Authors: Rita Clay
He welcomed her into
the
office with a glass of burgundy and a comical leer, his obvious good humor making her happier than she could have believed
“I love your dress.”
“Is that a compliment to
the wearer or the buyer
?” she teased
“To both
.
”
H
e toasted.
"We have great taste."
They grinned like two teenagers on their first date, and Dianna couldn’t help wondering how many other couples had married and then begun their courtship, as they had. Had anyone else ever been as happy as she felt now?
Once the conversation began they discussed everything but themselves. Their relationship was too new yet to be dissected. The pizza was good, and after they’d eaten almost all of it they sat back on the couch and sipped their wine. The silence
was
broken only by the soft music drifting from a
stereo
hidden in the walls
. Expectation hung in the air between them. His hand rubbed
the
back of her neck, then softly stroked her cheek. The large glass window-wall that looked over the
city
was darkened to a blue-gray by an impending storm, making the room all the cozier.
It seemed as if t
hey were on an island by themselves. Conversation had halted
completely;
she couldn’t keep her mind on faraway topics when her need
to be with
Noah
was so great
.
Slowly he drew her to him, his hands knowing where to go, how to touch her. He teased her into being the aggressor and she taunted him into taking the lead back. They gave and took of each other. They made love on the carpet
.It wa
s intense
. D
elicious
. S
atisfying. Through the aftermath haze of lovemaking they could hear murmurings in the outside lobby and she giggled. He nuzzled her neck, breathing deeply of her softly scented skin.
“Something tells me we’ll have to check into a hotel before we can get away with this again.” He sighed, hearing the voices in the outer reception room.
“Better still, why not come upstairs for lunch?” She ran a manicured finger around the contour of his mouth, marveling at her own aggressiveness. Two weeks ago she would never have dreamed of doing this.
“Better still, why don’t I retire and then we can do this all day?”
“All day, Mr. Weston?” she exclaimed, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she reached for her bra and panties. “Just what do you think
I
am?”
“Mine.”
It was marvelous.
She
didn't want to acknowledge
how much Noah had come to mean in her life. Their relationship was too new to pick apart and examine right now. Perhaps eventually she would get used to this feeling of instant happiness whenever he was around
.
But not now. Now she
only marveled
at it and hope
d
. . .
Dianna was surprised at the number of things that came up to keep her busy from dawn to dusk. Yet, strangely, she was never tired from her activities, as she had been before Noah entered her life He filled her with an inexhaustible energy that continued to grow as she used it
.
Mornings were spent with Tabby at the hospital— playing games, reading, watching the children’s programs on television. By noon she was b
ack home to check over the evening
menu with Mrs. Frank, run a fine eye over the daily maid’s cleaning, and schedule the most important chores she wanted done the next day.
Then back to the hospital until late evening.
Noah joined her in the late afternoon
at the hospital to
visit Tabby again, staying until
after
dark. They
read her stories, sang songs,
and talked
about school and playmates and cousins. As she became stronger, they played
Fish, Chutes and Ladders, and Spades. They laughed over Noah’s mistakes but he took it all in stride, reminding them he had not learned to play games as a child and had never even had a family until two weeks ago. His looks were funny, his voice gruff, and Tabby loved him almost as much as Dianna. He was an accepted
hero
for the little gir
l
and she adored him.
But a niggling question lurked in the back of Dianna’s mind and pushed itself forward at the most inopportune times. What if Noah interfered with her raising of Tabby? Right now there was no disciplining, no schedule to be maintained—nothing but visits. But when Tabby was home and things settled into a routine, what would happen? Noah was too used to being in command not to lay down a few laws. Could they handle the problems that were bound to crop up together? She hoped so but she really wasn’t sure. She had never had to share Tabby before.
Philip and his wife, Jessie, were coming to dinner and Dianna had planned the meal with special care: rack of lamb with wild rice and asparagus and for dessert
Crème Brule
.
She'd spent the night and all of this day with Tabby, who was close to coming home, so Mrs. Frank had been an immense help.
The table was set, Dianna was dressed, and their guests were at the door. There was no time to be nervous.
Five minutes after the introductions, Dianna was already feeling as though she and Jessie had been friends for years. The other woman was totally unlike the way Dianna had originally pictured her. She had golden red hair, a figure tending toward plump, a sense of humor that was strikingly witty in an earthy, matter-of-fact way. And she loved to argue. She didn’t particularly care who was right or wrong, so long as the discussion made her think.
When dinner was over and they sat in the living room over coffee and after-dinner drinks, Dianna found herself getting caught up in just such an argument
“Man is not
an animal at all!” Jessie exclaimed, getting her point across by slapping her hand on the coffee table. “If he were, then he would have to wait until his mate was in heat to make love. Since he doesn’t,
I
rest my case.”
They laughed, Philip’s eyes shining with admiration for her hard-won point “By Jove, I think she’s got something there!”
“She certainly has,” Dianna interjected “Besides, animals mate, but people make love, so there’s another difference.”
“It’s all the same.” Philip waved his hand, dismissing that argument
“Oh, no it’s not” Dianna spoke softly but with conviction, and Noah’s penetrating gray eyes locked with hers, sending their own silent message.
“Amen,” Noah murmured huskily, and they were suddenly the only two
in
the room.
“Boy, I can tell these two are still on their honeymoon!” Jessie hooted.
Noah lifted his glass toward Dianna. “Long may it last
.
”
Jessie glanced at Philip. “And if it ends, may you have the luck to begin again.” Her voice was
solemn;
saddened by something intangible Dianna couldn’t place.
* * *
The man
at
the next
table
smiled at
Dianna
and she smiled in return before shifting slightly to make sure he understood the smile was courtesy and nothing more. She
was meeting Jessie for lunch - just the two of them so they could get to know each other better. It was more than the fact their husbands were good
friends;
it was that they had understood each other better than either had expected. Dianna
reached for her
new Kindle
just as Jessie plopped down in the booth with a heaving sigh.
“Sorry I’m late. The baby-sitter didn’t show up on time and then we couldn’t find Beth’s shoe.” She pushed back her hair and gave a sigh. “What would the wor
l
d do without mothers? I found it in the doghouse, slightly wet and very smelly, with one hole chewed in the toe.
" She sighed. "
That dog is going to be the death of me yet Why Phil bought that spaniel. . .” Her voice trailed off and an intense look of pain flitted across her face, but was gone before Dianna could comment “And what is it you spend your time doing, Mrs. Weston? It’s been four days since I asked you to lunch and you’ve been too busy every day until now.”
Dianna smiled. “I
spend every day with Tabby —sometimes spending the nights
if Noah can go with me
for a little while
. I check the menus, water plants, watch my nails
grow..
.” Her eyes gleamed with amusement “And then I wait for my lord and master.”
“You two are still on your honeymoon. Just wait until
the glitter tarnishes.” Jessie spoke bitterly, not looking at Dianna as the cocktail waitress interrupted to take their order. Dianna noticed that look of pain on Jessie’s face again as she continued. “Then you wonder where the romance went, but you don’t care enough to find out
.
”
“Sounds like the ‘other woman’ syndrome.” Dianna tried to smile, but couldn’t
. An image of Catherine was never far from her mind.
“Is that so strange in this society?” Jessie asked defensively. “Let me tell you, dear heart, it’s the rule rather than the exception. Just look around. I bet half the men in this restaurant are having lunch with someone other than their wives. I also bet they’re paying a pretty penny for the privilege.”
She paused while the young waitress set napkins on the table and placed their drinks on top of them. But when the gir
l
had left the silence continued, until Dianna got up enough nerve to reopen the conversation.
“Either you’re a cynic or you’re trying to tell me something. Which is it?” Dianna asked quietly. “Do you know something about Noah that you think you ought to tell me?”
Jessie looked up and correctly read the fear that Dianna was trying so hard to hide. Her hand reached across to rest on Dianna’s, giving a slight squeeze. “Oh, no,
Dianna
. I don’t mean that at all! I don’t know anything new about Noah and Catherine!”
“
You mentioned Catherine, not me. So I'd say
you’re warning me against something.”
“No. I
said Catherine because I've heard Philip talk
rant about her and her shenanigans. He also
didn't
want you to be hurt by her.”
Dianna ran her finger around the rim of her glass. “I guess you know she’s living in the other suite in the penthouse.”
Jessie shrugged. “It was the only place he could put
her
after being seen with a male singer who had been picked up on drugs
.
Anywhere else and the press would have gotten to her right away. At least up there
,
no one can get past the security guard and make an even bigger story out of this juicy tidbit!” Jessie hesitated for a moment “How did you know? Have you seen her?”
“It didn’t take much to put two and two together.”
“Have you spoken to Noah about it?”
“What do I say, Jessie? Noah, I want you to either move
your old mistress i
nto your bedroom or out of our lives?” Dianna’s eyes showed her anguish, emphasized by tears glistening in their hazel depths. “I know the situation sounds untenable to anyone who doesn’t know the whole story, but
I'm
in no position to make demands.”
“Nobody’s in a better position than you are
. You're
his wife
. T
ell him to get rid of her now.”
“Oh, Jessie!” Dianna
laughed. She'd been fighting
the lump of fear in her throat
and it has gotten larger every day she spent with him. She knew she
had fallen in love with him
and that was the
worst
thing she could
have done.
“I thought you knew that Noah only married me to take care of Tabby. He doesn’t love me. We were both pushed into this marriage and are trying to make the best of it
.
I thought. . .” She stopped, unable to continue.
Jessie's sympathy was in her eyes.
“I know. I also know that your marriage has made Noah happier than
I've
ever seen him.
Even Philip says so. Noah has
been lonely a long time, Dianna. Too long.
Jessie looked her straight in the
eyes. "Truth
time.
I met
Noah
many years ago after a very unhappy love affair and we became
cl
ose friends. But even then he was never happy or content
.
Then I met Philip and we fell in love and Noah was our best man. They're still best friends, Dianna.
When we had dinner
the other night,
I thought you two had found something wonderful in each other. Phil thought so too, although he admitted he was worried when he first heard that you were married.” Jessie grinned “Phil and Noah were roommates in college and probably know each other as well as any two people can. Believe me, Catherine doesn’t mean anything to Noah.” Her
lips
thinned. “She and Charles would have made a beautiful pair, but by the time she showed up Char
l
es was gone.”