The Online Game

Even though the sun had set a few hours ago the roof of the house was still hot. The crickets and cicadas tried to out chirp each other.  The air outside was humid and lukewarm; if you went out you would start sweating instantly.  Lisa lay on her stomach in bed with her laptop in front of her; she tapped on her front teeth with a long, light pink nail.

“Mark,” she said and looked over at her husband, who sat by the computer completely absorbed in what he was doing. He didn’t react at first so she raised her voice slightly. He turned slowly and looked at her.

“Yeah, what?”

“I’m talking to Brian but I can’t remember if I have cats. Do I have cats?”

Mark turned back to the computer and clicked a few times and opened a document called Brian.

“Eh, eh, eh, no honey, you don’t have cats.”

“Thanks,”  Lisa said and went back to talk to Brian. Brian, a widower in Boston who loved to talk about books.  “Brian, Boston, books,” she mumbled to herself.  “B, B, B.”

Tonight they talked about British crime novels. Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers and P.D. James. A very deep, thorough conversation. Exceedingly interesting and satisfying. 

Mark got up from the computer and stretched his long limbs. He went over and sat down next to her,  put a cold hand on her naked shoulder.  Mark hands were always cold, no matter what. He dragged his pointer down her back.

“Do you want some ice cream?” he asked.

“Sure, Rocky Road.”

He got up and went downstairs, she heard him move around in the kitchen. Open the freezer, the cabinets, putting the bowls on the counter. After a few minutes he came back again, he put the bowl next to her on the bed. 

“Thanks darling.”

Mark went back to the computer and she sat up with the bowl in her lap.

“Who are you talking to?” she asked and took a spoonful of the ice cream.

“Kate.”

“Are you talking about sex again?”

 Mark chuckled, satisfied.

“Is she giving you any good ideas?”

Mark chuckled again.

“I will let you know later.”

Lisa put the bowl on the nightstand and listened carefully.

“Is that the baby?”

Mark pulled his eyes away from the computer; he got up from the chair and walked out in the hallway.

“Yep,” he said quietly.

Lisa sighed and got up from the bed.

“I can go,” Mark said as she walked by him.

She shook her head.

“No, you did it last night.”

Lisa walked down the long hallway to the baby’s room.  She heard how he was crying as she opened the door. She saw him in the glow of the night light.  He was standing at the crib side, his dark hair wild  and clutching his stuffed giraffe in his hand.

“Mama,” he sniffled as she picked him up.

“Charlie boy.” she said and put a hand on his forehead. He had an ear infection and in this heat he was suffering. “Do your ears hurt baby?”

He put his chubby hand over the right ear and scrunched up his face. She took the boy on her hip and walked downstairs to the kitchen, on the way she turned down the AC to 69 degrees.  On the kitchen counter laid the syringes with ibuprofen ready. Charlie opened his little mouth and she sprayed in the pink liquid.

“Mama will give you some milky too.” She fished out his bottle from the fridge and the boy grabbed it. He sucked greedily as she carried him back upstairs. “Let’s try to do some pee pee too.”

They went to the bathroom and Charlie sat on the potty. Lisa looked down at her watch; she had been gone for ten minutes. Brian had probably left by now; she would have to say that someone called next time they talked. In his world she wasn’t married, she didn’t have children and they were kindred souls. So much so that he had on occasion expressed a wish to marry her. She knew that soon she would have to cut him off. Eventually it always started to get strained.  How many excuses can you make up for never talking on the phone and never actually meeting?

When Charlie was done she put on a clean pull up and a new t-shirt. The poor little fellow had sweated through the other one. She carried him back to his room and put him back in the crib with this milk. She sat down next to the crib, put her hand through the slats and rubbed his belly. Hummed “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” until he was asleep again.

Her legs were stiff as she stood up; she needed to start with Yoga again soon. Her body craved it. As she passed Charlotte’s and Charlene’s room, she cracked the door and listened to her twins sleeping peacefully.   When she came back to the bedroom her ice cream had melted, Brian was long gone and Mark sat by the computer with rosy cheeks.  She walked up to him, put her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. 

“I am really tired, darling. I think I will go to bed.”

Mark turned his head and gave her a kiss on the lips.

“Ok, honey. I will just finish this and then I will come to.”

Lisa went to the bed, sat on the side and grabbed her foot cream.  Squeezed out a big blob in her hands and started to rub her feet. Slowly and carefully.

“This is so much better than TV,” she said absentmindedly. Mark turned around and looked at her with a big smile on his face.

“Yes, much, much, much better than TV.”

When she was done with her feet she crawled under the blanket and turned to her side. Before she had a chance to fall asleep, Mark came to bed.

“Are you too tired or should I show you what Kate told me?”

Lisa caressed her husband’s excited face.

“Tomorrow darling.”

He nodded and turned off the light, he also lay on his side and she moved closer to him. Put her arm around his waist and her face close to his neck. He grabbed her hand and held it in his. And they fell asleep.