“I bet you will,” Beatrice said. “Brittany says her mom brings a different man back to her house every weekend.”
“Oh good grief!” Olivia exclaimed. “I am not Brittany’s mother! Now scoot to your rooms and pack a bag for Sally’s. I’m taking you over there in an hour.”
While they packed, Olivia called Shirley.
“Shirley, what should I wear?” she asked. “I haven’t got anything nicer than work clothes!”
“Wear your tightest pair of jeans and that silk blouse,” Shirley answered without hesitation. “And then your leather jacket. The combination of silk and leather is sure to make him horny.”
“Horny!” Olivia hissed. “But you said you never invited a man in on the first date!”
“Technically this is your second date,” Shirley said. “And I didn’t say you had to follow my rules. Make up your own! It’s your life, honey!”
“Okay, okay,” Olivia said as she hung up. It was four o’clock. Dolf was picking her up at seven for the movie and then they would have a late dinner. Her heart thumped at the thought of seeing him again—a good sign, she thought. At least she had shaved her legs that morning.
~~~~~~~~
The doorbell. Olivia checked herself in the mirror one last time. She had spent extra time on her makeup and worn her best black bra. The jeans fit her to a T, and even she thought she looked about as good as possible. Opening the door, she was gratified to see Dolf’s eyes grow ever so slightly larger at the sight of her.
“Looking good, Olivia,” he said. “We might need a bodyguard tonight.”
“Oh hush,” she said, laughing. “Let me just get my jacket and shoes. Come on in.”
She shut the door behind him and he walked into the living room as she got her shoes from the bedroom closet.
“Don’t judge my housekeeping skills by the mess in here right now,” she said, coming into the living room as she slipped on her red heels and gathered her jacket from the hall closet. “I didn’t have much time to clean up!”
“I have no interest in your housekeeping skills,” he said frankly. “But I do like your footwear quite a bit.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said. “We’ll see if I last all evening in them. They’re not very comfortable.”
“Of course they aren’t. Sexy and comfortable don’t go together, now, do they?” he winked.
Was he calling her sexy? Or just the shoes? She wondered. Before she could ponder long, they were in his jeep and heading to the theater. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the moment without thinking too hard about what the rest of the night would hold.
The theater was a deluxe model, with alcoholic beverages and reclining chairs. She settled into one with a mixed drink and smiled at Dolf. He gulped his beer and paused to wipe the foam from his moustache. Flipping the armrest up, he gathered her small hand into his large one and smiled back.
“You’re cold,” he observed.
“My hands are always cold.”
“Yoga,” he said. “Warms the blood. Improves circulation.”
The previews began before she could answer, and as the movie progressed Olivia found herself pressing closer and closer to Dolf until his arm was around her. By the end of the show they were thoroughly engrossed, and as the audience burst into spontaneous applause as the credits rolled, they joined in.
“That was great!” Dolf exclaimed. “I really didn’t think I liked action movies, but that was fantastic!”
“Yes, it was,” she agreed as they stood and made their way out the doors.
“What do you want to eat?” he asked, holding the car door open for her with a flourish.
“Anything but pizza!” she said, climbing into her seat. He laughed.
“Mexican okay?”
“Sure!”
“I know just the place,” he said, sliding into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. In a few minutes they were pulling up at Las Ventanas, an upscale Mexican restaurant that Olivia had never been to.
During dinner she had a glass of wine. Don’t drink too much, Olivia. She reminded herself. Stay sane and sober.
“So, what do you want in a woman?” she asked.
“I like a woman who lets a man be a man,” he said, after some thought. “And doesn’t try to control. I like a woman who is comfortable in her own skin, you know? Who doesn’t spend a lot of time apologizing for her looks or weight or whatnot. I want a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. Who is mature and kind and generous and loving.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “That’s very deep.”
“And I appreciate a nice rack,” he said.
She guffawed.
“All kidding aside,” he asked. “What do you want in a man?”
“Fidelity,” she said firmly.
“Understood,” he said. “But surely that’s not all. A faithful jerk? Not okay.”
“No…” she continued. “I want a man who is kind and loving and all that, too. I want a man who appreciates me. A man who encourages me to be more than I am. Who challenges me. But who also knows I’m doing the best I can, and loves me in spite of my flaws.”
“Very good,” he said.
“And a ten inch penis.”
“You have high standards,” he said, laughing merrily. “I shall do my best to attain them.”
Olivia took another sip of wine and sighed contentedly, scooting closer to Dolf even more. He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
“You’re very sexy,” he said suddenly. “I can’t believe your husband left you for someone else.”
“Well, thank you,” she said, blushing slightly. “But he couldn’t resist the charms of the single underwear model. I think he was just bored with family life. He didn’t like the day to day tedium. Still doesn’t. He hasn’t seen his kids for a month now. Again.”
“His loss, for sure.”
“It is. It makes me really sad, and them sadder. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m sure the divorce papers are in the mail.”
“And will you sign them?”
“I will. I’m not going to be that woman, the one who forces the issue. If he wants to leave, then good riddance.”
“Right,” Dolf said. “And when do I get to meet them? These children of yours?”
“I don’t know,” she hedged. “When do you want to? Bradley is having a birthday party in two weeks. Would you like to come?”
“I’d like that very much,” he said.
“That’s great,” she said, smiling.
“Will your kids like me?” he asked. “Or resent me? It’s been what…fourteen months now that you’ve been separated?”
“Exactly,” she nodded, and the fact that he had remembered how long their separation had been did not escape her. The man paid attention. “I stopped counting the days, though.”
“That’s very good news,” he said. “I have to say, that’s the reason I didn’t call you back sooner. The way you knew how long it had been down to the hours…I thought maybe you were getting back into the dating scene too soon.”
“And now? It’s only been a few weeks longer.”
“I know. I just couldn’t stand it anymore.” He laughed. “But you didn’t answer me; do you think your kids will like me?
“I think Beatrice will like you very much,” she said. “Bradley might take longer to come around. He still believes that Jacob is just taking a little break or something. Not that I told him that; I have been nothing but honest. But he believes we will get back together, and that everything will be like it was. He’s only four, after all. Almost five.”
“That’s rough. My parents split at about the same age. Five. I don’t know how long it took to get past it. I was in my teens and my mom started dating again and I suddenly saw her as an individual and not just as this automaton who met all my needs, you know? I saw her as having needs of her own.”
“You mean sex.”
“Yeah,
” he laughed. “Sex. And although that totally grossed me out, it made more sense to me than it would have as a kid, you know?”
“Yeah. I getcha.”
The bill came, and Dolf snatched it, though she tried to grab it at the same time.
“Nope,” he said. “I have some old-fashioned ideals, you’ll find.”
She let him pay, and they wove their way out of the restaurant to his jeep once more. Before long they had pulled up to her house.
“You’ll come in, won’t you?” she said as Dolf put the car in park.
“I surely will.”
They walked arm in arm to the front door as she fished her keys out of her purse. Opening the door, she led him to the couch in the living room, where he sat.
“Do you want a drink?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Beer? Wine?”
“Just you. Want to drink you in. Come here.”
Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her thoroughly, until her whole body was set afire.
“Wanna watch TV?” she asked breathlessly.
“Not at all,” he answered.
And so they didn’t.
~~~~~~~~~~
“So how did it go? Tell me everything!” Sally gushed as they sat down to lunch at their favorite Italian restaurant.
“Oh my gosh, Sally. He was so wonderful,” Olivia answered, still tingling when she thought of her date. “We made out at my house and then he said he didn’t want to move too fast, and excused himself to go home. He was such a gentleman. And the kissing…oh my gosh.”
“Yeah, you said that,” Sally said with a smile. “And you were okay with that? Just kissing?”
“Okay, so maybe there was a little more than kissing.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Oh Sally,” Olivia said, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. “It was…it was so exciting. Like being in high school all over again. He made me feel like a teenager.”
“That’s fantastic, honey. I’m so happy for you! And we’ll get to see him at Bradley’s birthday party?”
“Yes, he said he wants to come.”
“How cool! I cannot wait to see Jacob’s face! Shirley and I are coming early so we don’t miss it.”
“Oh, don’t say that. It makes me feel like I’m…like I’m using him or something.”
“Oh honey. You’re not. You genuinely like him, right?”
“I do. A whole lot.”
“Well then, you know you’re not using him. But seeing Jacob’s face will be delicious. Admit it!” And Olivia could not deny that it would be.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Did you have a good date?” Beatrice asked as she carefully applied red and orange paint to the autumn leaf she was painting at the kitchen table.
“I did,” Olivia answered.
“What did you do?”
“Saw a movie. Went to dinner.”
“And came back here?”
“Yes. For a little while.”
“I thought so.”
“Don’t be impertinent.”
“I’m not! I just knew you would. Why else would we need to go to Sally’s?”
“I don’t know,” Olivia answered, finding her daughter’s logic difficult to dispel. She hoped that would be the end to the questioning.
“When can we meet him?” Beatrice continued.
“He’s going to come to Bradley’s birthday party, actually.”
“Good. I need to see if he passes the test.”
“What test?”
“The boyfriend test. Brittany says—“
“Brittany nothing,” Olivia said firmly. “I don’t want you subjecting him to any tests, you hear me? He’s a nice guy. Just be nice to him, okay?”
“Oh, all right.”
“What about Daddy?” Bradley asked suddenly, coming into the room, eyes welling with tears.
“What about Daddy?” Beatrice snapped back. “Dad has a girlfriend. Why can’t Mom have a boyfriend?”
“Oh honey,” Olivia gathered Bradley in her arms. “I’m sorry. But Daddy and I aren’t going to get back together. It’s just not going to happen. Try to understand.”
“I understand,” he said sorrowfully. “But I don’t like it.”
“I know.”
“But what if I don’t like Dolf? What if he doesn’t like me?”
“How could anyone dislike you? You’re the best almost-five-year old in the whole wide world!”
“Yeah Bradley,” Beatrice said, suddenly sympathetic. She patted his back. “We’re the greatest. He’s sure to like both of us.”
“That’s right,” Olivia said, drawing her daughter into the group hug. “That’s right.”
~~~~~~~~
The day of the party dawned bright and sunny, with a high of seventy-five. It was one of those rare Oklahoma days that made Olivia think it was the most beautiful place on earth, for the entire 24 hours that it lasted.
Olivia set up folding tables in the back yard and Beatrice got busy stringing streamers from every available chair and tree. Bradley fairly danced with anticipation, and Olivia put him to work placing the paper plates on the tables, along with napkins and cups. There would be fourteen small children from Bradley’s class today. Olivia rubbed her temples and prayed for her sanity.
She didn’t believe in making a huge fuss at birthdays. No hundreds of dollars would be spent at the local trampoline park, or laser tag facility, or the like. When she was small she remembered loving the close, family parties they always had with just a few friends in attendance. But she had a dozen cousins, and Bradley had only Beatrice, so some exceptions had to be made somewhere.
They had a fine, large yard with an expensive playset that she and Jacob had purchased for Christmas four years previous, and she thought that—along with a good old-fashioned game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey—would just have to do for entertainment. Although the other parents might look askance at her lack of largesse, she didn’t think the kids themselves would complain.
She turned to go back into the house and bumped into Shirley and Sally.
“Hi guys! Hey Bradley, look who’s here!”
“Hi Aunt Shirley! Hi Aunt Sally!” Bradley ran to hug them, and accepted with great excitement the small gifts they carried.
“Put them on the present table, Bradley honey,” Olivia said. “You guys knew you didn’t have to bring gifts, right?” She turned to her friends.
“You can’t show up at a party without a gift, for heaven’s sake!” Sally said, while Shirley nodded in agreement.
“Besides, ours are Legos,” she whispered. “Legos make kids smart, right?”
“Yes, that’s what they say,” Olivia laughed. “Thank you guys. He’ll love them.”
They went to the kitchen, where Olivia was prepping veggies for the crudité platter; she knew the kids would nibble on approximately one carrot, but the adults might appreciate the effort.
“What can we do?” Shirley asked.
“Just cut up this celery, would you?” Olivia said, passing her a knife. “And Sally, can you get the pizzas out of the freezer? I have to run to the bathroom.”
In the privacy of her bedroom, she checked her look in the mirror for the hundredth time. She had chosen her favorite wrap dress, and it accentuated her figure nicely, or so she hoped. Hair? Curled. Makeup? Just right. She powdered her nose quickly.
Jacob’s voice carried through the air to her, and she froze for a moment. God, please let this go well she prayed fervently, though she wondered if heaven cared one way or the other about her small party down below.
Smoothing her dress, she headed down the hallway to the kitchen, where Jacob was standing, back to her, talking to Sally, who was still holding the paring knife Olivia had given her. Olivia thought she looked as though she would rather like to use it on him.
“Hello Jacob,” she said brightly as she came into the room. “Where’s Ali?”
“Hi Olivia,” he returned. Again the
appraising glance, which irritated and gratified Olivia by turns. “She’s at a shoot. I’ll have to go pick her up, so I can’t stay too long. Hope that’s okay.”
As if she can’t drive herself anywhere? Olivia thought to herself. What are you, her chauffeur?
Aloud, however, she said nothing of the sort.
“Fine, fine,” she said. “The kids are in the back yard.”
“I’ll go see them, then,” he said, moving in that direction. “When are the other kids getting here?”
“In about five minutes,” she said. “Do you want some Tylenol in advance?” Jacob hated children’s parties; she should have known he’d give himself an out.
“I already took some,” he called back as he disappeared.
“That bastard,” Shirley said, shaking her head. “Going to disappear early from his own kid’s party? Who does that?”
“I don’t know,” Olivia sighed, and unwrapped the pizza. Soon small boys and girls began to flood into the house, trailed by their mothers or fathers, who greeted Olivia and found places to sit in the living room or around the tables outside. She was glad they all knew each other, and were more than willing to chat together. Once she pointed them to the cooler full of beer and wine coolers, they were more agreeable still.
The doorbell rang once more, and Olivia went to open it.
“Hey Olivia,” said Dolf, who looked resplendent in a tweedy vest and blue jeans, his blond hair handing loosely around his face. He held a small present in his hands.
“Oh Dolf, you didn’t have to bring anything!” she exclaimed, taking the package from him. “I meant to tell you not to feel obligated.”
“You can’t come to a party empty-handed,” he said, echoing Sally’s sentiments.
“Come in, come in,” she said, and he followed her to the kitchen.
“Dolf, this is Sally and Shirley, you remember meeting them? At the shopping center?” she pointed to her friends, who smiled and shook hands with him.
“Of course!” Dolf said, smiling his wondrous, crooked grin. “The shoe store, right?”
“Right,” Sally said, all dimples and charm. “And how did your mother like her heels?”
Kissing Robert Page 5
