Chapter 2

I admitted that what I knew about growing vegetables could be written on the back of a postage stamp, but mum was quite knowledgeable and Jack suggested that he drop us back at the house while we picked our stuff up, bought it back here and then he'd drop us back in town,

"You can use some of that brass to buy some books on gardening, it's not rocket science, just mostly common sense really along with experience and that'll come with time, now come on then I've got other things to do"

It was after tea time when the taxi dropped us off back at the cottage, we were laden down with groceries, books, rubber boots for us both, big fluffy bath robes, slippers which neither of us had ever owned before and mum's idea, two bottles of the finest champagne to celebrate our good luck.

"Hey Terry look!"

I went into the living room and she was sat there transfixed in front of the television set,

"Satellite!" she yelled and clapped her hands, "We've got satellite"

"What are we going to watch mum?"

"Anything, I don't care, we've got satellite!"

I'd been glancing through the terms of our employment when she'd called out and wondered how she would take what I'd just discovered,

"Mum?"

"Yes darling?"

"Can you just forget the television for a second and listen to me?"

She turned to face me and I deliberately kept my face straight as I said softly,

"The hundred and fifty pounds that Jack said we get"

"Yes?"

"We don't mum, we don't get that much at all"

Her face fell and I began to feel that I was being a bit of a bastard but I couldn't help it,

"Oh Terry" she said her voice full of disappointment, "So how much do we get?"

"A hundred and fifty pounds mum -- each!"

Her scream would have had the neighbours running to the rescue if we'd had any, I thought she was about to explode with joy.

"That's three hundred pounds"

"It certainly is!"

"A week!"

"Yep"

"Both of us?"

"Yes mum, both of us"

"Oh my God Terry, I can't believe it" and the tears came again, this time we clung together whilst she cried herself out, neither of us spoke, we were far too emotional, for my part I was excited and looking forward to the morning when I could start in the garden, but it was mum who affected me more than anything else, she was twenty nine years old and had never had more than twenty pounds that she could call her own now by her standards she was rich, all right she'd have to work for it as we both would, but at last someone was giving her a chance!

"Mum?"

Gradually she calmed down and stopped crying, but she still clung to me almost like a frightened child,

"Mum?" I said again and she mumbled something that I took to be a reply.

"I'll draw a bath, a bubble bath, lots of foamy scented stuff and you can soak while the champagne chills, yeah"

She nodded against my chest,

"And then we'll sit and watch two hundred channels of bloody rubbish, yeah?"

Another nod, silence and then a giggle that sent a shiver down my spine, I felt her fingers gripping my hips, digging in and actually hurting me,

"Three days Terry" she said as she lifted her head, "Three days and my life's changed forever"

"So has mine mum, remember?"

"Oh God yes darling" she wrapped her arms around my neck, "How could I ever forget?"

I made a move to get up but she held on tightly,

"Just another minute darling, it's been forever since I've had a cuddle"

"Oh mum, I'm sorry"

Finally she pulled away but gripped my hands,

"Why couldn't this happen when your dad and I were together?"

"He'd have screwed it up mum, you know he would" and she nodded sadly,

"Yes he would"

She went to kiss my cheek just as I turned towards her and our lips met, neither of us attempted to move away for at least two seconds, it was a very brief taste of the softness of her lips, the sweetness of her breath, but we both felt something and instead of pulling away and blushing with embarrassment, she did pull away but only far enough to look into my eyes,

"If that embarrassed you Terry, I'll apologise, but I enjoyed it, in the last two minutes I've been hugged and cuddled and kissed by a lovely man and I've enjoyed all three of them"

"A boy mum" I reminded her, "I'm still only sixteen you know"

Unexpectedly, she kissed me again and got up,

"I know what I said Terry, you're more of a man at sixteen than your father ever was, now what where you saying about a scented bubble bath?"

My emotions were all mixed up, I'd had a girlfriend, I'd even had sex with her, but I'd just been kissed by a woman, a fully grown, fully developed woman!

"I'll go and get ready for my treat"

"What treat?"

She giggled again,

"Oh yes a typical male. Promise a girl the world and then after a kiss just dump her and move on"

I hadn't got a clue what she was on about which must have been pretty evident by the gormless expression on my face,

"My bath you fool"

I discovered a dimmer switch when I went to draw the bath and then panicked when I chucked far too much smelly stuff into the water and watched in horror as the bubbles rose and rose and rose!

"Mum?" I yelled and she collapsed in a giggling fit when she saw what I'd done,

"Turn the taps off" she managed to get out between giggles,

"Oh God Terry stop it darling, please stop it" she was helpless as the bubbles crept up over the sides of the bath.

Tears filled her eyes again, but these were tears of laughter, the sort of tears she'd not known for far too long and I joined in the laughter.

Between us we emptied half of the water out and mum took charge of refilling it,

"Just go and bring me my champagne Jeeves" she said grandly, "I fancy that perchance I may imbibe whilst I bathe"

"You what?" I asked dumbly and pretended that I wasn't looking as she slipped her robe off before sinking into the water.

I went back down to the kitchen and found a silver tray in the crockery cupboard, then I hunted for two champagne flutes which I didn't find but I found two wine glasses which, I decided would just have to do.

"You may enter" she said as I knocked on the door,

"Your drinks madam"