The Consultant - Neighbor Wives Ch. 04

(Author's note: all characters in this story are pretty clearly over 18.
While some chapters will stand alone, this one really depends on Chapter 3 to make sense.)
The snow piled up that Saturday, as much as it ever piles up this far South. I measured seven un-drifted inches and knew, particularly as it was the weekend, that I wasn't going anywhere for a couple of days. Snows like that are rare enough around here that it doesn't pay to invest in a lot of snow clearing equipment, so we just shut down until the thaw that inevitably comes within a couple of days.
I cleaned the house and worked out a little. I had a pretty serious photography hobby and spend some time editing some photos from a couple of shoots that I'd done for a local band at their latest club show. Beyond that, I generally puttered around and enjoyed the quiet. Sunday was beautiful and snow-covered and I hiked out to the nearby university-owned woods with my camera to capture it.
And I thought about Ramona. There was clearly more to her than our neighbors (myself included) had ever imagined. I was curious, of course -- I'm usually a better observer of people than that, although I had never spent much time around her before the previous week. And none inside her (sorry, bad joke). It was pretty damn clear that she hadn't always been the Suzy Homemaker that she presented to the rest of us and I figured the story there was probably pretty interesting.
True to form, the highs climbed into the 50s on Monday and the 60s on Tuesday and the snow was pretty much gone by Wednesday afternoon. I was back on my normal schedule, even getting out to go for a walk with Joanie on Tuesday. Of course I didn't mention Ramona's visit but she did become the topic of conversation again. Joanie made a couple of snarky remarks about her and her husband and I found myself defending Ramona, which drew some puzzled looks from Joanie.
"Hey, I just feel bad for her, okay?" I said. "She's got enough going on without the neighborhood buzzing about her."
She did a double-take and started to respond, then apparently thought better of it and changed the subject. We finished our walk with the subject of Ramona apparently forgotten, but after I got home I wondered a little at my reaction. I knew that I had a tendency to get protective of the women in my life, but I didn't consider her a 'woman in my life', did I?
That question was put to the test on Thursday, when I got a call from Ramona asking if we could meet for dinner on Friday. "I really want to talk to you. There are some things that I think you deserve to know about me. And I think maybe I owe you," she said, the last with a little chuckle.
I thought for a couple of minutes, knowing that this could be a horrible, very bad, no-good mistake. But I'd already admitted to myself that I was intrigued by her. "Tell you what," I finally said. "I'm supposed to photograph the band that's playing at The BarNone Friday night. If you want, we can grab some dinner in the neighborhood and then go to the club. I can get an extra backstage pass for you and we can hang out. How does that sound?"

I guess I was testing her. I figured the seemingly conservative neighborhood mom would quickly turn down a night at a rock