Jane had never meant to cheat on her husband bill. She loved him and their two kids dearly. She had been married to Bill for 20 years, and bonds grow between people. She did love him. And yet, it had still happened... her encounter with Uelese.
Jane was what could be condescendingly called a housewife. She cooked and cleaned and looked after the children while Bill went off to work each day at the law firm. Her kids were now in their late teens, and didn't need their mother to look after them quite so much. In fact, they fought against it. And after 20 years of marriage, well, Jane wasn't so keen on constant cleaning and faffing around the house. She wasn't exactly dissatisfied. Or bored. Or even longing to get out. There was just a slight nagging sense of unease that her life was slowly stultifying. She felt she had to do something. She thought of night classes, or some sort of club. She was actually looking forward to it. She was 42 years old, and had decided to start something new in her life.
And then she met Uelese.
Uelese moved in one day into the house next door. It was a flat, and he lived there by himself. Jane noticed him helping the moving men bring all the stuff into his small house. She couldn't help but see him, because he was very different from the other people who lived in the neighbourhood, including herself. Hers was a very white neighbourhood, and this man moving into the flat next door was very obviously not. He was tall, broad shouldered, and solidly built. He moved in a way that could only be described as rugged. Which Jane knew was ludicrous, but it was all she could think of. His hair was short and black, and he had a thick moustache, though the rest of his face was clean-shaven. And his skin was a gorgeous deep olive brown colour. He was quite simply the most striking man Jane had ever seen in her life. And then she shook herself mentally, and told herself that it was rude to be standing at the kitchen window, obviously staring at her new neighbour. She went back to washing the dishes... but, in her mind, something stirred.
A few days later, she found that, every time she went into the kitchen, she kept glancing out the window to see if she could see the new neighbour. She actually longed to see him again. "Ludicrous," she thought to herself, as her eyes flickered out the window yet again. Then, finally, she saw him sitting on his front steps, eating an orange. She thought, "I must introduce myself," so we went out the back door and leaned over the short picket fence.
Nervously, she said "hello".
The man looked up, and smiled a brilliant white smile. "Hi there." He had a light accent.
"My name is Jane... I live here... next to you...", which she realised was obvious, but it was too late now.
"Yes," he said. He stood, and Jane quickly drew in her breath, as he was huge, towering above her. He wiped his hands on his pants, and offered her his hand to shake. She took it, and felt his smooth skin, and firm handshake. She looked at his huge hand as it encompassed hers, and then found her eyes wandering up to his face. He looked at her with a smile in his eyes, but didn't let go of her hand.