Eleven
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165 erotic. The last picture showed her lying on a red satin sheet. Sam wore a single black garter. Her eyes were closed. Her hair spread over the pillow. The rumpled sheets and wistful smile suggested the morning after. This is to what Eddie would wake, if he chose. There was a note on the pillow. He zoomed in on the three words. The note stated,“ Photos taken yesterday.”
Eddie assumed he would see porn and he could discard that. This was art and she knew he would not be able to destroy something this beautiful. He locked the door to his office and searched the desk for supplies. Removing the lowest of the drawers, he taped the flash drive to the inside of the desk and replaced the drawer. Someone could walk into his office while he was away. They would have to pull the drawer and crawl on the floor to find this secret. Eddie noticed a set of keys in the pencil holder of the center drawer. He locked the desk, added another key to the ring, put the extra in his briefcase and exited the building.
Half of the Dodge family’ s two-car garage held a treadmill, a bench press with free weights and a punching bag. The boom box shared space on the workbench with an electric grinder and a vice. Boxing gloves and hand weights occupied a set of metal shelves along with gardening tools and plant fertilizer. He cranked up some tunes and the treadmill. The brisk walk became a steady run. The gray sweatshirt and sweatpants began to darken as he pushed himself. He put on the gloves and went a few rounds with the punching bag. The bag won and the clock on the wall said Tanya would be home soon.
Eddie showered and went in search of dinner items. He found what he needed for spaghetti, including garlic bread and ready made meatballs in the chest freezer in the garage. The vegetable drawer lacked the makings for a nice salad. He tossed the bread in the oven, put the sauce to simmer and headed to the grocery store. Perusing the wine isle, he found six bottles, three red and three white that should get them through dinner and the weekend without the kids. The smell of warm, garlic bread filled the kitchen as Eddie sliced fresh vegetables. He heard the automatic garage door opener and Tanya’ s car screech to a halt. The door from the attached garage to the kitchen opened.
Eddie went to greet his wife. Her eyes met his at the same time the garlic found her queasy stomach. Her hand flew to her mouth as the smell hit her in the nose, then in the gut. Tanya stumbled down the hall and into the bathroom, holding her nose and mouth. Her purse and keys laid on the floor at Eddie’ s feet. He picked up the discarded items and followed her.“ I know I don’ t cook that often but does it smell that bad?” he joked, as Tanya glared at him for the second it took to lift the lid of the toilet. He closed the door and heard her wretch. He set her stuff on the entryway table and went back to the bathroom.“ What’ s wrong?” he asked, through the door.“ I’ ll be okay,” she managed, between heaves. The sweet smell of food hit her again and she convulsed. Eddie went to check on dinner. The creaking step, he had promised to fix for over a year, told him Tanya was on her way upstairs. He filled a glass with ice and water and carried it up to her. She was already in bed. He sat beside her and felt her head. She had no fever but she was shaking.“ I’ ll take you to the emergency room,” he said.“ Go feed the kids, they will be home shortly. It was a touch of food poisoning. I’ ll be okay and will explain later. I just want to sleep,” she moaned. Eddie found her cell phone and placed it next to her glass of water.“ Call me if you need anything. I’ ll have my phone in my pocket,” he whispered, and watched her nod.
The family room was cast in the glow from the television when Tanya made her way downstairs. She heard the laughter from her“ three” kids. They sat on the couch side by side, small, white steering wheels clutched in each of their hands. Justin, Eddie and Nicole racing through a cartoon world. The large flat screen was divided into three sections. They laughed and threw exploding turtle shells at each others vehicles.“ Who is winning?” Tanya asked.“ Nicole. We need to consider getting her drivers license early,” Eddie said. Nicole looked at her father who took the opportunity to pass her and drop a banana peel, causing her car to spin.“ Not!” he laughed, crossing the finish line ahead of her.“ You cheat!” Nicole yelled.“ You practice more,” he said, setting his steering wheel on the coffee table.“ Feeling better?” he asked.