life, forever.”
She smarted off, “Why, Marcus, that is the most romantic thing that you have ever said to me.”
“I haven’t been much of a husband, have I?” he asked.
“I guess that makes us even; I haven’t been much of a wife,” Lynda said softly. She was thinking about Max.
Marcus said, “So there is hope for us?”
She shrugged. “I guess so. See you Saturday.” She hung up the phone, wondering why she had called him. She went and changed the sheets on the bed.
She went into Ted’s bedroom and patted his bottom, and said, “Oh, Ted, I miss you.”
Saturday at noon, Tasha went berserk: she saw Marcus first. She ran out to his car and jumped on him. Ted waddled out and was soon in Marcus’s arms. Lynda watched through the window and made a face. Marcus carried the youngsters into the house with a big smile on his face. His smile melted when he saw Lynda standing there with her hands on her hips. She wasn’t happy-looking.
Lynda said, “It is good to see you, Marcus. How have you been?” She was so formal that it confused him.
Marcus lost the rest of his smile. “Hi, Lynda, you are looking good. I am doing fine. I have been looking forward to seeing you!”
“It has been a long time. The kids have missed you.” She did not include herself on purpose.
Marcus understood completely what she meant. He had to do something to change the direction of this conversation. He said, “I need to take my kids and go play with them. See you in a bit.” He dragged the kids to Tasha’s room.
Lynda sat down on the sofa. She had a big secret to hide. As she expected, she hated herself. She got up and checked on Wanda. Wanda was cooking dinner. She complimented Wanda on the good smell of the food. Wanda said, “It is so good to see Marcus. You must really be happy.”
Lynda smiled at the woman. “Yeah, I am as happy as I can be.” Which wasn’t too happy.
Dinner was soon ready, and she yelled at the three playmates, “Come and get it.”
The three playmates came into the kitchen. Marcus sat them in their chairs. Lynda sat down across from Marcus. He smiled at her every chance that he got. Finally, at the end of the meal, he wasn’t smiling anymore. He wondered if there was any hope at all.
After dinner, Lynda and Marcus both helped Tasha with her homework. It didn’t take long. Then the kids went to bed and a long silence erupted between them.
Marcus was the first to speak. “Lynda, what happened? What did I do wrong?”
Lynda just sat there with a scowl on her face. She said, “Marcus, I am not sure; I am just not happy.”
Marcus said, “Oh, wait. Here, I got you something.” He went out to the car and brought in flowers and a box of candy. He said, “Here, my love.” He handed her the two gifts.
Lynda smiled as she took the flowers. They were beautiful, and she opened the box of candy and gave Marcus the first piece. He wolfed it down and was ready for more. She ate a piece and then gave him the box. He began filling his mouth. She smiled bigger. He was just a big kid.
He chewed the candy, then said, “Do you know why you aren’t happy?”
She said, “I want my husband here with me. I need him!”
Marcus had been waiting for this. He replied, “I have a temporary solution. I have taken a family leave of absence, and I plan to spend a month with you, and see how it goes.”
Lynda was caught a little off-guard, but she was not about to back down. “So, you think that will fix everything?”
Marcus felt his blood pressure rise. She was baiting him into a fight. He said, “It is supposed to be a start. If that is not acceptable to you, speak up.” He had countered her implied threat, wisely.
The conversation was not going the way that Lynda wanted. She wanted to fight. She smiled, “I am willing to try anything too, just don’t expect much.”
Marcus’s patience was running thin. He said, “Lynda, do you want me to leave?”
She baited him more. “No. The kids need you.”
He quickly replied, “What about you? Do you need me?”
“Of course I need you, but not a thousand miles away from me.”
He slowly said, “So it is my job that rankles you?”
She was silent. She had nothing to say to that.
Softly he said, “Lynda, you have to talk to me; I am not a mind–reader. What happened?”
She said, “We got married too quickly. I wasn’t ready. You pushed me too hard.”
He thought for a moment. “What do you need?”
She said, “I either need you here, or you gone. It is your choice.”
He said, “I am here, and you still aren’t happy. Why not?”
He was getting too close to the truth. She had to keep Max out of this. “Okay, Marcus, I am okay with you being here. Just don’t push me, okay?”
He asked, “Does this mean I sleep on the sofa or in bed with you?”
“You can sleep with me, just …” And she let it fall off.
He said, “You mean no sex?”
She grimaced. “I didn’t say that, but …” And she let it fall off again.
He laughed, “I won’t be rough with you!”
“You have never been rough with me.”
He decided to leave well enough alone and went in to take a shower. When he got out, she was standing at the door, watching him. He was slow and diligent in his drying himself off.
Lynda began to undress. It was her turn to shower. Marcus kept his hands to himself. He was aware of what she was doing, and he was enjoying it.
They went to bed together, and it seemed like there were no problems between them.
The next morning Lynda got up and silently dressed. She went to work, leaving Marcus asleep.
Tasha woke Marcus up and he put her on the bus. He played with Ted and waited all day for Lynda to get home. He knew that he could not be a stay-at-home dad. He had the desire to feel needed. He wasn’t sure what to do now.
Lynda came home a different person. She was all over Marcus. He enjoyed her attention so much that he re-evaluated his thoughts. The evening went well for each of them.
The next day, Lynda went to work as usual. Tom stopped her. “There is a meeting in DC on Friday. I cannot attend. Could you go in my place?”
Lynda said, “Sure, Tom, if I am Acting Director maybe I can hire some people who will actually work.”
Tom grinned. He knew Lynda was teasing.
She called Marcus, and asked him, “Want to go?”
He said, “No, it will be a quick trip. I think I will stay here and play with the kids.
She called Max. “Want to meet me there on Thursday?”
He said, “I think so. Let me look at my schedule. Yes, I can be there at noon.”
Lynda left Thursday morning. She was at DC by noon, checked in her hotel, and shortly Max called and got her room number. He was quickly in her room.
When they were both able to talk, Lynda said, “My husband wants to work things out. It really screws us up. The kids love him so much. I don’t know what to do.”
Max said, “Lynda, if you don’t know what to do, then you probably should do nothing, and stay with him. We will just see each other when we can.”
That night, she called home. Tasha answered. Lynda asked “Is my big girl missing me?”
Tasha said, “No, Mommy, you can stay another day; we are having fun. Marcus is making us popcorn.”
Lynda said, “That’s nice. Well, I will be home tomorrow night. Take care of Ted.”
Marcus got on the phone. “We all miss you, hurry home!”
She said, “Will do,” and watched as Max kissed each of her painted toes.
The next morning she went to the main CIA office and found the correct conference room. She was surprised that there were so many directors. It was the most boring meeting that she had ever been to. She had to fight off a host of men who “hit” on he
r. She kept showing them her wedding ring. But it did not matter to most of the men.
The keynote speaker had been the secretary of defense. He invited Lynda to have a drink and dinner with him. She would miss her flight, but would get to spend another night with Max.
As soon as she could graciously get away she was back to her room and Max. Before it got too late, she called Marcus and told him of the delay and that she would be home Saturday morning. Marcus had no problem with that. He was having a good time with the kids.
Max took Lynda down to the Washington Square. They came to a horse-drawn carriage. He paid the man for two rides, and he took them to the Capitol and the White House. He paid extra and they rode for two hours. It was very romantic.
They got back to the hotel about eleven and went to a cafe and had a very late breakfast. Then they went back to the room and the phone was blinking. Lynda called for her message. It was Marcus. Ted had choked on the popcorn and Marcus had taken him to the emergency room. But Ted was doing fine now.
Lynda called home and Marcus answered. He seemed to be agitated. She wasn’t surprised. He said, “Both kids are in bed asleep. Ted gave us quite a scare. He turned blue.” He said, “I was all set to do a trachea on him, but he took a breath, so I rushed him to the hospital. They got his throat cleaned out.”
A cold chill went down Lynda’s spine, if she lost Ted, she didn’t know what she would do. She would just die.
They talked to each other a few more minutes, then Marcus said, “I love you, baby.”
She said, “I love you too,” as Max drew circles on her chest!
When Lynda hung up, she started giggling. She said, “You sure know how to mess with me. I get even though.” She stood up and
CIA - The Slave Traders Page 42