Across The Threshold

PARTIE UNO

Elliott and Gina were miles apart in age. It never mattered to Gina as much as Elliott thought it did, and it didn’t matter to him at all, but because he thought it mattered to her, she was somewhat frustrated. Here was Gina, a breathtaking beauty of a woman, twenty-six years old. There was Elliott, at sixty-one, more suited to being a father or even grandfather to Gina, and he somewhat acted and treated her accordingly. But that was not to her liking.

They met at work. Elliott noticed after a few weeks, whenever he walked past her workplace, she smiled and waved at him. “She’s friendly, for a girl so damned fine,” he thought to himself. It had always seemed to him, the prettier a woman was, the more likely she would be aloof, if not arrogant or rude. Not Gina. Some time later, he asked her to have lunch with him. They were talking about his music, some of which he had invited her to audition, and she genuinely liked it, thought it was so well done that she asked the trite question: “What are you doing working here?” As they discussed that, and the talk led to some laughter between them, Elliott said, “Hey, do you want to have lunch together some time? I enjoy talking to you.”

“Sure,” she said, “It’s interesting talking to you, too.”

And so began a friendship, an affinity between two people who, to most others, didn’t look like a couple. Soon, they exchanged numbers and became social media friends, and they talked frequently. They would call each other once or twice a week, talking sometimes for minutes and sometimes hours. They had lunch together a time or two a week and soon started having dinner now and then. They enjoyed each other’s company.

After a couple of months, Gina invited Elliott to her apartment for a dinner she was to prepare for them. She told him to dress nice, so he did. He was wearing a pair of chestnut-colored slacks, dark brown oxfords and a tan silk shirt with French cuffs and a thin, silk necktie to contrast the shirt. A large emerald pin matching his cuff links held the tie in place. He was freshly shaved with a neat, trimmed mustache and graying goatee, and his full, graying hair was combed straight back, and curled naturally at the nape of his neck. He looked distinguished as he rang her doorbell.

Gina answered the door, her petite but full body adorned with a taffeta dress, off one shoulder and with an angled hem about halfway down her thick thighs. Blue panty hose accented and complimented the electric blue of the dress, and open-toed, black velvet pumps with delicate ankle straps graced her manicured feet and matched not only her shiny, black toenails but also the necklace of large, black pearls around her neck. Her hair was long and curly, and framed her face, like a reddish-dark brown waterfall that danced about her shoulders and neck. They stared at each other for several seconds without a word. Gina’s fair complexion flushed a little as she felt Elliott’s eyes caressing her curves. Elliott, without noticing it, pulled his shoulders back slightly and stood a little taller.

“Excuse me, Gina, but you’re just...wow. You’re so beautiful!”

Gina, the flush now evolving into a full blush, said, through a soft smile, “Look at you; you look amazing; like a prince! Come on in here.” She reached out and took his hand and guided him across the threshold. At that moment, their eyes met, and locked, for some seconds as Elliott stepped in.

“You’re right on time. Dinner will be ready shortly. Would you like something to drink?” Gina said when the locked stare became a little awkward but not at all uncomfortable.

“Sure. No rush: what do you have?”

“If you want something soft, I bought some green tea because I know you like it. I also have sweet tea and Coke or water. Or, if you’d like something a little stronger, there’s Lambrusco or bourbon.”

“How about a shot of bourbon, neat, and some green tea?”

“Coming right up, sir! Have a seat anywhere,” she said and left to prepare the drinks.

Elliott sat in an overstuffed chair and looked around. Her place was small, but roomy and decorated with a unique blend of flair and taste. When Gina returned with the drinks, and with a glass of wine for herself, they sat and talked until dinner was ready. During dinner, after Elliott complimented her on a great dish, they talked and laughed while they ate, and afterward returned to the living room. They sat on the couch sipping wine, talking and listening to music. They were sitting perhaps two feet apart, but Gina got up to go to the bathroom, and when she returned, she sat closer, a little less than a foot from him. As the conversation progressed, Gina’s voice got softer, more intimate. More wine.

Suddenly, Gina jumped up and said, “Hey! I know a song I want to hear!” and picked up her phone. Soon, the sound of a song called ‘Touch My Love’, one of Elliott’s songs, filled the room.

“Dance with me,” Gina said.

“What?”

“Dance with me; come on.”

“That’s one of my songs,” Elliott said.

“So?”

“Well, I mean, I’ve never danced to my own music before.”

“Don’t you expect people to dance to it?”

“Yeah, but---“

“But nothing! You should dance to it too. Come on!” Gina had one arm, the one with the bare shoulder, extended toward Elliott, her hand awaiting his. Her other hand was on her hip. Taking a deep breath, Elliott stood, placed his hand in hers and drew her to him as he stepped toward her. He held her hand and slid his other arm around the small of her back as she leaned into him, laying her free hand on his shoulder. Almost gingerly, they closed the distance between themselves and held each other and swayed back and forth in time with the music. Their eyes met briefly, and Gina presented a small smile and then laid her head on Elliott’s chest.

They were like this for a long minute when Gina’s breathing deepened, and she pressed closer to him. Elliott wasn’t sure what to think, but he knew what he was feeling. He asked himself if he should stop. His own voice was beckoning, as if to Gina...

​Touch, touch, touch my love

Feel it in the deepest part

Much, much, much more love

Right here, right here in my heart

Before he could answer himself, Gina tilted her head back and let her full lips brush across his neck. Elliott responded by letting go of her hand and wrapping that arm around her and gave her a caress that made a soft gasp leak from her lips. Then he pushed slightly and took a small step back. Gina tilted her head further back, her lips parting. Elliott looked down into her lovely face. Her eyes were closed, and he focused for a few seconds on how the two hues of eye shadow blended on her eyelids. When he looked at her lips, Gina, eyes still closed, stretched her neck toward his face and let her lips brush across his.

Elliott took a bigger step back and released her, though not completely, from his embrace. She opened her eyes and looked at him with an expression of wonderment as to why he would do this.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes searching his.

Elliott, nervous, said, “Gina, I don’t...think we should have let that happen?” He asked it like a question.

“Tell me why,” she replied with a firmness that was not unnoticed.

“I mean, look, I have a lot of respect for you, you know that, right?”

“Yes, I know. And I appreciate that. But I don’t understand something.”

“What?”

“Why are you always pushing me away, Elliott?”

“Well, it’s just that—”

“Wait, hold on. I know what it is!” Gina said, stepping back and looking at Elliott with an unflinching gaze, hands on her hips.

“Huh?”

“You think of me as, like the daughter you never had. And that’s sweet, it really is. But that’s not how I see you at all! Don’t you find me attractive?”

“Of course I do! You’re an extremely beautiful young woman.”

“See? Why can’t I just be a beautiful woman?”

“You are. That’s what I said.”

“No, you said I’m a beautiful ​young woman. Why can’t I be just a woman, without the age reference?”

“Well, you are, of course.”

“But that’s not how you really see me, though, is it? You see me as something like a daughter or at most a friend. Like I said, that’s sweet, but that’s not what I want.”

“Well, what do you want?”

“I want to be your woman.” Gina then thought to herself, “There, I said it. The ball’s in his court now.”

There was a beat of silence, their eyes locked.

Elliott said, “Gina, please, don’t do this!”

“Don’t do what?

“Don’t make me dream and yearn for something I can’t have.”

Gina stepped forward, saying, “It doesn’t have to be a dream or a yearning, Elliott. Don’t you know how I feel about you? Can’t you tell, or have you noticed but didn’t accept it because you don’t believe it’s possible?”

“I believe anything is possible.”

“Then believe this! Believe it! I don’t want to be a ‘young woman’ to you; I want to be a woman to you, period. What’s wrong with that?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that at all; but you need to be sure it’s what you want, because you know what the reaction is going to be.”

“You care about that?”

“You know better than that! But I thought you might. We have such a beautiful friendship, Gina, and I don’t want to risk losing it by pursuing something you might find creepy!”

“Hey, I don’t care about reactions either, Elliott. And I don’t find it creepy if you’re attracted to me that way. I’ve been attracted to you that way since the first time I saw you.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m absolutely sure.”

“Then come here.”

Gina’s voice softened, “Yes, sir.” She stepped closer and fumbled with the emerald tie pin, looking at it but not really seeing it. She lifted her eyes to meet his and felt warmed by a smoldering in Elliott’s eyes the way he was looking into hers. There was the small smile again, and this time it was Elliott whose neck stretched, downward, and he brushed his lips across hers, making her sigh a little. She felt his arms encircling her again as the music faded into silence. He had hugged her, even frontally, many times before, but now there was a different strength in his arms, a tightness to the embrace that she had not felt before, and it was intoxicating! With her right hand, she rubbed his rib cage through the silk shirt, then moved her hand up his back, gripping his shoulder from behind and pulling herself up, closer to him. Her other hand encircled his neck and teased the curly hair at the back of his neck. Their eyes were fully open as they breathed into each other’s mouths.

At first gently, then with increasing fervency, their lips pressed together, sliding back and forth. As Elliott gazed, her eyes closed halfway, and her nostrils flared. Something about that look broke something loose in him. Squeezing her more tightly, his fingers flexing and caressing all over her back, he felt her swoon as he kissed her deeply. The only sound breaking the silence was that of his hands sliding over the taffeta dress, and their deep breathing. Wanting to feel him against her in a certain way, Gina rose to her toes, trembling, devouring him as she let him devour her.

Their passion kindled, and engulfed them both together, until later in the long hours of the night, spent, they slept in each other’s arms.

For the next several weeks, into months, it was Elliott and Gina, Gina and Elliott. Those weeks were a serendipitous chain of adventures of tastes and passions for them both. It pushed their unconventional pairing into the conventional realms of dinner and a movie, a trip to the museum, a hike, a play, an exotic restaurant.

With deft diligence, they suppressed any observable evidence of their private world so that their colleagues at work knew nothing of the depth of the passion between them. All anyone ever assumed was, they were friends and nothing more.

PARTIE DOS

Gina looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She wanted to reach out and slap that emotion-driven weakling!

Somehow, without her knowledge or approval, Elliott had planted the seed of a flower in the soil of her heart. As much as she tried to make that soil infertile, yet the flower grew, like a blade of grass through concrete, and it flourished, until it threatened to overtake her completely. She was falling in love with Elliott! Maybe, maybe, she had already fallen. She couldn’t touch her own hand without imagining and wishing it was his hand touching hers. Nothing rattled him. He was...even. Steady. Attentive. Adventurous, and...’should I say it?’, she wondered. ‘Should I admit it?’, she pondered. He was, yes, he was...addictive. But this was not the plan.

Gina had already drawn interest from Sean when she grappled with the idea that she was falling in love with Elliott! She wanted (and should have, for the sake of the plan), to take a break from him. But she couldn’t. Because she couldn’t.

Elliott, being old enough to know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth, at least for too long, over time, allowed himself to let go with Gina. If he would fall in love with her, then that it would be. If not, then that. If she was using him, was there not some advantage to him? But why cogitate on the negative? This was a demonstrably devoted woman. To hell with it, bask in it! So, he opened his heart to her. Like a fresh breeze after a storm, she blew through his heart, obliterating cobwebs, dust, doubts, and mistrust. He was falling in love with her!

Gina knew she had work to do. She needed to get back on track. The way Elliott made her feel when they were together was somewhat expected. He was a handsome and virile ‘older’ man who could touch her anywhere, and she felt it everywhere. He could speak to her, and her heart would race. And even apart from him, all she wanted to do was be near him again. So, she went to visit her grandmother.

The nurse said her grandmother was doing better today; she was mostly cooperative. When Gina stepped into her room, Vetta’s eyes lit up. “Today she recognizes me,” Gina thought.

“Hi, Grandma!” Gina said.

“Oh, hi baby!” Vetta replied with a smile that opened her entire face. She was still beautiful, even with her sagging cheeks and wiry, almost white hair. Gina always loved looking at Vetta’s pictures, the old ones, when she was so vital and young. And looking at her now, she could still see that beautiful young woman submerged under a blanket of years.

“How have you been, Grandma? The nurses tell me you’ve been nice to them. Is that true?”

“Now baby,” Vetta began, “You know I don’t like to clean too soon. I ain’t had company in so long, I guess I just let it all slip.”

“Grandma, you’re not at home anymore. They clean for you here.”

“I know. I know...” Vetta lost her train of thought. She threw a blank stare at a cheap, nature-scene painting that hung on the wall. Tears welled up in her eyes, her lips quivered, and she started to whimper a little.

“Grandma? Are you okay?” Gina asked.

“I know. I know, I just...” Vetta broke down crying, “I can dance! I know I still can! I can dance, can’t I? Please don’t make me stop! Don’t let the music stop! I can do it until he comes. He’s coming! He told me last night. The music can’t stop, please!” There was a rising panic in her voice.

“Grandma, please; don’t do this to yourself!” Gina was crying now and trying to hug Vetta.

“He didn’t mean it,” Vetta said. “I could tell. I’ll just dance until he comes!” Vetta pushed Gina away, then stood and tried to dance. The dance looked to be something erotic, but Vetta couldn’t make it look fluid. Not anymore. Then, her crying turned into a disconnected smile at nothing as she tried to make her hips do what they used to. She swayed and spun around the room, singing a song she knew few words to. Then she fell face down on the bed and started crying again, with heavier sobs.

“He’s not coming, is he?” Vetta said through tears and sobs as she began pounding on the bed with her fists. “​IS HE? IS HE? ISSSS HEEEEE?” ​She screamed those words at the top of her lungs as two nurses rushed into the room and tried to calm her down. One of them had a syringe in her hand. Gina, by this time, was sitting in a chair with her head down and hands over her ears, crying uncontrollably.

“Oh, Grandma, please. Please! Come back to me, Grandma!” Gina repeated this over and over until one of the nurses asked if she needed anything and told her it was probably best that she left.

“No,” Gina said after collecting herself, “I’m fine. But you said she was better.”

The nurse said, “I said she was better ​today​. We still haven’t figured out what triggers these episodes. All we can do is give her something to let her sleep. It’s like, when she’s awake, her memories are like nightmares, but when she sleeps, she’s peaceful. We’re trying, Miss Price, we really are.”

“No you’re not! All you’re doing is keeping her knocked out! You’re not helping her. You’re not!”

“Now that’s not true, Miss Price. We are working so hard to get through to her; to get her past whatever it is that sends her into this...zone she falls into. But when she gets like this, all we can do is sedate her.”

“I’m sorry,” Gina said. “I know you’re doing all you can. I didn’t mean to say what I said. This is just so hard.”

“I understand.”

“I think I’d better go. I’ll come back when I can. Hopefully she can stay lucid longer next time.” Gina forced a polite smile and left. She got what she needed.

Gina hadn’t told Elliott anything about her grandmother. But she intended to, and soon. But first, she needed Sean.

Sean. He was working at a fast-food restaurant when Gina flashed her eyes and smile at him from the drive-through. As she expected, it worked. He met her at the pickup window and asked if he could call her some time.

“That’ll be cool,” she said, and they exchanged numbers.

They began talking, then seeing each other furtively. Sean was attentive, romantic, and a little gullible. It all fit.

A candlelight dinner at her apartment turned into something more. As they embraced and pawed at each other, Gina let Sean’s libido reach a fever pitch before she stopped him.

“Sean. Sean. Sean! Come on, baby, I’m just not ready for this step yet.”

Sean tried to hide his frustration, but couldn’t, and Gina felt it. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Nothing, nothing at all. It’s just that my feelings for you are growing faster than I can process. I want to be with you, Sean, I really do, but I don’t want this to be nothing but a smash and go, you feel me?”

“Okay, yeah, sure, baby. I don’t want you to do something you’re not ready for.”

“I know it’s only been a few weeks, but you’re growing on me. I think I may be falling for you!”

Sean’s head swam at that statement. A woman this fine, falling for him? It was more than he had hoped would happen. He now felt something for her that made him overprotective of her. He got insecure if another man looked at her, and more so if he sensed she looked back. He needed to hear from her daily, and the fact she obliged made him feel wanted, and special, because this kind of woman wanted him, and was almost losing her self-control over him. That fed his ego and it swelled until it crowded common sense out of his thinking. She let him make love to her ten days after that evening.

With Sean now in place, things proceeded apace with Elliott. She was falling deeper in love with him, but the motivation she had gotten from her grandmother was enough for her to see the plan through. He was falling in love with her too, and he had started to consider a modified living arrangement for the two of them. They kept things platonic at work, but they spent more and more time together outside.

Gina told Sean she wanted to meet his family. Sean was excited to show her off. She had dinner with his family two weeks before Thanksgiving. It went well, and everyone liked Gina. She was pretty, intelligent and classy, and seemed to dote on Sean. Later that evening, Gina asked him, “Where’s your father?”

“He doesn’t live with us,” Sean said, “I’ll take you to his place in a couple of days.”

“Cool! I can’t wait!”

Sitting on his father’s couch the next day, Sean talked about the beautiful woman he’d found, and his father was proud his son seemed to have found a winner. “What’s her name?” he asked.

“Gina Price.”

PARTIE TRES

Elliott opened his eyes and there was Gina, staring coldly at him. No one had seen Sean since the day he visited Elliott. He had beaten Elliott badly and left him barely able to move after Elliott called Gina a common whore and Sean a naive fool.

“Elliott,” Gina said, “You remember Vetta, don’t you? You were what, about seventeen? You broke her heart, remember? But you couldn’t be satisfied just breaking her heart, you broke ​her​. She was just another game for you to play. When you left her humiliated and devastated, she got pregnant with my mother and then proceeded to lose the rest of her mind over you. She still waits for you, you know. She dances for you, to this very day. In a mental hospital! She’s nothing more than a shell of what she must have been once. I never really knew her because of you! So, I decided to break your life! Your son hates you, I made sure of that.

“You’re scum, Elliott! The damned shame is, I’m actually still in love with you. But I don’t want you; I can’t stand the sight of you. By the time you get out of this hospital, I will have gotten over you! I hope your life sucks now! Goodbye, Elliott!”

Elliott never saw Gina again. Sean left the state and he never saw him again either.

On a clear, cold night, Elliott sat alone, thoroughly broken, out of tears but yet crying on, sitting on a concrete slab of a porch, cursing at the moon between sobs. It was the same, night or day. He was oblivious to everything, even the things neighborhood kids would sometimes throw at him as he sat, sobbing and mumbling.

He spent the rest of his life pining away for Gina.

THE END