Mary and Alvin Ch. 02

Mary had been right, adding sex to their relationship did give it renewed life. Over Christmas break, they had only a few opportunities to be alone together, but they took full advantage of them. When they returned to school after the holidays, they sought out time for love making nearly every day. Naturally, over time, the intensity of their passion, or at least the frequency of it's expression, subsided, but the physical expression of their mutual affection drew them closer than they had ever been.

When they finished their first year of college they found a small apartment near campus that they could barely afford. Mary had gotten a part time job waiting tables a couple of days a week, but Wyatt's family covered most of their expenses. They settled into a comfortable domestic existence, but as they began their senior year, Mary began to worry about their future together. One evening shortly after the fall semester began, she sat down next to Wyatt on the couch and broached the subject of post-graduation plans. She had been researching potential employers and had a good general idea of the type of income she would be able to command, but was not sure how Wyatt intended to turn his photography into a career.

"Well, it will take some time to build it up," he explained to her. "I'm not going to be able to start showing or making any sales right away. I'll have to get some sort of regular job for a while."

"What about shooting weddings and things like that?" she asked.

"Oh, god, I couldn't stand doing that crap."

"Oh. Well, wouldn't you rather do that instead of working at McDonalds or something?"

She sensed him tense. "I always thought you'd be supportive of my art."

"I am supportive, honey, but we have to look at the practical side of things as well."

"Well you are the business major, you ought to be good at that." Now she felt like he was not being supportive of her choices. She carefully gathered her thoughts before she spoke.

"Wyatt, I need to have a clearer picture of our future. I think I can get a pretty decent job, and make enough to at least keep a roof over our head while your career gets going, but..."

"But what?"

"I want more than a roof over our heads. We've never talked about kids. Don't you want to have kids some day?"

He shrugged. "I don't think much about that."

"Well, I do," she said, suddenly fighting back tears. She stroked his hair. "I think we'd be terrific parents."

"I don't want to be pressured about that," he said, "We can talk about it when the time comes."

Mary turned away from him and stared at the wall. She felt disregarded, as if he didn't care how she felt on the subject at all.

Wyatt moved closer on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean to piss you off."

"We aren't in high school anymore," she said, starting to cry, "This is an adult relationship and that requires responsibility. I am willing to carry the financial burden, but I don't think it's much to expect commitment on your part. I want kids someday, I want a fucking wedding some day."

"You want a wedding?"

She pushed him away. "Of course I want a wedding."

"Oh." There was a moment of silence. "Okay. So, let's have a wedding."

Mary was speechless. She stared at him. Was that his idea of a proposal? Wyatt sensed her displeasure and, sheepishly, lowered himself to his knees before her.

"Mary Winslow," he began, taking her hand. "I know I'm not good at this stuff, and I am sorry. But I love you, and I want to know, will you marry me?"

She resisted the urge to make him squirm a bit, and nodded her head. "Yes, Wyatt, I will marry you." He took her in his arms and kissed her. She held him tight and felt tears flow down her cheeks. She felt oddly distanced. This was not how she ought to feel in the moment, she knew, but she told herself that they could make it all work.

With graduation in May, and the stress of starting new jobs following that, they decided on a September wedding, and Mary threw herself into the planning. Wyatt was happy to go along with anything she decided. She found it frustrating that, even after graduation, when she began working full time, he gave her so little input. At least he wasn't arguing with her over any of her choices, she thought, but she wished he were more engaged. She was looking forward to what she hoped would be the happiest day of her life, while he acted like it was just an appointment on the calendar.

As the day approached, he became more engaged, and any trepidation Mary felt subsided. The wedding was wonderful. It was a beautiful late summer day, and everything went off without a hitch. Her oldest brother, Steve, walked her down the aisle, and gave her away to Wyatt, who looked so handsome in his tuxedo. Later, she joked with him that it was the first time she'd ever seen him wearing shoes that didn't have a logo on them.

When she said her vows she meant them with all her heart, and she never doubted that Wyatt did as well. It all seemed so perfect in the moment. She was sure that they had a long and happy life together before them.

Now, five years later, they were living a continent apart, and her thoughts were on another man.

When she finished the last chores on her list, Mary flopped down on her bed. She picked up the pillow that Alvin had slept on and held it to her face. She felt like a foolish teenager, but she could not help herself. She thought that a trace of his scent lingered on the pillow, but she wasn't sure. She rolled on her side and hugged the pillow against her chest.

She awoke with a start. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the sun was lower in the sky. She got up and looked out the window, down at Faulkner's Wharf. She thought one of the figures moving on the dock was Alvin, but it was too far to tell for certain. The notion of getting a pair of binoculars passed through her mind, but she dismissed it. She would feel like a stalker, spying on him as he worked.

As she watched the figures in the boatyard, their number dwindled. Finally, there was only one left, and she was sure it must be Alvin. She was filled with a longing to see his face and hear his voice. Impulsively, she grabbed her jacket and headed down the stairs.

Alvin had nearly finished his work for the day. He boarded Sea Jay and entered the cabin. There were cold beers in the galley refrigerator, and he grabbed one. Returning up top, he climbed on to the bow and sat down, dangling his legs over the side. He popped the top off of his beer and took a long refreshing drink.

"Hello, sailor."

He looked up and saw Mary standing on the dock.

"Permission to come aboard?" she asked.

"Come ahead," he told her, "grab a beer from the galley if you like."

She climbed carefully on to the bow. "Can I just share yours?"

"Why yes, you can."

The water was calm, but the boat rocked a little under her steps. Moving cautiously, she sat down next to him.

Alvin handed her the bottle of beer and she took a sip. "Are you done for the day?" she asked him.

"Nope, waiting on one late return. Massholes. Be lucky if they don't run aground."

A cormorant was fishing in the harbor. They sat and shared the beer, and played a game of where the bird would pop out of the water next. Mary was delighted to be closer more often than he was. When the bird dived and did not resurface, they sat in silence. Alvin was pleasantly surprised how comfortable that silence felt.

At last, Mary spoke, tentatively. "Alvin, about last night..."

"Yes?"

"I want you to know, I don't do that, I don't meet men and go to bed with them like that."

"I got that impression."

"Okay."

"You come down here to tell me that?"

"No. I...I just thought I'd come and see if you were still here."

"Looks like I'll be here a while."

"That's okay, I...I didn't want you to come home with me or anything."

Alvin furrowed his brow, and said, with mock indignation, "You mean you come all the way down here to tell me you ain't about to sleep with me tonight?"

Mary laughed. "Well, I don't have your phone number!"

Alvin draped his arm over her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.

"That reminds me," she said, "I didn't take a single picture yesterday."

"No ma'am, I won't pose for that kind of picture!"

Mary threw her head back with laughter. "I meant when we were sailing."

"Oh. Well, best we go again, then."

"There have to be more dolphins!"

"I'll see what I can do."

She tousled his hair. "You know, when I was in college, my friends and I sat up one night drinking wine and making up what we called the "keeper list." Like a check off list to decide if a guy was worth your time."

"Oh, am I getting evaluated?'

She swatted playfully at his arm."Well, of course you are. Anyway, number one on the list was that he makes you laugh. So, there's one for you."

He nodded his head. "That's a start."

"Oh, you got more than one. I mean, most of the points were silly, or stupid. Immature things. Material things. We ended up with fifty rules. After that, we'd say, oh that guy last night was a Rule Fifteen guy, or whatever."

"Do I get to see my score, figure out areas that need working on?"

"No, you do not. I don't remember all of them. But you checked off a few yesterday." She blushed. "You got a really good one last night."

"Just one?"

"No but you got one of the best ones, one of the rarest to achieve."

"Tell me."

She leaned her face close to his and whispered, "He gives you head before you give head to him."

Alvin laughed and hugged her. "That was easy."

She kissed him and said, "You might be a Rule Fifty guy."

"What's Rule Fifty?'

She shook her head. "Not telling you."

Sails appeared in the outer harbor, moving toward them.

"Well, here's Rachel, come to rescue me," Alvin said. He stood up and helped Mary to her feet.

"Who's Rachel?" she asked.

"That's a joke, dear. You ain't read Moby Dick?"

She shook her head. "I saw the movie."

"Read the book, dearie. I got my list, too."

They stood on the bow and kissed. As the incoming boat neared, Mary clambered back on to the dock, and they parted with a wave.

As she walked home, Mary wondered how many of the keeper rules she could remember. She could call Allison, she might actually have a copy of the list. It would be fun to read them all again. She figured that she still knew half of them. She knew Rule Fifty, and that was the most important one. Rule Fifty said that when he was the right man, you would just know.