And so the story went . . .
[ruth]
We had just relocated to Santiago - Chile. My company had transferred me here, offering me a wonderful position. It was a promotion with great salary and benefits.
My husband was very supportive. He took a year's leave-of absence from his job in Boston and decided to take advantage of the time in Chile to improve his Spanish, do some consulting work and get time on the slopes. (Chile has great skiing resorts).
[john]
This was a great opportunity for Ruth. It was a temporary assignment but would enhance her position in her company. We just could not refuse the offer.
Santiago is a beautiful city. Colorful, vibrant. A wonderful place for young couples to live. One thing we had to get done quickly was to find an apartment. We were still living in a hotel at the time and had to find a permanent residence as soon as possible and settle down. Ruth's company had a great real estate agent working for them and that made things much easier.
[ruth]
I went out alone one Saturday to look at a house with our estate agent. John had to meet with a potential client in the city that morning and wasn't able to join us. The estate agent came to pick me up at the hotel. I had never met him before. Our regular agent was ill and had sent his junior partner, Jose, in his place. He was in his mid-twenties, with long black hair tied back in a pony-tail and very handsome. We drove up to a neighborhood of Santiago that overlooks the city and harbor. It was a spectacular drive and Jose pushed his convertible around the bends in the road with the ease of a le-mans racing driver.
The house was a dream. A spacious French-style villa with a small but beautiful garden. The large, ceiling-high windows in the living room gave an unobstructed view of the city below. From one of the bedrooms you could see the neighbor's patio and garden and if you stood at the right angle you could see into their dining room. Even though the rooms were bare I could see that the house had great potential.
I was enchanted. I had to bring John to see it as soon as possible. It had to be tomorrow.
Jose gave me the key and said that we could visit any time we wanted, only to make sure that we let him know.
[john]
I got back to the hotel just after lunch and found Ruth very excited. She had found it!
And had the pleasure of a charming young man's company all morning. I know just how much men's attentions please her and in some way it excites me too. She told me how she had caught him looking at her many times during the trip and that the look in his eye was one of pure lust. The rest of Saturday afternoon we spent making slow, gentle love and talking about the house and its possibilities. We planned on going up there the next day.
[ruth]
We woke up early on Sunday morning and as usual John made me my favorite breakfast. Spanish omelet with bacon and a touch of cilantro, toast and freshly squeezed orange juice.
I called Jose and told him that we were going up to the house and he said that he would meet us there later on.
We drove up to the house. Traffic was very light (being Sunday morning) and we were able to enjoy the view without too many distractions.