Chapter 7

“How did your dad meet his wife?” April asked as they headed for his car.

“Bridge club.”

“Bridge?”

“The card game. Dad’s an expert bridge player. Before she got so sick, my sister and I would play my mom and dad in a weekly bridge tournament.”

“You know how to play?”

“Yeah, but I’m pretty rusty. I’m more of a hold-em guy. Gloria’s good at it, too.”

“Is your dad still practicing architecture?” April asked.

“No -- he’s retired,” Ron replied as he steered his car onto a boulevard. “He does have a part-time job with the county as an assessor.”

“I’ll bet that makes him a popular guy.” Ron pulled into the parking lot of his dad’s condo. “This looks like apartments,” April observed.

“It is, but he owns the space instead of renting it.” Ron led her to the main entrance. He found the button for M Quick and pressed it.

“Yes?” came a woman’s voice.

“Gloria? It’s Ronnie.”

“Come on up.”

The main entrance buzzed open and Ron led April to an elevator. He pressed the button for the fourth floor. “Don’t be nervous,” he said to her.

“You don’t be nervous. I think you’re more nervous than I am.”

Ron pressed the doorbell. The door swung open and a man, the image of Ron thirty years older and with a neatly trimmed gray beard greeted them. “Ronnie,” he said and embraced his son.

A short and stout woman with a round face, sparkling blue eyes and curly gray hair joined him and gave Ron a hug. “I wish you had given us more notice,” she said in a mild Lallans Scots accent. “I’d have made scones or shortbread.”

“It was spur of the moment. Besides, we just filled up on milkshakes from Webb’s custard stand. Dad ... Gloria -- this is April. April Hunter, my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend,” his dad replied. “Glad to see you back in the saddle, son.”

April extended her hand and his dad grasped it. “Pleased to meet you, Mr Quick.”

“Call me Matthew ... or, just Matt. Very pleased to meet you, April. It’s a pretty name. Come in, sit down.”

Ron and April sat, holding hands on an upholstered loveseat. Matthew and Gloria sat in chairs opposite them.

“Don’t they look a lovely couple,” Gloria remarked.

“They do, indeed,” Matthew replied. “How did you two meet?”

“We met at Connie’s Fourth of July barbecue,” Ron replied. “We had been chatting on-line for a couple years prior...”

“...but, neither of us knew the other’s on-line identity,” April added. “Since we met in person, we’ve fallen in love.”

“You sure look like a couple in love,” Gloria replied. “What brings you to these parts?”

“April and I were looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon and I suggested we take a drive and see my old haunts. We stopped at the house and the high school.”

“Do you know,” Matthew interrupted, “that the school board wants to close the high school and build a new one?”

April glanced at Ron. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

“No,” Ron replied. “Why would they want to do that?”

“Capacity,” his dad replied. “They’re running out of space. They want to turn the structure into an office complex.”

“Why not just add onto the existing structure?”

“Some upstart architect has the ear of the board chair. They have an option on some land by the parkway. This architect has drawn a rendering of a new high school ... hideous looking, more like a shopping mall than a school.”

“The parkway? That’s a terrible location.”

“Agreed. It’s not going to happen. The board held a referendum and it was defeated, five to ninety-five.”

“Ninety-five against?” Ron asked.

“That’s right. I think the entire district turned out. The board heard the message loud and clear. I don’t trust them, though. They’re a bunch that get their way by hook or crook.”

“It would be upsetting to see something like that happen to a building you designed,” April remarked.

“As I’ve grown older I’ve learned to let go,” Matthew replied. “When I was your age, it would have. Life must go on and the old make way for the new.”

“How’s your business?” Gloria asked.

“Busier than ever,” Ron replied.

“That’s good,” Matthew said. “It’s good to be busy. It beats the alternative.”

“What do you do, April, dear?” Gloria asked.

“I’m a teachers’ assistant, April replied. “I work with learning-disabled children.”

Gloria nodded in approval. “Children are our future,” she remarked. “I worked with children ... before coming here. I was a live-in nanny.”

“April...” Ron started to say. April gave his hand a quick squeeze, a side-eye and an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

“Yes, go on,” Gloria replied.

“I ... I lost my train of thought. What’s new with you two?” Ron asked.

“Gloria is applying for citizenship,” his dad replied. “After being a permanent resident for forty-one years, she’s finally going for her papers.”

“Good for you,” April replied.

“What prompted this?” Ron asked.

“Well, we always thought having a green card meant you were safe,” Gloria replied. “Not any more. This current administration is looking for any and every excuse to deport people, even those holding green cards. Just recently, it was on the news -- a man who came here from Poland as a wee lad and held a green card for decades ... a doctor he was, and saving lives, too. The ICE arrested and deported him for trouble he was in as a teen. It’s terrible.”

“I’m sure you never got into trouble,” Ron remarked.

“Not to my knowledge but who knows what they can dig up?”

“Or, fabricate,” Matthew retorted. “I wouldn’t put that beyond those sons-of-bitches.”

“The real reason is,” Gloria added, “so I can have a vote. It’s my dream to be sworn in before the next election.”

“Good luck,” Ron replied.

“April, dear,” Gloria said. “Do you know how to play bridge? I know Ronnie does.”

April shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t.”

“We don’t get a chance to play much any more,” Gloria replied.

“What happened to your old bridge club?” Ron asked.

“They’re dying off,” Matthew replied. “When we joined, we were the youngsters. No one wants to play bridge anymore.”

“You should learn to play hold-em,” Ron suggested.

“I don’t like playing cards for money,” his dad said.

“Dad -- you’ve played plenty of bridge for money. I’ll bet we can teach April how to play. She’s a quick learner.” April gave him another side-eye and a scowl.

“What about whist?” Gloria suggested. “The play is straight-forward.”

“Whist?” April repeated.

“It’s like bridge without the bidding,” Ron replied, “or the complicated scoring. Are you game?”

April shrugged. “Sure -- I’ll give it a try.”

* * * *

Ron switched on the headlights as he drove toward town. “I think that went really well,” he remarked.

“It went way better than I anticipated,” April replied.

“I did not expect to spend the entire afternoon there ... and to have them order pizza from Luther’s. I remember pizza from Luther’s as a kid.”

“I was pleased you were picking up on my signals. I don’t want my obligation to Mattie to be common knowledge.”

“Understood.”

“You were about to let it slip but you read my signal. That pleased me, Ron. I wish you wouldn’t over-sell my abilities, though.”

“Admit it -- you did pick up how to play whist pretty quickly.”

“Yes, and I admit I had a good time playing cards with them. I like that game. Girls against boys -- I enjoyed having Gloria as my partner.”

“What do you think of them?” he asked.

“I love them. You were right about that.”

“Were you reading them?”

“As the afternoon went on, I started feeling them, yes. Your dad is mellow and Gloria is really sweet.”

“He wasn’t always mellow -- Gloria came into his life at the right time,” Ron replied. “After Mom died he was kinda lost. Gloria saved him and he’s never been happier. I love her for that. I know they love you. Dad told me in private what a nice choice I made. He thinks you’re a lovely girl with a pretty smile, and he loves your personality.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint,” she replied.

Ron put his hand on her knee and ran it a short distance under her dress, caressing her inner thigh. “You’re getting horny already?” she asked.

“I was recalling a sexy little game my ex and I would play when we were on a bit of a drive -- especially if it was after dark and not much traffic.”

“What game?”

Ron slid his hand further under her dress and caressed her mons through the fabric of her briefs. “I’d stroke her and we’d see if she could climax before we reached our destination.”

“Hmm...” April pressed the soles of her sandals together and drew her feet as far under the seat as she could, spreading her thighs.

Ron began exploring her through her cotton briefs. He located her labia and worked his finger into her slit, finding her clitoral shaft and hood. He began languidly stroking its full length. She pulled the hem of her dress down and around his arm and held it there.

He glanced at her. She sat, stone faced and looking down the road ahead of them. Her breathing already was deeper and more deliberate and Ron watched the bodice of her gown heave.

“You’re not going to be too distracted and get into an accident, are you?” she asked.

“I’m good at multi-tasking.”

“You haven’t said much about your ex.”

“Not much to say. We met in college, got married after we graduated. She was a technical geek like me and we both worked in tech jobs ... for different companies. We never had children. Then, about four years ago an old high-school flame reared his ugly head and made her an offer I couldn’t top. We split as friends.”

“Are you still in touch with her?”

“No. We were for a while but lost touch.”

“I’m sorry to hear it ... but not too sorry because otherwise we wouldn’t have each other.”

“She was my only other, April.”

Ron could feel her clit hardening. He began focusing his touch on the firm lump between her labia. April’s lips parted and her breathing deepened.” Feels good -- it’s building,” she panted.

“The goal is for you to come just as we’re pulling into our neighborhood.”

“It’s going to happen sooner than that,” she said. “More...” She put her hand on his thigh and dug her nails into him. He could feel the muscles in her thigh twitching.

Ron stopped at a stop sign and turned onto another street. “We’re getting close,” he remarked.