The sun streamed into the kitchen making the room mellow and warm. Dave looked out the window into the garden next door. Somebody was moving about in the lush tropical growth that had become untidy during the past couple of years. Old Jacobson had grown old and withered, finally dying just a few months previously. His children had finally sold the place but Dave had yet to meet the people who had bought it. Clearly, the figure he could see was one of them.
As the person moved out of the dappled shade, he could see it was a woman and, judging by her grey hair, an old woman. She moved out of sight and he finished his coffee.
He decided to do a bit of work on his PC in an attempt to complete the programming project he had been contracted to do by one of the large multi-national oil companies. Dave Hudson was a very successful computer programmer whose ability to solve problems and introduce simple solutions had seen him rise rapidly at the company he first worked for. It became clear to him that his somewhat unique ability was sufficient to start his own business consulting via his old company. Within a year or so, he had attracted a continuous stream of clients who were happy to pay top dollar to have their problems solved.
Dave had been a prodigy during his school years and regarded as somewhat of a nerd during college. Sexually, he had been a late bloomer and was still a virgin at 19. A fellow computing student with a voracious appetite for men had solved that problem and introduced him to all of the delights and varieties of sex. She had influenced him to use contacts instead of the nerdy glasses and taken him shopping for good clothes. He was five foot eleven and had a naturally athletic physique honed from years of long distance running. Once the glasses had gone and the hair under control, his dark good looks had come to the fore. He had gone from rags to riches sex-wise.
Girls had thrown themselves at him and he had helped himself to a smorgasbord. He had no preference - blonde, brunette, white girls, black or asian - had them all, and, they had him. After a while, he had become bored with the hard bodied nubile and athletic types and had been unable to strike any that attracted him emotionally enough to form a long relationship. Within minutes of meeting somebody new, he was dragged off to bed. The sex had more to do with them getting their rocks off than his especially after they had sucked his erection to its full eight inches. After a while, he had given up the night club scene that had become boring and concentrated on his studies. Since graduation and arrival at his present situation, he had only had a few brief encounters. At 24 it was all work and not much play.
After solving a particularly knotty problem, he shut down the computer and went into the garden to do some tidying up. It was hot and the shirt soon came off. Removing some dead heads from the flower beds near his neighbour’s fence, he became aware of low moans coming from the other side. He pushed some of the shrubbery aside and could make out a floral dressed figure lying on the ground facing away from him.
“Are you OK”, he called. He heard only a moan of pain. Pushing through the bushes, he straddled the low fence, moved the couple of paces to the path and bent down, placing his hand on the person’s shoulder. The grey haired head turned towards him. The first thing he noticed were a pair of the bluest eyes he had ever seen although they were now red-rimmed and tear filled. He took in the crows feet around the eyes but saw that her skin was peach smooth. Her grey hair was closely curled and fitted her head like a helmet. She was very pale and her neck was curiously unlined for somebody he took to be elderly. With a start, he realised that she was far from ancient. But, probably on the wrong side of 50.
“I’m sorry”, she sobbed, “I tripped on piece of the path and fell. I’ve done something to my ankle.” She looked back down the path and then looked at him. “Could you help me up?”
She was lying on her side away from him and he saw that even though she was pleasantly plumpish, the dress seemed to be awfully strained at the front.
“Sure thing”, he said. He knelt down and slid an arm under her neck and gently levered her upright. She was heavier than he expected. From his position above her, he was startled to see virtually the whole front of her dress sway and move. Whatever was in there stuck out way beyond normal. She pulled her knees up and the print dress rose above dimpled knees. Her calves tapered down to fine ankles and her feet were shod in comfortable shoes. Her right ankle was clearly swollen and red. She pushed own on and immediately emitted a low wail of pain.
“I’m very sorry, but I think you are going to have to carry me inside.”
“That’s not a problem - hold on to my neck”. He put his arm behind her back and under her arm. He could not feel ribs, rather something firm that gave slightly. He pulled her towards his chest, while he slid his other arm under her knees. Rising from a squatting position, he gave her a heft that pulled her over against his broad chest. Once again, the contents of the dress, swayed and fell against him with somewhat of a thump. Whatever, she had in there, it was sizeable. He could now feel ribs under his left hand.
She wasn’t that heavy but heavier than he expected. “Where to,” he said.
“Along the path there are some steps going into the kitchen,” she said between sobs. “ I do hope I haven’t broken anything. It would be a damned nuisance.” A frown crossed her face. He saw for the first time that she was reasonably pretty and from her well modulated voice, well educated.
He carried her inside the house through a country style kitchen, and followed pointed directions to a comfortable living room. He placed her gently on a large sofa, and arranged pillows, noting yet again that the contents of her dress swayed and settled as she did. He stood up and looked around. A huge screen television was against one wall and in a corner overlooking the garden was a large desk with pride of place going to one of newest computers on the market. A high speed printer and an expensive scanner were also on the table. He recognised a camera built into the huge flat screen of the PC and was somewhat taken aback. She seemed to have more grunt computer-wise than he did.
He looked back at her. She had pulled her ankle back and was testing it with her fingers. “As far as I can tell, there doesn‘t seem to be anything broken. I think it‘s just a sprain. Could you look please.” He knelt down next her and placed his fingers on the reddened area and gently pushed. While there were one or two sighs, there were no yelps of pain.
“Tell me where the medicine cabinet is and I’ll see if there is a bandage.” She pointed through a door and told him second on the left. He rose and made his way to door through which was a surprisingly comfortable bedroom. He took in the fact that all she had was a small double bed or a large single bed. In one corner, was a doorway into an en suite bathroom that had received a lot of moneyed attention. It was very large and contained a walk in spa. He looked in the cupboard of the vanity and found a medicine box containing a brand new bandage in a cellophane wrapper. He returned to the living room where he found that she had swivelled and her foot was on a pouffe. He knelt down and applied the pressure bandage. “Can I get you something,” he said.
“Through there is a kitchen, and I would adore a cup of tea. You will find all the makings on the bench, young man. I’m very sorry to put you to all this trouble.”
“No trouble at all. What are neighbours for if you can’t call on them for help sometimes.”
