Daimones

Broken Hearts

The sun shone bright the next day. Summer had definitely arrived, even if it was only late May. In the distance, the Alps were perfectly visible, the air crystal clear. Even the weather seemed to be following a different pattern than the usual one.

That morning, I had a bit of trouble looking Laura in the eye. Instead, she gazed at me quite thoroughly, and intensely. Annah was happy; summer and school holidays would soon come. She complained Mom made her study even more than when she was at school for real.

Mary was cheerful because her yearly spring allergy problems were abating. “Annah, get ready for our lessons. I’ll join you upstairs in a second.” She turned toward Laura and me, “and you two, leave us alone. Go for your patrolling and we’ll see you at lunch. If you have no preferences, I’m planning to have lasagna today.”

“Wonderful.” I couldn’t contain myself. Mary had always been great in the kitchen.

“You sure you don’t want any help with that?” added Laura.

“I’m sure,” I heard Mary reply. I was about to get Taxi ready but then she said, “No, Dan. Please leave Taxi home. Yesterday, Tarantula was very nervous and today we have a lot of new stuff to study. It’s difficult for Annah to pay attention with all that whining. Maybe Tarantula will behave better if Taxi is home with her.”

I turned to look at Mary with a quizzical expression stamped on my face. Was about to reply when Laura grabbed my hand and pulled me. “C’mon, big boy. Don’t delay the school schedule.” A mischievous smile rose to her lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there to protect you.”

She exchanged a mocking glance with Mary who gestured me to hurry up and gave me a long kiss. Her eyes beaming into mine, glued, as if she were seeing me for the last time.

***

We had three rally points in Geneva, in addition to nearby villages. Laura always hoped that, with time, others would come across her messages. She regularly increased the radius we covered, arguing that the only reason we did not find other people yet was because I had limited myself to just a few miles away from home: “Imagine if everyone were doing as you did,” she once said laughing. “No one would ever know of the existence of others.”

She probably had a point. I had no intention to discourage her, or be accused of negative thinking and defeatism by bringing forward the theory of discrete uniform distributions. We were not a known, finite number of equally spaced survivors likely to have been spared.

I had little hope of finding anyone nearby, especially after such a long time. Anyway, it was hard to visit all rally points in a same week. Hope is what keeps you going, even when all the odds are against you. Besides, I liked the passion Laura put into everything she did, and I also enjoyed her presence around me.

“Let’s go to Geneva first,” she said once in the car. Radiant and gleaming, eager to leave, as if we were about to go to a party.

I was amused and bemused, and her enthusiasm was contagious. I smiled.

She was alarmingly beautiful that morning, especially after the evening before the images of which still teased me. She had on tight, low-waisted workout pants, and a T-shirt, both extremely revealing. Between her legs, she kept the bag she used to carry the leaflets she edited for the “people out there” along with the heavy duty staple gun. That thing was able to shoot a big staple into anything. We crossed the border quickly and reached Meyrin.

“Did you ever drive a Ferrari, Dan?”

“Huh?” Where did that come from? “A Ferrari? Nope. Never had the chance. Why?”

“What prevents us now?” She said, smiling with the naughty expression of a very bad girl. Teaser, again.

Geneva was a wealthy city and luxury cars were never lacking in town. A Ferrari and Maserati dealership had its showroom just five minutes from the airport.

“Turn there,” she said swiftly. Too surprised to reply, I did instinctively as she said.

“Keep going and, at the next crossing, turn right again.”

I knew where she was taking me. In no time, we were in front of ‘Modenas’, one of the official Ferrari dealers in Geneva, probably the largest one. In its parking lot, right in front of the showroom, there were two Bentley Continental GTC 6.0 convertibles, plus enough Ferraris to make any male drool in awe. We got out next to a red-walled cubic tunnel that acted as the entrance to the showroom.

Laura seized my hand, pulling me toward the windows. “Look.”

I didn’t need any encouragement.

In the showroom, a number of Ferrari 612s, a 599 GTB Fiorano, a GTO, and the new Ferrari Four sat majestically. I couldn’t take my eyes off those beauties and I wondered about the sensations I’d get from driving one of those mechanical jewels. I felt like a kid in front of a candy store, hands pressed against the glass.

Laura profited from my trance to disappear, unseen. I heard a couple of shots that awoke me from my daydreaming. Laura was missing. I ran toward the tunnel and, expecting the worst, my hand reached for the Glock.

Laura had stepped into the showroom, doors wide open, glass shattered on the floor. She was sparkling and waiting for me.

“Laura!” My heart resumed beating.

“What?” Laura smiled in excitement. I went to join her but she left to search for the dealer's office. I noticed mute alarm devices blinking furiously because of our intrusion. I ignored them: No one would be coming to check what we were doing.

The showroom boasted a sleek design along with the impressive display of cars. An open bar area was ready to welcome wealthy customers. I guess one must deserve a flute of champagne while waiting for such a brand new four-wheeled baby.

A panel informed visitors that they were at the largest showroom in Europe, with 6,600 square meters of display space and a permanent show of the most exceptional cars from the Maranello brand. The panel also explained that customers were able to customize any car to their liking on a multitude of touch terminal displays and a member of the staff would love to accompany them for a test drive.

“Dan.” Laura called from an adjoining workshop area.

Pulled reluctantly away from my car dreams and dream cars, I followed her voice. I found her in the back garage area with a few keys in her hand and the sexiest posture one could ever imagine. My memory saw her in front of her window, naked. I sighed. She already had the workshop’s large barrier open into the private parking lot.

“We just need to check which key opens which car. Come.” She threw a bunch at me and ran to try the rest on the nearest Ferraris.

I thought we were out of our minds, but it was fun and thrilling.

Triumphantly, she turned the key on a roofless red Ferrari SA Aperta. While I watched in awe, she pushed the start button on the steering wheel and the four-valve V12 engine came alive. Pure mechanical ecstasy. And the sound… the perfect sonic expression of its powerful 670 hp engine.

“In the standard configuration, that is.” Laura corrected me.

I had spoken my thoughts out loud without realizing it. I got in the passenger seat and watched Laura setting the switch on the right to the “race” setting.

“How do you know this?”

“Ferrari's? I love them and this is the most powerful roadster they make. A 6-gear, V12 takes you from zero to 100 km/h in about three and a half seconds.”

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open. I was speechless. Laura laughed, then she smiled knowingly. “One of my ex-boyfriends was crazy about Ferraris.”

“One of your ex…” Lucky guy. The thought rushed through my mind like an avalanche and it wasn't about the Ferrari.

She handled the gear paddle, shifted gears, and we were off.

“Hold tight now.” She warned as she drove out of the parking lot and back to the street.

I was in awe of the car, in awe of her, in awe about everything. We reached the straight, four-lane main road that connected Geneva to Meyrin and to the airport. There she stopped, right in the middle. The engine had the most beautiful sound ever and the exhaust note was pitch perfect. She pumped the gas pedal a few times and the engine roared. It felt like we were in pole position for a race.

“Look at this.” She pointed at something on the left of the steering column. I bent to have a look. A silver plate with an F1 silhouette Ferrari stamped with the inscription “31 Formula 1 World Titles” and the registration number of the car itself. I nodded.

Before I realized anything, she slammed on the pedal.

Oh my… “Jeez.”

Laura laughed.

I was in a bullet. The Ferrari roared, and the acceleration slammed me against the seat. Laura was gleaming and screamed in pure joy. We reached 100 km/h in no time and got to 240 soon after while I held tight to the middle handle bar. Now I know why engineers put it there. It was a pure magical moment. I screamed in turn.

An epic wail emanated from the exhaust pipes. The wind roared and my vision tunneled narrowly with the increasing speed. The road shrank to a slim tape of asphalt. My soul was possessed by the gods of speed.

In a few seconds, the possession was over. We covered the straight mile stretch and fast approached the interchange. Laura geared down and slowed the car. We reached the end of the strip with my heart pumping hard. She stopped the car and jumped out like wild thing, a breathtaking wild animal. “Your turn now,” she said defiantly.

I jumped out, excited, and started toward the driver's side. Laura walked the opposite way and blocked me in front of the car, her hand on my chest. Without a word, she pulled me to her inviting lips and kissed me furiously. No, she was eating me, and pressed her body hard against me. I lost my balance from the surprise, the excitement, the loss of breathing. We landed on the hood of the Ferrari, warm and vibrant under me. I gasped.

“Laura. Oh my God, Laura…Wait.”

“Now, Dan, now. Please now.” Her hands got busy with my belt.

My brain erupted in flames and I started to hyperventilate. “Laura! Mary!” I grabbed her arms and managed to hold her over me and, for a second, stop her frenzied lust to which, I knew, I was about to succumb.

She looked at me with her dazzling blue eyes, wide open in her fevered assault. “Idiot…she knows.”

My grip weakened and she took advantage, forcing herself down and kissing me again with passion and paroxysm.

“She knows, she knows.” The words hit me and crushed all reluctance while my body screamed, “Yes, yes.”

Laura took off her T-shirt, revealing her breasts. Her nipples were hard and aroused. She unzipped my trousers and helped me pull them down; Laura pulled down her workout pants, too. Naked underneath, she grabbed me and guided me inside her. “Oh God, oh God.”

She was so warm and tight, and she was so beautiful. Inside her, nothing mattered anymore. Her perfect breasts filled my vision. Her face revealed she was in ecstasy as was I. She kissed me in wild excitement and moaned. That excited me even more, if that was possible. Every muscle ached, and I gripped her whole body with strength. I feared I was going faster than the damned Ferrari, like a kid at his first time and got worried I would soon miss a beat.

We were both terribly excited and frightened and hopeful and doubtful—all emotions mixed and at the same time. Laced together, beaded with sweat, I was devouring her tongue and getting lost in her warm sweetness.

“Oh…slower, but don’t stop, don’t stop!” Laura reached down with one hand and images of what happened the night before filled my mind.

She pulsated hard around me and brought me rapidly to paroxysm with the last few powerful moments. I tightened my arms around her and bit her neck.

Laura screamed and pulled herself aside. She grabbed me and, before I could protest, she gave me the most intimate kiss until I couldn’t resist anymore.

Laura then crawled up to me and rested her beautiful body over my chest, panting. She was breathless and I was still gasping. My head was spinning and dizzy. I was emptied and drained—physically and emotionally—and my mind was invaded with mixed feelings and a burning sense of guilt. The conscience hurt while everything else floated in nirvana.

“Oh my God, Dan. You can’t imagine how I feel. It has been so long…”

I caressed her. Laura was truly beautiful and I had developed a sincere affection for her. I guess it was more than I admitted to myself. I wasn’t prepared for this. I began to understand recent events. How Mary and Laura’s complicity had grown over the last month... and last night. I kissed her tenderly.

“She knows,” echoed in my mind. “You planned all this, right? I mean, both of you.”

“Mary knew you wouldn't notice anything until the last minute. You’re such a nice boy.” She chuckled. “It’s a different world, Dan. I think I love you, and I love Mary and Annah, too. And you are probably the only man around, and will be for who knows how long.”

“And Mary accepts all this?”

“Not at first. Then she understood. I told her I would’ve never ever try anything with you, unless she agreed.” She paused. “I would’ve left, Dan. One day, I would have left you all.”

I listened to her and so I understood why Mary seemed to have changed. Her questions and her glances, the brief looks at me and Laura, the allusions I refused to consider or take into account, and her sober mood at times. It must have begun around the time Mary decided or when Laura told her. It all started to coalesce into a meaningful structure, like when you see the hundreds of pieces of a do-it-yourself furniture kit. It is a mess until you get your hands on the instructions. Then, the sequential order makes sense, and you can see the final product through the thousands of pieces scattered on the floor.

“She’s a fantastic woman, Dan.”

“That she is. Before, you said she knows? About today?”

“Yes, keeping Taxi at home, the Ferrari.” She chuckled again. “We have planned everything.”

“And yesterday?”

“Yesterday…sort of. A lucky coincidence. I saw you on the terrace, I improvised. Mary told me you’re a good man and that I had to really seduce you, otherwise, you would have resisted, or forced yourself not to notice anything.” She laughed gently and cheerfully. “Would you have resisted?”

“Laura…” I had no words. I didn't know whether to feel outraged, happy, flattered, or what.

“By the way, the Ferrari is our gift. From Mary and I with love.”

“The Ferrari…part of the plan too, huh?” I felt like an idiot talking about all that with a beautiful and naked young woman languidly resting over me and caressing me.

“Weren’t you surprised by how fast I got in, found the right keys, had the workshop garage door open and all the rest?”

“What if I had found a working key before you?”

“You couldn’t.” She said, chuckling and smiling knowingly.

“Okay, I give up.” This time I chuckled, too.

Then, Laura continued more seriously. “Ah, yes. If we go back home with the Ferrari, Mary will know and there will be no urgent need for you to talk or discuss anything. She loves you, Dan, and she doesn’t want you to feel guilty. Neither do I.”

I knew all this had been done with the best possible intentions but... “Maybe I don't feel guilty. I mean, why was I not part of this…process? After all, I had to have an active role in it. Or am I wrong?”

Laura said nothing.

“I feel a bit used, now. So… Mary essentially gave you permission to seduce me? What am I? A sex toy? To you both?”

“You are taking it all wrong now.”

“Fine. Then explain it to me.”

“What do you think? That it’s just about sex? Mary loves you profoundly. And selflessly. You said many times we all have a duty to survive. Well, open up your ears and clean out your eyes, Dan. Mary is surviving, I am surviving and, if you do not understand this, maybe Mary’s wrong in holding you in such high esteem.”

She said that without taking a breath and she wasn't finished. Her face turned red when she filled her lungs. “What are you talking about permission? What Mary has done is the greatest proof of love she could give you, and to me, to us all. What do you think I am? A slut looking for sex? I saw you, and Mary, and your love. And started to love you as well, for who you are, not for what you have between your legs! Any other man—”

“There isn’t any other man, Laura.”

She burst into tears and punched me on my chest and face and slapped me, waving her arms hysterically and screaming at a high pitch.

I struggled to stop her and managed to grab her arms before she hurt herself. Laura resisted forcefully, fiery and hot like the fauve she compared herself to.

“Wowowow, Laura. Stop, stop, calm down… shhhh… calm down… ”

I succeeded in containing the fury and held her tight until she gave up fighting. My voice lowered to a whisper in her ear. “It's alright. I know of all the suffering. I know of the void and the pain, and I know of Mary’s tears and imagine yours, too.”

I kissed her hair and her cheeks. Laura started to sob and shake—and finally—she totally and gently abandoned herself into my arms, letting me fully embrace her.

“Laura, Laura. Young and lovely, Laura. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” I raised her chin to look into her swollen, beautiful and so vulnerable eyes. “I am just scared, Laura. I’m scared I will not be able to love you both and that I’d lose you both.” I sighed. “I forced myself not to think about you because I love Mary and because there is Annah. That’s a role I know how to fulfill. Now, I don’t know where I’m going…”

She seemed to me even younger than she actually was. Laura was tearful. “Can't you love us both? Mary and me?” She seemed lost and afraid of my answer.

Lovely Laura. So strong and so fragile, too. And Mary, how has she been able to keep all this to herself? I couldn’t imagine the struggle and the inner strength that required. I’m not sure I would have been able to do the same if the situation were reversed.

The old world clashed with the new world and the old order made no sense in the new. What was right before was not necessarily the right thing to do now. Laura asked for love; to love and to be loved. And Mary, hers was the ultimate act of love and selflessness. I understood that. Who was I to elect myself judge, armed with old norms and morality and condemn what these two women had been capable of doing?

Laura had confessed her feelings to Mary and offered to leave us, preferring to put her life at risk, being alone, rather than hurting Mary and Annah. Yet, Mary had changed and accepted the challenge, adapting to a new world and new needs. Better than I had done, and better than I would have imagined. She judged Laura worthy of love, worthy of her love even before mine, and spared me from all the grief and the hurting she must have been enduring on her own.

“I’m only a man, Laura, and I’ll need your help. Yours and Mary’s. Help me never to become a jerk, never to hurt any of you.”

She hugged me and kissed me and cried even more, but those were different tears. She was radiant, like any woman who finally finds love.

“So, shall we go get the Volvo?” she said, drying her tears and giggling like a young girl. “I’ll drive that one home.”

Before I could reply, she met my eyes. “And I love you, Dan.” She kissed me. “Now drive this Ferrari. She’s waiting for you.”

I didn’t know whether she referred to Mary or the car. I smiled. We quickly put our clothes back on, and soon I was behind the steering wheel of a Ferrari SA Aperta. My own Ferrari!

I smiled at Laura, sitting next to me. So beautiful and, yes—in this new world—I could love and care for two women, and there was a chance it would be all right.

The Ferrari responded forcefully to my commands; the steering was incredible and the sensation of power, incomparable. I didn’t want to but it was irresistible: we screamed again, together.

We got home, as planned, Ferrari and all. Mary waited alone at the door when we pulled in, first the Ferrari then the Volvo. Mary smiled, knowingly. I felt embarrassed, as a child who had been caught after some naughty tricks. I attempted a smile, too. Mary’s widened her arms and her eyes got misty. In my hesitation, Laura got out of the Volvo and preceded me. She and Mary hugged.

“Thank you,” I heard Laura saying. “I love you.”

Timidly, I walked toward them; Laura moved aside and Mary hugged me.

“Mary…”

“Shhh…don’t say anything. You love me, remember? And I love you. Only this counts.”

Laura smiled and her beautiful, loving blue eyes were wet with tears, too.

“Wooooh.” Annah finally appeared at the front door. She ran out toward the Ferrari, ignoring everything and everyone.

Now, we needed to think how to explain everything to Annah. Our family was evolving, and changing, and adapting.