returning to work on Monday. No more overwrought bundles of paperwork for a while, no deadlines, no pressure, nothing. With a sigh, Sabrina took her attaché case from the front passenger seat, and closed the car door. She locked the car, and looked in the case for her house keys. When she found them, Sabrina unlocked the door connecting the garage to the house, and made her way in. Sabrina dropped the attaché case on her home office desk, and made her way to the bedroom to freshen up. She walked into the bedroom and was shocked to see a strange man in her bed.
“Hiya,” the man said, his brown eyes twinkling cheekily. He was wearing a cowboy hat, had a tie around his neck, and was bare-chested. Sabrina was angry to see this unwanted visitor in her bed, and put her hands on her hips.
“Who are you? Get out of my bed right now before I call the police,” Sabrina said.
The man chuckled, and watched her deeply.
“Your bed? Hmn. Answering your first question, I’m someone you’ve known for a long time, and second, there’s no reason to call the cops; this is one matter they can’t help with at all,” the man said.
“You’re lying; to be honest, I don’t know you at all - I may never have known you,” Sabrina said, fuming.
“Oh shucks honey, is it that bad?” the man said, his eyes taking on an air of vulnerability.
“It’s not bad, it’s horrendous,” Sabrina said, with a defiant pout.
The man shook his head, and pursed his lips.
“Oh no, don’t over exaggerate things; it never was your strong suit,” the man said.
“Who says? I don’t want a strange naked man monopolizing my bed, however much that may appeal to you, so get out now,” Sabrina said.
The man pulled his head back in shock.
“Am I that unattractive? Just look at this body; this is the same body which has laid next to you for the past twenty-four years, and you never found it objectionable until now. What in the world could make such a handsome man like me seem so bad to you?” the man said.
Sabrina gritted her teeth, and scowled at the man, who appeared undaunted by her display of aggression.
“David Casey, you love yourself so much, I never understood what I saw in such a conceited man; the mirror has been your best friend for the better part of twenty-four years,” Sabrina said.
David poked a face at Sabrina, which made her even angrier.
“And what’s so bad about that? You have the handsomest husband in the world who does his best to look great for you, and you go and label him a narcissist…tsk tsk,” David said.
“Well, maybe you could become a male model and wow all those women, like that one who tried to get you into bed on countless occasions…did she succeed in the end?” Sabrina said, indicating with her hands the shapely hourglass figure of this woman.
David’s mouth dropped open.
“I never did anything with that woman, even though she tried her best,” David said quietly.
“Really?” Sabrina said.
“Yes really. She said to all and sundry under the sun that we were having a heated affair when I’d never laid a hand on her. Talk about a florid fantasy life…she was a classic home wrecker, and tried to paint me as a gigolo to end all gigolos, but it didn’t work on me,” David said.
“And why is that?” Sabrina asked.
“Because my mind, and body, were always with someone else,” David said, pointing at Sabrina, who was unperturbed by his admissions.
“You didn’t exactly hate her either, did you?” Sabrina said. “I saw how you reacted to her at that party; a charming laugh, a friendly smile.”
David crossed his arms, and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well honey, I don’t hate anyone - that’s just me though. What was I supposed to do, act like Dracula or something with her?” David said.
“Yes, hmn,” Sabrina said.
“Yes, it is, whether you accept it or not. Anyway, now that we’re onto the subject of ‘other’ people in our marriage, what about that man with the dark eyelashes at work you said such good words about, what’s his name…Philip Dandridge; did he lure you into bed? After all, he had such expressive bedroom eyes,” David said.
“What!” Sabrina said. “How could you say such a thing - he was a work colleague, nothing more.”
David waved his index finger at her, and frowned.
“See, you don’t like it when the shoe’s on the other foot, do you? If you don’t believe me about Miss Home Wrecker, how can I believe you about Mr Eyelashes?” David said.
Sabrina could not believe her ears. They were arguing about issues which she thought had disappeared a long time ago, and best left to silence. But it appeared that they were there, quietly simmering beneath the surface of their marriage.
“Nothing ever happened with that man - the most contact we had was when we shook hands after a business deal,” Sabrina said. “What about you and the home wrecker Candy Allison?”
“Oh, not her again,” David said, rolling his eyes.
“Yes, her,” Sabrina said.
David shook his head, and let out a deep sigh. He adjusted his hat, and watched Sabrina intensely.
“I can ring her if you like,” David said.
“Why in the world would you do that?” Sabrina said. David picked up the phone, and began to ring her. Sabrina raced over, and took it from him.
“It worked,” David said, with a wry smile. “Jealous woman.”
“I am not,” Sabrina said.
David had taken enough pleasure in teasing Sabrina, and nodded.
“Honey, let’s call a truce,” David said.
“And how will that work?” Sabrina said.
“If I can ask you whatever I want, you can ask me whatever you want,” David said. “I’m an open book.”
“Okay, we can give it a try, but, full honesty here,” Sabrina said.
“You have my word,” David said, making a clicking sound with his tongue. “Do I have your word, too?”
“Yes,” Sabrina said.
“So, begin your interrogation,” David said, with a fun smile, fluffing the pillow upon which his back was resting.
“Did you ever have stolen kisses with her, or any other pseudo-sexpot?” Sabrina said.
David curled his lips, and nodded at Sabrina.
“Oh yeah, I’ll paint a picture for you, and you won’t like it,” David said.
“I’m a big girl; I can take it,” Sabrina said, with a whimper.
“We’ll see about that. Anyway, Candy and I had a torrid tryst in a faraway paradise hotel, and we made so many beds squeak in the hotel it wasn’t funny,” David said. “They had to throw us out because we made too much noise; care to hear more?”
“Oh, you’re terrible!” Sabrina said, flaring her eyes at him.
“Yeah, but it’s not as bad as eyelash king and you cavorting on a bear skin rug in a log cabin, now that would’ve been bad, even worse,” David said, rolling his eyes. “The poor bear’s eyes would’ve been fixated in shock by what was going on above him.”
With this, Sabrina slowly moved towards the bed, picking up her pillow, and bopped him on his head.
“You animal!” Sabrina screeched.
“Hey, stop it! Treating your beloved husband like a flat cushion. Now I’m going to call the cops on you!” David said, as Sabrina finally let out a loud laugh, which proved irresistible with him. It was as if the tension which had existed between them for so long inexplicably melted away. Sabrina almost fell over laughing, and landed in a wing chair near the bed. Their faces were so red from their non-stop merriment that they had to find a way to stop, which took a little while.
“Oh, I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous - you with her, and me with him,” Sabrina said.
“You can say that again,” David said, smiling that Sabrina was now happier than when she first came home. “I bet their minds were only on one thing, and it wasn’t fidelity.”
Sabrina nodded in agreement with him.
“Yes, the
y had a one track mind, you can give them that credit,” Sabrina said.
“Yeah, that’s the only credit they deserve,” David said, with a confident nod of his head.
Sabrina paused for a spell, turning away from David, and looked at a photo of them on the dresser. It was a picture of them from their tenth anniversary party, when they were still very much in love. David observed her keenly, and she turned back to face him again.
“You know something?” Sabrina said.
“What honey?”
“Maybe we should’ve set them up together, they would’ve been the perfect couple,” Sabrina said.
“You can say that again,” David said, curling his lips at their mischief. With this, Sabrina slowly sat on the bed, and lightly stroked his chest, as David’s eyes lit up.
“Oh DC, I’ve missed our talks, the fun we used to have,” Sabrina said.
“Why do you have to talk about it in the past tense? We’ve been married for twenty-four years; who says it has to end now?” David said.
Sabrina moved from the edge of the bed and closer to David.
“You know, you’re right,” Sabrina said.
“Of course I am. Anyway, you’re a ravishing woman; you’re even more beautiful than when we first met,” David said.
“Thanks DC. And any which way, you still look damn good for a man in his mid-life,” Sabrina smirked.
David’s eyes popped out in horror.
“What! I’m mighty magnificent if you want to know,” David said, with glee.
“I can’t help but agree,” Sabrina said, looking at his bare chest; that chest that she had admired ever since they met in college. Sabrina remembered that David played baseball, and loved to strut around without a shirt during practice sessions. A warm feeling