“It was over far more quickly than either of us anticipated,” I joked, my cheeks flushing at the memory. “Which was a good thing since her younger son started hollering out the front door before I’d even buttoned my trousers back up.”
“I’m sure she didn’t think it was a good thing,” Rosemary countered.
“She did not,” I agreed. “But I made it up to her later.”
“I bet you did.”
It was the first time I’d thought of Ella in more years than I could count. She’d been quiet and petite, and I’d been more than surprised when she’d let me into her bed. Years after we parted ways, I’d seen her at a distance, her grown son helping her down the street. She’d never remarried. She hadn’t needed to. Her dead husband had left her enough to get by on, and from what I remembered of the man, I knew why she hadn’t married a second time.
“Did you love her?” Rosemary asked quietly.
“No.” The answer was instant and firm. “But I liked her. She was a sweet woman.”
“I’d tell you about my first time,” Rosemary said dryly. “But I think you’d have a different reaction.”
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because mine is still alive,” she joked, raising her eyebrows. “It’s much easier to feel glad that you had a good experience knowing that the other woman is dead now.”
“How do you know she’s dead?” I asked innocently.
Rosemary froze.
“I’m fucking with you,” I assured her, smiling. “She was dead before your grandparents were born.”
“Well, mine isn’t,” she said primly, rising from her seat. “I saw him at the store last year.”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked, playing along as I leaned back in my chair. “Did you have the burning desire for another round?”
“I didn’t have a burning desire the first time,” she replied, rinsing her dishes. “I just wanted to know what all the fuss was about.”
“I’m sure that went well.”
“Two teenagers with no clue what they’re doing but a basic understanding of anatomy went pretty much as you’d imagine,” she replied, turning to face me. “But I figured out what worked eventually.”
“With the same boy?”
“Oh, hell no. He sucked. I found someone who knew what they were doing.” She pointed to my dishes. “Are you done?”
“I can clean them,” I assured her as I rose and took them to the sink. “So there’s no boyfriend I have to worry about showing up here, right?”
She scoffed, leaning against the counter beside me. “It’s a little late for that question, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t really think about it before,” I confessed. It was only the mention of her seeing an old boyfriend at the market that had reminded me that she had an entire life before we met, and that life included sexual partners.
“No boyfriend,” she replied. “I mean, I’vehadboyfriends, but no one current. With my job, I’m never in one place very long.”
“We can travel,” I told her as I washed my dishes and then hers. “If you want to. We don’t have to stay in one place if you’d rather?—”
“I liked myjob,” she corrected. “I don’t mind staying in one place, assuming I canleave my house.”
“This won’t last forever,” I reminded her. “Just until we know you’re safe.”
“It could be years before we stop them,” she countered in frustration. “Do you really think that I’m going to stay on this property foryears?”
“It won’t be years.”
“It’s alreadybeenyears.”
