| Chapter 13 |
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The hotel was on the LBJ Freeway near the intersection of Central Expressway. David
was surprised when he entered the room. He had expected James to be the first to
arrive.
“I knew he was supposed to get the room tonight,” said Jake. “That’s why I got it in his
name, so you and Tim could find it.”
“Tim isn’t here either?”
“Not yet.”
David and Jake joined Jorge at the table.
“Traffic was bad ... maybe that’s it.” David glanced between the men. “You guys
looking forward to tonight as much as I am?”
Jake leaned back in his chair. “Amazing how long a week can be.”
David looked him over. “Have you lost weight, Jake?”
“It’s not easy working in a restaurant, but maybe a couple pounds.”
“Congratulations.”
Jorge’s dark eyes glimmered with a smile. “I know what he means about long weeks.
At least I’ve been sleeping for a change. All that old tension is gone.”
“Thursday night poker works wonders.” David looked at his hand. He had gotten a
blister trimming the hedges behind the pool. “What about guilt?”
“Ah, yes.” Jorge rested his elbow on the table. “It hit me hard the other day. Monday
morning I think. Michelle was fixing breakfast. She turned and smiled when I walked
in. Right out of the blue I started feeling guilty about lying to her. I could’ve turned
myself in for a flogging then and there.”
David remembered something that had occurred to him on the freeway. “That problem
we were talking about at Jake’s the other day, concerning our wife’s curiosity about the
poker game. Linda knows her questions make me edgy and that makes it worse. I’m
afraid of saying something that doesn’t jive with what James tells Shasha.”
“I got a taste of it, too,” said Jake. “Sally asked a few questions earlier this week.
Makes you nervous as hell having to think up the answers.”
“I thought of a way to solve it on the way over here. We actually play poker for an hour
or so.”
Jorge smiled. “Of course. Then we can talk about the game based on fact.”
“Good idea,” Jake nodded. “And it would give us a break from...”
“Fucking each other’s brains out,” said David.
“Yeah,” said Jake, “that.”
“I like it,” said Jorge. “We could get together with the wives if we wanted to.”
“Tim might not like it,” David added. “He can’t afford to waste money on gambling, not
with those medical bills. I thought we could make sure he never loses very much?”
“You mean make sure he wins?” asked Jorge.
“Something like that. Not over-do it. He’d catch on. At least let him win enough to
cover the suite. He’s too proud to let me or James pay his share, and I know he can’t
afford it.”
“He can win as far as I’m concerned,” said Jake.
“It won’t bother me to fold a few good hands,” Jorge added.
A knock came on the door. They heard the locking mechanism click. James opened
the door and stepped inside. He seemed distraught. “Tim called my cell phone just
before I left the house. His son’s in the hospital.”
Jorge, Jake and David came to their feet, concerned.
“What happened?” David asked.
“He couldn’t breath. Sounded like his inhaler didn’t work.” James closed the door,
leaving it open a crack. “I’m going over there. You guys want to go?”
They walked out of the room together. Jake’s Ford Explorer was the closest car. They
got in and Jake started the engine. “Which hospital?”
“Parkland.”
David looked at James, disturbed that Tim had taken his son to the community
hospital. “Parkland? Why Parkland?”
“What other reason could he have? Money. He can’t afford a private hospital.”
Jorge folded his arms and stared at the seatback. David and James stared out the
window as Jake drove through the parking lot. Parkland was less than twenty minutes
away.
Stuck in a waiting room, Tim’s eyes were fixed on the floor when they walked in,
Rosemary in the chair next to him. They were taken aback slightly when they saw her.
No one was prepared to meet Tim’s wife.
Tim looked up and a pained smile formed on his lips. He stood to greet them. “I
wasn't expecting you guys to show up.”
David rested his hand on Tim’s shoulder. “How’s your son?”
“He’s in a room now. They put us in here while they look him over. He’s okay. Looks
like we have to get one of those portable breathing machines for the house.”
Tim noticed James and Jorge glancing at his wife, who was looking back at them with
bewilderment.
“Honey, these are the guys I play poker with,” he said.
Her face lightened. “I forgot you were supposed to play tonight.” She smiled at the
men. Her features were European like Jorge’s, her skin olive, her eyes dark brown.
“Gentlemen, this is my wife, Rosemary. Honey, this is David, Jorge, James and Jake.”
They each stepped forward to take her hand and offer condolences for her son. She
seemed perplexed that her husband’s poker friends had come to the hospital instead
of going on with their game. Jake and Jorge stood nearby while James talked to her.
David pulled Tim to the side.
“Why did you bring your boy to Parkland? Don’t you have insurance?”
“Yeah, I do. Ten thousand dollar deductible. The last time I took Brett to a private
hospital, they wouldn’t admit him unless I covered the deductible.”
“Dammit!” David rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you have to wait long when you got
here?”
“About three hours.”
“That’s what I figured. You wait while they wade through the gunshot wounds and
stabbings.”
“A doctor saw him pretty quick when we got here. Since Brett wasn’t critical, he had to
wait his turn.”
“Wish you had better insurance.”
“I plan to take care of it after I get started on the Addison project.”
David sighed. “Brett’s problem is a precondition. Might be tough getting him covered.”
Tim looked down and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.
David continued. “Are those breathing machines expensive?”
“Nothing about this is cheap.”
David noticed Tim’s wife watching them. “Listen, we’ll talk about this later. I’m not
happy you had to wait three hours for treatment. The others won’t like it either. Get
prepared to change your attitude about our help.”
Tim’s face reddened. He turned and looked away.
“We’ll talk later,” said David.
Tim started back toward his wife, then turned to ask: “You guys going back to the
room?”
“Not tonight. We’ll hang around here a while.”
When Tim returned to the chair, Rosemary took his arm. “I like your new friends.”
He glanced at them standing around the room. “Yeah...” he reached up to wipe his
eye. “They’re good guys, honey.”
The doctor appeared a few minutes later. Tim and Rosemary stood when he
approached. “Brett is fine now. We’ll keep an eye on him until noon tomorrow. He can
go home then.” He pushed his reading glasses up his nose and lifted the chart for a
look. “I’ve written a prescription for a stronger inhaler,” he said, looking over the
glasses. “The hospital can loan you a temporary breathing machine if you need it. You
can go back to his room now.”
Tim nodded and took the prescription. Four men followed him and Rosemary down
the hall. A miniature duplicate of his father, the little boy looked at them as they walked
in, bewildered by the sudden attention.
Rosemary approached the bed and stroked his head. The group formed a semicircle
around the bed. His face animated with curiosity, Brett looked them over.
“These are the fellows I play cards with, Brett,” Tim said. They each leaned forward to
shake the small hand as Tim said their name.
“Are you gonna play cards tonight, daddy?”
“Not tonight, son.”
Four hearts melted. They were all thinking the same thing, that Tim could use some
help with the medical bills. None of them were exactly sure just how, but they were
determined to find a way to help him. A while later, Jorge went down to the gift shop to
get Brett a couple of action figures. The others went back out to the waiting room. At
midnight, when the doctor provided another reassuring report, they went home.
♦ ♦ ♦
David had gotten into bed at half past twelve, which surprised Linda. Sitting at the
breakfast table, she watched him walk into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.
“You run out of money early last night?” she asked.
He yawned and stretched. “Whew ... guess I’m not used to that much sleep on
Thursday nights.”
She sipped her coffee as she watched him walk to the counter. “I’m a little surprised
myself.”
“We didn’t play. Tim’s little boy had to go to the hospital. He has a breathing problem.
I went over there and stayed for a while. James and the others went, too.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” She took another sip of coffee in thought. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah.” He joined her with a cup of coffee.
“You guys must be pretty close friends already.”
He looked at her for a moment. “What do you mean?”
She considered her statement, thinking it might have sounded a bit trite. “Sorry. I didn’
t mean to sound insensitive. Guess I have a distorted picture of a bunch of beer
drinking, cigar smoking, poker playing men. I’m actually very proud of you, and your
friends. You blew off the game because a little boy was in the hospital. I’m ... well, I
think that was nice.”
“You’d like them. I guess we have become pretty close friends.”
“Why don’t we have them over one night? Are they all married?”
He looked at her. At once he liked the idea and was apprehensive at the same time.
Like the others, he wished they could share some aspect of their relationship with their
wives. But the risks were unsettling. “Yeah, they’re all married.”
“We could plan a dinner party.”
“Uh, I’ll mention it. See what they say.” He knew, now that she had conceived the idea,
she wouldn’t let it go. There would be no rest until the entire group, wives included, was
invited over for dinner. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head.
“I’ll get with Shasha and we’ll get it planned.” She looked at the toast that had gotten
cold, then stood up. “Scrambled eggs or oatmeal?”
“Eggs. And I’ll eat that toast if you don’t want it.”
“I don’t. You going to the office right away?”
“Thought I’d go to the hospital first. Make sure Tim doesn’t need anything.”
“I’ll go with you,” she said, and then went to the refrigerator for eggs.
The toast stopped just short of his mouth.
♦ ♦ ♦
David took a deep breath when they stepped out of the elevator onto the ground floor
of the parking garage. During the drive to Parkland, he had concluded there wouldn’t
be any complications by having Linda along. In fact he was quite comfortable with her
and Tim meeting each other. It was the dinner party idea that made him nervous. He
wondered if she planned to bring it up.
David stood speechless when they entered the waiting room and saw the rest of the
group. Linda noticed his uneasy reaction. An odd feeling came over her. She couldn’t
quite put her finger on it, but there was an emotion involved she could almost feel.
James approached. “I woke up worried about Tim and his family. Apparently we all
did. He’s in the room with Rosemary. Looks like they’ll be out of here before noon.”
“What about the breathing machine?” David asked.
“The hospital will furnish one until Tim can come up with his own. Jorge wants to go out
and get one. He also wants to pick-up the hospital tab, but we’re thinking it’ll
embarrass Tim if we don’t use the right tact. You know.”
“Hello, James,” Linda interrupted.
He looked at her. “Sorry, lovely lady. How are you?”
“You guys are making me want to meet Tim and his family.”
“You’ll understand why we’re so involved when you get a look at his son. He’s a little
pixie. You wanna take him up and hold him.”
Jake and Jorge approached.
David put his arm around his wife. “Honey, this is Jorge and Jake.” James stepped
out of the way. “Gentlemen, my wife, Linda.”
“He described you perfectly,” said Jorge, taking her hand.
“Hello, Jorge.” Her eyes lingered over his imposing stature for a moment. She then
looked at Jake when he stepped forward. His affable appearance moved her to smile.
“Glad to meet you, Linda,” said Jake, extending his hand.
“Hi, Jake. I love your restaurant. David told me about the offer to use your private
table.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing you there.”
After a few moments of casual conversation, Tim and Rosemary walked into the room
and drew their attention. David directed Linda toward them. “Honey, this is Tim and
his wife Rosemary.”
Struck by Tim’s deep blue eyes, she sensed incredible sensitivity within them. She
immediately felt more involved with the emotion of his son’s circumstances. “Glad to
meet you, Tim. David’s told me a lot about you and that project you guys’ll be working
on together.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”
“Hated hearing that about Brett.”
Tim nodded and took her hand and kissed it, then presented his wife. The two wives
smiled at each other, then Linda stepped forward with a quick hug.
“How is he?” David asked.
Tim’s eyes brightened. “He’s fine. They’re sending us home. I have to go take care of
some paperwork.”
“Can I see him?” Linda asked.
Rosemary took her hand and they started down the hall. David rested his arm around
Tim’s shoulder. “They’ll ask if you can pay.”
“I know.”
“Listen, Jorge and I were talking last night. He wants to put up an advance on the
Addison job.”
Tim rubbed his mouth and looked over his shoulder at Jorge.
“That’s just good business, Tim.”
Tim nodded reluctantly. “I’ll write him a receipt later.”
“Sure. He’ll go with you to check out.”
“Guess I better go now.”
David looked at Jorge and winked. Jorge got to his feet and walked out with Tim, then
David joined James and Jake. “Hope you were prepared to meet my wife. She
insisted on coming along.”
“She’s delightful,” said Jake.
“It’s gotten to where I don’t know what to expect. This morning, before I realized where
our conversation was going, she came up with plans for a dinner party. You’re all
invited, including your wives. Beware. She’s curious about you guys. She can be the
most inquisitive female on earth.”
“Right behind my wife,” said James, shoving his hands into his pockets. “If Linda
mentioned a dinner party, ten to one I’ll hear about it tonight.”
“We should’ve seen it coming,” said David. “Tell you the truth, right now I feel pretty
stupid. Looks like our little ruse wasn’t as simple as it sounded.”
“I think the problem is solved though,” said Jake. “Now that we’re actually gonna play.”
James looked at Jake, curious. “We’re going to play? You mean poker?”
“It was my idea,” David said. “We talked about it before you got to the room last night.”
He went on to explain how a real game would automatically coordinate everything they
told their wives, concluding with: “And we talked about Tim’s situation. Since he’s got
these medical bills and he’s too proud to let us help, we thought it’d be a good idea to
let him win a few hands.”
“David,” said James, “you never cease to amaze me. If I ever get in a tight, I hope you’
re around to help me get out of it.”
“Take it to the bank, buddy.”
A few minutes later Linda and Rosemary walked back into the room, Linda carrying
Brett.”
“God, I love him.” She happily kissed the little boy’s forehead. “I told Rosemary she’s
got a babysitter anytime she needs one.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Saturday noon, David stretched out on a deck lounge in the shade of an umbrella. He
watched James take off his clothes on the patio and hang them on a wall hook. Then
James started in his direction. David watched him, distracted by the sunlight glinting
on his dark skin, the flexing and twitching muscle and the perky bounce between his
legs. James reclined on the deck lounge next to him.
David looked up into the trees. “Hmm. I could look at you all day.”
“I know what you mean. I better tuck this between my legs before you have it pointing at
the sun.”
“Sure missed our usual Thursday night routine. I feel a little antsy.”
James turned to look at him. His eyes swept the full length of his body. “I intend to
make up for that Monday afternoon.”
David crossed his legs, beleaguered by the same problem. “Maybe we ought to
change the subject.”
“How about this: My new challenge. Now that Linda met the others, Shasha wants to
meet them, too. She’s pushing that dinner party idea.”
David’s lips tightened. He wondered if events were slipping out of control. Not that a
dinner party seemed like a major problem, they needed time to think it through, to
anticipate and prevent potential pitfalls. “It wasn’t my idea for Linda tag along to the
hospital yesterday,” he said defensively. “Besides, I didn’t know you guys were there.”
“I know that. It just happened that way. Now Shasha’s hell-bent to get everyone
together. I don’t know why that makes me so nervous.”
They heard the back door open. David turned and watched two nude women step out
onto the patio. The dinner party did pose a risk. Something unexpected could
happen. Something could be said that would lead to suspicious wives. A conflict to
something he had lied about. He recoiled from the thought. “We’re overreacting. In
the end, it’ll be better if they’re included. We just have to ease into it and make it work.”
James was staring at Linda. “David!” he said, astonished. “There’s something very
different about your wife!”
“Yeah, pretty obvious isn’t it?” David thought about the intimacy of waxing Linda’s
pubic hair. It had made for an unusually interesting evening. “They sure look exposed
that way, don’t they?”
“One thing for sure—those two don’t fool around when they decide to spice things up.”
“I for one like this middle-age stuff. Just hope we survive it.”
The women approached. Shasha had a tray of bottled beer. “Thank-you, charming
lady,” said David. He reached for a beer.
His eyes feeling the pull of temptation, James resisted another glimpse of Linda’s
newly shaved nether lips. “You two are a lovely contrast standing next to each other like
that,” he said.
“Why, thank-you, sir,” said Linda, and then wrapped her tanned white arm around
Shasha’s small black shoulders.
David took a swallow of beer and wiped his lips on the back of his hand, noting their
playful mood. “There’s something you two ought to know.”
Linda stared at him in anticipation. “And what would that be, darling?”
“You might say it’s an unintentional visual effect of naked Saturdays. When you girls
bend over, you leave nothing to the imagination ... I mean nothing! I feel obliged to
avert my eyes.”
Linda blushed. Shasha pulled a chair closer and sat down, crossed her legs and said:
“Think it’s any different when a man bends over? I think not. And I don’t avert my eyes.”
David took another swallow of beer, observing the women. It still amazed him how
comfortable they felt getting naked in the back yard on Saturday afternoons. He had
spent some time thinking about growing older lately, realizing his body had slowed
down some. It seemed like the last decade had disappeared in the bat of an eye. The
next one would pass just as quickly, then the next. Why not enjoy the youth they still
had? Why not enjoy the invigorating camaraderie that came with it? It made him feel
alive.
It seemed James felt the same way. “What were you two whispering about when you
came outside?” he asked.
Linda glanced at Shasha before she replied: “Oh, just a magazine article I read the
other day.”
“About what?”
Linda cracked a smile, secretly delighted to broach the subject. “About men.
Something they do in private and never admit.”
“And what would that be?”
“Masturbate.”
James lowered his head and rubbed his brow.
“Good God, Linda!” said David, exasperated. “Is nothing taboo? Seems like that kind
of stuff is all we talk about these days.”
“That’s because we’ve had a twenty year dry spell.”
“I don’t remember it being so dry.”
“You know what I mean. Besides, what’s wrong with a simple discussion? The article
said the average American male masturbates from one to three times a week, married
or not. I admit I’m curious if there’s any credibility to it.”
“What magazine was that in for God’s sake?” said David with sarcasm.
Ignoring him, Linda returned her attention to James. “What about it, James? David
and I have been married twenty years and I’ve only caught him doing it twice.”
“Caught me twice! When?”
“Once in the shower—you didn’t know I walked in. The other time you were standing in
front of the dresser mirror in the middle of the night. You didn’t know I was awake.”
“Shit.”
“Shasha and I were wondering if a man can set aside all that machismo and confess to
a perfectly natural human act. So, do you? And if so, how often?”
James shifted his weight uneasily. “Why do I have the strangest feeling I’m standing in
quicksand?”
“Honey, you can’t answer a question with a question,” said Shasha.
“It’s not a difficult question,” said Linda. “Yes or no?”
James looked at David, rubbing his jaw. He looked back at the women. “Alright then,
the answer is yes.”
Shasha smiled. Linda seemed delighted. “Okay, how often and where?”
“Once or twice a week, in the shower, with soap.”
“Just one more question. Are you going to allow Shasha to watch?”
“Absolutely not,” James said sternly. “That’s something no woman can ever be allowed
to see.”
David almost spit out a mouthful of beer.
Linda turned to Shasha. “Bet you could sneak a peek now that you know where he
does it.”
Shasha looked at James and batted her eyes. “Or get in there and do it for him.”
“What’s with these two?” James asked.
“You got me,” David replied. “I just hope we’re not slipping into a quagmire of
immorality with these little offbeat musings.”
Shasha and Linda glanced at each other. James was suspicious of the way they were
grinning.
“There’s more,” he said to David.
“You think so? Just because they’re grinning like shit-eating possums?”
Not that either of them thought their husbands would go along with the idea, they had
decided to suggest it anyway. Shasha proceeded. “Concerning our little foursome ...
how would you guys feel about expanding it?”
They sat staring at her.
Linda was perplexed by their absent reaction.
“Spit it all out, honey,” James finally said.
“Let’s invite your poker buddies and their wives to join us next Saturday,” she said,
trying to sound as if it were the most rational of ideas.
David felt a few qualms. That scenario seemed even riskier than the dinner party. The
wives together, exchanging information, an ill-timed slip of the tongue. On the other
hand, there was something stimulating about it. Having everyone over, including the
wives, spending Saturday afternoon in the nude intrigued him.
Linda sat on the edge of her chair, awaiting their immediate disapproval, all but
shocked when the two men looked at each other as if they were considering it.
“Jake’s wife looked like she might be the type to try something like that,” said James.
“Yeah,” said David. “We haven’t met Jorge’s wife, but I bet he’d try it.” He pictured
Jorge’s uncommonly large cock, amused that it would certainly be the secret focal
point of the two females sitting next to him.
“Tim’s a tough call,” James added.
“True. Rosemary seems too reserved. I’d bet against her.”
Linda and Shasha watched their husband’s exchange, dumbstruck. They had been
prepared to argue and cajole, armed with a half dozen good reasons to give it try. It
was apparent they wouldn’t need to use them.
was surprised when he entered the room. He had expected James to be the first to
arrive.
“I knew he was supposed to get the room tonight,” said Jake. “That’s why I got it in his
name, so you and Tim could find it.”
“Tim isn’t here either?”
“Not yet.”
David and Jake joined Jorge at the table.
“Traffic was bad ... maybe that’s it.” David glanced between the men. “You guys
looking forward to tonight as much as I am?”
Jake leaned back in his chair. “Amazing how long a week can be.”
David looked him over. “Have you lost weight, Jake?”
“It’s not easy working in a restaurant, but maybe a couple pounds.”
“Congratulations.”
Jorge’s dark eyes glimmered with a smile. “I know what he means about long weeks.
At least I’ve been sleeping for a change. All that old tension is gone.”
“Thursday night poker works wonders.” David looked at his hand. He had gotten a
blister trimming the hedges behind the pool. “What about guilt?”
“Ah, yes.” Jorge rested his elbow on the table. “It hit me hard the other day. Monday
morning I think. Michelle was fixing breakfast. She turned and smiled when I walked
in. Right out of the blue I started feeling guilty about lying to her. I could’ve turned
myself in for a flogging then and there.”
David remembered something that had occurred to him on the freeway. “That problem
we were talking about at Jake’s the other day, concerning our wife’s curiosity about the
poker game. Linda knows her questions make me edgy and that makes it worse. I’m
afraid of saying something that doesn’t jive with what James tells Shasha.”
“I got a taste of it, too,” said Jake. “Sally asked a few questions earlier this week.
Makes you nervous as hell having to think up the answers.”
“I thought of a way to solve it on the way over here. We actually play poker for an hour
or so.”
Jorge smiled. “Of course. Then we can talk about the game based on fact.”
“Good idea,” Jake nodded. “And it would give us a break from...”
“Fucking each other’s brains out,” said David.
“Yeah,” said Jake, “that.”
“I like it,” said Jorge. “We could get together with the wives if we wanted to.”
“Tim might not like it,” David added. “He can’t afford to waste money on gambling, not
with those medical bills. I thought we could make sure he never loses very much?”
“You mean make sure he wins?” asked Jorge.
“Something like that. Not over-do it. He’d catch on. At least let him win enough to
cover the suite. He’s too proud to let me or James pay his share, and I know he can’t
afford it.”
“He can win as far as I’m concerned,” said Jake.
“It won’t bother me to fold a few good hands,” Jorge added.
A knock came on the door. They heard the locking mechanism click. James opened
the door and stepped inside. He seemed distraught. “Tim called my cell phone just
before I left the house. His son’s in the hospital.”
Jorge, Jake and David came to their feet, concerned.
“What happened?” David asked.
“He couldn’t breath. Sounded like his inhaler didn’t work.” James closed the door,
leaving it open a crack. “I’m going over there. You guys want to go?”
They walked out of the room together. Jake’s Ford Explorer was the closest car. They
got in and Jake started the engine. “Which hospital?”
“Parkland.”
David looked at James, disturbed that Tim had taken his son to the community
hospital. “Parkland? Why Parkland?”
“What other reason could he have? Money. He can’t afford a private hospital.”
Jorge folded his arms and stared at the seatback. David and James stared out the
window as Jake drove through the parking lot. Parkland was less than twenty minutes
away.
Stuck in a waiting room, Tim’s eyes were fixed on the floor when they walked in,
Rosemary in the chair next to him. They were taken aback slightly when they saw her.
No one was prepared to meet Tim’s wife.
Tim looked up and a pained smile formed on his lips. He stood to greet them. “I
wasn't expecting you guys to show up.”
David rested his hand on Tim’s shoulder. “How’s your son?”
“He’s in a room now. They put us in here while they look him over. He’s okay. Looks
like we have to get one of those portable breathing machines for the house.”
Tim noticed James and Jorge glancing at his wife, who was looking back at them with
bewilderment.
“Honey, these are the guys I play poker with,” he said.
Her face lightened. “I forgot you were supposed to play tonight.” She smiled at the
men. Her features were European like Jorge’s, her skin olive, her eyes dark brown.
“Gentlemen, this is my wife, Rosemary. Honey, this is David, Jorge, James and Jake.”
They each stepped forward to take her hand and offer condolences for her son. She
seemed perplexed that her husband’s poker friends had come to the hospital instead
of going on with their game. Jake and Jorge stood nearby while James talked to her.
David pulled Tim to the side.
“Why did you bring your boy to Parkland? Don’t you have insurance?”
“Yeah, I do. Ten thousand dollar deductible. The last time I took Brett to a private
hospital, they wouldn’t admit him unless I covered the deductible.”
“Dammit!” David rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you have to wait long when you got
here?”
“About three hours.”
“That’s what I figured. You wait while they wade through the gunshot wounds and
stabbings.”
“A doctor saw him pretty quick when we got here. Since Brett wasn’t critical, he had to
wait his turn.”
“Wish you had better insurance.”
“I plan to take care of it after I get started on the Addison project.”
David sighed. “Brett’s problem is a precondition. Might be tough getting him covered.”
Tim looked down and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.
David continued. “Are those breathing machines expensive?”
“Nothing about this is cheap.”
David noticed Tim’s wife watching them. “Listen, we’ll talk about this later. I’m not
happy you had to wait three hours for treatment. The others won’t like it either. Get
prepared to change your attitude about our help.”
Tim’s face reddened. He turned and looked away.
“We’ll talk later,” said David.
Tim started back toward his wife, then turned to ask: “You guys going back to the
room?”
“Not tonight. We’ll hang around here a while.”
When Tim returned to the chair, Rosemary took his arm. “I like your new friends.”
He glanced at them standing around the room. “Yeah...” he reached up to wipe his
eye. “They’re good guys, honey.”
The doctor appeared a few minutes later. Tim and Rosemary stood when he
approached. “Brett is fine now. We’ll keep an eye on him until noon tomorrow. He can
go home then.” He pushed his reading glasses up his nose and lifted the chart for a
look. “I’ve written a prescription for a stronger inhaler,” he said, looking over the
glasses. “The hospital can loan you a temporary breathing machine if you need it. You
can go back to his room now.”
Tim nodded and took the prescription. Four men followed him and Rosemary down
the hall. A miniature duplicate of his father, the little boy looked at them as they walked
in, bewildered by the sudden attention.
Rosemary approached the bed and stroked his head. The group formed a semicircle
around the bed. His face animated with curiosity, Brett looked them over.
“These are the fellows I play cards with, Brett,” Tim said. They each leaned forward to
shake the small hand as Tim said their name.
“Are you gonna play cards tonight, daddy?”
“Not tonight, son.”
Four hearts melted. They were all thinking the same thing, that Tim could use some
help with the medical bills. None of them were exactly sure just how, but they were
determined to find a way to help him. A while later, Jorge went down to the gift shop to
get Brett a couple of action figures. The others went back out to the waiting room. At
midnight, when the doctor provided another reassuring report, they went home.
♦ ♦ ♦
David had gotten into bed at half past twelve, which surprised Linda. Sitting at the
breakfast table, she watched him walk into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.
“You run out of money early last night?” she asked.
He yawned and stretched. “Whew ... guess I’m not used to that much sleep on
Thursday nights.”
She sipped her coffee as she watched him walk to the counter. “I’m a little surprised
myself.”
“We didn’t play. Tim’s little boy had to go to the hospital. He has a breathing problem.
I went over there and stayed for a while. James and the others went, too.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” She took another sip of coffee in thought. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah.” He joined her with a cup of coffee.
“You guys must be pretty close friends already.”
He looked at her for a moment. “What do you mean?”
She considered her statement, thinking it might have sounded a bit trite. “Sorry. I didn’
t mean to sound insensitive. Guess I have a distorted picture of a bunch of beer
drinking, cigar smoking, poker playing men. I’m actually very proud of you, and your
friends. You blew off the game because a little boy was in the hospital. I’m ... well, I
think that was nice.”
“You’d like them. I guess we have become pretty close friends.”
“Why don’t we have them over one night? Are they all married?”
He looked at her. At once he liked the idea and was apprehensive at the same time.
Like the others, he wished they could share some aspect of their relationship with their
wives. But the risks were unsettling. “Yeah, they’re all married.”
“We could plan a dinner party.”
“Uh, I’ll mention it. See what they say.” He knew, now that she had conceived the idea,
she wouldn’t let it go. There would be no rest until the entire group, wives included, was
invited over for dinner. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head.
“I’ll get with Shasha and we’ll get it planned.” She looked at the toast that had gotten
cold, then stood up. “Scrambled eggs or oatmeal?”
“Eggs. And I’ll eat that toast if you don’t want it.”
“I don’t. You going to the office right away?”
“Thought I’d go to the hospital first. Make sure Tim doesn’t need anything.”
“I’ll go with you,” she said, and then went to the refrigerator for eggs.
The toast stopped just short of his mouth.
♦ ♦ ♦
David took a deep breath when they stepped out of the elevator onto the ground floor
of the parking garage. During the drive to Parkland, he had concluded there wouldn’t
be any complications by having Linda along. In fact he was quite comfortable with her
and Tim meeting each other. It was the dinner party idea that made him nervous. He
wondered if she planned to bring it up.
David stood speechless when they entered the waiting room and saw the rest of the
group. Linda noticed his uneasy reaction. An odd feeling came over her. She couldn’t
quite put her finger on it, but there was an emotion involved she could almost feel.
James approached. “I woke up worried about Tim and his family. Apparently we all
did. He’s in the room with Rosemary. Looks like they’ll be out of here before noon.”
“What about the breathing machine?” David asked.
“The hospital will furnish one until Tim can come up with his own. Jorge wants to go out
and get one. He also wants to pick-up the hospital tab, but we’re thinking it’ll
embarrass Tim if we don’t use the right tact. You know.”
“Hello, James,” Linda interrupted.
He looked at her. “Sorry, lovely lady. How are you?”
“You guys are making me want to meet Tim and his family.”
“You’ll understand why we’re so involved when you get a look at his son. He’s a little
pixie. You wanna take him up and hold him.”
Jake and Jorge approached.
David put his arm around his wife. “Honey, this is Jorge and Jake.” James stepped
out of the way. “Gentlemen, my wife, Linda.”
“He described you perfectly,” said Jorge, taking her hand.
“Hello, Jorge.” Her eyes lingered over his imposing stature for a moment. She then
looked at Jake when he stepped forward. His affable appearance moved her to smile.
“Glad to meet you, Linda,” said Jake, extending his hand.
“Hi, Jake. I love your restaurant. David told me about the offer to use your private
table.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing you there.”
After a few moments of casual conversation, Tim and Rosemary walked into the room
and drew their attention. David directed Linda toward them. “Honey, this is Tim and
his wife Rosemary.”
Struck by Tim’s deep blue eyes, she sensed incredible sensitivity within them. She
immediately felt more involved with the emotion of his son’s circumstances. “Glad to
meet you, Tim. David’s told me a lot about you and that project you guys’ll be working
on together.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”
“Hated hearing that about Brett.”
Tim nodded and took her hand and kissed it, then presented his wife. The two wives
smiled at each other, then Linda stepped forward with a quick hug.
“How is he?” David asked.
Tim’s eyes brightened. “He’s fine. They’re sending us home. I have to go take care of
some paperwork.”
“Can I see him?” Linda asked.
Rosemary took her hand and they started down the hall. David rested his arm around
Tim’s shoulder. “They’ll ask if you can pay.”
“I know.”
“Listen, Jorge and I were talking last night. He wants to put up an advance on the
Addison job.”
Tim rubbed his mouth and looked over his shoulder at Jorge.
“That’s just good business, Tim.”
Tim nodded reluctantly. “I’ll write him a receipt later.”
“Sure. He’ll go with you to check out.”
“Guess I better go now.”
David looked at Jorge and winked. Jorge got to his feet and walked out with Tim, then
David joined James and Jake. “Hope you were prepared to meet my wife. She
insisted on coming along.”
“She’s delightful,” said Jake.
“It’s gotten to where I don’t know what to expect. This morning, before I realized where
our conversation was going, she came up with plans for a dinner party. You’re all
invited, including your wives. Beware. She’s curious about you guys. She can be the
most inquisitive female on earth.”
“Right behind my wife,” said James, shoving his hands into his pockets. “If Linda
mentioned a dinner party, ten to one I’ll hear about it tonight.”
“We should’ve seen it coming,” said David. “Tell you the truth, right now I feel pretty
stupid. Looks like our little ruse wasn’t as simple as it sounded.”
“I think the problem is solved though,” said Jake. “Now that we’re actually gonna play.”
James looked at Jake, curious. “We’re going to play? You mean poker?”
“It was my idea,” David said. “We talked about it before you got to the room last night.”
He went on to explain how a real game would automatically coordinate everything they
told their wives, concluding with: “And we talked about Tim’s situation. Since he’s got
these medical bills and he’s too proud to let us help, we thought it’d be a good idea to
let him win a few hands.”
“David,” said James, “you never cease to amaze me. If I ever get in a tight, I hope you’
re around to help me get out of it.”
“Take it to the bank, buddy.”
A few minutes later Linda and Rosemary walked back into the room, Linda carrying
Brett.”
“God, I love him.” She happily kissed the little boy’s forehead. “I told Rosemary she’s
got a babysitter anytime she needs one.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Saturday noon, David stretched out on a deck lounge in the shade of an umbrella. He
watched James take off his clothes on the patio and hang them on a wall hook. Then
James started in his direction. David watched him, distracted by the sunlight glinting
on his dark skin, the flexing and twitching muscle and the perky bounce between his
legs. James reclined on the deck lounge next to him.
David looked up into the trees. “Hmm. I could look at you all day.”
“I know what you mean. I better tuck this between my legs before you have it pointing at
the sun.”
“Sure missed our usual Thursday night routine. I feel a little antsy.”
James turned to look at him. His eyes swept the full length of his body. “I intend to
make up for that Monday afternoon.”
David crossed his legs, beleaguered by the same problem. “Maybe we ought to
change the subject.”
“How about this: My new challenge. Now that Linda met the others, Shasha wants to
meet them, too. She’s pushing that dinner party idea.”
David’s lips tightened. He wondered if events were slipping out of control. Not that a
dinner party seemed like a major problem, they needed time to think it through, to
anticipate and prevent potential pitfalls. “It wasn’t my idea for Linda tag along to the
hospital yesterday,” he said defensively. “Besides, I didn’t know you guys were there.”
“I know that. It just happened that way. Now Shasha’s hell-bent to get everyone
together. I don’t know why that makes me so nervous.”
They heard the back door open. David turned and watched two nude women step out
onto the patio. The dinner party did pose a risk. Something unexpected could
happen. Something could be said that would lead to suspicious wives. A conflict to
something he had lied about. He recoiled from the thought. “We’re overreacting. In
the end, it’ll be better if they’re included. We just have to ease into it and make it work.”
James was staring at Linda. “David!” he said, astonished. “There’s something very
different about your wife!”
“Yeah, pretty obvious isn’t it?” David thought about the intimacy of waxing Linda’s
pubic hair. It had made for an unusually interesting evening. “They sure look exposed
that way, don’t they?”
“One thing for sure—those two don’t fool around when they decide to spice things up.”
“I for one like this middle-age stuff. Just hope we survive it.”
The women approached. Shasha had a tray of bottled beer. “Thank-you, charming
lady,” said David. He reached for a beer.
His eyes feeling the pull of temptation, James resisted another glimpse of Linda’s
newly shaved nether lips. “You two are a lovely contrast standing next to each other like
that,” he said.
“Why, thank-you, sir,” said Linda, and then wrapped her tanned white arm around
Shasha’s small black shoulders.
David took a swallow of beer and wiped his lips on the back of his hand, noting their
playful mood. “There’s something you two ought to know.”
Linda stared at him in anticipation. “And what would that be, darling?”
“You might say it’s an unintentional visual effect of naked Saturdays. When you girls
bend over, you leave nothing to the imagination ... I mean nothing! I feel obliged to
avert my eyes.”
Linda blushed. Shasha pulled a chair closer and sat down, crossed her legs and said:
“Think it’s any different when a man bends over? I think not. And I don’t avert my eyes.”
David took another swallow of beer, observing the women. It still amazed him how
comfortable they felt getting naked in the back yard on Saturday afternoons. He had
spent some time thinking about growing older lately, realizing his body had slowed
down some. It seemed like the last decade had disappeared in the bat of an eye. The
next one would pass just as quickly, then the next. Why not enjoy the youth they still
had? Why not enjoy the invigorating camaraderie that came with it? It made him feel
alive.
It seemed James felt the same way. “What were you two whispering about when you
came outside?” he asked.
Linda glanced at Shasha before she replied: “Oh, just a magazine article I read the
other day.”
“About what?”
Linda cracked a smile, secretly delighted to broach the subject. “About men.
Something they do in private and never admit.”
“And what would that be?”
“Masturbate.”
James lowered his head and rubbed his brow.
“Good God, Linda!” said David, exasperated. “Is nothing taboo? Seems like that kind
of stuff is all we talk about these days.”
“That’s because we’ve had a twenty year dry spell.”
“I don’t remember it being so dry.”
“You know what I mean. Besides, what’s wrong with a simple discussion? The article
said the average American male masturbates from one to three times a week, married
or not. I admit I’m curious if there’s any credibility to it.”
“What magazine was that in for God’s sake?” said David with sarcasm.
Ignoring him, Linda returned her attention to James. “What about it, James? David
and I have been married twenty years and I’ve only caught him doing it twice.”
“Caught me twice! When?”
“Once in the shower—you didn’t know I walked in. The other time you were standing in
front of the dresser mirror in the middle of the night. You didn’t know I was awake.”
“Shit.”
“Shasha and I were wondering if a man can set aside all that machismo and confess to
a perfectly natural human act. So, do you? And if so, how often?”
James shifted his weight uneasily. “Why do I have the strangest feeling I’m standing in
quicksand?”
“Honey, you can’t answer a question with a question,” said Shasha.
“It’s not a difficult question,” said Linda. “Yes or no?”
James looked at David, rubbing his jaw. He looked back at the women. “Alright then,
the answer is yes.”
Shasha smiled. Linda seemed delighted. “Okay, how often and where?”
“Once or twice a week, in the shower, with soap.”
“Just one more question. Are you going to allow Shasha to watch?”
“Absolutely not,” James said sternly. “That’s something no woman can ever be allowed
to see.”
David almost spit out a mouthful of beer.
Linda turned to Shasha. “Bet you could sneak a peek now that you know where he
does it.”
Shasha looked at James and batted her eyes. “Or get in there and do it for him.”
“What’s with these two?” James asked.
“You got me,” David replied. “I just hope we’re not slipping into a quagmire of
immorality with these little offbeat musings.”
Shasha and Linda glanced at each other. James was suspicious of the way they were
grinning.
“There’s more,” he said to David.
“You think so? Just because they’re grinning like shit-eating possums?”
Not that either of them thought their husbands would go along with the idea, they had
decided to suggest it anyway. Shasha proceeded. “Concerning our little foursome ...
how would you guys feel about expanding it?”
They sat staring at her.
Linda was perplexed by their absent reaction.
“Spit it all out, honey,” James finally said.
“Let’s invite your poker buddies and their wives to join us next Saturday,” she said,
trying to sound as if it were the most rational of ideas.
David felt a few qualms. That scenario seemed even riskier than the dinner party. The
wives together, exchanging information, an ill-timed slip of the tongue. On the other
hand, there was something stimulating about it. Having everyone over, including the
wives, spending Saturday afternoon in the nude intrigued him.
Linda sat on the edge of her chair, awaiting their immediate disapproval, all but
shocked when the two men looked at each other as if they were considering it.
“Jake’s wife looked like she might be the type to try something like that,” said James.
“Yeah,” said David. “We haven’t met Jorge’s wife, but I bet he’d try it.” He pictured
Jorge’s uncommonly large cock, amused that it would certainly be the secret focal
point of the two females sitting next to him.
“Tim’s a tough call,” James added.
“True. Rosemary seems too reserved. I’d bet against her.”
Linda and Shasha watched their husband’s exchange, dumbstruck. They had been
prepared to argue and cajole, armed with a half dozen good reasons to give it try. It
was apparent they wouldn’t need to use them.
