"Marjorie!" I said, looking up from my desk as my old friend entered the office. "Right on time, as usual."
"For lunch?" she smiled back, "Always!"
It had been a while since I'd had seen Marjorie, even though we both worked downtown now, so I was more than pleased when she invited me out to lunch. I only had a few friends that I spent time with anymore, as their family lives had slowly taken over during the years, but it was always nice to get together once in a while, or even just talk on the phone, which seemed to happening less and less these days.
"Ready to go, Diane?" Marjorie asked.
"Just about," I replied. "My boss stepped out for a few minutes and should be back right away. We can go then."
"Oh yes, the amazing Justin Miller you've been telling me about," Marjorie kidded. "I finally get to meet him, huh?"
"I haven't said that much, have I?" I chuckled back.
"No, but the fact that he even lets you call him by his first name already makes him awesome in my books," Marjorie replied. "You would never see any of the stuffed shirts I work for do that."
"Well, maybe a paralegal's office is more laid back then a room full of dentists," I suggeted.
"They're all assholes as far as I'm concerned," Marjorie shot back.
The door opened and Justin, a black man in his mid-twenties wearing a very stylish, navy blue suit strode in.
"Justin, I was about to head out for lunch, if that's okay? Oh, this is my friend, Marjorie."
"Marjorie, charmed to meet you," Justin said, extending his hand out to shake hers. "I guess I should have known that Diane's friends would be as lovely as she is."
"Oh... um... thanks," Marjorie replied, shaking Justin's hand. "And you're as nice as Diane says too."
"Oh, so Diane's been talking about me?" Justin asked in a mock, disapproving tone.
"We'd better get going or we'll be late," I said, trying to change the subject.
"Okay, just don't be gone too long Diane," Justin said, his tone still pleasant but becoming more serious. "We really do have a lot of work to do this afternoon."
"I won't, and thanks again for letting me take a long lunch today. You know how crazy traffic can be at this hour."
"Go already, before I change my mind!" Justin said, his laughter showing through his mock anger.
-
"Wow, he is really something," Marjorie said, sounding genuinely impressed. We had just been seated at the restaurant and had ordered our meal.
"You mean Justin?"
"No, I mean the pimply faced waiter who offered to get me a glass of water," Marjorie chuckled back. "Of course I mean Justin. Not bad luck considering... how long have you been out of the workforce now?"
"Almost twenty years," I replied. I had worked as a legal secretary before, but after my second child had decided to be a stay-at-home mom instead.
"Well, it doesn't pay worth shit," I laughed, trying to bring Marjorie back to Earth. "But Justin hasn't been out of school that long, so he can't really afford much beyond the office space he's renting. That's also how I managed to get part-time. He does the rest of the work himself."
"It's enough for you, and besides 'cozy' has it's benefits," Marjorie replied. "And as for the money, you just wanted a chance to get out of the house again anyway, right?"
"Yeah, that's true."
"Nice job, with a nice boss... who's not too hard on the eyes, either," Marjorie observed. "You're doing quite well, my friend."
"Marjorie..." I said, protesting.
"Oh come on, don't act like you haven't noticed," Marjorie teased.
"He is quite... fit... isn't he?" I asked uneasily.
"I'll say," Marjorie replied. "I'll bet he's got some excellent swimmers, too. Hell, Olympic caliber in this case."
"Swimmers," was Marjorie's euphemism for sperm. And having quality swimmers was her way of saying a man was a good fuck. Sure, it was an immature way to speak, but I would usually chuckle whenever Marjorie said it. None of my other friends seemed to even care about sex anymore, and to the extent that we ever discussed it was always within the context of their marriages and that everything was blissfully fine.
"What's wrong, Diane?" Marjorie laughed. "My jokes getting too old?"
"No, I mean... it's just different with Justin... He's nice, and kind..."
"And hot?" Marjorie offered with a smile.
"Yeah, and that too. Even though I'm only part time, it seems like we work a lot together and... I don't know, I guess my mind wanders sometimes."
"Well, I didn't think the tight miniskirt today was just for me," Marjorie chuckled.
"You think it's too much for work?" I asked, worried.
"Of course not girl," Marjorie replied. "You really have been out of the game too long. Besides, I always say, if you got it, flaunt it. With a figure like yours, I bet Justin can't keep his eyes off you."
"That wasn't my goal," I said in protest.
"Of course it was," Marjorie laughed. "Come on, Diane, this isn't much of a conversation if you can't be honest with me."
"It's just that... I don't know anything anymore, Marj."
"He really has done a number on you," Marjorie mused.
"Come on, I'm being serious," I protested.
"And so am I," Marjorie asserted. "Just come out and admit it. You're thinking about... you know... with Justin." And as if I didn't already understand her, Marj moved her index finger in and out of a circle she made with her other hand.
"I've never done anything like that before," I pleaded apologetically. "I mean, I've been married to John for twenty-three years..."
"And we both know how lousy your sex life with him has been," Marjorie said, completing my sentence.
"That's not what I was going to say," I said. "And there's a lot more to marriage than sex. We've had plenty of good times, raised two children together, and John is a good husband."
"Maybe so, but obviously something has been missing. Otherwise Virtuous Diane's eyes wouldn't be straying after all these years."
