Willfully Blind

CHAPTER 18 You Know What, Girl

Heaving a heavy exaggerated sigh, Courtney reclined his car seat and turned his XM Radio to an old school hip hop station. He found a Tribe Called Quest song and headed home.

Dirk still somehow couldn't see where he was going wrong. Year after year he'd been trying to model to Dirk what it took, truly required, to sustain a relationship. He remained as clueless as he was back in college. Good looking and intelligent as he was, Dirk still seemed to lack common sense.

With his briefcase in one hand and newspaper and keys in the other, Courtney came into the house, using his backside to shut the door.

"Why can't she get the paper when she comes in?" he asked aloud, shaking his head. Courtney tossed the keys and newspaper on the sofa table and noticed right away the stack of mail sitting there unopened. He flipped through it and saw the usual. Bills, bills, and more bills...a renewal subscription, a flyer for an all-inclusive Sandals vacation and a bunch of other crap. C'est la vie. If only that unanticipated check would show up. With all their expenses, maybe they could get rid of their debt, including the multiple credit cards with balances Courtney didn't feel comfortable carrying.

They had purchased a home in a historic neighborhood — her dream house — a few years after they got married. It didn't take long to accrue massive credit card balances trying to furnish four bedrooms and two and a half baths. They had a finished basement with a wet bar, so of course, they had to buy furniture for that area, for entertainment purposes, she had insisted. The shock came when all the bills started rolling in including utility bills. Courtney cringed at the enormous cost it was just to heat their house.

He was a bit of a worry wart, but as a full-service investment broker, he usually encouraged his clients to use caution with amassing debt and believed in practicing what he preached.

"Things can change in a heartbeat," he would tell them. It wasn't like they were by any means, struggling, but because of the nature of his business, he knew he should have been saving more, not to mention, increase more investing overall.

He tried not to worry too much about it since they still had a while before starting their family and Daryn did pretty well at a relatively large firm. They would have to tighten up their spending in the next few years, but for now, Courtney tried not to think about it.

Courtney walked through the house towards the kitchen, smelling the aroma of sautéed garlic lingered in the air. After multiple cooking classes, including a few gourmet ones, Daryn had mastered her skills in the kitchen. It was definitely well worth the money they'd spent. It was nothing for her to throw together some elaborate meal in the middle of the week. Sometimes they would go out for a drink after dinner as a mini date night. Courtney discovered there was some truth to the old saying that the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Then, there was the bedroom. She was certainly no slouch in that department, either, always completely down to please him.

Courtney's heart skipped a beat as he watched her from the doorway move about the kitchen. She was on the phone, much to his dismay. She was wearing the apron that looked like something out of a Playboy magazine. Or maybe it was his dirty mind. And those black patent leather pumps. The extra three inches made her appear much taller than her 5ft 4. He still didn't get how women pulled that off. And although she was just wearing a basic black skirt and a crisp white blouse with the collar up, she looked totally hot. Maybe she was trying to look hot for him. He wasn't sure. But between the apron, those shiny black heels and her little waist floating around the kitchen, things were stirring and he considered the possibility of a quickie before dinner. He was pretty sure she would be game. Most often they were compatible when it came down to it. Courtney stood there wondering how long it would take her to notice him. She finally turned and saw him standing there in the doorway.