Nancy was propped up on one elbow. She watched as her husband Richard came back to bed. He was nude with but a glass of ice water in his hand, his cock swaying as he walked. She could still feel the tingle of their lovemaking. Each quenched their thirst. Then he got back into bed.
Richard asked about her day. Nancy talked of work. Of errands. She asked about his day. He spoke of problems at the worksite. Then he asked about Mara.
Nancy was thoughtful for a moment. Only then did she speak.
"Mara is about as well as might be expected. Tired. Accepting."
Her best friend had maybe six months left. It had been as long since the diagnosis. Second and third opinions had confirmed the odds as very long, even with extraordinary measures, which Mara had decided therefore to decline. She would not be debilitated by radiation or chemotherapy. Her affairs were now all in order. A moderate cocktail of painkillers kept her mostly comfortable, but they combined with the progression of the disease to produce fatigue. Mara slept a lot. When she was awake, she had a lot of time to think. And she shared so many of her thoughts of all types with her friend.
Nancy now chose her words carefully.
"Mara longs for... certain things."
Richard looked at her attentively. Nancy knew he genuinely did care.
"It's been three years since Luke passed," she went on, referring to Mara's late husband. "She dated a few times, but nothing ever went anywhere. And she's rather traditional, you know."
Mara was Catholic. She had once confided to Nancy that she'd had sex more than once with Luke before they married. This revelation had been extended as though it were rather scandalous. Nancy knew that Luke had been her first. And only, for none of her widowhood dates had led to any sort of sex.
"I suppose dating isn't an option at all at this point," Richard mused.
"No," Nancy agreed, "but I've been thinking of trying to... match her up with someone... suitable."
"Suitable?"
"She needs to be loved. Physically."
Richard just looked at her.
"Mara is attractive, right?"
Nancy's husband agreed that she was. Mara was forty-five years old. She had never been one to flaunt herself, but she certainly possessed an understated beauty. Standing five-six with a hundred and forty pounds, she was pleasingly curvaceous, which is how Richard put as he elaborated. Nancy nodded. She also knew that her friend was pretty, with short dark hair and a warm smile.
"We might be a little biased. She's my best friend. And I've always be thankful how close you two have become."
Richard now nodded.
"I adore her," he admitted. "But how could she ever find someone? I mean, now?"
He was surely referring to her present condition.
"I was thinking I could fix her up, so to speak."
Richard shook his head with a sympathetic smile.
"Now how are you ever going to find an actual match for her?"
"Well," said Nancy, "I need someone who is kind and empathetic and warm himself. Someone who understands. He should be attractive and an attentive lover. And, of course, to know and accept the situation."
"Exactly," her husband replied, as if she had made his point.
Nancy looked at him with a cryptic smile.
"Oh, so you think you can find such a person?" Richard went on.
"I do," she said simply.
He looked at her with a skeptical expression that told her to go on.
"You."
Confusion on Richard's face. Then a dawning realization. Nancy nodded.
"I want you to make love to Mara."
"You're serious?"
Mara was incredulous.
"Absolutely."
Nancy and her friend looked intently at each other.
"But I can't see how this would possibly work between the two of you. Anyway, would Richard really want to do that?"
"First," Nancy said, "I would do this for you without hesitation. And I can't think of anyone better than Richard to be a part of it. Do you find him attractive?"
Mara paused before nodding.
"Not only does he think you're sexy, he loves you. He really does. You've always been a part of my life since he's known me. We're all very close, aren't we?"
Another nod.
"I don't know if I can just have sex-"
"Make love."
Mara looked at her uncertainly.
"Nancy, I don't love Richard. Not in that way."
"What way? He's a close friend. You know he and I would do anything for you. You know we love your company."
Mara said nothing but looked very doubtful.
"You need this. He wants to give it to you. And I want you to have it."
Nancy looked into her friend's eyes.
"Think of it as a gift."
Mara took a deep breath.
It was three days later.
Nancy and Richard had talked at great length about it. While he still had his concerns over Mara's perspective, he was on board. And for the right reasons, she could tell. As for her friend, even through the initial shock and dismissal of the suggestion Nancy could see interest. They had talked about it, every day. And Mara had decided, cautiously, to move forward. Nancy saw that her primary concern was damaging Nancy and Richard's relationship, so it was simply a matter of showing Mara that this was not an issue.
They met at Mara's house on a Thursday. Late morning. The kids were in school. Mara was herself. She had queried Nancy on her presentation. What do wear, how to appear.
"Just be Mara," Nancy had said.
And so she had. Comfortable pants. A loose top. She looked like a middle-aged mom. That was perfect, because that's who she was, who Nancy and Richard knew her to be.
Mara had served chicken salad with glasses of white wine, giving Nancy a semi-serious 'I'm going to need this' glance as she poured. They ate and they drank and they made small talk. After, they sat on the sofa in the living room and chatted some more. Presently, Nancy moved things forward.
"Where?"
"What do you mean?" Mara asked.
Nancy could read the uncertainty in Mara. She looked at her friend. Then she looked at her husband.
"Do you want Richard to make love to you?" she said simply so that it was unambiguously out there.
Mara looked trapped. Her eyes went from Nancy's to Richard's. She took a deep breath. And she smiled.
"Yes."
"Good," Nancy replied. "Where?"
"I thought... my bedroom."
