Chapter 29: You Should Ask Me What I Don’t Like

With her head resting on Nathan’s shoulder, Crystal dreamt that she was a young girl again. She had been afraid of the dark, and her Mother was comforting. Her Mother gently hugged her, patted her on the back, and hummed a lullaby.

Crystal wanted more of her Mother’s warmth, so she pressed her body against her and nuzzled her head against her chest. She could smell mint on her breath, and she began to feel dizzy. Why does my Mother smell like mint? - Crystal wondered. Her Mother had never smelled like mint before!

When Crystal opened her eyes, she found herself in her bed, with Nathan hovering over her. And she began to panic. She tried to get up, but Nathan had her pinned down. She watched in horror as he lowered his head. “What are you doing here?” she cried.

Nathan smirked and said, “Ask yourself.”

Crystal had no idea what had happened after she’d fallen asleep. What had happened, though, was that by the time they’d arrived at her house, she’d been so soundly asleep that he hadn’t been able to wake her, so he’d had to carry her inside her and tuck her into her bed. Then, when he’d tried to leave, she’d grabbed his hand and refused to let him go. Thus, he had been forced to spend the night with her. It wasn’t until she’d begun to wake up that she’d finally released her hold on Nathan, and by then, his hand had gone numb.

Crystal took a quick look under the blankets and was pleased to see that she was still dressed. Nathan seemed to misunderstand her intent, though. He said, “You seem a little disappointed to see that you are not undressed. You were so insistent that I “be.” with you last night. Where did that passion go?”

Crystal’s face turned an embarrassing shade of red, and she said, “I didn’t do anything to you last night, did I, dear Professor Davis? I suffer from Sexsomnia. It is a medical condition that causes me to engage in sex acts while in NREM sleep. It is not something that I can help with!”

“I guess you’ll never know what happened.” Nathan laughed, and then he asked her if she would have sex with him for Mr. Ford’s sake. Crystal sighed and said that she would.

“He brought this on himself,” Nathan reminded her. “If you could intercede for him in another way, though, would you prefer that?”

Crystal swallowed and said, “I don’t know. Mr. Ford is in his fifties, which is still very young. Perhaps the move would actually be good for him. He could use the exercise, that’s for sure.” “Oh? Have you given up on pleading for him?” Nathan asked, surprised.

“Yes,” Crystal replied. “I quit.” She could not bear being subservient to Nathan for even one more minute. He had been pushing his luck for a long time, and it had finally gotten to be too much. As a consequence of her decision, Mr. Ford would be demoted, and Tiffany would not help her, but she thought she could live with that and she could find someone else to help her get a divorce.

Nathan frowned and said, “It’s not like you to give up so quickly, Crystal.”

“It’s also not like me to do things that go against my conscience!” Crystal snapped back. “Or to put up with bullshit!”

Nathan gave Crystal a serious look and asked, “What do you like?”

Crystal looked him in the eyes, smirked, and said, “You should ask me what I don’t like.”

Nathan’s frown deepened. It was clear that he was what Crystal was referring to - she did not like him! Nathan slowly released her and got out of bed. He walked out and slammed the door behind him.

The door made a loud BANG! Sound and Crystal found herself staring at it. What is Nathan up to? - she wondered - Had he always intended to let me go? It was a long time after that before she finally got up and went downstairs, and by then, Nathan was gone. Thank God for minor miracles!

Susie was vacuuming the carpet in the living room, but she turned off the machine when she saw Crystal, and she said, “Good morning, Crystal. I hope you slept well.”

Crystal: “I did, thank you... Susie, how is Alice doing these days?”

Susie: “She’s fine. She is going to have a baby. Her legs are a little swollen, though, and she can’t walk much.”

Crystal: “Boy or girl?”

Susie: “Well, we don’t know yet. Of course, it doesn’t matter if it is a boy or a girl, so long as he or she is healthy. But we hope it is a girl so that she can be as pretty and smart as you. If it’s a boy, though, that is okay too. He can be handsome and upright like Mr. Davis.”

Crystal: “Maybe she’ll have twins! A boy and a girl!”

Susie: “You are so sweet, Crystal. Oh, wait a minute. Mr. Davis asked me to give you this.”

Susie wiped her hands with her apron, and then she handed Crystal a white paper bag. Crystal accepted the bag and opened it up. Inside, there was a white box with a mobile phone inside of it.

On the night that she’d gotten drunk, not only had she broken four hundred million dollars worth of antiques, but she had also broken her cell phone, so this was a pleasant surprise.

“Is it a cell phone?” Susie asked. “Mr. Davis is very attentive to your needs.”

“He has an ulterior motive,” Crystal muttered.

“He always does.” She sat on the sofa and opened the box. She was hesitant to accept any gift from Nathan. But if he can take my Mother’s legacy, why can’t I use his phone? she asked herself.

Crystal took the cell phone out of the box, plugged it into the wall, and began to scroll through her contacts. Nathan had already taken the liberty to download everything she needed from the Cloud, and when she saw her husband’s name, a chill ran up her spine. She tried to delete the contact, but it was locked, and she was unable. “What kind of stupid phone is this?” she grumbled. “I can’t even edit my Contact List!!!”