The Professor pulled up to Laura's parent's house a little after ten o'clock. He sat there in the driveway, silent. Should he thank her for her company? Should perhaps make a comment about her hair. They had a nice time while at the banquet, but now that the evening was over, he didn't quite know how to tie things up. A simple good bye sounded hokey. He was afraid to tell her he had a nice time. Perhaps that would give her the wrong idea... or maybe it would plant wrong ideas in his head.
He sat there, gripping the steering wheel, as nervous as a student that had been cheating on a final exam.
"Cheater... cheater," his thoughts haunted him. His son sat in the backseat, pouting. In fact, he had been moody and uncooperative all day. Dexter's insight was definitely greater than that of the average eight year old. In spite of the Professor explaining that he was just taking Laura as a friend because he didn't want mommy's ticket to to go waste, it didn't deter Dexter's foul mood.
You're going to cause your children to hate you Hinkley... possibly your wife included.
"I had a wonderful time, Mr. Hinkley. Thank you again for inviting me," Laura said quickly, reaching for the door handle. She spoke this, never making any eye contact. She didn't dare look him in the eye for fear of blushing. He had looked so handsome in his tuxedo, his aftershave smelled so good. Her heart pumped faster as she thought of her dashing employer. She knew she had to get out of there.
"I'll see you first thing Monday morning," she replied and exited before he had a chance to respond.
The Professor sighed as he backed down the driveway. How he wished he hadn't invited Laura to go with him. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy her company, but on the contrary. They had a great time together... maybe too much of a great time.
Of course, everything had been on the level. Everything stayed strictly platonic. There had been no signs of flirtation and no physical contact had occurred. Though, some of his colleagues had questioned where his wife was, and who his young companion was. So he told them only half the truth. He explained that Ginger was out on a publicity mission and couldn't make it home. Of course, that was true.
He had also said that Laura was the children's nanny and was there to keep an eye on them. That was true as well, but only to a point. If he were completely honest, he knew Laura had been there mostly for his benefit. He was tired of attending everything without someone by his side. Of course, he would have preferred to have Ginger at his side, but she was too busy for him. He was convinced of that. So instead, he turned to the comfort of a friend.
...
As the taxi pulled up to the Hinkley mansion, Ginger sighed at the sight of home. How good it felt to be where she belonged.
"How much do I owe you?" Ginger asked the cabbie, as she fished through her purse. Normally, Ginger wouldn't have taken a cab, but she was so anxious to get home that while at the airport, she sneaked away from Lonnie and slipped out of a fire exit, jumping into the first taxi she could find.
"Mrs. Hinkley, it was my honor to transport a big movie star such as yourself," the cabbie gushed, "if you'll autograph this 8"x 10" glossy for my son we'll call it even."
Ginger smiled as she signed the photo with permanent ink. The cabbie graciously thanked her as she handed back the photo and made her departure.
As she unlocked the door and entered her dark home, she reasoned that Roy and the kids must have went to the awards banquet for the UCLA research department. Ginger felt guilty, hoping she could have caught an earlier flight to make it home in time to be with her husband. After all, he had attended many awards banquets with her. She had longed to hear the speech that her husband had prepared in honor of the head of the Botany Department.
"Oh well," she thought as she downed a shot of Rum. "I guess I'll go take a nice, hot bath and curl up with a good book until they get home."
Just as she was about to ascend to the upstairs bathroom, the door opened. Dexter flipped on the light as the Professor carried his sleeping daughter.
"Mommy! You're home!" Dexter said, practically leaping into Ginger's arms. "Please, please don't leave again. I want you to stay here."
Ginger was shocked by her son's strange behavior. It was true that she had been gone nearly a month, which was much longer than she had anticipated. However, Dexter was used to her being gone. He had a maturity that most eight year old children didn't have. Of course, Ginger reasoned, he was still a child. Perhaps her absence was causing a bit of regression.
"Dex, I'm right here," she said, comforting the child.
"Welcome home, Sweetheart," the Professor said as he pulled Ginger into a kiss. Her lips felt nice. Her body felt nice. While enjoying his wife's kisses, he also had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he remembered that he had just dropped off another woman.
"I've missed you too," Ginger said, stroking his cheek, "I really wanted to be back in time for your banquet. I'm sorry you had to take the kids by yourself."
No one had noticed, but Amy had woken up from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes and responded to her mother's comment.
"We weren't alone mommy," she said, "daddy asked Laura to come with us. You should have seen her, mommy. She looked like a princess. Wasn't she pretty, daddy?"
Ginger looked in the Professor's direction, her eyes becoming fiery darts. The Professor gulped, staring at his wife and not being able to speak.
"I'll just bet you missed me," she said.
...
Doris and the Skipper laid in there bed, silently staring at the ceiling fan up above them. Finally, the Skipper sighed, turning onto his side and not even so much bidding Doris a good night. He didn't even kiss her.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I'm worthless. You deserve better."
"Jonas, it's not your fault," Doris said, turning in his direction, "we're just having a little rough patch, that's all. We'll try again tomorrow night."
"No, I don't think so," the Skipper said with despair, "the older I get, the worse my problem is going to get. It's been months since we've... honestly Doris, you don't need this."
"It's not your problem, it's our problem," she replied, "and if it bothers you so much, why don't you go to the doctor?"
"Are you insane? I can't talk to a doctor about something like this!"
"Well, why not? It's something that's affecting your body."
"Yeah, but it's my business. I can't go around talking about it."
"Our business." She corrected.
"How is it your business? You aren't the one with the problem... it's me! It's ALL me!" Doris sighed in frustration. She felt badly for her husband, but now it was getting to the point where he was feeling sorry for himself. Jonas A. Grumby was not the sort of man to be depressed, nor was he the sort of man to throw himself a pity party. As of late, that was exactly what he had been doing.
"I can't keep putting you through this... maybe we should... maybe we should get a... divorce?" The statement had been more of a question. At this point in the game, the Skipper felt hopeless and was grasping at straws.
Pain filled Doris' heart. She hated the "D" word with every fiber of her being. Her friend Angela had already divorced her husband that she had been engaged to when Doris had returned to the states. It had been a messy divorce. Besides the occasional butting of heads, she loved her husband dearly and he was her best friend. Sorrow filled her up just from the suggestion he had made. Not too long after that, the sorrow turned to anger.
"Jonas Grumby! What a bunch of nonsense! Where is this coming from? Don't you love me anymore?"
"Of course I love you, but you deserve a man that's capable of making love to you. Don't pretend it doesn't bother you. You still have a healthy libido... you're being cheated."
"If you think that's all there is to love making, I feel sorry for you. Your touch, your kiss, your smile, and the way you look at me shows me that you love me. Actual sex is only a small part of it. I know you know this too."
"It's just I don't want you to resent me. I don't want you to feel like you're stuck with me. I love you enough to let you go... to set you free." Doris bit her lip to keep from laughing. He was being melodramatic now... so unlike him. In spite of wanting to chuckle at his drama, she was truly concerned about her husband's emotional well being.
"Set me free? Jonas, I think that's the dumbest thing you've ever said. I chose to be with you. I love you and nothing will ever change that. Our bodies change as we get older. It's inevitable. I feel like our relationship is strong enough to withstand anything. One day, I may have to take care of you. I'm prepared to do that when the time comes. Who knows, it might be me that needs taken care of. I'm confident enough in you that I know you would do anything for me... I'm willing to do the same."
The Skipper's heart was touched by his wife's speech. In their eight years of marriage, she had never been anything but supportive. He should have known that he would get scolded for bringing up divorce. That's not what he wanted anyway either. He had waited a long time to find just the right woman... Doris fit the bill completely. Speaking of which, her mentioning of caring for one another reminded him that she herself hadn't been feeling her best.
"By the way, did you ever get the results of your blood work?"
"Yes I did! It was good news... well, it was to me. My iron is low and my blood pressure is low too. I start new medication on Monday so my blood pressure doesn't drop so drastically, and I'll also take an iron supplement."
"Thank God it wasn't anything worse."
"I know, but the doctor said I need to cut my hours and get more rest. I'm thinking of putting my resume in at one of the doctor's offices. Will you pray for me about it?"
"Only if you'll pray for me."
Both joined hands, lifting their requests to Heaven, while also thanking God for each other. After the "amen" had been said, the Skipper squeezed Doris' hand and gently kissed her good night.
"Thank you for talking me out of a divorce. How miserable would that have been?" He said.
"Go to sleep," she said as she swatted at his bottom, "we stay up too late, you and the kids will miss church and I'll be late for work."
"Yes ma'am," he said with a cheesy grin.