The Affair

Bath Time

A few minutes later she heard Roman’s voice and felt a gentle push on her shoulder. “Doc, Doc, wake up.”

Marlena opened her eyes. “Did you forget something?”

“Doc I’ve been gone for almost an hour. You fell asleep on the couch.”

Sitting up she looked at her watch. “Oh my gosh! I must have dozed off. After you left, I sat down and I was just going to close my eyes for a few minutes.”

“You must really be tired.” He sat down next to her. “Do you want something for your headache?”

“I think I’ll fix me a cup of tea.”

“You fix your tea and I’ll go start your bath for you. That way by the time you come upstairs it’ll all ready. I’ll even put in the bath beads you like.”

As she headed into the kitchen, she wondered how much longer she could keep up the pretense. Between her headache and her fight with John she didn’t know how she would make it through the night. Roman was being so sweet and kind and all she wanted was to be left in peace.

Meanwhile, Roman was upstairs running her bath water. The night wasn’t going the way he expected and that was disappointing but he could see she had a headache. It wasn’t like Marlena to doze off on the couch. Still, as he sat there watching the tub fill, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more than her not feeling well. He knew things hadn’t been quite right before he left and maybe this was just a continuation of the same problem. They really hadn’t had time to talk and that was something that needed to be done. Oh well, all marriages go through rough patches and this was their rough patch. All they needed was to clear the air between them. Hopefully they could do that tomorrow since tonight was obviously out of the question. After that, he was sure everything would be back to normal. Until then, he would just have to be patient.

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Somewhere in the distance John heard ringing. Where was it coming from? Everything was still a bit unclear. Slowly John became aware of his surroundings. He was sitting on his couch and his phone was ringing. I must have dozed off he thought. Maybe it was Marlena. God he hoped so. Reaching over he grabbed the phone off the table. “John Borne,” his voice full of hope.

“John, its Victor.”

“Oh hi Victor, what’s going on?” His hopes that it was Marlena now dashed. He looked at his wrist watch noting the time. He had been sleeping for almost an hour. “Are you on your way over here? It’s getting kind of late.”

“That’s why I’m calling. Boaty fell asleep and I hate to move him. Would it be ok if he spent the night with me and you pick him up tomorrow? I promise I’ll get him to the sitters.”

John hated to change Boaty’s routine, but since he was already sleeping and since he wasn’t in the best mood himself, maybe it was better if Boaty spent the night. “Sure Victor, that’s fine. I just want to warn you though; he’s been a little cranky lately. He might be getting another tooth. It probably didn’t help that I took him to the park today, it was a little chilly.”

”John, I doubt the little time you spent in the park is going to make him sick. He’s probably just teething. I’ll keep an eye on him just in case.”

“Call if you need anything. Kiss my boy goodnight for me.”

”No problem John and thanks for letting me spend time with my grandson.”

John hung up the phone and slumped back on the couch. He would miss Boaty tonight but he was better off being with Victor. Besides, he knew how much Victor loved Boaty. It was his way of keeping his connection to Isabella. Victor and Isabella hadn’t found each other until she was an adult and already living in Salem.

Now what? He stood up and fixed himself a healthy glass of tequila.

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Marlena sat at the kitchen table waiting for the water to boil. Today had been a long, long day. It was days like today that made her wish she had someone to confide in. Laura was the obvious choice, but she didn’t want to put her friend into such an awkward position. It was bad enough she was lying, she didn’t want Laura to have to do the same. The whistling kettle brought her back to the present. Rising from her chair, she knew what she had to do. She would have to deal with it on her own. Marlena fixed her tea and made her way upstairs.

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He had done everything he could think of to make her bath soothing. Candles were lit, soft music was playing and the tub was full of bubbles. It had been his intention to do this all along; even before he knew about her headache. He’d thought it would be a bath for two instead of one. But not tonight. There would be other nights. He just wanted her to feel better. Hopefully her headache would ease up. As soon as she entered the bathroom he would leave her alone.

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By now, John was on drink number three. Tequila on the rocks. It was going straight to his head. He’d have a slight headache tomorrow but he didn’t care, it wouldn’t compare to the pain he was feeling right now. What the hell happened? He still didn’t know. She couldn’t possibly be jealous of Rebecca. Think, John, think. What exactly did she say during her tirade? John put down the glass of tequila. He needed a clear head and the tequila wasn’t helping. Take a deep breath, relax, close your eyes and focus on everything that happened in the bathroom.

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Marlena entered the bathroom. She saw the candles, bubbles and heard the music. Before she could say anything, Roman spoke. “Doc, I just want you to relax.” He closed the door behind him, leaving her alone in the bathroom. She placed her tea on the edge of the tub and quickly undressed. Slowly she eased her foot into the water. It was perfect; just the right temperature. Marlena eased herself into the tub until the only part of her body above water was her head. She leaned back and closed her eyes. This was just what she needed. She raised one arm out of the water and took a sip of her tea. Perfect, this was heaven. Closing her eyes once again her thoughts drifted to John. What the hell happened? One minute she was in John’s shower letting the water flow over her body and the next minute they were fighting. Well she was fighting. He was clueless; probably still clueless. She should have stayed and worked things out but she was too angry. And if she was really honest with herself, she didn’t know why. Even while the words were coming out of her mouth, she knew he had no idea what the problem was; yet she couldn’t help herself. She knew he wasn’t interested in Rebecca. He could have any number of women in and out of his bed, Rebecca being at the top of the list, but that wasn’t him and she knew it. God, none of these other women carried the baggage she did. They weren’t married with children and other family obligations. The thing was, he loved her and she loved him. It was just that simple. Why hadn’t she remembered that earlier? If she had, they wouldn’t have had that fight, she wouldn’t have this headache and she would probably be talking to Roman about their problems. Oh well, it was true; every cloud had a silver lining and this one was hers. The talk would be postponed for another day. She knew she was only kidding herself and eventually it would get done, but she really didn’t want to think about it. It would be one of the hardest things she had to do. Roman. He was trying so hard. The way he fixed the room for her was really touching. She did love him; she just wasn’t in love with him. She hated what this would do to him, to all of them but she couldn’t spend the rest of her life without John and Roman deserved someone who would love him the way she loved John. She was no longer that person. Enough already! Her headache was returning with a vengeance. She needed to stop thinking so much and just enjoy her bath. Marlena took another sip of her tea and settled back into the tub. The tea was soothing. The more relaxed she became, the more her thoughts began to drift back to John before their awful fight. Her migraine easing bit by bit the more she thought of making love with John earlier in the day. She began to drift off.

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Roman was already dressed for bed. He hoped Marlena was enjoying her bath. Maybe he should check on her, just in case she needed anything. He walked over to the bathroom and peeked. There she was. From the way he was standing the only part of her body visible through the bubbles was her face. She was beautiful. No, that was an understatement. She was stunning. “Doc, do you need anything?

She didn’t answer.

He walked in and saw she was sleeping. Roman stood over her and watched her sleep. He could see the peaks of her breasts through the bubbles. He hated to wake her up, but he knew the water would soon be cold. “Doc, wake up. It’s time to get out of the tub before the water gets too cold.”

Marlena never heard him. She was dreaming about John. They were in his loft and he was making love to her. “I love you,” she moaned. John’s hands were all over her body.

Roman heard the lust in her voice. “I love you too, Doc.” The bath had helped. Maybe her headache was gone. He sat on the edge of the tub and dropped his hand into the water finding her leg. He began to slowly caress her leg working his way up to her thigh.

Marlena was still dreaming about John. Again she moaned her words, “You feel so good.”

Roman was elated. The sound of her voice sent him into overdrive. It had been a long time since he heard her speak to him with that much desire. His hand continued to inch its way up her thigh; almost there. “Oh Doc, let me make love to you.”

She never heard Roman’s plea. Marlena was in her own world; a world that consisted of her and John. She was in his bed, her legs wrapped around his waist. He was pushing in and out of her. Her body was moving to his rhythm.

Finally Roman’s hand arrived at its destination. Marlena’s body was already moving. His fingers began to rub back and forth over her opening trying to match her rhythm.

Marlena didn’t know what was happening to her. She knew John’s touch. This wasn’t it. Something was wrong. What was it? She must be dreaming.

Just as Roman matched the movement of his fingers against her body and was about to slip his fingers inside of her, she stopped.

Reality hit Marlena all at once. She wasn’t making love with John, she was home. Her eyes flew open. “Roman,” she screamed. “What are you doing?”

He quickly pulled his hand away. “Doc, what’s the matter?”

She stood up, grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her. “All I wanted was a bath.” She stepped out of the tub.

“Doc, the only reason I’m in here is because I came to see if you wanted anything else. When I looked in you were sleeping. I was going to wake you, but you started talking in your sleep. No not talking, moaning. I thought this is what you wanted.”

Her face turned white as a ghost. She tried to make her voice sound calm. “I’m sorry I screamed but you startled me. I didn’t even realize I was talking in my sleep. What exactly did I say?” She prayed she hadn’t called out John’s name.

Roman stood up. “First you said, I love you and I said it back to you. Then you said something like, ‘you feel good, or it feels good.’ Something like that. Then I asked you to let me make love to you and you know the rest.”

Marlena couldn’t believe it. She had been dreaming about John and Roman had thought she was talking to him.

“Doc, explain something to me. If you were dreaming about making love to me, how come you got so angry just now?”

What she really wanted to say was, I wasn’t dreaming about you and I; I was dreaming about John. I was dreaming about being with him earlier. But those words would not be spoken tonight. Instead she said, “Roman, I told you when I came home I had a headache and I was tired. Regardless of whether I was dreaming or not, you should have made sure I was fully awake and I felt up to making love before you began.”

He felt bad. He knew he should have made sure that’s what she wanted but he didn’t. He just wanted her so badly. “I’m sorry Doc. You’re right. It’s just that you looked so beautiful and the way you were moaning in your sleep, I couldn’t help myself. Still that’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you.” He was sorry but that same uneasy feeling he had earlier resurfaced. Something told him there was more to it than a just a headache.

Would this day never end? What else could possibly go wrong? First a fight with John and now Roman thinking that she wanted to make love. She was partially to blame. She shouldn’t have been dreaming about John. God, she would have to be careful from now on. “No, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m just tired and my headache is returning. Maybe we just forget about this and go to bed.”

Roman stood there watching her as she dried herself off. Her body was beautiful. She grabbed her nightgown, slipped it on and walked out of the bathroom leaving Roman standing there speechless. As he walked into their bedroom, he found his voice, “Maybe we need to talk tonight.” Whatever it was, he wanted it out in the open. Maybe he was imagining it, but somehow he didn’t think so.