Jack, sat at his usual table for his morning coffee, he was a creature of habit, last week he had reserved the table for eleven, every morning, Monday to Friday. He was glad that he had booked it this morning as the place was bustling. Jack enjoyed his morning coffee here as the coffee was excellent, and the staff were attentive.
The cafe was in a town, three miles from where Jack's parent's house was. Both of his parents were dead, Jack had inherited the house but hadn't sold it as it held so many memories for him. Jack's apartment was at the coast, a thirty-minute drive away. His wife had died suddenly, nine months ago. He had a son, who was an airline pilot and now lived in London. Jack, didn't want to sell his apartment as the sea views were fantastic. Jack was in his late forties; he was financially secure; he had sold his software company for serious money, two years ago. He was receiving a seven-figure consultancy fee for fifteen years, as Jack's wife had said, 'His sheep were in the dry'.
Jack was doing a crossword on his smartphone; he was using a Bic pen which had a rubber dimple on it, which made hitting the small keyboard of his smartphone very easy. Four ladies were sitting at a table beside Jack, one of the ladies said, "That looks very interesting, may I try it on my phone?"
Jack smiled and handed the lady his pen. She tried it on her mobile, a minute later she said, as she handed it back, "It's amazing, my fingers are big and strong from all the tennis I played when I was younger, this makes it so much easier to type with. May I ask where you got it as I'd love to get one?"
Jack replied, "They're excellent, please keep that one, I bought it at Staples, they are not expensive, they write well too."
Jack noticed that the lady had a beautiful smile, she also had very honest eyes, the lady said, "Thank you so much, may I buy you your coffee in return?"
Jack replied, "You don't need to bother; I can see that you have a use for it, please have it."
The lady thanked him then Jack left. Two weeks later, Jack saw the lady again; this time, she was alone. They acknowledged each other with a nod but didn't speak. Jack noticed this time that the lady was tall, had a voluptuous figure; Jack loved her beautiful smile. Every morning that Jack went to the cafe, he hoped that he would see the lady. There was nothing regular about her attendance; it could be two or three weeks between visits, there was also no regularity about what day of the week it was.
One day, the cafe was full, the lady came in, there wasn't a table available, their eyes met, Jack stood up and indicated that the lady shares Jack's table, she smiled and sat down beside him. Jack shook her hand, then said, "I'm Jack."
"I'm Edith but call me Edi."
Jack ordered a coffee for her. They chatted about general things then Edi asked, "Where do you live?"
Jack told her then Edi said, "You only live six miles north of me. I'm not in town much as there are two towns close to me which I use for general shopping, I only come here if there's something I can't get locally."
Jack asked, "What's your profession?"
"I'm retired, I sold up nine years ago. My husband wasn't well; sadly, he died eight years ago, that was a hard time for me."
Jack thought this is unbelievable; we are so alike, both in business and now both retired. Jack was taken aback with her next sentence, "I was sixty-five when I retired, I'm now seventy-four, but I still enjoy life and try and keep active."
She didn't look seventy-four, I'm a little younger than you, we're quite similar, I sold my business a couple of years ago, looking forward to a stress-free retirement then my wife died a year later. I was alone; now I'm trying to get my life sorted out. Do you have any children?"
"I'm sorry to hear that, yes, I have a son and daughter, my son is fifty-two and my daughter's forty-eight, I've only one grandchild, Paul, he's sixteen, I do a lot for him as both my son and his wife still work. Do you have children?"
"Yes, I have a son, he's twenty-four, he is a pilot and now lives outside of London. I'm the same age as your daughter."
Edi didn't respond to this but said, "I treasure that pen you gave me, I use it every day, I think of you every day when I use it."
Jack didn't say anything but brought another pen from his pocket and gave it to Edi, he said, "There's a spare for you, Edi, you're a beautiful woman, I'm surprised that you are still single, have you had a boyfriend?"
Edi squeezed Jack's hand after he had given her the pen then said, "Thank you for the spare pen, yes, there was a widower from my village, he was older than me, but he wanted to control my life, he wanted to know my every move, that wasn't for me, I have my family. After my husband died, my mother died, my father has dementia, he is in an folks home. My life was looking after my garden, attending to my mother's grave and visiting my father. I still visit him twice a day."
Jack replied, "I love those pens too if you need more, then let me know. Edi, would you like to go out for lunch one day?"
Edi's head nodded in agreement, then said, then said, "Let me check my diary."
She then got out her smartphone, using the new pen Jack had given her, she was checking her Calendar, she said, "How is a week on Friday at twelve for you, there's a new Italian restaurant opened on the High Street which I hear is good, we could try there?"
That was agreed then Edi said, "I'm kept busy at the moment, I go to evening classes for computer training. I also go one evening per week to yoga and another to callanetics; I bought tickets for myself and my daughter for the theatre, there's a different show every week. During the day, if I'm not at the graveyard, visiting my father then I'm doing some charity work, to tell you the truth, I love having an evening in watching television sipping a glass of wine."
The Friday arrived, Jack was looking forward to seeing Edi again, on the way to the Italian restaurant, he stopped at a farm where he bought free-range eggs, the eggs were so fresh, guaranteed to be no more than one day old. He bought two boxes of extra-large eggs, one for himself and one as a gift for Edi. He parked across the road from the restaurant in a public car park.
At five to twelve, he saw Edi walking towards the restaurant; she gave him a big wave and a big smile. They shook hands then went inside the restaurant. At their table Jack gave Edi her eggs, she was surprised, after looking at them, she said, "This is the first time in my life that someone has given me a present of eggs, they're so big, I love eggs, and I bake a lot, thank you."
Over lunch Edi, told Jack that her father hadn't been well, he had a fever, but now he was back to normal. She had been busy with her garden. She also told him that she enjoyed painting then showed him several pictures of paintings that she had painted. They were outstanding, Jack was not artistic at all, but over the years he had bought a lot of paintings. He had also inherited a lot from his parents; he could appreciate a good picture.
They chatted for over two hours, Edi had parked in a car park a half-mile from the restaurant. Jack offered to give her a lift to her car. In the restaurant, they exchanged phone numbers then walked to Jack's car. In the car, Edi said, "I've enjoyed my lunch; I haven't been out for a meal for so long."
Jack leaned forward, their lips met, they kissed. It wasn't a French kiss, Edi's mouth was not open, as the kiss continued, Edi's lips relaxed, Jack slipped his tongue inside her mouth.
