Second House from the Corner Read Free Page B

against each other. This is why I liked my happy pills, because just one would have kept her demonic voice away. Just one would have let me enjoy this small moment of victory. Just one would have let the past be forgotten and forgiven and I would have been glad to feel the fake glee. My hand gropes the jujubes.
    Nicole Kidman is bent over the sink with her lover’s hand in her hair and I will myself to be lost in her story. My sleeve sops the raindrops from my chin and I swallow small sips straight from the bottle.

 
    THREE
    The Good Husband
    Preston is waiting up for me. It never fails. No matter what time I come home, my husband is always waiting. I polished off two of the four miniature bottles of merlot in the theater, and I’m all cried out. When I saunter into the living room I feel toasty and relaxed.
    â€œWhere have you been?” Preston looks up from his tablet. His brown eyes darken beneath his horn-rimmed glasses. The History Channel is on, as usual.
    â€œHello to you too, darling.” I stand in the middle of the floor with my hands on my hips.
    â€œYou went out dressed like that?”
    â€œI know. The kids were so out of control tonight I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t changed until I was damn near at the movies. Least you know I’m not cheating on you.” I bend down for a peck.
    â€œYou went to the movies?”
    â€œMmm hmm,” I move to pick up Rory’s yellow dump truck and carry it into the dining room/playroom. “Why, what’s wrong?”
    â€œYou didn’t answer your phone. I had no idea where you were.”
    â€œThe picture had started.” I grab his hand and pull him up from the sofa. “It was a hard day.”
    Before he can pout further, my lips are on his. My yoga pants are old but tight and it’s not long before Preston’s hands glide over my ass like he’s a horny teenager.
    â€œNext time send me a text.” He moans in my mouth and rubs his groin against mine. Preston is easily four inches taller than me, but somehow we fit. My husband is the sun, and I am the flower stretching toward his ray.
    â€œI didn’t even know what to pay Sam.” He tugs me tight.
    â€œYou paid her, right?”
    â€œThat’s not the point. I don’t want to find out my wife’s whereabouts from the babysitter.”
    I push back. “Oh, Preston, get over it. I’m entitled to some time alone.”
    Sam is usually good about having the kids clean up after themselves, but tonight toys are all over. Preston must have walked in before she had a chance. I open the toy box that we keep in the corner of the dining room and start shoving toys in. Honestly, I give my husband a long leash. I don’t check his whereabouts. He comes and goes when he pleases, but my leash is short and tight. My unbuttoned mood tightens back up.
    â€œGood night,” I say, with Rory’s shoes in hand.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with you?”
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œCome here.” Preston is on his feet and cuts my path before I can make it out of the living room.
    â€œSo dramatic.” He breathes on me. “Can’t a brother be concerned about his wife?”
    His lips graze mine and I thaw. Preston smells like sand and something smoky and I inhale until I’m full. Breathing me out, I take him in, all of him.
    On the sofa, he’s right next to me. Arm wrapped around my shoulders.
    â€œHow was your day?”
    â€œI picked up two new accounts in Sparta.” He lifts my shirt over my head.
    â€œOh,” his breath cinches. I’m wearing the pink satiny bra that smashes my breasts together.
    â€œOne is a big fish that I’d been working on for weeks.” His tongue teases over the length of my cleavage while he unhooks my snaps.
    â€œSo proud of you, honey.” I move my arms and thrust my boobs forward so he can have full access. Preston traded in his nine-to-five and started The