The Total December Experiment

  fitting slacks. She had then put on a black semi-sheer

  gauzy big shirt with the buttons left unfastened down to

  her waist. Placed low on her hips at a jaunty angle rode a

  heavy silver link belt which caused the black shirt to

  blouse over the belt just a little and drape nicely from

  her breasts. She had pulled her hair back behind her ears

  and fastened it with combs so that her dangling silver

  earrings could be seen. Stray curls had escaped, however,

  gracing her forehead and twining down beside her cheeks.

  The over-all effect was sexy as hell.

  Manda smiled at her reflection.

  Just the effect I want.

  A tap at the door interrupted her thoughts and Manda, with

  a skip to her heart, swung the door open to reveal the ‘hot

  hunk’ that she and her mother had discussed earlier.

  Yep, he looks just as handsome in casual as he does in a

  suit.

  “Come in,Detective. We’ll be ready in a few seconds.”

  Gary watched with admiration as she checked that her keys

  were in the small purse,slung the bag over her shoulder,

  and walked with her mother toward the door. The trip to the

  lobby and out to the car was silent. Gary was embarrassed

  to find that he was tongue tied and hadn’t a clue as to how

  to carry on a decent conversation. His relief was obvious

  when Teresa spoke up.

  “ My daughter explained the situation- the murders and that

  you’re a Detective. You don’t have to be concerned about

  discussing it.”

  “Thank you for telling me, Mrs. Wembly. That’s a big

  relief.”

  These few sentences helped to relieve the tension felt by

  Gary and Manda.

  Thank heavens that worked, thought Teresa.

  “ I think you’ll enjoy the restaurant. The food is great,

  the service is great,they have a huge menu, and the

  location is special. The building isn’t very ritzy, but

  everything else makes up for it.”

  “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Manda, who had been taking in the sights, suddenly realized

  that the view ahead held only an empty horizon.

  Oh my God. We’re heading for the beach.

  She felt her muscles tighten and had a short spell of

  dizziness followed by her heart beginning to gallop. Her

  mouth felt dry and her hands cold and clammy.

  Stop this right now…it was just a stupid hallucination…not

  real. Get a grip or Mom and the Detective are going to

  think I’m nuts.

  Manda took several slow, deep breaths and repeated to

  herself what Kate had told her about Nanny May having

  visions. Her heart gradually slowed to something

  approaching a normal beat.

  I can do this ! I can do this ! I can do this !

  The car began to slow and turn into a large crowded parking

  lot.

  “I’ve reserved a table, so we won’t have to wait.”

  As he escorted them into the restaurant, Manda noticed that

  her knees were a little wobbly but she was feeling better.

  That changed when the waiter led them to a table on a

  rear deck facing the gulf. Manda quickly grabbed a chair

  with her back to the water.

  “Honey, you’re a little pale. You OK.”

  “I’m fine ,Mom. Just hungry, I guess.”

  “May I bring everyone a before dinner drink.”

  “Yes,Please,”Manda blurted.

  Teresa looked at her with a surprised glance,aware that

  Manda didn’t indulge in alcoholic drinks.

  “Ah….what do you suggest,”Manda asked with some confusion

  and embarrassment. She knew nothing at all about drinks.

  “Margeritas seem to be popular.Ladies particularly like

  strawberry margaritas. Long Island Tea is another popular

  drink.”

  “I’ll have the tea,” Manda said, thinking that tea sounded

  like the lesser of the two evils.”

  Gary raised his brows, but said nothing.

  He and Teresa gave their orders and leaned back in their

  chairs to relax.

  Teresa surreptiously kept an eye on Manda as her daughter

  stiffly perched on the edge of her chair.Teresa began to

  chatter away about the view in an attempt to defuse the

  tension in her daughter and was rewarded by a slight

  relaxation in Manda’s rigidity.

  The remainder of needed relaxation was accomplished by her

  drink. The sound of the troubling surf had changed to

  soothing music to her ears.

  Finally, Gary stretched his hand to move Manda’s tea to his

  side of the table.

  “I apologize Ms. Harris, but I can tell you’re not used to

  alcohol. This particular drink has several liquors in it,

  not just one. It’s pretty potent and I don’t want to be

  responsible for you having a slitting headache in the

  morning, among other things.”

  “I think we need some food,”he said,as he gestured for the

  waiter.

  Teresa ordered chicken and broccoli fettichini alfredo,

  Manda grilled chicken with roasted vegetables, and Gary

  chose steak with baked potato. A huge salad arrived

  first,followed by the entrée, and completed with coffee. No

  one had room for dessert.

  Manda felt wonderful. The drink had relaxed her and the

  food had taken the edge off of the drink.

 

  Dinner conversation had become relaxed and lively.

  Undesirable subjects had been avoided. There was laughter

  and a bit of flirting between Manda and Gary, which Teresa

  watched with a satisfied smile. By dinners end, everyone

  was on a first name basis.

  “Would you ladies like a stroll on the beach?”

  Teresa couldn’t help but notice the startled look in her

  daughter’s eyes.

  “I don’t believe so,” Teresa said.” I’m getting a little

  tired and we have a lot to do tomorrow,don’t we Hon”?

  Manda nodded and looked at Teresa with obvious relief.

  Light conversation rode back to the hotel with them.

  Gary escorted them to their suite and stood somewhat

  awkwardly. Teresa excused herself after thanking Gary for a

  lovely evening and entered the room, leaving Manda and Gary

  outside the door.

  They looked at each other for a moment

  “May I see you again,Manda?”

  “ I would enjoy that very much, Gary.”

  He stepped toward her and with the tip of his finger , he

  traced a slow gentle outline of her lips,his gaze following

  the movement of his finger. The intensity in his eyes

  sharpened as his gaze moved upward to meet hers.He placed a

  warm palm on each side of her face and moved his hands back

  and under her hair until they cupped the back of

  her head. He began to draw her to him by clutching her

  curls with his hands. With a gentle touch, he tipped her

  head back by tugging on her hair. He lowered his head and

  with the tip of his tongue now traced her lips as his

  finger had a moment before. His lips met hers in a slow

  kiss so light that Manda felt only a slight touch
.

  He abruptly dropped his hands and stepped back, his eyes

  locked on hers.After a few seconds he turned and walked

  down the hall toward the staircase.

  Manda stared after him, watched as he opened the door to

  the stairs, and listened as the door closed with a quiet

  click.

  Her mind and body were flooded with sensations and emotions

  that she’d never experienced before. She leaned against the

  wall hugging herself in an attempt to still her trembling.

  Tears threatened to spill over and down her cheeks.

  In a fit of frustration and temper, she yelled after

  him,”Gary Haworth, didn’t your parents teach you that when

  you start something you’re supposed to finish it !”

  She opened the door and slammed her way into the room.

  Teresa looked up from her book,” That good,huh ?”

  “Mom, my life is RUINED, I don’t have control anymore, I’m

  a GONER, Mom !”

  “Manda, sit down and let’s talk about this.”

  “Mom, I can’t talk to you about THIS!”

  “Of course,you can. Who better to talk with. Sweets, I’m

  100% sure that I know how you’re feeling right now.”

  “ MOM, he KISSED me !”

  “That good,huh?”

  “I mean he really,REALLY kissed me. He has to have taken

  lessons. Nobody can kiss like that without having LOTS of

  experience.”

  “That good,huh?”

  “MOOOOM !”

  “I’m sorry, honey. I bet you’ve never had a deep

  relationship with a man, have you ?”

  “Nothing even near this.”

  “Manda, I do believe you’ve had your first taste of the

  agony and ecstasy of a very moving relationship.”

  “Well,I HATE it.”

  “ Manda, I know it’s confusing, scary, and maybe a little

  embarrassing at first. You’re having all sorts of new and

  puzzling physical feelings.You feel like everything in your

  life has flip flopped and life will never be the same….if

  you’re lucky,it won’t. Honey,I want to tell you that I

  think that you are very,very lucky. There are unfortunate

  woman who never experience the things that you are.”

  “But Mom, I’m so miserable.”

  “I know Manda. Relax and enjoy !”

  Manda stared at her mother, disbelief on her face.

  “Manda, I’m giving you good advice here. I’m not a dried up

  old woman and I have felt the same things. That’s how it’s

  supposed to be.”

  Manda continued to stare at her mother, then suddenly began

  laughing and crying at the same time.

  Teresa winked at her daughter,”That good,huh !”

  DEC 2004

  #

  About 20 minutes later,Teresa heard Manda’s door open and

  looked up from her book to see her daughter looking at her

  with a sober expression.Manda smiled a little at her mom.

  “Mom, were you serious when you said I could talk to you

  about this…ah…thing with Gary?”

  “Of course, I was serious. Would you like to sit and talk?”

  “I think maybe I would like to discuss this,”she said as

  she sat down across from Teresa.

  “Mom, I don’t understand why I reacted so much to his kiss.

  It wasn’t much more than a slight brush against my lips,

  but I thought I’d die when he stepped back from me. Aren’t

  attraction and passion supposed to be more than a touch on

  the lips ?”

  “I’ve been kissed and romanced before …by some of the best,

  well, I think anyway. I have been flattered, given flowers

  and jewelry, I’ve even heard a few,”I love you,”

  declarations. I was really attracted to some of those guys,

  but here I am, falling to pieces over one tiny kiss. I

  don’t get it !”

  Teresa laid her book down and thought for a minute.

  “Honey, I can only give you my thoughts and feelings based

  on my own experiences, but I do believe most women feel the

  same as I. “

  “I think that men and women perceive the expression of love

  and desire from two different points of view. If men

  approached and treated the women in their lives in the

  right manner, they would be amazed and delighted by their

  mate’s response. They would discover that they had every

  man’s ‘fantasy’ right there in their arms.

  It’s sad that the two sexes find it so difficult to

  communicate with each other…to tell or show the partner

  what their romantic and sexual needs are and how to satisfy

  them.”

  “This is a tiny example but….do you remember the

  movie,”Dirty Dancing,” with Jennifer Grey and Patrick

  Swayze?

  “ I saw it on TV a few months back.”

  “The scene at the end of the movie when they are performing

  their dance on the stage of the lodge if front of a

  cheering audience of guests?”

  “Yes, I remember.”

  “The moment when he pulls her against him and looks into

  her eyes. His face is strong, almost stern, and you see him

  clinch his jaw.He looks into her eyes with such intensity ,

  showing her all the longing, love, and sexuality in his

  soul…directed toward her alone.

  The audience has ceased to exist. It’s only the two of

  them. She throws her head back and laughs with the sheer

  joy and knowledge of his feelings for her that he has

  allowed her to see.

  Most men would die before they would declare themselves so

  openly. “

  “Yes, I remember that part…it’s impossible to forget

  it…sends shivers up and down my spine.”

  “Mine too,Sweets. Woman would turn into a form of silly

  putty if the man they loved looked in their eyes as he did.

  Every woman should have a Patrick Swayze !”

  “Another example. The Pointer Sisters recorded a song years

  ago. “Slow Hand.”

  “Have you heard it,Manda, listened to the words?”

  “I don’t think so,Mom.

  “Every man who wants a satisfying love and sexual

  relationship should be forced to really listen to those

  words. It should be a mandatory teaching tool for men. Buy

  it and listen to the words, it’s a vital part of a woman’s

  desires and needs.”

  Have you seen the movie,”Dance with me,” with Vanessa

  Williams?”

  “No.”

  “Staying Alive?”

  “No.”

  “You don’t watch movies much, do you?”

  “Not old ones.”

  “There aren’t a lot of current movies worth watching,

  Manda. We need to rent some of these so you’ll understand

  my viewpoint.”

  “The point I’m trying to make is that men and frequently

  women think that the ultimate display of love and passion

  is to rip the clothes off one another in an uncontrolled

  frenzy of arousal. There is the occasional time when that

  is exciting, but most of the time that’s is not what it’s