Chapter 4

"C'mon Sue. You know that it's the right thing to do. You can't just hide every time you see him."

Sue nodded, took a deep breath, and prepared to leave with Jan. They walked up to the table occupied by the two men.

"Hello Tim. Lou, it's so nice to see you. How is Marci? Tim, you know Janet, of course. Lou, let me introduce my friend Janet to you." Sue said all of this bravely with a forced smile on her face.

Lou arose, "Sue, it's so nice to see you," and gave her a hug. Turning to Janet, Lou extended his hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, Janet."

While this was taking place, Tim had gotten over his shock and also rose. "Hello, Sue. Nice to see you," he mumbled.

Lou was a bit startled when he shook Jan's hand and found a square of paper in her palm. He quickly placed it in his shirt pocket and smiled at her - a smile which she returned.

Greetings and goodbys were exchanged and the girls walked out of the restaurant. Sue had broken into a light sweat, but Janet was grinning.

Tim dropped Lou off at his car and they parted with promises to get together again soon. Lou clasped Tim by the shoulders and reminded him that he would be there for him whenever he needed. Tim, looking troubled, nodded and patted Lou on the back as he climbed into his car.

Lou sat in his car and watched Tim drive off. He retrieved the small square of paper that Janet had passed to him and opened it. It read, ' Please call me, ' and was followed by an address and phone number. Intrigued and fairly sure of Janet's intent, he pulled out his cell phone and called the number, knowing that Janet was probably still with Sue.

When Jan answered the phone, Lou started speaking quickly. "Look Janet, it's Lou. I got your message and I realize that you're probably still with Sue. How about meeting at your place around 10?"

"Ohh, uhhh, ok, 10 sounds ok. See you then," she replied and signed off quickly.

Lou realized that he had some time to kill, so he returned to the restaurant and sat at the bar, nursing a drink and watching the ball game. Lou was feeling just a little guilty. He was pretty sure that Sue's friend wanted his help in reuniting the couple, and yet he felt strongly attracted to her. It was crazy he knew. He had only seen her once and for only a few moments. At 9:40 he lifted himself off of the barstool and headed to his car.

Janet was drying off after a quick shower when she was startled to hear her doorbell. "What the... who the hell can that be," she muttered to herself.

Throwing on a thin robe she went to the front door and peered through the spyhole. She was a little stunned to see Lou Kaufman standing there. Confused, she opened the door a crack, keeping the safety chain on.

"Lou, what's wrong - why are you here?" she asked anxiously.

Lou just stood there, perplexed. "Uhh, didn't we say 10 o'clock?

Janet quickly realized the error. "I thought you meant 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, not tonight," she laughed. "Oh well, you're here now. Let me unchain the door.

Lou entered, feeling a bit foolish. "I'm really sorry, Janet. I don't know how I got confused. I just got really excited about your note because I think that we're on the same wave length, so to speak," he babbled. He was obviously nervous and just a bit uncomfortable. He had quickly realized that Jan was fresh from a shower and that she had little if anything on under the bathrobe.

Janet suddenly realized the same thing and clutched the collar of the robe snugly against her. She seemed to blush a little, but composed herself and smiled wryly at Lou.

"You seem to have caught me a bit unprepared for company, Lou. Why don't you have a seat. Would you like some coffee?" she asked.

"Uhhh, Janet... I, uhhhh, I could come back tomorrow. I, uhhh, I really didn't mean to barge in on you," Lou stumbled, obviously ill at ease.

Janet glanced at him, now rather amused. "He is cute," she thought, "and I'm standing here almost naked." She turned to him and said, "That's ok, Lou. You're here now. Just excuse my appearance."

"Excuse?" Lou wondered to himself. He caught his breath and said softly, "I don't mind one bit, Jan," he said and grinned.

Janet giggled and then opened her eyes in surprise. She wondered where that came from - when was the last time she giggled like that?

She fussed with the coffee maker and tried to engage in a conversation with Lou standing across from her. In the meantime Lou had trouble keeping his eyes above her neck. He was painfully aware of the fact the there were no bra or panty lines showing under that thin robe, and he was also aware that she had a figure that was firm and shapely. They returned to the living room with mugs of coffe. Jan settled herself on the couch and indicated the easy chair across from her to Lou.

"Lou, I think that you know why I passed you that note. I really think that Sue and Tim still love each other and I want to do anything I can to get them together. Please don't think that I'm a nosy busybody, but I've known Sue and Tim for years and this situation is totally crazy."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Jan. We just have to be very careful that Tim doesn't discover what we're up to. I don't think that we can come up with any kind of plan tonight, but we can agree to think about what we can do about this situation."

Lou colored a bit again, but continued. "Uhh, Jan. Do you think it might be a good idea if we kind of... uh, like perhaps... perhaps we could kind of... introduce ourselves? Like, perhaps tell each other a little bit about ourselves?"

Janet smiled and agreed that that was an excellent idea and while she sipped her coffee she gave Lou a brief summary about herself and her background. As she spoke, she found herself relaxing and enjoying her visitor.

Without her noticing, her robe had slipped a bit and the slope of one breast became visible. She had crossed her legs and Lou, catching his breath, saw the underside of her thigh. It was difficult for him to concentrate on what she was telling him.

"Suddenly, she turned to him and..."Lou? Did you hear me?" she queried.

Lou nodded his head vigorously. "Yes... yes, of course, Jan. Sure. I guess it's my turn," and he proceeded to give her a short precis concerning the years after the Navy and up to the demise of his wife.

Janet listened intently to Lou's narrative and in doing totally forgot that the only clothing she had on was a thin robe. The front had gapped even further apart and the folds had fallen away from her legs, exposing them to the upper thigh.

Lou stopped speaking, unable to contine because of the vision before him. Janet, thinking that he was temporarily overcome speaking about the death of his wife, clucked sympathetically.

"Lou, it's ok, I know exactly how you feel. Don't forget, I just told you that I lost my spouse also. I know the pain, the loss. Believe me, I fully understand."

Lou arose suddenly and cleared his throat. "Uhhh, Janet. It's getting a little late and I'm really sorry I disturbed you like this. I hope that I... uhhh, I mean I think that... uihhh, I mean that I really appreciate what you're trying to do and I really want to help any way that I can."

He realized that he was rambling again and he also knew that he was blushing. Janet was startled at his sudden movement and as he turned from her, she saw how exposed she had become. She also blushed and pulled her robe about her. She then paused and smiled. "Hmmmm, He is that flustered by my body?" she thougt to herself and found herself pleasantly surprised.

They said their goodnights and Lou promised to call her the next day. They would get together and see if they could come up with some kind of plan.

Lou drove away from Jan's place, his mind in a whirl of emotions. He couldn't fully understand what had happened. He knew that he was very attracted to this woman. Even in slippers she was only a head shorter than his 6' 4". Her short blond hair was thick and soft. He knew that she was well into her 40s, yet her body was obviously taut and firm. He sighed, confused at these feelings. This was the first time since he became single that he felt such an attraction to a woman. Interestingly, Janice, standing by her kitchen counter, was deep in thought and experiencing similar emotions.

The next day dawned clear and bright. Lou was anxious to set off for Jan's place. He had called and agreed with Jan that it might not be a bad idea for Sue to also be there. He had something to explain to Sue as to why her infidelity was so devastating to Tim, much more so than to the average husband. A reason why it would be much more difficult for Tim to forgive her - a reason why a reconciliation might never be possible.

Jan answered the door and greeted Lou with a smile. She was wearing a brief sun dress that exposed a good bit of leg and cleavage. Lou had to force his mind back to the reason he was here. He did know that a relationship with Janet was something he was going to have to explore.

Sue rushed up to him and greeted him with a hug. "Oh, Lou. It's so nice to see you. Do you really think that you can help bring us back together? I'll do anything that would help, you know that," she pleaded.