It was not the first time that Janet had seen her at the grocery store. In fact, Janet had seen her each Tuesday morning about 10:00 for the last four weeks. She had already seen her today by the bacon. Every time the reaction had been about the same, weak knees and a racing heart. Janet lingered with the freezer door open looking at the frozen turkey dinners, the cold air barely affecting the raging heat of her feelings. As she shut the door with the window all fogged up, no longer able to see what was behind it, she put three turkey dinners in her basket.

Janet had no illusions of being a stunning beauty, though she thought she was nice looking. She had that natural earthy look that flatters some older women. Her long gray and black hair often pulled back in a ponytail, but sometimes as today, it just spread across her shoulders. Her last lover had told her many times that she was pretty. Maggie had been good for Janet and Janet for her. That was now history and Janet had lived in Rockville for a month. Rockville was about as far away from Morristown as Janet could move. Double that distance would have been even better.

Janet didn’t actually live in Rockville; she lived in a cabin nestled in the foothills about ten miles east. It was secluded in a valley with a stream down the slope from the cabin. There had already been a hard rain and light snow, now the stream had a nice roar to it.

A new log lay on the fire and was just about to catch, loud pops and cracks were echoing though the one room cabin. It was one room if you didn’t count the bathroom that sat behind the large rectangular main room. Even though there was just one room, she still thought of the different areas by their function.

As she walked from the living room to the kitchen, she kicked her shoes off and the soft sounds of her bare feet against the floor drifted up to her ears. She enjoyed walking around the cabin barefooted. It gave her a sense of contact with the wooden timbers of the building. Something she enjoyed very much. It was sensual.

By the time she stood in front of the three bags of groceries, her blouse was unbuttoned and the nakedness of her chest partially exposed. The refrigerator door opened revealing mostly bare shelves. A six-pack of beer, mayonnaise, and some hot dogs from the grocery store today helped make it a little less so. The freezer was just as desperate for company as she stacked the frozen dinners and one package of two small filet mignon steaks neatly on the bottom shelf next to the ice trays. She gave the boxes a little nudge to straighten them before closing the door. She placed a bottle of Merlot on the counter midway between the refrigerator and the sink with a slight twist of the bottle to make sure the label was in the front. She tapped the folded and creased paper grocery bags, aligning them properly before laying them on the others under the counter.