The Monster Within Ch. 01

"I don't think that's a good idea," I replied, lifting my hand and wiggling the wedding band I still had on my finger four years after I had lost Sandra forever.

"Oh," she sounded disappointed but wasn't about to accept defeat just yet. "Where has she been during all this mayhem? Is she working on her career instead of worshipping the hero?"

I wasn't about to let her talk badly about my late wife, "Sonja, please. I need to check on the carpenters and look after Gab and Dan. Then I have to prepare dinner and must go and fetch Esther, Patrick and their friend from the hospital. I am not interested in any kind of sexual adventure, not today and not in the foreseeable future."

She reacted badly to that rejection, turned around with a short farewell and left. I scolded myself. That could have been handled with more consideration but she had messed with the memory of Sandra and it didn't matter to me whether she did it unknowingly.

The carpenters were still busy, the kids were occupied so I took the opportunity to call a taxi service and ordered a car to wait at the hospital for my friends. I had just hung up when my phone rang. The caller ID identified Esther.

"Hi Esther."

"Stan. Hi. In the chaos of everything I completely forgot about Gab and Dan. They ..."

I interrupted her, "They are in the garden playing with the pack. Everything is under control."

"Thank god. You're brilliant! I was so worried."

"How is it going at the hospital?"

"They have diagnosed Beverly and me with minor shocks. They said they are keeping us here for observation for some time. They put us in the most luxurious room I've ever seen in a hospital. When I asked about whether our insurance covered this, they just replied 'It is covered by standing order SP'. Do you know what that means?"

"I have no idea," I lied. "How is Patrick? He didn't seem to just be in a shock."

"Definitely not but he is ok. He has a mild concussion. They will keep him in the hospital overnight. Again on 'standing order SP'. Don't lie to me. You know what that means!"

"I have sent a cab to pick you up when you are released. The driver will wait in the lobby."

"Thanks. I haven't even had time to worry about that yet. But what is with this 'standing order SP'? Is it purely coincidental that these are your initials?"

"You will have to ask somebody at the hospital. I don't even know what a 'standing order' is, much less a specific 'standing order'."

"Don't be so daft. You know what it means."

"Esther! You're the one who acts daft. You know more about me than anybody else but Patrick. You know my past, you know my current situation and you have a rough overview over the donations I make. Do I really have to spell it out?! Shocked or not, use that brain you have. Oh, the carpenters that are repairing your door need something. Got to go. Why don't you come over to my place when you're back and I'll treat you for dinner?"

"The door? Stan. You are really incredible."

"I take this as a yes. See you later." I hung up.

After quickly talking to the carpenters, they didn't really need anything from me but I had needed an excuse to avoid further questions, I went over to my house. I quickly checked on Gab and Dan in the garden and then went to the kitchen to prepare everything I needed for dinner. After a quick check in my almost empty fridge, I decided on a simple spaghetti Bolognese. It wasn't exactly 'haute cuisine' but the kids would love it and I also liked it a lot.

I took the mince out of the freezer, put it in between to pots and filled the pot on top with cold water. Using this trick I could reduce the time to defreeze remarkably. I also prepared a salad bowl with some lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and corn and mixed a simple French salad dressing. When all that remained was to cook the spaghetti and the sauce, I went downstairs to join the kids in the garden. Together we worked the pack a bit.

Around 16.00h I returned to the kitchen to start the Bolognese. I fried the meat, added some tomato sauce and some small cut vegetables. I then seasoned it and let it simmer on low heat.

I went over to take a quick look on how the work on the door was progressing. They were already cleaning up and had not only installed a reinforced door but also strengthened the frame. It would take an armoured vehicle to break down that door again. They had used the same lock as before avoiding the need for new keys and the replacement of multiple locks. I instructed the owner who had supervised the work himself to send the invoice to my address.

"I called the police. That's a standard procedure when a door was damaged during a crime. 'Preservation of evidence' and the like. I took a few pictures to document the damages. The police told me that the insurance of the attacker would have to take care of everything. As he has already confessed, it should not be a long process to get the payment."

"Ok. But if the insurance is non-compliant, please give me a call."

"I will."

"How's Doggo doing?"

"Great, as usual. And yours?"

"Well, they just took down three thugs as if they were on the drill ground, so they are fine. I'm still not over you naming your beauty 'Doggo', though," I grinned.

"So you think naming them after European capitals is better?" He laughed.

I was just about to reply when the mobile started vibrating in my back pocket. Esther, it said on the display.

"Stan."

"Hi, it's Beverly. I don't have your number so I'm using Esther's phone. We finally got discharged from the hospital, Esther is talking to the driver you sent. We are on our way back soon and will be there in thirty minutes or so. I just want to quickly say thank ..."

"Stop. Please. It's ok. Come back and we can see what needs to be done next. Ok?"

"Ok, but ..."

"No, it was nothing, really. Ok?"

"Yes. Ok. See you soon."

"Come over to my place. The kids will still be here. Bye."

"Still not comfortable taking praise?"

"Only if I feel it's undeserved," I replied.

"Well, if I consider how that door looked, it probably wasn't undeserved."

"Shut up. It was the pack not me," I insisted. "And now I have to go and get dinner ready for the kids and the two women."

He raised his hands in a defensive motion. "Don't kill the messenger, Stan. But one day you will have to understand that the high standards you apply to yourself are not relevant for other people. From a neutral point of view you defeated the dragon and saved the princess. And don't forget that you also rebuilt the castle." He pointed towards the door. "Whether you like it or not, this means you deserve praise by the standards of most people."

"Is this how you work? Apply low standards and then expect praise for overachieving?" I tried to make it a fun comment as I didn't want to alienate one of the few persons I actually liked and respected. He had just done outstanding work on the door and I didn't want to insult him but I wanted a change of topic.

He understood my hint and laughed when replying. "Sure. Otherwise I would have to work hard to earn my pay."

We both laughed when we shook hands. I also bid his helpers a farewell and waited until they had left the driveway.

When I arrived back at my house, I called the kids in from the garden and we went to the large walk-in fridge where I kept the dog's food. I dressed the kids in the jackets I kept for them outside the fridge and took ten bowls with me. They both helped me prepare the pack's dinner: a mixture of pieces of raw meat, innards, bones and pureed vegetables. Especially Gabriella knew very well what to do, helping me regularly tending and training my pack. I loved having them over as I didn't have children anymore.

When all was ready I got ten eggs and added one to each dinner. They had performed exceptionally well and deserved this little extra for that. We loaded everything on the service cart and rolled it into the garden. There we put the bowls on the ground and I called the pack. They watched me patiently. Daniel, the youngest, said in his best imitation of my pack leader voice "Eat." I nodded fractionally to confirm the command and all dogs went to their feeding dish. Gab and Dan moved in between them, clapped their backs, praising their behaviour in the afternoon. The dogs were used to this and knew that they were not to react to anything the kids did. I had trained them well, so even if one of the kids tried to take a piece of meat out of their fangs they still wouldn't care.

When the dogs had finished, I helped the kids wash their hands, hung their jackets back on the hooks and sent them upstairs to play some video game or watch a movie and collected the bowls and went inside to wash up.

I checked on the Bolognese Sauce and started cooking the spaghetti. Having prepared the salad and the sauce, there wasn't much that remained to be done, so I used the time to set the table. I decided that we would eat in the living room instead of the kitchen as usual. There was an additional guest after all. Just in time I remembered that I hadn't prepared anything to drink yet, so I quickly mixed some iced tea and put it out on the table.

Friday, 17.30h

I had everything ready when I heard a car arrive. A quick glance out of the window confirmed that Esther and Beverly were just climbing out of the limousine in my driveway. While Esther looked good, especially for having had two children, Beverly was amazingly beautiful. Rather small at 1.60m, a slender figure with a trim waist, firm butt and surprisingly big but breasts which still fitted the frame well. She obviously put in quite a bit of work into her body. She had rather short, brunette hair with some bright strands in it. Additionally, she was blessed with a beautiful face.

I myself am 1.85m, a rather usual short haircut and reasonably fit. I didn't work out but was very active training dogs, taking long walks with my pack, hiking and of course carrying meat for ten hungry mouths. All together they eat about ten kilograms meat, innards, bones and vegetables a day.

As my door was rarely locked, Esther just came in.

"Don't you knock?" I heard Beverly ask.

"He knows we're coming. He rarely locks his door and Patrick, the kids and I are always welcome."

"Do you think he would let me stay over-night?"

"I don't know for sure but I guess if you ask him, he'll say yes."

"Is he seeing somebody?"

"No, never. Not since Sandra died. Don't mention her."

While they had taken off their shoes and jackets and I poured off the spaghetti and arranged them in a bowl dish. I now heard them coming up the stairs.

"Gab, Dan. Your mom is here!" I called out.

During the time in which Esther greeted and calmed her kids, I put the spaghetti on the table and had returned to the kitchen to collect the sauce when she called for me.

"Where are you?"

"Kitchen. Dinner is ready in the living room. Go and have a seat, I'll be right with you."

"You're an angel," Esther beamed gratefully in my direction when she turned the corner. While Esther stayed in the living room, Beverly pushed past her, dived under the dish I held in my hands and pulled me into a fierce hug.

"Esther, you have had way to much going on today to be able to care about dinner," I replied. Having the serving dish with the sauce in my hands I was unfortunately not in the situation to peel Beverly off me, so I stood there rather helpless. My lower brain certainly didn't complain and started to react to the wonderful feeling of Beverly leaning her body at me. I found the difference to my body's reaction to Sonja interesting. Despite her obvious attempts to seduce me, my body had not shown any kind of reaction to her.

"Beverly, please. I'll drop the sauce if you don't let me put it down." She didn't move but, thankfully, Esther moved closer and took it off my hands and put it down on the table. She seated her children in their usual spots on one of the long sides of the table and without comment took the head end. That left the two places opposite the kids, but first I would need to get Beverly to let go of me. I took her carefully by her shoulders and gently pushed her away.

"Beverly, welcome back. But please, let go. Let's sit down." Reluctantly she complied. After she had taken her seat, I started going back to the kitchen to get the salad and the dressing. Esther realised that I was not yet ready to sit down, so she got up to help.

I softly pushed her back down on her chair, "Sit down and relax. You've had enough action for one day. My treat today."

"No, you've done so much already. Let me treat you back now."

"But you already did. You let me spend time with Gab and Dan," I replied smiling. I adored her kids at least as much as they adored me. They had always reminded me of mine.

I fetched the salad and the dressing and then took the iced-tea and poured a glass each. While I did this, Esther served her children a plate full of spaghetti Bolognese each. I then took over from Esther and helped her and Beverly to their food. Having everything finally ready, I sat down and we started eating and I was officially reintroduced to Beverly.

We had met some years ago at a BBQ Patrick and Esther had hosted. That's from where I remembered her face but she can't have been much older than maybe eighteen or nineteen at that time. I remembered that Sandra had teased me after we met her how I sure thought she was hot. After all, she didn't look too much different from my beloved wife with the only relevant difference that Sandra was a bit taller, standing at 1.70m. She had known me all too well, my Sandra.

When all had finished their dinner, I got up to clean away the dishes. Both Esther and Beverly jumped to their feet.

"No, you don't." Esther almost yelled at me. Calmer she continued, "You sit down and let me clean up. It's the least I can do."

"You don't have to do anything. You needed help, I happened to be around. No big deal. You know I've handled worse than that."

"Yes, but still. I will tie you down if I have to," she grinned. "Go sit in the living room with Bev. I'll bring coffee."

The kids were allowed to return to the TV. I didn't feel comfortable at the prospect of having an emotionally unstable woman alone around me, so I refused under a pretence.

"I made the mess in the kitchen and I will clean it up. My non-negotiable counter-offer is that you two go sit in the living room and I bring the coffee when everything is cleaned up. You can in the meantime think about how to fill me in on everything that happened today."

When I was pleased how the kitchen looked and had the coffees prepared, I took a few deep breaths to prepare myself for the emotional onslaught and went to join the women in the living room. They were seated on the couch talking quietly. I put the coffees down in front of them and placed milk and sugar on the table. Esther had already helped herself and Beverly to a glass of Baileys each and had prepared a Whiskey for me. I sat down in the recliner opposite the couch. Without saying a single word Beverly got up, came over, squeezed in beside me and hugged me again. I moved to give her more space but she just followed my body.

"You don't think you would find it more comfortable on the couch?" I asked.

"No. What did you mean when you said 'you've handled worse'?" she inquired.

"Nothing important, really. Now would you mind telling me who the attacker was and what exactly happened today?"

Esther started, "We had just finished lunch when Beverly arrived, totally distraught, at our door. She said her boyfriend was totally out of control, had demolished her apartment and had tried to attack her.

We were still trying to figure out what had happened when Donald showed up and started to hammer at the door demanding entrance. Patrick called you, the door gave in and he tried to stop the attack but stood no chance against Donald with the baseball bat. The asshole then pulled out his machete and moved towards Bev. He looked as if he was willing to kill. I was so scared and just tried to shield myself, then you showed up and stopped him."

"That was dangerous and foolish, Esther. You should have fled to a room and barricaded the door. You knew my pack was coming."

Beverly then took over the explanation, "Donald has always been short tempered, especially when he has been drinking or doing cocaine. Today he came home around lunch and told me he had just been fired for doing drugs on the job. I told him how stupid that was and accused him for sabotaging our lives. He then started throwing a tantrum and began to smash the furniture." She fell quite as she remembered the situation. "I fled the house. I just ran. The only things I have with me are the clothes I'm wearing and my phone. Incidentally, a bus stood at a stop and I just got in. Having no money on me, I sat there not knowing what to do. Then I noticed that I approached this neighbourhood and remembered Esther lives here. So I got off the bus, came here to ask for help and then suddenly hell broke loose again. Until you showed up."

She fell quiet, reliving the events of the afternoon.

"To be true, it wasn't me who showed up but a pack of ten well trained Dobermans and me. Without the pack I hadn't been able to do anything."

"But how did he find me? How did he know where I went?" Beverly completely ignored my attempt to put some perspective my part.

"Do you have the 'find my phone' function activated on your mobile?"

"Yes. We activated it a few weeks ago after he had lost his own phone during one of his drinking tours. It should help if one of us lost his phone again."

"Then that's probably how he did it," I offered as possible explanation. "You should probably deactivate that function."

"Can you show me how?"

"Sure. What did they say at the hospital?"

"Bev and I suffered minor shocks. They just kept us under observation for a few hours. When they were sure that we didn't have any hidden injuries and lasting effects from the shocks they released us. I then went to check on Patrick. He had taken a hit with the bat to the head and suffers from a mild concussion. They said he could go home if he absolutely wanted to but they would prefer to keep him in for a night. I convinced him that you have everything under control and he accepted their offer."

"I still worry that my insurance will not cover the costs. That room and the examinations they made must be way above my coverage."

"They have a program running at the hospital that covers the costs for victims of crimes. I'm sure you fall in that category."

"Is this what the 'standing order SP' was about?"

I hesitated for a second before replying, "I don't know about that. Didn't you ask at the hospital?"

But before Beverly or Esther could answer, I took a desperate attempt to divert Beverly's attention. I was quite sure that Esther had understood what this 'standing order' was about.

"But we have more urgent topics to discuss. The most pressing one being what you will do tonight and what you will do later about your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend my ass. Since this afternoon he is my ex-boyfriend. I never want to see him again." She shuddered again as she remembered the happenings of today but there was also a hint of anger in her eyes. Good. Anger would help her come to terms with what had happened.

"The police called while we were at the hospital and Patrick, Esther and I confirmed that we wanted to press charges. They said they can and will keep him in investigative custody for a few days."

"If they have him in custody for the time being, do you want to go home? I can drive you."

"No. Please. I don't want to be alone tonight. I had hoped you would you let me stay here. Please?"

"Stan, you can't turn down a damsel in distress."

I leaned forward, took the Whisky Esther had prepared and inhaled the fragrances. Scottish single malt. From the smoky smell I assumed it was the sixteen year old Lagavullin. I tasted a small sip, taking in the rich flavour and put the tumbler back on the table. I then picked up my coffee. This had given me a few seconds to collect my thoughts.