Girls of Summer(40)

Lisa’s heart went into overdrive. I’m frightened! she wanted to say. But Mack was…endearing. She wanted to spend more time with him. She wanted to do more with him. “Yes, I think we can put up with each other, at least for a while.”

“Great. Okay, let’s go to the movie tomorrow night.”

“I’d like that,” Lisa said.

“Then it’s a date. I’ll get tickets in advance and pick you up at six-thirty.”

“Lovely. Thank you, Mack. See you then.”

“I might see you before then.”

“Really?” Lisa’s heart raced.

   “I’m working on your house with my crew, you know.” Mack laughed as he spoke.

“Oh, right. This conversation took me to another sphere of reality.”

“And I haven’t even gotten started,” Mack told her with a smile in his voice.



* * *



—

The movie playing at Dreamland, the only theater on the island, was a biographical drama about a famous singer whose star had faded. It was oddly exciting to sit in the dark room with Mack’s shoulder touching hers, and when Mack reached for Lisa’s hand, and held it until the movie ended, Lisa was almost too overwhelmed to pay attention to the screen.

But when the movie drew to its conclusion, Lisa wanted to sink in her seat and disappear before the lights came on and the audience saw her with Mack.

To her surprise, as the lights exposed the room, Mack leaned over and whispered, “Did your high school boyfriend ever kiss you in the movie theater?”

“Not with the lights on,” she whispered back, her mouth only inches from his ear.

“Let’s go to your house,” he said.

The theater was only half full. No teens. As they filed out into the foyer, some people said hello to Mack, some to Lisa, and Lisa’s friends grinned and did a thumbs-up which Lisa hoped Mack didn’t see. Women who were Mack’s age spoke to him before giving Lisa a brief up-and-down glance.

And Mack put his hand on Lisa’s waist, gently guiding her to the door.

They walked instead of driving to Lisa’s house. It was a beautiful night, calm, windless, with the moon riding high in the sky. Main Street was bright with businesses staying open late now that summer was here. They held hands and window-shopped as they walked. Art galleries, real estate companies, clothing shops, the bookstore, the pharmacy. Brick sidewalks and a cobblestone street. No stoplights, no neon, only old-fashioned streetlights and tall trees full and heavy with summer leaves.

   “When I walk here, I sometimes think of all the people in past generations who have walked just like this,” Mack said.

“Yes. I do that, too,” Lisa replied. “I’ve read that you’re either a future person or a past person.”

“I guess I’m both,” Mack said. “I revere the past, which is why I try to restore old houses, so they’ll be lived in in the future.”

“But some things can never be returned to the perfect state they were in when they were young,” Lisa said awkwardly.

“And some things get better as they grow old,” Mack said. “Many people, for example, become more beautiful. Softer. So a person wants to sink right into them.”

Lisa couldn’t get her breath.

Mack stopped walking. They were only a block from her house, and on Fair Street many of the homes had not yet been opened for the summer, so only the moonlight illuminated their faces. Mack gently embraced Lisa, turning her to face him. He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes silver in the soft light, and Lisa knew her eyes must look silver, too. He bent and kissed her. The air was very quiet. No cars passed, no dogs barked, even the leaves didn’t rustle on the trees. Mack’s mouth was warm and insistent. Lisa raised her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

When they broke apart, they were both out of breath.

“I’ll race you to the house,” Mack said.

Lisa let her head fall back as she broke into laughter. At this moment, age did not matter. Desire mattered, and it was overwhelming her, so she took Mack’s hand and pulled him along to her house, both of them laughing.

   She’d left one light burning in the living room and the door unlocked—she seldom locked it, here on this small island. They stepped inside and as soon as Mack pushed the door shut, he moved Lisa against the wall. He pressed himself against her, held her wrists in his hands, pulled her arms above her head, and kissed her exposed neck and collarbone and then returned to her mouth. She shook with desire. She brought her arms down and pulled his body even more closely to her. She wanted to crawl inside him, she wanted him to crawl inside her, she needed to be totally with him.

“Let’s go upstairs,” she whispered.

The front door flew open, nearly slamming Mack in the back.

Juliet came inside, and behind her, there was Theo!

“Mom!” Juliet said scoldingly.

“Mom,” Theo said lovingly.

Lisa’s breasts were heaving as powerfully as if they were right out of a romance novel. Her poor senses jammed together. Desire made her heart thud even as it slowly evaporated, and anger at being interrupted at this particular moment battled with joy at seeing her son again. She couldn’t catch her breath to speak.

Mack stepped back as the children, the grown children, entered the hall. He held out his hand to Theo. “Hi. I’m Mack. Remember me?” He nodded at Juliet. “Hello again.”