Chapter 3

A month into the term, I received a phone call from Sir Paul, requesting that I start to spend Wednesday mornings at the office in an advisory capacity. It was something of an imposition to rise at the crack of dawn to travel to Newbury for just a couple of hours before returning in time to catch the afternoon lecture. However, I'd agreed at the outset to consider such an arrangement.

Ultimately, I found it enjoyable to catch up with colleagues and keep up to date with progress. It made me feel part of the team even thought I had little to do with the actual decision making process.

I returned on Friday evening to find Vanessa slightly skittish.

"I've invited Donald to dinner," she explained.

"Donald?"

"Donald Mellor, the author I told you about."

Slightly resentful to share the limited time available with my wife, I nevertheless acquiesced to her wishes and resolved to be as agreeable as possible.

The doorbell rang ten minutes earlier than expected and I answered the door to the handsome stranger. I glanced onto the drive for any sign of his car but he informed me that he'd arrived by taxi. Dressed in expensive designer clothes, he appeared a few years younger than me. Grinning mischievously, he handed over a large bouquet of flowers for Vanessa and a bottle of vintage Burgundy as he accepted the invitation to enter.

Vanessa giggled as she accepted the flowers and disappeared to place them in water. I added the wine to my stock and then uncorked the chilled Chardonnay I'd selected to accompany the meal.

Donald glanced around as he walked along the hall towards the lounge, undoubtedly assessing the décor. He stopped to admire a couple of abstract prints that hung either side of the fireplace.

"They're limited editions," I informed him, "local artists."

"I like them," he commended.

Vanessa fussed with the final arrangements, obviously trying to impart a good impression.

"Vanessa tells me you're an author," I said. "What type of stuff do you write?"

"Historical fiction mainly," he replied. "Usually set in the Middle Ages or Victorian era."

"Is that popular?"

"I have a certain following."

"So modest," Vanessa added. "His books sell really well. He was nominated for a Booker Prize last year."

"I came third," Donald conceded.

"Better luck next time," I added to which he nodded ruefully. Vanessa shot me a hurt look, mistakenly interpreting my comment as mockery when in fact it was quite the opposite.

To my surprise, Donald was extremely sociable and conversed on a wide variety of subjects without being condescending or judgemental. We shared a common view on society's ills and he spoke a little about how he hoped his current efforts would have beneficial results for the people the project was designed to reach.

I asked what car he drove and he revealed his passion for Aston Martin. He explained that several years previously, just after his first novel was published, he'd purchased a DB7 Vantage that he still owned to this day. It was his pride and joy and whenever the opportunity arose, he revealed he would take it out on the local country roads and open up the throttle. Also maintaining a small Prius for everyday use, he found that the two cars fulfilled all his everyday needs.

At the end of the evening, Donald made his excuse to leave and I allowed my wife the privilege to escort him to the door. I could see how he appealed to her on an intellectual level and was glad the result of their association was to make Vanessa's life a little more bearable in my absence.

Drained from the stress of entertaining, Vanessa collapsed into bed and was asleep before I could initiate intimacy. The two bottles of wine drunk over dinner had also left me slightly drowsy so I postponed pleasure until the following night.

Saturday was spent shopping, but on several occasions Vanessa brought Donald into the conversation, convincing me she was somewhat in awe of him. Had I not known her better, I might have been slightly jealous; but if there was one thing I was sure of it was that Vanessa would be the last person to embark upon an extramarital affair.

After the effort of her cooking dinner the previous night, I volunteered to rustle something up, utilising the culinary skills I was honing in looking after myself during the week. Vanessa complimented my efforts and even asked for second helpings, leaving me proud of my achievements. Vanessa was a superb cook and to gain her praise meant a great deal. We watched a film on the satellite until late and then withdrew to bed.

I wanted to make love but Vanessa claimed that she didn't feel in the mood. We settled for a lengthy cuddle and then fell asleep in each other's arms.

The drive to London was uneventful and once again, Toby and Jenny were hard at it when I arrived. Anxious not to eavesdrop, I prepared a snack and waited for them to come downstairs.

The illusive Mister Hu wandered into the kitchen momentarily, one of the few occasions that we'd bumped into one another. He muttered something in Chinese, glanced upwards and shook his head. I realised that his room was located directly beneath Toby's and I smiled back in sympathy. After collecting a glass of milk, he disappeared to his room.

Toby appeared downstairs and I was shocked when I discovered the girl accompanying him was not Jenny. He introduced Stella, a first year art student also attending London Met.

"Where's Jenny?" I asked, disappointed if the pair had split up and I would be denied the pleasure of her future company.

"She went to see her mum," Toby informed me. "Apparently, there was some trouble in the neighbourhood and went over to check on her. She'll be back tomorrow."

I forced as neutral an expression as possible but was slightly disgusted that Toby could take advantage of her absence to bring a new girl back to the house. Stella was blonde and slightly ditsy. Her conversation seemed centred around which bands were gigging at the local venues and the failures and fortunes of various X-Factor contestants. She was certainly not somebody I would have ever entertained when such a beautiful woman as Jenny was available.

Making my excuse to leave, I left Toby and Stella to their dinner and returned to my room. I spoke for a short time with Vanessa but she was busy preparing for the next day's lessons, having neglected her work over the weekend.

"Are you sure you can cope with all this extra work as well as your proper job?" I asked.

"It's not a problem. I enjoy the challenge."

I let her hang up to continue her task and then set about reviewing the course notes I'd taken so far. Some inroads had been made into difficult aspects of the course, but the maths was still valiantly resisting my attempts to penetrate the dense fog that surrounded it. A tutor had kindly volunteered to devote some one-on-one time to me and I hoped it would have the desired effect.

With my eyelids beginning to droop, I placed my notes back into their folder and prepared to turn in for the night. I bumped into Stella on the landing. She was dressed in nothing more than a skimpy t-shirt that terminated just below her crotch. Compared to Jenny, she was rakishly thin with much smaller breasts. I watched her hips sway provocatively as she sauntered towards Toby's room, her head turning and casting me a feral grin as she disappeared inside and closed the door.

I contemplated the fickleness of modern youth as I performed my ablutions and then returned to my room, determined not to let the sounds of sexual activity ruin my beauty sleep. Fortunately, Stella was considerably more restrained and I heard only the occasional squeak of the bedsprings, which I successfully managed to tune out.

The following morning, I decided to try using public transport instead of the car, wondering if time would be saved in the process. Toby was disappointed to be denied a free ride into college and opted to make his own way into the city later on. The underground was dirty, overcrowded and noisy but amazingly delivered me to my destination in half the time that the car would have taken. I concluded it was certainly a viable option that I would have to explore more often.

During the day, I learned that one of my lecturers was attending a conference abroad and that as a result, the last lecture on Friday afternoon was cancelled. I was elated as this would allow me to return home early. I was tempted to phone Vanessa and let her know but instead opted to go home and surprise her by having dinner ready for her return.

Jenny was busy cooking dinner when I returned to the house, obviously unaware that her services had been temporarily replaced during her absence. I felt slightly guilty withholding the truth but I wanted her and Toby to remain together, mainly for selfish reasons.

"I'm making a chilli," she informed me, "and I've made far too much as usual. You're welcome to share some."

"Are you sure?"

"Toby and I will never eat all this."

I happily agreed and volunteered some beer to accompany it. Toby arrived a short time later and the three of us all sat down to eat together. Afterwards, we made a sojourn to the local pub with Toby chatting to us whenever he was able.

"How was your mum?" I asked Jenny.

"Some kids had vandalised a couple of the local shops and there was trouble when the police turned up to deal with it. Things seemed to have quietened down now but there was a bit of tension for a while. Did your weekend go okay?"

"Not bad," I replied, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"Didn't go quite as expected?"

"Vanessa, my wife, is not used to being in the house all alone. Things have improved recently but we didn't seem to make time for each other this visit."

"It must be quite an ordeal to return to education after working for a living."

"It wasn't by choice, I assure you."

I explained the views of my boss and she expressed her sympathy for the disruption it had caused.

"Time's passing quite quickly and it'll be Christmas before I know it," I informed her.

"You've still got three years of this."

"Don't remind me," I sighed to which she smiled.

"I've had enough here," she announced. "Do you want to go back to the house? We could rent a DVD."

"What about Toby?"

"He'll join us after he's done."

We called into the local Blockbuster and selected a romantic comedy that both of us fancied watching. We sat together on the sofa and Jenny casually rested her head against my shoulder as it played. After a few more moments, she took my arm and draped it around her waist, looking into my eyes to judge my reaction. My cock had risen to the occasion and I tried to ignore its presence, but with my hand poised mere inches from her breast, beads of sweat formed on my brow.

"Do you want to do anything else?" she asked.

"Such as?" I croaked.

"We could go up to your room and have sex."

"I don't think so," I gasped. "Toby..."

"Toby won't mind. I'll bet he had somebody back here over the weekend."

My expression must have betrayed me but the confirmation didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. "Toby's got a lot of growing up to do," she stated. "He's just a big kid really."

"Yes," I agreed.

"So what about it?"

"It?"

"Sex."

"I'm married, Jenny."

"It wouldn't have to be anything meaningful. Just a quick fuck as Toby likes to say."

"I'm sorry, I don't do quick fucks," I gulped, "or slow ones for that matter. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I did." I tried to extract myself from her embrace.

"NO!" she gasped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that a lot of married men like..."

"I'm married, but I don't cheat on my wife," I snapped.

"I can be an idiot sometimes," she sighed. "Can we just pretend I didn't say what I just did?"

"I suppose," I agreed reluctantly, relaxing once more.

"A lot of blokes where I live would have jumped at it," she confessed. "Mum threw Dad out because she couldn't put up with it any longer, that and his gambling."

"I see."

"He wasn't a bad dad," Jenny explained. "He always brought plenty of money into the house and never hit any of us or tried to touch me up."

"Shit," I exclaimed.

"Different world to the one you're used to?" she asked.

"You could say that."

She returned her attention to the film.

"What would you have done?" I asked.

"What?"

" ... if he'd made a pass at you?"

"I'd have bitten his fucking cock off," Jenny replied.

I wanted to laugh but it was far too serious an issue. I placed my arm back around her and held her protectively, trying hard not to dwell on her upbringing.

"So who did he bring back?" she asked after a few moments.

"A young blonde, I think her name was Stella."

"God, he's a fast worker. I even introduced them would you believe. She seemed such an innocent little thing."

"She didn't seem so innocent last night."

"That's Toby for you. It's quantity over quality every time with him."

"Why do you put up with him?"

"It's convenient at the moment."

The lounge door opened and the subject of our conversation strode into the room.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Not disturbing something, am I?"

"No," I exclaimed, sitting up and releasing my grip on Jenny. She looked a little disappointed but realised I didn't want to run the risk of Toby drawing the wrong conclusions.

Toby collapsed into a chair whereupon Jenny got up and settled into his lap. His hand sneaked under her jumper and openly fondled her breast whilst he tried to catch up with the plot of the film. We remained until the predictable conclusion and then I rose and bade them both goodnight. Jenny frowned, obviously having wished for a slightly different outcome for the evening but I retreated upstairs with my integrity intact.