The garden wasn't much this year. I tried tips my gardener friends suggested, read a couple books, worked the soil with compost and organic fertilizer, watered according to a schedule, and have nothing but weeds. Rabbits aren't helping either; they are in abundance this year.
I am still in hopes of getting a couple tomatoes and peppers. I've given up on lettuce and green onion. Cucumbers may as well be turned under. There is next year.
I live in a mid-70s ranch home. It is a split entry with stairs to the main living areas and stairs down to a finished basement. The basement is where I spend most of my time with company. The basement has a wet bar, refrigerator for food and snacks, a microwave oven for simple reheating, and a bathroom with shower, toilet, and sink.
The upper floor is the main house, living room, dining room, kitchen, and three bedrooms. There is a three-quarter master bath and a full bathroom up as well. As soon as I win the lottery, is my secret wish. As soon as I win the lottery, I'll remodel this place.
I live alone now. In the past I lived with my wife and children. The children grew and went their own way. Wife found a new guy she says keeps her well lubed. We used to have a sex life that was the envy of neighbors until she decided to experiment. We came to a mutual decision for her to vacate the premises.
I can't say that her leaving was a bad thing. I've been lucky to have single women and the occasional single man spend time with me. I am getting plenty of sex and no one seems to complain. I have two things my partners enjoy, libido and size to accompany libido.
I'm not bragging about size you understand. I am about eight inches long maybe a touch more and almost two and half inches thick. The only complaints I've gotten come from my ex wife who recently came to the conclusion I'm too much for her. I blame it on her going through her life changes. She is gone and I'm not too worried about her.
This Saturday morning as I'm looking at my garden wondering what more I can do to save it, my neighbor Cindy is out in her backyard scurrying around getting ready to mow. Cindy is younger than I; she is 33 to my 47. Cindy is divorced also but hers is recent and she is still feeling the pain of being dumped.
Cindy is not unattractive by any stretch; she is toned from jogging and yoga, I've seen her jogging in the neighborhood and seen her doing yoga on her deck some days. We speak on a friendly basis and no that isn't friends with benefits.
Cindy struggled with her lawn mower, which refused to start. "Can I look at it, Cindy? Maybe I can get it going."
Our adjoining fence gates made it a quick step or two to her back yard. I checked all the usual culprits, pumped the primer, squeezed the handle, and pulled the starter cord. The mower coughed to life.
There was obvious frustration mixed with exasperation in her face and body language. After letting the engine run a few seconds, I let the engage lever go and the engine shut down.
"Why do I have such a difficult time starting this thing," Cindy complained. "You have it purring like a kitten in one pull."
Realizing that Cindy needed some lawn mower training, I set about explaining how to start it.
"First, Cindy, you have to prime the engine. See this little rubber nipple, right here. Press that three or four times to get gas." Cindy pressed the primer a couple times.
"Now you have to use this lever. Pull it into the handle. Yep, like that. Now pull the starter rope hard and fast."
Cindy had success and quickly set off to mow. I watched as she worked the mower around her yard. Her shapeliness was apparent. When she bent and twisted turning the mower, I got glimpses of her jogging and yoga infused body.
Cindy mowed and I got back to work on my own yard. I heard Cindy shut down her mower. "Ice tea time, Jeff," Cindy called over the fence.
She got no argument from me, the day was warming rapidly. We sat on the grass sipping iced tea and talking for a few minutes. Cindy sat in a yoga position with legs crossed in front of her. I was leggier, legs stretched straight out in front of me. I couldn't get into one of those crossed legs positions if I wanted to.
We were wearing loose fitting modest clothes working in our yards. Yet sitting like this in the grass, Cindy's shorts were pulled tight against her crotch and there was a hint of camel toe. She reclined slightly on one arm giving her breasts prominence.
"Jeff, how long have you been divorced?" It was an unexpected question, as we had never gotten into personal aspects of our lives.
"About six years, why do you ask?"
"It is awkward for me. I can't even start a lawn mower. I mean, what's wrong with my body." I heard her husband left her for a tiny A-cup young twenty something.
"If it is body image, Cindy, I don't find anything wrong with your form." I smiled as brightly as possible. "Everyone sees you jogging and sometimes you practice yoga outside in tight yoga outfits."
Hopefully I hadn't said too much or gone too far. Cindy did smile in return although she did change her position sitting with the material of her shorts more loosely fitting. I was beginning to wonder if her libido and mine could perform on the same stage.
"What do you do for entertainment weekends, Jeff? I'm usually home."
How long have you been divorced, Cindy?" My questions were following her lead trying to get at the heart of her feelings.
"Less than a year, Jeff. I wish I could start dating again but my ass hole ex makes me feel inferior."
This was a good opening. "He is not making you feel inferior, you are. Cindy, it's not my place as your neighbor to say it, you are attractive."
Cindy continued her forlorn dialogue, "If I'm attractive why haven't you asked me out."
I didn't want Cindy dragging me down with her. "Cindy, you are a neighbor and a friend. That is what I believe is important." I gulped the rest of my tea and got up to leave.
"I would accept," Cindy quietly concluded as I walked away.
"Cindy, neighbor and friend."
Did she actually say it or was it my mind playing tricks? "There are benefits," I heard in a mumbled voice.
That conversation stewed for about a week when on a Thursday evening, Cindy was on her deck in a tight yoga outfit. She was going through a series of leg and torso stretches that pulled fabric tight and gave certain body parts prominence. She couldn't be wearing anything under that tight outfit.
I watched from behind my sliding glass door until I felt Cindy was going into her cool down stretches. The noise of the door interrupted her for a moment but she held her pose.
Cindy finished her cool down and took a long drink from her water bottle. I smiled and waved my hello. Cindy called back, "Hi, Jeff."
"Jeff," there was hesitancy in her voice. "I am sorry for how I acted Saturday. I was feeling low and sorry for myself. You must think me some kind of nut case."
"Well, I'm not trained in nut cases, are you offering an education?" I don't think of her as a nut case but wanted to make light. "Besides, someone's nut case is another's normal."
With a smile on her face, Cindy accepted my answer, "So am I normal or nut case?"
