"Oooooohhhhh… are we going to bring that up?" she asked, spinning around, causing her generous breasts to jiggle slightly, sensuously under the thinness of her robe. "Well, buster, you were a pretty good teacher. I was always ready for you when you wanted to vent yourself. Damn! You would think that you hadn't had a woman your whole life. You sure had fun the last two weeks, and now that I want to have a little, you're too busy."

"We were on a vacation for Christ's sake," Mark said, setting his coffee cup down so hard that some of the dark fluid spilled over the edge. He pushed himself away from the table and glowered at his wife. "I never thought I wouldn't want to at least eat breakfast with you, but you've totally ruined my appetite."

"So you're just going to run away like a frightened little boy. Go on, go to your precious job. Maybe you can have a good laugh about how you married a virgin… probably the only one left in St. Paul."

"Honey…"

"Go on… just get out of here. And don't worry about all this food going to waste," she snapped as she stood up and looked directly into his eyes over the table. "I'll just store it in the freezer. That way, we can have something to eat when you aren't out digging and scratching to make money."

Mark's jaw worked, as though he were trying to think of something to say. He thought the better of it, though, and with a flourish, he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door. Kate stood at the table glowering at him. When the door slammed loudly behind him, she reached for the closest thing she could find… a salt shaker, and threw it at the door after him.

She missed the door, and the glass object fell silently onto the carpeted floor.

CHAPTER TWO

"Wheeeewwwww… will you listen to them!" Martin Delany laughed as he pressed his ear to the wall of his apartment that was next to the Hutchs' kitchen. "Sounds like the newly-weds are having a little spat."