mom have one of her formal dinners for you last night?’ He smiled. ‘I like the way she folds the napkins and puts place cards on the table.’
‘You wouldn’t like it so much if you grew up with that stuff. All that ceremony. And it’s more than just holidays. It was just the three of us this time.’
It had probably been Nowell’s lack of formality that had attracted Vivian to him in the first place. They met in a large Geology class in college: a hundred students enclosed in a theater-like lecture hall. Nowell arrived late, then ducked along the back row to avoid the professor’s gaze. As he slid into his seat, he grinned at her and she noticed his brown eyes, the playful cocking of his eyebrows. Later, they were assigned to a laboratory group together. He was impossible to resist – handsome in the dark way that she liked, smart, confident. Nowell told her later that he’d thought she was funny and independent.
Even back then he knew he wanted to be a writer. He took literature and history classes and published short stories in the undergraduate literary journal. Vivian didn’t settle on the focus of her own studies until her third year, when Nowell helped her decide on a Business major. She took the job at the WMA while still in school and just stayed on after graduation.
Nowell tore off a piece of bread with his teeth. ‘Did you get the whole deposit back from the apartment?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I also have my last paycheck, with the vacation time I didn’t use. And since I stayed the extra month, they said they’d forward my bonus.’
‘Good, we’ll need every bit. No paychecks for a whole year…’
‘But we’ve planned for this,’ she reminded him. ‘We’ve got the money from your first book.’
‘That’s not much.’
‘And the money your grandmother left, and the savings. As long as nothing unexpected happens.’
Nowell looked up from his food. ‘Did your parents drive you to the airport?’
She shook her head. ‘Dad had an early class, so it was just my mom, harassing me all the way.’
‘She thinks you should have kept your job since mine’s so lucrative.’
‘No. She still believes I’ve missed my calling in life, that I’ve overlooked some hidden talent.’
‘She thinks I’m holding you back.’
‘From what?’
‘From something that isn’t me,’ Nowell said.
‘I told her the move isn’t just for you. If I can get this house cleaned up,’ she motioned with her hand, ‘and it looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me, then we can make a little for us when your mom sells it.’
‘She sent some money,’ Nowell said. ‘My mom. She said buy supplies, paint, cleaning stuff, whatever. Keep the receipts.’
‘Do you really think the place will sell?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It seems so out of the way.’
‘Lots of people want to live in the country.’ Underneath the table, he surrounded her feet with his larger ones. ‘Besides, you haven’t seen the town yet. It has modern conveniences.’
‘Do they have a movie theater?’
‘I think they do,’ he said.
‘It’s probably a drive-in.’ She rose and took her plate to the sink.
Nowell came up behind her. ‘A drive-in might be fun.’ He kissed her just behind the ear, dropped his hands to her waist. His breath was warm. ‘We could take our new truck and break it in.’
‘Your new truck,’ she said. ‘I don’t think my feet will reach the pedals. I’ll have to get those stilts that handicapped people use.’
He slid his hands upward from her stomach and she stepped back, forcing him to move away.
‘Let me rinse these dishes,’ she said, ‘so there won’t be ants or mice or whatever lives out here. I’ll be there in a minute.’
‘Deal.’ He grabbed his beer from the table and leaned his head back, swallowing the last of it.
‘Will you start unpacking my suitcase?’ she asked.
He tossed the empty can into the trash and walked down the hallway.
Vivian hid a smile, imagining his reaction. She had purchased new lingerie, an emerald satin chemise and shorts, and packed it at the top of her bag for him to find. She hurried to clear the table.
Her attraction to Nowell was reliably strong, especially after a month’s absence. There was something so comforting about the feel of his arms, something still so exciting about their legs entwined, her long hair spilling around them. She lost herself during their intimacies.
Afterwards, they turned down the quilt and lay on the bed backwards, looking out at the moon. The carved headboard blocked part of the window, which was wide and low like the one in Nowell’s study. The moon, almost a full circle, sat in perfect view over the trees. There were so many more stars in the country, Vivian thought. The night was lit up by them.
The bedroom had been his grandmother’s. It was small and exactly square, just wide enough for the bed and two wooden nightstands. Each table held a lamp shaped like a lighthouse, white with black details, the light beaming from the top. On the far wall hung an oil painting, a picture of a house and the surrounding field but the colors were strange: orange grass, green sky, a pink, tilted roof.
Nowell lay still, the sheet draped over his mid-section like a loincloth.
‘You’re quiet,’ Vivian said.
He brought his arm around to rest heavily on her stomach. ‘I guess you haven’t changed your mind about things.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because of what you said just now, at the end. And you’re drinking beer.’
Vivian tensed. ‘It’s not even the right timing. Besides, you promised you wouldn’t bring this up for a while.’ She swung her legs around and sat on the edge of the bed, then leaned over and picked up the green chemise.
‘I know. Sorry. Come on, don’t be mad.’
‘You’re always thinking about having a baby,’ she said. ‘Isn’t it enough for now that I’m here?’
‘I just don’t see why, I mean, I thought we agreed to talk about it.’
‘I’m not having this conversation again.’ She found her shorts underneath the pillow at her feet and pulled them on. ‘I’ve had a long day traveling. I want to wash my face, and I might drink that last beer before I brush my teeth.’ She added this last part to annoy him.
It worked. ‘I have a lot on my mind too,’ Nowell said. ‘Just forget it.’ He turned his back
