New Old Friends - Day 01

Sunday

We were silent. The only sound was the noise of our tires traveling on the road and the radio playing softly in the background, although neither one of us was hearing either one. My wife Sara and I were deep in our thoughts, struggling to deal with so many emotions coming and going inside of us -- sadness, anxiousness, excitement, happiness, anticipation...

Our oldest child Craig had graduated from college last May and spent the summer at home as he started his new engineering job. He wanted to save up a couple of months paychecks before getting an apartment with a buddy. Those months passed too quickly for us and just last week he moved out to his own place.

Then yesterday we were off driving our vehicle which was full of clothes and stuff. We were following our middle child James and our youngest child Claire in the car they shared. Their car was packed to the brim as well. We were helping them move in at college. James was a junior and would be living in an apartment with some of his college friends, while Claire was a freshman who was going to be living in a dorm.

Thus, in a matter of about a week we found ourselves going from a full house to empty nesters (at least for the school year). It was a lot for us to process. And Sara had been particularly emotional when we said our goodbyes to James and Claire after an early breakfast this morning following our night in a hotel. We needed to leave early today as we had a long drive ahead. I had anticipated this would be tough on both of us, so rather than driving back to an empty house, I planned a weeklong vacation at our favorite place to escape, the beach. While we had always enjoyed whatever vacations we took, a beach trip always ranked at the top. Given that we lived in the middle of the country with no ocean nearby, it was always great change of scenery to get away and enjoy the surf, the sand, and the fresh seafood.

This trip was not only to get away after the mass exodus of our kids from our home, but we also wanted to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary which had come and gone without much fanfare back in July. Life was hectic and other than a nice evening dining at a fancy Italian restaurant and a moonlight walk followed by a wonderful lovemaking session, we hadn't done anything extra to celebrate the milestone.

I glanced over at Sara. I knew that there was nothing I really could say to help her knock down all the emotions she was feeling, as I was having a hard enough time dealing with my own. But I knew I needed to distract her to give both of us a chance to focus at least partially on something else and to break the smothering silence that hung heavy in the car. Then it came to me. I switched the car sound system from the radio, it was fading away anyhow as we cruised our way away from the college town radio station, to the music on my iPhone. The music in my library had a heavy dose of some of our favorite tunes from high school, college, and our early married life years, along with some current hits. I hoped these songs would lift her spirits and take her mind back to our early days together as college friends who fell in love, then married and started our family.

As the first song started, I turned up the volume and looked back and forth between the road and Sara. It took a while, but as each song passed, I noticed that Sara's face and body seemed to be relinquishing some the emotional turmoil she was in, and while not yet smiling she did seem to be more at ease. Finally, when one of her favorite songs started, she turned to me and when I glanced over, she mouthed "Thank you" and then "I love you". That simple thanks and expression of love released some of my own emotional struggles but in particular my concern for her. I was able to relax some, and we both started singing along with the songs. I reached over and held her hand and she squeezed mine in response.

Sara finally spoke up, "I knew that today was going to be tough, but until we were leaving today, I never fully anticipated how difficult it would be to leave them. I am so glad you planned this trip. I can't imagine going home right now."

"I know. It hit me harder than I thought it would. It will be good to relax and unwind. Going home right away and having none of the kids there would not have helped us to ease into our transition to empty nesters."

"Agreed. But I also want you to know that I have some good emotions mixed in with everything else."

I thought I knew what she meant because I had those feelings too, but I wanted to hear what she was thinking and feeling in order to confirm my suspicions. "Me too. What good emotions do you have?"

"I am excited to spend this week with you. Almost all of our vacations have been family ones, so I am looking forward to some us-time together. I am also happy that our kids are doing so well. I am excited for them to experience all the things that college and beyond has to offer. I am anxious in a good way to have more freedom and less responsibility."

"Great minds think alike, as I am feeling the same way. I know we will miss them, and we still have responsibilities related to them, but I am excited to see what the next chapter in our story holds for us, because all the chapters so far have been great. Not always easy or without struggles, but in the end always great, because we have written them together and my love for you just keeps to continuing to grow."

As I finished my little speech I glanced over at Sara and saw tears, but I also saw a smile. I felt better and then I felt great, when she leaned over, kissed me on the cheek and said, "I know you aren't just saying that. I know you really mean it. However, It was really nice to hear you say it out loud. You really know how to get to me. And for some reason, it made me think of another good thing that I am looking forward to with you -- sex and lots of it at any time and any place and as loud as we want in our home. No worries about one of the kids catching us or hearing us." She smirked.

"I like that thought, but if the windows are open, we may need to be careful, our neighbors aren't that far away, and I do know how loud you can be when you get going."

"True." She giggled. I was so glad to hear that happy sound.

The rest of the trip proceeded on a more upbeat note. There were still some moments when we went silent in our thoughts, but they got fewer and farther in between, and much of the trip was centered around good music and good conversation.

The sun was sinking low on the horizon when we drove down the road to our vacation rental. We knew from the pictures online that it was a two-unit house directly on the beach. What we didn't realize was that it was the last house at the end of the road and not only were there no houses after it, there were none across the street either. It appeared we were across from and abutting up to some kind of nature preserve, with dunes, grasses, and low trees. In addition, the house before ours showed no sign of anyone being there and it had a for sale sign in the yard. So if the other unit in our house was unoccupied, we would truly have a somewhat secluded vacation to ourselves because the closest people would be at least two houses away.

But as luck would have it, it wasn't meant to be. We could see a car parked under the left side of the house. So, we realized we would not be completely by ourselves, but I wasn't going to let that spoil anything. We were at the beach for a week! Nothing was going to ruin that. I just hoped for our neighbor's sake that the walls between our unit were well insulated for sound as I planned to see how loud I could make Sara moan and scream, and how many times we could do it in one week. I suspected I would have no problem getting Sara on board with that plan given the fact that she already said that was looking forward to lots of sex now that the kids were no longer around.

I pulled our car under the unit and parked. Our car faced the beach, but we could not see anything because the parking area was completely walled in. The parking area was deep enough to fit two cars deep, so I pulled in a little farther than our neighbor had, who had barely pulled their car in to cover it all. I started to wonder if perhaps there were two cars parked under their unit and if so, how many people would be next door. Well, it would be what it is. Nothing I can do about it, I just hoped that they would be pleasant if and when we met them, and we would have any issues.

Under our half of the duplex was what appeared to be a storage unit for the owners. It was locked with a padlock but looked big enough to hold a trailer for possibly a small boat or some wave runners or maybe just kayaks, paddle boards, surfboards, etc. Also, there were some beach chairs, umbrellas, boogie boards, etc. stacked along the wall. We had read in the house description that we were free to use any of these items. The trash and recycling cans were there as well. On the front of the house was a back-and-forth staircase that led up to a landing above the car. This was where the front door into the unit was.

Sara and I both got out and stretched. It had been a long drive and despite some quick fuel, potty, and food breaks we had basically been in the car all day. On trips I typically drove the whole way. I enjoyed driving and Sara did not, so that arrangement was fine for both of us. I usually pushed the envelope on speeding, so we would get there quicker than the GPS's ETA. I think it's a guy thing to take the ETA as a challenge and try to beat it. I was successful this trip, despite our stops, thanks to some groups I had joined in who were going well over the speed limit. I just ducked in the middle of the groups and hoped any cops that might be out patrolling would either get the first car or last car of the group and not one of the ones in the middle. Then when a group would break up because of people exiting or whatever, then I would return to a more reasonable level of speeding and wait for the next group. Also, since most of the road construction had or was wrapping up before winter arrived, we had no real construction slowdowns.

We quickly cleaned out the inside of the car throwing away our trash and grabbing our backpacks that had some snack food we had brought just in case for the trip along with our laptops, iPads, etc. Then we grabbed what we could out of the trunk and left the rest for one of us to come back and get later. Up the stairs we climbed.

Being the gentleman that I was, I always let Sara go first whenever we went up stairs. It had always been that way and then it popped into my mind as I remembered back to why. We hadn't been dating very long when she figured out the real reason I always let her go first was not totally from me being a chivalrous gentlemen, but rather it was also because I enjoyed the view ahead of me. We had been going up the stairs to my college apartment when she looked over her shoulder to ask me a question and saw where my eyes were focused. Before I even realized she was looking back over her shoulder, she quickly gave her butt a little wiggle and said, "Enjoying yourself back there."

Busted. I quickly looked up and saw her looking back at me and I choked on trying to come up with something to say. I didn't know her well enough yet to know how much trouble I was in. "Since we are dating now you better not follow any other girl up the stairs with your eyes looking at them like that. Got it!", she said firmly. But she smiled at me and let me off the hook as she gave a little chuckle, and I knew we were cool.

She made it very clear that I wasn't to be looking at other girls butts that way, but I was thinking that her chuckle might have meant that she was okay with me looking at her that way, so I finally stammered out, "Yes, no one else."

"Good."

Then under my breathe, but just loud enough for her to probably hear if she was paying attention, "Only you." And I then I waited because I expected she might turn and slap me if I had misread her chuckle. But instead, she turned her head back to look ahead, gave her butt another wiggle, and kept going up the stairs.

This evening, like she had so many times since the first time that I got busted, as we climbed the stairs, she gave a wiggle. Then she looked back and saw my eyes focused on her butt. This time she said, "Still staring after 25 plus years."

I replied without hesitation, "Always! I love the view, so I have no plans of ever stopping."

So faced forward and giggled, "You better not stop!"

I gave her pinch for that, and she reached back and slapped my hand way.

We entered our unit. We were facing down a hallway that led to the common area. Just to the left was the staircase up to the next level. The staircase ran along the wall that this unit shared with the unit next door. The area under the staircase was walled in.

On the right side of the hallway was two doors. The first one was to a bedroom with a queen-sized bed. The room had a big window that overlooked outdoor stairs we just walked up and the driveway and a smaller window on the other exterior wall that looked out toward the house that was for sale.

The next door in the hallway was to a full bathroom for this floor and for anyone staying in the bedroom we had just passed. At the end of hallway, the area to the right opened to a kitchen, while the wall on the left continued on for a bit. There was a door in the wall across from the kitchen. I presumed from the pictures that I had seen online that the door was to the laundry and utility area which included the HVAC, hot water heater and a washer and dryer.

Beyond the kitchen and laundry room was the dining and the living room areas. Everything in this unit looked like the pictures we had seen online and was all clean, up-to-date, and quite comfortable looking.

We would later go upstairs and find that the at the top was a landing area that was open to a sitting area that was roughly above the kitchen. It had a couple of comfortable chairs, a wall mounted TV, a bookcase stocked with books, puzzles, playing cards, and board games. A low table was in the center of the open area that could be used either as a coffee table, puzzle table, or game table.

Off the sitting area to the right was a door that led into a suite which consisted of a bedroom and bathroom that was a similar arrangement and right above those rooms below. While off the sitting area to the left in roughly the area over the dining and living area below was the master bedroom suite which was amazing with a king-sized bed and large bathroom that included both a soaking tub and a large walk-in shower that could easy accommodate several people comfortably. Off the master bedroom to the back of the house was a small balcony that faced the ocean. It was just large enough to hold a couple of comfortable chairs.

I know the unit was much more than we needed for just the two of us, but almost all places were three bedrooms or more other than some high-rise condominiums which had some one- or two-bedroom units. With this being the start of the off-season, the prices were a little cheaper, so we could get much more room and privacy than a condo unit and easier beach access without paying that much more. For us as we celebrated our silver anniversary, we definitely felt it was worth spending a little more to be able to spread out and enjoy a little luxury and some more privacy. We just hoped the neighbors we did have wouldn't make us regret this decision.

As we continued walking through the main level, we were immediately drawn to the bank of vertical shades ahead of us and Sara quickly went and started opening them. Opening the shades revealed a huge sliding door system with a breathtaking view consisting of a large deck and beyond that was the dunes, the beach, and deep blue expanse of the ocean only broken by the white waves washing steadily ashore. The sliding glass doors were triple wide opening a large portion of living area to the deck as she slid them open letting in the refreshing smell of the sea and the sounds of the waves.

We walked out on the deck to take in the ocean views and smell, when another smell hit me. It was an aroma I knew well. It was the scent coming from something being grilled. I walked over to the railing on the deck and looked down to the patio below and there were our neighbors for the week. I noticed that the deck we were on was shared by both units with a set of stairs in the middle down to the patio which was also an area shared by both units of the house. In addition to the gas grill, it contained some outdoor furniture of chairs and a loveseat, a couple of tables with umbrellas, a fire pit and a hot tub. As I was looking down assessing everything, the man at the grill looked up, smiled warmly, and called out "Hey neighbors." I waved back, took Sara by the hand, and we headed down to meet them.

"Hi, I am Pete and this is my wife Sara", I said as I extended my hand.

"I am RJ and this is my wife Jamie, nice to meet you", and all of us took turns shaking hands.

I should share a little about each of us. RJ is a light-colored Black man who I estimated stood about 5'10' or 5'11. He was wearing a nice t-shirt and athletic shorts with his flip flops. He had a stocky build. He was not fat, but rather just well built. His shirt tried to hide the start of his typical middle-aged bulge of his belly. He was muscular but his muscles did not appear to be well defined, so I deduced that he probably worked out some but not excessively. The top of his head was shaved but his face had a trimmed beard that included a hint of graying. His handshake had been firm but welcoming with me, while his and Sara's handshake seemed to linger just a bit as they smiled and stared into each other's eyes. Nothing uncomfortable, as his welcome was friendly to both of us. If I had to pick a celebrity to compare him to, I would say he might be a fuller bodied version of Stephen C. Bishop.

Talk about lingering and staring into someone eyes, I couldn't help but do so when I looked into Jaime's as we met up close to shake hands after her and Sara were done greeting each other. Jaime had piercing green eyes that mesmerized me and went perfectly with her flowing auburn hair that extended just below her shoulders. I felt a tingle in our touch that seemed to be something more than just being rapt by her looks. I couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same charge as she did not seem to mind my extended contact although she eventually diverted her gaze and seemed to blush, and I snapped back to reality and withdrew my hand. Although it seemed like a long time, I know it only lasted a bit longer than a normal greeting just like RJ and Sara's had, so no one in the group seemed to be bothered by it. Now that I stepped back, I took in and admired the rest of Jaime. She was wearing a simple top and khaki shorts. She was tall, probably just an inch or so shorter than the RJ. She was relatively thin with subtle but shapely curves to her. I would guess her breasts were either A cups or maybe small B and fit proportionally with her slim hips. But the thing that stood out almost as much as her eyes and hair color was her legs. They seemed to go on forever and were quite toned. It was clear that her above average height came from her legs rather than torso. In addition to her legs being long they had a wonderful golden bronze hue to them -- just perfect given that she was fair skinned. She reminded me somewhat of Debra Messing.

I should describe my Sara. She was in a lot of ways a complete contrast to Jaime. Sara was shorter. A 48-year-old dark haired beauty standing at 5'4", she had all the classic womanly curves. Her breasts were DD's, but I think it was hard for RJ and Jaime to tell, as she was wearing a large comfortable football jersey type shirt. When we traveled, she was all about comfort. Also, she never was one to show off her chest. Despite me pushing her to show some cleavage, she refused to buy any tops or dresses with plunging neck lines. She said her cleavage was only for me to enjoy in the privacy of our bedroom -- and enjoy it I did. When she was dressing for comfort, she liked the large, oversized shirts as they not only covered her chest fully, they also were long enough to downplay her hips and ass. Despite the rise in popularity of celebrities with full sized hips and booties, she always wished hers were smaller. For some reason and despite my insistence otherwise, she felt like her hips and butt were bigger than they really were. For me they were perfect. I couldn't imagine her body being any better. Every part of her fit together in heavenly curvy perfection and believe me, I enjoyed every inch of her body when we were in bed. But the feature that sucked me in when we first met was her eye color. Her eyes were such a dark brown that they almost looked black. It was hard to distinguish between the brown of her iris and the black of her pupil. Her eyes were just deep, dark pools that I got lost in every day since we met. To me, she reminds of Milana Vayntrub, the AT&T girl.