Tequila Sunrise

"So that's why Holly never needed to hide getting some on the side from you or do it behind your back." "Yes, she never needed to hide because I knew when she did, and she knew when I did." Mickie continued, "Did y'all ever join a group? Or go to a Swing Club?" "No, it was only ever the four of us in some combination. But we did go to a nude beach while we were on vacation in Florida one summer." "Wow, Jim, it turns out you're a pretty interesting guy." She smirked. "Hey, by the way, you know Stephanie Conrad, don't you?" "City Detective?" "Yeah. Well, just a bit of information for you, if you were to want to have a low stress date or just want a little company some evening, she's expressed an interest in you once or twice. Maybe you should give her a call. Just know that she is not interested in any serious, long-term relationship, she's like most of us and wants to enjoy herself on occasion." "I'll keep that in mind, thanks." I replied.

I pulled up to the front door at the DFCS offices and let Mickie out, then spent most of the last hour and a half of my shift on the phone with the Crime Lab back in my office.

*****

I had been at home for a couple hours when my phone rang. "Hello." I answered. "Wheeler, did I catch you at a bad time?" Slightly stunned I continued, "Conrad? I think I feel somebody's paddle stirring the water. What're you up to tonight?" She had a tone of amusement in her voice, "Just coasting for a few minutes, trying to cage working me up for the evening. But now I gotta ask: What were you saying about a paddle?" Explaining myself, I continued, "I'm assuming you talked to Mickie Ramsey this afternoon. It feels like she's trying to steer our canoes toward the same spot." I chuckled. She began laughing, "Touché. You caught us. Yes, she called me this afternoon after you dropped her off at her office. She aroused my curiosity; she said you were more interesting than any of us suspected but she wouldn't tell me why. She said that was 'a story only to be told by the author.' Her exact words." I laughed a little more heartily, "Sorry, I don't know you well enough to open that Pandora's Box. I can't believe I let her outmaneuver me enough to tell her."

She followed that quickly with, "Which brings me to the true reason for my call, will you be free to take me to dinner tomorrow evening?" Not wanting her to think I was blowing her advance off, I tried to soften my response, "Actually, no. A few of my neighbors are having a get together. Saturday would be an option if that works for you." She accepted my counter with, "I'm good with that. On a different subject, I hear you're pretty interesting in other ways as well." I pondered what she could be talking about for a couple seconds, "Really, how's that?" "Rumor has it that you're carrying on with Brian Yates' wife, and you and he got into a toe-to-toe last week. The feeling I have is that if your house caught fire you might want to make sure they hook the hoses up to the water pumps instead of the gas tanks."

Taken aback I responded, "Wow, is that a common sentiment from the rest of the fire department? Or just Yates? Honestly, that surprises the hell out of me. I can't believe anybody would even consider something that outrageous and unprofessional, let alone speak it out loud." Stephanie agreed, "I don't think anybody is going to back his play on something like that. Like you, I'd certainly hope not. That's just disturbing. Apparently, his star is dimming anyway, word is that he's hitting on too many of the wrong wives, daughters and nieces to support his tenure for much longer." My noncommittal reply, "That's a lot of rumor bouncing around. But I can see where that could be detrimental to his career advancement." "Ha!" she exclaimed, "So, can you tell me about this brawl over a married woman?" She couldn't see me shake my head over the phone, "There was no brawl over any married woman." I denied, "Well, I guess it did kind of begin with a married woman, but not the way you're thinking. It was the wife of one of our neighbors. And there still wasn't any brawl. Brian got drunk and was hitting on her pretty hard, he wouldn't take no for an answer..." I gave her an abridged version of Saturday's excitement and steered our conversation to safer topics before we agreed on a time for our date on Saturday and ended our call.

*****

Friday's shift ended without fanfare; the closing of two of my longest-running cases by arrests being the unchallenged high-points of the workday. During my drive home, I called Stephanie to find out what her food and entertainment preferences were for our date the following day. We decided on dinner at the Chattanooga Choo Choo then see the show at the Comedy Catch afterward.

While in the shower, I began to second-guess myself. What was I doing? I knew that I was getting ready for what was essentially a date, albeit a date unlike any I'd ever had before. Chances were high that before the evening was over, I'd have a much more intimate knowledge of at least one, if not all five of the women who'd be at the party. I wasn't sure what I was letting myself get talked into, hoping I didn't wake tomorrow having alienated even more of my neighbors. I no longer felt guilty about seeing another woman after Holly's death, I missed her dearly, but I was pragmatic enough to realize I couldn't mourn her forever; I had to start dating again, eventually. But despite our closeness and openness with Cheryl and Gavin, I'd never experienced anything resembling an open relationship. I wasn't adverse to the idea, in fact it held quite the appeal, if I'm honest.

Arguing with myself served a valuable purpose, the time between the end of my shift and the party evaporated before I realized it. Soon, I found myself walking directly across the cul-de-sac to the Siebold home, carrying my contribution to tonight's conclave: two bottles of wine and a bottle of bourbon.

Maryanne greeted me at the door wearing a lightweight white floral print dress with a deep V neckline and looked like it had been tailor-made for her 46-year-old form. The hem reached nearly to the floor but both sides were split all the way above her hips, every step she took threatening to reveal all her secrets. Her face wore an 'I'm-hiding-something' smirk as she grabbed the front of my polo shirt and pulled me through the door.

"We're all mad at you," She cooed, "you've been keeping secrets from us."

"Well, if I had to guess what secrets you're talking about, they aren't exactly the sort of topics that typically lead off conversations with your neighbors."

Maryanne grinned and said, "That's okay, we decided to forgive you anyway. But you owe us each a nice kiss though." She wrapped both arms around behind my neck and pulled my face down to claim the first one for herself. "Mmm, cinnamon. I love cinnamon."

I smiled back, "I'm glad you approve."

Melissa appeared in the entryway wearing another light dress, the grayish-green fabric that stopped just north of her knees so diaphanous that it seemed to shift with the breeze from the central air conditioning in the house and honest-to-God Go-Go boots. While she's not the youngest wife on the street, at 31 Melissa Henderson was the youngest at tonight's dinner. She replaced Maryanne in my embrace and like Maryanne, she pulled me into a deep, hungry kiss. When our lips separated, she smiled and warmly said, "That is me saying 'thank you' for standing up for me last weekend, it made me feel special to have two men protecting me."

"He didn't seem to be reading the signs, I just tried to get him away before he caused a disturbance. And doing so I caused the disturbance, myself." I regretfully replied.

"Regardless, I think you handled it the way it had to be handled. Come on, let's go down to the den and wait for the others, you're early."

Maryanne led the way and Melissa looped her arm around mine at the elbow and escorted me through the house and down a set of carpeted stairs into the lowest level of the home. Like all the homes on our street, the Siebold's house occupied two levels of living area with a full basement. Unlike most of the homes on our street, however, their basement was fully furnished to create a large open entertainment space featuring a huge dining or conference table in front of a stocked bar and the largest pit sectional sofa I've ever seen, and bean bag chairs situated around the room as well as a large flatscreen TV mounted high in the corner of two walls that was tuned to a classic rock music station. In the den, Maryanne's husband, Albert, was behind the bar mixing drinks and Noel Henderson, Melissa's husband stood across from him while Tyler and Veronica Sulfridge sat facing them in chairs turned away from the dining table which was decorated with place settings all around. 41-year-old Veronica was wearing an interesting outfit with a very short hem and that buttoned down the front, almost like a large man's shirt except there were crocheted panels across the breast. I wasn't even sure if it would cover her important bits if she were standing, it didn't even try to while she sat. It had long, blousy sleeves and for some reason I got the impression of Stevie Nicks in her appearance.

They all glanced in our direction as we stepped through the doorway and Veronica spoke up, "It's about time we got you here!"

The others greeted me, and I sat the bottles I brought with me on the bar top for Albert to add to his inventory. He thanked me by handing me back a glass of the bourbon I supplied. We made small talk for the next fifteen minutes until both the other couples arrived.

First was Johnny and Carolyn McArdle who lived across the road from my house, two houses up from the end of the Cul-de-sac, but Nathan and Breanna Pittman were only minutes behind them when Maryanne met them at the front door.

38-year-old Carolyn was wearing a thin hippie style button down front dress with muted earthtone colors and with it she wore silver and turquoise jewelry. Her dress was split and scalloped up the front, with the split flirting dangerously close to her crotch. Something about the colors or the pattern in the fabric made the cowboy boots she wore seem to be the perfect choice.

35-year-old Breanna stepped into the entertainment room wearing a long leather jacket, and when Nathan slipped it off her shoulders from behind, I had to force myself not to stare open-mouthed. She was also wearing a lightweight sundress made from material so thin that modesty could only be a rumor long forgotten and high-heels tall enough to add several inches to her five-foot two stature. The front of the dress looked like it was nothing more than a wrap that closed in front by bringing the edge of one side across and tying it to the opposite hip with a thin bow. The result left the front of the garment open in a V low enough to put her navel piercing on display.

Our eyes met and our mutual gaze tried to discern one another's deepest held secrets before we had an opportunity to speak while Maryanne guided her in my direction to introduce us.

"Jim, you met Nathan on Wednesday, this is his wife, Breanna." Then redirecting her attention to Breanna she continued, "And this is Jim, the man we were telling you about. He lives just across the street."

"I'm so glad to meet you, Jim, I've heard quite a bit about you."

"I assure you; the pleasure is mine." I returned.

"I understand that you're supposed to owe me a kiss or something?" she grinned, taking another step closer to me.

Since I've never been shy, nor am a man known to let opportunities pass me by without a good reason, I leaned forward and met her offered embrace with a kiss unlike any I'd ever experienced with someone I'd just met.

"This is going to be so much fun." She purred and then turned and made her way around the room hugging the other women and kissing the men much in the same way we had kissed.

Once everybody had a chance to greet one another and socialize one-on-one for a few minutes, Maryanne announced it was time to eat and we all moved to the table. She directed me to a seat near the middle of one of the long sides of the table and Veronica stood between her husband and me to the left of my assigned seat.

"I haven't got my kiss yet, why is that?" she complained with a mock pout.

"My apologies, it seems I am remiss in my duties. I suppose I should correct that omission instantly." I then leaned toward her and completed my 'Tour de Neighborhood' for kisses and we both snickered at my amateur attempt at sardonic humor. I held her chair for her and then I eased into my own spot. Melissa sat to my right but left an open setting between us, which I briefly thought odd. Already on the table, in front of each chair was a baby spinach salad with sliced berries and a large Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie for an entree. I realized that the empty spot to my right was an extra setting when I noticed that everybody else accounted for the rest of the settings.

I heard the doorbell sound again from upstairs and Maryanne excused herself, disappearing up the stairway. Only a couple minutes passed before I heard her voice coming back down the stairs and when she stepped through the door, my heart tripped over its own feet for a couple seconds. When Rachael and I regarded each other, the corners of her mouth crept slowly up her cheeks an almost imperceptible amount and when Maryanne pointed her to the seat beside mine, my expression mirrored hers. I stood and held her chair for her to sit and returned to my seat.

In comparison to the other women, Rachael was wearing a simple, loose, long-sleeve blouse and yoga leggings, not showing any of the skin exhibited by the others. And as far as I was concerned, she was still the most appealing woman there.

"I'm surprised to see you here tonight." I admitted.

Her shoulders seemed to tense slightly, and she looked at me uncertainly, "Would you prefer that I not be here?" In a weak voice.

"Oh, no! Not at all, that's not what I meant. I'm thrilled that you're here, you've made the evening even better by being here. I only meant..." I hesitated a moment, trying to form what I wanted to say, "I mean, I don't know what anyone told you about these dinners, but I just didn't expect to see you tonight."

Color crept from her neck to her forehead, "Yes, Maryanne told me what happens here. I was taken aback but I can't say I'm too surprised. What surprises me more, based on some of the conversations I had with Holly about y'all and her old roommate, is that the two of you weren't already a part of the circle."

"Well, we rarely explored any of that with anyone other than Cheryl and Gavin and one or two other couples." I responded.

Rachael smiled and then looked down at the table and confessed, "And I understand why they never invited us. I told Maryanne that I can't take part in any fun and games tonight," She looked back at me, "I'm still not going to break my marriage vows."

"I understand," I commiserated "they told me that nobody was expected to do anything they were uncomfortable with."

She seemed to relax more after that, and we both joined in on the rest of the conversations around the table until our meals were done.

After everyone finished their supper, the women carried the serving dishes, silverware, and plates upstairs to the dishwasher in the kitchen while we men cleaned the table area and put the dishwasher under the bar to work on all the glassware.

Noel pulled me aside and spoke quietly, "We didn't know the women were going to invite Rachael and I know you probably aren't comfortable doing what you were expecting with her here right now so we've agreed to keep everything tame tonight, but you've got to promise me to come back to another party or my wife will be unhappy with me. I'm sure the others will, too but Melissa is the only one I've got to answer to." We both laughed at that confession.

"Look, I don't want to interrupt y'all from what you are accustomed to doing, it's your party, not mine or Rachael's, and I'm sure she feels the same way."

After only spending ten- or fifteen-minutes cleaning after supper everyone claimed a spot on one of the many options around the sitting area of the basement entertainment room. To begin with, I was sitting on one side of the sectional while Rachael sat across from me on the opposite side of the pit. Once she realized that everyone had paired up with someone other than their spouse, she made her way across the room and sat beside me.

We talked for a while about mundane subjects, ignoring the big one on both of our minds while we watched everybody trying to carefully restrain themselves from what I assumed was their customary openness. Gradually, the couples quietly drifted away, up the stairway every few minutes into other parts of the house. Suspecting what activities, the other couples wanted to indulge in, I stood and took Rachael by the hand and led her out the sliding glass door onto the back patio. Once we were outside, I guided her up the wooden steps to the pool deck and we sat in two Adirondak chairs situated arm to arm. We sat, enjoying the quiet for several minutes in the dark, her hand found mine and our fingers meshed comfortably. Neither of us wanted to spoil the peace by speaking for a long while.

"I know that you aren't concerned, but anyone can be caught off guard. I want you to please watch out for Brian. I've never seen him as bad as he's acting right now. He's blowing my phone up, he drives by my mother's house a dozen times a night, he's harassing her, my sister, and the few friends I have, checking up on me. He's threatening everybody he can think of. He's blaming everybody in my life for my leaving. He's convinced that you and I are having a torrid affair and you embarrassed him. Apparently, you've done it twice now. I've even had calls from a couple of his friends from the station wanting to make sure I'm safe. One said that the Battalion Chief has suggested to him that he needs to get counseling. I think he's having a breakdown or something. My mom is terrified. I've had to borrow a car, so he doesn't recognize my mom's or my sister's car and follow me around. I don't know what I'm going to do I can't live like this anymore."

We sat silent for a while, I didn't think she expected me to have the answers, I felt like she just wanted an opportunity to talk things through, for herself more than anyone else so I just sat holding her hand and let her vent to the night.

"I've got an appointment next week with a Divorce Attorney. I want to get the process started as soon as possible because I don't know how long it'll take to finalize. I'll never spend another minute alone in the same room with him.

"You'll be happy again, you're too wonderful a person to stay down for very long." I predicted.

I don't know how long we sat on the deck but April nights in North Georgia still get pretty cold and we didn't bring any jackets or a blanket out with us, so we were forced back indoors. By then, everyone must've found their private sanctum where they were free to explore their current liaisons uninterrupted, so we reclaimed our earlier spots on the sofa and Rachael melted into my side.

There aren't many people with whom I feel comfortable enough to spend much time at all without the benefit of conversation or some other distraction, but we sat alone and quiet until the others began filtering back into the recreation area to reclaim their own spouse. We said our goodbyes to each other and everyone else and everyone left with a smile on their face.

*****

I slept fitfully Friday night, but I woke more refreshed than I expected. I spent the day changing the oil in my zero-turn mower and tuning my other yard tools to get ready for the rapidly approaching spring yardwork season as well as running a load of laundry, to occupy myself until time to get ready for my evening with Stephanie. I showered and dressed comfortably in khakis, another knit polo shirt and a pair of brown leather deck shoes with plenty of time left to get Stephanie and make the hour-and-a-half drive to Chattanooga. The drive, both ways, was uneventful and the conversation was pleasant and unforced; the food at Nick and Norman's was more expensive than what I'm accustomed to indulging in and Open Mic Night at the Comedy Catch was good for a few energetic laughs. When I dropped Stephanie back at home she invited me inside her apartment.