Thy Neighbor's Wife (19 page)

ment?

Isn’t that what some girls do in college?

He’d been clinging to that hope, to that idea, since the first day

of their marriage. He had vowed not to stifle her, but he had

watched her carefully, paid attention to those with whom she asso-

ciated. To his surprise, there weren’t many. She didn’t have a lot of

friends, though he never understood why. She was very likable. She

was kind and intelligent and witty, but somehow he could only

think of a couple women with whom she spent time. She had Kayla

and she had Dawn.

And now she had Alex.

The churning in his stomach continued as he scrubbed a hand

over his freshly-shaven face. For the first time in years, he allowed

himself to actually think the dreaded thought he’d been avoiding for

so long.

My marriage is falling apart.

He closed his eyes against the threat of tears.

* * *

“God damn it.” Alex tossed Kinsey’s leash to the floor, then

kicked off her shoes. Violently. “Damn it. Damn it. God fucking

damn it.” She shook her head in disgust and looked down at her

dog. “How do I do this? How do I live for over thirty years and still

end up this fucking stupid? Can you clue me in? Because I’m just

not getting it.” At the tone of her voice, Kinsey’s ears went back

against his head and he blinked at her, his tail between his legs,

wondering what he might have done to make her so angry. She

immediately felt guilty and scooped him up in her arms, hugging

him tightly and showering him with kisses. “I’m sorry, buddy. I’m

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 101

not mad at you. I’m mad at me.”

She’d done it again. She’d let simple, physical attraction get

way out of hand and she’d allowed herself to glimpse at the extra

page in the back entitled What If…Problem was, there wouldn’t be

a What If…Jennifer was married and Alex might be a lot of things,

but a home wrecker wasn’t one of them.

“I just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could I? I think she’s

cute and sexy, but I had to go and get to know her.” Her voice

dripped with reproachful sarcasm. “I had to find out there are other

things about her that I like.”

She’s married, the little voice said.

“I know!” she snapped back.

Jennifer had felt it, too. Standing there on the deck, she’d felt

it, too. Alex was sure of it. The electricity. She could see it in Jenni-

fer’s face; it was so obvious. She’d looked exactly as Alex had felt.

She’d been staring at Alex’s mouth and it had taken every ounce of

strength Alex had possessed to keep from grabbing her and kissing

her senseless right then and there.

“When did this happen?” Alex asked. “How?” She poured her-

self a glass of orange juice and pondered the question. “Yesterday,

she was just my friend. Today, I wanted to kill her husband for hav-

ing what I want.”

Her reaction to the realization that it had been Eric on the

phone had surprised her. She’d felt suddenly nauseous and totally

exposed, not to mention ever so guilty and ragingly jealous. She’d

had trouble breathing and felt she had to get out of there as fast as

she possibly could. She knew it was rude, but she didn’t think she

could stay there in Jennifer’s presence for one more minute while

she talked to her husband without going completely insane. That

feeling had scared the crap out of her.

She’s married to him, the voice chimed in again.

“I said I know. Shut up!”

She stormed over to her desk and booted up the computer,

determined to channel her anger into something more creative than

arguing with herself. She sat down and began to type. She didn’t

stop for over an hour.

“You should come on over for dinner some night, Paul. Kris-

ten’s a great cook. We can shoot the shit and talk corporate poli-

tics.”“Sure. That’d be great.” Paul didn’t think it was possible to say

it with any less enthusiasm. He pressed his lips together tightly as

he watched them walk back to their own yard and up the back steps,

Ray’s arm around Kristen like he owned her, like she was a thing

and not a person. It made his blood boil.

102 Georgia Beers

He returned to the shrub he’d been trimming and hacked at it

viciously. Had he ever met anybody as phony as Ray Daniels? He

didn’t think so. Had he ever met anybody less deserving of some-

body like Kristen? No way. Ray had no idea what he had in Kristen.

None. Not only was she beautiful, she was smart. She was funny.

She was sweet and compassionate. She deserved somebody who

would appreciate those qualities. She needed somebody who would

take care of her and respect her.

He blinked the sweat from his eyes and continued to work the

manual hedge clippers, pretending each piece he severed was some

part of Ray Daniels’ body.

Kristen deserved so much more. She was special.

“She deserves somebody like me,” he muttered, then, with a

sigh, dropped the clippers at his feet.

She was married to Ray.

Paul felt a sharp pain of sadness stab through his heart like

lightning. Instead of slicing through and out the other side, though,

it stayed, settling into the dull ache of unfulfilled desire, unrequited

love, and forbidden want.

She was married to Ray. Nothing was going to change that.

He felt sick.

And angry. So angry.

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair. He was a good

man. He was a good man and it always got him nowhere. He’d be so

good to her. Didn’t she know that? Couldn’t she see that? He’d treat

her like a queen. That’s what she deserved. Royal treatment. Some-

body like Ray had no idea what that was. He wasn’t worthy of her.

He was nothing but a selfish prick and he certainly didn’t warrant a

wife like Kristen. The whole pairing was just wrong.

“And I’m going to fix it,” he muttered.

Alex nodded with satisfaction as she reread the four pages

she’d whipped out. They were good. The story was solid. The char-

acters felt real to her. She cared about them and she knew that was

key. She hadn’t intended for it to be a suspense novel, but it seemed

to be heading in that direction and she was pleasantly surprised.

“Rita’s going to love this,” she said, feeling the high that only

happened after a good session of writing. She set the computer to

print what she’d written so far. Glancing at the clock, she picked up

the phone and dialed Jackie’s back door office number, the one that

allowed her to sneak around her friend’s secretary. If Jackie was in,

she’d answer, as only Alex and Rita used that number.

“Jackie McCall,” she answered cheerfully.

“Hey.”

“Hiya, Stretch. How’s your setter?”

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 103

Leave it to Jackie to immediately bring up the one subject Alex

preferred to avoid. “She’s good. Got a bit of a shiner, but she’s

fine.”

“Damn. I ought to have that little prick thrown right out of the

league for messing up that face, huh?” Alex’s lack of response went

unnoticed. “What’s up?”

“I was thinking of taking a drive. Can you do lunch?”

“Let me see…” Alex could hear the beeps as Jackie tapped her

stylus against her Palm Pilot, checking her schedule. “Yeah, I’m

good. 11:45?”

“I’ll meet you at Empire. I’ve got some reading material for

Rita.”

“She’ll be thrilled. See you then.”

* * *

It was a sunny day and Sheryl Crow sang about soaking it up as

Alex popped the sunroof on her Acura and hopped onto the New

York State Thruway for the quick, five-minute ride that would spit

her onto 490.

I miss the city, she thought as she sped along, remembering the

little house she used to own in the northeast part of downtown

Rochester. It was small and the neighbors were close, but there was

nothing quite like being five minutes from exactly everything. The-

aters, restaurants, stores, gyms, they were all an easy jaunt from her

old two-bedroom. She walked Kinsey all over the place. She could

meet her friends for happy hour and be home in just a couple min-

utes. There was a certain sense of connection that came from living

downtown and, much as she loved her new life on the water, she

still missed that feeling.

Jackie worked at Eastman Kodak’s downtown location, so Alex

took 490 west all the way in, passing by St. John Fisher College,

muttering in disgust at the orange cones that squeezed traffic down

to one measly lane for no apparent reason, since there were no

workers to be seen. A running, local joke said there were only two

seasons in Rochester: winter and construction. If you’re not fight-

ing snow, you’re fighting these damn orange cones, she thought

with irritation. She seriously wondered if the highway department

closed lanes down just for the hell of it, for no other reason than to

annoy her. If they only knew what a prime candidate I am for road

rage, they’d think twice.

She took the Inner Loop and got off at State Street, scooted

behind the WXXI public television building, and parked in the

Kodak visitor’s lot. She’d need a code to get out and she silently

chided herself for not reminding Jackie to grab it on her way over.

104 Georgia Beers

The Empire Brewing Company had a prime location. Directly

across the street from both Frontier Field and the main office build-

ing of Eastman Kodak, it was almost guaranteed a constant clien-

tele, especially during the summer. If not full for lunch, it was sure

to catch the crowd on the way in or out of a baseball game.

Alex arrived before noon and her host introduced himself as

Jay, asking her where she preferred to sit. He was a small, cheer-

fully smiling young man with wire rimmed glasses, khakis, a black

Empire Brewing Company t-shirt and matching baseball cap. He led

her to a table by the window, pulled his pad out of his black waist

apron, and wrote down her order for a glass of their home brewed

root beer.

From her seat by the window, Alex watched for Jackie, who

would simply scoot across the street from her Kodak office. There

was no sign of her friend, so she scanned the menu.

The restaurant had an open yet warm feel to it. The high ceil-

ings and the wood, stainless steel, and glass décor lent to the open-

ness. The hardwood floors, chunky wooden chairs, and earth tones

supplied the warmth. Large, stainless steel vats were visible through

glass walls and a chalkboard listing the choices of their micro-

brewed beer available on tap hung from the ceiling. The names were

always colorful and creative and Alex smiled at that month’s

choices: Red Mulligan, Scotch Ale, and Purgatory. Had it not been

the lunch hour, she might have ventured to give one a try.

The menu was eclectic with a Cajun flare. Such specialties as

Big Easy Gumbo and jumbalaya stood out as favorites, combining

with beer foods like sausage, chicken wings, and chili dogs, and

accompanied by the most incredible side dish of roasted garlic

mashed potatoes Alex had ever had in her life.

Jay returned with a frosty mug and a bottle of root beer.

“Need a few more minutes?”

“She should be here soon,” Alex said apologetically.

“No problem. I’ll be back.”

No sooner had she settled on the Thai Chicken Taco, than she

saw Jackie hurrying down the sidewalk across the street. It was

always a surprise to Alex when she saw her friend in business attire,

especially during the summer. She became so used to Jackie in

shorts and t-shirts that the sight of her in black dress slacks and a

cream-colored silk blouse was almost a shock. In a matter of min-

utes, Jackie pulled out the chair across from her and brushed her

blonde locks behind her ears, her gold hoop earrings glinting in the

sunlight. She looked very professional.

“Hey, Stretch,” she greeted with a smile. “To what do I owe

this pleasant surprise?”

“I missed your smiling face?” Alex replied, sliding her a menu.

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 105

Jackie snorted. “Yeah. Okay.”

Jay returned to take Jackie’s drink order. As she continued to

scan the menu, Alex handed her a manila envelope.

“Here. Before I forget. Give this to Rita. Tell her no hurry, but

to hurry up.”

Jackie laughed quietly and looked into the envelope, impressed

by the stack. “Wow. You’ve been busy.”

“Fifty pages,” Alex said proudly. “The juices are flowing, my

friend. The juices are flowing.”

“Then it looks like we have juice flowage in both our houses.”

She said it smugly, then returned her eyes to her menu.

Alex furrowed her brow. “Flowage…what?” Jackie’s smiling

face and glowing eyes gave it away. “Jackie! You got laid!”

Jackie glared at her over the top of the menu. “A little louder,

why don’t you? I don’t think the people on the other side of the bar

heard you.”

Alex laughed aloud at her friend’s expression, which showed

that she was more happy than annoyed. “What happened?” She nar-

rowed her gaze. “Tell me you actually talked about the situation

and didn’t just let your raging hormones take over.”