Mike, my husband, was offered free accommodation for a week out on the coast. The place was a little holiday house in a small town and was normally rented out pretty much full time. The mate of his who owned the place had marked out a week in early summer for his own holiday and then forgot about it. It was in his diary, after all, and it's not like he was going to walk around constantly reminding himself that he was taking a break at his holiday house in summer.
This meant that when his diary coughed up the reminder it was an 'oh shit' moment. His wife was very pregnant and guess when the baby was due. That's right. Smack bang in the middle of that week. And there was no way known that she was going to be that far away from her doctor at the critical time.
Andy, that's the mate, didn't see any real profit in seeing if he could rent it for that week and told Mike he could have the week if he wanted it. So that's how Mike and I finished up with a free holiday out on the coast.
The cottage was a pretty little place with both back and front verandas. The back veranda gave a magnificent view of the coast. Seeing that view I was of the opinion that the architect should have put the main bedroom at the back of the house with a huge picture window framing the coast.
After we'd been there a couple of days I woke up in the middle of the night feeling restless. The night was warm, it was summer after all, and although there wasn't much humidity the air felt a trifle stifling. I decided to slip out onto the back veranda to enjoy the view and perhaps catch a slight breeze coming off the water.
There was a full moon, meaning that I had a good view, even if there were a lot of mysterious shadows. The moon and the contrasting shadows just added a touch of romance to the scene.
All I was wearing was a flimsy nightie. The heat forbade anything heavier. There was a gentle breeze and it fluttered and rippled my nightie as it brushed by me.
"Well met by moonlight, fair Titania," said a deep voice from the shadows.
As you can guess, that made me jump slightly. I hadn't known there was anyone around, let alone someone capable of misquoting Shakespeare.
"Ah, I believe the actual quote is ill met by moonlight, proud Titania," I observed, looking to see where the strange voice was coming from.
"Only because Oberon was a conceited bore," came the prompt reply, and I found myself silently agreeing.
"Where are you?" I asked slightly irritated that I couldn't see him. He was in the shadows somewhere but he blended in well.
"Right here," he said with a chuckle. "Don't let it worry you. I can see you well enough. The moon's behind you and it highlights you quite nicely."
How nice for you I thought. At least I thought that until he made his next comment.
"It shines right through whatever that things is you're wearing, showing everything."
I nearly turned and bolted indoors at that comment but then common-sense tapped me on the shoulder. There was no way that he could tell that the nightie was all I was wearing.
"Oh my, how wonderful for you," I said dryly. "You can see the silhouette of a woman."
"I have to agree," he said. "It's a marvellous silhouette."
