Love Again, Love for Them: A Novel

by R. A. Lee

  “It’s none of my business,” Brooke droned, but his mother just kept whining about Jake.

  “He’s a good looking boy,” she said, examining the fresh coat of paint on her nails. “He could have any woman he wanted.”

  Brooke agreed, but she didn’t say anything.

  “I don’t know why he doesn’t come to his senses and settle down with a nice young woman and give me a couple of grandkids,” she muttered.

  Brooke did not respond. She knew his mother wanted nothing more in the world than to see her son settle down, possibly with Brooke, and give her grandkids and raise them in the house a few hundred feet from her own.

  His mother didn’t consider something about her son. Jake was living a bachelor’s life and he had no desire to settle down. Even if he had a family, he most likely wouldn’t be very involved.

  Jake led another life in the city. Coming back to the house was an obligation.

  It worked out well for Brooke, but she was the one who had to deal with his mother’s disappointment.

  It was part of their arrangement.

  Jake took care of her family, and she took care of his. Along the way, there were a few additional things they took care of, but those were rare occasions. Occasions when Brooke felt both pleasure and guilt, close intimate contact mixed with feelings of betrayal.

  Jake was an incredible sex partner, a compatible sex partner, but he wasn’t Matthew.

  In the dark though, a small part of her could feel what she felt when making love to Matthew. It was much easier in the dark.

  They had an understanding, an unspoken arrangement. His mother probably knew, but she didn’t pry or encourage them.

  She just dragged Brooke out and complained that her son needed a good woman to tie him down.

  Brooke was not interested in settling down with Jake. Having casual sex with him, that was a possibility, but there was no way she was going to be able to give his mother what she wanted.

  Jake was a man. There was no time limit for him to have a family as long as he was healthy.

  Brooke nodded or shook her head at his mother’s comments, and they had tea while waiting for their nails to dry.

  Every week?

  Jake’s mother talked on and on and Brooke didn’t think she could spend one day a week agreeing with his mother.

  Driving home, Brooke mentioned that her art teaching would be taking up more of her time.

  Disappointed, her mother-in-law acknowledged that it was alright.

  “We can do this once a month,” Brooke conceded feeling guilty. His mother seemed so excited about spending time with her.

  “It’s a date!” she said and all was well with the family again.

  Brooke was still holding up her end of the agreement, on her own terms.

  Chapter 16

  In the city, Jake only felt more depressed that Jenny had married another man. Jake had always hoped that once the Count passed, she would come to him and they would live together without other obligations. He wasn’t looking for marriage, but he was looking to spend his life with the love of his life.

  Barred from coming home until he worked out his confusion, his mother would call to see how he was doing, but when she advised him to wise up and settle down, possibly with Brooke, Jake found an excuse to get off the phone.

  Jake had no desire to settle down. Brooke was nice and incredible in bed, but he wanted to be with Jenny.

  Settling down with Jake wasn’t something Brooke considered either. She wasn’t waiting at home for him to return and declare his love and settle down.

  Except for casual sex a few times, they were just two people living together leading separate lives.

  She fulfilled the role of wife and he looked like a good family man when he was at the house.

  With Brooke keeping his mother happy, Jake didn’t have to go back to the house. Everything he needed was in the city.

  Soon his days were filled with parties and he allowed himself to be set up on dates. All he had to do was go out to dinner. Drinking wine, eating great food, talking about politics and then a quick kiss and he never saw the woman again.

  Over and over Jake compared the women to Jenny. Even Brooke. None of them would ever be Jenny.

  A month went by and Jake still had no desire to get back to the house.

  It wasn’t until his mother called and mentioned that Brooke had hurt herself walking in the rain that Jake decided it was time to check in on his other life.

  Arriving at the house, Jake found Brooke making dinner, her arm looked bruised, but she looked fine. His mother made her injuries sound much worse.

  Running up to him, MJ grabbed Jake’s legs and welcomed him home. Patting MJ on the head, Brooke nodded.

  “Do you want dinner?” she asked.

  “Sure,” he said. “I’m going to get changed.”

  Feeling ridiculous, Jake changed into his sweatpants and shirt and headed back to the kitchen.

  “If you want dessert, you’ll finish your peas,” Brooke reprimanded her son. Jake sat at the end of the table and they dined in silence on meatloaf and peas, with extra gravy.

  “What brings you back?” she asked casually as she gathered the plates and sent MJ to play in his room.

  “The usual,” he shrugged. He wanted to make sure Brooke was alright. Then he would head back.

  “Your mother said you had an accident?” he said, pointing to her bruise.

  Brooke laughed and rubbed her arm.

  “I tripped on a branch that had fallen in the rain,” she explained. “Hardly an accident.”

  “Good to see you’re doing well,” he said and sighed. His mother was very clever.

  “By the way,” she warned Jake, “there’s this carnival next week and I know MJ’s going to beg you to go, so I’m warning you in advance. Let him know you’re busy or that you have to go back to the city.”

  “Good to know, thank you,” he said. This was the hardest part of their arrangement. Even though being around MJ exhausted him, he hated disappointing the kid.

  “Better go say ‘hi’ to your mom,” she said.

  “I know,” he replied and headed to his mother’s house.

  His mother opened the door before he knocked.

  “You’re home!” she exclaimed and hugged him.

  “Good to see you, mom,” he said as she dragged him to her living room couch and pulled him down to sit next to her.

  “You said ‘hi’ to Brooke and MJ, right?” she asked rhetorically.

  “We had dinner,” he shrugged.

  “It’s good to see you,” she said.

  “I have to get back to work,” he said, ready to go. Jake did not want a lecture.

  “There’s a carnival next week,” she said, suggesting something to Jake.

  “I know, Brooke warned me,” he replied.

  “Doesn’t it sound like fun?” she asked.

  “I’m going back to the city,” he stated and got up to leave.

  “I know,” she said as she stood and they hugged.

  Shaking his head as he headed down the path, Jake decided to go back to the city immediately.

  “Please don’t ask Jake if he wants to go,” he heard Brooke telling MJ as she was closing his door for the night.

  Jake climbed his stairs and closed the door behind him.

  When he left the house, life went on. While he was still trying to figure out how to resolve his breakup with Jenny, the people in his house continued living even when he was away.

  Brooke and MJ and his mother weren’t just people who lived in his house, they were a family that missed him when he was gone. Everyone except Brooke, that is, who understood the rules.

  It would be easy to tell MJ he didn’t have time to go to the carnival or whatever event to which he wanted a father to take him. When he left, he didn’t have to deal with the disappointment.

  Jake had not factored this in when he entered into an agreement with Brooke.

  Lying in
bed Jake had a decision to make. He could leave without seeing the disappointment, decline and deal with the disappointment, or take the kid to the carnival.

  Falling asleep, Jake hoped he would have an answer when he woke up.

  He did not.

  Taking a morning run, Jake returned to find Brooke home from taking MJ to school. Brooke offered to make him breakfast.

  “I’ll just grab a bowl of cereal,” he said and she went to her room.

  Eating alone, Jake finished and headed to his room. As usual, Brooke’s door was closed.

  Showering, Jake lay on his bed naked. The door was closed so he was totally startled when Brooke knocked on the door and opened it unexpectedly to announce he had a phone call.

  Both stunned, Brooke turned away when Jake grabbed the sheet and pulled it over him.

  “You left your phone downstairs,” she said while holding the ringing phone and putting it on the floor.

  “Thank you,” he said, catching his breath.

  Without another word, Brooke was gone, the door closed behind her.

  Putting on a clean pair of sweatpants, Jake grabbed his phone.

  Spending an hour with his co-worker, Jake helped resolve a contract issue then hung up his phone.

  Although they had been with each other intimately, Jake was startled because neither he nor Brooke had seen the other naked. She preferred the room dark.

  Knowing she would be embarrassed, Jake went down to talk to her. Making lunch in the kitchen, Brooke blushed when she saw Jake.

  “I am so sorry, that won’t happen again,” she said. “Do you want a sandwich?”

  “Sure,” Jake said and he sat while Brooke made another sandwich. Placing a plate in front of Jake, Brooke did not look at him.

  They didn’t talk while they ate.

  When they did make eye contact, Jake saw Brooke blush so red she looked like she had a sunburn. Eyes demure met eyes unsure.

  Was it the access that made him want Brooke? Was he interested in casual sex because she was a lonely widow who needed occasional sexual gratification? Was he attracted to her or did he like the fact they had an uncomplicated sex life?

  Jake still could not understand why the woman he shared a house with was becoming more than just a partner in their made-up life. She was now a friend and a casual lover.

  When he heard she had been in an accident, he was concerned for her safety.

  Was it just an obligation?

  “When do you pick up MJ?” he asked, suddenly hungry for something else.

  “Two hours,” she said, understanding his request.

  Without blinking, they both rose suddenly and Jake grabbed her hand as they climbed the stairs two at a time.

  While he pulled off his clothes, Brooke pulled the shades and joined him in bed.

  This was a different Brooke again, a very vocal and uninhibited Brooke not concerned they would be heard by anyone else in the house. Jake couldn’t believe the woman who blushed at seeing him naked was now moaning loudly, wrapped around him tightly.

  Parting, they were both breathless.

  Before he could catch his breath, Brooke was up, her clothes on, and ready at the door before Jake could react.

  “Remember, if you don’t want to go to the carnival leave now or let him know you have to get back to work,” she said between heavy breaths. With that, she closed the door behind her and was gone.

  Still gasping, Jake couldn’t think about anything but the incredible creature that had appeared when the room was dark.

  Jake knew that when he saw her in the light, she would seem either nonchalant or ashamed at their sexual encounter.

  Knowing that she would be picking up MJ at school, Jake grabbed his clothes, stumbled into them and rushed downstairs. Running outside, Jake raced up to her.

  Startled, Brooke was concerned when Jake ran up to her.

  “Is there an emergency?” she asked.

  “No, I just wanted to pick up MJ with you,” he said, slightly out of breath. The three-mile run was no comparison to the workout she had just given him.

  Walking again, Brooke stared at the sidewalk and wrapped her sweater tightly to her chest.

  “Why are you really here, Jake?” she asked and scrutinized him with her questioning eyes.

  “I don’t get it, Brooke,” he said. “You hang around the house lifeless, then all of a sudden it’s like another person is unleashed.”

  Jake couldn’t believe he was being so candid. Didn’t understand why he needed to question such an incredible arrangement. Sex without guilt. Wasn’t that the goal, the perfect arrangement?

  “Like most people, Jake,” she lectured him. “I have many sides. You choose to see what you want. If you really knew me, you’d know I’m a bit more complicated than you want to believe.”

  She was right. Jake did have a pre-conceived notion of the woman.

  Looking sexy, Jenny was a sexual person. Jake was used to a person being what they presented.

  Widow, mother, wife, art teacher, lover. Jake was surprised every time she took on a new role.

  “It’s best not to talk about it, Jake,” she warned him.

  She was offering him guilt-free uninhibited sex on a casual basis. Why did he feel the need to analyze it?

  “I won’t,” he promised. Walking in silence, they waited at the front of the school and MJ ran up to them when the bell rang.

  “Daddy!” he yelled happily and Jake braced for the impact. Patting his head, Jake looked up at Brooke.

  Staring at the sidewalk, Brooke still disliked MJ calling Jake such an affectionate name, but it made her son happy, so she didn’t say anything.

  Walking back to the house, MJ asked Jake to take him to the carnival.

  “It will be so much fun!” he said.

  “Remember what I told you,” Brooke lectured him. “Jake is busy. He has to get back to the city.”

  Disappointed, MJ looked at the sidewalk as they walked.

  Brooke did not plead with Jake or beg Jake to change his mind.

  Sensing that part of Brooke did not want MJ to get too attached to Jake, he made his decision carefully. Another part also wanted him to play the father role.

  “I may be able to change my plans,” Jake said without thinking.

  Looking up at him incredulously, MJ hugged his legs and then ran up the driveway yelling that he was going to the carnival.

  Glaring at him, Brooke shook her head and sighed as she followed.

  Jake didn’t know what changed his mind. It wasn’t the disappointment in MJ’s eyes. It wasn’t the desire to be a good daddy to MJ.

  It had something to do with the fact that Jake wanted to know what his made-up family was like when he was not around.

  If he drove away without going to the carnival, he would miss an opportunity to see Brooke and her family as they were.

  Jake had been treated to glimpses and flickers of insight into her true personality. Somewhere between depressed housewife and insatiable lover, a stable personality ruled Brooke, but Jake had not been privileged to enjoy that woman’s company for very long.

  One minute a water fight at her kid’s birthday party, the next uncoiling at his touch. Having dinner with his mother, then Brooke throwing all his mother’s pictures on the lawn to retrieve the one his mother had taken.

  What about the night she just held his hand under the stars?

  At Christmas she had pleaded for him to go, follow his desire to be with the woman he loved.

  Jake had, wholeheartedly. He had run as fast as he could away from her and the family life that was designed for no other reason than to placate his mother.

  No longer the master of his own home, the women had sent him away to deal with his heartache over breaking off his relationship with Jenny.

  That’s what he had done. He could no longer hang out at his house in misery, it would interfere with the life he had created and no longer controlled.

  A sort of jealousy overtook him w
hen Brooke just told him to go back to the city. She didn’t need him to complicate her life. She could take her son to the carnival herself. His mother would find nothing but joy in the adventure.

  Wanting desperately to interact in his own life, Jake wanted to go to the carnival. Wanted to see if he was missing out on anything.

  If it were as mundane and provincial as he expected, he could just head back to the city. Life would resume as normal

  Following Brooke and MJ, Jake headed to the kitchen.

  Had they actually been married, living in the same room, he would have been sleeping on the couch.

  Chapter 17

  When Jake announced he had to get back to the city and would be back in time to take them to the carnival, MJ was completely excited, but Brooke glared at him.

  “Why would you do that, promise him you’d go and then leave?” she berated him after his mother took MJ to school.

  Jake pushed away his coffee and met her anger with calm.

  “I will be back,“ he promised, and left the room.

  Upstairs, Jake put all his papers and his laptop in his briefcase as he braced himself for a lecture.

  Sitting at the island drinking coffee, Brooke didn’t say anything as Jake put on his jacket and grabbed his keys.

  He was already gone in her mind.

  “I’ll be back,” he promised, and she stood and walked out without saying anything.

  Trying to resolve a major international contract dispute, Jake realized he might have promised too soon.

  As the time approached for the carnival, he found himself so embroiled in the problem that making the carnival seemed unimportant.

  When they finally came to a resolution, Jake realized he was two hours past the time he promised to meet Brooke.

  Driving as fast as he could safely, Jake navigated the speed traps and dialed Brooke on his phone. When she didn’t pick up he called his mother.

  “Where are you?” she scolded him above the noise of people having fun. “MJ is so disappointed.”

  “I’m on my way,” he yelled so she could hear him and they agreed to meet at the food court.

  Parking his sports car as far away from the haphazardly parked cars in the dirt lot of an abandoned construction project, Jake took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves and took off his tie. Looking more casual, he tried not to be concerned that his designer shoes were being compromised by the dust and rocks he stumbled over on his way to the food court.