Chapter 3
I awoke on Monday morning feeling better than I had for days. After a bout of very enjoyable sex with Chris, I slept like a baby. None of the other worries I had entered my mind while I slept soundly.
As I sat down to have my breakfast, I looked next door to see if Marie had made it safely home from visiting her mother. Her car was there. I decided that I would go and see her after I showered and dressed.
She was busily cleaning the kitchen sink when I stuck my head past the back door, and called her name. She gave me a big smile as she invited me in, I think I blushed, then smiled shyly. She walked to the door to greet me and gave me a hug. "I heard you had a good time yesterday," she said, holding my shoulders and grinning at me. My face was burning as I blushed again. "Oh, Jess, you are really embarrassed about this, aren't you?"
I nodded, "Yes, I am, thought I have no idea why. You seem to be completely at ease with the whole thing."
She hugged me again. "Of course, it was my idea, wasn't it? I thought about it for a long time, long enough to be comfortable with the risks." We moved through the kitchen to the family room and sat down together, side by side on the big couch. She continued, "My biggest worry was, and still is, that Chris and you will fall in love. I know he's had the hots for you forever, ever since you moved in, and he is such a prize himself, I should know, shouldn't I?" The smile had disappeared to be replaced by a tear in the corner of her eye. "Promise you won't take him away from me, Jess. Please."
It was my turn to hug her. "I'd never do that, Marie." She forced a smile as she looked at me. "If you're worried, this can stop now, and we can pretend it didn't happen." I suggested.
She seemed to ponder the possibility for a while before answering, then a real smile crossed her face. "Nope." She said. "I really am convinced that this will work out. Chris was so relaxed when I came home last night. He tried to downplay how good the sex had been with you. I guess he was trying to spare my feelings, but I finally got it out of him. You must have felt very satisfied as well." I blushed again, I couldn't help it. There was something too weird about your neighbor and best friend asking you whether or not her husband had fucked well enough you the day before. All I could do was nod my head. She could see that I had some loosening up to do, so she changed the subject.
We talked for quite a while longer. She had mentioned how relaxed Chris had been when she returned from her mother's the previous evening, but I noticed a profound change in her as well. She was very much at ease with me and with herself. We spent some time talking about the neighbors and work, but soon it was time to leave. I had things to do. As I was going out the door, Marie stopped me. "Jess, Chris said you're having some kind of trouble right now, but would tell us about it later. I just wanted to say that if there is anything we can do to help you, please say so."
I turned away, afraid I might burst into tears, then turned back and let her hold me for a minute or two. Finally I managed to whisper, "I'll come to you if I need help, I promise."
Back in my own home, it took a while to regain my composure. I sat and mulled over the things that were said and decided that I would continue on the course as it was now set until something made me change my mind. Having made that decision, I turned my mind to the other fire I had to fight: "Walter and Holly. Hmm. Holly and Walter." I wondered if they went out with friends, his or hers, and what those friends called them. "Shit," I thought. "I've got to stop thinking this way." I got up and went to the writing desk in the den, sat down and extracted a pad of paper from a drawer. I wanted to make a list of the various things I had to look into. A personal bank account, Bobby, the private investigator, the lawyer...what else?
I was part way through the list when the phone rang. A clear, deep voice spoke. "Jess? This is Bob James calling. How are you?" He sounded young. Somehow I had expected a different voice, sort of raspy from too many cigarettes and too much whiskey, one that fit with the picture of a private eye that I had in my head. Someone like Sam Spade, from the old movies. We spoke briefly, making an appointment to meet at a family restaurant the next morning. My day went quickly after that.
Walter phoned to say that he had a meeting with a client that evening, and wouldn't be home until ten. I had to be at the shop at noon, so I hopped in the shower and washed up and was on my way by half past eleven.
It was a deadly slow day for ladies wear. By three, my boss decided to send Toni and I home and cover the rest of the afternoon herself. I really didn't have anything to do at home. Sure, I could have done some laundry, or weeded my prized flowers, but I just wasn't inclined to get started on any of that kind of stuff, so I poured myself a glass of wine, and sat down in the den and wondered how my meeting with Bobby James would go tomorrow. I wondered if he was as good looking as he sounded. My thoughts moved on to Sunday's tryst with Chris, and I wondered how long it would be before we could get together. I closed my eyes and went back to the previous afternoon in my head. I could feel his hard, hot cock filling my mouth, then my pussy. My thoughts turned to his tongue slithering up my labia, and without being conscious of doing so, I brought my hand under my dress and my middle finger pressing down on my pubic mound over my clit. The orgasm, while not comparable to the several that Chris had induced, still shook me thoroughly. When I came out of that daze, I realized that I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. This past week, Walter, Holly, Chris and Marie, were starting to take their toll on me. I slipped my shoes off, lay back and closed my eyes.
I awoke with a start. Christ, how long had I slept? I looked at my watch: 8 o'clock.
Hungry as could be, I whipped up a quick meal, then, leaving my mess in the kitchen, I dragged myself upstairs and fell into bed. I didn't hear Walter come in, and when I awoke in the morning, he was already up and dressed for work. I thought he might fill me in on how his trip had gone, which would have to have been lies, of course, but he hardly said two words as he left for the office.
My long sound sleep had left me refreshed and ready to face what would be the beginning of a new adventure. I rose and showered and dressed for my meeting with Bobby James.
He had suggested that he would leave his name with the hostess, so when I arrived at the restaurant, I was taken right to a booth where a very good looking young man was sitting. The feeling I had when talking to him had been correct. Rather than a rugged looking individual wearing a fedora and sporting a couple of days worth of stubble, there sat a clean shaven hunk with short dark hair, dressed casually in khakis and a sport shirt and tie.
"Jess?" he asked. I nodded. He stood and shook my hand. "Bob James. I'm pleased to meet you. Won't you sit down?" After I settled into the booth he asked, "Coffee? Tea? And how about something to eat?"
I glanced at his coffee cup. "Coffee would be good. Are you eating?" I asked.
"I've been thinking about a danish or a sweet bun. Would you like one of those?"
"Both sound good. Why don't you get two of whatever and I'll have one." We made casual conversation, the weather and whatnot, until the waitress came and took our order, then he turned the conversation to the reason for our meeting. I told him my story. He made a few notes and then gave his assessment of the situation, which was pretty well the same as my cousin Mel's.
"So what do we do?" I asked. "Well," he replied with a grin, "the question at the moment is: What do you have to do? As Mel told you, mine is a one man operation and I already have several investigations on the go, so I'm going to have to ask you to do a lot of the leg work.. There is nothing terribly complicated about it, none of what I do is. It's just that the things that need to be done take time, and I just don't have a lot of that precious commodity right now. And, of course, the cost of the investigation is directly proportional to the amount of my time that goes into it. Mel told me about your dilemma, as far as having accessible cash is concerned. By doing the legwork for me, and by Mel convincing me to charge you only enough to cover expenses, the cost will not be exorbitant, in fact its gonna be downright cheap."
"Thank you, Mr. James. I appreciate the opportunity to help you out, I'm very much afraid that, without your help, Walter could walk out on me whenever the thought strikes him, and I'd be out of luck for any sort of decent settlement." I smiled and reached across the table to give his hand a squeeze.
He acknowledged it with a smile, then commented, "Jess, first of all, I'm Bobby, not Mr. James. Secondly, I always try to help people out when I think they're getting shafted, and from what you've told me, you really do need to get the goods on your husband, or you may end up with nothing."
"Anyway, here's a list of the things I'll need you to do." We sat for another hour as he explained the various jobs he had for me. Finally, with my list in hand, I stood up to leave. Bobby reached out to shake my hand, but I felt that a handshake was inadequate and I pulled him toward me and gave him a sisterly kiss. I would have liked to have made it much more than that, but it just wasn't the right place for what I really had in mind.
The rest of that week and the following week were a blur. Between my usual commitments, and the assignments from Bobby, I was as busy as I had ever been.
I spent hours at the Public Library, looking up names and addresses. Realtors' offices became my second home. I looked at apartments and condos, and of course I saw Bobby every few days to pass along information that I had gathered up.
As busy as I was, I had been home very little during the day. One day, with less to do than had been the case the days before, I decided to stay home and putter in the yard. I was deeply involved with the weeds that were trying to crowd my daylilies out of existence when I heard a footstep behind me. Fearing that I had an intruder in my yard, I jumped up and whirled around only to come face to face with Chris.
"Hi, beautiful! How are you?" He asked with a smile. I was tempted to wrap my arms around him and give him a hot kiss to show him how I was, but ours was not a particularly private yard, and the other neighbors were somewhat nosey, so I simply reached for his hand and held it as I told him that I had been well, and had been thinking about him. A lot. Wicked thoughts. He laughed at me, "So, I'm not the only one who has those nasty thoughts. Tell me about yours."
