Things went well for several weeks. Although Ralph called every week, she was beginning to place him in her past. She thought that she'd ask him not to call so often and then in the Fall not to call at all.
The first week in August she brought up the subject of a physical again.
"I DON'T NEED ANY DOCTOR TO TELL ME THAT I'M OKAY. I'M FIT AS A FIDDLE, PROBABLY BETTER THAN MOST MEN TEN YEARS YOUNGER." Unfortunately she was sitting in the easy chair in the corner. He jumped in front of her blocking any escape. "Millie never complained about me. She found out what shape I was in every chance she got. One time she got me to go through Sutter's Fort with her. After checking that it seemed safe, she sat on one of the cannons in a little room. Pulled her dress up and showed me she wasn't wearing any panties. Had me do her right there. GODDAMIT, I'M STILL IN GOOD SHAPE."
He balled up his fist. She thought he was going to hit her, but he turned at the last instant and flexed his muscle. Then he stomped out of the room. She broke down and cried for several minutes before she grabbed her purse and jumped in her van to go to the mall.
The next day Ralph called. "How's it going?" He sounded bright and cheerful.
"Not so good." She related yesterday's incident.
"There's got to be something going on," he declared. "However, I think you need a cooling off period. Do you ever go out of town for classes?"
"I have once or twice."
"Let me look around and see what's going on in Monterey and Carmel. I've got your card. Is that still your address?"
"Yes." She had a Mailboxes Etc. drop that she used, so all the advertisements that go to businesses wouldn't come to the house.
When he called next week, she was excited. "I've signed up for the class in Monterey the week before Labor Day."
Three weeks later she was sitting in her motel room outside Monterey. "Hi, Ralph."
"Hi, yourself."
"I just got in. I haven't even unpacked yet."
"Can I come down and take you to dinner?"
"I'm a little tired after the drive. Tomorrow I'll want to find out what the day's and week's schedule is going to be. Why don't we meet Tuesday night at Flanagan's, where we went after the Aquarium?"
At the restaurant on Tuesday she decided to find out more about him. "What do you do to keep busy?"
"One day a week I deliver Meals-On-Wheels. You know us younger folks have to help those old codgers." He winked at her from under a white, receding hairline. "If the weather's good, I go surfing twice a week and bicycling two or three times. If I don't keep active, my doctor fusses at me."
It was funny how she wanted, no needed, to learn his routine, the humdrum things of his existence. She would be able to be in Sacramento and yet be with him as he drove a car or rode his bike.
They had both parked in the restaurant lot tonight. He put his arm around her waist when he walked her over to her car. She put her hand around his waist, too. At her car they kissed. It started with lips gently brushing lips, but progressed to an entanglement of tongues.
"Wou, would you like to follow me back to my motel?" She couldn't look him in the eye. Suppose he turned her down?
He pulled her chin up with his hand. "More than anything."
He met her at her door as she pulled the key card out. He took it from her and opened the door. As soon as they were inside he pulled her into another kiss. Later she remembered her blouse slipping off her shoulder, his lips kissing the roundness of her belly while he pulled her panties down. Then she was rolling on top of him, her skin sliding on his, her sex dripping on to his hip.
His kisses were like honey on her lips. His fingers skipped lightly across her back. They stroked down to her butt and gently traced the valley between her cheeks. At the same time he would break a kiss and nip along her throat. Once again, every place his skin touched hers she felt bolts of desire for another touch.
He rolled her on her back and his mouth descended to a nipple. Tonight he was more forceful and her breasts tingled as his tongue batted the nub back and forth. He leaned over and attacked the neglected one. Then he began kissing down to her belly button.
He blew a raspberry there and she convulsed briefly in laughter and joy. He kissed lower.
What was he doing?
She felt him licking at the hair at the top of her delta.
He's going to put his mouth there! That's dirty! NO! Nothing we do together is dirty!
She felt a hot, wet lance open her lower lips. Everywhere it touched she felt a fire start that she knew would consume her. His tongue glided up and down her slit. He paused and thrust it inside her and wiggled it around. Then it moved up to her button. His licks were so light that she wasn't always sure he was still there, but every nerve cried out for more. She ran her fingers through his hair. When she needed more contact, she pulled his head in.
Suddenly it swept over her. She pushed her hips up as she pulled his head down. Her thighs snapped together and her knees swayed slowly side to side. Every muscle in her body fell apart.
A faraway voice was speaking in the room. "Come up here. I need you inside me."
He entered her gently. Her body vibrated with his thrusts because she could not control it. After several minutes she felt the urge building again. Her hips slapped against his. "I'm going to cum again," she whispered to him. "Cum with me."
It wasn't simultaneous, but near enough. As she lay there awash in her second orgasm, she felt him spurt inside her. After a minute he rolled to one side.
They dozed off. When the bed shifted as he rose, she woke. "I need to get home," he said as he pulled his clothes on. "Prince will be waiting for me with his legs crossed. Can I meet you for supper tomorrow?"
"The class has an evening field trip and discussion afterwards. How about Thursday?"
"I'll meet you here and take you to a place down the coast." He kissed her deeply.
She was still nude when they broke apart. She took his hand and pulled it gently to her breast. "You're a wonderful lover."
Thursday was a repeat of Tuesday. Friday was a sex fest for fifty somethings. Joe knew she hated to drive at night, so he understood her returning on Saturday. Ralph was waiting for her when her class got out at three. They went straight to her motel. They showered together and made love. They went to dinner. They returned to her room and made love again with Ralph using that wonderful tongue to drive her mad.
"You know what's funny?" She was caressing his chest as they lay there recovering. "That first time after we went to the Aquarium, I thought your thingy was on the small side. But now, after this week, I've gotten to know it better and it may be on the large side."
"The miracles of modern medicine.and Bob Dole."
"What do you mean?"
"Guys my age are not like twenty-year-olds. For unknown reasons some things are not as firm as when we were younger. Bob Dole tells us that a little pill can correct that, but you've got to plan ahead. I didn't think that we would do anything after the Aquarium trip. After all you were driving back to Sacramento."
"So I didn't take the pill. You are so exciting that I was able to perform anyway. This week, of course, I've been taking the pill. Listen to us. When we were in our twenties and you said The Pill everyone knew you were talking about women. Now at our age when you say The Pill everybody knows you're talking about men."
He slept with her that night. The next morning they made love one last time before she left.
"When will you be able to come back?"
"I don't know. I'm still married. I still love Joe. I need to take care of him." Ralph stood there waving until she couldn't see him in the rear view mirror any more.
When she got back home, Joe was ready again to fix dinner for her. This time he also encouraged her to go take a long hot bath to relax after the drive.
"What time do you want to go to Mass tomorrow?" He was starting to set the clock before they got in bed.
"Honey, I'm so tired. I think I'll sleep in and then lay around the house all day. I'll catch a Mass during the week."
Monday she made an excuse to go to the store. First she stopped at St Bernadette's for Confession. She was out in forty-five minutes.
I can't believe that adultery is so cheap. That young priest didn't even try to talk to me about it. It must be so common that they don't think it's worth the effort to fight.
Ralph called her on Friday for the next two weeks. He wanted to talk to her more often, but she couldn't think of another time when she was almost sure Joe would be out of the house.
The middle of September Ralph left for what he referred to as his annual pilgrimage to see his children. One son lived in San Jose, but his older son lived in Chicago and his daughter lived in Seattle. He managed to call her on Friday from each city.
Joe had been acting like the old Joe ever since she had come back from Monterey. She was relaxed around him, but feeling guilty also. The Fall Fest in Monterey was coming up. She thought she might ask Joe to come along. It would keep her from being tempted by Ralph and also be a reward to him for his good behavior, even if she didn't tell him that. The Friday one week before she would leave for Monterey, she was talking to Ralph.
They had talked almost thirty minutes before she got up her nerve. "Ralph, I'm going to ask Joe to come along next week."
The silence stretched out unbearably. "Well, I guess I knew that this couldn't last forever. I wish you good luck. I guess I shouldn't call again."
"You've been a really good friend. You've helped me when I needed it, but I'm married. I should be going to my husband for support."
On Saturday afternoon Joe was sitting in front of the TV watching a football game.
