“That makes sense,” Bob said. He was watching her closely. He didn’t want to ruin what they had. He also didn’t want to compound the problems in her life by doing something stupid that she didn’t want and would hate him for. The one thing he had learned was that couples who loved each other had to be partners. They had to be equal in some area of their life, they needed strong hearts to make a marriage work, and they had to want it. Martha was cold as ice, and he was warm. Merriwether was a hard worker and Jeff was lazy. People didn’t have to have the same amount of money or brainpower, but their hearts had to be equally matched, and their willingness to love each other, and desire to be together. It was all about their hearts and their commitment to each other. As they sat there together on the steps of the pool, Merriwether leaned her head on his shoulder. It was a small gesture, and a big statement, and what he needed to know from her. He put an arm around her.
“I’m older than you are,” he said softly. He was fifty-three and she was thirty-seven. They were sixteen years apart. “Does that bother you?” he asked her.
“I’m shorter than you are,” she answered him, “do you care?” He laughed. She always found a way to lighten the moment, to laugh or make him feel good.
“You’re very special to me, Merriwether.” He didn’t know what else to say, and it was true. She was more than that to him, much more, but he didn’t want to scare her.
“You are to me too,” she said in a whisper, matching him point by point, and then he kissed her, which made it all easier. They kissed on the steps for a long time, hungry for each other, gently discovering each other’s bodies. He slowly peeled off her plain black bathing suit, and revealed the marvels of her body, and she slipped off his trunks, and they glided through the water together, naked, with the water warm and the air cooler above them. It was exhilarating and felt like a dance between them. She stood with her back against the side of the pool, with Bob pressed against her, and he kissed her breasts and her neck.
“I’ve wanted you since the first day I met you. You were so happy with Jeff then. I would never have wanted to interfere, or upset you and confuse you. I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t just want you physically, I wanted to be part of you, to share hearts and souls, and this,” he said as he kissed her and throbbed against her under the water. She guided him into her, and they hung there for a moment, tantalizing each other, and then she kissed him and whispered.
“Let’s go to bed.” It was their time now. Martha was over, and so was Jeff. Their stories had taken years to play out, and now Merriwether and Bob were ready for each other. She was happy it hadn’t happened sooner. It would have been wrong then, and shoddy, for both of them. They didn’t have to hide now. Merriwether knew without a doubt that the heart and soul of her marriage to Jeff was dead. And Bob knew it about his own. They were free now. They ran into the bungalow in their bathrobes and went to Bob’s room because it was closer. He dried her gently with the robe, and she pressed against him, and then they slipped onto the bed, and made love with the hunger of all the years they’d known each other, the relationship they had built, the things they had learned about each other. They had brought it all with them, and now it was theirs.
Merriwether had never given herself so freely to any man. She didn’t know it, but she had been waiting for Bob, building a nest for him, opening her heart and her mind to him, and he poured all the years of love he had saved for her into her that night. They couldn’t imagine a life apart from each other now. They had waited so long for this, and they fit together now like two puzzle pieces that had been carefully carved by loving hands over time and were made for each other.
They made love until first light, starving for each other, and then slept for two hours until they had to get up for their meeting. He showered and she went to bathe and dress and they met in the living room. He had ordered breakfast for them, and he beamed when he saw her. It felt like a honeymoon, even though they had business to do, but it was business they shared. They complemented each other. It felt as though their future had been sealed the night before, their vows had been made. It had taken years to get here, but they had arrived.
He spoke to her softly over breakfast. He didn’t want her to worry about it. “I’m going to straighten things out when we go back.” He didn’t want any sneaking around or stolen moments or lies. He didn’t want to taint what they had or disrespect her.
“So will I,” she promised, “if I can even find him.”
“He’ll show up. Don’t make him angry. I don’t want you at risk,” he said. He knew that Jeff was jealous of him and had accused her of sleeping with him, which wasn’t true then but was now, which made things different. “There’s no life left in my marriage to Martha. She doesn’t care. She’s wanted out for a while, and I thought we should stay for the boys. She didn’t think it was necessary. I may be a poorer man when you get me. We were young when we got married and we didn’t have a prenup, so she’ll want half of the business, but it may be something of a wash with hers, we’re pretty equal on that score. I’ll give her the house in Greenwich. She loves it, I don’t. I’ll get a place in the city so I can be close to you.” He had already been thinking of all the details he had to address now.
“I’ll have to see what Jeff wants. Probably a lot. I will be poorer too,” she said, and they both smiled.
“What we have right now, this minute, are all the riches we need.” She could see that he meant it and she leaned over and kissed him. She was wearing a chic beige dress and jacket, and he was wearing a charcoal gray suit. They looked like a very elegant pair when they left the hotel for their meeting. He stopped her before they left the room and kissed her. She didn’t have a doubt in her mind about how much they loved each other or how right this was for both of them. She would have married him on the spot the night before, and in all the ways that mattered, they already were.
“Let’s go make a deal,” he said, excited about the meeting they were going to.
“We already did, last night,” she said, smiling.
“That too,” he said, and kissed her as they walked hand in hand out of the hotel to the car and driver waiting for them in the driveway.
The trip to L.A. accomplished what they wanted it to. They found the right investor and came to an agreement. Quentin Park was thrilled, and so were they. They spent their nights at the hotel, and the days doing business, and they stayed an extra day to savor what they had established between them while they were there. They both had challenges to face when they went back, and were ready to face them. They promised to come back here to celebrate where their love had been consummated.
Bob spoke to Martha the night he got back. The conversation was as bloodless as all their dealings with each other. She said their lawyers and accountants could sort out the details. He told her he was moving out, and she could have the house. She looked relieved. She loved it, and he hated the commute anyway, plus the boys would be happy to have their childhood house to come home to, and Bob wanted them to have that.
She asked if there was someone else and he said there was. She looked wistful for a minute, remembering what they had lost so long ago. He told her it was Merriwether, and she said it was the right choice for him. They both had tears in their eyes when he left the next morning. He was going to come back for his things when he found an apartment. He wanted to find one near Merriwether. Even if he stayed with her, he thought he should have his own place. It was too soon to move in, whenever Jeff moved out. He wanted the dust to settle before he moved into her home.