A Marriage of Convenience

by Doreen Owens Malek

  Sharon grinned. "I still won't be able to read the menu."

  "I might not be able to, either. It's been a while, my Italian is a little rusty."

  "Make the reservation. It'll be fun to go back there."

  "Okay."

  He started to walk away, then turned back to her and kissed her.

  "I can't seem to stop doing that," he said.

  "I'm not complaining."

  "I'll make the reservation for eight. I'm going to town with Carlo but I'll be back in plenty of time.''

  "Good."

  He winked and left. She heard his footsteps go through the kitchen and out the door.

  Sharon hugged herself, wondering if anyone deserved to be this happy.

  A few minutes later Rosa tiptoed up the cellar stairs, peering around her overflowing laundry basket.

  "Any fireworks?" she asked Sharon when she saw her.

  Sharon shook her head. "Pete's gone. Tay apologized to him and I must say they were very civilized about it."

  "Tay apologized to him?"

  "Yes."

  "I would have paid good money to see that."

  "How could you see it when you were hiding in the cellar?"

  "I wasn't hiding," Rosa said indignantly. "I thought you wanted some privacy for your meeting with Pete. I didn't know Tay was going to come back."

  "Neither did I. Do you think he was trying to impress me with his self control?''

  "Probably. It worked, didn't it? Besides, I think he often regrets his fits of temper." Rosa opened a kitchen drawer and tucked a stack of dishcloths into it. "Sharon, have you discussed your job with Tay?"

  "My job?"

  "Yes, your job in Philadelphia. Are you planning to quit it?"

  "I guess," Sharon said uncomfortably.

  "Well, I hate to point this out to you, but you can't be in Pennsylvania and California at the same time."

  "Thank you."

  "Tay will never leave this place."

  "I know that."

  "So what are you going to do?"

  "Get a new job?"

  "You'll have to take the bar exam all over again for this state. That's a lot of work, and you could fail. It's been how many years since you took the first one?"

  "Rosa, sometimes I wish you didn't think so damn much," Sharon said irritably. "Can't I be happy for one day before I start worrying about things like that?"

  "Fine. One day. But then you'd better start thinking. Tay is planted on this ranch like a tree and he's not one for bicoastal romances. He'll want you here with him."

  Sharon helped her put away the rest of the laundry and they talked about other things, but Rosa's words of warning haunted her for the rest of the day.

  Rosa went home at about four, and an hour later Sharon was taking a bath when she heard Tay come in and shout for her.

  "In here," she called.

  He opened the bathroom door and paused on the threshold.

  "Isn't that a picture?" he said softly.

  "Care to join me?" Sharon said, raising her arm covered with suds from the bubble bath in a beckoning gesture.

  He sat on the edge of the tub and embraced her.

  "God, you smell good," he said, sighing.

  "You always say that."

  "It's always true," he murmured, running his hands, now slick with soap, over her body.

  She hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him into the foaming water.

  Chapter 10

  "Hey!" He was laughing, trying to keep his head above water as Sharon climbed on him, bearing him down. He gripped the edge of the tub with one hand and grabbed her with the other, wrestling her into submission.

  "Uncle, uncle!" she cried, pretending to surrender. When he released her she splashed suds into his face, giggling maniacally.

  "Oh, you're going to pay for that," he said, kneeling and hauling her upward with his hands under her arms. He flipped her over the edge of the tub and dumped her unceremoniously on the bath mat, as if he were a camp counselor bathing a five-year-old. Then he vaulted after her, pinning her before she could scramble to her feet.

  “Now I have you at my mercy,'' he pronounced in a deep theatrical voice, twirling an imaginary moustache.

  "Oh, please, sir, take pity on a poor serving girl with nary a penny to her name," Sharon whimpered in a cockney accent, batting her lashes.

  "A poor serving girl?" Tay said, dropping the act. "Isn't that a bit much?"

  "I thought it was a nice touch. You can get off me now."

  "Really?" He was holding her down with one hand spread flat on her abdomen. It didn't seem as though he was exerting much force, but when she tried to move she couldn't.

  "You're dripping on me," she pointed out to him.

  "Whose fault is that?" he asked. "Anyway, you were wet already." He shook his head like a dog coming in from the rain and splattered her with droplets.

  "And now I'd like to get dry," Sharon said.

  He sprawled next to her, still holding her down, and licked a rivulet of water from her shoulder. The warmth of his skin came through his wet clothes like steam through a damp towel.

  "I'll dry you off," he murmured, lowering his head to her breasts.

  "Oh, thank you," she sighed, closing her eyes. She was no longer trying to get him to release her.

  "Still a little wet here—" he sucked on a nipple "—and here." He trailed his tongue down to her navel.

  "This is a lovely service you provide," Sharon whispered, holding his head against her.

  "Any time." He sat up and tried to pull his shirt over his head, then subsided, frustrated.

  "This damn thing is stuck to me," he said. The absurdity of it struck them and they both started to laugh.

  "Some Casanova I'm turning out to be," he said ruefully.

  "Never mind," Sharon said, reaching for the waistband of his jeans. "I think we can make a success of this with a few minor adjustments." She unzipped his fly and climbed into his lap. He shifted to accommodate her.

  "How's that?" she murmured as he settled her onto him.

  "Clever girl," he said huskily, closing his eyes.

  "That's what I've been trying to tell you," she replied, shivering with delight.

  * * * *

  Some time later they became aware that they were lying in a puddle.

  "Do you think we should move?" Sharon said dreamily.

  "I guess that might be a good idea," Tay replied, yawning.

  "If we fall asleep here we'll both get pneumonia."

  "It might be worth it," he replied.

  "You won't think so when you're in an oxygen tent," Sharon replied. "Now who's going to get up first?"

  “You?'' he suggested.

  "What an unchivalrous attitude," she chided him.

  "I'm not the one who started this," he reminded her.

  "Tay, we're going to miss dinner. And I, for one, am starving. I've heard it's possible to live on love but I don't feel like putting it to the test tonight.''

  Grumbling under his breath, he stood awkwardly and helped her to her feet. They both looked around them. The tile floor of the bathroom was awash. Sharon was naked, her hair in a damp tangle, and Tay was half in and half out of his sodden clothes. Drenched towels were bunched at their feet like cold lumps of mashed potatoes.

  "Geez, what a mess," he observed.

  "I'll get the mop," Sharon said.

  She left him puttering around, and by the time she returned he had drained the tub, wrung out the towels and hung them up to dry on the racks. She mopped up the remaining water and wiped out the tub.

  "I like that maid's uniform," he said, observing her.

  "It's transparent, like the emperor's new clothes," Sharon said, grinning.

  "Yeah, well, you'd better cover it up or we may never get out of this bathroom," he said dryly.

  Sharon dashed past him and returned the mop to its bucket in the kitchen closet. When she went back to the hall he was waiting for her.

&nb
sp; "I have a proposition to make," he said.

  "I think I've heard all of your propositions," Sharon replied, laughing.

  "You haven't heard this one. When we're home alone together I'd like you to stay like this all the time."

  "Don't you think I'd get a little chilly in the winter?" Sharon asked.

  "The house has heat. We usually don't have to use it, but for you I'd turn it up full blast."

  "I'll consider it," Sharon said and tried to brush past him into her room. He caught her about the waist and held her.

  "Where are you going?" he asked.

  "To get dressed. I don't think I can go to the restaurant like this. Not unless you want me to wind up in jail this time."

  "Let's stay home," he said, nuzzling her. "We can send out for a pizza."

  "Tay, for heaven's sake. You're like an adolescent who just discovered sex."

  "I just discovered sex with you."

  "But you don't want to do anything else."

  "Do you?" he asked, smiling.

  "That's beside the point," Sharon replied with mock severity. "I am not going to live on fast food for the rest of my life just because we...''

  "We?" he prompted, deadpan.

  "Have found each other," she finished lamely.

  "Can't keep our hands off each other," he amended.

  "Speak for yourself," Sharon said tartly.

  He burst out laughing, not exactly the reaction she had anticipated.

  "What?" she demanded.

  "Who was that unzipping my pants back there in the bathroom?" he asked, his eyes widening. "Miss Sadie Thompson?"

  "Well, that was just..."

  "Just?"

  "Unbridled lust," she admitted, sighing heavily.

  "Ah, that's what I like to hear," he said.

  "It's embarrassing," Sharon said, propping her chin on his collarbone. His clothes were drying now, smelling of her bath salts.

  "What is?"

  ''How much I want you.''

  "Why should that be embarrassing, baby? It's natural."

  "It's not natural for me. I'm kind of a businesslike type."

  He managed not to laugh again but his smile was roguish.

  "I mean," she went on, "it seems like in less than a day my whole life has changed."

  "It has. Mine, too."

  "But I can't believe that you're with me and I can touch you and have you any time I want."

  "You certainly can. I am completely and utterly at your service," he said. He stepped back from her and bowed.

  "Stop teasing me. I'm trying to make a serious point here."

  He assumed a serious face.

  "Despite the fact that I am addressing you while stark naked," she added.

  '' Despite that,'' he agreed, his lips twitching.

  She moved close to him again and he embraced her lightly.

  "It's a little scary to get what you've always wanted, isn't it?" she asked him.

  "A little," he replied, kissing her hair.

  "'To have that which you fear to lose,'" she murmured.

  "What's that?"

  "Shakespeare. One of the sonnets, sixty-something, I think."

  "How does it go?"

  "'This thought is as a death, which cannot choose/But weep to have that which it fears to lose.'"

  "Don't worry," he said soothingly. "No weeping is on the horizon. Neither one of us is going to lose this time."

  Sharon glanced at the clock on the living room wall, just visible over his shoulder. "But we are going to lose those reservations if we don't hurry."

  He released her reluctantly.

  "You're sure you have to get dressed," he said.

  "Positive."

  "All right. I think it's a stupid custom, but I'll go along with it. Tonight."

  Sharon went into her room to dress, hurriedly selecting a blue sheath, adding a gold chain and earrings. She applied lipstick and eye makeup and combed her hair, which was drying in flyaway strands. Finally she stepped into medium heels, snatched her bag from her dresser and slipped out to meet Tay.

  As quick as she was, he was quicker, waiting for her in the living room. He was wearing a navy suit with a white shirt and a brick-red tie. She stopped short when she saw him.

  "What's the matter? My face green?" he said testily.

  "No. You look..."

  "Well?"

  "So... nice."

  "Listen to how surprised she sounds."

  "Tay, other than the wedding and George’s party I haven't seen you in anything except work clothes since I got here. You're dazzlingly handsome in a suit."

  "You don't look so bad yourself. What shade of blue is that? Royal?"

  "Della Robbia blue," Sharon replied. "The painter used it all the time in his work and so it was named after him."

  Tay stared at her for a moment and then looked down. He seemed disturbed.

  "What's the matter?"

  "Nothing."

  Sharon walked over to him and kissed the tiny mole at the corner of his mouth. "Don't give me that. Something's wrong. Now fess up."

  He hesitated a moment before he said, "There's such a gulf between us. You're quoting Shakespeare and talking about some painter I never heard of, all in the space of ten minutes. What's going to happen when I get together with your friends, the people you work with every day? Do you think we'll have anything to say to each other?"

  "The women will be too busy mentally undressing you to talk,'' Sharon replied, hugging him.

  "I mean it," he said over her head. He held her off and looked at her. "I've been thinking about this all day, so I might as well say it. What are you going to do about your job?"

  "Rosa asked me that this morning."

  “And what did you tell her?''

  "I haven't really thought about it.''

  "Think about it now," he said flatly.

  "Tay, we're going to be late."

  "Sharon, you're starting to sound like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. The restaurant will still be there when we arrive, I promise you."

  Sharon was silent.

  "I won't expect you to stay home and knit, you know," he said gently.

  She looked at him. "I don't have to work as an assistant district attorney, but I do want to work," she said.

  He nodded.

  "I want to be with you, but..." She hesitated. "I've been thinking about opening up my own practice," she said in a rush.

  "Here?"

  "Yes."

  "Great," he said, smiling.

  "Maybe not so great. I'd have to take the California bar."

  "So take it."

  "I could fail it."

  "You'll pass."

  "Even if I get the general section waived, I'd still have to deal with the state part."

  "And?" he said, aware that she wasn't telling him everything.

  "It's expensive to open a practice," she said, wincing. "Very. I have some money saved but not nearly enough."

  "I'll finance it," he said.

  "The books alone cost thousands. Not to mention typewriters and Dictaphones and computers."

  "We'll get what you need," he said.

  "A secretary," she went on, "maybe a paralegal. Stationery and a copying machine.''

  "I see that you've been giving this some thought," he said.

  "I considered it even back in Philly. The job there was getting intolerable. Pete is going to leave, too."

  "So why were you dodging the issue when I brought it up?" he asked.

  "I wasn't sure how you would feel about it," she said honestly. "We were getting along so well I didn't want to spoil anything."

  "What did you think I was going to say?" he demanded.

  She shrugged. "You were the one just talking about the gap between us."

  He came to her and took her by the shoulders. "Sharon, you can do whatever you like, I won't stand in your way. I just don't want you to be ashamed of me."

  Sharon threw her arms around his neck and l
aughed with relief. "You idiot, how could I ever be ashamed of you?"

  "You're much better educated."

  "Oh, who cares? If I wanted another lawyer I would have married Pete. I want you."

  "People around here know that this place was your father's."

  "Are we back to that again? He was married to your mother, and she put her money into it when she sold her own place. If you like we can print up an accounting of who paid for what and distribute it to the neighbors.''

  "You make it sound ridiculous."

  "It is ridiculous. Darling, I love it that you're proud and don't want people to get the wrong idea. But you're carrying a good thing too far. The hell with everybody else, anyway. As long as we're happy, forget about them."

  "You won't care that I don't know what anyone's talking about at the Los Angeles County Bar Association Christmas party?" he asked.

  "What do they know about horses?" she countered. "Who says one kind of knowledge is any better than another?"

  "Lots of people."

  "Then they're wrong." Sharon drew away from him and met his eyes. "Do you think I feel that way?"

  After he looked at her for a long moment, he shook his head. "No."

  "Good. Then it's settled." She snuggled back into his shoulder.

  "I'm glad we talked about this," he said.

  "Me, too." She raised her head. "Now can we eat?"

  He glanced at his watch. "Let's go."

  * * * *

  The restaurant was the same as Sharon remembered it. Even the wallpaper looked like the fleur-de-lis pattern she recalled from their last visit. The musical group was already in place, playing an abbreviated version of Pachelbel's Canon in D.

  "It was really thoughtful of you to select this place," Sharon said to Tay as they were seated. "It brings back memories."

  "I wondered if I should take you here. I know some of those memories aren't the best."

  "You were very unhappy then," Sharon said quietly.

  "I have a vague recollection of jumping some poor kid who asked you to dance."

  "You had just found out you'd lost your job."

  "And I didn't want to be dependent on your father."

  Sharon nodded.

  "Funny, isn't it? My association with your father was the best thing that ever happened to me. It introduced me to you and straightened out my life."

  "You couldn't have known that then. You just didn't want to take charity."