Drowning in Her Eyes (18 page)

Susan looked at the young man she had chosen to be her lifelong soul mate and lover. He was so handsome
—no, beautiful
—
with his green eyes, his taut body and his loving smile. She put her arms around his neck and began to kiss him as though this kiss would be the last in the world. He r
e
sponded. Their tongues explored each other. Jack absorbed her taste and scent until no trace of the outside world r
e
mained. Susan felt her body become so lissome, weightless, moulding to him as though they were two pieces of soft pla
s
ticine.

They broke the embrace.
“I have yearned for this m
o
ment,
” he said.

“Love me.
” She moved closer again, raising both arms above her head.
“Unzip me,
” she breathed. Jack put his arms around her and found the long zip. He gently drew it down, until it ended at her waist. The dress fell away revealing those long legs, and underwear of a soft ivory colour, trimmed with lace. Jack gently kissed the tops of her breasts, reached around to unfasten her bra and free them. He kissed her nipples, pink with dark brown areolas. Immediately, they became erect. Susan held his head to her breasts and began to moan softly.
“My love, my love.
”

He moved back and she began to unbutton his shirt, moving down towards his waist, kissing him all the way. Seconds later they were on the bed, entwined, kissing, stro
k
ing, loving. Jack moved his hand across the silken skin of her inner thighs, moving upwards until he found her sweet private places.

She groaned and began to whisper,
“Oh Jack, Jack, don
't stop. Oh I need you so, please, take me, take me.
” They came together in a breathless silence. As he entered her, she raised her legs and wrapped them around him. They began to move together, their lips fused, their bodies as one, until both came in a cataclysmic explosion that left them speechless. They lay together.
“We are one now,
” he said,
“I will love you forever with every fibre of my body.
”

Susan could still feel the spasms running through her body.
“I have never felt like this,
” she said,
“now I am co
m
plete, and I am yours forever.
” They made love again, and then again. Jack felt so grateful to the almost forgotten Amy O
'Neil who had given him such a comprehensive introdu
c
tion to loving. He brought Susan to climax after climax. She responded in kind, ever innovative and willing to learn, as they examined each other in minute detail. Finally, well past midnight, they reluctantly set off for her home.

Meanwhile, in a small country in Indochina, small men and women, dressed in black, and carrying AK47s continued to subjugate vi
l
lage after village. The task had become easier. Enlis
t
ment terms were now well known.

Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
—1964

S
usan
closed the door quietly and moved through the
house to the kitchen. Marci was waiting for her.
“Where have you been, child? You should have been home hours ago.
” There was no anger any more, just resignation.
“Susan, have you been with Jack all this time?
”

“Yes Mom, I have.
”

“What have you been doing with him? You look diffe
r
ent. You have been making love with him, haven
't you?
”

“Momma, what Jack and I have been doing is our bus
i
ness. I love him beyond understanding as he does me. Our lives are our own and we are very happy. Can
't you be happy for me, Momma?
”
H
er eyes glistened with tears.

“Susan, I warned you about this, give him up, child. We will be going home soon. He cannot come. You cannot stay.
”

“Momma, he is mine. I am his. I do not want to hurt you, but wherev
er he is, that
'
s where I will be. Momma, you love Daddy, would you leave him and go away?
”

“Susan, Daddy will be leaving
us
soon. Then what can I do without my family?
” She started to sob.
“I won
't have you and soon I won
't have Sarah. I have seen the way she looks at that boy. It will be on
ly a matter of time before she
'
s corrupted too!
”

“Love does not corrupt, Momma, love makes us strong. I am going to bed now. Next Friday I am going with Jack to meet his parents. I want you to be happy for me; if you ca
n
not be happy, then I will be sad about that, but I must live my own life.
” She kissed her mother
's tear stained face and went to bed. It was a long time before she slept. She had reached a fork in the road of life. She must follow her heart. She was numb from her lovemaking, filled with a serenity she had never felt before. Tomorrow, she would talk ever
y
thing over with her father. He would understand.

Some commotion in the house awoke her. There was a hubbub of conversation. Through her window, she could see reflected the flashing red strobe lights of an ambulance. She glanced at her bedside clock. It was 4:30am. She hurriedly pulled on a robe and left the room. Her father was on an a
m
bulance gurney, pale as a bed sheet. There was blood on his mouth and chin. Marci looked up at her.
“Look what you
've done. He has had a bad hemorrhage and must go to the ho
s
pital. God help us all.
”

Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia
—
1964

They left for Goondiwindi on a cool April day. Finally they were together, alone. The last week had been a difficult one for them all. Jimmy was still in the hospital. He needed a permanent oxygen supply and intravenous painkillers. He was barely conscious, and he would be there for some time. At the hospital, Marci had comforted Susan.
“I
'm sorry, child,
” she said,
“I had no right to blame you for this. He has been getting worse for a while now. He wanted to talk to you last night. He asked where you were. I told him.
”

Susan stared at her:
Why is she telling
me
this?

“He was glad. He smiled and said,
‘She has found her way, Marci, and love will lead her to her destiny. Be glad for my Princess. That little boy from the bush loves her so
'.
”

Susan had wept. Her father had understood.

Now they were approaching Jack
's home. They had spent a little time driving about the town. Susan was pleased with it. It was very like some of the small towns they had seen in Kansas. She noted the wide streets and the plentiful trees, the stores and the five pubs.
“Darling,
” she said,
“there are a lot of pubs for such a small town. Do the people here drink a lot?
”

Jack smiled.
“There
's a golf club and the RSL as well. It gets hot out here in the summer. Cold beer is in great d
e
mand.
”

Susan had noticed that Australians preferred beer, in contrast to her compatriots, who usually drank liquor such as Bourbon. The drive to
Ballinrobe
passed through grazing country. Here, near the town, the soils were poorer and could not support intensive cropping. Finally, Jack turned into a gravel driveway and over a steel cattle grid to the homestead. The neat buildings and the condition of the fences and stockyards impressed Susan.
Ballinrobe
looked lovingly maintained.

Paddy and Helen were there to greet them at the front steps. Paddy had a grin a mile wide on his face. As soon as Jack left the car, Paddy enveloped him in a great bear hug.
“Don
't do that to Susan,
” cried Helen,
“you
'll squeeze the life out of her.
” Paddy, more restrained with her, gave her a gentle hug, then stood back with his hands on her shoulders, looking her up and down.
“Struth,
” he said,
“you
've snagged a good
'un here, mate. She
's bloody beautiful!
”

Helen looked at Susan, at her trim figure and her bo
t
tomless eyes. She saw how she looked at Jack, and with a mother
's instinct, she knew they were lovers, more than lo
v
ers, two people very much in love. Well, she thought, trust Jack to turn up someone like this lovely creature. When she heard Susan
's soft accent, she, like Jack, was lost.

“Well, come in,
” said Paddy,
“lunch is ready. Helen will show you to your room and the bathroom. No doubt you will appreciate a clean up after your travels.
”

Lunch was a light-
hearted affair. Corned beef, salad and Helen
's lemon meringue pie. The talk was about
Ballinrobe
at first, then about the Bakers
' long journey. Paddy was i
n
terested in the American West and asked many questions about cattle ranching, gunslingers and cowboys. After a while, Helen intervened.
“Paddy, I think you and Jack better have a talk about what
's happening with the station. Susan and I are going to have a little heart-
to-
heart. Come on dear, I
'll show you the garden.
” Helen walked with Susan through the lovely garden to a bench under the shade of a large silky o
ak tree.

Susan thanked her for the small gift and the welcoming note she had found in the bedroom.
“You have such beaut
i
ful hand writing
,
Mrs. Riordan.
”

“You must call me Helen. We both love the same young man, you know, but we are not rivals for his affection. Yes, my handwriting is the last vanity I have. I used to win prizes for it at school, when such a skill was valued. Now, it is all typewriters; those I refuse to use under any circumstances. However, enough about me, we must talk of our young man. I can see that I will have to share him from now on.
”

Paddy and Jack settled into a couple of easy chairs on the veranda. The weather was cool and there was a slight chill on the breeze. Here there were no deciduous trees, but the breeze, from the south, was a subtle reminder that winter would soon be upon them. Paddy opened the conversation.
“Well, mate, it will be planting time in another month. There will be
two thousand
acres of wheat this year if we can get a fall of rain. The sub-
soil moisture will be good. I must show you the new tractor later. The other thing is that I have d
e
cided to get rid of all the sheep. I listen regularly on the wir
e
less to a bloke who is a long-
range weather forecaster and he reckons 1965 is going to be a drought year, maybe the driest ever. It might be a good idea to go into next year lightly stocked.
”