The Postman of Upper Cockton - Part 4 of 6
Female physics professor gets a biological reaction
[This is a self-contained story]
Margot Albrecht was an unlikely prospect as a sexual partner. She was fiercely intelligent, wary, and in the middle of a painful divorce. A challenge too far for a simple man like me. Not that I was looking for one. My dancing partner Audrey was more than enough to take the edge of my appetite and the odd emergency call from my ex-wife added extra spice to my life. You will be as surprised as I was that Margot propositioned me. I'll tell you how it happened.
I met Margot when she collected a parcel. I was underneath my latest restoration project a 1985 Ford Capri Laser, when I heard someone calling.
"Hello. Is anyone there? I'm looking for Tom." I had a torch in my mouth, so I didn't answer immediately. Her next call had an edge of annoyance. I scooted my garage inspection trolley from under the car. Margot was surprised to find a man's head between her legs shining a light up her skirt. She jumped back.
"Sorry about that, I was just inspecting underneath for rust." My smile left her wondering if I was talking about the car or her. She was not amused, but her manners won out.
"Hello, I'm Margot Albrecht, I think you've taken in a package for me? I'm staying with my Aunt May. I hope you didn't turn the courier away because you did not recognise the name."
I offered her a greasy hand to shake, which she declined, and I retrieved the package from my store room, from where I took the chance to observe Margot through the small window into the garage.
Margot was tall and large framed, with a well-proportioned body, just a couple of sizes up from the average British female. She wore severe black framed specs that held the wings of a heavy black bob off her face. Her glasses and hairstyle were attempts to hide herself. Perhaps she was conscious of her height.
I returned next door and handed over the package of documents. "I was going to check with May before contacting the courier company. Albrecht is a German name, isn't it?"
"My husband, Max is German. He's a professor of theoretical physics at the university." Margot looked the sort of woman who would have a husband in that game.
"Perhaps I'll try out my rusty German when I see him. Westphalia was my first army posting. But I hold little hope of a long conversation with a professor of physics."
"Max won't be joining us. But I speak the language. You'll find it easier with me, Tom. I'm only a doctor of physics." Margot smiled at my surprise. There was a pleasant face hidden under that camouflage.
Clever women unnerve me, and Margot sensed it. Payback for my joke about rust. "There'll be a few more DX packages coming for me. I'm glad you provide this collection service for the community. May is still wary of answering the door to strangers. Also, she's nosey and I would have to explain to her what was in them. Or lie."
"Your secrets are safe with me Margot."
She gave me a cryptic look. "May warned me about you Tom. She thinks you've got a hareem in the village."
That one caught me short. People knew about my dancing lessons with Audrey, but my affair with Susan was short and discrete, or at least I thought so. I wondered who May thought I was fucking.
"Did May say who the lucky women were?"
"I don't think she's sure. Just the instincts of a maiden aunt."
"Ah, that would be jealousy then. Tell May she watches too much Channel 5."
Margot laughed. "You may not be a rogue, but you're no saint. I can see that for myself. Goodbye Tom."
I watched her walk away. She turned to catch me.
"Auf wiedersehen, Frau Albrecht. You'll be pleased to know I didn't find any rust...on the car."
Margot smiled. "She's definitely got you pegged Tom."
#
On Margot's next collection trip, she surprised me by bringing her adopted son Joshua. The six-year-old African was orphaned at three when his parents died in a tribal atrocity that didn't even make the papers.
Joshua was behind the steering wheel of the Capri, pretending to drive, before either of us could say no.
We watched the happy lad making racing noises. "Looks like your bodyguard has abandoned you, Margot."
"I don't need a bodyguard, Tom. I can handle you fine by myself." She looked different. An Alice band held the hair off her face and she wore more stylish glasses. My reaction pleased her. "I believe you have a package for me."
I snapped out of my trance and fetched the heavy envelope. Her face dropped at the sight of it.
"Are you ok Margot? Is there anything I can do?"
"No. Actually, there is Tom. I need to read and respond to these papers. I can't do it with May fussing about trying to read over my shoulder. Could I read them here while Joshua stays with you?"
"You can use my study. Let me get you a cup of tea first."
"You are very kind. You can guess what the documents are about?"
"DX are legal couriers. They never bring good news."
"That's right. They are divorce papers. I've put up with Max's affairs for the last time. Now I'm divorcing him. I thought I was just going to scare him into giving her up. But the spinless bastard said he was glad I made the decision. I think he wants to marry this one."
Margot's resolve broke, and she wept as I held her head against my shoulder, stroking her back. I was sad to see such a strong woman distressed. She took a breath and composed herself.
"I'm glad you are tall Tom. I could never do this with Max. He's a short arse." She gave a snot-filled, defiant laugh. "It's just me and Josh now. I have to make sure Max and his tart don't get him, or I'll have nothing." That prospect started another flood of tears, and I ended up hugging Margot. The car horn went before things became awkward.
"Josh had found the keys. I better get back before he tries starting it."
"Go Tom, I'll be ok."
She emerged two hours later to find me and Josh eating cheese sandwiches and drinking tea at my workbench.
"We've fixed the carburettor and Tom taught me to change gears, look mum." Josh jumped into the driving seat and began changing gears using the clutch and rocking the steering wheel. He made engine noises to go with actions.
"Slow down Josh, you'll get banned before you get your driving license. You want to drive your mum around, don't you?" The boy drove sedately.
"Come on Josh. We'd better go home before Auntie May thinks I've joined Tom's hareem?"
"What's that mum?"
"It's a club. A special club for lucky ladies." She mouthed thank you and prized her boy from the seat.
#
I hadn't made a move on Margot in the three months I'd known her. Not that I had the time. I was already busy on the romance front, plus she was a vulnerable woman with her own worries. What happened between us was a genuine accident, but it helped that I'd passed whatever tests were going on in Margot's clever mind.
No more DX packages arrived since the one she collected with Joshua. I presumed the rest of her divorce negotiation was being played out by email and phone. They'd wave as she drove him to school and she'd chat through the car window on her way back. But nowadays she hunched over the steering wheel on both journeys without stopping.
When she came to collect a huge package, Margot looked like she was going to explode.
"Breath Margot. Take a moment to relax."
She opened her mouth to snap my head off, but stopped. "Sorry Tom, you are right. Not every man is my bastard husband trying to take my son. I forget that sometimes. "
I persuaded her to have a cup of tea, then got her parcel.
"Oh. I thought it would come ready assembled."
"I think they get more in the containers packed like this. Would you likeβ"
"No, Tom! I'm a woman, not a moron. If a man can assemble a bike, how hard can it be?"
That one caught me in the ribs.