The Marriage List by Jean Joachim

cheap furniture, his mouth fell
open at what he saw. He walked into the living room and was struck
by the beautiful red and orange striped matching loveseats on
either side of the fireplace. An old cobbler's bench served as a
coffee table between the sofas. An antique pine corner cabinet,
shined to a gloss, hugged the corner while tan burlap curtains
moved in the slight breeze that entered even when the windows were
closed.
    "Your apartment is beautiful. Did you do
this?" His gaze traveled through the living room to the kitchen and
down the long hallway to her bedroom.
    "Do you mean, did I hire a decorator? Hell
no, why would I?" she asked.
    "Some people prefer to leave decorating to
someone else."
    "This is my home. I want it the way I want
it. My taste. Can't leave that to someone else." Carrie handed him
a corkscrew.
    "I agree." He went to work on the bottle of
cabernet sauvignon he brought.
    "Did you decorate your own place?"
    He shook his head. "I hired help. I didn't
know where to begin," he said, embarrassed.
    A timer went off in the kitchen, calling
Carrie before she had a chance to respond. He noticed the round
table romantically set for two and the French doors with gauzy
white curtains. There was a straw rug, early American lamps, two
throw pillows and some small pieces of art on the white marble
mantle. A narrow credenza fit behind one of the sofas and held a
beautiful basket filled with fruit. There was a small bowl of nuts
on the cobbler's bench. He never expected to see such an enchanting
apartment when she opened the door. He glanced down the short
hallway toward the bedroom.
    "Off limits for now…" she said, her eyes
following his gaze.
    "Can't I get a tour? I love what you've done,
can I see the rest?"
    "Sure, come on," she led him to the terrace
which had a small dark gray wrought iron table and two with
peacock-blue-cushioned chairs, also wrought iron. Then she took him
down the long hallway turned into a mini-gallery for the original
art hung there. There was an impressionistic pen-and-ink sailboat,
two decorative plates in red with gold and turquoise highlights, a
large mountain scene oil painting and several others he didn't have
time to examine closely on his swift walk back to the bedroom.
Carrie's bedroom walls were painted light sky blue paint on the
walls, trimmed in soft yellow. The bedspread was a country print in
shades of blue, yellow and white. She had a small country French
antique pine chest of drawers and white lamps on either side of the
bed. He noticed the queen-sized bed and smiled.
    "What's that for?"
    "What?" Grey tried to change his smile to one
of innocence but failed.
    "The wicked grin on your face."
    "Nothing, nothing, admiring your bedroom.
It's a great room, nicely done. Can't I do that without an ulterior
motive?"
    "What do you like about it?" Carrie narrowed
her eyes and turned to face him squarely.
    "The décor…the colors…to be honest, the size
of the bed tells me a lot about you."
    "How so?"
    "If it were a twin-sized bed, then I could be
pretty certain we wouldn't be sharing it any time soon…a double bed
means I have a 50/50 chance, but a queen-sized bed means…" he
blushed, suddenly aware he was giving away too much.
    "Means?" She prodded.
    "Never mind," he said, moving toward the
door.
    She pulled on his arm and he turned.
    "Means what?" She insisted. She blocked his
path to the door and put her hand on her hips.
    "Means you're interested in…spending some
time with someone else in a bed big enough for two, especially a
man my size."
    "I see. Leaping to some pretty big
conclusions here aren't you?" She put her hand over her mouth to
cover a smile.
    "Hope is speaking again," he said, pulling
her closer for a kiss.
    "Gotta get the dinner," she said, pulling out
of his arms and moving down the hall.
    Grey followed behind her, watching her sway
as she walked, his desire growing. His heart began to beat more
rapidly as he realized Carrie might be the one woman who met