I downed a beer as I rode home, finished one while I locked my bike to the mango tree, started another while I peed the neighbor’s hedge. I was going to do a righteous job of packing my duffel bag. I would forget sun lotion, underwear, and extra ball caps. Four beers plus a snifter of Merlot sent me to bed without my supper. Teresa woke me around ten-thirty and tried to snuggle. I later learned that I fell back asleep. She rubbed my back at six-thirty, a sign that specific attention was desired. That time she had better luck, as did I. I tried to keep my face averted so I wouldn’t vaporize her eyelashes with halitosis. At one point, with her on top and flushed and lovely, we took a break. “This is not just to relieve inner tensions, Alex, so you’ll know. And it’s not so I won’t stray while you’re gone. You might recall that we haven’t done it since I moved here.” “You’ve been busy.” “I know.” She looked up as if to count tongue-in-groove wall slats behind the bedposts.
