One Night With You

by Gwynne Forster

  He took a long sip. “Ah. This is great. When it gets warmer, I want us to spend a long weekend in Maryland at Dickerson Estates. I haven’t been back since I left, and I miss my friends there. We can swim or ride. It’s a wonderful environment.”

  After turning onto Route 34, he drove half a mile and pulled into a roadside farmer’s market, bought a bunch of yellow lilies and got back into the car.

  “These are for Amanda. Marcus is a figure of a man, at least an inch taller than I am, and she isn’t big as a minute. When we were in college, he went for those lean, willowy model types. Funny, I went for the little ones. Both of us learned that it’s the inside that matters, and we both learned the hard way. Not that your outsides aren’t mind-blowing and don’t attract me. Lord knows I can get high just looking at you, but it’s what I found in you that binds me to you. It’s a whole lot of things put together.”

  “Will it be warm at Dickerson Estates around the first of May?”

  “It’s getting warm there now. I’ve swum in the Chesapeake numerous times late in April.”

  “Then we’ll go. I love to swim. How far are we now from Caution Point?”

  “Three or four minutes.”

  He parked in front of the white brick house at the end of Ocean Avenue and got out to open the door for Kendra, but when he reached her side of the car, she stood beside the door as if in awe.

  “What is it?” he asked her.

  “It’s so beautiful. The willow saplings swaying so quietly and so sensuously among the blossoming dogwood trees. Pink ones, white ones. It’s so lovely. And the breeze. So soft and fragrant. I’d be so happy here.”

  He felt a rush of blood, a swift tightening of his groin, and ordered his libido under control, for what she stirred most deeply in him at that moment was love. For a moment, he remained transfixed by the powerful elixir of her feminine sweetness. And standing beside the car with the sun warming their bodies and her words caressing his heart, he put his arms around her and kissed her lips.

  Her smile told him that she understood all that he didn’t say. “I love you, too,” she said. “Let’s go inside.”

  As he walked up the stone walkway holding hands, Amy came around the side of the house.

  “Hello, Amy,” they said in unison.

  “Hi, Mr. Reid and Miss Kendra. My mommy is in the shower, and my daddy is changing my baby brother’s pants. He spilled milk all over the place and on his pants. Come with me. The front door is too heavy for me to open.” She walked up to them, shook their hands and started around to the side of the house. “We’re going to have a nice barbecue brunch. You can smell what my daddy’s roasting. And it’s always good.”

  Kendra hadn’t expected such an adult nine-year-old. “I’m happy to meet you, Amy,” she said.

  Amy had been walking ahead of them. She stopped, and with a mercurial smile said, “Thank you, Judge Kendra.” She opened the screen door. “We’re going in here.”

  They entered an airy room that seemed to be a family room. “My daddy will be down in a minute,” she said. “I’m going upstairs and let him know you’re here.”

  At that moment, a four-year-old boy charged into the room. “Be nice, Marc,” Amy said, “and keep the guests company while I get Daddy.”

  Marc walked up to Reid and rested his hands on Reid’s knees. “I could show you my airplanes, Mr. Reid, but I’m not supposed to bring them in here.” He looked at Kendra. “My daddy said you were bringing your sweetheart. Is she your sweetheart?”

  Reid pulled the child between his knees and patted his shoulder. “Yes, she’s my sweetheart, and you may call her Miss Kendra.”

  The boy gazed at Kendra. “Nobody said you were so pretty. Do you have any little boys and girls?”

  “Thank you, Marc, for the compliment. No, I don’t have any children yet, but I’d be happy if I had a little boy like you.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, wearing a sad expression, “but I belong to my mommy and my daddy. Maybe they will find a little boy for you.”

  “Don’t worry, son,” Marcus said, laughing, as he walked into the room. “They know how it’s done.” He opened his arms to Reid in a brotherly embrace and then gazed down at Kendra. “You can’t imagine how happy I am to meet you. I’m so glad you came.” He looked at Reid and winked. “She’s lovely. Excuse me for not being down here to greet you, but seconds before you got here, Todd decided to try his strength and knocked a half-gallon bottle of milk all over himself and everything around him. And would you believe the little rascal clapped his hands and laughed?”

  And so began one of the most enjoyable afternoons Reid remembered having spent. As he’d expected, Amanda and Kendra found that they had much in common, but what he hadn’t anticipated was the joy that Kendra seemed to experience with the children, all three of whom seemed attracted to her.

  Two-year-old Todd seemed fascinated with her, and when she opened her arms he crawled into her lap and made himself comfortable. Reid wanted badly to hear what she was saying to the child, but she was sitting too far from him. When it seemed that the boy had gone to sleep, he suspected that she had been singing to him.

  “I hope you love barbecued everything,” Marcus said to Kendra. “I already know that this brother will eat anything that isn’t nailed down. Well, almost anything. Look, I have a boat at the pier down at the end of Bay Street. I haven’t been on her since last October, but if you come down at the end of May, she’ll be ready to sail. It’s good fun. I’ll take my brother and his family along, and we’ll have a great time.”

  “I’ll look forward to it,” Reid said to Marcus. Amanda lifted a pile of dishes and started toward the house. “Let me help you with that, Amanda,” Reid said to her when he noticed that Marcus was rescuing Marc from a fence. He took the dishes inside, cleaned them and put them into the dishwater.

  “You’re handy in the kitchen, Reid,” she said. “I consider that a good sign.”

  “Thanks. I figure that as long as I eat, I should know my way around the kitchen. So I learned to cook and to clean up after myself. I got that from my father.”

  “Kendra is a lovely woman, a down-to-earth loving and tender person, and you are blessed to have her in your life.”

  “I know, and I’m going to do all I can to take care of our relationship. She…she’s precious to me.”

  “I can see that, and you’re precious to her.”

  “I’m going back out there and see if I can pry her away from Todd. The kid has taken my woman.”

  “Which is interesting,” Amanda said. “Todd always refused to go near strangers. But she radiates love. Take good care of it.”

  “I intend to.”

  “I hope you’ll visit us again soon, Kendra,” Marcus said when they stood to leave. “We’ve enjoyed having you and Reid with us.”

  “Yes,” Amanda said. “I want us to be good friends, Kendra.” To Reid, she said, “Remember to take care of what’s precious.”

  “Bet on it. Thank you both for a wonderful afternoon.”

  He let a minute pass after driving off before he said to Kendra, “Do you want children? When I saw Todd curled up in your lap wrinkling this beautiful suit while you coddled him as if he were the most precious thing you possessed, I got a lump in my throat. I hadn’t thought about you and children. I guess I thought that didn’t seem compatible with being a judge.”

  “You didn’t think about it at all, I suspect,” she said. “Yes, I love children, and I want some.”

  He glanced at her with his peripheral vision. “Hadn’t you better get busy?”

  She didn’t look toward him, but kept her gaze straight ahead. “With whom do you suggest?”

  “Hey, I didn’t mean to pull your chain, baby. If you want to get started, I’ll be the last to complain.”

  “Back up, Reid. I don’t think you meant for that comment to head us in this direction. I’ve always thought it best to raise children in a marriage, and since I’m not married, I don’t hav
e children. By the way, you don’t have any. Don’t you want a family?”

  “Yeah. I want a family. Myrna didn’t want children, but she didn’t let me know that until after we married. As I got to know her, I realized that it was a good thing she didn’t want them. Children need dependability in their lives, and they need it from both parents.”

  They talked about their lives growing up, their parents, her sister and the brother with whom he’d lost contact. “What does he do?” she asked him.

  “He’s a state assemblyman, and it didn’t suit him to have a brother accused of designing a shoddy building that collapsed and ruined the lives of possible future constituents, such as when he runs for president.” He heard the bitterness in his voice and couldn’t stop himself. “He’s another reason why I want vindication. Nobody deserves the pain he gave me. He was my only living relative, and he wasn’t there for me. I’m over it now.”

  “It doesn’t hurt anymore?”

  He shrugged. “I suppose it will always hurt, Kendra, but I feel as if I can love him again, and that’s a load off me.”

  “What about…Myrna? Do you feel as if you can love her again?”

  “That’s not remotely possible. I need to love my brother. He’s my brother, my own blood and our parents would be sad at the way things are between us now. Myrna made God and me a promise that didn’t mean one thing to her. She’s no longer a part of my life, and she doesn’t have the power to make me happy or sad. My rare thoughts of her elicit nothing but anger at my own stupidity. Does that answer your question?”

  “Yes. Sorry I brought it up.”

  “Here we are.” He parked in front of her house. “I’m not sure whether I should go in with you.”

  He sat there for a minute. “Come on, I want to check things out for you.” He did and walked back to the foyer where she waited for him. “I’ll see you Thursday night at rehearsal.” He opened his arms because he couldn’t stand to leave her without holding her and loving her.

  “None of the heavy stuff, love,” he said. “Just let me feel that you love me.”

  To his amazement, she eased her arms around his shoulders, stood on tiptoe and kissed his eyes, cheeks, lips, neck and then, with her hands cupping his face, she parted her lips over his, took him in, sucked the tip of his tongue and released him.

  He stared down at her, his heart racing like a spooked Thoroughbred. “You make me feel as if I could harness the moon and hand it to you. How did I ever live without you?”

  She stroked the side of his face in a loving gesture and contented herself with saying nothing, as if her silence would preserve his words for all time. Suddenly, she rested her head against his shoulder.

  “I’ll be glad when we don’t have to hide the fact that we see each other.”

  He hugged her to him. “I want that more than anything. Sleep well.” He left, because he couldn’t risk staying longer. After their first time, he wanted to wake up with her in his arms, and he didn’t want to expose her to gossip by creeping out of her house at daybreak. And he didn’t want to sign in at a hotel or a motel under a false name in order to protect her. Not that he hadn’t thought of it, but what if there was a fire or another catastrophe? He couldn’t take the chance.

  The next day, he called Philip Dickerson. “Is the bay getting warm enough for a swim?” he asked his friend after their greeting.

  “I doubt it. I haven’t been down there yet, but it should be pleasant in another three weeks. Why don’t you come down for a few days? We’re anxious to hear how things are going with you.”

  “Couldn’t be better, at least for now.” He brought Philip up to date on developments in his work. “I’m hard at it fourteen hours a day, but I’m glad for it. Getting used to reporting to a boss and getting his approval of what I’ve done is tough, but I guess it’s not the worst that can happen. Jack Marks is a brilliant architect, and he has confidence in me.”

  “I knew that all you needed was a chance. But remember that man doesn’t live by bread alone, friend. Have you found anyone who takes your mind off your problems?”

  “Yeah. Off my problems and my work, too.”

  Philip’s laugh reached him through the wire. “She must rival the Venus de Milo. Don’t you dare come down here without her.”

  The following Thursday night at rehearsal, he breezed through his scene with his stage daughter, pampering her as usual. “Now run upstairs to your room and study like a good girl,” he said to her in his role as Don.

  “Tonya, didn’t I tell you not to wear that T-shirt again? It’s three sizes too small,” Kendra said in her role as Lissa.

  “Daddy said he didn’t see anything wrong with it.”

  “Oh, he did, did he? Take it off this second.”

  Don put his newspaper aside and looked at Lissa. “I don’t like your contravening me when I tell Tonya she can do something or she can have something. Lately, you go against me every time. She’s young, and this is the only time she’ll ever have to find herself, to know who she really is.”

  “Oh, please,” Lissa said. “She’ll have the rest of her life to confirm that she’s a slut. Whoever heard of a father giving his sixteen-year-old daughter permission to walk around with her nipples showing and half of her breasts hanging out? Tonya, get up those stairs and take off that shirt. This second!”

  “Look, baby. Do you want our daughter to be an old maid? She’s got it, and she should take advantage of it. That’s what you did.”

  “I did not.”

  “You did so, and I sucked your nipple into my mouth on our second date.”

  “That’s not true.”

  He grabbed her arm. “It is, and it’s all I’ve ever had to do to get inside you. Tell me I’m lying.”

  “She can hear everything you’re saying.”

  “She can’t. I heard her close her room door.” His hand brushed across her left breast, and he gazed down into her face. “Do you want me to prove it?” She swallowed hard and tried to back away from him. “I’ll be inside you in a minute.” His hand reached for the V-neckline of her blouse.

  An expression of terror settled over her face. “Reid, for goodness’ sake!”

  He backed away from her, alarmed at what he’d almost done.

  “Hey, what happened there?” Mike asked them.

  Reid dropped his body into the nearest chair and shook his head. “I got carried away. I’m sorry, Kendra, I’ll try to keep it between the lines.”

  “You do that,” Mike said. “We have to remember that Kendra is a judge.”

  Reid glared at Mike. “I remember that as well as you do, and I have as much concern for her reputation as you do.”

  “I didn’t mean to jerk your chain, man,” Mike said, “but neither you nor I want Kendra to back out of this role. The two of you fit like Tracey and Hepburn.” He looked at his watch. “It’s nine-thirty. Let’s wrap it for tonight.”

  Later, as she drove home, he said, “I wonder why we get these roles confused.”

  She laughed to let him relax, for she supposed he had worried that she might resent his familiarity with her when he had caressed her breasts in front of Mike and the other players. “You really could cause a problem for yourself when you start playing with my breast. So you’d better tell your hands to control themselves when we’re on that stage.”

  “Hmmm. Does that mean they can play fast and loose when we’re not onstage?”

  “That question does not deserve an answer. When did Mike say we’ll perform for an audience?”

  “A couple of weeks from now, and it can’t come too soon. I’m tired of tying up my Thursday nights. I love the acting, but…well, you know what I mean.”

  “I do, but if we didn’t have this, would we be able to see each other without raising suspicion?”

  “No, and I’m grateful for it. When it gets a little warmer, we can sit out in my garden.”

  “But won’t your neighbors on higher floors be able to look down and see us? We can
sit out in my back garden on my deck and no one can see us.”

  “Damn, Kendra. I’m sick of this secrecy.” He got out of the car and, without glancing back, sprinted across the street. Stunned by his odd behavior, she locked her car, went inside her house and locked the door. She didn’t need Reid or any other man to check her house.

  “I hear you’re a terrific actress, ma’am,” Carl Running Moon Howard said to her when she got to work the next morning. “The first show’s two weeks off, and it looks like the whole town is geared up to see you. The mayor’s niece is playing your daughter.”

  “His niece? I had no idea.”

  “You should have suspected she was somebody’s something, ma’am, because she can’t act. She once played my little sister, and you should’ve seen her. I hear the man playing with you is real good, too.”

  She wanted to ask if he was fishing for something, but thought better of it. “Yes,” she said instead. “He doesn’t seem like an amateur,” and continued with, “Carl, this coffee is delicious, but I see no reason why we shouldn’t make it ourselves. I’m going to buy a coffeemaker.”

  “Yes, indeed, ma’am, and don’t forget the microwave and the mini refrigerator.”

  “I won’t,” she said, glad to have deflected his thoughts from her and Reid.

  She wasn’t getting the results she had hoped for from her acting. One could say that she was doing it for herself rather than for the community, even if she was volunteering.

  After hearing two cases that morning that bored her to the extent that she could barely keep her eyes open, one dealing with shoplifting and the other with a man’s ruses to avoid paying child support, she decided that if she didn’t branch out, she could lose her sanity. At the end of the court’s second, third and fourth sessions that day, she announced that she would give free civics classes to high school students at the local school.

  “The classes will deal with women’s rights and laws affecting them,” she said, “and the high-school senior who scores highest on the exam at the end of the class will receive a one-thousand-dollar college scholarship.”