". . . . and she was saying how lonely she is. You know, we really must invite her round soon," Rose was saying, as they were eating their breakfast one Monday morning.
"Yes dear, whatever you say," Kevin mumbled into his newspaper, and went back to reading the match report of Saturday's big game.
"You didn't hear a word I said," said Rose, slightly irritated.
"Erm, what dear? What was it were you saying?" replied Kevin, putting his paper down and giving his wife his full attention. After thirty five years of marriage, he knew better than to ignore her when she used that tone of voice.
"I was talking about Elspeth, my dear. We had coffee last Friday, and she was telling me how lonely she has been since John's death, especially now that the children live in Australia. They Skype every weekend of course, but it just isn't the same," Rose explained.
"I don't know why she didn't take up their invitation to move out and go to live with them," Kevin said, "I'm sure that she would have enjoyed the opportunity to spend more time with her grandchildren."
"Kevin, that just wasn't practicable, as you know too well. However much her children might love her, to have left all her friends at her time of life would have been a very bad idea. And to leave the lovely home she and John had made together would have been a terrible wrench; those memories are very dear to her. Anyway she wasn't just talking about company, she misses the physical side of marriage — the kisses and cuddles, and you know . . . the sex," said Rose.
"Well Elspeth is still a very attractive woman," replied Kevin, "I mean, she is in fantastic condition for a woman of her age, erm, as are you my darling; a little plump perhaps, but I don't know any man who doesn't prefer a few curves in the right places. Who really wants to wake up with one of those skinny supermodels? I'm sure that there are many unattached middle aged men who would be only too happy to take her up the aisle — she is still young enough after all, and many widows and widowers have very happy second marriages."
"I will take that as a compliment my dear, although I think we would rather think of ourselves as voluptuous and alluring," laughed Rose.
They didn't say any more about it, and half an hour later, after kissing his wife goodbye, Kevin was on his way to work, the conversation entirely forgotten. Rose couldn't get her conversation with Elspeth out of her mind however, and later that morning once she had done the washing up and put the washing machine on, she sat down with a cup of coffee and thought about what she and Kevin could do for their friend.
ooOoo
Rose and Elspeth were best friends, and had shared many intimacies about their husbands and children over the years since they were at teacher training college together. They had been room mates, and their first appointments after graduating were in the same primary school. Even though they moved to different schools after a year or two, they had remained close and they had been maids of honour at each other's weddings.
They had both given up their jobs when babies came along, preferring to invest all their energies in their children's upbringing, and even when the children were at school they decided not to go back to full time teaching, although Elspeth did do a bit of supply teaching from time to time, more for fun than the extra income. When their children were small the two families had often gone on camping holidays together, and once the children had left home, she and Kevin and Elspeth and John had been in a couple of overseas trips. As her closest friend Rose thought that it was her duty, as well as being a pleasure, to see what she could do for Elspeth.
Rose continued to ruminate over the problem over the next few days and gradually a rather naughty idea began to take root in her mind, although she did wonder how she was going to put it to Kevin.
Rose and Kevin still had a very warm and loving sexual relationship, although the intensity of the early years of their marriage was just a memory. They still made love once or twice a week, usually at weekends when they were relaxed and could set aside the concerns of work.
They had both been more or less faithful to each other but when Kevin had to spend six months in Africa, Rose was pretty sure that he must have had the occasional liaison, although she had never asked him. On a later occasion when he was in India for several weeks, she had had a brief and very satisfying fling with a young man from the church that they went to; nothing too serious and with no emotional commitment, just a bit of sexual fun and certainly nothing to disturb their marriage. It had come to an end once Kevin was back home and she had never seen any reason to tell Kevin.
A couple of weeks passed, but over breakfast on the Saturday morning, Rose finally plucked up the courage to put her proposal to Kevin. When they were sitting with their second cup of coffee, in order to make sure she had his full attention Rose gently took his newspaper out of his hands and laid by her plate.
"Kevin my love," she said somewhat nervously, "you remember what I was telling you about Elspeth," and he nodded politely, although he really couldn't recollect the conversation, "well I have been thinking what we could do about her problem."
"What problem was that my dear," he replied, wracking his brain in a vain attempt to remember what it was she was talking about.
"You must remember," she said, "it was only just the other day. I told how lonely Elspeth has been since John died, and how much she missed the physical side of marriage."
