Love of a Lifetime (3 page)

Sitting on an overturned bucket, Bill watched as his friend, Nathan
Mallory,
tinkered inside the engine compartment of a 1969 GTO.  The man was a brilliant mechanic and collector of older model cars.  If there was a problem and he couldn’t fix it then the car was just plain junk.

He had been restoring this particular beauty in his garage for over a year.  The man had an affinity for muscle cars.  The last car he restored was a 64’ Ford Thunderbird for some man in California who found the relic in his deceased grandfather’s estate.  He made a pretty penny off of it too.

“How much longer is this going to take you?”  He waved his beer at the GTO.

“Just fine tuning it now.
  I’m trying to decide if I’m going to keep or sell.”

“You never keep them.  It’s why you can afford all these toys in the first place.”

Nate chuckled.  “I had a tip on a Super Bee over in Colorado.  I’m waiting for my sources to confirm it.  If it’s there, I plan on using the profit from this one to buy and restore it.  From what I’ve heard it needs a major overhaul.”

“Sources.”
  Bill snorted.  “You make it sound so shady.”

“It can be when dealing with older model cars.  Most you come across have been tampered with so much that the only original portion of them is the frame.  They’re no good by then.  People want the real deal, not some piece of metal that resembles the real thing.”

Finishing his beer, he tossed the bottle in the metal bin in the corner of the garage.  He grabbed two more, handing one to Nate, and retook his seat on the bucket.  “How are things with you and Candy?”

“Haven’t seen her in close to six months.”
  He tossed his wrench in the tool box and cracked open his beer.   Taking a long pull off of it he added, “She decided she needed someone with more esteem than a mechanic.”

“She does know that being a mechanic has made you filthy rich doesn’t she?”  Bill asked incredulously.

“I’m
not filthy
rich, nor has being a mechanic made me any money.  I make a comfortable living in the restoration business.”

“Whatever you say, man.
 
Whatever you say.”
  He chuckled.

They headed out to the patio on the back of the house, dragging the cooler behind them.  Daisy, Nate’s Irish
Setter
, was prancing around in the back yard.  Once she saw Nate sit down on one of the chairs, she booked it over to steal a few pets.

Satisfied with the attention she received, she plopped down in front of Nate and laid her head across his feet.   Huffing out a breath, she closed her eyes and settled in for a nap.  Damn dog is ridiculously spoiled.

They sat there in relative silence, making only the occasional comment on things going on in their lives.  As they sat there, they watched the sky darken as the sun set to the west.  The peace and quiet was like a soothing balm to Bill’s tattered soul.

“You ever going to get around to telling me why you are here or am I going to have to guess?”  Nate asked casually.

“What makes you think I have a reason?  Can’t I come see an old friend just for the hell of it?”

“Sure you can.”  He nodded.  “But you don’t.”

Bill sighed.  “Damn, I really am an ass aren’t I?”

“Yep, but I don’t take offense.  I know how busy you are with your wife and your practice.  You come around when you are able, which isn’t often, but you call to bullshit often enough.”

“Evidently I haven’t been busy enough with my wife.”  Bill muttered.  When Nate raised his eyebrow in question, he explained, “Carla left me almost two weeks ago.”

“No kidding?  Damn, she was a good one.  What did you do piss her off?”

Angry, Bill snapped.  “Why does it automatically have to be my fault?”

Snickering at his display of temper, Nate replied.  “Because that woman thought the sun rose and set in your ass.  No way would she just up and leave you for no reason.  Is this a permanent thing or can you two work this out?”

“She said I needed to think about I was willing to give her before she decided whether or not she will come back.”

“Meaning…?”  Nate asked.

“Hell if I know!  She told me
this
five days ago and I still can’t figure it out!  What does she want from me?”

“What were her complaints?”  He asked, honestly wanting to help his friend.

“She said she was tired of living half a life.  She believes that she is the least important of my priorities!  What kind of shit is that?  Everyone knows how much that silly woman means to me!”

Nate looked at him as though he was the biggest moron on earth. 

“What?”  Bill asked defensively.

“Well, it sounds pretty simple to me.”  He answered slowly. 

“Oh yeah?
  Enlighten me O’ Great One!”

Quirking an eyebrow, he did.  “If she feels unimportant to you, then you need to pamper her, shower her with attention.  Show her that you are willing to sacrifice whatever you have to in order to keep her at your side.”

Bill cocked his head to the side.  “You mean, like, buy her stuff?”

He shook his head.  “You can’t but love, my friend.  Cook her a candlelight dinner.  Make love to her under the stars.  Hell, sign yourselves up for a counseling session.”

Counseling session
, he thought with a snort.  No way in hell was he going to have some therapist
psychoanalyze
his ability to be a husband.  He couldn’t cook worth a shit so a
candlelight dinner was out unless he ordered take out. 
Making love under the stars?
  Oh yeah, he could do that.

Recalling his conversation with Carla the week before, he tried to remember the last time they made love but couldn’t.  Had it really been that long?  It was hard to believe, but the truth of it slapped him in the face.

He would never have believed he would become one of those men whose careers overruled their need for female companionship.  Obviously he has though, he frowned.  Now the question was
,
what was he going to do about it?

“Thinking awfully hard over there, buddy.
  Coming up with anything worthwhile?”  Nate smirked.

“Just wondering when I became less a man.”

Nate laughed.  “You’re not less a man, my friend.”  When Bill looked at him skeptically he added, “Perhaps you’ve been a bit one sided lately.”

That’s an understatement if he ever heard one.  It seems he has been a self-absorbed ass for months.  Getting here was obviously the easy part.  The hard part is figuring out to fix it.  Or maybe the hard part will be getting Carla to cooperate.

He needed to come to a decision and fast.  It has been nearly a week since he spoke to her last, since she told him to figure out what he wanted.  The thing is he has always known what he wanted.  He wanted to be a successful attorney, have the love of a lifetime, and a few kids to chase around.

He was almost there too.  Carla
is
the love of his life and he was one big win away from being one of the top five attorneys in the district.  But kids were a nice thought to be pursued in the distant future. 
Right?

“You think maybe the problem is that we haven’t started a family yet?  I mean, we’ve been married for five years now and what do we have to show for it?”

“A foundation in which to build the future?”
  Nate responded optimistically.

“After five years we should have more than a foundation.” He said snidely.

Nate sighed dramatically.  “As much as I love to get my inner girl on, I’m going to forego all the emotional feelings bullshit and just tell you to listen to what she says.  In order to get things back to where they were you’ll have to meet her needs.” At Bill’s grunt he smiled and punched his friend on the arm.  “Don’t worry, she’ll tell you what they are.”

“So tell me if you are so smart when it
comes
women, then why are you still single?”

Nate looked towards the backyard of the neighboring house on the left.  “Guess I just haven’t found a woman yet that makes me
want
to settle down.”

The two sat there in companionable silence, finishing off their drinks.  When the sun was fully set beyond the horizon, Bill said his goodbyes and headed for his SUV.  He shook his head as he put his car in drive. 
Listen to her.
  That’s the second time he’s been told that, perhaps the advice was sounder than he originally thought.

Now he just needed to get them together so he could get her talking.  How was he going to do that though?  Take her out on a date?  He smiled as he recalled Nate’s advice of a candlelight dinner.  Maybe he could enlist the help of another friend.

Aromatic smells of herbs and spices filled the air in a way that cleansed the soul.  It was easy to let your troubles slide away when the right scents combined and created a relaxing ambiance.  Or at least it would if you weren’t attempting to cook and making a mockery of your intentions.

Irritated beyond words, Bill dumped the pot of potatoes into the colander.  As the steam rose and burned slightly on his cheeks he thought maybe he was starting to get a handle on things.  Peeling the potatoes had been a bit of a disaster, but there was at least enough left to boil.

“I set the butter, milk, and garlic on the counter for you to add to the potatoes before you mash them.”  Claire told him as she put the finishing touches on the chocolate fudge cake she had helped him bake.  “I’ll leave the raspberry sauce here on the steamer.  You’ll need to
drizzle
the sauce on the cake right before you serve it.”

Taking the pot of potatoes back to the counter, he dumped in the butter, milk, and garlic.  He grabbed the mixer and turned it on to the medium setting as he was shown.  He monitored the consistency until only a few sporadic clumps remained.  Removing the mixer from the potatoes, he learned belatedly that he should have turned it off first. 

Potatoes sprayed everywhere, all over the counter, the cabinets, and him.  Angry, he shut the mixer off and tossed it on the counter.  “I knew this was a bad idea.  All I wanted was to do something nice for Carla and I fumbled it up just like everything else.”

Claire put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You are doing fine, that was a common rookie mistake.  You didn’t ruin it, okay?  We just have a bit of a mess to clean up now.  It will be fine, I promise.”  She crossed her finger over her heart.

“Should I take the lemon and lime wedges out of the asparagus yet?”

She poked one of the spears to test its softness.  “Yes, and add a little salt and pepper before you turn off the heat.  I’m sure the filet mignon is done as well.  I’ll grab those and pour on the whiskey sauce.  The oven is set to warm so we will put everything in there to keep while you change your clothes.”

He nodded.  “Thanks for your help.  No way could I have done all this on my own.”

“Anytime.”
  She smiled.  “I’m sure she will love it.”

After transferring the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, they cleaned up the rest of the kitchen.  Once the last of the mess was wiped clean, Claire wished him luck and went home.  Bill went to the bedroom and freshened up before donning new cloths.  Now all he had to do was
wait
for Carla to show up.

Carla was nervous.   Looking in the mirror, she smoothed her hands down the front of her sweater then twisted to see how her butt looked in the new pair of slim cut jeans she had purchased yesterday after Bill had called to invite her to dinner at their house.

This would be the first time they have spent any length of time together since their separation.  She hoped that things would go well.  She didn’t expect tonight to be the turning point in their marriage, but she would like to make some headway.

The least she hoped for was a mutual understanding of what each was willing to change in order to repair their marriage.  She wished for so much more though.  She missed her husband, missed sleeping next to him. 
Missed being in his arms.
 

The last two weeks have been torture, knowing that she could go home at any time.  But she had to stick to her guns and she knew it.  If she gave in now then nothing would change.  He would go back to being gone sixteen hours a day, forgetting he had a wife at home who needed him.

She grabbed her purse and keys and all but skipped to her jeep.  She was so happy to see Billy that she was actually giddy.  Her hands shook as she started the engine and she had to take a few minutes to calm herself before putting to jeep in drive.

It was still daylight out, typical of this time of year.  The sun was bright and warm on her face.  She took in a deep breath and inhaled the fresh evening air.  She loved this city.  It didn’t see a lot of tourism because it wasn’t really on the way to anywhere, kind of off the beaten path.

Sure they were close to Sheridan where a few small time casinos were, but the big gambling cities like Vegas and Reno weren’t close enough to taint the peaceful living of Salem.  Everyone who lived here liked it that way too.