Eva had taken advantage of her second novel getting the green light and felt she deserved a nice lengthy break from writing. One of her favorite ways of spending her newfound free time was to spend time with Amanda. She only worked four days a week at the pharmaceutical company. Wednesdays were her day off and she and Eva had started spending them together. They would shop, have lunch, or just talk with each other.
On this particular Wednesday, they went to lunch together. Amanda had been dying to talk to Eva about a certain situation for a few days. Her curiosity finally got the best of her.
"Eva?" Amanda said, seeming rather shy.
"Hm?" Eva replied, looking up from her salad.
Amanda blushed a little. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," Eva said with a smile. "What's on your mind?"
"Are you and Frank always so…"
"So…what?"
Amanda paused before answering. "How you were at the club the other night."
"Oh…" Eva's cheeks turned pink. "We were a bit, um, obvious, huh?"
"Ya," Amanda replied, a dreamy look in her eyes. "Was it as amazing as…" Amanda stopped, embarrassed.
"What?" Eva laughed.
"I'm so sorry, Eva. This isn't any of my business and…"
"It's O.K., Amanda, really."
"No, that's your personal life and…"
"Do you know the last time that I ever engaged in 'girl talk' with anyone?"
Amanda smiled. "No."
"Me neither." They both laughed. "Honestly, I was lucky enough to find Frank and I never had anyone to gush about the juicy stuff with!" Eva felt like she was back in high school. She used to talk to Sarah all of the time, but things were never the same after the whole "John incident" (as their mother refers to it). "Look, why don't you come to my place? I'll put Faye down for her nap and we can…act like we're sixteen."
Amanda smiled. She, like Eva, lacked female companionship, and while Stuart was wonderful for conversation, she felt that there were things that only women could talk about.
"You know what?" Amanda started. "That sounds fun. I'm up for it if you are."
Eva flagged down their waitress. "Check, please."
They went to Eva's and Amanda got comfortable on the couch while Eva put Faye down for her nap. When Eva got back to the living room, she sat next to Amanda and was ready to reveal anything that Amanda wanted to know.
"O.K., go ahead. Whatever you want to ask, ask," Eva smiled.
"I can't," Amanda giggled.
"C'mon, this'll be fun."
"Eva…I can't just ask you this stuff."
"O.K., then, I'll start." Eva lowered her voice, not that anyone else was around, but she couldn't help herself. "I've always sort of wondered about Stuart."
"What about him?"
"Well, he and John were pretty close and I just wondered if they were 'alike' in their, um…'methods.'" Eva couldn't believe what she was asking; she had never been so open about things of a sexual nature before Frank came into her life.
"Um…well, what was John like? Then I can compare." Amanda's interest in this conversation was peaked.
"Oh, he was wonderful…in his own eyes." Eva laughed. "I used to think that he was, well, good, I guess…until Frank…now I know that John was terribly greedy in bed and that it's not 'fine' to just roll over and sleep afterward."
"Oh," Amanda said, rolling her eyes at the thought. "Stuart's not like John then…he's, um, a giver. He's actually quite sweet," she giggled. "He's the only guy I've ever been with that wants to hold me after we're, you know, finished."
Eva smiled. "So's Frank. I mean, unlike my sister, I've only been 'with' a couple different guys, but none of them were very, shall we say, affectionate. At times, I felt like the pinnacle of 'wham bam, thank...' well, you know the rest."
Amanda's smile faded. "I know that feeling all too well." She perked up and said, "Frank fixing me up with Stuart is probably one of the best things to happen to me….and back to Frank…"
"Yes?"
"I feel so guilty asking this," she said, but a mischievous grin crossed her lips. "Um, how many times do you and Frank…you know?"
"Usually two or three, I guess."
"Really? Wow, then I guess Stuart and I aren't as…umm…'boring' as I thought. Sometimes we even hit four times a week."
"Oh…ah, I didn't mean a week," Eva said biting her lower lip.
"Certainly you don't mean a month," Amanda said, seeming puzzled.
"No…I sorta meant, um…a day." Eva looked at Amanda, whose eyes were all but falling out of their sockets.
"A…day? How? Is that even humanly possible?"
Of course Eva couldn't exactly give a straight answer to that question. "Well, it's…um…kinda how we start the day…and end it…and then on the weekends, you know…there's more time…"
"You both have jobs…and a baby…and…" Amanda smiled. "I've never been more jealous of anyone in my life, Eva. As if that amazing fact wasn't enough," she laughed, "when Stuart and I saw you and Frank that night, he sort of let it slip that you and Frank have been promiscuous in a few rather…shall we say interesting places?"
"Oh did he?" Eva asked, now blushing.
"Oh, you're mad now, aren't you?" Amanda said, regretting her comment.
"Not at all - obviously Frank told Stuart about it - but, yes, Frank and I have been intimate in some interesting places." Eva looked at Amanda's face; she looked like she'd die if Eva didn't keep talking. Eva giggled, then said, "One night Frank and I went to the movies. This 'steamy' scene came on and Frank whispered in my ear that we could do a lot better than the couple on the screen so…"
"You occupied the bathroom?" Amanda interrupted.
Eva shook her head "no." "We were in the back of the theater and it wasn't very crowded…"
"Right there?!"
"Well, you know how you can lift up the arm rests…" Eva's voice trailed. "You must think that there's something wrong with us."
"I've certainly never met a couple like you, that's for sure…But do I think something's wrong? Are you kidding me? The fact that you two have so much heat between you…"
"It's not just sex," Eva quickly interrupted. "I mean, yes, Frank and I are rather physical…often…but I don't want you to think that it's only physical."
"Oh, I know you and Frank love each other…"
"Amanda?" Eva again interrupted.
"Ya?"
"I sometimes feel like Frank and I - please don't laugh – we're connected somehow…mentally, emotionally…I don't know." Amanda sat in silence, knowing that Eva wasn't done speaking. "I'm sure Stuart told you about how Frank and I 'met' and believe me, I had never ever done anything like that before in my life…I still find it hard to believe that I slept with a stranger that I couldn't even see…but, God, in those first few moments…" Eva started to cry. "When he and I make love…not do what we did that night, but really make love we hardly say a word to each other, but I swear that we have conversations…"
"That must be so…amazing." Handing a tissue to Eva, Amanda asked, "Eva, are you all right?"
Wiping her eyes, Eva replied, "I'm fine…I just never get to talk about these things. When I caught John and Sarah, I was convinced that I must've been some sort of incompetent lover, or a bad person, or…It hurt so much. Every woman knows that feeling, even if she's never really felt it…that twisting knot deep down that feels like it will never go away. Frank took that searing pain away in a few short minutes…and it has never ever returned – even when he…When he had some unfortunate circumstances and had to leave, that particular feeling never came back because I knew I'd see him again…" Eva's face lit up. "Thank you, Amanda."
"For what?"
"For listening to me. You know how sometimes you think about things, but it never really has the same impact has hearing them out loud?" Amanda understood exactly what Eva was referring to.
"Are you going to go see him?" Amanda asked, smiling.
"Ya, I think I will."
"Want me to watch Faye for a while?"
"Would you mind?"
"Not at all."
Eva hugged Amanda and said, "I've got a feeling that you and I are going to be friends for quite some time."
Eva left and Amanda smiled. She knew that she had finally found a true friend and confidant in life. "Me too, Eva."