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“Well, stop it. Look, there’s one alternative.”
“And what is that?” she asked.
“We could always move away.”
“Is that even a consideration?”
“It is if this place is making you crazy.”
“Think about what we’d lose. Just your proximity to Pam would be a loss. I know how much you two depend on each other. And Alison across the street. Dan, what about him? The boys would be sad without him, as undependable as he is as a father.”
“He’s getting better,” Ryan said loyally, fond of Dan.
“Yeah, that’s true. Moving really isn’t an option. We would disrupt the equilibrium. The whole family is in one block. Even Sandra is here, as much as I hate to be reminded.
“No, I need to deal with it. If Hocus is really trying to make trouble for me, I need to find out and nip it in the bud.”
Picking up a lighter on the side table, Ryan lit a candle. Then he leaned over and switched the light off.
“All we need is music, and I don’t know how to work that speaker thing that’s hooked up to the internet.”
“The silence is nice,” she murmured, threading her fingers through his. “My headache is gone, too. You were probably right about needing to eat. You take care of me, Ryan. I’m so grateful.”
“I want to take care of you,” he said, kissing her neck. “I’m ready to take care ofevery part of youif you’re in the mood.”
It had been a while for them, Ryan medicated and Lisa dealing with ghosts from her past.
“I want to touch right now,” he said. “Let’s make love tonight. It’s been long enough.”
“Well, well, well, are you making a pass at me?” she murmured, her head back while he kissed her. She couldn’t think of anything that would make her feel better at that moment.
“I guess I am,” he said. “Is that okay?”
“It’s more than okay, it’s wonderful.”
With fingers in the elastic of her sweatpants, Ryan worked them over her hips, Lisa raising them on command. He got on his knees between hers, pulling one leg off, and prepared to do the thing he loved best, guaranteed to put her at ease.
***
In the last house at the end of the beach before the causeway, Sandra Benson sat in a recliner with her son squeezed in beside her, an open Peppa the Pig Family coloring book on her lap. They both had crayons and were coloring opposing pages. When they were together, they didn’t talk much, and Sandra was trying to remedy that but wasn’t quite sure how to. She didn’t have much to say to the little boy, not terribly interested in his day-to-day activities. The nanny was paid a small fortune to pay attention to Brent. Brent, however, decided to take matters into his own hands.
“Mommy, why is Peppa’s mommy looking at the computer with her?”
“What are you talking about?”
Sandra moved his hand to look at the image. Sure enough, Peppa sat on her mother’s lap while she sat at the computer. Biting her lip, Sandra thought of an answer that would take her off the spot.
“While Peppa’s mom is working, she’s letting Peppa see what she’s doing so she’ll behave and not make a lot of noise.”
“But they’re smiling. That doesn’t look like work to me.”
“Okay, Brent, give it a rest. The next time I sit at the computer, you can sit on my lap.”
The little boy giggled. Then his mood abruptly changed. “Where’s my dad?”
Rolling her eyeballs, Sandra thought too late that maybe the Peppa the Pig coloring book wasn’t a safe activity.
“He’s in heaven,” Sandra said, grasping at straws.
