Honeymoon for Three

his shoes on the floor where he had carelessly thrown them. A bathrobe lay in a heap on the chair.
    That prompted his memory. Mattie had said she would wash his clothes. He grabbed the yellow bathrobe, shrugged his arms into the sleeves, and tied the belt around his waist. He opened the bedroom door and was about to step through the doorway when he saw his clothes lying in a neat pile on the floor outside the room. In addition, there was a Gillette razor and some shaving cream, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.
    He placed his clothes on the bed. Then, taking the razor and shaving cream, he walked down the short hallway to the bathroom. He heard noises coming from the direction of the kitchen. Don and Mattie must be up. He shaved for the first time in several days and combed his hair with a comb he found in the cabinet. Returning to the bedroom, he dressed quickly.
    An oval mirror hung on the wall over the dresser, in a gilt frame with a carved design that had once been fancy but now was chipped and cracked. He glanced at his reflection. He didn’t look bad, shaved and wearing clean clothes. If he had appealed to Mattie when he was dirty and bearded, he should appeal to her now.
    Alfred made his way to the kitchen. There was an odor to the house that he associated with the old houses of New England. It was probably mildew. He put a smile on his face, rounded the corner, and stepped into the kitchen. Mattie was sitting at the small table at the far end of the room, reading a newspaper, and sipping coffee. She was dressed in slacks and a long-sleeved shirt. Don was not in sight.
    Mattie looked up when he entered and said, “Well, Sleeping Beauty. I thought you were going to sack out all day.”
    “The bed was comfortable.”
    “Just about anything is more comfortable than the top bunk of the camper. You’re probably starving. Omelet okay?”
    “Sure. Where’s Don.”
    “Oh, he left for work hours ago. Sit down and have some coffee. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes.”
    Mattie rose from the table, and Alfred sat down.
    “I’ve checked the Greyhound schedule. There’s a bus at ten thirty, heading for Los Angeles. I can drive you to the station, although it isn’t far, and you could easily walk it. You don’t have any luggage to weigh you down.” She laughed.
    “Thank you.” Now was the time. Alfred swallowed some coffee. It felt hot going down his throat. “I owe you a big apology for what happened the other night. I-I’m really sorry.”
    Mattie stopped whisking the eggs and looked at him. “The other night? Oh that? I’ve already forgotten about it.”
    “I feel terrible about it.”
    “Don’t worry. I was too pushy. A lot of guys don’t like pushy dames. I owe you an apology for insulting you. I don’t know why your wife left you, but I’m sure it wasn’t your fault. You did need clean clothes, though. However, you smell as fresh as a changed and powdered baby now.”
    “It was partly my fault. If there’s anything I can do to make up for it…”
    She looked at him again. “Like what? Oh, you mean have sex now? I don’t cheat on Don at home. Couldn’t live with myself if I did.”
    “But in the camper—”
    “That’s different. The camper isn’t home. One reason we travel a lot is to relieve our itches. Both of us. You don’t think his problem bothers him? We have to get away from the burdens of home once in awhile before they get to be too heavy a load to carry.”
    Alfred was relieved that she was turning him down. “Does Don drive the camper to work?”
    “Naw, he drives the old pickup you saw in the driveway.”
    “So you drive the camper.”
    “I have another car. It’s in the garage. We reserve the camper for…camping.”
    Maybe what he was thinking about was feasible. “This sure is beautiful country you have here. I’ve never been to this part of California before.”
    “You should see the redwoods. The tallest tree in the world is close to here.”
    “I’d like to. My wife and I were planning to come through here on our way home. Of course, I don’t know which way she went since I haven’t heard from her.”
    He had made a show of pretending to try to phone his wife’s parents a couple of times in the last two days, saying that his wife might be in touch with them. When Don and Mattie asked him if he’d reached them, he said no.
    “She might be back in L.A. by now. Do you want to try and call her from here?”
    “No thanks,” Alfred said quickly.