Free Undertow by Leigh Talbert Moore

and drank their local coffee. It was all so wonderfully fresh. I’d never tasted mango straight from the tree, and instead of being tart and bitter like what we have back home, it was like eating a slice of vanilla cream pie. It was the most delicious fruit I’d ever tasted, and the natives laughed that it was all I ever ordered for breakfast. After we ate each morning, the girls would all go and lie around the pool or walk out to the beach while the guys met and talked business with Marco.
    Lexy seemed to be having a good time with Suzanne, and I only got the chance to talk to her once about bringing a friend instead of a boyfriend. She laughed and said something about me being just like Miss Stella. As if I have anything in common with that old bitty. Lexy could be so stubborn sometimes. I’d decided when we get back home I was going to be more vigilant about hunting down a man for her. She could fuss all the way to the altar.
    In the meantime, I also decided to pursue my other little plan. Enough time had passed that it would probably work. And the fresh breezes and relaxing atmosphere put us all at ease. There was nothing like drinks with dinner to set the tone for a romantic evening, and the last time Billy and I had taken an exotic vacation was on our honeymoon. That was a good memory for both of us.
    Two weeks before the trip, I’d started quietly dropping my birth control pills down the sink while I brushed my teeth every night, and I was hoping the island fertility gods would smile on us this trip. Billy might say he didn’t want to have any more kids, but I remembered how happy he was when I was expecting little Will and then how it was at the hospital. He’d be glad in the end, and I was hoping for little John next.
    It wasn’t hard in this setting to get my handsome husband in the mood. I’d packed the most sheer nightgowns I owned, and I planned not to wear panties or a bra with them. After showering, I brushed my long, blonde hair smooth and stepped out of the bathroom smelling like coconut and hibiscus. I could practically see the sheet rise from where I stood.
    Not that I minded in the least. Billy was perfect as ever, with his cool blue eyes and his light-brown hair highlighted from the sun. Lying in that mosquito-netted bed, sunkissed and lined, in only his white boxers, he was like a movie star.
    The first night, I took my time, starting out by placing his palms over my breasts, with only the filmy fabric of my gown between our skin. Our lips met, softly at first, then increasing in intensity as our bodies remembered and our desire grew. By our fourth night, we were less gentle. I didn’t even bother with the buildup. I’d leave the bathroom completely nude and dive into his waiting arms. We’d roll around in the sheets, kissing and laughing, missing each other and finding each other again, surging with happiness and warmth and electricity until we both cried out in release. It was fantastic, and I was confident we’d have our new baby in nine months.
    Lying on my back, with Billy’s arm hugged across my waist, I gently traced my fingers over the lines in his back as he slept beside me on the cool white bed. The mosquito netting swirled around us, and I closed my eyes to dream of my perfect little boy just waiting to join his family.
     
    Jan. 20, 19--
    It was hard to return from our exotic rooms in Mexico to our little cottage in Fairview and back to the groove of normal life. Little Will was thrilled Mommy was home, which helped a lot. He was getting to be such a big boy. Mama said she couldn’t stay, so she was leaving in the morning. And with the morning, everyone would return to work.
    I’d be alone again.
    At the same time, I was excited to be back. Billy and I’d had four nights of uninterrupted adult activities, getting re-acquainted with all our favorite sexual positions and even inventing some new ones, and I was confident all my sneaking around had paid off. I might have to name