Chapter Eleven

While Matt had been crawling into bed next to Julie, Tami had been clearing the wine glasses off the table, clanking them together noisily as she did so. Eric trailed her as she went into the kitchen to put the glasses in the sink. He leaned against the countertop beside her and gave her just enough room to turn around.

She pivoted and asked, "Seriously, Eric. Did you have to make a scene?"

"What scene? There was no scene."

"You made a scene."

"I said hello to the man. I said goodbye to the man. What kind of scene is that? An opening and closing act? There was no- "

"You embarrassed me in front of a colleague I have to work with every day. We have to work together, Eric. We have to plan things together. And yes, we get along too, as two human beings, having human being conversations. What's gotten into you?"

Eric stepped away to give her some space. He sighed. "Tami, you gotta admit it didn't look good."

"So you jump to conclusions? That's the first thing you do?"

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions. I just think it's inconsiderate."

"Inconsiderate?"

"Yeah. Inconsiderate. Of the sanctity of our marriage."

"The sanctity?" she asked with derision. "Are you serious?" She glared at him.

"A'right," he said, holding his hands up in front of him in a defensive posture. "I'm sorry. I just didn't expect to see some strange man when I walked through the door after a weekend away from my wife. You could of at least told me ahead of time that you were having him over."

"Yes, I could have. I should have apparently. But it didn't occur to me my husband might fly into a jealous rage because he caught me discussing admissions with my colleague."

"I did not fly into a jealous rage. And you know what? You wanna know something else? You were in tears on the floor because I went out in a group with a female classmate, and here you are alone with a bottle of wine and this guy - "

"That's not the same thing!" She walked back out to the table and grabbed the empty bottle of wine. He remained in the kitchen. When she returned and began washing out the bottle in the sink, she said, "I was upset because you were interested in her. You were really interested in her. And that is just not the case here." She opened a cabinet beneath the sink and tossed the bottle into a recycling bin. It clanged loudly against the plastic sides.

Eric was looking away from her, an irritated expression on his face. Irritated and a little worried. "You're the one who told me women find maturity and confidence in a man sexy," he said. "Here's an older man, and he's not a bad looking guy, and he appreciates you. I mean, he's the one who got you hired, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is."

"So that's got to be a little flattering to you." He leaned back now against the refrigerator and looked at her. "To be respected that much. And then there you are splitting a bottle of wine with him and talking, and it didn't look like it was all about admissions, and you know it wasn't all - "

" - so what if it wasn't? I can't have casual conversations? I can't have friends?"

"And you're laughing at him and you're smiling at him and you have your shoes kicked off - "

"Eric, this is ridiculous! You are being utterly ridiculous!"

"Fine!" He stood up straight. "To hell with it! Split a damn case of wine with him tomorrow night for all I care."

She turned her back on him, picked up a dish towel, and ran it roughly over the wet counter. He got up close behind her and put a hand on the counter, trapping her against it. "It's a'right for me," he hissed in her ear, "to admit when there might be an obstacle to our marriage and to set up safeguards to make sure I stay faithful and we stay strong," his anger dissolved to injury as he spoke, "but you can't be bothered to do the same thing." He stepped away.

She froze in place. She hadn't expected that sound in his voice - not anger, but hurt. When she didn't respond, when she didn't even turn around to look at him, the anger returned. "Maybe I have a point worth considering, Tami. But it's more important for you to be right, isn't it?"

He stormed from the kitchen and down the hallway to their bedroom. He slammed that door and then went into their master bathroom and slammed that door too. He jerked open the shower curtain and turned on the water, turning the dial to all the way hot. He yanked his clothes off and flung them onto the floor in a corner of the room. He climbed in and stood under the scalding water, one hand against the tile wall, his head bent beneath the stream. He stood there like that for a long while, until the water turned lukewarm.

He was thinking about getting out when he felt a sudden draft and then a cool hand against his back. He jumped and turned.

"What are you doing?" he asked his wife. "What's your game?"

"My game?" Tami asked. "I don't have a game. I just thought you could use help washing your back."

He squinted at her through the water running down his face. "Well you must have some game."

"Turn around. I'll wash your back."

"Hell no, I'm not turning my back to a woman whose pissed off at me."

"What do you think I'm going to do?"

"I have no idea. But this makes no damn sense at all, you climbing in here naked with me when five minutes ago you were telling me how ridiculous I am."

"Are you going to turn around and let me wash your back?"

"No, Tami. No I am not. Not until you tell me what you're up to."

"Fine." She sighed. "While you were in here, I was standing alone in the kitchen thinking that maybe I was a little bit wrong, that maybe you had a right to be a little upset – not as upset as you were, but a little upset. That maybe I should have told you ahead of time Bill was coming over and that maybe, even though I don't really feel attracted to him right now, it might not be a bad idea to set up some boundaries just in case. That maybe I should say I'm sorry to you. But instead of eating humble pie and saying all that, I just thought it would be a whole hell of a lot easier to come in here and get you to have sex with me, and then you'd forget how silly jealous you were and how insensitive I was to your feelings."

He had started smiling as soon as he heard "maybe I was a little bit wrong," and his smile just kept growing. Now he was nodding. "Well, now, sugar, that sounds like a very logical plan to me. Very logical indeed."

He leaned forward to kiss her and she leaned back away from him. "But now that I've eaten that humble pie and gone and said all that stuff," she said, "I guess I don't need to have sex with you anymore. Damn it's freezing in here." She slid back the shower curtain, leapt out, and quickly ripped the towel off the rack.

Before he could turn the faucet off and blink the water from his eyes, she had the towel wrapped around herself. "Hey, come on now!" he complained as he slid the curtain all the way open. As he was stepping out onto the bathmat, she opened the door, ran out, and shut it behind her. He glared first at the back of the closed door. Then he looked to his left at the empty towel rack, from which she had taken the very last towel. Then he frowned down at the bath mat that was growing soggy from all the water dripping from his body. "Come on!"