Dark as Daylight Ch. 25

I say, "What more could a woman possibly want. I have a beautiful apartment overlooking Central Park. It is very nicely furnished. It has my library with many 1^st editions, which I love. The only thing I miss is the beautiful man I loved, and married. I can't have him, because he's on the other side of the country, fooling around with every young woman that catches his eye. I miss him, but I understand why he left me."

Then we make love as if we are still married, but it's better, for me at least, because I've missed him so much. We will go to see plays, walk around the park, and go shopping; you know, the normal things a married couple would do. He stays until he has to go back to San Francisco, and then we resume our normal, separate, lives."

Celia said, "It sounds like without Mickey, you lead a very lonely existence, Matti."

"Not lonely, Celia, insulated is a better word. Most of my friends are here, at work. I have few friends outside, but not many. My best friend is my library. I sit and read for hours on end. Sometimes, I am so lost in a book, I will miss several meals because of it. I'm not talking about Jane Austen or Mary Shelley, even though their writings are both on my library shelves.

I just completed reading the book, "Earth," by David Brin. He is an astrophysicist, and a very forward thinker. Some of his writings are centuries ahead of their time. He was a devotee of Carl Sagan's work.

I just ordered a work by Hannes Alfven through Amazon, because the bookstores are out of it. I should have it the day after tomorrow. It's only 1262 pages, in hardcover, which means I'll have it finished 3 days afterwards."

"Matti, you have to be the loneliest person on this planet. Are you going to at least stop and take a shit during those 3 days?"

"I'll take the book with me, if I do."

"You are incorrigible."

"I don't have to cheat on my wife, to be happy."

"I don't cheat on my wife, Matti. The only cheating I do is mental, and until she can crawl into my neurons, and see what's going on in there, I'm safe."

"Okay, I'll quit heart surgery, go back to school, and work on brain surgery just for you Harvey."

"I'll attend your graduation, with a handgun. I won't kill you; I'll shoot off the fingers of your left hand, and the thumb of your right hand. It will make you useless as a surgeon."

"Matti, I don't believe Harvey likes your decision to become a neurosurgeon. It seems his mind is a little closer to the edge than we thought it was. We better treat him kindly until you stick a needle in his ass and put him to sleep permanently."

"He wasn't going to kill me, Celia. He was just going to make me useless. How do you make a male useless? You remove that thing between his legs. You could do it surgically, under anesthesia, using proper procedures, or since he wasn't going to do my hands that way, we could hang him from the ceiling, spread his legs, and use the chest saw to take them off.

I don't think we would have to be in spacesuits to keep from being covered with blood, but it might be a good idea to be completely covered in greens, and get rid of them, immediately thereafter; including the gloves and the facial screens. Anything the police might use as evidence of our being involved would have to be destroyed."

"You women only no one thing that would hurt a man. Cut off his balls and make him a eunuch. They don't realize that area of the man's body is meant for a woman's pleasure. Unless a woman can buy an artificial dick that expands and contracts with them, produces a lubricant while making love to make her slick inside them, it is a piece of plastic, a toy. She needs only what a man can provide while making love. His penis enters her vagina at the same temperature as her body. A man searches for areas inside the woman's that makes her climb walls in an attempt to reach her orgasm. Most women want to have a partner that will do anything for her, while they are playing. Matti knows this only too well, don't you Matti?"

"You leave Mickey out of this. At least he was honest enough to get a divorce, before he screwed around with every skirt in the area. That's why he didn't ask for anything from me in the divorce. He gave me the apartment free and clear, and that was a huge chunk of money that he had to lay out. He didn't have to do that, but he did. It wasn't only because he was going to screw everything in sight, it was because he loved me, he really did, and he still does."

"Have you ever asked him what would happen if you agreed to move to San Francisco, instead of staying here?"

"No, because I'm afraid of the answer."

"I have a better one for you. Why don't you tell him you are going to remarry, and see what happens?"

"I'm 39 years old, who the hell am I going to marry. I'm certainly not going to the bar scene to pick someone up, and I am certainly not going online to advertise than I am looking for someone. What are you suggesting?"

"It's an executive dating service. It's not even dinner the 1^st time; it's called, "It's Only Lunch!" The man gets pictures of several women, and he has to make a choice. You get a picture of many men, and you have to make a choice. If you pick the man and he picks you, they set up a lunch meeting for the 2 of you, at a very high-class restaurant, not at a hotel. You have lunch, talk to one another and see what happens between the 2 of you. If there is a spark of interest, the 2 of you work it out from there. If there is no interest, say goodbye, and walk away. It's as easy as that.

Now, if you're only interested to see if Mickey gets jealous, you're going to need a picture of the 2 of you at lunch. That can be easily arranged. Just make sure your smiling. How does that sound to you, Doctor?"

"To me it sounds like you are a sneaky bastard, but I like it. How does the picture get to Mickey?"

"It could be strategically; sent from his former office in the Stuyvesant building, from the desk of a friend of his. For the appropriate amount of money, we can have a secretary show the picture and ask, "Isn't that Mr. Williams wife in this picture? A friend of mine took the picture, because he was sure it was her. The man was proposing marriage at the time. From the look on her face, I believe she was saying yes. Should we advise Mr. Williams of this, or just let it die? If he is paying her alimony, we definitely should tell him."

Mickey will get it, and you will know what happens, very quickly. It could be fireworks, or it could be devastating for you. You have to be prepared for a tsunami of emotions either way."

"I don't have him now, it can't be any worse than that, can it?"

"No, I don't see how it could be any worse for you than it is now. However, what if he wants you back? Can I play the devil's advocate for a second?"

"You Harvey? You want to cause trouble? That's all you ever do around here. Why should today be any different."

"I take umbrage at that remark. I am the calmest, and gentlest Doctor on this staff."

Celia laughed. "And I am a boy in disguise."

"I knew there was something about you I liked, Celia."

"To paraphrase you Harvey, 'Bend over, and I'll make you smile'."

"I don't believe you have the equipment to make me smile."

"Well, bend over, drop your pants, and find out. This is a one- time offer Harvey, you could get the thrill of your lifetime out of it."

"Are you going to stand and deliver, Celia?"

"You can bet your ass on it."

"It is my ass I'm betting on, and if you don't deliver, I want your ass in payment. Is that clear, Doctor?"

"I withdraw my offer. It forgot that it is against my religion to make a wager."

"My ass you forgot. It was your ass you worried about, wasn't it?"

"As I said Doctor, it is against my religion to make a wager. I will not go any further than that."

"Is lying against your religion, Celia?"

"It all depends on who I am talking to Doctor."

"That's very convenient, isn't it?"

"Since it is my religion, and you know nothing about it, it certainly is."

"What is the name of your religion, Celia?"

"You cannot pronounce my last name, Harvey. How can you expect to pronounce the name of my religion?"

"I could give it a good try. However, I could look it up on a computer and see what strictures it has on you, and the world you live in. I want to see what it says about life and living in this world."

"Good luck, Harvey, I don't believe it is been translated into English, yet. By the time you learn my language you will need a dozen male enhancement pills to get an erection and it still will not be enough to get your dick into my rear end. Your dream of entering a middle age ass will have turned into the discouraging thought of getting into an 80-year old ass that has been used by many others before you."

"You slut."

"It would have been you who turned me into a slut, Harvey. The thought of you ravaging my ass was so degrading to me, I let anyone who asked try it, so it would be wide open before you got to it."

"I take it back, Celia. I don't like you at all."

"Thank you, Harvey, we are back to where we were 20 minutes ago."

"You mean were back to being civil to one another again?"

"Yes Harvey, you can keep your pants on."

"What a wonderful thought."

************************************************************

Atwater Luck

6:31 AM

When Monty walked into the auditorium, she was very disappointed. She was hoping to see a group of disgruntled, sleepy people, dragging their asses into the meeting. What she saw disappointed her greatly. The people, her people, were standing up, joking around, talking to one another as if it was the middle of the day. It didn't matter to them what the hour was, they were among friends, and that was all that mattered. She stood at the podium, staring at them.

A voice shouted out, "Cat got your tongue?"

She knew that voice. It had haunted her since it was 4 years old. She dreamed about it every night, and nothing she could do could get rid of it. Then Teddy told her, he was going to replace her, and that was the last straw. She was going to get even with him, before the end of this meeting. She was going to think of something evil, something Teddy couldn't punish her for. That little girl, change that, that teenager had her praying at the slightest infraction. Gordon was going to get it, and get it good this morning.

"Good morning all you wonderful people, and thank you for coming to this early morning meeting. As I promised, I'm going to hand out all your new assignments in alphabetical order backwards. Our wonderful computer, Callie, has gone over your abilities, and matched you with your next upward move. If you are already a captain, you are on your way to a new adventure in another part of the ship. It is not a move down the scale, because you will always remain a captain. At times you will be brought up to the flight deck for refresher training. We don't want you to lose your skills. The only person who will not change their position, unfortunately, is me. I am the senior Captain, and I must remain in that position. After a discussion with another member of the crew, I have been told when I will change to an ordinary member of the crew, what pain in the ass will replace me, and when she will ascend to the captaincy. I wish you all well during the interim, when that pain in the ass is Captain. (Oh shit, I just realized I said 3 bad words, and I'm going to be praying in the chapel for a long time.)"

Teddy called out, "Only one extra hour, senior Captain, because there are no small children here. You lucked out this time."

"Thank you, merciful God, and Teddy, I do have work to do on this vessel, and I can't do it, if I have to pray all day."

Gordon yelled out, "I will do your work for you, Senior Captain, so you can pray all day, and night!"

She muttered to herself, "It's time to put him in his place."

"I am only going to announce one new position given to a very special person, because of his outstanding character, brilliant ability, superior knowledge, and courage. No one else on this ship could do this job better than this person. To Gordon Oliver Stars Luck, called in his younger years by his proud mother, Jennifer, GOSL(Gossle), goes the honor and privilege of 'Restoring The Inside Of The Nuclear Containment Area, And The Nuclear Engine' to their original condition."

Gordon stood on his chair and waved in victory.

The members stood up and cheered with him.

Monty stood by the podium in disbelief. Did he understand what she said? She just sentenced him to death by an overdose of radiation. Yet, there he was celebrating like he was taking a trip down the Tiber, in victory. No one could survive being inside either of those chambers, not for 50,000 years, probably much longer than that. Dammit, why did he have to be so cute when he was 4 years old. Maybe, if he was ugly, she wouldn't have loved him so much. God, his smile was enough to break her heart, and his tears did. She was fine with those memories, until she had a child of her own. Damn that man of hers, if she didn't love him so much, none of this would've happened to her. She decided to get back to business.

"Okay people, your names will be called out in alphabetical order, backwards. Stand, come forward, and your envelope will be handed to you. You will not open them until after this meeting is adjourned. Some of you will only have a short time to have breakfast, change into your new work uniforms, and be at work by 7:30 AM. The workers you will relieve will come to the auditorium and receive their envelopes at that time. No one will repeat what they did for the last 6 months, except me. I get to repeat as Senior Captain all over again. It is the way Doctor Luck designed it, and you have to live with it, until that pain in the ass takes over for me. I am going to torment him, until that time, because I know what he's going to do to me, when he is senior Captain.

"Senior Captain, he can't do anything to you when he is Senior Captain. It is against the rules."

Gordon yelled, "If it's against the rules, I don't want to be Senior Captain. She has tormented me since I was 4 years old. Now when I finally have a chance to get even with her, and you take it away from me. It's just not fair."

"Uncle Gordon do you remember room 503?"

"Yes, I hid the turkey food and other items in there."

"Think about the time after aunt Zoey shot at you, and missed."

"Yes, I remember. I spent many months in that room, with Payne, as a young baby, when Zoey tried to find out what was going on in her head."

"How would you like to spend some time there attempting to find out what is going on in your head?"

"Niece Teddy, you have never received a spanking because you are always so good to everyone. Now, as you are approaching your 18^th birthday, and you are as beautiful as your mother, I am thinking about giving you a spanking, and I'm going to enjoy it."

"Uncle Gordon, if I were you, I would go to the chapel and ask God for permission to do that to me. The answer you receive might deter you from trying to physically harm me, when I don't deserve it. You might break your hand in the process."

"Your behind is not that hard, little one."

"How would you know, uncle Gordon?"

"I have held you often enough, Teddy."

"You better check with Doctor Finch, to make sure he is a hand surgeon, also. He did a spectacular job on your brain, after studying for 5 months. How long will it take him to put your hand back together, properly."

"Teddy, I think I will go into the Nuclear Containment Area and begin cleaning it. I will see my God sooner that way, then I will by hitting you."

"God has plans for you uncle Gordon, and they don't have anything to do with you cleaning the inside of those areas. You can't lie to me, her, Zoey, or yourself, about doing it. You already know what your next job is, so get going and start doing it."

"I don't want to work in the nursery. Please give me a decent job to do for the next 6 months."

"What better job is there for an expectant father, then to work with little children for 12 hours a day?"

Everyone in the auditorium burst out in laughter at the newest nursemaid. Here was a captain, certified in every position on the flight deck, in engineering, and every other specialty on the ship, and now he was being placed in the nursery for 6 months. If he could be placed in such a position, they could be placed anywhere, and accept it with pride."

When Monty stopped laughing at him, she said, "Teddy, you are the best. You are better at putting him in his place than anyone I know. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Gordon, you can leave now, get some breakfast, and be in the nursery by 7:30 AM. I don't want you to be late one day during the next 6 months, or I will extend your stay in the nursery for an extra 6 months, which I am allowed to do under our rules."

"I don't like you, Monty. I never have, and I don't think I ever will. The next time I get you on the mats, I am going to turn you into a pretzel, a very twisted pretzel."

"Uncle Gordon mind your manners. You are speaking to the Senior Captain and she deserves your respect."

"I have given the Senior Captain respect, since I was four years old. I will respect her forever. However, when she wants to be, which is always, she can be and is a pain in the tuckus."

"What is a tuckus, uncle Gordon?"

"If I say it out loud, you will have me in the chapel praying. However, it's easier for me to tell you that you sit on it all day long."

"I think you and I are going to have to have a talk, a very long talk, uncle Gordon."

"We can talk about sex anytime you want, little one."

"That's not what I want to talk to you about."

"Whatever."

"This talk is not over."

"I didn't think so, and I don't believe I'm going to win either."

"If you two are finished, I can call out the names and give out the envelopes."

"We are finished Senior Captain."

Before Monty could call out the first name, everyone was lined up in alphabetical order backwards. She couldn't understand why they did it, until Janet cried out, "Don't think, it will tax your tiny brain. Just hand out the envelopes so we can go to breakfast."

"Janet, you are on report for the next two weeks."

"As you wish, Senior Captain, I will be in the Arboretum, as required."

"And how would you know that, Captain?"

"Someone had to stuff the envelopes, the computer couldn't do it, because it doesn't have hands. So one of us had to. I ordered four of us to do it, because I was on the bridge, at the time."

"You sneaky bitch!"

"That was very close, Senior Captain. How many hours did you want to spend in the chapel today?"

"Didn't you have to go for a walk with your uncle today?"

"Yes, I do, but I'm almost 18 years old, and I can go out as late as I want now."

"I think I liked you better when all you wanted was 'creamy cow'."

"I still like 'creamy cow', senior Captain."

"How many of our young men have come after you, Teddy?"

"Unmarried, or married?"

"I don't think I want to know the answer to my question, it would ruin my entire year."

"In total, it would come to 37. I have told each of them that I am unavailable for dating at this point in my life. My grandfather informed me that the man I am going to meet and probably marry, will come on the GOOD LUCK 2. He will be like Uncle Gordon, very smart, and very insistent, but he will not be religious, and that will be a problem. It will take me a long time to break him down or we will not get together. My grandfather told me it is not a sure thing. We will work together, because we are both very smart. We will be friends, but marriage is only a maybe, because he does not believe in God."