How to begin?
An older lady. My daughter insisted I get a computer. My faithful ink and paper out of date.
She was right. It was nice getting her emails. She lives in Canada, I, in Birmingham, England. The speed of electronic messaging surprising. I was fearful I'd not be able to master the keyboard. Many were the hours spent flustering, mis-typing, using spell check but eventually I became reasonably adept. We send messages back and forth now sometimes daily. She seems not so far away.
The computer has become my friend and pastime. England is a cold country, especially here in the Midlands. My spare time now in front of the little screen. The "office" I like to call it. I have a desk, electric heater, telephone and blankets on the floor for the animals. It's cozy.
My small house is sufficient, the dog and two cats great company. My husband John passed away. A lovely, lovely man.
My daughter introduced me to ICQ. Interesting, even though I couldn't keep up with her typing speed in "real time" chat. I didn't bother putting my details up as she'd warned I'd get a lot of 'pervert" and unwanted calls.
Excuse, my writing is erratic.
How did I get to be typing this?
Writing an email to my daughter I hit the wall. Is that the expression? I knew a little about searching the net so went to 'Google" typing the words "Writing" hoping to find help. It was totally accidental to find an erotic story place. My!
"Literotica."
What an addictive place to be. Stories of all manner. Fascinating.
What appealed were the "Mature" stories. I'm going to attempt to write about that.
My husband was quite the business man. Away a lot. It was his suggestion I have a small business of my own. A good idea I thought. My interest had always been books. I'm a reader of anything well written.
(I'm amazed how poorly my grandson writes. My other grandchild writes beautifully. He speaks well, She does not. Different gifts I suppose.)
My little emporium was simple, without pretension so much so, that only one wall was shelved. All other books were lined out on trestles. My "space" if it could be called such, was behind a small drop-down counter. From there I was able to keep an eye on who was in the shop and yet remain relatively unseen.
Through flee markets, it was surprising the variety of cheap second hand books I was able to purchase. According to the relative content of my 'finds" was the assessment of how much I would mark them up for profit.
Mechanics, Gardening and Cooking were the steady sellers.
It was an interesting way to earn a little income and pass the days. Monday to Friday in my shop, then the weekends wandering the markets buying books to sell.
My life was quiet, idyllic without pressure or financial worries and gave the opportunity to read many books.
I can't recall the exact moment he arrived. A young man, I guessed ( correctly) seventeen. I'd registered him subconsciously coming in the shop occasionally, always between midday and 12.30pm. Quite tall, sandy coloured hair and dirty white overalls. He'd wander in, hands in pockets, scuffing feet trying to look nondescript. I'd noticed him without real interest other than to ensure he wasn't stealing my books.
As with all bookshops including mine, there was a section devoted to second hand adult magazines. The really erotic books that had become my taste and bought through anonymous post boxes, I didn't dare offer for sale. The usual Playboy type issues and natural photography seemed his point of interest.