The Touch Ch 40

WARNING TO NEW READERS TO THE SERIES - This is a long, rambling story and VERY British which has been divided into several parts for ease of editing and reading. The individual parts will make more sense if read in sequence as they follow straight on chronologically and therefore new readers should start reading at NOVELS & NOVELLAS > The Touch> Chapter 1 – Jamie's Story.

Most, but not all chapters contain some sexually explicit sections and the story has a strong incest theme which some readers may find disturbing and might wish to cease reading now...

Thank you to all readers who vote, leave public comments and send feedback, these things are important as it is the only indication of reader approval that an online author gets.

My apologies! This chapter may meander even more than usual as it is part of a collection of several short 'day in the life' journal style entries which have been linked to make up Chapters 39-42

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THE TOUCH Chapter 40 The Best Laid Schemes of Mice & Men

I left home on Thursday morning with a perfect vision of how I planned to spend my day. I had several items of correspondence which I needed to complete in the morning before going into Salisbury to the bank to do the daily banking and collect the cash for Mrs. Waterford. In the afternoon I intended driving out to the Stratford Road with Steve to give the caravanette a short test drive and then return triumphantly with my prize before driving home in the evening to pick up Gwen to take her for a celebration cruise in Vera, buy her supper somewhere and then return home for another night of wallowing in the warmth of our mutual affection. A simple almost fool proof plan...almost...

As I rode into the garden centre on my moped I could hear the outside telephone bell ringing. It was still ten minutes before we officially opened for business and I tried to remember if I had switched the telephone lines onto the recorded message when I closed up the night before... obviously I had not. Jack would be really pissed off with me if the 'phone had been ringing all morning, like me he preferred his early mornings peaceful and quiet.

As I made my way up to the office the telephone bell ceased and then started again, whoever was calling obviously seriously wanted to speak to somebody or was just a 'very persistent bugger', as Jack would say. I unlocked the outside door to the office block and thundered up the stairs two at a time and burst into the general office as the ringing stopped. To my surprise Tayler was already at her desk and cradling the telephone against her ear whilst furiously scribbling on her note pad, she grinned and waved a hand at me in mute greeting.

I tossed my briefcase onto my desk, switched on the coffee machine and then came back into the general office.

"Morning Ty, you have started work early..." I greeted Tayler as she finished her call.

"Just as well..." she replied with a smile, "Some silly sod forgot to switch the telephones onto the answering machine last night before he left... probably too excited with his new motor van..."

"Er, yeah... I wonder who that could have been..." I said sheepishly, "Sorry Ty..."

"Careless Twat!" she scolded with a grin, the telephone rang again, "Good Morning, De Vere's Garden Centre, How may I help you..." Part of her duties were to answer the incoming calls and I always had to grin watching this way out looking, butch gay, punk girl answering the telephone with a voice that would have been perfectly suited to an upper class Chelsea deb, a cultured purr all polite sweetness and charm.

I had initially thought that Tayler was a bit odd, she was twenty-two, seriously overweight, with bright green, short cropped hair, and dressed like a punk, with quite a lot of facial piercings but seldom wore much of her flamboyant jewellery at work. She was absolutely brilliant at accounts work with a wicked sense of humour which appealed to my own warped idea of what was funny. It was good that we got on as we were having to work closely together that week with Emma away. Ty was proving to be worth her considerable weight in gold, she was a quick study with an almost photographic memory and could run the office in her sleep... making me effectively redundant, which was great as it freed me up to get on with other tasks. We had become mates and I liked her a lot. We had agreed early on to differ about our tastes in music, she hated opera as much as I disliked heavy punk but strangely we were both into vintage musicals... the first time that I had noticed her around long before she came to work for us, was months before at a student cinema club showing of Gene Kelly's 'An American in Paris' at the technical college where we were both on different courses.

"It's been fucking wild in here this morning, Jamie..." She said as soon as her call ended, strangely she seemed comfortable enough to swear in front of me but never did with anybody else, except perhaps Emma. "The 'phones were ringing off the hook when I got in and haven't stopped since..." She handed me a wad of scribbled telephone messages, "Will you be a luvvy and go through these for me... There are a couple of strange messages in there for you...and one from your mum..." The telephone began to ring again and so I took the slips through to my own office, poured a mug of coffee and slumped into my chair.

I wasn't surprised that there were messages for me, most people who knew me were aware that I was normally at work early, often shortly after dawn... I was always very much a morning person...except of course when it meant leaving the comfort and love of Gwen's bed...something I was reluctant to do at any time of the day or night. Jack had noticed that I was late in this week but I had laid the blame at Emma's door...claiming that with my sister away I was taking the opportunity to do some studying in the peace and quiet of the early morning.

"More likely with yer aunt in France... you've been out on the piss every night and overslept..." he had retorted, but he was only teasing as he knew that I seldom over indulged the booze.

I sorted through the messages until I found the one from Gwen, written in Ty's neat printing...

____________________________

JAMIE

YOUR MUM CALLED AT 08:10

SHE HAS A MEETING IN BRISTOL AND SO WILL NOT BE HOME UNTIL LATE THIS EVENING

SHE SAID TO GET YOUR OWN DINNER

____________________________

I guessed that Gwen had discovered the change of schedule as soon as she got into her office at Salisbury General Hospital. It was a bit disappointing as I had wanted her to be the first to take a ride with me in Vera when I got home that evening.

The second message appeared a bit cryptic but I knew exactly what it meant, it read

____________________________

JAMIE

YOU HAD A CALL FROM A GILLIAN WATFORD AT 07:55

SHE ASKED THAT YOU SHOULD CALL HER BACK, SHE SAYS YOU HAVE HER NUMBER!!

SHE SAID YOU WILL KNOW WHAT IT IS ABOUT

_____________________________

If Gill had called me then it could only be for one of two reasons... that our attempt to get her pregnant had failed and that she was calling to say that we needed to get together to try again or that it was 'good-bye forever'. After our last meeting we had left it that if she did not get pregnant from our love making she would contact me and we would try again, but if I did not hear from her then to simply forget that we had ever met. I do not believe that either of us thought that being able to forget was a real possibility even if we never saw each other again.

Gill was a lovely person and we had connected very strongly, and there was also that business of the strange sensation that we seemed to get sometimes when we touched... We were both aware of it but could not explain it, it had happened twice and was like a static electricity shock, I personally had found it very erotic. It had happened a couple of other times, most noticeably with Georgia Craven and in a milder form with other women and had opened the door to intense intimacy and I had come to think of it as 'The Touch' but strangely I have never experienced it with either Gwen or Maggie the two women with whom I had the strongest emotional connection.

Gill desperately wanted a child and I really genuinely wanted her to get the life that she had chosen and to be happy but I also secretly hoped that she would not get pregnant immediately. I knew that it was impossible for us to have a relationship beyond that which we already had, but I wanted to see her again and I had been subconsciously counting the days, hoping that I would receive a call from her and that our special attachment would not end with that one beautiful afternoon and evening of love making we had shared a month ago. It was totally selfish of me but I wanted to make love to her again, to spend just a few more hours in her company even though I knew that our relationship had to end soon and forever.

I decided that calling Gill was probably the most imperative of the messages that I had on my desk and so quickly looked up her number in my personal telephone book which listed her simply as 'The Lieutenant'. I stood up and glanced across the hall into the general office...Tayler was busy typing up some invoices on the word processor and so I quietly closed my door before returning to my chair and dialling Gill's number.

My call routed through the camp switchboard at Larkhill, the Royal Artillery Training School and rang for some time...I was just thinking of hanging up and calling back later when the receiver was lifted, "Watford... Divisional Training Co-Ordinator..." a clipped formal announcement. I recognised the soft, husky voice immediately, it was Gill Watford herself, I had been afraid her 'phone might be answered by a subordinate.

"Hello Gill..." I paused for a second just to gather my thoughts and to light a cigarette... "It's Jamie..." I crossed my fingers and made a silent wish that this would not be a brush-off call, telling me that we would not be seeing each other again...it would happen one day soon but I did not want it to be today.

"Hello Jamie dear," She obviously was not sure about my current feelings either, I could sense her taking a deep breath and then she continued, "You have probably already worked out what this about..."

"I guess that you are not...er...?"

"No. We didn't make a baby," she sounded incredibly sad, I felt a lump forming in my throat.

"I am sorry, Gill."

"I was so, so sure that we would succeed...everything felt so right..." She continued. "Oh dear, I feel terrible asking you, but..."

I couldn't let her ask me to have sex with her again even though that was our agreement...that did not feel right. "Gill..." I interrupted gently, "Do you think that we should...er...you know...try again...?" There, now I had been the one to suggest it and maybe had saved her dignity a little bit. "When would be the best time?"

She needed to be sure of her 'Hot Spot', and I knew that it would be at short notice as there was only a few days window during her ovulation period for the highest chance of her becoming pregnant from conventional sexual intercourse.

"Oh Jamie...you are so sweet," she murmured gratefully, "I know that it is very short notice but I think early next week seems likely to be the best time..." then added very quickly, "If you can't make it, or you have changed your mind... I will understand..."

I hadn't changed my mind at all, just thinking about this beautiful woman having sex with me again and wanting me to intentionally impregnate her, provoked such an erotic pipedream that I could feel the beginnings of an erection starting to crowd my trouser leg.

"Tuesday, how about we say Tuesday?" I suggested a little hoarsely. "You can call me if the timetable changes..."

She paused and I took the chance for a quick look at my appointments book for that week. Maggie and Emma would be home on Sunday and so I could take a couple of days off, I had a couple of morning appointments but the only other note was that Gwen was working at Bournemouth that week...that usually meant late nights and early mornings unless she stayed over rather than commute.

"Tuesday is good, if we can meet in the evening? I have to give a lecture at the ACC Hereford in the morning and will not get away until after lunch...but I shall be off duty Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday..."

Hereford is about 120 miles away from Salisbury, about three hours' drive in light traffic but the road can be a real bitch at times particular during the spring and summer with tourists and caravanners driving west to Wales and Hay-on-Wye or south to Devon and Cornwall.

"That is fine by me...where do we meet?" Last time that we had got together it had been at a new modern motel off the M4 motorway which was about half way for both of us, but it would be better for Gill if she was relaxed and not stressed by a long drive in mid-day traffic. I suddenly remembered a hotel which had been recommended to me at Tetbury in Gloucestershire, I had also driven past it with Janice when we had delivered a pony to Gloucester for Shelby Riding School some weeks back. "How about the 'Snooty Fox Hotel' at Tetbury...it is closer for you and I'm told they have a decent restaurant...I could book us a room and then give you a ring to confirm...?"

"I have heard of that place, but I have never been there... I sounds super... I will probably get there sometime in the afternoon..."

"Gill...you may think that I am out of order..." I added tentatively. "Would you consider spending all night at the hotel with me... It would be more relaxing if we were under no pressure to rush away after a few hours...it might help...?"

The line was silent for a good ten seconds and I began to panic that I had gone over the top...fucked up and pushed her too hard!

"Thank you Jamie, that sounds wonderful, I would like that..." She replied quietly. "I will leave the arrangements to you then..."

We agreed that I would call her back after I had booked us into the hotel. As soon as she hung up I went through to the general office and marked Tuesday and Wednesday on the work rota chart as my being off work... I had so many days off built up that I was entitled to some free time when Maggie got back. I would need to come up with a plausible reason for being away overnight, Gwen would never ask where I was or who I was with... Maggie might tease me a bit ... But it was Emma who could need to be deflected from getting possessive again. I decided that simple was best...I would drive up to Tetbury in Vera... Nobody would be surprised that I wanted to take the caravanette out for a long run and stay overnight on a camp site somewhere... Even Emma would find that acceptable.

Booking a room at the Snooty Fox Hotel proved to be problem free, I managed to get one of their luxury double rooms and simply secured the booking with my credit card, then called Gill back and confirmed the arrangements. I was really looking forward to seeing her again.

The remaining messages were routine work things which were dealt with easily and so I took a walk around the garden centre and spent some time talking to the new members of staff, Libby and Benson who were working at the garden centre most of the week attending to customers and keeping the displays filled up and looking after the stock under Jack and Kitty's supervision. I found Jack busy traying up bedding plants for Colin to take out for a contract container display we were putting in at a local car sales showroom and rolled up my sleeves to give him a hand. There is nothing I find more relaxing and pleasurable than handling plants and the feel of my fingers in good honest soil and compost.

"Hear you been out to see Jeanie an' bought old Geoff's camper van..." Jack said, conversationally, "she told my missus how she thought you were a real nice, polite young fella... she an Geoff thought the world of their caravanettes...she wouldn't have sold it to yer if she didn't like yer..." He pushed another batch of plants in my direction, lovely neat little pansies, with sweet little purple and gold faces. "Shame about old Geoff... He had only been retired a couple of years, just turned 73, sudden heart attack... Shouldn't have stopped work...silly bugger... Fit as a fiddle 'til then... so don't you think you are gonna be getting' me retired off any time soon, not unless you're wantin' me to turn up my toes...!"

He finished the batch of plants he was working with and pulled his pipe out of his dungaree pocket, struck a match and lit up exhaling fragrant clouds of smoke, then lit my cigarette for me. We leaned back against the bench to enjoy a companionable smoke. None of us had ever had the courage to suggest that Jack should wear the same uniform as the rest of us, but we were all so used to seeing him in his old brown bib dungarees and tweed jacket that as with most things he was just allowed to follow his own whim. "Went down the pub for a drink with Basil Day, last night..." he added, "he said to tell you and Maggie that he will start work with us in September after he closes his nursery...I reckon you made a good decision there getting' him on board. Have you decided what to do about his cloches and growing tunnels, yet?"

Manor Farm Nurseries were a smaller competitor at Oldstock owned by Basil Day and his daughter Maureen. Basil had decided to close the business in September and had agreed to sell us his plant stocks and some almost new growing cloches and tunnels. Maureen would continue to run her market garden and had gained a contract to supply our produce shop with specialist vegetables and mushrooms. Basil himself had been asked to join our staff, he was an old mate of Jack's; they would work well together and give us the strongest team of experienced nurserymen in the county.

The addition of the covered growing areas would almost double our capacity to produce our own plant stock, which would be totally under Jack's direction. Maggie and I had been discussing whether to expand into the back field using the additional tunnels or open up one of the two fields the other side of the lane which belonged to Maggie and were rented out to local farmers as pasture land. One of the fields had an old 18th century byre in one corner which was a listed building and Emma had come up with the idea that we could develop it as a children's playground with a pet farm, with goats and small animals, and an educational centre where schools could bring parties of kids to learn about local horticulture and farming history. It was another project that I wanted to talk to Anthea, my tame local historian about, she had trained as a history teacher but was now working at the Salisbury library.

I collected an extra-large, double chocolate and cream mocha coffee and a big slice of cream gateau from the restaurant and took them up to Tayler as an apology for causing her extra work and made a final check of the jobs in hand for the day. Everything appeared to be covered and as we were not particularly busy I decided to take the small van and drive into town to the bank and then call in at the Shelby Riding Stables on the way back and take some more photographs of the garden.

I really needed to arrange with Philippa Shelby to get access to her library with Anthea to see if we could locate the original 19th century plans for the John Claudius Loudon designed garden that I suspected was hidden beneath the undergrowth that now filled most of the overgrown acres behind Shelby House. I wanted to speak to Philippa face to face as I suspected that there would be some resistance to letting Anthea examine her books and family documents. Philippa was very keen to get the gardens put in order for practical business reasons but could sometimes be a bit temperamental and difficult to work with. We had shared fantastic energetic sex a couple of times and although there was no emotional commitment between us I was not at all sure how she would re-act to my wanting to bring another woman into her house even if it was strictly business.