He woke up at the sound of the alarm, pushing the button and looking over at Jasmine to see that she was still asleep. He couldn’t believe that they were married for five years and the last four felt like an eternity. He was just lucky that he had found something on the side. He didn’t need her anymore, except for as a trophy in front of the public eye. She was a blond tempting young thing, but he was 20 years her senior.
He got up in his black boxers and went towards the bathroom to turn on the light. He dropped his boxers and then went into take a shower and gear ready for another eight-hour day. He was lucky and now that he had a proven track record, he could pretty much dictate who his patients were going to be. There was none of these derelicts on the street and he had no reason to dirty himself in front of any of them. He had a little snow on the roof, but he believed that it made him look dashing and sophisticated.
“I’m going to be late, but I would like to have supper on the table when I get back. It shouldn’t be more than seven.” He watched Jasmine nod her head and there was something missing in her eyes. That spark that he had seen when they first dated was gone and was replaced with a blank stare that meant absolutely nothing.
As he went out the door, Jasmine watched and almost gave a sigh of relief to see him leave. She went through the regular ritual of taking a shower herself, getting into an impeccable dress the flowed over every curve like it was meant for her body. She was not any kind of stick figure and she had a little bit more meat on her bones. She thought that was what Brad liked about her, but things had changed. She still got admiring glances from men on the street and she had to admit that she was comfortable in her own skin.
When she went downstairs to have breakfast, she had a customary mimosa to go along with the grapefruit. She wasn’t fat, but she was big boned and there was no denying that she would not be able to be like any kind of model. She did feel like her breasts were her best feature, but even her long legs went straight to heaven.
She stepped in front of the mirror, combing her blond hair and made herself presentable for the charity function at the museum. She sometimes thought about ending the marriage, but she couldn’t pull the trigger. There were times that she just wanted to scream at Brad, but he wasn’t doing anything to elicit that kind of response. They had grown out of love and had they had kids, it would’ve been another story altogether.
The dress was black with a yellow belt around her middle, accentuating her high upturned breasts and showing off what God blessed her with. She was no stranger to the leering eyes of men and she kind of enjoyed the attention a little bit too much. She started to dress a little bit more provocatively, but only when Brad was nowhere to be seen. Otherwise, she was demure and dainty and showed as little of her curves as possible.
She never did feel like she was measuring up and that came from her mother constantly putting her down. Her mother is dead now, buried 6 feet under and Jasmine had not been back to the grave in the five years that she had fallen victim to cancer. Her father died shortly after and it was in his name that she had these fundraisers to send impoverished children to school.
The answering machine showed one message and she turned it on. “Jasmine, we are meeting at the museum at twelve instead of one. There are a few investors who can’t stay any longer than an hour. They’re very interested in giving back to the community. They used to live here and they want to pay it forward and they believe that your charity is the right way to go.” Jasmine could hear the inflection in Barbara’s voice. They’d never seen eye to eye and if given the chance, she would tear her hair out by the root. It was just the way that Barbara looked at Brad, thinking that she didn’t notice, that got under her skin.
She walked out with her knee-length brown leather coat adorning her considerable frame. She was just in time to meet up with Daniel from across the street. He was 18 years old and quite the strapping young man with muscles in all the right places. He had a charming smile, but she would not do anything with somebody that young, no matter how many fantasies she had about him and the way that he could use that healthy young body to her advantage. It didn’t matter and even the way that he was looking at her right now on his way to the bus stop made her blush considerably. He was undressing her with his eyes and she knew it from the way that he licked his lips almost innocently.
His father, Steve, was exactly like him, a little older with a gray patch where sideburns were. He looked sophisticated and sexy, and if given a chance, she would gladly ride him all the way to the finish line. She noticed him coming out with his briefcase, wearing a black pair of pants with accompanying belt with the same disarming smile that she had just received from his son.