Maybe

33

DINNER AT ROMANZA was more romantic than Lou and Sherry could have imagined, and the hotel sex that followed rekindled something in Lou that had been dormant for years. After making love for a surprising second time, Sherry gets up and pads to the bathroom.

Lou decides it’s now or never.

He rolls to the side of the bed and sits up with his feet touching the floor. He looks at the bathroom door. For years he’s wanted the head job at Sensory. It’s as if his entire career was a prelude to this crowning achievement.

All he has to do is open the door, come up behind her, and snap her neck.

He hears her running the water, washing her hands. Living alone all these years, Lou never hears anyone running the water in the bathroom of his apartment.

It suddenly dawns on him that everything he wants is behind that door.

Let Creed or someone else run Sensory. Lou’s wealthy enough. Maybe he’ll retire and settle down with Sherry. Surely Creed will allow it, especially after Lou explains how the President reneged on the deal to exchange her for Rachel.

The bathroom door opens, and Sherry comes out, wearing nothing but a smile.

“You know what I think?” she says.

“Tell me.”

“I think I’m falling in love with you!”

Lou beams.

Sherry tumbles into his arms. They fall back onto the bed, where they remain for hours, cuddling, kissing, and pronouncing their love, totally convinced they’ll be happy the rest of their lives, completely unaware they’ll be dead in two weeks.

Mercury poison’s a bitch.