Nurse Venus

No beer for the Jones', though. Jackie Jones had buried two alcoholic partners; no one was going to touch liquor around her, not even Marvell, if he were to show up . . . which was unlikely. If it was just Kevin and Moms, one or two of the maids and Nurse Aino, he well might have, but not if Mrs. Chiba was around. Mrs. Chiba gave Marvell the creepies, and Kevin thought he knew why. She had that look, the one Moms could give you, the one that made you think she knew every thing you hoped she didn't.

Moms liked Mrs. Chiba. She kept trying to get her to come to church. Nurse Aino would come sometimes, but Nurse Aino would do a lot of things she didn't like to make someone feel better.

But they weren't going to spend all the time with Moms and the crowd of friends Nurse Aino and Mrs. Chiba brought. Today, a special treat. A boat ride, on the lake, just Kevin and Minako--he knew her name but he always called her Nurse Aino because Moms kept correcting him when he didn't. All he had to do was walk down to where the boat was tied up.

Walk.

Nurse Aino said, "You are doing well . . . Oh, a little rough place there . . . Good, good . . . Not so far. Take as many steps as you like, what matters is that you get where you want to go . . . and we are here."

Nurse Aino lifted him up and set him down gently in the boat. He was still amazed at how strong she was; she was tall for a woman, especially a Japanese, but Kevin could see over the top of her head when she was wearing heels and that big ribbon she wore when she didn't wear her nurse's cap. She'd worn spike heels to church once, before Moms told her what was right to wear and what wasn't. Looking up at her after she had made sure he was safely seated, as she put his special canes into the boat before sitting down at the oars, he looked at her long legs and thought . . . she was wearing shorts today, modest enough, and yet they showed all of those long, lovely legs.

He looked up into her face as she sat down. She smiled, took the oars, and they were off. "Have you ever done this before?"

"No," said Kevin.

"I mean, anywhere." said Nurse Aino.

Kevin said, "No, nowhere . . . this is nice."

Nurse Aino said, "I haven't been in a boat like this for a long time . . . when we all lived in Juubangai, we would go out on a lake all the time."

"Jew ban guy?"

Minako's smile broadened. "It means 'Tenth Street District.' It is a neighborhood in Tokyo. A rich one, though there only one or two houses as big as they are in Kensington. My father . . . the man I thought was my father, he was wealthy. He still is."

"So he left your moms?" asked Kevin.

Minako said, "Yes . . . years ago, now. Before I came to live here."

"So that's why you went to work," said Kevin.

Nurse Aino said, "Not really . . . I have good friends with money. And my mother is keeping company with the man who owns the mansion we live in. He is much wealthier than the man I thought was my father. I am not sure they will ever marry, but he is kind and generous . . . though he is always looking up ladies skirts or at their breasts when he can."

"Well, he's a man," said Kevin, laughing, because he couldn't help looking at her breasts when she had said that.

She looked past him. "I rowed a lot in England, when I was staying there."

"When was that?" asked Kevin.

Minako seemed to look far away. "A long time ago . . . I was only thirteen, fourteen years old . . . I had this funny cat then . . . and friends I haven't seen for a long time . . . a long, long time."

There was something . . . "Were you in love back then?"

Nurse Aino blushed. But she did not giggle. As the color faded, her eyes got old. "Yes. I really was in love with someone. But he was in love with another friend . . . that was not the last time that would happen to me."

She rowed on for awhile, smiling, just letting him look at her.

Kevin finally said, "I think the first time I really thought I was in love was when I was eleven."

"Who was she?" asked Nurse Aino.

"She was my teacher," said Kevin.

Minako said, "Oh, so you have always had this thing for older women!"

He had to laugh a little, again, even if it hurt.

"Did you ever tell her?" Minako asked.

"No."

Nurse Aino said, "I didn't tell Alan either . . . maybe that was better."

"Do you still see Ma-mo-ro?" asked Kevin.

Nurse Aino responded, "Mamoru? All the time. He is Usagi's husband. And Ishtar's father."

"No, what I mean is . . ."

Nurse Aino said, "Oh . . . no. He was always meant for Usagi. He will always be in my heart, as Alan will always be there . . . and some others I don't think I will tell you about today."

Kevin said, "I'm sorry . . . I guess what I really mean, is, are you seeing anyone now?"

"No," said Nurse Aino. They were in the middle of the lake now, and she stopped working the oars.

Kevin said, "I . . . I want to know if you might be more than a nurse. To me."

Nurse Aino said, "I can be your friend. There are some things we can never share, but I can be your friend."

Kevin said, "You are my friend . . . you are my friend . . . but could you be more? Someday?"

Nurse Aino said, "You mean, could we have sex?"

"That's not really what I mean," said Kevin. "I mean . . . I do want you so damned much . . . but you're not a whore. I can buy whores. Even Moms can't stop me from that."

"The maid," said Nurse Aino.

"What?"

Nurse Aino said, "Your mother told me she got rid of a maid who was having sex with you."

Kevin said, "Yes, that happened . . . she wasn't really a whore. Well, she was, before, but . . . I didn't think she was just doing it for money."

"Did you love her?" asked Nurse Aino.

Kevin said, "Not love . . . but she was my friend. Moms shouldn't have--"

Nurse Aino cut him off. "Don't say it. If she told your brother to get rid of her, I know what might have happened."

"I won't let that happen to you!" said Kevin.

"Not so loud, Kevin." She began rowing again, slowly, but noisily. "You can't stop your brother."

"He--"

Nurse Aino shook her head. "You cannot stop him from doing what he thinks he must. You are more like his son than his brother. That is how it is. I knew all of this before I ever met you. I know how dangerous your brother is. I knew it before."

"So why did you take the job?" asked Kevin.

Nurse Aino said, "I like your mother . . . no, that is not the only reason. I wanted to know you."

"You wanted to know me?" asked Kevin.

Nurse Aino said, "Yes . . . to know you. I cannot tell you why, but it is not because I hate your brother. I think he is a very bad man, but I do not hate him. Usagi does because he had the baby killed . . . or she thinks he did. Everyone thinks he did . . . no, don't explain, don't ever tell me any secrets about your brother's business. I wouldn't tell, but I don't want to know. It would only make things harder."

After she rowed for awhile without speaking, Kevin said, "You figure that Marvell will kill you when you are finished with me?"

Nurse Aino said, "Maybe. He won't want to as long as your mother likes me, but if he thought I knew too much, he would. She would tell him, if she suspected. The longer I stay, the more likely it is that I will find out something."

Kevin said, "So, what do you want me to do?"

Nurse Aino said, "Get better. Learn to do as much as you can by yourself."

Kevin said, "Because you won't be with me forever."

Nurse Aino said, "That seems unlikely."

Kevin said earnestly, "I don't want you to go away."

Nurse Aino said, "I am not planning on going away soon."

The dignity of the moment was spoiled. Seagull droppings splattered over Nurse Aino. He laughed, and went forward to help her clean up before he thought about what he was doing. He almost overturned the boat, but she got him back into his seat and stopped the boat from rocking. Then she took off her shirt, dipped it over the side, and cleaned off. This wasn't quite as exciting as Kevin thought at first; she was wearing a bathing suit underneath, a two-piece but with a top designed for swimming, not sunbathing, or slipping hands under . . .

She finished, smiled, and then actually shook her chest a little before she started rowing again. "I thought I might swim later. There is a pool close by. Do you swim?"

Kevin said, "I used to dog-paddle, but no . . . you're pretty good?"

Nurse Aino said, "I guess. My friends Ami and Michiru can swim much faster, though. You should try, though. Even Usagi can still swim. Not well, but she can swim."

Kevin said, "I don't know . . . sometime."

She rowed for a long time, reaching the other end of the lake, and turning around. Now Kevin could see where Moms was sitting, though she was no more than a speck in an orange top and green pants. But they were getting closer all the time . . .

Kevin said. "Could we stop for a little while?"

"Yes." She stopped the oars.

He saw Moms stand up, still far away.

"I love you . . . Minako," said Kevin.

"I know," said Minako.

Kevin said, "I mean . . . I knew the night I met you."

"I know."

Kevin said, "I really love you . . . I'm never gonna love anyone else like you."

"I know."

Kevin said, "But you are never going to love me, are you? I mean . . . I mean like I love you."

She said nothing. She didn't smile. She just looked at him.

Kevin stumbled on. "I . . . I don't know how much longer I can be with you, without . . . but I can't think about what I'll do if you go."

She still said nothing. But he saw a glint at the corner of one eye, and then watched as a single tear trickled down.

Long after that tear fell, she spoke up. "Would you ever be sure I wasn't doing something because I pity you?"

He thought about that a long time, even as he watched Moms walking toward them, waving.

Kevin said, "I'll never be sure of anyone. I know what I look like. But . . . "

Nurse Aino turned around for a moment. "I should better start rowing back."

"I guess," said Kevin, defeated. So, that was it. When they got to the dock, that would be it. Moms stopped, and then turned around, and began walking back. She'd be waiting for them on the dock, so there'd be no good moment then.

"I'm going to miss you," said Kevin.

"Why?" asked Nurse Aino.

Kevin blurted, "Why? I just told you I love you. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Nurse Aino said, "Yes. It does not mean I am leaving you."

Kevin said, "So we just go on like nothing has happened?"

Nurse Aino said, "No. I am breaking your heart."

Kevin said, "Then what?"

Nurse Aino said, "I am not a very old-fashioned girl. But there is only one way we can go on now."

"How?"

Nurse Aino said, "We have to get married."

Kevin said, "Married? You would marry me?"

Nurse Aino said, "Do you think I am lying to you now? We will get married. I am not marrying you for your money. You do not have any money, Kevin. When your brother dies, the courts and other gangsters will take all that he has. And all that you have, and all that your mother has. Once your brother is not there to protect you, you will be defenseless, unless you have someone else to protect you. I will protect you and your mother when that day comes. My friends and I."

"You will protect me?" exclaimed Kevin.

Nurse Aino said, "With the help of my friends, yes. We won't do what your brother would do, but we will try. My friends are not gangsters--that means we do not have to worry about the courts. And since some of my friends are rich--some of them very rich--the police will really protect them from gangsters. And gangsters will not want to attack you while you are with us, even if there are some with some special hatred for you. It would not be like blowing up poor colored people that don't matter much. Many police would come looking for them, and their . . . friends would give them up. Especially if there is a reward, and there would be."

"You believe that?"

She stopped rowing long enough to shrug. "Kevin, the truth is, you do not matter very much to any gangsters except your brother. I know you fought bravely for him. But your brother can always find men who can fight well, as long as he is powerful and can afford to pay them. I think that by now the brothers of the men you killed are all dead or in prison for so long they will never matter. All the men you killed were gangsters, so the police are not going to look that hard for you, unless they think they can use you against your brother. If they have not caught you by now, I do not think they ever will."

"You don't know gangsters." He shook his head.

"I know you," said Minako.

Kevin said, "Well . . . I don't matter. Maybe I never did."

"You matter to me." She stopped rowing again. She let go of the oars, reached forward, and kissed him. She sat back, and started rowing again, faster. "And besides."

"Besides what?"

"I caught Mako's bouquet." She smiled at that, but then grew serious again. "There is something else you have to tell your mother."

"What is that?" asked Kevin.

Minako said, "You will be living with me. She can visit as much as she likes, but I won't have Ishtar in your mother's place. It is too dangerous . . . another thing."

"Yes?"

Minako said, "Do not try to be a father to Ishtar. She has a father. Just be her friend. And maybe her baby-sitter . . . this would be a good time to tell me if you have any children of your own."

Kevin said, "No . . . I thought I did once, but when Peggy decided she didn't like me any more, she had a DNA test. Wasn't mine, after all. I was careful after that . . . but I can still be a father. Will you allow that? I mean, do you want it?"

Minako said, "I want more children . . . someday. I would not be ashamed to have your child, if that is what you mean."

They were getting close to the dock, close enough hear Moms' voice, though not close enough to make out the words.

If he was going to say anything else before Moms could hear, it was now.

Kevin said, "Do you just want to stay married until I feel better?"

Minako said, "As they say in your English wedding ceremony, 'til death do us part.' Lawyers don't believe that, but I do."

"Do you love me?" asked Kevin.

Minako said, "I care for you . . . If I said I loved you, would you ever be sure it was true? Really sure?"

"I guess not," said Kevin.

Minako said, "I care for you. Remember that. Whatever else happens, remember that I care for you." She stopped to kiss him again. Then she pulled for the dock with all her might.

"Are they asleep?" asked Minako.

"Absolutely," said Naru. "Usagi used her power, and I have put a spell on them. Sleep is the first spell you should learn if you are a mother. And you can learn spells."

Usagi was driving. Mako and Haruka were the only others who could drive comfortably using her special controls, but they were in another van.

Minako said, "I did not want to put everyone to this much trouble. I thought we would just go to Reno and back."

"No, if you are going to do this, do it right," said Usagi. "At the Rose Love Chapel. Good luck, so far . . . but we can't wear our costumes this time."

"He'll find out, you know," said Minako.

Usagi said, "Let him find out later. Unless you want to tell him now? Or are you afraid he will tell his brother?"

"I don't think he would want to . . . but he is so young." She shook her head. "He has fought and killed, but he is so much a child compared to us, compared to me . . . You must know what I feel, what I think."

Usagi said, "I don't read thoughts all the time, you know . . . and Naru-chan doesn't at all, unless she has learned a spell she has not told me about."

Naru said, "Not yet. I must learn a lot of others first."

Usagi said, "Well, then, speak to us, Mina-chan. If you want to."

Minako sighed. "He will lose hope without me. He will kill himself, or let himself be killed."

"Do you love him?" asked Naru.

Minako said, "I don't know . . . he is never sure because of how he looks, and I am never sure because of what I did to him."

Usagi said, "He will not be the last man you maim, you know, unless you want to finish off all your enemies from now on. And he is a danger to us as long as his brother is alive."

Minako said, "If you want, I will leave you. Like it or not, you are the Moon Princess. Say the word, and I will leave."

Usagi said, "No. I could have killed him the first day . . . you know, I don't have to turn a man into dust. If I just halate his heart, or the back of his head, he dies, quickly. With little pain."

Minako said, "Please . . . don't talk like that now."

"Mina-chan is right, Usako," said Naru. "We are going to a wedding, after all."

Kevin was very groggy when he entered the wedding chapel; he didn't really remember anything since the last rest stop. He'd slept most of the night, and most of the morning that followed.

There was a crowd of people around, mostly women. He asked about them, and Minako just said, "Friends we managed to round up." Then the ceremony was starting, and then it was over, and then everyone was looking shocked at a skinny girl wearing black holding the flowers Minako had been holding . . . she'd caught the bouquet. And then they were back in the van, and he fell asleep . . .

It was dark. Kevin woke up to the sound of a girl crying, loudly. Not a baby.

He got up, even though it hurt. He saw they were still in the van, pulled over. The driver, Mrs. Chiba, was gone. He looked through the window and saw that she was in another van across the road, sitting on the floor, holding a girl, who was doing the crying. "That's her oldest one, isn't she?"

Minako said, "Yes. Sarah Ami, but we also call her Chibi-Usa. Little Usagi. It is her Japanese name."

Kevin asked, "Why is she crying so hard? She's such a tough little one."

"She had a nightmare," said Minako.

"Really . . . I have nightmares," said Kevin.

Minako said, "I know . . . but I think Chibi-Usa's are worse."

"Nothing could be worse than mine," said Kevin.

"Maybe . . . Did you have a nightmare?" asked Minako.

"No."

"You might as well go back to sleep." She got out of the front seat to come back to kiss him. "We have a long way to go."

"Why didn't we just stay?" asked Kevin.

Minako said, "There are a lot of things to do tomorrow . . . it is Sunday now, very early. In fact, I am taking the R.N. test again tomorrow."

"I wonder what Marvell will say," Kevin thought aloud.

"He said 'Good Luck.' I called him before we left Las Vegas . . . I will be back in a minute." She left the van.

Moms was snoring away.

There was a great commotion in a minute. The biggest one of Minako's friends carried Usagi back to the van, with three little girls following. The biggest, Usagi's older girl with the strawberry-blonde hair got into the shotgun seat. Minako led the two other girls into the back. "I'm afraid it's going to be crowded." Minako said something in Japanese, and the two little girls got out again.

"What did you say?" asked Kevin.

Usagi answered him. "She said if they had to pee, they should do it before we started out again. Sarah-chan, that goes for you, too."

Minako said, "That goes for me, too. What about you, Kevin?"

"Uhh . . yeah, maybe. Well, if we are all peeing, what about you?" Mrs. Chiba was digging at him, he thought.

"I have a urine bag, Kevin. And a colostomy bag. It can't be very romantic for my husband, but he makes love to me anyway. That means a lot to me. Even if I can't feel anything below my waist."

Kevin asked his wife why Usagi had said all that to him, but she told him not to worry about it. "Usagi is always very upset when Chibi-Usa has one of the nightmares."

Kevin could truthfully claim he slept with his wife on their wedding night, although she slept on the floor with her daughter and Kimi while he returned to his fold-out cot.

Kevin Jones was wondering if the whole thing was a dream by the end of Sunday. He was groggy all day, and hurting not only in the familiar way but by overstraining himself. But then Nurse Aino . . . Minako . . . made love with him so gently he couldn't stop crying for a long, long time.