do this.”
“What, exactly?”
She looked into his eyes. “Sometimes I need to be alone. You let me be alone with you.”
For Adam, there was a world of meaning concealed in those few words. Smiling a little, he said, “I just like being with you. Even when you’re alone.”
A new and palpable affection surfaced in her eyes. She leaned over to kiss him, her mouth soft and warm, then leaned her forehead against his. Quietly, she asked, “Would you like to make love with me?”
Taken by surprise, Adam felt a tightness in his throat. “Yes.”
Wordless, she stood in front of him, eyes locking his. She took off her sweater, then her bra, the nipples rising on her small, perfect breasts. Transfixed, Adam watched her step out of her jeans, then lower her panties, exposing the light brown tuft between her slender legs. Then she turned around to show him everything before facing him again.
“Do you like me, Adam?”
He could not seem to move. “Even more than I imagined.”
“Then why are you still dressed?”
He stood, peeling off his clothes, his desire for her written on every fiber of his body. She kissed him deeply, then knelt to take him into her mouth. “Not that,” he murmured. “It’s you I want.”
“Then lie down,” she said in a husky voice.
He lay on his back. With silent urgency, Jenny mounted him, eyes closing as she took him inside her body. As she began to move with him, her face went rigid, almost blank. Their rhythm quickened, drawing soft cries from inside her. When she cried out more fiercely, her body shuddering, Adam saw tears at the corners of her eyes. Then, all at once, he was beyond wondering why.
When they were spent, Jenny searched his face again, as though rediscovering its features. “Just hold me,” she whispered.
Filled with tenderness and questions, Adam did that.
Seven
Breaking off this memory, Adam knocked on the door of the guesthouse. “Come on in,” a mordant voice said. “Whoever you are, you can’t be my father.”
Adam stepped inside. Though his brother sat in front of a canvas, for a moment Adam saw neither Teddy nor his surroundings. “What’s wrong, bro?” Teddy asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
At once, Adam shook off the illusion of having stepped into the past. “It’s just that I haven’t been here for so long. The last time I saw this room it wasn’t an artist’s studio.”
That much was true. When Teddy, like Jack, had returned to the island, Clarice had pled with Ben to make the guesthouse Teddy’s home. The front room had become his place of work, with painting supplies, an easel, and several half-finished canvases awaiting the artist’s touch. Teddy had turned from the easel, his normally grave features displaying the engaging smile he reserved for those he cared for. Sitting on the sofa, Adam said simply, “I’m sorry about all this.”
Teddy gave him a look that mingled affection and directness. “Not your fault. I know you always felt like it was, somehow. But the only one to blame is him.”
Adam felt himself relax. Within their family, he realized, his relationship with Teddy was a respite, unalloyed by his own complex feelings for his mother and his loathing for the father he too closely resembled. “Did you have any idea he’d do this, Ted?”
Teddy’s face hardened. “Why would I? He’d written me off when he was still alive. He just decided to save the coup de grâce for after he was gone.”
“That could have been years from now,” Adam objected. “Dad was the last man who could imagine his own death. Why change his will so soon?”
In the light from above, focused on Teddy’s easel, Adam saw a grim smile play on his brother’s lips. “Don’t ask me to explain the workings of his mind. Whatever they were, he timed his departure quite badly. I’m destitute.”
“Literally?”
Teddy considered him, his left elbow propped on his knee, his face resting in his palm. “Why do you think I
“What, exactly?”
She looked into his eyes. “Sometimes I need to be alone. You let me be alone with you.”
For Adam, there was a world of meaning concealed in those few words. Smiling a little, he said, “I just like being with you. Even when you’re alone.”
A new and palpable affection surfaced in her eyes. She leaned over to kiss him, her mouth soft and warm, then leaned her forehead against his. Quietly, she asked, “Would you like to make love with me?”
Taken by surprise, Adam felt a tightness in his throat. “Yes.”
Wordless, she stood in front of him, eyes locking his. She took off her sweater, then her bra, the nipples rising on her small, perfect breasts. Transfixed, Adam watched her step out of her jeans, then lower her panties, exposing the light brown tuft between her slender legs. Then she turned around to show him everything before facing him again.
“Do you like me, Adam?”
He could not seem to move. “Even more than I imagined.”
“Then why are you still dressed?”
He stood, peeling off his clothes, his desire for her written on every fiber of his body. She kissed him deeply, then knelt to take him into her mouth. “Not that,” he murmured. “It’s you I want.”
“Then lie down,” she said in a husky voice.
He lay on his back. With silent urgency, Jenny mounted him, eyes closing as she took him inside her body. As she began to move with him, her face went rigid, almost blank. Their rhythm quickened, drawing soft cries from inside her. When she cried out more fiercely, her body shuddering, Adam saw tears at the corners of her eyes. Then, all at once, he was beyond wondering why.
When they were spent, Jenny searched his face again, as though rediscovering its features. “Just hold me,” she whispered.
Filled with tenderness and questions, Adam did that.
Seven
Breaking off this memory, Adam knocked on the door of the guesthouse. “Come on in,” a mordant voice said. “Whoever you are, you can’t be my father.”
Adam stepped inside. Though his brother sat in front of a canvas, for a moment Adam saw neither Teddy nor his surroundings. “What’s wrong, bro?” Teddy asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
At once, Adam shook off the illusion of having stepped into the past. “It’s just that I haven’t been here for so long. The last time I saw this room it wasn’t an artist’s studio.”
That much was true. When Teddy, like Jack, had returned to the island, Clarice had pled with Ben to make the guesthouse Teddy’s home. The front room had become his place of work, with painting supplies, an easel, and several half-finished canvases awaiting the artist’s touch. Teddy had turned from the easel, his normally grave features displaying the engaging smile he reserved for those he cared for. Sitting on the sofa, Adam said simply, “I’m sorry about all this.”
Teddy gave him a look that mingled affection and directness. “Not your fault. I know you always felt like it was, somehow. But the only one to blame is him.”
Adam felt himself relax. Within their family, he realized, his relationship with Teddy was a respite, unalloyed by his own complex feelings for his mother and his loathing for the father he too closely resembled. “Did you have any idea he’d do this, Ted?”
Teddy’s face hardened. “Why would I? He’d written me off when he was still alive. He just decided to save the coup de grâce for after he was gone.”
“That could have been years from now,” Adam objected. “Dad was the last man who could imagine his own death. Why change his will so soon?”
In the light from above, focused on Teddy’s easel, Adam saw a grim smile play on his brother’s lips. “Don’t ask me to explain the workings of his mind. Whatever they were, he timed his departure quite badly. I’m destitute.”
“Literally?”
Teddy considered him, his left elbow propped on his knee, his face resting in his palm. “Why do you think I
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