Girls of Summer(77)

   “This is a marvelous house,” Lisa said. “What could they possibly want renovated?”

“They want the living room turned into an entertainment room with a seventy-five-inch television and super speakers. They want the dining room extended to form an outdoor eating area near the pool. And other, smaller changes.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to change a thing.”

In a low voice, Mack said, “I’d like to change something.”

Lisa faced him, trembling. “It’s different, you know, simply to be in this neutral space with you. It seems we’re always in my house or yours, always on guard for someone to barge in.”

“I know. But here, we’re alone, and safe.” Mack ran his fingers just above her ear, smoothing her hair back, his touch light and gentle.

“Mack.” She put her hands on his chest. She tilted her face up for a kiss.

Mack wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him, kissing her for a long time. “Want to do this?” he asked.

“I do. Oh, I do. But, Mack, where? There are no beds…”

Mack grinned. Taking her hand, he led her to the back hallway. “Our suite tonight includes two grade-A swim floats of vinyl coated foam, complete with full circle pillow. In addition, we have a selection of super-size beach towels.”

“Are you kidding?” Lisa asked.

“I’m not kidding,” Mack said.

The floats had been stacked on their sides against the wall. Mack pulled them out into the dining room, laid them side by side, and covered them with the beach towels.

“But, Mack, this is something a teenager would do.” Lisa was laughing and thrilled and terrified.

“Exactly,” Mack said.

   He approached her and pulled her down onto the twin-mattress-sized floats. They were surprisingly sturdy and comfortable. He eased her back so that her neck rested on the swim pillow, and he began kissing her on her ears, her cheeks, her neck. The light from outdoors was fading, and no shadows moved. It was like lying inside a rain cloud, dark and spangling with mysterious energy.

She felt his body press against hers. Oh, sweet lovely sensation, she’d forgotten this—had she ever known this? She helped him pull off his shirt, and in the dim light she noticed his muscular torso, scarred lightly here and there from, he told her, work accidents. He took off his shoes and socks and pants and his boxer shorts. Finally it was her turn, and she allowed him to tug her sundress up over her head. She quickly dealt with the business of removing her bra and panties, and then there she was naked before him.

She thought she would want to run away or hide her imperfect body with its extra cellulite and slight sags, but the touch of Mack’s hand transformed all of her body that she’d disparaged into a creation she’d forgotten about. She was a magical vessel of sensations. Her heart raced, her breath shuddered, her limbs, smooth, round, and feminine, slid against Mack’s rough, hairy, muscular limbs, and her body went right ahead without her conscious thought or worry, into a world of pleasure, and more pleasure, and then joy.

Afterward, lying there together, sweating and cooling, beach towels puddled around them, Lisa said, “Mack? I think I’d like to marry you. Someday.”

“So you and I are secretly engaged to get married?”

Lisa took a deep breath. “Yes. Let’s wait until the summer is over to tell the kids. That will give them some time to sort through their own relationships.”

Mack laughed, a satisfied rumble in his chest. He reached over and took her hand. “And we can enjoy the summer with our secret and let the young ones chart their own course.”

“Yes,” Lisa said.

   She stood up, and Mack rose, and they held each other for a long time, not only desiring each other, although there was always desire in their feelings for each other, but also in a companionable way. A comforting way. A promise.

They carried the beach towels with them as they went downstairs. Mack said he’d launder them at home and return them. They left the house and hurried to his truck. As they rode back to Lisa’s house, she felt absolutely giddy. She giggled, and how long had it been since she’d done that?

“I feel light-headed,” she told Mack. “I feel so pleased with myself. I’m a little bit crazy, I think.”

“I’m crazy about you,” Mack said.

“I must settle down before we get home,” Lisa said, laughing. “I don’t want Theo or Juliet to see me like this.”

“It is going to happen again, you know,” Mack told her.

“Oh,” Lisa said. “I hope so.”

Mack pulled into her driveway and they entered her house. No one else was there. Together they tidied the kitchen, enjoying each small moment when their arms touched, each easy normal task of covering the lasagna for Mack to take home, washing the salad bowl, putting plates in the dishwasher. It was as if they were already a couple living an ordinary life with its extraordinary joys.

Afterward, they sat on the sofa, watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees. A perfect evening.





twenty-nine


When Beth walked to work Thursday morning, she carried an umbrella and wore a light raincoat. For the past two days, the skies had been dark, muttering, and the mirroring seas had darkened, too. Something in the air was making everyone uncomfortable, restless. She wished the rain would go ahead and get it over with. As she reached Easy Street, the rain started full force, pelleting out of the sky in rapid hard drops.