"Come here, Big Boy," Cindy purred as she sprawled out sideways across the bed. Her body, still warm from the shower, was growing warmer as thoughts of making love passed through her mind.
"Jesus, Cynthia. For God's sake get some clothes on. Mom is expecting us downstairs for dinner in fifteen minutes." Tom pulled his tan slacks up over his light blue boxer shorts.
"C'mon Tom." Cindy batted her eyes at her husband of fifteen years. "It's just a quickie. Beside, I can't believe that in all your thirty-seven years on this planet, you have never fantasized about screwing in your parents' house."
"No." Tom tucked his feet into his black size twelve shoes. He then knelt to the floor and tied the laces on his shoes.
"Not even when we were first dating?" Cindy rolled over onto her side and cocked her leg exposing herself to her husband. "As I recall, back then you seemed to want to do it in all sorts of places."
Tom looked up briefly then turned away. " I don't know," He stuttered. "Maybe once, but I don't feel that way this second."
"This second? Try this whole year." Cindy dragged herself up from the bed. She slipped a red dress with tiny white polka dots over her head then buttoned up the front. She tied the bow around the waist then sat back down on the edge bed in front of Tom, who was busily wiping an invisible layer of dust off his shoes with a white handkerchief.
In one last attempt to get Tom's attention, Cindy spread her legs in front of him and feinting innocence said, "Oops. I guess I forgot something."
Without looking up, Tom reached into the suitcase on the floor beside him and pulled out a pair of white panties. He held them out in her direction. "Here you go."
Cindy snatched the panties from Tom's hand and yanked them up over her legs. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to look at me every once in a while. I am your wife for God's sake."
"Meaning?" Tom rose to his feet. He folded the handkerchief in half and then shoved it into his back pocket.
"Meaning, we are supposed to be in love and be lovers." A heavy sigh passed through her lips. "I thought this was our chance to escape, maybe find ourselves again and just be together for awhile."
"We are together."
"Yeah. Here at the Mother-in-law Convent of Chastity."
"I guess am just not in the mood. Maybe tomorrow." Tom leaned over and kissed Cindy on the forehead. "Do you want me to find you a bra?"
"No!" Cindy stood up quickly and headed for the bedroom door. "We shouldn't make your mom wait any longer."
That conversation was two days old, but the words were still fresh in Cindy's mind. She had tried to forget it, but now on the drive home all she could do was think about it. "What else was there to do on the cross-country drive through Texas?" she thought to herself. The last radio station had faded out an hour ago, every mile of desert was basically the same and the only thing that broke up the monotony of the road was the occasional dead armadillo. Cindy slouched in her leather bucket seat. Maybe she would nap.
When she awoke several hours later, the digital clock in the car read 6:00 PM. Cindy sat up in her seat and checked the roadway signs. According to the itinerary that Tom had showed her, they were supposed to be stopping soon.
A highway sign passed by and the names of the upcoming towns did not register in her head. She gave a quick look at Tom whom seemed to sense her confusion.
"I decided to drive straight through." Tom said. "We are only eight hours away now and I am sure we can make it home late tonight. I thought it would be nice to sleep in our own bed."
Cindy said nothing and instead slumped back into her seat. Just great, she thought as the image of her five-acre ranch estate in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico flashed in her mind's eye. I go from the convent to solitary confinement.
Cindy took a quick glance at the dash. How long is this journey back to boredom going to take? The cruise was set at 77 miles per hour, two miles over the posted limit. Warp speed for Tom. Cindy stared at the face, of the man she had chosen to marry. He was humming tunes from his favorite Broadway musicals. Tom was Mr. No Risks or Mr. No Cajones as the Mexicans that worked on the ranch would say. He was a 'vanilla ice-cream in a brown paper bag' type of guy.
Cindy closed her eyes again. She could always escape in her dreams.
The sudden stop of the car jolted her awake. Cindy checked the dashboard clock. Three more hours had passed and the sun had long set behind a thin line of the horizon. The new moon that hung in the sky reminded her of the Cheshire Cat's smile.
Cindy stretched her arms behind the headrest of the chair and pressed her feet hard into the floorboards, hoping to get some circulation back into her dormant muscles. "What's going on?"
"We've stopped." Tom said.
"Thanks for the traffic report. Any idea why?"
"Nope."
"Wanna fool around? We could pretend we are at a drive-in."
"Is that all you think about?" Tom glared at her.
Cindy lowered her head and covered her chest with her arms. She said nothing else. Fifteen minutes past and brake lights turned to parking lights, as the line of cars in front of them seemed to be settling down for a long wait. Tom shut down the engine and then reclined his seat. "We could be here a while." He yawned and closed his eyes.
"How long do you think?" Cindy spoke in almost a whisper.
"As long as it takes, I guess," Tom replied.
