“No, just stand there.”
“Let him go,” she says.
“All right. Go because your girl asks for you to go. But I’m watching, so no tricky stuff in there or she gets killed.”
“I know.” I wash myself in the bathroom.
“Take off all your clothes and come on out now,” he says. I take off all my clothes. I come out of the bathroom and he motions me to stand by the bathroom door. They’re still in bed. Knife against her throat. “I suppose I should go now,” he says. We say nothing. “You’d like for me to go of course.” Nothing. “Well say it, goddamnit”
“Yes,” she says. “We’d like you to go.”
“No reason to stay here anymore,” he says. “Three times. In how many minutes do you think? Not that anyone’s counting. But it’s enough anyway. But maybe I can get hot once more if you two do it. I’d like four times. I’d like five but I got to be realistic. But with four I can say it’s really been worth it. Go on. You two do it.” He gets off the bed, stands by the bed with the knife at the side of her neck. I get on the bed. “Do it with you on your back,” he says to me. “That way I’ll have the advantage.”
“I don’t feel like doing it,” I say.
“Neither do I,” she says.
“I said do it.”
“I can’t just do it like that,” I say. “I’m not like you. I have to want to and I don’t feel like it.”
“Neither do I. Just go,” she says to him. “Please?”
“I said to do it,” he yells at me. “Now do it. Try. Get big. Do it to her. Then if I’m big I’ll take over for you.”
“But I don’t feel like it.”
“Rub him,” he tells her.
She rubs me. Nothing happens.
“When he doesn’t want to he can’t,” she says. “I know him.”
He grabs me. Rubs me. Nothing happens. He puts it in his mouth, the knife against my penis. Nothing happens. “What do you expect?” I say. “It’s impossible. Nothing, you see?”
“If I didn’t have the knife it wouldn’t be nothing,” he says.
“Then put away the knife,” I say.
“You do what I did,” he tells her. He gets up, holds the knife to her neck. She does it. Nothing happens. He rubs me while she’s doing it. Nothing.
“Say nice things to him,” he says.
“Tony, I love you. Tony, I love it. This. What we’re doing. What I’m doing. Do it. Get big. I want you to make love to me. I’m going to do it again now, so get big.”
She does it. Nothing happens. “It’s impossible,” I say.
“It’s impossible,” she says. “Believe him.”
“If you don’t get that thing going I’m going to cut it off,” he says to me.
“I’ll try.” I concentrate. Nothing. “Maybe it will. Wait.”
“Get hard,” she says. “He’ll kill you if you don’t. Then he’ll kill me. Put your mind to it.”
I concentrate. I shut my eyes. Nothing. “I’m sorry,” I say to him. “I can’t. But don’t do anything rough. Maybe I can. Just wait.”
“Don’t do anything to Tony,” she says. “We were nice. We did what you asked. We won’t make any charges against you to the police. We won’t even call them.”
“Bull,” he says.
“You’re right,” she says. “Of course we’ll call them. But don’t do anything now. Tie us up. Then leave.”
“I want to do it once more,” he says. “Four’s my lucky number. Not my lucky, just a good number. And I’ve never done it four times in a row in so short a time. And I feel cheated. That one with him doesn’t count. So I haven’t even got my three yet. And three’s my minimum. The absolute must. And I can’t get big either. Make me big,” he says to her. “Do what you can.” She tries. “Everything.” She tries everything she used to do to me. Nothing happens. “Both of you try on me.” We both try. Things I’ve never done before. Knife at her neck. Nothing happens though. He stays the same way. “You’re both screw-ups,” he says. He stands up. “You come with me.” She stands up. “You stay there,” he tells me. I stand up. “I said stay.”
I walk towards him. He has the knife at her back. I bend down and stretch under the bed and get the table leg. “I don’t care about her life anymore,” I say. “I just want to beat your brains in.”
“Bull,” he says.
“Tony, drop the club.”
I drop it.
“You didn’t mean what you said,” he says. “Too bad. It would have been nice sticking it in her and then pulling it out quick and fighting you off with a couple of feints and slices or two and then sticking it in you. Maybe not nice. But different. And I could do that. I’m ready. I hope you believe that. Sure you do. And I’m very very good with this knife. So maybe you should try,” he says to me. “Come on. Pick up your club and try and get me.”
“Don’t, Tony.”
I don’t. “I wasn’t going to hit you with it anyway,” I say to him. “Just go. Leave us alone.”
“No, come on,” he says. “If you don’t come at me with the club I’m going to stick the knife in Della’s neck.”
“No.” I sit on the bed.
“You want me to stick it in her neck?”
“No.”
“Where then?”
“No place. All I want is for you to go.”
“Just stay there like that, Tony,” she says. “This will be over soon. Or in an hour. Or a day. Then it’ll be over. But you’re being smart. Even if he knifes me don’t attack him and risk your life. Only attack him if he comes after you. But now just leave him alone. He’ll eventually go.”
“Don’t be too sure,” he says. “Come on, big boy, come try to get me with the club.”
I lie on the bed, head on the pillow, arms over my chest.
“Then I’m going to put it in her back or neck.”
“Please don’t,” she says.
“Even if you do, it’ll be her neck and she’ll be dead. So what’s the sense of risking my life for her as she said?”
“Because you’ll have a better chance to come get me and beat me over the head in the time I stick it in her neck and try and pull it out to get you. You have to think like that.”
“That makes sense,” I say. I stand up.
“Sit down,” she says. “Lie down, Tony.”
I lie down.
“You two are just no fun,” he says. He gets dressed. “Don’t move,” he tells her. “Just stand by my side.” He sits down. “Put my socks and shoes on and tie them tight” She does that. “All your money now,” he says, “and his.” She collects it with him following her right behind. “Now walk me to the door. And you stay in bed or try and come after me with or without the club,” he yells at me.
“Stay in bed, Tony,” she says.
They go to the door. I can’t see them. “Now kiss me goodbye,” he says.
“Oh stop the crap already and go,” she says.
“You’re right. You’re much smarter than him. Who needs a kiss? Kiss him. He needs it.” He opens the door and goes.
We don’t have a phone. I go next door to call the police. Della says “I’m going to take a shower for an hour and don’t want to be bothered by anyone,” and goes into the bathroom. The police come. “Come out when you can,” I yell into the bathroom. She comes out. Lots of questions from the police. We tell them everything. One policeman says to Della “You should go straight to a doctor.” She says “No, I’m okay. I can take care of myself.” We go to the police station and answer more questions and look at photos. None are of him. I say to the police we’re exhausted. They say sure. We go home. That evening a circular from our police precinct is pasted on the mailbox in the vestibule and slipped under every tenant’s door. It’s a warning about that man today who’s been raping and robbing women in their apartments in the neighborhood lately. It has a good description of him, ours along with others. Several different outfits and hats. The outfit and hat he wore today are there. The circular says he gets into the apartments mostly by telling the woman over the downstairs intercom that he’s a delivery boy from a local florist with a box of flowers for her.