Chapter 5

I met Mavis at Derby station. This was now a very different Mavis than the one I had seen on Thursday. For a start she was wearing a mini-skirt. I knew they were coming into fashion, the papers were full of pictures of fashion-conscious girls and celebrities wearing them, but I doubt that Derby had seen too many of them up till now. It registered with me that Mavis had very shapely legs and that the mini-skirt became her. We took the bus to Littleover. It was a short walk from where the bus dropped us to my house. Mavis was overcome.

"Ricky. I thought you lived in the town. This is the country, look at all the fields. I can't believe it. Is it safe?" Mavis, like so many who were brought up in the city where life was bounded by buildings felt uncomfortable in the open spaces of the country. I had to start with, but soon came to appreciate the rural environment.

"Mavis it is safer than Saltley and Nechells. It's the best place to bring up Richard. Loads of fresh air and plenty of places for him to go and play safely." I pointed out the farm where I could buy fresh eggs. "And I mean fresh. They can be still warm from the chicken at times." We arrived at my home. The first thing was to make some tea and point Mavis in the direction of the bathroom. And then show her around. She came down with amazement written all over her face. The toilet was inside the house! No one in Midland Terrace had ever seen that before. The house had been described as having three bedrooms, but that was in the far-fetched imagination of the Estate Agent. It was better described as two good bedrooms and a box-room. I used the front bedroom that faced west, getting the afternoon and evening sunshine. I showed Mavis the back bedroom and somehow suggested that it had room for a child's bed and another full size. Mavis gave me that look that women seem to master in infancy. The 'Men are so stupid at times' look. She marched out turned left and opened the front bedroom door. I followed her.

"What side do you sleep?" she asked looking at the bed.

"Well." I stuttered. "On the left, sort of."

"That's ok. I sleep on the right." She looked at me defying me to object, then her face relaxed and she smiled. "Ricky. If I come to live here I shall be a wife to you in all ways. I am sleeping with you because I want to. I want to hold you and have you hold me as your woman. Being married to him taught me that the only man I wanted to be with was you." She never mentioned her husband by name now; it was always 'he' or 'him'. "When you stood up in Court and made that offer I couldn't believe it at first. You were making all my dreams come true." As she said these words she started to unbutton her blouse. I noticed in my confusion she was wearing a very pretty bra. The skirt was unzipped and she stepped out of it. She was down to her underwear before I caught up with the situation.

"What are you doing Mavis?"

"Getting undressed of course. I want you to make love to me, finishing what we started a few years ago. Aren't you going to join me?" I was out of my clothes even quicker than she. "I think the answer is yes." She smiled happily.

We were brought up to believe that making love was an activity that should be kept to Friday or Saturday nights and even then only in the dark. Making love with Mavis on a Saturday morning, with daylight streaming through the window was piquant to say the least. We decided together that the rules with which we had been indoctrinated would not apply to us anymore. Holding Mavis's slim, curvy naked body to mine was a revelation indeed. I reflected on my spur of the moment outburst in Court and decided that for once in my life I had made the right choice. Mavis stirred in my arms and turned her face up to look at me. Her eyes were sparkling.

"Well Mr. Gilson. You seem to know your way around a woman's body. He was a rank amateur compared." The smile faded a little. "I would have wished that I was a virgin for you, but if it is any consolation you found places that have never been touched before."