Summer Daze

Detective Goren woke with a pounding in his skull and was horrified when he opened his eyes. His face was tingling and it seemed as if he was looking at the world through a purple, red, and black veil. He braced his hands on the mattress and tried to sit up slowly. That’s when he realized he was not alone in his bed.



A naked young woman was curled up beside him. Her long, multi-colored hair had been strewn across his face. Bobby let out a sigh of relief and tried to remember what happened the night before.



It wasn’t everyday that he woke up with a strange woman in his bed. It wasn’t very often that he woke up with a woman he was acquainted with, either. One night stands simply weren’t Robert Goren’s style.



He had to wonder why. Was there something special about this girl? It wasn’t that she was attractive. Physical beauty he could resist. Had she shown him something about herself that he found truly irresistible? Did she have a good heart? A brilliant mind? Or…



“Please, God, no.” he whispered aloud to himself. Was he turning into his father?



He stumbled to the bathroom, took a couple of aspirin, showered, dressed, and tried to remember her name. There was a moment of panic when she rolled over in her sleep and he was afraid she would wake up. More than anything, he did not want to face her without knowing her name.



“Who are you?” he whispered fervently.



He walked to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. He dug in the refrigerator for some fruit and munched an apple while considering how he could gracefully wake the young lady and ask her to leave without using a name he couldn’t remember.

He scanned the apartment for clues to her identity. There was a guitar case leaning against the wall next to the front door. His motorcycle boots stood sentry in front of it. Most of his books that lined the shelves in his living room were scattered on the floor. His Ramones t-shirt was turned wrong side out and dangled crazily from a rail on his treadmill. A single history tome lay open on the coffee table.

He picked it up and read, “Saraswati-Hindu Goddess of Rivers, Art, and Music. The Goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful, olive-skinned woman with green or golden eyes and dressed in pure white, often seated on a white lotus (although Her actual vahana, or mount, is believed to be a swan), which symbolizes that she is founded in the experience of the Absolute Truth. Thus, she not only has the knowledge but also the experience of the Highest Reality. She is mainly associated with the color white, which signifies the purity of true knowledge.

A white swan is often located next to her feet. The sacred swan, if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink the milk alone. The swan thus symbolizes discrimination between the good and the bad or the eternal and the fleeting Due to her association with the swan; Goddess Saraswati is also referred to as Hamsa-vahini, which means ‘she who has a swan as her vehicle’.

She is usually depicted near a flowing river, which may be related to her early history as a water goddess. The swan and her association with the lotus flower also point to her ancient origin.

Sometimes a peacock is shown beside the goddess. The peacock represents arrogance and pride over its beauty, and by having a peacock as her mount, the Goddess teaches Hindus not to be concerned with traditional beauty and to be wise regarding the eternal truth.”

Obviously the guitar belonged to the girl in his bed and that must have inspired him to look up that particular article. He began placing his books back on their shelves and noticed a balled up cocktail napkin next to the phone. He smoothed it out and found the name Summer Davis followed by a license number.



It was starting to come back to him now. Going undercover with Eames, the bar, lots of drinking, the interview…’Oh God, she’s a witness’ the thought struck him with horror. A tune played over and over at the fringes of his memory. He couldn’t place it; maybe it was something the band had played. The band! She was a singer.



“What have I done?” He asked himself.



He walked back to the bedroom and found her standing by the bed, stretching.



“Um, Good morning, uh, Summer.” He smiled nervously.



“Morning.” She smiled back brightly, tossing her bed rumpled hair, “Mind if I shower?”



Bobby marveled at her complacency, standing completely naked in a stranger’s bedroom. He didn’t think he’d ever been so uncomfortable standing fully dressed in his own. She really was a lovely creature. “Uh…Not at all,” he stammered, trying to force himself to keep his eyes averted, “I-I do have to…um… go to work soon…”

“I’ll be quick.” She replied and scurried toward the bathroom, “Oh, say…” she called, causing him to turn toward her.



“Yes?” he answered, turning his gaze away quickly.



“Do you have some clothes I could borrow?”



He peeked at her tiny frame, blushed, and chuckled, “Nothing that’s going to fit.”



“I don’t care. It’s just that putting on the clothes you were wearing the night before on the morning after…Kinda makes a girl feel like the whore of Babylon.”



“Oh.” Her matter of fact statement defied argument. There was definitely something refreshing in her straight forward manner. “Um, There are some t-shirts in the dresser…H-Help yourself,” he offered.



As he went about gathering his things for work he silently berated himself. ‘What’s wrong with you, Goren...She’s too young…You’re too old…She’s involved in your murder investigation for Christ’s sake…”



He sat at the kitchen table with his notebook and a mound of scrawled upon cocktail napkins, trying to decipher his own drunken handwriting. Slowly, he was shaking the feelings of disgust he had with his own behavior and the feelings of attraction he was experiencing for Summer. As he wrote, he began to recall all the bits of information Ms. Davis had revealed.



The victim had been married to Kai Hameltt, the bassist in Succubus Blush, for seven years until their divorce three years ago. The divorce had been amiable and the couple remained good friends. It was believed that Star had a girlfriend but no one had ever seen her.



“Thanks, I feel much better.”



Bobby looked up at his guest and tried to suppress a grin. She wore her knee high combat boots and had used her belt to cinch a plain black t-shirt loosely at her hips like a dress. Her wet hair was combed and streaming down her back. If it weren’t for certain obvious endowments, she would have looked exactly like a preschooler playing dress up.



“You’re, uh, welcome.” He replied, “There’s coffee, if you want some.”



“Please.” She nodded, taking a seat at the table.



He got up and fetched a mug from the cupboard, “I-I’d offer you breakfast…”



“That’s okay,” she interrupted, “I have to get to work, myself.”



“Cream or sugar?”



“Black.”



Bobby set the steaming mug in front of her and reached for his wallet, “Here’s my card,” he said, deftly extracting one and holding it out to her. “You can call me if you think of anything else to tell me about Ms. Morgan.” He steered the conversation to the business of his case. He was much more comfortable ‘on the job’.



Summer accepted the card and looked at it sadly for a moment, remembering Star. Then she broke into a grin and quipped, “I thought you were the one that was supposed to call me.”



Time to face the inevitable. He took a deep breath, looked at her earnestly, and spoke in his most professional voice, “Look, Ms. Davis…”



“Ms. Davis?!?” she looked at him as if he were crazy.



“Alright, S-Summer…” he continued, “I owe you an apology. Um…Last night wasn’t supposed to happen. It was, uh, highly u-unprofessional of me…”



“I’ll say.” She grinned at him.



“I’m serious.” He stated firmly, “I’m investigating your friend’s murder. Getting in-involved with you is un…ethical. That aside,” he paused and let out a quiet sigh, “You’re young and …”



She burst out laughing. She laughed so hard tears ran down her cheeks. “Not that young.” She gasped between her gales of laughter.



Bobby looked confused, “What’s so funny?”



She took a moment to regain control of herself before she answered, “We had the same conversation last night…You don’t remember.” She began to giggle again.



“You’re right. I don’t…I was…um…very drunk.”



“I know.” She replied mirthfully, “You called me a Goddess…You know, I thought it was the most ludicrous line I’d ever heard until you tore the place up looking for that book. You read me a whole bunch of stuff about a Hindu Goddess of music.”



“Saraswati.” He informed her quietly.



“Yeah, that was it.” She smiled sweetly, “How could a girl resist after that?”



“I- I’m sorry.” He replied miserably, “I shouldn’t have taken advantage…”



“You didn’t” she giggled, “I mean; you did, but not right away. You kept stopping and arguing with yourself. It was cute. You finally had to call in my license before you’d sleep with me.”



“I did?” He couldn’t believe his own behavior was such a mystery.



“Yes.” She mouthed the word as she nodded, hilarity taking control of her once more, “Check your fax machine…”



Bobby shook his head as if to clear it, “That’s not the point. You are involved in a case…”



“No!” she said emphatically, a wicked grin playing across her mouth. “You said, for the record, and I quote, ‘To hell with Ross. I’ll love you forever if you promise to keep doing that.’ I kept my end of the bargain…Who’s Ross?”



“My Captain…W-What was th..at?” Bobby wasn’t really sure he wanted to know.



Summer leaned forward until she was barely an inch from his face before she was able to catch his eyes. “Don’t worry, detective. You had a great time,” she whispered. Then she quickly brushed her lips against his cheek and announced, “I’ve really got to get to work.” She jumped up, grabbed her bundle of clothes and her guitar case, and opened the door, “I’ll call you and set up something to get your shirt back to you.”



The words leapt out of Bobby’s mouth before he could stop them, “You can bring it by whenever you want.”



She smiled and dropped him a wink. Then the door closed and she was gone. Bobby felt like a cooling but disruptive whirlwind had just blown through the apartment, leaving him refreshed and bewildered. He genuinely liked her. She seemed bright, lovely, talented, and most of all, honest. So few women could experience his endless quest for knowledge and still seem interested. For the first time in his career, Robert Goren cursed the job. The thought was fleeting, however, and he quickly reverted to kicking himself.



He went to the fax and picked up the lone piece of paper. He glanced at her stats and placed it in his notebook.



“Thirty-five” he muttered as he grabbed his keys, “she sure doesn’t look it.”