First Class Farewell Read Online Free Page B

chip.
    “Okay,” she replied.
    “I want to watch your ass,” he grinned and winked.
    Katy smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. She poured some
more wine in their glasses and then re-corked the bottle and laid it in the
bottom of the wicker basket. “You can watch my ass anytime.”
    “I know,” Mark said. “And I do.”
    Katy chuckled and continued repacking the basket. Mark’s
cell phone rang and he frowned as he read the caller’s name.
    “I’ll try to make it brief,” he said as he answered. Saying
hello to Ryan, the company’s CFO, Mark scrambled to his feet and wandered off
leaving Katy to lie back on the blanket and watch the leaves rustle in the
slight breeze overhead. She closed her eyes, her husband’s faint voice and the
sound of the trees relaxing her.
    When she reopened her eyes, Mark was snuggled next to her,
breathing softly. She’d fallen asleep…and so had he. The wine and the energetic
bike ride had allowed her to drift off without her even realizing it. Katy
watched the fluffy white clouds in the sky as they drifted slowly, changing
shape. So much for another ride, she smiled, although it had been a
wonderful way to spend the afternoon, enjoying the sun and the trees.
    She glanced at her watch and was shocked to see that she’d
slept for an hour, but she didn’t move. She remained in the safety and comfort
of her husband’s arms and enjoyed the moment.
    On the ride back to the city, thirty minutes later, Mark had
admitted that she’d looked so peaceful when he returned to her after finishing
his phone call that he didn’t have the heart to wake her, although he never
imagined that he’d fall asleep, too.
    “It’s a sign of old age,” he muttered.
    Katy laughed. They were in the throes of middle age, of that
she couldn’t deny. But they were young middle-aged, if there were such a thing.
She refused to grow old before her time. Just as she was about to inform her
husband that they still had many, many years before they reached the age
of old , Mark’s phone starting buzzing again. He pulled it from the
console of the car and read Matt’s name. He handed Katy the phone and she
answered the call.
    “Hey, Matt,” she smiled as she answered. “He’s driving but I
can put you on speaker.”
    Mark stopped the car at the red light after turning off the
Henry Hudson Parkway. He watched Katy’s expression change, and when she said,
“we’ll be right there,” his heart stopped for a moment. This wasn’t going to be
good.

4.
Andrew & Rory
    They’d met at a party, both invited by a mutual friend.
They’d attended the same university in Seattle but didn’t meet until a month
before graduation. It wasn’t love at first sight. In fact, after that night,
they didn’t see each other again for five years, when once again, they were
both invited to a party by a mutual friend, this time in New York City.
    Andrew was establishing himself as a successful stock
broker, working for a major powerhouse in the business. Rory, now an attorney,
left the west coast and the family who no longer accepted him for being an
openly gay man, and moved as far away as possible. He’d hoped New York would be
a good fit and after taking another bar prep course, and another bar exam, he
found himself working in a small law firm and building his reputation as an
excellent attorney.
    The party was for a mutual friend who had recently been
declared cancer free and was throwing a bash that rivalled that of New Years’
Eve. Andrew and Rory were surprised to come face to face at the bar. They ended
up spending most of the night talking and getting to know each other and as the
saying goes, the rest was history. Now, well over twenty years later, they were
married with two children and praying a third would grace their family soon.
    “There is no way in hell you are leaving the house dressed
like that!” Rory exclaimed as Isabelle arrived for breakfast.
    “What’s wrong with it?” she asked.
    Andrew