Wednesday, June 29 (Continued)
Julie and I walked quickly to the parking garage, anxious to leave. I paid two dollars at the Expressway toll booth while Julie called a friend who had experience with situations like this.
"She gave me great advice," said Julie. "I have to see a lawyer, no doubt. She gave me a name and phone number. There's a lot of money and property involved, a lot of options, a lot of decisions to be made. Good thing Katelyn's not a minor living with us." She took a sip of bottled water, then continued. "He didn't threaten me, but I don't want to be in that house with him." Julie put her hand on my thigh. "Danny, I know you have to go back West for personal business, but can you stay with me? Can I stay with you?"
"That's never a problem," I assured her. "I've got you covered. Just tell me if you want to stay in a hotel, or at that apartment I rented."
We made a beeline for her house so she could pick up some clothes, jewelry, important papers, and a couple of flash drives. Next stop was the hotel, where I got Julie checked in under my name. Finally, she dropped me off at Lorna's place. I went to pick up Lorna from work, while Julie headed back to the hotel.
(Riding home with Lorna)
"Julie loves you so much, Dan," said Lorna. "She knows you'll take good care of her."
"Julie always took great care of me," I replied, thinking about the sexual intimacy we shared. "She's just beautiful, and she's got a heart of gold," I added, daydreaming about her lovely naked body. "From the time I got here for the wedding, she made sure I had coffee, muffins, dinners, and even a hot date," I continued. Lorna put her hand on my thigh. In my mind, I was tasting Julie's sweet kisses and lip gloss, feeling the warmth of her embraces, filling my head with the scents of her perfume and body. "I love Julie to pieces. I love you to pieces too, Lorna, you're a dream come true." The rush-hour traffic jam was a nightmare.
"That's so sweet, Dan, how much you love her too. I'm so madly in love with you. I wish we got together years ago, but I'm thankful we're together now, forever. Like they say, I had to go through years of frogs and toads before meeting the prince."
I laughed. "Ha! I showed lots of toad-like behavior for years. I had to clean up my act or self-destruct. You know what I told you. Years ago, you would have thrown me out on my ass. You probably wouldn't have let me introduce myself to you, just told me to fuck off."
"I've done stupid things too. I told you. Let's just look forward to the wedding and our lives together." Our lips met. Behind us, drivers honked their horns. Green light! Lorna muttered, "Fuck off," and stepped on the gas.
"Speaking of asshole behavior, John betrayed my sister. That's what pisses me off. Plus, this will affect Katelyn, Michael, their children..." I paused to calm down. We were out of the traffic jam, on a country lane.
"As long ago as I can remember, Julie was so bright. She always won awards for creative writing, social studies, math, you name it. She always had the ability to connect with people because of the way she expressed herself, the way she understood others. That is exactly why she's such an awesome professor. She knows her stuff, and she doesn't just teach from the book. She gets shy students to participate, she makes everyone feel respected and valued. But her own husband treats her like shit..."
"But this was all of a sudden, Dan. That's what I can't figure out. Julie would have told me if she suspected anything, if she'd been treated like shit."
"I guess so. And I know you're not defending John. I wonder if this was some stupid impulse he acted on."
Lorna parked the car, shut off the engine. She placed a hand on my leg, and moved to kiss me. "I'm feeling an impulse right now. Wanna act on it with me?" Our lips met. "Hmm?"
"Only if it's a stupid impulse," I teased. "You know, like trying to squeeze two people into a small shower..."
"With one bar of soap? Sounds like fun. We can be stupid like that. Actually, that's smart. Saves water," Lorna purred.
I pushed the front door closed behind me, made sure it was locked. "Want something to drink?" I asked, but got no response. From the refrigerator, I got the pitcher of iced tea and filled two glasses, over ice, with lemon slices.
Lorna came out of the bathroom in her underwear, pantyhose off. "Bring it back to the bedroom, please, sweetheart," she said. I followed, admiring the way she walked.
I put the glasses of iced tea on her night stand. Lorna was on the other side of the bed, pulling the bedspread down. "Another long day in a chilly office. What's a girl to do?" she asked, playfully.
"I can help you with that, Miss," I answered. "I have a special stick, a hot stick, which I would like to rub on you. I think I know how to get your temperature rising."
"Before I say yes, let me see the special hot stick. What's so special about it?"
"It has the power to warm you up, and cure all of your problems. It'll take care of your muscular aches, make your heart beat strong, and it may even make you sing."
Lorna laughed. "And this magic hot stick, is it as impressive as these?" Her bra went sailing through the air. I joined her in laughter.