Description: Even a perfect match has its surprises
Category: Romance
Keywords: love, romance, girlfriend, dance, sailing, sexual harassment, fraternization, threesome, oral
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I am rarely introspective; however it just seemed to be the right time to review my life. I did that when I first went to college and again when I commenced my full time Army service. I was soon to turn 30. As it would take me another hour to drive to my Aunt's place, now seemed the perfect opportunity. I turned off the radio so I could think clearly. The songs had been annoying anyway.
Overall I felt things were pretty good. On the positive side, I had independence and felt in control of my life. I enjoyed my job and felt reasonably secure, in spite of my boss who was an old bully. With the aid of a hefty mortgage, I now owned my own home although it badly needed love and restoration. Recently I also had the excitement of purchasing a reliable old sailboat. My parents were still healthy and my sister was happily married.
I had a reasonable number of good friends, who were old school, football or sailing buddies. Of course they were predominantly male. This led me to the negative aspects of my review.
I had been in a sequence of three protracted relationships since I left school. My friends would have described them as girlfriends; however that implies a stronger relationship than was the reality. A more accurate description would have been 'friends with benefits'. It was just last weekend that I attended the wedding of my most recent 'ex-girlfriend'.
I had no regrets as I had introduced Mary to Peter. Mary and my relationship had lasted two years, but it had always been very casual with no stated obligations. I am pretty sure there was a time that Mary would have considered marrying me if I had shown sufficient keenness. The reality was I had never been that interested. I suspect that if I had told my mother my true feelings, she would have scolded me for leading Mary on for so long.
The truth was Mary had first propositioned me and suggested the 'friends with benefits' arrangement. Mary was attractive, intelligent and fun to be with in small doses. We had many great days together and quite a few sleep overs, but I always felt a sense of relief when she left. She could be quite intense and preoccupied with her own problems and rarely enquired about any of my activities or interests.
It had no objections to marriage, but I had never met anyone that I wished to share life, secrets and dreams with. Between work, house repairs and family commitments I was lucky if I could find the time to go sailing twice per month. There was little time to waste on a futile search for a wife.
When my buddies dragged me out to a bar or club, I was often disheartened trying to talk to girls that became gushing and silly after a few drinks. Of course seeking a relationship with one of the girls at work was fraught with problems, particularly with my boss's recent preaching about the dangers of work relationships. If I was to find a suitable partner I needed to adopt a smarter strategy.
Perhaps when it really bothered me I could go to church, join a tennis club, or try a dating site. Fortunately, just at the moment I was content and not that desperate.
I was driving to visit my Aunt Margaret who was my mother's windowed sister. She was now in her 70s and as both her son and daughter had married and lived overseas, she missed having family visitors. As I drove into my Aunt's driveway I noticed a car parked outside on the street. She must have a visitor. The front door was open as usual, so as I entered I called out: "Hello Meg, I have come to check the bees."
The two bee hives were a joint project for my Aunt and myself. The hives were in her back yard and she held the equipment in a shed. My part was to do all the inspections and extract the honey, if there was ever sufficient available. I normally timed my visits for the first Saturday of the month except in winter when the hives were left undisturbed. Aunt Margaret liked me to stay overnight whenever I could.
"Hello Steven ... you are just in time for lunch. I have Shirley here as well."
I hadn't met Shirley before although I had heard her mentioned on previous visits. She did some cleaning once a week. Shirley looked to be about my age or maybe slightly older. She looked fit and attractive even wearing an old baggy track suit and having her hair held back by a scarf.
Just before I joined them at the kitchen table I introduced myself. "Hello Shirley. I am Meg's nephew, Steven."
"I know; Meg has told me all about you. While my job is to clean for about four hours each week, Meg insists that includes chatting over coffee. It is about time that I had the chance to see for myself if she had been exaggerating."
"Well that ruins the little speech I had prepared to introduce myself. What have you been saying Meg?"
"Nothing bad dear. You know I like to brag about my children and my favorite nephew. Meg normally cleans on Fridays but I had commitments with the Ladies Auxiliary. As Shirley kindly offered to come today, I promised her lunch."
Shirley explained that she had lived all her life in Bamberg and that she would like to see more of the world. She then quizzed me about my experiences travelling, particularly in Europe.
With a sound of reluctance Shirley then said: "I need to be going now as I have another appointment. Thank you for lunch Meg."
"You are welcome Shirley and thanks again for changing your schedule."
Shirley then stopped and said: "Oh Steven, of course you are coming to the dance tonight at the High School?"
"I am sorry, I haven't heard anything about it."
"Oh you have to come as it is one of our best town events. My cousin is an organizer and they have two bands playing a wide variety of music. This is a 'must do' if you wish to discover all about Bamberg."
"Well thank you for the invitation, but I really came up here to spend time with my Aunt."
With that Meg chimed in: "Nonsense Steven. We will have plenty of time in the morning. It would do you good to meet some of the locals and then you can fill me in on the gossip at breakfast."
Finally Shirley pleaded: "Please come. You could do me a favor by dancing with me to make my boyfriend jealous. I can never get Roger to dance and no one else dare ask as they know we are going steady."
"As it is an act of mercy, I probably can't say no. I would be delighted to dance as long as you are patient with my lack of practice."
As soon as Shirley left, Meg and I caught up on gossip while I checked the bee hives. As usual we had a good afternoon tea and then I showered and changed into some better clothes that I kept in Meg's guest room.
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It was only a few minutes past the nominal start time, but as I drove into the car park at the school I calculated that there were already over 100 cars.
