of self-defense, and the defense of Annie. Swanny told me Josh would probably survive, but that he had a perforated intestine in several places, and would never be the same, and if Swanny had anything to do about it, Josh would never leave prison. Of course, it was up to the DA, but Swanny wrote up every charge he could think of, including attempted rape, assault and battery, assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of attempted murder, violation of a protection order, breaking and entering, - not necessarily in that order, but I'm going from memory - even illegal parking. "I want to make sure there is no way for him to weasel out of this one! Even if the DA is willing to do a plea bargain I want enough charges on him they won't be able to do much."

The other two mutts didn't make it. Do I have any bad feelings about it? Not on your life! I don't like the idea I killed someone, but they brought it on themselves. They shouldn't have attacked my Annie. I have had no bad dreams, but Annie has had more than a few. For this alone I cannot forgive them!

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At last I was released from the hospital to go home. As big as I am it is difficult enough to get in and out of a car, but with my left wing immobilized at a ninety degree angle from my body there was no way I could possibly get into or out of a car, and they had to transport me home in a van. Annie, of course, rode along with me and was there to try to help me into the house. I walked with a bit of a list, trying to balance the heavy counter-weight of the plaster cast, and it was humorous to see Annie walking alongside me as if trying to prop me up! She held everything together until we were inside and away from prying eyes. As soon as the door was closed and I got settled into my Lazy-Boy she crawled into my lap and wrapped both arms around my neck and broke down.

I hugged her to me tightly and let her cry it out, which took some time. Her mom and mine had the wisdom to slip out of the room and leave it to the two of us, understanding this was something they could not help. All the time in the hospital she kept a brave face on, and was always positive, but now I understood at what a cost!

For three days Annie was withdrawn and morose around me when home from school. She insisted on being there with me, but had totally lost all spark or zest for life. I kept telling her how much I love her, which would only bring a half-smile and wistful look into her eyes. Finally I couldn't take it any longer, and I caught her hand as she walked by once. Pulling her to my chair I lifted her up onto my lap like a little girl and held her to me.

"Annie, talk to me. What's the matter? You know I love you, and those guys aren't coming back ever again."

Annie sniffled and buried her face in my shoulder, unable to look me in the eyes.

"Tell me, is it me? Is it what I did?"

"Oh, no!" It was a muffled wail with her face buried as it was, and I felt her body shudder against mine as she wept. "I owe you my life!"

"Well, what is it then? What's wrong? I can't take you rejecting me like this."

Her head snapped up, and her big tear filled eyes looked into mine. "I'm not rejecting you! I love you, but I'm not good enough for you any more. You know what they tried to do to me!" She burst into tears again and buried her face on my shoulder once more and wailed and wailed.

Gathering her tightly into my arm as best I could I held her to me, feeling the way her body molded to mine. I stroked her hair and caressed what part of her face I could reach with my fingertips until she finally started to calm.

"Sweetheart, do you really think that makes a difference to me? Do you really think I would reject you because of what someone else did? I love you! Will you marry me?"

I really didn't mean to say that! I meant it, but that was not the time nor the place I wanted to ask it! I had a ring for her, and had planned to ask when we went out to eat for her birthday, but of course that didn't happen then, but this was not the romantic time I had envisioned for us.

Annie's head snapped back and she looked at me wide-eyed. "Do you really mean it? Really? You aren't just asking because you think you have to?"

"Sweetheart, I mean it. This is not where I planned to ask you, but I mean it with all of my heart!"

"Oh, Yes, Yes, Yes!" She launched herself at me, wrapping both arms around my neck and squeezing for all she was worth. The pain was intense when she landed on my shoulder, but I really didn't care! I had my Annie back! The tears were flowing again, but for the first time in a long time they were the right kind of tears. Once she settled down again with a big sigh and nestled contentedly in my arm I set her down on her feet.

"Wait right here." I made my way carefully to my room and retrieved the little black jeweler's box from my dresser and slipped back into the living room, where I awkwardly knelt before her and held out the box. Carefully I slipped open the flip top and let her see the ring snuggled down in the velvet inside. "I'm sorry, but I can't take it out and put it on your finger. Can you get it out for me?"

Wordlessly she removed her new ring from the box and handed it to me, and I carefully placed it on her finger. Her eyes glowed as she stepped in to put her arms around my neck and give me the most gentle kiss, yet the most passionate kiss we have ever shared. "I have wanted to marry you since we were in the fourth grade. I have always loved you, and I always shall. I owe you my life, and I gladly give you my life. I love you, Carl!

You know, it was kind of funny. In all this time I finally found a way I could look her in the eye and be nearly on her level. It was when I was on my knee before her, offering myself to her. Something was symbolic there somehow.

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I returned to school the next day for the first time, and of course I had all kinds of people who wanted to talk, but I managed to keep it to a minimum. I just didn't have the energy to deal with all of the drama. Ted, Jermaine, and James were all at my house to escort Annie and me to the school, and they were there again at the end of the day to walk us home, this time with their girls with them, and we had a bunch of fun hanging out at the house for a while. I couldn't play the piano, but we all sang and carried on together and just had fun. Of course, the girls couldn't see Annie's ring enough and were constantly wanting to look at it. At last, they left, which I had been waiting for for a while! I wanted Annie alone.

Tired, I settled into my Lazy-Boy, and she came and sat in my lap. "Carl, are you really sure?"

"Yes, Sweetheart. I'm sure."

"But I'm so tiny. I'm not sure I can satisfy you." She looked down and blushed to the roots of her hair. "You saw me that day. I don't have much of a body."

Gently, I tilted her face up to mine. "Annie, please will you understand something? I didn't want to see you that way, but all I saw was beauty, and I saw the one I love. What happened that day will never change it, and when the time comes to see you again it will be wonderful and it will be beautiful, and it will be all I ever want it to be."

I think she probably felt it, the way she was sitting on my lap, but I started to stiffen at the thought of seeing her. I was embarrassed, but it wasn't something I could help. I tried to shift her off of me a little bit without letting her know why, but she leaned in to me instead and gently kissed me on the lips. "Wait right here. I have to do something," she whispered and slid down off of my lap and walked down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Carl?"

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes, and no peeking, OK?"

I closed my eyes, puzzled at what she was doing. "OK."

I could hear her padding back down the hallway and walk up right in front of me. Softly I heard, "You can look now."