Flying Backwards Read Free

it worked to her advantage.
    “Got it. See you soon.” She disconnected and grabbed a basket, heading for the vegetables. She selected a healthy variety for a hearty salad. She whizzed down a few aisles collecting some staple items before heading for the frozen pizza. Tonight would be salad, pizza, and a movie–a typical Saturday night.
    As Eleanor waited in line at the checkout, her mind drifted. She imagined arriving at home and giving Phillip a long passionate kiss that would lead to peeling each other’s clothes off while they stumbled their way to the bedroom. He had been working a lot, and they seemed to be in a rut. Maybe a brief delay before getting to the Depot would be a nice distraction. Eleanor’s heart was not really into shopping for tile.
    She’d been trying to spice up their minimal love life. A few nights ago she’d surprised Phillip by joining him in the shower. She had caught him off guard, and he mumbled, “I’ll be done in a minute and it’s all yours.”
    “What’s your rush?” she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck and moving in for a tantalizing kiss.
    “Oh… Oh, this is unexpected.” He kissed her back for a moment before saying, “I’ll see you in the bedroom then. Just let me finish rinsing off.”
    She stepped back briefly, and then she coyly tried again. “I thought maybe we could have some fun in here?”
    “Na, let’s just go to the bedroom.”
    Eleanor blinked back to reality as the cashier asked her if she wanted paper or plastic for her groceries.
    Eleanor pulled her vehicle into the carport. She had been blasting the air conditioning the whole ten-mile ride home. Their house would be stuffy; they didn’t have central air conditioning.
    Phillip appeared at the car door, his hair damp. “Need help?” She figured he’d jumped in the shower after hanging up with her. He looked cool in his light-blue polo shirt and khaki shorts. Unconsciously, she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She thought she must look a sight after sweating all morning in her mother’s kitchen.
    “Hi! Sure, there are a few bags. Mom made you banana bread,” she said, opening the back door, revealing the paper bags and the bread. Phillip bent slightly to kiss her before retrieving the bags. They entered through a tiny mudroom, where Eleanor hung her purse on a peg and kicked off her flip-flops. “Sure is steamy today.” She poured a glass of lemonade.
    Phillip unloaded the bags on the counter. “Want these in the fridge?” He indicated the vegetables. At Eleanor’s nod he piled the various items on the shelves. She sipped her lemonade and watched him as he placed the frozen pizza in the freezer, the canned beans in the cupboard, and sponges under the sink. He paused. “You look tired. Do you still want to go out?” Now was her chance. She needed to put her seductive scheme into action, give him that passionate kiss…
    She paused only a moment before she said, “I’m fine. Just hungry, I guess.” She turned away and reached for a half loaf of bread to make a sandwich. Whether she could not face being turned down or she just didn’t want to be with him, she didn’t know. What is happening to me? She was content and happy, wasn’t she? She fought the lump in her throat. She felt like she was going to cry. You are being ridiculous , she told herself and shook it off.

Chapter Two
    It was mid-October, and there was some welcome downtime for Clark’s Catering. Eleanor reluctantly agreed to shop for tile with Victoria. Her previous Depot outings with Phillip a couple months ago had no results. They had shrugged their shoulders at each other, disagreeing over plain or patterned tiles. Victoria took her procrastinating sister to a tile shop in a strip mall, where she made quick work of plucking out the perfect tile combinations for Eleanor’s approval. Victoria was in her element, enjoying herself, but Eleanor couldn’t ignore her nagging thoughts. Does this really matter?