As an afterthought, I picked up a few of David’s favorite foods, too. He was always more amenable on a full stomach.
It was getting harder to buy 35mm film, especially in black and white, but I managed to find a few rolls. I wondered if I’d be able to buy a digital camera when we moved to New York. I had no idea how much they cost. I’d be sorry to stop using my dad’s SLR, but the price of buying and developing film was an additional cost I could well do without. A cost we could well do without.
As I was happily daydreaming about a new life in a new city, my cellphone rang.
“Hi, Carolina! Carl Winters, here. How are you?”
“Well, thank you, Carl. And you?”
“Good, good. Look, I heard that the folk at the Base are having a family fun day on the beach tomorrow. Are you going?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Great! I was wondering if you could take some photographs for the paper. We’d need them dropped off on Sunday evening.”
“Oh, I’d love to do that but I think I mentioned to you: I don’t have a digital camera. I wouldn’t be able to get the film developed that quickly.”
“No problem. We have a lab on site: just drop off the film and I’ll have one of my technicians develop it.”
I was silent.
“Carolina! Are you still there?”
“Oh, yes. I’m here.”
“Is there a problem?”
“It’s just… what if they’re not good enough? I’d hate for you to be relying on me and…”
He laughed.
“Carolina, it’s a family fun day. I’m sure the snaps will be just fine. We’ll get something usable: we can do a lot with cropping images. Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, okay. Thank you! I’m really flattered.”
“Good. That’s settled. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He ended the call leaving me puzzled. He was the editor of a weekly paper and he was going to be there on a Sunday evening? Go figure.
Shopping bags filled the trunk of my car, including a jar of chocolate sauce, and I drove home with an unaccustomed smile on my face. It took a while to unload all the extra food I’d bought for the picnic.
But when I went into the bedroom, it looked like a bomb had hit it. With a sigh, I scooped up the sheets lying in a tangled heap on the floor, and wearily stripped the bed. Then I trudged downstairs and loaded them into the machine. I didn’t know that having an affair meant more housework.
And then I remembered David’s damn dress uniform. Muttering bad-temperedly, I shoved it into a plastic bag and drove to the dry-cleaners.
I nearly fell asleep at the wheel driving back and when I stumbled into the living room, I couldn’t help thinking that the couch looked inviting. Perhaps just five minutes…
My cellphone alerted me that I had a message, waking me from a very interesting dream that involved a shower of chocolate instead of water… and a naked Sebastian.
* Feels like a long day. Missing you.
Can’t wait for later. Did you get chocolate? Sxx *
I smiled and sent a text back.
Yes to choc. But how slow can you go?
He replied immediately.
* Let’s find out xx *
I had a huge grin on my face when I flipped my phone shut. But then I glanced at the time and was horrified to see I’d been asleep for more than three hours. I had a mountain of food to prepare for the picnic tomorrow and I sure as hell wasn’t going to be wasting my time doing it while Sebastian was here.
Despite the rude, very rude awakening, I felt better for my extended nap and set to work with a will. I had so much food, I had to drag out some cardboard boxes that I had stashed in the garage and stack it inside. I couldn’t help thinking about the morning Sebastian had come over to help me empty our moving-in crates. It seemed a lifetime ago: I wondered how it seemed to him.