Wyatt said.
“Okay.” Maggie smiled self-consciously. “What should we talk about?”
“Well, why don’t we get a few things out on the table before your nerves are shot.”
“My nerves are fine,” she said weakly.
“No, they’re not,” he answered. “You look like you’re gonna throw yourself off the deck.”
Maggie smiled. “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to this. It feels foreign, you being here.”
“Do you want me to go?”
“No.”
“But you’re not sure what we’re doing.”
“No.”
Wyatt nodded. “Let me see if I can help you out a little.” He leaned his elbows on his knees. “I know we joke around about me and other women, but most of it’s just kidding around.”
“You’re a single guy. You’re supposed to date.”
“It’s nice to have somebody to see a movie with or go out for dinner, but that’s all it is,” Wyatt said. “I’ll be honest. I was kind of a dog before I met Lily, but I haven’t been with a woman since.”
Maggie nodded, unsure what she should say.
“I don’t like dating. I liked being married,” Wyatt said. “I liked everything about it.”
“She must have been something,” Maggie offered.
“She was. For fifteen years, I was a very happy guy.”
Coco suddenly ran to the railing and peered out at the dark woods. Wyatt and Maggie both stood up to look. On a scrub pine ten feet away, a possum stared at them, his eyes glowing red. Wyatt leaned back against the rail and Maggie picked her wine up from the table and took a healthy swallow.
“Here’s the thing. I’m old enough and smart enough that when I find someone I can be that happy with again, I’m just gonna marry her. I don’t want to piss around for a few years. I like having someone know what I’m thinking just by looking at me. I like knowing the smell of her hair by heart. I like the routines and the predictability and the comfortable silences. And I like sleeping with the same woman every night.”
Maggie was taken aback, by both Wyatt’s directness and the reminders of what she’d had with David. The juxtaposition made it hard for her to know what to say.
“I like that,” she said anyway.
“Good.” Wyatt set his glass down on the rail and folded his arms across his chest. “I know we’re just kind of dancing around this whole idea of following up on this attraction—I assume it’s actually mutual?”
Maggie nodded.
“So, we’re pondering that and we haven’t as yet actually done anything about it, but now you know what I would hope to get out of it.”
“Okay.”
“Of course, you’ve got that on the one hand and, on the other, there’s the fact of our jobs and that it’s against department policy for us to be involved, and I’m kind of hoping for early retirement in two years.”
Maggie wanted to say something relevant and intelligent, but they’d gone from harmless flirtation to the ramifications of a serious relationship in the course of a day, and she was scrambling to find some footing.
“You should consider, too, while you’re weighing things, that I’m quite an impressive kisser.”
She was relieved to see his familiar, dimpled smile and she laughed.
“Is that so?” she asked.
“Possibly without peer.”
Maggie felt better and worse simultaneously. The lighthearted remark relaxed her, but the thought of kissing Wyatt put all kinds of knots in her.
They looked at each other a moment and their smiles faded.
“Are you considering that? Because I’m thinking about coming over there,” Wyatt said.
“Okay,” Maggie answered stupidly.
Wyatt stepped away from the railing and set his glass down on the table. Just then, Coco tore across the deck and around to the front, and they heard her tags and toenails as she ran down the stairs. A moment later, a vehicle pulled into the gravel out front.
The fact that Coco didn’t bark was a clue, but Maggie didn’t need one. She knew the sound of David’s Toyota truck.
She put down her wine
“Okay.” Maggie smiled self-consciously. “What should we talk about?”
“Well, why don’t we get a few things out on the table before your nerves are shot.”
“My nerves are fine,” she said weakly.
“No, they’re not,” he answered. “You look like you’re gonna throw yourself off the deck.”
Maggie smiled. “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to this. It feels foreign, you being here.”
“Do you want me to go?”
“No.”
“But you’re not sure what we’re doing.”
“No.”
Wyatt nodded. “Let me see if I can help you out a little.” He leaned his elbows on his knees. “I know we joke around about me and other women, but most of it’s just kidding around.”
“You’re a single guy. You’re supposed to date.”
“It’s nice to have somebody to see a movie with or go out for dinner, but that’s all it is,” Wyatt said. “I’ll be honest. I was kind of a dog before I met Lily, but I haven’t been with a woman since.”
Maggie nodded, unsure what she should say.
“I don’t like dating. I liked being married,” Wyatt said. “I liked everything about it.”
“She must have been something,” Maggie offered.
“She was. For fifteen years, I was a very happy guy.”
Coco suddenly ran to the railing and peered out at the dark woods. Wyatt and Maggie both stood up to look. On a scrub pine ten feet away, a possum stared at them, his eyes glowing red. Wyatt leaned back against the rail and Maggie picked her wine up from the table and took a healthy swallow.
“Here’s the thing. I’m old enough and smart enough that when I find someone I can be that happy with again, I’m just gonna marry her. I don’t want to piss around for a few years. I like having someone know what I’m thinking just by looking at me. I like knowing the smell of her hair by heart. I like the routines and the predictability and the comfortable silences. And I like sleeping with the same woman every night.”
Maggie was taken aback, by both Wyatt’s directness and the reminders of what she’d had with David. The juxtaposition made it hard for her to know what to say.
“I like that,” she said anyway.
“Good.” Wyatt set his glass down on the rail and folded his arms across his chest. “I know we’re just kind of dancing around this whole idea of following up on this attraction—I assume it’s actually mutual?”
Maggie nodded.
“So, we’re pondering that and we haven’t as yet actually done anything about it, but now you know what I would hope to get out of it.”
“Okay.”
“Of course, you’ve got that on the one hand and, on the other, there’s the fact of our jobs and that it’s against department policy for us to be involved, and I’m kind of hoping for early retirement in two years.”
Maggie wanted to say something relevant and intelligent, but they’d gone from harmless flirtation to the ramifications of a serious relationship in the course of a day, and she was scrambling to find some footing.
“You should consider, too, while you’re weighing things, that I’m quite an impressive kisser.”
She was relieved to see his familiar, dimpled smile and she laughed.
“Is that so?” she asked.
“Possibly without peer.”
Maggie felt better and worse simultaneously. The lighthearted remark relaxed her, but the thought of kissing Wyatt put all kinds of knots in her.
They looked at each other a moment and their smiles faded.
“Are you considering that? Because I’m thinking about coming over there,” Wyatt said.
“Okay,” Maggie answered stupidly.
Wyatt stepped away from the railing and set his glass down on the table. Just then, Coco tore across the deck and around to the front, and they heard her tags and toenails as she ran down the stairs. A moment later, a vehicle pulled into the gravel out front.
The fact that Coco didn’t bark was a clue, but Maggie didn’t need one. She knew the sound of David’s Toyota truck.
She put down her wine
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