shouldn't miss a party just because your old man is out of town.'
Martin's smile never faded as he talked. 'Darleen and I will take you to the club without him. The table has already been reserved and everything has been especially ordered. Besides, I'm still not too old to squire two women at once, if it's only for one night.'
'Oh, Martin, I don't know,' she started, but he interrupted.
'Don't be ridiculous. I've already talked to Darleen. She's been spending the last three hours getting ready for this. She doesn't mind sharing me for part of one evening. So you can't say no,' he said, taking her hand warmly.
'In that case, Mr. Kelly, I simply cannot refuse,' she said dramatically. 'What time will you call, sir?'
'At eight sharp. Can you be ready, Madam?'
'Of course,' she answered.
Greg broke in, 'Enough is enough for both of you lovers. I've got a jet to catch. Come on Martin, let's get a move on.'
Janet walked her husband to the door and kissed him goodbye, feeling his impatience to leave as he drew away from her. She watched him walk to the car and stood in the doorway, her arms hanging limply at her side.
'See you at eight,' Martin shouted.
She nodded and smiled, watching the white convertible back from the driveway onto the street and roar off toward the corner and the airport. Goodnight, Greg, she thought and turned back into the house closing the door behind her, not wanting the fresh air to touch the single tear that had dropped to her cheek. A deep sense of loneliness rippled through her, a loneliness she had been carrying with her since Greg's move into the upper echelons of business, and one she hated with all her heart.
Two hours later Martin and Darleen Kelly shared a small pitcher of Martinis in their bedroom as he dressed. Darleen sat on the bed, propped up against the headboard with a large pillow behind her. At thirty six she looked every bit as good as the younger Janet, but her own self criticism and fear of growing older blinded her to the fact. Her black hair was cut in the latest Sassoon style. She wore a mini-shirt that revealed a year round tan on her full, sensual thighs and nearly every man she came into contact with looked at her with more than just idle curiosity. She was a beautiful woman, but no man could take advantage of her and she knew it. It was usually the other way around.
'It's working out better than we thought,' she said. 'Do you think she's ready?'
'Ripe for plucking,' he said, smiling at his pun.
'You are too, too funny,' she told him. 'I hope you're right, though.'
'Have I ever been wrong about a woman before?' he said, not waiting for an answer. 'You should have seen the look on her face when we drove away. Janet is the loving wife alright, but she has been so neglected by Greg that there will be no trouble at all. And even if there is, I can change her mind. With what I know about Greg, I could convince her of anything. No, sweetheart, getting her hot, little body between the sheets will be no trouble at all.'
'No, I suppose not darling, not with that fatal charm of yours,' his wife answered with a slight tone of sarcasm.
'But don't forget your part of the plan,' he said, ignoring her jibe. 'Greg probably won't be that easy.'
'Don't be so sure of yourself, Martin. With the right circumstance he'll probably be as easy as you are,' she said with a coquettish smile. 'I can show him one helluva lot more than that pretty little wife of his and I'll bet he knows it. You saw how attentive he was the last time they were here. If you hadn't said no, I would have taken him to bed right then.'
'You are anxious, aren't you?'
'Jealous?'
'A little, perhaps, but I always am, for a moment at least. But that doesn't last longer than it takes me to get into the rack with your friends.'
'You had better hurry,' she said looking at her drink.
Martin finished adjusting his tie and brushed back the grey at his temples with his hands. 'I'm ready, with time to spare. I wonder how she's going to react when I tell her you have a migraine? And,' he added as an afterthought, 'Wherever you go tonight, stay on the other side of town, away from the club. If she saw you it might ruin everything.'
'I don't think it will but I'll stay away from your little precious game. I should find entertainment somewhere tonight, like maybe at Peter's club. There's always more than enough excitement there.'
'Well, don't let your excitement stay too long if you bring him home. I'll be back before three,' he said as he left the room, hurrying so that he would be knocking on Janet's front door at exactly eight o'clock.
Janet had been ready for twenty minutes when she heard Martin rap at the door. She gulped the last of her Martini, the fourth since Martin and her husband had left, and walked rather unsteadily to the door.
Martin entered and walked her to the living room where her mink stole lay haphazardly across the back of the chair. She told him she would fix him a drink but wouldn't have one herself. He refused and picked up the mink.
As they walked out the door he told her that Darleen had a terrible migraine and wouldn't be with them. Janet thought it was strange that Darleen should get a headache on a night like this, especially after spending all afternoon getting ready. Nothing seems to be happening right today she thought with a slightly audible sigh. Well, I hope nothing else goes wrong.
'Well, Martin,' she said with a forced smile. 'We may as well enjoy our evening alone. Two stood up people have to do the best they can.'
He smiled at her as he closed the door of the convertible, then walked to the other side. Once seated he turned over the big engine and pulled away from the curb. Janet usually paid attention when Martin drove. She thought he was still a teenager at heart, the way he sped through residential areas, not to mention the ninety mile an hour rides on the freeways, but tonight she didn't care how he drove. Her thoughts were centered around Greg and her marriage. Confused and hurt she had no idea how to recapture her husband from his work. She decided that she didn't care about the money, about the big promotions, the house, anything. She wanted her husband back. He has been a stranger too long, she thought almost desperately. I must find a way.
Was it possible that she was losing, or perhaps, had already lost her sex appeal. Her mind searched every avenue trying to discover the real cause for her husband's neglect. Her ears were deaf to Martin's continuous flow of words as they drove along the freeway at his usual ninety miles an hour. Janet was oblivious to the traffic and the danger. Her mind was already fogged by too many martini's.
Perhaps, she thought, she could make Greg jealous. Then he would pay attention to her. He would have to. It certainly wouldn't be hard. She wouldn't have to do anything. She could be secretive about her night out with Martin when Greg asked her how the party went. There could be no harm in that. Martin was a good friend.
She smiled and sat a little straighter, adjusting an imaginary out of place hair on her head. After all, Martin wouldn't mind being used… especially if he didn't know about it.
Janet had never even flirted with the idea of being unfaithful to her husband. Their marriage had always been satisfactory enough, up until the last three months. More than a few men had asked her out, knowing she was married. Always flattered, but never unfaithful, she had always turned them down.
It is a good idea, she though, turning her attention to the man behind the steering wheel. Her eyes searched the lines of his profile looking for discrepancies, but could find none. I wonder, she thought, how he is to Darleen in bed. 'Oh,' she said out loud, amazed that she could have had such a lewd thought. Never in her life had she any ideas relating to other people's sex life. It had always been a private thing, not to be discussed or even thought of.
'What was that for,' Martin asked her.
'Oh, nothing,' she said, 'I–I forgot my compact. I remember now, I left it on the dresser.' She was embarrassed to talk with him after picturing him in bed with Darleen, but she couldn't get the thought out of her mind. She even wondered how he might be with her, how he might please her. She fought to purge the images from the back of her head, but they persisted, until suddenly, she hiccuped from the embarrassment.
Martin laughed. 'How many of those martini's did you drink after we left,' he asked. 'More than your share I'll bet. Do you feel like continuing?'
Not wanting to spoil the evening for Martin, too, she said, 'Of course, I want to go. These silly things will go
