Pet Samatary, Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 15

Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

She met him at the door, and his jaw dropped. She was wearing the net bra he liked, a pair of semi-transparent panties, and nothing else.

‘You look delicious,' he said. ‘Where are the kids?'

‘Missy Dandridge took them. We're on our own until eight-thirty … which gives us two and a half hours. Let's not waste it.'

She pressed against him. He could smell faint, lovely scent – was it attar of roses? His arms went around her; first around her waist, and then his hands found her buttocks as her tongue danced lightly over his lips and then into his mouth, licking and darting.

At last their kiss broke and he asked her a bit hoarsely: ‘Are you for dinner?'

‘Dessert,' she said, and then began to rotate her lower body slowly and sensuously against his groin and abdomen. ‘But I promise you you don't have to eat anything you don't like.'

He reached for her but she slipped out of his arms and took his hand. ‘Upstairs first,' she said.

She drew him an extremely warm bath, then undressed him slowly and shooed him into the water. She donned the slightly rough sponge-glove that usually hung unused on the shower-head, soaped his body gently, then rinsed it. He could feel the day – this horrible first day – slipping slowly off him. She had gotten quite wet, and her panties clung like a second skin.

Louis started to get out of the tub, and she pushed him back gently.

‘What—'

Now the sponge-glove gripped him gently – gently but with almost unbearable friction, moving slowly up and down.

‘Rachel—' Sweat had broken all over him, and not just from the heat of the bath.

‘Shush.'

It seemed to go on almost eternally – he would near climax and the hand in the sponge-glove would slow, almost stop. Then it didn't stop but squeezed, loosened, squeezed again, until he came so strongly that he felt his eardrums bulge.

‘My God,' he said shakily when he could speak again. ‘Where did you learn that?'

‘Girl Scouts,' she said primly.

After, she led him upstairs again.

‘Now,' she said, ‘let's see what you can do for me.'

All things considered, Louis thought he rose to the occasion quite well.

Afterward, Rachel dressed in her old blue pajamas. Louis pulled on a flannel shirt and nearly shapeless corduroy pants – what Rachel called his grubs – and went after the kids.

Missy Dandridge wanted to know about the accident, and Louis sketched it in for her, giving her less than she would probably read in the Bangor Daily News the following day. He didn't like doing it – it made him feel like the most rancid sort of gossip – but Missy would accept no money for sitting, and he was grateful to her for the evening he and Rachel had shared.

Gage was fast asleep before Louis had gotten the mile between Missy's house and their own, and Ellie was yawning and glassy-eyed. He put Gage into fresh diapers, poured him into his sleeper-suit, and popped him into his crib. Then he read Ellie a story-book. As usual, she clamored for Where the Wild Things Are, being a veteran wild thing herself. Louis convinced her to settle for The Cat in the Hat. She was asleep five minutes after he carried her up and Rachel tucked her in.

When he came downstairs again, Rachel was sitting in the living room with a glass of milk. A Dorothy Sayers mystery was open on one long thigh.

‘Louis, are you really all right?'

‘Honey, I'm fine,' he said. ‘And thanks. For everything.'

‘We aim to please,' she said with a curving, slight smile. ‘Are you going over to Jud's for a beer?'

He shook his head. ‘Not tonight. I'm totally bushed.'

‘I hope I had something to do with that.'

‘I think you did.'

‘Then grab yourself a glass of milk, doctor, and let's go to bed.'

He thought perhaps he would lie awake, as he often had when he was interning and days that were particularly hairy would play over and over in his mind. But he slid smoothly toward sleep, as if on a slightly inclined, frictionless board. He had read somewhere that it takes the average human being just seven minutes to turn off all the switches and uncouple from the day. Seven minutes for conscious and subconscious to revolve, like the trick wall in an amusement park haunted house. Something a little eerie in that.

He was almost there when he heard Rachel say, as if from a great distance: ‘—day after tomorrow.'

‘Ummmmmm?'

‘Jolander. The vet. He's taking Church the day after tomorrow.'

‘Oh.' Church. Treasure your cojones while you got 'em, Church, old boy, he thought, and then he slipped away from everything, down a hole, sleeping deeply and without dreams.

Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 15 Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 15 Часть первая: "Зверинец" - глава 15 Частина перша: Семінарія для домашніх тварин - Розділ 15

FIFTEEN

She met him at the door, and his jaw dropped. Ella lo recibió en la puerta, y él se quedó boquiabierto. She was wearing the net bra he liked, a pair of semi-transparent panties, and nothing else. Llevaba puesto el sostén de red que le gustaba, un par de bragas semitransparentes y nada más.

‘You look delicious,' he said. —Te ves delicioso —dijo—. ‘Where are the kids?' '¿Donde estan los niños?'

‘Missy Dandridge took them. Missy Dandridge se los llevó. We're on our own until eight-thirty … which gives us two and a half hours. Estamos solos hasta las ocho y media... lo que nos da dos horas y media. Let's not waste it.' No lo desperdiciemos.

She pressed against him. Ella se apretó contra él. He could smell faint, lovely scent – was it attar of roses? Podía oler un aroma suave y encantador: ¿era esencia de rosas? His arms went around her; first around her waist, and then his hands found her buttocks as her tongue danced lightly over his lips and then into his mouth, licking and darting. Sus brazos la rodearon; primero alrededor de su cintura, y luego sus manos encontraron sus nalgas mientras su lengua bailaba suavemente sobre sus labios y luego dentro de su boca, lamiendo y lamiendo.

At last their kiss broke and he asked her a bit hoarsely: ‘Are you for dinner?' Por fin su beso se rompió y él le preguntó un poco ronco: '¿Estás para la cena?'

‘Dessert,' she said, and then began to rotate her lower body slowly and sensuously against his groin and abdomen. 'Postre', dijo, y luego comenzó a rotar la parte inferior de su cuerpo lenta y sensualmente contra su ingle y abdomen. ‘But I promise you you don't have to eat anything you don't like.' Pero te prometo que no tienes que comer nada que no te guste.

He reached for her but she slipped out of his arms and took his hand. Se acercó a ella, pero ella se deslizó fuera de sus brazos y tomó su mano. ‘Upstairs first,' she said. —Arriba primero —dijo—.

She drew him an extremely warm bath, then undressed him slowly and shooed him into the water. Ella le preparó un baño extremadamente caliente, luego lo desvistió lentamente y lo empujó al agua. She donned the slightly rough sponge-glove that usually hung unused on the shower-head, soaped his body gently, then rinsed it. Se puso el guante de esponja ligeramente áspero que normalmente colgaba sin usar de la alcachofa de la ducha, le enjabonó el cuerpo suavemente y luego lo enjuagó. He could feel the day – this horrible first day – slipping slowly off him. Podía sentir el día, este horrible primer día, deslizándose lentamente de él. She had gotten quite wet, and her panties clung like a second skin. Se había mojado bastante y sus bragas se aferraban como una segunda piel.

Louis started to get out of the tub, and she pushed him back gently. Louis comenzó a salir de la bañera y ella lo empujó suavemente.

‘What—' 'Qué-'

Now the sponge-glove gripped him gently – gently but with almost unbearable friction, moving slowly up and down. Ahora el guante de esponja lo agarraba suavemente, suavemente pero con una fricción casi insoportable, moviéndose lentamente hacia arriba y hacia abajo.

‘Rachel—' Sweat had broken all over him, and not just from the heat of the bath. Rachel... El sudor lo había cubierto por completo, y no sólo por el calor del baño.

‘Shush.' 'Silenciar.'

It seemed to go on almost eternally – he would near climax and the hand in the sponge-glove would slow, almost stop. Parecía continuar casi eternamente: se acercaba al clímax y la mano en el guante de esponja se ralentizaba, casi se detenía. Then it didn't stop but squeezed, loosened, squeezed again, until he came so strongly that he felt his eardrums bulge. Luego no se detuvo sino que apretó, aflojó, apretó de nuevo, hasta que se corrió con tanta fuerza que sintió que se le hinchaban los tímpanos.

‘My God,' he said shakily when he could speak again. —Dios mío —dijo con voz temblorosa cuando pudo hablar de nuevo. ‘Where did you learn that?' '¿Dónde aprendiste eso?'

‘Girl Scouts,' she said primly. 'Girl Scouts', dijo remilgadamente.

She had made a stroganoff which had been simmering during the bathtub episode, and Louis, who would have sworn at four o'clock that he would next want to eat sometime around Halloween, ate two helpings. Ella había hecho un strogonoff que había estado hirviendo a fuego lento durante el episodio de la bañera, y Louis, que habría jurado a las cuatro en punto que querría comer en algún momento alrededor de Halloween, comió dos porciones.

After, she led him upstairs again. Después, ella lo llevó arriba de nuevo.

‘Now,' she said, ‘let's see what you can do for me.' 'Ahora', dijo, 'veamos qué puedes hacer por mí'.

All things considered, Louis thought he rose to the occasion quite well. A fin de cuentas, Louis pensó que estuvo a la altura de las circunstancias bastante bien.

Afterward, Rachel dressed in her old blue pajamas. Después, Rachel se vistió con su viejo pijama azul. Louis pulled on a flannel shirt and nearly shapeless corduroy pants – what Rachel called his grubs – and went after the kids. Louis se puso una camisa de franela y pantalones de pana casi sin forma, como Rachel llamaba sus larvas, y fue tras los niños.

Missy Dandridge wanted to know about the accident, and Louis sketched it in for her, giving her less than she would probably read in the Bangor Daily News the following day. Missy Dandridge quería saber sobre el accidente, y Louis se lo esbozó, dándole menos de lo que probablemente leería en el Bangor Daily News al día siguiente. He didn't like doing it – it made him feel like the most rancid sort of gossip – but Missy would accept no money for sitting, and he was grateful to her for the evening he and Rachel had shared. No le gustaba hacerlo, lo hacía sentir como el chisme más rancio, pero Missy no aceptaba dinero por sentarse, y le estaba agradecido por la velada que él y Rachel habían compartido.

Gage was fast asleep before Louis had gotten the mile between Missy's house and their own, and Ellie was yawning and glassy-eyed. Gage estaba profundamente dormido antes de que Louis hubiera recorrido la milla entre la casa de Missy y la de ellos, y Ellie bostezaba y tenía los ojos vidriosos. He put Gage into fresh diapers, poured him into his sleeper-suit, and popped him into his crib. Le puso pañales limpios a Gage, le puso su pijama y lo metió en su cuna. Then he read Ellie a story-book. Luego le leyó a Ellie un libro de cuentos. As usual, she clamored for Where the Wild Things Are, being a veteran wild thing herself. Como de costumbre, clamó por Where the Wild Things Are, siendo ella misma una veterana salvaje. Louis convinced her to settle for The Cat in the Hat. Louis la convenció de conformarse con El gato en el sombrero. She was asleep five minutes after he carried her up and Rachel tucked her in. Estaba dormida cinco minutos después de que él la cargara y Rachel la arropara.

When he came downstairs again, Rachel was sitting in the living room with a glass of milk. Cuando volvió a bajar, Rachel estaba sentada en la sala de estar con un vaso de leche. A Dorothy Sayers mystery was open on one long thigh. Un misterio de Dorothy Sayers estaba abierto en un largo muslo.

‘Louis, are you really all right?' 'Louis, ¿estás realmente bien?'

‘Honey, I'm fine,' he said. "Cariño, estoy bien", dijo. ‘And thanks. 'Y gracias. For everything.' Para todo.'

‘We aim to please,' she said with a curving, slight smile. —Nuestro objetivo es complacer —dijo ella con una leve sonrisa torcida—. ‘Are you going over to Jud's for a beer?' ¿Vas a ir a Jud's a tomar una cerveza?

He shook his head. Sacudió la cabeza. ‘Not tonight. 'No esta noche. I'm totally bushed.' Estoy totalmente borracho.

‘I hope I had something to do with that.' Espero haber tenido algo que ver con eso.

‘I think you did.' Creo que lo hiciste.

‘Then grab yourself a glass of milk, doctor, and let's go to bed.' —Entonces tómese un vaso de leche, doctor, y vámonos a la cama.

He thought perhaps he would lie awake, as he often had when he was interning and days that were particularly hairy would play over and over in his mind. Pensó que tal vez se quedaría despierto, como solía hacer cuando estaba internado y los días que eran particularmente peludos se repetían una y otra vez en su mente. But he slid smoothly toward sleep, as if on a slightly inclined, frictionless board. Pero se deslizó suavemente hacia el sueño, como sobre una tabla ligeramente inclinada y sin fricción. He had read somewhere that it takes the average human being just seven minutes to turn off all the switches and uncouple from the day. Había leído en alguna parte que al ser humano promedio le toma solo siete minutos apagar todos los interruptores y desconectarse del día. Seven minutes for conscious and subconscious to revolve, like the trick wall in an amusement park haunted house. Siete minutos para que el consciente y el subconsciente giren, como la pared de trucos en la casa embrujada de un parque de diversiones. Something a little eerie in that. Algo un poco espeluznante en eso.

He was almost there when he heard Rachel say, as if from a great distance: ‘—day after tomorrow.' Casi había llegado cuando escuchó a Rachel decir, como desde una gran distancia: '... pasado mañana'.

‘Ummmmmm?' '¿Ummmmmm?'

‘Jolander. Jolando. The vet. El veterinario. He's taking Church the day after tomorrow.' Irá a la iglesia pasado mañana.

‘Oh.' Church. 'Vaya.' Iglesia. Treasure your cojones while you got 'em, Church, old boy, he thought, and then he slipped away from everything, down a hole, sleeping deeply and without dreams. Atesora tus cojones mientras los tienes, Church, viejo, pensó, y luego se escabulló de todo, por un agujero, durmiendo profundamente y sin sueños.