148 Testing, Testing

Annie and Arnold slept in and didn't get up until the alarm went off at ten in the morning. Annie was quite surprised when she tried to move and a large gob of drool was left where her mouth had been on Arnold's chest. When she tried to sit up, it kind of stretched and left a thin strand of spittle between her mouth and his chest.

“Oh, damn.” Annie whispered. She used her hand to catch it and break it, then she quickly rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. She came back with a box of tissues and climbed back onto the bed, then did her best to wipe up the mess she had left.

“Mom.” Arnold said and opened his eyes.

“I drooled on you.” Annie said, her face slightly red from embarrassment. “I've never done that before, not even on my pillow.”

Arnold let her wipe it off, then he sat up and took a tissue and used it to wipe at her face. “Thank you.”

Annie chuckled. “For what? Leaving my mouth open and letting my drool flow out?”

“Yes.” Arnold said and she blinked her eyes at him.

“Arnold...” Annie reached up and stopped his hand. “I think...”

“You were completely relaxed. There was no tension in you all night.”

“A-a-all n-night?” Annie asked, surprised.

Arnold nodded. “I had to make sure you were comfortable.”

“A-Arnold!” Annie gasped. “You... you didn't have to...”

“I know.” Arnold said and gave her a quick kiss. “Good morning.”

“G-good morning.” Annie said and stared at her son, then she couldn't help but ask a question. “Who else have you...”

“Just you.” Arnold said and climbed out of bed. “I'll make breakfast.” He said and left the room.

Annie sat in bed and stared at her open bedroom door. Just me. She thought, in shock. She was sure... no, she was absolutely positive that he was sleeping with Janet on a regular or semi-regular basis. Why wouldn't he do that with her? I'm sure she would love it.

She wouldn't admit that her reasoning was that she had loved it and pushed those expectations onto Janet. She also didn't want to admit how flattered she was that he had only done it with her and no one else.

What am I thinking? Annie asked herself and shook her head. I need to get dressed.

Annie dressed in clothing she wanted to go out in, popped into the bathroom to check herself in the mirror and did a quick fluffing and brushing of her hair, then applied a minimal amount of makeup. She went downstairs and ate breakfast with her son.

“I'll be out in the shed.” Arnold said when they were washing the dishes. “I don't want the smell in the house.”

Annie nodded and didn't say how relieved she was. It had taken several days to get the smell out of the house the last time a specimen was dissected in the dining room. Now they had a new dining room and she didn't want it marred by mistake or by accident.

“I'll be out getting groceries and I'll take my time.” Annie said and gave him a smile. “I'll save getting any frozen things until I'm about to leave the store.”

Arnold nodded this time. “I might not come out when you come back.”

Annie chuckled. “I know. There's no interrupting you when you're busy doing something important.”

Arnold gave her a hug and a quick kiss. “I love you, mom.”

“I love you, too.” Annie said. “I don't have anything planned until tonight, so don't rush. Do what you need to do and then come back into the house.”

“Okay.” Arnold said and watched as his mother left. He went upstairs and dressed in a pair of dress slacks and a blue shirt. He took his mother's advice and didn't add the tie or the suit coat, although he did put the tie into the pocket of his jacket. He picked up his specimen container and left the house through the back door and went into the little shed.

Arnold had cleaned it up a long time ago and had made a space for himself to work. He took out one of his prepared rats and popped the seal on it, to let the smell out, then he took out his cell phone and tucked it under the protective cloth he had laid out. He stepped out of the shed and closed the door, pulled the barely visible string, and the latch inside on the door clicked shut.

He tried to open the door and it wouldn't move, nodded, and walked around the shed to the spot where the neighbour's security cameras couldn't see him. He walked in an exact diagonal to the yard fence, moved the loose fence picket out of the way, and stepped into the next yard. He made his way across it and over to the next street, went down it to the bus stop, then hopped on the bus and paid with cash, rather than use his bus pass.

Twenty minutes later, he was back in a familiar place, the Plaza. He knew where he wanted to go, since he had visited there before, and went into the courthouse. It was the weekend, so he knew it would be deserted except for the clerk that worked the window.

Arnold would be out of luck if it was the judge that had been there the last time. She had said it was rare for her to work and cover the normal clerk's shift, so he wasn't worried about it. He slipped on the tie he had in his pocket and tied it, then took off his jacket and held it in his hand. He opened the door to the little office and stepped inside.

*

Ethel was having another boring and well paid shift at work when for the first time that day, someone came into the office. She saw the nice shirt, the tie and dress pants, and the casual jacket in the man's hand. She knew that not everyone would get dressed up to come there on a Sunday and she waited for him to hang up his jacket and turn around before she spoke.

“Good mo-” Ethel's words froze in her mouth when a familiar handsome face gave her the most angelic smile she had ever seen.

“Good morning.” The handsome man said and walked over to her.

Ethel couldn't help but relive that moment from the beginning of summer when she had met the young man and helped him find the way to get to the address he wanted. She had felt the press of his lips on hers for days afterwards. She had done her best to remember the curve of his cheek, the ridge of his brow, and the strength of his hand that had held her neck steady as he kissed her.

“I was wondering if you could help me again.”

“YES!” Ethel exclaimed and covered her mouth. “I'm sorry for my outburst.” She moved her hand and composed herself. “I meant that I would be glad to help you as much as I can.”

The handsome young man gave her an even bigger smile and her heart went pitter-patter. “You look a little tense.” He said. “Would you like a shoulder massage while you look up a few little things for me?”

Oh, dear lord. Ethel thought and her hands shook a little. “I... that would be nice. However, you... can't be back here.”

“Is it against the law?” The handsome man asked confidently, as if he already knew the answer.

“N-no.” Ethel said, barely above a whisper, and she didn't say anything as he casually sat on the little wooden door that divided her work space from the rest of the office. He flipped his legs over it and was suddenly standing right behind her.

“I'm doing a project on the legal system and how it can be subtly subverted for personal gain.” The handsome young man said and his strong hands slid onto her shoulders.

Ethel closed her eyes as his fingers and thumbs dug into just the right spots for her nearly sixty year old muscles.

“If I gave you case numbers, could you look them up for me?”

“E-e-easily.” Ethel said and barely stopped herself from moaning.

The hands stopped and then she felt his hot breath on her neck. “38567.” He whispered into her ear and she actually did moan a little. Her hands moved on their own and quickly typed up the case. She had been typing without looking at the keyboard for nearly forty years, so having her eyes closed made no difference to her.

“Thank you.” The man's voice said and he lightly kissed her neck. “92341.”

Ethel's whole body shivered at the touch of his lips and she brought up the information. The handsome young man kept giving her case numbers and she entered them all, just to receive another tender kiss on her skin. After what seemed like forever to her, his hands slid down her arms and took her hands off of the keyboard. She didn't ask him what he was doing as he turned her chair around and then her hands felt the hard muscles of his chest.

“Oh, good lord.” Ethel whispered. She had kept her eyes closed the entire time, because she didn't want whatever was happening to end, and she opened her eyes and all she saw was an expanse of chest looming over her. She couldn't help but kiss that wonderfully thick muscle, even though she had no business doing so, let alone at work. She left a perfect imprint of her lipstick there, right around the nipple, and she felt so much satisfaction from it that she came a little.

“OHH!” Ethel gasped loudly, because it shocked her.

The handsome young man stepped back slightly, with his shirt open and the tie pulled to the side. “Thank you for your help.” He said and gave her that angelic smile, then he bent over to put his face right in front of hers. “I'm supposed to ask someone if they want me to kiss them goodbye.” He whispered and Ethel wasn't sure her heart could take the look in his eyes. “Do you want...”

Ethel didn't let him finish as she moved her head forward and kissed him. Her head swam as he kissed her unlike any man ever had. It seemed to go on forever and also seemed agonizingly short at the same time. He broke the kiss and stood up straight as he buttoned his shirt. As he tucked it in, her eyes couldn't help but look at the bulge in his pants.

Ethel blushed hard and her blood pressure rose through the roof. “Did... is that...”

“You made me hard.” The handsome young man said, to her surprise and shock. “If we weren't on camera right now...”

“THE CAMERA!” Ethel yelled and covered her mouth. “Oh, my god.” She covered her face with both hands. “I'm going to be fired!”

The young man took her hands from her face and she saw his angelic smile. “It can only see my back.”

Ethel looked deep into his eyes and then she realized he was right. He had stood behind her the entire time. “You...”

“I can't let them see what I did.” He said and gave her hands a squeeze. “Thank you for helping me again.”

Ethel took a deep breath and let it out. “I hope you found out what you wanted.”

“I need to do more tests.” The handsome young man said and gave her a smile, bent down and gave her a brief kiss, then he walked over to the wooden gate and did the same thing to get over it without opening it. He walked over to the door, put on his jacket, and left.

Ethel stared at the door and didn't move for nearly half an hour before she shook herself and looked at the computer. To her surprise, none of the things she had looked up for him were on the screen. She quickly typed the command to check the search history and nothing was there. She blinked her eyes and shook her head.

Did... did that really happen? Ethel asked herself. It wasn't just a delusion, was it?

She picked up her purse and took out the small compact mirror she owned and checked her face. She smiled at the smudged lipstick on her face and she used some tissues to clean it off, then she reapplied it expertly. Once she did, she imagined giving that handsome young man a matching lipstick mark on his other nipple. Of course, that thought gave her a little thrill and she came a little bit more.

Oh, damn. I need to go to the bathroom. Ethel thought and stood up, put up a piece of paper that said she would be back in ten minutes, then she went to the bathroom to take care of some business.

*

Arnold walked down the hallway until he came to the security room. According to the schedule on that woman's computer, no one was on duty there today. He tried the handle and it was unlocked, so he opened the door and peered in. No cameras were there, so he stepped inside and went to the main computer. After only a little bit of searching, he found the footage of him in the clerk's office. He also found footage of him entering and leaving the office, so he copied over the files from earlier that day.

There was nothing Arnold could do about the timestamps on the footage and it didn't really matter much. He had erased his presence there as much as possible and he wiped his fingerprints off of everything he had touched. He left the room and went down the hallway and left the building. He now had somewhere to go and wanted to get there as soon as he could. He was working on a limited time budget and hopped on the cross-town bus.

*

An hour later, Officer Charlie Hallman was relaxing on his couch with a beer when he heard something tap on the back door. It wasn't quite a knock and it wasn't a bang, so his interest... and suspicion... was piqued immediately. He got up and put the beer down, then reached for his gun.

He didn't cock it and put a bullet in the chamber, even though his instincts told him to. He was in a residential neighbourhood and they frowned upon unnecessary weapon discharges. That thought made him smile as he approached his back door cautiously. His police training had kicked in, even though he had had a few beers, and he peered out of the window of the door. He didn't see anything until he looked down at the step and saw a little bird laying there. It wasn't moving.

Charlie sighed and put the gun down on the counter by the door, then opened the door and stepped out. “Poor little guy.” He said and nudged it with his toe. “Did you kill yourself by flying into my door?” He asked as he looked down at it, then suddenly a strong arm grabbed him from behind and a damp cloth was pressed to his face.

“No, I killed it.” Arnold said and held onto the man as he barely struggled. When he was unconscious, Arnold carried him into the house and closed the door.