Apologies for the three week hiatus, have now returned to Sydney and plan to post a chapter every five or six days
"Don't you think you're still being a bit of a wimp?"
"No I do not," retorted Harry from the other side of the bed, "Anyway, what do you mean by that?"
"When you were sixteen," said Maria examining her manicure studiously; she was perfectly well aware that she was deliberately winding Harry up, "You went to Uni, you were very young, so I suppose your parents influenced you in that direction."
"Well yes, but so what?"
"And now they're encouraging you to do a doctorate."
"Yes, so?"
"So when are you going to start taking control of your own life, making your own decisions?"
"I already do"
"Oh yes, so that's why you live with your aunt in the vacations?"
"Well yes, but Aunt Diane doesn't influence me to do anything one way or the other."
"Harry," snorted Maria incredulously, "Your Aunt Diane is so damn smart you wouldn't even know it if she was influencing you, she has even got me to do a few things which I had promised myself I wouldn't even consider."
"That's probably true," agreed Harry grinning, "She suckered me into that bet over the tractor easily enough."
"Yes and..."
"No, I'm not copping any more of this," laughed Harry. "Here we are naked in your bed, we have already made love once and we are arguing about a load of rubbish. Now I have made an executive decision. You still seem to me to be amazingly fuckable so I am going to put my decision into effect now."
And he did.
Sometime later Maria lay cuddled up to Harry, very contented. "Harry," she suddenly asked, turning onto her stomach.
"Mmm,' yes"
"You have two sisters."
"Uh huh."
"Both older than you with kids."
Harry nodded.
"And when you visit them, you play with their kids... and big sister cooks you your favourite dinner."
"How the hell did you know," laughed Harry. "They do just that."
"Ha you see," Maria laughed, "Petticoat government."
Harry sat up suddenly. "I know you're trying to wind me up" he said and vaulted nimbly over her, "You deserve some punishment," and suiting action to the word gave her two decidedly hearty smacks on her ass.
Maria laughed again and tried to grab him, but was too slow, Harry was across the room and into the shower in a flash.
"Maybe I'll come in the shower with you"
"You can if you like"
"I don't like," she laughed, Maria had already found out Harry's preference for cold showers. "I don't know how you can bear it."
"It's not so much that I like cold showers, it's that I hate hot ones... probably," Harry added as an afterthought, "It's a preference born of necessity, years of following two not so indulgent elder sisters who had used all the hot water."
Harry finished and grabbed a towel. Maria replaced him and the steam started to rise. Harry knew that she liked a long shower, but also that she liked to talk at the same time, so he waited for her.
"Harry, I didn't tell you but your Aunt Diane rang earlier, she is coming over tomorrow afternoon and she is bringing someone with her, something to do with that old tractor you found."
"Yes, you'll remember that she said she would like to see it when the big door is opened up."
"Are you ready for that yet?"
Harry nodded confirmation, "I've already loosened all the nuts and it should only take a couple of minutes to knock all the remaining bolts out."
"I wonder what it is your aunt wants."
"I don't know," replied Harry, "But I do know that she has spent a few days at the library and the museum looking up old papers... and this afternoon she said she was off to visit a very elderly lady at the nursing home, a Mrs Brennan I think she said.
"Mmm,' I don't suppose that has any connection with her coming here."
"Possibly not," agreed Harry, "But Aunt Diane is being very secretive about it so I cannot help much. Her visit to Mrs Brennan was important enough that she took a recorder with her. She said it might be part of the local oral history project, whatever that is."
Half an hour later as Harry drove home he reflected on the relationship he had developed with Maria. It had surprised him at first how she not only wanted sexual intercourse, but insisted on social intercourse as well. They spent a lot of time talking and discussing just about anything that turned up, whether it was his future, her past, politics, or the more mundane goings on of their neighbours in Hawksworth. Maria had an opinion on most things and liked an argument; in fact, he was pretty sure she often took contrary positions just for the sake of it.