One Special Night

Marshalling myself, I whispered that Marilyn would never let anything bad happen to me in our play times. It would be perfectly all right. It could even be amazing.

Grabbing my laptop case and the Veronica's bag, I triggered the garage door and walked inside. I left the laptop and bag just inside the door to my study and headed to the living room in the back of the house. I could hear Marilyn talking with someone.

I paused to get my hands to stop shaking and then tried to walk in casually. Marilyn was sitting in the living room with a wine glass talking with a handsome black man who was also enjoying the wine.

The man was dressed in a smart jacket, dress shirt and slacks. Marilyn was wearing a silk blouse and surprisingly I could see her breasts vaguely outlined underneath. No bra.

"Ah, John, I'm glad you're home," she said happily, standing and coming over to kiss me.

"Trust me," she whispered in my ear before turning back to our guest.

"John, I'd like you to meet Andre. He started working at my firm a few months ago and I thought it was more than time for us to get acquainted."

"Pleased to meet you, John," said Andre with a smile. He shook my hand. "I'm so glad Marilyn invited me to visit. It's been a little hard adjusting to a new city with the new job."

With that, the ice was broken. I opted for an iced tea and joined them. Andre talked at length about growing up in Albany, New York, and working his way through SUNY. Add a law degree and a few years practicing in California and we were brought up to the present.

I told him about the software company I worked for and the sorts of clients I got to work with all over the country. Marilyn added how she and I met and some of her own history.

The conversation roamed organically as all genuine talks among friends do with no awkward pauses. Soon, Marilyn and Andre had finished the bottle of wine.

When we finally did pause, it lasted awhile. We all sort of looked at each other and embraced the warmth of what we were creating. More was communicated during that quiet than the previous two hours.