Chapter 19

I felt a little strange when I got back to my own home. I wasn't needed any more, at least as intensely, and with no job to go to, I had nothing to fill my day.

A quick look around made me decide to do some shopping, especially for food as half the contents of my fridge needed binning.

I was just leaving my local Co-op store when I saw Lyn's mother walking towards me. She hadn't noticed me but as I liked Betty and I had plenty of time to spare, I decided to wait and say hello anyway.

'Hi Betty.'

'Oh! Hi David. Sorry, I was miles away there. How are the legs?'

'Improving slowly, too slowly truth be told.'

'I've been hoping to run into you, in fact I've been coming here most days hoping to catch you.'

'How come? Nothing wrong I hope.'

'No, nothing wrong. Well except my daughter that is. Have you got time for a chat?'

'Sure! Nothing else to do. How about we go to my house, it's only around the corner and I've got a bit of frozen stuff here that I need to put in the freezer.'

'Fine, lead the way.'

During the brief walk, we just talked in general, you know, things like the weather.

It wasn't until we were both sitting with a cuppa in our hands that Betty told me why she wanted to talk.

'I know what happened between you and Lyn, and I know why Lyn reacted the way she did.'

'That's more than I do.' I stated sadly.

'It's a few things rolled up into one. The biggest thing is that since Sarah's father, Lyn has been so convinced that all men are the same that she's been out to prove it. Maybe that's why she always chose bastards to date, as they proved her point.

Then you come along and get behind her defences. As you've probably noticed, she still tried to find anything to maintain her position, something to show that you were just like the others.'

She paused to look at me for confirmation, which I gave with a nod.

'She was quite annoyed that both her daughter and mother were telling her that she'd made a mistake. When she heard you'd been hurt, another instinct kicked in, that of carer.

When you left hospital and she had to share you with two other women she started to believe her own thoughts, that you were another user of women.'

'It wasn't my idea, in fact I knew nothing about it at first.'

'Anyway she felt confused. It didn't help that the other two were extremely beautiful, so she used a woman's oldest trick to make you choose her.'

'I'd already done that.' I said softly.

'I know that, she didn't, or at least couldn't accept it. Then she said you talked of marriage, well that was how Sarah's father first got her into bed. Her long held beliefs, wishes and hopes were all in conflict, so she ran. I'm afraid my daughter has always tried to run or hide from her problems.'

I spent some time digesting that information. It certainly explained some of her extreme reactions. 'I'm sorry Betty. I wish things could be better for her.'

'Will you give her another chance?'

'I can't right now.' I told her, before explaining how I was with Natasha.

'I hope it works out for you David. You are a good man and there doesn't seem to be many of those around.'

There was not much more to say, so after a brief talk about how little Sarah was doing, she left.

Not long after she'd gone, I got a short phone call from Natasha telling me that she wouldn't be able to see me until Wednesday, she had that much work to do. That left me plenty of time to try to sort out my feelings. I liked Lyn a lot, even without Sarah in the equation, but she was just too much hard work. Likewise, I liked Petra too, though she had made it clear that all she could be is a friend. I was more than happy with that.

Natasha! There by lay my dilemma. I was reasonably convinced that the old Natasha was gone, with the exception of the odd moment. Her short dependency on me was more or less over. Did that mean that our closeness was over? I didn't want it to be but what about her? If it wasn't, then could we work together?

Wednesday evening seemed to answer all but the last question. Natasha turned up late and dragged me upstairs to bed. I had moved back upstairs on return from staying with Natasha. The sex was great, but for me, at that moment, the post-coital talk was so much better.

It was clear that she was far less clingy, far less needing my support. It was also abundantly clear that she really wanted to be with me. She shared her week so far with me, just as I remembered Dad doing so with Mum. It helped that I had a genuine interest in her company and its people but I would have listened to her happily without that.

After that, with Natasha still lying with her head on my chest we talked about her family, well she talked and I listened. I already knew that she adored her father and had clearly been close to her mother. She had little time for anyone else except Petra and her mother. Surprisingly, she detested Mr. English who she described as a creep. She told me that he was probably the reason Petra preferred women. I wasn't too sure if she was joking.

Eventually, the talk turned to us. I was happy to accept that there was an "us" and even more happy when Natasha asked me rather nervously, if we could be exclusive.

'As far as I'm concerned, we've been exclusive since the first night we shared a bed.' I told her. 'I was never comfortable with the little arrangement that you had with Lyn and Petra. As long as we are together, I guarantee that there will be nobody else.'