married Rudy?” She asked in a whisper as if afraid to hear his answer.
“No,” he said, “I’m still looking for that perfect woman, I’m still looking for someone like you.”
Pamela smiled with delight at his answer. She asked, “No potential prospects?”
“Like I said before, there have always been women,” he teased.
Pamela blushed and could feel her checks redden. She felt embarrassed to have been so direct about her questions regarding his martial status.
Rudy waited for a moment for her to recover and then said, “If you’ve finished with your coffee, perhaps we should be on our way. It’s almost 6:30 and I have some unfinished business to attend to. I would like to see you home.”
“You needn’t do that if you’re in hurry to be somewhere,” she replied.
Rudy smiled and said, “I need to take you home so that I”ll know where to pick you up for dinner this evening.”
Pamela lowered her eyes and said, “I’m sorry Rudy, but I’m working another double shift tonight at the emergency room. If there was any way for me to get out of it, I would but I promised.”
Rudy said, “Well I guess I’ll have to see you in the emergency room then.” Pamela laughed and said, “No more sword practice for a while, please. I am available Sunday night, and I would like for you to see me home.”
Rudy stood up and offered his hand to Pamela, helping her out of the booth. “We have a date then,” he said.
After paying for breakfast, Rudy escorted Pamela out of the café. Once outside Rudy asked “which way? Will we need a cab?”
“No actually it’s just two blocks down the street, toward the park.”
Rudy smiled and said, “Pamela dear, join me for a dawn promenade to the parque.” and he offered her his arm.
Pamela took his arm and replied, “I would love to kind sir...I think I’m being spoiled by this matador chivalry.”
The city was warm and calm, as the couple strolled arm-in-arm along the street toward Central Park.
Pamela took advantage of the moment to ask Rudy about his becoming a matador. “Tell me about the first time you went into the ring with a real bull,” she inquired. “How old were you? Tell me why you wanted to do it.” she continued.
Rudy said, “Okay...I’ll tell you. I was fourteen years old....and I’ve never been prouder. To be a man, you are expected to face your fears and dance with the bull. The bull will kill you, so you must take control, and from that point on, your life has true meaning...true passion.... true understanding. You see life’s beauty, and you take nothing for granted. Life is very short. The problem is that you can’t wait for the next time, and the next time...it becomes an obsession. You love it and you hate it. The longer you do it the easier it is to lose respect for el Toro. But if you get careless and forget that the bull wants to be the champion too, he will kill you, or worse, crush your spine and leave you in the dirt to live.”
Pamela looked into Rudy’s blue eyes, they were wet with emotion.
Rudy stopped in his stride and turned to face her. “I have seen many amigos carried from the ring, never to walk again. I feel a great pain in my heart for them. They were very brave, and some, to please the crowds, would stand in front of the bull and let themselves be gored and trampled to the ground.”
Pamela put her arms around Rudy’s waist and the two embraced. She was silent and looked into his tear filled eyes.
Rudy slowly lowered his lips to hers and kissed her very gently. The kiss was warm and wet. A tear fell from Rudy’s eye onto Pamela’s check. Pamela’s breasts and cheeks grew warm and her breathing became rapid. The tear felt cool as it trickled down her pale skin. She desired a steady stream of his cooling tears to bask in. Rudy’s hands upon her back, held her firmly against his chest. He could feel her heart beating against his. Rudy withdrew his lips from Pamela’s just slightly and lingered there for a moment. Without a word. the signal between the two of them was for more. Rudy’s open mouth met Pamela’s full red lips and shared shivering passion. His tongue played rhythmically upon her lips and tongue sending jolts of electric shock through her entire body. Pamela fantasized about his kiss. They played with each other with their tongues and lips for almost a minute.
After they finally broke away from each other Pamela said, “Rudy, you wouldn’t think of doing anything as foolish as letting yourself be gored by a bull, would you?”
“No, of course not,” he replied. “They did it for the money and the fame. I have all the money I could ever use and as for fame, I’d rather have the love of a good woman than all the fame in the world. I’ve earned my position reputably, without any tricks, and I’m not about to change.”
Pamela said, “I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Don’t worry,” he said, “Monday is my 30th birthday, I’m planning to announce my retirement from the bullring. The world will always consider me a world class matador, even after I withdraw. It’s time I turn my attention to more mature matters, like a wife and a family. I am now ready to spend my time managing my estate....Forgive me if I’m acting foolish, it’s been a long night and it’s starting to catch up with me. I would like nothing more than to stand here in the middle of the street in the middle of New York City for the rest of the day, holding you and tasting your sweet, wet kisses, but I still have two uninvited guests to attend to.”
Pamela’s eyes began to tear as she said, “You’re not acting foolish. I think it takes a special kind of man to be able to weep over his emotional memories. What could be more sincere and touching?” she consoled.
“And I too would like to spend the day in your arms, but today is not that day. You may not want to admit it, but you have a lost a lot of blood and you need to rest. Why don’t we finish our walk to my house and hail you a cab to take you back to your hotel. I live right there,” she said as she pointed to a large brownstone with two stone lions at the front entrance.
Rudy smiled at her and nodded his head in agreement, “That sounds good,” he said.
They walked the few steps to the large house and climbed the wide marble stairs.
The formal oak double doors had brass numbers and an oversized brass name plate. Rudy read the plate aloud, “Doctor Pamela I. Bean. PIB, your initials spell PIB. Dr. Pib, isn’t that a soft drink?”, he asked in a chuckle.
“No,” she laughed back, “it’s Mr. Pib or Dr. Pepper. You have the two confused.”
“Ah yes” he said, nodding his head.
“What’s the I, stand for?” Rudy asked with wide open eyes in anticipated amazement.
“Ingrid”, she replied. “It’s an old family name. It was my great-grandmother’s name, my grandmother’s name and my mother’s name. And someday, it will be my daughter’s name.”
“Ingrid” he repeated with due respect. “Pamela Ingrid Bean, MD. I like it Pib” he smiled.
“This is a great old house” he changed the subject, “How did you come by it?”
“It
