Passion In James County IX
Indiscretions
By D.C. Roi
Chapter eighteen
Peter Tomlinson pulled up in front of Bonnie Markham's rural home, got out of his car, walked to the house, and rang the doorbell.
Bonnie opened the door, smiled, and her eyes brightened when she saw him. "Hi, Peter," she said.
"Wow!" Peter said, "You look fantastic!"
Bonnie had on a white loose-knit cardigan sweater over a gray paisley pattern blouse and a gray skirt. A string of pearls hung around her neck. She blushed at his compliment.
"Ready to go?" Peter asked.
"Let me get my coat," Bonnie said. She did and they left.
They went to a very nice restaurant. It wasn't overly fancy, but it was comfortable. The proprietor, a man named Milos who apparently knew Peter, greeted them at the door and made a huge fuss over Bonnie when Peter introduced them.
"You are very attractive," Milos told Bonnie. "I can see now why so many people go to your diner. If it were not that I have my own restaurant, I would think of going there, too, just to see you."
"Ah...thank you," Bonnie replied. She felt her face get hot again.
They were ushered to a table and the owner left them alone to study the menus.
"Milos really has the gift of gab doesn't he?" Peter commented when the restaurant owner walked away. "He's a little embarrassing sometimes."
"I guess!" Bonnie said.
Peter was an old high school classmate of Bonnie's who she hadn't seen in ages. She was surprised when he showed up at the diner one day, a salesman representing a food service company. He had invited both Bill and her to dinner to discuss a food service package he wanted to sell them, but Bill declined, telling Bonnie to go.
Bonnie was happy to have the opportunity to spend time with her old classmate again. For reasons she didn't quite understand, Mitch had suddenly stopped calling her lately, and her husband had become even more inattentive, so the idea of a night out with a handsome man didn't turn her off at all.
"You know," Peter said, smiling, "Milos was right, though. I don't know if you ever knew it, but I had a crush on you in school. I thought you were pretty then, but I think you're even prettier now."
"Peter!" Bonnie exclaimed. She was beginning to think she'd never stop blushing. She looked at her companion. He'd gotten a lot better looking since high school, too. He had a nice smile, was a bit bulky, and certainly was a lot less shy than she recalled him being in school. "I thought you wanted to sell me your firm's food."
"I do," Peter said. "But I can compliment you, too, can't I?"
"Knock it off," Bonnie laughed. "I'd have listened to your sales pitch without the meal. And flattery will get you nowhere. You'll find out I'm a hard-headed businesswoman. If what you're selling looks like a good deal, I'll buy it, if it doesn't, all the flattery in the world won't work."
"The flattery isn't part of the sales pitch," Peter said. "But the meal is. I brought you here because Milos is one of my satisfied customers."
"Well, I guess if the food's good, then you may make a sale," Bonnie replied.
"That's fair," Peter said.
The meal came, they ate, and as they did they talked about what they'd done since they left school. Peter told her he'd been married, but was now divorced. Like Bonnie, he had no children.
"You were right, Peter," Bonnie said, "the food is excellent."
"See, I told you so," he replied, smiling.
Milos joined them after they finished eating. The restaurant owner enthusiastically sang the praises of Peter's company and the service it provided. "You could do a lot worse than to do business with Peter, here," the restaurant owner said. "I won't lie to you, Miss Bonnie, I have had a few problems, but Peter, he's gotten them straightened out right away."
After they finished their meal, they went out to Peter's car. "You interested in having a drink with me before I take you home?" he asked.
The last thing Bonnie wanted was for the evening to end. She was having far too wonderful a time with Peter. "Sure," she said. "I'd like that."
"There's a nice tavern in my motel," he said. "That OK with you?"
"It sounds fine," Bonnie said. She wasn't worried about her husband being upset because she was out late. Bill had been coming home later and later recently and even if she was out really late with Peter, she'd most likely be going home to an empty house. Having a drink with Peter wouldn't hurt anything.
When they arrived at the motel, Peter parked his car in the lot, got out, and opened the door for Bonnie. She got out of the car, then they went inside to the tavern.
The motel tavern was dimly lit. A hostess greeted them and seated them in a booth in the corner.
"This is nice, Peter," Bonnie said. "Have you been here before?"
"A few times," Peter said. "I usually stay here when I'm here in Jamestown on business. It's a good place to meet people."
The waitress came, took their drink order, then left.
"You really look lovely tonight," Peter told Bonnie.
She blushed and averted her eyes. "I...I'm sorry," she said. "I probably shouldn't act like this, but I'm not used to compliments. I haven't had many since Bill and I got married."
"You deserve them," Peter told her. "You really do."
She looked at him and wondered why he'd come back into her life now, when it was in such turmoil. "You know, Peter..." she said, "...lately I've been doing a lot of thinking. I've been starting to think my marriage may have been a mistake, and I'm not sure I can tolerate it any more."