Jack moved into what he called, his 'closet' right after splitting up with his wife. It was essentially just a bedroom with a kitchen and bath. "Studio" was over stating the situation but since it was all he could afford in a short time period, who was he to argue? He hit it off with the landlord upon their first meeting so the rent wasn't what it COULD have been. And Jack liked the fact that the building was just big enough that he could just sort of blend in and not have to really connect with his neighbors. Working nights was a huge help. Jack would get home around the same time they were all going to work. He'd be out the door in the evenings to visit his friends. Life would work in this temporary housing.
Across the hall however was Lucy. Lucy was ALWAYS home. She seemed like a nice enough person, a women in her late 60s, early 70s. Jack found her pleasant but didn't even give attraction a thought. Her age was one thing, but she was rather overweight (not that weight often mattered with Jack, but....), used a bit too much make up and smoked...A LOT. Yech. Jack enjoyed the two or three minute conversations by the mailboxes, and was fine with keeping their relationship that way.
One morning he got home, exhausted, and went right for his door. Suddenly Lucy's door opened and she stepped into the hall. "Jack," she began, "I'm so glad you're home. I'm a little bothered. There's a spider and It's HUGE. I'm normally happy to kill them, but this one...."
Jack stopped. He looked at the floor and then at Lucy. He was so damn tired, but hell, this wouldn't take long. "Sure, where is it?" He followed her into her kitchen and damn it all, it WAS huge. Jack, not one to shy away from a challenge, grabbed some paper towels and slowly approached the spider and....BAM, he got it. Jack didn't want to admit anything, but he had been a bit shaking and as he heard the spider crackle in the towel, he got slightly queasy. Gross.
Lucy thanked him profusely and offered him a cup of coffee. "Lucy, I'm heading for bed, the last thing I need is coffee, but you are sweet to offer," he said politely declining the offer and desperate to get out of that stale smelling apartment. "You know something Lucy, maybe next time...." He caught himself, "No, there will be NO next time."
She looked crushed until he added, "No more spiders in here! Tomorrow I'll come by with some really good bug spray and we'll prevent those devils from coming in again." Lucy was tickled pink and hugged Jack which made him cringe. In his mind he screamed but openly he said, "There, there Lucy, no worries."
The next day Jack came by at about 8 o'clock in the morning. He had worked but it hadn't been too crazy so he wasn't about to slip into a coma. Plus, he had promised his neighbor to rid her apartment of bugs. He knocked a couple of times with no response. Just as he figured Lucy might be still sleeping...or God forbid, DEAD and he was going to go into his own apartment, the door opened and there stood Lucy in a towel. Jack was dumbstruck. Should he run? Should he ignore the situation? He just went with the flow.
"Jack, I'm so sorry. Were you waiting long?" Lucy began. "I was in the shower. I almost forgot you were coming by."
"It's all good." Jack entered the apartment and was struck by the fact that it wasn't as stifling and stale as the day before. He noticed she had opened the windows and lit a few candles. "I guess even Lucy can't take that shit for TOO long" he thought. He entered and asked Lucy, "I'm sorry I got you out of the shower. I can come back when you're dressed."
"No, no, don't worry about it. You're doing me a favor and I should not keep you waiting. Just give me a minute." And off she went to the bedroom to dress. As she walked away, the towel fell. Jack's eyes popped out of his head and his lunch almost from his stomach. It wasn't a long look, it was quick, but, oh hell, a guy his age did NOT need to see the naked body of a woman his GRANDMOTHER'S age.
When Lucy came back, she was in one of her Muumuus ("God Bless the Hawaiians," thought Jack.) and Jack set about spraying all the corners of the apartment, along the baseboards, behind things, under things, he was a spraying machine! When he was done, Lucy thanked him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Jack said it was nothing and he left without further incident, off to bed and the expected nightmares.
Things for the next few days were normal. A brief chat by the mail boxes or in the laundry room with Lucy or maybe another neighbor but for the most part, Jack was enjoying the solitude.
A week or so after seeing Lucy naked, Jack was chatting with her and she happened to mention that her birthday was just around the corner. Jack, being who he was asked, "So, turning 30? Well, it's about time!" Lucy laughed, "No, I'll be 78." Jack was surprised. No, she was no kid, but he didn't figure she was that old. "Good for you, hun. What day?" he asked.
"Tuesday." She replied and Jack made a mental note. They chatted a bit more and then parted.
That Tuesday, Jack had decided to surprise Lucy. She was a sweetheart and seemed lonely and Jack had nothing going on and just so happened he was off that night. He bought her a big bottle of wine and a dozen roses and showed up at her door. He knocked and when she opened the door, she nearly fainted.
"OH MY GOD!" she exclaimed, "Why did you do this? Oh, you are so sweet. Oh please, come in, come in and please, PLEASE share some wine with me?!?" Jack did.
They had a lovely visit and again, Jack noticed she had cut down her smoking and the apartment wasn't the equivalent of a gas chamber. Visiting wasn't going to be such an invitation to cancer as he feared. He sat and Lucy opened the bottle, pouring both a healthy glassful. They sat and talked for over an hour about all sorts of subjects and Jack was actually really enjoying her conversation. She was an interesting person and the more he looked at her the more he thought she had a nice quality to her. His mind stopped short of finding her attractive. In fact at one point he sort of squished up his face and shook his head. "You OK?" asked Lucy.
"Oh, oh, yeah, I'm sorry. Funny enough sometimes I get this weird feel from wine, but it passes as fast as it comes," and he held up his glass for a refill.
After about 3 hours of gabbing, ("THREE HOURS?!?!?" thought Jack) he excused himself saying he had to get up early in the morning. He didn't get anywhere. When they finished the wine, Lucy had brought out a bottle of Sherry and they polished THAT off too. Jack was not lightweight, but...
He got across the hall and went into the bathroom to relieve some pressure on his bladder. When he was done he started picture Lucy naked. He found himself almost getting hard, but he caught himself, changed and slipped off into a coma for the night.
A few days later Lucy again needed a favor. She couldn't reach something on the top shelf of her cabinet and asked Jack if he could get it. He did and next thing he knew they were sitting over tea chatting away. By the time an hour had passed the subjects had been very random and at one point, sex had become a topic.
