"You have one fine set of knockers, you knowthat, right?" Lauren propped herself up on the hotel pillowsand knocked a cigarette out of the pack on thebedside table. She blew a perfect smoke ring whileSalim''s tongue worked its way from one breast tothe other and licked its way down her stomach. Herhand found the top of his head and gently pulleduntil he stopped and looked up at her. His black eyesreminded her of a cat''s, sly and otherworldly. "What?" he asked. She kept the regret she was feeling out of hervoice. "I don''t have time for round two. I''m leavingthe city for a while.
" "Where''re you going?" His finger circled herbelly button. "My father''s not well and I promised my motherI''d . God, don''t stop whatever it is you''re doing." He grinned. "Did your schedule open up all ofa sudden?" "Yes. I mean no." She pushed herself off the pillowsand lowered her face to kiss the top of his head.She was going to have to be the one to show someself-restraint.
She said with feigned conviction, "I haveto go and you have to get back to the office, Salim." He rolled onto his back and crossed his handsover his chest. The loud release of air through hisnose expressed his frustration, but she ignored him.She stood and stretched her arms over her head,breasts and belly pushed forward, all the whileknowing that he was looking at her body and likingthe feeling. She dodged his hand as he reached overto pull her back on top of him. "I can''t get enough of you," he said, his voicelow and thick with lust. "Don''t sound so surprised." He plumped up the pillows she''d vacated andflopped against the headboard.
"When you hiredme, I had no idea this is what you had in mind, butI''m not complaining." "No, I don''t suppose you are." She crossed tothe desk where she''d laid her clothes across the backof the chair. "I need to have the kitchen drawingscompleted before Monday morning." "You''re going to owe me one if I have to workon my day off. I have an idea how you can pay me." "Whatever it takes." She smiled.
"You''ve almostnailed the design but she''s not happy with the positionof the island and the flow into the dining area." "I''ll see what I can do. Will you be back early inthe week?" She hesitated on her way to stepping into herpanties. "I have no idea how long I''ll be away. Let meknow when you''ve saved the drawings and I''ll accessthem from my laptop. If worse comes to worst, youcan take the meeting with the client and I''ll call in." "Hurry back." "Believe me, I wouldn''t even be going if I hada choice.
" Three hours later, Lauren sat in the driver''s seat of herHonda Civic, forearms resting on the steering wheel,staring at her parents'' house on Grenville Crescent.The last time she''d been home had been the year beforein the spring for her dad''s birthday, having gonesouth for Christmas on an all-inclusive holiday withSalim to avoid the usual holiday depression. The triphome in April had been a quick overnight visit, andthen back to the safety of her life in Toronto. Herparents had lived in this house since their weddingday forty years ago. A seventies split-level with a twocargarage on a treed lot -- oak and maple now bareof leaves. Shingles on the roof were lifting in spotswhere snow hadn''t accumulated. The white sidinghad turned a dull beige in the fading sunlight. A lightsnow had fallen the last hour of her drive from Torontoand coated the driveway and sidewalk.
Her fatherwould have cleared both by now if he''d been home. She looked to the right of their property, at theOrlovs'' house, and saw the same slow decay takingover the property. Boris and Antonia had been livingthere as far back as she could remember. They''dnever had any kids and Lauren had resented them forit when she was younger. She''d longed for a girl nextdoor to hang out with instead of her two brothers. On the other side of her parents'' house, thewoods stood thick and dark, the deciduous treelimbs bare of foliage. A path cut through the trees,marking an opening to the Rideau Trail, almostfour hundred kilometres of interconnected pathwaysthrough the back country between Ottawaand Kingston. She''d planned to bike the length ofit once but never had.
A boulevard of trees acrossfrom their house in the middle of the road blockedout the neighbours and made her feel as if theylived in the country. She took another drag from the cigarette burneddown to a stub between her gloved fingers. A carshe didn''t recognize was in her parents'' drivewayand she wondered which of her brothers had madeit here ahead of her. Probably Adam. Tristan andVivian would make an entrance as usual, or at leastthat''s how the vivacious Vivian would arrange it. She began to feel the chill through her thin woolcoat, so she butted her cigarette out in the ashtrayand opened the car door at the same time that hermother opened the front door of the house. Hermom stood backlit by the hall light. Clemmie wasnext to her, tail a waving flag as he looked up, waitingto see if they''d be going for a walk.
She swiped ahand across her eyes and swore softly. Damn it all to hell. I hate that I have to be here. Ihate that this is happening. Lauren hugged her mom, who hugged her backwith one arm, her ear pressed to a cellphone. "Justtalking to Ruth," she said. "I''ll order pizza whenwe''re done. Take your old room.
" Lauren felt the familiar disappointment. Againstall reason, she''d hoped for a warmer greeting thistime with her dad so ill, but her mom put littlepressure into the hug and turned away as she wavedLauren inside, already saying something into thephone. Lauren carried her suitcase upstairs and layon the single bed for a moment, closing her eyes andbreathing in the smells of her childhood. She knewthat it was only the fabric softener, but it was thesame fabric softener her mother had bought forever. Welcome home, Lauren. She found Adam in the den working on his laptop.He glanced up at her and back down at thekeyboard. "Hey, kid.
" "Hey," she answered and sat in the chair nextto him. Clemmie flopped at her feet. She reacheddown to scratch behind his ears. She and Adam hadnever had a demonstrative relationship, but a hugwouldn''t have killed him. "Mom''s finishing up aphone call with Aunt Ruth and then she''s going toorder pizza." "I''m starving so that''s good news." He typeda few more words before shutting his laptop. Hesmiled at her.
"I like your hair short and white. Veryon trend. Hipster." She touched the back of her neck, surprised atthe compliment. "Thanks, I think. When are Tristanand Vivian expected to arrive?" "Mom said tomorrow morning." She studied her brother, whom she hadn''t seenin over a year. He looked tired, his brown eyes thatcould snare a woman''s interest with one glancebloodshot, and the way he slumped into the couch,dripping exhaustion.
He''d lost weight since the lasttime they''d met up in Toronto on one of his stopovers."Are you still on the western and northernroutes?" she asked. "I accepted a new itinerary at the end of thesummer. I''m flying between Vancouver and HongKong now. Didn''t Mona tell you?" "No, but we haven''t spoken in a while. That''s abig change. Did you ask for it?" "I was ready for something else." "How does Mona feel about that?" "Good, I guess.
I''m home more now since halfthe stopovers are in Vancouver." "I was hoping to see her this trip." "It''s hard for her to leave her class and Simonisn''t good when his routine is disrupted, but she''llcome for the funeral." They were silent for a moment, thinking abouttheir father''s impending death without the idea of hispassing seeming real. Lauren didn''t want to contemplatethe change this would bring to her family .at least, not before it happened. "What grade isMona teaching this year?" "Four, and Simon just entered grade three at thesame school. He''s got a full-time teacher''s aide withhim, which is helping.
" Even though they hadn''t seen each other in along time, she knew her brother well enough tohear the frustration underlying his words. "I imagineit''s been tough for you." She remembered howhard he''d taken having a son with special needs.Mona had wanted to try for a second child butAdam had so far refused. "Tougher for Mona," he said. "Your kitchen andbath design business appears to be doing well." "Can''t complain." She started to talk about her latest kitchenproject but before she''d finished her first sentence,Adam opened his laptop again and clicked on acouple of keys.
He glanced up at her and back atthe screen a few times, pretending an interest inher work that she knew he didn''t have. She let herwords trail off after a few moments and stood up.Clemmie was instantly on his feet, eager chocolateeyes fixed on her face. "Just heading out for a walkwith Clem," she said. "Right, see you later then." Adam glanced upand smiled one last time. She heard the keys tappingin earnest as she went in search of her coat andthe dog''s leash. "Well, Clemmie," she said as she bent down tograb his collar, "At least you''re always glad to see me.
".