It was one of those lovely summer days where the air feels nice and warm, and it feels like your T-shirt is sticking to your body. I was having a great time rummaging through my desk, flipping through old DVDs, stuffed with my favourite photos, when I struck something interesting: when I stumbled across a disc labeled ‘Summer ‘05.’ My insatiable curiosity compelled me to dive in, so I put it into my PC. As the images loaded, they made me feel like I had been transported back in time! They were old photos that made you think of the past. One folder of old images caught my eye and made me think about a memory I had forgotten: the time I helped my friend’s mum fix her fence. She lived just a few houses down on our lovely, tree-lined street, where the lawns were a little long in the summer, but the neighbours were always friendly.

Her name was Mrs Callahan – or Linda, as she later wanted me to call her. She had just got divorced, and my friend – her son – was on his father for full weekends. I hadn’t really thought much of her before that day because she wasn’t too sexy. She was just ... there, always wearing loose, shapeless dresses that hid everything. To me, she was just an older woman, probably in her mid-forties (I hope not fifties!), a good twenty (or more) years older than me. I’d never noticed her before, and I’d never thought about her in that way. She was my friend’s mum, after all – she was off-limits, unremarkable, and not someone I’d ever think of as attractive. But that day, something amazing happened.

I always carried my old camera not just my phone. It was a bit awkward, but I really loved the way it took better photos than my phone. When Linda asked me to help paint and repair her sagging wooden fence, I was very happy to help. I put the camera over my shoulder and went to her garden. Her garden was a mess of overgrown roses and broken stone paths, the air thick with the strong smell of fresh-cut grass and paint fumes. The sun was very hot as we worked together. My shirt was sticking to my back because of the heat. I was surprised by Linda’s clothes; she was dressed for the weather in a way I hadn’t expected, and I loved it! She was wearing a swimsuit. It was a simple navy one-piece that hugged her frame. The sweat on her shoulders caught the light, and I realised that she wasn’t just some old lady. Her body was surprising, curvier than I had ever imagined, and she had a kind of understated grace that I hadn’t noticed before.

We worked for hours, the paint rollers moving on the old wood, the occasional noise of a dropped brush breaking the quiet. I started taking photos, mostly to make things more fun – like her with a bit of white paint on her cheek, laughing as she tried to swat a bee away. “You’re going to make me look silly, and I’m too ugly for pictures!” she teased, smiling warmly. The more I watched her, the more I noticed things: the way her hips swayed slightly as she moved, the soft curve of her waist in her swimsuit. I don’t know why, but I asked her to lean forward a bit, saying it was for a “funny shot”. She playfully agreed, moving her body slightly to show off her hips and bottom. I felt my heart beating faster, and I moved closer to her, my hand almost touching her arm.