by Susan Kohler
“I’ll never stop loving Joe, but I will go on with my life,” Kate replied with quiet dignity.
“Because Joe would want it that way?” Laura asked.
“Partly, as cliché as that sounds. It’s also partly because I believe that if I live my life to the fullest and have my own interests, I’ll be a better mother to my kids. I wouldn’t want to wind up a bitter old hag. And, last but not least, for myself.” She smiled, “Life’s too short not to fully enjoy it.”
“So how serious is it between you and Bob?” Laura quizzed her.
“Well, it’s way too soon to be sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion this could turn out to be major. The real thing.” Kate was suddenly very quiet, then finally she added, “It’s almost frightening the way I feel about him; after all, I only met him yesterday.”
“I remember that you fell in love with Joe almost the instant you met him. I swear I heard a click,” Laura smiled, remembering, “sort of like the click I heard yesterday, when you looked up and met Bob’s eyes.”
“It wasn’t his eyes I met yesterday when I looked up.” Kate laughed, flushing.
Laura parked the car. “Not then, you silly goose. In the pool, when we were tackling Jack. At one point in the game, you and Bob looked at each other and almost made the water boil.”
“I remember.” Kate laughed. “And you, my dear friend, notice too darn much. Let’s get out of my love life and go back to work.”
Shortly after lunch, Kate got a call from her mother. “I have a wonderful idea, dear,” she exclaimed. “Why don’t I come to your house to sit for the kids? That way you wouldn’t have to work so hard to get them fed and dressed and over to my house, while you’re getting ready for work.”
“Gee, Mom, why didn’t I think of that?” Kate had brought up the same idea before, but her mother insisted on having the kids brought over to her house.
“I don’t know, dear, but it’s going to be great.” She gave a sly little laugh. “And then your house will be the one that looks like a tornado hit it.”
“Golly, that will be great, thanks Mom.” Kate hung up laughing.
The rest of the afternoon passed without incident. Kate buried herself in her work. She made a sizable dent in the backed up stack of invoices in Accounts Payable, then she made a list of the type of reports she would like to begin studying from all the other desks. She gave her list to Laura, who said she would arrange for Bob to get the records to her.
She only met one other co-worker that day, Jerry Weisner, a tall, friendly man who was in charge of the purchasing department. He came into her office and introduced himself. He gave her a list of some of his special vendors, vendors that had unusual terms or ways of doing business.
He sat on the corner of her desk, and tried to give her the insight on some of the things that were peculiar to this company. He had black hair, brown eyes and an easy, relaxed manner that was matched by his attire of comfortable jeans and a well-worn green polo shirt.
Just as Jerry was about to leave her office, he smiled at her and remarked sadly, “I don’t know if you’re going to make it around here.”
“Why not?” Kate was indignant. “What’s wrong with me?”
“You’re dressed way too formally, and we’re a pretty relaxed group.” He smiled at her. “You’ll have to loosen up and wear something a lot more casual or you’ll make the rest of us peons look bad.”
“Okay, I will.” She had already realized that she was way overdressed for this particular office. She smiled at him. “I promise to be casual in the future but I had to try to make a good impression on my first day. You can’t blame a girl for that.”
“When I talked to Bob earlier, I got the feeling he was impressed.” Jerry smiled. “Tomorrow, wear tight jeans and you’ll knock him off his feet.”
Kate was shocked; did her infatuation show? “Do I want to knock him off his feet?”
“Why not? It couldn’t hurt.” Jerry waved a hand at her as he left.
Kate went back to work. She barely saw either Laura or Bob until it was time to leave, except for one time when she was at the water cooler and saw Bob coming out of his office.
She heard Laura whisper in her ear. “Careful! You’re making the water boil again.”
She was cleaning off her desk when Bob walked into her cubicle. “So, how was your first day?”
“Well, this is a simple job but there is something that I can’t quite put my hands on,” Kate answered. “I think it may be very hard for me trying to picture one of these women as a thief. They all seem so normal, very friendly and helpful.”
“Forget the co-workers. How about the boss?” Bob prodded as he looked out to see if anyone was nearby and began to move around her desk towards her. “Is he nice?”
“The ogre?” Kate teased, backing off. “I hardly saw him all day.”
“Ogre?” Bob pretended to be insulted, moving away, back towards the opening of the cubicle. “I heard he was a pretty nice guy. All the other ladies seem to like him.”
“No accounting for taste.” Coolly, she raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m out of here.” She picked up her purse and threw it onto her shoulder.
Bob took her arm and gently but firmly led her back to his office. He shut his office door and leaned against it. “Not so fast, come here. I haven’t kissed you all day.”
Kate felt her heart jump in her chest while she looked up at Bob with wide eyes.
“In the office? Isn’t that called sexual harassment?” Kate grinned at him. “Didn’t we talk about that last night?”
“Only if it makes working conditions hard on you,” Bob winked, “and that’s not what I had in mind.”
“What’s it called if I make it hard on you?” Kate asked, with exaggerated innocence.
“That’s called arousal.” He caught Kate in his arms and began to kiss her. “And I think you’re guilty of it already,” he managed between kisses.
“God, I hope so,” Kate whispered back, also between tender kisses, “because you’re guilty of it too.” She managed to pull away. “We shouldn’t do this here; if we do, sooner or later we’ll get caught.”
“You’re right. I don’t like it, but you’re right.” Bob gave Kate one long, wet passionate kiss and then pulled back leaving Kate feeling strangely rejected.
“You don’t have to agree so easily,” Kate complained, straightening her hair and lipstick before they left the office.
“Don’t worry, you’re not going to get rid of me so quickly,” he promised.
“Bob?” Kate said as they walked across the parking lot, “How could I get hold of some of the older financial reports to try and trace the lost money?”
“I’ll make copies and bring them to your house,” he offered. “But make sure you don’t work too much on them at home. Of course, I’ll pay you extra for the homework.”
“Is this just an excuse to come over to my house?” Kate asked, her head tilted to one side.
“Well, it works, doesn’t it?” Bob smiled. “But who needs an excuse?”
“Truthfully?” She met his eyes. “You don’t, consider this a standing invitation to come over anytime. The kids are in bed by eight,” Kate offered, grinning wickedly.
“Why did I ever think you were shy?” Bob was a little overwhelmed.
“It was probably those blushes, fools ‘em every time,” Kate teased, “but don’t get too carried away. I have three built-in chaperones, remember?”
“How could I forget?” He grinned.
“And the kids aren’t your biggest obstacles either,” she said mysteriously.
“What do you mean?” He was dubious. “Are there any other obstacles between us?”
“You’ll find out.” She winked and gave him a saucy grin. “Later.”
She got into her van and drove off, leaving him standing there puzzled.
Chapter Four
Later that evening Kate waited for her doorbell to ring. She was hopeful that Bob would arrive a
t any moment, so she used the nervous energy to get some things done. The minute she got home from work, she’d thrown on her old grubby clothes, then played with the kids and dogs for a while before fixing dinner. Then, she put the kids to bed and the dogs out, and quickly picked up the living room, dusting and rearranging the small colorful throw pillows on her plain brown sofa. She cleaned the kitchen and put a bottle of California Chablis in the refrigerator. Then she cleaned the downstairs bathroom.
Finally she’d taken a quick shower and changed again. She dressed carefully, although with a somewhat casual deception, in her best emerald green blouse and crisp white shorts. She let her long, auburn hair out of the severe bun she’d worn it in at work and brushed it until it fell in soft waves down her back.
She stood back and surveyed the living room objectively. It looked cozy and inviting. She had made up for her plain, worn furniture by filling the room with personal touches. The walls were painted a very light earth tone, and most of the furniture was in shades of brown, ranging from tan to chocolate. It could have been too dark, but she had thrown in lots of colorful accents, brightly colored throw pillows and a hand knitted afghan draped on the back of the sofa. The walls had several pictures of her kids and a group of antique mirrors. She also had several hanging plants and knickknacks on every end table. .
By 9:30 she was ready. It was the most excited she’d been since her husband died. Finally, there was a knock at the door. Her heart seemed to be racing as she went to open it. It wasn’t Bob. She felt the excitement drain out of her as she opened the door and found the rude, obnoxious jerk who lived next door standing on her porch.
“Hi Tim.” She managed to get out the greeting without showing too much disappointment. “What do you want?”
“From you doll? Everything I can get!” He smirked, eyeballing her tight shorts. “But for now, can I use your car to give mine a jump-start? I need to go to the store and I’ve got a dead battery.”
“Sure, Tim, no problem. Let me get my keys.” She reached for her purse and rummaged for her car keys.
She was relieved, for once, it didn’t sound like he was going to try to stay and make a pest out of himself. She handed him her car keys.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any beer, would ya, doll?” he asked, as his eyes made their way up to her chest, looking her at breasts with a leer. “If you did I could stay here with you instead of going out. You look good enough to-”
Just then Bob walked up behind them. He took one look at Kate’s face with the frozen smile and knew that the other man wasn’t welcome.
“Hi Kate. Am I interrupting anything?” Bob asked casually as he reached out to pull her into a warm hug. He had replaced his office attire with jeans and a soft, clean white T-shirt.
He let his eyes wander from Kate just long enough to take in the beer belly and the dirty, grease stained T-shirt worn by the man on the porch.
“Hi, darling. I’m sorry, Tim. I’m out of beer, and as you can see I have company,” she said firmly. Then she reached up and lightly stroked Bob’s freshly shaven cheek.
“But I was here first!” Tim protested loudly, sounding like a petulant child.
“You came here uninvited, claiming that you had car trouble. Go. Jump start your car and bring back my car keys, then Bob and I would like to be alone.” She kept her voice firm and low but still commanding.
As soon as Tim went out to move her van, Bob stepped into her living room, shut the door, and pulled her into his arms and greeted her with a long, passionate kiss.
“Darling?” Bob looked amused. “I like it, but was that for my benefit or his?”
“For his,” she grinned at him, “but this is just for you.”
She snaked an arm around his neck and returned his kiss.
When the kiss broke, Bob said, “I’m going out to help get him on his way.”
“He can’t be gone soon enough for me.” Kate smiled, “Hurry back in, okay?”
Bob went out to Kate’s van, which Tim had driven far enough to align her front bumper up with his. Bob helped Tim get his old battered pick-up started and returned to Kate’s house with her car keys. When he returned in just a few minutes, Kate was waiting for him at the door. She had soft music playing in the background, and had opened the bottle of wine.
“I thought you’d never get here,” she said, hugging him warmly.
“Oh, is that why you were entertaining another man?” he teased as he returned the hug, running his hands up and down her back.
“That’s not a man, that’s my neighbor.” She handed him a glass of wine and gestured to the sofa, grimacing. “A lower life form.”
“He wants you.” Bob sat down on the sofa and sipped his wine.
She sat on the sofa next to Bob and looked him straight in his eyes. “He’s not going to get me.”
“Good!” He reached out and pulled her gently into his strong arms. “I want you, too.” He kissed her with enough passion to send shivers down her spine.
Kate pulled back and met his eyes for a long breathless moment. Finally she spoke in a soft, but steady voice. “It’s still pretty soon, remember we just met yesterday.” She leaned forward to kiss him gently. “I’m a little surprised that I feel so much for you. I thought those feelings had died in me when I lost Joe. I mean, I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that I’d find somebody way off in the future. It’s just that it’s a little strange, almost scary, that the future seems to have come so fast. I not only haven’t been to bed with anyone since my husband died, I haven’t even gone out on a date with anyone.”
“I don’t want to rush you.” Bob gently ran his hand up her neck and caressed her cheek, laughing suddenly, “Hell, I do want to rush you, but not against your will, if you can understand that?”
“I understand. The thing is, I want you, too.” She smiled and rubbed her cheek into his palm almost purring like a kitten. She savored the feel of his hand on her face. “But I want to enjoy the feelings I have for a while, instead of acting on them so quickly. And I want to get to know you better. Does that make any sense?”
“Of course it makes sense, anticipation and all that.” He trailed baby kisses down her throat.
He leaned back on the sofa, pulling her down on top of him; he ran his big hands through her hair and pulled her face down to his. He kissed her, starting gently and building up until the passion washed over them both, like waves crashing onto the shore. His hands slid under her blouse, pulling it free from her shorts, and he used his fingers to gently stroke and tease her breasts. She returned the favor, running her hands inside his T-shirt that he wore loose, not tucked into his jeans.
Finally, he broke off the kiss, breathing heavily. He held her firmly and tenderly, nuzzling her hair and bringing his breathing under control. Gradually the sound of the phone ringing penetrated her dazed senses.
She pulled back slightly and said, “I’ll let the machine get that.”
A whining voice came over the air; it was her neighbor Tim. “I know you have company over there, Sweet cheeks, but you’d better bring those dogs in before I go outside and stop their barking, and I mean permanently.”
“What a jerk!” Bob was indignant. “How can he talk to you like that?”
“A jerk, that he is. Well, I guess we’ve been saved by the bell. I’ve always hated that stupid expression.” She was angry at the interruption and still panting with arousal.
“Let’s just say I don’t think ‘saved’ is the word I would use, but he is sure one heck of a mood killer.” Bob grinned ruefully. “But since we agreed to wait, he probably called at just the right time. Unfortunately.”
“One of these days, I’m going to have to do something about him, something violent, painful and terribly wicked, but not right now. Do you want any more wine?” When he shook his head no, Kate pulled her blouse back into place and then picked up the wineglasses to carry them into the kitchen. “Remember when I said the kids weren’t the biggest obstacles you faced
? Well, you’re about to meet your obstacles. You’d better pull your shirt back down, or you’ll get little doggie scratches all over your body because my beasties are not well-mannered.” She grinned a little devilishly and continued, “It might help to umm, cross your legs, too. They’ve been known to jump into men’s laps, and land rather painfully on certain parts of their anatomy.”
He barely had his shirt in place when two small Boston terriers came in and leaped into his lap, jumping up and down, wiggling and trying to lick him all over.
Kate came back in. “Bob, meet Teddy and Charger. They’ll settle down in about a century or two, when they’ve finished greeting you”
“They’re a little overwhelming, aren’t they?” He was laughing as he tried to avoid little doggie tongues and toenails. The worst part was the eight doggie feet, all of which seemed to be excitedly jumping up and down on his crotch.
“Yes, but in a while they’ll go up to the kids’ rooms,” she told him.
“How can two dogs seem like a herd?” Bob asked her laughing, petting the two small black and white dynamos, while still fending off doggie kisses.
“The word is ‘pack’ and this is no pack yet, but Teddy’s pregnant so it really will be in a couple of weeks,” she laughed, walking into the kitchen.
“Great.” Bob really seemed to enjoy the attention from the two wiggling bundles of energy, but he couldn’t help teasing her gently. “You need more dogs, really.” There was a hint of mischief in his voice.
The two dogs eventually settled down enough to leave Bob and disappear up the stairs, heading for the kids’ bedrooms. When Bob went into the kitchen to find Kate, she was bending over with her head in the refrigerator, putting the wine away. He walked up behind her and gave her a smart pat on her firm behind.
“You have such a great behind, I couldn’t resist.” He nuzzled her neck, whispering, “And, I probably never will.”