Donna glanced at the coffee table and noted the martini glasses and pitcher. It was apparent that he had been about to prepare drinks. Maybe a drink would steady her nerves, she thought. She nodded yes, and then realized that, by her own word, Sheri had experienced this man's martinis before.
"I was about to mix a batch, but if you'd prefer something else?"
"No. A martini sounds fine. Thank you."
Donna moved to the couch and sat down next to Sheri as Ward began busily mixing the drinks. When he served them, she took a sip before remembering she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Being tired and not having eaten was a dangerous combination, she realized, but the drink did taste good and she quickly drank it down.
"Would you care for another?" Ward asked.
"I really shouldn't, Mr. Murdock."
"… Ward," he interjected.
"Ward," she repeated. "But it was very good."
He needed no further incentive, and the confused young mother did not object when he refilled her glass. The three of them sat sipping their martinis, interspersing the consumption of alcohol with small talk. Ward was very suave and polite, asking Donna questions about school, and he proved to be surprisingly knowledgeable about teaching. It came to her as no great shock when he explained he was an assistant professor of English Literature at San Diego State, and Donna, with the aid of alcohol, began to warm to his easy banter. After a half hour and one more martini, Ward abruptly asked: "I was planning to take Sheri to the hotel for dinner. I hope you'll join us."
"Thank you," she said rising, "but I really can't tonight. It's been a long day for me, and to be quite honest, I welcome the opportunity to go to bed early."
"Oh, Mom! You need to get out more, and you can't have eaten already. Won't you change your mind?" Sheri asked.
"No, really, I can't, but don't let me hold you two up. I'm sure you must be famished."
"Maybe tomorrow night then?" Ward said, rising.
"Perhaps…" Donna replied indecisively, weariness clearly evident in her tone.
"Well, if I can't change your mind, we'll be going…"
Donna walked with them to the front door, then stood in the open doorway until they had disappeared over the bridge, across the terrace, and into the hotel. Closing the front door, Donna walked slowly back into the living room, staring vacantly at the coffee table, her mind whirring with concerned thoughts. Unconsciously, she picked up the martini pitcher, poured the remainder into her empty glass, and drained it in one gulp. The burning sensation in her throat seemed to suddenly bring her to her senses.
"Damn!" she exclaimed aloud, then set the glass down and walked uncertainly toward the kitchen. She was hungry and opened the refrigerator, searching, but nothing looked appetizing. Confused and upset, she decided the best thing to do was to go to bed.
She walked down the short hallway that led to the four bedrooms and sitting room, checking each one as she passed. Three of the bedrooms, like the sitting room, were fairly small and each contained partially unpacked suitcases, but the fourth bedroom, the one next to Ward Murdock's, was quite large. It had a separate dressing room and bathroom, and she was pleased to note that they had left it for her use.
Donna returned to the living room for her own suitcase and carried it back to her bedroom; the effort bringing into sharp focus her weariness. She did not often drink alcohol and the effect of the four martinis left her gasping at even this slightest exertion.
She walked straight into the dressing room, and began to disrobe, trying to keep her mind off her daughter. It was too much to believe that she might be involved with a man old enough to be her father, a man that should more fittingly be dating a woman her age instead of Sheri's. Putting her dress on a hanger, the troubled young mother then closed the closet door, and in the process saw her own full reflection in the mirror mounted on the outside. Whether it was making a mental comparison with her daughter, or just seeing how much her own age showed, she stood there for a moment examining herself.
She looked younger than thirty seven, that much she was willing to concede, but she didn't think of herself as being very attractive. This opinion was part of her defense mechanism, and she couldn't have been more off base. Her body was still like that of a girl in her early twenties, soft where she should be soft, and firm in all the tight places. She loosened her brassiere, letting it fall away from her full, rounded breasts, and though she wouldn't admit it, she was proud of the fact that they still stood out high and proud without support. Lowering her hands to the elastic waistband of her panties, Donna shifted her gaze down over her flat, still taut stomach, watching the smoothly curved flesh of her buttocks come into view as she lowered her white nylon panties. An instant later she was staring at her naked figure, and her eyes looked again and again at the soft triangle of light blonde pubic hair. It looked silky smooth and untouched, a condition that had been the case for some time, and she allowed herself to wonder for a moment if she really looked as young as she appeared, or if it was just her imagination. She decided it had to be her old weakness asserting itself, and she turned away from the mirror, grabbing a nightgown on her way to the bathroom.
After brushing her teeth, the young mother turned off all the lights except the one by her bed, then turned down the covers and stretched out between the cool sheets. Once again feeling tired, she switched off the bedside light, closing her eyes to wait for peaceful sleep. But it didn't come easily, as she couldn't stop worrying about Sheri.
Donna knew that she was going to have to find more time to spend with her children. Ward Murdock had aroused her protective instinct. Her daughter was young and innocent, and a man nearly twice her age could quite easily get her to do things she might later regret. Yet, Donna thought, Ward was certainly acting like a gentleman, and it was possible that he was only being kind, taking the place of the father Sheri had never known. Perhaps she should give him the benefit of the doubt, Donna thought. He didn't seem the type to take advantage of a seventeen year old girl. Keeping that in mind, she began to drift off into a restful void where sleep was not very sound.
What exactly made Donna awaken with a start several hours later, she didn't know, but suddenly she was sitting up in bed, listening intently to the silence of the vacation cabin. The clock on the bedside table said one o'clock in the morning.
It was unusual for her to wake up like that, and she listened for some odd sound that might have disturbed her, but all she heard was the hush of a winter morning. She got out of bed and started toward the dressing room to get a robe, when an odd creaking sound made her freeze.
It had seemed like it was right there in her own room, and she listened intently, hearing faint, but distinct voices. She thought somebody was still up and the sound might be coming through the heater vents. But when she heard the voices again, she realized they were not coming through the heater vents, but from the next room, the room where Ward Murdock was sleeping.
There was something wrong, something about it that made her nervous and tense. It was faint, but she was certain that it was a female voice she was hearing, and her curiosity aroused, the young mother moved carefully to the wall. As she pressed her ear against the wall, another creaking sound came through, and what she heard kept her frozen to the spot.
"Ohhh, wow!"
It was Sheri. There was no mistaking her giggle, and she wondered what her daughter was doing in the next room, especially considering the hour! Then she heard a second voice, and it was unquestionably Ward's.
"Hey, ssshhh! What about your mother?"
"Don't worry, silly… she was sound asleep when I looked in. Nothing wakes her up!"
Were they only talking? What was that other sound she kept hearing? Was it the bed? Donna wanted to move away from the wall, to go back to her own bed and put the whole thing out of her mind, but she couldn't make her legs move.