“The hotel?”
“Lovely.”
“The show?”
“Wonderful.”
“Did they love you?”
I shrugged and gave a sheepish smile.Though she couldn’t see it, I like to think it came out in my voice.“I guess so.We sold lots.”
“And your man?”
“My man?”
She didn’t speak, just sat there directing that sweet, expectant smile my way.
“Peter,” I said.I dragged in a deep breath, held it for a minute, then let it slip back out through my teeth.“Peter was incredible.”
Swansy’s smile didn’t widen.She wasn’t about to let me know whether my comment pleased her or not.For a blind person, she played poker like a pro.
And like a sap, I fell for her bluff and began to talk.But then, that was what I’d come for.Swansy was my sounding board.My thoughts desperately needed an airing.
“He came to the reception on Friday night, and except for a meeting he had with a client on Sunday morning and Monday night when I went home, we were together every minute.He is a … remarkable man.”
I wasn’t sure how else to describe him.An extraordinary lover?A great lay?A sexual wizard?I didn’t really want to tell Swansy that Peter and I had spent the better part of our time together in bed, because I was afraid she’d get the wrong idea.
Then again, it wasn’t the wrong idea.It was exactly what we’d done.But what Peter had taught me about lust would burn Swansy’s ears.
Then again, maybe not.
But where a man and a woman were concerned, some things were sacred.
So I focused on what we’d doneoutof bed.“We spent a lot of time at the gallery.I felt I owed it to Moni, and to Bill and Celia.And when Peter had to work, I sat in a corner of his office pretending to be a law student observing.But otherwise we were free.He took me to his favorite French restaurant.We ferried out to theStatue of Liberty.We went to the Museum of Modern Art.We saw a movie at midnight, then ate huge corned beef sandwiches at an all-night deli.And we walked up and down the avenues, just talking.”
“Sounds nice,” Swansy said.
“It was.I’ve always hated New York, but I think that’s because I’ve let it use me, rather than the other way around.Peter and I used it for the things it had to offer.But there are times, like when we were talking over coffee, when we could have been anywhere.The city took a back seat then.”
Swansy nodded.
I sank deeper into the chair, my thoughts distant as I absently scratched Rebecca’s head.“We talked about everything.That surprised me.”
“How come?”
“Because we’re so different.We come at life from very different angles.I originally came from money.He didn’t.He’s living with it now.I’m not.We have contrasting views on some things, but still we were able to talk.I can see why he’s a success as a lawyer.He’s bright and quick and so logical that it’s sometimes hard to disagree with him.”
“But you did.”
“Sure, I did.He liked that.It makes me wonder about the other women he’s known.I can’t believe he’s been attracted to ‘yes’ ladies all these years.”
“He never married any of ’em.Maybe that’s why.Maybe what he had with ’em was sex.”
That’s what he has with me,I almost said, but Peter swore it wasn’t so.More than once over the three days we spent together, he told me he loved me, and never did he do it in the throes of passion.He pointed that out quite bluntly.It was early on Tuesday afternoon, when I was getting my things together to check out of the hotel.Peter took me standing up, with my back to the fire escape instructions tacked on the door.We were both fully clothed—and as hot as ever.
“I’ll miss you,” he murmured when it was over.
“Don’t kid me, bud,” I teased.“It’s my body you’ll miss.It’s been a slave to yours since Friday night.”
