"I don't know. I never really noticed, I suppose. We've just had coffee a couple of times." I had nothing to feel guilty about where Trixie was concerned, but under pressure I might confess to anything right about now.
Sarah pulled back and looked at me. "What's with you? This isn't an interrogation. All I'm saying is, there's something about her, more than meets the eye. Did you catch that thing she said, about Catwoman? How she liked her outfit?"
"I don't know. I don't think I remember."
Sarah smiled at me, slipped her hand down into my jeans. "How would you like it if I got a Catwoman outfit?"
"Well," I said, aware that I was not responding to Sarah's touch the way I normally did, "it would probably be very hot. There'd be chafing. A lot of chafing."
Now Sarah had noticed that her touch was not producing the desired effect. "Is somebody sleepy?" she asked.
"Maybe," I said. "I think he's got a lot on his mind."
Sarah pulled out her hand, rested it on my shoulder. "Is everything okay?"
"Sure, yeah. Everything's fine."
Sarah suddenly became very positive, like she was putting the best spin on a bad lab result. "It's perfectly normal, you know. It happens. I wouldn't worry at all. Like you say, you've had a lot on your mind, finishing up your book, and, you know, at your age, sometimes something like this is going to happen."
"I don't think this is an age thing."
"I didn't mean that. I'm just saying, that when you're in your forties, and you're tired, you know, this can happen." But now her face was changing. Instead of worrying about me, she was thinking about herself. "Unless it's me. Unless I don't, I don't know, please you the way I used to."
"Believe me," I said, "that is not the case. It's what you said. I'm tired, and stressed out, and old. Very old."
Sarah sat up on the edge of the bed. "I guess I was trying to sneak in a quickie because, well, there was another phone call."
"What?" Oh God. Was this how it felt to jump out of a plane and then realize you'd forgotten your chute? Who could have called? Homicide investigators? The Mounties? The FBI? Agent Mulder?
"Work. I have to go in tonight."
"You're kidding."
"The overnight assignment guy's off sick. I'm going to have to cover it. I can't believe it. If I'd known, I'd have had a nap as soon as I got home. I don't know how the hell I'm going to stay awake."
"What about tomorrow morning? You have to stay and do a double?"
"No, they'll get someone else to do that. I'll probably get home about 8 A. M., unless they can get someone to relieve me sooner, which I doubt. Don't bother making me any coffee in the morning. I won't want to stay awake then, I'll just crash, sleep till noon or one, and I won't have to go in the rest of the day." She chuckled. "In a way, it's like getting tomorrow off."
"It's a hard way to get it."
She shrugged. Sarah had, some time ago, worked midnight shifts for five years on the city desk. This was after we'd had children, otherwise they might never have happened. But she had gotten used to it, so the odd night here and there wasn't such a big deal to her.
She gave me a quick kiss. "I've gotta freshen up before I go in. But we're going to talk more about this tomorrow. Maybe we need a dirty weekend. Get away for a couple of days. I think we owe that to ourselves." Sarah disappeared into the bathroom. I zipped up, went downstairs and met Angie coming into the house. Just as I'd feared, I'd never heard her or Paul come back.
"Hey," I said. "Two questions."
"Shoot."
"When's Mom's birthday?"
Angie rolled her eyes. "Day after tomorrow."
I breathed a sigh of relief. There was still time, if I hadn't been gunned down by then trying to evade arrest. "Okay. Number two. Did you know Kenny was gay?"
She'd been in his hobby shop a number of times, usually under protest if we happened to be running errands together, or if she was in there to pick up the obligatory birthday, Father's Day, or Christmas gift. "Duh," she said. "Only a retard couldn't see that." She was going to head for the kitchen, then reconsidered. "Mom said I should ask you for the money you guys owe me."