Welcome to Part 4 of Escort Neighbour. This part will wrap the story up. It's gone as far as I want to take it. It starts of slow. There are a few story threads that need tightened and knotted. Bill and Jennifer need closure. Hope you like the closure.
Warning: There is a little gay sex in this toward the end. If you don't like that, please don't read!
*****
The trip home from Saint Thomas was uneventful. As much as I wanted to enjoy the first class travel I couldn't. All I could think about was that Jennifer would move away and that our romance would have to end. I was depressed and so was Jennifer.
I could see the sadness in her eyes. We held hands the whole-time home; fingers clenched and not wanting to let go of each other. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. Jennifer said she had cancelled all her clients for the week. I nodded.
We spoke little. I was afraid of making hollow promises. Saying stupid things like '
this will all work out
'. Or, '
it will be fine
'. I knew the lie those words held.
I played with my new phone for a time. It was in airport mode and couldn't do much. Jennifer said it was the larger sized screen and that I needed it for my old eyes. She smirked when she said it, but it did have me thinking about our age difference.
I was fifteen years older than her. That's a lot. When I was sixty she would be forty-five. I wanted to talk to her about it but couldn't find the words.
It was a long flight home.
* * *
We were careful to take separate cabs home. I even held back leaving the plane in case Nancy was watching from the viewing window at the airport. It was very late at night, but Jennifer and I didn't want to chance anything. Nancy never picked me up at the airport, except once she had surprised me.
I didn't want to be surprised.
I saw Jennifer get in a taxi at the stand. She hesitated before she got in and stared at me. I smiled and when I did she disappeared quickly into the cab. It roared off and I felt my depression settle deeper.
The cab took me home. I saw lights on inside Jennifer's house when we pulled up. I paid the driver and got out with my carry-on. The cab left and I stood on the street looking up at the lights in Jennifer's house. She was right there inside, and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't walk in, embrace her, and tell her how much she meant to me.
Instead, I wandered up my driveway to my front door. I keyed the electronic lock and stepped inside the darkness. I stood in my entryway listening. The house was quiet except for the faint whirring of the refrigerator.
I shucked my shoes and headed upstairs. I entered the bedroom, heard my wife snoring loudly, and changed into my sleep clothes in the dark. I climbed into bed and lay on my back.
It's over
, I thought and then rolled over onto my stomach and went to sleep.
The next morning I woke to Nancy placing a cup of coffee at my bedside table. I struggled up out of the duvet and sat up. Nancy kissed my cheek.
"How was your trip?"
"Good," I said.
"I'm glad. Off to work. Have a great day."
"You, too."
Nancy fled the bedroom and I lay back in bed fighting off my sleepiness. I grabbed the coffee and sipped. I looked around my bedroom and wished I was still in Saint Thomas. I was home but my heart wasn't.
Bored I rose and opened my carry-on. It was stuffed tight with all the gifts the girls had given me. I found my phone and the charging cable and returned to bed with it. I plugged in the phone and it emitted a soft tone. It turned on and I saw the little airport symbol on the top. After a time I found the settings and turned off the mode.
Jennifer said she had paid for cellular service for a year for me. She suggested I use Wi-Fi whenever I could because the plan didn't have a lot of data. All strange words to me. I knew my house had Wi-Fi, it had been part of the cable company plan. Before I could figure out how to set it up my phone made a bunch of chimes.
I looked first at the messenger application. It had the number twenty in a red circle next to it. I tapped the icon and the application opened. I only had one contact and that was Jennifer, but I had two sets of messages.
The first was unknown and the second was from Jennifer.
I tapped Jennifer and the screen changed to a series of messages, all time stamped. I read through all her texts:
[Hey babe. I'm just in the door. Saw your cab drop you off. I miss you already.] 11:43 PM
[Can't sleep. I've been home for two hours thinking of you. Why won't you text me back?] 1:30 AM
[Jesus Bill. You're such a luddite! Read your texts!] 1:37 AM
[I'm playing with myself thinking of you...come join me.] 2:04 AM
[I can't sleep. I keep thinking of you. I love you, Bill] 3:15 AM
[I want to run away with you.] 3:27 AM
[I love you baby. Please text me!] 4:05 AM
[Morning! Hope you slept well. I didn't sleep a wink. I'm so tired. All I can think about is you.] 6:17 AM
[Wake up!] 6:18 AM
[I'm gonna have to show you how to socialise aren't I? You awake? Bill? I need to talk to you!] 6:20 AM
[It's 8. Your wife just left. Are you awake?] 7:58 AM
She's in a worse state than me
, I realised. I tapped the small iMessage bar and a small keyboard appeared. I typed slowly and then didn't know how to send it. I tapped the small blue up arrow and my phone made a
whoosh
sound. The word 'Delivered' appeared below my text.
[Morning beautiful. Sorry you slept so bad. You doing okay?]
A strange little symbol appeared on the left side of the screen.
The ellipsis