E VA N M A N D E R Y
Chapter 23 ***
D
AWN ANSWERED THE DOOR IN A LOOSE, suggestive black evening dress,
ending whatever modest doubts could have remained regarding her intentions. The smell of her perfume washed over David. He’d
gotten a whiff of it at her house, but it was stronger now and more alluring. She’d added some color to her cheeks and lips, though they didn’t require any. Given her husband’s status and the age of their children, David judged her to be in her early forties, but she easily could have passed for thirty-five, and perhaps even thirty were she not betrayed by the weariness in her eyes. Her lustrous, strawberry blonde hair fell onto her open shoulders. Though it hung loosely, David had the clear sense that it was a practiced casualness and that she’d spent several hours getting ready for the evening. Her coiffed appearance made David wonder whether Dawn had done this before. Did she stash the black dress in the back of a closet, a dirty secret from Walter that she returned to in moments of weakness, when she felt desperate for something to fill the void in her life? Did she feel fulfilled for a moment and then hate herself for having betrayed her husband for so fleeting a satisfaction? After each time, did swear off it forever, only to find herself craving the thrill again and repeating the pattern? Or had Dawn invested so much time getting ready because she 243