“Sure. But the dogs will warn us if anyone comes to the door of the apartment.”
“I know you’re probably right. But there’s a hypocrisy factor that you’re not taking into account. I’m doing what mothers tell their daughters not to do. I can make a case in my own mind for fooling around with you, but I don’t particularly want to talk to her about it.” She slipped the dress over her head. “Thanks for tonight.”
“I was going to thank you,” he said. “Wait a minute and I’ll walk you home to your room.”
“That’s idiotic,” she said. “I wish I’d met you years ago.”
“Me too.”
When the time came for Sarah McDonald to go back to law school, Peter drove her and her mother to the airport so Zoe could see her off without parking and taking the shuttle back to the terminal. Caldwell was prepared for the melancholy that would descend on Zoe once Sarah was through security and no longer visible. He had seen this with Anna every time Emily had gone back to school.
This was going to be another chance for him to manipulate Zoe’s feelings and make himself safer. He needed her to trust him, even to come to depend on him. But the first steps had to be small. First he had to be useful and thoughtful.
He wasn’t prepared for the fact that he felt a little bereft too. During the vacation he and Sarah had been the ones up early and in the kitchen every morning, while Zoe slept. He and Sarah would exchange a few wry observations about each other before he took the dogs out and she went back to studying. But after a week, the exchanges weren’t falsely cynical anymore. The two early risers were like workers on the same shift. They spoke quietly, respected each other’s space, and went about their duties.
Zoe chattered while he was driving them to the airport, the same energetic and empty cheerfulness that Anna had managed years ago, and like his own daughter Sarah was mostly quiet. They did that he remembered. Their minds began to leave early, moving ahead of their bodies to the next place, the next phase.
When they pulled to the white curb, Peter got out to lift the suitcase out of the trunk and set it on the sidewalk. He said to Zoe, “I’ll wait in the cell phone lot. Call when you’re ready.”
Sarah said, “Not so fast, bud.” She bounced upward and kissed his cheek. “See you.”
“See you. Learn a lot so you can sue their asses off.”
“Evildoers will fear my wrath.”
The two women went into the terminal, the daughter wheeling the big suitcase while her mother carried the shoulder bag with the laptop. Caldwell pulled out and drove into the loop of the airport, but then his phone rang. Zoe said, “I’m ready.” Her voice sounded sad.
He completed his circle and pulled up again. Zoe jumped in and fastened her seat belt. He pulled out again.
After a few seconds he noticed Zoe was staring at him. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Did I forget to shave?”
“I’m sorry to see her go, of course. Ignore it.” After a few seconds she said, “Why did she kiss you like that?”
“Yeah, why do you all do that?”
“Come on.”
“I don’t know. When I’m reincarnated as a girl I won’t kiss an old bastard like me. You never know where he’s been. You could get diseases you don’t know the names for.”
“If you’ve got any I’m sure I’ll know their names before long.”
“Your daughter is a remarkably intelligent person, which means she saw I wasn’t so bad. That’s all.”
“Uh,” she said. “Interesting. I didn’t think you were her type.”
“I’m not. I’m her mother’s type.”
“Yes, you are,” Zoe said. “So now we’re empty nesters again.”
“A good excuse for us to go out tonight and have some fun. I made reservations at a place I tried alone a couple of weeks ago. It’s called Le Meilleur.”
“The best?”
“Yes. The name seems to spur them on because they don’t want to be embarrassed.”
“You’re so great.” She leaned close and kissed his cheek. “You know just what to do.”
He did. He’d known that what she would have done otherwise was to go into her bedroom, lie down, and feel depressed about Sarah for a few hours. Instead, she would be distracted and happy until she got used to her daughter’s absence again.
A few days later, he came to the doorway of her room and saw her at her desk muttering and shuffling papers around. She had a pen in one hand.
“Hi,” he said. “Can I come in?”
“Sure,” she said.
“What are you doing, paying bills?”
“You guessed it,” she said. “Boring and painful at the same time.”
He said, “You know, there’s an easy solution to this problem. We could—”
“I’m not going to marry you, Peter.”