It's Got a Beat, Mr. Jones

That's As Warm As It Gets

It had been half a year since Bobby had gone to prison. His trial went by and he was found guilty. He got a life sentence, which devastated Mary at first, but at least he was still alive. Odette said her first words, and Bobby missed them. It all made Mary very distressed.
Mary couldn't afford to stay at her house because of how little she made so Eddie had taken her in. She slept in his guest room and he hadn't yet tried anything. He almost tip-toed around her. Oddly enough he hadn't had any women over, much to John's relief.
It was a dull winter's morning. John was still asleep, but Mary was awake alone in the living room. She had the television on for background noise, not that there was ever anything good on anyways...
Eddie walked into the living room. He was only in a robe. He waved a silent good morning to Mary as he headed to the kitchen to make himself some coffee.
Mary found herself staring blankly at the television. Eddie walked back into the kitchen with two mugs of coffee. He sat next to her and handed her the mug with two spoonfuls of sugar in the coffee. Mary looked over at him thankfully. She sip her coffee as she stared at the television.
Eddie leaned back into the couch as drank his coffee. Mary was uncomfortable so she leaned back into him. He looked surprised by this, but he didn't ask her to move. Mary could feel his body heat through his robe. He was so warm, and the morning air was so cold that even her winter pajamas weren't enough to keep her warm.
Mary shuddered slightly. Eddie pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over Mary and himself. Mary found herself cuddling still closer to Eddie.
Suddenly Eddie stood up and walked out of the room. Mary found herself laying on the couch feeling the phantom warmth of Eddie's body heat. She was now, once again, very cold. She stood up and wrapped the blanket around herself and walked to the kitchen. She finished her coffee then put the mug in the sink.
Mary was so cold her teeth were chattering. She went to her room and changed into warmer clothing, but it didn't help much. She rushed over Eddie's room and knocked on the door. Eddie opened the door a crack.
"Eddie, it's freezing in this house!" Mary exclaimed.
Eddie shrugged. "That's as warm as it gets," He said.
Mary let out a moan. Eddie sighed and walked out of his room. He was now fully dressed. He had loose blue jeans on and a long sleeved, white shirt. He walked into the living room. The television was still on.
Eddie pushed the couch so it was facing the fireplace and pushed it close. He opened the fireplace and put a few logs in it. He threw a few crumpled newspapers into the fireplace. He lit one newspaper with a cigarette lighter and threw it into the fireplace. Soon the fireplace was ablaze.
Eddie slumped into the couch. Mary sat on the other side of the couch. John walked in wrapped in his comforter. He saw the fire and walked towards the couch. He placed himself in between Mary and Eddie. He leaned his head on Eddie's shoulder and fell back to sleep. Mary laughed quietly. She petted John's hair. It was very soft. Eddie put his arm over John's shoulder. They all stayed like that for awhile.
It was so cold in the house before the sun began to rise. John finally woke up fully at around ten. The house was finally beginning to warm up by that time. He informed Eddie and Mary he was going out. Eddie asked him where he was going, but John refused to give up that information and left before Eddie could find it out.
Eddie stood at the door shaking his head. "Kids these days," He said.
Mary laughed. "You sound like an old man," She said.
"I'm getting there..." Eddie said.
Mary made a pouting face. "Don't say that, I'm not that much younger than you," She said.
Eddie smiled at her. "You're forever nineteen to me," He said.
Mary blushed and looked away. Odette began to cry from the other room. Mary stood up and rushed to get her baby. Eddie stood by the door. Mary came back into the living room with Odette. She had given Odette a bottle and was rocking her.
Once Odette finished her bottle, Mary put her on the floor to let her crawl around. Odette was beginning to try to take her first steps. Each time they were wobbly and Odette almost fell over most of the time, but she was getting close to being able to walk on her own. Each little baby step was just a reminder of what Bobby was missing. These were the little moments that meant the world to a parent.
"Are you alright?" Eddie asked.
Mary hadn't realized she was crying. She wiped her tears and nodded. "I'm sorry," She said.
"Sorry about what?" Eddie asked.
Mary watched Odette crawl and try to walk. She wiped her eyes again. Eddie walked towards her.
"For crying," She said. "I'm just a mess right now."
Eddie smiled at her. "You're going through a lot right now. There's nothing wrong with a few tears here and there," He said.
He was pretty close to her now. He could see the tears that clung to her eyelashes despite her efforts to get them off. He wanted to kiss her again, but he knew not to. He forced himself not to.
Eddie walked off. Mary watched him walk off. She felt bad for Eddie. She saw the look in his eyes and knew what he was thinking.
The day passed slowly. The chill of the air crept back up as day turned to night. John came back, but went back to bed early. When the night came Mary went to her bed and tried to sleep, but it was too cold for her to find sleep. She snuck to Eddie's room.
"Eddie, I'm freezing," Mary said opening the door of his room.
Eddie sat up suddenly. The blanket slid down revealing his bare chest. "What?" He said sleepily.
"My room's too cold for me to sleep in. Can I sleep in here?" Mary asked.
Eddie blinked a few times. "Uh, sure," He said. "Throw me some pants."
Mary gave him an odd look. She opened his drawers and pulled out a pair of flannel pants. She handed them to him. He pulled them under the covers and the blankets shifted around a bit.
"Okay, it's all good now," Eddie said.
Mary walked into the room and pulled up the blankets. She crawled under the blankets. Eddie's body heat radiated throughout the blanket. Mary cuddled next to him, attracted to his body heat. She fell asleep quickly against him.
Eddie couldn't sleep with her against him. He couldn't stop thinking of how much he longed for her. Having her this close to him was torture.
Eddie stayed beside Mary all night until she woke up the next morning. She was reluctant to get out from under the covers.
"Hey, Eddie," She said quietly.
"Mmmhmm," Eddie mumbled.
"Is it alright if we just stay like this for awhile?" She asked.
"Mmmhmm," Eddie mumbled again.
Mary snuggled her head in between his neck and shoulder. Eddie didn't know what possessed him, but he kissed her ear. Mary moved away from him quickly and sat up. Eddie moved away from her and sat up with his back against the wall.
"I'm sorry," He said.
Mary sighed. She wrapped her arms around her chest. "It's too cold for this," She said.
Eddie stared at her for a few moments trying to gauge her reaction. She crawled closer to him dragging the blanket behind her.
"Let's just do this, no regrets, no feelings, just warmth, and pleasure," Mary said touching Eddie's chest softly.
Eddie could feel his heart beating in his ears. Mary got closer. He could feel her breath on his face. He leaned forward and kissed her. Maybe he could show her how much she meant to him, how desperately he wanted her. He felt her fingering the buttons on her pajamas. He pulled the blankets over her so she wouldn't have to feel the cold morning air.
"Do you really want to have sex with me?" Eddie asked each words made his lips brush hers.
Mary pressed herself against his chest. He could feel her skin against his and her fingers playing with his hair. Mary began to work at his pants. Eddie couldn't take it. He stood up quickly moving away from her. Mary looked at him.
"I can't do this," He said. "You said we're not supposed to have regrets or feelings, but that just isn't gonna work with me. You might not feel anything, but I love you so this will mean everything to me. I can't take that."
Mary stared at Eddie. He looked so sad. His chest heaving as he tried not to cry. Mary stood up. Her skin had goosebumps all over it. "I'm sorry," She said kissing him on the lips one more time. "I know how you feel, but I guess I only think about myself."
Eddie leaned down and kissed her again. She let her hands glide across his chest feeling the contours of his body. She kept pulling herself closer to him. She pushed herself away from his lips.
"I guess your brain says no, but your body says yes," She commented.
Eddie blushed. "I can't help it," He said defensively.
Mary kissed him again.
Eddie pushed himself away from her. "Damn you and your mood swings," He said.
Mary smiled and hung her arms around his neck. "I have to move on with my life at one point... I can't just keep checking the clock," She said.
Eddie frowned. "I wish you meant that... I really do," He said.
"I do mean it Eddie," Mary insisted.
Eddie shook his head. He kissed her softly on the lips and left the room. Mary stared at his back. She felt tears pulling at her eyes. Dammit Eddie, she thought angrily.
Mary stormed out of the bedroom. Her shirt wasn't on. She rushed through the living room and into the kitchen, where Eddie was boiling water to make coffee. She tackled Eddie and began to kiss him all over his face. He looked extremely surprised.
"What if John comes in?" Eddie asked.
"You weren't gonna do it with me in the bedroom so you better be prepared to do it in here," Mary said taking off her pants.
Eddie smiled slightly and kissed her. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the bedroom?" He asked.
Mary stood up. She left her pants on the floor. She walked to Eddie's bedroom. Eddie followed behind. He slipped into the room before closing the door.
The room was silent for a few minutes.
John sighed from the couch in the living room. "That was a conversation I didn't need to hear..." He said slowly standing up to walk to the kitchen. He turned the stove off.
"Well, I guess I'm going out today," John said walking out of the house. He shut the door behind him.

(Okay, so I think this is the end of this book. Yay! Well, sorta... I don't like how I ended this. I never like how I end things. Hope you enjoyed it. If this were a movie, I would probably leave this bit out and sorta end it at the point Bobby was arrested and in prison with the Everly Brothers' Take a Message to Mary playing in the background and add a kind of an overview of Eddie and Mary's life together and some of the moments of Odette growing up and things and then at the very end it with the very last "Oh Lord this cell is cold," have a shot of Bobby sitting alone in his cell. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this book. Vote, comment, give suggestions for my next story. Read my other books if you'd like. Have a good day!)