[Friday, June 18]
The breakfast rush took over the kitchen. Eric frying bacon, Andrew trying to chuck cheerios in the direction of Julie's open mouth and giggling, Karen pouring a travel mug full of coffee, Tami trying to get the kids to stop squealing and settle down, and, finally, Garrett coming in, looking for his keys.
"If you would just hang them on this key rack I got us," Karen said, as she plucked her own keys off the board, "you would never lose them."
Mr. Taylor patted each of his pockets. "Found them!" he exclaimed victoriously. "Tami, are y'all really okay with watching Andrew tonight?"
"Of course."
"Karen, I'm going to reserve us a table at that French place downtown."
"That's expensive," Karen said.
"What, I can't even do this right? We can afford it one time. You told me you love French food and I'm just trying - "
"- Okay," Karen said softly. "It's a good choice. Thank you for making the reservations."
Mr. Taylor's expression softened. "There's also that fancy wine bar next door," he said.
"I thought you hated fancy bars," Karen said.
"But you don't. And it'll be quiet. We could go there after dinner if...we're still talking."
"You mean if I haven't killed you?" Karen asked with a slight smile.
Mr. Taylor returned her smile. He look partly amused and partly frightened. Karen kissed his cheek. "Thank you for the flowers you left yesterday," she said. "Have a good day at work."
"You too." As she was leaving the kitchen, he called after her, "You read the card?"
"All three words of it!" Karen hollered back.
When Mr. Taylor had left for work, Tami went over to look at the card.
"What are you doing?" Eric asked.
"C'mon. You're curious what the three words are."
"I know what they are," Eric said. "I'm sorry - Garrett."
"You're right," Tami said, shutting the card. "Did you know because that's what you would have written?"
"No. I know because I read it yesterday."
[*]
Mr. Taylor returned and fed Andrew at lunch time and played with him for a few minutes before disappearing to his bedroom. He came back to the living room where Tami was half reading and half watching the kids and held up three ties. "Which is better?" he asked. "With a black suit?"
"This is a suit and jacket kind of restaurant?"
"It's at least business casual," Mr. Taylor said. "I don't have to dress up completely, but I know how these things work."
Eric did always seem to have a certain advantage over her when he was well dressed. She could be putty in his hands some Sunday mornings. "Well, any of those would go with black. What's Karen's favorite color?"
"Yellow. I don't have a yellow one."
"Nix the red," Tami said. "Psychologically it's associated with aggression. The black can imply coldness. Go with the blue. It implies calmness, trust, and communication."
He looked down at the blue tie dangling from his hand. "Really? A tie can say all that?"
"I don't know," Tami said with a smirk. "I just made that up. But the blue will bring out the lighter colors in your eyes."
He chuckled. "Okay. Thank you."
Tami smiled. "You act as though you're going on a first date." In a way, she supposed, he was. If they were going to be completely honest with each other tonight, it might be rather like meeting someone for the first time.
"Well, I certainly hope it goes better than that. Our first date was awful. I somehow spilled wine in her lap before we could even order. Drove her back to her place so she could change, apologizing the entire way. Then she just suggested we order pizza since we missed our dinner, so I suggested this great delivery place, and when it came, it was burnt. I was pretty sure she wasn't going to go out with me again, so I didn't even ask. But a week later, she called me."
"For an emergency repair?" Tami asked.
"What?"
"Nothing," she said with a smile.
Julie walked up to Mr. Taylor and hugged his leg. He looked down at her. "Red!" she said. "Red, grampa."
He looked at the ties in his hands. "Why?" he asked.
"Red birds are red!"
"Well," he mused, "it makes about as much sense as your mother's arguments, so..." He tossed the red tie in the air and caught it, "Red it is." He tried to move, but Julie clung to his leg. "I have to go back to work for a few hours."
"Take Julie."
"I'd love to take you, peanut, but there are work site regulations." He pried himself loose.
[*]
"You're so beautiful, babe," Eric murmured as he ran a hand gently over Tami's bare stomach, tickling her with feathery light caresses, until he had cupped a breast. He bent his head and flicked his tongue across her already hardening nipple. She gasped. "Perfect Tami. I love your...breasts." He raised his face up to look at her, with a smile that asked, Did I do it right?
She smiled with affection and tried to give him what he had said he wanted, which was to tell him what she liked. "I like it when you kiss my tits like that, Eric. I love to feel your mouth on them. I want - "
"- You just said tits."
"I'm allowed to say it."
"Uh...a'ight." Eric slid up her body, put a knee between her legs to push them apart, and whispered in her ear, "Be as loud as you want, babe."
"I've kind of lost the mood."
He rolled onto his back and sighed.
"Sorry, it's just...the discussion. The discussion should only occur on the sidelines."
"I agree. You just surprised me when you said what you told me not to say."
"I didn't say never say it. Just...less often."
He stared up silently at the ceiling fan.
"Let's take a shower together," she suggested.
"In the hall bathroom?"
"They probably won't be home for at least another hour. And what's the worst that happens? They find out we sometimes shower together?" She rolled to her side and peered down at him. "It'll get me back in the mood. Especially if you spend a really long time washing my chest. Because I love it when you run your strong hands slowly up and over - "
He bolted out of bed, grabbed her hand, and tugged. She followed him giggling.
The second attempt in the bed, while they were still damp from the shower and unraveling each others towel's, was far more successful than the first. They lay panting and smiling afterward, the overhead fan cooling their hot, damp flesh.
"I love you, babe," he said. "That was fantastic."
She kissed his bare shoulder. "I love you, too."
He smiled and closed his eyes. So did she. She only meant to close them for a moment. She wanted to stay up and talk, but she was soon asleep.
[*]
Eric and Tami were jolted awake, not by arguing this time, but by laughter: Karen giggling and Mr. Taylor guffawing.
"I hope they took a cab home," Tami said. "They sound a bit drunk."
"I'm sure they did."
The laughter died down. It was quiet for a time, and then new sounds arose, moans and cries of "Please, darling!"; "God yes, Karen!"; "Fuck me, Garrett!"; "naughty girl"; "faster!"; "like this?" "harder!"; and a half dozen others.
"Ewwwwww!" Eric groaned. "Awww….ewwww!" He buried his head beneath the pillow.
Tami lifted the pillow and eased in under it with him.
"You promised they wouldn't be so loud if we lived here," he muttered.
"They're drunk."
"They better not wake up Julie and Andrew." He winced. "And that's not even coming from the bedroom," Eric said.
"You're right. I guess they couldn't make it to the bedroom. That's coming from the living room." She smiled. "I think I'm a pretty damn good counselor."
"We're never sitting on that couch again," Eric muttered.
"Who says they aren't on the coffee table?"
"Stop, Tami. Just. Stop." He pulled the pillow more tightly down on his ear.