Hungry for Love (28 page)

“
No
,
you know what—it
’
s about time you came over and I fed you.  I
’
m a cook now—and I
’
m making a mixed grill.  Steaks and veg and what else is the mixed part is what I
’
m trying to figure out.
”
  He laughed as Sophie smiled at him as a mom would do at a slow child.

“
Depends on the size of the grill
,”
she said. 
“
You can add chicken
,
sausages
,
nice fat asparagus
,
shrimp on skewers
,
anything really.  You can do burgers
,
but with steak
,
it
’
s nice to have a different meat—see—that
’
s why it
’
s mixed.  But don
’
t worry about dessert. I baked a couple pies earlier today.
”

Bill walked and Sophie strolled alongside him and they talked and laughed and tossed items in their respective baskets.  Later Bill produced an acceptably good dinner
,
which the Golds proclaimed the best dinner ever and everyone enjoyed sitting together outside in the yard at the comfortable garden table.

Candy climbed into Sophie
’
s lap after eating and said
,
“
You know I
’
m really sorry
,
Mrs. G.
”

Sophie laughed and asked
,
“
What are you sorry for
,
Cutie
?”

“
That you don
’
t have children of course.  It
’
s so sad for you.
”
  Then she smiled mischievously and said
,
“
But good for me
,”
burrowing down against that warm and cozy lap.

“
What
?”
said Bert. 
“
Suddenly we got no kids
?
  Nobody told me that.
”

Sophie laughed at her husband
,
thinking of the car they
’
d just bought for their granddaughter and said
,
“
We have kids
,
they
’
re just grown up like your daddy.  And grandkids
,
older than you.
”

“
But where are all these people
?”
asked Candy. 
“
How come I never met them
?”

“
They live in
San Francisco
,”
said Bert. 
“
But Gigi
,
the baby
,
she might be moving back here soon.
”

“
But aren
’
t you too old to have a baby
?
  And how can she live where was it again with nobody to change her diapers
?”
asked Candy.

Bert laughed. 
“
She
’
s the youngest and still our baby but she
’
s actually what
,
thirty seven
?”

“
Thirty nine
,”
said Sophie. 
“
She
’
s a fantastic architect.  Divorced about a year.  She lives in
San Francisco
,
Candy.
”

Will raised his thumb and pointed up so Candy would know where that was.

“
Heaven
?”
Candy asked.

“
San Francisco
,
dummy
,”
said Will
,
“
North of here.  Up the freeway.  Not heaven.
”

“
Speaking of North of here
,”
said Bert.

“
Somebody
’
s bedtime
,”
said Sophie.

“
No!
”
protested Candy
,
“
I
’
m not ready to go to bed.
”

Sophie laughed. 
“
I meant him
,
not you
,”
she said
,
putting her hand on her husband
’
s arm.

It had been a pleasant evening.  Bill enjoyed entertaining
,
and never realized he could do it on his own.  He didn
’
t mind the cooking or the cleaning up after and he liked the company.  They would do that again. 

Once the dishes were done and the kids were tucked in
,
he sat in bed
,
reading a medical journal and relaxing.  Then Chrissy blew into the bedroom like a storm cloud and she slammed—and locked—the door.  Before he could even ask her what was wrong
,
she had tossed off her clothes and dropped them on the floor where she stood and then she was in bed astride him
,
maneuvering him into something that passed for sex—assuming they were two people in the military or the boxing ring.

She sat astride him
,
rising and falling
,
pumping and bouncing as though it were a timed competition.  Her arms tightly wrapped around his back she moved at about the speed of a rabbit. 
“
Do it.  Do it.  Do it more
,”
she said
,
although she was doing most of the work and Bill was a passenger. 
“
Harder
,
do it harder
,”
  forcing Bill to clench up with vigor
,
causing her thighs to slap down against his. 
“
Push
,”
she commanded
,
“
Yes
,
push up.  Up!  Up!  More!
”

Bill closed his eyes and clung to Chrissy
,
moving in rhythm
,
and contemplated whether this would lead to orgasm or injury.

“
Yes!
”
she shouted
,
“
You got it!  Right!
”

More relieved than sated
,
Bill watched as she fell off of him and lay limply
,
her back to him
,
the covers pulled up around her.  He slid over to spoon and cuddle
,
but her breath was too regular
,
and now and then a tiny snore came from her—she was already asleep.

Bill sighed and reached for his robe
,
then padded softly into the kitchen where he poured a glass of milk and opened a box of Malomars
,
which he ate silently
,
not even noticing that they were much smaller in size than the last box he
’
d bought.

Angie struggled with a weighty issue.  She paced the floor of her now-empty deli
,
everything around her gleaming clean and ready for tomorrow.  Still in the food case sat today
’
s food
,
which would be emptied and donated or tossed.  But the question was
,
should she listen to Dr. Masters
’
suggestion
,
which she feared.  One bite led to two in her experience and two led to two hundred.  Her inclination was to walk out the door and avoid this line of thought altogether.  It was too easy just to say let
’
s try it
,
let
’
s check out all this amazing food that she
’
d been creating for so long
,
which other people got to enjoy daily and she got to enjoy never. 

Then her face softened
,
her eyes brightened
,
and her heart quickened a pace. There was Kevin
,
the man of her dreams
,
her destiny
,
the person she was certain would become her future.  And what had he told her.  What
had
he told her
?
  Didn
’
t it seem as though Kevin were suggesting that she should seduce Dr. Masters
?
  No
,
surely not.  A person as honorable as Kevin would never connive and manipulate his partner in that manner.  He clearly had been stressed. Who knew what was going on in his horrific marriage
?
  Things like that took their toll on people
,
Angie was sure of that.  But she did know that he had said trust Dr. Masters
,
or had he said get on his good side
?
  But why
?
  What would that serve
?
  She was his patient not his employee.  Maybe it would help Kevin in some way.  But wasn
’
t Kevin his partner
,
his equal
?
  Why was he so afraid of Dr. Masters—or did he think Masters would tell on them
,
tell his wife
,
and then get him in trouble before he was ready to leave her
?
  Messy divorces cost a lot more money
,
Angie knew that.