"I blame this on you." Kathryn said later as they sat in Jenny's jeep, idling outside the house her and Bradley shared. Jenny tossed her head and laughed. "Me? Aw how sweet of you." Kathryn had her thin legs crossed and her arms folded firmly over her chest as she resisted the urge to push her head against Jenny's shoulder just to inhale her scent one more time.
"Yeah, you. It's a good thing Bradley is in charge of locking up the shop tonight or he'd be wondering why it's taking me so damn long to get out of this car." Jenny was eyeing her crossed legs with playful distaste. "I told you Jeep sex was fun. I consider it an accomplishment that you don't want to get out." Kathryn snorted with amusement. "I don't know how it wasn't painful. Jeeps aren't exactly known for their comfortable seats."
Jenny snickered. "You've already found out that I posses certain skills to make you as "comfortable" as I can." Kathryn quickly made sure that no one was spying on them in the darkness before catching Jenny by surprise and kissing her on the cheek.
"Would it be possible to do it again?" She whispered huskily. In answer, Jenny turned and pressed her mouth against Kathryn's as if to devour it. Their tongues battled for dominance as they kissed over and over again, knowing that tonight they couldn't be in each other's arms.
Jenny finally had to break away, knowing that Kathryn had to leave. They had lied to Bradley and told him that Kathryn was invited to a sleep over with the softball team. "Which was partially the truth, "Jenny had pointed out earlier. "Except that I would never allow anyone else to sleep with you." They had laughed about it and twice on the way back had to pull over in a secluded area to hold them over until next time. One full day and night didn't seem to be enough.
"How am I supposed to fall asleep without you?" Kathryn asked softly as she gripped Jenny's hand in the dark. Jenny's fingers twitched with longing. "Hang in there ok? Whatever happens, I'll be here. I know you can do it." Kathryn knew she wasn't talking about sleeping alone. "I'll tell him the truth." She said simply and released Jenny's hand reluctantly to open the passenger door.
Jenny placed her hands on the wheel to keep from holding her back. Kathryn then got out and shut the door behind her. "Good night." She said sadly. To Jenny, she looked like a lost puppy. Before Kathryn was out of ear shot Jenny said, "I love you." Kathryn's head whipped around to stare at her. They had known it all along but they had let action do the talking. To hear her actually say it made Kathryn's insides melt like butter. Too choked up to speak, she nodded and rubbed the tears from her eyes. Jenny smiled in the dark. She understood.
The next night Kathryn sat with Bradley at their kitchen table. It was her birthday and he had placed a chocolate cake in front of her with a single candle. The room was dim and the light from the candle flickered across Kathryn's features. She looked grim but Bradley hardly seemed to notice. He waited expectantly as she blew out the candle and fingered her wine glass.
"Bradley we have to talk." Her husband jumped as if he'd suddenly remembered something. "Ah hold on." He reached into his pocket and withdrew an envelope. Kathryn brought the wine glass to her lips and drained half the liquid in a single swallow. When she set it down, Bradley was dancing the envelope across the table towards her. She forced a small smile and took it from his hands. "That's really sweet." Bradley smiled in return and watched her open it. "Happy birthday sweetheart."
Kathryn stared down at the photograph tapped to the inside of the card. "It's a dog." She affirmed and felt a bitter taste on her tongue. Bradley gestured with his finger in haste. "No, no. It's the dog. That's the dog you picked out." He explained. Kathryn raised her eyes to meet his and narrowed them in disbelief.
A few days ago, exactly one day after meeting Jenny, Bradley had taken Kathryn out for a surprise drive. He had brought her to the pound to pick out a dog. The thing was, she was deathly afraid of them and would've given anything to bolt out of that horrible place. She never "picked" out any dog. She only humored her husband in order to make a quick getaway. When she was little, a dog had bitten into her leg while she was riding her bike. 17 stitches later had left her scarred for life with no love for them since.
After being married to Bradley for 6 years, she would've thought he'd know this by now. For the first time, Kathryn felt anger towards her husband. "But I hate dogs and you know that." Her voice shook as tears began to gather at the corners of her vision. Bradley frowned in confusion with a slight shake of his head. "No, you don't-you love dogs." "I would've said anything to get out of that room!" She snapped, "I don't want a goddamn dog!"
Kathryn slammed the wine glass on the table along with the envelope. She then rose from the table to pace and threw her hands up in the air. "And you know that but you got me one anyway because you-" Too mad to continue, she trailed off and raked her fingers through her long dark hair in frustration.
Bradley felt hurt begin to gnaw at his heart and Harry Stevenson's words echoed in his mind: "I would proceed with caution." The older black man had advised as they sat at the coffee shop together. "With getting a dog?" Bradley had asked, "Why?" Stevenson looked up from his newspaper. "Because you're telling her that you know her better than she knows herself." "So that's a bad thing?" Harry tilted his head. "It means that you'd better be right."
Bradley shook the memory away and turned his attention back to Kathryn. "Okay, okay time out. Kathryn,-" He began but she was in no mood and cut him off. "Because you have no idea who I am!" Her voice had gotten louder and her body was rigid with anger. Bradley could only watch as she ranted. "I may as well be invisible to you." Kathryn turned on her heel to storm off towards the bedroom. "What color are my eyes?" She called back.
He remained seated and was absolutely stunned. "What?" Kathryn had reached the room and was throwing clothes into a duffel bag. "What color are my eyes?" She shouted again. "Green." Bradley's voice rang out as he pushed back from the table to confront her. "My eyes are hazel!" She spat, "I mean Christ you're an artist!" Bradley reached the bedroom door.
"Okay they have a greenish hazel tint." He said desperately, wanting her to calm down. He honestly had no idea what had upset her so much. "All right, listen; we're rushing the dog thing. You're right." Kathryn slung the bag over her shoulder and darted out form the room to face him. "No, it's not just the dog thing or the eye thing. It's everything. It's every goddamn thing! I cannot do this for one more day!" She was now making a bee line for the door with quickened steps. "It's like I don't even exist!" Bradley trotted after her. "What, you're leaving?"
She whirled around and every word was laced with venom. "Oh, so now you don't miss a thing." Kathryn's heart was pounding so loudly that she could hear it roaring in her ears. This was unbelievable and that stupid expression on his face was only feeding her rage. "Where are you going with this?" Bradley asked, now becoming upset himself.
Kathryn exhaled impatiently. "You know the shortstop, the one that you asked over to our table?" His forehead creased as he tried to recall and then his eyes snapped back to hers. "Ah yes! She tagged you out." Kathryn may have been facing Bradley but she was looking right through him; like she was remembering a fond memory only she could see. "Yeah, well, I'm not the only one she tagged out." She muttered softly, the cords of her neck standing out as she smiled shamelessly at the confession.
Then the moment passed and she glared back at Bradley. "But you wouldn't know that, because you have your head so far up your ass." Kathryn spun around and went for the door handle. "Wait, you… you're friends with her?" His comment made her pause and she froze with one hand on the door. Fighting the urge to laugh at the absurdity of it all she looked back at him once more.
After a quick exhale of disbelief she shook her head. "Wow. Goodbye, Bradley." With that she flung open the door and vanished into the night, slamming it on her way out. He was left standing there as the blood vessels burst in his eyes and turned them red. Despite all his faults, he really did love her. Bradley took one last look at the door and let the tears fall.
Kathryn got into her Ford Mustang and jammed the keys into the ignition. The engine caught and growled smoothly back at her. She smiled in satisfaction as she tossed the duffel bag into the back seat and clicked the seatbelt into place.
Let him chew on that one for awhile. She thought as she threw the car into drive. The mild guilt she was feeling wouldn't be there for too much longer. She had said what she needed to say and that's all there was to it. A bit harsh maybe but nothing short of what he deserved to hear. The Mustang rumbled off into the night until the red tail lights couldn't be seen from the house.