Chapter 2

A few months later, and I was enjoying my new life. Not at first I have to say. The old routine of getting out of bed at six-thirty in the morning, showering, shaving and getting ready for a day's work was hard to break, and being honest I was quite depressed for a month or so. What we do, defines us as people, and I no longer had that definition. I adapted though, I started writing the novel that I had been thinking about for years. I decided on a complete makeover of my garden. I enjoy a garden, but I'm not too happy about working in one in all weathers. So I designed a minimum maintenance plot that meant that I wouldn't need to spend hours keeping it tidy, weather notwithstanding, but I could go out and enjoy it when the weather was good. And I took to having at least a week away every month. In my job I had travelled widely in the UK, but always passing through places on the way to another appointment. Now I could stop and look at the places I had previously passed through. What is it called? Stop and smell the Grass! I stopped, smelt the grass, and the coffee.

I re-joined the dance classes at the next beginners' class, and found a partner there. She was a nice widowed lady called Ellie. She was six inches shorter than me, and when she put on her dancing shoes with the three inch heel she came to just the right height. Her figure was slim with just the right amount of curves. Ellie was another one bitten by the bug of 'Strictly come Dancing', and we danced together quite well. We would chat after the class, and she revealed a rather irreverent, quirky sense of humour. Over the weeks we did see each other outside of the classes, morning coffee, a couple of lunches, and one evening Dinner at a good Italian restaurant. But I realised, when we got to the kissing stage that although we got on well there was no spark. She realised that also.

"Jack, on all accounts you are a good catch. You look good, you take care of yourself and you are reasonably well off. Some women would jump at you and ignore the fact that the spark between you and her isn't there. They would just accept that they have security for life. I am not one of those women. I like you, but there isn't that buzz that tells me to get my knickers off and do rude things with you, and for me there has to be that buzz. I had that with my husband, and we did things together which couldn't be printed in any newspaper I can tell you. So if you have no objection, let's continue dancing together and not try and turn this into something it will never be." I understood that and agreed, although the devil in me would have liked to know more about what she got up to with her husband. However she did tell me about a couple of other ladies at the class, who it seemed would be quite happy to accommodate me in any position. She was right about them too!

One of my ex-colleagues, Brian, called me one day. He had taken over part of my area. He told me that he had tried to contact Becky to show her some new ranges, and had spoken to her husband. "Well, her ex-husband, Jack. Did you know that she was playing around?"

"I had inkling, Brian." I wasn't going to give him the story, it would take too long. We chatted about things for a while, and then he had to get to an appointment. I sat back thinking about his news. I have to say I was not surprised she was now divorced. I hoped that she had found what she was looking for. I knew from experience that looking for the rainbow was usually futile.

Time goes past quite quickly when you are enjoying what you do and my writing was going well. The novel was about a young lady who was searching for her roots. It was set in the West Country, and involved a railway that had been closed years before. I had been told that if you want to write, write about something you know. Well I knew the West Country, and I knew about the old railways. I understood that I had set myself a challenge, telling the story from a woman's point of view. It was in some way a Rites of Passage novel as well. Would it ever be published? I doubt it, but that wasn't the ambition. I was writing for myself, for the sheer pleasure of putting this story; that had been in my mind for years down on paper. To alleviate the periodic spells of writers block I started writing short stories as well, the problem was that they then took over and it was the novel which went on the back burner. It got to the point where I hated being interrupted, so I was not best pleased one day when the phone rang. It was Becky!

I didn't recognise the number as it was a mobile number. I picked up the phone and said. "Hello?"

"Jack. It's Becky." Her voice sounded tentative, as if she wasn't sure of the reception she would get.

"Hi, Becky. How are you these days?"

"I'm fine, Jack. But more important, how are you? I hear that you have retired."

"Yeah. Official lay about now. What's happening with you?"

"I've got a job now with an Estate Agent. It's going well."

"I'm pleased to hear that. I know that you and Tom are divorced, are you with that chap you were seeing?"

"I would have sawdust for brains if I were. No, Jack he was only in it as long as he was getting me into bed for quickies. As soon as my marriage blew up you couldn't see him for dust."

"I'm sorry to hear that Becky. You deserved better."

"Only someone as nice as you Jack would say that. You deserved to be treated better than I did. Jack I'm sorry about all of that. I lost a good friend."

"Water under the bridge, Becky."

"Jack! Can I come and see you?"

"Yes, of course. When would be convenient?"

"I'm sitting in my car about half a mile from you. Would now be an imposition?"

"Come right round. I'll put the coffee on."

"Jack, you're a star. See you in five." And so Becky walked back into my life.

I opened the door for her and she came in looking better than I had ever seen her. The weight loss had done her good. Her hair had highlights I hadn't seen before, and she was wearing a blouse with waistcoat over that, and a pair of black leather trousers that looked moulded to her thighs and legs. She gave me a wide smile and kissed me on the cheek.

"It's great to see you again."

"Becky it's good to see you, but if I don't say anything for a minute, it's because I am trying to get over how good you look." If the smile could have got wider it would have.

"Thank you, Jack. An old girl like me needs a little encouragement now and again." Old girl? She couldn't be more than forty four I reckoned. We walked into the lounge and I suggested she sit down.

"That's if you can in those trousers." She laughed.

"I can sit down in them, Jack. It's getting them off that's the problem." Now I was not sure if that was innuendo or not. I decided to treat it as not.

"Still take your coffee the same way?" I asked. "Black with cold water added?" She looked at me in surprise.

"You remembered?"

"Becky I don't have all that many gorgeous women in my life. Of course I remember." I made the coffee, and I could hear Becky wandering about. Woman do that, they look at your furnishings and the ornaments, as if they can discern your character from them. I brought the coffee in.

"You've changed things here."

"Yes. When I retired I decided on quite a few changes, so I had the whole of the house done, and some new curtains. Had to get them whilst my credit was still there with the old company you know."

"It looks good. I would have done it for you, you know."

I shrugged my shoulders. "May have been difficult for us both."

She nodded. "Yes, you're probably right. Why did you retire? You're nowhere near sixty five."

"Well I worked things out, and reckoned I could manage well enough on my investments and decided that there was more to life than working." I didn't say anything about the Premium Bond win. She nodded agreeing with me.

She took a deep breath. I thought for a moment that the waistcoat would pop a button. She did have a very generous bust.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry, Jack." I was about to say it didn't matter when she went on. "I know what you were going to say, but it does matter. I was being a silly bitch at the time. I hurt Tom badly, and I involved you in something without your agreement. I never thought it through and I shudder now to think that you could have lost your job because of my selfish actions. No wonder my life became shit, just so I could have some excitement in my life. If I had any sense I should have chosen you to be my lover." I was temporarily struck dumb. Becky looked at me and started to laugh. "Don't be surprised, Jack. It could have been you know if it wasn't for the fact that I was your customer. I knew enough about you to know that you wouldn't have gone down that route."

"Well thanks for thinking of me that way." Becky had that look on her face. I knew the next question would be difficult.

"Didn't you ever think of me that way?"

"Yes, but I liked our friendship, it meant a lot. Experience tells me that making a lover out of a friend tends to lose both lover and friend."

Becky nodded in agreement. "Are you still dancing, Jack?"

"Still going every week, yes."

"You must be good by now."

I laughed. "No, Becky. I can get round the floor without too many mistakes, but that's about it."

"I don't believe you. You seemed to pick up the steps so quickly."

"At first there aren't too many steps to learn; now they are throwing new steps at us every week. They are also insisting that we do the Samba, Rumba, and the Ballroom Jive. Too much for me. My brain has gone to mush now, can't keep it all in my head."

"Oh, so you wouldn't want to dance with me once more." I was shaking my head, believing that she wanted to go back to dancing classes.

"Well actually I was thinking of stopping going to the classes."

"No, Jack. Not classes. I need a partner for a Ball I have to go to. It's work related, dinner, speeches and dancing to a live band. It will be very posh. Long Frocks and Dinner jackets. It would be nice to be able to get round the floor with someone who knows what they're doing. It would be my treat."

"Come on Becky. You must have plenty of guys you could ask."