Everyone in this story is over eighteen. It is far and away my most ambitious work to date, tracing the metamorphosis of a young married woman from being a downtrodden wife, through a chance encounter, eventually into a spiral leading her into a world she had never dreamt of. I hope someone bothers to read it.
My story begins in the following way, but that is really only a 'preface.'
'Where's my dinner then?' was my greeting when Gerry, my husband of some eight years, walked in from work, failing to notice me, sat at the coffee table with tears rolling down my cheeks.
'There's stuff in the fridge,' I managed to say.
'You lazy fucking slut,' he yelled, and looked ready to hit me -- again. I knew he wouldn't be interested to know that I'd spent all afternoon in the hospital, where the oncologist had given my brother three months at best. Ever since poor Tim had fallen ill, I had been unable to concentrate on anything else, seeking only the comfort afforded me by my best friend Judith.
But Gerry was still there, glowering, red-faced, down at me, and when I made a valiant attempt to tell him about Tim, all he could say was, 'So that poofter brother of yours is more fucking important than being a wife to your husband -- is that it?'
'You insensitive fucking pig!' I screamed, finally losing it, and he punched me on the side of the head, sending me crashing across the coffee table, the glass on which shattered into a million pieces.
I picked myself up, dazed and groggy, and ran out into the street. Nice Mr Greensmith, from next door, who had obviously heard the commotion, came out of his door.
'What on earth's going on?' he asked, but without waiting for an answer, shepherded me into his front door, and sat me down on his overstuffed sofa.
PART ONE
A couple of months later, I was living with Judith, in her nice townhouse, sharing the rent, and 'getting a life' as they say. With Judith, I went out to parties, avoiding the advances of a flattering number of men, and steering well clear of Gerry, who tried to get in touch by telephone, email, and even by knocking on the door several times, to be told by Judith that I'd 'gone away.'
I changed my job, moving on from the office I had worked in as a secretary since before I was married, and landing a position as a receptionist at a hotel the other side of the city, close to the airport.
Engrossed in sorting out bookings one evening, I didn't hear anyone approaching, so was surprised when I looked up, into the weather-beaten face and piercing pale blue eyes of a tall, fifty-something, fit-looking guy, dressed in a lightweight fawn suit and open-necked blue shirt.
'Hello, Elizabeth,' he said, reading the embossed nameplate pinned to my white silk blouse, 'I hope you have a room for me?' His accent might have been South African, I thought, but wasn't very pronounced.
'Can I have your name, sir?' I asked.
'Oh, I have no reservation,' he said, 'but my name is Gordon Trimwell.'
I took his passport, and immediately discovered that he was, in fact,
Sir
Gordon Trimwell, with an address in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. Intrigued, I booked him into as good a room as we had available, ascertaining that he wanted to stay for three nights.
I didn't see him again that evening, but found myself thinking about the tall, distinguished gentleman as I went to sleep that night. I realised that I had been remarkably chaste for the last two months, in marked contrast to my previous life, when I had been fairly casual about sex, without ever being exactly promiscuous. For the first time in a long while, I masturbated myself gently to sleep, my fingers working their way around my growing clit, as moisture started to well up in my eager pussy.
My afternoon shift had barely started when Sir Gordon put in an appearance through the hotel's swing-doors. He was now dressed formally, in a beautifully-tailored dark grey suit with a white shirt and sobre striped tie. His shoes were highly polished, and when she shot his cuffs as he took his key from me, I saw a gold Rolex Oyster on his wrist.
'Elizabeth,' he said, 'Thank you. I see you remembered my room number -- you are most efficient.'
I must have coloured up when I thanked him for the compliment, because he smiled engagingly, and said, 'I didn't mean to embarrass you. Perhaps you could spare the time to have a drink with me when you finish work?'
Fraternising with guests was frowned upon by the hotel management, and my hesitation was only due to that, as my heart had skipped several beats at the prospect of sharing a moment or two with this elegant man.
'I...if you can give me time to change, we could go across the road, Sir Gordon.'
'We'll have none of the "sir" if you don't mind,' he said, smiling at my discomfiture, 'What time do you finish?'
'At ten,' I replied, 'I'll wait outside at twenty past, if that's OK'
'I'll look forward to that.' He obviously understood that I couldn't meet him in the hotel itself.
I was a bundle of nerves then, until my relief arrived, mercifully early, so that I had time to get ready. I thanked my lucky stars that I had been too lunch with Judith before my shift began, so had dressed up more than was usual for coming to work.. I slipped out of my hotel uniiform skirt and blouse, and zipped myself into the short summer dress I had come in. It was navy blue, with polka dots, and of a soft, silky material. Taking care with my make-up, I looked critically at my image in the dressing-room mirror, and liked what I saw. My long, black hair, released from the ponytail I employed in the hotel, seemed thicker and more lustrous since I had left Gerry, and my complexion clearer, though it my have been my imagination. Standing up, I did a twirl, and thought my slim form and long legs looked good. 'Hmmm,' I said aloud, looked at my watch and went out to see what fate had in store.
Sir Gordon was waiting for me, cream button-down shirt, chinos and mocassins, a light jacket slung over his shoulder. He took my arm, and steered me across to a cocktail bar over the road.
As soon as we were sat down at a corner table, both with martinis, he smiled, and said, 'I knew I was right about you, Elizabeth.'
'Oh?'
'I somehow knew you would be staggeringly beautiful once out of that uniform.'
I looked into his eyes for some sort of humour, but was met with his piercing gaze -- deadly serious.