An Emergence of Green

An Emergence of Green Read Free

Book: An Emergence of Green Read Free
Author: Katherine V Forrest
Tags: Romance, Lesbian
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of smooth polished hair—sand-colored, she remembered—reaching not quite to the shoulder, a few strands stirred by the hot dry breeze, and the almond shape of eyes she remembered as green coming out of gray.

Chapter 3

    Shortly after six-thirty, Paul Blake drove down Heather Avenue looking at his house from the moment he turned the corner. As always, in his mind was a corresponding image of another house: frame like this one, but with dirty white paint peeling from its sagging gray timbers, and a yard sparse from neglect and sere from merciless Chicago winters. This house, his own house, was an immaculate beige frame trimmed in dark brown, landscaped with perfect grass and luxuriant green foliage, used brick generously enhancing the foundation and enclosing a tiny circular garden on the front lawn. He loved the used brick; its richness distinguished his house from all others on the block and more than compensated for the minute front lawn. And that other house, the house of his boyhood, had never had a single proud feature, much less the largest swimming pool in the neighborhood. He pulled into his driveway.
    Moments later he was further gratified by the soothing colors of his living room, virginal white sofa and armchair, thick blue-gray carpeting, cool accents of dark blue and emerald combining in carefully placed pillows, vases, paintings. The heavy white drapes covering the glass door to the backyard were closed—odd that Carolyn had not opened them as she usually did. He welcomed the sight of a martini shaker on the bar only in the instant before he remembered why it was there.
    Carolyn came out to him from the kitchen, into his embrace. Her perfume was at its most tantalizing—almost worn off over the day and mingling with the personal odor of her skin that he knew intimately. He was pleased by the dress she wore, and pierced by his love for her.
    “Princess, you look gorgeous.” He always remembered to express his pleasure when she wore dresses, in the continuing hope of permanently discouraging her from her usual pants or shorts. Tonight, he realized bitterly, she wore the Chinese print not to please but to mollify. Her arms tightened around his shoulders and she raised her face. He kissed her lightly; he would not allow himself to be mollified, even slightly.
    “How was your day, honey?” she asked.
    “Fine. Routine. And yours?”
    “It was okay. For the first day.”
    Annoyed by the caution in her voice, he released her and moved to make drinks, his attention diverted to the television and a discussion of rising interest rates. He had to think for a moment when she asked about the woman next door. “You mean the artist?”
    “Artist? Artist? Why didn’t you tell me she’s an artist?”
    He frowned at her tone. “Oh hell, big deal. What do we know about art? Everybody paints. Or writes, or sculpts. What do you care about her?”
    “I…curiosity, that’s all. I…saw her today.”
    He shrugged disinterest. “I’ve never laid eyes on her. From what Jerry says she’s humongous. An Amazon.”
    “She is tall,” she said mildly, taking the drink he offered her. “Taller than you.”
    He did not respond. He had never admitted to anyone that his five foot-ten-and-a-quarter height—which he called five eleven if it had to be mentioned at all—bothered him. He watched her walk to the kitchen wishing again that she were just an inch or two shorter, no more than five five, the same as his first wife. Whatever her faults, Rita had looked good with him. Picking up his drink, he went into the bedroom to change clothes.
    They went outside into a balmy evening. He ran the skimmer over the pool, grumbling about the rising Valley wind. Each day of this June week had been hotter, the evenings cooling only gradually in the unusual humidity.
    Gauging the steaks on the fire, he said, “Ten minutes at least. Think I’ll take a swim.”
    She watched her husband pull off his polo shirt and cotton pants, his

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