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Dan was so easy. She wished she’d recognized that he was almost simple. Watching the news and sports on TV was about the extent of the entertainment he needed. He liked lots of sex, and even in that regard, he was easy.You do this to me, I do this to you,and so on. She was always satisfied, and he claimed to be, as well. She never turned him down, and because he was fairly insatiable, she rarely had to initiate it. But when she did, he was happy to oblige.
Food was easy, too, and he loved to eat. From the first time they had dated after Jack died, he had raved about her cooking, so she was happy to do it. He also liked Hocus’s Dominican food, but she leaned toward a predictable menu that often included grilled goat meat and rice.
Laughing at the thought of that, Pam decided to grill the steaks out on the veranda. It was warm enough with the fire pit lit. If he wanted to eat in front of the TV, she wouldn’t make a fuss. She never made a fuss about things like that with Dan. It was enough that he was there and faithful. He called herthroughout the day, and if she didn’t mind, he often came home for lunch too, sometimes bringing food with him.
She’d heard from Laura that Sandra had referred to Dan as a slug. That had hurt, but then Pam remembered Sandra and Dan’s relationship, and she laughed instead. After Lisa and Dan had broken up, Dan had been living in the same executive short-term apartments that Ryan had just moved to. They were horrible.
And Sandra couldn’t deal with commuting from Manhattan to watch Dan watch sports on TV all night, often falling asleep in his recliner after eating greasy takeout. Pam couldn’t remember how Dan and Sandra had gotten together, only that he’d cheated on Lisa with Sandra.
A little forgotten anger rose in Pam. Sandra had cheated with both their husbands. There were some other infidelities in there. Sandra had messed around with a man named Jason on the eve of Pam’s wedding to him, and he’d stood her up at the altar. But it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Face it, Pam was just as guilty as Dan about being a serial monogamist. Hopefully, this time around with Dan would last forever. She loved him, but she didn’t feel like he was hers. It wasn’t something she shared with him. She just felt lucky that Dan said he wanted to be with her and that he showed up every night.
He texted her at four o’clock that he was leaving the office and he was starving. Did she want to go out? She texted him back and said she was grilling on the veranda and would have everything ready as soon as he walked through the door. He enjoyed getting out of his suit and showering.
Once again, there was some of that old excitement she’d had in her youth, preparing a meal for her family. Taking a deep breath as she bent over to light the grill, she uttered, “Thank you” to the universe.
***
About the same time Dan was leaving the office, Betsy Franklin and Ryan were in bed. Ryan rolled off her, puffing away like a locomotive.
“Wow! What in the hell?”
“Why?” Betsy asked. “Aren’t you satisfied?”
“There has to be a stronger word than satisfied. That was fantastic.” He got up on his elbow. “What about you?”
“I’m wonderful,” she said, grinning. “I feel like I was turned inside out.”
Ryan flopped over on his back, laughing. “That made everything I went through today worth it.”
Now it was Betsy’s turn to get up on her elbow. “Aw, having regrets, Ryan?”
“I was feeling a little empty for a moment, but I gave myself a pep talk. I needed to get back up on the horse, so to speak.”
“And I’m the horse,” she replied, grimacing.
“Well, I guess,” Ryan said, chuckling. “Leaving was the best thing for me, and it will be good for the family, too. Lisa said that when I went to the Poconos with the guys, and remember I was only gone overnight, the older kids told her in so many words they felt like the house had been purged of some bad energy. They had to walk on eggshells when I was around. I feel bad about that. Once they get used to me being gone, it’ll be a happier place.”
“Aren’t you going to be jealous when Lisa dates again?”
“Who is going to date a woman with five kids? I don’t think that’s anything I need to worry about anytime soon.”
“You might be in for a big surprise,” Betsy said.
“Why? What do you know?” Ryan asked.
“She’s adorable, Ryan. And from what you’ve said, she’s independently wealthy. That’s going to make her very attractive to a man.”
“I don’t want to think of that,” he shouted. “I was getting another boner, and that ruined it.”
“I’ll get it back,” she murmured, pushing him back on the bed.
Around six, Ryan lit charcoal in the complex’s common grill and prepared steaks to perfection. He brought them back to the dining table, where Betsy sat in a short kimono robe, her hair tied back with a rubber band. Ryan sat across from her, shirtless, ready to dig into his steak. A knock on the door interrupted the first bite.
“I might have left the grill open,” he said, going to the door.
When he opened it, he was pushed back by an onslaught of little bodies screaming, “Daddy!”
