As Jack sat at his kitchen table and ate the remaining cake, he pondered the evening's surprise - the camera in the living room.
He wondered, 'Were we being watched? Who called Diane's cellphone so late? Was Diane so quickly aroused by thinking someone watched us... or by me?'
He walked to the counter and placed the empty plate in the sink, feeling less satisfied with tonight's happy ending.
'But... it was exciting,' he thought, as he raised his fingers to smell Diane's lingering fragrance. 'I'm not washing my hand for a while.'
Picking up his cellphone, Jack walked to his bedroom, lay down, and wondered if she was free to text.
Magically, his phone buzzed with a message from Diane, which simply read, 'I love you!'
Good to know, but he wanted more information. So, he sent back, 'I love you, too! By the way, when I left, I noticed the picture frame from your bedroom was now in the living room.'
It took a minute, before she answered with a question, 'You didn't see it until you left?'
'No. I didn't. Why does that matter?'
Again, there was a long delay, before he received a response. 'Well, I told Sharon she could see clearly what you looked like by checking the camera feed. I thought you must've seen the picture frame, and I wasn't about to stop you to find out. So sorry!
'So, Sharon watched us? Is that who called?'
'Yes. So did Lou. They're happy for me. For us.'
Jack didn't know how he felt about their performance. He wouldn't have done it if he knew they were on camera. But there was no denying it didn't bother Diane. In fact, being watched probably made it more thrilling for her.
Diane continued with another text. 'Sharon said it was nice to see that you could have your cake and eat me, too. Ha ha!'
'Funny,' wrote Jack, with less enthusiasm.
'They offered to reciprocate, if you were interested.'
It took a second for the message to sink in. Aloud and to himself, Jack said, "Reciprocate?" Then he wrote, 'What do you mean, reciprocate?' knowing in his heart what it meant, but needed confirmation.
Diane simply wrote, 'We turned them on. They'd do the same for us.'
He typed, 'What did you say?'
'Can't now. Grandchildren here,' was her quick response.
So, she left the door open for future performances.
Jack put down his phone in astonishment. Sharon and Lou were basically offering to start up with them where Diane and Larry left off.
His phone buzzed. After a while, Jack read the text, 'Sharon said you are very attractive, but wore too much.' It was followed by a wink emoji.
Jack shook his head, feeling embarrassed and a little titillated all at the same time. He answered, 'Okay, goodnight. See you tomorrow.'
'Goodnight, Lover!'
Lover. His heart leapt at the endearment. He was her lover and in love with her, but where would this relationship go from here?
Two hours later, Jack woke from a sound sleep. It took a few seconds to realize the cause of his disturbed slumber, but then it became clear as the nose on his face. Reaching down, his hand found an erection - a truly hard erection. Turning on the lamp, he slid down his briefs to see his first post-surgery hard-on. It looked different, more curved than before, but it worked! The doctor said it might take a year, and to be patient. The odds were good that he'd regain some sexual function over time.
'Why did this happen while asleep and not with Diane?'
As it began to shrink, the need to pee increased.
'So having to pee caused it? Or, was I dreaming about sex?' He couldn't remember, but he could still smell Diane on his fingers. Maybe he'd been sleeping with his hand near his face.
After a trip to the bathroom, he returned to bed and fell back to sleep with renewed optimism and his fingers at his nose.
Chirping birds at sunrise woke Jack early. Lying on his back, he brought his hand to his nose and savored the fading Diane scent. This was a happy moment to linger over. He thought love was done with him. Sex was a thing of the past - only meant for the young and virile. But today love was real, and sex a possibility. One more deep inhale, before a shower and shave. There were things to do today. Diane and the grandkids were camping at the pond overnight. Maybe he could invite himself to the party. Fireworks might work as an entrance fee. His love for Diane should extend to her family. Make her happy by making them happy. Not a devious ploy, but a natural one-thing-leads-to-another progression of intimacy.
Two hours later, Jack finished moving a picnic table, gas grill, and another tent to the pond. Sleeping in a separate place seemed the appropriate thing to do. Christmas lights, he'd only used in the winter during tree sales, were added for atmosphere. A small Honda generator gave enough power to provide at least one modern convenience. Given more time, a porta potty could've been on site. The guest arrangements were much easier in the summer when the temperature was above freezing and no snow on the ground.
Just as Jack prepared to leave for the fireworks store, he heard what sounded like a dog fight coming from the direction of Diane's house. The snarling and yelping were quickly followed by a little girl's screams of terror.
Running toward the sounds of yelling and fighting, Jack crossed the street and into the backyard. He rounded the back corner to see Diane standing with her arms around her grandchildren and Rascal shaking a fox by its neck like a ragdoll.
"He's killing it! He's killing it!" Emily screamed, and buried her face against Diane's leg.
Rascal finally dropped it and stood panting over the unmoving body.
Jack moved between Rascal and the kids, and asked, "What happened?"
"I don't know. The kids were out on the patio, eating breakfast. I was inside, cleaning up."
Jack turned to her grandson who looked shaken, but under control. "Did you see what happened, Jason?"
"Yeah. Rascal was lying next to us when the fox came out of the woods. It was acting weird. It kept pacing back and forth, getting closer and closer. Rascal got up and started growling, but the fox kept coming. Then Rascal just attacked it."
"Did anyone touch the fox or touch Rascal after they started fighting?"
"No."
"What are you thinking, Jack?" asked Diane.
"I'm going to take the fox and have it checked for rabies. Rascal is going to the Vet's. They'll want to quarantine him for a while."
"Has he been vaccinated?"
"Yes, but they'll give him a booster shot for added immunity."
Diane pried Emily from her leg and knelt down to her eye level. "Everything is okay, Honey. Rascal was protecting you. The fox was sick and dangerous."
