“Well, you found that out, didn’t you?”
“That I did. You screwed around on me and ended up with half my money and alimony for more years than I care to count. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?”
“The fact is, we never should have divorced, Sean. You were just overly sensitive.”
His features darkened. “About your sleeping with other men while I was out of town working? I wouldn’t call it overly sensitive. I’d just call it appropriately pissed.”
“You were gone. I was bored. What exactly did you expect? You know my sex drive has always been insatiable. It’s math, one and one gets you to two. Anything less than that just doesn’t work.”
An older man at the table next to theirs who had been lasciviously eyeing Dana nearly choked on a mouthful of pork.
“Did you ever consider getting a pet?” asked Sean.
“No. And for the record I don’t have a pet now.”
“So what the general doesn’t know won’t hurt him?”
She shrugged, took a sip of her drink, and said, “Can we get down to why you called?”
“I need a favor.”
She looked suitably surprised. “Then your foreplay was quite underwhelming. Care to try again?”
He leaned forward. “I’ve got a client, a very young client who just lost his dad in Afghanistan.”
“I assume the father was military?”
“Yes.”
“So you really want the favor from Curtis, not me.”
“In a roundabout way, yes.”
“What do you mean roundabout?”
Sean took another drink of his gin and tonic. “It’s sensitive.”
“I thought these things were pretty straightforward. Soldiers die, the Army notifies the next of kin. They go to Dover to see the flag-draped coffins and then they bury the dead at Arlington, if that’s their wish.”
“Very clinical of you.”
“In all the time I’ve been married to Curtis we’ve been at war. I’ve seen this film play out a lot. I hate it that we’re losing young men and women over there every damn day. It has aged Curtis like you wouldn’t believe. Years ago, while we were dating and he didn’t have a single star on his shoulder, he was a field commander over there. He was in combat. He was badly wounded. He very nearly came home in a coffin. I sat next to his hospital bed at Walter Reed for over a month wondering if he was going to make it.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that.”
“I may not be the perfect wife, but I do care about him. We have a good life together.” She looked away. “And the fact is I haven’t, well—” She paused and glanced down for a moment before staring directly at him. “The fact is I’ve been completely faithful to Curtis. I just wait at home like a good wife until he comes back, whenever that might be. And even though he’s technically stationed at the Pentagon he goes to the Middle East on a regular basis and I wait here holding my breath and praying he gets back in one piece. I’m not sure why I go for the guys who carry guns and get shot at.”
Sean gave her a puzzled look. “Then why are you all dressed up like you’re going to walk down a Victoria’s Secret runway? And why all the ‘insatiable’ talk?”
She pursed her lips. “Because I haven’t seen you in a long time and I thought it was the act you wanted to see.”
“How could you possibly think that, Dana?”
“Because I know you would never believe that I’ve changed so why should I even bother trying to convince you? The old Dana was just easier and not nearly as soul searching. And today has been a long day and I guess I just couldn’t muster the energy.”
“As crazy as that sounds, it actually makes sense.”
“Oh goody.” She pulled her coat on, covering her chest. “I’m freezing. I should have worn a sweater, and these stilettos are killing my feet.” She kicked them off and rubbed one foot against the other. “And these stockings look a lot better than they feel. It’s like being a tuna caught in a net.”