Chapter 13

Saturday 7th November to Monday 7th Dec 1970

I woke up wondering who was in my bed. Then I remembered, and since I now had my back to her I turned over, which had the effect of waking her. She was on her back and it was obvious she too wondered where she was and with whom. Then she turned her head and looked at me looking at her. Her smile lit her face.

“Morning!” and she moved to me.

“Morning,” and I opened my arms to receive her.

She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed, relaxed and indolent in her waking. We caressed each other, over backs and sides, neck and ears, and we kissed hello.

She made a little humming noise, then, “It wasn’t a dream then, I really was thoroughly loved last night by a super stud!” Her quiet voice was faintly mocking but full of love.

“I thought you were here all night,” I answered, “Where did you go?”

She gently punched my shoulder. “Don’t fish. You know it was good last night – just what I needed.”

I kissed her. “Yes, you’re right, it was very good last night.”

“It can be good this morning,” she grinned, as her hand trotted down to grasp my erect penis.

I rolled her onto her back, cupped her sex, and made to excite her little bud. She caught her breath. I made a move to add my mouth for her pleasure, but she shook her head.

“I want it missionary with my legs over your shoulders,” she gasped. “Put it in me.”

She spread her legs wide enough for me get between them, and when I was in position she lifted her legs and put them on my shoulders.

“Now, ram it in!”

I relished this moment and duly rammed her. There was a groan and a moan from both of us, and a ring at the doorbell, as if I had rung the bell with the force of my thrust. We both sagged with frustration.

“Hang it, they can wait, or go away,” I growled, pushing in and out, though without conviction. She responded with equal diffidence.

“You know you can’t,” she actually laughed, though her face showed disappointment.

I pulled out, her sex attempting to suck me in and finish the job, I put on my dressing gown, a thick one which hinted at my erection without advertising it, and as the bell rang for the second time, I went to the door.

I opened it. A man and a woman. My first thought was Jehovah’s witnesses since they had that earnest look on their faces, then it registered. It was Derek and Ingrid.

I stared, trying to make sense of it.

“Er, Graham,” stammered Derek, looking to Ingrid for inspiration.

“Could we come in and talk with you Graham?” she asked sweetly in her sing-song accent.

“Er, yes,” I said. “Come in.” It had slipped my mind that Harriet was lying naked and unsatisfied in my bed, so I ushered them towards the living room just as Harriet emerged onto the hallway, wearing one of my tee shirts very fetchingly, since it reached about two inches below ‘see’ level, and I saw Derek’s eyes widen as he took in her long slim legs. She stopped.

“This is Harriet,” I said. “Harriet meet Derek, Penny’s brother, and Ingrid his wife.”

They exchanged greetings and then I led the couple into the living room and gestured them to sit. They chose the sofa and sat side by side. Harriet offered coffee and after some hesitation they accepted.

I sat in an armchair and smiled. After all I had nothing against Derek, and Ingrid was always a pleasure to look at and listen to.

“So?” I invited.

Derek looked at Harriet. I took the hint.

“Harriet is a good friend who was dumped by her boyfriend three months ago, so Colette and Zena thought it would be good to celebrate her anniversary, and I could celebrate mine. She stayed the night, as you will have gathered.”

Harriet smiled with an air of satisfaction, and it was not lost on the couple, who smiled in return, then she went to make coffee, coming back to the room while it brewed.

“So?” I repeated.

Derek sat forward. “It’s Penny,” he said.

“I thought it might be,” I interjected, then nodded for him to continue.

“Last night certainly messed her up,” he said. “It was going to be a big engagement party, organised by–”

“Your mother,” I interrupted again.

“Exactly. Mother wanted it in Chester, but Penny put her foot down and insisted it be held here. This is where she’s living and working, and she was damned if she was going to travel to Chester. Well, the party was a disaster.”

“I heard the gory details from Patty. She came to enlighten me.”

“Afterwards we took Penny and Nigel to her local for a drink. Mother and Father went back to the hotel. There’s real trouble there. She found your letter, read it and destroyed it. Father is incandescent!

“She won’t tell him or Penny what was in it, and Penny’s only got a garbled account of what led to her breaking the engagement. Come to that, I don’t know the whole story. You never told me at the time.”

“Shame,” I said blithely and without a trace of sympathy. “She had it coming.”

Ingrid and Harriet both looked startled at that, and Derek looked surprised.

“What’s the matter?” I asked. I was annoyed, though with whom I don’t know to this day. “What Penny is going through is no concern of mine. It was six months ago. It’s over. Finished. Nothing to do with me.”

Harriet brought in the coffee and sat at the opposite end of the coffee table.

Derek was silenced. I flippantly wondered to myself if it was the sight of Harriet’s legs that tongue-tied him, but knew that really he did not know how to go from there.

It was Ingrid who spoke.

“Graham you are not a man unkind, are you? You like to help people in trouble, yes?”

She did not wait for an answer; she knew she was right.

“Penny did stupid things. She is silly girl, but not experienced in love, you know this. Now she is very sad and she needs to know all that happened. I saw her. I saw how sad she is she hurt you, how she was stupid. She would like very much to talk with you. Will you be kind and help her, please?”

Oh dear. How could anyone, anyone certainly of the male gender, ever refuse a request from that woman? Very attractive in that Nordic way, a wonderful way of speaking English with that sing-song intonation.

I sighed, defeated.

“OK, OK,” I said, or rather growled. “If she wants to talk to me she knows where I live. Though I can’t see how it will help.”

Both the women smiled as if to say I’d been a good boy, and Derek looked relieved.

When they left, Harriet proceeded to reward me by taking me back to bed. Two hours later, and after she had reduced me to exhaustion, we rose and had a late breakfast.

Over breakfast I thought to get my own back.

“So, Harriet darling, I’ve opened the way for Penny to talk with me. Any chance of you doing the same with Kieran? I have it on good authority that he’s having second thoughts about you and him.”