“I think the same, actually. Lynette, though, appeals to a side of Kristen that nobody else does. June appeals to me in a similar way.”
Harry nodded. “I suspected as much. Lynette is a very intelligent and lovely woman, Jim. You will still have to make her realize that Kristen doesn’t believe in limits. Kristen’s never walked into a store and made a selection of an outfit because she couldn’t afford the one she really wanted. Lynette probably has, as have you.”
“Yeah,” I said, despite the fact that shopping for clothes was never something that I did with any thought. Harry’s comment seemed to be right on the money.
Harry smiled at me. “I’m not sure what you know about the private side of the family. Daniel always wanted to make sure that Kristen learned to be responsible, whereas Charley, who actually exercised control of Kristen’s purse strings, wanted Kris to enjoy life. I’m not blaming either one, but the upshot was that Kristen might be the one paying for her lack of limits.”
Wow. I never suspected this.
I sighed. “So, what are you going to tell her parents?”
“Damned if I know,” Harry said. “I wish I had your ability to describe something that happened during your sex play in a way that sounded innocuous.”
I nodded. “I think I’ll talk with them. Daniel calls me his future son-in-law. Charley has been doing nothing but chatting with me since Kristen’s birthday party. I might as well tell them that I have feet of clay.”
“Isn’t that what June was for?” Harry asked.
“Huh?” I said, taken aback.
“I talk to Kristen, you know. That’s why I know you’re telling me the truth. One look at Kristen this morning and I knew you were just caught up in another one of those—what did she call them?—Oogie Stories?”
I sighed. “Yup, that’s me. Big ol’ asshole Oogie.”
“Not so much an asshole, Jim,” Harry said. “You’re exactly what Kristen needs. She loves you. She thinks she loves Lynette and maybe Camille, but she loves you. Whenever anything happens, you’re there.”
“Like now,” I said, sourly.
“Like now,” Harry agreed. “You are going to be the one that teaches Kristen limits. Each time she exceeds them, you will react the same way you are doing right now. She’s going to see how her actions affect you, and she’ll change. Little by little, she’ll learn limits, if only to limit the amount of hurt she will do to you.”
“That sounds cruel,” I said.
“My late brother used to train dogs. Obedience trainer, he did some stuff for movies in Hollywood. Anyway, do you know what he said about training dogs instead of puppies? He said, ‘You don’t train them. You shoot them, and find a puppy that looks similar. You train the puppy and wait for it to grow up.’”
I didn’t have any idea where Harry was going with that.
“What he was saying is that to train a grown dog that is already set in its ways is cruel. You are going to have the hardest job in the world, but do you want to know what I think? You’ve started that job the day you met her, and you have taken all the responsibility yourself.”
Of course, this only served to make me feel even more guilty.
Harry added one last thing to say. “Do you want to know why you do this, Jim?”
“Why?”
“Because the reward is worth it,” Harry said. “I’ve spent eighteen years with Kristen, and you will probably spend at least fifty or sixty together. I know how special she is, and Daniel and Charley know how special she is, and Will knows how special she is. Of all of us, it will be you that will get to live with her the rest of her life. I think we all envy you.”
Chapter 31—Limits
As Harry predicted, there were no rape counselors or police officers to take me into custody. Kristen came back out, being wheeled by a nurse and accompanied by June.
Actually, Kristen looked in better spirits.
“I think Nurse Ebson wants to try out our shower,” Kristen said.
The nurse wheeling Kristen reddened almost completely to the point where her uniform looked as if it would turn red as well.
“Good,” I said, cheerfully. “I’ll give her control of the nozzle and we’ll see who she wants to embarrass.”
June stifled a giggle, and Kristen simply opened her mouth in shock.
I actually got a look of respect from the nurse for my response. I could also hear Harry’s quiet chuckle behind me.
As Harry drove us home, I asked Kristen how long it would take to set up a temporary bedroom in the garage so that she wouldn’t have to walk up and down the stairs. She looked at Harry and said, “I can buy everything today and have it delivered.”
“How about a water bed?” I asked. “Let’s make it special.”
Kristen smiled. “With a nozzle?”
I sighed and turned to Harry. “Harry, would you be able to handle the logistics of setting up a nice bedroom for our downstairs? I think a water bed with a complete bedroom set, and some dorm room appliances such as a small fridge, a dining room table, and a desk.”
Harry answered, “You seem to have a good idea what you want, Jim. I know a contractor that can wall off a part of the garage for us and I might be able to get him in today.”
“I just want to have a say in at least one of the rooms at the apartment,” I said, laughing.
Kristen continued to smile, appreciating how I was taking charge, and how comfortable I was talking with Harry. “Thank you, Jim. Are you guys going to help me upstairs for today?”
I shook my head. “No, Kristen. I don’t want you home alone.”
Harry said, “I’ll take Kristen into the main house for the afternoon.”
I helped Harry load Kristen into the wheelchair, and June and I watched Harry wheel my lovely Goddess away.
June shivered.
“What’s wrong, Baby?” I asked.
“The doctor told Kris that the best treatment is ice packs for the next couple of days.”
“Yiiiieeeee!” I said, feeling Kristen’s pain from the treatment.
June and I spent the rest of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon with Kristen. In the afternoon, workers started arriving to partition off a part of the garage for the additional bedroom, and June and I moved back to the apartment.
As usual, when we wanted to make renovations to the apartment, time was rarely an issue. Things were purchased quicker than I thought possible, and workers were assembled and on site as necessary.
June was the person who directed the delivery people to show how to set up the new bedroom.
I moved back between the apartment and the main house, spending time with June and Kristen alternately.
During one of those times I was alone with Kristen, I told her how Lynette was feeling quite guilty about Kristen’s injury.