All this time we've known each other

Ryan returned the phone to the cradle.

"That was Chris. They're running a bit late."

"Oh well. I guess that gives us time to have a glass of wine before they get here. Loosen up a little bit," Renee said. She selected a bottle of red from the rack and took two glasses down from the cupboard.

"I'll just keep the oven on low. Hopefully dinner won't get too dried out."

Ryan sank onto the couch with a grunt. "I'm beat," he said. "I don't know why you invited them over on a Friday night anyway. I'm not sure I want to make conversation with anyone."

Renee sipped her wine. She had seen Laura at the gym a few days before. She was stepping into the shower after yoga class and realized it was Laura in the stall next to her. She never realized how slim Laura was. She always wore shapeless baggy clothes and old-man cardigans. Renee always thought of her as a homely woman. She wondered what Chris saw in her, because he was tall with dangerously rumpled hair and a deep, gravely voice. Renee had to devise a ruse everytime she saw him to keep him from noticing how she blushed. She couldn't help herself. It was practically instinct. He was so amazingly hot and what was he doing with a woman like Laura? She couldn't make sense of them as a couple.

But in the shower she noticed Laura's tiny waist and her two, perfectly shaped breasts. Renee hated her own. They always felt too large and pendulous. But it seemed Laura had the perfect body. Perhaps that explained it.

"Well, Ryan, it just came out. We were standing there in the shower and all of a sudden I was telling her about my new recipe for goat cheese and tomato quiche. They next thing I knew, we had plans for Friday."

"The shower, eh?" Ryan wiggled his eyebrows. "Well I just hope they bring some more wine. I'm going to need it."

Soon the doorbell rang and Ryan rose to answer it.

"Hey, guys! Come on in! Let me take your coats," he said.

"Nice place!" Laura said. "I don't think we've ever been here."

"You know, you're right" Renee said. "All this time we've known each other and I don't think we've ever gotten together, just the four of us."

"It's about time, then." Chris said. "Hey, we brought some wine." He handed the Renee the bottle.

"Thanks! Ryan and I already started. I'll pour you a glass. Make yourselves comfortable." She went into the kitchen to get two more glasses.

"It's a syrah," Laura called after her. "We just love syrahs."

Ryan was back from the bedroom where he has put their coats."Oh yeah?" he said. "We've tried them from time to time, but we tend to like pinots."

"I like beer," joked Chris. "Lots of beer and good, hard liquor." They all laughed.

"Everyone makes such a big deal about pinot noir," Laura said as Renee handed her the glass. "But it's just not exciting. We like wines that are bold."

"Laura's been into finding the cheapest bottle that still drinkable. Who knows? The bottle we brought could be $1.99," Chris said.

Laura shot him a look. "It's not. But there are lots of good, cheap syrahs out there for like, ten dollars."

"Well, I don't care how much it costs," joked Ryan. "I'll drink it!"

"Come on everyone, dinner is served." Renee said. They moved into the dining room and Renee brought the quiche out and set it on the table.

"Ooh! It smells wonderful." Laura said. "I like these plates too. Are they fiestaware?"

"Yes. My grandmother's. It's the original stuff." Renee said. She loved being able to say that. She always enjoyed setting the table, placing her bright cloth napkins and vintage water glasses beside her vintage dishes. She knew how to create atmosphere. She was always surprised when she went to other people's homes. They would turn on the overhead, fluorescent lights and use paper napkins. It was like eating in a cafeteria. But Renee liked to dim the lights, set out candles, and put on a good jazz CD. People always remarked on her good taste.

"Man, you won't believe what happened to me today," Ryan said as he served the quiche.

"Cut me a big piece," Chris said as he passed his plate.

"Would you pass the salad?" Laura asked. Renee handed her the salad in its hand-carved wood bowl with matching utensils.

"So, I call my credit card company to tell them to take this stupid fee off my statement. All the sudden this nine dollar fee appears on my statement for services or something. I don't know what it's for, but it pisses me off, you know?"

"Oh, I hate having to call the credit card company," Laura said.

"Well, I'm on the phone and it take me forever to get to a real person. I have to press one, then zero, then listen to another menu."

"Yadda, yadda," Renee said.

"Well, when a real, live person picks up, it's this woman from India or something! I could hardly understand her!" He said something in gibberish as if he was imitating a foreign language.

"That sound more like Chinese than Indian," Chris said.

Laura laughed and repeated the gibberish, "yingyangwongchong."

"Well, whatever. All that money I send to that company and they don't even have an American on the line. I just hung up. I couldn't stand it."

"Are you going to pay the fee?" Renee asked.

"Hell, no! I'm going to write them a letter," Ryan said.

Renee took a sip of her wine. She looked across the table at Chris. He had a five-o-clock shadow. Usually she liked Ryan to be clean shaven, but on Chris, a little stubble looked good. She wondered what it would feel like against her face. "Ooh. I'm starting to feel the wine. I'm all glowy," she said. She felt warm and like all her muscles were loose and flexible.

"Mmmm. Me too," Laura said.

"I should open another bottle," Ryan said. He got up and went into the kitchen.

"Women," said Chris. "It doesn't take much."

Laura started to giggle and touched his arm. "Remember last weekend? It didn't take much then, either."

"Oh, yeah?" Ryan had returned with a bottle of champagne. "This is all I could find." He popped the cork and filled each of their glasses. "You had a little too much, eh?"

"We had kind of a crazy time," Laura said. She was still giggling. "I can't stop laughing!" She took a sip of her champagne. She looked at Chris, and he shrugged his shoulders at her.

"Well...we were over at our friends' house for dinner. Clark and Mary. You've met them, right?"

Renee nodded. "We met them at your summer barbecue. Remember, Ryan?"

"I think so," He said.

"You might not know this about them, but they're kind of...swingers."

"No!" Renee shrieked.

"We've known for a long time, but we never really talk about it with them."

"So what happened?"

"Oh, Renee. You just love gossip." Ryan rolled his eyes.

"We were over there for dinner and we had a few bottles of wine between us. We were all a little loopy."

"It didn't help that we smoked a joint on the way over there," Chris said.

"So they have a hot tub and after dinner we all decide to go in. But of course we didn't bring our bathing suits, so we went in naked," Laura said. Renee noticed Laura was rubbing the inside of her husband's arm as she talked. She moved her hand quickly up to his elbow and back down to his wrist. She kicked Ryan under the table to try to get him to look at her, but he was transfixed.

"So," Ryan said. "What? Did you swap or something?" Laura squeezed Chris' arm.

"We dared Laura and Mary to kiss and they did," Chris said.

"That's it?"

"Ummm. Let's just say one thing did lead to another."

"Wow." Ryan drained his champagne.

"I don't know if I could ever do that. I just don't know," Renee said. She looked down at her lap. She didn't know what to say next. She could hear the fizzing of the chanpagne bubbles in the glass.

"Well, we certainly killed the conversation!" Chris said. He pressed his hands together.

"No, no...I was just thinking I should clear the table. We have tirimisu for dessert," Renee said.

She stood up and collected the dishes. In the kitchen, she put on the kettle for tea. She heard Chris and Ryan laughing from the dining room. "Laura's had enough, I think! Throw her in the drunk tank!"

Renee rinsed the plates and stacked them in the dishwasher. She carried the slices of tiramisu and a pot of tea out to the dining room on a tray. Laura had her head resting on the table.

Renee couldn't help yawning as poured each of them a cup. "I can't believe how tired I am," she said. "Ryan, you had a hard day. You must be tired too."