He had a system worked out so he was able to power through the painting of the room and the hallway. When he finished he stood back and admired the job. He felt eyes on him and turned to see Elyse watching him from the kitchen door.
“Time for lunch. Play time first?” she said eagerly.
The doorbell rang and the sudden look of disappointment on Elyse’s face surprised a chuckle out of him.
“Let me see if I can’t shoo them away,” he replied as he made his way to the front door.
When he opened it he saw five ladies standing on the path leading to his door. The woman who’d pressed the doorbell was a stranger as was the one standing at her left elbow. But behind them was Janice, Kelly, and at the back looking both nervous and overjoyed was Beverly.
Frank had an epiphany. These were likely the ‘neighborhood wives’ Beverly’s husband Rick had been talking about. Beverly had found a way to get back into their good graces. By introducing them to the new arrivals. He’d play along for now as he was interested in getting to know the neighbors too. Funny how none of the men were making the same effort. Maybe they were at work and he’d see them later.
“Hello.” He gestured behind himself for Elyse to join him at the door.
“Good day! I’m Holly Marshall and this is Heather Cumberland. We live in the houses across the street.” She gestured to the houses on either side of Elyse’s who had reached his side by this point. Holly’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly in reaction to the beauty standing next him.
“Hi, Frank Dunn and this is Elyse… Williams.” He recalled what Elyse said at the failed dinner party.
They shook hands and Janice and Kelly stepped forward to shake Elyse’s hand and make introductions.
“Beverly tells us you are painting and I know it’s short notice but we thought you might like to escape the paint fumes and come over to lunch at my place. Just some sandwiches and drinks. A ‘get to know you’ lunch,” Holly said with a smile.
“That’s very nice of you,” he said and glanced at Elyse as he knew she had other things in mind for their time.
“That would be lovely,” she agreed.
“I, uh, should probably get changed,” Frank said looking down at himself.
“If you are going to be doing more painting later don’t bother changing. It’s just a casual lunch.” Holly said with a smile and her eyes did a quick appreciative pass over his body.
“Maybe I’d-”
“Let’s go!” Elyse said before Frank could protest further. The women all smiled at Elyse.
He glanced at her then slipped his runners on his feet as Elyse pulled her shoes on. They stepped outside and Frank locked up then followed the group to Holly’s place. He saw Beverly was smiling, happy to be included.
Holly’s home was lovely and probably twice the square footage of his. Tastefully furnished, he saw some serious money had been spent here. Based on some of the artwork, very serious money.
She led them to the large solarium at the back of the house behind the kitchen where there were a number of comfortable chairs arranged around low tables. A perfect spot for conversations. Holly gestured for them to take a seat while she and Heather went back to the kitchen to get the food and drinks.
Frank noticed there were no two seaters and the chairs were positioned to be equally distant from each other. He looked at Elyse but she seemed to be comfortable with finding a seat. He took the chair next to hers. The others took their chairs but they left the two chairs to Frank’s left open for their hosts.
Holly returned with a large tray of small delicious looking wraps. She pointed out the ones with chicken, the ones with tuna, and the veggie wraps.
Heather set a tray down with a large jug of sangria, seven glasses, and paper plates. She handed the plates to Holly then poured for everyone, handing out the glasses.
Frank put a couple of the wraps on his plate and waited for the others to get theirs. Holly was playing the gracious host role and she seemed to have had a lot of practice.
She was 5′ 8″ and had generous curves that were likely gifted to her surgically. She had a symmetry that seemed just a little too precise to be natural, breasts a little too high and perfectly round to be natural, and an ass… well, it couldn’t be natural either. Her sun yellow blond hair cascaded down to midback. She was probably a few years older than him.
Her friend Heather was far too slim. Maybe she starved herself. Her modest implants were made all the more obvious by the lack of fat anywhere else. Her raven black hair was currently braided into a thick bundle hanging down to almost her ass.
Holly raised her glass once everyone was seated again. “Here’s to welcoming our new arrivals to the neighborhood.”
Everyone joined in the toast and they sipped at the sangria. Frank thought it was very good if a little strong. He’d have to be careful with his consumption of this beverage. It was easy to forget its bite.
He took a bite of a chicken wrap and it was really good! “Delicious!” he said with a nod to Holly.
“There’s a lovely catering place in town. We use them when Daryl entertains here at the house. My husband’s company in Silicon Valley designs military satellites so he spends most of his time flying between San Francisco and Washington,” she said in an offhand manner but there was no mistaking the boast. Frank nodded with a suitably impressed look earning him a satisfied smile from Holly.
“Heather’s husband is a movie producer in LA. You may spot him in the area on weekends. Janice’s husband is the financial controller of a major pharmaceuticals manufacturer in San Jose and commutes. Kelly’s husband is an investment banker right here in Carmel.”
“Though you’ll only ever see him on the golf course,” Kelly pouted.
It was obvious that aside from Beverly whose husband seemed to be retired and comfortable staying home, none of the husbands in this group spent much time with their spouses. Frank felt a little worried about that as they were currently looking at him like cats watching a mouse.
“Beverly tells us you’re retired! You seem so young to be able to retire! How did you manage that? What did you do before?” Holly exclaimed leaning towards him with a bright smile on her face.
Frank was a little unnerved by her but nodded. “Yes, I’m retired now. I worked at a company I set up over twenty years ago. We specialized in making deals happen between larger companies. We were facilitators, identifying obstacles and finding ways to work around them or eliminate them. Sometimes that meant finding and bringing the right people together. Sometimes it meant buying or backing companies to help them grow quickly and efficiently to be able to partner with larger companies. I brought in partners about eight years in and we grew very rapidly ourselves. I ended up handling most of the acquisitions which meant lots of traveling, sometimes nice places but most often not so nice places. Some aspects of the work were unpleasant and I was forced into dangerous situations more than once. Luckily none of them proved fatal. I’m glad it’s over. When I retired I sold my majority shares to the other partners.”
Frank noticed that all eyes were on him including Elyse’s. He realized this was the first time she’d heard what he’d done as well. He smiled at her and she returned it with a twinkle in her eye.
“Now I’m just going to try my hand at writing. Elyse is an editor for a publishing house in LA so I’ve asked her to let me know if I have anything worth publishing.” Frank grinned at her.
“Stories of your travels to these dark and dangerous places?” Heather asked, her eyes just a little intense.
“I- I don’t think anyone would be interested in reading about that and I’m not sure I’d want to revisit those memories myself. I’m certainly never going back to those places,” Frank said quietly as he struggled not to let his mind dredge up the past. He forced a smile on his face. “No, I’m alive, safe, and healthy so I’m going to enjoy my retirement!”
Frank took another drink of his Sangria and popped the rest of the wrap he was eating into his mouth. It really was very good. “I’d love to get the recipe for these wraps!” he said looking closely at the wrap on his plate. They added something to the chicken he just couldn’t put his finger on.
“Oh, do you cook?” Holly asked.
“Frank is an excellent chef! He made an exquisite chicken and chorizo paella for us last night! It was so good! Even his grilled cheese sandwiches are delicious!” Elyse gushed and Frank smiled and tipped his head.
“I do like to cook. I find it very relaxing,” he admitted.
“I look forward to our next potluck dinner party! It’s become an annual tradition to throw a party for the neighborhood. Everyone brings their specialty. Daryl fires up the barbeque and broils a bunch of steaks. Heather mixes up gallons of her amazing sangria, everyone gets involved and there is a lot of food! You could make your paella?” Holly asked with a small smile on her lips.
“I’ve never cooked for more than two people.” Frank said. “Always smaller dishes for intimate dinners.” When he heard his words a blush crept up his cheeks. He glanced at Elyse but she was innocently sipping her sangria. “I- I’ll have to see what I can make for a bigger group.”
“I’m sure anything you make will be lovely,” Holly smiled.
“Are you a fan of sports? Football? Baseball?” Heather glanced over at Kelly with a smirk. “Golf?”
Frank was wondering why he was the only one being asked questions. Elyse seemed content to sit quietly but he felt like he was running a gauntlet.
“No, I’ve never really had time to dedicate to sports. I was always working and when I wasn’t I was trying to escape from the bustle by hiking in whatever woods were nearby or cycling,” he answered.
“Yes, Janice mentioned they bumped into you at the drugstore this morning while you were out cycling. Is riding a hobby of yours?” Holly asked with a coy smile.
“Yes, I really enjoy it. It gets the heart pumping and builds endurance,” he said enthusiastically.
Janice and Kelly began giggling while Holly and Heather wore identical looks of delighted amusement.
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