Thanks to Mulligan for editing this story and making it a better read.

To quote the words of the Baz Lurhmann song 'Sunscreen' from a few years ago:

"The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday."

Well it wasn't Tuesday, it was Thursday, but it certainly was real trouble.

A bit about me, I'm Phil, 57 when this story starts, and married to Jane who was nearly 20 years younger than me 11 years ago. It was my second marriage and her first, and we lived together for nearly 10 years before that. We've had a few problems along the way like all couples but never anything that came close to splitting us. After 15 years of hard work we got to the point where we were comfortable financially, and we were in the situation where I work but I don't have to do anything I don't want to. Jane never worked full time. When we were younger my work took me all over the country and beyond, and she was able to accompany me on occasions. She managed our rental properties in the area later on when things got easier.

We lived in a small village close to Chichester in West Sussex: we had a house and some land, which we extended over the years.

And we had a healthy sex life, I never seemed to age in that area, and I still fuck every night and twice a day on a weekend when I can.

So the story starts about 2 years ago, in the summer. I had been up to London to deliver some work to a customer (I design control systems). I always go by train to London as I can't stand the traffic, and as it was a fine day I cycled to the station which is about 4 miles down quiet roads into town.

I left London at about 3.30pm and rang from the train to say I would be in about 5.30pm I thought Jane seemed a bit quiet, but I didn't really think much more about it. I got off the train and cycled home arriving just after 5.30pm. When I walked in it was obvious Jane had been crying. I went up to her to give a cuddle but she just pushed me away and said, "You don't care, do you" and then ran upstairs to our room.

I followed her, and as I did I wondered what the problem was. Standard male thing I suppose, we are not good at mind reading although females seem to have it off pat. I quickly thought through if I had done anything to piss her off, but apart from catching a train a half-hour later than I hoped, I really couldn't think of anything. No anniversaries or birthdays missed, and I hadn't been unfaithful in the 20 odd years we had been together. These usually seemed to be the things that caused arguments and worse amongst our friends.

When I got to our room Jane was sat on the edge of the bed and looked as white as a sheet, but had stopped crying. She said "Sorry, I didn't mean to fly off like that, but you need to sit down and we need to talk."

And so it started.

Some years ago she had had an ovary removed; it wasn't cancerous, but there was a large cyst on it. She had been for regular check-ups ever since, but the previous one was 12 months ago. She'd had her last one about 3 weeks ago, and got a call from the doctor today calling her in urgently.

She kept her appointment that afternoon and was told that there was a good chance that she had ovarian cancer, and they needed to do more tests.

So we talked, and I told her it would be OK, all the other stuff you say when you are trying to comfort someone. Deep down I was scared but we got through the next few days and managed to keep cheerful and even had a brilliant sex session Sunday afternoon, we locked the front door, drew the curtains and spent the afternoon in bed. We were both sore when we had done, there had always been a little competition between ourselves with me being older that I wouldn't be able to keep up with Jane but so far, allowing for the standard recovery time I was always ready to go again.

Over the next few weeks Jane went for more tests and scans, and about 2 weeks later we got the news we both dreaded, Jane had cancer, and it had already spread. The prognosis was poor, with no hope of a cure. The doctors offered various treatment options, but they all seemed to end with "it may give you a bit longer."

We discussed things and in the end she refused most of the treatment as it was going to make her ill and wasn't going to cure her. This was her decision and she wasn't going to be moved on it. What ever I thought I kept to myself, as I knew that it was only selfishness over wanting to keep her around longer.

The next 3 months were OK. I cut back on work still further, and we went out quite a bit, and we also had a 1-week break to New York. We visited her family, my family and a lot of friends. We also didn't tell anyone else about the cancer, but I noticed that she was tiring easier, and losing weight. She had always been a big girl, not fat, but with huge boobs and wide hips, and at 5' 9" she was not short either, so it didn't show at first.

Unconsciously we had been making plans for how to manage things as she got more ill, and Jane said that if possible she wanted to be nursed at home. I agreed but said if that was the case we must have some help, both with the nursing and around the house.

I felt now was the time to have some help in the house, while she could still 'train' them, and I told Jane this one evening, she agreed and said she would do something about it. A couple of days later I had been to a customer in Gosport and when I got home Jane said "I want you to meet Della, she is going to be helping in the house now."

Well Della was a surprise, she looked to be in her mid twenties, short and fairly plump, and black. Now there aren't many black people in the village (as in none, until Della arrived), so I asked Jane how she had found her. To cut a long story short she was the niece of some friends of ours from Skipton in Yorkshire. There had been some trouble at home, she didn't say what sort of trouble, and in return for board and lodging and a wage she was going to keep house for as long as we wanted. Della seemed to be quite withdrawn, she didn't say much to me, she wasn't rude or anything, just shy. I know Jane talked to Della a lot but Jane wouldn't say anything to me about Della's past, she said I would find out in time, and I didn't push it. I had more important things on my mind.

The next few months were a blur. Jane was getting weaker by the day, I remember the little incidents, the last time we made love, the last time we went out together, and by the beginning of December she couldn't walk. On the 7th of December she asked me to take her into our garden, as it was a fine day, so I got her into the wheelchair and took her outside. I sat with her for an hour; it was an unseasonably warm day, and she dozed off. Della called me to the phone, and I went in and was on the phone to a customer for about 15 minutes, as soon as I finished Della called me in a panicky voice and said that Jane wouldn't wake up. I called the Doctor, he came out and said she was in her last few hours, I sat with her and the McMillan nurse came round to sit with me. The nurse said she died at about 4pm.

The funeral was horrible, every one was nice to me, and don't get me wrong, but I felt that there was nothing left for me. It's really silly because all my plans had centred around the fact that I would go first, even the things I hadn't even discussed with Jane, to make sure she was looked after, after all when she would be 60 I would be 80.

It was the day after the funeral, and the week before Christmas. Jane always insisted we start to put the Christmas dressings up on the 1st of December, so we already had some decorations up. I got up at 6am as usual and I was downstairs making a cup of tea and feeding the cat when Della came down. She looked as if she had been crying as well, and I asked her what was wrong.

She said that she missed Jane, and she was wondering what the future held. I said, "Do you mean about staying here?" and she said, "Yes do I need to find somewhere else to stay?" I told her that she could stay here on the same terms as before, for as long as she wanted. I realised that I needed someone to help with the house, I am a good design engineer but I will be the first to admit that my housekeeping skills are not up to scratch, and she was a damn good cook; so when she accepted I was relieved. I had also promised Jane that I wouldn't force her to leave unless living under the same roof became impossible. We then sat down and talked, for the first time since she had arrived, and she told me about her trouble at home.

She had been having an affair with a local businessman, and his wife had caught them in the act. The wife had gone ballistic, and as well as divorcing her husband and taking him to the cleaners she also started to put pressure on Della, telling her that she 'owed' her. Apparently she wanted Della to be involved in some shady deal. When she refused to cooperate pictures of Della 'performing' with the husband were e-mailed to Della's employer who was a local solicitor, and Della was asked to leave. She was then again pressured to get involved in some shady business. At this point she had the sense to fess up to her family, and after their initial anger was over her Dad decided that the wronged wife was going over the top. After all, the husband was an active partner in what happened. Various options were discussed, but in the end Della said she wanted a fresh start away from Ilkley, as word had got out and she was getting a lot of grief. Her dad was talking to his brother Andy who remembered that Jane had mentioned that we needed some home help when we had visited earlier, so Della's Dad rang Jane and it was all arranged.

Della asked what I thought and I said that I thought she had been treated badly, and what did she want to do long term? Della then surprised me by saying "Settle down and have children". We must have been talking for over an hour, and I actually found it took my mind off my situation.

I decided I had to get back into a routine, and would start by finishing a project that I had started about a month ago, and try and get it installed over the Christmas holiday. It would give me something to do

Later in the day Della came to my office with a sandwich for my lunch, and I asked her to sit down, as I wanted to know what her plans were for Christmas. She said she would go home to her parents. Her Dad was looking forward to seeing her but her Mum was still quite upset over her behaviour in 'bedding' a married man, and the shame it had brought them. She asked me what I was doing and I said I didn't know, I probably would stay at home. She said "If you stay here so am I" and she got that obstinate look that all women seem to perfect. She then said "Why don't you go to Uncle Andy's, they invited you, and then we can travel together." I said I wasn't sure and would think about it, which seemed to pacify Della and I got on.

I also had to take over the management of our rental properties and went out the next day to sort out some problems at one of the properties. When I got home at about 5pm having decided to do the work myself Della was waiting with a meal. As she sat down with me she said "I rang Uncle Andy today, you are having Christmas with their family and I am going home to Ilkley, we will be travelling up on the 23rd and back on the 27th. Do you want to drive or go by train?" I really wasn't looking forward to Christmas and just went along with what Della said. I got back into a routine of sorts and it was soon Christmas week. I had decided that the train was the best option, neither of us relished long drives and it would be busy on the roads.

So we got a taxi to the station on the 23rd, we arrived at Victoria, and got the tube to Kings X and soon enough we were in Leeds, where we split onto different trains. I wished Della a happy Christmas and said I would see her back in Leeds at 10am on the 27th to travel back to Chichester.

I would like to say I enjoyed Christmas, Andy, his wife Jess, who was white, and their 3 children did their best to make me welcome, and it was nice to see different faces, but I wasn't exactly the life and soul of the party. Andy and I went back a long way; we had worked together on several jobs and had some fun together before we each were married. We had kept in touch over the years and visited each other at least once a year. Andy had liked Jane and always said that if I cheated on her he would be the first to beat me up. Bearing in mind I am 6' and 280lb and Andy is even bigger it would have been quite a fight!

I did enjoy the Boxing Day walk we did in Wharfedale. We stopped at a small pub, had a lunch, and got back to the car just before dark.

Della seemed to keeping tabs on me, she rang Andy each day and they chatted about me or at least it felt as if they were, and then Della would ask Andy to put me on and she would make sure I was doing my best to be good company.

The 27th soon seemed to come round and I was waiting on Leeds station to meet Della as my train got in about 20 minutes earlier than hers. She got off the train and saw me and ran up and gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek; I was a bit taken aback, but didn't say anything, and soon enough we were on way back to Chichester.

We got home just before dark and Della said she needed to go and get some shopping, so I got on and got ready for the project I had lined up for the Christmas holiday at the meat processing plant. I was due to start installing it the following day.

The next few days up to and over New Year went fairly quickly, I was busy and it took my mind off things and before I knew it we were on Jan 6th.

Della seemed more confident. She was running the house and was dealing with the day-to-day stuff to do with the rental properties. She would always tell me what she had done, and seemed to be enjoying the work, and making the right decisions. So I told her she was getting the official manager's job without even applying for it and I would increase her salary by a suitable amount. To be fair it wasn't a fulltime job, but would need perhaps 10 hours a week to keep everything ticking over.

My solicitor rang me and said he needed to see me the following day as he had some stuff to do with Jane that he needed to go through.

The next morning I went into Chichester and kept my appointment with John Levisham, who dealt with both our affairs. After a bit of small talk he said that he had a letter from Jane which she had given him; it was to be given to me 1 month after her death.

The first part of the letter was much what I expected, telling me how much she had enjoyed our life and was sorry she was leaving me. It was the last few paragraphs that surprised me though:

"I know you. After all we having been fucking for over 20 years and you took my virginity in one of my holes and by my reckoning we will have had sex probably 7000 times. Before long little head will overrule big head and you will need to get your leg over. If you do settle down again make sure you get a pre-nup; you are worth more than you think, and there are plenty of young slappers who will get pregnant by you and then fleece you. So if you can't find a keeper don't take chances.

"Also don't lose sight what is under your nose, you may find happiness where you least expect it.

"And try and make Della happy, she deserves a break. She said she would tell you what happened once I was gone, and although she was guilty of bad judgement she didn't deserve the shit she ended up taking for it."

I asked the solicitor if he knew what was in it and he said no, she had handed it to him sealed. I pocketed the letter and walked out into the crisp January sun again and went home.

When I got home Della met me at the front door, and was wearing clothes that seemed to show a lot of curves and bumps, rather than the loose jumpers and tee shirts that she normally wore. I noticed her for the first time as a woman and saw a pair of large breasts, probably E cup and a pretty round face with a smile, and I got a hard on just imaging that chocolate coloured skin against mine.

I was now confused, Jane was hinting at me and Della, and yet I couldn't see how a 57 year old would attract a 27 year old.

Della seemed to be dressing to show more skin, and I couldn't take my eyes off her whenever she was in the house. I even got the odd glimpse of a nipple, though never anything more, but after that hug and kiss at Leeds we hadn't had any more physical contact and I thought that if she was interested she would make a move, and it just tormented me. I didn't know if this was the real Della and the dowdy Della was just to stop Jane from getting jealous.

The next few months were hell, I was as horny as hell. I couldn't really bring a woman back and fuck her under Della's nose, and I wasn't sure how to explain to a prospective fuck buddy or even a partner where Della fitted in. Everyone would think I was poking her even although I wasn't. I did go out into Chichester a few times and trawled the 'pick up' bars. But apart from some skanky birds off the council estate I didn't meet any prospects at first, and although I did poke a couple of them the thought of waking up next to them the next morning filled me with horror. I always made excuses about having an early start the next morning and left.

One of the girls from the estate was Rachel. She was better looking than most of the estate girls. She had long curly brown hair, was plump with out being fat, which I like, and had no large tattoos, just a small one on her arm, which was more tasteful than the 'tramp stamps' which a lot of them sported. Her only problem was that she sweated a lot, and as a result she always had that slight odour, not actually BO, but musky. She also didn't posses a razor, at least not judging by the hair under her armpits and on her cunt, but this has never bothered me. Jane never shaved her pits, as she didn't like the bristles as it grew back and she used to get a rash if she shaved too often. The difference was that Jane was blonde so unless you looked closely it didn't show. When I went down on her Rachel smelt strong but not unpleasant. We had good sex, I half wondered if she was the one, or at least would do for the time being, and I decided I would see her again.

This didn't seem very likely, as she kicked off when I said I needed to be off, she started saying that I was a snob and would fuck her but wouldn't be seen out with her. I must have been storing the pain up over Jane because at this I broke down and cried. I think this shocked her, she then sat down next to me and said come on tell me about it and I sat up in her bed for about an hour telling her about me and Jane and even told her about Della. She had calmed down and said I could come and see her whenever I liked, she went out on Fridays when her Mum looked after the kids but if I wanted to see her I could.

We then fucked again, I started by eating her out again, which she thought was really nasty as I had just come up her, but she got off on it because she came again like a train, and then I fucked her doggy style. We parted friends and fuck buddies and I decided to see how it went.

I got home about 1 am. Della was still up, and she saw me and looked daggers but didn't say anything and we both went to our beds.

I saw Rachel a few times over the next few weeks, she was a good fuck and we talked but I wasn't sure that anything would come of it. I bought her kids the latest game system, she couldn't afford it and she said thank you on her back.

While this was going on Della and I became more distant and really I was beginning to think the arrangement wasn't working. I was finding her looks when I came in late intimidating, and I had heard that she had been seeing a young lad in village, although she never brought him home.

It was a couple of weeks before Easter. Della asked if her sister Corrine could come to stay for the following weekend as she had a 2-week assignment in London and she thought the trip to the South Coast at the weekend would be easier than a trip back to Yorkshire.

On the Monday morning I went to see Rachel. I had decided that I would ask her back to my place the following Friday if she wanted, as Della would no doubt be out with her sister, and Rachel's Mum could have the kids. I had decided that whilst she wasn't perfection we could probably rub along, and I would see how it went.

When I got to Rachel's flat she said she had some news for me, and showed me a letter from some solicitors in Truro, which is in Cornwall. Reading it I learned that she was the sole beneficiary of a will made by an aunt who had died some 2 months ago. I asked her why she was showing me and she said that although I had never really told her about my financial position she realised I must be quite well off. When I bought her kids the latest Xbox and games she asked around, as she said she didn't want the cops banging her door down looking for stolen property. She found out that I owned property around the area and although I didn't brag I was obviously rich, as she put it.

She then continued "If I tell anyone around here, including my Mother and sister every low life from the South Coast would be telling me I am the greatest thing since Jordan to get with me. My aunt was apparently worth £4 million and they will just see pound signs, but I knew you were rich and so wouldn't be after my money if I told you"

We talked for about an hour and I got her to ring the solicitor and make an appointment to go down and sort it out. She was on the phone for about half an hour in all. At one point I was passed the phone when she asked me to talk to them, as she didn't understand what they meant. I explained to them that even I didn't understand their 'legal English' either and could they just explain it in normal English and save their legal talk for when they were talking to other solicitors

It turned out that her aunt knew of the problems which had landed Rachel's Mum Sue on a grotty council estate, and she didn't want Rachel to stay in the area. She had therefore placed a condition in the will that Rachel had to live in her aunt's house just outside Truro for a year and a day before she inherited the bulk of her aunt's money. She would get £100,000 for her first year's living expenses, and would inherit the rest after the year-and-a-day, after that she could do as she liked. But if she didn't live in the house then the money went to the RSPCA and she just got the £100,000.

We must have talked for at least an hour, the kids were at school, and then we fucked. I told her she would be stupid not to go through with it, and after what she told me about her mother and sister I was even surprised she would leave her kids with them but that was another story.

I told her to ring the solicitors and tell them she was going to live down there. She then surprised me, and said "but what about you?" I was touched that she thought of me but I told her I would be fine, she had got me back into relationships, and I would help her if she needed it. In the end I agreed to take her and her kids to the station in the morning, the solicitors had said she could move in as soon as she wanted. So I told her to get the train the following day, no point in putting it off, and I would arrange to get her stuff at the flat packed and moved down. I knew a couple of self-employed removal men who would do it.

We kissed and made love and in fact nearly broke the bed, but I think we both knew that it was a goodbye fuck. I got home around 4pm in a fairly bleak mood, Della was in the kitchen cooking and I went to my office to sort out the removal men for Rachel.

While I was in the office Della had come to the door and was standing at the door looking at me, arms folded across her chest, which seemed to be sticking out even further than normal, and looking solemn. She said, "So you are selling up and moving, I knew you would!" I replied "No, I am not! I will explain while we eat", she said, "You'd better not be lying," and went back to the kitchen to finish the meal. I got Tom and Pete and their van to go to Rachel's flat on the following day, pack it and take it to the house in Truro. We agreed a price, and I told them to call round in the morning for half the money and the flat key, they would get the rest when the job was done. I then had a look on Google to see what the Cornish property was like, and I was gob smacked. It was a mansion, not a house. Anyway Rachel was a good girl and she deserved a break, and I think she would make some bloke happy even if she was a bit 'rough'.

As soon as we sat down to our meal Della said, "Right, come on what's going on?" I decided honesty was the best policy so I told her about Rachel. I said we had been seeing each other and that I had intended to invite her back here the next time I saw her, but events had overtaken my plans. Della then started quizzing me, and said, "Please be honest with me." I then got the third degree, "Did I love her?" "Was I going to Truro to see her?" "Did we have sex?" etc. I told her honestly that we had said goodbye, horizontally as well as vertically. And that whilst we enjoyed each other's company I didn't see her as wife material, and I was happy for her good luck, as I thought she would do OK if she ditched her family and their low life hangers-on. Della seemed happy with my explanation, and then started to tell me about the lad she had been seeing. Basically they had been going out for about 2 months, but she had dumped him because she said he was immature. I asked her if she was upset about it, and she replied "I don't think so, I have a funny feeling that it's all worked out for the best". We then chatted away about this and that and things seemed a lot less strained than they had been. Della said she was looking forwards to seeing her sister at the weekend, and they had certainly spent a lot of time together on the phone in the snug. I didn't know what they found to talk about but there was always a lot of giggling.

Tom called round for the rest of the money on Thursday morning, the solicitors had sent a cheque back with him to cover the cost, but Tom and Pete were a cash only enterprise and I agreed to sort it. Tom then dropped a bombshell, "Do you know anyone who would replace Pete?" I asked why and he said, "because he's not coming back to Chichester, he and Rachel knew each other and when I left them they were getting the kids to bed so that they could go to bed." He then told me that they had gone out together just after Pete left the army 2 or 3 years ago. He wanted to make a go of it with her but insisted she leave Chichester and start over away from her family, she wouldn't, and they had split up. They had carried on now right from where they had left off. Pete is a good bloke, a hard worker, and would do what he thought was right, He fell out with Rachel's family because he knew that her sister Jenn was dealing drugs from her mum's house. Tom thought that they would do OK. Pete wouldn't be fazed by the money and would keep Rachel's feet on the ground, and stop her from going and blowing it, so it was a good result.

Corrine arrived Friday lunchtime. We met her at the station, and she was a copy of Della, same big boobs, plump but not fat and a happy round face, really they could have been twins. There was 2 years between them. We went for a meal that evening at a local restaurant. It was the first time I had been out for a proper evening out, rather than trawling for a pick up, since Jane died. After I got over the awkwardness of having two sexy black girls sat either side of me I enjoyed the evening, and every male in the place seemed to need to visit our table on some pretence. 'Is everything OK sir and madam's' from every male waiter got a bit boring after a while! Corrine was wearing a very low-cut dress, which showed off her boobs with a cleavage that you could lose a bus down. It was also short and it showed her black legs off to perfection as well. Della was less exposed but was still attracting attention.

When we got home about 11, I said I was off to bed; that it had been a good meal and good company. Della had lightened up a lot, and Corrine had certainly been on form, flirting shamelessly with me and I needed a wank after looking at those boobs all night. Della and Corrine looked as if they were going to stay up talking, so I left them. Della had also been more friendly that night than for about 2 months, so I figured maybe she was homesick and hoped we could keep our arrangement going as it suited me.