Jools had made herself flask of coffee that should last her a few hours, a sip at a time, and pecked me on the cheek, I pulled her to me and kissed her properly. "Anything on today?" she asked.
"No, not much, I have some meetings later, one is on Skype rather than Zoom, the client is funny like that, they reckon Zoom isn't secure enough, and so a morning of prep before hand. So, quiet. How is your day going to be?" I asked.
"Just busy sweetie, just busy. I have some critical analysis and then some security reviews. I shall be spending most of my afternoon deep in the delights of spreadsheets and code. Hoping for some Netflix and Chill when I get home."
"Ha Ha, of course, I shall be ready and waiting my love." More kisses and she was off. I dived upstairs and grabbed a shower. I deodorised and then sprayed a little Tom Malone here and there, Polo shirt, boxers and chinos and sliders, pretty much my standard outfit at home, and I was ready. It was coming up for eighty thirty, the time of my summons.
I was about to knock, but I guessed she had seen me coming and the door opened. "Come in" she said. I entered her house, utterly immaculate inside, I doubted there was a speck of dust anywhere.
"The bedroom, as I am sure you have guessed, is upstairs. Shall we go?"
"No Margot. It doesn't work like that. We sit down, we have a coffee, or perhaps a tea. We relax, we chat, and then, perhaps, we go upstairs. Sometimes we may stay downstairs, sometimes we may throw caution to the wind and go into the garden. What we almost never do is go straight upstairs and fuck." I was, to say the least, ticked off by the whole thing.
"I think you forget who is calling the tune here." She responded, one foot still on the bottom step.
"No one is calling the tune Margot. If you want to try and blackmail, fine, see how far you get. Everyone knows the situation, except you. Everyone is aware of everyone else. You try telling tales and causing trouble, then you will be ostracised. Completely ignored by everyone in the Estate. Is that what you want? To be a pariah?"
"You are bluffing. We should go upstairs."
"No, I am not. You have two options, one you come down, get off your high horse and we have a pleasant morning together, or, you stay there, I walk out of this door and you will never talk to me or anyone else on the Estate again, no one will talk to you, or even acknowledge you. Your call. I am easy either way, my life won't change." Obviously, I didn't want her to go blabbing to Jools, even though I am pretty sure Jools is aware of much of what happens, if not the specifics, as I am aware of her life, but not the specifics. If Margot went talking to Jools, then there would be disappointment that I had not been discrete enough, and that would be that.
Margot stepped down, "Tea or Coffee," she asked.
"Tea would be nice, splash of milk, no sugar. Thank you Margot." She headed off into the kitchen and I sat at one of the dining chairs as she busied herself with the making of the tea. I was slightly amused that she used tea bags, I had half expected a tea pot and leaves. She did use cups and saucers though, not mugs.
"How has your week been Margot? Anything interesting happen?" I was pretty rubbish at small talk it has to be said.
"Oh nothing much, on Monday I went to the Garden Centre, but really, not much to interest me, they seem to mostly sell rubbish nick-nack type things and plants are secondary to them. That is about it. You?" It seems she was as good at small talk as I was.
"Oh a little meeting here and there, some estate gossip to catch up on, a few work meetings, they are nearly all done by Zoom these days."
"Zoom? What is that?" Crikey. She did lead a secluded life.
"Zoom is a way of having a meeting using your computer or your phone so that you are face to face by video, without actually meeting in person. Even GPs use zoom for their consultations these days."
"I have never heard of it. I think I would rather see my GP in person. How can they do tests over a phone?"
"I know, however after the pandemic, that is what they do. So, I have been a bit busy, not a lot of free time workwise or social."
Margot squeezed the tea bag and put the cup in front of me. She sat in one of the other chairs. "Is this what you do? Talk about nothing? Only it seems to make little sense to me. You know and I know what we plan to do this morning, this just seems a waste of time."
"Oh Margot, when you get to know people, you can talk about stuff that is more relevant to you both, and conversation becomes easier and then you can naturally gravitate to the other things." I finished my tea, "Margo, I am interested in you, tell me a little about yourself, you do not seem to have a husband, is that right?" I was determined to not simply give in to her, not just yet.
"I am a widow." Oh, I hadn't expected that.
"Oh I am sorry to hear that, you seem far too young to be widowed." A little flattery never hurt.
"He died 5 years ago."
"No? Was it an accident?"
"No. We were," she paused, "we were being intimate, and he had a heart attack. It was all very distressing; he was quite heavy. I am sure the paramedics were smirking."
She looked emotionless, it may have been distressing back then, but didn't seem so now. "I can imagine that must be unpleasant, but I really doubt the paramedics would smirk, it does happen a lot, on the toilet is also quite common, and obviously more messy. Has there been anyone since?"
"Of course not. The last time that I was intimate was then when my husband died. Now I don't want intimacy, just functionality." That did make a sort of sense.
"Shall we go upstairs Margot?"
"Yes, follow me. Please leave your shoes downstairs." She ran a tight ship that is for sure. I followed her and left my sliders by the front door. To be honest, I felt detached, a little like I had been with Henry, I wondered if professional sex workers felt this detachment.
In her bedroom she pulled the quilt and cover back, rolling them up at the foot of the bed. Her headboard was padded and her sheets an ivory colour. "You can place your clothes on that chair" she said, pointing to a small chair by the window. She undid her blouse and folded it carefully on another chair. Her bra was large, white and functional. She undid the button on her skirt, slipped it down and folded it, adding it to the blouse. Her small slip went the same way, and then she was just in pants and bra. Her pants would never be described as 'panties' -- they were too big and functional.
I pulled my polo up and over my head and dropped it onto the indicated chair. My chinos followed and then my boxers. I stood naked and faced her. My cock was nicely erect and ready to go. "Do you like what you see Margot?" I asked.
"Looks like it should," she said ever the romantic. She put her hands behind her back, unclasped and removed her bra and then pushed down and stepped out of her pants. Both items were added to the pile on her chair. Her breasts were, as to be expected, somewhat droopy, her nipples quite large and her garden was tame, but very present. Margot lay on the bed ready for me.
