For all those complaining about my not saying that this was going to be a multi-chapter story, 'Sorry.' I did not realise this would be a concern. Those people who don't like long stories might want to stop reading now, as I am just finishing Chapter 6, and there will be at least one more after that.
Some people have asked for a character list. I have added one at the end of this chapter.
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Once her girlfriends had left, Rhonda settled on the couch and tried to calm her mind. She was nervous about facing up to Harry but resolute that she would not back down.
Harry arrived home just after 11:00, the earliest he'd gotten home in months. Rhonda wondered if one of the shearers had rung and warned him, as the confrontation wasn't as traumatic as she had expected. If anything, Harry seemed relieved that his need for deception was over. He asked if she had anyone else. She knew he meant Doug and replied she didn't, but she intended to bed at least a dozen men by Christmas.
He got angry and shouted at her. She laughed at him, "Calling the kettle black, aren't you? Are you going to marry Liz?"
He calmed a little and replied that he didn't know. He wasn't the only man Liz had slept with in the past year, and his jealousy was a massive bone of contention between them. Finally, he seemed to realise what an arsehole he was being and calmed down. Rhonda helped him pack. He didn't want to stay the night, saying he'd sleep at the Pub until he sorted out somewhere more permanent. And just after midnight, Rhonda waved goodbye to twenty-plus years of marriage.
The next three days went by in a blur. Rhonda went to the farm each morning, did her chores and took scones and tea to the shearers. She remembered young Daniel apologising profusely about this indiscretion and telling him he didn't have anything to apologise for, as if it wasn't him, she could have gone another year without knowing what her husband was doing behind her back. The other young shearer, Mick, increased his efforts to bed her, which she found amusing and flattering. Doug seemed irked by Mick's advances. The first signs of interest he had shown in her.
Tuesday evening, she told her children that she and Harry had separated. The first one she called was Michael, her oldest. Rhonda felt slightly depressed when she hung up, as he seemed to be more on her husband's side than hers. Next, she called Gemma and got quite the opposite response. Gemma was disgusted with her father and threatened to never speak to him again. Rhonda spent over half an hour trying to convince her not to take sides, explaining that it was a mutual split. But when they hung up, she didn't think she'd managed to sway her. Finally, she called Ian, her youngest. That was interesting. He had found out about Harry and Liz six months before and told her it was part of the reason he had moved out and taken the apprenticeship in Tauranga. He was not speaking to his father. Again, Rhonda tried to convince him that this was not what she wanted. She didn't bother to ask him why he had not told her.
On Wednesday, she arrived at the farm to find Bruce (the accountant) already meeting with Doug. Annoyed by his presence, especially as she had not been warned of his coming, she escaped to do her chores. But after half an hour, Doug came looking for her and asked her to listen to Bruce's proposal.
The long and short of it was Bruce couldn't tidy the accounts in the time she wanted. To avoid suspicion, he had arranged an overdraft on the farm account to pay for the top dressing account and had transferred $15,000 to their account. He promised to pay two more $15,000 instalments in the next two months. As for all the other issues, they needed to sort those out a little at a time, or the IRD would notice, which would have dire consequences for all of them. So, he wanted to retain the account for at least another six months, preferably a year.
Doug said he was happy with everything Bruce proposed but would only agree if Rhonda was on board. Doug took Rhonda aside and said he wanted to retain Bruce as he had known him for nearly forty years.
"Are you not concerned about Bruce having slept with Shirley? I'm furious about Harry."
"You townies get all het up about that stuff. Out on the farm, we see sex every day and have no big issues with it. Hell, I've watched Mac willing to fight to the death for a bitch, but once he's had her, he doesn't give a dam if the other dogs have her. I'm a bit like that. Anyway, it seems that if I want vengeance on all the men that slept with Shirley, I might have my hands full."
Rhonda reluctantly withdrew her objections, Bruce departed, and Doug returned to the shearing shed.
In the days after she kicked Harry out, Doug was the perfect gentleman, kind and understanding. Each day when she arrived, he hugged her and asked if she was alright. Nothing sexual, which she was thankful for. She told him about her plans to go shopping in Auckland and that her friend Marie was driving her. She offered that they would come and make the morning tea on the Friday before they departed. He told her not to bother as there was a good chance they'd have finished shearing late Thursday. But Rhonda insisted they would come anyway, as she wanted to say farewell to the gang as she'd gotten on so well with them.
She sensed that Doug knew she would be looking for a man to have revenge sex with. But he didn't say anything, and on Thursday evening, he texted her and wished her a happy weekend. He added that they would finish the shearing by 10:00 the following day and be down at the house soon after. And so not to bother coming up to the shed, could she set up the morning tea in the stables instead?
Friday, Rhonda woke early, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and a jersey, and packed a bag with her best outfits. Marie arrived in her husband's Honda CR-V at 7:30. She explained she'd borrowed it so they had plenty of room for all the shopping they would be doing. She looked aghast at what Rhonda was wearing. "You surely are not going to Auckland dressed like that?"
Rhonda explained that that was what she wore every day at the farm.
"No wonder Doug has not asked to marry you yet. We'll need to get you some decent things to wear."
Rhonda found some overalls in the barn to cover Marie's sporty outfit. They fed the chooks, and then Rhonda showed Marie around the garden and all the work she'd been doing. Afterwards, they went to the house, filled one of the tea urns, and whipped some cream. Marie helped her carry the portable hot plate over to the stables. They had decided to make the gang Pikelets with raspberry jam and cream.
Rhonda had not been in the stables before. She'd just stood at the door and watched Doug bringing Betty out for her to ride. The stables were larger than she had expected. Horseboxes down one side, all empty, and a small show ring covered in sawdust. A solid railing partly obscured tiered rows of benches on the opposite wall, where Doug had been throwing old saddles, damaged riding tack and other riding paraphernalia.
Rhonda and Marie set the morning tea out on two tables they found folded inside the door. Then, they climbed the steps, cleared some of the damaged tack off the front bench and sat to talk until the shearers arrived.
"I wonder why there are seats in here?" asked Marie.
"Doug said his father used to breed horses. This must be where they held the sales.
"Does Doug not breed horses anymore?"
"I don't know. There are a lot of horses up by the shearing shed. So he may do.
They heard the shearers arriving a little after 10:00. Rhonda rushed over to the hotplate and tipped half a dozen small dollops of the pancake batter on it, and Marie got the butter, raspberry jam, and cream ready to spread on them. The next hour was hectic, the shearers' appetites seemingly never-ending.
The goodbyes were emotional, even passionate, from a couple of them. Ronda heard the shearers telling Doug that no other station had ever been looked after them so well. The girls got on the road at 11:30, departing with most of the shearing gang.
They couldn't check into the Langham until 2:00 pm, so they detoured to Huntly to check out the factory shops. They saw little of interest in the first few shops they entered, But that all changed in the Bendon Shop. Marie had Rhonda in the changing rooms with handfuls of lingerie, and they spent an hour there. Rhonda bought herself three sets of bras and knickers, all sexy, lacy and way different than she'd ever bought before. Marie purchased some items for herself and then insisted on buying Rhonda a sexy black set with a suspender belt--something Rhonda had only ever worn once before - at her wedding.
She tried to decline, but Marie insisted, telling her she was buying her a little black number for their dinner at Partington's restaurant, and this lingerie set would go perfectly with it.
As it was only 1:00 when they arrived at the hotel, they found a cafe on K-road for lunch and then wandered through all the boutiques, looking for something to wear to dinner that night. Rhonda found a black dress that she liked, but Marie said it was far too conservative, and she had plans where to buy one the next day. They both bought outfits. Rhonda's was way out of her comfort zone, but what the fuck!
They returned to the Langham at 5:30. Rhonda was amazed at the suite Marie had booked them. She imagined that even royalty would have been impressed. The bedroom sported two huge beds, and there was an equally large bathroom and a lounge area with rich sliders that opened onto a small balcony with views of the harbour. They changed into their new clothes and wandered across the road to the Number 5 restaurant. Rhonda knew Marie must have booked it days before, as it was full, and Marie had mentioned it was one of Auckland's best restaurants.
They had a window seat, and even packed as the place was, it was quiet and respectful. The waiters moved silently on the thick carpet to take their orders. While they waited, Marie stuck her foot between Rhonda's legs and tried to massage her clit with her big toe.
"Fuck, Marie, wait until we get back to the room, someone will see you."
"I'm feeling horny. All that touching in the changing rooms and watching you strip has me buzzing."
"Are we seeing Andrew tonight?"
"No, His conference finishes tomorrow. So I'll text him our room number in the morning, and we'll have dinner with them in our hotel."
"Are they not staying in the Langham?"
"No, they are staying downtown somewhere. I think at the hotel where the conference is held."
After dinner, they crossed back to the Langham and had a coffee and a Bailey's at the house bar, before retiring to their room.
Rhonda sat on the bed, watching Marie twist her hair into a knot before showering.
"Come and join me. I'll wash your back." Marie yelled over her shoulder.
