While he was outside, Theresa set the table. She put a wineglass beside each plate and sorted through the drawer for some silverware. Beside the utensils were two candles with small holders for each. After wondering whether it would be too much, she decided to put them on the table as well. She would leave it to him whether or not to light them. Garrett came in just as she was finishing up.
“We’ve got a couple of minutes. Would you like to sit outside while we wait?”
Theresa picked up her beer and followed him out. As it had the night before, the breeze was blowing, but it wasn’t nearly as strong. she sat in one of the chairs, Garrett right beside her, his legs crossed at the ankles. His light shirt brought out his deeply tanned skin, and Theresa watched him as he stared out over the water. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling more alive than she had in a long time.
“I bet you don’t have a view like this from where you live in Boston,” he said into the sudden silence.
“You’re right,” she said, “I don’t. I live in an apartment. My parents think I’m crazy for living downtown. They think I should live in the suburbs.”
“Why don’t you?”
“I used to, before the divorce. But now, it’s just a lot easier. I can get to work in just a few minutes, Kevin’s school is right down the block, and I never have to take the highway unless I’m going out of town. Besides, I wanted something different after my marriage ended. I just couldn’t handle the looks my neighbors gave me after they found out that David had left.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged, and her voice softened. “I never told any of them why David and I separated. I just didn’t think it was any of their business.”
“It wasn’t.”
She paused for a moment, remembering. “I know that, but in their minds, David was a wonderful husband. He was handsome and successful, and they didn’t want to believe that he did anything wrong. Even when we were together, he acted as if everything were perfect. I didn’t have any idea he was having an affair until the very end.”
She turned toward him, a rueful look on her face. “As they say, the wife is always the last to know.”
“how did you find out?”
She shook her head. “I know it sounds like a clichй, but I found out from the dry cleaner, of all people. When I picked up his clothes, the cleaner handed me some receipts that had been in his pocket. One was from a hotel downtown. And I knew from the date that he had been home that evening, so it must have been for just an afternoon. He denied it when I confronted him, but by the way he looked at me, I knew he was lying. Eventually, the whole story came out, and I filed for divorce.”
Garrett listened quietly, letting her finish, wondering how she could have fallen in love with someone who would do that to her. As if reading his mind, she went on:
“You know, David was one of those men who could say anything and make you believe it. I think he even believed most of the things he told me. We met in college, and I was overwhelmed by how much he had going for him. He was smart and charming, and I was flattered that he was interested in someone like me. Here I was, a young girl straight from Nebraska, and he was unlike anyone I’d ever met before. And when we got married, I thought I’d have a storybook life. But I guess it was the furthest thing from his mind. I found out later that he had his first affair only five months after we were married.”
She stopped for a moment, and Garrett looked toward his beer. “I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s nothing you can say,” she said with finality. “It’s over, and like I said yesterday, the only thing I want from him now is for him to be a good father to Kevin.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“I don’t mean to. David hurt me pretty badly, and it took me a couple of years and more than a few sessions with a good therapist to get to this point. i learned a lot from my therapist, and I learned a lot about myself along the way. Once, when I was babbling about what a jerk he had been, she pointed out that if I kept holding on to my anger, he’d still be controlling me, and I wasn’t willing to accept that. So I let it go.”
She took another sip of her beer. Garrett asked: “Did your therapist say anything else that you remember?”
She thought for a moment, then smiled faintly. “As a matter of fact, she did. She said that if I ever came across someone who reminded me of David that I should turn around and run for the hills.”
“Do I remind you of David?”
“Not in the slightest. You’re about as different from David as a man can get.”
“That’s good,” he said with mock seriousness. “There aren’t many hills in this part of the country, you know. You’d have to run a mighty long way.”
She giggled, and Garrett looked over at the grill. Seeing that the coals were ready, he asked, “Are you ready to start the steaks?”
“Will you show me the rest of your secret recipe?”
“With pleasure,” he said as they rose from their seats. In the kitchen he found the tenderizer and sprinkled some on the top of the steaks. Then, removing both filets from the brandy, he added some to the other sides as well. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a small plastic bag.
“What’s that?” Theresa asked.
“It’s tallow—the fatty part of the steak that’s usually trimmed off. I had the butcher save some when I bought the steaks.”
“what’s it for?”
“You’ll see,” he said.
After returning to the grill with the steaks and a pair of tongs, he set them on the railing beside the bellows. Then, taking the bellows he’d removed earlier, he began to blow the ashes off the briquettes, explaining to her what he was doing.
“Part of cooking a great steak is making sure the coals are hot. You use the bellows to blow off the ashes. That way, you don’t have anything blocking the heat.”
He put the grill top back on the barbecue, let it heat for about a minute, then used the tongs to put on the steaks. “How do you like your steak?”
“Medium rare.”
“With steaks this size, that’s about eleven minutes on each side.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You’re very precise about all this, aren’t you?”
“I promised you a good steak, and I intend to deliver.”
In the little while it took to cook the steaks, Garrett watched Theresa out of the corner of his eye. There was something sensual about her figure, outlined against the setting sun. The sky was turning orange, and the warm light made her look especially beautiful, darkening her brown eyes. Her hair lifted tantalizingly in the evening breeze.
“What are you thinking?”
He tensed at the sound of her voice, suddenly realizing he hadn’t said anything since he’d started cooking.
“I was just thinking about what a jerk your ex-husband was,” he said, turning toward her, and he saw her smile. She patted his shoulder gently.
“but if i was still married, I wouldn’t be here with you.”
“And that,” he said, still feeling her touch, “would be a shame.”
“Yes, it would,” she echoed, their eyes lingering for a moment. Finally Garrett turned away and reached for the tallow. Clearing his throat:
“I think we’re ready for this now.”
He took the tallow, which had been cut into smaller pieces, and put the pieces on the briquettes, directly beneath the steaks. Then, he leaned over and blew on them until they burst into flame.
“What are you doing?”
“The flames from the tallow will sear in the juices and keep the steak tender. That’s the same reason you use tongs instead of a fork.”
He threw a few more pieces of tallow onto the briquettes and repeated the process. Looking around, Theresa commented:
“It’s so peaceful out here. I can see why you bought the place.”
He finished what he was doing and took another drink of beer, wetting his throat. “There’s something about the ocean that does that to people. I think that’s why so many people come here to relax.”