Window on Yesterday by Joan Hohl Read Free Book Online Page B

she raised her voice to a near shout. “Can you hear me, innocent one?”
    “Loud and clear,” Andrea called back on a burst of laughter.
    “I suspect the entire neighborhood can hear you,” Alycia observed, giving way to the smile twitching at her lips. “Will you get on with your explanation, please? And in a lower tone, if you don’t mind.”
    “Well, if nothing else, I dragged a real smile out of you.” Karla looked decidedly superior.
    “Kar-la!”
    “Okay, okay. It should be obvious to both of you,” she said chidingly. “And probably would be if Andrea wasn’t the innocent one and you weren’t the complete steel bookworm,” Karla retaliated, using the epithet she and Andrea had bestowed on Alycia.
    “Karla, I’m sure both Andrea and I are grateful for your brilliance, simply because we are apparently so dense,” Alycia said in a reasonable tone. “But, please, will you get on with it?”
    “Cretins,” Karla smiled sweetly as she voiced the insult. “You are both cretins, so I will enlighten the dark places in your minds.” Suddenly she was all seriousness. “You were how old when you met Doug?”
    Alycia’s lips tightened. “Eighteen, but you knew that.”
    “Umm.” Karla nodded. “And how many men had you slept with before Doug?”
    Alycia shot upright “None! I was a virgin when I met Doug. And you knew that, as well.”
    “Yes.” Karla smiled triumphantly. “And that proves my point.”
    “It does?” Coming to a stop at the table, a glass coffeepot in one hand, a plate of sweet rolls in the other, Andrea frowned at Karla.
    Even dressed in a terry-cloth robe, her hair mussed from sleep, and her face free of makeup, Karla managed to execute an elegant shrug. “Of course.”
    Andrea turned to grimace at Alycia. “Couldn’t you just bop her one at times?”
    Affecting a superior expression, Alycia did a fair imitation of the younger woman. “Of course.”
    Karla expelled a sigh of long suffering. “It’s as obvious as that bun Andrea’s stuffing into her mouth,” she said, reaching for one of the lavishly iced pastries. “You were immature and inexperienced. Was Doug a good lover?” she asked Alycia bluntly.
    Alycia felt a flush spread from her throat to her hairline. “I suppose so,” she muttered, lowering her eyes.
    “Oh, come on, Alycia!” Impatience threaded Karla’s tone. “What kind of answer is that?”
    “An honest one!” Alycia retorted. “I have no basis of comparison, dammit! Doug was the only lover I’ve ever had.”
    Andrea stopped chewing.
    Karla looked interested. “Really?”
    Alycia raised her chin defiantly. “Yes.”
    “I’ve only ever had one lover, too,” Karla admitted.
    Andrea’s eyes widened and she gulped the partially chewed roll before blurting out, “So have I!”
    Looks of amazement were exchanged and then the three women burst out laughing.
    “This is incredible!” Karla gasped. “We’ve been sharing this apartment for four years!”
    “And after all the late-night soul-baring sessions we’ve had!” Andrea interjected, swiping at the laughter-induced tears rolling down her face.
    “And not once did any one of us as much as hint at the fact that we’ve had only one lover,” Alycia concluded. “As if that’s something to be ashamed of!”
    “There you have it, Alycia,” Karla said suddenly.
    Alycia looked pained. “There I have what?”
    “The reason you responded so quickly to Sean!” Karla exploded. “You said your body felt starved,” she went on after drawing a calming breath. “Well, it probably was. It’s been a long time between... since you’ve made love.” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “Well, it’s been a long time. And you were young, inexperienced, and immature. And, as Doug was only a few years older than you, I’d hazard a guess he wasn’t all that experienced, either.” Her expression grew wry. “While I’d be willing to bet that Sean is an expert and practiced lover.”