Читаем A Baumgartner reunion полностью

She grabbed it and tucked it into the waistband of her jeans, pulling her top over it and fluffing it out. “Let’s you and me go dispose of the evidence.” She took my hand and dragged me down the stairs. The Baumgartners and Gretchen were in the kitchen cooking dinner, and I heard Henry’s voice too, as Janie and I sat on the couch and I pulled out my purse.

“Oh, Ronnie, she’s so cute!” Janie squealed, looking at a picture of Beth.

“She looks just like you.”

I smiled fondly at the photo, feeling a stab of pain in my middle. I really missed my baby. Janie flipped to the next photo-a wedding one.

“Gorgeous,” Janie murmured, touching the plastic covering the picture.

Then she looked up at me and grinned. “And he’s a hunk and a half!” I laughed, and the sound drew attention in the kitchen.

“Everything okay out here?” Carrie stuck her blonde head around the corner, raising her eyebrows when she saw me sitting amicably with her daughter on the couch.

“Fine, Mom!” Janie replied, rolling her eyes and taking my hand. “Ronnie and I are going for a walk.”

“Dinner’s in fifteen minutes,” Gretchen called, sticking her head out around Mrs. B’s. “Don’t make it a long one.”

“We’ll be right back!” I replied, shrugging and smiling at them both as Janie pulled me outside and shut the door wall behind us.

“They’re so nosey,” she said, making a face as we walked toward the water. It was the third time I’d taken this walk around the shoregrass, and recalling both prior memories made me feel warm all over.

“This is a good spot,” Janie said finally, stopping behind the cabanas-I wasn’t about to tell her it was the very same one her brother had masturbated behind while he watched her having sex-and pulled the pregnancy test out of her waistband.

“You won’t tell my mom, will you?” she asked, sinking to her knees and digging a hole in the sand.

“Not if you don’t want me to,” I agreed, bending down to help her. If I was going to be a co-conspirator, I figured I might as well go all the way.

“She might freak out,” Janie said, making a face as she shoved the test into the hole and started covering it back up.

I nodded. “She might.”

“I didn’t like being mad at you.” She patted the sand down, looking satisfied.

I smiled. “I didn’t like you being mad at me, either.”

“Well come on,” she said, brightening as she stood and took my hand.

“Let’s go catch up on everything.”

“Ten years…” I smiled as we started to walk back to the house. “That’s a big catch-up.”

“That’s okay,” she said, swinging my hand. “We’ve still got time.”

* * * *

“That was beyond bad.” I yawned and stretched as Gretchen turned off the movie.

“Poor Nick Cage,” Gretchen agreed, shaking her head. “Too bad he didn’t

‘Know’ how bad that movie was gonna be before he accepted the job!”

“Ooooo bad pun,” Carrie groaned beside me, snuggling closer to Doc. “I think we need to give up movies on vacation. We never get any good ones.

Besides, we could be doing this at home.”

“Yep,” Doc agreed. “We should all be doing something we can’t do anywhere else.” His hand moved from his wife’s shoulder over to mine and I flushed, but smiled.

“Oh I don’t know.” Gretchen put the DVD back into its rental case. “I remember having lots of fun with movies on vacation.” My eyes widened and I stared at her.

Carrie turned and grinned at me. “Is that so?”

“Uh…” I shook my head at Gretchen. She wouldn’t dare, I thought.

“You remember, Ronnie.” Gretchen put her hands on her hips. “What was the name of it? ‘Doing the Babysitter’ or something like that?”

“Gretchen!” I groaned, blushing, pressing my hands to my cheeks to cool them.

Doc chuckled. “That was a good one.”

“This was the night we went out?” Carrie asked, raising her eyebrows.

I nodded, remembering, and cleared my throat. “That was…yeah…the first time…”

“She showed me your dildo, Carrie.” Gretchen laughed when I hissed and she looked at me. “You know she still has it, right?”

“You do?” I looked over at Mrs. B, who was smiling softly.

“Yep.” Her hand moved over mine, sliding past, to squeeze my thigh.

“Wanna see?”

“Come on.” Gretchen held out her hand to me, and I took it. I knew exactly where we were going, what we were about to do, and I didn’t hesitate or even think twice. “I think it’s bed time.”

The four of us went upstairs, past Janie and Henry’s rooms-Liz had come by earlier for dinner and to play Monopoly with us, and then they all went to a movie. Janie and Liz were becoming fast friends, and Liz and Henry…well, I had my hopes.

The Baumgartners bedroom door was open, and Gretchen pushed it wide.

I stood in the doorway for a moment, remembering the night I’d been seduced by Mrs. B on the beach. We’d come up here, and had been joined at an opportune time by Doc. God, that night… I shivered, and Carrie wrapped her long, tanned arms around my waist.

“What do you remember?” she whispered, the feel of her breath making my nipples harden.

“Everything,” I said, looking at Gretchen and squeezing her hand, remembering the night she and I had first touched and kissed each other on the Baumgartner’s bed.