Ms. Goodman and Ms. Lang
"—and life is good again."
Robert Crane turned to hear Peg Small, who was seated next to him, mention that phrase to Kara Brown and his wife, Joan, who were sitting across the table. It reminded him of an evening that Peg had said the same thing to him after he had "comforted" her when she was sad about what would have been her anniversary. She was now divorced. He had no idea what the three women had been talking about, but it didn't matter. Peg was right. Life was good in the new subdivision they had all moved into.
That sentiment was echoed by Lorna Goodman and Gale Lang who sat between Peg and Don Brown, who was sitting beside his wife, Kara, at the end of the table.
Lorna and Gale were the only two who had known each other before moving into the development because they were business partners. They were in their late fifties or early sixties, although neither would admit which. Regardless, they looked no older than any of the fortysomethings of Don and Kara, Peg and Brad and Roxanne Bullock on Robert's other side. They attributed their youthful appearance to their work at and ownership of an upscale spa. The two ladies had purchased homes right next door to each other, and in addition to working together, they spent a considerable amount of time at one another's home leading to speculation among their neighbors that maybe they were lesbians.
But Robert knew their real story.
He was a web site designer and administrator and managed sites for a number of clients. He worked from home, and so, did not keep normal business hours. To relieve the inactivity of constantly sitting at a desk behind a computer, he took frequent walks around the new neighborhood. This also afforded him the opportunity to see the progress of the development.
Robert met Lorna and Gale during one of these walks not long after the ladies had moved in. In his age group, he found them quite attractive. Upon hearing of his occupation, they mentioned that they were not particularly satisfied with their web designer, thought that maybe their spa's website could use freshening and asked if he would take a look. Naturally, he agreed.
When he returned home not long after, he immediately checked out their website. It was attractive, simple and functional. That was not to say it couldn't be improved. He decided to drive over to see its physical location. It was in an upscale shopping area, and when he saw the women dressed to the hilt driving expensive cars that came and went:, he knew the website was sub par for its clientele.
Before Robert could work up some design ideas, another client needed some urgent work, so he had to set the spa aside. It wasn't until a few days later when he was out walking that Lorna arrived home, saw him and asked if he'd had chance to look at their website. She invited him in, and when she got out of her car dressed in those tight pants that looked sprayed on, he couldn't resist. In addition, she had a loose-fitting top on but it was cut low enough to show off a pair of sizably nice and round breasts. Despite their younger age, Roxanne, Kara and Peg had no advantage.
As they sat on her sofa, she asked, "So, what did you think?"
"There's nothing wrong with your website. It's very nice. But I also drove by your spa and I don't think its enough for the clientele you seem to attract. It needs a more refined look. Websites have become such an integral part of a business that people often judge a company by the appearance and quality of it."
Gale had entered while he was speaking and said, "That's kind of what we were thinking." She was dressed in a short beige dress that looked almost like a an old nurse's uniform. Her name and the name of the spa were stitched above her left breast, so it was obviously her work attire.
"Can you make it better?" Lorna asked.
"Absolutely," Robert answered confidently. "I can give you some references if you'd like to see some of my work."
"I think we'd prefer you to just work up some ideas to show us and give us a proposal," Gale said, with a questioning look directed at her partner.
"Works for me," Lorna agreed, rising and walking over to her bar. "Can I interest you in a glass of wine?" she asked while pouring one for herself and, without asking, Gale.
"Sure."
She handed him one of the glasses she'd poured and the other to Gale, then poured a third.
"So, what can you tell us about the neighborhood?" Lorna asked sitting very close beside Gale.
"We've only gotten to know a few of the other residents, but we like all of them," Gale added. "Looks like it's going to be a nice development."
"We all think so," Robert agreed. "Have you two owned the spa for long?"
"Our husbands were business partners and we became friends through them," Gale explained. "We were both into fitness and we starting working out together, and that led to visits to the spa for massages and general relaxation. Our husbands' business did very well and at the height of their success, they were both killed in a small airplane crash. Of course, we were devastated. But fortunately, we had each other."
"We knew nothing about their business," Lorna filled in, "so we sold it. The spa had been our saving grace; a place where we could go to relieve the sadness and stress. So, we decided to offer to buy it. The owner accepted and here we are ten years later."
"I'm sorry about your husbands," Robert offered. "But it seems the two of you have adjusted."
"Time is the great healer," Gale said.
* * *
It didn't take long for Robert to design an elegant, upscale refresh of the spa website. But he still waited a couple of days before presenting it to his new neighbors. Once again, they met at Lorna's house, but this time, they were both already there. The other difference was that neither woman was dressed in work clothes, but rather in tight jeans and low-cut tops as though they were going bar-hopping to pick up younger guys.
Robert had brought his laptop, and the ladies directed him to sit on the sofa where they sat snugly close on either side of him, a lot of body parts touching. It was difficult to concentrate on what he was telling them as they stared at the screen on his lap.
Still unable to judge their exact ages, Robert once again thought that they were not only in good physical shape, but could easily pass for women a dozen or more years younger. He must be turning into one hell of a dirty old man because they were quite attractive to him, as much as Joan, Kara, Roxanne or Peg.
He needed to have his head examined having such thoughts. He had more than he could handle with the other female neighbors, not to mention Joan. Was he trying to become the neighborhood gigolo? On the other hand, he was just a man who loved women.
Generally, the women liked what Robert had done, but they did have some suggestions; nothing major, nothing that would require massive work, mostly minor technical things. He agreed to have the changes in a couple of days.
"We hope you don't mind these suggestions," Gale asked, tapping his leg.
"Not at all. It's your website. I want you to be happy with it."
"We like you, Robert," Lorna said. "You're very knowledgeable. And you're very handsome also. Nice to have a good-looking guy in the neighborhood for a couple of old broads like us to drool over."
Robert was taken aback by that statement. Not knowing what else to say, merely offered, "Thanks." He packed up his laptop. "If there's anything else I can do for you, just let me know."
Now Lorna patted his other leg. "Oh, don't worry. We'll think of something."
* * *
Over the next two days, as Robert incorporated Lorna and Gale's ideas into their website, and worked on other clients' sites, he was repeatedly reminded of a thought he had during his initial presentation to his new neighbors and clients: he needed to have his head examined because he had more than he could handle with the other women. However, there was just something sultry about these two older women that he found deliciously enticing. Perhaps it was that at their ages they could still have such allure.
He actually finished the revisions to the spa website sooner than two days, because he was anxious to see Lorna and Gale again. But he restrained himself—also because he had a lot of other work—and delivered the final site at the appointed time, which just happened to be a Friday that Joan was out of town. He even had to make an excuse about having to work—which wasn't far from the truth—to get out of an evening with Roxanne and Brad.
