Behind Closed Doors (7 page)

“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 marry
ing 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.

I
T 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 pretended 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 prob
ably 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.”

“Only? I’m glad you’ve got forty-eight dollars to throw away, because I sure don’t. There is no way I would spend that kind of money if I knew someone was willing to drop me off and pick me up.”

“You’re starting to sound the same way Marilyn did last week when we were at the mall.”

“That’s a scary thought. What did she say to criticize you this time?”

“Well, it wasn’t so much that she was criticizing me, at least not directly, but she was pretty upset at the fact that I spent sixty dollars on this red nightgown,” Regina said, slipping it out of the suitcase and passing it over to Karen.

“This is beautiful, but, as much as I hate to agree with any of what Miss Thing has to say, I have to agree that sixty dollars was a bit steep for any piece of lingerie I can think of. Especially since you probably won’t have it on longer than five minutes.”

“Maybe so, but I don’t care if I only get to wear it for two minutes, just so long as it turns Larry on. When he called earlier, all he talked about was how he wished I had flown down to Atlanta, and how he couldn’t wait to get home and make love to me. And this outfit right here is going to make him want to even more.”

“You don’t have to convince me. It’s your pocketbook, and you know we never see eye to eye when it comes to money, anyway, so there’s no sense in us going round and round about something that we’re never going to agree on.”

“You’re sounding like Marilyn again. You guys are just too conservative. Shit, you only live once, and as far as I’m concerned, there’s no guarantee that tomorrow will even come.”

Karen didn’t say anything, because it was that very attitude that caused Regina and Larry to live from week to
week and the reason Regina was always having to worry about which bill she was going to be able to put off until next month. Which never made any sense, because if she didn’t have enough money to pay it this month, how was she going to pay twice as much the next? Regina was Karen’s best friend, but how anybody with a household income over one hundred thousand dollars could position themselves into a financial situation like that was far beyond Karen.

Regina tucked the expensive nightgown back into the suitcase. “Well, I guess that’s about it. All I have to do now is slip on my jeans, put on my face, and brush through my hair.”

“I’ll zip up all your luggage and take it down to the living room while you’re doing that,” Karen said and stood up. “Is there anything else you want me to do?”

“No, I think that’s it.” Regina sashayed into the bathroom off the master bedroom.

Karen zipped both the garment and overnight bags and then the medium-sized suitcase. She carried them down to the living room all at once and then returned up to the bedroom. She leaned her shoulder inside the bathroom doorway and watched Regina smooth on her foundation. “I can’t believe Larry didn’t find out about you coming down there or at least get a little suspicious at some point.”

Regina went across her right eyelash with brownish-black mascara. “I really think he believed I was sold on that New Orleans trip in July. Although, I was so afraid
that he had busted me this morning when he called and realized I wasn’t at work, but I played it off as best I could. It didn’t sound like he suspected anything out of the ordinary.”

“How did he know you were at home in the first place?”

“He called my office, and when Shelly told him I wasn’t in yet, he called here. I didn’t think he would call me at work, since he’d been calling every night, and it was a good thing I’d warned her of what to say just in case.”

Karen folded her arms, leaned her head against the doorway, and yawned. “I’m so tired, and I’m starting to feel sleepy.”

“If my husband had jumped my bones last night and then again first thing this morning, I would be tired and sleepy too.”