"I might as well admit my sin," I said and smiled. "I was that genius, and the driving hero behind the project. Ross laid the groundwork for it. Without Ross, there wouldn't have been anything."

      "That's what I have just been saying," said Heather. "I noticed the old care-free and generous look in both of you again. Did you watch Ross' reaction when I invited you to share the bath with me? He smiled! I saw a face beaming with a gentle hidden joy. I saw the same sort of smile in Sylvia and Fred, only to a lesser degree."

      "And how did you see me?" I asked.

      "Your reaction was the most wonderful of all. You reacted as if I had asked you to cut a slice of cheese for me, or to hand me an apple. You smiled, though. You knew what the invitation meant. By the looks of it, you were wondering how you could make the occasion a still richer experience for both of us than it promised to be. I had the feeling that nobody else mattered to you at this moment, than me; not their opinions, not their reactions. You repacked your whole life at this moment to accommodate an opportunity that seemed too precious to allow it to pass away unrealized for a second time. You even gave me a wink as if to say, the old days are really back!"



      I felt tears in my eyes as she said these things. Eventually, after an embrace that followed, I asked her if Ross had mentioned the Antonovna project, wondering how she felt about it.

      She said that Ross hadn't told her, but that seemed insignificant to her. She seemed more interested in my reaction. "Are you asking me to have a love affair with the woman of your life?" she said, almost grinning.

      "I am asking nothing," I replied. "I am putting this before you as an opportunity you may consider. Knowing Antonovna, such a close meeting of hearts and an intermingling of generosity by two giants in the field, is bound to be a beautiful and rich thing that could enrich both of you, even all of us."

      "Oh, you want me to soften her up for you, is that what you are saying?" she asked and began to laugh.

      "No, Heather, no games must be played. Antonovna has been hurt by people in too many games. She needs someone like you with a good and generous heart to be able to feel like a human being again. I don't think I'm up to that. I'll stay in the background. There is too much at stake here for a greenhorn like me to mess with. If a few crumbs fall by the wayside, I'll be happy with that. It will have to do."

      "And how is this going to work logistically, Peter?"

      "Ross suggested that he move in with me, so that you could share your room with Antonovna. It's just a suggestion."

      "Ross suggested that?"

      "Sure he did. I suppose he hadn't figured out yet how to ask you, how you would feel about that. He is concerned that you might feel being used. It's not easy to put something like that across."

      "I'll help him with that," said Heather. "I'll be delighted to break the ice."

      "What will you say to him, Heather?"

      "Guess, Peter. No, you'll never guess this one. I'll have to tell you. I am going to tell Ross that Peter has been reborn. I'll tell him that the old generosity has come alive again. I am going to tell Ross that we need a week together, after twelve years of silence, to celebrate the breakthrough. I have a hunch that he will uncork the champagne himself."

      "Right, and he will add in passing, that Antonovna is coming who desperately needs to be enveloped with the brightest generosity a human being can offer. He will ask you then: Would you consider helping, seeing that you are the most generous woman in the universe. That's how he described you to me, you know. He described you as the most generous person in the universe."

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Stories about  Sex from novels by Rolf A. F. Witzsche