I was nearly there - the taxi I'd taken at the airport was fast approaching Mum's address, and I tried to resign myself to my 'holiday'. I'd been living abroad for three years; in that time my father had died, and Mum had sold the house and bought a small flat, making a decent profit in the process.
Mum had written to me regularly, telling me all her news and always asking when I was coming home for a visit, but somehow I'd always found a reason to put it off. I loved her dearly, and she'd been a good wife to my father and mother to me, but she'd always lived a quiet, almost placid, life, and I had visions of spending hours watching her doing her knitting, with the occasional visit to the library for excitement.
The taxi drew up at the address of the new flat, and as I dumped my bags on the ground and paid the driver, Mum opened the street door to welcome me. She was obviously pleased to see me; her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled as she hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. She showed me the way to the flat, and then it was the usual 'How are you, dear?', and ' How was the flight?' routine, as she busied herself making coffee.
She was looking very well, I thought: her hair seemed a lighter shade of brown than I remembered, and her figure was very trim for a woman turned fifty. She was wearing what she would call a 'sensible' light blue jumper that matched her eyes, with a grey knee-length skirt and, surprisingly, high-heeled mules; she flushed with pleasure when I told her how nice she looked, and then we settled down to bring each other up to date on the news.
Finally, she cleared away the coffee cups, and gave me another peck on the cheek.
'You must be tired, dear. Why don't you take a nap while I pop out and do some shopping? I was waiting for you to come before I went to the shops, to find out what you'd like for dinner tonight.'
My heart sank at the thought of trying to make conversation over dinner; I'd already just about exhausted every topic I could dig up that might interest her, and I didn't think I could face an evening of desperately chatting about nothing.
'Mum - how about going out to dinner tonight, to celebrate? To a posh restaurant somewhere as a treat, and then you won't have to cook and do the dishes afterwards!'
Her eyes lit up. 'That would be lovely, darling!' The she paused and looked down at herself. 'But - I don't really have anything to wear to a place like that.'
'We can soon fix that,' I said. 'I'm not tired - let's go out now and I'll buy you a dress for the occasion!
Mum hesitated for a moment, then nodded eagerly. 'I'll just get a cardigan and put on my shoes, and then I'll be ready!'
We found a likely looking dress shop, and I asked Mum to find something she fancied.
'No, dear - you choose for me,' she said. 'Something you'd like me to wear!'
I mentally gazed heavenwards; it was typical of her not to make up her own mind, and I started to search through the racks. I spotted a little dark blue dress that rather appealed to me; it seemed rather low-cut, and probably too short for Mum's liking, but I held it out to her anyway.
'What about this, Mum?'
'Oh - it's my size!' she exclaimed, checking the label. 'I'll go and try it on!'
When she returned, I could hardly believe my eyes: the dress was sleeveless, and indeed low-cut, exposing much more than a hint of cleavage, and the hem ended well above her knees. I was sure that Mum wouldn't go for anything that revealing, but she twirled in front of a mirror, peering at herself over her shoulder.
'How do I look, darling?' she cried, and to my amazement she tugged the dress down over her ribs, showing even more of the tops of her breasts.
'You look - you look wonderful, Mum,' I managed to get out, and she twirled in front of me once more.
'I think it's lovely!' she said. 'If you're sure you like it, dear. But isn't it rather expensive?'
'Don't worry about that Mum. We'll take it,' I told the assistant who'd suddenly appeared, sensing a sale.
When we got back to the flat, I decided I did fancy a nap after all, and Mum wanted to go out again to buy some groceries. 'While you're at it, get some sexy underwear and some new shoes to go with the dress,' I suggested, but she laughed.
'I've got plenty of sexy undies, dear! In fact, I think I've got a bra and panties exactly the same colour as the dress!' My eyebrows shot up, but she didn't notice. 'I might get some shoes though - if you're sure I'm not spending too much of your money!
I just kissed her and gave her my wallet, and then she was off.
It was quite late when I woke up - I must have been more tired than I thought, but after I'd showered and shaved I felt better. Mum seemed to spend hours getting ready, and then I heard her call from her room.
'Darling! Come and do me up, please!'
She looked fabulous: I guessed she'd had her hair done, and her face was beautifully made up. The dress was hanging loose on her shoulders, and she smiled at me excitedly as she shrugged it down.
'Look, dear! I told you my undies would match!'
I gulped. Her bra was indeed the same colour as the dress, but what got my attention was the fact that it had half cups that barely covered her nipples, although the thin lacy material showed them almost as clearly as they were fully exposed. As I looked, they seemed to be stiffening, but then Mum pulled the dress back up and turned her back to let me zip her up.
'Yes, Mum, very nice,' I muttered, and then involuntarily I lowered my head and kissed her bare shoulder.
She turned back towards me and held her arms out sideways.
'Well, darling? How do I look?'
'You look - gorgeous, Mum!' I said, and meant it.
The dress left her arms and shoulders completely bare, and the cleavage seemed even more pronounced, thanks perhaps to the bra lifting her breasts upwards. The shoes she'd bought had very high heels that accentuated her shapely legs, and the only jewellery she was wearing was a thin gold necklace and diamond earrings.