Linda busied herself with one or two dance lessons per week, along with her job and her duties on the medical referral service at home. If New York wasn't also such a tiring and summer heat laden place, she would have suggested a getaway there, to take the children to see the Metropolitan and the other sites she and Stephen had loved so much. At night, in darkness was the time when she and Stephen had their most in-depth conversations. There certainly hadn't been much sex there recently.
"I want to tell you about an idea I've been thinking of recently," he said one night in the new moon, when it was darker than usual.
"What is it?"
He inhaled, causing her to wonder if he was steeling himself for a huge revelation or a life-changing decision. "I was thinking we should let Inge go."
Inge was almost like a family member. Stephen's idea fell across her shoulders like a cold, wet towel. "Why?"
"Well, we don't really need her anymore. The kids are both grown and in school now."
"Matthew still needs to be looked after. He's still a little boy."
Stephen waved a hand dismissively, which Linda could only feel by the breeze stirred by it. "Aw, Matt's a tough kid. I was thinking of signing him up for pee wee football."
"Football?" Linda thought about the ambulances she'd seen careening into the hospital drive, carrying players with their gear still on, barely conscious from the pain of torn knees or broken limbs. "Why? So we can see how many bones he can break?"
"They're really careful when they coach them at that age. The rough stuff really doesn't begin until he starts junior high."
"It sounds like you have all this mapped out for him."
"He likes it. Trust me. Now about Inge, what do you think?"
"The kids love her. They'd miss her. I'd miss her."
The sheets and pillows rustled when Stephen shifted himself around to prop up his head with his elbow. "Think of all the money we'd save! We pay her obscenely well compared to what other nannies and housekeepers get."
"She's worth it, though. She's practically a member of the family."
"There'd be more money for vacations. We could go to Paris like you're always talking about."
He'd hit a tender spot. Ever since Linda excelled in French classes in high school, she'd wanted to travel to Paris. It was tempting to have the extra income to travel, but in her day-to-day life, she would miss having such a loyal and helpful friend. "No. Let's keep Inge. We could find some other way to make the vacations."