suddenly one day you wake up and realize that it has been weeks since you’ve kissed your husband while you’ve had any clothes on. Worse still were the kisses that became mere gestures of kissing, those hard little pecks like the kind you got from a great-aunt when you were five, kisses that weren’t kisses at all but said instead, I used to kiss you and this is the symbol that now stands in its place. It was the difference between eating a great meal and looking at a picture of food in a magazine: One made you feel full and the other only reminded you that you were hungry.
“I should get bitten by dogs more often,” Tom said softly.
I kissed him again.
“What if the district attorney sees me making out in front of the courthouse?”
“He’ll know he doesn’t have a chance,” I said.
Tom got out of the car, waved to me, and limped up the stone stairs, the bottom of his pants leg fluttering open in the afternoon breeze.
I felt a little guilty, using what had happened to Taffy to remind me that I was lucky for what I had, but I did it anyway.
T HE SECOND I opened the door of the house, Stamp fired off like a handgun. It was a barking all out of proportion to the size of the dog. He sounded like a pack of police-trained Dobermans charging up the hall. You had to wonder where such a little dog was storing so much hostility. Taffy had wall-to-wall carpet in her house, and so when Stamp barreled up the oak floor to my front door doing ninety-five, he couldn’t hold on to the turn and so skiddedinto the door of the coat closet, stunning himself for a second. Once he got on his feet again and saw that it was only me, he came over, sniffed my ankles benignly, and headed back to the kitchen.
“Is Tom all right?” Taffy said.
“I think he’s fine.” I dropped my purse on the kitchen table. I was still dressed from dance class this morning, which would save me having to change, since I had an afternoon class to teach in an hour.
“I think he overreacted a little. Neddy never goes to the hospital.”
“He hadn’t had a tetanus shot in years.”
“Oh,” Taffy said. “Then he needed to go anyway.”
“He went because Stamp bit him.”
“But Stamp really doesn’t bite.”
At the mention of his name, Stamp came over and sat on Taffy’s feet with endearing loyalty. He looked like he wouldn’t have bitten a squirrel if it was handed to him on a plate. The dog was more convincing than Brando. “The dog bites. The dog has bitten. You need to be more careful with the dog.”
“Then it’s just our husbands he bites. Nobody else.”
“It isn’t a decision you can make.”
“You said yourself Stamp was a good dog for biting Neddy. How can he be good for biting my husband and bad for biting yours?”
“Because I love my husband.” I didn’t know if it was cruel of me to say, but it was true. “You may feel comforted by the fact that Stamp bit Neddy, but I don’t want him biting Tom or anybody else around here. We’ve got the workmen to think of, and George will be home later.”
“Stamp would never bite George.”
George was a great favorite of Taffy’s, even if she perceived him as teetering on the brink of homosexuality. “Listen, Taffy. I have a class to teach at three. I should get back over to the school pretty soon. Can we talk about this later?”
“What kind of class is it?”
“Mother-daughter tap.”
Taffy looked wistful for a minute. “I should have taken tap with Holden.”
“Were you ever able to find her?”
Taffy nodded. “I got her at four o’clock this morning. I forget what time it was in Cannes. Her secretary found her for me. She said she’d come home, but I told her not to. What could she do, really?”
“Maybe she could make you feel better.”
“That’s what you’re doing. Or that’s what you’re supposed to be doing.” She slapped her hands down flat on the table. “I’m going to come and take your class. I need to move around.” As soon as
“I should get bitten by dogs more often,” Tom said softly.
I kissed him again.
“What if the district attorney sees me making out in front of the courthouse?”
“He’ll know he doesn’t have a chance,” I said.
Tom got out of the car, waved to me, and limped up the stone stairs, the bottom of his pants leg fluttering open in the afternoon breeze.
I felt a little guilty, using what had happened to Taffy to remind me that I was lucky for what I had, but I did it anyway.
T HE SECOND I opened the door of the house, Stamp fired off like a handgun. It was a barking all out of proportion to the size of the dog. He sounded like a pack of police-trained Dobermans charging up the hall. You had to wonder where such a little dog was storing so much hostility. Taffy had wall-to-wall carpet in her house, and so when Stamp barreled up the oak floor to my front door doing ninety-five, he couldn’t hold on to the turn and so skiddedinto the door of the coat closet, stunning himself for a second. Once he got on his feet again and saw that it was only me, he came over, sniffed my ankles benignly, and headed back to the kitchen.
“Is Tom all right?” Taffy said.
“I think he’s fine.” I dropped my purse on the kitchen table. I was still dressed from dance class this morning, which would save me having to change, since I had an afternoon class to teach in an hour.
“I think he overreacted a little. Neddy never goes to the hospital.”
“He hadn’t had a tetanus shot in years.”
“Oh,” Taffy said. “Then he needed to go anyway.”
“He went because Stamp bit him.”
“But Stamp really doesn’t bite.”
At the mention of his name, Stamp came over and sat on Taffy’s feet with endearing loyalty. He looked like he wouldn’t have bitten a squirrel if it was handed to him on a plate. The dog was more convincing than Brando. “The dog bites. The dog has bitten. You need to be more careful with the dog.”
“Then it’s just our husbands he bites. Nobody else.”
“It isn’t a decision you can make.”
“You said yourself Stamp was a good dog for biting Neddy. How can he be good for biting my husband and bad for biting yours?”
“Because I love my husband.” I didn’t know if it was cruel of me to say, but it was true. “You may feel comforted by the fact that Stamp bit Neddy, but I don’t want him biting Tom or anybody else around here. We’ve got the workmen to think of, and George will be home later.”
“Stamp would never bite George.”
George was a great favorite of Taffy’s, even if she perceived him as teetering on the brink of homosexuality. “Listen, Taffy. I have a class to teach at three. I should get back over to the school pretty soon. Can we talk about this later?”
“What kind of class is it?”
“Mother-daughter tap.”
Taffy looked wistful for a minute. “I should have taken tap with Holden.”
“Were you ever able to find her?”
Taffy nodded. “I got her at four o’clock this morning. I forget what time it was in Cannes. Her secretary found her for me. She said she’d come home, but I told her not to. What could she do, really?”
“Maybe she could make you feel better.”
“That’s what you’re doing. Or that’s what you’re supposed to be doing.” She slapped her hands down flat on the table. “I’m going to come and take your class. I need to move around.” As soon as
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