Ruth had been a good Catholic girl for thirty-four years, but of late, she had felt that life had passed her by, and she felt unfulfilled. She was not a virgin; she had been involved in a relationship when she was younger. Unfortunately, that relationship had been quite toxic and had ended badly. It had driven her into a celibate lifestyle, deciding it just was not worth it, but that was now grating on her. Ruth knew that sex was wanted and needed in her life. However, the vibrator she had was just not really doing it for her anymore; she could not talk to it like she could a man, nor could she embrace it when the sex was done.
Ruth had met Simon, who worked as a border control officer, five years earlier. She had been wearing sunglasses and earphones whilst listening to music on her iPod. Due to a lack of attention to her surroundings, she breezed past Simon, seemingly without a care in the world. Simon, however, needed to see her passport. So he called her back, giving her a stern talking-to about the laws regarding showing your passport on entering the country. This made Ruth rather angry, or shall we say angrier; she was already having a shitty day, and it was still only nine in the morning.
Later that day, and on social media, Ruth made a scathing attack on Simon, even though she did not know his name. She heaped insult upon insult, even stating that he had a face like a slapped arse and was obviously not getting enough at home. She was told by many on the social media thread that she created that she was the one in the wrong.
As a government agent, Simon's employers did not really allow him to reply to such things on social media. He decided, however, that as the insults were of a personal nature, and attacking not only him and his family but calling his parentage into question that he would do so.
Simon, however, was wise in some things, and, rather than attacking Ruth back in the same way, he introduced himself as the officer that she had dealt with. He explained what she did wrong, but not in a condescending or patronising way. In fact, he was very kind towards his attacker. With the passing of Ruth's anger, she accepted that she had, in fact, been the one in the wrong, and she apologised profusely.
A few more comments passed between them, and others on the thread agreed with Simon's response to her remarks. Some of the usual idiots said that perhaps they should get into a romantic relationship. Obviously, that was something neither Simon nor Ruth had even considered; after all, they had only just met. Ruth decided that she had to prove her remorse, and a few days later, she brought Simon a big bag of coffee and a massive bar of chocolate. From that day on, they became firm friends.
They kept agreeing that they really must meet for coffee sometime, but for one reason or another, and that they both worked shifts, this meeting for coffee never materialised. The time eventually came when Ruth had decided to give up her job in Simon's country and her rented home across the border, deciding to return home to the U.K. They agreed with each other that it really was time to finally have that coffee together, or, suggested Simon, "A bottle of wine or two." Ruth said that wine was a much better idea than coffee, and thus plans to meet were set in motion.
Simon had actually fancied Ruth for some time, even though she was almost a quarter of a century younger than he was. In conversations with Ruth, he had hinted in obscure ways about his attraction to her; however, Ruth had not picked up on the hints. She was, after all, a good catholic girl. Simon thought he should finally tell Ruth about his feelings, and he knew there would never be another chance. If the Covid pandemic had proved anything to him, it was that life was tenuous and sometimes short. He was worried that it may ruin their friendship, but he felt he could not say goodbye without telling her. Life, however, in all its intricacies, can be strange. So as they chatted via Messenger that afternoon, they started flirting with each other, and the conversation was quite hot.
They arranged to meet at a bar on Ruth's side of the border, but to possibly move on somewhere else; this is what they did, going to a well-liked restaurant where they ordered food and wine. Simon was actually well known to many people on both sides of the border; he was hoping that they would not be seen as he was a married man; Simon had told his wife that he was going out with the boys. Unfortunately, the sexual side of his marriage could best be described in geographical terms as a desert. It had been through the many long years of his marriage; the frustration it caused had resulted in him having many affairs.
Over dinner, Simon told Ruth that he had desired her for a long time; he had not said anything, as he enjoyed their friendship too much to ruin it with such declarations. Declarations that he feared may not have been welcomed by Ruth. Simon told her that he had been planning on apologising for having such feelings. Still, after that afternoon's flirting, he no longer thought that was necessary. It was plainly apparent by the flirting that Ruth also harboured some of the same longings. Though she tried to deny it, her denial was not really strong enough to make it very convincing.
