Chapter 178: Foppa XIV—It Hurts to Think
I am such an idiot! Peter thought over and over again as he walked down the hallway and punched in the button for the elevator. How could he have not seen the holes in Jo’s story earlier? Why hadn’t she gone to a hospital if she had been so scared? Did Debbie convince her to do it, or had she gone to Debbie with exactly that in mind? Of course it had been an abortion!
Peter shook his head and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had left her uncertain and alone that whole time, with no one to talk to, with no way of gauging how he felt. What did he expect her to do? Wring her hands and wait for him?
The elevator doors slid open and Peter sighed as he entered it. He pressed the button for the lobby and then leaned in the far corner of the cubicle. He watched the red floor numbers tic down and then the elevator stopped. The doors slid open and a giggling, entwined couple fell in.
Peter raised his eyebrows and stepped out of their way, crossing his arms over his chest.
“God I want you now so bad,” the man, a tall, dark skinned, well dressed person whispered into the woman’s ear.
The woman, a Barbie like, honey sweet blond laughed and tossed her head back as the man kissed her throat. “Then take me,” she whispered loudly.
The man smiled and growled as he pressed her against the far wall and Peter saw her ivory thighs as he lifted her skirt and her legs wrapped around him. Peter felt his pulse race, dizziness in his brain and none of it, oddly enough was enjoyment or lust. Normally he would have enjoyed a voyeuristic peep such as this but now he just felt annoyed and almost violated that these two would carry on like this regardless of who was watching.
Peter rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.
“Oh,” the woman said and she hit at the man, “Stop it. Stop there’s someone in here.”
The man grunted and put her down and Peter looked calmly at both of them.
“Good evening,” Peter said to the couple.
The woman blushed and looked away. The man looked back at him. “Sorry buddy,” he said. “Didn’t see ya there.”
Peter nodded.
A silence followed as the elevator continued its descent and Peter saw the man play at his hair, he saw the gold wedding band on his finger. The woman was gnawing on one of her fingernails, he saw no such ring there.
Ding!
Peter quickly left the elevator, and exhaled and inhaled deeply. He was annoyed all over. It hurt to think about it so he pushed it out of his brain. He didn’t want to think about possibilities and could have beens or what was or wasn’t his fault. She would have told him wouldn’t she? She was always so frank and real.
Peter kept his shoulders shrugged, his hands in his pockets as he entered the bar of the hotel near the lobby. He needed a drink. When he looked up he saw some people clustered at tables, perky waitresses accepting orders. It didn’t take him long to recognize Patrick Roy sitting at the bar itself. At first Peter thought that perhaps he didn’t want to talk to Patty at all and he was going to turn around and leave but then he changed his mind. He knew that the team had an unspoken policy of not allowing Patty to drink too much alone if they could help it, so in a way, he was obligated to joining him.
“Hey Patty,” he said as brightly as he could.
Patrick looked at him, his blue eyes clear and unclouded. Well at least he wasn’t inebriated, yet. “Hello,” Patrick said softly, not exactly smiling so much as he was flashing a grimace with two dimples perfectly placed in each cheek. “Not sleepy?”
Peter shook his head and sat down next to Patrick making eye contact with the bartender as he ordered his drink. “Nah,” Peter said, “Not at all. Slept on the plane.”
Patrick laughed quietly and took a long drink from his beer. “Me too. Is stupid of me no? Heh, now I am not sleepy, but will be in the morning.”
“Yup,” Peter said.
His drink was slid in front of him and he took a sip from it. He looked
at it, at the smoky, amber liquid and he couldn’t help but remember that first
drink Josefina had ordered for him. He had just been
wanting food and sleep and that woman had been waiting there, selecting
him, and then finishing with him. He had taken the initiative in calling her
name on the sidewalk that day in
“Your head is swirling with thoughts my friend,” Patrick said.
Peter looked at him, the Quebecois was turned towards him, his eyes half closed. The man looked content in a quiet sort of way, like a cat before it dozes off.
“Yah,” Peter said. “It’s nothing you should bother about, it’s OK.”
“You know,” Patrick said. “I have not even seen her, this woman of yours. All I can see is that she is eating you from the inside like none I have ever seen.”
Peter sighed but he couldn’t answer him. Patrick smiled.
“It’s a frustrating and wonderful feeling is it not? To be so possessed?” he said.
Peter shook his head. “Frustrating. That’s all I can think of right now.”
Patrick nodded. “To be honest with you I am feeling the same. It hurts to think about it.” He took another deep, long drink from his beer.
Peter felt a twinge of nervousness. How many drinks did that make for Patty? Was that his first drink, his second?
“You got woman troubles?” Peter asked, keeping a jocular tone in his voice.
Patrick sighed. “You have no idea my friend. But you needn’t be troubled with them.”
Peter half grinned suddenly remembering Pretty Mimi’s blue eyes exploring over his frame. He could even swear that she had slipped him a little tongue when she had kissed him in the locker room. And that kiss with Debbie! That was the hottest thing he had ever seen outside of a porno flick… come to think of it this had been better because it was real! He even liked the fact that Debbie had been struggling and squeaking a bit. Mimi had been pure tigress on that one. That’s what Patrick had to deal with? Ha!
Patrick laughed. “I know what you’re thinking about.”
Peter blushed. “No you don’t!”
Patrick’s eyes were sparkling. “Did you get a copy from Drury?”
Forsberg’s eyes widened. “What?!”
Patrick nodded and belched quietly. “Yes, Drury he made a videotape of it. I did not get to see it until recently he’s made some copies. What a piece of work.”
Peter grinned. “Does it bother you?”
Patrick’s grin was almost predatorial and Peter was taken aback. “Not in the slightest.”
Peter laughed and finished off his drink and then it hit him. He had
heard some rumors already that the Rangers were spreading, something about Mimi
waltzing into their locker room at the
Patrick’s smile disappeared and Peter felt guilty even though he hadn’t helped spread the rumor.
“I know what you’re thinking now,” Patrick said. “You can just stop it there.”
“Hey, I’m sorry man,” Peter said. “Look I shouldn’t even be bugging you with my own problems, they’re not that…”
“Entertain me,” Patrick said quickly, “Before my mood gets worse. Do you have a picture of this senorita?”
Peter nodded, eager to please the man, not wanting his mood to darken. Dammit, he thought, why does everyone feel the need to cater to his every mood swing? Even me!
He pulled out his wallet and found the picture. He had taken it the day he had returned from a roadtrip, eager to have some memento of her. He slipped it out of the wallet and looked at it, imagining that in this exact moment, she had been smiling for him, arrogant, gorgeous and more than likely newly pregnant from a coupling they had had in the hallway only moments before.
Patrick took the picture and Peter felt a certain amount of pride when he saw the light in Patrick’s face. He was breathtaken, he could tell. Patrick did not say a word and finally he looked up from the picture.
“She is priceless,” he said.
Peter smiled. “Yeah.” I made her kill the baby, he thought. I drove her to it. Can she forgive me? Can I forgive her?
“You know Jonathan, he is enamored with her niece?” Patrick said.
Peter nodded. “Yeah, she told me, Elena right?”
Patrick nodded. “Yes, the boy is too young for her,” he laughed, “I have a feeling he will always be too young for her.” He handed the picture back to Peter. “There are similarities there, the eyes, mouth, nose. They could be sisters.”
Peter slipped the picture back into his wallet. “It will be over soon, I know it.”
“Eh?” Patrick said. “Why? The baby? It is tough of course but can be overcome.”
“I made her kill it!” Peter exclaimed, amazed that he said it out loud.
“What?” Patrick said.
“It was the only thing that could have sealed us together, the perfect thing, and I made her destroy it.” Peter said.
Patrick shook his head. “You think she had an abortion?”
Peter nodded, feeling helpless, vulnerable. “I made her feel guilty about getting pregnant and she had it killed.”
Patrick frowned with his eyes. Peter recognized those eyes as the ones that Patrick shot at anyone he thought was a dumbass. “I do not think she did Peter. Mimi would have told me that much. She adores your lady, she said that Josefina was distraught. She told Mimi that she wanted to keep it and would leave you if you didn’t want it.”
Patty hiccupped and ordered another beer.
She picked the baby over me? Peter thought, now utterly confused.
“Of course my wife she speaks too much and so do I. Now,” Patty took another drink, “Who told you she had an abortion?”
Peter shook his head. “Know what? It doesn’t matter. One person says one thing someone else says another. I can’t get a straight bead on anything in this relationship, it’s killing me!”
Patrick sniffed, his eyelid fluttered. “Your problem, Peter,” Patrick said. “Is that you keep asking everyone else for answers and you do not ask her or yourself. Ultimately it is all up to how much you want her next to you in the morning and how much you want her smiling at you. Or not at all.”
Peter groaned. “Why can’t it ever be easy?”
Patrick sighed. “Because then it would be boring, yes?”
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