Midnight Sunrise

Josh's eyes darted downward, and he brushed his fingertips across the glossy paper.

"She's a sweet girl."

"I'm sure she is...I'm going to work I'll call if I have to stay late."

"What else is new," mumbled Josh.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing, Dear. Have a good day."

Veronica left without the goodbye kiss that had been so much a part of their early rituals when they had first married. Josh had long since stopped missing it, or at least he liked to believe that were true. As soon as Veronica left, he went for a quick jog around the neighborhood to clear his head then returned all hot and sweaty for a shower. He stopped to look at himself in the mirror as the water warmed up, and steam started to appear over the top of the glass door.

He didn't look too bad for a forty-nine-year-old guy he decided. His weight hadn't changed much in the last ten years thanks to daily jogs, and he still lifted weights with the set in his den, keeping his body relatively trim and muscular. Only the wisps of gray in his black hair and a few crows feet around his eyes betrayed the fact that middle age was threatening to turn into old.

Josh had taken to working from home in recent years, going into the office for meetings once or twice a week. When he finished cleaning up, he changed into a pair of jeans and a comfortable cotton shirt before logging onto his computer to check his work e-mail. There were the usual complaints and requests for help, and he set to work answering them the keyboard clacking up a storm while he typed.

The day flew by as he sank into his work, and he was surprised when he realized that it was growing dark outside and he had hardly moved in the last eight hours. His back cracked loudly as he stood up to loosen his stiff muscles. It occurred to him that he should get some dinner going before Veronica got home, so he headed into the kitchen. They hadn't had pasta in a while, and Josh set about preparing a lasagna while he hummed along to a tune on the radio. A pair of headlights illuminated the driveway just as he was pulling it out of the oven.

"Right on time," said Josh as he sat the hot dish on the top of the stove to cool.

"I don't work late every night," said Veronica in a defensive tone.

Josh sighed determined not to get baited into a fight, "I wasn't saying anything it was just an observation."

"Right..." said Veronica stepping to the sink to wash her hands.

They ate in silence. Once or twice, Josh tried to engage his wife in conversation about her day, but after a sentence or two, they were back to staring at their plates.

"I thought maybe we could take a cruise this year? You know...Just get away from things for a while," suggested Josh.

"A cruise?" said Veronica absently.

"Yeah. Like we used too. Remember when we took that ship up to Alaska and saw the whales?"

"I don't know, Josh, I have the Casperson merger coming up, and then there's the Welsley estate that needs to get settled...I can't afford to be away from the office."

"It was just a thought..." he said, pushing the last of his food around with his fork.

"Maybe after we have the vote on bonuses at the end of the year we could plan something for the spring," she offered.

Kicking the can down the road. It had become Veronica's favorite game.

There was always tomorrow...Be patient...I have one more case to dispose of then I'm all yours...

He had heard every excuse over the years and was tired of them all.

"Sure...The end of the year," he echoed, getting up to dump his plate in the garbage.

"It will be better in the spring when it's warmer," she said to his back as he left the room.

It was a rare night when they spent much time together anymore. Veronica would generally sit in the den with stacks of legal briefs around her feet going over documents while Josh watched T.V. on the vast wall-sized screen in his media room, or played some billiards in the game room upstairs. They would eventually come together in the master bedroom when they both got tired. On this particular night, it was clear the minute they walked into the room that something was not right.

"Oh...No...I thought we would never see this again now that Jim and Margret don't live next door," said Veronica in a disgusted tone.

The master bedroom which was usually good and dark at this time of night was lit bright as day by intense beams of light coming from outside.

"I'll go over and talk to them," said Josh.

The floodlights that were attached to the outside of the Deshaies old house had been put there by Jim to scare away potential intruders. They were meant to make Margret feel safer on those weekends when he had been away, but Josh and Veronica had quickly discovered the downside of that plan. Those very same lights shined right into their bedroom, lighting it up like an airport runway. Even with the shades drawn, it was impossible to sleep. Josh had explained the problem to Jim, and he had cautioned Margret not to turn them on unless she really felt threatened and to turn them off as soon as possible. This had still led to many nights where the blinding glare awakened Josh and Veronica. They had tried to laugh it off when it happened, and Veronica had taken to calling it their "midnight sunrise," but after a time, their patience had worn thin. Jim had promised to disconnect the lights but had passed away before he could take action. Since the house had been sold, the lights had not been a problem, until now.

Josh knocked lightly at the oak door, not wanting to make too much of a scene so late at night. When the door opened, it did so by only a fraction of an inch a single, angry looking eye staring out at him.

"What do you want? You have any idea what time it is?" said a sleepy and irritated voice from behind the door.

"Hi...Um...I'm sorry...I'm Josh Raskin from next door. Might your wife have mentioned we met? Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about your floodlights."

"What floodlights?"

"The ones on the side of your house. The ones that are currently lighting my bedroom like a road flare."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Perhaps you could come out here and see for yourself," said Josh starting to put a little irritation into his voice.

The door closed for a second, and he heard the sound of a chain sliding back. The door opened fully, and Josh was confronted by the same tall, thin, young man from earlier in the day. He was tan like his wife and quite handsome with dark features and thick, wavy hair. The current scowl on his face did ruin his good-looks somewhat as he stepped out onto the porch. Reluctantly, he followed Josh around to the side of the house where he stopped looking up in surprise.

"Uh...I didn't know we had floodlights..."

"The previous owner had them installed. The switch is in the garage. I could show you," offered Josh.

"It's fine just wait here," said the young man who darted back around the corner and into his house. Josh followed anyway stopping just outside the doorway. He arrived just as Meghan came walking down the stairs tying the belt of a robe around her waist.

"Mr. Raskin...Josh, we meet again," she said, smiling.

Even without makeup and dressed in a robe that looked a size too big for her, Meghan Owen was gorgeous, and Josh felt his pulse quicken.

"Sorry to wake you, Meghan, but..."

The floodlights suddenly went off, plunging the yard into darkness again.

"I got it. The switch was right by the door to the garage. I must have bumped it when I came home from work," said the young man returning.

"Travis, this is Josh Raskin..."

"From next door...," he finished for his wife, "I know we met. Crisis over. Sorry for the inconvenience. Goodnight, Mr. Raskin."

The words came out in an insincere rush, and Josh found the door closed so quickly in his face he never got a chance to offer a "goodnight" of his own.

"Wow...What a dick..." said Josh under his breath as he made his way back home.

"I guess you got it under control," said Veronica from under the sheets when her husband returned.

"Yeah...It was an honest mistake. I don't think it will happen again."

"Good. I have a busy day tomorrow. I need my sleep," she said yawning and rolling away from him.

Josh switched off the light and slid under the covers making sure to cut Veronica a wide berth. She always complained he gave off too much heat to sleep to close to her, and it made her sweat at night.

"Goodnight," he said to the darkness, but his wife was already snoring.

The following day Veronica was gone before sunrise needing to be into work early. Josh was puttering around the kitchen later that morning having just finished breakfast when a knock sounded on his front door. He felt a foolish grin break across his face when he opened the door to find Meghan Owen standing there with little Katie sitting in a red wagon behind her holding a box in her lap.

"Good morning, Josh," said Meghan with a bright smile.

"Good morning to you, and to you too, Katie," he replied, making the young girl smile as well.

"We just wanted to apologize for last night. I know that Travis can be a bit...abrupt when he first wakes up."

"It's o.k. it was very late," acknowledged Josh.

"As a peace offering, Katie and I baked cookies," she said, turning to take the box from Katie's lap and offering it to him.

"Chocolate Chip," said Katie in high pitched voice.

Josh smiled, "I love chocolate chip. They are my absolute favorite."

"You should feel privileged. You got to hear a word from a girl who is usually as quiet as a church mouse," said Meghan.

"I'm am not a mouse!" said Katie indignantly.

"It's a figure of speech, Katie."

"I not a finger of steech either..."

They both laughed while Katie frowned in her wagon, realizing she was the joke but not at all sure why.

"I see you're wearing your bathing suit. Are you going swimming?" asked Josh.

"We were going to the community pool, but it's closed for cleaning right now," said Meghan.

Katie looked away, clearly sad at that fact.

"You know...I have a pool in my backyard...You're welcome to use it," offered Josh.

Meghan hesitated, but Katie showed immediate interest in this new idea.

"Please...Please, Mommie! I want to do the swim!" she cried. It was the loudest noise Josh had heard her make so far proving that she was fully capable of sounding off when she wanted.

"I don't know, Sweetie. We don't want to be a bother to Mr. Raskin."

"It is no bother. My wife and I hardly use the pool anymore. It's high time someone got some use out of it."

"O.K. but just for a little while."

"Yay!" said Katie happily.

Josh led the pair around to the gate that opened into his side yard, and over to the oval-shaped pool. It had a deep end for diving and a wider, more shallow end for wading. He stood by while Meghan helped Katie put on a life jacket and then cautioned her to wait while she got ready herself before going into the water. Once again, he tried not to stare but found that a nearly impossible task when Meghan reached down and stripped off her t-shirt to reveal the bathing suit she was wearing underneath her clothes. It was a one-piece thankfully, had it been a bikini Josh was well and truly sure he would have dropped dead from a heart attack right on the spot. Even with that, Meghan filled out the suit like a runway model, showing more than a little skin as it rode up high in back revealing the half-moons of her supremely tight ass cheeks. The top half plunged low so that Josh got an eyeful of her tanned breasts that were large and firm sitting high on her youthful chest.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked as she took Katie's hand to lead her into the water.

"Uh...Yeah...Sure," said Josh, his voice shaking.

He was in the house in a flash nearly falling over his own feet as he struggled to get out of his pants and into his bathing suit. By the time he returned, Meghan and Katie were frolicking in the shallow end splashing water back and forth at each other.

"Cannonball!" he yelled, leaping into the deep end and sending a massive wave of water crashing into the air down onto the two girls.

"Do it again! Do it again!" cried Katie when he surfaced.

"Never do anything for a child you don't want to repeat a hundred times," observed Meghan.

Josh threw himself into the pool for Katie's amusement half-a-dozen more times before Meghan finally took pity on him and called a halt to the display.

He had no pool toys, but Katie's wagon was filled with such diversions, and they busied themselves tossing various rubber balls back and forth followed by a game of "Shark and Guppy" that Katie won handily. Josh finally took a break lazing against the side of the pool while Katie played on the steps. Meghan swam over to him, taking a spot an arm's length away.

"Thank you for this. She would have been a bear all afternoon."

"It's no problem. As I said, we hardly ever use the pool anymore."

"I guess your kids are grown, so they don't swim so much?"

Josh tried to hide the disappointed look on his face, but Meghan picked up on it all too easily.

"Veronica and I never had children," he confirmed quietly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed. My mistake."

"It's fine. I hardly think about it."

"I can tell by your tone that's a lie," said Meghan sagely.

Josh took a deep breath, "I would have liked to have had children. It...just wasn't in the cards. You're lucky to have Katie."

"I wish Travis felt that way..." she replied.

There was an awkward silence at that comment.

"Sorry...I shouldn't have said that it's just..."

"You don't have to explain if you don't want too."

Meghan looked down for a moment before she answered.

"I met Travis in college. I was barely getting by at the time, struggling with classes and what not...I was never the best student. Anyway, Travis was this bright, handsome, super popular guy. He kind of swept me off my feet. He came from money, and my family was dirt poor, so hanging around him was like being at Disney World. The expensive houses, lavish parties, vacations...I ate it up with a spoon I have to admit. Then..."

"Then..." prompted Josh.

"I got pregnant...We were careful, but condoms aren't one hundred percent effective so...Yeah, I dropped out of school and had Katie. Travis's family was actually ecstatic. They loved the idea of having a grandbaby, and Travis had been a long shot to provide one since he had grown up with a reputation for being something of a playboy. I think it was pressure from his family that convinced him to marry me. Anyway, we lived with them in this huge house for a while until Travis finished college, which, frankly, took him a few tries. When he finally graduated, his parents bought us this house as a late wedding gift and here we are."

"That's quite a story," said Josh sympathetically.

"I can't believe I just dumped all that on you when I hardly know you. I'm sorry, Josh, it's just...I don't have a lot of people to talk to anymore. We moved here so he could take over one of the divisions of his Dad's company, but I don't know anyone here and Travis isn't the best at making friends."

"You don't say..."

Meghan laughed splashing water out into the middle of the pool.

"Since we left college and things got serious, he has been under a lot of stress. I don't think he expected life to start quite so soon."

"You're never ready to grow up. It just happens," said Josh.

"He spends a fair bit of time in the office. I try to get him to go out and take a break, but he is very focused on what he's doing."

"I know what that's like," said Josh thinking of Veronica and her obsession with climbing the ladder.

"Is that why you're home, and your wife isn't?"

"Veronica's a lawyer. A very good one, but to get that way she...we...had to make sacrifices."

Katie suddenly left the steps dogging paddling in their direction. When she reached them, she swam right up to Josh, stopping just a foot away from him.

"You and Mommie should race! She loves to race in the water."

"What's this?" asked Josh, looking at Meghan.

"I was on my high school swim team. I used to show Katie pictures of me at the meets," explained Meghan.

"You should race!" yelled Katie again, smacking the water with both hands.

"That's very interesting. You know I was on my high school swim team as well," said Josh with a grin.

"Why Mr. Raskin. Is that a challenge?"

They agreed to start at the deep end with Katie standing at the shallow end to both start the race and declare the winner. She took her job very seriously holding both arms over her head, ready to signal them.

"Ready!" she called.

Josh glanced over at Meghan who put her feet against the side of the pool, holding herself with one hand.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you," she said with a feral grin.

"At my age, you should at least give me a head start."

"Not a chance...You have a home-field advantage," she observed.

"Fine. I guess that will do."

"Get set!" yelled Katie.

They both tensed in place.

"Go!"

Josh's pool was far from regulation length and about half-way across he was damn glad of that fact, too much further and he might not have made it all. As it was, Meghan beat him easily by several yards, and he came up sputtering.

"Well...I can see I need to work on my stroke if I'm going to have any hope of matching you," he said.

Meghan stood up in the water, and Josh quickly realized that her swimming efforts had caused her suit to slide down a bit, revealing the tan lines that cut across her bosoms. He got a nice look at the contrasting white flesh further down and just a bit of what appeared to be some very dark areolas peaking over the fabric. He wanted to avert his eyes, but his head felt like it was caught in a vise unable to swivel in either direction. She glanced down at what he was staring at, but to his dismay, she made no effort to pull her suit back up. Instead, she just smiled at him before pulling herself onto the side of the pool.

"It was a good race. You should practice, and we can rematch."

"Uh...Yeah...I should do that..." said Josh trying to get his thoughts into gear.

"I'm hungry. Can we have soup for lunch?" asked Katie.

"Sure, Sweetie. Say thank you to Mr. Raskin for letting us use his pool," said Meghan as she finally rose and pulled up her suit, covering her flesh entirely once again.

"Thank you!" said Katie.

"You're welcome, Katie. You can use it anytime your Mom says it's alright."

He left the pool, walking his guests back to the gate.

"Again...Sorry about the lights last night."

Josh laughed, explaining the reason behind the floodlights.

"Midnight Sunrise...That's funny...Well, I'm not scared of anything so you won't have to worry about me lighting up your bedroom like the Fourth of July."

In the back of his mind, Josh thought that Meghan lighting up his bedroom could only be a good thing but immediately felt guilty for even thinking it.

"You know this week is National Neighbors Night Out," he said.

"What's that?"

"It's a block party where people gather in the street to meet their neighbors. It's supposed to promote safer neighborhoods. You and Travis should come. It could be a great way for you to meet the other folks on the block."

"I'll try to get him to go. No promises. Thanks again for letting use your pool."

"Anytime..."

Meghan and Katie headed done the sidewalk, Katie turning in her wagon to wave at Josh one last time, he returned it with a smile.

NEIGHBORS NIGHT OUT -

The weather was seasonably pleasant, and thankfully, there wasn't even a hint of rain in the air when folks from up and down the street gathered for the "National Neighbors Night Out." The local police had provided traffic barriers for them to close off both ends of the street, allowing tables and chairs to be set up in the road. Several of the neighbors had pulled their grills out into their driveways and were busy cooking up hot dogs and hamburgers to feed the hungry crowd. Josh and Veronica had arrived with Veronica lugging a large bowl of potato salad that she sat on one long picnic table that was rapidly accumulating a vast array of food.