Janey Kyle's Brief Affair

Janey held her gnarled hand as she watched tears stream down her deeply lined face remembering and responded, "But you are so lucky, Lillian because you had all those decades together with someone you loved and who loved you madly."

Lillian wiped her eyes and blew her nose weakly and said, "Yes, that is correct, and that is what I focus on day in and day out when I am not discussing art with a good friend, like you." There was a pause and then the senior continued, "And, it's only a matter of time until I drop into the 'big sleep.' Janey, I sure would like to see you happy before that happens."

The two ladies stood, and Janey asked, "Let me take you home, Lillian?"

"Thanks, but no. I need to walk even in this fall weather, because when I stop: I stop."

When Janey got home, she immediately prepared her children a sandwich and a glass of milk and sat them on the kitchen table. She got the last bottle of Napa Valley Reserve Wine out of the shipping case. It was the last of a shipment that the two of them had Fedexed home when they were vacationing there. She polished the two wine glasses and put them down just as a car horn blew outside, followed by little hands pounding on the front door.

Janey opened the door, touched the top of the two heads, and said, in their passing by, "Your snack is on the kitchen table." She then walked outside and signaled Richard as she usually did when she wanted to talk about the children. She walked up to his car and said, "Would you like to come in to have a glass of wine? It's the last bottle of the case we had shipped from Napa Valley if you will remember?"

Richard asked, not believing her, "Oh yes. I remember that wine very well. You want to talk about the children over wine?"

"No, I want to talk about something else. Please, Richard. Just this once. Open the bottle for just one glass each - because we should celebrate the opening of the last bottle of the case."

The ex-husband thought to himself, "I don't have anything else going on this afternoon and am not in the mood to work on my automation prototype. That is the best wine I have ever tasted, and I declined it in the property split trying to be nice to Janey when we were divorcing. So, it's either have a beer alone in a noisy sports bar or a glass of fine wine with my ex-..." He opened the car door and said to her, "Let's enjoy some wine."

The children inhaled the sandwiches and milk and then left the kitchen and turned on Kids TV. Richard and Janey sat across from each other chatting about what they were doing. For example, Janey told him, "I won first place in a pastel art show and even sold the painting for a small fee. I am now heavily focused on becoming a known and financially successful artist - though I don't intend to quit my day job anytime soon. What is going on in your life, Richard?"

Her ex- looked at her carefully, still puzzled about this kind of talk coming from her, but glad to be in her company. The former husband said, "The company and I were awarded two more patents since we chatted last. And, my goal is to write and argue a case within six months for the company to fund the construction of a functioning automated and full featured assembly line prototype that we will offer the technology of it for sale. After that happens I will be traveling the globe selling the system.

The chatting went on and on about mundane things and then Janey stood and said, "Thank you so much for chatting with me, Richard and please do it again - in fact, if you won't think I am trying to poison you, have dinner with us sometimes. Take the remainder of this wine with you and enjoy it, please. But now you must excuse me as I must do preps for the coming school week."

Richard, now standing, asked himself again, "Why is she doing this?" He then said while reaching for the half empty bottle, "Thanks for the last of the good wine, Janey, and thank you for chatting. I will say goodbye to the children and get busy myself."

!!

By the time of the first December snow, Lillian Felt had declined to the point that she could no longer collect cans but stayed mostly in her small apartment bed with rotating-shift LVNs to assist her. Janey had begun to visit the senior at her bedside. One day in November, Lillian had asked Janey, "Making any progress getting back a real life?"

Janey smiled and said, "Some. Richard comes over once or twice a week, and plays with or checks the homework of the children in their room after having dinner with us. Then he returns to his apartment. Lately, I can sense that it is getting more and more difficult for him to say 'goodbye,' as he would rather hang with us than at a sports bar or punching his fuck-buddy. Needless to say, I try to wear clothes that turn on his testosterone fire hoses. Ha ha. The process is slow but seems to be working."

But today, lying in her bed, the old lady weakly grinned and said, "I refuse to relax because seeing you happy is my one remaining goal before the universe no longer exists for me."

She started coughing weakly, and the LVN came in to check on her patient. Janey said as she was finishing their conversation, "I will be returning soon, Lillian, promise, with a big smile on my face because I am driven to achieve my goal," as she held the senior's hand. Janey then left noticing that Lillian was also smiling just like the art teacher.

Two evenings later, Richard was coming to dinner. Janey cooked a pork loin because that was Ex-'s favorite. When her the man she loves stood before her after a few minutes, he showed her the bottle of reserve wine that had only about two small glasses of wine remaining. He said, "I thought we would finish these two remaining drinks off - if you will put some glasses on the table, Janey."

The four at the dinner table were relaxed and talkative this evening more so than normal. The chatting was incessant, soft Cello music played in the background, and Richard had found an ally at work to help push his case for a prototype construction funding, so he felt upbeat. Janey felt good because she encountered a new student today who had real talent - and witnessing extreme ability in a student excites any competent teacher in any field.

The eleven-year-old son said, "Mom, I am in the middle of 'Pound Dogs' and have paused Netflix. May we be excused to continue watching TV?"

"Yes, if you two have finished all homework." She looked at them carefully and asked, "Did you?" She watched both shake their head, 'yes,' and they left the room.

There was silence for a moment at the table and then Richard poured the remainder of the wine for them as he kept looking into Janey's eyes and her into his. Finally, his ex-wife said, "I still love you Richard, and invite you to move back into our house and my life. I can not change the past, and I certainly have no plans to lust after another man ever. I promise that never again will anything be kept secret from you, whatever I propose to do. You were not concerned years ago that I was a 'sexually experienced' Coed when we met in college, and I insist that any new relationship we establish start on the same premise. Would you think about it?"

The gears were grinding and meshing in Richard Kyle's technical brain. The highly skilled engineer knew in depth all about probability theory - and that a replay of the school Principal type affair could happen again. But there was only a slight chance of that happening, but a much greater chance that it wouldn't happen and maybe the two of them could again find happiness. He stood up and said, "I want to think about what you propose, Janey. It goes without saying again that I will never love another woman but you. However, love is not enough as we both have found out. Do you mind allowing me to think this over?"

She stood and replied, "I am patient, but please decide, Richard - I live on pins and needles."

Richard said, "My thought experiment is to project us into the future, and I will decide then. I will either distance myself from you or we will share each other's life as if the Principal Edwards incident never happened." He reached for her hand and asked, "You O.K. With that, Dear Ex-Wife?"

She smiled and said, "Yes. I wouldn't have it any other way. Will you check the kid's homework before you go?"

"Yes."

!!

The following Friday Richard sat at the counter of his favorite sports bar. It was noisy far more than it should have been - given the number of people there. (The Engineer in him noticed the tile ceilings designed to reflect and amplify the sounds of patron conversations.) He and his fuck-buddy were having a burger and a beer in the crowded saloon. He noticed for the Nth time that almost all the sentences she spoke started with 'I' or 'my.' Richard thought, "What am I - just a meal ticket for this woman?"

After the two finished dinner, the Engineer suddenly stood and said, "We have to cut this short tonight, Millie, may I drop you off somewhere?"

She pouted slightly and said, "No thank you, Richard. I will hang here for a while because Charlie said he might drop by."

Back at Richard's apartment, the roommate's children, who were visiting their Dad this weekend, were very noisy tonight. The lonely man sat in his room trying to do some deep analytical thinking about his prototype. When he paused to refresh himself, it was a half past midnight. He shut down his laptop and went to bed.

But there was no sleep. The children in the next room were excitedly playing a Wii Machine game as the engineer looked at the slowly turning Casablanca fan blades above him. He suddenly said, "Damn It!

He called Janey, knowing that she kept her cell by her bed charging, and woke her up. Richard said, "I love you madly and want to be in your life again. May I come home right now?"

"Yes, my dear Husband. Please hurry and be careful."

Their reunion coupling was fiery but only happened after she rolled a condom on him. After they had spent their passion, Janey said, "Richard, there is a clinic nearby that is open 10/7 that will test us for ten most common STDs. The cost is twenty-five dollars each. If we go early, it's same day service. Then I would like to introduce you to a friend who is the best friend I have. I will explain after the introductions. O.K.? If the lab results turn out the way I think they will, no more condoms."

The next morning. The exhausted but loving couple were sound asleep when the young one pushed the master bedroom door open and said, "Mom, I am hungry!" He then saw his Daddy sit up in bed. All he could say is, "Wow," and ran off to wake up his older brother with the news. Then both children returned and in their excitement that Daddy had come home, started jumping up and down on the bed where their Mom and Dad lay.

After breakfast, Richard and Janey dropped the children off at his parents and went to the clinic. After drawing specimens, the woman said, "Now let's go visit my friend. Are you ready, Mister Kyle?" She watched him smile and shake his head.

Janey pulled up to the servants quarters apartment of Lillian Felt and parked. She could not remember ever feeling as good as she did at that moment and her whole head was smiling. She lightly knocked on the door, and the LVN who recognized Lillian's friend motioned them inside. They whispered a moment about senior artist's condition and then went into her bedroom. The ultra senior-citizen artist was awake sitting propped up in bed, and a smile broke on her lined face when she recognized her young artist friend with her arm around a man.

Janey said, "My ex-husband and I are back together again, and I see nothing but blue skies ahead. Richard, this is my very, very good friend, Lillian Felt."

The lady reached her hand weakly trying to grasp Janey's. The couple only understood the word, 'wonderful' when she whispered her response. Again, she started coughing again, the LVN showed them out.

While Janey and her newly found love were enjoying lunch, she said to Richard, "Lillian did two things for me that may have saved both my personal and professional life. I told her the details of why you and I were apart, and she gave me the confidence to go after you. Also, she taught me so much about Pastel art until I believe I will become a sought after artist with the skills I now have. Since you are back in my life my rate of art sales will go up - I am certain of it."

Richard, the stoic engineer, was just about to cry with happiness, and said, "I am happy I played a role. As for me, my co-worker and I are writing a case to build and prove the prototype. Aside from anything about that, I am now in love with you so much until it's nothing like what it was before. 'It's you and me, kid' from now on."

When they returned to the laboratory clinic, they picked up both completed test results. Each result was in a sealed envelope. Later in the empty house, they started making out again when Janey said, "Let's read our test results?" Each opened the personally identified envelope.

Both were negative, and their resultant coupling was the fieriest since they were together years ago in college.

The End.

Epilog: The OB column in the following Wednesday's paper had two dozen column inches of the description of Lillian Felt's career as an artist in both Europe and North America.