Virtual Eternity (the Serialized Novel) Episode 26 - The Holiday Gala Part Two: Capturing yet another perfect

This is Episode 26 of the serialized version of the novel, Virtual Eternity: An Epic 90s Retro Florida Techo-Pro-Life Love Story and Conversion Journey. These 52 episodes are presented here free for you every Friday. You can buy the paperback version from Mike Church’s Crusade Channel Store or at Amazon.

Or you can start reading at the Table of Contents: here

The Holiday Gala Part Two: Capturing yet another perfect

At the tables near the bar, Maureen sat with Scott Bering and Gina. Scott Geary, his date, Lisa, and her escort also joined them. Mike had arrived after dinner. His eyes stared at Gina, or beyond her.

“Hannah, how’s it going?” a Scott said. “Pull up some chairs.”

Servers had just placed a tray of mixed drinks in front of us. We snacked on pretzels and watched the older employees dance to the diluted music.

“This is a quiet group tonight,” Winnie said.

“It’s a lame party,” Mike said. “We should blow it off.”

“We’re almost ready to call it a night,” Scott Bering said.

“Already?” three people said.

“Man, we are settling down,” Scott Geary said. “Remember last year? After this party, we stayed out ‘til four.”

“I’m not feeling well,” Mike said. “It’s this flu, I guess.

“Have you cut back on work lately?” Maureen asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Mike said. “My cash flow’s been hurting. I have nothing to do all day but play Magic Theater games.” He laughed.

“Oh darn,” Scott Bering said, deadpan. “That’s a rough life. I wish I had more time for that. Have you played Soccer Terrorists yet?”

“Oh yes!” Winnie said. “That’s awesome. Are you the ScottB that’s been placing in the top 10 this month?” She licked salt from the edge of her glass again.

“That’s me. Have you tried the new one called Texas Sniper? I found it last night. I highly recommend it.”

“Did we release that one in the summer markets?” Scott asked, looking toward me.

“I think so.”

“Oh yeah, you’re the marketeer,” Lisa said. “Are you responsible for that moronic commercial with the High Priests? Those sell-outs. I heard they’re breaking up because their singer sold a song to us without the rest of the band’s approval.”

“That’s such a stupid ad,” Lisa’s date said.

“No, Jonathan’s the hero behind the Cool Kids commercials,” Mike said as he rubbed his eye.

“Yeah, I heard sales last month doubled what was projected,” Scott Geary said. “And they’re crediting those commercials.”

For the next hour, the group said little. Gina was the most notably silent. We drank cocktails. I danced once with Winnie. Someone said something about one of the older dancers. Several commented on the tedium. Scott Bering compared this to no virtual reality game he had ever seen. The women of the group rose together to visit the restroom. We men looked around to find ourselves alone.

“Do you guys know who Winnie came here with?” I asked.

“Nah,” Scott Bering said.

“There goes Hannah, making his move again,” Scott Geary said. “And the body’s hardly cold.”

“Ooo. That’s heartless, dude,” said Lisa’s date, who apparently knew the late Kevin.

“Mike, tell them about the house party you guys went to, in Mexico,” Scott Geary said. “These freshman chicks--”

“No, wait, tell them about Paula,” Scott Bering said. “You should see the pictures of her, their live-in maid--”

“Not now, guys.” Mike rose. “I need to get some rest.” He stared at the double doors. “I need to get into work this week. The layoff hit guys with sick-time hardest.”

“Yeah, this party’s lame,” Scott Bering said. “I’d rather be home.”

“It’s a good time to leave,” Lisa’s date said as he stood.

One by one, as their dates returned, the couples left. Alone with my vodka, I stood next to the table as Winnie and Maureen rushed back to the table.

“We’re the only ones left,” I said.

“I need to leave too,” Maureen said. She looked at Winnie when she said this, then she paused. They stood in silence for several drawn-out seconds.

“Did you find your date, Maureen?” I asked.

“No.” She looked at Winnie again. Her eyes dropped.

“Do you need a ride home?” I asked.

“Um, I don’t know.” Her voice quivered. She still looked at Winnie.

“Take my car,” Winnie said. “I’m in no condition to drive. You have my keys.”

Maureen whirled around and retreated out the double doors of the ballroom.

“Can I get you a drink, Winnie?”

“Absolutely,” she said as she broke into a smile. “More ta-kill-ya, please!”

She sat down. She would stay. I went to find us new drinks.

On my return, she reached up to my neck, pulled me down, and kissed me. She pointed to her margarita. “I’ll need several more of these tonight.”

“Really?”

“I hope you understand. I’ve been depressed lately. It’s the holiday season. Day after tomorrow, I’m visiting my mom in Texas for three weeks. Very boring. And to top it all off, my date didn’t work out.”

“Who’d you come here with?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. Again, her tongue lapped the salt edging her glass. “Let’s simply drink and talk and watch those idiots dance.”

“Will Maureen be okay?” I asked.

“I hope so. Her date left without her.”

“That’s too bad. No wonder she was quiet tonight. Are you good friends with her?”

“Yeah. She’s usually quiet. Besides, all anyone talked about was Magic Theater, and it doesn’t impress her. Can you believe that?”

“Interesting. And she works for us, too. So she could get the equipment for free. It’s unusual to show no interest at all.”

“I love it,” Winnie said. Her glass was already almost empty. “I don’t wanna talk about that. Let’s get another drink and go upstairs.”

“Upstairs?”

“You heard me, Jonathan. We’re at a hotel. I can’t believe I’m doing this. C’mon, let’s do it.”

Being a treasure-seeker, an explorer of Old-World beauty, how could I resist this opportunity? But a lady rarely spoke a demand that I bed her. I missed the typical interpretation of gestures, moods, and words. I skipped the risk of lowering myself in gestures and kowtowing, the limbo between the first kiss and uncertain lovemaking, the purgatory of resistance and foreplay that purged all apprehensions and titillated my stomach when paradise arrived.

She nuzzled my ear and rubbed my chest in the elevator. But I hesitated. The thrill of her waned. She allowed no time for me to savor her unseen beauty slowly, ushered in by kisses. Always a beauty lay dormant. It always woke with such vitality after that limbo burst. It always erupted and surprised me. Tonight, it did not. Why does it matter? Look at that body!

In the room, she shivered and trembled. I realized that she now feared me. Should this annoy me as much as it did? Why did I cherish that limbo? Why had I lost interest in her?

In this moment, I grasped that I did not relish spontaneously creating life, but creating the pattern, the ideal, beforehand – this is what an authentic creator would do for his creatures, and this is what I actually sought, and that relished pattern would never change, no matter what I chose.

We parried back and forth. She wanted to scuffle with me, to resist me, and to push me. We moved for and against each other. She hardly ever held me close.

***

The following day, a Saturday, winter’s whistle woke her. Maureen reached out over Winnie’s king-size bed, farther and farther. She grasped nothing.

The love she had with Winnie was unrepairable. She split between relief and sadness. She would no longer battle humiliation or an other. She could also end the lost cause of reading the poems to Winnie. She tried almost every night in the last two weeks, three times stopping in mid-sentence to see Winnie’s palm in the air.

But she would have no Winnie, no friend, and no embrace. Do not cry. She bounded directly into the shower to escape the lonely bed. Scrub off Winnie’s squeezes and gingerly fingertips that still tingled on her skin. Now, prepare for the day. Find a new place to live and a fresh life.

Shortly after eleven, Jonathan’s Japanese car rumbled up in front of the kitchen window. She turned away from the spectacle of their parting. She waited for several minutes out of view. When Winnie finally entered, she rose from the sofa. Winnie still wore her wrinkled satiny dress.

“First, Winnie, I must say that I’m sorry,” she said as she followed Winnie to the bedroom. “I realize that I hurt you. I couldn’t admit our relationship last night.”

“For the rest of my life, I’ll never see why you couldn’t own up to us. I’ve told several people about us.”

“You have?”

“Don’t worry, they’re no one you know.” Winnie spun into the closet. “And I didn’t tell anyone at your big company party either. You can’t accept what you want to be. I won’t force you to face it. That’s the catch in caring for you so much.”

“What hurts most is what this has done to our friendship. That’s what I value the most. Not what we did or didn’t do in bed.”

“I wish you could accept what you want to be!” Winnie shouted from the closet. “And what I am.”

“But who are you, Winnie? What did you do last night?”

“Yeah, it was a little scary, but we didn’t do anything weird. And we used protection, if that’s what you’re worried about. But, hey, that’s none of your business anymore.”

“You actually slept with him,” Maureen said. “He’s everything you despise about men. Do you know how many women he’s been with around here?”

“Maybe there’s a good reason for that. Besides, I was vulnerable. And smashed.”

“How could you? And with him of all people.” She fell back onto the bed.

“He’s no worse than any of the others. What have you got against him?”

Maureen coughed. Her throat failed her. She felt her eyes glisten. “Are you gonna see him again?”

Winnie left the closet in only a short t-shirt, which she stretched down to cover herself. “Yes. We’re going out tonight. And we’ ll go out when I get back from Texas, like it’s any of your concern.”

“Oh Winnie.” She sat up. “Is this the end of us?”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Winnie kept the shirt taut. “Maybe we need this time apart. You can stay here, if you want.”

“No, I’ ll move out by the time you get back.” She stood. “That’s the only way to save our friendship, if that’s possible. That’s all that matters to me. The rest is nothing. And I don’t think I could handle your bringing him over.”

“Right now, I’ d like to get some sleep.”

Next week: Episode 27 - The Date with Winnie: Revealing what was captured

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