she inquired. “How old were you? Tell me why you wanted to do it.” she continued.
Rudy said, “Okay...I’ll tell you. I was fourteen years old....and I’ve never been prouder. To be a man, you are expected to face your fears and dance with the bull. The bull will kill you, so you must take control, and from that point on, your life has true meaning...true passion.... true understanding. You see life’s beauty, and you take nothing for granted. Life is very short. The problem is that you can’t wait for the next time, and the next time...it becomes an obsession. You love it and you hate it. The longer you do it the easier it is to lose respect for el Toro. But if you get careless and forget that the bull wants to be the champion too, he will kill you, or worse, crush your spine and leave you in the dirt to live.”
Pamela looked into Rudy’s blue eyes, they were wet with emotion.
Rudy stopped in his stride and turned to face her. “I have seen many amigos carried from the ring, never to walk again. I feel a great pain in my heart for them. They were very brave, and some, to please the crowds, would stand in front of the bull and let themselves be gored and trampled to the ground.”
Pamela put her arms around Rudy’s waist and the two embraced. She was silent and looked into his tear filled eyes.
Rudy slowly lowered his lips to hers and kissed her very gently. The kiss was warm and wet. A tear fell from Rudy’s eye onto Pamela’s check. Pamela’s breasts and cheeks grew warm and her breathing became rapid. The tear felt cool as it trickled down her pale skin. She desired a steady stream of his cooling tears to bask in. Rudy’s hands upon her back, held her firmly against his chest. He could feel her heart beating against his. Rudy withdrew his lips from Pamela’s just slightly and lingered there for a moment. Without a word. the signal between the two of them was for more. Rudy’s open mouth met Pamela’s full red lips and shared shivering passion. His tongue played rhythmically upon her lips and tongue sending jolts of electric shock through her entire body. Pamela fantasized about his kiss. They played with each other with their tongues and lips for almost a minute.
After they finally broke away from each other Pamela said, “Rudy, you wouldn’t think of doing anything as foolish as letting yourself be gored by a bull, would you?”
“No, of course not,” he replied. “They did it for the money and the fame. I have all the money I could ever use and as for fame, I’d rather have the love of a good woman than all the fame in the world. I’ve earned my position reputably, without any tricks, and I’m not about to change.”
Pamela said, “I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Don’t worry,” he said, “Monday is my 30th birthday, I’m planning to announce my retirement from the bullring. The world will always consider me a world class matador, even after I withdraw. It’s time I turn my attention to more mature matters, like a wife and a family. I am now ready to spend my time managing my estate....Forgive me if I’m acting foolish, it’s been a long night and it’s starting to catch up with me. I would like nothing more than to stand here in the middle of the street in the middle of New York City for the rest of the day, holding you and tasting your sweet, wet kisses, but I still have two uninvited guests to attend to.”
Pamela’s eyes began to tear as she said, “You’re not acting foolish. I think it takes a special kind of man to be able to weep over his emotional memories. What could be more sincere and touching?” she consoled.
“And I too would like to spend the day in your arms, but today is not that day. You may not want to admit it, but you have a lost a lot of blood and you need to rest. Why don’t we finish our walk to my house and hail you a cab to take you back to your hotel. I live right there,” she said as she pointed to a large brownstone with two stone lions at the front entrance.
Rudy smiled at her and nodded his head in agreement, “That sounds good,” he said.
They walked the few steps to the large house and climbed the wide marble stairs.
The formal oak double doors had brass numbers and an oversized brass name plate. Rudy read the plate aloud, “Doctor Pamela I. Bean. PIB, your initials spell PIB. Dr. Pib, isn’t that a soft drink?”, he asked in a chuckle.
“No,” she laughed back, “it’s Mr. Pib or Dr. Pepper. You have the two confused.”
“Ah yes” he said, nodding his head.
“What’s the I, stand for?” Rudy asked with wide open eyes in anticipated amazement.
“Ingrid”, she replied. “It’s an old family name. It was my great-grandmother’s name, my grandmother’s name and my mother’s name. And someday, it will be my daughter’s name.”
“Ingrid” he repeated with due respect. “Pamela Ingrid Bean, MD. I like it Pib” he smiled.
“This is a great old house” he changed the subject, “How did you come by it?”
“It belongs to my father. His company needed a representative here in New York....Wall Street, you know, stocks and bonds. The company has changed to doing business with direct computer links....so, no need for local agent....and empty house. I was planning my internship here and so daddy said I could look after things during my stay in New York. I bought this brass plaque and a pillow and set up housekeeping.”
“How old is it?” he asked.
“Turn of the century, was when it was commissioned to be built by one of the railroad tycoons. My father has owned it for 30 years. It’s really too big for one person, so I have a live-in maid who’s a wonderful cook and she looks after it.”
Rudy said, “I’d like to see the rest of it, perhaps you’ll give me the grand tour tomorrow evening after our dinner date.”
“I’d love too, any time,” she said.
“I need to get back to my hotel,” he said. “I wish I could explain my present predicament and my need to rush back but I really don’t understand what’s happening myself.”
He gave her a quick kiss on the lips as if they were a long time couple and said, “I’ll call you later today. You’re in the book, right?” Without waiting for her answer he turned and headed down the marble stairs to the street, waving his hand to attract the passing cabs. At the curb he stopped and looked at her. He hated having to deceive her, but he knew no other way. She could be someone special in his life if he let it happen this time. But, he knew it would mean he would have to be honest with her. He would have to tell her the truth about himself, about....all of the lies. He wanted to love her and he wanted her to love him. No one had ever been that close.
A cab responded to his beckoning and pulled to the curb. He opened the cab door and got into the backseat without ever taking his eyes off her.
From the porch she smiled and slowly waived goodbye and hoped she would see him again very soon.
Rudy told the driver to take him to the Broadway entrance of the Ritz Hotel. The cabby nodded his head and drove off as Rudy continued to stare out the rear window at beautiful Pamela.
Rudy’s cab arrived at the hotel’s back door at 7:30. He went up the stairs, through the dining room and to the elevator without saying a word to anyone.
The Do Not Disturb sign was still hanging on the door of his room where he had placed it. He used his key card to let himself in and left the sign hanging outside. Pib...Pib...Pib, he kept repeating in his mind. What would you think of this mess I’m in?
Rudy walked cautiously through the living room of the suite towards the front bedroom and stopped at the open door. He surveyed the blood stained disorganized bed from the doorway. The dark red blood on the bright white bed linens looked more significant by the light of day. The amount of his blood smeared about gave Rudy a cold chill. Pamela was right, he thought, he had lost a lot of blood.
At that moment Rudy’s heart started to pound as he realized that the intruders were not laying on the floor where he had left them. He quickly stepped back out of the doorway