[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
She d gotten into the habit of making generous portions of dinner, and I
took our leftovers down to the ferry just to have a few extra minutes with
her.
When I worked at my apartment in the city or at one of the libraries at
NYU, I found my mind wandering frequently. But even though I gave
myself two or three generous breaks every day, I got more done at Gina s
than I ever did at home. Maybe it was because I scheduled my breaks and
had so few interruptions in her quiet home, or maybe, just maybe, it was
because I was so damned happy.
)
I ve decided that I hate August. I know that sounds harsh, especially
since August has never done anything to me, but the first of August
signals the start of the last month Gina and I have together before I have
to start teaching again.
We haven t even given much thought or discussion to what we re going
to do when school starts. I think both of us are consciously ignoring it,
acting as if we ve got all the time in the world to figure out what we re
going to do. But my powers of denial are failing me. We have to make
some decisions, and not one of the options I can think of is ideal for both
of us. One of the few downsides of being in love with the fabulous Ms.
Scognamiglio.
273
Susan X Meagher
August has brought a nice surprise. Dana is finally going to come visit,
and she s gonna bring the family. I can hardly wait to see Maya. It s
going to be so much fun watching that little doll go into that ice-cold
ocean for the first time. I hope she s tougher than her mother because
Dana is a big baby.
Gina and I discussed how to handle the Little family s visit. In most
ways, it would be nice to have them at Gina s home, but since they re
coming for the beach experience, it only makes sense to do it at my house.
Lorna s not going to be at the house this weekend, so that s when Dana s
going to come. Gina and I will stay in Lorna s room, and Dana will take
my room. I ve never seen Gina around a little child, but I bet she s good
with the baby. I just hope Dana behaves this time. I ve made it clear to
her how I feel about Gina, and even though she didn t seem very happy
with my news, she took it pretty well. For her part, Gina seems perfectly
fine about the whole thing. For the first time since I ve known her, she s
taking Sunday off. It s so nice to see how willing she is to make things
good for me. That s one of the many things I love about her.
)
We got a good bit of luck. This weekend is supposed to not only be
sunny, but also warm. Now that the Atlantic has had a few months to heat
up, the baby might not actually turn blue if she wants to go in. Gina
knows more than I do about being a good hostess because she took me to
the store and we bought snacks for the adults and lots of treats for the
baby. She says you have to have things for your guests to eat the minute
they get to your house, and who am I to argue? Gina asked so many
questions about Dana s and Renée s favorite foods that you d think we
were having them move in with us. But for first time, I m really ready for
guests to arrive. Elaine s going to be here this weekend, and Sheila s
coming tomorrow. I bought enough to make dinner for all of us,
including Elaine, so we re ready to rock.
As I suspected, Gina was fantastic with the baby. I m supposed to be
the fairy godmother, but Maya watched Gina walk around the house as
though mesmerized by her. I don t know why that should surprise me
274
Cherry Grove
since I m mesmerized by her, but Gina s mine, so Maya better keep her
hands off.
Dana was on good behavior, as was Renée, but that didn t surprise me
since Renée is very well mannered. Elaine showed up fairly late, but she
was pleasant and kept a good conversation going. It s very nice that I no
longer feel that she s the spawn of the devil. I m not even dreading seeing
her around school this year.
Have I mentioned today how thoughtful Gina is? Just in case I haven t
beaten this to death, here s another example. When we went to bed, she
made some very subtle overtures toward having sex. If I didn t know her
so well, I would have just thought she was kissing me goodnight. But I do
know her, and I knew she was ready and willing if I wanted to go further.
If we d been at home, she would ve been more forceful. I never doubt her
intentions when we re alone. But because we were in the house with other
people, she was much more subtle. I could tell she was a little worked up,
so I whispered to her that we had to be quiet. She got a definite gleam in
her eye at that, and we had a very nice time together making quiet love. I
don t know if I want that to be part of our regular routine, but it was fun.
It sure is fun being in love with someone who s not only a great partner,
but also very considerate about your friends. That s a tough combo to
find. Thank God I ve found it.
We had a great time at the beach today, even though I missed Gina.
But I couldn t expect her to take two days off. Not that it would be hard
for her to take the time off, but that would mean having Case work
double shifts two days in a row, and that s too much to ask of a kid his
age. Dana and Maya took a long nap, and when they woke up, Gina was
there making Maya very happy. We re going to go up to Montauk to
have lobster rolls. I wonder if I ll be able to sit on Gina s lap and drive.
)
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]