Her husband was going to be out of town for an extended trip, a seriously extended trip, like 8 months. The trip came upon them suddenly, so they spend the last couple of weeks together trying to get everything in order so that she would have as little difficulty as possible. Friends and family came in from out of town to bid him farewell. The kids got their special time with dad, but she wasn't able to do all of the things she had hoped to do before he left.
One morning, about a month into their involuntary separation we were talking out front, just simple stuff, weather, kids, and the like. I asked if she had heard from him recently. She said that he was pretty good about emailing her, and keeping her up to date on the events of his life, and likewise, she was keeping him posted on the happenings around the house. She said that she had been trying to take some pictures of the kids and the house to forward on to him, but was having difficulty getting it all to work.
Evidently, the camera he had purchased for her before he left was a little more than she was used to dealing with, and unfortunately, since he was called away so quickly, he was unable to help her figure out how to use it. I have several cameras myself, and although I am not much of a photographer, I have been known to take a picture or two, so I volunteered to assist her any time she wants. She said she would try to muddle through the best that she could. So I pretty much put it to rest.
About two weeks later, we found ourselves out front again watching the kids playing ball, and as usual, we began to talk. She said that everything was going well, although there were times when she thought the separation was going to get the best of her. She said that her husband's emails had slowed down a bit, but she understood that he was busy with his work. I asked if she had ever figured the camera out and was ever able to send the pictures that he had wanted. She said that she was able to send some, but not all. Again, I asked if I could be of any assistance, she giggled a little, and said, that she didn't think so. "I was able to take the pictures of the kids that he wanted, but, I have been unable to send him the other pictures that he wanted".
"The other pictures" I asked.
She replied, "Do you remember before he left he was talking about a nurses costume he bought me? Well, with him leaving so quickly, we never got the chance to ummm use it. He wants me to send him some pictures of myself in the outfit, and I just can't get the timer thing to work properly. Every time I try to take some, well, they come out looking pretty bad." I laughed a little, and again, volunteered to assist in any way I could. She responded, "Yeah, I am sure you would love to help with that!"
A couple of days later, I had taken a day off of work. I had some "use or lose" vacation days, so I took time off to do a little work around the house. I slipped into a pair of shorts, and walked to the bus-stop with my son. As I passed her house, I saw that she was sitting on her porch watching her kids get on the bus. After the kids pulled away, I stopped off at her house to chat for a couple of minutes. She was dressed in her heavy robe and fuzzy slippers, as she often was in the morning as she watched the kids go off to school. Again, we chatted for a bit, about nothing in particular, just stuff. At one point in the conversation, she said that her husband had asked again about her sending the pictures to him, so the previous night she had tried once again, and again, she was unsuccessful. Always being one to help, I started to offer to help, but she stopped me saying, "Don't even go there!" We laughed a little, and I headed home.
About 10 minutes later, my phone rang. It was her. She said, "Can I ask a favor of you?" And of course I answered that I would help if I could. "This picture thing has really got me frustrated, I want to send the pictures to him, but I just can't get it to work."
I quickly asked, "So you want me to take them" half thinking that she was really needing me to show her how to work the camera. We had had a pretty good friendship, in fact all of us got along very well. We had our moments at times, but I think that is normal for any neighborhood. Many times when we got together, we would joke around, and sometimes we would get quite flirtatious, but I was not prepared for her answer.
"Well, yes I do, but only if you can do it without getting all crazy. The idea is to do something special for my husband; I am not trying to get myself into a situation where I am fucking my neighbor."
My jaw just about hit the floor, firstly because she really did want me to take the pictures, and secondly because of the language she was using. Don't get me wrong, it was not uncommon for her to say something like that, but it was normally in reference to her husband, not to me. If she ever said anything to me like that it was normally something like, "Too bad you'll never know what it's like to fuck me", but that was only when she was in her most flirtatious moods. I asked if she was sure she wanted me to do this, and she reiterated that she would, but only if I promised to control myself. I assured her I would be good, to which she replied, "That's what I am afraid of".
I quickly grabbed my cameras and headed over to her house. She met me at the door, still wearing her robe and slippers. We chatted for a bit, about everything but the pictures, it was apparent that we were both as nervous as we could be. Eventually I asked, "Are we going to do this or what?"