Second Chances – Chapter 26 December 7, 2009
Inside the house, Beth looked to see if either her dad or Brian had left anything behind, but she couldn’t find a single thing. She knew neither her clothes nor Tara’s could fit Rob. All she could offer him was her favorite oversized robe that she was currently wearing. Up in her room, she slid off the thick terry cloth and put one her silk robe after pulling her hair up. On her way back down to Rob, she hung the robe up in the kids’ bathroom and made sure there were fresh towels too.
When she had returned to the pool, where Rob was trying to dry off, he had taken off his shirt. Beth stood in the doorway a watched him for a second. Rob picked up one of his shoes he had already removed and poured out some more water.
He looked up at her standing there and smiled. Smiling back she said, “All I have that will fit you is a robe. I put that and some fresh towels in the kids’ bathroom. If you bring down your wet clothes, I will dry them for you. Let me have your shoes and I can get them started drying.”
“You’re not going to put them in the dryer?”
Lightly laughing, she replied, “No, I’ll put them in front of the fridge.” He looked at her like she had three heads. “The warm air is also dry. That’s how we would dry our shoes after playing in the snow.”
“Thanks.” He got up to get dried but stopped when he got to the door where she stood. “I am sorry,” he said as he gently touched her upper arm. Beth nodded and Rob stepped into the house.
She watched Rob head upstairs and then collected up the few items he had left outside to bring them into the laundry room to begin drying. Then she put his personal items like his keys and wallet on a towel on the sideboard.
Upstairs, she could hear the water running in the kids’ bathroom. Smiling, Beth went inside her bedroom to shower to get the chlorine off her skin and hair and dry clothes. In the sanctuary of her bathroom, she wondered what was going on between the two of them. Becoming intimate with another man scared her. Being Catholic, she had waited until she had gotten engaged before she had been with Joe and she felt that it was something two people in love shared and not just a recreational activity.
When Beth had changed into cotton pajama bottoms and a sleep tank and had dried most of her hair, she put the rest of Rob’s clothes in the dryer; Rob was already sitting in the living room.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t have anything else for you,” she told him as she settled down into an armchair and tucked her feet under her.
“It’s okay, thank you.”
“Your clothes should be dry in about a half hour. Have you had dinner yet? I could fix something. My mother made sure the fridge was full.”
“That would be nice. Can I help?”
“Sure, why don’t we see what’s in there,” she said as she stood up. Rob followed her into the kitchen where she began to pull food out of the fridge for the both of them. In a matter of a few minutes, she had some chicken cooking along with some fresh vegetables steaming. Rob was amazed by how quickly she was able to pull a meal together. All he did was watch her work her magic so he offered to set the table.
From inside the kitchen, Beth called to him, “Could you open the wine for me? I always get the cork stuck.”
It felt as if she had called to him a thousand times before and it was comforting in a way he could not explain. “No problem. I may not be a great cook like you but I can pour a mean glass of wine.” Beth chuckled at his joke as she moved the food onto a single platter and carried it into the dining room, placing it on the table. As she sat down at the head of the table, Rob pushed in her chair for her before he took his seat next to her. Beth could tell that he was trying his best to make her feel comfortable with him again. She thought it was sweet and tried her best to relax from the earlier events in the pool.
“This is very good,” Rob said after a few bites.
“You should be here when I really get cooking.”
“I will look forward to it. I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable earlier,” he said as he touched her hand tenderly.
“Its okay, Rob.” She took a deep breath, “It’s just been a long time since…”
“Too long from what I have seen.”
“Joe’s been gone three years this August and it has taken a long time for my wounds to heal.”
“I understand. But you are so young and beautiful to be going through this alone.”
“But I haven’t. I’ve had my family and Bri and Tara for most of it and now I have my new friends as well.”
“I hope you consider me one of those new friends.”
“Yes, you are. I have learned so much from you. I have you to thank for becoming the actress I am and I will always be grateful for that.”
“I’m glad you think of me like that. I like you.”
“I like you too Rob. You have become my closest friends out here.”
“I don’t think you understand. I really like you and I hope we can continue things when our work together is completed.”
“Continue what?” Beth was both scared but interested at the same time.
“What do you want?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what I am ready for, what I’ll ever be ready for.”
“Can we find out together, as friends?” he asked.
“I would like that,” Beth told him as she held his hand tightly and smiled from the inside out.
Thanks!