Chapter 13

As the train slowed in its approach to Wembley Station Arthur was more nervous than he had been when Colette had taken him to her flat the first time. Having not been there since then he had been hoping she would invite him over again. Except for his sexual initiation on his first day in London, their last three activities had been at her cottage in the Cotswolds. He didn’t know why she invited him to come today. He thought about the walk back to Colette’s cottage from the pub when, while walking with Sioban by herself for a while, she stopped and kissed the coed so outlandishly. He recalled how uncomfortable Ryan, and he were when the kiss turned into a serious exchange of tongues. After they had gotten back to their room on Sunday evening that kiss became a long part of their conversation that Ryan started with, “Have you ever seen women kissing like that Arthur?”

He was hesitant to admit that he had seen images of women kissing like that in a porno magazine his high school friend Donny More had shown him. “I saw it once in a magazine.”

Shrugging off Arthur’s admission Ryan said, “Do you think Colette could be a lesbian.”

Out of patience with his roommate who was a sophisticated person Arthur thought Ryan must be more naïve about these things than I would have thought. “If she were a lesbian Ryan, she wouldn’t want to have sex with guys. That was just a kiss.”

“A kiss, yeah, but they were swapping tongues.”

Though uncomfortable with it as well he knew Colette well enough that she had no trouble doing outrageous things just to show people she could. “I really wouldn’t worry about it, Ryan. All we should care about is the sex we ended up having with both women while we were there.”

“It just kind of surprised me is all,” Ryan replied.

After the kissing episode, Colette had taken Arthur’s hand and walked with him like a couple of lovers for the next mile or so. “I like your friends Arthur,” she had said, “It tells me how you gravitate toward more mature people.”

“I suppose that’s why Ryan is my student advisor.”

“And Sioban is a girl who likes to have fun,” she said, “she reminds me of me when I was her age.”

“Is that why you kissed her?”

“I kissed her because I wanted to see how she would react to it,” Colette said. “She’s quite an open-minded and progressive young woman. After the initial shock of what I was doing wore off she became rather comfortable with it. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better. Ryan too.” After walking a few more steps in silence she said, “I’ve been thinking about something Arthur.”

“What?”

“Something for me to know and you to find out,” she teased. “I want to think about it a bit more and make sure my decision makes sense. I have a gap day on Thursday and would like for you to come for dinner ... plan on spending the night. Your friends—especially Sioban—have made me think seriously about something about which I’ve been thinking. I want to sleep on it a bit more before telling you more. Besides, I haven’t had you over to my flat since you first arrived.”

As he stood at her apartment door and rang the bell my stomach was in knots while I wondered what in the world can she have to tell me?” But as the door opened the vision of Colette standing barefooted in just a British Airlines t-shirt made her knees grow weak. She wore no lipstick and looked relaxed as if she could have just been having sex.

With a knowing smile, she said, “Poor baby,” took me by the hand, pulled me inside, and hugged me tightly to her body. “It’s nothing that you should be worrying so much about sweetie.” Her warm greeting made me feel welcomed but still left me wondering the reason for my being there.

“Pizza’s on the way,” she said as she led me into the living room. “It’s a large one so you can take what we don’t eat back to the dorm. I imagine Ryan will be glad to help you finish it while you are telling him what we have discussed here tonight.”

Feeling a little more at ease he was still mystified by whatever web Colette had been weaving. She led him to the couch where an open bottle of red wine sat on the coffee table. “Let’s sit on the carpet in front of the couch,” she said. “I feel so good about what I have to tell you that I want both of us to be relaxed so we can enjoy it completely.” Holding on to my hand she grinned as we sat down, lowered herself next to me, and curled her legs under her bottom in a way only females seemed comfortable doing. Feeling more at ease he took the glass of wine she offered. Holding hers out she toasted, “To Arthur and his friends.” He repeated the toast, wondering what all this was about. They both sipped.

Smiling she reached out and toyed with a loose lock on his forehead, something his mother often did and studied him. Shaking her head, she said, “You are such a joy to me, Arthur.” Caressing his cheek, she continued, “I’m sorry I’ve made such a mystery out of this but when I tell you what it is about, I know you’ll be quite pleased.”

Just then the doorbell rang. “That’s the pizza.” She sprang up and went to the door, handled the exchange, came back, and set the pizza on the coffee table then went to the kitchen and brought back two plates setting them on the flat surface.

As they ate their pizza Colette made small talk, but Arthur’s thoughts bombarded him with questions that made it impossible for him to concentrate. “Arthur...?”

She had a grin on her face that he couldn’t understand. Snapping her fingers in front of his face she said, “Arthur? Where are you?” Laying her hand on his thigh she snuggled close and continued, “I’m sorry that I’ve hung you on tenterhooks like this love. Are you okay? There is nothing wrong you know ... only something incredibly good.”

Reaching her hands to her neck she took the thin gold necklace chain hanging there and he it over her head. Holding it out to him he saw a gold-plated key dangling from the chain. “What is it?” He asked as he took the necklace.

With a smile broadening her eyes appeared she said, “It’s the key to my flat darling. I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while. Nobody’s ever had the key to my place before Arthur and I had to think hard about it before giving it to you.”

Confused as to what was making her do something like this he asked, “Why me?”

“Because you’re the most remarkable young man I’ve ever met Arthur. I feel so lucky that you are a part of my life.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course, you don’t, and I know you would never expect it. But this past weekend with your friends sealed the deal for me. You are more than just a casual friend Arthur. You are an important part of my life.”

The next thing she said almost blew me away: “Sioban and I had tea today.” Eying my confusion she smiled. “She just left a little while ago as a matter of fact.”

Sioban, here TODAY ... Just left? He couldn’t understand why she was talking about Sioban. “Why had Sioban been here? This is the first time I have been in your flat since the day I came to London.”

Putting her open hand on his cheek she stared fondly into his eyes and said, “After the first time I took you to Bourne on the Water Arthur I knew that I wanted to be life-long friends with you. You have entered my life at a special time, and I think for a special purpose that I don’t yet understand. At that time, I began thinking that you should have a key to my flat because you are so special to me in a way that no other male has been. I bought the neck chain and then had the key gold-plated just after we got back from Bourne. But I wasn’t certain of when I should give it to you ... I thought for Christmas. Before this last weekend was over though I decided it would be today.

She went on, “What triggered my decision to do it today was the result of my conversation on the pathway at Bourne with Sioban ... after we had kissed.”

She filled him in on their conversation when Sioban told her that they hadn’t had sex since his first week in London because there was no acceptable place to do it. “That’s the reason I changed partners with Sioban so you and she could use my master bedroom Saturday night. That’s the reason I had her come for tea today—I had to get her thoughts on it. And that’s the reason I just gave you the key.”

Feeling like Sioban had risen above him in Colette’s estimation he said, “You mean you liked Sioban so much that you asked her to come here ... to get HER advice?” So why do you think you can trust ME more with a key to your place?”

Assessing the confusion on his face she continued, “I value your opinion, Arthur. Based on how you touched me from the beginning I see how Sioban was taken with you from the start just as I was. I would like no more than to have your friends be my friends, heh, heh with certain limitations of course. I saw immediately that Sioban is a practical person, one who doesn’t believe in wasting her time or the time of others. I respect that. When she told me that she only had sex with you once because of no available place to do it elsewhere I recognized that she would go only for the real thing rather than grovel in a car or movie or some such place. I saw an opportunity to act on giving you the key for the two of you having a place to make love. But I didn’t feel like I could go forward with it until she assured me that she wouldn’t pull the plug with you. She was thrilled when I explained to her what my intentions were.”

Arthur could see that she was pleased that his demeanor had been changed favorably with her explanation, but he still had to ask, “But what makes you think that Sioban isn’t as trustworthy as I am?”

“My profession has made me a quick study Arthur. I’ve made mistakes along the way, sure, but I’ve never made the same mistake twice. I would stake my life on your honesty; I feel like I know you. I can’t allow myself to trust Sioban to that extent yet. But since she triggered my desire to act more quickly on my decision, I wanted to be sure that she would go along with it. She’s your friend Arthur but you’ve only been together once before this weekend, I mean REALLY together. She’s a highly sexual woman who wants to sow her oats. Even though she holds you in exceptionally high regard she could be swayed to use the key, if it were in her possession I mean to have sex with someone other than you. I’m just being practical about this as I think back to how I was when I was her age.”

“Ryan? I’m impressed with him but don’t know him as I do you. And the lads will be lads. In my estimation you are completely trustworthy, you’re incredibly logical. Shaking her head, she chuckled and said, “You remind me of what the Dalai Lama said: ‘Learn the rules well enough so you will be able to break them properly.’ I trust you implicitly Arthur and know if you should decide to bend the rules, you would have my best interests at heart.” With a pleased sigh, she added, “I genuinely believe your parents raised you that way, and I hope to meet them someday.”

Rubbing the key in his fingers he looked at it and then trying to communicate his gratitude stared into Colette’s eyes.

“That’s another thing I love about you, darling. You don’t blandish a person with unnecessary rot. But after meeting and being alone with Sioban over the weekend and again today, with you she wanted to frolic with no place to do it, the problem has been solved with your key.”

With a grin, she went on, “Wear it around your neck as a talisman. If your mates question you about it just tell them it’s the key to a very loving woman’s heart, he-he, (rolling her eyes) two. When you tell Ryan about it, I’ll be interested in seeing if he is as confidential about these things as you are.”

The amazement of it all dawned on him. From the plane flight to London where he had been discovered by this remarkable woman and her attentions to him at Bourne on the Water. “Ryan, another unexpected blessing for you and Sioban are just more serendipitous elements that have been added to the mix.”

He thought from the beginning that Colette would like Ryan and Sioban if they ever met but was never confident enough that she would be more interested in his friends than just hearing about them. After the weekend that she so eagerly made happen and with the key around his neck, his self-confidence rose like a rocket. At the same moment, the call he got from his mother before he left to come to Colette’s flat popped into his head. Shall I tell Colette about her now or wait for later?

With Thanksgiving nearing Arthur had been thinking of home but hadn’t been dwelling on it, now his mother would be coming to London during that time. It made him feel a little homesick, the first time he had felt anything like that since he had left home. His dad had announced to her that he decided to go Elk hunting in the Rockies over the Thanksgiving Holiday. He told her that he would pay for tickets for her to visit Arthur in England. He was excited when she told him. For some reason, though he was threatened. He had to give Colette a heads up if she might have been planning something for that weekend.

But when she received his news her face brightened and she said, “I really would like to meet your mother. Thanksgiving. PERFECT.” Energized by the news she said, “I’ve celebrated Thanksgiving with the family of one of our Captains. It’s a charming holiday. She seemed as excited as a kid. “We could celebrate Thanksgiving HERE, right in the flat. We could introduce Ryan and Sioban to an American Thanksgiving. I wager they would love it ... and I know your mother would love meeting your friends. Parents get great enjoyment on this ... that’s been my observation.”

She was on a roll already planning the event. “Talk to your mom in the morning and tell her what we are going to do. Ask her to come up with a menu. I know she would love it.”

“I don’t think she wants to come to England to cook,” he said. “Thanksgiving dinner’s a lot of work Colette.”

“Nonsense, I’LL cook it. She can help if she wants. Or not. I love to cook.”

He felt like a spoilsport by saying, “You’ve never cooked for me.”

“I love to cook but not just for one or two people. I need a group to make it interesting. Oh, Arthur, I’m so EXCITED.”

Arthur tentatively said, “B ... But what would my mother think of you ... I mean us.”

“Stop stammering like a teenager Arthur, your more of an adult than that. And if you think you are intimidated by your mother meeting me you can stop that right now. I’m sure your mum knows or at least hopes she knows what I know about you.” Looking at his skeptical face she went on, “You are a powerful young man Arthur, a man who can turn ANY woman into a pussycat.”

“BUT...”

“But NOTHING Arthur Chadwick,” she said it as if she WERE his mom “you have told me of fantasies that you’ve had involving your mum. What makes you think she hasn’t had similar fantasies with you?”

“She wouldn’t.”

“ROT,” Colette said, “Your mother is a female human. I know how female humans think whether they are mothers or not. Several of my colleagues are mothers and I’ve discussed this with some of them. A couple of them have told me that fantasizing about their sons haunts them. But that’s beside the point. I think your mum’s coming is marvelous and we should make an event of it.”