I finally met her at a barbecue that Mick was throwing. It was a bit of an open house and I suppose about twenty of us rocked up for it. Knowing it was coming up, we'd all chipped in and Mick had picked up a couple of kegs, so a good time was expected by all.
Among the attendees was Bobby, with his new bride, Kathleen. None of us had ever got to see her before the wedding, they'd had a private ceremony and Bobby sort of kept her away from the old crowd after the wedding and most of us hadn't seen her at all.
Bobby was just this little bit jealous about things he considered his. He always had been, not even sharing his toys as a kid. He was really self-centred about what he considered his, and I suppose Kathleen came under that category.
Seeing that she was there and a stranger, I thought it only good manners to wander over and introduce myself and offer to introduce her around, as it appears Bobby wasn't going to. Besides, it would annoy Bobby, and anything that annoyed Bobby was OK in my books.
"Hi, you must be Kathleen," I said. "I'm Alexander. Alex for short."
Kathleen smiled and said "Hi," but that was it for the conversation. Bobby was there instantly, smiling and nodding to me and carting Kathleen away to talk to some of the other wives and girlfriends.
Typical Bobby behaviour, so it was water off a duck's back as far as I was concerned. Kathleen didn't seem too pleased to be hustled away like that, but she smiled and greeted the wives and girlfriends cordially.
I kept a casual eye on Kathleen's whereabouts, as she seemed a nice young woman and I wouldn't mind having a chat and indulging in a little light flirtation. Nothing serious, mind you. She was a married woman, after all.
Bobby, I soon saw, was holding true to form. Any time one of the boys approached her he was there, a little sheepdog sending off the big bad wolves, diverting Kathleen away from the dangerous animals and expertly shepherding her back to the women's fold.
Kathleen, I had noticed, was wearing form fitting yoga pants, and a very nice form they were fitting, too. She also had on a skimpy top, which was more of a boob tube than anything. With the heat of the day and the casual occasion she was dressed appropriately, and she looked really good in it. However, if she didn't have a jacket in the car she was going to freeze shortly, because the forecast was for a cool change. No rain, just a southerly blowing up over the bay and cooling everything down somewhat. I could already feel the first gentle gusts.
Looking over the playing field, I decided that Kathleen needed a break from Bobby's close attentions, and the best way to do that would be to trap Bobby. I sought out Helen, and pointed her at Bobby. If she couldn't distract him for fifteen minutes, no-one could.
The temperature was starting to fall now, and a couple of jackets had appeared as if by magic. Kathleen seemed to give a little shiver and then turned and said something to Bobby. The pair of them turned and had taken about one step in the direction of the driveway when Helen struck.
She's an irresistible force, and Bobby is both scared of and fascinated by her. When she popped up in front of him he came to a full halt and introduced Kathleen. Then Helen started talking. After about five minutes, Kathleen was nudging Bobby. She was getting cold. He absentmindedly handed her the car keys and continued talking to Helen.
Kathleen looked a little surprised and then headed toward the driveway.
Mick's driveway has this kink in it about halfway down. Once into that kink you're reasonably private, as it's shielded by the house from both the back and front yards. I believe the kink was built in to protect this massive oak tree that was there. Silly if you ask me, because the roots are sure to cause damage to the house foundations.
By the oddest coincidence, I happened to be walking along this kink in the driveway just as Kathleen came around the far corner of the kink.
I smiled. "As I was saying before we were interrupted, I'm Alex."
Kathleen laughed.
"Hullo, Alex. You'll have to excuse me. I'm just going to the car to get a jacket. It's a bit cold. If I'm not back soon Bobby will come looking for me."
"You can take a few minutes to get acquainted. It's not cold here. We're sheltered by the house and the oak tree."
Kathleen glanced at the tree.
"Isn't that tree a bit too close to the house?" she asked. "I'd have thought the roots would interfere with the foundations."
"Greenies in the council insisted that the tree stay, but you're quite right. As you can see, the driveway had a rather large crack and a bump where a root is growing."
Kathleen shook her head. "Some greenies are fanatics," she said. "They have absolutely no common sense or a proper sense of proportion. Everything is always a major deal with them."