My thanks to my editor adetaildiva. Without her this would be a poorer story. After her any errors are mine.
*
"I was talking to Jean Marlowe again. You know she was an English major in college." We were driving back from church the next day. Since I was obviously back in the dating scene, Linda felt like she could push her candidates forward.
"Really." I had been a history major at UT, but my minor was English and I loved reading 'classic' novels. I could tell that I'd have to have at least one date with Jean and, if she liked novels, maybe it could be fun.
On Monday night, I made two calls. Nan and I were going clubbing on Friday and Jean and I were going to dinner on Saturday.
When I picked Jean up, she was dressed in a simple black skirt and red scoop-neck shell. Very pretty but conservative, the outfit set off her light complexion and chestnut hair. She wasn't going to incite the wolves tonight.
I took her to dinner at a place further out, in the opposite direction from Nan's place. It was upscale from the one I had taken Nan to on our first date. I felt we could dawdle there for coffee and conversation.
"You know, Dickens wrote his novels from 1836 onwards." Jean and I had discussed our favorite novels during a two-hour dinner. The waiter's glare had finally driven me to get the check.
We were window-shopping in the quaint downtown area where the restaurant was. The little crossroads was being restored. It had almost died as a farming community in the sixties. Now it was reviving as the Washington suburbs sprawled ever further out.
Jean was now talking about her favorite novelist. "But the actual conditions he described were from London in the early 1800's. Oh, look! A sale!"
Like most men of a certain age, I have learned that it is dangerous to get between a woman and a dollars-off sign. "Oh. Kid's clothes."
"Yes. That dress would look great on Rebecca for Christmas parties. And see, back there. They've got winter jackets marked down. I bet Bobby will need something heavier than he had in Georgia. And I can see some boy's sport jackets back there, too."
"How long's the sale on?"
"The sign says through Friday."
"Maybe we ought to get over here this week." I spoke without thinking. What a dummy! Had I just committed to another date? Would she think I'm pushing too hard? Did she just maneuver me into this?
"You can't pass up something like this. I bet clothes are a lot more expensive up here than you're used to."
"I'll have to talk to Linda about what Bobby needs. Last year Faith helped me with this."
"Who's Faith?"
"Faith's the only nanny that Bobby ever had before we moved up here. Kathy and I hired her when Bobby was six weeks old. She kept the house running for several months after Kathy was killed until I recovered. Look, a bookstore. I always like to shop at hometown bookstores over the B&N's and the big chains. I guess I'm just a small town boy at heart."
"Yeah. I like the smaller stores, too. I don't mind paying a few dollars more if I can get personal service."
"Unless you find a sale."
"Hey! That was a small store. I bet even with the sale they still have good service."
I delivered Jean back to her door about an hour later. "Jean, I really enjoyed the evening. Perhaps I can call you during the week and we can set up another get-together."
"Jack, I'd really like that." Before I could do anything else, she reached up and gave me a peck on the cheek and stepped back. "Good night."
As I watched the door close, I wondered where I was. I didn't expect every girl I went out with to hop in bed after the first date like Nan, although I could always hope. But I wasn't sure if Jean liked me or just wanted me to leave and the kiss was to avoid being groped. Damn! Ten years of close association with a woman and I still didn't know anything.
I got home just as the nightly news was coming on. "Linda, do you know why Jean got divorced?"
"Never thought to ask, but even if I had, you ought to ask her first."
"Well, I liked being out with her, but -- and don't get me wrong. I don't expect every date to end in bed -- I don't know whether she liked the date or not. When I dropped her off, she gave me a quick peck on the cheek and disappeared."
"Did you try to kiss her?"
"No. I was going to, but she acted before I could and then was gone just like that."
"Well, I'd say that was a good sign. The only way to find out, though, is to ask her out again."
"We saw a children's clothing store that was having a sale. Would it be too unromantic to ask her to go with me and Bobby?"
"I think that would be sweet. Some divorced women, though, don't want their children meeting their dates too early. That way if things don't work out they don't have to explain what happened to Mister Jack."
"Huh. Never thought about that. That's something I ought to think about, too."
Jean had suggested Mickey D's Playland for dinner before going shopping. We were watching Bobby chase Rebecca through the tunnels or her guide him through the tunnels depending on which kid you asked.
"I've got Linda to help with the house and Bobby when I get stuck. You have any help?"
"There's a woman in the neighborhood that can pick up Rebecca in an emergency. Other than that, I do it all myself."
"Wow! It's been almost two years since Kathy left for Iraq and I still feel like I'm learning to manage a household. Women are amazing."
"Well, it's been about four since Josh left me. Being chauvinistic, I think that women just instinctively understand how to manage home and hearth. Men are still the hunters."
Sure enough there was a good winter coat for Bobby to play outside in and a plaid sport jacket that he could wear to church or other dress-up occasions.
"Daddy, I'm going to be an Eskimo." The fake fur trim on the hood did lend itself to that approach.
"We'll have to get you a spear for the seals, sport. He has a book with chapters on kids around the world. Spearing seals and spearing elephants are his favorite pastimes right now," I said turning to Jean.
"Thank you, momma," Rebecca curtsied. Rebecca looked gorgeously adorable in the green velvet dress that Jean had spotted in the window.
"They make her thank the teacher at the end of every ballet lesson. It's helped in other places, too. Would you like to come back and I'll make us some coffee?"
"Friday nights are the one time that I feel I can say 'Stop world. I want to get off.' Tomorrow it'll be back to soccer games and groceries, but Friday nights I decompress." Jean curled gracefully down on the other half of the couch. She didn't hug the arm, but instead by settling where she did, she invited me to move over and share her space. I intended to take her up on that.
The kids were in the den. Shrek 2 was in the DVD player and they would probably fall asleep before it was over. Things were pointing toward Jean and I and some alone time.
"Jack, there is no good time to do this. I could see it in your eyes earlier that you are wondering why a guy would leave his two-year old daughter and wife. It also begs the question of how I could have made the mistake of choosing him."
"Jean, I don't want to pry --"
"No. I feel the beginnings of a connection, but if we can't get past this then it's good to know now rather than six months on."
"I feel a good vibe, too," I replied and then I waited for her to continue. It was quiet as she collected her thoughts.
"I met Josh during my junior year at UVA, but we didn't start dating until the beginning of our senior year. It didn't take long before we were very close, if you get my drift. He was only my third lover, but I thought we were pretty good together. I tried the Pill but the hormones played havoc with my body, so we used condoms. Spring Break we went to Florida. One night we got drunk and went skinny-dipping. One thing led to another and we were doing it in the dunes. Of course Josh had forgotten the rubbers. Just one time won't hurt, we thought. And here we were getting ready to graduate from UVA! Intelligence doesn't equal smart."
"Well, we got the wedding lined up for June and I couldn't have been happier. By then I was past morning sickness and my hormones were raging. They raged until Rebecca was born. Then it seemed like I was tired all the time. By the time she was a year old I was back in balance, but the spark wasn't there."
"One day the daycare called. Rebecca was sick and I picked her up. I heard Josh's voice when I walked in the door. Rebecca heard it too. Even though she was sick, she ran to the bedroom to see her daddy."
"Well, she saw all of her daddy and all of the blonde bimbo that he was screwing. They were out of the house in five minutes. By the time Josh returned, I had a suitcase packed for him. He tried to tell me that this was the first time and he'd never do it again. What guy drives fifteen miles from work on his lunch hour to bed a gal the first time? We tried counseling but I kept thinking: if he's unfaithful after two years of marriage, what's he going to be doing after twenty years?"
She was sniffling now. I could imagine even after four years that this was still traumatic. I put my arm around her. She blew her nose and continued.
"The last counseling session, when he saw that I was going to cut him loose, he let go at me until the therapist stopped him. He called me cold and unimaginative in bed. Josh said that I'd be married to my fingers from here on because no one would want the missionary position on top of a woman stiff as a board, and just as flat, every night for the rest of their lives." She blubbered for awhile. I just held her until she felt like talking some more.
"Josh has been responsible since the divorce. Of course, working for the government they would come down on him like a ton of bricks if he missed his child support. But he shows up for Rebecca's soccer games and her ballet performances. He plans things to do with her on the weekends when it's his turn to have her."
"I take his support payments and put them in a 529 account for her college and I show him the balance each quarter. I think that makes it less like he's paying to support me, too. When she needs braces or if she falls in love with horses I may have to change, but now it's okay."
