As a widower I spent most of my time on my own, at forty-three I was too young for the Derby and Joan club and too old for the modern dance halls, which left the pub and the cinema, neither of which filled me with 'joy' as they were usually filled with young louts kicking up a racket or causing trouble. The one bright point was the infrequent visits from my sister, Amy, and her kids, John and Eve, the kids in particular made me feel alive as they rushed around the place in their younger days and as they grew up they kept me in touch with the 'younger' generation.
For some reason when John reached sixteen he stopped coming to visit me, I suppose he wanted the time to spend with his girlfriends and mates, but it was a little disheartening all the same. I was also expecting young Eve to stop visiting me when she reached sixteen, but I was pleasantly surprised when she arrived with her mother on their regular quarterly visit a month after her sixteenth birthday. Almost two years later she was still visiting me and had turned into quite a young little lady, I don't know where she got her looks from because they certainly didn't run in my family and I would often tease Amy about this by asking who Eve's father really was. Amy knew I was joking and took it in good fun, but I must admit I did sometimes wonder.
It was a month after the regular visit that I was surprised by a knock at my door, it was a Friday evening and I was not expecting visitors. When I answered the door I got an even bigger surprise.
"Hello Uncle Chester."
"Eve," I replied in surprise, "what on earth are you doing here?"
"Aren't you pleased to see me?" She asked.
"Of course I am, just surprised. Come in." I responded.
Taking her coat and overnight bag I watched her head for the living room while I hung up the coat and put the bag on the floor, I remember thinking that young Eve was turning into a little 'heart breaker' as I followed her into the living room.
"So," I said as we sat down, "what brings you here?"
"A train." she laughed in reply.
"I fell for that." I smiled, "Seriously, what brings you here and without your mother?"
"Mum's gone away for a couple of weeks" Eve replied, "and I'm on half term so I thought I'd come and visit my favourite Uncle. I hope you don't mind me just turning up like this Uncle Chester."
"Not at all," I grinned, "once I'd got over the surprise that is. Are you hungry?"
"Famished." she laughed, "The buffet car on the train was closed."
"Right then, let's see what we can rustle up." I said rising to my feet.
Despite my protest that as a guest she did not need to help me Eve followed me out to the kitchen and helped me to prepare a meal. We ate in the kitchen and washed up before returning to the living room where Eve accepted my offer of a drink. Drinks in hand we sat back and chatted for an hour or so before I remembered that the spare room wasn't made up.
"I'm assuming you are staying the night." I commented, "So I had better make up the bed in the spare room."
"I hope you'll let me stay longer than one night." she grinned.
"As long as you like dear." I smiled in reply, "It will be nice to have the company."
As I rose to head up to the spare room Eve coughed and looked embarrassed about something, puzzled I waited to see if she was going to say what the something was.
"Uncle Chester." Eve said quietly.
"Yes dear?" I responded.
"Uh, Uncle Chester," she repeated slowly, "damn I had this all worked out on the train!"
Obviously she wanted to say something important, sitting down again I patted the couch beside me, blushing Eve came over and sat beside me, I took her hand in one of mine and patted it reassuringly.
"Take a deep breath" I said softly, "and tell me what the trouble is. I promise not to laugh or be angry or anything like that."
Eve hesitated then took a couple of deep breaths that did some very nice things to her bust line, mentally chiding myself for my thoughts I looked at my niece's face. Whatever it was she had to say was obviously awkward for her, the embarrassment I saw on her face told me that, and I wondered if she was about to announce that she was pregnant and ask my help to tell her mother.
"Uncle Chester," she finally said after five minutes of embarrassed silence, "can I sleep with you tonight?"
My breath went 'whoosh' and my brain went 'clunk' as it slipped out of gear, of all the things I had been expecting this was not one of them. For the space of three tension filled minutes I stared at my niece my brain a total blank as I tried to recover from the shock of her words.
"Let me get this straight." I asked in a daze, "You want to sleep in my bed with me?"
"Yes," she replied in a whisper, "only not to sleep."
"Jesus!" I gasped in surprise.
Her words left me in no doubt at all about what she wanted and had she not been my sister's child I would not have hesitated for one moment to give her what she wanted, but what she was proposing was incest in the eyes of the law and I was shocked that she could suggest it. To be honest the act of incest itself was not a shock or abhorrence to me as I had been initiated into the joys of sex by my mother, though that was a secret she had taken to the grave with her. The shock was that young Eve was proposing it as I knew how straight laced my sister was and she would have brought up her children in the same way.
"Uncle Chester, I'm sorry." Eve said with a catch in her voice, "I've offended you and I never wanted to do that."
""I'm not offended Eve," I replied after taking a deep breath, "but I am very surprised that you could think of such a thing. What on earth would your mother say?"
"Don't tell mum I asked, well, you know. She'd kill me if she knew." Eve pleaded.
"Calm down," I comforted her, "I've no intention of telling your mother anything, I know exactly what she can be like. What on earth made you suggest such a thing though?"
A tear ran down her cheek as she hung her head, for a moment I thought she was too ashamed or embarrassed to answer, but then she took a deep breath and raised her head, I found myself looking into her tear filled eyes.
"Uncle Chester I have been saving myself for you ever since I learnt about sex." she stated, "I'm still a virgin and I wanted you to teach me because you have always been so kind and caring."
Once again my brain went out of gear, without a word I stood up, crossed the room to the drinks cabinet and poured myself a stiff scotch, which I downed in one gulp. The drink had the desired effect, it kick started my brain so that I could mull over Eve's words. As I poured myself another drink I found myself thinking back to my own childhood and that wondrous day when I was sixteen and my mother had caught me wanking in my room, she had calmly told me not to waste my erection, stripped, climbed onto the bed and given me the first of many lessons in the joys of sex. I could still remember her words as we cuddled afterwards on that first of many occasions 'People make rules, but those rules don't always make sense. As far as I'm concerned what we have done has harmed no-one and has made us happy so sod their rules."
Standing there remembering those happy times I wondered why I felt so shocked by my niece wanting to 'sod the rules', I was the first to admit that she was a very attractive young lady with a very desirable body and a wonderful nature, who was I to deny her the joy I had shared with my own mother. Pouring a drink for Eve I turned back to the couch, my decision had been made, I only hoped that it was the right one and that the very thing she said she wanted would harm Eve.
"Drink this." I instructed as I handed her the glass.
Tears still brimming in her eyes my niece drained her glass in one go then went back to looking at the floor. Sitting beside her I put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Eve," I said softly, "look at me."
She looked up and our eyes met, holding her eyes with mine I smiled at her.