Page 175 of Wicked Fantasies

She laughed at his compliment. “Remind me to call Dr. Rosenberg when we get back. I think you need your eyes examined.”

“Is this going to be the same sort of check-up as the hearing one?” Troy teased as they stepped out of the diner and back on to the sidewalk.

Faith laughed. She’d insisted he get his hearing checked a couple of years ago, convinced he was losing his after she spent months repeating herself to him. “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t brag about passing that hearing test with flying colors. That just proves you ignore me when I’m talking.”

Troy put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I hear you just fine when you say stuff I want to hear. I mean if you were inviting me to suck on those pretty breasts or telling me to take you on the kitchen counter, I think you’d find out just how good my hearing is.”

“So what you’re saying is you have selective hearing?”

He nodded. “Yep, only picks up dirty sex talk.”

“Ah, dirtysextalk. Not just dirty talk. So when I tell you to take out the garbage?—”

“Eh, sorry. What? Were you talking?” He laughed at his joke as she playfully elbowed him.

Faith rolled her eyes. “It’s so nice to have that mystery solved after all these years.”

Grasping her hand again, he looked around the quiet neighborhood. “What do you say we walk off a few calories? Take a stroll down Main Street.”

“Sounds great.” Faith took a deep breath of the fresh scents of autumn. It was late September and she smiled as they walked. Fall was her favorite season. She loved the vibrant colors as the leaves on the trees started to change and the crisp, cool evening air. “I have to admit they’ve worked wonders on some of these buildings.”

They ambled slowly, window-shopping and reminiscing about the town and the people who lived there. Faith was almost surprised when Troy tugged her hand and pulled her into the small park located in the center of the town.

“Hey,” she said. “They’ve even redone the playground.”

Troy stopped to look where she was pointing. “Damn. They got rid of the rusty digger and sandpit. I loved that when I was a kid.”

“Your mother said you were destined for construction work and she knew it when you were three years old. She said you’d never leave home without your building blocks and plastic toolset.”

“Yeah, well, your mom said she always knew you were gonna work with kids. Said you started babysitting when you were twelve and everyone in town lined up to have you take care of their little ones. Deborah swears being a preschool teacher was your calling.”

“Predictable as the tides, you and me,” she said.

Troy scratched his chin, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Do you ever worry that we can’t pinpoint our kids in the same way?” Faith had often wondered and worried about Jackson’s and Jenna’s futures.

Troy gave her an amused look. “For one thing, it’s easy for our moms to say now that they knew all along what we’d become as adults. All they have to do is look at our chosen careers and then they can go back and pick out all the so-called signs. Secondly, I think I have a good idea about where our two are gonna end up.”

“You do?” Faith was genuinely surprised. Troy usually didn’t play the “I wonder” game with her, so she’d just assumed he didn’t think about the future.

“Jenna’s a natural at two things—sports and teaching. I wouldn’t be surprised if she called us to say she’s going to major in education, maybe study to become a health and phys. ed. teacher.”

Faith thought his guess was a good one. “I think you may be right. I don’t see her with little kids though.”

“Me either, but I could easily see her in a high school.”

She was amazed by how dead-on Troy’s assumption was. “And Jackson?”

“That kid came out of the womb talking. He’ll do something where all he needs is his mouth. Figure he could work in politics or be a sports announcer or even sell fucking used cars. Doesn’t matter what it is. That kid will land on his feet—not because of his brains, but because of his confidence and cockiness.”

Faith laughed. “Amen.”

“They’re good kids. They’ll be successful whatever they choose to do.”

While Faith truly believed the same thing, having Troy reaffirm that notion went a long way to easing her inner worrywart. “I agree.”

They’d been walking as they talked, the conversation distracting Faith from her surroundings. When they ended up at a bench by the lake, Faith realized where she was. Her words when she spoke showed her surprise. “Our bench.”

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