Missy's Gentle Giant (18 page)

“Sure.”  Gonzalo smiled. 
“Getting cold feet?”

“I’m pretty wasted; aren’t I? 
Missy won’ wanna’ see me this way.”

“Want to get some coffee?”

“Yeah.”  Ben shook his
head.  “Man, I never drank so much as lately.  Ever since I found
out—”  He blinked at Gonzalo.  “It was eatin’ at me.”

“I know the feeling.”  Gonzalo
pulled up to a truck stop.  He killed the engine and moaned as he helped
Ben from the truck.  Together they staggered inside the truck stop and
dropped in a booth.

Gonzalo felt his ribs.  “Man,
I think every rib is broken.”  He grinned at Ben.  They both looked
sheepishly at the waitress.

“Yeah, I think I’ll wash up.” 
Ben staggered to the men’s room while they waited for their coffee.  He
washed up, combed his hair and grimaced when he saw himself in the
mirror.  Fine way to look when he went calling on the woman he loved. 
He blinked and shook his head.

“Your turn.”  He painfully
half smiled at Gonzalo when he got back.  For over an hour they sat over
several cups of coffee while Ben sobered a little.  Gonzalo got Ben to
explain a little more about the past three weeks, how he went to Huntsville, saw
Torres, obtained sworn affidavits of Moreno’s guilt and pushed a judge to rush
a hearing.  DEA was backing him and promised the man wouldn’t go free.

“Ben about the money Missy inherited,
do we have to pay it back?”  Gonzalo was trying to figure a way to keep
Ben away from the house.

“Naw.  It was private
money.”  Ben grinned sheepishly.

“Private money?”

“When I was twenty-five my father
gave me some money.  He was trying to get me to quit working for the
DEA.  It’s just been sittin’ there.”

“Your money?  Man!”

Ben laughed.  “Yeah, my father
was more than pleased to release it when he found out I was going to
quit.  I got five hundred thousand, agents dug around and found out about
the dead math teacher, no problem from there.  Bought my house and
invested in a project with the rest of the money.”

“Man, I don’t know about
you!”  Gonzalo shook his head.  “Look Ben, why don’t we just go to a
motel until you sleep off—”

“No, I want to get it settled
tonight.  Been waiting too long.”

“Yeah, sure.”  Gonzalo rose. 
“Want to drive now?”

“No, I’m still too drunk.” 
Ben climbed in the cab.  “Take her on in man.”  Ben sat on the right
side with his eyes closed as if he were asleep.  Two blocks from the house
Gonzalo was surprised when Ben reached up for the horn.  He shook his
head.

“Might as well let them know we’re
coming.”  Ben grinned.  The sharp honk raced through the air and
house lights all around snapped on.  Ben honked until Gonzalo stopped the
truck in front of the house.

“Ben!”  Missy sat bolt upright
in bed, quickly grabbed her robe and ran downstairs.  She stood on the
porch and grinned from ear to ear when the truck pulled up.  Her grin
turned to worry when Gonzalo got out.  She didn’t hear Ben get out on the
right side.

Ben smiled at the watching neighbors
and waved as he walked around the back of the truck.  As he walked up the
left side, he glanced at Gonzalo’s brothers all lining up and getting ready for
him.  He saw Missy standing on the porch with her parents.  Ben
walked over to the porch.  “Mr. Sanchez, I’m asking for Missy’s hand in
marriage, sir.”

“And I told you before it’s
impossible.”

“Thank you.”  Ben turned
toward her brothers.  “Do we need to have a discussion about my kidnapping
your sister?”

Missy could stand no more. 
“Ben I’m not a virgin!”  She screamed.

Ben and her brothers stopped cold
in their tracks.  Ben turned slowly.  “I know, Melissa.”

“Missy isn’t dead either!” 
Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I’m glad to hear it.”  Ben’s
face showed no expression, but he was hiding tears.  “I liked Missy as
much as Melissa.”

“Ben—”  Missy’s voice was just
above a whisper and she licked her lips.  “I was raped.”

The muscles in Ben’s cheeks rippled
and twitched as he stared at her.  “I know Missy.”

“Susan said I had to face it.”

“It’s better this way.”

She glanced at her parents,
standing there crying.  She looked at her brothers and then the neighbors
outside waiting for the fight.  “All of you—”  She glared at them
angry now.  “I was raped!  I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Ben turned on his heels and went to
the truck.  All eyes, including Missy’s watched and thought he was going
to leave, but he reached in the back of the cab and came out holding a
box.  Smiling he went back to Missy.  “Bought you a wedding dress. 
I know I still have to ask your father one more time, but I want you to see
it.  I love you, Missy, and it doesn’t matter to me what happened. 
Nothing has changed how I feel.”

Missy stared as he spoke, looked in
the box, gasped and began to cry again.  She shoved the box at her mother
and ran into the house.

What the hell had he done wrong
now?  Ben looked helplessly at Gonzalo who just shrugged.  Then he
turned back to face eight angry brothers.

Gonzalo went in the house to
explain to Missy where Ben had been the last three weeks.

Right after the first punch hit Ben,
he flew into action and wasted no time messing with throwing the brothers down
or keeping them away.  He let each brother land one punch, grabbed him,
swung with his fist as many times as necessary to knock him out and dropped him
before moving onto the next.  He was hitting the third brother when Missy
stomped out on the porch followed by, her mother and Gonzalo.

“Ben Spinelli!”  Abruptly his
arm stopped mid way and Marco landed a good one in Ben’s eye.  “Marco, you
stop this instant!  It’s disgusting to see you all out here brawling when
I might be in a family way!”

Ben dropped Marco and turned to
Missy gulping.  His face turned pale.  “You what?”

“Are you going to deny sleeping
with me two whole nights, Ben Spinelli?”

He looked at the ground and then up
at Missy.  “I won’t deny it.  I slept with you.”  His voice
squeaked.  Mr. Sanchez paled this time.

“Are you going to stand there and
say you didn’t make love to me?”

A smile crossed Ben’s face. 
“Yes, I said it.”

Several of the neighbors
gasped.  Ben looked up at Mr. Sanchez.  “I believe the custom is to
ask three times, sir, and I’ve asked twice.  I want Missy to be
mine.  Would you please let me marry her?”

Mrs. Sanchez stepped up and
whispered something in her husband’s ear.

“Under the circumstances—” 
Mr. Sanchez’ face softened while he made some coughing noises, glanced at his
daughter, then around at everyone else before looking back to Ben.  “Well,
under the circumstances, I suppose it would be the best thing to do.”

“Thank you, sir.”  Ben grinned
from ear to ear and went up to Missy.  He mashed his forehead against
hers, and his eyes glistened.   

“Come inside.”  She reached
out for his hand.  “We’ll get you cleaned up.”  Slowly Missy led Ben
upstairs to her room.

“Missy, I—”

“Quiet.”  She shoved him on
her bed, ran to the bathroom and came back with an armful of towels. 
“Take off your shirt.”

He started unbuttoning his shirt
but wasn’t fast enough.  Missy pushed his hands away and took over.

“Missy—”

“You’re going to tell me you’re
angry?”  She saw blood oozing out of the bandage covering his left
shoulder, frowned and wiped his bruised eyes.

“No, I wanted to tell you I love
you.”

“Oh?”  She smiled.  “Something
else?”

“No, I wanted to ask you
something.”

“Like what?”

“You kind of twisted things out
there a little.  I mean everyone thinks we—”

“You told me we made love, are you
going to deny it now?”  Her eyes glistened.

Ben shook his head.  “No I’m
not—we did make love, but—”

Missy stopped washing him. 
Tears were trying to break out from behind her eyes.  “If I tell you I’m afraid
Ben, will you be patient with me?”

“I—I’ll—you can take all the time
you need, but I want us to get married as soon as possible.”

“Yes Ben.”  Missy showed him
her beautiful dimples and glistening eyes.  “You’ll need to talk to
Gonzalo,”

“Yeah?”

“He’ll tell you about the wedding,
the customs—what has to be done.”  Carefully she took off his bloody
bandage, reapplied a clean dressing and shook her head at the whiskey smelling
giant sitting in front of her.  “Ben, lie on my bed for a while and get
some sleep.”  Gently she pushed him back.  He scrunched up.

“And you?”

“I’ll be right here.”  She sat
on the side of the bed and took his hand.

Ben’s whole body ached with pain,
but he felt wonderful.  Missy was going to marry him.  She was going
to be his, become a part of him.  He smiled as he fell asleep.

The next day Ben sat over coffee
and listened to Gonzalo tell him how they needed to arrange a small private
wedding because of Missy’s “condition and the circumstances.”  Ben kept
shaking his head.

“Nope!”  Ben banged the
table.  “It won’t do.  Missy’s going to be married in white and have
the biggest wedding in town.  She’s done nothing to be ashamed.”

“But Ben—”

“No, take her to the priest. 
He’ll understand, dammit.”  Ben glared at Gonzalo.

“But look Ben—”

“You’re sitting here telling me
it’s the custom for the groom to pay for the wedding, and you’re telling me she
can’t have a big one.  I want it to be a day she’ll never forget—she’s
only going to have one—”

“As you wish.”  Gonzalo shook
his head.  “Man, Ben, sometimes I can’t figure you out.”

“Well it’s important to me. 
Someone close to me should have had a huge wedding and didn’t live to even
marry.  Missy’s will maybe make up for it.”

“All right.”  Gonzalo got up
with a groan.  “I’ll have Mom take her to talk to the priest.”

“Tell your mother to make sure
Missy tells him everything—about being kidnapped, sleeping with me and
especially how we made love.  If he says it has to be small and private then
I’ll go along with it.”

As soon as Gonzalo was gone, Ben
went to the Church and talked to the priest himself.  Before he left, it
was understood and settled there was no reason for Missy to have a small,
private wedding.

After Missy’s talk with the priest,
the wedding was set for a month away, and a whirlwind of activity started in
the Sanchez family.  Every day Ben came with a surprise, and usually he
drove his truck just so he could honk a block from the house.  He was as
proud as a peacock and wanted all the neighbors to see how he felt.  The
neighbors spent most of their time shaking their heads over this crazy Italian.

Each night when he kissed Missy
goodnight, they were long hungry kisses he was sure were melting his
brain.  But goodnight kisses were all he tried.  It was not satisfying his
body.  He took up jogging five miles every night just to recover from her
kisses.  After two weeks, he was jogging in the mornings too. 

Right after the announcement, Ben
asked Mrs. Sanchez to take Missy to a doctor and have her completely
checked.  He wanted to be sure her deafness wasn’t physical.  She
still wasn’t able to hear more than his horn when he drove up, and it worried
him.  But more, he wanted to be sure he was dealing with only psychological
problems which arose from the rape.  He believed the hearing would come
eventually, along with her ability to make total love.

She came away with a clean bill of
health, but she was angry about the whole examination and being subjected to
it.  When Ben asked her about tests, she didn’t want to talk about it, and
she not only skipped entirely over the female examination part but ran from the
room when Ben hinted about it.  Ben went to the doctor to learn how to
deal with the psychological aspect of her problem.  He was told not to
push her.  Ben knew this, but he left wondering how long he’d have to
wait, called to have a swimming pool put in his yard, and wondered what he
could do besides running until it was finished.

Ben spent every evening with Missy,
and because she took him to her room the night her father said they could
marry, he often went to her room now.  One night, just a week before the
wedding, Gonzalo came in, heard Ben was in her room and rushed upstairs. 
His worry was needless, for when he pushed open Missy’s door Ben and she were
playing cards.  Gonzalo dropped on her bed with a feeling of relief.

“Damn Charger, it’s hard as hell
for me to get used to the new you.”

“It’s hard as hell being the new me
too.”  Ben grinned.

Missy saw what they said.  “What
do you mean?”

Ben and Gonzalo turned beet
red.  “Nothing Missy.”  Ben touched her hair.  “Gonzalo keeps
thinking of me as the wild drinking guy I was in Iraq.”

Later after Ben left, Missy went
into Gonzalo’s room and sat on his bed; she picked at some lint while searching
for words.  Gonzalo finally rolled over and faced her.

“Out with it.  Missy, what’s
the problem?”

“I—I want to know what you and Ben
were talking about.”

“I was just wondering how he was
able to be so cool.”  Gonzalo smiled.  “I wondered if you and he—”

“Oh.”  She jumped up with
tears in her eyes.  “So you thought we were in my room having sex?”

Gonzalo got up and went to
her.  He pulled her back against him  “The thought crossed my mind; I
was surprised when he admitted he made love to you, even slept with you, and I
don’t understand, but—”

“He just held me and kissed
me.”  Missy turned to her brother.  “He said it was making love.”

“Then it was.”  Gonzalo
brushed hair from her face.  “But Missy, it’s only the beginning—”

“I know.”  Missy pulled away
and went back to sit on the bed.  “And I’m scared about the rest.” Her
hands shook.  “He makes me feel so good, but I’m afraid and not sure—”