it.
The serving staff came by
and cleared the last of the dessert plates and Janie fiddled with the fabric of
her dress. The color red caught the corner of her eye and Beth slid into the
seat Maureen had occupied.
“So Janie, this seems like
an opportune time to get to know one another.”
Janie looked at Beth’s
face. There didn’t seem to be any malice in her expression, just curiosity.
“In case you didn’t make
the connection earlier, I’m ex-wife number two. Ex-wife number one moved to
Boston when she married husband number 3.” Beth was very matter-of-fact. “So
how long have you been seeing Matt?”
“Um, well, we aren’t seeing each other,” stuttered Janie.
“Huh!” spurted Beth. “Matty
does NOT do fundraisers, so something’s going on here.”
Janie didn’t have any
response to that so she just looked down at her hands.
“Can I give you some
advice if you want to keep him?” Beth said.
Janie was horrified, her
head whipped up and she began to speak but Beth just kept talking. “He hates
kids. Don’t know why, so I hope you don’t want any. Kids are a deal breaker! No
exceptions!”
Janie’s mouth was open,
willing herself to speak, to stop Beth from saying anything else, but the words
wouldn’t come . He hates kids? That can’t be true. Janie couldn’t picture
the Matt she knew hating anything!
“Well, it’s just advice
honey. Take it or leave it.”
“I don’t know what advice
you’re giving, but neither of us are interested.” Matt’s deep voice interrupted
Janie’s confusion.
“Considering I wasn’t
talking to you, it doesn’t concern you.” Beth stood up and ran her finger
across Matt’s chin and turned and swaggered away.
“Is everything okay? Ryan
didn’t know where you had gone?” Janie was trying to erase Beth’s words from
her mind, looking at Matt.
“Fine. I just had a couple
of things to wrap up.” Matt was visibly tense, his eyes hard and his mouth
straight.
“We could dance again?”
Janie blinked up at Matt.
“We could,” Matt
responded, not looking at her.
Janie was baffled at his
change of mood. Maybe
the ex? Maybe it was the phone call? Had she done something to piss him off?
She had tried so hard to not embarrass him and thought she was doing okay.
After a long pause, Matt
reached for her hand and pulled her in front of him. She searched his eyes for
clues and his expression relaxed just a bit and he turned and led her to the
dance floor.
It was less crowded now, as people had started to leave, the
evening slowly coming to a close. Matt turned her to him and once again wrapped
his right arm around her and took her right hand in his. He didn’t pull it to
his chest and he didn’t pull her quite as tight and Janie felt gravely
disappointed. They moved slowly as the song played. The smooth sound of Duran
Duran wafted through the ballroom and Janie closed her eyes, willing Matt to
pull her close, so she could feel his legs against hers, her hand on his solid
chest, her cheek on his neck.
As the words were sung, she could feel him physically relax.
‘ Who do you need, who do you love
When you come undone?’ Matt drew in a breath and then exhaled slowly, pulling
her into his body, his cheek nestling in her hair and her hand pressed firmly
against him.
“You are intoxicating,” he
whispered, and Janie smiled, thankful that the tense mood had lifted. They
moved to the song and Matt’s fingers massaged her back, kneading, feeling,
caressing. And then the song ended and Matt stepped back and took her hand and
held it to her lips as he gently kissed her.
“I think our evening is
coming to a close. It’s getting late and I should get you back.” Matt let Janie
retrieve her clutch from the table and they headed out to the car waiting for
them at the curb.
*****
They rode back to the Ritz in silence. Matt seemed
distracted, Janie lost in her own thoughts. It had been a wonderful evening,
another ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ moment. She
The serving staff came by
and cleared the last of the dessert plates and Janie fiddled with the fabric of
her dress. The color red caught the corner of her eye and Beth slid into the
seat Maureen had occupied.
“So Janie, this seems like
an opportune time to get to know one another.”
Janie looked at Beth’s
face. There didn’t seem to be any malice in her expression, just curiosity.
“In case you didn’t make
the connection earlier, I’m ex-wife number two. Ex-wife number one moved to
Boston when she married husband number 3.” Beth was very matter-of-fact. “So
how long have you been seeing Matt?”
“Um, well, we aren’t seeing each other,” stuttered Janie.
“Huh!” spurted Beth. “Matty
does NOT do fundraisers, so something’s going on here.”
Janie didn’t have any
response to that so she just looked down at her hands.
“Can I give you some
advice if you want to keep him?” Beth said.
Janie was horrified, her
head whipped up and she began to speak but Beth just kept talking. “He hates
kids. Don’t know why, so I hope you don’t want any. Kids are a deal breaker! No
exceptions!”
Janie’s mouth was open,
willing herself to speak, to stop Beth from saying anything else, but the words
wouldn’t come . He hates kids? That can’t be true. Janie couldn’t picture
the Matt she knew hating anything!
“Well, it’s just advice
honey. Take it or leave it.”
“I don’t know what advice
you’re giving, but neither of us are interested.” Matt’s deep voice interrupted
Janie’s confusion.
“Considering I wasn’t
talking to you, it doesn’t concern you.” Beth stood up and ran her finger
across Matt’s chin and turned and swaggered away.
“Is everything okay? Ryan
didn’t know where you had gone?” Janie was trying to erase Beth’s words from
her mind, looking at Matt.
“Fine. I just had a couple
of things to wrap up.” Matt was visibly tense, his eyes hard and his mouth
straight.
“We could dance again?”
Janie blinked up at Matt.
“We could,” Matt
responded, not looking at her.
Janie was baffled at his
change of mood. Maybe
the ex? Maybe it was the phone call? Had she done something to piss him off?
She had tried so hard to not embarrass him and thought she was doing okay.
After a long pause, Matt
reached for her hand and pulled her in front of him. She searched his eyes for
clues and his expression relaxed just a bit and he turned and led her to the
dance floor.
It was less crowded now, as people had started to leave, the
evening slowly coming to a close. Matt turned her to him and once again wrapped
his right arm around her and took her right hand in his. He didn’t pull it to
his chest and he didn’t pull her quite as tight and Janie felt gravely
disappointed. They moved slowly as the song played. The smooth sound of Duran
Duran wafted through the ballroom and Janie closed her eyes, willing Matt to
pull her close, so she could feel his legs against hers, her hand on his solid
chest, her cheek on his neck.
As the words were sung, she could feel him physically relax.
‘ Who do you need, who do you love
When you come undone?’ Matt drew in a breath and then exhaled slowly, pulling
her into his body, his cheek nestling in her hair and her hand pressed firmly
against him.
“You are intoxicating,” he
whispered, and Janie smiled, thankful that the tense mood had lifted. They
moved to the song and Matt’s fingers massaged her back, kneading, feeling,
caressing. And then the song ended and Matt stepped back and took her hand and
held it to her lips as he gently kissed her.
“I think our evening is
coming to a close. It’s getting late and I should get you back.” Matt let Janie
retrieve her clutch from the table and they headed out to the car waiting for
them at the curb.
*****
They rode back to the Ritz in silence. Matt seemed
distracted, Janie lost in her own thoughts. It had been a wonderful evening,
another ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ moment. She
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