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Chapter 77: Tangers IX—The Land of Nuts and Fruits—Monet
I don’t think I took a single breath all the way down the hallway and to the door of the Penthouse. Her hand was soft and tiny, it squeezed ever so lightly on my waist, and she smelled so nice, much nicer then all the cheap whores on our floor did. And she was beautiful! More beautiful than the movies or the TV ever made her. I had never ever seen a woman so lovely and it was making me nervous. Tom Cruise was one lucky guy.
"Here we are," said Mr. Cruise as we entered the huge, luxurious room. He held out his hands and took a little spin around the floor. "A bit more spacious than the little two bed affairs they give you fellas, hmm?"
"I’ll say," said Noter with a grin, his eyes scanning the whole room.
Mr. Cruise walked close to Danny as he crossed the room and said in a low voice. "Bigger but a lot less exciting...." and then he winked.
Danny and I exchanged looks. That was silly, I thought, how could a penthouse suite with Penelope Cruz be less exciting than a small, two-bed room with a snoring Joey?
"So what’ll you guys be drinking?" Mr. Cruise asked as he set up at the bar.
"I’ll have a Rum and Coke," Danny said.
Tom smiled with his perfect teeth. "Good choice," he said softly and then he looked at me. When he did I felt this total wave of unreality; Tom Cruise was looking at me? "What’ll you have?"
"Um..." I said. I suddenly was drawing a blank. "Uhhh..." This was awful. I felt helpless, now I was looking silly and indecisive in front of like one of the biggest stars in the whole world!
"Why don’t you have a Tahitian Sunrise," Penelope whispered into my ear making the hair on my arms stand up. "It is sweet like you."
"Tahiti Sunset!" I stammered.
Tom raised his eyebrows. "And you mi amour?"
"I will have nada," Penelope said. "At this time of night she will make me fat!"
Tom shrugged and set to work on the drinks.
I looked at Danny and he looked back at me, a slight smile on his face, he had an excited look on his face. I bet he was feeling just like me! Boy, the guys were not gonna believe this one!
"So where are you boys headed next?" Cruise asked.
"Vancouver," Danny answered. "Then home."
"Ah Vancouver," Penelope said wistfully, "Is so beautiful there, is not dirty si?"
"Not dirty?" I said looking into her huge, glossy black eyes. She blinked them slowly, it was amazing, and her eyes were so doll-like, almost like a girl’s.
"Si," Penelope said. "Not even a speck," and then she snapped her bony fingers. "Of gum on the sidewalk. Clean!"
I smiled. "Yeah, I guess it’s pretty clean there."
Tom walked out from behind the bar, the drinks in his hands. "Here ya go," he said handing me the drink. "A Tahitian Sunrise just for you."
"Merci," I said.
"Oooh I love French," Penelope whispered in my ear and I could feel my ears burn.
"And one for you," Tom said handing the Rum and Coke to Noter, I did notice Tom’s finger brush briefly over Noter’s hand as he took it. But Penelope slipped her hand around my arm again and erased the image from my mind.
"Hey, you hockey players, you boys outta appreciate relics?" Mr. Cruise said.
I shrugged and Danny nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I love old things."
Another perfect smile spread over Tom’s face. "Excellent!" he said. "I have just acquired this jersey from a friend who says it used to belong to King Clancy."
"Really?" Noter said with a slight frown.
"Yeah," Tommy said. "I should call it a sweater, it’s old wool knit and everything, a few moth holes, stinks to high heaven! But if you wanna see it..."
"Sure," Danny said. "I’d love to see that."
"It’s right in the next room," Tom said holding his arm out and leading the way. Danny looked back at me. "You coming Tangers?" he asked.
I shook my head, those old things didn’t interest me too much and actually I was sick of them after having to take care of Patty’s old collector’s jersey’s at his house. I then looked at Penelope who wasn’t following. "Are you going?" I asked.
Penelope wrinkled her nose and waved her hand in front of her face. "That thing, she stinks like whore until Tom put her in case. I no want to see her again, is ugly, is moth-bit."
"Oh," I said.
"But I would love for you to keep me company si? Tom, he will keep that boy in there with all his talking of this old games and it will be forever." Penelope said in her high, almost kittenish accent. "Por favor?"
I am only guessing at what Penelope had said to me at that time because I don’t think I was hearing her properly. All I could really hear was an odd rushing in my head like buckets of water flowing through my brain. I guess it was all the nervous blood in my head.
"Sure," I said almost dumbly.
"Bueno!" Penelope said with a heart melting smile and then she spoke in a soft, rapid string of Spanish that I had no way of understanding. All I could think was that she was so smooth, and so pretty, that this had to be some sort of dream! And I really was beginning to hate Tom Cruise....
"Do you like art?" Penelope said, abruptly breaking her chain of Spanish words.
I wasn’t really an art aficionado by any means but there was no way I was going to let Penelope the Goddess know that. So I nodded my head and said the safest thing I could think of, the thing everyone says when they lie about liking art. "I really like Monet." I said.
"Fantastico!" Penelope exclaimed, holding her tiny hands together. "Tom, he has bought me a Monet, and I would love to share it with someone!"
"Share?" I asked in confusion. I wasn’t gonna get suckered into buying a painting was I? And then when I saw her large, blinking eyes, I decided that I would buy anything she offered me.
"Si," Penelope said nodding her head. "I can never look at a painting by herself. I must have someone with me to share her with. And Tom, he is tired with staring at her, he can no longer find the hidden beauties in her, she has become... boring."
"Oh!" I said shaking my head and trying to look as philosophical as I could. "I could never get bored of a Monet. I mean once there was a Monet that I just. I just couldn’t stop staring at and it was on the museum wall and I stayed there all day!"
Penelope’s hand flew over her heart, and the look in her eyes almost had me shooting through the roof in joy. "Which one was she?" and then she sighed.
I thought fast, I couldn’t get caught as a fraud this quickly.... "There was purple flowers all over it," I said. I almost closed my eyes, please oh please let this Monet guy have been like all those other silly painters and painted a bunch of flowers.
Penelope sighed again and her big lashes kissed her face as she closed her eyes. "Ah," she said. "The Artist’s Garden at Giverny! I love her too!"
I resisted the urge to exhale in relief. "Oui!" I said, "That one, it was sooo..."
"Alive!" Penelope finished for me to my instant gratitude.
"Oui!" I said pointing at her. "It was like it was..."
"Moving and just waiting for you to dance with her!" Penelope finished again for me. I was really beginning to love her.
"Exactly!" I said. "I never knew anyone felt like I did about her... it."
Penelope put her other hand on her breast and there was a soft little smile on her face as she just looked at me. "We could be soulmates, you and I. Well then come! You are more than deserving, come experience rapture all over again."
As Penelope stopped my heart yet again by grasping my hand in her own I actually felt excited about seeing the painting. Talk about building something up that’s what she had done. Who was this Monet and what did he paint to capture this gorgeous butterfly under his spell? In fact, I was hating Monet just like I hated Tom Cruise! Oh why oh why hadn’t I picked tonight to get a hat-trick or stand up and play goal like Blakie just so she could have seen me at my peak!
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