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Comfort Zone(continued) By Marta Palos "Andor was the only man I truly loved," she said, her eyes on the trees dressed in delicate greens. "We had three great weeks together. Nobody I ever knew kissed
the way he did, his lips soft and strong at the same time and comfortingly
warm." "I thought you married Frank because you loved him." "Never with a passion. I married Frank because the curve of his
mouth reminded me of Andor's lips. But now that he's aging, kissing
him feels like kiss-ing a slug." "Don't kiss him, then. By the way, you could also divorce him.
He won't be the first." "Don't be mean, David." It was May, the month of mating and romance. A group of pigeons landed
in front of them and began a cooing ritual around each other. A boy
and a girl strolled by, arms around their waists, oblivious to the world.
On the next bench an old man sat in suit and ties, once in a while throwing
a glance in Lily's direction. David eyed the piece of paper on the bench.
"Look, how am I supposed to find a man in this huge United States,
when all you have is a name?" "You'll think of something. But first we have to make sure I got
his name right. And then you can use your resources." "Resources?" "Your research skills. What's the article about, the one you mentioned
on the phone?" "A bypass. The city wants to redirect traffic from the main street." "See? You have experience. And there's your colleague at the paper.
The one from New York, with the foreign accent. Didn't you say he was
of Hungarian origin?" "You mean Hoffman? No, he's Polish. It's his wife who is of Hungarian
"You don't have to be buddies just to ask a small favor."
"This is absurd. You'll never find the man. Are you getting senile?"
"No, I'm just starved. Starved for real love. I was looking for
someone like Andor all my life." Lily began to cry. She had nothing to cry about. Even if somewhat dull,
her husband was a dependable man, a faithful companion, watching her
every whim. What a spoiled woman she was, not to mention promiscuous. Once she told him she could put men at ease without effort, reduce their erection anxiety to zero in no time. She made men happy, and in turn, they made her happy. Searching for
her one and only man, indeed. She had enjoyed them all. "Forget it, Lily. Be happy you have someone at your side."
He had no one. Two springs ago his wife wanted to beat the freight
train at a town intersection and didn't make it. It was not the train
that caught her but the railroad crossing guard, crushing down on the
van and lurching her into the windshield. Her liver destroyed, her lungs
collapsed, she lived four more days after the accident.
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