Page 100 of Sexual Healing
“Aw, that’s so nice of you. It sounds awful.”
“Ha! I love that kind of stuff. Dan and Ryan are coming with me.”
“Good luck, it’s sounding worse by the second.”
“It’ll be fine.”
He didn’t know that Sandra had had sex with both men and that she’d accused Ryan of raping her. She thought of those things when Damon pulled into her driveway, the trunk lid of the car slowly opening so she could retrieve her files.
“How much of my past is important?”
“None of it,” Andy said. “I know what I need to know about Brent to help keep him safe. Beyond that, it’s irrelevant.”
Not fully convinced, she nodded and turned to the house, pulling her cart with Andy following behind. Hopefully, he’d never find out.
***
Early Saturday, Rene Johnson was up, fixing coffee in a travel mug. She had to be clocked in by seven, ready to work. But today she was weary. Things were not going well with Dan after so much promise. They didn’t argue; he had sort of checked out.
Their usual Friday night date had gone by the wayside sometime during the summer, replaced with pizza and a pay-per-view movie. Saturdays were kiddies’ days, so she had resorted to going to see her parents when the trip to the farm began to get on her nerves, the ex-girlfriend and the farm chores all too much.
But Sundays were the worst. The Sundays in June and July were fun; everyone met on the beach in front of Lisa and Ryan’s house. They barbequed, swam, surfed with Dan’s sons, played beach volleyball. Rene enjoyed getting to know Laura and Alison. Pathologist Will Peterson was another hospital employee, and comparing notes with him was fun.
And then Pam stopped coming for some reason, and the mood changed. Rene endured it for a few more weeks, but thankfully the weather turned too cold to spend much time out there, and the Sunday routine reverted to more TV time.
“I warned you all I did was watch sports.”
He showed up in the kitchen just as she was gathering her lunch and bag to leave.
“I forgot, I’m going with Ryan and Andy Roman to Kidtopia this morning, in case you try to get in touch.”
“Oh, okay. Are you going to the farm this afternoon?”
“I don’t know yet. Plans got messed up because it’s the long weekend.”
She didn’t know what that had to do with it and just let it go, the wisest thing to do.
“Have fun with the boys,” she said, leaning in to kiss him.
“Have a good day at work.”
He watched her walking out to her car. If they lasted until Christmas, he’d be shocked, but he wasn’t going to be the one to end it. It just worked better for him if he allowed the woman to do the breaking up.
The day with Ryan and Dan ended up being a blast. “I don’t think I have laughed that hard in a year,” he told Rene. “Andy Roman had more fun than the kids did.”
She came home exhausted, and he had dinner for her, barbeque takeout from the roadhouse. Everything was set up in front of the TV when she came out of the shower. It wasn’t a good time for her to complain about the turn their relationship had made, so she relaxed and enjoyed it, a funny movie, and then early to bed for her because she had to do it all over again in the morning. Working weekends was rough.
Sunday morning, he didn’t get up to say goodbye to her, so she went into the bedroom and kissed him before she left, but he didn’t respond. It was okay; he was a sound sleeper.
At ten, a transformer blew up outside the hospital, and that was it for the emergency room. The hospital was put on divert, and nurses were asked to volunteer to be canceled for the day. Thinking of how fun it would be to surprise Dan, Rene volunteered to leave.
She pulled into the driveway and entered an empty house. She looked in the garage, and both his cars were there. That meant he was in the neighborhood. She made her usual rounds when she was looking for him, first Lisa’s house. Lisa wasn’t home, but Ryan answered and said he hadn’t seen Dan.
She bypassed Laura’s, he wouldn’t go there because of Will, and went straight to Pam’s. Thinking that she’d find him and Pam and her date there with Hocus and Lisa, she smiled as she knocked on the door. She could think of worse places to spend a Sunday; Pam’s house meant a congenial visit with food and wine and that view.
When there was no answer, she walked around the side of the house to the back, facing the beach. She caught herself in time and took a step back around the corner. Dan and Pam were sitting in canvas beach chairs, in the sand just off the slate terrace. The soft drone of their voices echoed to her, and she thought it sounded just like friends talking.
Then Pam stood up. It was warm out, a beautiful Indian Summer day; she wore a white sweater and loose linen pants with a drawstring. Rene saw the small table with what looked like snacks and two glasses and a tube of sunscreen. Pam reached for the empty glasses. When Rene saw what happened next, it took her breath away.