Four Good

“You’ve gone off somewhere.” Corbin’s looking at me thoughtfully. “What’s bothering you?”

After a brief hesitation, I decide I may as well just come out with it. “Do you … do you and he … share women on your vacations?”

Understanding dawns on his face. “Ah … I can see why that would be a concern, but no, we haven’t. He’s never been interested in joining us for those kinds of activities.”

I nod. “But he knows you do that? Share women?”

“He knows,” Brendan says, and his words are weighted with the additional confirmation that Jay knows I had sex with all three of his friends last night.

I want to ask how things went down after I left this morning, what they discussed, and what Jay’s reaction was, but that would be me bringing a lot of baggage into the situation. Really old, irrelevant baggage that would be much better left buried in the back of the closet.

“You know what? I’ll go with you tomorrow,” I say, deciding on the spot that my ex-husband turning up shouldn’t keep me from having fun with these three men. I’m not sure I’ll be in the right frame of mind to do anything physical with them again, though I won’t be surprised if my body tries to convince me that I should.

But, sex aside, I enjoy their company, and despite living on an island, I don’t have opportunities to go boating as often as you’d think, especially since Four Points is connected to the mainland by bridges.

“Great,” Corbin says enthusiastically.

“It’ll be a good time,” Jonathan says. “How early do you want to leave?”

Brendan speaks before I answer. “How about we pick you up at nine?”

“I can meet you at the marina,” I say.

“We’ll be leaving from Whitman,” Brendan says. Whitman is a coastal town about twenty minutes away, and their harbor is much bigger than Four Points. Maybe since it’s off-season, fewer boats are available here.

“That’s fine. I’ll meet you there.” I prefer to meet men rather than let them pick me up. Also, there’s a really good coffee shop in Whitman, and I can go early and get a birthday treat to start my day.

We firm up the plans for tomorrow, and continue to talk as the men drink their beer. It’s a slow night at the bar, even for a Monday. Tom is off, but I can easily handle all of the business as well as have time to socialize.

Prompted by my questions, the Hayes brothers tell me more about their business and about some of their favorite adventures. They’ve been to places I’ve never even heard of, and done things I’d never in a million years consider, like skydiving, cliff diving, and deep-sea diving. I guess I’m not much for any sort of diving, though I’ll bet these three look damn good doing all of it.

But they also talk about places I’ve dreamed of going, if my lifestyle and financial means were different. White sand beaches in the Bahamas, rainforests in Costa Rica, and the Grand Canyon in the American West.

“That’s quite a life you’re living,” I say, before pivoting to get a bottle of whiskey off the shelf behind me.

When I turn back toward the men, there’s a fourth person there. Jay is standing just a few feet behind Brendan and Jonathan, looking unsure about whether he should come closer.

Noticing that I’m staring at a spot beyond them, the Hayes brothers turn to look at what’s caught my attention.

Brendan lifts his chin to his friend before turning back to me. “We’ll leave you two alone.”

Corbin drains the last of his beer as Brendan pushes a few bills across the counter to cover their tab.

“We’ll see you tomorrow morning,” Jonathan says, giving me a long look as he slides off the stool.

“See you tomorrow,” I tell all of them in a quiet voice, not wanting to advertise our plans to Jay, who’s still hovering a couple of feet away.

The men exchange greetings as the Hayes brothers exit, and then I’m alone — in a not-very-crowded bar — with my ex-husband.

16

A good husband

“How are you?” Jay says, tentatively approaching the bar.

“I’m fine. You?” I glance at him in between clearing away the empty beer glasses and wiping the countertop.

“Fine.”