Part 9 (1/2)

In less than two minutes, the door swung open, and Robin walked in dressed in Shelby's blue padded Pan-Am Agra winter jumpsuit. It was what the men out in the plant wore when the temperatures dropped. Shelby was not as tall as Robin, but he was wider, and the poor fit was not so noticeable. The day was just barely cool enough to make the heavy garment reasonable.

”Can I take it off, now?” Robin asked. ”It's cutting me in a, uh, tender area.”

”Sure, take it off till it's time for us to leave,” I said, trying not to smile too broadly. I hadn't figured that Shelby's suit would be too short in the crotch for a long man like Robin. I perched on the end of the bed to watch.

”I see that smile,” Robin said, his voice m.u.f.fled by his attempts to take off the jumpsuit while he faced away from me.

His nice clothes were somewhat rumpled by the experience, and his hair was disheveled, but he emerged from the heavy jumpsuit looking relieved. ”I'll put it back on before we go. You're sure your friend doesn't mind doing this?”

”Not as long as he gets his jumpsuit back. I owe them two hours babysitting now.”

”That doesn't seem too bad. I'll help.”

”You won't be around,” I said. ”You'll be back in Hollywood.”

”No. I don't think so.”

He sat beside me on the end of the bed, and what you might call a significant silence fell. I was scared to look up at him, but eventually I just had to.

But I couldn't ask him what he meant.

He kissed me.

I can't say it was totally unexpected, but it was still a sort of shock. I hadn't kissed anyone since Martin died. And I hadn't kissed Robin, of course, in many years. But there was a familiarity to it, a kind of renewal, instead of the shock of something new.

Maybe because we were in a motel room, and I didn't have anything of my former life around me, maybe because I had that pleasant zingy feeling that I'd put one over on a lot of people with my plan to sneak Robin out for an innocent dinner at my mother's, maybe just because I hadn't had s.e.x in a h.e.l.l of a long time, but I went up in flames. It was all I could to keep from grabbing him and throwing him to the bed. This was not my usual style. I was trembling with the effort of suppressing my reaction to his mouth.

”Roe?” he said, almost whispering.

He had put his hands on either side of my face.

”A little more,” I said.

”Aren't we a little mature to be making out?”

”You want to go sit on that chair over there?”

”Oh, h.e.l.l, no.”

”Then mind.”

”Let's lie down as our next step,” he suggested.

”Okay.” I scooted up on the bed after kicking off my shoes, and Robin did the same.

”It's a lot easier to kiss you when we're lying down,” he observed, after a minute or two.

”I had noticed that.”

”Let's do that some more.”

So we did. It was like being teenagers again. We were thoroughly frustrated when I called a halt to the proceedings. But I just couldn't take that step. I just wasn't quite ready. Though G.o.d knows, my body was.

Robin vanished into the bathroom, and reappeared a few minutes later, looking more relaxed. He wedged back into the jumpsuit. My blouse was b.u.t.toned and tucked, and I'd put on my shoes.

”Is your mother just as formidable as she was a few years ago?” he asked, watching me brush my hair, which I'd taken down. With a little help. I carefully pinned it in a knot.

”She's softer around the edges. Marriage and having grandchildren by way of John's kids has really fulfilled her.” I was still enjoying the pleasant sense of having been naughty.

”Remind me to take you to a motel room more often,” Robin said as we trotted down the stairs and scrambled into my car. No one called out to us. The jumpsuit and the hairstyle evidently were enough camouflage. ”If we'd stayed a little longer, maybe I could have had my wicked way with you.” He had jammed a baseball cap over his telltale red hair, and I turned my face away to hide my smile. Every man I knew wore a cap at some time or another and looked quite natural, but not Robin. He looked like an ostrich dressed up for Halloween. I was relieved when he pulled it off when we got into downtown Lawrenceton.

The scene at my mother's house was chaotic. John's two sons and their wives and their children made the two-story four-bedroom seem positively tight. I had always liked John: warming up to his sons Avery and John David had taken a little longer. They'd been a little wary of my mother and me, too. The fact that John and my mother had signed a prenuptial agreement that was very clear on who got what when they pa.s.sed away had been a great help, and my mother's cordiality and courtesy had won over her new stepdaughters-in-law.

Melinda, Avery's wife, was braiding her toddler's hair in the foyer when I stepped in. Her infant, Charles, was in one of those portable carriers, which was on the floor where she could keep an eye on him. Charles was awake and watching his mother and sister with wide eyes.

”Hold still, Marcy!” Melinda was saying, her temper obviously at the breaking point. Marcy, of course, picked the entrance of a stranger (Robin) to spring into her worst behavior. ”No!” she shrieked. ”It hurts! Daddy do it! Daddy do it!”

”No, your daddy's busy. I'm going to braid your hair,” Melinda said firmly. My respect for her mounted. I would have gone searching for Daddy instantly.

”Melinda, this is my friend Robin,” I said, when Melinda's hands had begun dividing Marcy's fine brown hair into three parts.

”Hi, Robin! I'd shake your hand, but I'm busy right now. I think your mom is in the den, Roe.” Melinda's fingers flew, braiding like h.e.l.l while Marcy was standing still.

”Hey, Aunt Roe,” Marcy said, looking up at us. She eyed Robin. He must have seemed huge to her.

We located my mother in the den, as Melinda had said. She was serving gla.s.ses of wine, but she put the tray down so Robin could give her a small hug (nicely calibrated on Robin's part). Then there was a round of handshaking among the men. John had recovered from his heart attack, but he was thinner and didn't move as quickly as before. He was still a handsome man, and he'd pa.s.sed his looks to Avery and John David, tall brown-haired men with blue eyes. They were golfers like John, and they were both confident men who did well at their chosen careers. Other than those similarities, they were quite different, and their wives weren't anything like each other.

Avery, Melinda's husband, was an accountant. Avery was very traditional, and people who weren't also completely b.u.t.toned down were somewhat suspect in his book. He'd never been really sure about me. Melinda herself, though pleasant, was none too bright. But she seemed to have this raising kids thing down pat, and she was active in community work.

John David, the younger brother, had been a wild child. There was still a gleam in his eyes that said he was antic.i.p.ating the unexpected. His wife, Poppy, had also made a name for herself as a teenager, but now she seemed quite settled into her role as a suburban wife and mother. She still enjoyed an evening out every now and then, and I would not have put money on either of them maintaining fidelity during their marriage, but I liked both of them quite a bit. Their new son, Brandon Chase Queensland, was the most placid baby I had ever encountered.

As I might have predicted, Avery questioned Robin cautiously about his means of making a living, his future plans, and his upbringing. John David wanted to hear stories of the famous people Robin knew, and instantly treated Robin as if he was my acknowledged companion.

”Not too surprising, since you have a hickey on your neck,” my mother murmured into my ear, and I jumped a mile.

”Oh, h.e.l.l,” I said, clapping a hand over the spot she touched with one cool finger.

”Everyone's already seen it,” she said with a shrug. ”You and Robin seem to have picked up where you left off.” My mother's graying brown hair was beautifully styled, as always, and her tailored blouse and gray slacks were as informal as she got.

I took her arm and we stepped into the dining room, which so far was empty of Queenslands.

”The only thing is,” I said, with the frankness you can only show your family, ”I think about Martin and I just feel so guilty.”

My mother took a deep breath. Her eyes looked old, suddenly. ”You listen to me right now, Roe. Your husband is beyond beyond all that.” all that.”

I sucked in my breath.