It was a nice day.
Lizzy and I were sitting on the balcony and sipping our tea with crackers.
I looked at my wife, "It's so quiet and pleasant here. Remember the old days, when our children were little? They were running, shouting, fighting nonstop. I love it like this!"
She sighed, "Bob, I know what you are saying, but don't you think that it's TOO quiet now?"
"I don't know... Personally, I'd rather live without a lot of noise around."
"Honey, I guess I am different. Even with all the hassle, having other people close by allows interaction. You know what I mean, chatting, going to restaurants together."
"Yes dear, you always were more social then me."
As we were talking, a big U-haul truck, accompanied by a new BMW, approached the house next door.
This house has been empty for more than a year, since our former neighbors moved to Florida.
Three young guys opened the back door of the truck and began moving stuff toward the front door.
The BMW parked in the designated space and a woman came out. She was having on a big hat, that hid her face.
The woman rushed to the door and opened it for the workers, so they could bring the furniture and all the boxes in. Then she disappeared inside the house.
The workers completed their mission of emptying the truck and carrying everything to the house in 2 hours. When they were done, they left.
Lizzy and I thought that If the lady showed up outside, we'd invite her to drink tea with us, but she did not come out again.
...
Later in the evening Lizzy went to take a shower and I stayed in the living room.
My mind wandered.
I am 53 years old, 6'1", 190lbs. Three times a week I go to the local health facility for a 2 hours of treadmill, elliptical, weight lifting and swimming. I am a CPA, working mostly from home. I have a dedicated computer and several shelves with files of my clients (My children told me that everything could be stored in folders on my computer or in the cloud, but I am an old fashioned dude...).
My lovely wife Lizzy is 48, 5'4", 124lbs. She hardly goes to the same health facility, but she does yoga twice a week and loves to bike around the neighborhood every time the weather is nice. As a result she is in great shape. The only place one can find some fat in her body is in her perky B+ breasts... Lizzy works as a librarian in the local library every afternoon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
We met 30 years ago, got married 2 years later and have 2 children. A 26 old son, who lives in Vermont with a wife and a young child and a 24 years old daughter, who moved with her husband to Oregon.
We still live in a small town in Iowa, having nearby a nice lake and a state park.
On weekends when the temperature is acceptable, we love to stroll in the park. But in the hot days of summer, swimming in the fresh water of the lake is a good relaxing sports, that both Lizzy and I love.
Lizzy meets every week or so with a group of mostly women, who call themselves 'The good books club' to discuss new literary works. I am less interested in reading. My own social life is pretty boring. Rarely I meet our few friends, or the families of my children. Most of my interaction with other people is with my work clients and 3 other guys who I got introduced to at the health club and talk to them about politics, sports and family events. Pretty boring, right?!
Well, my life may lack adventures, but I like it this way...
...
The next afternoon Lizzy and I sat again on the balcony.
Lizzy commented that we should go to our new neighbor and offer her help in anything she might need in order to feel welcomed in her new surrounding.
It sounded like a good idea, but I had no clue how to approach this new person.
Would she be interested in us 'bothering her'?
Even if she was OK and happy to see us, what would be the best time to do it?
Lizzy didn't bother answering my doubts. She made a chocolate cake, wrapped it nicely and rang our neighbor's door.
Few seconds later Lizzy was let in with the door closing behind her.
I watched a show on the history channel and lost track of time.
Lizzy appeared sometime later, smiling, "She is very nice. Her name is Nickie. She is 50 years old, unmarried and no children. Nickie has published several stories in the past. She just moved here from Boston to get the feeling of the real Midwest, because she intends to write a story about life here."
"Well honey, it will be interesting to find out how she'll like this small place comparing to the big city."
...
The next day I woke up at 6:30 am by banging noises outside.
I went to the balcony and saw our neighbor in short pant and a huge straw hat bent forward and digging holes in front of her house.
I called her, "Nickie!"
She stood up and smiled at me, "Hi neighbor. You are Bob, right? You have a very nice wife."
"What are you doing so early in the morning?"
"I am a morning person. I like to start early, then eat breakfast, do some writing, have a pleasant siesta and be free later for anything else."
"Over here most of us sleep longer in the morning. What do you say to a compromise. You postpone the noisy stuff until 7:30 am and at 8 o'clock I'll help you with whatever you want."
"I am sorry. In Boston my house was separated by a fence from the neighbors, so they couldn't hear anything. I'll stop now and start again at 8. And you don't have to help me... unless you want to." She had a knock out smile...
Nickie had nice muscular legs. She clearly did some physical activity in Boston, either gardening or exercise in a sport facility. Her baggy blouse seemed to hide a lot. I could not see much due to her large hat and the shady area she was in.
Lizzy and I ate breakfast together and then she drove to the nearest town for some errands.
At 8:15 I joined Nickie, who resumed her digging.
"Nickie, it's nice to see you up close. I wanted to let you know that Lizzy was very impressed by you! Anyway, what are you trying to do with all the digging?"
"All my life I wanted to have a small garden and I thought that here may be the best place to make it happen."
I chuckled, "I can really help you with that. But I think we should do it differently. The ground is dry and very hard. It's better to wet it well and do the digging the next day."
"Bob, great idea! You see, you didn't lift a finger and you already helped me..."
"In the meantime, why don't you show me the plan you have for your garden. You know - Is it for flowers? vegetables? other plants? and what dimensions you had in mind."
"I love flowers, but I am not sure what flowers grow well in this weather."
"Actually, there are several pretty flowers that like our weather. Lizzy and I do not have a garden, but you can walk around and see what flowers other residents have, or you can drive 7 miles and ask the employee at the Garden Center what are his recommendations."
I thought about it some more, "Nickie, mark the exact area you want your garden with chalk or ropes. After that I'll pour enough water to soften it for tomorrow. In the meantime you drive to the Garden Center and choose whatever you want to plant."
She straightened up and gave me another cute smile, "OK boss."
I was lucky that Nickie turned around and went inside to bring a rope...
When she stood up, her blouse enveloped her upper body more closely and her huge boobs were difficult to miss!
Lizzy never mentioned anything unusual about Nickie's body, although I was convinced that she noticed the enormous chest...
Our neighbor sat down and drew a 25X15 feet rectangular area that was attached to the front of her house.
I marked it with ropes and Nickie left to buy the flowers she liked.
I attached a rubber hose to the outside faucet and wetted the ground the best I could.
Then I went home. I read the local news for 1/2 an hour and entered the bathroom to take a shower.
As I was drying up, I heard Lizzy talking on the phone, although I couldn't hear what she was talking about.
I came out naked with only a towel around my waist.
Lizzy watched and smirked, "Your body is still fantastic. Looking at you half naked reminds me of certain activity that we haven't done for 3 days... You are lucky that I have to leave now, otherwise your body would have been ravaged by me!"
"Where are you going?"
"Nickie called after she bought the plants you guys talked about. She wanted to know if you were available, because she may need your help tomorrow digging holes and planting the flowers. When she realized that you were not available, she said that she wanted to go to the mall and buy some clothes. Nickie asked me to join her and help her choose the appropriate clothes for this neighborhood and weather. She also offered to buy me a nice blouse as a sign of gratitude for being such 'nice next door welcoming and helping lady'... I said that I'd gladly help her, but she didn't have to buy me anything. She chortled and said that she had a lot of money with no dependents, so it would please her to see me in 'more colorful attire'... I leave now, because she is already by her car. Enjoy the 3 hour break you get..."
I kissed her forehead and went to the balcony to see them leaving.
Nickie saw me with only the towel wrapped around me.
She had a broad smile and then she whistled.
She shouted in my direction, "Bob, if this is the way people in this place dress, I already like it here. By the way, you look much better this way, than what I saw you having on earlier..."
I smiled at her, "Thank you for the compliment. Who knows, one day I may see you with skimpier clothes too..."
She had a strange look on her face, but she stayed quiet, as Lizzy approached her and both entered her car.
I moved to my computer room and started working. I became too busy and didn't notice the time.
...
I heard Lizzy open the door and carrying 3 small boxes, but I was in the middle of chatting with a client, so I didn't lift my eyes, "Hi honey. I am in the middle of something. I'll join you in a minute."
I heard her from our bedroom, "It's OK, I'm going to have a long bath."
My lady came out an hour later with her robe on and her cheeks red from the hot water.
I grinned, "Darling, you are red as a mature sweet tomato. May I taste you?"