noise.
“Sounds like a party.”
“You know how lawyers like to celebrate big paydays. We’re all down at Monahan’s.” I waited through a slightly-too-long pause and she said, “You could come down and join us.”
“I’d just be an extra wheel. This is your day to shine. Besides, Rod never showed up to take Gayle home and everyone in my place took off early, so I volunteered.”
“I was feeling a little guilty partying while you were so distressed, but you seem to be doing fine.” If there was a dig in that I ignored it. Normally, it wouldn’t have troubled her that I went out of my way to help Gayle, as long as it wasn’t at her expense.
“I am. Call me when you’re on your way home?”
Dressed for the July heat in a tee shirt and a short culotte that Jim had picked up at Macy’s for her, Gayle signed the necessary releases and we were out of there. The Town Car was no problem, but the rigid brace covering her right leg to above her knee made getting her into my car a little tricky, even with the limo driver’s help. Helping support her weight as she struggled to get her injured leg into the car, my hand wound up under her bare thigh. It was accidental, and my hand didn’t linger any more than necessary.
“Sorry,” I said.
We engaged in office chatter as we drove north from the train station. Then there was a minute of silence, and she said, “I know I’ve been making you uncomfortable. I don’t know what got into me. It was just that…” Her voice trailed off.
When we slowed to a crawl approaching a toll booth, I turned to her. “Just what, Gayle?”
“It was everything. I know that’s no excuse, but sometimes…sometimes I dream about being rescued. I owe you an apology. I had no right to lay that on you. I felt like everything was coming apart and you were there like you always are. You know I’d never come between you and Ilene, don’t you?”
I paused for a long breath. “I do. We all have our moments, Gayle. If I were prosecuted for every idle fantasy I ever had, I’d be in a lot of trouble.”
We were more relaxed after that. Her twins were still at camp when we reached her house, and Rod still hadn’t been heard from. I got the crutches she’d borrowed out of the trunk, then opened Gayle’s door and looked down at her uncertainly.
“How do we do this?” I said.
“I can get myself out of the car, but I’ll need to lean on you. You’re going to have to catch me if I fall. Except for practicing with the nurse, I’ve never been on crutches before.” She saw the expression on my face and said, “C’mon, Dylan. How can I rely on you if you’re afraid to touch me?”
When I still didn’t move, she said, “Give me your hand.” I helped her up and got one arm around her. Then, she used one of the crutches and leaned on my arm instead of the other one. We made it to her front door without falling, and once inside she hobbled to the living room and dropped gratefully onto her couch.
“Could you do one more thing for me, please?” Gayle asked. “I’m not ready for the basement stairs. There’s a sealed brown folder filled with papers on my desk down there. Would you get them for me? My office is on the right off the staircase.”
Ilene and I had been in Gayle’s house before, but the tour had always conspicuously omitted the basement. Gayle had brushed it off with, “It’s such a mess down there.”
The stairs were narrow; Gayle wouldn’t have made it in her present condition. The basement had the same footprint as the main level of the house, at least fifteen hundred square feet. The stairs led into a playroom that occupied the front half. Behind the stairs was a laundry room, Gayle’s office, and what, from the layout, must have been a large room with a locked door all the way in the back. The door was obviously not
“Sounds like a party.”
“You know how lawyers like to celebrate big paydays. We’re all down at Monahan’s.” I waited through a slightly-too-long pause and she said, “You could come down and join us.”
“I’d just be an extra wheel. This is your day to shine. Besides, Rod never showed up to take Gayle home and everyone in my place took off early, so I volunteered.”
“I was feeling a little guilty partying while you were so distressed, but you seem to be doing fine.” If there was a dig in that I ignored it. Normally, it wouldn’t have troubled her that I went out of my way to help Gayle, as long as it wasn’t at her expense.
“I am. Call me when you’re on your way home?”
Dressed for the July heat in a tee shirt and a short culotte that Jim had picked up at Macy’s for her, Gayle signed the necessary releases and we were out of there. The Town Car was no problem, but the rigid brace covering her right leg to above her knee made getting her into my car a little tricky, even with the limo driver’s help. Helping support her weight as she struggled to get her injured leg into the car, my hand wound up under her bare thigh. It was accidental, and my hand didn’t linger any more than necessary.
“Sorry,” I said.
We engaged in office chatter as we drove north from the train station. Then there was a minute of silence, and she said, “I know I’ve been making you uncomfortable. I don’t know what got into me. It was just that…” Her voice trailed off.
When we slowed to a crawl approaching a toll booth, I turned to her. “Just what, Gayle?”
“It was everything. I know that’s no excuse, but sometimes…sometimes I dream about being rescued. I owe you an apology. I had no right to lay that on you. I felt like everything was coming apart and you were there like you always are. You know I’d never come between you and Ilene, don’t you?”
I paused for a long breath. “I do. We all have our moments, Gayle. If I were prosecuted for every idle fantasy I ever had, I’d be in a lot of trouble.”
We were more relaxed after that. Her twins were still at camp when we reached her house, and Rod still hadn’t been heard from. I got the crutches she’d borrowed out of the trunk, then opened Gayle’s door and looked down at her uncertainly.
“How do we do this?” I said.
“I can get myself out of the car, but I’ll need to lean on you. You’re going to have to catch me if I fall. Except for practicing with the nurse, I’ve never been on crutches before.” She saw the expression on my face and said, “C’mon, Dylan. How can I rely on you if you’re afraid to touch me?”
When I still didn’t move, she said, “Give me your hand.” I helped her up and got one arm around her. Then, she used one of the crutches and leaned on my arm instead of the other one. We made it to her front door without falling, and once inside she hobbled to the living room and dropped gratefully onto her couch.
“Could you do one more thing for me, please?” Gayle asked. “I’m not ready for the basement stairs. There’s a sealed brown folder filled with papers on my desk down there. Would you get them for me? My office is on the right off the staircase.”
Ilene and I had been in Gayle’s house before, but the tour had always conspicuously omitted the basement. Gayle had brushed it off with, “It’s such a mess down there.”
The stairs were narrow; Gayle wouldn’t have made it in her present condition. The basement had the same footprint as the main level of the house, at least fifteen hundred square feet. The stairs led into a playroom that occupied the front half. Behind the stairs was a laundry room, Gayle’s office, and what, from the layout, must have been a large room with a locked door all the way in the back. The door was obviously not
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