Laura gulped her coffee and finished drying her hair to the tune of the incessant ringing coming from her mother's bell. Sharp, impatient knocks sounded at the front door. She hurried through the house to let Rhonda the rugby nurse in and was surprised to find Mavis there instead, dressed casually in light blue corduroys, Nikes and a Houston Oilers T-shirt.
"I thought I was gonna have to give Jo-Jo's doggie door another try," Mavis said, clutching an onion in her hand.
Laura set Jo-Jo down and ran a brush through
her hair. "Come in. I'm running late. Jesus. I slept terrible last night." She glanced at the clock on the mantel and groaned. "Where the hel 's Rhonda? She's usually here by now."
They both could hear the bell in the other room beginning to ring louder.
"It's her day off, remember? That's why I'm here."
Toss went the onion. Up and down, each time landing with a little smack in Mavis's palm.
Laura looked at her, eyes wide with concern. "Her day off? I don't remember anything about a day off! Why didn't she tell me this yesterday?"
"I don't know. What's the big deal? Whenever she's off, I'll be here. The two of us worked it out that way."
"And when do you get a day off?"
"Today," Mavis said. "I'm spendin' it with your mother." She scrunched up her nose at the clanging bell in the other room. "What's her problem?"
"She's ready for breakfast. She wants apple cinnamon oatmeal. It's in the microwave."
"Finish gettin' ready for work. I'll take care of it."
Laura finished drying her hair and finally got dressed. She was annoyed at not knowing what was going on in her own house and wondered if she'd ever have control over her life again. The prospect didn't even seem feasible any longer. If she had known Rhonda would be off on Thursdays, then other arrangements could have been made. Laura decided to
make a point of talking to Mavis about it later. She fastened her watch and was putting on earrings when she stopped in the doorway of her mother's room. Mavis had a towel
snug under Mrs.
Davenport's chin as she spooned in the oatmeal. Her mother was stil a little weak and didn't feel comfortable feeding herself yet. Laura watched them together for a moment, the scene unexpectedly touching her. Mavis with that mass of blonde hair against the baby blueness of her baggy shirt, and the laughter in her eyes with each successful spoonful of oatmeal that disappeared into that puckered, opened mouth.
"I'm leaving. Will you two be okay?" Laura had her doubts about this being a good idea, but the only alternative at this late hour would be to pack her mother up and take her to work
with her.
"We'll be fine," Mavis said sweetly. "I'll just do what Rhonda does every mornin' as soon as you leave." She scooped up another spoonful and gently put it up to Mrs. Davenport's
mouth. "I'm tyin' her to the bed." She cackled outrageously as she dabbed oatmeal from
mouth and chin. "I'm just kiddin', darlin'. We'll be fine. I've got all sorts of things planned for us. You run along to work."
"I'll call you." Laura glanced at her watch. "I've got a meeting this morning with the new production head, but my secretary knows how to reach me." Maybe she could come home
for lunch and check on them.
"Give your mother a kiss before you leave," Mrs. Davenport said in a weary voice. As Laura bent over to kiss her on the cheek, her mother whispered, "Don't leave me alone with this
woman."
"You'll be fine." To Mavis she said more forcefully, "She'll be fine, won't she?"
"Better than fine. Now off to work."
Laura called at mid-morning and Mavis said they
were playing cards. Laura couldn't get away at lunch, but called again that afternoon and they were still playing cards.
"Gin rummy. I'm kickin' her butt."
"She's not asleep?" Laura asked.
"Nope. Not yet."
"Then why don't I hear that stupid bell ringing? She makes me nuts with that thing."
"Let's just say that the only time it'll ever ring again is when she farts, if you know what I mean."
Laura decided to definitely try and get home early. Of course things didn't work out that way. She had to work late and then it started raining as soon as she got on the expressway during rush-hour traffic. There were three accidents, and tempers as short, if not
shorter, than hers. Once she got home, Laura found Mavis in the kitchen perched on a stool with a book and a tall glass of tea.
"I'm sorry I'm late. How is she?"
"She's asleep. I got her up some this afternoon. She needs to be doin' more."
"Up? As in out of bed?"
"Out of bed and went for a stroll around the living room. I'll borrow a walker from the hospital and bring it by tomorrow. She'l feel better about gettin' up and around once she's used to havin' it."
Laura sat across from her at the breakfast nook and noticed the onion next to the book. "I want to thank you for today. For everything, actually. You're being so good about all of this. I don't know if I could've done it without you." Laura smiled and nodded in the onion's direction. "What's with the onion?"
Mavis laughed shyly. "We're gettin' acquainted."
"You hate onions."
"Maybe not." She picked it up and took a bite out of it, as if it were an apple. There was a crunch and an instant onion aroma. Mavis continued chewing and turned it slowly as she
inspected it.
"What in the hell —?" Laura managed before she started to laugh. With mouth agape, she knew she was staring dumbly, but she couldn't help it. "I've never seen anyone do that
before! Jesus. Are you crazy? And it stinksV
"I thought you liked 'em," Mavis said in between chews. She was clearly enjoying the whole thing immensely.
"In moderation! My God, I don't believe you did that."
"Moderation." Mavis put what remained of the mangled onion next to the book. "Does moderation mean I should buy smaller ones?"
"Moderation means a sliver chopped up in your omelette, or rings instead of french fries at Jack In The Box." Laura started to laugh again and fanned the area with her hand. "Jesus.
I've never seen anyone do that before."
Mavis picked up what was left of the onion and offered it to her. "It's good. Try some."
"No, thanks." She continued to stare at her in pure amazement.
"Mind if I borrow this book? I'll bring it back when I'm finished."
"Sure. Uh... would you like to stay for dinner? It's the least I can do after you've given up your day off."
"Maybe some other time. I've got an appointment." At the front door Mavis handed her a piece of paper. "Give this to Rhonda in the morning. Your mother needs to start exercisin' more. She'll be here forever at this rate."
"Thanks again. You've been wonderful through all of this."
Mavis smiled and took another chunk out of the onion. "Moderation," she said on her way out the door.
The following evening Mavis came over for dinner. She set a grocery bag on the counter and pulled out a twelve-pack of beer and a bundle of leeks.
"What's this?" Laura said, frowning.
"These are leeks," Mavis said. "They're like onions, only taller."
"I know what they are. The question is why are they here?"
"Moderation, darlin'. It's an onion with class. I'll clean 'em and skin 'em later. They'll be
good with supper. Did Susan bring the walker over?"
Laura nodded, still somewhat amused and confused. "It's in Mother's room."
"Has she used it yet?"
"No. Not yet."
Mavis disappeared and came back a few minutes later with Mrs. Davenport shakily clinging to the walker. "We decided to come for a visit," Mavis said happily. "Ain't she doin' good?"
Laura stopped stirring the cheese sauce and took in the sight of them together. Mavis in comfortable blue jeans, brown loafers and a yellow Ocean Pacific T-shirt that seemed to blend right in with the
blondness of her hair. Laura couldn't remember the last time she had actually looked at Mavis with any sort of appreciation, but she took her time doing it now. Mavis was definitely an attractive woman.
"You said I could rest once we got to the kitchen," Mrs. Davenport said, trembling. She was a little winded. Laura watched as Mavis helped her onto a stool.
"I should've brought the cards. We could've started a new round of gin rummy."
"I kicked your butt the other day," Mrs. Davenport said smugly.
The table was set for three, and the preparation itself was more fun than Laura could
remember having in a long time. The playful grumbling among the three of them, along with Mrs. Davenport's need for Mavis's attention, was a wonder in itself.
"Will you be okay in this chair, old lady?" Mavis asked her at one point. "I can't have you fallin' out and embarrassin' me."
"You'll be old someday," Mrs. Davenport reminded her with a slow wagging finger.
Mavis helped her to the chair at the head of the table and got her settled in before replying, "I'll never be this old. I'll kill myself first."
Mrs. Davenport's laughter nearly made Laura drop the bowl of mashed potatoes. How long had it been since she'd heard her mother laugh like that? A few minutes later Mavis was at
the sink scrubbing vegetables. Laura came up behind her and whispered, "What's going on?
I feel like martians came down and left an impostor in her place."
Mavis nodded toward the floor. "They probably got in through the doggie door." She turned the water off and drained the leeks on the paper towel. "Here you go," she said. "Take a leek.
When was the last time you took a leek, darlin'?" Her eyes met Laura's in a twinkle of delight. "They're like onions, you know. Only taller."
After dinner Mavis helped Mrs. Davenport back to her room and tucked her in. She was asleep within minutes; the stroll from the kitchen had worn her out. Laura loaded the dishwasher and fixed herself a drink. It was only a little after eight, and she felt more relaxed than she had in weeks.
"She's gettin' stronger," Mavis said from the breakfast nook. "Don't let her fool you."
"She's been talking about going home."
"That's good. She'll be ready before long."
"You want something to drink? There's plenty of beer."
"Not right now. Thanks." Mavis shook the blonde hair out of her eyes in a nervous gesture that Laura hadn't seen in a while. It reminded her of the younger, more vulnerable Mavis
she had known a lifetime ago.
"I... uh ... like your house. It took me a while to get used to the idea of you havin' one, I guess."
"I like it too. I've done a lot of growing up here." Laura set her glass down between them on the bar and smiled. "I've been meaning to ask you about this therapist thing you've been
—"
Mavis was there beside her, warm and sweet-smelling as before. So close. So very, very close. Her cool fingers touched Laura's face in a shy,
uncertain caress. Laura stopped breathing. The only sounds in the room came from the hum of the refrigerator and the beating of her heart. Mavis leaned closer and kissed her, and
Laura was in her arms responding with every fiber of her being.
It was like finally coming home after having been away for a long time. Familiar and
indelible, the slow swelling of emotion was like none Laura had ever known. There was raw passion in the kiss and a possessiveness in the way Mavis held her. Al thought had been abandoned, and it wasn't until Mavis began kissing her throat that Laura realized what they were doing.
"No," she whispered weakly. "We can't do this."
Mavis either didn't hear what she said or didn't care, because the kissing never stopped.
Laura seemed to almost melt in her arms again, with fleeting moments of intense desire sweeping through her.
"No," she said again, more forcefully than before, but her rapid, heavy breathing took something away from its conviction. This can't be happening, she thought. I won't let it happen. "Please don't," she pleaded in a desperate whisper.
Mavis let go of her with pain and disappointment etched in her eyes. She didn't say
anything and reluctantly moved away from her. With the panic subsiding, Laura was able to get better control of herself.
Turning to leave, Mavis apparently had no intentions of looking back. Laura felt confused and frustrated, as if she had just woken up from a dream. Mavis was leaving, and Laura realized suddenly that she didn't want that. Had she told her to go? Had she said it and not remembered?
She followed her out of the kitchen and into the living room. Her mind was racing and she heard the telephone ringing, but Laura couldn't have cared less.
"Where are you going?"
Mavis collected her keys and her purse from the coffee table. The pain was still there, clear in her eyes. Mavis wouldn't look at her, but held her head high and pushed that
blonde shock of hair away from her forehead.
"Mavis, please don't go. Let's talk about this."
"Answer your phone," she said in a low, husky voice.
"Forget the phone."
With keys in one hand and her purse on her shoulder, Mavis answered the telephone. "Well,
what a surprise," she said warmly. "How are you, Robin?" She finally turned and glanced at Laura.
Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. "Yes, she's here. Just a minute." Mavis held the telephone out to her and their eyes met again. "Prime rib wants to talk to you,"
she said quietly. "The hamburger's gotta go."
Laura took the receiver from her and then let it slowly slip to the floor. "Wait, goddamn it.
Don't leave yet."
Mavis had the door open and the screen unlocked before Laura could get across the room.
Jo-Jo wiggled and squirmed between them with her squeak ball in her mouth.
"Wait a minute," Laura said again, her hand on Mavis's arm. "We need to talk about —"
Mavis was kissing her again, lips soft and all-consuming, tongue insistent and demanding. It was a deep, breathtaking kiss. It was wonderful, hot, and Laura slowly folded into her
arms. At the first
indication that the kiss was ending, Laura took Mavis's face in her hands and kissed her again, easily renewing the fire between them.
Mavis eventually pulled away, blue eyes searching, and whispered, 'Tour lover's on the phone."
Laura gently pushed the door closed and moved to pick up the receiver dangling on the floor, her eyes never leaving Mavis's. Stating simply that something had come up, she couldn't talk right then, and she would call her tomorrow, Laura hung up and kissed Mavis once more in a feverish display of intense want and need. When they finally broke away from one another, Laura led the way to her room without giving it another thought.
They peeled away clothes, neither saying a word, nor needing to. Laura pulled her down on the bed and kissed her again, their bodies harmonizing and complementing one another easily. They had made love this way a thousand times, and each and every time had been just as wonderful as the last. When their sex life had been good, it had been very good, which was one reason Mavis's indiscretions had hurt Laura so deeply.
Mavis moved down her body, and Laura could feel her warm breath on the inside of her thigh. Moments later the gentle sucking began, then the thorough, delectable feasting that Laura remembered so well. Laura opened her legs further and matched the stroking of Mavis's tongue with undulating hips. Mavis buried herself in the center of her. Brilliant colors exploded in her head, and Laura came with a low, husky moan originating from somewhere deep within her throat. She felt completely possessed and
stripped of inhibition. She had no secrets from this woman.
Her legs went limp, and heavy lidded and satisfied, she reached for her. Laura kissed her deeply, sucking on her tongue and pulling at it with her lips. She had always loved tasting herself on Mavis's mouth and felt a new surge of desire rush through her, warming her skin and hardening her nipples. It was so easy to get lost in this. So easy to let go and actually feel something again.
"I've missed you," Laura said, and then was surprised at how much she meant it. She rolled Mavis over on her back and settled easily on top of her. "I've really missed you."
She licked and sucked Mavis's ample breasts, her hands overflowing with them. Laura remembered the first time they had made love, and how awed she had been by Mavis's body. In clothes her breasts were deceiving, but in Laura's hands they were magic.
As she moved down Mavis's soft, firm stomach and lingered over her navel, outlining and teasing it with her tongue, she wondered how long they had been working up to this. Laura couldn't remember ever being as receptive and ready as Mavis's kiss at the front door had made her. In a way, none of this made any sense, but in another way, it was the only thing
that made sense. Mavis knew her better than anyone, and being with her now seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
Laura made love to her with her mouth, her fingers, her hands. She wanted to hear the moans she remembered so well, and feel those long, thin fingers in her hair. Mavis came twice, just as Laura
knew she would, and afterward she didn't even have strength enough to pull Laura back up where she wanted her. Laura followed the same trail across stomach and breast and rested happily propped up on an elbow beside her. She saw the sated, peaceful expression on Mavis's face, the beginning of a smile at the corners of her mouth. Laura brushed a tear
knew she would, and afterward she didn't even have strength enough to pull Laura back up where she wanted her. Laura followed the same trail across stomach and breast and rested happily propped up on an elbow beside her. She saw the sated, peaceful expression on Mavis's face, the beginning of a smile at the corners of her mouth. Laura brushed a tear