Chapter 6

“Yes, he did. Dammit, I’m not that kind of woman. I’m certainly not dressing to seduce some slimy little man like that. Hell, I don’t even have sex!”

Her words hung in the air for a moment before she realized what she had said.

“With someone like him, I mean! I can’t believe I just said that!”

“He really offended you. Do you want to pursue it?”

“What, take legal action against him? Hopefully, it won’t be worth it when his wife’s attorney is done. Besides, Tim would never understand.”

“What do you mean?”

“He would probably think I had done something to entice the pig.”

“You haven’t,” I said.

“I’m certainly not trying to. That’s not who I am. I’m not comfortable being sexual in public. I’m not sexual, am I? Be honest, Don.”

“Do you feel sexual?” I asked.

She looked down, played with the ice in her drink for a moment, and then looked at me again. “Am I talking to Dr. Croswell now?” she grinned.

“Is it better if you do?”

“If I see it that way, then I can answer you. No, I don’t feel sexual, not usually, anyway.”

“You mean, not in public,” I said.

“Hoo, boy, honesty time. No, I mean I don’t feel sexual at all, anywhere, usually. Why am I talking about this?”

“You need some private time with your husband,” I said.

“I try that. I manage to get five minutes of affection every once in a while.”

“I see.”

“He’s actually said that he does it to please me, but he’s finished in no time, so I fake it so he can get some sleep,” she said.

“Sarah, I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s okay, mostly. He’s the father of my children, so obviously we’ve had some sex.”

“How long has it been, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Believe it or not, no, I don’t mind. It was when the kids were at my parents’ place for the weekend about three months ago,” she said. “I guess that’s a long time.”

“It would be, for some people,” I answered.

She continued, “He usually won’t do anything if the kids are home, even if they’re sound asleep. Their rooms are upstairs, and we have motion-sensor nightlights all over the place for safety, just in case someone wanders. We would easily see the light under the bedroom door, and we would lock it anyway, but he doesn’t think it’s worth the risk.”

I said, “To a degree, I see his point, but you two should be able to work around it. Give the kids a gold star or something if they stay upstairs, and then some reward when they earn enough.”

Sarah shrugged. “The kids already stay upstairs. It’s probably been three years since either one of them has gotten out of bed in the middle of the night, and that was only when we all had the flu. Tim’s just not that into sex, I guess.”

“You are?” I asked.

“Wow, pretty direct with the questions, there, Dr. Croswell!” she laughed.