Shortly after I retired I moved to Florida and after sampling several areas as possible living sites, I settled on this new, fifty-five and older, retirement development outside the city of Tampa. I quickly found that I had made a smart move, all my neighbors proved to be quite friendly. Also, I found that I was, at sixty-nine, was one of the older residents, that quite a few were younger and still working.
Each evening I would take my second drink of the evening and go out onto my front porch to enjoy the evening breezes and, on some occasions, have one or two of the neighbors join me. Some of them had dogs and they would be walking them and stop by with a word or two.
Such was the case with my next door neighbor, Ivy Disilva, a widow of about fifty-six. She worked in an office in Tampa as a legal secretary. Ivy had a small, French poodle and she would walk the dog, Princess, as soon as she got home from work. After Princess had made her 'dump', the two of them would stop by just to say 'hi' and, 'how was your day?'
So it was on that Friday evening, the last day of a week of scorching weather. Ivy said to me, "I'm so tired, this weather is killing me. It's almost enough to make me move back North, but then I think about all the snow in the winter time. Guess I'll just have to grin and bear it."
"Ivy," I said, "what you want to do is go home, mix a drink, draw a nice cool bath and just relax while you soak away all the stress. That's what my wife used to do."
She laughed and said that sounds like a good idea. "I'm a shower person and I haven't soaked in a bath tub for ages. I think I just might do that."
As she and Princess turned to leave, I jokingly said, "Since you've been a good girl, I'll even come over and wash your back for you." Her answer was to glance back at me, a sly smile on her face and the retort, "You wish." Yeah, I did.
About a half hour later, I decided on a third drink, something I seldom did, and went into the house to get it. Just as I was about to pour the JD over the cubes in my glass, the phone rang (I guess you still say a phone rings even though it's only a series of loud tones).
I was surprised to hear Ivy's voice when I answered. "I saw you go into your house and I was just wondering...well...I was wondering if you were just joking when you offered...you know...to wash my back. God, I hope I don't sound like a complete idiot."
"Darlin'," I answered, "it may have sounded like a joke, but, I'm always hopeful that some one takes me up on it. Do you want your back washed?"
There was a moment of silence, though I could hear the sound of her almost heavy breathing. Then, "The side door's unlocked." The phone went dead as she hung up.