Trouble In Shangri-La

Change Of Plans

Stevie heard Lindsey's car pull into the driveway, having already cleaned up from tea that afternoon with Evelyn. Her friend had gone, and Stevie changed into a one piece swimsuit, throwing a thin robe over top. She wore flip flops, her toes were done and her hair was pinned up, ready to do as Evelyn has suggested. The moment he came through the door, she knew it would be a bad time. He slammed the door, tossing his keys on the coffee table. He took off his jacket and threw it over the arm of the sofa. Without thinking, she went right over to him and kissed his cheek.

"Hey, how did it go?" she asked, casually, though her nerves almost got the best of her.

"What are you all dressed up for? Is someone here?" he asked, not answering her question.

"Oh, this? It's just my bathing suit. I know you just got home from swimming but I thought maybe we could take a dip in the pool this evening as the sun is setting. Doesn't that sound romantic?"

"Sure" he said, unimpressed.

"Did something happen?"

"We had a falling out. I went over there to swim in his amazing pool, y'know?" he began, mocking his friend's ostentatious and often pretentious nature. "We were doing laps and of course we got a little competitive. He will tell you something different, I'm sure, but long story short I smoked him in the water. He got ticked off and our whole afternoon practically turned into a pissing contest." He's angry but at least he's talking to me, she thinks to herself. "Apparently his house is better than mine, his landscaping is better than mine, his neighborhood is better than mine...the only thing he couldn't one-up me on, is my wife. My wife is so much more attractive than his." Lindsey finished and Stevie smiled.

"Really? You said that, Linds?"

"No, he did and I should have knocked his block off for it but I didn't; I controlled myself. I put down my beer, grabbed my clothes and came home."

"Oh. Well, if it's any consolation, I missed you."

"It's not" he told her, going up the stairs. "I'm going to take a shower and get the chlorine off me."

"You don't want to swim with me?"

"I'm tired, Stevie."

"Okay." she said, deflating a bit. He turns around, uncharacteristically concerned by the tone of her voice. She sounded disappointed and he didn't like it.

"Do you really want to swim with me?" he asked and she nodded. "Okay then. Give me a minute to put on some clean trunks and hang these over the shower to drip dry, alright?"

"Thank you, no problem." Stevie said, smiling at him and he smiled back. He made his way up the stairs and Stevie went outside to start on making a pitcher of margaritas. She turned the radio on as she waited for him. When he appeared in the doorway, her whole face lit up.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked her, his tone light.

"Making drinks. You want one?"

"Sure" He sits at the bar and she prepares his glass, then one for herself. When she places a second down, he gives her a look. "Should you be drinking?" he asked.

"I don't see why not, do you?" she asked and he shrugged.

"Well done, Stevie. You're getting much better." he praised, though it seemed back-handed. She pushed that from her mind and just nodded, silently thanking him. "Is that a new suit?"

"No, I just don't wear it often. I thought you might like it though."

"I do. It's nice on you."

"Thank you." In her head, she was cheering herself on, wanting to press forward as he seemed to be in a much better mood. When they had finished a small portion of their drinks, Lindsey made his way over to the pool. Stevie untied her robe and hung it on the back of the high backed stool at the bar. She kicked her sandals off in the grass and walked down the tiled steps into the pool. She stood there a moment, adjusting to the water. The colors in the sky were beautiful, and it was a time when both the sun and the moon were present in the sky. She took it in, breathing a satisfied sigh.

"Incredible, isn't it? We have the best view in the world I think." he said and she nodded her agreement. They swam a little, kicking off the wall in soft competition. She knew Lindsey would show his prowess if she tried too hard, but she knew that she couldn't possibly beat him anyway. For a moment she stopped, just watching him. Just as she had told Evelyn, she was so amazed by him. She could literally watch him all day if given the chance. "Tired already?" he asked and she shook her head.

"No, just watching you. I remember when we were kids and I would just stare at you. I don't think you really knew then just how much I liked you, that I wanted to be with you."

"I had a feeling" he said with a smirk. "But the feeling was mutual, Steph. I liked you too. You had my attention from the word go." He met her in the water and stroked her face with a wet hand. "You're beautiful, babe."

"Thank you. You're still the most handsome guy I've ever seen." He smiled at her and she thought she'd give it a shot, he seemed relaxed and complimentary, as if he actually enjoyed being around her right now. She took a deep breath and tried to speak. The phone rang just inside the house and she cursed it as he got out of the pool. He dried his hands, quickly wrapping a towel around his waist. He was gone for only a few minutes before coming back.

"That was David" he said when he returned.

"Oh?" she asked, looking up at him as he stood at the edge of the pool.

"You know him, the guy I did laps with today."

"Right, right."

"Well, he apologized. He admitted he was in the wrong and didn't want his stupid behavior to end our years long friendship."

"That's great."

"Yeah, so I invited him over to hang out. Maybe he can help us drink up some of this pitcher. He knows you make the best drinks around. I bet his lady can't do that." he said with a triumphant laugh.

"Wonderful" Stevie said, stunned. Having the invitation dash any plans she had of being alone with him tonight to talk, she felt a little upset. She slowly made her way toward the steps, dried her body and put her robe on, going inside. Lindsey watched, even her walk being a tell-tale sign of how sad she was, but he didn't know why. She went up to her room and let herself cry before tossing on some cool clothes. She applied a little makeup, looking at herself in the mirror as she shook her hair down from the clip. As she fluffed it, she tried to snap herself out of the heavy disappointment she felt but it was difficult. She knew she would be at the bar all night serving drinks rather than enjoying them in the moonlight with her husband, trying to fix their mostly broken marriage.