Holly's night out
'Are you sure you don't mind, sweetie?' Holly asked as she fastened the strap on her left heel.
'Of course not. Go have fun.'
Truth be told, I was happy that our new neighbour had invited Holly over for drinks. We had only moved to the city six months ago, and although I had made a few friends at the Sunday league football club I had joined, Holly didn't really have any girlfriends here.
It didn't seem to bother her, and as well as being husband and wife, we were also best friends, happy in each other's company. However, Holly must have missed spending time with other women, just as I enjoyed hanging out with my football buddies.
I had only seen our neighbour, Miss Lawrence, a couple of times, and she seemed friendly. We didn't even know her first name. However, the first time Holly and I introduced ourselves to her, She replied:
'It is a pleasure to meet you, Adam and Holly. You may call me Miss Lawrence.'
She was a bit older than Holly and me, maybe in her mid to late forties, but was attractive for her age. She was slightly taller than me and towered over Holly's petite five foot seven frame in her heels.
We didn't really see her much after that, occasionally leaving the house or returning home at the same time. Still, she always greeted us with a smile and addressed us by our first names, which, in turn, led to us calling her Miss Lawrence.
One morning, Holly told me that Miss Lawrence had invited her over for drinks when I returned home from the gym. Although I wondered why I hadn't been asked for a split second, I was happy for Holly.
When Holly had started fretting over what to wear, I told her it was just drinks with the neighbour, but Holly said that Miss Lawrence always dressed so nicely, and she didn't want to feel underdressed. So, in the end, my wife chose a cute flowery summer dress and her silver strappy heels. She looked beautiful, and I couldn't help but be entranced by her perfect red painted toenails.
I kissed her goodbye, told her to enjoy herself, and then watched as she left the house. And then, for the first time since we had moved here, I was alone in the house for a whole evening.
Truth be told, I wasn't one of those guys that got up to no good when his wife was out. So my idea of a good night by myself was stretching out on the sofa with a nice glass of chilled beer and watching a sci-fi show on the TV. I'd been itching to watch the new Battlestar Galactica for ages, but Holly wasn't a fan, so I had shelved it for a night like this.
The funny thing was that despite my initial excitement at having an evening to myself, I actually ended up missing having Holly there with me. She was so light-hearted and great to be around, and even after all this time together, our evenings were still fun.