) “Let’s use our time wisely, then,” Kate replied as she dropped her dress, spilling it into a puddle on the ?oor. They must have fallen asleep. Kate shifted to her side, drifting into his sleeping form. His bare skin appeared grey in the dull light. His dark, tousled hair splashed on the pillow. His cologne ?lled Kate’s nose, causing her skin to dimple with excitement. The doorbell buzzed into the silence. ) “Keith, someone’s at the door,” Kate whispered in his ear before softly swinging her legs to the ?oor beside her bed. The wooden ?oor felt cool beneath her bare feet as she padded across the room to the window, stopping to pull Keith’s shirt over her naked body. He had tossed it on the chair she had purchased at Home Goods for half price before slipping into her bed. ) The banging started again, a loud rapping on her door followed by the bell ringing. It raced into her ears like bees, stinging her back to reality. Kate slipped her ?ngers between the slants in the blinds, peering out onto the driveway. She saw a blue Honda Odyssey with four stick ?gure decals gracing the rear window: a mom, dad, and two kids. Kate had seen that van before on the day when he couldn’t go with her, cancelling at the last minute.
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) “You said that you would go to the play. I bought the tickets three months ago,” Kate had pleaded. ) “Baby, these things can’t be helped. Douglas has a fever and I promised Amanda that I would watch him. It’s her Book Club night,” he said, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist. ) “I don’t care about her book club. When is this going to be over?” Kate had said, pushing him away. ) “I’ll make it up to you.” ) Kate watched him leave with her from his o?ce window, his wife’s ?owing auburn hair dripping over his shoulder as he stretched his arm around her. Then he kissed her, knowing that Kate was watching in the building behind him. ) “You didn’t have to kiss her,” Kate said over her chocolate martini. ) His face twisted with annoyance as he wrapped his thick ?ngers around his scotch. ) “She’s my wife.” His reply was cold, unlike the passion that raced red-hot when they were alone. “I have kids to think about. It’s not all about you.” ) Kate sat there facing him as heat crept up from her stomach and reddened her face. She should have gotten up and left,