I have not been looking forward to this evening. My daughter, Amy, has taken up the piano and she is to take part in her first competition tonight.
We are slightly late as we arrive at the hall where the competition is to take place. Everything has gone wrong. It's a miracle that we are not a full hour behind schedule.
Alan knows exactly what to do. "Everything will be just fine," he says reassuringly. "Just watch and see."
I immediately feel much better. My husband has an unruffled way about him that is infectious.
We have a long way to walk from the parking area. The doors are already closed, but we are told to go in any way. We enter the hall and Amy immediately moves to the competitors' area. A young girl hands Alan and me each a program for the evening. Everything seems very informal. A well-dressed lady is just finishing some pointless welcoming speech. The audience seems to be politely paying attention, but I am fairly sure they are bored stiff already.
I make a beeline to two empty seats, pulling Alan towards them. As I move I see that this will mean that I will be able to sit next to a handsome dark-haired man. He is tall, straight and slightly younger than me. He has deep blue eyes, a broad, smiling mouth and an air of confidence and authority. I am sure that beneath the expensive golf shirt lurks a well-muscled male torso.
Yummy! Maybe tonight will not be so boring after all.
The stranger's wife is sitting next to him, doing a sudoku puzzle. She is absorbed in it and seems completely oblivious to what's going on around her. I decide that this is my opportunity to be very naughty. I am going to make sure that I enjoy sitting in between these two men. I smile at the stranger in a friendly way. He affirms my smile by broadening his own.
The first contestant moves up to start playing and I rapidly sit down, not wanting to delay proceedings. I notice that the seats are arranged very close to one another. I immediately take advantage of this little fact. As I sit down, I deliberately scoot up against the man before moving slightly more to the middle of my seat. For a moment we are thigh to thigh.
The man looks at me from the corner of his eye, sizing me up. I am sure he likes what he sees. I have taken scrupulous care of myself and can still fit in my wedding dress. My breasts have grown though: my bra is two sizes bigger than it was before Amy. I have managed to enjoy life, and so my face is clear of wrinkles outside the first traces of laugh lines.
Alan loves it when I wear short skirts and revealing blouses, and encourages me to tease men. For tonight I thought it best to dress conservatively for Amy's sake. For me that's sexy in its own way: the long soft dress and satin slip make me feel mysterious, feminine and beautiful.
The man moves closer to me. I think he enjoyed my little move. I look at him through the corner of my eye. On his lapel is a tag. I find out that his name is Dirk Gormen.
The first contestant, a young boy, starts playing. I am relieved that he does not play any better than Amy. At least she will not be out of her depth. I idly wonder whether I could make a successful business selling earplugs to people attending junior music contests.
I look around the room. We are sitting towards the back. There are three rows of seats behind me filled with parents and siblings of the contestants. They look so bored they probably wouldn't notice if someone actually got their piece right.
Even the judges look as if they are about to fall asleep.
The contestants are in the front, and I quickly look for Amy. She is looking bored too.
I look over at Dirk's wife. She is still avidly working on her puzzle, her pencil moving with speed and purpose. She is definitely not bored.
Dirk is not bored either. He is stirring slightly, and I can feel him tentatively moving closer to me, as if he is testing to see whether my move was intentional.
I deliberately move my feet to my left onto the line that goes between our two seats. Dirk, catching the hint, moves his feet closer. Within moments we are gently rubbing feet together. We need to be careful in case Dirk's wife should notice, and this danger gives extra zing to what we are doing.
