Encino-M.J

Mr. Telephone Man

"Geronimooo!"

Althea giggled as she watched her husband swan dive off the diving board from her pool chair. His taut muscles flexed gracefully under his brown skin that glowed in the afternoon sunlight as he sprung into the aquamarine water below.

A cool late summer breeze passed her face while one of Michael's favorite Doobie Brothers records played on the portable turntable and Althea couldn't help but wish that every day could be like this one.

After her visit with LaToya, Althea had made a vow to put all her curiosities about Jermaine and Dee-Dee to rest. She'd washed her hands of Hayvenhurst and wanted a clean slate with Michael in their new home. There was no use trying to find missing pieces to a puzzle that was never really hers, to begin with. Althea could only hope that someday Dee-Dee would receive the justice she deserved and whatever sick obsession Jermaine had with her would come to an end.

These were supposed to be the greatest years of her life and Althea was determined not to waste them.

Michael emerged to the surface of the water, grinning proudly as he swam to the edge of the pool in strong breaststrokes.

"What's my rating?" He asked cheekily, pushing away the curls that stuck to his face.

Althea smiled as she placed her book on her stomach.

"If you strutted any harder your feathers would fall off, peacock, "

Her husband chuckled.

"You wouldn't get in with me, so I had to get your attention somehow,"

She rolled her eyes in a playful, dramatic fashion.

"I just got my hair done, honey," she replied. "I'm not going to get it wet. Not even for you,"

Michael smirked.

"You'll sweat it out one way or another if I have anything to do with it," he retorted.

Althea bit her lip, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment from the innuendo, and picked back up her book, dog-earring the page.

"I'm getting kind of hungry. Want some lunch?"

Her husband stepped out of the pool, droplets of water trickling down his back and his soaked swimming trunks hanging dangerously low off his hips.

"Sure, baby. Lemme change into something dry,"

She rose from her pool chair as Michael padded over, placing a small peck on her lips before grabbing a terry cloth towel for drying off.

The cool tiles of the kitchen floor were a shocking change from the warm, flagstone bricks by the pool as Althea opened the refrigerator. She'd gone grocery shopping a few days before and had gotten a great deal on some fresh market tomatoes before the season's end.

She grabbed the ingredients for lunch and lined them up on the counter when the doorbell rang.

"Thea, do you mind getting that?!" Michael called from upstairs.

"Yes,"

Althea wiped her hands on her sundress as she headed to the front door. She couldn't help but feel nervous. Apart from LaToya, no one had visited the couple since they'd moved into their new place. They'd made it a point to keep their residence a secret from everyone at Hayvenhurst until they were sure they wanted visitors.

While Michael was unaware of his wife's reasons for doing so, he too agreed that they deserved some privacy.

Without bothering to look through the keyhole, she twisted the doorknob. On the other side stood a tall, attractive brunette holding a platter of cookies wrapped in cling wrap.