Different Circles

“Good morning,” he returned.

She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the mouth. It was not a kiss of passion, but one of affection and love. He returned it without even pondering the fact that most of society would think the gesture quite strange.

“Ready to go back to reality today?” he asked her.

She sighed. “I suppose it’s time,” she said. “First show tomorrow night. After that, the grind.”

“The grind,” he said, although, in truth, he wished that he could be the one going out on the road. He was, at heart, a traveling musician, and, except for a few brief travels with Bobby Z and Bigg G here and there, he had not been immersed in a tour since the Intemperance days more than eight years ago now.

God, he thought nostalgically, has it really been that long?

“Is Laura in the shower yet?” he asked Celia.

“She just stepped in when I left the room,” she replied.

“Maybe I’ll go look at her all naked and soapy for a bit,” he said. “Can you keep an eyeball on Caydee?”

“You know it,” she said with a smile.

He got up and went back to the master bedroom. Inside the bathroom Laura was indeed naked and soapy in the shower stall. He took a good, long, appreciative look at her (she could not see him because she was washing her hair currently) and then went back to his suitcase and pulled out a pair of underwear, a pair of shorts, and one of his tank tops. He carried them into the bathroom and then ran some hot water in the sink so he could shave. While the sink filled, he splashed some of it on his face and then picked up the pink can of Skintimate shaving cream. It had a picture of a woman’s leg on it and was designed and marketed for use by women on all of their delicate places that needed hair maintenance. The sexy, naked leg was all the marketing people dared display on the label. They could not really put a picture of a vagina there, which was a pity because it would probably sell a lot more cans if they did. Jake had accidentally discovered a few months before, when he had run out of his own supply and had to use Laura’s, that female shaving cream was actually far superior to shaving cream that was marketed to males. It had oils in it that made it smell good and that made the skin nice and smooth and moist and prevented chafing and rashes. He had been using the stuff exclusively ever since.

He slathered up and then began to scrape the stubble off his neck and cheeks. He was about halfway done when the shower turned off and Laura stepped out and began to dry herself with a fluffy white hotel towel. “You’d better leave some of that stuff for me,” she warned.

“There’s still half a can,” he told her. “Just don’t ever tell anyone I use this shit. That would be almost as damaging to my image as riding in your minivan.”

She giggled. “The Watcher would do an entire twenty-thousand-word article on it,” she said. “Complete with pictures.”

“That’s no fuckin’ joke,” Jake said seriously.

Laura put on her panties and a white bra. She then began to comb out her red hair and hit it with the blow dryer. Jake finished up his shave and then headed for the shower. He adjusted it to moderate warmth and then spent about ten minutes washing all the female scent and sex secretions from his body using a washcloth and body wash supplied by the hotel. He then washed his hair and rinsed. He did not repeat. By the time he was done showering, Laura was dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a green sleeveless blouse. Her hair was mostly dry and she kept it down.

“How do I look?” she asked him.

“Beautiful, as always,” he told her, earning himself a smile and a kiss that had a little bit of tongue in it.

“Did Caydee drink her bottle?” she asked.

“Drank it all gone,” he said. “She was making the rounds of the living room when I left.”

“She does love to motor.”

“Let her motor away. We got a long drive in front of us.”

“Hopefully she’ll sleep most of the way.”

“Hopefully,” Jake agreed.

While Jake put on his deodorant and then his clothes, Laura left the room, gave her daughter a quick hug and kiss, and then went into the secondary room to perform the ritual of mussing up the bed. She then folded up the crib and gathered all the baby supplies. She hauled them into the living room but left them there this time instead of setting everything up in the main bedroom. They were checking out today so there was no point.

Jake emerged and everyone went downstairs to the dining room, Jake carrying Caydee in his arms, Laura carrying the diaper bag. The dining room was moderately busy and a good portion of the guests there stared at the four of them as they were seated at one of the tables near the picture window that looked out over the lake. Most of the looks were simple curiosity at seeing actual celebrities in their midst, but a few were disapproving. There were whispered words, most of which they could not hear. This was fairly typical and all of them, even Caydee, were used to it and ignored it.