Behind Closed Doors

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  “Good. That’s a supernice hotel. We stayed there last year and loved it.”

  “I remember Larry talking about it when you guys got back. Have you made your flight reservations yet?”

  “No. He just told me about the trip at lunchtime, and I’m just now getting an opportunity to make a few phone calls.”

  “I can call and book it for you, if you want.”

  Regina smiled. It was just like Doris to offer to help someone else. “I don’t want to bother you with that, and anyway, I can make one phone call to the corporate travel division here at my company and they’ll take care of everything. But thanks for offering.”

  “Okay, but you know it wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “While you’re worrying about me, you should be planning your own vacation,” Regina said and then laughed.

  “Actually, I’m training someone right now, because I’ll be leaving day after tomorrow for two weeks. My husband and I are flying out to California to visit my daughter and son-in-law.”

  Well, that explained why the sister had answered the phone. She was probably from one of those temporary agencies.

  “I’m really glad to hear you’re taking a break, because I know how busy you guys have been,” Regina said.

  “Yeah, we were flooded with work in January, but things have been pretty slow since then. To tell you the truth, I’m glad, because this way I won’t have to worry about getting so far behind in my work while I’m gone.”

  Slow? Since January? Hell, that was three months ago. If they were so slow, why did Larry keep insisting he needed to work through lunch and after normal working hours? She didn’t understand and wanted more information, but she didn’t want Doris to know what she was thinking.

  “Well, if I don’t talk with you before you leave, have a safe and enjoyable trip,” Regina said.

  “We will, and you do the same. I can just see the look on Larry’s face now. He’ll be so surprised.”

  “Thanks again, Doris.”

  “You’re welcome, Regina. Good-bye.”

  Regina placed the phone on its ivory-colored base, kicked her black pumps under her desk, and discharged a deep sigh. For every bright side she tried to look on, there was a dark and gloomy one peeking around the corner. She was trying so hard to understand Larry. Trying to make him happy. But now he was lying.

  First it was the working through lunch hour thing, then came the working after hours, and now it was these Friday night card game extravaganzas. Before long, he’d have an excuse for not coming home at all.

  She sat in her chair with her eyes shut and tried to calm herself down. Maybe her imagination was out of control again, the same way it had been on Friday night. And anyway, it didn’t automatically mean Larry’s workload was down just because Doris’s was. He was a manager with a lot more responsibility and really couldn’t be compared with his secretary.

  Once again she convinced herself. If Larry said he had a lot of work, then he did. She had always been able to trust him in the past, and now was no different. He’d always been a dedicated employee, and she was foolish for thinking anything else. She told herself that everything was fine.

  REGINA HADN'T WANTED to go shopping alone, and since Karen and John had already made plans for the evening, she phoned Marilyn and asked her to meet her at the mall right after work. She wouldn’t be leaving for Atlanta for another week, but she wanted to get a head start on buying some new apparel for the trip. They’d already browsed through two major department stores but, for some reason, hadn’t found anything worth writing home about. Finally, they’d decided to check out Nordstrom’s lingerie department.

  “Girl, I know you’re not serious about spending sixty dollars on that skimpy little nightgown,” Marilyn said. “You must be out of your mind.”

  “Actually, sixty dollars isn’t a whole lot for this, because I’ve seen some a lot higher than that,” Regina said.

  “That’s just plain ridiculous. You would never catch me spending that type of money on something like that. Even if I had the money to do it.”

  Regina carried the flame red negligee around to the other side of the rack so she could pick out a silk robe to match it. “Larry and I haven’t gone away together since last year, and I want to make this Atlanta trip as special as I can. Sometimes you have to add some spice to a marriage so it won’t become so monotonous. Besides, I haven’t charged anything on my Nordstrom account in over two months, so it really doesn’t matter how much it costs.”

  “What difference does that make? You still have to pay for it one way or the other. Not to mention those ridiculous finance charges you’ll be stuck with.”

  “But I won’t have to pay for it all at once, and that’s what makes the difference as far as I’m concerned.”

  “I guess, but I still think it’s priced way too high. There’s just no way I could fork out that kind of money for something you can’t even wear outside of a bedroom. But then, it’s your money.”

  Exactly, Regina thought. And as long as Marilyn wasn’t spending any of her precious little money, she shouldn’t be worrying about how much it cost in the first place. Marilyn sure was being overly critical tonight. Maybe she was just having a bad day, but Regina wished she would cut it out. “You should be buying one yourself. You never know when Mr. Right might come along.”

  “Girl, please. It’s like I told you a couple of days ago, that’s never going to happen.”

  “Don’t be so negative. I mean, look at me, I found the perfect husband two years ago, but before I met Larry, I had the same attitude you’ve got right now. You just have to have a little faith is all.”

  “I’ve had faith all along, but as you can see, it hasn’t gotten me anywhere. You’re just one of the lucky ones. There aren’t a lot of Larrys out there.”

  Regina spotted a paisley robe with mixtures of red in it and pulled it off the rack. “Yeah, I am blessed to have a good husband, but I can’t believe he’s the only one. As a matter of fact, I know he’s not the only one, because John is definitely the ideal husband. Karen couldn’t have made a better choice if she had planned it.”

  “And I’ll bet that’s the only other man you can think of, too.”

  “You just have to be patient. If I’d rushed into marrying someone that wasn’t right for me, there’s no telling what I might be going through right now.” Regina glanced at her watch and saw that it was a few minutes past seven-thirty. “Girl, I didn’t know we’d been in here this long. I wanted to get this stuff home and put away before Larry made it back, but by now, I’m sure he’s already gotten there. There’s no way I can let him see any of this, because he knows I only buy outfits like this when I’m planning to go away somewhere.”

  “Just tell him you were out shopping. He doesn’t have to know what for, and all you have to do is throw the stuff in the trunk until tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s the only choice I have anyway. I’m going over to the checkout counter, so I can get everything rung up. But you can keep looking around if you want to.”

  “I’ll be over in the shoe department. Just come over there when you’re finished, and then we’ll leave.”

  Regina passed her selections over to the smiling, blond cashier and watched her scan each of the price tags. Her situation wasn’t as bad as she’d thought. Nothing was like being alone and trying unsuccessfully to find the right man to settle down with. She felt sorry for Marilyn. And one thing was for sure, she wasn’t about to go back to living her life like that. All she needed to do was put some fire back into her marriage. And this “skimpy little nightgown” was going to help her do just that.

  CHAPTER 7

  IT WAS ALREADY 8 A.M but Regina was still rushing around the bedroom trying frantically to finish packing. She couldn’t believe it had only been a week and a half ago that Larry had first told her about his business trip. Her plane was leaving at noon and she wanted to be at the airport at least ninety minutes earlier. Now, she wished she�
��d taken one of the later flights. But at the time, it just hadn’t seemed logical to spend two hundred dollars more when all she really had to do was get her lazy butt up a little earlier than usual. Not to mention the fact that she would’ve had to hear Larry throwing a pissy fit when he received the American Express statement at the end of next month.

  She unzipped the garment bag hanging on the bedroom door, walked into the closet, and took down the items she’d picked up from the cleaners two days ago: a sleeveless red linen dress, a medium blue after-five pantsuit, and an off-white London Fog trench, just in case it got cool.

  Next, she removed the shorts set she’d purchased last year from Lord & Taylor’s end-of-the-season sale. Usually, she took twice as many clothes as she needed, but she didn’t see a reason to do that this time. All she was going to need for this particular weekend were the three nighties lying over there on the edge of the bed.

  She picked up the black lacey one, folded it, and placed it neatly inside the left end of the suitcase. She did the same with the purple one. Then, she scooped up the red satin one. It was more beautiful now than it had been in the store. Hmmph. She didn’t care what Miss Marilyn had thought about the big price tag. Larry was going to flip when he saw her in this, and that was the only thing that counted.

  She tucked the last piece of underwear inside the suitcase and was starting toward the brass vanity set when the phone rang.

  “Hello?” Regina said.

  “Hi, baby.”

  Uh-oh. Why was Larry calling her at home when he knew she was supposed to be at work? Since Atlanta’s time zone was an hour ahead of Schaumburg’s, he should’ve already been in class by now. What was she going to do? Better than that, what was she going to say? She’d done everything in her power to keep her plans undercover, and there was no way she was going to blow it now. She had to think fast.

  “Hi. How’d you know I was home?”

  “I called your office, but when I got your voice mail message, I pressed zero and spoke with your secretary. What are you doing at home? It’s after eight o’clock there, isn’t it?”

  Regina paused so she could gather her thoughts and tiny white lies together. “No, I’m just running a little late. I’ll get there by nine, though. Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

  “Actually, I am, but I wanted to call you before I went in. I really wish you had come down here. We could have had a great time, and you don’t know how sorry I am for talking you out of it.”

  She was about to burst. She wanted to spill her guts and let him know that he hadn’t talked her out of it. That she had made plane reservations. That she had extended his hotel stay. That she would be there by this afternoon. But she just couldn’t do that.

  “I tried to tell you that it would’ve been a nice vacation for us, but you wouldn’t listen. As a matter of fact, you haven’t been listening to much of anything I have to say lately. But then you know what they say.”

  “No, what’s that?”

  “Absence makes the heart grow fonder. And maybe that’s what’s happening to you.”

  “All I know is that I miss you a lot, and I can’t wait until I get home tomorrow evening, so I can hold you, kiss you, and make love to you until I’m completely worn out.”

  Shoot, he was getting his chance to do that tonight. He just didn’t know it yet. “I miss you too, Larry. More than you’ll ever know. I know we’ve been arguing a lot, but I’m confident that things will get better between us. Maybe all we needed was some time apart.”

  “What? Did you say ’time apart’? I can’t believe I’m hearing that from the woman who wants to monitor my every move and gets highly upset when I don’t spend all of my free time with her,” Larry said and cracked up laughing.

  “I’m only like that because I love you so much, and I don’t want to be without you. But, I admit, maybe I have been being a little too tight with you, and I’m going to work on that from here on out.”

  “You don’t know how much of a relief it is to hear you say that. Well it’s after nine, so I better mosey on into the conference room before they send out a search party. I’ll give you a call tonight after dinner, though. Okay?”

  “Sounds good. I love you, Larry.”

  “I love you, too, baby. Bye.”

  Regina was grinning from ear to ear. Larry was missing her more than she’d thought. How could she have ever doubted a man like this? She was glad she’d followed her first instinct and was flying down to Georgia. This was going to be one of the best trips they’d ever had, and just thinking about it caused her heart to race.

  She started for the vanity set again, but this time the doorbell rang.

  Damn. Now what? The clock was already pushing eight-thirty, and she didn’t have time for any more of these interruptions. Who could it be, anyway? Both Karen and Marilyn were probably already at work by now, and it was way too early for any Jehovah’s Witnesses to be out canvassing the subdivision, knocking on every door.

  She made her way down to the main floor and over to the living room window. When she looked out, she saw Karen preparing to ring the doorbell again.

  “Girl, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at work, aren’t you?” Regina asked and stepped aside so Karen could walk in.

  “You know I am, but I wanted to stop by and see you before you left. John and I have been so tied up this week, and I feel bad about not being able to talk to you as much as I usually do. Especially since I know how lonely you get when Larry is on those business trips.”

  “Girl, don’t worry about that. I’m just glad you and John have worked out your differences, because that’s more important than anything. I knew he was just going through a phase.”

  “I know, but you’re the closest friend I have, and I want you to know I’m here for you whenever you need me. You know how upset you got with me when John and I first met. Remember when I wasn’t calling you or coming by as much?”

  “Please. That was five years ago, and all I was doing back then was being selfish, because I didn’t have anybody to settle down with myself.”

  “Still, I don’t want you to think I’m not here for you.”

  “Girl, I never think anything like that. You’ve been the one person in my life that I’ve always been able to depend on. If anything, I’m the one who should be feeling guilty. I won’t even be here for your birthday tomorrow.”

  “It’s not really a big deal. I’m only turning thirty.”

  “It’s a big deal to me, because now you’re over the hill like the rest of us, and those twenties are long gone forever,” Regina said.

  “Girl, shut up. Don’t you have some packing to finish?” Karen said, laughing.

  “As a matter of fact I do, and since you’re so broken up about not being here for me, you can come on up here and help me take care of it,” Regina said and started up the stairs.

  Karen dropped her purse down on the sofa and followed behind her. “I hope you’re not taking your entire wardrobe like you usually do when you go out of town. You’re only going to be gone four days.”

  “Actually, I toned it down a lot this time, because I’m hoping I won’t have to wear any clothing on this trip.”

  “Well, I guess I heard that. You must be planning to whip Kitty on him in a big way this weekend.”

  “Shoot, I haven’t had any since he left on Sunday, and right now, I’m fiending for d-i-c-k like a drug addict gone without crack.”

  “You are so sick,” Karen said, laughing. “Shoot, in our household, John is the sex maniac. That man thinks it’s normal procedure to have sex twice a day, seven days a week, and gets an attitude if I even act like I’m tired or don’t feel like it. I’ve told him over and over how statistics show that most married couples only have sex two to three times a week, but all he has to say to that is, ‘We’re not like most married couples.’ This morning, after the alarm went off, he sat up in bed and didn’t move for a whole minute. I knew what he was waiting for, so I pre
tended to be asleep. Of course, he kept calling my name and shaking my arm until finally, I had no choice but to open my eyes. ‘Karen. Karen. Karen. Can I have some lovin’ before I get in the shower?’”

  Regina placed the last toiletry into the overnight bag and said, “Well?”

  “Well, what?”

  “Did you give him some or didn’t you? Inquiring minds want to know.”

  Karen sat down on the bed and laughed. “If you must know, yes, I did go ahead and give him some. I didn’t feel like it, but since he’s finally given up this gambling thing, I figure the least I can do is try and satisfy his other obsession.”

  “You ought to be thankful that you have a man who desires you every day. Shit, if Larry wanted to make love as often as John does, I wouldn’t hardly be complaining. I’d be in hog heaven.”

  “I’ll just bet you would. Girl, you’ve been craving sex ever since I can remember. I don’t know how Larry puts up with your hot self. Twenty years from now, he’ll probably have a heart attack right on top of your ass, if not before.”

  “Please. He can take it, and if there ever comes a time when he can’t, he’d better be figuring out real quick what to do about it, because I’ll be wanting sex long after I’m some fifty years old.”

  “Girl, while you’re going on and on about your favorite pastime, you’d better be getting the last of your things into that garment bag. What time did you say you had to be at the airport?”

  “Twelve,” Regina said after glancing over at the clock radio on the nightstand. “I want to be out of here by nine-thirty, though.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea, since you know how congested O’Hare can be. If you need me to drop you off, I can. All I have to do is call my boss and let him know I need to take a half day of vacation. I’m going to have to take a couple hours of personal time for this morning, anyhow.”

  “No, but thanks for offering. Larry and I won’t be back in Chicago until around ten or so on Sunday night, and I don’t want to bother anyone to come pick us up. Plus, I think it only costs about twelve dollars a day to leave the car at the terminal.”