Counting the Days (5 page)

I was positive that Danny’s hand left an imprint on my face. It stung like all heck. Jenny handed a moist towel to Danny and he began wiping the blood off my face. I had a busted lip and a few scratches. Paul came over with a baggie full of ice. I was so angry that I couldn’t help but cry. How could she betray me like this? We’ve been friends since we were little girls.

Danny began kissing my face. “It’s okay, Marilyn. It’s gonna be all right.” He was hugging me and stroking my hair. He turned to Jenny and Paul and asked, “Could you guys go to the bar and ask Phil for a couple of rum and cokes for us? Get yourselves whatever you want also. Tell Phil, it’s all on me.” Jenny and Paul glanced over at me, I nodded that I was okay and they went over to the bar.

Danny called Karen, the lead singers girlfriend, and asked her to sit with me a while so he could take care of some business. He walked over to Tina and they began talking. Whatever they were discussing, it was apparently getting pretty heated. He began hollering and pushing Tina around. He pushed her up against the wall and threatened her. “I’m going to tell you once and only once…if you ever touch her again…I will kill you with my bare hands,” he shouted, smacked her and then pushed her to the ground.

Tina was crying and visibly terrified. She got up quickly and ran away. Danny came back over and all I could do was hold on tightly to him. I quickly forgot how this whole mess started with his watching her dance. I also forgot about his slapping me. After a while, he got up and went to talk with his friends for a few minutes.

When he returned, he told me that he was sitting out of the last set. He was being the model beau, doting on my every need. I sat quietly wrapped in his arms for the rest of the evening until last call and then he drove me home.

The next morning my mother quickly noticed my busted lip and the fifth degree began. I explained what happened, but she still read me the riot act, for the hundredth time this week. She blamed Danny, of course, and ranted and raved about how he was going to ruin my life. All I could do was tune her out. After a while she settled down and began playing nurse. The swelling had gone down considerably, but my lip was still very tender.

Danny came over around 11am. He bought brunch for all three of us. I thought it was such a sweet gesture, but my mother was extremely leery and still a bit angry. We had an assortment of bagels along with whitefish salad, lox, onions and cream cheese. Danny was totally the charmer. I could tell that my mother was softening towards him. We talked and laughed together. It was quite nice.

It was almost 3pm when Danny and I left for our 4pm riding appointment. Of all my hobbies, horseback riding was my favorite. My other love was skiing. When we arrived at the stables we both were able to pick our favorite horses. I chose White Bullet, because he’s white and fast. Danny chose Roughhouse. He said that she was a gal named after his own heart.

For a while, we rode slowly out toward the harbor enjoying the fresh air and the cool breeze. Out of the clear blue Danny asked, “Why did you accept a drink from that guy at the bar last night?”

“
It was a free drink. Nothing more,” I said turning towards him. “It didn’t mean anything. At least to me, it didn’t.”

We came to a halt and he dismounted Roughhouse. “Well, you really should be careful about accepting drinks from guys you don’t know. First of all, it’s dangerous, and secondly, I don’t like it.”

“
I’m sorry…I really wasn’t trying to upset or offend you, but it was just a drink. Besides, the guy was on the other side of the bar. I didn’t have any intention on going over and talking to him.” I really didn’t see what the big deal was, but if an apology was what he wanted, well then, an apology was what he was going to get. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually accept drinks from strangers. I won’t do it again.”

He walked over towards me and I could see that he was really upset. “Marilyn, I know a lot of people that hang out in that bar and they all know that we’re together. I didn’t appreciate the flirtatious gesture. I don’t want my friends to think that my girl is a whore who has no self-control when she’s around other men.” He was dead serious and was getting angrier by the minute.

“
Danny, I wasn’t flirting with the guy. I was on the other side of the building and I had no intention of going over to meet him. He sent the drink over with the waitress. I never talked to the guy and I surely didn’t flirt with him,” I said in my defense.

“
Oh, so you mean to tell me that guys send drinks to girls they don’t want to get with,” he replied sarcastically.

What? I couldn’t tell where his line of reasoning was coming from, but I will tell you, I began to get a little alarmed. “I don’t know what his reason for sending me the drink was. Maybe he did want to get with me. I don’t know. I never talked to the guy. I didn’t even get a clear look at what he looked like.”

“
Oh, so you wanted to know what he looked like!” He face was getting red.

“
That’s not what I said. Danny, what’s wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?” I was really getting nervous. He’s a bit of a jealous guy, but he’s never acted this way. That is, he’s never been aggressive with me.

He began clenching his fists and I could see that his muscles were tensing up. “What do you mean, what’s wrong with me? I’m not the one who was accepting drinks from a stranger in a bar.” He said turning away from me.

I was scared and I needed to defuse the situation really fast. “Danny, I’m sorry. I really didn’t think it was a big deal. It was just a drink.”

He looked at me angrily. “You’re wrong…it is a big deal,” he said turning back towards me. His face was so mean looking that I got scared. But I never expected what happened next. With one quick swoop he pulled me off of White Bullet. I landed flat on my back hitting my head in the sand. Everything went black for a few moments. When I came around, I was totally stunned and couldn’t move. I stayed still for a few minutes to get my bearings back together. I tried getting up, but my back and head hurt so much. Even though he was right on top of me, Danny’s voice sounded like it was coming from far away, but he kept scolding me like a child and did nothing to help me. My body hurt so much that I began crying.

When he was finished yelling at me, Danny finally decided to help me sit up. My head was swimming and it felt like my brain would fall out if I tilted my head too much the wrong way. My back…well I was going to be sore for a long while. “I’m sorry, babe, but you pissed me off. In your heart you know that it’s your fault. If you didn’t flirt with that guy last night then none of this would have happened.” He said as he hugged and kissed me passionately.

I couldn’t believe it. What just happened? Was I having a bad dream or something? Did he hear anything I said? Why was I getting blamed for something I hadn’t done? He acted as if pushing me off a horse was nothing, like it was no big deal. It was the norm.

After a long silent pause, he asked me if he could kiss my boo-boos and make them all better. Yeah right? He began kissing my neck and my back along my shoulder blades. Even though my body ached from the fall, every time his lips touched my shoulders electricity ran through me. I guess he thought that he could make it all better…that the pain he caused me would go away with every kiss. He could be right.

Even though I continued to cry from the pain in my back and in my heart, we lay there in the sand and made out. He kissed me so passionately that I knew he was sincerely sorry and that it was all an accident. As his passion rose, I knew in my heart that he didn’t mean to knock me off the horse. He couldn’t kiss me that way if he had done it on purpose. Besides, it must have been my fault. I shouldn’t have accepted a drink from that guy last night.

After a while, Danny made me forget the pain with every touch. My body was completely under his control. He was so forgiven. Shortly thereafter we went slowly, really slowly, back on the horses and back on the way to the stables. The ride back hurt so much, but I kept a stiff upper lip. I was wrong and I shouldn’t have made him angry.

On the way home, Danny decided to stop at Sheila’s, an old friend of his. He just wanted to stop in for a quick visit. Sheila was a tall thin bronze model who was all legs. Danny and Sheila hugged and walked into her home. I sheepishly followed. Every step I took was in pain. When I got inside, Danny introduced me. Sheila said that she had some steaks on the grill and insisted that we stay for dinner. Without asking me, Danny agreed and said that we’d love to.

We sat on Sheila’s patio, while they talked away about a little of everything. He was a little too touchy feely with her than I thought he should be, but they’ve known each other since childhood. I felt like the odd man out, especially when Danny and Sheila were engrossed in conversation. Often, they made me laugh with some of the stories they told, but most times I felt like I was invisible. Every once in a while, Danny and Sheila did remember that I was sitting there and would include me in their conversation.

“
So, Marilyn, what do you do?” Sheila asked me as she poured each of us a fresh glass of wine.

“
Well, right now I’m relaxing…taking the summer off,” I said pausing to take a sip of my wine. “In the fall I’m going back to school.”

Danny quickly interrupted and proudly pronounced, “She begins her pre-med at Stonybrook next month. I think I’ll marry her so that I can make my mother proud. She’d finally have a doctor in the family.” They laughed and then the conversation changed gears. They began talking about his family and, as Sheila called it, catching up.

When the steaks were done, we moved into the kitchen and I asked Sheila if she needed a hand with anything. “Why don’t you help me cut and prep the salad stuff,” she said and kept talking with Danny. She poured us another glass of wine. The wine was helping numb the soreness. “Are you alright?” Sheila asked, “You look like you’re hurt or something.”

Danny interjected, “My girl here is quite feisty and got into a brawl last night with her friend. That’s how she got the busted lip. Then, this afternoon she had an accident while we were riding today. Her horse threw her. It happened so fast…one minute we were riding along and the next minute Marilyn was on the ground out cold.” He leaned over and gave me a kiss on my forehead. “I’m very grateful that my baby wasn’t seriously hurt.” He’d make a great actor because the boy can perform.

For a few seconds nobody talked. Sheila looked at me intently and I quickly looked away. She then turned her attention to Danny. “Danny, what did you do?” He began shaking his head in denial and she went on, “Don’t deny it Danny. I know you all these years and you told me, no you promised me, that you were going to change.”

Danny stared Sheila right in the eyes and asked, “What do you think, I was slapping her around or something? Ask her for yourself if you don’t believe me.” His coolness was uncanny and a little bit on the creepy side.

Sheila glanced quickly back at me and immediately I could feel my face flush. When I began to speak, the lie flowed so easily from my lips that even I was startled. “He’s not lying. I got into a fight last night with my friend Tina and I was a little distracted today. I wasn’t paying attention and White Bullet must have gotten spooked. It happened so quickly. Before I knew it, I was on the ground flat on my back. If it weren’t for Danny, I probably would have been stranded there all night or something, but he was great and kept talking to me. So I never lost consciousness for longer then a few moments. I’m just a little sore. That’s all. It won’t be the first time I’ve gotten a few cuts and bruises while horseback riding. In a few days I’ll be as good as new.” I didn’t flinch or blink an eye. I sounded so convincing that even I would have believed the lie. I don’t know why I lied for him. Where are your guts, Marilyn? Why didn’t you tell the truth?

Sheila was in complete disbelief and utter disgust. She stayed quiet momentarily before speaking. “She lies very well for you, Danny,” she said staring me straight in the eyes. I kept my eyes glued on hers. “You know, Danny, you’ve had a heavy hand for years and you promised me that I wouldn’t see any more of your girls with unexplained cuts and bruises.”

Danny cut her off and protested, “Oh, come on, Sheila, lighten up. Let’s not go over the deep end here with this discussion. Marilyn already explained to you what happened. So let’s, please, talk about something else. I’m sure Marilyn wants to put this day out of her mind and behind her.” Danny began stroking my hair as he spoke. He was being so doting and so kind. I knew in my heart that he didn’t mean to knock me off the horse. It was most definitely my fault. I shouldn’t have accepted the drink from that guy in the bar last night.

Quietly, Sheila and I finished prepping the salad. We began to set the table and put the food out. As we ate, all could see that I was visibly in pain, so Sheila, without asking, gave me some more wine and a couple of aspirin. Danny continued doting on me and being the perfect beau, always asking if I was okay and assisting me to and from the bathroom. He was seriously overdoing it, but I took full advantage of his attention.