Howard stretched lazily on my lap and flipped over so that his soft, furry belly was fully exposed. I pulled myself up into a sitting position as I continued petting him. He mewed softly and put a fat paw on my hand before rolling over and going right back to sleep.
“Must be really nice to be you, eh?” I chuckled softly, as I reached up and turned on the lamp next to the sofa and grabbed the remaining papers.
I had work to finish.
Chapter Three
Blake
Sunday morning I was up bright and early, despite the fact that Nina and I had stayed up late watching all three Saw movies. I peeked into her room and found her buried beneath the purple comforter still sound asleep, so I closed the door and went into the kitchen to make some coffee. I turned on the local news and heard the meteorologist predicting that a major snowstorm was headed our way in the next few days.
Snow meant that we’d most likely be busy dealing with small fires caused by space heaters and fireplaces that hadn’t been properly cleaned since last winter. I poured myself a cup of coffee and stood looking out the kitchen window into the front yard. The last storm had knocked loose some branches, and I could see that I needed to get out there and cut them down before the weight of the coming snow caused them to break. I finished up my coffee and tossed on some sweats and a jacket before heading out to grab a ladder and the saw.
“Hey Blake! How’s it going, man?” a voice called from the sidewalk. I lowered the saw and turned to see Jake and Kathy Baker staring up at me. I hadn’t made up my mind about whether or not I wanted to go down the swingers road, and as a result, they made it clear how they felt every time they saw me.
“Good, good. How are you two doing?” I asked, as I decided not to come down off the ladder.
“I see Nina’s here for the weekend,” Kathy said, as they crossed the lawn and stood staring up at me from below.
“Yeah, it’s my weekend to deal with all the teenage angst and then crack down on the homework,” I smiled. Kathy was a gorgeous woman with long brown hair, big brown eyes, and a body that was built to do some amazing things, or at least that’s what I imagined. The thought of her naked caused me to have to reach down and readjust myself. Her eyes followed and she gave me a seductive smile.
“Too bad,” she said, laying a hand on my lower leg. “I was in the mood for some action this weekend. I’ve been thinking about it for days.”
“Yeah, she really has been,” Jake echoed. He was an odd man whose kink was voyeurism, and it was the main reason I was hesitant to have sex with Kathy. He’d explained how the two of them would often have a marathon sex session as a result of how turned on he got by her having sex with another man. Despite the fact that I wasn’t judgmental about other peoples’ kinks, I couldn’t quite get past my own discomfort.
“Sorry to disappoint,” I said, only partly sorry. Sometimes the pressure was more than I cared for, so I was glad that I had Nina’s presence as an excuse. “Maybe next time.”
“Oh, of course,” Kathy said. She grabbed Jake’s hand and walked back across the lawn, stopping to look over her shoulder and wink at me. As I watched her walk, I felt the familiar ache of desire but resisted the urge to adjust myself again. Instead, I waved at Kathy and flashed her a half grin before turning back to the task at hand.
It took me an hour to trim the branches and clean up the mess I’d made, and by that time, Nina was up and moving around.
“Hey, sleepyhead, you wanna get some breakfast in town?” I asked, as she sat at the counter drinking a cup of hot tea. She nodded but said nothing. Unlike me, she wasn’t a morning person, so I was used to her silence as she moved from sleep to wakefulness. I patted her shoulder and said, “I’m going to go grab a shower and get dressed. Can you be ready in a half hour?”
She nodded again and stared into the her mug. I smiled and went to get ready. A half an hour later, I stood in the kitchen as my 16-year-old daughter came strolling out of her room with a serious look on her face as she stared at her phone.
“Well, good morning, sunshine!” I said, as she entered the kitchen. “It’s good to see you back in the land of the living!”
“Dad, please,” she said, rolling her eyes and tucking the phone into her back pocket.
“What? Are you nixing all of the pet names I have for you?” I asked, as she walked across the room and stood on tiptoes to kiss my cheek.
“In a word, yes,” she said, as she put out a hand to keep me at a distance. “No offense, Dad, but those names are so 7th grade. I’m 16 now.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, hanging my head in mock shame. “Your old man is no longer good enough to call you by your beloved childhood pet names. I guess I’ll just go sit out back and eat worms.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Dad,” Nina said, rolling her eyes. “That’s not what I mean; I’m just saying. Can’t you treat me like a grown-up?”
“Because you are one?” I asked.
“Well, I’m not a baby anymore,” she said, as she tugged on her coat and looked at me expectantly. “Well? Are we going to go eat or what? I’m starving!”
“Yes, madam,” I said, bowing as I pointed to the back door. “Your carriage and your servant await.”
“You’re crazy; you know that, right?” she said in a testy tone as she breezed out the back door and headed for the truck.
I drove us into town to the local diner we’d been having brunch at every Sunday since Remy and I divorced. The Sunny Side Up was a bright, cheerful place full of a mix of Waltham residents who were intent on filling up on the pancakes and waffles that the place was well-known for. Judy waved us toward our usual booth as I grabbed two rolls of silverware and a couple of menus. Nina shed her jacket and slid into the far side of the booth before taking a menu from me and quickly deciding on eggs, bacon, and waffles.
“You sure you’re ordering enough food?” I asked. Remy had told me that Nina hadn’t been eating much at home during the week and that I should keep an eye out for any behaviors that might indicate she had an eating disorder. I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant or what I should be looking out for, but I did know that I needed to encourage her to eat.