It happened on a pleasant autumn day, the kind of day that invigorates the soul. It was a day of singing birds, mild breezes and smiling greetings. A day when dogs sleep, children play and grown-ups daydream.
Her husband had been out of town for a few weeks, and though she has friends in this town, she nonetheless felt lonely and bored. She is pretty and smarter than most, and educated. Calm by nature, she can become restless, even agitated. She can be methodical to the point of being slow. Just like many women, she cries for no reason sometimes. She has hopes and dreams and fantasies like everyone and with her husband away at that time, she had more time to dream, to fantasize.
She dreamed of being young again and though she adored her baby, her dreams often omitted her family. She thought of carefree living with freedom from marriage, chores, and the usual humdrum. Stimulation was what she required.
The leaves were piling up in the yard. She decided to rake them because she felt the need of a little exercise to get her body back into shape after childbirth. As she attempted to rake them, they stubbornly blew away and stuck to the ground and her back started hurting and her baby started crying. Then some neighborhood boys arrived offering to help for pay.
She quickly agreed because the yard work had already discouraged and bored her, and her baby needed attention at that moment. All teenagers and younger, the boys worked all afternoon. After a couple of hours, she offered snacks and drinks. The boys were nearly ready to go to their homes for dinner when he arrived.
A friend of the boys, he was also from the neighborhood. She was stunned by his appearance. Unlike the boys, he appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties; quite tall, handsome and well built. His dark hair and broad shoulders accented his hard slim body. He had come out of curiosity to see what his young friends were doing and started chatting.
Though never formally introduced she had seen and spoke to him occasionally in the neighborhood. And now she had the chance to drink in his good looks and take in his self-confidence and poise. Though uneducated, he spoke well and with ease and she could tell he was used to talking to women. He is so different from her husband.
Though attractive, her husband is short, -short compared to nearly all the men she knows, as is his temper. He is complex- intense, but usually sweet natured, -kind, but somewhat judgmental, -impatient yet loving, hardworking, but mesmerized by books and movies and television. Generous, he is also gluttonous. He is trusting, yet at the same time, suspicious. Her husband is sensual but somewhat selfish. Sentimental, he cries during sad movies or during the telling of poignant stories. His dreams involve food, great beaches, his children, long vacations, lovemaking, virgin forests, the mountains, giant cities, little stucco villages by the sea, fantastic battles, and of course, his lovely wife.
Her husband works away from home sometimes.
The boys left, but the young man remained to chat and they talked of the leaves, the lawn, the trees, new babies, the neighborhood, and the weather and he played with her baby. Both baby and mother were taken by his charisma. She invited him in and he agreed but said he had to go home for dinner shortly. He drank a beer as she sipped a soft drink and they talked about her husbands' job and his being so far away. She was grateful to be talking to an adult for a change. He was soft-spoken, charming- even disarming, but gentlemanly.
During their pleasant chat she mentioned that she had some heavy boxes to stow in the attic and garage and he offered to move them. She said she had to do some rearranging before she was ready to move the boxes and other items. Could he come back tomorrow? No, he said he would probably be busy for the next few days, but offered to come back later that night. He apologized as he explained that the soonest he could return would be later in the evening, say 9:30 or 10:00 PM. She agreed, pleased at the prospect of clearing out a few more items.
After he left she decided to make herself a bit more presentable by showering while baby played in the playpen. She also seized the opportunity to shave her nice, long, firm legs, which she hadn't done but once since her husband left. She applied lipstick to her pretty full lips and admired herself in the mirror for a long moment. Feeling refreshed, she donned attractive comfortable clothes. She chose neat, but slightly tight sweat pants, because they felt good on her firm bottom and legs. A pretty knit shirt and thick socks completed the ensemble. Then she fed the baby.
She called her husband long distance to tell him about the yard and discuss the usual household business that all couples discuss. She thought about the very large distance between them. He told her he loved her and that he missed her. He said he wanted to be home.
