“Casper?”
“I’m considering the name gender neutral, even though I think female. She made my bed, lit the library fire, washed and folded the dog towels. And Clover provided my office music, as usual.”
His smile spread. “You’re calling her Clover.”
“She told me to—musically. Crimson and clover,” Sonya sang, “over and over.”
Instead of the slow smile, he shot her a quick grin equally appealing. “Got it. And you can sing.”
“Carrying a tune isn’t singing.”
“You can sing,” he repeated. “Something you kept under wraps after pot roast. You won’t get away with that again. So nothing from the third floor?”
“Not today, and every day there isn’t is a good one. How do you feel about watching a movie?”
“Do you want to use the media room?”
“Actually, I don’t think I’m quite ready for an evening down there. I use the library.”
“Works for me, depending. What kind of movies do you go for?”
“I can go for a rom-com now and then, but I also like action movies, thrillers. I’ve benched horror flicks for now.”
“You like horror movies?”
“A lot, but like the media room, not ready to watch one here. I’m also a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
“Are you really?”
“I will confess,” she said, “Iron Man is my superhero boyfriend. It used to be Spider-Man, but I’ve aged out and it just doesn’t feel right to lust after a high school kid.”
“’Nuf said.”
“Okay, another Stan Lee fan. Between one thing and another, I haven’t seen The Marvels yet.”
“Then we have a winner. Got popcorn?”
“Duh.”
“I’m going to get my bag out of the truck and change.”
Normal, she thought, even ordinary could equal just lovely. Dinner and a movie at home, popcorn and a couple cold Cokes? For now, this minute? Perfect.
With the dogs once again dried off, they trailed her up to the library.
Trey stood, now, like her, in sweats, studying her board.
He took the tray she carried with popcorn, Cokes, dog treats, and set it on the desk.
“I like it. The colors are going to catch the eye. Dynamic colors. Even a guy who just gears up for some touch football after Thanksgiving dinner likes to think he’s dynamic. The font you have for Sports in the company name has movement.”
“I just tweaked what we’d done before. Boosted it a little. So it looks … faster.”
“It works. This sketch.” He tapped one. “I like the way you’ve piled and arranged sports equipment on a field. Could be any kind of playing field. Football helmet, baseball bat, cleats, running shoe. You’ve got your lacrosse stick, basketball, swimming goggles, part of a dirt bike, a hockey puck, golf club. A belay rope, right?”
“Yeah. Maybe it’s too crowded.”
“But it’s not. I don’t know how you figured it out, but it’s balanced. The tag under it—it’s a tag, I think. Game On. That’s a challenge. You got game? Come to Ryder Sports.”
Every professional inch of her relaxed and warmed.
“That’s just what I was aiming for, so if that’s what you see, it’s a good start.”
“What else have you got in mind?”
“I don’t want to change the infrastructure of the website. It’s user-friendly, but I’d like to add a gallery. Photos of regular people using Ryder gear—clothes, equipment. Like a woman on a bike, a guy swinging a golf club, kids playing basketball, that sort of thing. I have to think it through, but it could add a bang, and double as ads, since they want a full campaign. Digital, TV, in-store posters. Like whatever your game—if I stick with that tag—Ryder Sports gives you the edge.”
“You sold me.”
The dogs followed them up the curve of stairs, then settled down to munch their dog biscuits. With popcorn, Sonya and Trey sat on the leather sofa, feet on the coffee table.
After the movie, the sofa seemed the perfect place to tangle together while the dogs snoozed.
Later, in bed, they tangled again.
As she drifted off to sleep, Sonya thought if this was the wide-open sexual energy of beginnings, it really, really worked.
* * *
In the second parlor, just before three, the old grandfather clock’s pendulum began to tick.
Back and forth, back and forth as the hands on the moon-faced dial revolved.