As always comments are welcomed and appreciated.
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Judith and David Bates were both 58 years old. They had been brought up in an era of old fashioned values. Consistent with the times, they had met as teenagers, courted in the appropriate manner and had both gone to their wedding bed as virgins.
Throughout their marriage, again consistent with the times, they had never even considered being unfaithful yet alone actually done it. Theirs was not a time of casual, no-strings-attached sexual behaviour. In the era they had been brought up, men and women married and had only each other for life. Most couples not only thought sexual promiscuity as immoral, they were even shy and reserved with each other. The sex between couples was always dignified and respectful and conducted within the accepted idea of decency.
The couple had tried desperately to have children, but they were never to be blessed with such. Accepting what they couldn't change, they thought 'Such was life' and turned their attentions elsewhere.
The bitter blow of not being able to have children was softened slightly by being better off. As they did not have the financial burden of kids, Judith and David put their energies into the house but they also developed an incredible taste for travel. Being able to afford holidays on a regular basis became everything to them and they immersed themselves in seeing the world.
This wanderlust formed their overall retirement plan, they saved voraciously and retired early. There was a particular favourite place which they had visited several times over the years, which had become the object of their dreams. Upon retirement, Judith and David moved to their dream village. At first they rented a property in the village just to see if they could actually live the life. It was one thing loving a place for two weeks at a time, it was quite another making it your permanent home. They had negotiated a long term rental for a year and had moved to the Spanish mountain village.
The move was everything they could have wished for. Everything was absolutely idyllic and their life could not have been sweeter.
They believed that they lived in paradise.
After a year of immersing themselves in village life, in the Spanish culture and trying to learn the language, Judith and David found that the dream was now a reality. They loved and revelled in the life, so now the emphasis fell on finding a property of their own. Property in their heaven on earth was impossible to find, they were desperate to find somewhere in this village, they wanted nowhere else. Just when it seemed that the dream would be crushed, a property came on the market - their own house!
Carlos Jimenez didn't want to continue to rent out the property and had decided to sell instead. As sitting tenants Judith and David had first refusal and agreed to buy in a deal which would have made their situation complete. There was a problem however, as the house sale of theirs in England had not yet completed and would take another eight to ten weeks to complete.
They met Carlos one day to discuss the situation. Judith was a type of person who was happy and never had a bad word for anyone, yet she found that Carlos made her skin creep and she disliked being around him.
Carlos was a simple mountain man and had lived a very simple, un-educated and rustic life. He was an old, fat, sweaty and ugly man. He constantly smelled of red wine, cigars, garlic and of course B.O.
Throughout their dealings, Carlos always came across to Judith as a bit of a creep. She was always catching him, not just looking at her, but leering. Judith never felt comfortable or at ease in the company of her landlord and she had the very unwanted problem, of dealing with a man who seemed to make no pretence regarding what he would like to do to her. This was unique to Judith because of the lifestyle her and David had lived. They were very prim and proper, had mixed and socialised throughout their lives with like-minded people and due to the very 'decent' life they had lived, Judith had never experienced sexual overtones from anyone, let alone dealt with them.
This growing sexual tension was at this time only innuendo, insinuation and suggestion but that took a definite switch towards reality one day.
Carlos had called at the house on a minor issue and when David was out in the yard, Carlos approached Judith and standing way too close for her liking, he made his move.
"I need to sell this place and I have many people interested. He patronisingly continued, of course I would really like to sell to you and your husband but what can I do?"
"Oh Carlos, if you could just find a way to wait for a couple of months until our house is sold, we would be so, so grateful." said Judith.
"Just how grateful would you be Judith?" Carlos uttered creepily, whilst moving even closer to Judith.
Even given Judith's naivety and sheltered upbringing, she was left in no doubt what the suggestion was.
"Really Carlos, you shouldn't be standing so close to a married woman and really you shouldn't be making rude innuendo to a respectable married woman either." Judith said.
Carlos was a simple and uncomplicated man, he didn't want to waste time playing games with her and decided to up the ante, in fact he played his ace straight out.
On one of the most upsetting days of their lives, Judith and David waited for their visitors to arrive. As they showed their new arrivals into the house Carlos introduced them, which devastated Judith.
"This is Mr and Mrs Evans from England, they have come to view the house. As Judith looked at Carlos in disbelief he continued. They would like you to show them around the property as they are very keen to buy."
Carlos knew what this would do to the Bates' and watched with cruel satisfaction, as Judith was made to show the prospective buyers around her home. The Evans', not knowing the situation of their hosts, simply assumed they were moving of their own accord, so were very friendly and inquisitive about all aspects of the house and life here in both the property and the village itself. Having to relate all the things that had made Judith and David so happy and their life so complete was heartbreaking for Judith and she had no idea how she managed to hold back the tears.
After the viewing as everyone was leaving, Judith caught the eye of Carlos, the desperate pleading look she gave him was unmistakable.
"Please Carlos can't you possibly wait until our house in England is sold? It would mean the whole world to us," begged Judith.
"I suppose I could, mused Carlos, but then again I need to sell quickly, it would take a really tempting proposition and an incredible act of good faith to make it worth my while."
As if the thinly veiled inference wasn't clear and plain enough, Carlos looked quickly around. Satisfied that no one was watching his patted Judith's bum, just the once.
After their visitors had left Judith sobbed her heart out on David's shoulder. All they had ever wanted, what had become their Garden of Eden was going to be lost to them. They couldn't find any other property in the village and moving to another village just wouldn't come even close to what they had now.
They sat up all evening and all night talking the problem into its minutest detail. There was simply no solution, it was all talked out, they would have to leave paradise.
"If only there was some way I could offer Carlos something to make him change his mind." mused David.
Judith, tired, all cried out and distraught said,
"Well there is one thing but he can just forget that."
The words were spoken, she could not take them back.
"What do you mean Darling?" asked David.
Judith told him.
To relate the most terrible discussion Judith and her beloved husband had ever had, would take forever.
Suffice it to say that the suggestion and the very idea that Judith could possibly behave and conduct herself in such a manner was unthinkable. How could a lady brought up in such an era consider sleeping with a man other than her husband? And one like Carlos Jimenez at that! This was a couple totally untouched by modern ideas and morals of sexual behaviour, they were shocked and horrified at the notion and the anathema that it would be to them.
Two days later, David was devastated.
In a silence that was louder than any sound, the atmosphere that surrounded the couple was tangible and very real, as Judith prepared herself for the ugly old man. Knowing what his darling wife was about to do for their future was bad enough but to witness Judith sat at her dresser applying her make up, putting on her trinkets and generally making herself attractive for Carlos was terrible.
The sight of Judith making herself pretty for Carlos, so he may use her, turned David's stomach. The gnawing pain, the churning nausea and the rolling feeling like a million butterflies made David feel physically sick. This wasn't metaphorical, he literally thought that he was going to be actually sick.
As Judith tried to compose herself and hold herself together, the rising revulsion driven by her prim and proper persona threatened to overwhelm her. Time and again she started to say,
"I can't do this, I can't go through with this, it is the absolute opposite of all I hold dear."
But she stayed silent and thought of their life to come, a life made possible by her ultimate sacrifice now. What matter a loathsome act, if that act secures their place together in the only place in the world they wanted to be? When Judith stood, ready as she would ever be, the couple looked at each other.
David desperately wanted to beg and plead with her not to go through with it, he wanted to order her to stay but he also knew the price of non-compliance with Carlos Jimenez's demands.
As Judith opened the door and stood framed in the sunlight, there was no more words to say. The look in their eyes, as they held each others gaze for one last time before their life changed was tearful. To some people brought up in a more sexually enlightened age, the act that she was about to commit would be nothing. In a world of swingers, group sex, casual sex, sex with strangers, extreme fetishes and behaviour, Judith and David Bates' problem would have been a non-issue.
