The Six Pills of Domination
By ElSol
Epilogue:
“Doctor,” Maria said as I got up from the piano.
She knew it was a good idea to catch me before the flood. The cell phone’s ringing made her sigh with annoyance.
“Alicia’s in your office,” she said shaking her head. “You can only give her fifteen minutes because the Thompsons are here to discuss their son’s procedure tomorrow. The parents are scaring the shit out of that little boy, David.”
“He could die,” I said.
“You’re the best, David,” she said with a catch in her voice.
“He could still die,” I whispered to myself.
My hand went out to touch her ass as she turned around. She gave me a warm smile over her shoulder before going back to her desk. I thought being my secretary was a waste of Maria’s intelligence, but she lacked the ambition for more.
“Hello, Charlene,” I said after a quick glance at the display.
“I found number four, David,” Charlene answered in an excited voice.
Charlene Tilson married well three times, and divorced better as many. Opportunistic women wanted to know how she managed to get her fiances to agree to no prenuptial agreement; privately, the husbands said it was that Charlene fucked with passion and abandon making them forget the little details before the wedding.
“You have to meet him,” Charlene demanded.
“Of course,” I replied.
I had first hand knowledge of Charlene’s skills in the bedroom, but the truth about the unsigned prenuptials was simpler. Charlene thought they were unromantic; marriages are supposed to last forever. I made sure her future husband saw things her way.
“I’ll make arrangements with Emily,” she said and then hesitated. “How is she doing?”
“Better,” I answered giving the response that every one of the Emily’s old cheerleading teammates got to that question.
“I’m happy to hear that,” she said distractedly. “Let me give her a call, and see when we can get together. Goodbye, David!”
“I’ll talk to you later,” I said smiling.
With a fourth husband to entice, Charlene would be calling more often.
“Sir,” a woman said grabbing my arm as soon as I took the cell phone off my ear.
“Can I help you?” I asked politely.
“I wanted to say that you play wonderfully,” she said smiling widely. “It makes my lunchtime so much better. Peaceful.”
“Thank you very much,” I replied.
My hour on the piano was popular around the nearby offices. Maria and my mother kept the door open and invited anyone that wanted to listen to come inside.
I looked at the cell phone curiously. The women knew that the best time to call me was after lunch; only one call made it an unusual low volume day.
“David, I really need to talk to you about my son,” Alicia said in a maternally panicked voice when I walked into my office.
I sat down at my desk and looked at her.
“Tell your Master everything, Alicia,” I said triggering what Elizabeth called the truth mode.
It made it easier to be the women’s best friend if they told me everything before any ‘necessary’ conversations.
Alicia explained her worries, doubts, and fears. I nodded when she said that the other women agreed to give her my time after the piano that day. They had ways of arranging who got time with me when they really needed it.
Alicia’s worries boiled down to her son not having a father figure in his life. I let her wind down after taking her out of truth mode. I learned early on that listening without judgment made up the largest part of whatever the women got from talking to me.
“So the boy is not going to have anyone to teach him how to play catch, that’s what you’re worried about?”
“You make it sound so stupid,” she said angrily.
“Well, Robin played softball on a collegiate team that won two national championships,” I pointed out. “She’s the one that said for the sake of our recreation team I was only allowed to coach third, remember?”
“What’s your point?”
“I can’t catch for shit,” I said. “Does that mean I should go out and find a surrogate father for my son when he’s born?”
“You make it sound so stupid,” she repeated.
“I’m just pointing out the obvious,” I said laughing softly.
“What about when he gets curious about girls?”
“He’s three months old, Alicia,” I replied.
“So?” she insisted. “Parents have to think ahead about this stuff. You need to know how you’re going to handle the sex questions when they come up.”
“I think Robin can answer any questions about getting the girls,” I said causing her to giggle. “Granted that she has to add plastic to finish you off, but I’ve never heard you complain.”
“What does that have to do with it?”
“I’m only saying a boy could do worse than to have a lesbian clue him in on how please the ladies,” I said.
“You never take this stuff seriously, David,” she said after she finished laughing.
Alicia did not want me to.
“Darling,” I said. “As embarrassed as your son is going to be by getting the birds and bees conversation from Robin, can you imagine what I felt during that little talk with my mom?”
“Oh God!” she said putting a hand over her mouth to cover a laugh.
“I would have preferred Robin,” I said laughing with her.
“She wants to get together again,” Alicia said suddenly.
“Robin?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied delivering the last message she needed to before getting up to leave.
Robin liked the rare night of male attention in the bedroom.
“We can go out Saturday night,” I told her.
“With Charlene having her sights on Mr. Right Version Four,” she replied disbelievingly. “She’s going to want some major attention before she commits to him.”
“True,” I said. “I’ll just bring her by.”
“Charlene doesn’t like being with women, David.”
“Except when I’m there,” I said.
“A foursome,” she said lasciviously. “That might be enough to satisfy Robin; she hasn’t been able to get enough since the doctor okayed sex.”
I walked Alicia to the office door and watched her get into her car.
“Cheryl’s here, Doctor,” Maria said walking into my office after the Thompson family left.
“You can call me David when there are no patients in the office, Maria,” I said for the thousandth time. “Or even when there are.”
“I like calling you Doctor,” she said sexily. “Doctor, that’s the longest, hardest stethoscope I’ve ever seen... are you sure that’s where you’re supposed to stick it to check my pulse?”
I put my hand over my eyes and shook my head. Maria enjoyed our little ‘call me David’ exchanges, but they always left me uncomfortably tight in the groin area of my pants. With Cheryl waiting, I could not take the relief Maria was always happy to provide when she teased me.
“Hello, little brother,” Cheryl said pushing the baby carriage to a position beside the chair in front of my desk.
Her words put me on alert.
“Hey, Cheryl,” I said carefully. “Is there something wrong?”
“No,” she replied sitting down. “For some reason, I needed to talk to you, but I can’t put my finger on why. I figured if I came to see you, it would come to me.”
I nodded reaching into a drawer for a filter mask. Cheryl watched as I reached into the neck of my shirt and pulled out the tiny plastic perfume sprayer that I wore on a thick chain.
“What’s that?” she asked as I walked around the desk.
I put the mask over my nose and sprayed a cloud of mist directly into her face.
“Take a deep breath,” I instructed.
Cheryl opened her eyes wide and breathed in deeply. I sat back down putting the mask away when I thought it was safe.
“What did you just do to me?” Cheryl asked.
“Pay close attention to your little brother’s words, Cheryl,” I said.
Needing to see me was the first trigger; calling me ‘little brother’ instead of ‘little bro’ was the second; my words were the third. I watched as her face changed from expression to expression as her mind linked memories accessible for the first time in years.
“How could you do that to me?” she asked horrified.
Cheryl stood up and pushed the baby carriage behind her.
“I wouldn’t hurt my goddaughter,” I said but did not move.
“Did you do this to Michael?” she pleaded.
“What are you really asking Cheryl?”
She swallowed and glanced at the door.
“Running is not possible for you right now,” I told her.
Cheryl sat back down but did not look at me.
“Did you make Michael love me?” she asked finally.
“Michael almost makes me believe that a man can love a woman before he ever meets her,” I answered honestly.
Her entire being relaxed into the chair.
“But you did something to him,” she stated.
“I adjusted him a little,” I told her. “He’s more willing to listen no matter how tired he might be. He never tells you how you should or shouldn’t feel. Little things that I’ve learned women appreciate.”
“And you made sure that it turned me on when he did those little things...”
“Positive reinforcement never hurt a man,” I replied.
She sat quietly looking at her daughter.
“Why am I so calm?” she asked. “I should be screaming and yelling at you.”
“You don’t have much time,” I said. “I didn’t want it wasted.”
“What do you mean?”
“You wouldn’t really understand,” I told her. “I implanted the knowledge of the Pill, but I never adjusted it after I realized another of my many mistakes. Mr. Paz inhaled the Pill rather than swallow it, the way I dosed the women. It works faster this way, not to mention that it can also enter the bloodstream through your eyes.”
“How much time do I have in my own mind, David?” she asked.
“Another couple of minutes,” I replied.
“Why did you set me free if you were just going to put me back down again?” she asked meeting my eyes.
“I wanted to know something,” I said. “I also needed to ask you a question.”
“What?”
“Your brother,” I said.
“You?” she asked staring at me.
“No,” I said. “Your real brother.”
She sighed and stared out my window.
“You killed Emily’s father and uncle, didn’t you?” she asked.
“They committed suicide.”
“Is that what you gave Emily as your wedding present?”
“I did it for my mother,” I told her. “She was beginning to enjoy their suffering too much.”
“What did you do to my brother, David?” she asked.
“He’s in a prison of his own mind,” I answered.
“What did you want to ask me?”
“Do you forgive him?”
She bit her lip as tears came to her eyes.
“Why do you need to know that?” she asked when she regained control.
“Rapists get out of prison eventually,” I said.
“Rape victims don’t,” she insisted.
“You’re here, Cheryl,” I told her. “It proves you wrong.”
“So what are you going to do to him if I say yes?” she asked.
“Let him have a life,” I said.
The cell phone rang.
“Shouldn’t you answer that?” she asked. “It’s one of your women, isn’t it?”
“They’re the only ones that have this number,” I said looking at the display.
“Who is it?” Cheryl asked.
“Marisol,” I said putting it back down.
“I’ve never seen you not answer one of their calls,” she said curiously.
“Being the friend that knows them better than they know themselves keeps my ear busy,” I said shrugging.
“But it has its rewards.”
“Yes, it does,” I admitted frankly. “About your brother?”
She bit her lip again, almost to the point of drawing blood.
“Let him go, David,” she whispered.
I nodded.
“What’s going to happen now, little bro?”
“I got the answers that I wanted,” I told her. “You go back to your husband, your daughter... your life.”
“Is it real?” she asked without looking at me.
“You’re going to ask me that with your daughter sleeping peacefully beside you?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“It’s real to you, Cheryl,” I said. “It’s real to Michael. Nobody else matters.”
“Will I still be able to call you?” she asked a few seconds later.
“You have the number, Cheryl,” I reminded her.
We stared at each other.
“David,” she said. “Why didn’t you...”
Her body went rigid as the Pill took hold.
“How was the office?” my mother asked as I put my briefcase down on the coffee table.
“How was your day off, mother?” I teased.
“I never took a day off as your father’s nurse,” she complained. “I can’t believe you made me take one.”
“There was nothing scheduled today,” I reminded her. “Plus you were needed here.”
“Your father was so proud that you didn’t follow in his footsteps,” she said avoiding the important issue.
“It would have been a waste considering the advantages the Pill could give me,” I said sitting at the piano.
“On his deathbed, he said that he saved women’s vanity but you saved their children,” my mother told me. “I think he was envious.”
“I know, mother,” I said. “I know.”
My mother took my father’s death much harder than any of us thought she would.
“Emily’s fine,” she informed me. “The doctor assured me that her pregnancy is proceeding normally.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” I said.
“On the drive home, she asked why the pregnancy had to be in vitro,” she whispered.
I looked at her.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” I said.
“I thought she wasn’t allowed to ask those type of questions,” she said. “Like why you have separate bedrooms, or why you’ve never consummated the marriage.”
“She can ask anything, when she’s ready,” I replied.
“Is she ready now?”
“It’s the baby, not me,” I told her.
“You seem very sure of that.”
“I have a lot of experience with the inner workings of a woman’s mind, mother,” I reminded her.
She raised an eyebrow making me laugh softly.
“She started asking them in her sessions with Heather as soon as the pregnancy began,” I admitted. “Heather has been keeping me updated.”
“I still don’t like Heather talking to you about Emily,” she said annoyed. “She’s the girl’s psychiatrist; there needs to be some privacy in that relationship.”
“You’re the one that told me not to take any chances after Emily’s suicide attempt,” I reminded her gently.
“That other doctor was a quack!”
“He helped Cheryl,” I said.
“Stop that David!” she bit off.
I shrugged.
“So it’s just about the baby?” she asked seriously.
“Yes, mother, " I answered. “Believe me, Emily has no interest in the questions that I blocked off. The memories are there; she doesn’t have to look at them, and never has.”
“Why now though?” she asked in frustration.
“You’re a mother,” I said. “I hear children bring up all sorts of questions.”
“This pregnancy was a mistake, David,” she said.
I did not reply.
“I’m sorry,” she sighed.
“This was the first thing Emily has asked me for,” I said. “You were happy about a grandchild.”
“I was being selfish,” she said. “I am being selfish. I’m not sure Emily can handle this.”
“You did,” I said. “Cheryl is handling it very well.”
“What’s going to happen when your son starts asking questions?” she asked suddenly. “This isn’t exactly a normal home. What are you going to do, give him the Pill, and block off those questions too?”
“Why do women insist on asking things that won’t be relevant for years?” I sighed.
“Because men don’t,” she replied harshly. “What are you going to do when that time comes, David?”
“I’m going to tell him the truth.”
“That you made his grandfather take a long walk off a short roof?”
“Yes, mother,” I replied. “And he’ll ask me why I didn’t make the bastard suffer more for hurting his mommy.”
She sat back.
“Anyway,” I continued. “Maybe by then Emily will be able to face her demons.”
“I doubt it, David,” she said.
“So do I,” I agreed.
“You could have just made her forget everything,” she said.
“Some things you can’t erase,” I said softly. “Could you have forgotten?”
“Heather will be coming by tonight,” she said changing the subject.
“Willingly?” I asked.
“Of course not,” she said dismissively. “Michelle and Elizabeth are ‘kidnapping’ her.”
“Ahh...” I said. “For me or for you?”
“I’m taking my daughter-in-law out for a nice dinner,” she answered. “Heather gets loud and being kidnapped is her favorite game.”
“Actually, the crazy patient having their way with her body on the couch in the office is her favorite,” I said.
“Really?”
“You should try it,” I suggested.
“With Emily’s question about the pregnancy I thought it might be better if she wasn’t in the house when one of the women wanted that kind of attention from you,” she said looking over her shoulder.
“Hi,” Emily said walking into the room.
“Hello, dear,” my mother said smiling at her.
“Hello, darling,” I said.
“Are you going to play?” she asked me.
I nodded.
“Oh good,” she said sitting next to my mother. “The music is good for the baby.”
“David always liked it,” my mother said stroking Emily’s hair. “It was the only thing that ever calmed his kicking.”
“Any special requests?” I asked Emily.
She shook her head.
“Why did Cheryl stop by the office?” my mother asked staring at me.
I put my fingers on the keys needing to feel the contact before I answered.
“She wanted to tell me that she’s happy.”