AFTER THE WEDDING I didn’t see so much of Larry. I’d call him up to go four-wheeling or just to hang out, but he’d be tied up, furniture shopping. “Married life,” he’d say. “What are you going to do?”
He didn’t talk about her that much, and she wasn’t around that much either, from the looks of it. I’d stop by and he’d be home watching a game or working on his truck but not her. She’d be out shopping with her girlfriends or over at her mother’s. He said he figured she felt more at home at the mall than in their bedroom. He joked about it, but you know, it made me wonder. Especially when she started working on that video of hers, and it seemed like she was always off someplace with her students.
Who ever knows what goes on behind closed doors? But if I was taking bets I’d have to guess things weren’t that hot between the sheets anymore over at Butternut Drive. A girl like her, she just figures she can ride her face around for the rest of her life. It’s the other ones, that don’t seem like they’ve got so much going for them, that really put out for you. Her, she’d always be wondering how her hair looked.
What do I know? Larry never said boo. I mean, I knew the guy eighteen years, but we never talked about personal stuff. It was always, you know, how do you like those Sox? How do you like those Celtics? He could be hemorrhaging to death and he’d tell you, “I’m fine. How’s by you?” That’s guys for you.
Everything just looked so perfect over there. I mean, the condo and the dog and all the trips they took, and her always dressed so fashionable, and their house always neat, and him doing so good at the restaurant. They were making plenty of money. Had a nice home. They just looked golden. I remember saying to them one time—one of the few times I saw them both together—that they could be in a TV commercial. She looked like she might be one of those wives that uses Ivory soap, and her husband writes in to the company to say how soft her hands are. I said someone should write in to some company about them. And the next week he told me she’d done it. Got him to write in to this shampoo company, to say how great her hair smelled. “Who knows,” she said, “they might put us in a commercial.”
I asked her one time if she ever heard back. She said yeah, but all they did was send her a free bottle of conditioner.