Always in Albuquerque

by Kirsten Osbourne

  He studied her. It was hard to think of her in a professional capacity after the week they’d shared together. “What kind of group?”

  “It’s a self-esteem group. It’s all about seeing yourself as stronger and more than you currently do. It’s my favorite group to have. I’ve been doing different self-esteem groups since my graduate school days.”

  “Does anyone ever build up so much self-esteem they quit coming?”

  She laughed softly. “I’m afraid the people with self-esteem issues tend to always have them. They get better, but a lot of times they’ll backslide, and they’ll come back.”

  “Maybe I’ll come and be part of your self-esteem group.”

  She frowned at him. “You have self-esteem problems?”

  “Not particularly.”

  “Then why would you come to the group?”

  Dirk shrugged. “I guess I want to see you in your professional environment. It seems so different than the you I know.”

  “Well, maybe sometime soon. I would need to get my group ready for someone they don’t know.”

  “That makes sense.” He got to his feet, walking around the table and kissing her softly. “I’ll see you this evening.”

  She nodded, watching him leave. Her entire world had changed in the space of a week. Now they just had to see if they could still be happy when they weren’t together all the time.

  Alexis was happy to be back in her office. Her assistant, Debi, had worked the week before, simply taking phone calls and catching up on paperwork.

  “How many appointments do I have today?” Alexis asked as she picked up the mail from Debi’s desk.

  “Six. I had to make one for three so I could squeeze everyone in.”

  “That’s fine. You know I’ll stay late if there’s a reason to.” Alexis picked up her phone to text Dirk that she’d be later than she’d told him, but she realized she didn’t have his phone number. She was married to a man and didn’t know how to get in touch with him. “I just realized that I told my husband I’d be leaving at three. If he calls, let him know what time I’m out of here.”

  “Why wouldn’t he call your cell?”

  “He’s very considerate. He won’t want to interrupt a session with a client.” Alexis liked Debi a lot, but she didn’t think anyone should know she didn’t have her new husband’s phone number. How weird did that make her?

  “I’ll let him know then.”

  For lunch that day, she and Debi had steak. Debi went to pick it up just before lunch. “Would you believe Dirk, my new husband, is a vegetarian? I’ve never met a man who is a vegetarian. Usually that’s women!”

  “A vegetarian? Really? You are the most carnivorous woman I’ve ever met. That’s got to be interesting.” Debi grinned at her, eating a bite of her baked potato.

  “It really is. I’m not sure if I should hide my meat-eating from him or wave it under his nose. At first, I wasn’t sure if he was going to let me put meat in the fridge, but we seem to have gotten past the initial awkwardness.”

  “What’s he like?” Debi asked. “I mean, I was at the wedding, so I know what he looks like, but what’s his personality like? What does he do?”

  “He’s a professor with a doctorate in marketing. Who gets a doctorate in marketing?” Alexis shrugged. “He really seems like a good man, but he’s overly concerned about his reputation. One of his students caught us kissing on a hiking trail, and I thought he was going to lose his mind.”

  Debi laughed. “Kissing on a hiking trail doesn’t sound that bad.”

  “Well, we might have been lying on a picnic blanket kissing…”

  “That sounds more like something a man obsessed with his reputation would get upset about. How was the picnic? Did you two have something you could both eat, or did you each have to have a different meal?”

  “PB&J was a win for both of us.”

  “I’m impressed. Good job finding a happy medium.”

  “I worked hard at it.” Alexis ate the last bite of her steak, looking at all the blood on her plate. She grinned. It was a good thing Dirk wasn’t there. He hated to see blood on her plate. Maybe she’d limit her steak eating to lunchtime when he wasn’t around. “I’m getting back to it. Do you mind handling the dishes?”

  “Not at all. I’m just glad we had a few minutes to eat together and catch up.”

  “Me too. It’s been a very crazy week.”

  “When we get a chance, I want you and Dirk to go to supper with Jim and me. I really want to get to know this guy—uptight or not.”

  Alexis grinned. “So uptight he squeaks when he walks. Where is the WD-40?”

  Debi just laughed. It was obvious her boss was already half in love with the difficult man she’d married.

  When Alexis got home from work that night, Dirk was sitting in the living room. He looked up immediately. “I was worried about you. Didn’t you say you’d get off work at three? It’s after four-thirty!”

  “I’m sorry. I ended up having a client at three, and then it took me longer than it should have to get here because it was rush hour.”

  “Why didn’t you call or text?”

  She grinned at him. “Why didn’t you call me when you realized I was late?”

  “I don’t have your phone number.”

  “And why didn’t I call you?”

  Dirk blinked as the answer slowly dawned on him. “Let’s exchange numbers now so that doesn’t happen again.”

  “Great idea.” She pulled her phone out and waited for him to give her his number. She called it, and after his rang, she hung up. “There. Now we have each other’s numbers.”

  “Good. Don’t scare me like that again.”

  “As soon as I realized I would be late, I pulled my phone out to text you, and then I realized I didn’t have your number. I felt very stupid. I told my assistant that if you called, she should let you know I’d be late. She couldn’t figure out why I didn’t just text you.”

  “Did you tell her?” he asked, a grin slowly spreading across his face. She really had been in an awkward position due to their lack of foresight.

  “And admit that I didn’t have my own husband’s phone number? Do you think I’ve lost my mind?” She sat down beside him on the couch, snuggling against him. “How were classes today? Anything happen with Desiree?”

  “Nothing at all. She looked at me strangely a couple of times, but she didn’t seem to tell the whole world.”

  “Good!” She sniffed. “Something smells good! What is that?”

  “Tacos. Mrs. Remynse made TVP for me and ground beef for you.”

  “What is TVP?” she asked, knowing she was going to regret it.

  “It stands for texturized vegetable protein. It’s a defatted soy flour. If you mix it with taco sauce, you can’t even tell the difference between that and beef. It’s so good!”

  “I bet I could tell the difference.” She shook her head. “Besides, I’m allergic to soy.”

  “Are you really?”

  She nodded. “I am. And soy is in everything. It makes me so sick.”

  “Wow. I think I’d starve if I couldn’t have soy. I feel bad for you.”

  “I’ll take meat over soy any day.”

  “I’m not going to bug you to be a vegetarian anymore then.”

  “Good. Because I’m really happy with my carnivorous lifestyle.” Alexis moved away from him. “Let’s go eat some tacos!”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Friday evening, Alexis reminded Dirk that she was meeting her friends for lunch the next day. “Exactly how far are you driving?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “It’s about four hours each way. Our lunches are usually about three hours. So…I’ll probably be gone eleven or twelve hours.”

  “I’m driving you.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “You’ll be bored to tears going to lunch with the four of us.”

  “I won’t, because I won’t go to lunch with you. I’ll eat somewhere else o
r I’ll get a table by myself wherever you go. But I’m not comfortable with you driving that far by yourself.”

  “You do realize I’ve been making this drive every month for four and a half years, right?”

  “Not since you’ve been married to me, you haven’t.”

  Alexis started to argue with him, but she realized it would be nice not to have to make the drive alone for a change. “All right. You can drive me.” She’d have to be stupid to complain to him about this.

  “What time do we need to leave?”

  “We always do lunch at one, because we’re all driving a distance. I like to leave by eight-thirty. Then if there’s any kind of traffic, it’s not really a problem.”

  “I’ll be ready to go.” He pulled her toward him, kissing her softly. “I’ve really missed you this week. We’ve both been busy, and work is good for us, but I’ve missed having you around all the time.”

  She smiled, thrilled that he had said that. “You know, I think I’ve missed you, too. We should go hiking again on Sunday.”

  He nodded eagerly. “I’d love that. I’m glad we found something that we both enjoy so much to do together.”

  “Me too.”

  On the drive to the Four Corners, they discovered something else they had in common. Dirk listened to the same kind of music she did. Alexis was ecstatic. “I can’t believe you like eighties retro too!”

  “I love it. And Billy Joel. How I love Billy Joel.” He grinned at her.

  “I wonder what your students would say to the mad professor listening to Billy Joel. It just doesn’t seem like you.”

  “Mad professor? Do you have me confused with your other husband?” he asked.

  “I don’t think so. You’re the only professor in my life. I promise!”

  “That’s a good thing. I wouldn’t want to have to fight with a history professor for your affections!”

  When they finally reached their destination, he noticed a vegan restaurant across the street. “I’ve heard really good things about that place. Go eat meat, my dear, and I will eat healthy.”

  She didn’t tell him again that meat was healthy. She couldn’t. He was making her crazy with it, though. “Enjoy your tofu. Just remember to brush your teeth when you’re done,” she said with a wink.

  She went into the restaurant and Sydney was already there. “How do you beat me here every week?” she asked.

  “I guess I am just better at judging time.”

  “You’re even more obsessively early than I am, you mean.”

  “Did I just see you get out of a car? Where’s your Jeep?” Sydney asked after they’d ordered drinks. They ate at the same restaurant every month, so the waitress knew them.

  “Dirk decided it was too far for me to drive alone, so he drove me. He’s eating at the vegan place across the street.”

  “How’s it going with you two? You happy?”

  Alexis nodded. “Strangely enough, I am. He’s a good man. He makes me absolutely crazy at times. Like so crazy I want to strangle him in his sleep. But we finally found something we have in common, and we’re making things work. We’re very compatible physically, it’s just the rest of it we’re having to work on.”

  “Oh, do tell!”

  “That’s all the information about my sex life you’re getting.”

  “Are you sure?” Sydney frowned at her. “I seem to remember making a pact our freshman year that whoever had sex first would give the other all the dirty details.”

  “We’re not eighteen anymore, Syd. Get married and figure out the details on your own.” Alexis would talk to clients about their sex lives all day, but her sex life was off limits.

  “Fine!” Sydney said.

  Tess rushed in then. She dropped her purse at the table and immediately headed for the bathroom.

  Sydney looked at Alexis. “Don’t they have medicine for overactive bladders? Or Depends. I think she needs Depends.”

  Joanna set her things on the table and took a seat. “No one has ever needed Depends like Tess needs Depends.” She looked at Alexis. “Dish! How’s married life?”

  “An adjustment. But I’m married to a good man who I am very attracted to. I’m sure it’s all going to work out fine in the end.” Alexis took a sip of her drink.

  “What’s he like though? We saw him at the wedding of course, and he’s handsome. But…is he as uptight as he looks?” Joanna asked.

  “Yes! He’s worse than he looks really. I have never met a man so obsessed with his reputation.” Alexis noticed that Tess had taken her seat. “We went hiking last Saturday. It’s one of two things we’ve discovered we have in common other than sex. Anyway, we were at the top of this trail where almost no one goes. We had a good picnic lunch, and then we kissed on our picnic blanket.”

  “No big deal,” Tess said.

  “Well, he’s a marketing professor, and one of his students happened to walk up to us while we were kissing. And we were going at it pretty good.” Alexis shook her head. “He came unglued. Like, furious with me for ruining his reputation that way.”

  “Wow,” Joanna said. “And you’re a free spirit, not caring what anyone thinks of you. How’s that going to work?”

  “We’re learning to compromise. I was so mad at him for acting like I’d ruined his life. I tried to talk to him on the way down, and he wouldn’t say anything, so by the time we got to the bottom of the mountain, I didn’t want to talk anymore. Ever again. And we had a very silent dinner, and almost twenty-four hours without talking. I finally gave in, because I realized that’s what I’d tell one of my clients to do.”

  Sydney made a face. “I hope that kind of fight doesn’t become the norm for you two.”

  “I really don’t think it will. We talked it out, and I forgave him. We’re good now. In fact, he insisted on driving me here, because eight hours round trip is too far to drive by myself.”

  The others laughed. “Did you tell him you’ve been making this drive once a month for four and a half years?” Tess asked.

  “I did. And he didn’t much care. He’s still driving me.” Alexis shrugged. “It was nice not to make the whole trip alone. Now, has anyone else heard from Dr. Lachele? Am I getting out my bridesmaid dress soon?”

  Joanna raised her hand. “She called me this week. I thought about calling but I figured I’d let you know since we were lunching this weekend. I have a match and a wedding date.” She took a deep breath. “May fifteenth.”

  “How do you feel about it?” Tess asked her.

  “I don’t know. I mean, I’m thrilled the guys at the gym will have to quit hitting on me once I’m married, but other than that…I’m nervous. I know that Alexis keeps saying things will work out for her, but she married someone that sounds like her exact opposite. What if Dr. Lachele matches me with someone who spends all his time eating potato chips and watching professional wrestling?”

  “That would be interesting,” Sydney said, shaking her head. “I cannot imagine you with the man that mental image brings up.”

  “Of course you can’t. It wouldn’t fit me at all.” Joanna sighed. “I’m just going to keep up the faith that she’s going to do a good job for me.”

  “That’s all you can do,” Alexis said. “I can tell you that I’ve never been as attracted to a man physically as I am to Dirk. He’s my opposite in so many ways, but sexually, we’re a matched set. Salt and pepper shakers. Peanut butter and jelly. Applesauce and chocolate chip cookies.”

  Tess made a face. “You know you’re the only person in the world who dips their chocolate chip cookies in applesauce, right?”

  “Well, that’s a shame, because it’s amazing!” Alexis sighed. “Almost as good as cheese in hot chocolate.”

  Sydney made a gagging sound. “You’re killing me! Look at the menu and pick out some real food!”

  “Aren’t you glad we’re not all eating across the street with Dirk?”

  Tess’s eyes grew wide. “He’s eating vegan food? On purpose?”

/>   Alexis grinned. “I married a vegetarian.” She watched Joanna and Tess as the information sank in.

  “But…You’re a carnivore. Have you ever even eaten a vegetable?” Joanna asked.

  “Once, but I didn’t like it.” Alexis looked up as the waitress arrived, ordering her food, but exchanging the salad for a bowl of soup. After the others had ordered, she said, “Do you believe Dr. Lachele did that to me? She knows about my meat-eating too. He asked me if I’d raise my kids vegetarian.”

  Tess started laughing. Loudly.

  “What did you say?” Sydney asked, knowing it would be something sarcastic and probably awful.

  “I told him my kids would be raised with a piece of bacon in one hand and a stick of salami in the other.” Alexis grinned. “He knows full well what he’s getting into.”

  “I can see he does,” Joanna said. “You’re a mess and a half, Alexis.”

  “I’m proud of it too!”

  Six

  On their way home, Alexis happily chattered about her lunch with the girls. “How did you like the vegan place?”

  “It was amazing! I had eggplant parmesan, and I have never eaten better. I will drive you every time for the opportunity to eat at that amazing restaurant,” Dirk told her.

  “Works for me. I don’t think I realized just how lonely this drive was until today. You made it so much better.”

  He didn’t take his eyes from the road, but he did grin. “I’m glad. I like to drive, and I like to know you’re safe, so I’ll feel better making the drive anyway.”

  “You should pull over somewhere so we can kiss.”

  “I keep telling you. We have a bed for that!”

  “Just because I kiss you doesn’t mean I want to jump your bones. Sometimes I just like to kiss you.”

  He let out a low chuckle and she smiled, feeling as if she was doing her job properly. “Your colorful phrases do have a way of getting to me.”

  She shrugged. “Colorful phrases are what I’m all about!”