Chapter 3c

Part 3

Wednesday

As they sat down to breakfast the next morning, Ellen had already eaten, but she joined them for a cup of tea. From the outside she appeared fairly relaxed, but on the inside she felt like a young girl waiting to be picked up for her first date. She tried to tell herself that it was silly: that she was nearly seventy, for goodness sake, and she had known Ken a long time and they shared a bed regularly; but it didn't seem to make much difference, as she was still both nervous and excited.

She wasn't afraid to admit to herself that when Alan had massaged her on the beach the day before yesterday, she had become sexually aroused, and this was just a young man that she liked but had no serious feelings for. But Ken was different: she hadn't had many lovers in her life, a few casual ones before she met her husband, Jack, and only Ken since Jack passed away, but although she loved Jack dearly, the sex was never as good as it was with Ken. And now, with Alan's guidance, she hoped it was about to get even better!

The two young people staying with her were so liberal-minded and relaxed about their sexuality, that Ellen found herself discussing quite freely things that she had never talked about with anyone before: who would have thought that she would still be discovering things like that at her age—and with her own granddaughter.

Alan had suggested to Ellen that he go to the beach with Sarah to get them settled, then he would come back up when Ken arrived. Although Ken had seen Ellen naked on numerous occasions over the last few years, he might feel odd if she was when Alan was there, so she would wear a bra and pants while he was demonstrating the basic massage techniques; but as soon as he was finished and had left, one or both of them could undress if they wanted to, in private. They had no special massage oils, but Alan found some of Ellen's scented body lotion that would serve just as well. Sarah would actually have liked to be there, too, but she con­ceded that it perhaps was better if she wasn't.

"What time is he coming, Ellen?" Alan asked.

"He said eleven."

"All right, I've got my watch; I'll be back just before then."

Alan and Sarah laid down their towels in the preferred place, and at five to eleven they both walked back up to the top of the wooden staircase, where Sarah refastened it after he had started back to the cottage. After undress­ing, and unable to reach all of her back, she applied plenty of sunblock to her front before lying back to enjoy the heat on her skin.

Just after Alan re-entered the cottage by the back door, Ken arrived at the front. Alan was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, while Ellen had on a robe made out of some sort of silken material, which had been a gift from Ken. She was still nervous as she opened the front door for him, but they exchanged light kisses.

They all went into Ellen's bedroom, where she had stripped off the bedding and placed an extra sheet on the mattress. Neither she nor Ken really knew what to expect, so she sat on the side of the bed, while he stood by it, waiting for Alan to tell him what to do next.

"Show me your hands, Ken, palms up," Alan said.

The older man was a few inches shorter, but he still had the physique of a man who had spent much of his life doing physical work. Alan looked at his palms, then handed him some of Ellen's moisturiser.

"You've still got builders hands, Ken: strong fingers, but still a bit rough for soft skin. Rub this moisturiser well in and it might be an idea if you did it regularly from now on, Ellen will notice the difference

"Now, Ellen, would you like to lie face down on the bed, please."

She slipped of her robe and did as he asked. Alan was a little surprised that although her plain white underwear wasn't as brief as her granddaughter's, the bra showed quite a lot of her cleavage and the knickers sat quite low on her hips: but then Ellen had never conformed to most peoples expectation of 'the older woman'; she had been a young woman during the sixties social revolution and had obviously carried those liberal values through the successive decades to her senior years.

Ken had now been diligently moisturising for several minutes and the skin on his hands was definitely feeling the benefits.

"Now we don't need to worry too much about the medical benefits of massage on the body: what we're really interested in is that it makes a person feel good—isn't that right, Ellen?"

"Oh, yes, definitely!"

"—So by massaging the skin, applying pressure in long, steady strokes, both light and heavier, you will relax the subject, and with that relaxation you will lower stress and tension and the subject will also derive a sense of pleasure and contentment. It's a bit like when you finish a building job and you know that you've done the best you can and your customer is happy. You're also a man of the world, Ken, so you must appreciate the part that massage can have on peoples' intimate relations. So—it's time to get literally, 'hands on'."

For the next forty minutes or so, Alan demonstrated and then Ken practised. At the end of this time, Alan said:

"—You can carry on now, Ken. Sarah and I will see you later this afternoon, Ellen." Then he left, quietly closing the bedroom door behind him.

He washed his hands in the bathroom, then walked down the garden towards the gate. Looking over he could see Sarah stretched out on her towel below him. He also noted the small inflatable dingy and two boys who were sitting near it and obviously looking across in her direction.

"Hi! I'm back!" he called down to her. Sarah was quickly on her feet. She took the padlock key from her bag and moved quickly up the stairs to open the gate. She smiled.

"I'm glad you're back—have you seen the lads?"

"Mmm—have they been a problem?"

"No, not as such, but it's a bit creepy! Not long after you left, they arrived. I suppose they were out on the sea and they saw someone, and being boys they were curious. Anyway, I didn't notice them right away, but then I heard laughing, so I looked to see where it was coming from. They've just been sitting there, looking and talking to each other and laughing about something. If there were other people about it wouldn't worry me, but being here alone, it was getting to me a bit. I knew you wouldn't be long, so I've just toughed it out."

"What do reckon they are: thirteen or fourteen, and they've probably never been this close to a naked woman—let alone a drop-dead gorgeous one!" Alan said. Sarah smiled.

"If they're anything like I was at that age," he continued, "they're harmless, but randy as Hell! Let's have a swim; they might decide to leave now that I'm here, but if not, we'll have a little chat with them and they can get a better look at a hot naked babe!" Sarah giggled.

"Okay—let's do it!"

Back on the beach, Alan took off his clothes and then without looking at the boys, he and Sarah joined hands and walked slowly into the sea. After about fifteen or twenty minutes, Alan met Sarah in the water.

"They are still there—are you ready?"

"Yes, let's go!"

She was quite thrilled when Alan reached around her back and lightly rested his hand on her hip, so she did the same to him and hips touching they walked up the beach towards the surprised boys.

"Hello, Lads! Are you on holiday?" Alan asked them.

They both seemed stunned and were unable to speak as their eyes took in Sarah's full-frontal nakedness; her skin wet and glistening and her nipples erect.

"Er, yeah! In the caravans a bit round the coast," one of them said, "I'm Brian and this is my brother, Joey."

"Hi, Guys! Do you know why we came over, Brian?"

"Er, no, not really."

"I'm Alan and this is my wife, Sarah, by the way—well, Sarah was getting a little uncomfortable, because you were staring at her." The boys looked at each other and then back at Alan and Sarah.

"—We're sorry, Miss! It's just that—"

"—I know, Lads, I was your age once!" Alan continued, "Look, this isn't a private beach, so you have a right to be here, but I just want you to remember that it's all right to look at naked women sunbathing, but you've also got to take their feelings into consideration; although you might not have realised that staring at someone can be a bit creepy! Are you hanging around, or are you going soon?" The brothers looked at each other again.

"I—I think it's probably time we got back—" Brian said.

"Okay, Lads, it was nice meeting you—and watch those currents as you go back, they can be quite strong!"

"Thanks!" they said together, as they picked up the dingy and carried it back to the water. They turned for one last look at Sarah before they paddled off. Still holding each other, Alan and Sarah walked back to their towels.

"Come on, Hubby, you can put some cream on my back!"

When Sarah and Alan returned to the cottage that afternoon, Ellen and Ken were sitting on the sofa: the afterglow was almost dazzling.

"No need to ask how the, er, massage went then!" Sarah said, a big grin on her face.

"No, it went much better than I expected," Ellen said, "—In fact, it went so well that I've asked Ken to move in here with me. And of course, since we're respectable oldies, we decided that we really ought to get married first!"

Sarah was so excited that she practically leapt at her grandmother and Ken and throwing her arms around both their necks, she kissed them.

"That's so amazing, Gran! I'm really, really happy for you both! It's such a pity that there's a time period that you have to wait, but we'll just have to come down again for the wedding, won't we Alan."

"If it's possible," he said, "but won't Kevin and you're parent's want to be here, too?" Sarah frowned: "Yes, I suppose so." But then the emotional pendulum swung upwards again and she smiled.

"I think a hot bath, a nice meal, and then a celebratory drink down the pub is called for!"

She was about to hold out her hand and say: 'Are you coming, Alan, ' when she remembered where she was and who she was with and she turned alone towards the bedroom.

"We'd both really like you to come to the wedding, Alan, if you can. In a way it's you that has brought it about. Today has made me realise just how much I miss a man's touch, and I'm sure Ken won't mind me saying how much it's enhanced the physical side of our relationship."

"I don't want to promise, but I'm really glad that it's speeded up something that was probably going to happen anyway."

"Right!" Ellen continued, "I should be getting the dinner on if we're going out tonight. You boys can make yourself useful by going out the back and getting some fresh veg from the garden."

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Sarah and Alan wondered if Brian and Joey would be back, or whether maybe they would tell others who would come looking for the little cove, but no one ever did, so, apart from Ellen who spent some more time on the beach with them, they had it to themselves.

But all too soon it was Friday and they would be returning home the next day. The weather hadn't always been as hot, but it was still very nice to sit there with not a care in the world. Although Ellen was looking forward to marrying Ken, there was no urgency, as they could continue to spend as many days and nights together as they wished; although Ken was still reluctant to stay the night while Ellen had guests, although he liked Sarah and Alan very much. It was just his way and so it was accepted.

It was too far to drive down for a weekend and Sarah couldn't make plans for her parents or Kevin, and she didn't know if she could get time off work unless she used some more of her holiday entitlement, so no definite dates could be agreed before it was time to leave.

They tried to make the most of Friday evening, but Sarah couldn't completely dispel her sadness at the thought of leaving, after what had been an almost perfect week. What she thought would have made it perfect, she never consciously admitted to herself, but she clung on to the belief that everything would be all right when she saw her beloved husband again. It had been a bit like a shipboard romance, but without the actual romance, as Alan still treated her as part close friend, and part little sister; with just a teeny-weeny hint of some indefinable something else thrown into the mix as well. Sarah could almost be described as 'clingy' towards Alan, from the time that they woke up on Friday morning, until she finally closed her eyes to sleep on Friday night,

Saturday

They could afford to leave Cornwall a little later than they had left London the previous weekend and still get home by early evening, so Sarah showered and they had a leisurely breakfast. The travel cases were packed so Alan carried them to the car.

"Can we just go down to the beach for a few minutes, please, Alan?"

"Sure, there's no hurry," he said, so they collected the gate key from the hook in the kitchen were it was kept.

At the bottom of the stairway that Ken had built, Sarah took off her sandals and Alan his tennis shoes, which they left on the steps. "Piggyback?" he said. Sarah laughed and jumped on his back and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, then with his arms under her knees, they walked down to the lapping waters edge. On the way Sarah closed her eyes and breathed in his aroma. When his feet were underwater, Alan let Sarah down, and holding on to his hand tightly, they walked virtually the length of the beach and back again, hardly speaking.

"Good memories, eh!" Sarah finally said, as they climbed the wooden stairs for the last time together in goodness knows how long.

"Uh huh! And don't forget that memories are supposed to last a lifetime!"

"Good, I like that idea!"

At the end of the long journey home, Alan carried Sarah's suitcase to her front door.

"Coming in to say hello to Kev?"

"I won't if you don't mind: I'm a bit knackered!" Sarah smiled then kissed him fleetingly on the mouth.

"Okay, then! Thanks for everything—see you soon!"

The date for the wedding was finally set. Both Sarah and Kevin were able to take the Friday off work and the following Monday, so they could travel on those days and have the whole weekend to relax. Sarah's parent's were also going to go down to Cornwall for Ellen McMahon's marriage to widower, Ken Anstiss, along with family friend, Alan Ayre, so rather than taking a single car for the long journey, they hired an MPV.