Just as she always did, Lisa stopped in the doorway and told my son to go and start the car for her. And just like always, he did. Just like always, she made sure that Charlie wasn't looking and turned back to give me a goodbye kiss. And before she did, just like always, Lisa cupped my face in her hand and whispered in my ear, "You can take me if you want to."
She gave me a quick peck on the cheek and turned and walked down the sidewalk to the car and her husband.
I shook my head in amazement. Admiring her cool. Missed opportunities. Wishing I was younger. Wondering what went on inside their marriage. Imagining actually taking her up on her offer.
Lisa had met my son in college. I didn't know at first just what had attracted them to each other. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she was pretty enough, with long dark hair and had a killer set of legs. She wore glasses, and they gave her the air of a librarian, which fit her personality to a "T." Lisa was a quiet girl, with a soft laugh and a gentle soul. The more I got to know her, the more I got to like her. Still waters, and all that.
After graduation and a tasteful wedding, Charlie had gone to work for a brokerage firm, and Lisa got a job as a loan officer at a local bank. They were building a life for themselves, and I was very happy that they were including me in it.
My wife died just before Charlie and Lisa met, and I often regretted the fact that she had never met her daughter-in-law. Charlie and Lisa took care of me as if I was some kind of old man who needed visits and home cooked meals and the like. They came over three or four times a week just to spend time with me, and you would have thought that I was an old geezer instead of a pretty good looking 45 year old guy with his own architecture business.
Not that I was exactly a social butterfly. My life had narrowed with loneliness since my wife died, and I guess that I wasn't really all that surprised that nobody seemed to believe me when I said that I was all right.
About six months ago, Lisa was over at my house waiting for Charlie to show. He had a big new client he was wooing, and she'd decided to wait for him with me instead of alone. We had a glass of wine and kind of hung out.
We got to talking about this and that, and I found myself opening up to her quiet questions about what my wife had been like and how much I missed her. I found myself telling all kinds of tales about our life together, and Lisa drank in every detail.
Then she said, "So, how's your sex life now? I mean, don't you miss it? Isn't it time you had a new girl? Someone to screw silly when you need to?"
I tried for a giggle, but I don't think I was very convincing. "Yeah, I guess," meaning, "None of your business and leave me alone."
"Then why don't you?"
"I don't know." Actually, I did know. I still missed my wife, and I spent too much time alone. I had just gotten used to it. I'd reached a point where it was too much trouble to go chasing girls. I'd buried myself in my work because it was just easier to do that than to cheer up and look around me. And my social life had shrunk to the frequent visits from my son and his wife.
Like I said, Lisa had a big heart, and she was obviously convinced that I needed some help, and wasn't going to let me off that easily.
"A good looking guy like you should be getting laid regularly. A man needs sex for his emotional and physical well being. It isn't exactly a secret. And you're no exception. In fact, a widower might need it more, because he's used to having it."
This wasn't exactly the kind of talk one expected to hear from one's daughter-in-law, even if she had become about my closest friend. I was trying to decide if she was kidding or not when I saw the somber look in her dark eyes. She appeared to be dead serious.
"Why? You got somebody in mind?" I used my best sardonic voice, trying to let her know that I wasn't taking this seriously. I wasn't sure if I was interested, but maybe letting Lisa set me up with one of her banking friends wouldn't be such a bad idea.