It took maybe ten minutes, but by then Sabrina had it wired and Livinia was closing up the mat.It took maybe ten minutes, but by then Sabrina had it wired and Livinia was closing up the mat. "I am sor-ree to hold you up," Livinia said as she retrieved my finished laundry. At first she didn't want to accept the money for it, but I insisted. "I didn't help Sabrina for money," I told her. "I did it because I like her. She's a sweet kid." "You are too kind. I hope your wife won't be angry that you are late." "Since my wife divorced me about fifteen years ago, she won't mind." "I thought you were married!" I understood immediately. "Those belong to a good friend." "A girlfriend?" "A friend who is a woman." "She will be angry -- " "I live alone." "Oh, then you have not eaten dinner. It is so late. Come with us and I will give you dinner." Amazing woman: a single mother, immigrant, working long hours in a less-than-pleasant job, who goes home after eight or ten hours of manual labor and dealing with surly customers to make dinner for herself and her daughter -- and she felt sorry for me! On the other hand, watching the curve of her body as she reached up on tiptoes to the light switches, my response was a lot more base -- or should I say lower -- than admiration. I accepted. I had the only umbrella, but it was a big one. By stashing my laundry in the back room of the 'mat, the three of us squeezed under the umbrella and hurried through what had become a driving rain. It was five blocks to the small house they owned not far from the industrial section of the neighborhood. By the time we got there, all three of us were more than a little damp. And I was more than a little aroused. All during the trip, Livinia's tight hips had repeatedly bumped against me and from time to time she leaned softly into my arm. |