Chapter 21: A Sweet Connection

When I woke up, she was already looking at me.

“Wake up, sleepyhead. I want to prepare breakfast as I have to meet your secretary. Tell me once more why I agreed to this?”

“Because you are a good person and like to help when somebody is in need - and because I asked you to do it.”

“Let me understand this - I’ll spend my Saturday away from you with another woman who is with you every day, helps you in your work, brings you coffee with a smile, and I have to help her? Isn’t that a bit over the top? I’ve talked to her on the phone and she sounded nice, but let me tell you why I’m going out with her - it’ll give me a chance to tell her quite clearly that you are mine, and whatever she thinks about you, she better keep her hands to herself.”

That was it and I thought it better not to go farther down this path. She got up with a serious determination on her face and I smiled as I whistled. Her little gown had somehow vanished during the night, and it was nice to see how her face shifted from serious to amused. It was even better to watch her coming back to bed - her breasts jiggled slightly, her hips went through a wall-to-wall sensual stride and her smile reappeared. She presented her breasts for their good morning kisses and then asked, “Now am I allowed to prepare breakfast, oh Lord and Master?”

I graciously allowed her to leave and stretched my body; once in a while, it is nice to be lazy and do nothing. I may have relaxed too much because I woke up once more with the smell of coffee under my nose.

“If you want breakfast, you better leave the bed, oh Lord and Master. I shall leave in an hour, and that leaves you with less than thirty minutes, oh Lord and Master.”

I believed that I heard some notes of sarcasm in her voice and thought it better to hurry up. Make my own breakfast on a Saturday morning when my future wife is offering to do it? No way, for heaven’s sake! I hurried through my morning ablutions and joined her at the breakfast table.

She was still dressed in the slinky short gown that almost covered her essential parts. To my dismay this morning the top was decently covering her nipples, but her peaks were very visible, and she smirked openly.

“This is what you get for offering my help to other women. Perhaps you can read a good book now - I saw that you had that Hawking book ‘A Brief History of Time’ on your night table and if you played some Philip Glass music, music, you just might be able to idle your time away until I return. Be careful, however, that you don’t fall asleep, and if I take more time than anticipated you can always call for Chinese delivery. Now, I’ve got to run. Please clear the plates, put them in the dishwasher and, in general, clean up. I’ll see you later.”

She blew me a kiss and went to change. When I was finished, she came back, all dressed up. Her hair was loose over her shoulders, her white blouse with its nice décolleté showcased the top of a lacy bra and her opal pendant, her short dark blue skirt and her high heels showed off her slender hips and long legs. She had put on a little bit of makeup to highlight her cheeks and her huge green eyes and she was visibly quite satisfied with herself, and she had every reason to be. She was as beautiful as one could imagine a woman to be, and she was all mine - at least when I was in her good graces. She thought the situation very funny, as her grin could not be wider and her eyes more sparkling.

“Bye, bye, James. Have fun in your loneliness. Imagine, I could be by your side, kissing you, giving you all my tender loving care, running to the kitchen to prepare tea and biscuits and being at your beck and call. And now you’ll be on your own - poor little you! Have fun! See you later, alligator!”

She closed the door while I was still whistling, trying to get her back, but this time it did not work. She just ignored me and was gone. Where had the ‘Oh Lord and Master’ stuff gone?

I picked up the Hawking book but dropped it after a few pages. It was difficult to read at the best of times; but today, no way! I took my laptop and started to work on two projects I had neglected but should have at least looked at. I put the Rachmaninoff piano concertos on the CD player, and looked at options to convince the prospect that we were the best supplier of software and hardware in the world. It was difficult because he had offers from our competitors that (at least short-term) were better than what we could provide. My only game was to emphasise our well-deserved reputation for quality and service and hope for the best. I changed the Rachmaninoff to Orff and tried to finish the first draft of one project. My thoughts started to wander about, however, especially wanting to know what was happening between Maureen and Mary Ann.

I had just picked up another book when the phone rang. I heard laughter in the background and Maureen’s voice was happy, “James, my love, you’ll have to get something to eat on your own. We’re having a lot of fun here and I believe this will continue for some time. We still have a manicure appointment and we have to go to the shopping mall, and we’ll see whatever else might come up. Have fun and we’ll talk tonight.”

She hesitated, and then her voice became serious, “My love, everything is alright. I was very pleasantly surprised with her and I’m still evaluating the situation, but fear not, she’s acceptable. I love you.”

So, I was alone for lunch. I investigated the fridge, but did not see anything that interested me, so I went back to my favourite emergency food source - Luigi’s. He greeted me with his normal exuberance but immediately asked where the beautiful lady was. When I told him that we were going to be married in a few weeks’ time, he hit me on the shoulder and yelled, “You’re more intelligent than you appear. Didn’t I tell you to keep her? Where is she? I want to kiss her and wish her luck! She will need it with you! Come and have a glass of champagne! Tell me everything!”

It was a good and highly-liquid lunch, so I took a taxi back, not trusting one of Luigi’s waiters to drive my Porsche. I showered, changed, and waited. It was almost dark when Maureen finally appeared. She must have had a liquid lunch too, because I had to catch her when she stumbled through the door.

“James, you won’t believe what happened! I like her!”

She hugged me, kissed me as if it was the last kiss of our life, and then she passed out. I caught her at the last moment and carried her to the bedroom. Laying her down gently, I looked at her; she was happy, smiling, and asleep. I got myself a sandwich, opened a bottle of white wine and sat beside her, watching her. She was beautiful, even asleep. I managed to take her clothes off with just a bit of moaning and protests, and when she was naked, I could not avoid stroking her body softly - not to have sex, but to show my admiration for my future wife. She started to purr and leaned into my hands, offered her body to me.

I took my clothes off and lay beside her, taking her into my arms and holding her fast. She put her head on my chest and her hair tickled my nose. Still asleep, she offered her breasts for my goodnight kisses, kissed me and turned over, placing my hand on her breast, mumbling that she loved me very much. I wondered what I had done to deserve such a wonderful woman in my life, but decided to accept my fate without protest. I am not stupid, after all. I fell asleep too.

When I woke up the next morning, she was still asleep. She had turned her front to me and her arms were embracing me. I managed to get out slowly without waking her, had my shower and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Strong coffee would be necessary, and lots of liquids to get her awake and well. I looked at my watch - it was already past nine o’clock. I took a cup of coffee back to the bedroom and let the smell of it get under her nose. She mumbled something and tried to open one eye, but without success.

She tried again and succeeded partially, but immediately complained, asking me to turn off the light.

Since there was no light except through the open door, I realised that the problem was more serious than I thought. Gently, I waved the coffee under her nose. She sniffed and asked me to help her up. I took her arms and lifted her to sit against the back of the bed, then waved the coffee again. She reached out and almost managed to get hold of the cup, but at the end I helped her to hold it and she took a sip, then one more, and at the end she drank all of it. Now she managed to open her eyes completely, but her eyes were not very convincing, since there was still a lot of confusion in her mind.

“James, more, please, and water, and an aspirin - no, make that two.”

I got more coffee, a tall glass of cold water and the aspirin, and she finished it all.

“When did I come home, James?”

It seemed that she had no memory of when or how she got home and what had happened before.

“James, why are you up already? What time is it?”

I told her it was past nine o’clock and she started to shake her head, but stopped immediately with a heartfelt moan.

“James, this hurts! What happened?”

“I believe that you had a bit too much to drink last night. What did you do?”

“I took Mary Ann to a hairdresser because her hair was horrible and badly cut, then we went for a manicure and finally ended up in the shopping mall. She’s an interesting person and I invited her to lunch, and we had a bottle of wine with the salad. Then I showed her some shops and she bought a dress. We had coffee, a cake, a glass of port, and continued shopping. Then it gets confused, James. I believe we bought lots of things for her and had dinner together. There must have been more wine and the last thing I remember is that we took a taxi to get her home and then I arrived here. You opened the door and that’s it. Blank memory. James, what did I do?”

“My love, you had an interesting day and since you like wines, you seem to have exaggerated a bit. What happened to Mary Ann?”

“James, I know that I like her, and we had long talks about her, about her job and about you. Did I say that I like her? There’s something else I have to do, but I can’t remember!”

“Well, I suggest that you get up slowly, have a nice, long shower, and come and have breakfast. We’ll sort out what happened.”

She nodded and got up very slowly, holding her head. When she was at the bathroom door, I whistled, and she looked at me in consternation.

“Please don’t make so much noise, my love.”

I whistled again and she remembered, coming back for her good morning kisses. She went one way, and I went back to the kitchen. I prepared more coffee and placed toast and jam on the table as she was not prepared to eat more, if anything at all. Then she appeared in an old sweatshirt and baggy trousers, with a painful expression on her face. This was the first time I had ever seen her like this, but she was still the most beautiful woman in the world for me. I kissed her and sat her at the table. She had more coffee and a slice of toast.

“Why did I do what I did yesterday? And what did I do yesterday? I’m trying to remember but there’s a blank starting about ... when? When did I arrive home, James?”

There was a knock on the door and the doorman gave me a handful of shopping mall plastic bags, saying that Miss Monahan forgot these packages last night at the building entrance. Maureen almost fainted again when she saw all those bags.

“James forgive me, but I don’t know what happened. We had lunch with a bottle of wine, then there was a tasting of port wine at a Portuguese restaurant. We did some shopping and I believe we had some drinks at a bar. Mary Ann is quite interesting and we really clicked together; she’s like the sister I never had. We conversed over dinner and then things blur for me. James, I haven’t done this in years and don’t know what happened to my common sense. I believe that we took a taxi and she wanted to get me home, but I insisted on taking her home first. I said something to her but cannot remember what I said. Then I came home, and I remember that I kissed you and that I woke up this morning. Please forgive me - it’ll never happen again!”

I told her to calm down, as things happen once in a while. Then I offered her another slice of toast and said that I had planned to take her to brunch at the Hilton but decided that she was not in any condition to enjoy it.

She nodded and suddenly jumped up, immediately holding her head with a groan.

“What time is it, James?”

I looked at my watch and told her that it was almost ten thirty.

“James, I invited Mary Ann for brunch there at eleven thirty! Do you have her telephone number? I’ll cancel it.”

I confessed that I did not have Mary Ann’s number and she looked at me, completely upset.

“I invited her, and she’ll be here at eleven thirty. We have to go. I don’t want to disappoint her! She’s been disappointed so often in her life and I don’t want her to believe that I don’t keep my word.”

I tried to argue that we could call the hotel, but she insisted that we must go. Luigi must have sent somebody with my car (and I was upset that he had handed over the keys without my permission). We just made it, but Mary Ann was already waiting. I almost did not recognise her - her former lifeless dark hair was now cut differently - shiny and curly. There was some makeup on her face and her drab dresses were gone. There was a very pretty woman before me in an egg-white silk blouse with a narrow dark brown skirt going to the top of her knees and showing some very impressive long legs, and her golden high-heeled sandals matched the skirt perfectly. Her smile exploded when she saw us, and she stepped forward to hug Maureen.

“I didn’t believe you’d come. I think we were more than a bit high at the end of the evening and I thought that you might have forgotten it. But here you are! James...” and she smiled and said that she assumed that she could call me James here “ ... you have a wonderful wife! Maureen is beautiful, intelligent and a wonderful person. Thank you for giving me that day with her.”

I stepped forward to shake her hand, but Maureen was decisive, “James, she’s my friend now and I don’t want any formalities between you. I understand that this will be necessary in the office, but here she’s my friend. Give her a kiss!”

I looked at her not quite understanding what was happening, but she nodded and pushed me forward. Who was I to deny kissing a pretty woman? Mary Ann’s lips were soft, and she closed her eyes and leaned into me. I gave her a hug and she put her arms around my neck. It was a nice feeling, but the situation was dangerous. I looked again at Maureen, but she nodded once more and said, “One kiss, the two of you.”

It was a nice kiss, soft and gentle - different from the way I kissed Maureen, but very pleasant. I stepped back and said we should sit down and have our breakfast. I helped them into their chairs and looked for the maître d’. When I asked for a bottle of bubbly, both Maureen and Mary Ann shook their heads, and Maureen stopped shaking her head almost immediately. It was funny, but I did not dare to reflect on this. They wanted Jasmine tea and toast! I tried to remind Maureen gently that the price was sixty dollars per head and to just drink tea was a bit too much, but she ignored me.

I had my full meal, but the two ladies continued with tea and toast. The conversation was lively, at least as far as Mary Ann and I were concerned, and I discovered that she was a completely different person from what I had expected. She had been brought up in Perth by her grandmother, since her parents had died early, and had decided to try her fortune in Sydney. That had not gone well until she was hired by my company and saw a brighter future for herself. She blushed and said that she was very grateful for my help and assistance, and would never forget the trust I had shown for her initiative and loyalty. She would never disappoint me and I could count on her for whatever I wanted from her. She blushed again, and I saw Maureen glancing at her with questions in her eyes.

I paid the bill and we went back to my car. [Do you want to say anything somewhere about how he got his car back from Luigi’s?] Maureen looked at me and suggested that we take Mary Ann for a spin. I wondered about the convenience of this suggestion because the Porsche was a wonderful car, but the room in the back was for two children (and perhaps a toothbrush) but not for an adult. But Mary Ann was all for it and crawled into the back (showing some very pretty legs, and I looked away fast when I saw Maureen watching me). But I’m definitively not a eunuch, and if Maureen offered me this opportunity, I would not refuse it.

With the hood down and the sun shining bright, both ladies enjoyed driving along the beaches, sometimes making quite indecent remarks about old men and young women, and showing off. Actually, it was I who was showing off the two beautiful ladies who graced me with their presence.

After an hour I was ready to get Mary Ann home and asked for her address and her telephone number. I saw a decision forming in Maureen’s eyes and she told me to drive home directly; she wanted to talk to Mary Ann and discuss the dresses and other things they had bought yesterday. For me, the situation got more confused at every moment, but there was no way to change her decision.

Mary Ann was very quiet, since she was probably as mystified as I was. When we arrived, Maureen asked me to prepare tea and vanished with Mary Ann into the bedroom. After a while she came out to model a summer dress she had bought on sale. It was form-fitting and very cute, with a nice décolleté and the colour matched her hair. Then she came out with a different dress - more formal and this time matching her eyes.

And then Mary Ann appeared, blushing all over with another dress - a bit daring with a low front and a very low back. The colour was close to her blue eyes, and it showed that she had a perfect figure - high firm breasts, a slender waist, and narrow hips. Maureen asked her to turn around and the view from the back was as nice as from the front. I complimented her and she practically ran back to the bedroom. I looked at Maureen, but she whispered that she knew what she was doing and that she would tell me everything later.

Both ladies came back in their original outfits, and I could finally offer my tea and some biscuits. Maureen seemed to be very satisfied and Mary Ann finally contributed to the conversation. It did not take long before the talking turned into teasing and we all were contributing. Mary Ann had bought other clothes as well, and Maureen was telling me in great detail that this one emphasised her breasts, that one her slender figure and that another was a bit daring - probably just for a private party. Mary Ann had a quick wit and Maureen took advantage of this to go after me. It was difficult to hold my side of the conversation, having two women on the other side; I could never win a conversation when women could change the subject at will and often also the logic. But it was fun.

At night I ordered a cab to take Mary Ann home, and when she said goodbye to me, she did not hesitate to kiss me soundly. She hugged Maureen and said that she was happier than ever before in her life and that she had had a wonderful day. I took her to the cab, and before leaving she brushed my cheek with her hand.

“James, you don’t know what this day meant to me. Maureen is just wonderful and you’re not far behind. Thank you once more.”

When I got back to the flat, I asked Maureen to sit down and tell me what was going on.

“James, you have to trust me. I remember now what we discussed. Mary Ann is a wonderful person, but she needs support. She had an awful childhood, first with her parents dying early and then a very strict, old-fashioned grandmother. She was always put down and nobody recognised her for the person she really is. She broke away coming to Sydney, but it hasn’t been much better. Little money, no support, so-called friends that tried to pull her down. It’s a wonder that she survived all this and is still a virgin! I looked at myself and saw how I had thrown away opportunities that she never had; how I sank into a depression over silly things, driving my mother away. I compared myself to Mary Ann and the woman she is today, and I didn’t fare very well. So, I decided to do something about this.”

She stopped for a moment, remembering those days - thank God, now gone.

“When we went for lunch, she only looked at the cheapest dishes, so I selected for her and she enjoyed it. When we went shopping, I saw her look at her credit card and start to say no, so I called the sales manager aside and told him to tell Mary Ann that these clothes were on a special discount and that I would pay the difference with my card, but he could not tell her. But what really impressed me was the way she looked at me whenever I said something about you, and when she didn’t like it she defended you immediately. James, this lady has a total crush on you! She will support and shield you with all her might. I wanted to tell her that you’re mine and I finally did, but she knows and had already accepted it. I believe, however, that even knowing that she never will be yours, she’ll always be beside you, protecting you. You can trust her completely. My problem is what will I do? And what will you do?”

Her eyes were pleading.

“I’m certain that if you let her know that you wanted her, she would resign and go away, because she doesn’t want to destroy our marriage. But if there were a chance that she could become a part of us, she would be in your, no, our bed the same moment. How can I live with this? And you? You’ll have Mary Ann around you every day, knowing that she believes she loves you, and perhaps she really does love you. Your way of treating people as people, your courtesy to all and especially to her, who had never encountered someone like you, your looking out for her and your trust in her. They made her open up to you and this will make life difficult for both of you. How will you handle this? How will I handle the fact that every day you’ll have a beautiful woman - and in her own way she is very beautiful - looking after you, smiling at you, working with you? I trust you absolutely, but the situation is strange to say the least. What will we do?”

I did not answer at first and then told her to relax. This was an unusual situation for me, and I needed time to find a solution that would not hurt anyone. Under normal circumstances I decided rapidly; this time I needed more information and time to process it.

“Maureen, calm down. I cannot respond now because I need further input and time to think it through. But I promise that I’ll find a solution that will not hurt you or me.”

“James, please don’t hurt her either!”

She nodded and got up to clean the table; then she looked at me and asked me to come to bed. She did not want to make love; she wanted me to hold her in my arms and tell her that I loved her and that nobody would come between us.

“My love, I promise you that nobody will come between us. There may be people who’ll be beside us and eventually even share a part of our life, but you’re the only woman in my heart and soul, and always will be.”

She wiped a tear from her eyes and hugged me with all her might. Then she smiled wanly and lay down. When I got out of the bathroom, she was waiting for me with her arms extended.

“Hold me, my love. I need to know that I’m yours and that you’re mine.”

She laid her head on my chest and whispered, “I hear your heart beating. Mine will always be there for you, and my soul is yours forever.”

Then she closed her eyes and started to fall asleep. I whistled lowly and she came awake again and this time she smiled happily.

“I know, I know. Here they are.” She offered me her breasts for their goodnight kisses and then kissed me with more liveliness than before. She snuggled backwards and forwards until she found the right position, kissed my hand, placed it on her breast and said goodnight. I stayed awake for a long time, analyzing the situation and trying to find a solution that would hurt people the least, but to no avail. Finally, I fell asleep, too.

After a restless night when every move caused Maureen to try to crawl into me, I gave up and inched out of the bed. It was difficult and slow, but I managed it without waking her up. I had my shower and prepared a cup of coffee, read the newspaper, watched the news on the TV and went back to wake her up. She opened her eyes when the cup of coffee was under her nose and then came the moment that made my life happy every time it happened - she smiled at me and said, “Good morning, my love. I love you.”

She realised that I had to leave soon and jumped out of the bed. Looking at me, she stopped and presented her breasts and said, “Good morning from the three of us!”

I knew that it was silly but would have been terribly disappointed if one day we forgot this little game. I kissed the nipples and bit them gently; she said that that was unfair since there was no time for revenge. Then I kissed her and told her to hurry, since I really had to leave. She ran to the bathroom and came back almost immediately; she had brushed her teeth and rubbed a wet cloth over her face but was still naked. A glorious picture to make my day! She drank her coffee and prepared a toast for me; then it was time to leave. A last kiss and a whisper, “Think well about what you’re going to do today as you’ll be deciding the life of the people who love you! Don’t hurt me and don’t hurt her!”

I walked to the office; it was still early, and the temperature was already brisk enough to think about a shawl. Tony was standing at the entrance and looked strangely at me.

“Mr. Winter, your secretary just arrived and went upstairs. What happened to her?”

I was surprised and asked whether it was anything bad, but he only said that she was so different today and he hoped she would stay that way. Now I was curious. When I arrived at my office, I saw a young lady sitting at her desk. I knew it had to be Mary Ann, but she really had changed. There was a beautiful young woman, dressed well but austere, in a white blouse and a black narrow skirt, with a touch of makeup to emphasise her cheeks and eyes, her black hair carefully put up, a little round silver earring and a very hesitant smile on her face.

She stood up and waited for me. I looked around, but we were the only people on the floor. I walked past her and asked her to come into my office and closed the door, not completely but enough that we had a bit of privacy. By now her hesitant smile had become a very scared expression - her thoughts were visible - was she going to be fired?

“Mary Ann, that was a wonderful weekend, and Sunday was outstanding, but we have to talk seriously.”

Before I could say anything more, she started, “James, the day with Maureen and yesterday with you was truly wonderful; I have never had such happiness in my life. It gave me a glimpse of what I’ve been missing all my life. But I discovered that my walls were breaking down as I saw in Maureen the sister I never had, and I saw in you the man I wanted for myself. The problem is that Maureen and you’re soon to be wed, and I cannot step in between you. I’ve thought hard and long about this and have concluded that this will be best for you. I have prepared my letter of resignation and will move to another city; perhaps Canberra or Melbourne (or even back to Perth!) because it’s far away from you. I saw a different future the last two days, but I don’t want to break into your relationship with Maureen or damage your career. Both of you deserve to be very happy.”

With that remark she handed me a letter and stood up. “Goodbye, James. I’ll never love someone like I love you.”

I looked at her and told her to sit down.

“Mary Ann, you are not the only person involved in this decision. Maureen also considers you like a sister she never had, and what about me? I have seen you growing the last few months, and I have seen you become not a secretary but my partner. I don’t want to lose that partner because we’ve become a very effective team. You’re also a very beautiful woman, and I have to admit that I saw this only in the past few days, and I don’t want to lose that woman either.”

She looked up with surprise in her eyes.

¨Maureen and I discussed this at length, and we know that nobody will ever come between the two of us. We still wonder what really happened between you and Maureen, and then between us, and how. You’ve enchanted us, and we saw the glimmer of a different path for us. There’ll never be anyone who can separate Maureen and me, but there can be a way for you to stay beside us, not between us. It may not be the deep love that bonds Maureen and me, but we can see a different warmth that might one day grow into something new, something that unites love and affection. I cannot guarantee what will happen, but we offer you a chance to be with us and see whether the emotions the three of us feel now can grow deeper.”

She looked at me and her eyes showed a glimmer of hope.