Note: this is a continuation of the story "Cathy ch 01" by AntlerBoy. It works okay as a stand-alone story, but will make more sense if you read the first part first. Er, yeah, that makes sense, right? Right.
*
Turns out there was no "next day." I returned home from work to find my friend Bill packing a suitcase, as Cathy scurried to help him find things around their apartment next door.
"My brother Bud needs help down in San Diego," he explained. "I mean work help. And you know things are tight here right now... he needs the help, and I need the money... works for me!"
I watched him throw his suitcase in the back of his worn-out Plymouth Volare... and watched him give Cathy a quick kiss on the cheek before he jumped in and fired the engine. Then he turned to me and said: "...take care of Cathy for me, okay?" and then almost as an afterthought: "Don't worry...I'll be back before you drop the kid!" And with that, he jammed the gas and lamely squealed a bit of tire smoke on his way out the driveway.
Cathy and I walked back upstairs to our apartments: she to hers, and I to mine.
I didn't see Cathy again for three days. Which was fine. Mixed feelings over mixed drinks, coupled with time, helped me quench the fire from my passions with her of the days before. And I went back to my writing. And things were fine... until...
The following Thursday night. I was working late, and frankly had the stereo cranked a notch louder than necessary. In fact, it was only during a quiet passage that I heard her knock on the door. And I opened the door to find Cathy, pushing her way in. I remember the door bumping my forehead as she pushed her way into the room.
"Now he says he's going to be gone for 2 months, the SOB!" Cathy whirled and kicked the floor as she continued. "Did you ever believe that shit about going to help his brother in San Diego? I didn't! That SOB!"
And with that, she broke into tears, collapsing onto the couch, head in hands... and a genuine awkward pose as she struggled to adjust her legs, splayed to accommodate her swollen belly.
I moved to sit next to her on the couch, embracing her, and swiping her long hair away from her face... brushing tears from her cheeks.
"He's not even going to be here for the birth of our daughter. He promised. Promised!..." she sobbed, as she turned into my shoulder. We embraced for a long moment. And then I walked over to my desk.
Lifting my glass to take a sip of wine, I turned to Cathy. "I am so sorry about your husband Billy... what can I do to help?" And frankly, over the rim of my glass, I drank deeply at the vision of her swollen pregnant form, awaiting her reply.
"I know that I turn you on..." she said. "I still turn you on, yes?"
"Yes," I replied.
"How about now?" she asked, twisting back onto the couch, and pulling the hem of her dress far up above her knees. And then, without breaking eye contact, pulled her dress all the way up over her hips, revealing sheer-white panties. "How about NOW?" she asked again.