Talk Nerdy to Me (49 page)

Rick
winced. "I wish you'd used a different expression, cuz."

"Aw,
they don't do the cement overshoes anymore," Kyle said. "That's so
last century."

"Nothing's
going to happen to Rick," Eunice said. "Right, Eve?"

"That's
right." She glanced at Charlie, a question in her eyes.

"It's important,"
he said.

"Okay, but
where—"

"Go
on back to my bedroom," Eunice said. "Last door on the left. If you
don't come out in an hour or so, we'll know the discussion got really serious.
Oh and feel free to use anything you find in there." She winked at
Charlie.

Charlie
had no answer for that. He cleared his throat and gestured for Eve to go ahead
of him down the hall. "This feels like girl-boy parties in eighth
grade," he muttered.

"Seven Minutes in
Heaven," Eve said over her shoulder.

"Yeah."
And he'd been good at it, too. He'd always liked kissing girls. Now he had one
in particular he wanted to kiss ... for the rest of his life.

He
followed Eve into the bedroom. It was dark in there, so Eve flipped the light
switch on the wall next to the door, which activated the blue lights they'd
seen the night they'd come over here looking for Rick. The sound system came on
at the same time, playing the theme from
X-Files.

Charlie
couldn't help glancing around. Anybody would have, after Rick's description.
Sure enough, there were the eyebolts fastened to the far wall, with velvet
ropes dangling from each one. The quilt on the king-sized bed featured Mulder
and Scully from
X-Files.

Next
to the bed sat a machine with a probe thing attached, which Charlie decided
was the muscle stimulator. A serious-looking vibrator lay on the nightstand.
And then there were the feather dusters, the pots of fluorescent paint, and
various bottles of oil that glowed different colors.

"Maybe she actually
was abducted by aliens," Eve said.

"You
know, I don't really care." Charlie closed the door. "Come here,
you." He took off his glasses and tucked them in his pocket. "I need
to hold you. We've just been through a hell of an experience."

"I
would agree." She snuggled against him and gazed up into his eyes.
"Do you think Peterson was the one who watched us?"

"I
think we need to forget about it. He's gone, and that's all that matters."

She
sighed. "You're right." Then she smiled. "The blue light makes
you look like an alien."

"You,
too." He pushed her glasses to the top of her head and framed her face in
both hands. "But I recognize you. I'd recognize you anywhere."

"Same here."

He
looked into her adorable face. How he loved doing that. "I'm not leaving
Middlesex."

"What?" She
backed out of his arms. "Charlie!"

"I'm
staying. And I can get the money to pay my worthless cousin's debt, so I don't
want you turning over a dime of your money from the hovercraft. And that's all
there is to it. Come over here and kiss me. I really need a kiss right
now."

She
stayed where she was. "Are you staying in Middlesex because of me?"

"Umm, sort of."

"That's dumb. You'd be
miserable."

He
shook his head. "Not with you around. When we lifted off in the
hovercraft, it hit me. This is all I need, to be with you. Everything I needed
was inside that hovercraft."

"Isn't
that interesting?" She began to smile, and her lips were a deep shade of
purplish-blue. "I had the same thought."

He
wanted to kiss her so much he had trouble absorbing what she'd said. "What
do you mean?"

"When
we were both in that hovercraft, I realized all I wanted in the world was right
there with me."

"No,
that's not right. You love this little town. You want to make your home here,
and I want to help you do that. We'll buy Ed and Darrell's Christmas tree farm
and put a house there. We'll put a pool table in the basement. We'll—"

"Charlie, you're not
listening."

He
had to admit he had a tough time listening when he wanted to kiss the breath
out of her. "Eve, we'll stay here and raise a family. You needed a home
base, and this is it."

"I
thought I needed to live here, but I figured out that all I really need is a
place to come home to."

He
tried to understand. He really did. But he wasn't getting it. "I'm
confused."

"So
was I, until we took off in the hovercraft. I loved flying away with you,
knowing we'd come back. It doesn't matter if we take off for Vegas, or anywhere
you want to explore. We'll come back here for visits to see your mom and
Myrtle. We'll stop at Hot Buns and the Rack and Balls. We'll bring the kids,
although we'll have a little explaining to do about grandma's pastries."

"Eve, I—"

"Don't
you get it? We'll have a place we both know and love, a place to come home
to."

"Oh."
He was beginning to see, and the possibilities glittered in his mind.

"You
always had that, which was why you wanted to leave. I didn't have that before,
but I do, now. We'll get married here, of course, but then we'll leave, knowing
Middlesex is here when we need a hometown fix."

"Oh,
God. Are you sure?" He was afraid he'd misunderstood, and he really
wanted to make sure that they had this straight. "You'll go with me to
Hoover Dam?"

"I'll go with you to
the moon." She stepped closer.

"Space
travel's still too experimental. I have no plans to do that."

"Oh,
no?" She moved in close and ran a finger up and down the buttons of his
shirt. "I was thinking if we went back to your apartment, we could get to
the moon in no time at all."

With
a moan of happiness, he gathered her close. "I love you."

"That's
convenient." She wound her arms around his neck. "Because I love you,
too. What do you say we get out of here and run our equipment through another
testing session?"

Just
the suggestion of that was all he needed to fire up his intruding device.
"We have a small problem. My bike is stuck in the roof of your car."

"I've
already discussed that with Denise. Typical for my sister, she has it all
figured out. Rick's staying here with Eunice. Manny and Denise are dropping
Kyle off at your mom's house on their way to a little B and B Denise knows
about. Which leaves Denise's car conveniently for us."

"I'm growing fonder of
your sister by the minute."

"She
likes you better too now that you don't consider her a criminal."

"I'll try to make that
up to her."

She
stroked his cheek. "Just think, you'll have years to do that."

"Years. I like the way that sounds."

"Me,
too. And it starts now. Ready to leave?" She glanced at the eyebolts in
the wall. "Unless you think we should-—"

"Who
needs that?" He let himself taste her lips, just a little. "I'm going
to build us a trapezium-shaped bed. With big bedposts."

"Tonight?"

"Soon."
Releasing her, he took her by the hand and led her to the door. "In the
meantime ... we have chaps."

Where Are They
Now?

Four
years later

Eve
Dupree Shepherd is a multimillionaire as a result of her many
inventions, including the now-famous Skimmer hovercraft and the more recent
Rocket Girl personal propulsion system. She is the spokesperson for her inventions,
which are marketed through Techno-Thrills, a New York-based company. Eve's also
polishing her pool game and plans to try the professional circuit in the next
six months.

Charlie
Shepherd is a systems consultant for many large hydroelectric plants in the
western U.S. His expertise also is solicited by new hydroelectric
installations in developing nations all over the world. Charlie and Eve return
to Middlesex every April to celebrate their wedding anniversary and every
December for little Rosie's birthday. Rosie was Eve's special Christmas
present to Charlie nine months after they said I do."

Rosie
Myrtle Shepherd, age three, is an experienced traveler who already speaks
several languages and has constructed a working Skimmer for her Barbie.

Denise
Dupree Flores divides her time between her classes at Yale and her numerous Hot
Bun franchises, which she co-owns with her husband, Manny Flores. Their twins,
Kyle and Kyla, age three, are already working simple algebraic formulas which
astound their nanny and namesake, Kyle Harrington.

Rose
Shepherd and Myrtle Bannister have turned the Hot Buns operation over to Denise
and Manny Flores so that they can concentrate on their new venture, Naughty
Knits. Business is booming. Myrtle has given up smoking. Again. Rose recently
turned down an offer of marriage from Galloping Gus Tedder, appliance
repairman. But Gus is not giving up.

Rick
Bannister and Eunice Piven Bannister have opened a glamour photography studio
in Middlesex, Connecticut. Business is sporadic, but during lulls Rick and
Eunice take remote-control nude photos of themselves in the midst of
uninhibited behavior. They've decided against having children, wisely realizing
that rugrats would interfere with their spontaneous sexual activities.