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“But only for the first two years after his death?” Solomon said. “After that, she was on her own, is that it?”
“I can’t be around her!” Hal snapped. “Not when all I can think about it is being in her goddamn bed, kissing her, touching her and….”
He drank the rest of his whiskey in one large gulp before standing and stalking to the bookshelf. He stared blindly at the books. He hadn’t meant to say that, but Solomon had a way of getting confessions from people.
Solomon’s hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed. “There’s no guilt in being attracted to Savina. She’s a beautiful, kind, and generous woman.”
“She deserves better than me,” Hal said. “She deserves… Alan.”
“Alan was a good man,” Solomon said. “But so are you, and if there’s something between you and Savina, that’s worth exploring. Both of you know more than most how short life is.”
“I can’t,” Hal said hoarsely. “I won’t take advantage of Savina’s loss just to get into her bed.”
“It’s not taking advantage of her if she wants you as well.”
“She’s still grieving. She doesn’t know what she wants,” Hal said.
“Jesus Christ.” Exasperation and love mixed in Solomon’s tone. “Are you listening to yourself? Since when did Savina not know her own mind? It’s been three years since Alan died, and she’s a damn good looking woman. She’d have no shortage of guys hitting on her, and she’s probably fucked some of them.”
“She hasn’t,” Hal said. “She told me she hasn’t slept with anyone since Alan died.”
Solomon raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s pretty intimate shit for her to be sharing with you, especially since you’ve been ghosting her for the last year.”
“I saw her on a date with some punk asshole at The Thirsty Beaver. He said some rude shit to her in the parking lot, and I….”
“Beat the shit out of him?” Solomon said with a grin.
“He tried to hit me,” Hal said.
Solomon bellowed laughter, and, his face red, Hal said, “I only punched him once, and it was in self-defense.”
Solomon laughed again. “I’m sure Savina was appreciative.”
“At the time, yes. Later, not so much.”
Solomon stared questioningly at him, and Hal said, “I might have tried to lecture her at the vet clinic about how she couldn’t drink while she was on a date, especially when it was with a guy she knew nothing about.”
“Christ,” Solomon said. “So, she kissed you instead of ripping your nuts off and stuffing them up your own ass, huh? Savina’s getting soft.”
“She was pissed, and rightly so. I was being a total dickhead. But she also told me she was drinking because it was the only way she could have sex with the guy. I told her if she had to get drunk to fuck him, then she wasn’t ready for sex.”
“Or, she’s ready and just needs someone she trusts for her first time back in the saddle, so to speak,” Solomon said.
Hal studied him, and Solomon said. “Think about the first time you had sex with a woman after Mary died. It’d been, what, five years? But I bet it was still weird and awkward, and you felt guilty, right?”
Hal nodded. “Yeah.”
“If I remember correctly, it was a random woman you met at a bar in Willington?”
“Yes,” Hal said.
“I bet you even had a couple of drinks beforehand to help with the nerves and the guilt,” Solomon said.
“I did.” Hal groaned. “Christ, now I’m a hypocritical asshole.”
“Yup,” Solomon said.
“Don’t soften the blow or anything,” Hal said.
