A Family Affair(45)

“Hang on,” he whispered. “I’m coming with you.”

She welcomed him by spreading her knees, and unlike anything she’d ever experienced before, he filled her with one slow, deep thrust. And then he moved, very slowly, taking his time. She watched his face, his eyelids falling sensually, his jaw tightening, and she rode with him. It wasn’t long before she took a trip over the moon and shuddered with satisfaction. He drove her up and up and up; she exploded from within and fell gently to the earth, happy and safe in his arms.

They panted with fulfillment. Things she’d known about him seemed suddenly brand-new. She knew he had a hairy chest, but against her breasts and under her hands, it felt like something she’d never known before. His long legs felt even longer wrapped around her; his lips were unbelievably soft as he nibbled at her neck and ear. He had a most alluring musk, intoxicating as it filled her head; and she couldn’t help it, she wanted him again. He turned on his side and cradled her in his arms.

“Okay?” he asked.

“The best,” she said.

“You’re wonderful. I knew it would be wonderful,” he said.

She let her fingers dance through the hair on his chest. “I don’t want to ever move,” she said.

“That suits me fine, though we might get dehydrated and very thin. In a few minutes we can warm up that Thai dinner. But we can come back here whenever you want to.”

“Will you stay?” she asked.

“For as long as you like. This is your space, Anna. You have to tell me when you’re ready to have it back to yourself.”

Anna asked herself how it was possible that was the best lovemaking of her life. It must have a lot to do with how long it had been for her, how starved she was for a touch, for the give and take of physical love. Chad was hardly lacking in that department, but the last few years had been wanting. He complained that with age his libido was just not what it once was. But he didn’t try, either.

What was it with men that their sex drive ruled the world? If they were in the mood, women were expected to accommodate them, but if they didn’t feel the driving force of desire, it was off the table. She had asked him, Can’t you at least hold me? Kiss me? He made a very lame attempt, a kiss, a brief hug, then said, Sorry, babe, it’s just not working for me.

Joe didn’t have any wardrobe choices so he pulled on his jeans and sweater while Anna opted for some soft lounging pajamas. Back in the kitchen, Joe pulled out container after container of Thai takeout.

“It looks like you have one of everything,” she said.

“Pad Thai, coconut shrimp, green curry with eggplant, Thai larb with chicken, lettuce wraps, noodles... You shouldn’t go hungry unless you’re very fussy.”

“You know I’m not,” she said. “Let’s dish up and take our plates to the living room and sit on the floor around the coffee table.”

They talked first about the food, which was amazing. Then they talked a little about their kids and spent time talking about Anna’s challenge with telling her kids about Amy. “The poor girl never got to have a life with her father.”

“You never felt you’d been dealt a bad hand with your single mother and unknown father,” Joe said.

“But it was hard and I was only too aware. I was determined not to find myself in the same pickle as Blanche. I played it safe to the end.”

The last few years, she said, were difficult. There wasn’t much affection in her marriage and she’d begun to think, What’s the point?

It was March of 2020 when the coronavirus began to hit hard. It actually crept up slowly, as if no one knew how seriously to take it. Then overnight states recognized how virulent in nature it had become with thousands dying daily around the world. New York had to bring in refrigerated trucks to hold the dead. Many cities attempted to shut down, San Francisco being one. Employees were sent home to work while in quarantine. Shops and restaurants closed their doors, large gatherings from conventions to sporting events were canceled.

Anna and Chad were locked in together, working from home. Many changes were upon the people of the world and San Francisco had a healthy share. Anna worked on video conferencing while plexiglass barriers separating the court staff and the jurors from each other were installed. She tried not to go to the courthouse every day; she had groceries delivered. Everyone donned masks. The election for US president was in full swing along with protests and people were a little crazy.

Not a little. A lot crazy.

Chad stayed home. Chad, for reasons that made perfect sense, had an office in their home. Anna had always used the kitchen or dining room when she worked from home. Chad had to have a door that closed so he could counsel online with complete privacy.

But for Chad, such a social creature, being shut in at home with Anna and no one else took its toll and his mood became darker and darker. He became more miserable by the day. They did not see their kids—Jessie was at the hospital or her practice every day, Michael and his girlfriend saw only each other and taught school remotely, Bess continued in law school, masked up. It was a long, hard, lonely spring and summer, and fall.

“Chad slid into one of his morose periods when the governor appointed me to the vacancy in the Superior Court. And once the vaccine was approved and being shipped, the first thing he did was make a reservation for a rafting trip in Idaho. With a group he didn’t know. He was betting travel would be allowed in April 2021. The fact that he didn’t swim didn’t concern him. ‘There will be life preservers,’ he said.” She shook her head. “I said, ‘Swimming is not your strong suit.’ And he said, so snottily, ‘As you should know.’ There were times I thought he was one-upping me. As if he were jealous. Then I would think that was impossible.”