Chapter 6

They drove home through only moderately heavy traffic, but the truck roars drowned out any good conversation. He patted her leg, "You really hit it off with the kids. I barely had time to hold the baby."

She smiled brightly, "I spend my time with kids at the Refuge House. I've learned a lot about making friends with them."

"I may have to go back for another visit."

"Not without me, you won't!" She laughed. "I thought you were going to bring Ann with you. You couldn't put her down."

"I love holding and walking them when they're that age. They do grow up, though!"

After a relatively uneventful drive home—uneventful in the sense that they made it without an accident—they stood by the car as he held her, "I had a great day! Why don't we freshen up and go for dinner?"

"I'd like that. Too late to start anything here. I hate to think what that yapping machine in there will do if we go out again."

"I know. He gets used to being alone after a while. Because he likes you, it is now doubling his pain."

"You really know how to put a guilt trip on me, don't you?" She opened the door and Benny went scooting across the lawn until he found a perfect place to leave his deposit. He ran around for a couple of minutes and then sat in front of her demanding to be picked up.

She said then, "Benny and I are going to change clothes. We'll see you in fifteen minutes."

He replied, "I think I need some clean jeans, too."

When they were ready, she left Benny inside the door yapping and whining as she set the security code and came to the car where Bill was holding her door. "I'll never get used to hearing him cry when we leave."

"That's the price you pay for having him be so happy to see you when you return."

As they drove down to Morro Bay, she said, "That big beautiful rock causes bitter controversy between the environmentalists and the electric power people. Of course, the citizens want those ugly smokestacks removed because they don't add to the view. The power company seems to be in constant conflict over the water discharge. We go through PR campaigns and lawsuits. Gets ugly sometimes."

"I suppose we will continue to have these conflicts until the researchers find a renewable source of energy that doesn't pollute. Then, of course, if people can't make money on it, we'll never see the benefits. Ultimately, the ice caps melt."

"That's pretty grim. I read that Miami and parts of San Diego will go underwater this century as the water rises. That's scary!"

"Maybe they'll build dikes so they could be safe like they were in New Orleans. You'll be OK up in the hills."

"I know, but the place we're going to eat will be under water. We'd better enjoy it while we can." She thought a minute. "I was on a citizens committee last year to try to mediate the power plant situation. I'm vain enough to want to plug in my hair dryer any time I want. I also know that I can't do that if we don't have power stations. We have these politically inspired power outages regularly."

"All of the easy problems were solved long ago—like how to sharpen the spears. All that remain are the tough ones that can't be solved with twenty-second sound bites or rubbing rocks together." He laughed, "That's why they need smart people of your quality to be on citizens committees."

"I hate to face it, but you're right. Some members of the committee aren't there to discuss the problem and review alternatives; they read their own scripts written by the lobby groups. Is there any hope?"

"Probably not. Some of my informed colleagues believe that the warming trend is irreversible already. If it were possible to make lots of money on solving the global warming problem, someone would find a way, but so far the entrenched money favors the status quo. That's why it's probably too late."

"You're serious, aren't you? God, that's a grim outlook."

"That it is! I'm not an environmental specialist, but I do sit on university committees with people who are. When we go for a drink after meetings, they lay out the scenario. Even if they're only half right, the potential disaster will change life as we know it."

Ashley decided to change the subject to a more personal issue, "When we drove away, Karen told you not to forget something. Did you tie a string around your finger?" Are you sure you want to know?

He stopped at a traffic light and turned to her, "No, I can remember easily. I'm supposed to tell you that I'm a lot older than you are."

"Duh! Even I could figure that out. Does she think I'm a simpleton?"

"Quite the contrary. She also said I had to tell you that I had a vasectomy, but that seemed to be unnecessary since you're on the pill."

"Anything else?" I guess Kim was right about his being neutered.

"No, I think she was looking way ahead at all the rocks in the road. She tries to coach me sometimes."

Ashley laughed, "Coach or manage?"

"You're cruel, but manage might be more accurate. She wants me to hang out with people my own age."

"I wonder why she has such an aversion to your choices?"

"She has teased me for years about taking advantage of the students. She has a point."

"Did she consider that students might take advantage of you?"

"She says I have to be the adult and not permit hanky-panky."

"When we go back, I will assure her that I am not hanky-panky!"

After dinner, they went home immediately to indulge the recently common addiction suffered by millions around the globe—checking email. Each had to spend half an hour sorting and replying as they navigated through the inboxes and trashed enough spam to get to the important messages. When that task was complete, they decided to have an after dinner drink and enjoy the night sky from the deck. Benny sat on her lap and looked up at her.

Bill reported, "I have an urgent note from the boss. She wants me to come back next week to a faculty meeting and do planning. She wants me bad enough to pay for my ticket."

"You have to go? I thought you weren't working this summer." Ashley was unnerved as she stroked Benny's ears.

"Yeah, not working! Just always on call. I suppose if we had been in France, she wouldn't have asked. There will be an important vote. She thinks she needs my support. I can't do it by email or FedEx." He sighed, "When anyone uses the word 'plan, ' I get sweaty palms, worried that someone wants my lab space."

After a long pause, she asked, "Will Erika be there?"

"I don't know where she is. Why?"

She looked at him as if she were in pain. "I think of her as my main competition for your charms, " she said softly.

"I'll find out tomorrow where she is."

She became more intense, "I don't care where she is, I just want to know if you will be with her."

Erika was not a topic Bill was comfortable discussing with Ashley. He sensed too many difficulties in that conversation. "Since I don't know where she is, I have no plans to be with her."

"If she is there, will you see her?"

"I hadn't planned to."

By now, Ashley was feeling frustration as tears formed, "I'm jealous. Everyone at the reunion knew that she was trying to get you back." Benny apparently heard her distress and put his paws on her chest and his nose on her neck.

"I have no plans to see her and I have no plans to get back with her," he said flatly.

"After your meeting, are you coming back here?"

He went to her and took her in his arms, "If you want. I don't want to wear out my welcome."

She was crying, "I do want you to come back. I want you to stay here all the time. I want you to get that job at Poly and live here." She sniffled, "I don't want you to go home to Erika!"

"I don't know where she is." He squeezed her hand, "You know, sweetie, that job at Poly is a long shot."

"Can't you politic someone?"

"When I'm home, I will see if any of my colleagues knows anyone on the selection committee. Maybe I can email a few people."

"Do you want the job here?"

"Oh, that's hard. In the abstract, I'd love it." He paused, "I don't know all the details or what they will do about lab space or teaching load. I will know better if I get interviewed." He thought for a minute, "I always wanted to live in California."

"This is the best place in California to live. Close to everything except Tahoe."

"I find living here quite a thrill. What do you want, Ashley?" He used her name softly.

"For starters, I want you with no Erika."

"What does wanting me mean to you?"

She hesitated, "Sort of, you know, living together like normal people. All the normal things." She found this conversation much more emotionally draining than she anticipated.

"Remember when I told you I felt guilty about interfering with your getting on with your life?"

"Yes, and do you remember that I said I would tell you if it bothered me."

She decided quickly that tonight was not the night to get into all his meanings. "Can we talk tomorrow? It's been a long day. Let's go to bed?"

Naked in bed, she attacked him, smothering him with kisses and pressing her body into him breathing with desire. He responded quickly with animal like kisses intending to devour her. He stayed hard inside her for several minutes before rolling on top in the midst of her orgasmic roll. After having her on her back, he rolled over again and brought her on top through another lengthy burst of spasms. He filled his hands with her breasts as their eyes locked, "I'm getting there. Squeeze me!"

"I don't want to squeeze it off. Hurry."

He made his usual "Ugh, ugh, ugh," guttural sounds and then sighed heavily as at last he was empty.

She quickly took her cuddle position to sleep. "'Night, darling. You did me well." As she rolled over, she felt Benny moving around until he was comfortable.

As Bill drew her to him, he kissed her cheek, "Night, Ashley. I'm over, too."

Before sleeping, she thought, "He's leaving Monday. He's coming back. I'm not going to ruin this weekend with a difficult relationship talk."

When she found him in the kitchen having his cereal and sipping coffee, she sneaked over and kissed him on the back of the neck. "Morning, darling."

He swallowed quickly and turned for a real kiss. "You're a sneak to creep up behind me and thrill me like that."

She nudged him around in the chair and sat on his lap. "Want to know what we're doing today?"