Chapter 2

It was a public pool, but it had been built with an upstairs observation gallery. Gareth wasn’t going to swim himself so he took his seat to wait while Rachel did. It was quite busy but in the evening there were usually only the serious swimmers who wanted to avoid those who weren’t. He had never seen Rachel in a swimsuit before and she wore goggles to stop the chlorine in the water going into her eyes, but to Gareth she was instantly recognisable ... and now of course he had that image in his head of her in his bedroom! He was a red-blooded man and she was an attractive young woman, but she was married and it didn’t matter what he may have thought, he would never deliberately cross that line! In fact, she’d said that she liked to swim for at least an hour if she could, so he set his wristwatch alarm for sixty minutes and closed his eyes.

Awoken by the watch’s beeps, Gareth had a stiff neck and a numb behind from sitting so long and so awkwardly on the plastic seat. Looking down he could still make out the familiar costumed shape gliding through the water. After swimming two more lengths, Rachel stopped at the end of the pool and looked up at the large wall-mounted clock before climbing out. She stood by the side and took off the goggles and brushed the water off of her face and pushed her wet hair back, then she looked up into the gallery and waved: the signal that she had finished swimming. After another twenty minutes or so, Gareth went down to the pools public entrance, were a few minutes later Rachel joined him. “A good swim?” he asked her.

“ ... Mmm ... I feel good ... but I think I’m ready for a rest now!”

“I know what you mean! I had a nap, but there’s nothing like stretching out in a comfortable bed.”

“Well, thank you for taking me!” Rachel said just before they reached her house, “See you in the morning, Gareth.” She got out of the car and quickly waved before she went inside.

With regard to Rachel’s part of the agreement, Gareth had joined a gym and every Tuesday and Friday morning after she had arrived at work, he now took himself off for a couple of hours. The injury that had ended his football career was to his knee. With all the running, jumping and sudden stopping and twisting involved, this is a common place for footballers’ injuries. Gareth had been given an alternative: retire from playing when he did and lead a fairly normal life; or carry on and risk further injury and the possibility of permanent damage and painful arthritis later in life. As much as he loved the sport and the lifestyle it gave him, as a relatively young man of twenty-nine, he thought the choice was clear-cut!

Fortunately, in all the time that he’d been using his home treadmill he hadn’t had so much as a twinge from his knee, and a two-hour gym session twice a week was nothing like the rigours of his footballing training and matches.

As Rachel had done, Gareth chose to save time by changing into his gym clothes before he went out in the morning ... which drew admiring glances from some of his customers in the shop and witty remarks from others. Rachel had of course seen the photos on his bedroom wall, but she was still quite impressed by the real thing.

James still rang regularly from Sweden; at least every other day usually. It was coming up to the end of his two months and Rachel had been expecting news of his return to England.

“I’m sorry, Love, it looks like it’s going to be at least two more weeks,” he declared the next time he called, “We’ve just got to that crucial stage I told you about.”

After James had rung off, Rachel sat in the armchair with her mug of coffee. It had gotten to a point where she really wasn’t sure how she felt any more. Before James had left he had been the hub around which her life revolved, but now after two months of living without him, what she had now seemed better than what she had when he was there; in the same way that married life had been better than life on the farm Could she still have the best of both worlds, she wondered?

Another two weeks went by; Gareth had been over for Sunday lunch a few more times since the first time, but not enough to get the neighbours talking Rachel hoped. Everything was going well with her job and they continued to go swimming. The now twenty-one year old Rachel Newcombe was definitely enjoying her life! On her birthday, in the absence of her husband, Gareth had taken her out for a nice meal. She’d had the chance to dress up for the first time in ages and Gareth looked very dashing in his expensive, well-tailored suit. It had been his birthday present to her, and to thank him he had even got a little ‘friend’s only’ kiss on the lips.

On the Thursday of James’ tenth week in Stockholm, Rachel had some news:

“He’s flying home on Saturday, so I won’t be able to come in that day, I’m afraid!”

“Of course not! Are you going to the airport?”

“Yes, the company’s driver is taking me.”

On Friday afternoon as Rachel was getting ready to leave, Gareth handed her the familiar wage packet. “I’ve paid you for Saturday.”

“But you shouldn’t have, I haven’t earned it!”

“That’s all right; you earn your money by more than just being here,” he said, cryptically, “Have a good weekend and I’ll see you Monday!”

“Hello, Love! Have you missed me?” James said as they greeted each other at the airport.

“Of course!” she said, after they’d embraced. She held onto his arm as he pushed his luggage towards the car park. During the drive back he told her all about Stockholm and he showed her the pictures on his phone.

“Who’s that?” Rachel said pointing to a very attractive blonde who she had seen in several of the images.

“Oh, that’s Elise: she was my liaison in Stockholm and my interpreter if I needed one, but a lot of Swedes speak very good English!” James replied.

Back at the house, James thanked the driver who had also helped him carry his cases inside. Rachel made coffee and they sat, side-by-side, on the sofa sipping it.

“You seem different, Rachel ... more confident somehow.” James said.

“You know I think I am!” she exclaimed, “I haven’t had you to make my decisions for me, so I’m more independent.”

“I think I’m more assured now, too,” he said, “I’ve had a lot more responsibility these past couple of months and I’ve really enjoyed it.” At ten o’clock he yawned loudly. “It’s been a long day, Love ... do you mind if we go to bed now?”

“No, of course not!” Rachel replied, mentally bracing herself for what she expected would be coming soon. After brushing her teeth she took off her clothes and got into bed beside her husband.

“This is something else that’s new,” James said, referring to her new sleeping preference. Rachel snuggled up against him.

“So ... do you want to...” He smiled.

“ ... Not tonight, Love ... if you don’t mind. Goodnight!” he said, kissing her and then closing his eyes.

Rachel woke up first the next morning. Despite her apprehension, she was actually a little disappointed that James hadn’t wanted her the previous night. She decided to do something that she never did ... she was going to initiate sex! She was lying on her side with her head on his shoulder and her free hand was resting on his chest, so she slowly moved it down his body, over his belly and onto his...

“ ... Don’t, Rachel, we need to talk.”

On Monday morning, a tired-looking Rachel arrived at work at the usual time, only this morning she was carrying a heavy-looking holdall which she carried straight through the shop and left in the store room. While she was there she made two mugs of tea which she brought back with her. Gareth looked at her and frowned: “Are you ill, Rachel ... you look like you haven’t slept?”

“ ... Long story, I’ll tell you more later. Gareth ... is it all right if I stay here for a while ... I’ve left James!”

Gareth told her to go upstairs and rest, but Rachel said she’d be all right and that she would rather keep busy. He never asked her any more details then, but he thought that it was a fair surmise that something had happened to James in Sweden, and as she’d left him he had a pretty good idea what it was!

Later that evening, after the shop was closed up, they were sitting in the living room. Rachel was on the sofa with her legs tucked under her:

“ ... So there I was, initially not sure how to tell him I’d got a job, while practically the whole time that he was in Stockholm he was having sex with a colleague ... Elise, her name is. So then yesterday morning he said to me: ‘Rachel, they want me to go to Sweden to work all the time ... and that’s not all, I’ve been having an affair and I think I’m in love with her!’ So we talked, and I cried a lot, and the upshot was that he said that he thought that it was best if he went and that we parted. I’m keeping my clothes and anything else that I might need, but we’re selling the house and everything in it. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be your lodger for a while until everything is sorted: I can do more hours if you want me to.”

“Of course you can stay here ... and don’t even think about offering me rent! As soon as you want to, we’ll go to the house and collect the rest of your things.”

“What about the extra hours? I can help you get the papers ready in the morning, now. Oh, that reminds me ... I’d like to cancel my order, please!”

That night Rachel slept in a strange bed, in a strange room, but she was, oddly enough, quite happy! Gareth had said he’d ease her into the early mornings gradually, so although he was fast asleep by ten o’clock that evening, she was still wide awake. She got up and walked next door to the bathroom, where she ran a deep, hot bath, before sliding down into its hot caress! She just lay there for a while and then her hands moved onto her breasts, then her right hand moved slowly and deliberately down over her flat belly, down further until it reached its goal...

Rachel was up and dressed and down in the shop by nine o’clock the next morning.

“Sleep well?” Gareth asked her, “ ... You certainly look more refreshed than you did yesterday.”

“ ... Mmm ... much better, thanks! I laid in bed for a while, wide awake, so I got up and had a nice, hot bath and then I could sleep. Don’t forget it’s your gym day, today! Don’t look at me like that, Gareth Jackson ... I’ll be fine here on my own!”

They didn’t go swimming that week, though ... not because Rachel didn’t want to, but because she and Gareth spent several evenings in her former marital home, sorting out the things that she was keeping. There were a few tough choices, because of the relative lack of space in Gareth’s flat. A lot of the kitchen utensils, cookware, plates, cutlery, etc, they found homes for, but apart from her clothes and some personal items, there wasn’t much else worth keeping. They might make a little money on the house sale after the mortgage had been repaid, and some more from the sale of all the nearly-new furniture and other items, but as James had paid for most of it anyway, she wouldn’t be out of pocket.

James Newcombe was already back in Stockholm: he had said that he trusted Rachel to arrange the sale of the house and contents, and then to use any money that they got to go towards the cost of the divorce. They agreed that she should divorce him, on the grounds of ‘unreasonable behaviour’, which he wouldn’t contest.

But despite losing a husband and a home, Rachel was actually quite content! She didn’t bother looking towards the future, as she was happy with the present, there was only one thing that she could think of that would make it better than it already was.

It was Friday and the first weekend that Rachel would be spending in the flat with Gareth. It was also the first day that they had both got up early to get the morning papers ready for delivery. She didn’t mind getting up a few hours earlier to help Gareth, but she couldn’t see herself getting up even earlier so that she could shower first, so she put on her bra and knickers and went into the bathroom to have a quick wash. Gareth was already in there shaving and wearing just his boxer shorts.

“It’s okay, I don’t need the basin, just the mirror,” he said. Rachel didn’t care about him seeing her dressed like that, either, as he’d already had a quick look at her wearing much less. She filled the basin with hot water with which she had a quick wash. By the time that she’d done that she was practically wide awake, so she brushed her teeth. It was impossible for her not to see his reflection in the mirror and it was hard for her not to make it seem obvious that she was looking.

“If you need to pee I can finish this in the bedroom,” he said, “but I’ll only be a few more minutes.” She could wait. She had a full bladder but she wasn’t sure if it was that or something else responsible for her lower body discomfort.

Downstairs in the shop he handed her several pieces of paper and a pencil.

“These are the individual paper rounds, you collect the papers together as they are in the list, then you go through the pile writing the street name and house number on the top of each, you must have seen it on yours. When you’ve done one pile, leave the list on top of it. I think most newsagents have their own systems but I like this one: some places even make the boys and girls mark up their own papers, but if I do it any mistakes are mine; we don’t have that many rounds to worry about, anyway.”