Page 33 of Storm in a D Cup

‘I’ll send her over to her favorite Zia Erica to put her in place!’

‘You laugh…’

‘I’m serious. I think your values are rock solid and I stand behind them.’

‘Then why can’t Julian?’

She shrugged. ‘I’m sure he does. Only I don’t think he takes all this as a threat.’

‘Well, then, he’d better wake up! This woman is wheedling her way into my home and—’

‘Will be gone before you know it,’ Renata reassured me. ‘And in the meantime, all you’re doing is putting pressure on your relationship with Julian. And you need to stop doing that right now. Even your sister would agree with me. Call her and ask her, if you don’t believe me.’

I groaned. ‘I know you’re right.’

She took a sip from her own drink. ‘Good!’

But, just for good measure, I called Judy all the same when I got home.

*

‘I agree with Renata, it’s all a bunch of crap,’ Judy said when I related my fears to her. I always listened to both Judy and Renata, and then compared notes. Usually they agreed on almost everything, luckily.

‘The guy’s all eyes for you, Erica! Don’t you remember me making fun of you two? You’re both so gooey-sweet!’

We were? Damn right we were. But then why did it hurt so much to read about his ideal (and unrealistic) woman? I mean, come on. I was his wife, his rock, his companion. She was just a little bimbo he’d had while he was a baseball star and too young, superficial and fame-hungry to know any better.

‘Besides,’ Judy continued, yanking me back from self-pity, ‘all men dream of a Brazilian butt and a leggy blonde.’

I knew that was true, but Julian had always been so sweet and passionateonlywith me, I’d almost forgotten that he was, at the end of the day, a hot-blooded man in his mid-forties. And then I gasped as it hit me. A midlife crisis!

‘Steve confessed something to me once,’ Judy said as she lit a cigarette with a squeaky lighter and exhaled loudly.

‘What do you mean?’

‘He said he loved me but he needed more variety.’

‘Was this before or after you cheated on him?’

There was a silent pause. ‘After. I guess I opened up the sluice gates for him, because before that, he had never even hinted so much as being interested in anything besides me.’

‘You’re not thinking of pulling a threesome, are you?’ I asked. I would die if Julian even joked about something like that.

‘If that’s what it takes to keep my man interested…’

I guess it wasn’t too difficult for her to accept. Judy always was a bit more unleashed than me.

I imagined myself and Julian, plus Genie Stacie, all in the same bed, and I wanted to laugh. And then I wanted to cry, because I pictured the two of them, both statuary in their beauty, a twirl of cinnamon and vanilla (Julian was tanned now) lost in the throes of passion, and me taking up half the bed with my un-Brazilian butt, waiting for my turn, assuming she hadn’t worn him out. Because there’d be no way I could ever compete with Genie Stacie, with her perfect camera-ready body, face and hair. Plus, they had a history of lots of sex, sex, and even more sex.

‘In any case, if Julian chose you, I wouldn’t worry about it. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who just dumps his wife for a paper doll like Genie Stacie.’

‘Maybe, maybe not. You don’t understand, Judy. Julian seems to have this soft spot for her. He forgives everything she does or says, even if it hurts me.’

‘Yeah?’ was all she said.

‘Yeah. Is that normal?’

‘Not really, no. Maybe it’s for old times’ sake.’