The golf ball sliced down the fairway and Robert gave a low growl.
“Your game is off.” Ron said, stepping over to tee up his ball.
“You distracted him.” Charlie said.
“I just don’t think this idea is proper. The girls traipsing around the world without their husbands,” Robert said.
“They’re hardly traipsing around the world. Kat’s brother-in-law has offered them the use of the house he’s leased while they’re making that movie in Mexico,” Ron said with a shrug.
“Coincidentally the same weekend we had planned to vacation up at Charlie’s place.”
“We never see them while we’re up there anyway!” Charlie said. “We’re on the golf course and they’re by the lake with the kids.”
Robert turned to his golf bag, ready to walk once Ron took his shot. The three families usually spent a week in June together at a lodge in Wisconsin right after school got out. Charlie had inherited a huge and ancient lodge from his grandmother. The rambling pine structure had been used by the family for summer vacations and hunting season since the turn of the century. Charlie and Monica had three children, the oldest just the same age as Robert’s twins. Ron and his wife Catherine also had twin girls just a few months younger than Missy and Helena. The seven children shared two bedrooms on the third floor that was filled with bunk beds. Each set of parents had their own bedroom and bath on the second floor. Charlie’s parents also had a bedroom on the first floor. There was a wing behind the kitchen with servants’ quarters and the three families usually chipped in to hire a cook and housekeeper for the time they were there. The men did play their fair share of golf and the kids ran all over the woods, playing until they dropped from exhaustion at night. Evenings, the couples played cards and sometimes the men fished until dark.
“I say,” Ron swung at the ball with a casual manner that belied his expertise on the links. The ball went soaring as he continued. “We hire a couple of nubile teenagers to run around and keep up with the kids while providing additional scenery for us as they parade around in those string bikinis and let the women go.”
“Hmmph.” Robert was still unhappy. Ron would look, and without Katherine around to keep him on a short leash, was liable to try to do more than that. “Charles, make sure they’re of an age not to be jailbait for the expert golfer here.” The ball fell short of the green by about twenty yards.
Robert just wanted Susan there with him at night. A week or so after their return, Susan would take the girls to Texas and she usually spent several weeks in Texas. He tried to be a good sport about that. His in-laws still didn’t like him and he tried hard to take the high road when they urged her to visit, but he hated having his sweet Susan so far away. Another week away from her was not his idea of fun.
“I don’t think we have much to say about it anyway,” Charlie shrugged. “The girls have already made up their minds to go, and I heard Monica on the phone discussing possible babysitters to hire this morning.”
“She was talking to Kat,” Ron said. “They had a whole list started.”
Robert sighed and headed for his ball. Charlie was right. Once the girls made up their minds, it wouldn’t matter what his opinion was. Susan would smile and agree with him and let him rant and rave and do exactly what she wanted to do. She always did. He still didn’t think it was proper.
“So, it’s all set? You found the babysitters?” Susan asked Monica as she battered the chicken she was frying for dinner.
“All set. We found two sisters and their best friend. Two are Seniors in high school this year and one is a Freshman in college, and majoring in Phys. Ed. She even has Red Cross Life Guard certification.”
“I’m impressed. Now we just have to convince the boys.” Susan turned as the door slammed and ten year old Missy skated in. “Skates stay outside,” Susan warned.
“Oops. Sorry, Mom.” Missy’s blonde pony tail bounced as she turned and skated back to the garage.
“Rumor has it,” Monica said. “That your Robert is the only one still objecting. Although I think Ron was trying some kind of devious reverse psychology when he got all enthusiastic about high school age baby sitters.”
“Either that or he’s becoming a dirty old man,” Susan mused. “But I’m sure it’s nothing Kat can’t handle.”
“Oh, Sus! I hope it works out. I’ve never been to Mexico before. It sounds like so much fun!”
“It is, Mon. It’s a nice place. Great food, nice people. That area has some wonderful views of the ocean and Kat says her brother-in-law’s house is right on the ocean.”
“Plus you along as our interpreter! It’ll be perfect.”
Susan laughed. It had been a long time since she’d used her Spanish on anyone but Maggie when home for visits. She probably had an atrocious ‘Yanqui’ accent. But she knew she spoke more Spanish than the other two, even if it was ‘Texican’. “I’m looking forward to it too. And Robert will understand, I know he will.”
The door banged open again. Missy stood in stocking feet this time. “I’m starving!”
“I’ve got to go, Mon. The natives here are growing restless.”
“Okay. See you later.”
Susan hung up the phone and sent her daughter to wash. She was looking forward to the trip and began humming an old mariachi song she first heard at Maggie’s Quincinera.
The patio overlooked the cliffs and the brilliant blue Pacific. They were on the edge of Acapulco, with plenty of nightlife and shopping but incredible peace here in the villa. Kat’s brother-in-law worked for some Hollywood studio that was filming a movie down here. He had to be in LA this week and Kat’s sister, Beth, invited Kat and her friends to come down and visit. The villa was luxurious in the extreme. They each had a bedroom and bathroom of their own, each with a balcony overlooking the pool and windows into the courtyard that faced the city. They had a car at their disposal, a huge Mercedes, and a driver. Beth met them at the airport and chattered all the way back to the villa then left them to unpack. She had already made a reservation at a local nightclub for the evening.
They shopped in the morning, sunbathed in the afternoon and partied in the evening. Monica had been disconcerted when Beth peeled off her swimsuit and stretched out on the lounge by the pool. She had never sunbathed in the nude before. Susan simply smiled inwardly and peeled off her own suit. When she was a teen on the ranch she had loved sneaking down by the creek to sunbathe nude.
The first time Robert experienced her body with no ‘tan line’ he had gone crazy over it. Whenever she went to Texas she tried to find time to work on that tan. As the girls got older, it got harder to slip away by herself. She knew quite well that Robert wasn’t too thrilled about this ‘girls vacation’ so she intended to give him every reason to be happy with the results when she returned home.
The nightclub was one of the most exclusive in the city. The girls spent hours together dressing and primping just as they had done in college. Kat’s sister was greeted like a regular and they were swept from the limo past a line of wannabes into the luxurious interior of the club.
Drinks flowed. Music played. Kat was soon approached by a young man a decade her junior wearing formal black tie. Before long they were all on the dance floor. Around midnight, a young man named Enrique, who had already danced once with Susan, arrived at the table and asked Susan for the next dance. He had already found out that she spoke Spanish and he addressed her in that language with a bow. She answered in kind and gave him her hand just as the music started.
The dance was a tango. Susan loved the tango, although she hadn’t danced it in years. Robert could do the twist, and after a decade of gentle coaching from Susan could waltz without crippling her. But the tango was beyond him.
Enrique was a consummate dancer and within five bars Susan knew she was with the ideal partner. A tango was a dance of passion, and she responded to Enrique’s passion with her own. The rest of the world faded as they danced. There was only the man, the woman and the music.
As the dance ended, she draped herself backwards over his arm, feeling the warm relaxed afterglow of spent passion.
“You are a wonderful dancer, Enrique.”
“You are an inspiration for the dance, Doña Susana.”
“Gracias.”
“May I have the pleasure of dancing with you again?”
“We’ll be here all week. I would love that,” Susan said sincerely. She took his arm and he walked her back to her table.
“To dance with such a beautiful señorita would be my pleasure.”
Susan laughed. “I’m afraid I’m a Señora.”
He bowed over her hand as they arrived at the table. “He is a lucky man. What is his name?”
“Se llama Roberto.” She said with a smile.
Enrique looked into her eyes. “And he inspires this passion in you. A man of much good fortune. Buenos noches, Doña Susana.”
“Buenos noches, Enrique.”
Susan turned to the table to see her companions staring at her with their mouths open.
She slid into her chair and Monica leaned forward. “Se llama Roberto?” she mimicked. “You practically performed a sex act on the dance floor with that man and come back to the table talking about Robert?”
Kat was lighting a cigarette. “Honey, where I come from, behavior like that would be followed by a shotgun wedding or a duel. Where did you learn to dance like that?”
Susan simply smiled. “Well, I was raised someplace civilized. My mama insisted I take dance lessons.”
“Your Mama knows you can dance like that?” Kat asked.
“Of course she does. You should see her and Daddy do the tango. They’re marvelous.”
“Honey, if they’re any hotter than you looked out there, they’d be arrested!”
Susan laughed and Monica repeated again, “Se llama Roberto.”
“Daddy?”
Robert felt a hand on his shoulder in the dark. “Huh? Susan?”
“No, Daddy, It’s me.”
Others had a problem telling the girls apart, but once he was awake, he didn’t even need the light.
“And me.”
Helena was on his left; Missy was on his right. Robert shifted and put his arms around the girls and they cuddled up against him. “What’s wrong, girls? It’s the middle of the night.”
“We miss Mommy,” Missy whispered in his ear.
“Can’t we go see her?” Helena whispered in the other ear.
“She’ll be home this weekend, just like we will.”
“Can we go home now?” Helena asked.
“You two always have great fun here with the other kids. Why do you want to go home?”
“It’s not the same,” Missy said. “Marian is mean.”
“She keeps trying to organize us,” Helena added.
“Organize you?”
“She wants us to play kick ball and volley ball and stuff,” Missy explained. “And sometimes we do, but it’s like being in school.”
“I was reading that new book you bought us? And she took it out of my hand and threw it on the ground! She said I had to go play!” Helena said indignantly.
“And Chris and I were going to take the canoe out this morning. We already had a picnic lunch packed and everything. She and Cindy said we could only take the canoe out if we stayed in sight of the dock.”
“They’re just trying to keep you safe.”
“Last year Mommy and Aunt Monica let Missy and Chris go out all day,” Helena said. “They’re good swimmers and good with a canoe. Why can’t they do it again now?”
Robert sighed. It just wasn’t the same without the Moms here. Marian and Cindy wouldn’t know what Susan and Monica would let the kids do and what they could handle. And even Ron and Charlie had admitted that the evenings weren’t as much fun.
“I won’t play dumb old kick ball with her again tomorrow,” Missy said defiantly.
“Now, Jelly Bean…”
“Please Daddy, can I go with you?”
“We’re playing golf tomorrow honey…”
“You could teach me. I’d be good Daddy! I promise!”
“I know you would, honey. But we already have the reservations.”
“Daddy, please don’t leave me with her again.”
“Me either. Can’t we be your caddies?”
Robert stared into the dark. “How about this? Our tee time is ten. I’ll call the golf pro and see if he can give you lessons at the same time. Then in the afternoon, I’ll take you two canoeing.”
The girls flung themselves on top of him and began covering him with kisses. “Oh, Thank you Daddy!” “That would be super duper wonderful!” “We can’t wait!”
“All right, all right. Back to bed with you, it’s the middle of the night.” He kissed them both gently, actions belying his gruff tone.
“Can’t we stay here?” Missy tried to settle back under the covers. Helena’s actions mirrored hers.
“No, no. You know Mommy’s rules. Back to your own beds.” He sat up with them and gave them a push to get them started. They each gave him one last kiss, then slipped from the bed, two little ghosts, white nightgowns in the silvery light of the full moon. With an indulgent chuckle, he lay back down to sleep.
Idyllic days flowed by on the Pacific coast. The girls enjoyed the nightlife, and sleeping late with no children to keep up with. Susan hadn’t had so much fun dancing in years. Enrique talked her into dancing in a competition with him on Friday night and he came to the villa to practice on Thursday and Friday afternoon. Monica and Katherine were always around to chaperone, wine glasses in hand, but Susan was interested in the dance, not anything else. The inside joke for the week was “Se llama Roberto”. Monica or Kat would walk by Susan as she shopped, sunbathed or danced and mutter “Se llama Roberto” under their breath. All three women would fall apart in fits of laughter.
Susan was nervous about the competition. Especially when she began to see notices about the competition all over town. This tango contest was a big deal, and not with tourists, this seemed to be a tradition among the locals.
Katherine and Monica worked to see that she was as relaxed as possible. They started on margaritas early in the afternoon while she practiced. Beth’s cook prepared a lovely dinner, a spicy goat recipe that Maggie’s mother used to make and a favorite of Susan’s. She enjoyed eating what was ‘comfort food’ to her, although it was new and almost too spicy for her friends.
After dinner they dressed together. Susan chose a black dress with a red ruffle at top and bottom. They found it in a little shop downtown and it fit as if made for her. Robert would probably say it looked as if she had been melted and poured into it. It was not a dress for sitting down, but with the swirls of black sequins and the slit from hem to hip, it was a dress made for the tango. They left for the dance hall a little after eight. The dance would not start until nine, but Enrique had urged her to come early. Others would be practicing and they would be able to view their competition. Susan asked if they would practice one more time, but Enrique said, no, they were perfecto.
Once she saw the other dancers, Susan wasn’t so sure. They moved with a natural fluidity that showed they had danced together for years. She was nervous. Kat handed her a flask she had packed. It was straight tequila, and made Susan’s ears burn as she swallowed, but she felt better.
It all became easy once they were called to the dance floor. The music was a piece they had danced to while practicing. As usual, within a few bars Susan lost all sense of anything but the dance and the man who held her. She knew she looked good. She felt good. She danced well and so did Enrique. He gave her an encouraging wink and she smiled back, confident in their ability and enjoying herself.
The dance ended with a flourish and a cheer from the crowd. The applause almost startled her.
They joined Kat, Monica and Beth to watch the other dancers and wait for the results. They came in third. Susan and Enrique were both pleased and Enrique kissed her hand and thanked her for the privilege of dancing with her. Monica whispered in her ear, “Se llama Roberto,” which made Susan smile.
The girls headed to a club to celebrate. There were plenty of margaritas to drink and Susan could feel a pleasant haze surround her. This trip had certainly been a lot of fun.
Saturday morning, Susan woke late, for her. It was nearly 8 a.m. when she looked at her little travel clock on the bedside table. Her last day in Mexico. She had a few more things she wanted to shop for in the market and then she planned to spend the afternoon soaking up some more sun. Robert always loved it when she had a tan. She got out of bed and stretched, pulled her nightgown over her head and headed for the bathroom. This was such a luxurious bathroom. It was all tiled with white tile and a shoulder-high row of hand-painted tiles with native flowers in brilliant reds and oranges. There was a large tub that made her wish Robert was here to join her for a long and sensuous soak, and a shower stall with a full length mirrored door.
She glanced at the mirror, able to see her reflection from both sides in the mirror over the sink. She turned, noting that for someone in her thirties, she still looked pretty good. And the tan she had worked on all weekend was very even. She caught sight of something red on her hip and turned back. Sunburn? She didn’t think so.
It was heart shaped, and about the size of her palm. The edges were intricate and lacy. In the center of the heart was script, almost too elaborate to be readable. She backed up to the mirror and twisted for a better view. “OTREBOR” she made out. Her brain processed the mirror image. “ROBERTO.”
“Roberto!” She screamed. She ran her hand over the smooth skin and screamed again, this time incoherently and loudly. “NO! OH, NO!”
Her screams brought her friends. Monica was tying a short silk robe around herself as she ran into Susan’s suite. The robe was about two sizes too small for her form that was already hitting middle-age spread. Katherine was right behind, taller, slimmer, and wearing an oversized t-shirt as she held her head.
“Susan, honey, what’s wrong?” Kat drawled. “You’re makin’ enough racket to wake the dead.” Hangover was bringing out her southern accent, always worst when drunk or its aftermath.
Susan turned and pointed.
Monica put her hand over her mouth and approached. “Oh, my goodness!” She bent over for a better look. “Is that a tattoo?”
Kat joined the examination of Susan’s derrierre. “Why, it sure as heck is! Look at that. What does it say?”
Monica squinted, trying to read the fancy script. “R-O-B-… It says Roberto!” She gave a short laugh then caught sight of the look in Susan’s eyes.
Kat was still in oblivious hangover. She put her hand on Susan’s bare hip. “Oh… my… God! I don’t remember this at all. Nice heart.” She looked up at Susan. “At least it doesn’t say ‘Enrique’.”
“You two are no help at all! What am I going to do?”
“It’s going to take a plastic surgeon to get that off of there,” Monica said thoughtfully.
“Then I’ve got to find one! Right now!” Susan said.
“Oh, come on, Susan. There’s no way you can find one on a Saturday in Chicago, much less Mexico! Besides, you don’t want to trust some stranger in a foreign country do you? You might get some kind of disease,” Kat said thoughtfully, standing back and eyeing the tattoo from another angle.
“Some disease! What about the tattoo! People get sick from that too!” Susan wailed.
“Oh, Susan!” Monica was now distressed too.
“Oh honey,” Kat said, her main motivation to get the two to quit shouting. “Sailors live through getting tattoos all the time.”
“But they get diseases too,” Susan countered, beginning to pace in agitation. “When we took the Girl Scout troop to the Public Health Fair they said you could get… What was it?”
“Hep… hepi-something-or-other,” Monica said. She and Susan were co-leaders of the Girl Scout troop this year. “I don’t remember, but I think he said it had something to do with drinking too.”
“Hepititis,” Kat supplied with a sigh. She headed back to her bedroom across the hall for her cigarettes and lighter. “Don’t you pay attention to anything?” Kat had come along on that outing as well as a driver. She lit up a cigarette as she came back to the bathroom. “It’s a disease of the liver. And I think they said you could also get some kind of sexually transmitted disease from a dirty needle too.” She perched on the counter.
Susan moaned and leaned against the shower door, wishing she could get rid of it just by scrubbing. “Do either of you remember how this happened?”
The others shook their heads slowly.
“We could ask the driver,” Monica suggested.
“Oh, Monica. I’m not about to ask the chauffer where I got the tattoo on my butt!” Susan snapped.
Kat waved her cigarette in the air. “Of course not. And it wouldn’t help anyway. It’s not like they have public health inspectors around here. We’ll be home tomorrow and you can make an appointment with someone on Monday.”
“And have Robert see it? Are you insane?” Susan asked, hands on her forehead. “What am I going to do?”
“Maybe he won’t see it,” Monica said.
Kat raised an eyebrow at her friend and flicked ashes in the sink. “You know how she’s always bragging on him. She’s been away for a week, you think she’s going to be able to say, ‘not tonight honey’?”
Monica blushed. “Kat!” She turned to Susan. “Well, maybe you can do it in the dark.”
Susan rolled her eyes. “We share a bathroom… we’ve never been… shy about our bodies. It just won’t fly, Monica. He’s going to know!” She leaned back and moaned again. “He’s going to kill me!” She shook her head. “If I haven’t already contracted some kind of deadly disease from the tattoo.” She wanted to scream again. And her friends weren’t being helpful at all. She had to do something, and do something now!
She headed back into the bedroom to the phone. She asked the operator to place a call to the States and gave her a number. She waited impatiently as the connection was made and the phone rang.
“Mama?” she said hopefully when the call was answered.
“Susan? Hello sweetheart! Aren’t you in Mexico with your little friends this weekend?”
“Yes, we are. I’m calling from Mexico.”
“Are you having fun, dear?”
Susan gave a little sob and her story poured out. Her mother let her wind down to “Mama, what do I do now?” Susan felt about as young as her daughters and just as helpless.
Lisa Thompson didn’t hesitate. She was, and always had been, a woman of action. “Let’s take care of one thing at a time. Your father can undoubtedly find someone in Dallas that can take care of this. And he can check himself to see if you’ve… caught something. Get your ticket changed to fly here this afternoon and we’ll meet you. By the time you get here, we’ll have an idea of what step to take next. Call here as soon as you know what flight you’ll be on.”
Susan nodded as if her mother could see her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t worry sweetheart. We’ll get this taken care of,” her mother assured her.
Susan felt like bursting into tears. Just hearing her mother’s voice had helped. “Okay, Mama.”
She hung up the phone then immediately picked it up again, calling the airport this time. Kat and Monica crowded around. “You’re not going back with us?”
“No,” Susan sniffed. “I’m going to Dallas today. I’ll come home when I’ve got this taken care of.”
“What are we supposed to tell Robert?”
“I’ll take care of that. I’ll talk to him tonight. They were coming home from the lake today.” She turned to her two friends. “Don’t you dare breathe a word of this to anyone, especially not Ron or Charlie.”
Monica seriously placed her fingers to her lips and twisted her hand, miming a key in a lock. Kat patted Susan’s shoulder. “Of course not, honey. We won’t tell a soul.”
“I’ve got to get dressed and pack. The plane leaves at ten. I think I can just make it.” She turned to the phone and placed another call to her mother. This one was brief, just giving the time and flight number. Susan had a lot to do.
Her friends saw her to the airport. Monica offered to pick up the small things Susan had planned to get at the market, a leather purse they had admired earlier in the week, and some little toys for their girl scout troop.
Landing in the familiar Dallas airport was like going back in time. Susan’s parents were waiting at the gate and Susan was once again a little girl. Lisa kissed the air next to her cheek and took her elbow, hurrying her through the airport.
“We’re staying at your Aunt Hilda’s. We told her you took ill while on vacation and your father wants to check you before you go back to Chicago. She knows no more than that. She’ll most likely think it’s a case of Montezuma’s revenge. You know we’re always welcome there.”
Susan sighed and nodded. Aunt Hilda was her mother’s great aunt. The old lady was in her nineties and still lived in her father’s home which was build some time before the civil war. She was still independent and on her own, except for a housekeeper who lived in the carriage house behind the main house.
The cab ride into the city was hot and tense. Her mother didn’t say much, and her father sat up front by the driver. Susan was actually beginning to feel rather sick, although she didn’t know if it was fatigue, hangover, or something caused by the tattoo. Her backside was throbbing as well. She caught her mother’s eye once and Lisa Miller was sitting upright with her lips tight. Susan knew she was displeased. Very softly, so that the driver in the front seat couldn’t hear, her mother said, “I knew Richard would drive you to do something trashy like this.”
“Mother,” Susan said, just as softly. “His name is Robert, and he wasn’t even there.”
“Well, he still let you go off with those two floosies you two associate with.”
“Mama! They’re my friends!” The volume rose a bit and Lisa glanced at the driver in the front seat and back at her daughter with a silent warning.
Susan gave an exasperated sigh and turned toward the window, looking out at the dull flat fields of north Texas, so different from the rocks and hills of home.
Lisa leaned closer. “Honey, you called us, not him. Does he mistreat you?” Her voice grew even softer. “Has he ever hit you?”
“Oh of course not, Mother! Nothing like that!” Susan turned to her mother, ready to defend Robert, but keeping her voice down as required.
Her mother’s raised eyebrow was question enough. Her first thought was that Robert would kill her when he saw that tattoo. She would die of embarrassment. He did have a temper, but he had never, ever, used it on her or the girls. He was kind and gentle with them, even if he did occasionally lose patience with Missy. Why had she called her parents instead of him? She was beginning to think it was a mistake.
They were nearly to the house when her gaze was caught by the mirror in the front. Her father caught her eye and gave her a silent wink. She didn’t smile, but it gave her a warm safe feeling down to her toes. She’d called them because she didn’t know what else to do. No, Robert would never harm her, but this was a mess she got into and she needed to get herself out of it.
At the house, she was bustled off to a guest room on the second floor. Her father carried her suitcase into the room and told her what he would need. A bathroom was adjacent, an old dressing room connected to this room and the other room on this side of the house. It had been turned into a large bathroom, modern at the turn of the century, with black and white tiles and a huge claw-footed tub. Susan remembered staying in this room as a little girl and waiting eagerly for a bath in that tub that seemed as big as a swimming pool to a five year old. She smiled at the memory, then headed to the bathroom with her pajamas and the sterile specimen bottle her father had given her.
She was just trying to find a comfortable position to lie down in when there was a knock on the door. Her father poked his head in, saw her in bed and entered the rest of the way, closing the door quietly behind him.
“Your mama is downstairs paying for our accommodations.”
Susan gave him a questioning look as he set a tray down on the bedside table.
“She’s listening to Aunt Hilda recite a long list of aches and pains, and once she’s finished her own, she’ll go through the ailments of every elderly woman of the correct social standing in Dallas.” He shook his head. “I’ve had to listen to that myself every time we’ve come up here, but your mama headed her off and took on the duty. She’s a saint.”
“Daddy, what she said in the car, it isn’t true.”
“I know that, sugar pumpkin,” her father drawled in his soft Southern accent. “I may not like the boy, but I can tell how much he loves you and the girls.” He winked at her. “Almost as much as I do.”
Susan had to smile. “Oh, Daddy.”
“Now, let me take a look at this thing. You hurting any?”
“A bit.” She turned onto her stomach and slid down the sheet and her pajama bottoms. “Not like falling off a horse hurt. More like scraping a knee, like when I was a kid. Sitting on the airplane was unpleasant.”
“Mmmhmmm,” her father simply looked for a moment, then touched the area around the tattoo lightly. “And you got this yesterday?”
“Well, closer to this morning. I didn’t have it at midnight.”
“Tequilla?”
“Yeah,” she said reluctantly.
“Wicked stuff. It’ll knock you on your ass before you know it. You should stick to bourbon.”
“Yuck,” she said with a smile, feeling like a kid again. “That stuff tastes nasty unless you mix it in something.”
“My point exactly. And when you mix it, you dilute it.” He patted her shoulder. “So you drink less.”
Susan protested. “I don’t do this… well, I’ve never been this drunk!”
Randolph chuckled. “Well, I suppose not. And I hope you never do again, sailor.”
“Daddy!”
“Sorry, pumpkin. Okay, roll over and sit up.” He gently pulled up her pajama bottoms.
She did as she was told.
“I’m going to take a blood sample too and take it over to an old friend who owns a lab here in town. Some of the tests are quick and I can get the results right away. Others… well, they take a little time.”
“How much time?”
“I’ll know that better when I get back, honey. But, I can tell you, it looks like a pretty clean job, and you don’t seem to have any kind of dermal infection.”
“That’s good to know,” Susan said, feeling relieved.
“Well, that’s only the first hurdle. Since you don’t know where you got it or what kind of place it was, there’s still a lot of unknowns here.”
Susan nodded, sobered.
Her father took her arm, cleaned it off with alcohol, expertly tied a tourniquet and Susan turned her head. She’d never liked needles, especially sticking in her own arm. It was all she could do to remain calm when the girls got their inoculations. He was good. She barely felt the prick going in, and almost before she could take a breath, he had what he needed.
Randolph took her hand. “Despite what your mama said to you in the car, she’s more than pleased that you called us. She loves you something fierce, little girl.”
Susan sighed. “I know, Daddy. And I love her too. That’s probably why you and her were the first ones I thought of. I just panicked.” A tear formed at the side of her eye.
He gave her a powder for the pain, and a glass of water and told her to rest a while, tucking her in like he had when she was a child. Then he pulled a small silver box out of his pocket.
“Remember this?”
“It’s… Grandma’s music box,” she touched it with the reverence of a child. Her grandmother had died before Susan was ten but one of her earliest memories was of Grandma winding up that box and setting it on Susan’s dresser to help her sleep.
Randolph smiled and wound the little box. It tinkled softly as he set it on the nightstand.
“Tis a gift to be simple,
tis a gift to be free,
tis a gift to come back
where you need to be …”
The little folk song wafted into the room, Susan’s memory supplying the words. Her father kissed her on the forehead and she closed her eyes and relaxed.
It was dark when she woke. The door creaked as it opened, but she kept her eyes closed as someone slipped into the room. Then she smelled fresh bread and opened her eyes.
Her mother was setting a tray on a wicker table next to the window. She glanced over at Susan. “Hello, dear.”
“Hi, Mama.”
“I brought you a light supper. Some chicken soup, and fresh rolls. Aunt Hilda’s old recipe.”
“They smell wonderful.” Susan sat up in bed. She felt better. Her butt was still a bit sore, but some of what she had been feeling must have been hangover. And she felt more relaxed. She glanced over at the nightstand, but the music box was gone.
She joined her mother at the table and Lisa poured them both a glass of iced tea from a crystal pitcher.
“Are you feeling better?” Lisa asked.
“Yes, I think I slept well. And Daddy said it didn’t look like there was any infection.”
“Your father got home from the lab about an hour ago. He’ll join us in a few minutes. Go on, eat,” her mother urged.
Susan smiled at her mother and took a bite of the fresh roll. It was delicious, and still warm from the oven.
“How’s Aunt Hilda?” Susan asked.
“Oh, for a woman in her mid-nineties, she’s quite well. I won’t list all her aches and pains. She’s all caught up in this mess with the President. She says she thought he was shifty twenty years ago and now he’s proved her right.”
Susan chuckled. “I guess she is doing all right. Most people my age haven’t been paying that much attention.”
“Well, her theory is young people are too involved in their own lives to have time for politics. She doesn’t think you should get to vote until you’re at least seventy and have learned a few things.”
They both laughed. Susan said, “That would mean you and daddy couldn’t even vote yet.”
“She still considers us children as well,” Lisa said with a smile.
The bathroom door opened and Randolph slipped inside in his shirt sleeves. He kissed both his wife and his daughter on the cheek and pulled up a delicate rocker from the corner that he could just barely squeeze into.
“How did things go at the lab?” Susan asked.
“My old friend from college brought in a couple of technicians and we paid them overtime. They did a fine job. All the tests that could be done quickly came out negative. However, there are a few that need to be cultured and that takes time.”
“How much time?” Susan asked, concerned.
“About a week to give firm results.” Randolph reached over to take Susan’s hand. “Honey, I don’t want to scare you, but you need to make sure that you don’t put anyone else at risk until we know for sure.”
“You mean, like Robert, and the girls?”
“Oh, chances of the girls catching anything is slim. But Hepititis is transferred by body fluids, so you and Robert are going to have to be… careful.” With a doctor’s skill, he looked Susan in the eyes as he said that.
Susan nodded. “We will be then. I don’t want him to catch anything.”
“Condoms for intercourse should do it,” her father said. “And just be careful about preparing foods. No finger cuts. Don’t expose any foods like salads that you’ll be eating without heating to your blood.”
Susan nodded.
“Randolph. How about getting that thing removed?” Lisa asked.
Randolph Miller had a harder time meeting his wife and daughter’s eyes with this information. “I’ve spoken to someone who is very highly respected in the field. He’ll do a good job, and everything will be quite confidential. But he says you need to fully heal from the tattoo before he’ll attempt it.”
“Fully heal?” Susan exclaimed. “How long?”
“Two weeks. He says he can make it look as if it never happened. But won’t touch it for two weeks.”
“Well,” Lisa said briskly. “You’ll just send for the girls and stay with us. You were coming down soon anyway.”
“Oh, Mama. I need to go home. And the girls have Girl Scout day camp next week. I’m a counselor. I couldn’t possibly change those plans now.” Susan swallowed hard. “I have to go home tomorrow and talk to Robert. Daddy, you make the plans for that doctor to do the job, and we’ll meet you back here in Dallas for the appointment. You’ll come with me?”
“Of course, Pumpkin.”
“Randolph. You can’t just send her home to that boy! No telling what foolishness he’ll do.”
Randolph Miller raised his hand and gave his wife a rare stern look. “Mrs. Miller. I would never counsel one of my patients to keep this from her husband, including my daughter.” He turned back to his daughter. “Sweetheart. There’s a flight for Chicago in the morning. I figured that’s what you’d want and already booked the flight. You’ll get there a little more than an hour before your friends.”
Susan nodded.
“Now, my prescription is for you to get some sleep, and we’ll get you to the plane in the morning.”
Susan arrived in Chicago and headed straight for the terminal where Monica and Kat’s plane would arrive. She settled in the coffee shop with a view of the gate. From this vantage point she watched her family arrive. Robert walked along confidently with the twins circling him like electrons. Her precious girls were in constant motion, identical yellow blonde ponytails bouncing. First one would hold their father’s hand, then the other, as something caught one’s attention. Missy headed for the window to watch for the plane. Robert posted himself behind her, keeping an eye on both her, and everyone else in the room. He held tightly to Helena’s hand, eye on Melissa, but head cocked toward Helena who was looking up at him, explaining something or other.
She finished her coffee and moved to join him. She had missed the three of them so much.
All three were looking out onto the tarmac when she walked up behind them.
“Surprise!” She said softly.
The girls turned first. “Mama!” They shouted simultaneously. Although she had seldom dressed them in the same outfits, they sometimes chose to show off their twin status. Today was one of those days. Both wore red shorts and red striped shirts with sailor collars and bows. They also each had red Keds and white ankle socks. She pulled them both into her arms and kissed the tops of their heads. She leaned over them to kiss Robert, her smile for him completely genuine. She was glad to be home.
“Where did you come from?” he asked. “Your plane isn’t in yet.”
“Oh, it was one of those silly things. They overbooked the flight and offered me a first class seat on another plane, and it ended up getting in earlier.” She kissed him again.
“Where are Aunt Kat and Aunt Monica?” Missy asked, looking around.
“They’re both on our regular flight.”
“We wanted to watch the planes come in,” Helena said, glancing over her shoulder at the window. “That’s why we came early.”
“Well, go on,” Susan urged. “We can wait for the other plane to come in.”
The girls turned and dashed back to the window. Susan took Robert’s hand and smiled.
Everything seemed so completely normal. Except for a bit of an ache on her backside she could almost forget the troubles of the last two days. Ron and his girls showed up next, then Charlie and his entire clan. The girls’ plane arrived on time and the children were all clamoring for pizza and the adults gave in easily. Kat had time to whisper to Susan and ask how she was and Susan said she was fine and would call tomorrow and tell all.
Once they were home, the girls flopped down in front of the television in the
family room. Susan stood, watching as Missy lay practical draped over
the arm of the couch watching the television with the same intensity as her
father. On the opposite end of the sofa, Helena was sat with a
book in hand but one eye on the television.
"Did you miss us?" Robert slipped up behind her snaking his
arms around her waist.
Susan turned around arms going around his neck as she hugged him tightly.
"I did miss all of you. I especially missed you."
"I missed you too, Honey. That bed at the lake seemed way too big
without you." One of his hands slipped down to her cheek and he stroke
it lightly. Thankfully, he chose the cheek without the tattoo. "What
do you say, we go to our own bed and talk."
Susan chuckled. She was sure he didn't mean talk in the verbal sense.
"But the girls are still up."
Robert removed his hand bringing it slowly up her body before he released her.
She smiled up at him. "You know, I don't think those girls would notice
if we retired early."
Susan glanced back at her children. Helena had her eyes closed and Missy
was staring glassy eyed at the television. She pushed away from Robert
gently crossing toward Helena. She shook her softly, waking her and sending
her upstairs to bed. Then she walked to the television and flipped it
off. Missy sat up slowly. "Time for bed, Jelly Bean."
Missy yawned as she made a slow descent up the stairs. Susan knew
it wouldn't be long before she joined her sister in slumber.
In the meantime, Robert had checked the doors and turned out the lights.
He met Susan at the entrance to the family room. They walked arm in arm
to their bedroom.
"So how were the teenage babysitters? Did Ron behave himself? The girls
didn't care for them."
Robert chuckled. "Charlie and I kept Ron pretty busy so as far as
I know he behaved without Kat there. As for the girls, I think the
sitters just tried too hard." Robert added as he closed the
door to their room. Susan heard him twist the lock. In a flash, he
was behind her whispering in her ear. "So Mrs. Thompson, did
you behave yourself without her husband to keep you straight?"
Susan stiffened and pulled away. Robert thought he felt a chill enter
the room as she crossed to her nightstand and turned on the light. Susan gave
him a faint smile and sat gingerly on her side of the bed.
Robert's heart stopped.
Susan looked up at him. "There's something I have to tell you."
She held out her hand and he joined her on the bed. He took it and sat
down next to her.
"Susie, what is it?" Robert swallowed hard.
"Well…there was this man."
Robert stood quickly and walked to the other side of the room. Susan was up
in a quickly following him. She flung her arms around his waist and clung
to him.
"Oh no, Robbie it wasn't like that. I didn't sleep with him."
Robert turned around slowly.
Susan shook her head, this was not going well. "Maybe
I'd better start at the end and work back to the beginning."
"Maybe you should." He said sternly.
"Maybe I should just show you." Susan took his hand and headed
toward the bathroom. She was shaking.
Robert followed.
Without looking at her husband, Susan pulled off her top and tossed it toward
the sink. Then came her bra and pants. She turned and stood
before him wearing only her panties. Robert's eyes moved up and down her body.
"Nice tan." He said drily.
Susan gave him a shy smile. Then she told him. "Robbie, Friday
night the girls and I went out to a nightclub. I danced with a man for
a local dance competition. We came in third. I was a little
nervous about the competition so the girls suggested that we should drink some
margaritas beforehand. I had several." She looked down at the floor.
"Why am I not surprised?" Robert said flatly. "If Kat's
around I'm sure there's tequila. So what does this have to do with us
standing in the bathroom and one of almost butt naked?"
Susan pulled him over by the mirror and continued her story. "Well after
the competition we had some more drinks and stayed out very late. We were
out so late that I don't even know what time it was when we finally came in."
Robert waited.
"When I woke up yesterday morning, I couldn't remember how we'd gotten
home. But I really didn't worry about it because we had a driver and Kat
and Monica where there."
"But?" Robert said when she stopped to take a breath.
Susan turned around with the mirror behind her and Robert in front of her.
She started slowly, "So when I woke up and went into the bathroom,
my hip seemed kind of sore and I found … this." She pulled down the
side of her panty.
"What the hell is that?" Robert looked at the reflection in
the mirror. He grabbed her hips and turned her around. He dropped
to his knees and looked at it carefully.
Susan stood on the verge of tears waiting for an atomic explosion.
"You got a tattoo!" Robert burst out laughing. "A
tattoo on your ass!"
Susan turned around and stated in disbelief.
"On my God, Woman, you scared me to death." Robert continued
laughing. "Where in the hell did you get this?"
"You aren't mad?" Susan was relieved that he wasn't mad but
irritated that he found it so funny.
"Mad? No, I think it's funny as hell! Your mother is going
to flip a wig! And what does that say? Roberto? Oh my God Honey
that's the funniest thing I've ever seen." Robert grabbed his side
he was laughing so hard.
"Robert! This isn't funny!" Susan huffed.
Robert continued laughing from his position of the floor. Susan pushed
away from him and stalked into the bedroom. When he composed himself,
he found her sitting on the end of the bed arms across her chest. He sat down
next to her and tried to put his arm around her but she scooted away.
"What's wrong?" Robert chuckled.
"I don't believe you! How can you laugh about this!"
"Oh come on Honey. You have to admit it's funny. A woman of
your caliber getting a tattoo? Your mother will have a fit when she finds
out; probably roll over and die when she sees it's my name too!"
Robert was beginning to laugh again.'
"Are you cracking up? What do you mean a woman of my caliber!
Do you think I'm that straight?!"
"Susie," Robert said with a chuckle.
"You think that all I am is a mother and a doctor's wife! I'll remind
you that I was once not those things. I've not always been Daddy's good little
girl and you should know firsthand!!" Susan was indignant.
"Don't even speak to me! Again! Ever!" She popped up from the bed
and stood in front of him.
Robert only smiled. He rose from the bed picked up his mostly naked wife
putting her on the bed. She started struggling with him so he crawled
on top of her straddling her holding his weight off her hip but pinning her
to the bed, He held her hands down so she couldn't hit him.
When she stopped struggling she saw that he was above her smiling. She huffed
and looked away.
"Susan, look at me." Robert said.
Susan refused.
"I see I'm going to have to do this the hard way." Robert cracked.
He lowered his head and began to trail kisses over her neck.
"Robert, what are you doing?"
"Taming a wild woman, I think." He said but didn't stop kissing
her.
Susan struggled against him so Robert nipped her neck.
"Stop that…the girls!" She protested.
Robert laughed against her neck. "What's one more mark to a wild
mama like yourself?"
"Get off me, you big lug."
"No way, I've always wondered what it would be like to do it with a chick
with a tattoo."
"We can't do it." She said her energy and her anger completely
spent.
Robert chuckled his lips close to he breast. "And just why the hell
not. It's legal is all fifty states."
"Daddy said we had to be careful."
Robert stopped. "Daddy?"
Susan pushed him up. "There's more to the story."
Robert waited.
"I went to see my parents first. I thought I could get it removed
before you saw it."
"I see."
"Daddy met me in Dallas. He had some test runs to make sure I hadn't
contracted something since I had no knowledge about getting it."
"What did he say?" Robert asked concerned.
"Most the tests were negative but some would take longer. He said
that we should be careful about sharing body fluids."
"Let's see…" Robert's medical mind began to work. "We'll
have to be careful for at least a few months. We'll need some protection."
"Yes, that's what he said."
Robert crawled off his wife. "Turn over and let me see it again."
He examined it thoroughly. "It looks clear of infection but
you'll still need to keep something on it. I'll be right back."
Susan watched Robert search for his shoes. "Where are you going?"
Robert leaned over and kissed her quickly, "To the pharmacy to get
some ointment for you."
"Daddy gave me some."
"I should have known that." Robert said matter of factly and
continued to put his shoes on.
"You're still going?" Susan propped herself up on the pillows.
Robert smiled, "Did he also give you some condoms?"
Susan giggled, "No. He didn't."
"I'll be right back.” He assured her with another kiss.
She grabbed his arm, " Robert, I'm sorry. The doctor in Dallas can't removed
it for another two weeks."
"It's okay, Honey. It's not your fault. Besides, I get to enjoy the view
while it lasts."
"Thank you for understanding."
He kissed her hard, "Well, I can't very well be mad with you when
you are standing in front of me all tan and naked. It's too distracting."
"I'll have to remember that the next time we fight." Susan winked.
"Be back soon." He said "I can trust that you won't
do anything wild while I'm gone..."
Susan laughed as he closed the door.
There was only one drug store open in the area at this time on a Sunday night. Robert pulled into the parking lot, humming along with the radio which was playing “Margaritaville.” Robert smiled, certainly an appropriate song. He understood his father-in-law’s concern. Condoms would be a must, at least until they could make certain she was okay. His smiled turned grim. The old boy must have been biting his tongue, telling his daughter to use ‘precautions,’ but the Hippocratic Oath was sacred to the old fart.
On his way to the back aisle where the condoms were located was a display with bouquets of cut flowers. He stopped. Susan may have had a good week, but so far she’d had a rough weekend. He picked out one that had mums and carnations in her favorite colors.
There was a whole wall full of prophylactics. It had been a while since Robert had needed anything like this. Over a decade, he realized with some surprise. He still felt like his life with Susie was just beginning. Where had the time gone? He spotted a box that stated ‘ribbed for her comfort’ and chose those. Then he looked just below and spotted a bigger box of the same kind. He chose the bigger box. He couldn’t quite get rid of the sight of that red heart with ‘Roberto’ spelled out in it. Damn! What a woman!
He was in his own little world as he waited for the sleepy looking man in front of him to purchase three different types of cold medicine. He was listening to the man explain to the bored girl at the counter that no matter which kind he brought home, his wife always wanted something different. Just as the man turned away and he sat the flowers and the box on the counter he heard a familiar voice behind him chuckle.
“Just like our frat days, eh old son?”
He turned to see Ron standing behind him with a six pack of beer in one hand and a big bottle of Solarcane in the other.
“Sunburn?” Robert asked, trying to act casual about the large box proudly proclaiming it was ribbed for her comfort.
“Big time. She always burns,” Ron shook his head. “It’s like she forgets from one summer to the next. Or thinks something must have changed.”
“And beer to keep her well lubricated,” Robert decided to remain on the offensive. It was usually the best way with Ron. He handed over a twenty to the girl as he spoke, and paid little attention to her as she counted back his change.
“Hey, no pain for her, plenty of gain for me,” Ron grinned. “As you can attest, I was a good boy all week long. I deserve a little action.” He handed over his own money and gave the girl a wink, letting her keep the change.
“You already in the dog house?” he nodded at the flowers. “She hasn’t been home more than a few hours.”
Robert shook his head trying to put some distance in between them as he headed towards his Benz. Ron’s Caddy was parked next to it. “Just happy to see her.”
Ron unlocked his car and put the beer on the back seat. “I can tell by the size of that box,” he paused for effect. “Roberto.”
Robert froze with his hand on the door. He carefully put the flowers on the top of the car, and tossed the bag with his box in the passenger seat. He walked around the back of his car and up to Ron, cornering him between car and open door.
“Ron?” he said quietly, with great control.
“Yeah, Robert?”
“She’s a bit embarrassed by that. I’d suggest you not spread it around.” Robert was nearly a head taller than Ron, and broader. He looked down into Ron’s eyes, a test of wills.
Ron looked away first. He always had, ever since their frat days. “Sure, Robert. You know how Kat is. But I’ll make sure she keeps mum. You know we both think a lot of Sus. Is she okay?” he asked the last nervously, but sincerely.
Robert nodded and backed away. “So far.” It was more than obvious that Ron knew all. He wondered if Kat had told him in the car in front of the children. If so, Susan would be livid. “Her dad ran a bunch of tests yesterday, but it’ll be a few days before we know for sure.”
Ron nodded. It occurred to Robert that Ron would know as well as he how serious the consequences of this could be. “After you know, if you need some help finding a discreet plastic surgeon…”
Robert relaxed a bit and leaned against his car. “Her dad has it all taken care of. You know how that family is about keeping things in Texas. I’m surprised he let her have the twins up here.”
Ron snorted. “I’m surprised he let you marry her.”
Robert shook his head. “Sometimes I am too.” He looked up at the dark night sky and laughed. “It must royally piss him off that she had my name tattooed on her butt.”
Ron gave a snicker, then saw it was okay with Robert to laugh about this. “Hell, Thompson, I think the whole thing is a hoot. The girls all seem scandalized by it. She must really love you.”
“I guess. Heaven knows why.” Robert chuckled. “But good god, what a turn-on to find my name on her like that.” He shook his head. “I still don’t think she realizes.”
“She will when she sees the size of that box. So, you think those rib things really increase her pleasure?”
“Damned if I know. But if it does, I’m sure she’ll tell Kat and Kat’ll let you know.”
“God, I suppose so.” Ron shook his head. “Women!”
“Something we’ve lived without all week,” Robert said. “It’s time we went home to ours.” He headed back to the driver’s side of his car. Ron gave him a nod and they left the parking lot, each with his own anticipation of the evening ahead.
He opened the bedroom door quietly; afraid she might already be asleep and reluctant to wake her despite his plan for the evening. She wasn’t in bed and he could tell by the humid scent in the room that she must be in the shower. He locked the bedroom door then headed across the bedroom to the master bath.
She was just toweling her hair dry. She stood in front of the mirror, her back to him. He watched her. How did she manage to look elegant even standing bare naked and just out of the shower? He decided it was the poised way she stood, and the way she moved, with a kind of cat-like confidence. As she moved the towel, the red heart on her bottom danced to the same rhythm. It seemed to call to him. “Roberto…” His hand moved almost involuntarily to his crotch. She had such an effect on him!
She removed the towel and caught sight of him in the mirror. Their eyes met and she smiled. “Are those for me?”
His voice caught in his throat and he nodded. He stepped forward and handed them to her. She took both the flowers and the bag. She looked at his crotch. “I guess that’s for me too.” She smelled the flowers and smiled.
He reached out to touch her hair, damp and uncombed but looking like liquid gold. “I missed you.”
“I can tell.”
He could hear the laughter in her voice. She opened the bag and laughed out loud. “Oh, Robert! This box is huge!”
He deliberately misunderstood her. With a grin he answered, “I can buy more if we run out.”
She lay the flowers on the counter and put her arms around him. He leaned down and touched his lips to hers, his need growing more urgent. The kiss deepened and he easily lifted her to the counter between the two sinks. His hand moved down her back and as she turned her head slightly he caught sight of that red heart in the mirror. “OTREBOR.” That was him. He felt another strong surge of arousal.
Susan obviously felt it too. She pulled back and glanced toward the bedroom with a wordless question.
“Here,” he whispered urgently.
She smiled and reached for his fly. He opened the bag next too her and fumbled the box open, pulling out a little foil packet as his pants dropped to the floor. She unbuttoned his shirt while he tried to open the packet. He couldn’t get it to tear open.
“Let me,” she said softly, her voice husky with her own arousal.
Oh, when she spoke like that… She took the small packet, put it to her mouth and tore it open with her teeth, then, keeping eye contact with him she removed the rubber and tossed the foil into the sink.
“We haven’t used one of those in a while.”
“No, we haven’t. But I remember how it goes,” she said with a smile. She stroked him, enjoying the smoothness of his skin, then she expertly rolled the thin material down his shaft.
“You’re good at that.” He leaned forward, kissing her just below the ear.
With one hand he checked, she was ready, the wetness he felt was not from her shower. “Did you miss me too?”
“Of course,” she answered, brushing his ear with her lips. “Let me show you how much.”
He slid easily inside and she wrapped her legs around him. With a throaty moan she began to move against him. He steadied her with his hands to her back side, taking care not to touch the tattoo,still a bit sore. He could see that red heart in the mirror, inspiring him further. Did she really need to have it removed?
She moaned as she neared her peak and he released inside her with a gasp. “Oh, Susan! Oh, Honey!”
She clung to him and shuddered, overcome by her own orgasm. They continued to cling together, catching their breath.
“Mmm, you did miss me,” he whispered into her ear.
“Yes, I did. You may have to get another box after all,” she joked.
He lifted her off the counter and carried her to the bedroom. “No problem at all.” He stood over the bed and thought for a moment. “That tattoo is still sore. Guess you’ll have to be on top, won’t you?”
Susan laughed and poked at his chest. “You like it when I’m on top, I know it.”
He looked over at the full length dressing mirror that stood in the corner of the room and realized he could aim it at the bed and see that tattoo if they lay in just the right spot. He put her down gently and nuzzled her ear. “I always like to give my cowgirl a good ride.”
“I’ll get the box.” She headed back to the bathroom and he aimed the mirror.
Maybe he should take tomorrow off.
“Why aren’t you guys going with us?” Missy asked, climbing onto the back of the sofa.
“Get down,” Robert replied, enforcing the order by lifting her from the furniture and standing her on the floor.
The suite they were staying in was absolutely posh. Lisa had made the reservations at one of the best hotels in Dallas, so Robert wasn’t particularly surprised. The girls had their own room with two double beds. Robert and Susan had their own bedroom and bath. The sitting room overlooked the swimming pool and gardens and had a view of the Dallas skyline. The Millers had the suite next door and the girls were spending their time running back and forth between the two suites.
Susan was showering. They had a 10 a.m. appointment with the plastic surgeon and she had asked that both her father and her husband be there. Either that, or Susan was being diplomatic and her father had insisted on coming along. Lisa was taking the girls to Six Flags for the day. They planned to stay at the park until it closed. The girls should be so tired they wouldn’t even notice that their mother wasn’t feeling well. Tomorrow Lisa and Randolph would take the girls shopping and keep them entertained while Robert played nurse. Then the Millers would take the girls home with them. Robert and Susan would remain here until Susan felt good enough to join the girls at the ranch.
Susan swept into the room and kissed her daughter on top of the head. “Your Daddy and Grandpa and I have some business to take care of. Now, don’t take your grandma on the scary rides. She can watch you from the ground. And don’t eat too much junk and get sick.”
Missy put her arms around her mother. “Grandma likes the roller coasters.”
“Okay, I’ll let the three of you work it out.”
There was a knock at the door and Helena dashed to the door.
“Ready?” Lisa Miller asked as her granddaughters wrapped themselves around her.
“We’re ready.”
“All right, go get the elevator.” The girls dashed out into the hall. Lisa turned to her daughter. “Your father is ready to go whenever you are.” She didn’t look like a person ready to ride roller coasters. She wore a fashionable pantsuit, pearls and pumps.
Susan kissed her. “Thank you, Mama. For everything. My guys will take great care of of me.”
Lisa looked over at her son-in-law, but refrained from any comment. “They better.” Robert had the feeling that she would have given that same threatening look to Randolph as well. Susan was her pride and joy and the men had better take good care of her.
Robert put his arms around Susan as Lisa left. “Maybe we should take a vacation together when you’re feeling better. Where would you like to go?”
Susan leaned against him with a sigh. “Anywhere but Mexico.”
