This all started when I was contacted by a guy wanting me to do some house maintenance work for him. He had got my name from a mutual acquaintance who I had worked for and had given me good reviews. I am a carpenter/ general house maintenance tradesman. I get all my work from 'word of mouth' from clients to their friends.
I told him I was busy for a few weeks but he was happy with that, as he needed someone who he and his wife could trust as they were not always at home and our mutual acquaintance had assured him of that.
I arrived at their house as agreed at around 8.30am. It was quite a large house in a fairly well-to-do part of town. I was invited in, offered a coffee and we chatted about what Bill and Lou wanted done. I introduced myself, Hi I'm Mike, and Bill introduced me to Lou. She was a lady in her mid-forty's, good figure and looked like she kept herself fit. Bill was of a similar age, a few extra pounds but nothing much. Bill explained that it was just a couple of small jobs, fit some shelves and fix a leaking sink waste. I started on the leak, fixed that and then the shelves. That took the rest of the day and a little into the next. I finished and said I would invoice them at the end of the week. Lou insisted on paying that day and transferred the money right there and then. I thought that was nice, thanked them both and left.
A week or so later, Bill called me again and said how impressed he and Lou had been with my work and that I had actually turned up, as they had some other builders who said they would come and didn't. Again, I thanked him for his kind comments. Bill went on to ask if I could do some more work for them. I agreed and said once I had finished my other clients work, they would be next. He agreed and a date was arranged.
I arrived and Bill invited me in. Coffee was made and we chatted about what was required. This time it was a lot more work and I would be there somewhile. We arranged a loosely agreed timetable due to other clients I had booked in. We continued to chat and he explained that he worked in the oil industry and quite often worked away but also from home and in the local office. Lou had her own business in computer software and sometimes worked away but mostly from home. He went on to say they never had any children and travelled a lot when they could sync their time as a way of chilling. Sounded like a nice life they had.
I started work and everything was going ok. On day three Bill said he had to travel to Doha for some meeting about oil production for his company, Lou would be in and out and would I be ok working alone in the house? I said I had no problems if he didn't. He told me that he had spoken with our mutual acquaintance who had vouched for my integrity. He then handed me a key to their house.
The following day I was 'home alone' and carried on with my work. The following day Lou was working from home but said she was going for a 'Ladies do Lunch' with her friends. around mid-day she said bye and off she went.
I was just beginning to pack up for the day when Lou arrived home, she had certainly had a couple of glasses of wine as she stumbled in the front door. She was very talkative and giggly. She poured herself another glass from a bottle of white in the fridge, sat down at the breakfast bar and almost slipped off the stool....
"oopps" she said, giggling again. I told her I was about to leave and that I would be back 'in the morning'. I left her with her glass of wine.
The next day I arrived at the house and Lou was having breakfast. She offered me a coffee; I accepted her kind offer. She made it, sat back down and said "Sorry about yesterday when I came home. Had a few Chardonnays, maybe one too many. You know how it goes Out with The Girls...well Boys in your case."
She smiled. Yes, I did know 'how it went'. Three years before my beautiful wife, Mary died. I did not cope well and ended up drinking a lot, getting into some scrapes and making an asshole of myself. Fortunately, my family got me some counselling and after plenty of heart-searching sessions I began to rehabilitate. I still like to drink socially but not to excess as I did before.
At home, that night, I hoped that Lou's afternoon of wine was a one off but it wasn't. Two days later Lou was at home working again and told me she was off to visit a friend for the afternoon. About 5pm she came stumbling through the front door, hardly able to stand up. She tried to sit on the stool next to the breakfast bar again but couldn't get on it. She slipped onto the floor. I helped her up and she was smiling and giggling. "I think you should go to bed Lou and sleep it off." I said to her.
"Only if you come with me." she slurred. I ignored her comment and helped her upstairs to the bedroom. I helped her onto the bed, took her shoes off and covered her with the duvet. She was wasted!
Next day was Saturday so I didn't return to the house until Monday. Bill was back from his work trip and Lou was going to be working from home. I set to work on the tasks I had. Bill went off to the golf club to do practice on the driving range, for a competition he had on the next weekend. Almost as soon as he left Lou approached me. "Mike, I am so sorry about Friday. You must think terribly of me. I was very drunk, wasn't I? And thank you for helping me to bed and covering me up. I have no recollection of what happened. I am so sorry." She looked distraught.
"Not a problem" I replied, just glad I was here to help you. I smiled and got on with my work."
"No, Mike, I mean it I am really sorry, it's unacceptable of me. Please come and have a coffee with me I would like to try an explain."
I told Lou I was on day-rate and if I did stop I would 'stop the clock' as it would not be fair to her and Bill to charge them for chatting. "I don't care about that; I just want to explain." She had an authority in her voice that made me think I should stop and talk with her.
She made us coffee and she started to explain. "I don't know why it happens. It's only when Bill is working away that I drink to excess, he would go ballistic if he knew I was that drunk AND you had helped me to bed. So please say nothing to him."
She continued, "He is so straitlaced, very conservative in most things. I would like him to be more chilled but I think it was his upbringing. His mother was so strict. He had no life of his own until we met and married. I was his first Girlfriend and he was my second Boyfriend. We had no real experience of life before we married. I go out with my girlfriends and they talk about what they do in their life or what they have done before. They all seem to have so much more fun; I have little to offer back in the conversations so I drink. Then I am tipsy and sometimes very drunk, as you witnessed." She moved uncomfortably on her stool.
I was unsure of quite what to say but managed to start with "um, Lou, umm thank you for sharing that with me. That took some guts. I certainly won't mention anything to Bill about what you said, that's between you and I."
I felt a little guilty as Bill came across as a nice guy and I perhaps shouldn't be listening to his wife and how she feels. "Lou, would you mind if I said something?"
She said "No of course."
"Your drinking! I have been where you are but at a darker deeper place. It is not nice. I hated myself for what I was doing, so I do understand you."
Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Oh, I didn't realise you had problems, are you OK now? I don't see you drunk or smelling of alcohol in the mornings."
"No, I am Ok now, thank you. I drink socially but not overdo it.. It is difficult to control I know, but please, for you own sake try to curtail it, Lou. I will help you in any way I can, if you like."
She smiled again and said "Thank you Mike, that's kind of you. Maybe we can talk again, that might help." She smiled again at me. I was beginning to love that smile of hers. I went back to my work, she to hers.
The next few days I was not working there. This had been agreed at the start of the work. When I got back to their house Bill was away in Riyadh for the week and Lou was in France. They had left me a note saying 'help yourself to Coffee' and that Lou was due back the following day.
The following day arrived and I was working in the garden when Lou arrived in a taxi from the airport. Again, she was 'worse for wear' from wine. She went in the house very unsteadily. Ten minutes later she shouted "Would you like a coffee, Mike?"
"Yes, please I replied, I'll be in shortly". I walked in the kitchen and Lou was stood there. She had on a flimsy see through sexy wrap with a matching set of white lingerie under it. The lingerie consisted of a skimpy bra covering her firm looking breasts. About a 34B I guessed and a thong 'covering' her lady-bits. Because the thong was so small her pubic hair was not entirely covered.
"Lou, what are you doing!? You look amazing, very sexy but you are somewhat drunk! Please go and put something less provocative on."
"Don't you want me?" she slurred. "Not in the state you are in. Please go and change."
She began to cry. "What is wrong with me? Bill and I hardly ever have sex. He's not interested in me. When we do it's him on top of me, 2 minutes of shoving his thing in me, cums, pulls out, kisses me, turns over and goes to sleep... I WANT MORE THAN THAT! I want passion and something different. I want to be a real woman, like my girlfriends. They talk of what they do, how their husbands/partners do different things sexually... Jeees, one even talked about having her husband's thing in her bum! I might not want that but I want to experience the other stuff they talk of! Mike, I want that!"
"Wooh girl," I said. "just calm a little. Take a deep breath. OK,... Lou you are a good-looking lady. I have seen your fit body and admired it while working here but Bill and you are my customers, I have never tried to go with any of my client's Wives, it's not my style. If you were single and I met you out somewhere then I would be very interested in you. You are a pretty woman with a body to match so don't go thinking there is anything wrong with you. Loads of guys would love to have you."
Lou looked at me and cried again. "I've been a complete twat, haven't I? I am so sorry again Mike, I thought you couldn't fail to resist me. How wrong could I be. So so sorry." I gave her a small hug and she flung her arms around me.
"Please go get yourself changed and if tomorrow you want to talk again, I will be here. But before we talk you must be totally sober. Sensible head syndrome required." She went off to get changed and I packed up for the day and went home.
The following day I arrived at the house and Lou was waiting for me. She was dressed in jeans and a tight V neck t-shirt. She looked good, she also smelt good. Chanel Coco, I thought.
