Chapter 2: A Hint Of Something Different

“I finally paid off the car,” Jim said absently while pulling away from the curb. He had written the check the previous night with considerable pleasure. It was one more monthly bill eliminated from his life. They would save the money for the next two years and use it as a down payment for his next car.

His fellow carpooler was not impressed by the announcement. Only Greg, one of the four who shared a ride downtown, was left in the car with Jim. It was widely accepted that Jim had the worst car of the carpoolers. It was small, cheap, and old. Greg said, “You should trade this in and lease a new one. You can get a much better car for the same amount of money.”

“I’m going to keep this one for another couple of years. A car is a way to get from point A to point B,” Jim said, “I don’t care what it looks like.”

“You’re just cheap,” Greg said. He knew that Jim made good money, but you couldn’t tell it from how he lived.

“Not really. I just have better things to do with my money,” Jim replied with a smile. He pulled over at the corner where a kid was holding out a bouquet of flowers trying to entice someone to buy. Fishing out a ten, Jim handed the kid the bill and accepted a bouquet of flowers in exchange. As usual, he told the kid to keep the change.

“You could buy a much better car if you didn’t spend so much money on flowers. Twice a week you buy flowers here,” Greg said shaking his head.

“Hey, it is only eighty dollars a month and I enjoy having fresh flowers in the house,” Jim replied. It wasn’t so much that he enjoyed the flowers as the pleasure the flowers brought his wife.

“What are you, some kind of closet homosexual?” Greg asked in a joking voice. He knew that Jim was married.

Jim looked over at Greg and shook his head. He answered, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right. You drive a piece of shit car and live in a dinky house, but buy flowers all the time,” Greg said.

He asked, “Do you want me to drop you off at the sports bar?”

“Yeah, I’ll have a beer or two before going home,” Greg answered. It was his way of unwinding from a long day before facing a hostile home.

Jim came to the sudden decision that it was time to make Greg understand. He said, “How about I take you to my home and then you walk home after you’ve met my wife? It’s only three blocks.”

“This isn’t some weird attempt to seduce me, is it?” Greg asked jokingly.

“No.”

“Sure, I’ll be happy to meet your wife.”

Greg knew what Jim’s wife looked like. When it wasn’t Jim’s turn to drive, everyone saw her kiss him goodbye in the morning. Although she wasn’t the prettiest wife, her goodbye kisses were definitely hot. It was a common joke among the carpoolers that a couple who had been married that long shouldn’t be acting that way.

Jim pulled out his cell phone and dialed his wife. He let her know to expect a guest. When he hung up, he turned to Greg and said, “She’s expecting you.”

“Okay,” Greg replied wondering what that meant. He wouldn’t have called his wife to let her know that he was having a surprise visitor. Of course, he didn’t have the nerve to have someone drop by without lots of warning. She would blow a gasket.

A few minutes later, Jim pulled into the driveway. Greg knew this was the smallest house in the entire neighborhood. He often wondered why Jim hadn’t moved into a larger house, but had come to the conclusion that Jim was a cheapskate.

He asked, “Are you ever going to move into a larger house?”

“No need. This is plenty big enough,” Jim answered. It was a three bedroom house and his children had their own bedrooms. He admitted that they were small rooms, but they were plenty large enough for the kids.

Greg shook his head in wonder. He said, “You can afford better.”

“It would be too much work to keep up a bigger house,” Jim replied. A larger house would require his wife to spend more time keeping it neat. He would have to take more time to care for the lawn. Life wasn’t meant to be spent taking care of your possessions, but to allow your possessions let you live.

He led Greg into the house and the living room. Pointing to a chair, he asked, “Would you mind waiting while I change clothes?”

“No, go ahead,” Greg answered entering the living room. He looked around the room surprised by how Spartan the décor was and how neat it was. A simple sofa, a loveseat, and an individual chair were arranged around a large square coffee table. The open side of the arrangement faced a nice television. It was a much nicer television than he had expected.

He walked over to a small étagère that stood in a corner of the room. It was almost filled, holding several small knickknacks. He turned his attention to it and was surprised to find that it was filled with little items that had been acquired on trips. It was a strange collection of items that included a keychain from Cancun, framed ticket stubs from a Broadway play, and a wedding picture. Used to the porcelain figures, glasses, and collectable plates that his wife kept on her shelves, the odd collection of trinkets didn’t make sense to him. [Editor’s note, étagère: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tag%C3%A8re]

He went over to the loveseat and sat down turning his attention to the walls. The walls were covered with reproductions of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. He wasn’t sure what the style was called, but he had seen the paintings in other places. They were romantic pictures in which the women were soft and the men were manly. He was surprised the collection of paintings included nudes of women. It wasn’t until he had been sitting for a few minutes that he realized there was classical music playing in the background.

Jim came out wearing a suit. Adjusting the sleeves, he asked, “Are you ready to go meet my wife?”

“A suit?” Greg asked. He couldn’t believe that Jim had changed from business casual to a suit on coming home.

“My wife will understand that you are a little under dressed. She knows that it was a spur of the moment invitation.” Jim answered with a knowing smile. He picked up the bouquet of flowers and put them in a vase. Greg hadn’t noticed that the vase was filled with water.

“She would have expected me to wear a suit?”

Nodding his head, Jim answered, “I know that it sounds a little strange, but we like to do things a little differently around our home.”

“I’m not sure that I understand,” Greg said.

Cryptically, Jim said, “You will.”

Jim, carrying the vase with flowers, led the other man through the house and into the backyard. His wife, Ann, rose and held out her two hands to Jim in greeting. It was easy to see that she was happy to see her husband by the smile on her face.

She said, “Welcome home, honey. I see you brought flowers.”

Jim placed the vase on the table and went over to his wife. Taking her two hands in his, Jim answered, “I know how much you enjoy fresh flowers. I must say that it is good to be home, my dear.”

The couple kissed and exchanged passionate words that embarrassed Greg to hear. He didn’t think that old married couples acted like that. He wondered how they managed to keep the passion in their marriage. It had definitely died in his marriage. He couldn’t remember when he’d been greeted with a kiss, much less words about how much she had missed him, on coming home.

He examined Ann wondering how a middle aged married woman could look so attractive. Her hair was combed back into a bun, her makeup was tasteful, and her nails were perfect. He wondered how long her hair was. He liked long hair. She was wearing a very elegant gown with high heels. Being just a little overweight she had a bosom ... that was the word that came to his mind to describe her chest. Her gown showed plenty of cleavage. It surprised him that he was physically excited by her.

When the couple ended their kiss, Jim said, “Ann, I would like to present Greg Anders to you. He’s in my carpool. Greg, this is my wife, Ann.”

Ann extended her hand, palm down, to Greg. Used to women extending their hands for a handshake, he stared at it for a second before realizing that he was supposed to accept her hand. He took her hand in his and wondered what he was supposed to do with it.

She said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Greg answered. He wondered where that answer had come from. It had rolled off his tongue naturally although it wasn’t the kind of thing that he normally said when meeting a woman for the first time. He realized that he was still holding her hand and released it.

Ann gestured to a chair and said, “Please have a seat. Jim said that you liked beer. I took the liberty of pouring one for you. I hope you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine.”

Greg went to the chair to which she had gestured and noticed a glass of beer on the small table. He turned and saw that Jim was helping his wife into her seat. He sat down and looked at the couple seated across from him.

Ann handed Jim a martini complete with an olive. She said, “I made your favorite.”

Accepting the drink, Jim took a sip and said, “Thank you. It is perfect.”

“You’re welcome,” Ann said. She pointed to a small tray of snacks on the table and said, “I’ve prepared a little something to take the edge off our appetites.”

Greg felt as if he had entered a film made in the 1920s. He watched as Jim examined the little tray of snacks and said, “Oh, you made my favorite.”

“I hoped you would enjoy it,” she replied.

He took one of the snacks and took a bite. After swallowing, he said, “Perfect.”

“Thank you,” she said. It had taken no time at all to create the snacks. The tray of Ritz crackers topped with a dollop of Cheese Whiz took a whole minute to prepare. It had taken another minute to arrange them on the plate so that they were presented attractively.

She turned to Greg and said, “Greg, please help yourself to a snack. I know that it is a rather simple appetizer, but we enjoy them.”

Greg reached over and picked up one of the crackers. He took a bite and chewed. There was nothing special about it and it made him wonder why they bothered to make such a fuss out of a simple snack. He washed it down with his beer.