Seasoned

by Delaney Diamond

  Shaking her head but smiling, Adelaide walked quietly into the bathroom, splashed water on her face, and started brushing her teeth. She planned to make a nice breakfast and then relax on the sofa for a movie marathon with Hector, the way they used to. She wondered if he would be open to the idea or if he had to go home right away.

  As she brushed her teeth, Hector shuffled naked into the bathroom, his hair a mess and his eyes half closed.

  “Morning,” he mumbled.

  Her poor baby. Definitely not a morning person.

  She watched his bare bottom as he moved over to the toilet, lifted the lid, and proceeded to pee with one arm propped against the wall for balance. When he finished, he flushed the toilet and then dragged over to the second sink beside her.

  “What?” He squinted at her, half asleep as he washed his hands.

  “Nothing.” Adelaide hadn’t realized she’d been staring, but he was acting so normal. She set down the brush and rinsed out her mouth. “You look tired,” she said.

  “I am.” Hector turned off the water. He dried his hands and then kissed the side of her neck. “Come back to bed.”

  He hooked a finger in the belt of her robe and pulled her after him. He used to do that all the time—hook his fingers in the waistband of her jeans or slacks and pull her with him or toward him for a kiss.

  Breakfast could wait as she indulged in renewed intimacy with her former husband.

  They cuddled in the bed and soon fell asleep again.

  Adelaide yawned as she and Hector entered the kitchen.

  “I can eat a couple of horses,” Hector said.

  “Me, too.”

  After snuggling and falling asleep, they woke up later and made love and dozed off again until hunger drove them from the bed. Adelaide took out the pots and dishes they’d need to prepare brunch.

  They worked together in perfect harmony as Hector prepared the one dish he’d perfected—French toast with cream cheese and thinly sliced strawberries. Adelaide worked on poached eggs and fresh fruit.

  “Inside or outside?” he asked.

  “Outside,” she said. She hadn’t enjoyed breakfast outside in a while, and doing so with him would be perfect.

  “What do you have planned for the weekend?” Hector asked as he worked at the stove.

  Adelaide cut up the fruit on the counter beside him. She could have gone to another spot in the kitchen but wanted to stay close and experience the occasional brush of his arm as they worked together.

  “Selena invited me over to her house to hear Nicky’s newest composition.”

  “And you’re going?” Hector glanced at her.

  She nodded.

  “Why? You know you’re not going to enjoy it. Selena paid for all those lessons, and Nicky still can’t sing or play the piano.”

  “Be nice.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  Adelaide laughed. He was absolutely right. Selena’s daughter was an aspiring performer, and every now and again Selena invited friends over for food and drinks and to hear her daughter perform. Not very often, and some people only went because it was something to do and Selena—head chef at a popular restaurant—always provided plenty of delicious food.

  “I couldn’t think fast enough of a reason why I couldn’t go.”

  “All you have to do… oh, never mind. You couldn’t use me as an excuse.”

  “No, I couldn’t.”

  Over the years it had become a running joke between them to use each other as an excuse when they wanted to get out of a particular activity.

  My husband won’t let me.

  Adelaide won’t let me.

  Hector already has something planned.

  Let me check with my wife.

  Those excuses had worked perfectly for years, but Selena’s unexpected question had thrown her off, and unaccustomed to coming up with excuses on short notice, Adelaide stumbled along. With only gentle pressure, Selena had worked a yes out of her.

  “Have fun,” Hector said dryly.

  She shot daggers at him and he chuckled as he flipped the toast in the pan.

  Adelaide placed the fruit in the refrigerator while she waited for the water to heat for the eggs.

  She came up behind Hector and patted his butt. “You been working out?”

  “Why?”

  “Your ass is tighter.” She squeezed his bottom.

  “Hey, hey, I’m trying to work here. Behave,” he said, holding the spatula aloft.

  “You can’t work with me touching you and kissing on you?” Adelaide placed her hands around his waist and kissed his shoulder blade through his shirt.

  “So you’re giving me a dose of my own medicine, is that it?”

  Adelaide laughed. “Yes, this is how you’ve treated me before when I’m trying to cook. Learn to multitask.” She slipped her hands beneath his shirt and rubbed his taut belly. His skin was firm and deliciously familiar with a sprinkling of hair along his lower torso.

  “Keep that up and I’ll turn off this stove and take you back to bed.”

  “Promises, promises.” She rubbed his nipples.

  “Goddammit, Addie—” Hector turned and she scuttled away with a laugh.

  “Okay, I’ll behave.”

  “Too late now.” Hector set down the spatula and cornered her against the counter. He took a handful of her hair and wound it around his fist, pulling her head back so he could look down into her face with lust-filled eyes. “If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”

  “Oh, I can take the heat, señor.” Adelaide raised up on her toes and brought her lips close to his.

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  Hector flicked his tongue against her lips and then pressed his mouth to hers.

  Adelaide moaned softly and smoothed her hands over his chest as she kissed him back. “Hector,” she whispered.

  “Sí, mi esposa, mi rosa.” My wife, my rose.

  He hadn’t said that in so long, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him harder. She opened her mouth to give his tongue entry and pressed her aching nipples against his chest.

  The door opened and closed.

  “Mom!”

  Hector let go of her hair and stepped back, shaking his head. “That damn boy,” he grumbled.

  Amused, Adelaide pushed at him.

  “No.”

  “Hector.” Her eyes widened.

  “In here!” Hector called over his shoulder before bringing his gaze back to hers.

  Adelaide held her breath. She wasn’t so sure it was the right decision to let their son know they were on very good terms again.

  She heard, rather than saw, when Daniel entered the kitchen and come to a halt. “Whoa.”

  Hector finally stepped back and turned to face their youngest. “Hi, Danny.”

  “Hey.” His eyes darted between them, a frown creasing his brow. “What’s going on?”

  “Your mother and I just got up and are preparing breakfast—or rather brunch, at this time of the day. You hungry?”

  Danny’s eyes widened. “You just…you and Mom?”

  Adelaide’s cheeks burned.

  “Yes,” Hector answered.

  “Nah, I’m good. Already ate. I’ll leave you two alone.” He sniffed and looked over at the stove. “Something’s burning.”

  Hector cursed and dashed over to the pan while Daniel exited the room.

  “You have to pay attention when you’re in the kitchen, honey.” Adelaide patted his butt again.

  “Thanks,” Hector said dryly.

  They finished cooking and took the food out to the patio to eat.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Hector said after a few minutes.

  “Why did you do that with Danny?” Adelaide asked.

  “Because he needs to get used to seeing me here,” he replied matter-of-factly.

  “Were you planning for us to do this again?” She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She’d simply wanted to bask in
this moment and last night’s lovemaking.

  Hector set down his utensils and studied her from across the table. “Are you my ex-wife, or has someone else invaded her body? Someone completely fine with casual sex and no commitment?”

  Adelaide smiled. “It’s absolutely me. I’m just surprised. I really wasn’t sure what happened. It’s not as if we planned last night.”

  “Or this morning,” Hector added, heat in his voice.

  An answering throb bloomed between Adelaide’s thighs. “Or this morning,” she agreed.

  “We can’t pretend that we didn’t make love, but I admit, in a weird way, this is all new—practically groundbreaking.”

  Adelaide nodded her agreement and rested her chin in her hand. Her heart hurt because this was the man she had married and raised children with and had expected to spend the rest of her life with in this house. Now he was here again, but not as her husband. Simply as a lover. She wanted to grab onto him and what she was feeling, but at the same time she was afraid and wanted to let go so she wouldn’t be hurt again.

  “Maybe this is a way for us to fix what was wrong between us,” Hector said.

  “Sex doesn’t fix problems.”

  “I wasn’t talking about using sex to fix our problems, although more sex would be perfectly fine by me.” Hector’s lascivious smile made her blush. He reached across the table and took her hand. “I want to continue making love to you, and I want to date you, too.”

  “Date me?”

  “Yes. Are you open to that?”

  “Yes,” Adelaide said softly.

  His lips expanded into a winsome smile. “Okay then.” He sliced into a piece of French toast.

  “When?” Adelaide asked.

  “Let me worry about that,” Hector said, and popped some of the tasty bread into his mouth.

  12

  The sun was setting as Adelaide and her best friends strolled onto the outdoor patio with beverages and snacks in hand. They sat at the rectangular glass table, Jackie and Adelaide at one end and Renee at the other.

  “Who wants to go first?” Jackie asked.

  “I have nothing to share, except Clive and I are still going strong,” Renee said.

  Jackie raised her hand. “I’ll go next.” She grinned, blushing a little. “I met someone, and he’s younger than me.”

  Adelaide rested her chin on her hand. “Oh.”

  “How much younger?” Renee asked.

  “Almost thirty years younger.”

  Adelaide and Renee gasped.

  “You’re fifty-five years old! You’re practically robbing the cradle,” Renee exclaimed.

  Jackie rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not. Anyway, he’s wonderful. Tall, dark, handsome, young, and malleable. How we met is absolutely hilarious.” She proceeded to tell them how she ran over the young man on her bike while riding in the park.

  When they finished laughing, Renee pretended to write a note. “Buy a bicycle and run over a hot man with it,” she murmured.

  Jackie cackled and shoved her friend. “Stop! We all know you’re doing no such thing because you’re happy with your quarterback.”

  “Tight end, and I am,” Renee admitted, with a serene smile.

  “Is your relationship with this young man serious?” Adelaide asked Jackie.

  “Too soon to tell, but in all honesty, I doubt it will be. I just want to have fun. Whenever we get around to having sex, I’m sure it’ll be fantastic and memorable.”

  Jackie talked like someone who had sex often, but she actually had a thirty-day rule that Adelaide could only remember her breaking once, and she’d regretted it because the relationship—if one could call it that—fizzled and died, leaving her broken-hearted and jaded for a long time.

  “How about you? Dating anyone yet?” Jackie asked Adelaide.

  A smile touched Adelaide’s lips.

  Renee turned her whole body in Adelaide’s direction. “Spill. It.”

  Adelaide laughed. “You’re not going to believe this, but Hector and I might be getting back together.” She waited for her friends’ reactions.

  Jackie’s eyes widened. “Hector Flores, your ex-husband?”

  Adelaide nodded.

  “The husband you divorced about six months ago?” Renee asked.

  Adelaide nodded again.

  “Care to explain how this happened?” Jackie asked.

  Her friends already knew that her son was having a baby, so she explained the tie-in with the change in her and Hector’s relationship. She told them about the kiss on the sofa, their nightly conversations, and finished with his reaction when he saw her with her cousin.

  “Nothing like another man to make a man realize what he’s lost,” Jackie said, her eyebrow arched before taking a swig of lemonade.

  “I believe it’s more than that,” Adelaide said. “More than jealousy or some crazy belief that he wants to hold on to me because he doesn’t want anyone else to have me. Being with Hector this time feels…different. He’s different and I’m different. We’re much more aware of each other’s needs and moods and we’re laughing a lot—more than we did the last few years of our marriage. He’s attentive and wants to spend time with me. For instance, one day last week, he came by after work and joined me in my afternoon walk around the neighborhood. He said that he’d like for the two of us to take a trip together when he wraps up the expansion of Solar Beams. Oh, by the way, he and Martin are opening a new location in Carlsbad.” She beamed with pride.

  “That’s great! He’s wanted to do that for a while, hasn’t he?” Jackie asked.

  Adelaide nodded. “Anyway, we have plans to go out this coming Friday night. He’s taking me on a sunset boat ride.”

  “That’s so romantic,” Renee crooned with a sigh.

  This was exactly what she’d longed for before their split—more time with her husband. Hector had become so busy with work, and when he came home, he simply ate dinner, maybe caught a little bit of TV, and then went to spend time in the home office before coming to bed. Some nights they barely said a full sentence to each other.

  She’d felt neglected. When they did spend time together, he was always on his phone or seemed distracted—in the room but not present. The only time he paid her attention was to have sex, the frequency of which eventually dropped off and made her believe he no longer found her desirable. Now she knew that wasn’t the case, but she’d been devastated before, insecure and hurt. Getting her hair done and putting on a new outfit had renewed her confidence, and she’d appreciated the admiring glances she received from other men.

  “I’m excited for you. You look really happy,” Jackie said.

  “I’m cautiously happy but ready to jump headfirst into whatever this is. It’s like being in a new relationship.” And the excitement of a new relationship sent adrenaline coursing through her veins.

  “It would be nice if you two get back together,” Renee said.

  “I don’t see why that wouldn’t be on the table. It’s almost like we are back together again, before we started having problems.”

  “Don’t get too attached to him right now,” Jackie, the voice of reason, interjected. “And make sure he doesn’t have another woman somewhere.”

  Adelaide hadn’t considered that he’d moved on, and Jackie’s practical comment burst her happy bubble a little bit. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have anyone else, and I’m so excited! Maybe splitting up was exactly what we needed to appreciate each other. It certainly seems to have opened his eyes about me.”

  “What’s going on with your cooking classes?” Jackie asked.

  “I’m still going to take the classes, but I hope I’m mentally ready to meet the challenge of sitting in a classroom again.”

  “I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll be able to handle the work. You love cooking, and you have time to pursue your catering dream now with the kids all grown.”

  “Are you still thinking about catering?” Renee asked.

  Adelaide nodded.
“I used to want to work in a restaurant, but that’s exhausting work, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to appreciate my free time. I’d much rather set my own schedule and only work the events I’m interested in. Hector was so insistent that he would be able to take care of me and the kids, that I rarely envisioned going back to school. He did take such good care of us. Now I have to admit that a part of me regrets not taking classes and setting up my business earlier, but it’s not too late. Is it?”

  “Not at all. You’ll succeed. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Renee said firmly.

  “I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

  “Have you mentioned to Hector that you’re going to get your diploma?” Jackie asked.

  “I did.” Adelaide broke off a piece of brownie, hesitant to divulge his lackluster response.

  “What’d he say?” Renee asked.

  “He congratulated me on my decision,” Adelaide answered.

  That was the truth, and they didn’t need to know about her disappointment from his comments. She was moving forward with the decision regardless. She was doing this for her.

  Adelaide looked at both of her friends. “I have a confession to make. I’m extremely worried about failing.”

  Jackie covered Adelaide’s clenched fist on the table. “What did you tell me when I was worried about becoming a mom at my age? You said that I wouldn’t be doing it on my own. You’d help me. Renee would help me. You think we’re gonna have you out there on your own, struggling? No ma’am.”

  “That’s right. We won’t let that happen. Where’s the brochure?”

  “Now?” Adelaide asked.

  “Yes, now. And bring your laptop,” Renee said.

  Adelaide hesitated, but the scolding look on her friends’ faces made her stop delaying. She went inside and retrieved the brochure and her computer. When she came out, Renee had dragged her chair around to the same side as hers.

  As Adelaide sat down, Jackie perused the brochure. “You can do everything online, including pay the application fee. Let’s go. Chop-chop.”

  She knew better than to argue with them in this mood. At the school’s website, she completed all the fields, and Renee helped her craft an impressive short essay. She plugged in her credit card information and hovered over the Submit button on the screen. Tears filled her eyes as she chewed on her bottom lip. Could she do this?