She dithered when it was my turn. I nodded politely and let her off the hook.
“It was nice to meet you,” I said.
“Nice to meet you too,” she said. “What time do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?”
I glanced at Christy. “I’ll be up early, but no sense everyone doing the same. Say, ten o’clock?”
“All right,” Brooke said. “See you at ten. G’night, Mrs. C.”
Christy saw her to the door, while I helped myself at the drinks trolley.
Anne declined when I offered to pour one for her, but then I realized who was missing.
“Hold on, where’s Harold?”
“He had an inspection tour,” she said smoothly. “He’s sorry he missed you.”
“Ah, okay. Sorry I missed him too. But I’ll see him next time.”
She smiled at the confidence in my voice.
“Or the time after that,” I added.
“Of course.”
Christy returned and accepted a glass of whiskey, and we moved to the couch. Anne took that as her cue to leave. She stood and smoothed her skirt in a gesture I’d seen countless times in her daughter.
“I have a big day tomorrow,” she said, “and have to get up early for Mass. I’m glad you made it safely, Paul. Sleep well. See you in the morning.”
She looked at her daughter. “And you, young lady… Remember the rules.”
“I will,” Christy said immediately.
“I know you won’t, dear, but let me keep my illusions a little while longer.” She gave me a “you too” look. I knew better than to promise
something I couldn’t control—Christy had come to me the last time—which Anne seemed to understand. She let me off the hook with a bland,
“Goodnight, dear.”
Christy waited until her mother had gone before she leaned in and pulled my arm around her. She hugged my chest and sighed.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“But that was a mean thing you did,” she said. “With the stewardess.”
“Flight attendant,” I said automatically. “And her name was Pam.”
“Whatever. That woman. She looked like she wanted to jump you right there in the airport.”
“She sorta did,” I laughed. “Probably back at her hotel, but still…”
“Wait… you were serious?”
“Mmm hmm.” I told her about our conversation in the plane’s galley after the rest of the crew had left.
Christy sat up and looked incredulous. “She actually invited you back to her hotel?”
“Not in so many words,” I admitted, “but she was going to.”
“How do you know?”
“I know. Trust me. But I told her I was meeting you. That was the end of it.”
“Would you have gone with her if you weren’t meeting me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. It depends.”
“On what?” she squawked.
“On our relationship. Yours and mine, I mean.”
“How?”
“Well, like with you and Brooke,” I said calmly. “We talked about it before spring break, so I knew you wanted to fool around with her. I—”
“So? What’s that have to do with you and that woman?”
“Everything.”
“You’d better explain,” she said in a near-perfect imitation of her father.
She even scowled like he did.
I tried not to laugh, but I couldn’t stop a smile.
Christy’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What?”
“You. You’re just like your father.”
“And don’t you forget it, mister!”
“Oh, I won’t.” My grin disarmed her but didn’t pacify her completely.
“Okay,” I said calmly, “Brooke isn’t some random person. You have a relationship with her.”
“And…?”
“The flight attendant was a random person. I’d’ve been happy to spend more time with her—”
“Mmm hmm,” Christy said darkly, “I’m sure you would.”
“—but not unless you and I had talked about it. And since we hadn’t…” I gave her a significant look.
“You told her no.”
“Exactly.”
“Were you really interested? Never mind. Of course you were. You’re a guy. I get it. But… she was, like, thirty.”
“So? Besides, you know me. Yeah, I’m attracted to looks, but also to a healthy attitude about sex.”
“So you keep telling me.”
“Mmm hmm… for a reason.” I let my words hang in the air.
“I know,” she relented. “And I’m trying. I really am. It’s just… I guess it’s my autopilot. I see you with another woman and sometimes I get… I dunno… ‘jealous’ isn’t the right word. Maybe ‘scared.’”
“You don’t have anything to be scared about.”
“Tell that to the butterflies in my stomach.”
“Come here.” She hesitated but then scooted to my side. I put my arm around her and said, “You and I still have a long way to go. Yeah, we’ve come a long way already, but we’re not there yet.”
“Where’s there?” she asked softly.
“I’m not sure. Ask me in ten years.” I squeezed her possessively. “I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t mean to. I was flirting with— the flight attendant, but then things turned serious. She realized I was like my dad, and…” I shrugged and left the rest unspoken.
“Would he have gone with her? Back to her hotel?”
“Probably. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure he has before.”
“What about your mother? I didn’t think they had that kind relationship.
You know, open.”
“It’s a lot more open than I realized,” I admitted. “And that’s something you and I need to talk about. Before we go all the way. I…” I thought the words— I need to tell you something—but couldn’t bring myself to say them.
Christy misread me and sat up in alarm. “Do you still want to?”
“What? Go all the way? Of course.”
“Oh my gosh! Don’t scare me like that.” She took a deep breath and composed herself. “I guess we should talk about that.” She folded her hands in her lap and stared at them. “We… um… sort of need to hurry.”
My eyebrows rose with amusement more than surprise.
“I know you think I’m being silly,” she continued, “but I really want to do things my way.”
“What about being submissive?” I teased, although she took me seriously.
“I’ll be submissive about anything else, but not this. It’s important. To me, I mean.”
I rested a hand on her knee until she looked up at me. “It’s important to me too.”
“Thank you. I know you think it’s Russian roulette, but it isn’t really. I’ve thought about it a lot. And I’ve looked at my calendar, like, a million times.”
“A million?”
She rolled her eyes at my tone but then looked chagrined. “We don’t have much time.”
“I kinda figured.” I hadn’t counted the days, but we were getting toward the middle of her cycle.
“Tomorrow’s our last day.”
“Then we’d better get started. Take off your clothes. Get on your back.
Spread your legs.”
She knew I was teasing that time. “Oh, no. You’re supposed to seduce me. Sweep me off my feet. Woo me.”
“No time. Brace yourself.” I reached for her but she leaned away.
After a moment she returned and pulled my arm around her again. “It’s a little weird to talk about this so matter-of-factly.”
“That’s what couples do.”
“I know, but… I want our first time to be special. Now it feels like we’re making an appointment or something. I really wanna do it tonight, but…”
She glanced toward the back of the house, and I understood.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “But you wouldn’t be telling me if you hadn’t worked out a plan.”
“You know me so well.”
“Mmm hmm. So, what’re you thinking?”
She sat up again, her eyes bright with eagerness. “Okay, my mom’s going to early Mass tomorrow. She asked if I wanted to go, but I sort of lied and