The Scarlet Letter Society (10 page)

BOOK: The Scarlet Letter Society
4.22Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

muahaha

5:18 PM
Eva
: You are too young for that reference.

5:19 PM
Ron
: ha ha I think it came out when I was like in first grade, but I’ve seen it on AMC.

Eva
: This conversation is just making me feel old.

5:20 PM
Ron
: You’re not old. You’re hot.

Eva
: So are you, my young staffer. So are you.

5:21 PM
Ron
: What? Stiffer? Lol Well I surely look forward to seeing you in the morning.

Eva
: Yes, see you then. And don’t call me Shirley.

Ron
: Huh?

Eva
: Nevermind.

Eva sat back at her kitchen desk area chair, took off her reading glasses, closed her laptop and wiped her eyes with her hands, shaking her head.
Yeah, he can maybe get a 90s Silence of the Lambs reference, but definitely not a 1980 Airplane reference from four years before he was born!
Having an affair with someone literally from another decade was interesting, that was for sure. No Pandora Internet radio station covered this generation gap.

Although she appreciated Ron’s young body, she constantly felt old and fat and wrinkled around him. Technically, especially for her age, she wasn’t any of those things—working out paid off, but whenever they were together, which was rarely in public anyway, she always felt like people (the waiter, the store clerk) looked back and forth quickly between her and Ron in a questioning way.
What is the relationship between these two people?
And it was a fair question.

She sighed. Having had affairs before, she knew the key was to keep the emotion out of them. No “I love you.” Saying that or not saying it always seemed to fuck everything up. No promises for the future.
Just enjoy the time you have, don’t waste energy being guilty, and don’t think too much about the whole thing
. with Charles, she felt more secure because he was older. She wasn’t so physically insecure around him. His wife had died of breast cancer, and he was lonely. She filled that physical need for him, and he didn’t ask her for more. Their relationship was based on affection, companionship, and fun; the fun for her being the most treasured.

She could hear her teenage sons in the family room playing Call of Duty or Halo or whatever those godforsaken violent video games were that you told yourself as a parent you’d never, ever let your kids play. She remembered not wanting them to play with guns when they were little and wondered where parenting all went to hell. Middle school, she nodded to herself.
Definitely the hormone hell of middle school
.

Joe was in his office in the next room. It was a rare evening when the four of them were home together. Usually, the boys had sports practice or were out with friends, Joe was at the hospital, or she was at the office. The four of them operated pretty independently of one another, but it was dinnertime, so she walked into Joe’s office to ask if she should order some Chinese food for delivery. She hated cooking.

She walked in and Joe had stepped out of the room. His laptop was open and she saw the familiar g-chat screen. She wouldn’t have noticed it at all, except there was motion on the screen, accompanied by the faint bell sound that indicated a new message.

She didn’t mean to snoop; she had just been in the right place at the right time. She saw only a few lines:

5:21 PM
Joe
: Your pussy was so wet this morning.

Kayla
: My body is always ready when I see you. ;) You were ready too.

5:22 PM
Joe
: My cock is definitely standing at attention when you enter a room.

Kayla
: Well I can’t wait until it enters my room again soon, doctor.

Then, hearing Joe come back down the hall from the bathroom, she quickly left the room, returning to the kitchen. She felt sick. Forget Chinese food. She told the boys to heat up a frozen pizza and went upstairs to her room, flopping herself on the bed with tears in her eyes. Glancing at her Kindle, she knew losing herself in a few chapters of
Fear of Flying
tonight would help her avoid conversation with Joe.
I am a huge hypocrite to be upset
, she thought.
I was just chatting with my boyfriend moment before
. But something about seeing the sexual chat between her husband and another woman that felt like a punch in the stomach.

Why wouldn’t he have a girlfriend
, she reasoned with herself—a brilliant, handsome doctor in great shape? And God knew he wasn’t getting laid at home. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d had sex. She couldn’t remember the last time they had said “I love you” to one another. Months spilled into years in an unhappy marriage, and there was certainly no point in keeping track.

It was a marriage of convenience, had been from the start, since it took place right after she’d found out she was pregnant with the boys. They’d been dating and were getting along fine. When her diaphragm had failed, and she’d been knocked up, they had made the decision to marry. And now it was all coming back to haunt her.

She looked at Joe’s neat side of the nightstand: everything in its place on the dusted table, and her own bedside table, covered in paperwork and moisturizers, charging cords and books. The differences here were the differences between them. He liked things neat, she preferred messy.

She had never felt fulfilled in the marriage--she was starved for love, affection and attention, and the only thing Joe seemed to give attention to was his medical practice. She looked over at the picture on the dresser of her boys on the lacrosse field together. Love and romance had taken a backseat, except where she could find them in an ancillary way around her workplaces.

As a workaholic, it always made sense to Eva that her affairs that revolved somehow around her career. She let her mind wander back to a memory: she’d once fucked a judge in his own chambers after a trial; he was still wearing his robe! She compartmentalized Ron at her office in DC, Charles at her office in New York. Why wouldn’t Joe be compartmentalizing someone in Baltimore?

But that doesn’t make it hurt any less
.

Maggie and Dave finished lunch and the discussion of their daughter’s upcoming celebration. She had asked to meet with him, even though a phone call could easily have accomplished the interaction.

Why does it always come back to him?
thought Maggie. Entire relationships, marriages, a whole decade between them now, and she never seemed to be able to cut whatever invisible cord kept them coming back together. Then again, he never seemed able to cut that rope, either.

“You have absolutely got to see this fantastic Art Deco building,” said Dave,. “It’s just a few blocks over. Do you have time?”

She did. No one was running a clock on her “Back in an hour” sign at the shop.

Smiling at this child-like excitement over simple old bricks and mortar, she asked, “So what’s the story of this poor unfortunate orphan building?”

“They were going to tear this beauty down,” said Dave as they rounded the corner toward the building. He suddenly stopped, pointing. “Just look at her! Original copper and black marble tile façade, even the original Deco lettering.”

“They just don’t build them like this anymore?” asked Maggie, figuring Dave’s signature comment was on its way.

“No one could afford to build a structure like this today,” said Dave. He smiled, producing a single key. “Wanna take a look?”

Maggie wasn’t as thrilled at the idea of dirty, abandoned buildings as Dave was, but she couldn’t resist his enthusiasm. She never could. “Sure,” she said, glad she’d worn vintage jeans for a living and not some Eva-style black skirt get-up.

“It was an old hotel,” said Dave as they walked inside. It was dark, musty and dusty like the rest of them, thought Maggie, though she was impressed by the beautiful architecture. The lobby’s red, white and black color scheme were all visible again, since the drop ceilings and newer flooring had been removed. Gilded cherubic faces seemed to gleam at her from every corner.

“I love that you do this,” said Maggie. “This probably would’ve ended up some new office building with cubicles and acoustic tile ceilings and blue conference rooms.”

“I’m glad it’s going to be a hotel again,” said Dave. He absentmindedly started rubbing Maggie’s shoulders. This turned her to putty and he knew it. She relaxed against his hands, taking in the view of the work in progress around her.

“These old places sure had a lot of charm and romance,” said Maggie.

“They still do,” said Dave. He turned her toward him, lifted her chin, and kissed her. His beard was rough, but Maggie had grown to like that many years before. She reached up and put her arms around him, savoring the soft familiarity of his flannel shirt. Their kiss grew in intensity and she felt him harden through his jeans. She grabbed his belt and pulled him closer to her.

“You’ve got to see this elevator,” said Dave, pulling Maggie across the lobby by the hand.

They stepped inside the freshly restored 1920s elevator. Maggie noted the deep sound of the “ding” as Dave pushed the number 13.

“It’s unusual for a building to have a 13
th
floor, but the top floor on this one is 13,” he said. As the floors rose, he passionately pinned her against the gold corner rail of the elevator. She grabbed his ass, spinning him around and throwing a Converse hi-topped foot on top of the rail, pressing her waist against his jeans to meet his excitement.

Ding
.

The doors opened to reveal a giant ballroom spanning the entire thirteenth floor. Huge black marble columns were the only things spanning the expanse. Gilded floor-to-ceiling mirrors covered the walls, except for one entire wall of windows that looked out over the city. Since it was one of the tallest buildings, the view was magnificent. Elegant built-in seats were spaced across the width of the exterior.

He scooped Maggie off her feet, twirled her around the dance floor while she laughed, and gently placed her down on one of the window seats. She reached up, undid his belt buckle, and in seconds, they were naked. Their bodies so familiar with one another, yet each completely excited in this new, yet old public space. The possibility of workers appearing to paint or do plumbing was in the back of Maggie’s mind, but it didn’t stop her.

They made love with Dave kneeling on the window seat and Maggie’s ass pressed up against the window. She imagined which other buildings might be “enjoying” this view. After the delicious, frenzied moments of shared passion, she plopped herself down on the window seat and pressed her feet up on the window.

At that exact moment, her phone rang in her pocket. She smiled at Dave, rolling her eyes at the interruption. As she took the phone out of her jeans, which were dusty on the floor, and reached down to turn off the ringer, she heard a voice on the other end and realized she’d accidentally answered it.

“Hello?” asked the phone, with a soft laugh.

“Oh, hey Ted,” said Maggie. “I’m just in the middle of something. Let me give you a call back.”

She hung up, but when she turned back to Dave she saw the look of hurt in his eyes, regardless of how hard he’d tried to hide it. He dressed quickly.

“No, you go ahead and take your call, Maggie,” said Dave. “I really need to get back to the office.”

Maggie looked at him. “I didn’t mean to answer the damn thing,” she said. “I’m sorry. Can’t we just pick up where we left off?”

“I don’t know, Maggie,” said Dave. “Can we? Because your life seems to be pretty full already.”

“Aw, Dave, come on, we’ve never let other people come between us,” said Maggie as she dressed; the wide-open nature of the floor plan and lack of heating made the building very chilly.

He didn’t speak again, and she could sense he had shut down. He pressed the elevator button, and now the “Ding” of the bell sounded like an accusation to her.

He frowned slightly at her as he turned to leave the building, taking out the key to lock the door behind them.

BOOK: The Scarlet Letter Society
4.22Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Make My Heart Beat by Liz King
Mountain Charm by Logan, Sydney
The Governess and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig, Anthea Bell
Birmingham Friends by Annie Murray
King 03 - Restless by Kandle, Tawdra
La cabaña del tío Tom by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Taliesin Ascendant (The Children and the Blood) by Megan Joel Peterson, Skye Malone