AS THE MOUSE

OVES©

Soap Opera "As The Mouse Moves" - Friday July 27^th 2001
"You barely touch dinner," Amir said as he and Tiffany sat at his dining room table in his Sutton Place mansion overlooking the East River.
"I'm not hungry.  I have too much on my mind."
"Tell me what bother you," Amir asked in his broken English.
"Oh no.  You have so many problems," she said thinking about his campaign for mayor of New York City and his comatose wife.
"I insist."
"Jan came by the office and left a cigarette lighter there after she talked to Clark."
"Jan never smoke," he said never having seen his assistant smoke a cigarette in all of the years he had known her.
"I know."
"You worry over her health?" Amir asked smiling facetiously since he knew the two women had been enemies since the first time they met.
"No.   The lighter was the one I gave Skeeter for Christmas," Tiffany said picking up the napkin from her lap and touching the corners of her mouth.
"How you know this?" he said wondering how his assistant would get Tiffany's estranged husband's cigarette lighter.
"Because it was monogrammed."
"There be exclamation for this," he said shaking his head puzzled.
"Yeah that's she's been with my husband," Tiffany said regretting immediately that she had referred to her estranged husband Skeeter in the present tense.
"You jealous?"
"No.  It's that she's so deceitful.  I really think she's seeing him just to spite me."
"Jan never be interested in this Skeeter."
"I'm telling you she is. She'll do anything to hurt me."
"You still love him?"
"No.  It's not that at all," Tiffany said defensively.
"Then why this bother you?  I worry that you leave me," Amir said.
"I worry that you'll leave me," Tiffany said smiling.
"This never happen," Amir said watching as the housekeeper came into the room to check on the progress of their dinner.
"We have after dinner drink outside?" he asked looking towards Tiffany.
"Yes that would be great," Tiffany said pushing her chair back and leaving the table to follow Amir as they walked through the mansion towards the back door.  Amir pushed the door open and they walked out onto a white deck overlooking the East River.  The two lovers took a seat on the floral garden sofa as the housekeeper sat a silver tray of after dinner drinks on the table in front of them.
"Will there be anything else Mr. Hada?" the housekeeper asked.
"No.  You take evening off," he said watching her nod her head and walk back towards the door to leave the two lovers alone on the deck. She knew this meant that Tiffany would be staying the evening.
The door closed and the housekeeper made her way back to the kitchen picking up her purse to go home for the evening.
"What about your wife Amir?" Tiffany asked taking a sip of her Cognac as she gazed onto the East River as a yacht slowly passed by.
"She make improvement."
"What are we going to do when she is well?"
"We how you say…cross bridge when it come",
"It's hard for me to deal with that.  I worry that I'll lose you."
"Never, I promise," he said putting his arm around her and pulling her closer.
"Even if she wakes up."
"I never quit loving you."
"But how?  How will we see each other?'
"No more worry.  I take care of this…." He said taking her glass and placing it on the table. 
"But she loves you too Amir.  Doesn't she?"
"She forget that we marry"…he said kissing her lightly on the lips.
"She'll remember and want to be your wife."
"Many things change now," he said kissing her fully on the lips as his hands touched the soft skin of her thighs in the short summer dress.
The detective gently pushed the ivy to the side of the fence and aimed the lens of his camera towards the deck and the lovers.
"Did you hear something?" Tiffany asked.
"Housekeeper leave," Amir said breathlessly as he unbuttoned the front of her white sundress.  The tiny straps fell from her shoulders and his lips touched the skin of her neck.
CONTINUED MONDAY. MORE SOAP PHOTOS BELOW.