The Consequences of Desire by Dennis Hathaway

Author:Dennis Hathaway
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8203-4294-8
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 2011-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

On his way home he stopped at a florist’s and bought a half-dozen roses, flirting very casually with the woman who waited on him, then went into a liquor store and spent twenty minutes selecting a bottle of wine. Suzanne did not appear surprised when he gave her the roses, nor when he told her midway through dinner that he wanted to build a studio onto the rear of the house, on the corner opposite the lanai, where there would be plenty of morning light. He had been prepared to argue but she allowed him to go on without interruption, explaining that he would let the lease on his office expire and work out of the studio—he didn’t need a secretary, draftspersons, the various trappings of the profession. He wouldn’t be able to accept as many commissions, but on the other hand he wouldn’t feel compelled to take on work that didn’t interest him. The fact that her income exceeded his no longer caused him any anxiety. Their daughter, in college and, like her parents, practical and levelheaded, would soon be a burden no longer, financial or otherwise.

She’s listening, Paul thought, the way she must listen to a witness in one of her trials, with utter patience, waiting for an inevitable slip, an incriminating word or phrase. He heard his voice trail off and then she spoke, in a cool and neutral tone. It was not in character, she thought, for him to act so impulsively, but she had no objection to his plan. He lifted his glass, deciding that the wine he bought for this occasion was inferior, despite its inflated price. Disappointed, he gazed at the wall beyond his wife’s head and saw a faint crack between the ceiling and crown molding widen, then narrow. She seemed far away, across a landscape out of which a grainy mist arose. He watched her eat. Her fork dipped to her plate, ascended to her mouth. She’s getting fat, he thought. Not really fat, but—what was the euphemism? Mature. He smiled, very slightly.

“Schmidt lied through his teeth today,” she said. “He’s the auditor who saw the ledgers before they conveniently disappeared.” She sipped her wine and he carefully watched but couldn’t detect on her face any expression of distaste. He began to feel relieved.

“I tried to catch him but he wouldn’t take the bait. I only hope the jury gets the impression that he’s not the paragon he pretends to be.”

“I saw Jack Dow today,” said Paul.

“You did?” Her tone did not convey the message that this information signified something. “How is Jack? Where did you see him?”

He hesitated. “At the office.”

“We should have him for dinner. I wonder if he’s still with that woman.”

“Melissa.”

“Yes.” She smiled a smile that Paul reciprocated with relief and gratitude. “If I had your mind, darling, my life would be so much easier.”

The mist had vanished and he reached across the table to touch her hand. He felt the simple, unqualified happiness that follows a narrow escape from danger.

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