of time. Look, Mary, let’s get to the point. I’m a really busy man, but I want to talk to you. Could you give me two hours a day, maybe more, I’m not sure? But two hours is what I have in mind. I promise, we’ll meet only in public places. Is it okay with you?”
“You mean, all this scary shit was just to ask me out for a date? Neat!”
“I suppose it is a bit over the top, but that is exactly how it is. So, assuming you aren’t intending to smash my teeth in with that knuckleduster in your pocket, are you in agreement to meet me – for friendly conversation?”
Mary was unnerved by his remark about her weapon hidden from view, but nodded anyway.
“Great! Tomorrow, wait for me in the ‘Green Streets’ cafe, it’s just across your street, between McDonalds and the book-shop.”
“I know where you mean. Fine.” She hoped he would let her go before arranging a time. No such luck.
“Wait for me until 1:00 p.m. if I’m able to make it, I’ll come. By the way, I’m going to pay you for your time: thirty dollars an hour. Is that okay with you?”
“What, you mean sixty dollars a day?” she had never earned that amount of money before.
“Some day, there may be more, if I’m able…” He misinterpreted her look of amazement. “Ah, you want more? I’ll pay you cash so you won’t have to pay any tax… What a Scroogette! Out of interest, before you go, Mary J, do you remember, I’m paying for your campus apartment?”
“You?” she yelled angrily. She rushed toward him, but the man also stepped forward out of the shadows. In the ghostly streetlight the girl recognized Robert Noirson.
He was smiling smugly, but when their eyes met, his grin faded, and a worry washed out his self-confident expression.
“Are you okay?” he asked, uncertain.
“Y… yes. I think so.” She puffed her mouth out and exhaled, as if in the middle of a breathing exercise, taking herself under control again. “I just realized that there is no running from fate. I honestly tried.”
“Mary, dear, I beg you, don’t think about me this way! Wait a second!” A thought had struck him. “What did your tutors say to you?”
“Nothing much. Only that you are paying for my apartment in the most fancy building in the campus. So I have to be an obedient girl in any way that you decide. And we all know what that means.”
Mary regretted saying what she had said. Robert’s eyes flashed yellow and all-consuming anger distorted his beautiful face to such an extent that Mary stepped back in fear.
But he instantly calmed down, and smiled. “Sorry for that.”
He turned to the man and the girl standing closest to him, said something very quietly, then walked back to Mary. “Let’s go.”
Robert walked her to her old apartment.
“Pack your stuff, dear,” he told her. “I’ll be back.”
***
Moving into her new apartment took less than an hour. Mary was unpacking, when she heard a bell, and when she opened the door, there was Robert.
He looked tired, upset and gloomy.
Oh poor man, Mary thought. She involuntarily reached out her arm to touch his cheek, but dared not. She was deeply surprised with herself at the strong attraction to a man twenty years her senior. “What happened?”
“I have just talked with your tutors. Don’t worry – they’ll never disturb you again. Can I hug you or do you think I’m going to abuse you?”
“No, it’s okay. I’m thankful towards you.”
It was a father-like hug. Mary finally calmed down; she melted with a feeling of security and peace. Robert unclasped his arms, and Mary J. felt a loss.
“Mary, I’m no ordinary man.”
The statement drew a smile from Mary’s stern face.
“Right, you’re my guardian angel,” she joked.
“Well,” Robert faltered. “Sort of. Look, Mary, it’s going to be a very long talk, I really have to go. See you tomorrow, I hope.”
“Good night,” she whispered.
He left, and Mary locked the door.
Not bothering to finish her unpacking, she jumped onto her new bed, drowning in “the honey-heavy dew of slumber” even before her head touched the pillow. And in her dreams, she relived the hug that she had shared with Robert but in a much different way.
The First Date
That morning Mary woke up in her new apartment. She opened her eyes and could not determine for a moment if she was dreaming or if it was real. Her entire bedroom was decorated with flowers.
She got up, ran to the living room, to the kitchen… Flowers, flowers everywhere… Even in the bathroom.
Mary called the security service: “It’s 7—26. Who sent me the flowers, and at what time were they delivered to me?”
“Sorry, Miss, what do you mean? Nobody has called in here with a delivery since I started my shift.”
“When was that?”
“Unfortunately for me, I had to start at 9 o’clock last night.”
With her face flashing, Mary smashed down the receiver. She hated not knowing.
***
Mary sat down in front of her mirror, and did her make-up, then pinned her hair up, as usual.
She twirled from side to side checking herself out from all angles. The ponytail bundled on top of her head seemed like a magical golden snake, bathing in the sunlight.
For the longest time, Mary rummaged through her pitiful wardrobe.
“Darn,” she mumbled, biting her bottom lip. “The first date in my life, and I have nothing to wear!
Finally, she chose simple black pants and a matching figure-hugging shirt. It was her favorite emerald green color, flattering and turned her mood on as she looked intensely at herself in the mirror.
For the first time, she noticed that the fabric emphasized perfectly the curvy shape of her upper body. Her cheeks blushed.
In amazement, because this was not her normal way, she watched her hand move slowly up, and her tiny fingers, acting of their own free will, undid the first two buttons. In an effort at modesty, she patted down the edges of her almost plunging blouse.
“Mustn’t tempt themselves or others,” she mumbled. A tint of shame flashed green across her kaleidoscopic eyes. “So
