The 4 year old had started nursery classes, but today was Saturday and now she was flying through the air as her mother, Amanda, pushed the swing up high, listening to the little girl giggle with excitement.
Amanda was 30 and very comfortable with her life style. She was married and very happy, her husband had a good job in the city, in 'finance,' and she had previously had a worthwhile career, only giving up when she became pregnant. They lived in a superb bungalow with a spacious garden, she had a little car for running about in and, at 30, Amanda still had a superb figure. She wore her jeans tight across her bottom, and her breasts looked magnificent against the tight, thin T-shirt, as she laughed and played with her daughter in the local recreation ground.
Amanda would never dream of 'straying' though, as she loved her husband, and enjoyed an active life with her family, and the sex she enjoyed with her husband was still pretty good after 8 years of marriage. She liked to look good, though, when she went out, always looked immaculate, particularly if she was with her husband, and was still able to fantasise occasionally without getting carried away.
This morning, though, Amanda was a little more buoyant than usual, a little nervous and excited as to whether to go ahead with her little secret. She had always wondered, always imagined, but never had the 'bottle' to bring it up in conversation, or discuss it with anybody, least of all her husband. Perhaps, just once, she had thought, just to see if it was possible, and then forget all about it. But where to go, what to say, who to contact –she didn't have a clue. Until yesterday that is, the Friday, when it had been raining and she had been at home on her own, nothing to do while her daughter and husband were away.
Her husband had a computer, like most families, and they were on the 'net', and Amanda knew her way around a computer from her days at work. She did her Tesco shopping on the 'net,' and she had bought other household items occasionally by this method, but now she had decided to fiddle around a bit, see what else might grab her interest, and then daringly, she had gone into some of the more 'adult' sights on the net.
Luckily she had her own password which her husband had fixed up for her–-probably so that he could do the same thing, she thought, but she never asked any questions except to tease him a bit–-so at the moment she was quite happy, just for a little while she thought, to let her imagination run wild.
It was suddenly in front of her, on the screen, what she had only imagined and fantasised about since she was a teenage girl. It had popped up without her really looking for it, and she just looked at it for a few moments, imagining, was it really possible. No, no, I couldn't, something was bound to go wrong –but what—it was pretty clear what she had to do, and it seemed as though there were no catches. Eventually, she had done nothing except make a note of the 'web' site and hidden it away in her purse. Now, in the park on this beautiful Saturday morning, she said to herself that she would look at the 'web' again on Monday morning—should she, or should she just throw it to the back of her mind and not be so stupid.
Amanda had been unable to resist, and was looking at the words again on the Monday morning, nervous, supping her coffee and smoking her umpteenth cigarette. There was no one else in the house, so why should she be nervous. Her husband was behind his desk in the 'city', and her daughter was at the nursery school until 3 o'clock. It was the tension of whether or not to pursue the interest, to answer the offer that seemed so easy to accept.
'Oh God, no, no, forget it,' but she couldn't. She wanted to reply, to find out if it was that easy, to see if there were any complications. Almost Zombie like, Amanda went through a few procedures, using an anonymous name, and eventually was presented with a phone number.
She closed the computer with relief, knowing that her actions were lost in her own 'site', and then sat back eating her lunch, even more nervous as to whether to make that call. She felt so excited, so exhilarated, yet very frightened. She had never contemplated any such thing before, always been an upright housewife, yet she couldn't resist wondering how wonderful it might be. 'Yes, yes, I've got to do it,' she eventually said to herself, plucking up courage from deep within her butterfly stomach.
Using her mobile, with the 141 to hide her own number, and the anonymous name, she made the call and waited for what seemed like ever. It was a woman who answered, with quite a refined voice, which made Amanda feel a little easier but not much, and the conversation was very civilised. Amanda calmed a little and the two women were able to discuss exactly what was required and what the services were, and at no time were names or finances discussed at all. It would be an arrangement, quite without cost, that would be beneficial to all concerned.
The waiting and the excitement for Amanda during the next few days were nearly overwhelming but, eventually, Friday morning arrived. She didn't have to do anything, she could forget it, and nobody would be any the wiser. She had the name of a suburban street to go to about 30 miles away and then she would ring the telephone number again. If she didn't, it wouldn't matter.
The Jaguar had taken her husband down the road about 7am as usual, and she had taken the little girl along to nursery about 8.45. It was now 9.30 and Amanda was bubbling–-yes, or no!! It was another sunny, warm day and she gave in –yes, yes, go on, you know you want to.
She rushed up the stairs before she could change her mind, had a quick bath and got dressed again. She was in the Renault Clio before a quarter past ten and knew she would be there by 11 o'clock –oh, God, this is it, is it the right thing, I don't have to go, nobody's making me, but Amanda knew that she wanted to, wanted to fulfil what she had thought of so many times. Her little, sporty car had a powerful engine and she had the roof down in the warm breeze with the sun in her face. Amanda had her sunglasses on, and was on a high as she sped along the roads, the harsh beat of Anastacia's latest hit throbbing all around the car, and she knew that there was no turning back now –she wanted to get there –oh God, it was so secretly exciting.
Amanda vaguely knew the name of the road she had been given and, after some wrong turnings and innumerable traffic lights, she eventually passed the end of the avenue she was looking for. It was five to eleven –just right. The road was high class with large, detached houses on either side of the tree lined, wide street. This was not council or tatty terraced places, this was class, wealth, peace and quiet, and Amanda could imagine the quality of the rooms and décor within. She had parked the Clio round the corner and just sat there for a few moments, a final pang of guilt and secrecy waving through her stomach as she took the phone number from her purse. This is it, then, she thought, and nervously tapped the number into her mobile. The phone was answered almost immediately by the same woman as previously.
'Hello, Ann, is that you, I'm so glad you called'. Ann was the first name that had come into Amanda's head –perfectly innocent and innocuous, and she was happy to stick to this easy name. The two women spoke briefly, Amanda getting the number of the house and a quick instruction, and then the conversation was over and Amanda switched her phone completely off. She took a deep breath, looked around her and then alighted from the Clio, put the roof down, and locked it. The butterflies took over her stomach again as she made her way to the end of the avenue she was to turn into.
She looked stunning but smart, a pleated summer dress tight to her contours and just above the knee, worn with a very smart navy blue blazer which gave her the air of someone in authority. Navy blue, strappy, high heels rounded off her ensemble and she was bare legged in the summer sun.
As she passed the first couple of houses in the avenue, she knew straight away that 'her' house would be on this side, evenly numbered and about 10 more along. The front gardens were immaculate and the sun through the trees slung shadows all across the road and pavement. Amanda hardly saw anybody, but her guilt made her think that all the net curtains had someone behind them, furtively watching her make her nervous way to her destiny.
Finally, she could see 'the' house coming up –it was white, detached and looked magnificent. As she got nearer, she could see the immaculate front lawn, the borders of flowers and the solid, black, front door with its huge brass handle. She had been told by the woman to go straight in and there would be a note waiting for her on the hall table The door appeared to creak and shatter the morning quiet as Amanda turned the handle, but it was only her imagination and nervousness once again, and she went into the well decorated hallway and immediately saw the note for her.
'Welcome, Ann. Go into the small lounge on the right and help yourself to the coffee.'
This indeed was a superb house and Amanda peered in the open door on her right to see the settee and the coffee on the little table. She gingerly went in and looked around. She was too nervous for the coffee, but she admired the furniture, the paintings on the walls, the thick carpet and the drapes running all the way down to the floor. The sun shone through the front window, and Amanda's heart was beating nineteen to the dozen, she felt like running out again, all the way back to the car and home. Suddenly she heard footsteps in the hall, coming her way, and she felt like screaming, she was so tense.
'Hello, Ann, it's so nice to see you,' and the woman's smile was genuinely warm and her eyes twinkled, as they held those of Amanda for a second or two.
'I'm Janet, have you had some coffee.' She was about 45, still attractively slim with a fine head of auburn hair, and simply dressed in a shortish black skirt, and black, short-sleeved T-shirt, tightly tucked into her skirt.
'No, no, I haven't. I'm really quite nervous, actually,' replied Amanda and smiled an unusually, shy grin.
'You're a novice, Ann, aren't you, I can tell,' went on Janet. 'By that I mean, I don't mean to pry but, this is your first time, isn't it.'
'Um, um, it is, I'm afraid.'
'Of course, I can tell, you know. Well don't worry, we'll take great care of you, I promise,' and she briefly touched Amanda's arm for reassurance.
'When you go in, just relax completely, and don't worry about anything. If you need to be told anything, it will just be a short instruction which you should obey, and then the process can continue. OK.'