Lacy alone with a married man in a restaurant bathroom

They had to be careful as they went to the washrooms. It wouldn't be proper to be seen going to such a private place with a married, Christian man, and Lacy didn't think the waiters would appreciate it, either. There was a perfect second while one waiter passed by that allowed Lacy to slip into the bathroom and wave for Hank to follow her in. She hadn't meant anything by it when she'd made the offer. Really, she was genuinely upset by the way Janice had spoken to her husband. But now that they were alone together, Lacy realized exactly how this might look. Hank's preacher-man brother wouldn't have been happy about it if he knew, that much was for sure. So, better safe than sorry, Lacy leaned on the sink and Hank positioned himself up against the opposite wall. They were lucky, it was a private bathroom. That meant a lock on the door. No interruptions.

"How long has this been going on for?" Lacy asked.

"Years. But it's been worse the last few months. The magazine takes up so much o' her time, she doesn't think about me anymore. Shucks, sometimes I think she'd divorce me if it wouldn't ruin the magazine. That thing's all she cares about." More than his words, the way he said it shocked Lacy. There was some real anger there. She didn't know that Mr. Evers was capable of an emotion like anger. He just seemed like a nice, quiet guy who loved his wife. It sounded like he still loved his wife. She just didn't love him back anymore.

Lacy ignored good sense and walked over to pat Hank on the arm. "I'm sorry. You deserve better than that. So what has it been like?"

"Lotta yelling, or mean comments. By gosh, it's been months since we so much as hugged."

Lacy blinked. Did that mean...? She had been in some bad relationships, but in all of them, at least the... physicality... had stayed strong. Made it even better, sometimes. "So, does that mean you haven't...?"

"Haven't what?"

"Haven't been having sex. "

The ruddy skin on Hank's face went white as snow. She didn't think he'd ever talked about that particular subject with someone who wasn't his wife. "Gosh, no, no we haven't."