Daddy

“You're pretty terrific yourself.” He could hardly make himself get dressed to go to work, and once he was fully dressed again and they were ready to leave, she grabbed him, and began stroking him where he should have been exhausted, but wasn't. “I can't believe this … Megan … we're never going to get out of here….”And he was beginning to think they shouldn't.

“Maybe we should both call in sick,” she whispered as she pulled him to the hall floor, and began to bite his neck and nibble his face, and taunt him as she stroked him. He took her with force again, more force than he knew he had and more strength than he could believe was left after almost twelve hours of making love to Megan Townsend.

And in the end, they did exactly as she suggested. They both called in sick, and spent the day in bed, and on the floor, and on the couch, and in the bathtub. They even made love leaning against the wall in the kitchen, when they finally went in to reheat some moussaka. It was a kind of madness that had overtaken both of them, and that night they lay in bed and he held her close as she fed him chocolate chip cookies.

“Do you think we should call a doctor?” he asked happily. “Maybe it's a disease … or we've been drugged …”

“Maybe it's the chocolate chip cookies.”

“Mmm … good … give me more …”It was difficult to even imagine being apart again, or ever being able to keep their clothes on. And then, he suddenly wondered something he should have thought of the day before, and asked her if she was worried about getting pregnant.

“Nope.” She looked perfectly relaxed. “I had my tubes tied nine years ago.”

“At twenty-one?” He looked shocked, and then he remembered. That had been when her sister had died, four months pregnant.

“I knew I never wanted kids anyway, and I wasn't going to let some asshole do to me what had happened to Priscilla.”

“And you've never regretted it? What if you want children one day?”

“I won't. And if I do, I can adopt them. But I doubt if I'd ever do that. I just don't want that kind of headache. Why? Do you want more kids?”

“I used to. But Sarah never wanted more children. She had her tubes tied, too, when we had Sam. I always regretted it, but she never did.”

“Would you want more kids now?” She didn't look worried, just intrigued. She couldn't imagine wanting any more children, or any at all, for her own sake.

“I'm not sure. It's a little late now. But I suppose I wouldn't mind if it happened.”

“Well, don't count on me.” She grinned and lay back against her pillows.

And then, feeling easy and open with her, he confided in her about Benjamin. “My eighteen-year-old son is expecting a baby in September. It's a hell of a mess. He's working as a busboy and supporting the girl. They both dropped out of high school, when he could have gone to Harvard.”

“Maybe he will one day.” But she looked suddenly sorry for Ollie. It was obvious how upset he was about the boy. “Will they keep the baby?”

“They want to. I've done everything I could to discourage them. At least, thank God, they're not getting married.” He was grateful for Sandra's persistence on that score.

“Maybe they'll come to their senses when they're faced with the reality of it. Babies are only cute in diaper ads. The rest of the time they're little monsters.”

“And how many babies have you known, Miss Townsend?”

“As few as possible, thank you very much.” She rolled over and got a firm grip on his favorite member, and then pulled back the blanket and moved down to play her tongue gently around it. “Personally, I prefer daddies to babies …”

“How lucky for me.” He smiled and closed his eyes, and then pulled her to him to reciprocate in kind. But that night, they finally fell asleep, exhausted, just after midnight. It had been a marathon day, and one he would never forget. The miracle of Megan Townsend.

Chapter 16

The romance blazed on through the hottest month of the year. The weather was torrid in August, and so was their passion. They alternated between his apartment and hers, and one night, even spent the night making love on the terrace. But fortunately, they were higher than the other buildings around them.

He hardly ever had time to see Daphne anymore, but she knew what was going on, and she was happy for him. He had a perennially glazed look in his eyes, and he was constantly vague and absentminded, and she hoped, for his sake, that he was screwing his brains out.

They had driven out to Purchase one day, so he could see Benjamin and his father, and he had dropped Megan off at her father's, and then picked her up to take her back to the city. But they didn't stop at the house. Somehow he didn't want to go there with her. It was still too full of memories of Sarah.