Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here on my usual Thursday to present chapter twenty of my story Corn Maze. This week the Maltese received a new bed. I did not receive a new bed mind you, but the Maltese did. It is a soft plush cover over memory foam. Where’s my memory foam? Where’s my soft plush cover. I deserve these things. I’m a poodle for crying out loud.

I like my new bed. I like it very, very much.

Stop rubbing my face in it, Tucker.

I am not rubbing your face in it. I just wanted to say I like my new bed. And besides you have longer legs than I do. You can jump up on the couch and the chair. I can’t even jump onto a stool.

The point is you got something new, and I did not. And that is most unfair.

I like my new bed. I like it very, very much.

Oh, shut up. And with that here is chapter twenty of Corn Maze.

Corn Maze

by

Gigi the parti poodle

Chapter Twenty

“I’m going to call her again,” Farley said as he paced around the living room.

“You’ve called her five times and sent her ten texts,” Mallory said, irritated he was not paying attention to her now. “She’s not going to call you back.”

“We’re going over there.”

“Over where?”

“To her parent’s house.”

“I thought she lived in an apartment.”

“No. She claims to be happier living with her parents than with me. Is that messed up or what?”

“I thought you were on a date with me.”

“I am. And part of that date entailed coming here and rubbing it in my fiancé’s face. But now she’s not here and there’s no joy in that.”

“You want to go over to Valerie’s place so you can rub it in her parents’ face too?”

“Pretty much.”

“Don’t you think it would be better to finish our date first?”

“No.”

“Think about it. She’s hurt because you went through with the date, and she didn’t want to sit here the entire night waiting for you to come home and do exactly what you want to go over to her parents’ house and do.”

“Hurt, shmurt. What good is it to win and not be able to belittle your opponent?”

“I thought the point of winning was to enjoy your prize.”

“That too. But the gloating comes first.”

Mallory pushed herself off the rail and sauntered over to Farley. “You took me out to a steak dinner; you took me to a theatre and surprised me with a flash mob and now you’ve taken me back to your place. Surely you had something more in mind than making your fiancé jealous when you brought me here.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You have me here for a reason so what’s the plan?”

“I just explained my plan.”

“What if Valerie were here right now? You’ve got me here, you’ve got her here, what would you do then?”

Farley took a step into her and looked her in the eye. “You told me if I won, you’d make it the night of my life,” he said.

“That’s right,” she said with a smile.

He grabbed her around the waist causing her to jump then he kissed her mouth hot and hard. Mallory moaned. He slid one hand into her hair as the other grabbed her ass. She gasped as he made a trail of kisses down the side of her neck. “And technically you drove us here,” Farley whispered.

“Yes, I did. Let’s go upstairs.”

“I’d like that.”

“You’d love that.”

“But first you’re driving me to Valerie’s.”

Mallory pulled Farley’s truck into the driveway of Valerie’s parent’s house. It was a nice wooden two-story home painted yellow.

“Let’s go say hello,” Fairly said smugly.

“Fine. But afterwards I’m driving us back to your place.”

“Deal.”

The two of them walked up to the front door and Farley rang the doorbell. A neatly dressed woman wearing a blue apron walked up to the door and answered it. She looked like an older version of Valerie.

“Why, hello, Farley,” she said in a pleasant voice. “You just caught me baking cookies. I’m running a bit late into the night I’m afraid.”

“I was looking for Valerie.”

“Oh, she’s not here.”

“She’s not?”

“No, but she was here earlier with Harley.”

“What?”

“I got home from my evening meeting with my book club. You know how those things can run long. And when I got here Harley was helping her pack some things into his truck.”

“What?” Mallory said.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Where did they go?”

“Well, I thought he was helping her take some of her belongings over to your house, Harley.”

“Thanks.”

Harley grabbed Mallory’s arm and hurried her out to the truck.

“What do we do now?” Mallory asked.

“I’m going to make a phone call.”

Harley and Valerie arrived at Harley’s parent’s farmhouse early in the morning. Dawn had just broken, and the autumn grass sported a fresh coat of dew. They each took one of Valerie’s suitcases out of the truck bed and headed up the porch stairs.

“Mallory,” Harley called when they walked inside. “Mallory?”

They listened for a moment waiting for a response. But the house remained silent. Valerie could see concern in Harley’s eyes. “We were out all night too,” she said. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

“She is my fiancé.”

Valerie looked at the floor. “Harley, if you don’t think we should do this…”

“Oh, no. We are doing this. You are the love of my life, Valerie. But I am concerned about Mallory. Can you blame me?”

“No. Not at all.”

“I’ll go get your other bag out of the truck.”

“Okay. I’ll take these upstairs.”

Harley caught her around the waist, whirled her around and kissed her. “Just remember, as long as we’re together nothing can tear us apart.”

Just then the doorbell rang.

“Who’s that?” Harley said.

Valerie felt a sudden shock of fear. “Farley.”

“Farley?”

“He went home and found I wasn’t there, so he came here.”

“Stay here. I’ll go down and deal with him.”

“No. We’ll go together.”

Valerie and Harley headed down the stairs to the front door. When they got to the foyer Valerie could see flashing lights outside. “What’s going on?”

The doorbell rang again. Harley opened it. Two police officers were standing on the porch. “Is your name Harley?” one of them asked.

“Yes. What…?”

The other larger officer turned him around and started putting sip ties on his wrist.

“You’re under arrest,” the first police officer continued. “Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have a right to talk to a lawyer…”

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and the five installments of my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!, Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!!!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: THE ACCUSED (1988)-HBO Max

The number one film this week on Netflix is Luckiest Girl Alive based on the book of the same name by Jessica Kroll. Kroll also wrote the screenplay. Ms. Kroll has stated she was gang raped and bullied during her teenage years and certainly has an important and intriguing story to tell about that part of her life. But this pop fiction shlock is utter sensationalism and borderline dreck. Added into the story is the element of a school shooting which only furthers to over dramatize the soapy melodramtic tale and severely weaken both hot button subjects.

Obviously, I am not recommending that film. Instead, I am going to suggest a much better more riveting movie also based on a true story which pulls no punches and depicts a genuinely realistic look at gang rape which, by the way, accounts for 25% of reported rapes. The film was highly controversial on its release in 1988 because of its graphic but necessary depiction of the subject matter. And apparently, nothing has been learned since. I’m fed up with amateur film watchers and their constant complaining that there should be warnings on films. Especially ones that contain rape and explicit sexual content. There are warnings on films on streaming and the reason a film gets an R or NC-17 rating is clearly listed at the top of the screen at the beginning of the movie. If you are of age and don’t have the stomach to watch adult subject matter then don’t. Go back to watching your schlocky romances and mediocre superhero films. Leave the real-life movies and cinema to the grownups.

The Accused is based on the real-life gang rape of Cheryl Araujo who was twenty-one years old at the time in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The trial received national coverage which, because the press nonchalantly released Araujo’s name, and caused her horrible distress. She and her husband and two daughters were forced to move to Florida after the trial where she died in a car crash at the age of twenty-five. She was intoxicated at the time which most likely was linked her PTSD from the horrific rape and its aftermath which included six men viciously raped her on a pool table and the brutal abuse she took from the community who sent death threats to the witnesses who spoke at the trial.

Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster in a fearless, brilliant Academy Award winning performance) bursts out of a bar called The Mill wearing torn clothes. She runs half-naked into the street desperately trying to flag down a car. A truck picks her up and drives her to a hospital (three college students stopped and picked up the real Araujo). Sarah, who has been raped by three men on a pinball machine goes through a lengthy physical examination which in present day would be a rape kit and is visited by Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Murphy (fantastically played by Kelly McGillis) who’s hand is forced to make a plea bargain. But after a rageful Sarah goes to Kathryn’s house and lets her know in no uncertain times that she has been sold out and humiliated, Kathryn begins to examine the case deeper and finds in addition to the three men who raped her there were also three other men at the bar that night who criminally solicitated the other men to commit the attacks. But it is a seventh man named Ken (Bernie Coulson), a college student majoring in computer science, who may be the key to winning the case.