soften his face with shadow.
He paused, and he could feel the break of sweat under the shirt and the
pumping of his lungs. He despised the weakness of his body and the
quivering of his legs as he came out on the terrace. It was deserted,
and he crossed to the shuttered doors and went into the gloom.
Ella Kadesh sitting on a Samarkand carpet in the centre of the paved
floor was an astonishing sight. For she was dressed in a brief bikini
costume adored with pink roses that almost disappeared under the rolls
of ponderous flesh that hung over it from belly and breast.
She was in the yoga position of Padmasana, the sitting lotus, and her
massive legs were twisted and entwined like mating pythons. Her hands
were held before her palm to palm and her eyes were closed in
meditation; upon her head her ginger wig was set four square like that
of a judge.
David leaned in the doorway and before he could recover his breath he
began to laugh. It began as a wheezy little chuckle, and then suddenly
he was really laughing, from deep down, great gusts of it that shook his
helpless body, and flogged his lungs. It was not mirth but a catharsis
of the last dregs of suffering, it was the moment of accepting life
again, a taking up once more of the challenge of living.
Ella must have recognized it as such, for she did not move, squatting
like some cheerful buddha on the brilliant carpet, and she opened one
little eye. The effect was even more startlingly comic, and David
reeled away from the door, and fell into one of the chairs.
Your soul is a desert, David Morgan, said Ella. You have no recognition
of beauty, all loveliness would wither on the dung heap which, But the
rest of it was lost as she also began to giggle and the yoga pose broke
down, melting like a jelly on a hot day, and she traded him hoot for
hoot and bellow for bellow of laughter.
I'm stuck, she gasped at last. Help me, Davey, you oaf - And he
staggered to her, knelt and struggled to help her unlock her interwoven
legs. They came apart with little creaking and popping sounds and Ella
collapsed face down on the carpet groaning and giggling at the same
time.
Get out of here, she moaned. Leave me to die in peace. Go and find
your woman, she is down on the jetty. She watched him go quickly, and
then she dragged herself up and went to the door. The laughter dried up
and she whispered aloud, My two poor little crippled kittens, I wonder
if I have done the right thing. The shadows of doubt crossed her face,
and then faded. Well, it's too damn late for worry now, Kadesh, you
interfering old bag, you should have thought about that before.
A gaudily coloured towel and beach jacket were spread upon the jetty and
a transistor radio, with its volume turned high, blared out a heavy rock
tune. Far out in the bay Debra was swimming alone, a steady powerful
overarm crawl. Her brown arms flashed wetly in the sun at each stroke
and the water churned to froth at the beat of her legs.
She stopped to tread water. Her bathing cap was plain white, and he
could see that she was listening for the sound of the radio for she
began to swim again, heading directly in towards the jetty.
She came out of the water, pulling off the cap and shaking out her hair.
Her body was dark, sun-browned and bejewelled with drops, the muscles
looked firm and hard and her tread was confident and sure as he came up
the stone steps and picked up her towel.
As she dried herself David stood near and watched her avidly, seeming to
devour her with his eyes, trying to make up in that first minute for all
those many months.
he'd pictured her so clearly, and yet there was much he had forgotten.
Her hair was softer, cloudier than he remembered. He had forgotten the
plasticity and lustre of her skin, it was darker also than it had been
before almost the colour of her eyes, she must have spent many hours
each day in the sun. Suddenly and unaffectedly she threw her towel down
and adjusted the top of her brief costume, pulling open the thin fabric
and cupping one fat breast in her hand to settle it more comfort ably,
David felt his need for her so strongly that it seemed he could not
contain it all within the physical bounds of his chest. He moved
slightly and the gravel crunched softly under his shoes.
Instantly the lovely head turned towards him and froze in the attitude
of listening. The eyes were wide open, intelligent and expressive, they
seemed to look slightly to one side of him, and David had a powerful
impulse to turn and glance behind him, following their steady gaze.
David? she asked softly. is that you David? He tried to answer her,
but his voice failed him and his reply was a small choking sound. She
ran to him, swiftly and long-legged as a roused foal, with her arms
reaching out and her face lighting with joy.
He caught her up, and she clung to him fiercely, almost angrily, as
though she had been too long denied.
I've missed you, David. Her voice was fierce also. Oh, God, you'll
never know how I have missed you, and she pressed her mouth to the stark
gash in his mask of flesh.
This was the first human being who had treated him without reserve,
without pity or revulsion, in all those months, and David felt his heart
swell harder and his embrace was as fierce as hers.
She broke at last, leaning back to press her hips unashamedly against
his, exulting in the hard thrustingness of his arousal, proud to have
evoked it, and quickly, questioningly she ran her hands over his face,
feeling the new contours and the unexpected planes and angles.
She felt him begin to pull away, but she stopped him and continued her
examination.
My fingers tell me that you are still, beautiful You have lying fingers,
he whispered, but she ignored his words, and pushed forward teasingly
with her hips.
, And I'm getting another very powerful message from further south. She
gave a breathless little laugh. Come with me, please, sir. Holding his
hand, she ran lightly up the steps, dragging him after her. He was
amazed at the agility and confidence with which she negotiated the
climb. She drew him into the cottage and as he looked about him,
quickly taking it all in, she closed and bolted the door.
Immediately the room was cool and dim and intimate.
On the bed her body was still damp and cold from the lake, but her lips
were hot as she strained against him urgently. The two beautiful young
bodies meshed hungrily, almost as if they were attempting to find
sanctuary within each other, desperately flesh sought haven within
flesh, within each other's encircling arms and legs they searched for
and found surcease from the loneliness and the darkness.
The physical act of love, no matter how often repeated, was insufficient
for their needs; even in the intervals between they clung desperately to
each other; sleeping pressed together, they groped drowsily but
anxiously for each other if the movements of sleep separated them for
even an instant. They talked holding hands, she reaching up to touch
his face at intervals, he staring into her golden eyes. Even when she
prepared their simple meals, he stood close beside or behind her so that
she could sway against him and feel him there. It was as though they
lived in momentary dread of being once more separated.
It was two days before they left the sanctuary of the cottage and walked
together along the lake shore or swam from the jetty and lay in the warm