“Who is he, Zara?”

“Who is who?”

“The man who put the spark back in your eye. Come on, I know you've been seeing someone and it's not Adrian.”

Carina knew her well. They had been best friends since college. Zara could tell her almost everything. Almost. She hadn't told her about Myles. She felt that it was best that absolutely nobody know about them. That way Adrian was much less likely to find out.

“I can't talk about it, Carina.”

“Why not? Come on, this is me. Your bestie. You know it won't go any further.” Zara said nothing.

Their waiter came with their lunch. It was a Saturday and Adrian was at Becky's for the weekend, so she could do what she wanted without being grilled about it. They ate in silence for a bit, then Carina blurted out “He's married, too!”

“What?”

“He's married. That's why you want it so hush-hush.”

Zara decided to run with it. “Yes, that's exactly it.”

“What's his name?”

“I call him TC.” She didn't want to divulge Myles' name, not even to her best friend.

“What does he do?”

“I can't say.”

Something in her demeanor told Carina to not push. “Is he good in bed?”

“Oh, yes, Carina! The best I've had!” Zara blushed.

“Does he treat you well?”

“Very well.”

“Okay, he passes my test then. I don't have to tie you up and pry his name and address from you.” They both laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summer turned to fall, fall to winter and winter to spring. Zara and Myles continued their trysts, whenever they could get together. They had to cancel plans a few times due to bad weather in the winter and they were both glad when spring arrived and they could see each other on a regular basis again. Their bi monthly trysts had turned into weekly – usually on Fridays as Jolene often babysat her grandchildren on that night and Adrian was at Becky's for the weekend.

One Saturday as Zara was leaving after spending the night in Myles' basement bedroom, he followed her outside to her car, which he rarely did in case anyone saw them. “Come to my car, Kitten. I have something for you.” His car was parked beside the garage, hers a few feet from his. He opened the trunk and reached in, pulling out some sort of plant wrapped in burlap. There was another one still in the trunk. “I can't buy you fresh flowers and the artificial ones have to stay in the bedroom here, so I bought you a couple rose bushes for your garden – one pink and the other white.”

“Oh, Myles!” she exclaimed in surprise as he handed the bush to her. “This is so sweet of you, but I can't accept them.”

“Why not?” He looked hurt.

“How will I explain it to Adrian? I can't tell him a man gave them to me.”

“Tell him you bought them. Does he ask you about every plant you buy for your garden?”

“No, but I don't know if roses will make him suspicious. I don't have rose bushes in any of the gardens.”

“Tell him you have wanted some and finally got around to buying and planting them.”

“That might work”, she mused. “He doesn't pay a lot of attention to my gardens anyway so he might not even notice.”

“There you go, Kitten. Don't worry about something that may not happen.”

“Thank you, Myles. I will treasure them always.” She walked over to her SUV and opened the trunk door, putting the rose bushes inside. She drove the SUV when she came to Myles' office for trysts, so that his neighbours wouldn't notice the same car there during office hours Tuesdays and overnight on Fridays. She shut the trunk and gave him a hug.

“Aren't you afraid of someone seeing us?” he asked, surprised that she would show affection out in the open.

“Right now, I don't care. I just wanted to thank you for such a thoughtful gift.” She kissed him on the cheek before getting in her car and heading home to plant the bushes. Zara chose a spot in the back yard, where she could see them from her den and from the window over the kitchen sink.

A few weeks after that, her cell phone rang one Monday morning while she was at work. She didn't recognize the number. “Hello, is this 'Kitten'?”, a female voice asked when she answered it. She froze. The only person she'd told about her and Myles was Carina, but she'd not told her of his nickname for her.

“Who's calling?” she asked.

“This is Jolene, Myles Holt's wife.” Either something has happened to Myles or she's calling to tell me to stay away from her husband, Zara thought. “Don't worry, dear”, Jolene said, almost as if she'd read her mind. “Myles is fine and I'm not mad at you. I can't give him what he needs, so it's okay with me that he gets it elsewhere.”

“Oookay”, Zara said, unsure of what Jolene wanted from her.

“I'd like to meet you for lunch, if you will”, Jolene said, once again seemingly reading her mind. “Don't worry, I'm not going to ream you out for sleeping with my husband. I have a favour to ask of you.”

“I work in Greenham.”

“That's okay, I can come to you.”

“Are you able to drive?”

“Oh yes, I'm not *that* sick. Yet.”

Normally, Zara would work out on her lunch hour, but she decided she could skip a day. "All right, Jolene."

They met at an Italian restaurant across the street from Zara's work. Jolene got there first and waited for Zara at the table she'd chosen at the back.

Zara recognized Myles' wife from the framed picture he kept on his desk. Jolene stood when she approached and Zara could see she was taller than herself and thinner. It wasn't a good thin, though. She had well coiffed collar length silver-grey hair and was dressed in a classy light blue dress with a darker blue jacket. Her makeup was tastefully applied and she had on a pearl necklace and pearl earrings.

“I'm so glad you came, Zara”, Jolene said, extending her hand.

Zara took the proffered hand and replied “It's nice to meet you, Jolene.”

They sat down and a waiter approached with menus, asking if they wanted something to drink. Jolene ordered decaf tea and Zara asked for a glass of ice water. After deciding what to order, Jolene said “I know you are wondering why I asked you to meet me for lunch. You see, I know that my husband has been seeing other women for sex the last number of years. It's an agreement we have – he gets his physical needs met elsewhere and he doesn't bother me for it or catch any diseases. I know that he's been seeing you for a while now.”

“Please don't hate me”, Zara said, wondering where this was going.

“Oh, I don't hate you, dear”, Jolene replied. “Quite the opposite. You make Myles happy, and that in turn makes me happy. He hasn't been this happy with any of …. the others. When he's happy, he leaves me alone as far as sex goes.”

The waiter came with their food and they ate in silence for a bit. Finally, Jolene spoke again. “Has Myles told you of my heart condition?”

“Yes. I'm so sorry.”

“Thank you, but I've come to accept my fate. I don't know how much time I have left, but I am making the most of it.”

“Is there anything I can do, Jolene?”

“Yes, there is. Myles is going to need support when I am gone. We have 3 wonderful children who adore their father, but they have their own families and lives. They don't need to be babysitting him. Could you please keep an eye on him? Check in on him, make sure he's eating right, be there for him when he needs a shoulder to cry on – that sort of thing?”

“Of course I will. But is there anything I can do for *you*?”

“By saying that you will watch out for Myles, you are doing something for me, Zara. But if you would join me for lunch here and there before my time is up, I would appreciate that. Just getting out and conversing with someone who isn't family is nice. My friends all have their own families, too, so I don't see them as often as I'd like.”

“Yes, of course. Any time you want.” Zara wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she couldn't say no.

“Please don't tell Myles about this chat, it would only upset him.”

“Jolene, how did you get my phone number?”

“From Myles' phone. I looked at his contacts when he was in the shower and figured “Kitten” must be the woman he's currently seeing. I know he feels you are special, he calls your name in his sleep.”

He must have changed my name from Pet to Kitten, Zara thought to herself. “He does?” she replied with surprise. Though she had called his name out at least once in her sleep, she hadn't even thought of Myles calling out hers.

“Yes, he does. He's never done that before with any of the others.”

“We had an agreement of no emotional involvement. I'm married, too, and I can't leave my husband. Jolene, please try to get him to see that he cannot get emotional about me.”

“Forgive me if I'm over stepping here, Zara, but why can't you leave your husband? Do you have young children?”

“No, we don't have any children. My husband would ruin me financially - he's told me that. You see, I am the main breadwinner – I make a lot more than he does and I pay all the bills, including the mortgage.”

“Does he know you are seeing someone on the side?”

“No, and he can't ever find out. He started cheating on me a few years ago. Until Myles and I entered into an affair, I had been faithful to him.”

“There's your grounds for at-fault divorce.”

“I have no proof.”

“Get it. If you can't, what's more important – money or your sanity?” Zara didn't know what to say. “Please think about it, Zara.”

“I will, Jolene.”

Zara saw Myles for her regular therapy session the next day. He tried to bring up the topic of her lunch with Jolene. “How was your week?” he asked.

“It was fine”, was the answer.

“Did you do anything different?”

“Yes, I went to a new gardening centre.”

“Anything else?” he asked, figuring she couldn't evade forever.

“Why are you asking? Just come out and tell me what you are fishing for.” Zara had had a big fight with Adrian that morning and was not in the mood for games.

Myles was taken aback. “Zara, it's not like you to be cranky with me. What's wrong?”

“I'm sorry, Dr Holt”, she apologized. “Adrian and I had a doozy this morning. I'm not in the best of moods.”

Myles immediately switched to therapist mode. He lost all interest in questioning Zara about her lunch with his wife. “What happened, Zara? Did he hurt you?”

“Not physically, Doctor.”

“But he hurt you emotionally.”

“Yes. He called me some pretty awful names, including the 'c' word. And he … he broke a figurine that belonged to my mother!” she blurted out. “I don't care about the names, but that figurine is one of the few things I have left of my Mom.” Zara burst into tears.

“I know you've said before that your parents are deceased. How long has it been?” he asked in a soft voice.

“I was 12 when Mom died and 18 when Dad went.” Myles handed her a box of tissues. She gratefully took it and dried her tears.

“That's awful young to lose your mother. What happened? Was it an accident or illness?”

Myles saw his patient and Pet tense up. “I had lunch with Jolene last week”, she said in response to his previous question. She was avoiding the subject of her mother's death and he knew it. He decided to let it be for now.

“I know, she told me. I was surprised. What did you talk about?”

“Oh, this and that.”

“You aren't going to tell me.” It was a statement, not a question.

“No. What is said between two women having lunch stays between two women.” He laughed.

“All right, I won't push. I want to go back to your fight with Adrian.” They talked more about that until her hour was up. She got up to leave and he got up with her. He always walked his patients to the door when they left. This time, he gave her a hug. “Call me any time if you need to”, he told her, “regardless of the hour. And, like I've said before, if you think Adrian is going to hit you, get the hell out of there.” Zara's eyes went wide - Myles rarely swore. “I mean it, Zara.” He kissed her on her forehead. “Try and have a good week. I'll see you Friday.”

“Thank you, Dr Holt. I can't wait until Friday.” she replied with a small smile.