Carl learned to only react to things that might be life-threatening. He hardly looked away from the ballgame when the seven-year-old ran by making jet noises with his arms extended like wings and the terrier barking at his heels. He ignored the 4-year-old behind the coffee table, pretending to swim in goggles, flippers and a snorkel, but nothing else. Carl didn't react until Evy, in her sleek one-piece swimsuit, snatched the naked boy and tucked him under her arm. Evy paused on her way out to ask "Are you about ready?" Carl lifted his tee shirt to show her his swim trunks, then stood and clicked the television off.
"Get Kyle covered and I'll make sure Donny lands safely." They were going down the street to a pool party and it was time to leave.
Aaron heard himself sigh at the ceiling and realized that Mindy might have heard it too. He swung his legs off the bed to sit up and watched his wife. In her mental state Mindy could overreact to the smallest things, but she was preoccupied with her hair and with her makeup and with the irresistible need to touch herself. Aaron did everything he could for his wife, but he couldn't do it constantly. Something had to give.
"Let me get a shower, then we can go." Aaron groaned, and dragged his exhausted body off the bed. Taking Mindy to the neighborhood party risked an embarrassment, but it seemed to Aaron like his best chance to recover.
The house was open when Carl and Evy got to the party. They let the kids lead them through the house to the patio where Aaron waited under an umbrella. Carl and Aaron had an unspoken pact to support each other's ideas and objections at the neighborhood meetings. To Carl, Aaron didn't look well, or maybe like he hadn't slept. Carl looked around after they shook hands and asked "Where's Mindy?"
"Don't know. It's hard to keep her in one place these days." Aaron shrugged. "Maybe the little girls room, maybe somewhere else. I'm sure she'll be back." Evy found a place beside the pool while they talked.
The afternoon sun had set low enough to shade the patio, but the tiles by the pool still radiated heat. Carl stretched his legs out in front of the pool-side chair and watched the kids in the water. Evy settled into the chair next to him and rested her hand on his thigh. "Oh look." She said, motioning across the pool. "There's Mindy. She's pretty, but that little white sun dress is risky, don't you think? Does it look like she's lost weight?"
"Aahh... I don't know." was Carl's best answer. He didn't like to answer those sorts of questions. "I don't see much difference, but you always notice things that I don't." Something about Mindy was very attractive. Maybe it was the sun dress with its hem swirling lightly at mid-thigh, or maybe it was something in her manner. Aaron pointed across the pool to where Carl sat with Evy, and Mindy waved to them. Carl waved back then kept a furtive eye on Mindy. When she worked her way around the pool to where the caterers were setting up the buffet table Carl decided to get a closer look. He announced "I'm going to see what they have in the buffet" and pulled himself out of the patio chair. "Is there anything you want?"
"A cola or something is all for now." Evy answered. "I'll look later." There wasn't a lot on the table yet to chose from. Carl was sampling the dips when he overheard Mindy talking with two women at the end of the table.
"A swimsuit under this?" Mindy asked, plucking at her dress. She giggled. "Oh no. All I'm wearing under this is a thong. The invitation said that the kids could have the pool until 8:30 and the grown-ups after that, but I want to be home fucking my hubby before that happens." Carl looked up in surprise and found Mindy grinning back at him, her dark hair framing bright eyes and red lips.
One of the caterers tried to squeeze through the door and dropped a jar of mayonnaise that she was juggling. Carl scrambled to scoop up the jar before it rolled under the table and helped her into the kitchen. When he turned around he found Mindy behind him, so close so that she startled him. She pulled her pony tail over her shoulder and combed her fingers through it while she talked, oblivious of the caterers bustling about them.
"I didn't mean to embarrass you out there, but then you shouldn't be listening in on other people's conversations. Now you know what I'm wearing and what I'm not wearing. Maybe you should tell me a secret to make us even." Carl gestured but couldn't come up with anything to say before Mindy snatched his hand. She worked her thumbs into the palm, then looked into his eyes. "You have big, strong hands." She wrapped her hand around his first two fingers and went on. "Your wife is that beautiful Eveline, right? I bet she loves what you can do with these hands."
"Excuse me," The caterer interrupted. "but I need to get to that counter behind you." Carl sidestepped and pulled Mindy along with his hand on her elbow. Mindy touched herself where Carl had tugged on her arm and balanced uneasily on the balls of her feet, wavering between stepping closer to him and stepping back.
"Everyone but her Mom calls her Evy." Carl answered. He wasn't comfortable with the way things were going. Mindy stepped closer and he needed to deflect the conversation, so he held his hands up. "The hands built a tree house last week, but Evy didn't love that as much as the boys did." He glanced through the glass doors that separated the kitchen from the patio and asked. "I think Evy is looking for me." Carl held the kitchen door open for Mindy and she brushed her body against him as she left. He had to stop by the buffet table and gather his thoughts before he remembered to get Evy's cola out of the ice.
"Look at what I can do!" Kyle called to get his Dad's attention, then jumped feet-first into the shallow end of the pool where Evy caught him and kept him from going under. Carl was having a hard time keeping his eyes off Mindy and Kyle distracted him for only a moment.
"Someone said that they have a game room." Donny started. He was already bored with the pool. He leaned over the arm of Carl's chair with his wet hair dripping. "Can I go inside and find something else to do?" Carl pushed Donny back so he wouldn't drip on him and toweled his hair. Carl saw an opportunity to get his mind off Mindy. He stood up and motioned to Donny, but called to Evy.
"We're going in to find the game room and make sure that it's okay." Donny ran on ahead and Carl followed. They found the game room in the basement, where two college kids hired for the party were in charge. Carl left Donny there and started back to the pool, but stopped when Mindy surprised him by stepping from a darkened alcove beside the stairs. Daylight from up the stairs lit half of Mindy's face and left half in shadows.
"I need to touch you again." Mindy whispered, embarrassed by her need. She put her hands on Carl's biceps, then ran her fingers down his arms. She glanced to the game room, then touched her breast and tugged at her nipple. "And I need you to touch me." Carl recoiled and nearly collided with a teenager who leaped down the stairs toward the game room, but then he stepped toward Mindy and pulled her back into the alcove and out of the way.
"What's wrong with you?" He demanded. "I haven't known you very long, but I've never seen you like this and the way you're acting would be odd for anyone." Mindy bit her lip and gathered her nerves.
"I'm bipolar." She explained with tension in her voice. "Aside from my psychiatrist, no-one knows that but Aaron and I, and now you. It's never been this bad before. My mood stabilizer isn't working, so I'm high as a kite and it's hard to think about anything but sex. I've worked Aaron in bed for the last day and a half, but I wore him out. Now I need you. I've needed you since you touched my arm in the kitchen." She pushed herself closer to him. "You'll do it, won't you? Don't say no. I don't care where we do it -- a closet, a bathroom, I don't care β and I don't much care what you do to me."