The characters in this story are both flawed, there are no heroes or good guys, just normal, slightly screwed-up people.The story has been edited to clean up spelling and punctuation errors.
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Her name was Brenda. She had been a high profile individual since arriving in the community years ago, mostly due to her attitude and propensity for controversy. A single mom of three girls, she set out looking for a man, and found a willing farmer, who left his wife and son to take up with Brenda. Once she had his money behind her, she became arrogant and condescending, hence the attitude. The controversy started with going after a married man, and kept going with issues at her church, the local school district, and the monthly meetings of small business owners. I had little contact with her, but had watched her in action several times, and really didn't care for her. Oh, she was nice looking in the face, with a big mane of light brown hair, pretty eyes, and pert nose, and had a mom's body with a bit of a belly and and ass on the bigger side. Her chest sported what looked to be nice full C-cups. I guessed her height at around 5'6" All in all, a good looking woman who I guessed to be about 6-7 years younger than my age 61. But, she treated people badly, and I eventually stopped going to her cafe.
After a few years of success, her cafe began to struggle, and when her husband refused to bail it out, a messy divorce ensued. She came away with a big chunk of his money, and settled into a nice but small house not far from my home. While all this was going on, my life was mundane, and I liked it that way. I ran a real estate agency, played golf, fished, and hung out with friends at the coffee shop. That all changed 9 months ago, when I suddenly lost my wife. We had been married forever, and it was a terrible blow to lose her. Three months after the funeral, I had an opportunity to buy a farmhouse very near the city limits, and after closing on it started a major remodeling project that kept me busy and my mind occupied. After 4 months, I was left with only a few small details, put my other house on the market, and moved in. Now I found myself in a big house by myself, and realized how lonely I felt. My children and their families visited often, but there were a lot of nights I lay in bed unable to sleep.
I had told my kids that I intended to honor the memory of their mother, and not dash out and start dating right away. They respected my decision, but still dropped hints that if I changed my mind, it would be okay. That was where I was at when Brenda came into my life. It was late in the afternoon, and I was alone in the building when I heard the door chime in the outer office. I walked out to find Brenda standing at the counter, giving me a big smile. She was interested in finding a house for her youngest daughter to rent, and was hoping we had something for a single mom. Her daughters had followed in Mom's footsteps, all of them being married and divorced at least once, and from what I had heard, were all a bit on the slutty side. None of that had anything to with the girl's qualifications as a renter, so I got out the book, and we went over the rentals that were available. That took a while,but Brenda eventually settled on two, and I made a note for our rental agent to contact her, and let her and the daughter see the properties.
She thanked me for the help, and after I opened the door for her to leave, I put away the book and started to go back to my office when I heard the door again. Brenda was back inside, and was standing at the end of the counter. Her jeans and blouse accentuated her curves, and once again I noticed that she was a very attractive woman. Probably a little too much in the ass, hips, and belly for most men, but I've always appreciated lush bodies on women. Anyway, after a quick look, I walked over to see what she wanted. She smiled, looked down at the floor, then back up, like she was unsure of what to say. Finally, she spoke.
"I wanted to say how sorry I was when I heard about you wife. Are you doing okay?" She said this with what appeared to be genuine concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Some days are hard, and it does get lonely at night." I said that without thinking, it just rolled out, and after it was out I wished I hadn't. Too late. Her expression remained serious, though, and she nodded at what I had said.
"Oh, I know what you are saying, all right. Our situations are different, but that doesn't make the loneliness any less." She reached out and gave my forearm a gentle touch. I didn't know what to say, and I was also somewhat confused, since I had never seen this side of her. So I just nodded back, in way of agreement, and stood there. We looked at each other, and I could see a question in her face, but when I didn't speak, she drew back. After glancing around the room, she looked back at me, like she had come to a decision.
"So, are you seeing anyone? I haven't seen you out much." Ah, now I saw where this was going.
"No, I'm not seeing anyone. I decided I would wait a while, out of respect to my wife. Not ruling it out for the future, sometime, but not now, and not for a while." When I said this, she smiled, and what she said next surprised me.