I parked the car outside the restaurant, and we went in. As soon as Mario saw me, he came up to greet us.
"Mr Smith, I am so sorry to hear about your loss," he said in Italian.
"Thank you," I said. "I really appreciate that."
"Two of these lovely ladies I know," continued Mario, "but one is a new guest to us."
I switched to English. "Mario, please meet Captain Sarah Fox, a good friend of the family."
He took her hand and bent to kiss it, and – another first – Sarah's cheeks took on a distinct shade of pink.
"Please, be seated," continued Mario, leading us to a table in a secluded spot.
We sat down, and Mario sent over a waiter to take our order. Laura and Amy chose pizza, while Sarah and I each selected a pasta dish. I ordered wine for all of us, and we sipped while we waited for our food to arrive.
"I take it you've been here with Amy and Laura before, then," asked Sarah.
I looked at her with a smile forming on my lips. "I didn't know you spoke Italian."
She winked. "Good job you didn't say anything you didn't want me to hear, then."
The food arrived, and for a while conversation was stilled as we enjoyed our meal.
Finally Amy and Laura finished the last piece of pizza crust. I poured the remainder of the wine into their glasses and lifted mine in a toast.
"To absent friends."
Amy looked for a moment as though she was going to cry again, then composed herself and raised her glass before taking a sip.
We chatted for a while, then I drained my glass and said, "Everyone ready? Time we went shopping."
I paid the bill, and we went back out to the car. I drove the short distance to our usual supermarket and parked. Amy and Laura raced off to find a trolley while Sarah and I went in.
We did the usual walk up and down the aisles, filling the trolley. Sarah obviously had something specific in mind, because she backtracked a couple of times to fetch ingredients from shelves we'd already passed.
Finally we reached the checkout and the girls packed bags surprisingly efficiently. I pushed the trolley back to the car and put the bags in the boot while Amy and Laura returned the trolley to the line of others.
We drove home, and Sarah helped me carry the bags to the kitchen. She unpacked, selecting the items she'd need for the evening's meal, and I showed her where everything else went.
"Is it OK if Laura and I play tennis for a while?" asked Amy.
"Sure," I said. "We'll come and watch in a bit, won't we, Sarah?"
Sarah nodded. The girls dashed upstairs to change, and after a while we heard the sound of the tennis ball being hit across the court, interspersed with the girls' giggling and cries of 'Good shot!' and 'Oh! I nearly got to that one'.
"I'm really enjoying being here, Tim," said Sarah. "I'm sorry it's in such sad circumstances."
I nodded. "I'm grateful you came. I do really need some help going through Pam's things, and I don't think Amy would have coped with it very well. There's no need to rush, though – we can start tomorrow, or the next day."
"No problem," said Sarah. She paused, then leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. "I've been looking forward to spending some time with just you. But do tell me if it's too soon, if you're not ready."
I smiled. "Actually, I'm really looking forward to that too. Towards the end, all I seemed to do was go to work and then come home to look after Pam. The girls helped as much as they could, but there wasn't any time for the three of us to be on our own. And it wouldn't really have seemed right anyway."
Sarah nodded. "Shall we go and watch the girls play tennis for a bit?" she said. "I don't have to start cooking just yet."
"Do you play?" I said.
"A little. Maybe another day we can have a game of doubles."
"Sounds good," I replied. "Now, I guess the girls will want something to drink in a minute. I'll get some cans from the fridge."
We walked over to the tennis court, me carrying the drinks, and sat down on a bench at the edge of the court to watch Amy and Laura playing. They had changed into their proper tennis gear, and the short skirts showed off their slim legs to maximum advantage as they ran around the court and stretched to hit difficult shots.
Sarah followed my gaze, and grinned. "They are pretty attractive, aren't they."
"I have to say, I'm the luckiest man in the world," I agreed. "And you can give them a run for their money anytime."
Sarah's eyes revealed her pleasure in my remark. "I'm normally a pretty confident person, and you certainly convinced me last time we were together that you found me attractive. But it's still reassuring that your head isn't totally turned by the younger models, shall we say."
I leaned across and for the first time kissed her on the lips. "Have no fear of that; I'll make sure there are times when you get me all to yourself."
She raised her eyebrows, smiling. "That rather suggests you have in mind other times when I have to share."
I chuckled, sure that she wasn't objecting to the idea. Just then Laura picked up the tennis ball and walked over to us.
"Gosh, I think we're both a bit whacked now," she said. "Thanks for bringing us drinks."
She picked up a can, popped the ring pull, and drank. I watched her breasts rise and fall under her thin top as her breathing returned to normal after her exertions.
Amy joined us and likewise drained a can of the fizzy drink.
"I think we both need a shower after that," she said to Laura.