Despite the best of intentions I frittered that summer away in a pit of tedium, self-pity and ennui. My plans to retire to an isolated Somerset cottage for two months to work on my short stories took a severe blow when I arrived to discover that it adjoined a large old country house inhabited by a frail elderly lady who required regular input from a succession of nurses and carers. who visited three or four times a day. The small courtyard at the rear of the house over which my cottage looked out saw a succession of cars as staff came and went to look after the old lady.
At first I ignored the comings and goings, the crunch of tyres on gravel, the slamming of doors, and the manic barking of the old lady's two terriers with the arrival of each new visitor. But as time passed and the heat grew, I found it increasingly difficult to set my mind to my work. I became bored and restless, unable to focus or concentrate on what I should be doing. That made me angry with myself; it also allowed my mind to wander idly and that meant, of course, that my thoughts kept returning to Sophie. I'd not been with a woman since she walked out, so my sex life, like my writing, faced a big block. I still had Sophie's dark purple bra she'd left behind the last time we made love. I'd wanted to get away and work to put her out of my mind, but I realised that in truth, and after six months, I still missed her, although I didn't want to admit it.
It was two weeks or so into my stay that I had my first encounter with Nicola, one of the nurses who visited regularly. I had to pop out to the supermarket, but couldn't move my car because her little grey convertible had blocked me in. I knocked on the door.
'Look, would you mind moving your car please? I have to pop out.' She eyed me up and down. It was the first time we had spoken.
'I won't be a minute' she replied, the slightest hint of a West Country burr in her voice. 'I've just got to give her medication.'
'You know you don't really have to park there' I replied. 'There's plenty of room down by the side of the old stables' I said, pointing to the other side of the courtyard. She could sense my irritation.
'Our manager said were weren't to park there. Too much broken glass, bad for the tires.'
'I haven't noticed any glass, and some of your colleagues park there anyway. I don't really see what the problem is.'
She narrowed her eyes, light, hazel eyes, almost green, and pursed her full lips. She was tall, in her mid-thirties, not beautiful but certainly very attractive. Her curly black hair fell playfully to her shoulders, and her fresh complexion hinted at good health and healthy appetites. She wore a dark blue smock that obscured her figure, and black leggings that in contrast displayed to full advantage her shapely long legs and firm tight bottom.
The stand off continued in silence for a few more seconds as she looked me up and down. Despite my irritation, the space between us felt charged. My curiosity had been aroused; it was a moment I didn't want to end, and it seemed that she felt the same way.
'The longer we stand here the longer it'll take me to finish and the longer it'll be before you get off. Just a minute more. There's a good boy.' She patted me gently on the arm, turned and went back into the house.
When I returned that afternoon I couldn't settle down to work. I found myself going over the incident. I was angry with myself because she had not moved her car, then I blamed myself for being unreasonable, knowing that she had a job to do and she wasn't going to be that long anyway. It was just another example of my clumsiness and inability to see the other person's point of view. I sighed and stretched myself out on the sofa in the tiny living room for a nap.
But my thoughts kept returning to Nicola. In my mind's eye I saw her walking across the courtyard with brisk, confident steps. I'd noticed the way she glanced down at her tunic, which obscured her breasts, and wondered what they were like, how big they were. Going by the shapeliness and voluptuousness of her legs and hips I imagined her breasts were pretty special. I began to wish I had the opportunity to find out for myself.
Time frittered by, and as the weeks passed I put aside my irritation with Nicola's parking, and on occasions exchanged pleasantries with her. One evening I was sat outside in the courtyard enjoying a glass of wine after a hard day trying to do some work, when her little grey car swept in, hood down, and she parked, pointedly, alongside my old Land Rover. She was glammed up. Gone was the tunic and leggings, and in their place she was wearing a light green summer dress in a floral print. It set her hazel eyes and lightly tanned skin off perfectly. She got out and pushed her sunglasses back onto her glossy black hair. The early evening sun shone through her locks bringing out deep coppery tints. She was stunning. She stood up and strode for the door, then checked herself and headed in my direction, and stood before me smiling playfully.
'You've given up work then.'
'For the moment, yes. It's too late. Care to join me?'
She laughed. 'Well maybe you deserve some time off. What does all work and no play make?'
'A dull boy.'
I found myself staring at her, my eyes wandering down from those gorgeous eyes to take in the full extent of her body. For the first time I could see how full her breasts were. They were magnificent. Her dress was low cut, revealing a deep full cleavage that hinted at a magnificent pair of heavy orbs. Her nipples were clearly tightening and thrusting through the material of her bra and dress. She caught my eyes taking in her breasts, and she broke into a broad grin, and giggled as though slightly embarrassed, then adjusted the shoulder strap of her dress.
I looked away in embarrassment. 'So you look as though you're set for a night out on the town. Who's the lucky bloke.'
'No blokes, just a girl's night out. It's my mate Anna's birthday, so we're going out for few drinks then a meal.'
'Well I hope you all have a great time.' I smiled, this time as though I meant it.
'We will.' She turned to leave but stopped and turned back towards me. 'By the way, this will be one of my last visits.'
'Oh?' I replied.
'Yeah. Got a new job with another team. It's a more senior role, better pay, and they second me to college for a part-time masters.'
'That's great news. Well, congratulations. I hope it goes well for you.'
'I just wanted you to know. No hard feelings?'
'None at all.' I said, smiling.
She smiled back, blew me a little kiss, and went into the house.
In the last week of my stay it turned increasingly hot and humid, and the sky filled with enormous pink-grey clouds that hung oppressively in the still air. The heat was suffocating; in the distance I could hear the low rumble of thunder rolling around the hills. Night closed in earlier as the sky above filled with ominous black clouds. I'd just turned the lights on when I was deafened by a great thunder clap followed almost immediately by a lurid flash, and then the hissing of a torrential downpour.
The rain lashed down and had clearly set in for the night, so I decided to turn in early with the book I was reading when there was a knock on the door. At first I thought it was the wind shaking the door in its frames, so I ignored it, but then it repeated with greater urgency. Who the hell was visiting on a night like this?
I got up and opened the door. It was Nicola. She was soaked through. The rain had flattened her flighty curls and dripped from her long dark eyelashes. Her face was flushed and damp, and her tunic dripping wet.
'Jesus! You'd better come in.' I shut and locked the door behind her. 'What happened?'
She stood in a rapidly expanding pool of rain water on the door mat. She was shivering and hugged herself in order to keep warm.
