Chapter 9

Monday 1st June to Thursday 20th August 1970

Colette and I decided to have a break from each other on Monday night to get a bit of rest, so I was home alone that evening. The place felt different. I felt at peace. Perhaps at last I was becoming free of the Roasburies, the horrid parents and traitorous daughter.

So, after my evening meal when the phone rang, for the first time I didn’t think it would be Penny. In any case it was the wrong day.

As a result the caller completely confused me. It was Derek. No pleasantries.

“Graham,” he said in a puzzled rather than angry tone, “What’s going on between you and Penny?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, “but basically, nothing is going on any more.”

“She says she’s broken off the engagement.”

“Well, I received her engagement watch through the post, so I assume that’s what she’s done.”

“You mean she hasn’t told you?”

“No. I just got the watch. No note with it.”

“She says you’re seeing someone else.”

“Does she?”

“Well, are you?”

“Derek, I’m not prepared to tell you anything if she’s not prepared to talk to me. But I’ll tell you this much and you can draw your own conclusions. You remember she came to you for that weekend?”

“Yes, but what’s–”

“Just listen, I’ll tell you this, and then no more. The previous week I complained that she’d repeatedly put me off seeing her for three weeks and I intended to see her that weekend to talk about it, and I expected her phone call to arrange it on Friday, at 7.30 as usual. Indeed she promised faithfully to phone.

“That call never came, but at midnight, on Friday night mind, remember that, she phoned to say she was at your place and hadn’t been able to phone because the train was delayed three hours. She was phoning from a phone box, Derek.”

“But she didn’t–”

“She didn’t get to you until Saturday afternoon. She deliberately lied to me. The phone box was a giveaway even if you hadn’t phoned about what she’d left behind. You’ve got a phone. That’s all you’re getting, Derek. She hasn’t told me why she’s broken it off.”

There was a moment’s silence, then, “Thanks Graham. Bye.”

So there I was, back to the old uncertainty. When Derek got to her, would she now phone me and explain? Was I to jump at each phone call again, as I had been doing before?

On Tuesday evening, at 7.30 the phone rang. This was ridiculous! My heart jumped, and I somewhat reluctantly answered it.

“Graham Proctor.”

“Graham, it’s Penny’s mother.”

“Hello,” I said, dreading the rest of the call.

“Graham, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t lie, Graham, Penny says she’s broken off your engagement because you’re seeing someone else.”

“Does she?”

“Don’t play games, Graham, you know you are.”

I was growing tired of this, but I was damned if I was going to answer accusations from anyone but Penny, and I wasn’t sure I could be bothered even to answer hers!

“Is this from Derek?”

“He phoned us, yes, he said he’d told Penny she’d better ring me and tell me what was going on.”

“Did he tell you what I said?”

“Yes, something about her missing a train, or forgetting to phone you.”

I sighed. “OK, I told Derek I wouldn’t discuss it with him unless Penny discussed it with me first.”

“But she’s told you she’s broken it off.”

“No. She sent her engagement watch back to me. No note, no explanation.”

“She said you were being awkward, and you know perfectly well why she’s broken it off.”

“Listen, she hasn’t said anything to me, but she is seeing someone else, which I’m sure will make you very happy. Why you should want to know the details I’ve no idea, you’ve never liked me, you’ve been rude and snobbish, so I have no intention of saying any more. What I will do is write your husband a letter, since he at least is civil to me. Goodnight.”

I hung up, and I hit the bottle. Bloody fucking Roasburies.

On Thursday it was my turn to host the meeting and Zena offered to help. Needless to say everyone knew the latest development and were duly compassionate. We had just sat down to play the first rubber, when the phone rang. Zena’s hand was the dummy so she went to answer it. She needn’t have, for all play stopped while she was gone.

“Hello, Graham Proctor’s Place...”

“Yes, he’s here, who’s speaking please... ?”

“Zena Bridgehouse, I’m a colleague of his from work...”

“I’ll get him.”

She looked over to me. “Penny’s mother.”

I walked over to the phone.

“Hello.”

“So you have got another woman.”

“It’s none of your business, nor of Penny’s any more, is it?”

“Penny told me this Zena was the one you were sleeping with. That woman answered the phone in the evening, and was still there the next morning.”

“No.”

“What d’you mean? Are you calling Penny a liar?”

“Well, yes, she is a liar, but in this case she’s mistaken. Listen, I can’t talk now, I’ll give you this much, Zena is here with two other people. We play contract bridge every Thursday. Did she tell you about Martin Greaves?”

“He’s her new boyfriend. He’s helped her through this awful business. She’s only been with him since you were unfaithful.”

“I’m sick of this! I was not unfaithful. I can’t talk now, these people are waiting to play. And by the way, Penny is lying about Martin as well.”

I put the phone down. “Damned woman,” I snarled, but I wasn’t sure which woman I meant.

I played very badly that night, but Zena, my partner, did not complain. Lovely girl! Fucking Roasburie bitches!

On Friday at home after work, I wrote the letter to Geoff Roasburie outlining the whole saga of infidelity and lack of communication. I enclosed photo’s of Penny with Martin Greaves, the loving couple, one of them walking with arms round each other, and the other of them on the park bench with hands on each other’s genitals, sealed the envelope and posted it. Perhaps this would finally put an end to my pointless association with the delinquent Roasburies.

When I returned from the post box, Colette’s car was outside the flat. As I approached she climbed out and came toward me. She slid her arms around me and lifted her face for a kiss. We kissed. It went on for a while, as her body squeezing against me, waking up further my already stirring cock.

“Anything planned for the weekend?” she asked seductively.

“No,” I said as I opened the front door and we climbed to my first floor flat.

“Come with me to Shropshire,” she invited. “I booked a hotel in Ironbridge. The food is superb, the beer is local and very pleasant; Wenlock Edge is picturesque. How about it?”

“Sold to the lady in red.”

She was a wearing green blouse and a short, darker green skirt.

“How did you know I’ve got my red knickers on?” she asked with a pout.

“You flashed me getting out of the car, and I can see a bit of your bra,” I answered smugly. “And you always wear sexy red when you want me to do something.”

“OK, pervert. Get some stuff together and let’s hit the road. Can we take your car?”

The hotel was in the centre of Ironbridge, and as Colette said the place was very welcoming and the food was superb. She was right about the beer as well.

Ironbridge is a small town by the River Severn Gorge which boasts the first iron bridge ever built. It is a beautiful structure, with a graceful arch and well worth seeing. It and other towns in the area were at the forefront of the industrial revolution, during which time the whole place looked like hell on earth. now all is green and pleasant and the area abounds in fascinating museums,

On the Saturday afternoon after we had returned from our drive and hike along the Edge, we had undressed and got into the king sized bed. It was then that Colette became serious.

“Graham I’ve got something to tell you.”

My face must have shown I was expecting bad news, for she hastened to correct the impression.

“No, no,” she said, “Nothing bad. It’s just that we need to get things clear. You were engaged to Penny, and that shows that you were thinking of settling down and getting married. You’re what? 25, 26?”

I nodded, “27.”

She continued. “Zena and I were talking. I don’t want you getting serious with me. I’m a little younger than you but I don’t want to settle down just yet. I’m very happy the way things are. I like being your friend and I like being your lover. You’re very good in bed, you know, I’ve rarely felt so loved and cared for. That’s it really.”

She sat primly in the bed, displaying her perfect breasts which sat perkily and firm. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Colette,” I said, “after my experience with Penny I don’t want to get too serious either for a good long time. I’m grateful to both of you for all you do for me, and I can’t believe my luck that you want to have sex with me at all. So can we just carry on as we are?”