"Hello Mr. Crawford. How are you doing on this chilly November day?"
I was putting my voting ballot in the collection machine when I heard the woman's voice call my name. I recognized it instantly.
"Miss Roslyn!" I said, turning to greet the short woman who was the head librarian for our local city library. "How have you been?"
"I have been doing just fine." She answered in her always, upbeat tone."
"How do you like the new library?" I asked.
"Actually, Mr. Crawford, I have been retired for four years."
"Well, I don't get to the library much anymore and the kids haven't mentioned anything. But, how are you enjoying retirement?"
"I have my garden, my two grandchildren and of course my husband requires a lot of my attention. He's been an almost total invalid for two years now."
"I'm very sorry to hear that, Miss Roslyn."
It's funny how you have an acquaintance that you might only see once a year and they still remember you like it was yesterday.
Mrs. Roslyn Parnell used to help my children at the library, Matthew even before he started school. She always seemed to be especially fond of my children and went out of her way to help them find reading material or research material for a school project.
In the beginning, I called her Mrs. Parnell, the name on her nameplate, until she asked me to call her just Roslyn. My upbringing would not allow that so she became Miss Roslyn.
I asked her to call me Dave but that never happened either.
She seemed to be a very educated woman always speaking in structured, metered and clear worded sentences.
"You have two daughters, if I remember correctly." I said, remembering that both of the girls had given their mother quite a bit of anguish in their youth.
"Yes! But they do not live close. I only see my four grandchildren about once a year. It makes me sad but it is what it is."
Me being me, I studied the woman wearing an old-fashioned, hem below her knees, dark blue, small bird print dress. The birds splashed various tones of pink over the dark blue dress. Her hair was in a boy's style, but a woman's length, dark brown hair, peppered with gray. Her eyes were dark brown. What little I could see of her legs showed that they were still strong and shapely, as I had appraised years ago and every time I saw her.
She was the type of person that never seemed to change. I figured years earlier she was probably in her late 50s, attractive at about 4'9", a well-figured, solid looking woman. Now, with her age closing on 70, I figured, she retiring at 65, she was still quite an attractive woman. There was probably a 30+ years difference in our age, and, then as now, I found an older woman of greater sexual attraction.
"So, you said your husband is sick?"
"No. Actually, he is quite healthy but he has degenerative muscles and is pretty much confined to a wheelchair during the day or sitting in his chair." She informed me. "Mr. Crawford, did you walk here today as you usually do? It is time for me to take a lunch break. Would you care to join me for lunch and meet my husband? He very much wants to meet you. I could drive you home later."
"Yes. That would be nice." I answered, the words "He very much wants to meet you" not raising any flags.
"Just let me get my coat and let someone know I am leaving."
We chit chatted about the election race during the short drive to her home. I was impressed that the small lady drove a Buick LaSabre. It was a short drive of perhaps 10-12 minutes.
"Mr. Crawford, I must confess to something," she said as she pulled alongside the house, parking in front of the garage. "I was hoping I would see you today, planning on it really, so I could invite you to lunch and meet my husband. Please take into consideration his physical disabilities. It has made him a bit brash and brazen. It has been hard on both of us for quite some time, as you will discover."
I followed her into the house, through the back door into the kitchen and on into the living room. I saw a man sitting in a large cushioned chair and heard a TV.
"Darling, I have brought home a friend. Mr. Crawford has agreed to have lunch with us!"
"Good to meet you, sir!" Mr. Parnell welcomed me. "I have heard your name often over the years, you and your children. Finally, I get to meet you. Forgive me for not shaking hands."
"Mr. Crawford, have a seat at the table and I will bring in our lunch in a few short minutes." Miss Roslyn said, as she left for the kitchen.
Mr. Parnell appeared to be a tall man, easily well over 6 feet. His features were German as was his accent. His thinning white hair was combed straight down on his head. He wore a white T-shirt and gray cotton shorts.
His arms and legs were seemingly devoid of any muscle tissue.
A wheelchair and a hefty motorized lifting device sat close to the TV chair.
"It's good to meet you, sir." I offered, placing my hand on his forearm in place of shaking his hand. I pulled a chair from a collapsible table, moving it closer to Mr. Parnell's chair. "You like soccer?" I asked as it was on the TV."
"My gracious yes! I played in high school and college. Almost went professional, but I met Rosy and she won my heart."
"She is a nice lady. Growing up, my kids adored her. Still do. "
"And a good-looking one too! Do you agree, Mr. Crawford?" He quizzed.
"Please! Call me Dave. And yes, she is a nice looking lady."
Miss Roslyn entered the living room with a plate full of assorted sandwiches. She pulled the collapsible table over closer to her husband's chair before hurrying back to the kitchen. It took two trips to place the three bowls of soup on the table and another two trips for the three glasses of iced tea, one containing a straw. Next came the salt, pepper, napkins and eating utensils. She finally took her seat, very close to her husband so she could feed him.
I scooted closer to the table.
"It's all very good, Miss Roslyn." I said between bites.
"I'll make a deal with you. If you will call me Rosy, I will call you Dave?"
I smiled and told her it was a deal.
"You can't tell it now, Dave, but 10 years ago I was 210 pounds, all from this lady's cooking. And please, call me Henry."
"I can understand why! What did you do for a living sir..... Henry?"
"Engineer! Locomotive type. Pulled coal mostly." He replied proudly.
"How did you and Rosy meet?"
"Met the little lady in college. The captain of the soccer team didn't have a long enough cock to keep her happy. Stole her away from him!"
Henry's openly vulgar comment shocked me but I hid any expression on my face. I cut an eye at Rosy who was in the motion of raising the spoon into her mouth. Her eyebrows lifted and her shoulders shrugged.
"Little Rosy is a sophisticated woman, but get her blood up and she'll ride you until the sun comes up." Henry continued, eyeing me suspiciously at the finish. "Do you like older women, Dave?" He asked, in a strong voice.
Me being me, reacting to Henry's vulgarity and adding in Rosy's earlier statement about his "brashness" and her willingness to tolerate it, I decided to humor Henry.
I remembered an old 85-year-old bed ridden man. His wife somehow managed to convince, or paid, a young girl of perhaps 19 to come and sit on his bed for a couple of hours. He would feel her up and talk nasty to her in a low voice while she would carry on conversations with other family members in the room. Three times a week, like clockwork.
"Yes Henry I do? I answered.
"Then wait until you see what Rosy has for dessert!" Henry chirped.
Rosy seemed to make an effort to keep her husband's mouth filled with food, maybe, I thought, to keep him silent.
We finished eating and Rosy began to clear the table. Refusing to allow me to help, I scooted my chair back over next to Henry's chair and began concentrating on the soccer game on TV.
"Rosy! Where are you my turtledove!" Henry bellowed after a few minutes. "You wanted to offer Dave some dessert, didn't you?"
"I was just finishing up the dishes Henry. I thought I would give you two some time to talk." She said, as she returned to the door to the living room, leaning against the door-frame.
"I think I have ascertained all I need to from this young man." Henry replied. "Why don't you come closer and show Dave what you have to offer for dessert."
Rosy looked at me with embarrassment in her eyes. "Maybe Mr. Crawford needs to be getting home?"
"What are you talking about!" Henry challenged. "You were so apprehensive that you would not see him today! He is here! Certainly, you are not having second thoughts?"
I like to think of myself as a good person but it was quite clear what was happening here. And aged man suffering with muscle problems concerned about his wife's sexual health or maybe he was just a dirty old man refusing to give up and wanted to see someone fuck his wife. Or, sensing that Rosy had sought me out, maybe she was a consenting conspirator. I could not make a consensus on that quite yet.
"Do you not have to return to the recreation center?" I queried, offering her a way out.
"No. They are well aware that I need to leave sometimes." She replied reservedly. "My husband is right. I have you here. I should at lease offer."
"I have all afternoon Henry." I rallied "if Miss Rosy is so inclined, I would like to see what's on the menu."
"You see! I told you!" Henry exclaimed. "Now, I'm in concert with, Dave, and with you my love. You will make me happy. And he will make you happy! Now, come closer and let your two favorite men see."
I took note of his comment and pondered if I had conveyed an interest in Rosy over the many years. I had to admit the times I was ever around her my eyes appraised her. Maybe she had picked up on it.
Also, not really noticing before but the blinds and shades in the near vicinity of the room were drawn, the numerous lamps giving the room its illumination.
The seemingly modest lady moved forward unbuttoning her dress. Letting it drop off of her, she pushed the table from in front of her husband's chair. I noted a smile on his face.
She then removed her shoes and lifted the slip over her head, leaving her in light pink Teddy pants and matching laced bra, much more provocative than one might have guessed a lady her age would wear and a perfect complement to her dress. She had dressed with anticipation.
"She's beautiful isn't she?" Henry appraised more than asked. "Turn around and let us see!"
