A Whole New World 7

Part One

Adam's world was turned upside down when his wife Amy, the love of his life since they had met at university, had died within a few months of being diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. They were both only 45 years old but they had spent over half of their lives together and had been each other's only ever sexual partners. They had been unable to have children, even though they had tried everything to conceive, and Adam was glad of that now otherwise, had they had any, they would now be without their mother. He had taken a sabbatical from work to help care for her and had laid her to rest. Now, twelve months later, he was sat alone in a coffee shop slowly stirring a spoon around and around in his coffee cup whilst reading the news on his iPhone, killing time before going to see a lawyer about Amy's will. Every so often Adam looked up and stared around the coffee shop in what Amy and he had termed "people watching", something they both enjoyed doing particularly at airports. As the coffee shop was situated in the downtown financial district it was mainly full of what looked like business professionals either staring into their smartphones or tapping away on their laptops.

Sat on a high stool at the bar in the window was an attractive young woman probably in her late twenties or early thirties. Adam immediately recognised her as the young associate in a firm of lawyers who had represented the company he worked for when they had sued a competitor for breach of intellectual copyright. As head of technology in the company Adam had worked closely with her and was impressed with her professionalism and her quiet but determined manner. She was completely engrossed in what she was doing and if she wasn't tapping the keyboard of her laptop, reading her notes or sipping her coffee she pulled what appeared to be an elastic hair band from her wrist and twirled it around her fingers whilst looking at her screen. He remembered her as being rather tall with long legs, a slim figure, full breasts and thick, wavy, dark auburn hair that came half way down her back. She had always worn business dress when he had met with her but today she was wearing knee high black leather stiletto boots and what looked like an extremely fluffy, black, round neck angora sweater dress that accentuated her curves, particularly her breasts. As she was sat down the dress had ridden up to between her knees and her thighs and just covered the lacy tops of what appeared to be black lacy holdups.

Adam was minded to go over and speak to her but he told himself that she probably wouldn't remember him and she appeared to be so engrossed in what she was doing that he didn't want to disturb her. He was head down in an article and he didn't notice her get up from her seat, walk towards the door, stop and then make her way over to where he was sitting. He looked up as he heard his name being said to see her standing in front of him carrying her coat and purse in one arm and pulling her flight case that she used to carry all of her work in the other hand.

"Adam. How lovely to see you."

"Hello Rebecca. Sorry I didn't see you standing there. It's lovely to see you too. How are you?"

He got up and was about to hold his hand out to shake hers but she moved towards him, put her hands to his shoulders, pulled him into her and kissed him lightly on both cheeks. The smell of her perfume was very subtle but intoxicating.

"I'm very well. I ran into your CEO last week at a breakfast seminar and he told me what had happened to your wife. I was so sorry to hear about her. If there is anything I can do please let me know. He also said that you had quit your job?"

"Thanks, that's very kind of you. Yes I finished last month. I found it hard after Amy passed away going back to work in the same place and then going home to an empty house. Too many memories."

"I can understand that. What will you do instead?"

"Not sure long term but, in the short term, I am going to go off on my motorbike to visit the places that Amy and I said we would always go and see, but didn't because of work and other commitments. The life assurance we took out when we got married plus the one from her company means our mortgage and debts will be paid off and I won't have to work for quite a while."

"Good for you. I hope it all goes well for you. So what brings you to this part of town?"

"I've got an appointment with a lawyer to go through the probate application for Amy's will. I thought that it would be straightforward and I've tried to do it myself a number of times but it keeps getting rejected. It appears to be beyond my limited knowledge of the law and so I need to turn to the professionals."

Rebecca put her fingers to mouth and pondered for a few seconds before she spoke.

"Look, I'm not a specialist in inheritance law but why don't you let me have a look before you go to an expensive lawyer."

"But you are an expensive lawyer," Adam laughed.

Rebecca laughed back. "Look, you gave me a bundle of help when we were working on that breach of copyright suit so this is the least I can do in return. No fee; just buy me dinner sometime."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose and I guess you're as busy as always?"

"Always busy but it would be great to work with you again. I still have your cell phone number so I'll give you a call to arrange to meet up in the next few days. Is that okay?"

"That's great. Give me a call whenever. My cell phone is always on."

The next day Adam received a text message from her suggesting that he go over to her apartment on the following Friday evening. They could have a drink while she went through all of the paperwork he had regarding Amy's will and estate. Not having anything else planned Adam immediately replied to accept her invitation and ask for her address and, at 8pm sharp, Adam stood outside the door to her apartment carrying a bottle of red wine, a bottle of white wine and a bunch of flowers. He had been well taught by Amy to never turn up at anyone's home without a gift and he smiled to himself as he thought of what she would have said had he not done so.

He knocked on her door and she opened it practically immediately, almost as if she had been waiting for him to arrive. She was wearing a pair of tight white jeans and a fluffy gold coloured short sleeved, round neck mohair sweater while her hair was tied up in a ponytail. She took the wine from his hands and thanked him for the flowers. "They are absolutely beautiful. You didn't need to buy them but thank you anyway." She leaned in and kissed him on both cheeks and he couldn't resist reciprocating and felt the softness of the mohair as he put his hands on her shoulders. She led him down the hallway and into the lounge.

"Make yourself comfortable on the sofa while I put the flowers in water and get us some drinks. What would you like; red wine, white wine, beer or something stronger? "

"Red wine would be great."

"Get the will and probate papers out while I get the drinks."

After she had returned with their drinks she laid everything out on the large coffee table and sorted it into piles. While Adam sat on the sofa nursing his wine she sat with her back to him cross legged on the floor going through everything and asking him question after question. As she leaned over the table her sweater rode up and her jeans pulled down exposing the bare skin of her lower back and he saw that she had a tattoo of a dolphin leaping over waves at the base of her spine. Adam scanned his eyes up and down her back and became intrigued with the fluff at the hem of her sweater rubbing against her bare skin and had never thought of wool against a woman's skin as being sexy before. At one point she wanted him to read something and so she shifted to the side allowing him to look at the document. As he finished and looked at her he noticed the swell of her firm breasts inside the sweater and could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra as her nipples were slightly protruding. As he looked up she was staring into his eyes and, flustered, he quickly looked back at the documents and tried to maintain focus on why he was here and what she was doing to help him.

Just before 11pm she pulled all of the separate piles together into one and moved them to the side of the coffee table. "I think that's enough for tonight. I have everything I need in order to be able to complete the forms. It should only take me another couple of hours and I can do that over the weekend. If you sign them now I can send them off to the probate office on Monday. Is that okay?"

"That would be absolutely brilliant. So, as regards payment for your professional services, when do you have a free evening so that I can take you to dinner?"

"I already have plans for this weekend but how about the following Saturday?"

"That's good for me. I'll pick you up here at 8pm."

Adam spent the following week clearing the house of the remnants of Amy's illness so all that was left were her possessions from before she became ill. He didn't feel ready to clear those and left everything as she had left it. At times his grief seemed overwhelming but he knew that Amy would have wanted him to get on with his life. He went to her grave every day to talk to her, tell her how he would always love her and miss her but also tell her of his plans. She had loved riding pillion on their motorbike, sitting there daydreaming and looking to the left and right admiring the scenery. She always said that, apart from their love making, it was the closest she felt to him as her groin and legs were pressed hard against him. When he sped up to overtake he always tapped her left leg and she always leaned forward and put her arms around his waist. Their plans to ride across the country to the west coast had never reached fruition and he wanted to put their plans into action as part of his grieving process.

As Saturday evening loomed he began to have second thoughts of going out to dinner with Rebecca. He was caught between being seen as disloyal for going out with an attractive young woman so soon after laying Amy to rest but knowing that he should keep to his word and take her dinner as a thank you for her sorting out the probate. Deciding that Amy would have not thought it disloyal and would have expected him to keep his word, he showered and shaved, dressed in the suit that Amy had always loved him wearing and drove to Rebecca's apartment. As she had the first time he went to her apartment, she answered the door as soon as he had finished knocking. This time she was wearing a figure hugging black dress that came to just above her knees and looked absolutely stunning. Adam stood there with his mouth open and while surreptitiously looking her up and down.

""Wow, you look gorgeous", he exclaimed.

"You don't look too bad yourself. Let me get my wrap and purse. I won't be a second."

He had made a reservation at a renowned sea food restaurant on the shore about half an hour's drive from her apartment. Adam was initially a little nervous as they drove but Rebecca soon put him at ease and, by the time they arrived, he was relaxed for the first time in months and felt ready to enjoy the evening. The food and wine were superb and Rebecca totally managed the conversation to allow Adam to open up about almost everything. Towards the end of their meal he realised that mostly all of the conversation had been about him and so he tried to turn it around to find out more about Rebecca.

"Are you still seeing that young lawyer you were seeing when we worked together?"

"No we finished a good couple of years ago. He was a really nice guy and we got along really well, probably because we had the law in common, but it wasn't meant to go anywhere."

"Nobody since? Sorry I am being really nosey. I was just feeling guilty that I may have taken you away from someone on a Saturday evening."

"No you haven't taken me away from anyone. As regards relationships, I think that I'm too focussed on my career at the moment to want to put the required energy into a relationship. When Mister Right becomes available my priorities will change."

"Well if you don't mind me saying, you are a talented lawyer and a beautiful woman. I'm sure that you will meet Mister Right at some point and know that he is the one."

"Oh, I know I will. I just have to wait until he finds me."

Adam knew that Rebecca was a positive and assured woman but his experience had shown him that a person had to have luck to meet the love of their life. He had been lucky to have met Amy and for them to have fallen in love.

Over coffee back at her apartment she asked him how long he planned to be away for and offered, as a friend, to look after his legal affairs whilst he was away. Adam replied that he didn't know how long he was going to be away for but, as he didn't have any family or other friends who would be able to do it for him and, not wanting to pay an expensive lawyer to do it, he was happy to accept. Also, deep down he was pleased that she wanted to keep in contact with him.

She already had his email address and cell phone number and told him that she would keep him updated regularly and that, if he needed to sign any documents, she would send them to where he was going to be at that time. Adam told her that he had created a blog so that his family and friends could follow him on his travels and said that he would send her the web address so she could also follow. When he went to leave she hugged him tightly and kissed him gently on his lips.

"I am so glad I bumped into you at that coffee shop. Thank you for such a lovely evening", she whispered.

"And thank you so much for this evening and for everything you have done", he replied. He hugged her back and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. With that he left.

Two weeks later and, after a final visit to Amy's grave, Adam sat on his motorbike on the driveway to his house. His panniers, top box and tank bag were full of his clothes and essential tools and his roll bag, containing his sleeping bag and lightweight tent, was strapped to the pillion seat. After turning to take one last look at the house he pulled in the clutch, selected first gear, opened the throttle, let the clutch out and roared away.

Rebecca checked Adam's blog every day, added to the comments on some of his photos, texted him once a week to keep him up to date on the probate and, a month into his odyssey, sent him a couple of documents that he needed to sign and return. His journey had taken him all the way up the east coast and into Canada, visiting Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto before heading back into the States to Chicago and the start of the historic Route 66. Two months later, and after numerous detours and elongated stays at places he and Amy had spoken about so often, Adam arrived at Santa Monica pier, the end of Route 66. He checked into a hotel just off the beach and sat on his balcony drinking a cold beer while he updated his blog. The sun was just going down and for the first time since Amy's death he felt at peace. He also felt really tired from being on the bike for such a long journey and had decided to spend some time relaxing on the beach while he thought about what he was going to do next.

His cell phone rang. It was Rebecca calling.

"Hey Rebecca, how's it going?"

"I'm fine, thanks. I've just seen your last blog entry. You must be so pleased to have reached the end?"

"Well my arse is really pleased that it doesn't have to sit on the saddle for a while so I guess the answer is yes."

They chatted for some considerable time while he told her of some of the funny incidents that had happened to him on the road and the people that he had met. He could sense from the way that she laughed and the questions she asked that she was genuinely interested and pleased for him.

"Anyway, that's enough of what's been going on with me. What has been happening in your life?"

"Oh you know. Work, work and more work. Looking at your blog has made me really envious. I think that I could do with a vacation myself."

"Well why don't you pack a bag and come and join me?"

"I would love to but I have so much on that I can't spare the time. And talking of work, I phoned as I have the final set of papers that I need you to sign. Where are you staying so I can send them to you?"

Adam hesitated for a few seconds before saying that he wasn't sure as he was thinking of moving up the coast the next day so would call her as soon as he knew where he would be for a few days.

As Rebecca sat at her desk the next day her secretary brought in an envelope that had been delivered by courier. When she opened the envelope it contained a first class return ticket to Los Angeles; departing on Friday and returning on Monday. A note inside the envelope read "Clear your diary and come and join me on the beach for the weekend. Love, Adam".

Three days later Rebecca was sat on the balcony of Adam's hotel room sipping a cold beer enjoying the warmth of the late afternoon sunshine. Adam had picked her up from the airport in a hired limousine and was now down in reception arranging a room for her, something he had forgotten to do prior to her arrival.

"Ready for another beer?" he asked as he stepped through the doorway onto the balcony, holding two bottles in his hands.

"Absolutely", she replied as she held her hand out for one of the bottles. He handed her one and leaned over the railing and stared down into the street.

She rolled her eyes up and down his body; from his broad shoulders, down his back, over his tight arse and all the way down his legs. She thought that he had become leaner and more toned than the last time she had seen him. She had thought him handsome before but he now looked ruggedly handsome. He had let his hair grow longer and he was now sporting a short stubble beard. Standing there in a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops he looked so different from the suited and booted corporate executive that she had first met. She started to feel that familiar tingle in her groin that she always had when she was around him. She had never felt the need to pursue a man and, given that at the time they first met he was a happily married man, fifteen years her senior and had shown no signs of being interested in her, she told herself that she should put it down as an unrequited schoolgirl crush.

The more she stared at him, that familiar tingle in her groin started to grow into a raging inferno and she felt that she would explode at any minute. She had never wanted any man as badly as she now wanted him but she was minded that it may be too soon after Amy's passing and that, if she made the first move and he was not ready, she may put him off completely. Be patient she told herself. If he wants you he will come to you when he is ready.

She stood up and stepped over to the railings to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. The warmth from her shoulder flowed through him and they stood together with their beers in their hands, looking out towards the ocean without a word being said or a sip being taken.

"Thank you for transporting me across the country to join you in a beer", she said.

Without turning to look at her, Adam put his left arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him.

"Thank you for coming. There is, however, a slight problem."

"What's the problem?"

"It's your room."

"What about it?"

"You haven't got one. I forgot to make a reservation for you when you said that you were coming and when I went to reception they told me they didn't have anything available. In fact, they told me that I would be lucky to find anything anywhere given that it is July 4

th

."

"That does seem a bit of a problem. I suppose that I could always sleep on the beach. Or you could?"

"How would you feel about sharing my room for the weekend? I will sleep on the sofa."