Alex loved everything athletic and was on the swimming team at his school. He played soccer and lacrosse, had joined the basketball team, and was a natural athlete. At seventeen, he was still more into sports than girls, which in some ways was a relief to them. There had been no dramas, failed romances, or broken hearts. He just loved hanging out with his friends, and brought them home as often as he could. Sometimes there were a dozen of his friends, and half a dozen of her students, in their kitchen, sprawled across their living room, or barbecuing in the backyard. They ran a kid-friendly house. This was the life they chose to live.
When they got back to their bedroom, Sarah looked at the empty suitcases in dismay. She had no idea what to put in them—she never did. John laughed at her and pulled her down on the bed. He slid a hand under her T-shirt and fondled her full breasts. He loved her body and everything about her, and he gently started pulling off her jeans. She stopped him immediately and leaped off the bed to close and lock the door.
“There are kids in the house,” she reminded him, and he laughed.
“When aren’t there around here?” They had only managed to have one child, but other people’s children were underfoot all the time. John never came home to an empty house. It was full of life and laughter, and young people everywhere. It was the home he wished he’d had as a boy. Friendly and informal, with parents around most of the time.
As soon as she had locked their bedroom door, Sarah came back to the bed, and they began kissing in earnest and exploring each other’s bodies. Their clothes were off in a matter of minutes, John turned off the light, and they gave in to unbridled passion. It was a long time before they lay sated and panting, and clung to each other like survivors in a storm.
“Wow!” he said in a hoarse voice.
“It’s always wow with you,” Sarah said happily in the dark. “I hope we never get too old for that.”
“I don’t think we will,” he said, rolling over on his side to look at her in the moonlight. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She had been for twenty years. He had always felt that way about her, and still did. “I think I’ll be dragging you into bed when we’re ninety. When Alex leaves for college, I’m going to chase you around the kitchen table naked every night.”
“I can hardly wait,” Sarah said, grinning, as she sat up and turned on the light. The suitcases were still there. They hadn’t been magically filled while she and John made love. “Shit, we still have to pack.” And she had to take the dog to the neighbor’s, they had promised to dog-sit for them. She had a lot to do that night. “Will you take Jeff next door?”
“Sure,” John said good-naturedly. “I’ll pack when I get back.”
“And don’t let them give you a glass of wine. You’ll be there all night,” she warned him, and he smiled as he put on a pair of jeans. He could shower when he got back. He loved knowing her body had been part of his only moments before.
“Yes, boss,” he said, teasing her as he unlocked the door. Their bed was now unmade, and anyone who walked in could have guessed what had happened. It was a common occurrence at their house. They gave in to their passion for each other frequently, and they were both hoping to spend a lot of time together in their cabin on the boat. They were famous for taking “naps.”
Half an hour later, when John got back, Sarah was frantically packing, and had filled half a suitcase with cut-offs, jeans, some faded hiking shorts, a stack of T-shirts with slogans on them or “Princeton” written across them, and a few favorite flowered cotton dresses she’d had for years and had brought on other summer trips. She had packed two pairs of flip-flops and her favorite Mexican sandals, and a pair of running shoes in case they walked on rough terrain, or climbed on rocks. She knew it wasn’t likely with his mother, but Liz liked to go running, and maybe they’d hike somewhere with the kids. Amanda, she knew, would be wearing gold sandals and stiletto heels.
It was nearly midnight when Sarah finished, and by