The Adventures Of Bette Porter And Sissee Gardner After Yale (Part 3, Chapter 3)

PART THREE: MENDOCINO, CALIFORNIA

Chapter 3

Back downstairs, I went into the kitchen where Bette was still on the phone. An ashtray on the table was smoking her cigarette, as she talked, apparently to a local artist about seascapes.

I opened a bottle of white merlot and found two wine glasses, filled them and put one down next to her brief case, tapping her glass with mine, whispering, “Cheers.”

She looked at me, nodded, winked and smiled through her words to someone else. I smiled back and wandered into the living room, thinking how knowledgeable she was about art – how intelligent she was about everything. Beauty and brains were rare but she had both. Then I allowed myself to gloat a little, thinking that I was the lucky one who would get to sleep with her tonight – me and that glorious feather tick.

We had left one table lamp on low in the living room. I stood there a moment and checked out the huge stone fireplace, next to which was a stack of wood piled into an old wooden box. I made a fire for us to share.

I also noticed an aging phonograph with a stack of LP’s next to it. I shuffled through them and selected one by Kris Kristofferson. Then I turned off the light and sat down in one of two wing chairs, in front of the fireplace. There was the fire, the music and a glass of good wine. Only one thing was missing and she was in the kitchen.

Some time went by as I stared into the fire, watching the yellow, red flames lick up into the creosote of the chimney. I thought again about telling Bette about Howie but knew I did not want to ruin our present tranquility. Howie had asked me to call him when I got there but thinking of the circumstances I would find myself in ahead of time, I promised to call him tomorrow.

Then I heard Kris sing, “I don’t care who’s right or wrong. I don’t try to understand. Let the devil take tomorrow, Lord, tonight I need a friend………”

Bette appeared behind me with the bottle of wine and her glass, plus she too had gotten ready for bed, wearing men’s pajamas, black with white pin stripes. She refilled my glass, leaned toward me and kissed me softly on the mouth, lingering a moment and then asked, “Are you sleepy?”