Chapter 2

I had never been big on churches. It just wasn’t my thing. Whether there was a God or not, it really didn’t affect me. Amy hadn’t been a big believer either, or so I had thought. In Boston and Houston, we never went near a place of worship, but the moment we were back in Sanderson, she couldn’t be pried from Sanderson Church. She joined every weekend, organized and ran community events, and participated in every charity group. Allie and I joined her for Saturday mass, but I bowed out of the longer Sunday sermons. She never took issue with it. She did put Allie into Sunday school there, which I had initially been wary of, but she always returned with a big smile, so perhaps things had changed since I’d had to go to Sunday school in my youth.

I usually spent my Sunday mornings downtown at the local coffee shop with a few of my friends. It was one of the few opportunities we had to hang out, as everyone was always busy during the week.

I was talking to Geoff when Andrew joined us with another person in tow.

“Hey guys, this is Ryan. He married into the Sandersons a couple of months ago and finally moved here. Ryan, this is Dan, our old-timer, and Geoff. Dan’s been here longer than anyone I know. Almost a decade now?”

“Decade and a half,” I said, only slightly resenting being called the old-timer. “Nice to meet you, Ryan. Welcome to Sanderson.”

“Thanks,” he said as he shook our hands and took a seat. “Glad to have some folks to talk to. The place always seems so deserted on the weekends.”

“Can’t be helped,” Geoff said. “Nearly the entire town goes to church. The few husbands left over could barely fill a few shops.”

“You make it sound like it’s a cult,” Ryan laughed. He paused, not getting a reaction from us. “Oh my god, is it a cult?”

I couldn’t keep a straight face anymore and started laughing, which set off the others.

“Nah, nah. Nothing like that,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “Plenty of folks don’t go to church or stick around downtown. We’re here because we all have kids that are still at Sunday school. Mine is graduating this year. Geoff’s kids are, what, six and seven?”

“Yeah. Jenny’s seven and Alex is six. She got into private school on the lottery system. Alex wants to go too, but they only have so many slots.”

“Liz is coming up on sixteen now,” Andrew said. “She loves private school. Made a bunch of good friends there.”

“Lainy’s been talking about that,” Ryan said, accepting a cup of coffee from the waiter. “She said she loved her time there. Hopes that the little one will go there too. Of course, that won’t be for a while yet. We only just got married.”

Geoff leaned in conspiratorially, “Your wife. Does she ... fit in ... with everyone else?”

“Don’t start, Geoff.” I rolled my eyes as he started up on his conspiracy theory again.

“No harm in warning him,” he said defensively.

“What? What do you mean?” Ryan asked.

“You heard of the Sanderson Curse?”

“Don’t let him scare you. He does this to everyone.” I said this, knowing that at least a quarter of the people here believed this stupid curse.

“No. What curse?” Ryan was already leaning forward in his chair. Seemed that Geoff got another one.

“Most of the men who marry into the Sandersons never make it to forty.”

“I’m forty-two,” I added.

“And that’s because Dan’s wife is a petite Sanderson. It’s the other ones you need to be careful of.”

“I’m sure your wife, AKA the other one, will be thrilled to hear this.”

“And that’s what I’m worried about,” Geoff said. “My wife, love of my life, mother of my darling children, is a voracious woman. And she’ll be the death of me. If yours is one of them, you’d best make peace with not making forty.”

Andrew just shook his head while mixing sugar into his coffee. “This is his way of bragging about how much sex he has with his gorgeous wife. We get it Geoff, she’s a nympho. Good for you.”

“I’m going to need you to squint more and smoke an old timey pipe to sell this curse of yours,” I added dryly. “Didn’t you just run a marathon?”

“Scoff all you want, but I need to keep myself in shape, lest I go any sooner.”

The topic of conversation quickly changed, and we moved on to less crazy things, like aliens.

An hour later, the door chimed again, and four bombshells walked in. They were dressed in their finest, the light breeze tugging at strands of blonde and brown. It was getting late in the season, but they all wore summer dresses with shawls draped loosely around their shoulders, some bare while others not.

My eyes naturally fell on Amy, who smiled brightly at me. Her brown eyes twinkled as she gave me a peck on the cheek and sat on my lap. Her slight frame fit comfortably, and I nibbled her ear as she giggled and sipped my coffee. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close. She always smelled of plum blossoms, even through her coconut soap.

Andrew’s wife, Nina, stood behind him and leaned over him as he looked up at her. Her soft, brown curls poured down as she kissed him. She was petite, like Amy, but looked no less gorgeous. All the Sanderson ladies aged gracefully.

Geoff stood and embraced his wife, Kenzie. It was always a funny sight to see him hunch over to wrap her up in his arms, as he was easily a foot taller than her. She kissed him long enough that I assumed she had her tongue down his throat while he stealthily felt up her firm behind.

Lainy bounced into Ryan’s arms, her generous bosom quivering and quaking. They kissed, though I thought I caught a moment of worry cross his face. Geoff must have freaked him out a bit. There was always someone who took things too seriously.

Amy put the cup in the saucer and turned to me. “Sweety, I’m going to be helping out the community chair next weekend.”

“Oh. Okay. Do you need me to bring you early?”

She scrunched her face. “It’s pretty early, and I know you like to sleep in. I can bring Allie with me, and she can help setup before Sunday school. Will you be alright alone at home?”

“Sure.”

I usually got up with Amy on the weekends, but this time she shushed me and pushed me back down into the pillows. She planted a soft kiss on my lips before slipping out of bed and padding to the bathroom. I watched her bare bottom sway out of view, grinning to myself. Sleeping in the buff with a gorgeous woman on high thread-count sheets was simply the peak of luxury.