Read Online The War of the Roses: The Children by Warren Adler - Free Book Online Page B

bad enough,” she said finally, when it was obvious that he had emptied himself. “But both together. You both must have been basket cases.”
    â€œWe were,” he said. “My sister Evie and I. She’s four years older. Fortunately, we were raised by devoted grandparents.”
    He told her about his sister, then paused and their eyes locked.
    â€œEvie’s got her problems,” he sighed dismissively. He’d leave that story for later.
    â€œAnd you?” she asked gently.
    â€œWe all carry strange baggage,” Josh shrugged. “Some stranger than others. I’ve opened mine for inspection.”
    â€œI guess you mean it’s now my turn.”
    â€œOnly if you want to.”
    â€œI’m afraid there is no comic relief. It’s got some pretty heavy downside.” She could not stop a nervous giggle. “Although nothing compared with your tale of woe.”
    She told her story and he listened intently, moving his food around the plate, eating little. The part about meeting her father put a lump in his throat.
    â€œSo where do these tales of woe leave us,” he sighed.
    â€œWho was it that said that if we forget history we’re doomed to repeat it?”
    â€œForget? You’ve just seen the scars of my operation and I’ve seen yours.”
    â€œWell,” she laughed. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s inspect the healthy parts.”
    â€œThat’s a creative way to put things,” he said. Their faces moved toward each other across the table, joining lips.
    â€œThis runs counter to my plans,” she sighed when they parted. The touch of her lips seemed to send shock waves through his body.
    â€œMine, too.”
    â€œMaybe this is a dream and we’ll suddenly wake up.”
    â€œIt’s as good a cliché as any to hide behind.”
    â€œI’m very frightened, Josh.”
    â€œSo am I.”
    â€œHow do you test these things for authenticity?”
    â€œOnly one method comes to mind,” he answered after a long pause.
    She said nothing, nodding her consent instead.
    The memory of this encounter was vivid. It was, up to then, the all-time happiest moment of his life.
    ***
    After dinner they had gone to his place and made frenetic love.
    â€œIs this then the real thing?” Victoria said in a moment of repose as they cooled.
    â€œIt has all the markings.” He hesitated for a moment. “And we mustn’t let it go away.”
    â€œNo. We mustn’t.”
    â€œWe could gamble. Go all the way.”
    â€œI thought we just did.”
    â€œYou know what I mean, Victoria.”
    â€œAre you actually proposing? Good God. Considering what we’ve both been through, how could we possibly trust the institution of marriage?”
    â€œIn this case maybe two wrongs will finally make a right.”
    â€œI love the way you put things, Josh.”
    â€œIt may never come again, Victoria. I’ve had enough regrets for one short lifetime.”
    â€œMe, too.”
    â€œThen it’s settled?”
    â€œMaybe it was settled before we got to this point.”
    It seemed a natural progression of events, a necessary validation of what they both felt. If there were maybes, then all of them vanished in their frenzied sexual exchange.
    â€œIt sure puts the lie to our little scam,” he said, as they lay entangled in his bed. She appeared suddenly alarmed.
    â€œWhat lie?”
    â€œThat one about sexual congress.”
    â€œThat’s the best lie of all,” Victoria mused. “Who can refute it? As we’ve just demonstrated, it requires locomotion.”
    â€œThere are no best lies, Victoria.” Josh told her. “Only lies.”
    â€œIt’s just business, Josh.”
    â€œBusiness is also life. You get used to it, soon you can’t tell which lie goes where.”
    â€œIt hasn’t happened yet.”
    â€œIt will. Wind it