Still at the Hampton Inn...
Gary would have liked to say they stayed in bed and made love all night long, but they didn't. They did take a shower, and even after that, with the scarves damp and clingy she didn't ask to be untied. They stayed in bed and watched TV, mostly junk. Around midnight they did do it again. He untied her feet for that. Later in the morning around 8:00 a.m. they both woke up and did it one more time. By 9:00 they were downstairs having scrambled eggs, sausage, and coffee.
Shortly after 10:00 they dropped off their keys. As they left she turned, kissed him on the cheek and said, "I hope you know this doesn't change anything. You have to stay and take care of us after the summer ends."
He was and wasn't surprised. Just as she reached her Mercedes she looked up and said, "I want something good on the grill tonight." Still giving orders he thought.
She opened her car door, looked up again and said, "And oh, there's someone I want you to meet." She got in, started it up, and drove away. He figured she was going back to her house. He decided to go back too. It occurred to him, they'd talked about nothing so nothing was accomplished. The sex sure had been good, it was something they both enjoyed, but that had always been one thing they could do well together, at least until last December. Then again, had it been all that great last fall, had she been earning her partnership on her back, and why did it still bother him so much? It did bother him too; she was supposed to be his!
Later that afternoon Gary was lighting the grill. Most people had those ultra-fancy propane things. Not him, he'd bought a Weber when they first got married and never changed. It was the source of some interesting dialogue when they had Dorothy's party. He used his Weber, and Jessie's dad had brought his propane. People derided his Weber, but he noticed his charred and gritty burgers, over-cooked steaks, and crispy hot dogs were always in short supply while there was a surfeit of the upscale propane stuff. The Weber might have been dirtier, but everything tasted better. His mom always said everyone's got to eat a pound of dirt before they died, might as well taste good.
Jessie got home and he was out back by the pool flipping burgers, ground sirloin maybe, but still burgers. She came out, looked at his Weber and groaned, "Jesus, can't you do anything right? Why do we have to eat that crap? You could've at least bought some steaks."
The girls were in the pool. Melanie yelled, "Told you dad."
Dorothy laughed, "Can't do anything right."
Katy just laughed.
Jessie scowled, she looked around, then at her so-called husband, "Run over to Mallet's Meats and buy some steaks, something worth eating."
He grinned, "Yes Missa Jessie. Be right back."
She scowled and pointed to his burgers, "And throw that crap out."
Melanie and Katy both hollered, "No, don't. We want burgers."
Dorothy called out, "And I want a doggie!"
Jessie threw him another dirty look, "Get the steaks anyway."
Off he went to buy some steaks. He got back about an hour later. Jessie was on a chaise beside the pool, "The girls have already eaten that garbage you cooked. They've gone to Valerie's down the street. Did you get me a steak?"
He curtsied and simpered, "Yes Miss Jessie. I done got you da steaks."
"Stop that crappy talk will you, and just fry me something I can eat," she leapt from her seat and dove in the pool.
Jessie was a good swimmer; she had on a white two piece so he got to enjoy a nice looking woman even if she did have a shitted up personality. It wasn't long and he called out, "Your steak is ready."
She climbed out and saw he'd cooked three steaks. "I like mine well done."
He pointed to the middle one."
She took if off the grill with a fork and slapped it on a plate. It was only medium well; she frowned, but commenced eating. He picked another and sat at a table some distance away.
She looked over, "You can't stand to sit by me?"
He got up and moved over beside her. "We never had that talk you wanted."
She looked real thoughtful for a moment, "Doesn't matter. Would've been a waste of time. You're staying after Labor Day."
He shook his head, "No I'm not."
She looked at her husband. At first she seemed to get mad, but then out of nowhere her eyes welled up. She burst out crying, threw her unfinished steak in the pool, and dashed for the house.
Gary got up and fished the steak out of the pool. He tasted it, not bad he thought, better than his. Now what? The girls would be gone for a while yet. She'd left the doors open and he heard her crying in the den. He tidied up, crossed through the kitchen, the living room toward the den in time to see her slam the den door shut. He heard the lock click shut. Normally he would have left it at that, but he wasn't feeling normal. He tried fiddling with a credit card. He tried finagling the lock with a car key. He decided; what the fuck. He stepped back, and with all his might kicked the door; it collapsed like the shitty cheap Luann stuff it was. Something, he thought, a million dollar house with doors made of cheap crap.
He looked around, but couldn't see her. Then he did, she was on the floor hiding in the well of the desk. He walked over and around the desk, reached down, took her hands and pulled her up.
She kept crying, "You can't leave. You have to stay. You're supposed to stay. I don't know what I'll do if you leave."
He picked her up like he'd done the night before, "Come on let's go to bed." He carried her upstairs to what had once been their master bedroom and laid her down.
He started to leave when she said, "You're not leaving?"
He looked around, "What do you mean?"
"I feel sick," she said, "I don't want to be alone. I think I'm going to throw up."
"OK," he answered, and walked over and sat beside her on the bed.
She whined, "Aren't you getting in?"
He sighed, "All right." Off came the shorts, undershorts, and T-shirt, and in he climbed.
She slipped the top, then the bottom of her suit off. Still teary eyed, cheeks streaked with watery rivulets, fingers already toying with his penis she murmured, "You can make love to me again if you want."
He asked, "Are we ever going to have that talk?"
She had her arms around his ass pulling him toward her hairless slit, "Not tonight."
