Discretion by David Balzarini

The bed sheet is a white ball of cotton near the footboard. Her tan lines and the small sun tattoo on her lower back draw my attention. Goose bumps form on her backside and little hairs stand up, faintly visible in the sunlight.
    “Mmm. Beautiful…just beautiful.”
    “Are you staring at my ass again?” Marisa mumbles back.
    I smile at my fiancée. I set aside
Principles of Macroeconomics
on the bedside table.
The Wall Street Journal
crunches under the weight. “Yes, of course. Is that okay?”
    “A little weird, but I’m used to it.”
    “Are you waking up still?”
    She brushes her hair from her face and rolls over to her side, and then nudges her pillow away. Her eyes narrow at me, playful, and then she laughs at herself.
    “Are you becoming self-conscious?” I say.
    “Yeah, I’m a modest girl,” and her lips pucker at me. “Did you solve any of the world’s problems this morning?”
    “I read about them, so I completed the first step.”
    “I think ignorance is bliss.”
    I shake my head a little. “I can’t be ignorant. Too many opportunities.”
    “Do you ever stop working?”
    “Depends on how you define working.”
    “Oh, such a broad definition…all that working can entail. Staring at your phone constantly just might be considered work, ya know?”
    “Could you be more sarcastic, please?”
    “Careful what you wish for, Colin. I’m a pessimist and I’ve no plans to change.”
    “Too much time on Twitter has that effect.”
    “I know you don’t like my time on Twitter, but it’s entertaining and fun. Not depressing like wars and poverty and bullshit politics.”
    “The lives of celebrities are so much more important.”
    She places her index finger across my lips. “Shhh…”
    Max clamors on the bed and nudges my leg with his cold, wet nose.
    “What does Maxie want?” Marisa says, looking down at the loyal yellow Lab.
    “Probably food. He had half the scrambled eggs yesterday.”
    “Makes sense to me. I’d be cozy to you if you fed me like that.”
    “I do.”
    “That must explain last night at one A.M. I figured you’d be game for being woken up,” Marisa says.
    I laugh a little and slide off the bed. Max jumps down and charges to my side. “I thought I was dreaming at first. It was a good workout.”
    “Speaking of workout, are you planning to go to the gym today?”
    “If I have time.”
    My phone buzzes. I grab it. The caller is Jackson Mattocks, his grimace on display.
    “Jackson, it’s early so this must be important.”
    Marisa mumbles to herself, hops off the bed and disappears behind the bathroom door.
    “It’s been a long time, keeping your secret safe, Colin,” Jackson says.
    I pause a moment and listen, the phone sliding in my hand. The past I can’t escape. “What are you saying? No one could be digging into Natalie’s abduction after this long.”
    “That’s just it. A turn of events happened and it led the feds to her case, from fifteen years back. I thought you should know that it’s only a matter of time before your secret is out. And there’s no telling what they will do.”

FIFTEEN
    J ackson and I have stayed in touch over the years, mostly for social functions but the occasional business need, too, largely the task of Natalie’s kidnapping, which was never resolved to my standard. The ordeal nearly ruined my father and me and I’ve feared that killing Riley Dasher those years ago would surface to ruin my life. Even the passing thought of him sends a shudder through my spine.
    This is no way to begin a Monday morning.
    “This doesn’t make sense, Jackson. We searched for years at my father’s expense, then at mine. We saw to it that the whole thing was done and buried. How can the feds have any interest in a kidnapping case from fifteen years ago?”
    “To keep this short, I’ll start with the highlights…the feds are investigating because several related murders lead them to Natalie and you’ll see what I mean momentarily. I’m