Chapter 16

“That seemed to work well, Bob. Did the timing work out okay?”

“Perfect, my love. If the system will allow, I can do lots more trips like that. We need to have enough bricks for three or four courses at a minimum before I should start taking the cement through and make the mortar. That trip will need to be much longer.”
My darling checked the power level, and there was no complaint from the machine, so I repeated my two-brick trick with the same timings. This time when I got back, the power level was reduced but not showing Low, so I went ahead with a third delivery of bricks and returned.

This time the machine claimed the power was low, so we cancelled any more deliveries for the day. Sandy worked out that the power system needed a long period of sunshine to build up the battery charge, and we were not in a hurry, so six bricks in a day was satisfactory.

I was happy with that, as I could now devote my attention to kissing and cuddling Sandy, but she asked that we move to the house where we could be comfortable on the sofa.

“Not the bed?” I queried, and got a mild slap on the hand for making the suggestion.

“Not the bed,” she declared, “but you can play with my breasts for a while.”

“Good,” I responded. “Your bare breasts this time, perhaps?”

This got me an immediate glare, then she slowly relented.

“Yes, this time, my husband-to-be, but I want you with your torso stripped too, so that we can have our fronts touching. I like how that feels.”

Sandy was most definitely the one in control of this encounter.
We moved to the house and the sofa received us once we had our tops naked. I was able to note that the temperature was quite acceptable, so somehow there was some sort of heating involved, but I could not see any radiator. Maybe it was built in to the walls or ceiling; that would make sense if it was infra-red or similar output. My view and mind were diverted by Sandy’s presence near me; standing there puzzled at my delay in admiring her. She looked gorgeous with her breasts standing proud. My own nipples hardened as my body reacted to the sight, and thoughts of heating systems vanished into oblivion.

Sandy inserted a bit of her own practical observation by reflecting aloud that having the windows covered was a useful extra; no-one could see what we were up to. At the moment I did not care, and advanced on her with outstretched hands and trepidation.

I was truly excited by my touch on her breasts and her hardened nipples, and then we were breast to breast for our kisses, with my hands roaming over her smooth back. I enjoyed the tactile experience, then I realised Sandy was taking the same liberty with my back, and our kisses became more intense. It was great!

Sandy at last stopped kissing me and moved back slightly, allowing me to fondle her lovely breasts again. She paused and faced me for a while without speaking, and I asked her what she was thinking.

She admitted, “I was imagining Georgie doing the same with you and wondering if she can prevent herself taking you to bed and doing much more.”
“Damn! Now you have got me thinking of the same thing, Sandy. You don’t object, do you?”
“Object to her exposing her breasts to you and getting them played with like this? No, for on our honeymoon she and you will be teaching me about sex; or rather she will be teaching both of us about sex. It was more my concern that she might take you to bed and fuck you if the touching happens in this house.”
I gave some thought to what she was saying, then asked, “What is the difference between her fucking me here in the next week or so, and her fucking me on our honeymoon? Apart from a couple of weeks in time?”

“Nothing very much, I suppose. If she is going to have children, that means you fucking her regularly until she gets pregnant; and you fucking me regularly wearing a condom.”
“Hmm...” I continued musing. “You still don’t want to get pregnant while you are studying? There is nothing to stop you, as it simply means being less able to run around or walk fast. With our new finances, you could take taxis where walking would be a burden.”

“Bob, stop being so bloody persuasive! You will have to give me time to think through all the problems of pregnancy and how these would affect my studies. I must have a chat with girls who have had a baby while doing their degree, so that I have all the necessary facts.”
I ran my hands over her front again. “I like this,” I told her. “Do you think I will enjoy it as much with Georgina, or with Janet? I take it you questioned Janet about any possible sexual disease that would prevent her joining us?”

“I did. She claims to be disease-free, due to not having engaged in full sex with anyone yet.”

“A virgin? Her?” I uttered in surprise.

“Don’t sound so shocked, Bob. Some of the best-looking girls are virgins like me, as they have become expert at fending off insistent men. It is usually the less attractive girls that are easy meat for men and give in to their demands for sex in the hope of getting married as a result. Not my idea of being clever.”
“Well, you don’t give in to my demands, that is for sure.”
She giggled, and placed her own hands over mine on her breasts. “Not all of them, certainly. You got this far without too much pressure, my love.”

“And they are lovely breasts, dear heart. Perfect for our babies to suck on. Hey would you be able to provide milk to Georgina’s baby, do you think?”

“I think you have to be pregnant to produce milk, Bob; or already have a baby that is not yet weaned.”

“Pity. I imagined you feeding Georgina’s baby at times, sharing that togetherness.”

“Maybe later, dear. You will have plenty of opportunity to be a loving father, by the looks of things.”

“Now that is a target I hope to reach.”

“Oh, Bob, I do so love you. I was never expecting to fall for a younger man like this.”
“And I never expected to fall for an older girl, one with a wonderful face, wonderful body, wonderful mind, wonderful breasts, wonderful personality, wonderful everything that I can’t see for now.”

Sandy giggled again. “I don’t know what to say to that, Bob. I’ll give you a decent response on our wedding night, to let you know what I think of you.”

“I’ll look forward to that, Sandy.”

“Now, if you have finished pawing me, I want to show you the kitchen, now that it is completed. You do expect to be eating here in future, once we are married?”

We retired to the kitchen where I admired the new cooker, refrigerator, and freezer, but I didn’t recognise another unit.

“What’s this, Sandy?”

“A new piece of equipment for the home: a dishwasher.”
I laughed, “I thought I was the dishwasher!”
“This can do the same thing, but you have to stack all the dishes and utensils in the right way, so that the strong spray can get at all the detritus. You also have to add a special liquid for it to use like soap suds, and the machine rinses it all off at the end, leaving everything sparkly clean.”

“Sounds nice, Sandy. Expensive?”
“What is expensive to a rich man, Bob? It costs, because these machines are new, but think of all the time you spend on washing and drying dishes now.”

“I suppose. I still look at things with the eyes of a working man’s son. I know in my conscious mind that I am well-off now, but my upbringing is still making me view life from the direction of my parents’ economic class.”

“You will soon change, Bob; take my word for it.”

“I have been changing all my life, Sandy. When I was coming up five, I caught diphtheria and was in the isolation hospital for a couple of months I think; my perception of time in there was rather vague. I was not terribly compos mentis for a while, due to the illness. Because of that spell in hospital, I missed starting school as scheduled by my birth-date, so I started school six months later, at the next intake, and found myself the oldest boy in the class on account of that delay.

That meant that throughout primary school I had a slight advantage over the others, despite not getting any education while I waited, and so ended up top of the school in the final year. That status made me think I was cleverer than I really was, so when I moved on to high school, I was up against clever boys and girls from other primary schools in the high school’s catchment area. I was forced to revise my opinion of myself, and work harder to keep up my standards. I was determined to do well, for my future benefit whatever I ended up doing as a career, but mostly to make my parents proud of me.

So you see that I have had to adjust to what life threw at me. Now it has thrown you at me, and I was able to catch you, through a bit of luck.”

Sandy grunted agreement, and said, “We all have to adjust to life’s idiosyncrasies, Bob. It is how we deal with them that makes the difference. You made conscious decisions about the way ahead, and benefitted from these decisions; that is what I see about you. You are still doing that.”
“Well, I have certainly benefitted from meeting you, my love.”

“As have I, because not only are you a nicer guy than I could have ever expected to meet, but you have turned into a rich man with interesting and unusual ideas about the future.”

Sandy switched topics, as she was inclined to do, as the mood took her. It was one of her endearing features.

“Now, I have booked the restaurant at the Ashton Hotel for dinner tonight at six p.m. That leaves us with some time, so we can go to my home to meet Georgina and both of us girls can prepare ourselves for going out for dinner. Be prepared to spend money on quality, Bob. You will most likely have to spend time with Daddy, but as he will soon be your father-in-law you might as well get used to it. He is quite a reasonable man, you will find, but scared of little girls. That was why Georgie had to look after me most of the time I was growing into a woman.”

My foot was getting much more towards normal, so we walked slowly to her father’s house; not very far it transpired. Sandy walked in the front door as she normally did, and called out, “It is me and Bob, here for me and Georgie to get ready for going out to dinner.”

Mr Thompson appeared from his study, and wryly remarked, “You girls getting ready for dinner? That takes forever!”
“Daddy! You know that is not true, so stop trying to put Bob off, or he won’t want to marry me.”

Her comment was completely off-course, but the point was made. Her father looked over at me.

“Bob? Want to imbibe an aperitif before you go out? You are not driving, I take it?”
“No sir. I don’t have a driving licence. That will come later, when we start looking at cars.”

“Cars are expensive beasts, I warn you, Bob. It is not only the cost of buying them, but the upkeep is massive – fuel, tyres, maintenance, insurance, and so on. Put it off until it becomes essential to get you to where you have to be.”
“Yes, sir. I have noted your advice and will act on it at the proper time.”

“For a teenager you act with some signs of maturity, Bob. Any special reason?”

“I don’t think so, sir. I do a lot of thinking, so I think before I get into anything. That is why I remain basically a non-drinker and non-gambler, and mostly a loner with few real friends. There are too many people that are suffering because of one or the other of these temptations taking over their lives. I also try to keep out of fights. I prefer talking my way out of a situation instead of fighting my way out. It is less of a problem in the long run.”

“A wise head on your young shoulders, my boy. Sandy chose well, if you keep to these precepts. Shetland seemed to think well of you, I thought, when talking with him.”

“It was Sandy he met first, sir; acting for me. I hadn’t personally met him until Friday. He was friendly enough and we were able to come to an agreement about certain matters.”

“Legal matters?” he queried.

“Only in so far as he was already formally dealing with them, and now he is engaged in transferring share certificates and such into my name. I had inherited them from a mutual acquaintance, now deceased.”
“Interesting. I always thought Shetland had something odd about him.”
“Different, yes, but odd, no. He is essentially an honest man, like you, but he is willing to cut corners to avoid paying the government more than is officially necessary.”
“Ahh, I get you. Most honest folk are like that; willing to pay their taxes, but not to excess if it is not essential. It is a narrow path to follow, and needs to be done with caution.”
“That is the way of it, sir. Once all the documentation is completed, I will officially be fairly well off, financially, and thus able to look after my family now and in the future.”

“You are aware that as the bride’s father, I am responsible for the wedding and reception costs?”
“I am, sir. Sandy mentioned it. I hope that it is within your budgeting plans for such events?”

“We solicitors are fairly well paid, Bob, so you can be sure of that. Georgina has not had the opportunity to spend my money that way, more’s the pity. Are you fine with your honeymoon costs? Going anywhere expensive?”

“I am able to cover that, sir. We have not made any decision in that line, but Sandy wants to bring Georgina along and give her a holiday, with us being there as her chaperons. She needs cheering up, we feel.”

“How nice of Sandy to think of that. Since their mother died, I have been less than perfect as a loving father, and Sandy was mostly brought up by her sister. Georgina deserves a decent break with protection from predators, as her experience with men has not been of the best.”

“By the way, sir, you know that tonight we are checking out the Ashton as a possible reception venue? I should have thought of inviting you to dine with us as well. I apologise for not thinking of that.”

“Bob, if Sandy thought I needed to be there, she would have already invited me. I think she sees it as the bride and groom and the matron of honour testing the venues, and I agree with her. Enjoy your night out with the girls.”

“Thank you, sir. Your approval is valued.”

We sipped our gin and tonic for a while before Georgina appeared at the door of the room, delicious in a flowing pale blue evening dress that emphasised her curves, and announced, “Sandy will be a little longer; she is a perfectionist, is that girl; be warned, Bob!”

I murmured “And Sandy is perfect already.”

Neither of the other two seemed to hear me, so I did not blush at my own statement. I was only speaking the truth.

Her father said to her, “Let me know what you all decide about the Ashton, Georgie. There are other hotels that might suit, though that place has an ambiance that I like.”

I asked to phone for a taxi, but Mr Thompson said he would prefer to deliver us himself.

“I haven’t looked at the place for a while, so I can see if the outside has changed. I hope it doesn’t look run-down.”

I promised him that I would deliver the girls back to him before the taxi took me on to Greenock. We arrived at the hotel ahead of the expected time, so I took the girls into the bar for a drink before dinner. They had fun selecting their exotic drinks, but I had not long ago had a gin and tonic so I stuck with orange juice. I had a shock when I realised the smallest note I had on me was a fifty pound note, but when Sandy became aware of my dilemma she produced a fiver from her dress purse and slipped it to me to pay the waiter. “I thought you might forget about smaller notes, Bob; and I was right.”

The waiter was studiously careful not to observe this exchange, and accepted the five pound note I offered. He went off to get the change and handed it to me with the receipt as if this was perfectly normal, that a teenager only had a fifty and one of his sisters paid for the drinks, as he saw it. No-one was wearing any rings on their left hand, so it was a perfectly reasonable assumption for the waiter to make. I said to him that we were here for dinner, and he told me, “Just sit here, sir, and someone will come and get you when they have a table ready for your party.”

I was already pleased with the way the staff treated customers, and we had not seen a menu yet. This was a good start.

Not much more than five minutes later, when the ladies were taking a last swig of their cocktails, a well-briefed waiter came direct to our table and asked, “Dinner for three, sir?”

The word must have got around that I was escorting my sisters, so I should be accorded the status of the bill payer. I agreed with his enquiry, and he led us to a table in a quiet corner of the restaurant. The room was laid out for a larger event, possibly a wedding reception, and if so we would be able to observe while we ate.

It was indeed a small wedding reception that had been prepared, and the room quickly filled with the arriving group. I almost giggled at some of the antics, as working people who were not used to formal events had trouble with simple things like the order of cutlery in the place settings, showing an unfamiliarity with the special tools for the fruit cocktail course, for instance. There was anxious muttering as older people explained the cutlery to younger ones. This was a working class party trying to appear superior at a posh hotel.