Passion In James County VI: The Wedding
Chapter fifteen
Nora walked up onto her neighbors' back porch and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, a man in a bathrobe, who she'd never seen before answered the door. Seeing him there, in Donna's house, surprised her.
"Ah..." Nora said, "Is...is Donna home?"
Frank Miller, who was house-sitting for his sister and her husband, was surprised to find Nora Abbott at the door this late. On his way back from the store earlier that day, he'd seen his sister's neighbor, who he thought was quite attractive, and her husband leaving their house dressed in fancy clothes. Now, in the middle of the night, she was at the back door of his sister's house. Her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying, she was wearing a tan trench coat, and her dark, curly hair was disheveled. "I'm Frank Miller," he said. "Donna is my sister."
"I'm Nora...Nora Abbott," she stammered.
"Mrs. Abbott, please come in," Frank said. "You look upset. Is something wrong?"
"Uh, no, not really. I...I'm just having a bad day and I needed to talk with someone, I sometimes bother Donna when I'm feeling like this," Nora replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands as she walked into the house. "Is...is Donna home? I...I really do need to talk with her."
"Ah...I'm sorry, Nora," Frank said. "They've gone away for the weekend. I had to be in town for a few days, so they have me house-sitting for them."
"Oh, God!" Nora replied. Tears began to flow more copiously from her eyes. "I...I'm so sorry I bothered you. I...I better go." She turned and started for the door.
Frank, who had gone through a bad divorce years earlier and spent days at a time alone in the cab of his truck driving cross-country, knew only too well what it was like to be upset and lonely and have nobody to talk with. This woman looked like she felt the way he had not to long ago. And if she felt that way, she really did need someone to talk to. "Look, I'm a good listener," he said, "If you want, I'll make some coffee and you can talk to me."
Nora stopped, turned, and looked at him uncertainly. "I...I don't know..." she said softly. "I...I don't want to bother you. I...it looks as if I've already disturbed your sleep." She sniffled, took a tissue out of her coat pocket, and blew her nose.
"Hey look," Frank said, "I'm awake now, I've got plenty of time, and I really am a good listener."
"I...I don't know," Nora said hesitantly.
"I'm serious about this. I'll make coffee. You can have a cup with me and tell me your troubles," Frank insisted.
Nora shrugged. "I...I guess it wouldn't hurt," she said. She really didn't want to go back to her house where she'd be alone. And a cup of coffee would be nice. She sat down at the kitchen table.
Frank filled the coffee pot, then he sat down at the kitchen table next to Nora. She sat there, still sobbing, so he put his hand on her shoulder. He wasn't prepared for the rush of delightful sensations that coursed up his arm when it came in contact with his sister's neighbor. He'd been without feminine contact for almost a year and Nora Abbott was a very attractive woman. He felt things happening to him and knew that if he wasn't careful, he'd have a hard time standing up when it was ready. On the other hand, having his arm around her shoulders did seem to be calming her, so he left his arm where it was.
"So, are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" he asked.
"It's...it's...I think my husband is cheating on me!" Nora exclaimed suddenly. She again dissolved into heavy sobs.
Frank knew very little about Mrs. Abbott's husband, except that his sister had mentioned he was some kind of big shot lawyer and that she didn't like him much. If he remembered correctly, Donna said Mr. Abbott always acted like his shit didn't stink. What Frank had seen of the guy as he came and left from the house next door hadn't impressed him much. Abbott was good-looking, but he did have an arrogant look about him. "Are...are you sure about that?" he asked. Nora's comment had touched a nerve. His marriage had ended because of his wife's cheating.
Nora nodded and tears splashed into her lap and her body shook as she cried. Frank began rubbing her back and realized he couldn't feel any bra strap. He looked at her more carefully. It looked as if all she had on under her coat was a nightgown! That didn't nothing to help his situation. He was supposed to be comforting her - and maybe he was - but, unfortunately, he wasn't getting much comfort himself.
Feeling guilty about having the kind of thoughts he was about the vulnerable woman sitting at the kitchen table, Frank got up to pour coffee. He kept his back to Nora so she wouldn't see the bulge which was growing in his pajama pants and was ill-concealed by his bathrobe.
"Go on," he said, "I'm listening."
"We...we went to a wedding reception...tonight," Nora sobbed, "And...and I saw him...Dean...he was with someone else!" Once more, she began to sob.
Frank filled two cups with coffee, carried them to the table, set them down, and sat down again, adjusting his legs so he wouldn't be too uncomfortable. "You saw him with another woman at the reception and thought he was flirting with her, right?" Frank asked. Maybe she was just imagining that her husband was cheating.
Nora put her head in her hands. "No...no...I...I actually saw him...he was...they were..."
Frank, stunned, didn't say anything, he just continued rubbing her back. Had she really seen her husband getting it on with another woman? That, too had happened to him. He was a long-distance trucker. He came home from a long trip unexpectedly and caught his wife in bed with another man. Although he'd had suspicions about his wife's unfaithfulness before then, what he saw ended their marriage once and for all.
"I...I guess I really didn't see them...you know...doing it," Nora sobbed. "But...you...you could tell..." She paused shuddered and took a deep breath. Then she gave Frank a heart-wrenching look. "What...what am I going to do? I...I must not be much of a woman if I can't keep my husband."
"Look, I'm sure it isn't your fault," Frank said. He was angry. How could this Abbott jerk cheat on someone as nice as Nora seemed to be? And not only was she nice, she was drop-dead gorgeous. "If what you think is true, then your husband is the one with the problem, not you. Any man who would cheat on a woman as pretty as you are isn't much of a man in my book. I can't believe your husband could do that to you."