When Eva and her escort reached their destination, he bowed and discreetly departed, leaving her alone in front of the door. As Eva lifted her hand to grasp the doorknob, she was both amazed and appalled to see her hand shaking. My God, it was her husband on the other side of that door – the man she loved more than life itself - and she was terrified at the thought of facing him. She shook her head silently; Gwendolyn was absolutely right. Obviously they needed to talk this out, or her silence would do possibly irreparable harm to what had always been a rock-solid relationship.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Frank was seated at a large, ornate desk situated unobtrusively in a corner of the enormous room. The desk was piled high with papers, but it was obvious he was reading none of them. Instead, he appeared to be staring blankly at the wall in front of him, his thoughts apparently light years away.
At the sound of the door shutting behind Eva, he turned around quickly. Eva could see the tension she was feeling mirrored in his face. Clearly something had happened to make him every bit as upset as she was.
She felt the butterflies in her stomach transform into hornets. It couldn't be good for both of them to lack emotional equilibrium. Be that as it may, this was a discussion that could not be put off, no matter how ill prepared they were at the moment to conduct it.
Finally, she worked up her nerve. "Frank," she said softly, "We need to talk."
He sighed and slowly got up from his chair. "Yes, I assumed we did. Why don't we go into the sitting room? The surroundings will be considerably more conducive to a conversation."
Once they got comfortable, Eva asked, "Why did you assume we needed to talk?"
Frank shrugged. "A couple of reasons, really. For one thing, it was clear you were extremely upset when you left to speak with my mother. And for another…" he paused for a moment and ran his hand wearily over his brow, "After you left, I went out on the balcony, and overheard the tail end of the conversation I assume upset you so much."
Eva raised her eyebrows. "Oh." She was silent a moment, then asked, "Frank…who were those people? Other than people you slept with, I mean."
He winced a bit. "They're just servants."
Eva gave him a hard stare. "What do you mean 'just' servants? They were apparently important enough for you to take them to bed."
Before Frank could stop himself, he laughed softly. "My taking them to bed was not a measure of importance. It was purely a measure of attractiveness. And before you accuse me of taking advantage of the underclass, you should be aware I attached no greater significance to my liaisons with members of the nobility."
Eva shook her head. "Do you consider that a defense? That nobody you slept with mattered to you?"
Frank rolled his eyes. "I'm not attempting to 'defend' myself, Eva. I'm just trying to explain my mindset. Love, none of what you heard has anything at all to do with you, or my feelings for you. It all happened in…another lifetime. I can't begin to imagine living that way now. You are all I could ever want."
Eva's eyes filled with tears. "Frank, how can you say that? You took on those two women at once, and they still weren't enough to satisfy you! You went to the man later that same night! That doesn't sound like someone who could ever be satisfied with one lover on a permanent basis."
Frank, stung, looked at her, frustration written all over his face. "Eva, what can I possibly say? What do you expect me to say? As much as I would love to undo the past…to have never done those things…it is obviously impossible." He shook his head. "I might add none of this should come as any great surprise to you. I told you of the kind of life I led before I met you."
"Yes, I know you did. But hearing about it from you is a lot different than hearing your former lovers talk – with an awful lot of enthusiasm - about what you did with them. I don't think you have any idea of how hard that is. And what's even harder is getting the impression I may have that experience all too often."
Frank's expression softened. "No, I suppose I don't have any idea of how hard that is. Eva, I owe you an apology for not attempting to prepare you for the things you might hear. I became so accustomed to being an ordinary person, so to speak, that I didn't even think about being such a…popular topic of conversation here. It was very short-sighted of me." He paused, and a slightly harder edge came to his voice. "However, I do not believe I owe you an apology for my prior actions…if, indeed, that is what you're seeking. I have told you – repeatedly – I have no intention or desire to take on any other lovers. Throughout all my years of taking on lover after lover, I never experienced a tiny fraction of the bliss I feel when I'm with you."
He leaned forward in his seat. "Actually, if anyone should be concerned, it is I. As you heard for yourself, I took full advantage of Transsexual's exceedingly 'liberal' sexual standards. However, you cannot say the same. What if, after living here a while, you begin to feel as if you've 'missed out' on something? What if suddenly I am no longer enough for you?"
Eva stared at him, horror struck. "Frank, how can you even think something like that, after all we've been through together? After all the amazing things we've shared? You said it yourself…we're 'connected'. How could I ever want anyone else?"
Frank sat in silence a moment. Then a slow smile filtered across his face…and he cocked an eyebrow as he stared into Eva's eyes. And suddenly…she understood.
Everything she'd said to him…everything…applied to him as well. She felt a warm flood of relief surge through her body as she realized…no, as she felt, with her entire heart and soul…she had nothing to fear from anyone Frank may have been with before – or, for that matter, from anyone who may want to be with him now. The two of them were soul mates, in the most literal sense of the word; there was no room for anyone else in the blessed shelter of their relationship.
As she sat there, practically glowing with happiness, she realized something else…the warmth she was experiencing was not entirely attributable to relief. She got up from her chair and approached Frank's, a seductive smile on her lovely face. Seating herself on his lap, she gave him a passionate kiss. As her tongue entered his mouth, he pulled her closer and slipped his hand underneath her robe to caress her bare skin.
Words were no longer necessary; as the kiss deepened, their deliciously familiar body language took over. When they finally pulled apart, Frank smiled, picked up Eva and carried her to their bed. As their bodies intertwined in a torrid and tender union, it felt to Eva like the ultimate proof of what he'd been trying to tell her. Frank may have had sex with more people than he could count…
…but she was the only one to whom he'd ever made love.
