Apologies for the delay in getting this second part published. Inadvertent contextual inclusion of Ruth's reminiscences about her youth and a brief reference within Ruth's family saga ran afoul of Literotica's guidelines concerning any sexual connotation for those under 18 years. After quite happily correcting the first rejection, their software surprisingly came up with a second objection, which I dealt with. The original submission went twice into edit mode. Hence the delay. My bad. If you are reading this, I have taken care of business to everyone's satisfaction.
This follow-on from Satisfaction Part 1. Chs. 1-7 puts Glen in contact with Ruth and her story. You'll get a context to this part by reading Part 1 first. Enjoy.
All my caveats expressed at the start of Part 1 continue to apply this part.
Chapter 8
Ruth
Glen did not wait a month. In fact, after mulling the prospect overnight and spending time rereading all the stories, he called Wendy. The conversation was brief.
"Wendy. I'm in."
"Excellent. I think Ruth will be first. You'll get a call from her to make arrangements. Must rush now. Really busy. Good luck."
In under an hour, he received a call from Ruth. They set up a get-together for the following day. Ruth made it clear her husband was away in Canada fishing.
Glen already had a good idea which story Ruth wrote.
Ruth greeted Glen at the door. She had her hair cut short and maybe colored a little. She was dressed in a striped, blue summer dress with buttons up the front. With her diminutive size, animated face, arm gestures and warm smile that fully engaged her sparkling eyes she looked like a fun pixy.
"Come in. Coffee. Fresh brewed."
"Love one. Mug for preference."
They sat at the island in the modern kitchen. Ruth waved at the room. "Like it? We had it renovated earlier this year."
"Looks great."
They talked about the whole building process for a while. Neither Glen and Ruth knew where to start on the reason for their get together.
Glen wondered out loud. "I think it was Wendy who said that you keep the church beautiful. What did she mean by that?"
"I do the flowers for the church. I also do the paid events."
"Congratulations. Maybe we should get on with business." Glen bit the bullet. "The rules said I get five questions. Right?" Ruth grinned and nodded. "What are your daughter's names and what do they do?"
"That's two questions."
"Give me a break. I'm new at this." Glen grinned as he joshed back to Ruth.
"OK. Amelia and Frankie. Both went to university. Amy for modern languages and Fran, bless her heart, did an MBA. They're both at home looking after the babies or running the business."
"Business?"
"Yes. We have a chain of six florist stores. I took over one from my aunt and then expanded. Fran took my original three and has expanded in the next state to six. Fran's a go-getter."
Glen had brief wave of anxiety that they would be joined by one of Ruth's daughters. "Wow! She sounds a bit like her mom. Are they likely to drop by?"
"I'm just too kind. I won't count that as a question either. The answer is no. Both are at least two hours away, and we don't drop in on each other. Satisfied?"
"Next. Your husband what does he do?"
"Retired. He's sixty-five years. He was a salesman. Traveled a lot."
"Does he go to Canada often?"
"We all used to go to Canada every year as the kids grew up and since too. We have a load of Canadian friends. Nice people."
Glen thought 'Bingo'.
Glen noticed she embellished her answers. "I am really curious about your comments at the meeting. How old were you when you lost your virginity? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Ruth frowned for a moment as she thought, "No, I don't think I'll answer that. Suffice it to say I was a rather naughty teenager. It all came to a dramatic end when I was expelled from school at sixteen, after some warnings. I'll spare you the details. My parents were devastated and ashamed. They were also very deeply disappointed because I was academically in the top three of my year. Need to probe further?"
Glen could not stay silent. "No. I respect your privacy. You must have been quite the gal."
"My parents sent me to my aunt Joan in town here. Two counties away from home. Joan's boyfriend was killed in the Korean war. She never married. I liked her and she liked me, but she was strict. She laid out brutal ground rules when I first arrived including a strict curfew. Later, over the years, she relaxed them. I apprenticed to her in her florist shop. That gave me the skills to start my business."
Ruth paused to sip her coffee. She had a faraway look as she remembered her early days. She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Everything changed about two years after I moved in with Joan. I was eighteen and much more mature. New neighbors arrived next door. They had a son called Billy-Joe. He was beautiful. I came to first know him as a friend. He did not notice my flirting. He was straight up and kind. I came to love him. The lust was still there but I somehow did not want to hurt him with it. Can you understand that?"
Glen thought for a moment. "I guess I can, in a way."