Muriel had said to me, "Viv has explained that this is a one time thing, pity, I could do this every week. I just need to try and and educate Sam."
"Yes you do." I replied.
Viv was in the hall ordering a taxi to take Muriel home. Then the pair of them sat in the front room so they could see when it arrived. I went upstairs to get showered and dressed.
I heard the sound of the taxi's horn, then Viv and Muriel saying their goodbye. I was coming down the stairs. Viv watched her until the taxi pulled away then she closed the door.
I stood behind her, I encircled her in my arms, the weight of her breasts on my forearm, the feel of them through the silk was so sensual.
She tilted her head back, "Well, that gives me hope that I can still enjoy sex when I'm eighty."
"I'm sure we will." I said, my lips brushing against her neck. She shivered.
"Oooh, the tingles that gives me... not Muriel's sort of tingles though!"
We both laughed, she turned around. We kissed tenderly, the kiss was the same as our first lover's kiss, the one that set everything in motion.
"I'll get dressed, can't stay like this all day."
"You can for me."
She smiled as she climbed the stairs.
We stayed at home the rest of the day, Viv cooked the meal, we watched TV and went to bed. Over the days that followed we settled into a normal routine. We shared the cooking, I found it quite relaxing to cook and my culinary skills were improving. We shared keeping the house straight and cleaning it. Viv took take of our laundry, she didn't want me anywhere near her clothes with an iron!
Our next door neighbour Mark, approached me one evening as I was taking the rubbish out.
"Hello Dave, is everything OK?" he looked genuinely concerned, he wasn't being nosy for the sake of it.
"I'm OK Mark, I guess you've noticed Yvonne isn't around then?"
"Yeah, that's why I asked." he leaned forward conspiratorially, "Who's the hot piece of stuff living with you? I haven't seen her before."
"Yeah you have, it's Viv, Yvonne's mum."
"Nah, she's a frum..."
"Frumpy old woman?" I interjected.
"Yeah..., but what..., really?"
"Yvonne and I are getting divorced, it hasn't worked out between us. There's no ill feeling. She'll come and say goodbye properly to you both and the other neighbours, when the time comes."
"I'm sorry to hear that mate, but how come her mum's living here?"
"Her mum and dad are splitting up as well and the atmosphere at hers is a bit, well... hostile? Not quite that, but not great. So Viv's living here to get away from Phillip. To be honest it's really good having her around."
"I'll bet, she could come and stay with us if you like?"
I smiled and shook my head.
He went on, "One look at her though and Mary would have none of it. What changed with her?"
"She was in a rut and had let herself go, she had no pride in herself, total lack of self-esteem. Then she woke up and did something about it."
"So are you two... you know?"
He didn't tap his nose but he reminded me of Eric Idle's Monty Python sketches, "Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what I mean? Know what I mean? Say no more!"
"You'll have to wonder about that and imagine whatever you like. Tell Mary what's happened though, that will save me having to have this conversation with the other neighbours."
"I know what you mean." he said, laughing, (I was right about Eric Idle), "She'll be on the phone straight away."
My parting words were, "And stick to the facts, don't embellish them!"
We each went inside, I related the conversation to Viv.
"I'm glad you told him the truth, well most of the truth. What I mean is, I'm glad you didn't lie."
"I wouldn't. Let's see what happens now."
To be honest, over the next week or so nothing much did, well it did, but not in the way we thought. Viv bumped into a few neighbours when she was out shopping. They were sympathetic, kind words to say about me. Janice across the road came round and they had a coffee and chatted, not in a prying way, just supportive and welcoming.
Viv told me all about the various encounters she'd had.
She concluded with, "I don't feel uncomfortable living here, if you're OK with it and aren't haunted by the fact you were here with Yvonne, we could stay here. What do think?"
"I'd be OK with staying put. I like it here. There's not a lot of equity because we haven't lived here long, but... I still don't have the money to buy Yvonne out. So it'll have to be sold."
"What did you pay for it?"
"Β£6,495." I said, "The estate agent said to try it on the market at Β£7,250."
"If I remember you both took out a twenty-five year mortgage so this first year you'll have mostly been paying interest not reducing capital. So why don't I give you Β£500 and you give that to Yvonne to buy her out? By the time you've paid estate agent and legal fees that's far more than 50% of what would be left over."