There was an awkward moment when Candice looked at Andy, trying unsuccessfully to read his expression. She thought about saying something, but Marsha pulled her away.
“I’ll help you get ready,” she said.
“What’s going on?” Candice said as soon as they were in the bedroom.
“I don’t have a clue girl, but would Andy pull a stunt like that without a good reason?”
“Yeah, but what reason?”
“Either he knows something sensational about your Mum— "
“Or he’s fed up with me stringing him along.”
“What’s your money on?”
Candice sighed. “Fed up with me, probably.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that girl, but if you’re feeling that way then maybe he would have a point.”
“I wanted it to be special.”
“So, make it special.”
“That’s the problem, all that I’ve been doing felt like a good idea at the time, but now I’m not so sure.”
“You know there are women who deny their husbands to build up their urges.”
“Yeah, I read that too, but...”
“Yeah, I know, the husbands don’t have a live-in mistress.”
“I didn’t mean that,” Candice said. “I love you too, but between us, we can be hopeless can’t we.”
“Strip off, let me see the mystery package.”
Candice pulled off her top and started to undo her bra. “You need to look at the Jewellery.”
“There’s a choice?”
“Oh yeah. Candice pointed at a shelf in the wardrobe. “Open that case. I’ve been collecting.”
Marsha opened the case and carefully laid everything on the bed. She stood looking for a minute.
“Oh wow. That all looks awesome, so what the hell is the problem?”
“I’ve built this up as a thing,” Candice said, “but now I don’t know if I’m good enough. I’ve been holding Andy off for what seems like ages, and what does he get at the end? He gets this second-hand woman, who gave herself away and gave him nothing back.”
“You shouldn’t feel like that honey, the spray tan alone would make anyone drool. Your skin is glowing.”
“It is good, isn’t it. I know it is, but it’s skin deep. It looks great, but I know it’s fake.”
“But you’re not fake.”
“Easy to say. I got the last two years all wrong. I lost confidence, so instead of working on myself, I went wild. Sold myself cheap, not even sold, gave myself away for nothing. I don’t know what I was thinking. Since I got home, I’ve been trying to make myself special for Andy, but each day the doubts come back. I still feel like a cheap whore.”
“We need to change the vibe. I think we should go for exotic, not cheap. I need to look at your wardrobe, we need something loose and flowing that come off with a flourish.”
“There’s a white summer dress in there somewhere that might do.”
Marsha hunted as Candice undressed.
“Go shower and wear a non-cheap perfume.”
Candice laughed. “Yes ma’am.”
When she was dry, Marsha selected the ornate woven silver collar and carefully wrapped it around Candice’s neck. She replaced the nipple barbells with silver rings with little bells attached and then insisted on rings replacing the three studs in each labia.
“This is the cool part,” Marsha said, holding a gold coloured padlock. She wove a small chain through the labia rings and attached the padlock. “You wear this and I’ll give Andy the key. From here on, you should promise never to go out without wearing that lock. What do you think?”
“Unless he gives me permission?”
“Well yeah, of course. He could unlock you before you went out. The thing is, that’s only one hole, you could go and suck guys, or give them your arse, but no pussy. How does that make you feel?”
“What will my Mum think?”
“That’s your first thought? You never thought about her before.”
“But she’s downstairs.”
“What about Andy?”
“Good question. That’s the problem. As soon as I think about Andy, I realise I never really dug into what he felt. He let me do what I thought I needed. He didn’t push me and I didn’t push him.”
“So you’re both to blame.”
“That’s what Andy says.”
“He’s probably right. So, what about now? How do you feel now? Stop looking backwards. Be in the moment.” Marsha moved behind Candice as she stood naked in the mirror.
“I feel sexy and, um, weird, no, not weird exactly; like I’m carrying something expensive that doesn’t belong to me.”
“So not cheap then?”
That brought a shy chuckle. “No...okay, get the dress.”
The white dress was a wraparound style with several buttons that Marsha refused to fasten so that the only thing that held it in place was a single tie.
“Should I wear cuffs?”
“Would you like to?”
“Mmmm,”
“Hold out your hands.”
Marsha put the cuffs on and fixed them in place with little padlocks.
“Does the same key work these?” she asked as she clicked the locks.
“Yes, and the ankle ones. We have loads of spares.”
“Where are they?”
“Top drawer.”
“I’ll give them all to Andy, best to do this properly. Okay?”
“I guess.”
“Sure?”
“No.”
“But you trust him?”
“Absolutely.”
“So you can give him your pussy. Right?”
Candice sat in the bedside chair looking weary.
“Who will go first, me or Mum?”
“I think it’s you. You doing your thing is the price for whatever Mum has hidden.”
“Like cash upfront.”
Marsha pulled Candice up from the chair, slipped the dress on and tied it together. She stood back to get a good look, then reached forward to attach a chain to her collar. She pulled the chain until Candice stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her in a long hug before she kissed her, a long kiss.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“You pulled a fast one, didn’t you,” Rhona said as soon as Candice and Marsha left the room.
“I thought she needed a push.”
“You were cleverer than that, you set both of us up.” She laughed. “I don’t mind, we probably both deserve it. Unless my daughter has changed a lot, she’s probably glad of the push. How did you come to fall in with a couple of whores?”
“You mean ‘like mother like daughter’? Damned if I know, but I do like being with women that everyone else fancies.”
“Women, plural?”
Andy laughed. Let me see, there’s Candice, the one I married, and there’s her alter ego Candy.”
“Are you adding your mother-in-law to the list?”
“I said I like being with women that other men want. Depending on what you take ‘being with’ to mean, I think you fit in, don’t you? Certainly, you do while you’re here. We mustn’t forget Marsha, where the competition is my wife. I guess you could argue that I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.”
“So I can’t line you up as a customer?”
Andy fell back in the chair laughing. “You are fun to have around. I bet you get plenty of return customers.”
“Cleverly not answering the question.”
“Okay, you want a proper answer. I don’t see myself as a customer, I have two women to keep happy, so paying for a third... well it wouldn’t make sense would it?”
“And if it was free?”
“I’d have to ask them. I think it would be complicated. I don’t know if it’s even legal.”
Rhona stepped back and looked at Andy as if she was seeing him for the first time.
“You know what I really want to ask you don’t you.”
“I can guess.”
“And?”
“If I met you in some other universe with no history between us, yes, I would fancy you. Don’t ask the other question.”
Rhona raised an eyebrow.
“Actually,” he said, “I think there are two questions.”
“Would you tell Candice?”
“That is one question, though technically, if it was another universe then she might not be there and you might not be her mother.”
“I can’t figure the other question.”
“Would I pay? or more exactly, how much would I pay?”
“Aah, and do you have an answer?”
“I have no moral objection to paying. I guess the advertised rate is a question of market forces. What I would pay is hard to say. I’ve got nothing to go on.”
“If Candice got into the business, what would you want her to charge.”
“That is a really interesting question.”
“But you’re not going to answer.”
“No, but answer me this, should I ask Candice what she thinks I should pay for a date with you?”
There was a long pause as the implications sank in.
“Andy, that could take us to a whole different place.”
“Yes, but it’s where we’re could be after tonight... if not for real, at least in our imaginations. Don’t worry about it, I’m not pushing either of you in any direction, but I think we’ll all have a better life if we have it all out in the open.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said.
“Are you nervous? Scared?”
“Yes.”
“Candice is upstairs and probably as scared as you.”
“You’re sitting pretty aren’t you Andy. You know what both of us have to spill, and you’re in the clear.”
“Not completely.”
“Not completely?”
“One of these days Candice is going to ask me what I really felt about all the things she got up to.”
“And?”
“It won’t be easy.”
“Because she hurt you more than you let on?”
Andy said nothing, putting a finger to his lips and pointing to the door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Marsha walked in, one hand behind her pulling a chain, the other holding something that she held out in front of her.
“I’ve brought you a present,” she said, gently pulling the chain. Candice walked slowly into the room, head up, back straight and proud, her eyes fixed on Andy.
Marsha handed Andy the keys. “You’ll need these,” she said as she handed him the chain. With her other hand, she reached across Candice to pick up the loose end of the dress tie and stepped back and behind Candice, pulling the tie loose as she did. She peeled the dress off Candice’s shoulders and took another step back.
Andy stood stock still, his gaze fixed on Candice’s eyes. He gently increased the tension in the chain, making her move forward inch by inch until he kissed her, wrapping one arm around her as the kiss went on and on and on.
“You like?” she whispered when their lips finally parted.
“I like,” he said. “You look absolutely amazing.
“What happens now?”
“We turn the central heating up a little.”
“You mean I’m staying like this for a while?”
“I think so, you look too good to cover up, and you’re dressed exactly right for a conversation with your Mum.”
“Doesn’t she have to own up first?”
“I think we should have a little of your story to get things going. Your Mum needs to know why you’re dressed like this. I don’t think I’m giving too much away if I say it may make things easier for her.”
Candice turned towards her Mum.
“What do you think?”
“You look delightful, any man would jump at the chance to get close to you.”
“A few women too,” Marsha said.
“You’re doing this to make up to Andy?” Rhona said, looking puzzled. “So what the hell did you do?”
Candice looked at Andy and then Marsha, who shrugged her shoulders and gave an encouraging smile.
“You guys know all this, couldn’t I just have a few minutes with Mum?”
Rhona shook her head, “If I’m owning up in front of all of you then Candice should do the same.”
“But they already know.”
“If they really know everything, then why are you shy about it.”
Candice looked at the three of them, standing naked in front of them all. She felt herself flush.
“Oh, you guys.”
“She’s right love,” Andy said. “Shall I get the wardrobe door?”
“You’re not seriously suggesting dashing upstairs and ripping off the wardrobe door.”
“No, I thought I’d just show Rhona the pictures.” He stepped across the room and turned on the big TV screen. Seconds later, the first cock that ‘Candy’ has sucked on a night out appeared on the screen.
“Tell your mother,” Andy said. It wasn’t a request. There was an edge in Andy’s voice; did it come from holding the chain or from Andy being fully dressed and Candice naked and vulnerable? Wherever it came from, Candice heard it and knew she couldn’t argue.
“This is the first cock I sucked after I married Andy, the first that wasn’t Andy’s.”
The picture changed. There was a date at the bottom of the picture, the same as the first slide. Before Candice could say anything, a third appeared and then a fourth and a fifth. The slide changed again, and all five were on the screen together.
“Five in one night?” Rhona said.
“It was the first time.”
Rhona laughed. “First time is an excuse for there being only five?”
“Yes.” Candice’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Was that all?”
“Yes?”
“So none of those guys wanted to fuck you?”
“Mum?”
“Well?”
“They did, but I promised to be home by midnight.”
Andy cleared the screen and flashed through seven pictures before another summary slide. The date was two months later. Two of the cocks had stars against them.
“Seven. Do the stars mean what I think they mean?”
“What do you think they mean Mum?”
“The way this is going I think you fucked those two.”
Candice nodded and sighed, "yes," eyes downcast and the word barely audible.
The screen flashed again and this time there were six but two had gold stars and one of those had a black star too.
“Why did you put up with this Andy?” Rhona blurted out and then stopped herself. “Sorry, I guess it’s not my place to ask.”
“It’s a fair question. Candice or I should say, Candy, why did your husband put up with it?”
Marsha butted in. “That’s a low blow, Andy.”
“No, it’s not.” Candice spun around to face Marsha. “It is a fair question, but he knows I don’t know the answer.”
“It’s simple enough Rhona,” Andy said. “I think there are two things, the first was that I knew she needed something — losing the baby flattened Candice. It killed her confidence. Me telling her she was beautiful and desirable was never going to do the trick. Candice could always tell herself that I was biased. The second thing is, I thought she’d always come home. Sucking and fucking a bunch of total strangers every other month was only a threat to our marriage if we made it one. A regular boyfriend might have been something else. I would have felt threatened by that, but a bunch of guys she can’t even name... I could cope with that.”
“What this is about,” Candice said, pointing to her naked body and then ringing the nipple bells with her fingers, “what this is about, is that I never asked him if it hurt. Andy did tell me I was beautiful and sexy and everything anyone could think of, but I didn’t believe him. I let him let me be a total slut. I knew it was wrong, I knew it was risky, but I did it anyway.”
“Wow. How many times?”
“About a dozen I think, Andy could tell you exactly.”
“Thirteen, and the last time was unlucky. Maybe we should have stopped sooner.”
“Why didn’t you go with her?”
“Mum, I couldn’t have done that, it wasn’t about humiliating Andy, I would have felt terrible if he was there. If any of the men I met had known Andy was there, I know they would have mocked him. Maybe not all, but one would have been too many. I wasn’t doing it to hurt Andy, I was trying to get my confidence back so I could be the wife I thought he deserved.”
“So basically you were a selfish bitch,” Rhona said.
“Not selfish, stupid yes, sinful yes, but in a crazy way I was doing it for him.”
“For two years?” Rhona’s voice had a teasing, mocking edge.”
“I made him spank me afterwards.”
“Tell me more.”
“Five for a BJ, ten for fucking, fifteen for anal and one a minute for being late.”
“Hand spanking or paddle?”
“Hand,” Andy said.
“So that last slide was sixty-five swats? I’m surprised your hand and wrist stood up to that, even with two hands.”
“What did Dad use on you?”
Rhona looked at Candice for a few seconds.
“You told Andy, didn’t you?”
“That’s where I got the idea, you weren’t the only one who got spanked.”
“Pity Andy didn’t cane you, sixty-five of those and you’d have been a lot more choosy.”
Rhona glanced at Andy. “But that wasn’t the point, was it, Andy? You didn’t want her to be choosy, did you? I bet you went easy on the whacks too.”
“I won’t answer that,” he said. “Things like that are between the whacker and the whacked... Anything else you want to know Rhona or can we move on to your story?”
For a second she looked resigned, but then had a flash of inspiration.
“What about Marsha?”
“I’ll do my owning up later,” Marsha said, “but not now if you don’t mind. Not that my story isn’t good, but I was looking forward to hearing yours.”
“You’re up Mum.”
“I’m not sure what to say.”
Rhona looked at Andy, waiting.
“Okay, I’ll get it started,” he said. “You both know what a sugar babe is, right?”
Candice and Marsha nodded.
“Rhona is the MILF or maybe WILF version.”
“WILF?”
“Widow.”
“You mean that kind of deal where guys pay money upfront for some sort of long-term deal.”
“Something like that,” Andy said. “A private relationship.”
“Oh, right, PR, I get it,” Marsha laughed.
Rhona relaxed. “Sugar but no babe,” she said.
Candice, still standing naked, still restrained by the chain Andy was holding, turned to face her Mum.
“How long?”
“Almost two years,” Rhona laughed. “As bad as you.”
“Andy can I sit down please?”
He pulled Candice towards him and kissed her, before whispering in her ear. “I told you Rhona’s story was interesting.”
Andy unlocked the chain from Candice’s collar and walked with her to sit on the sofa, almost opposite Rhona.
“Carry on Mum, let’s hear the whole story. How did you get into this?”
“The year after your Dad died all I did was learn to live by myself. You were away, I didn’t have a job but Dad’s life insurance paid off the house and we had savings and there was and half his pension. For a couple of months, I sat around feeling sad, but then it was the summer...” Rhona stopped for a moment, lost in thought.
“What difference did summer make?”
“We had a holiday booked, I’d forgotten about it, Frank did all those things, it was lucky I even found the file... This is silly...”
“Can I guess? You had two flights and a double room booked.”
“Yeah and six weeks to figure out what to do. I joined a gym and went on a ridiculous diet and started working out every day. One week in I had this crazy idea, I put an ad on the noticeboard at the gym.”
“Saying what?”
“I said that due to unfortunate circumstances I had a booking for a holiday for two and I was open to offers, either bid to take the whole thing off my hands or someone to come share.”
“And some handsome hunk made an offer.”
“Actually no, a very nice woman did.”
“Even more exciting,” Marsha said.
“It wasn’t like that, but we did go together and I found out how she made her money.”
“She was a sugar-babe?”
“She had been, while she was at college. When I met her she’d paid off her student loan and had a good job.”
“So she got you into it?”
“No, not exactly, I was too polite to cross-examine her. I let her talk if she wanted to, and I made sure she knew I didn’t disapprove. When I got home, I started researching things. When I thought I knew enough, I looked for her at the gym, showed her my holiday snaps and asked her if she could tell me more.”
“I’m curious Mum, do you just have one client, or do you sell slots?”
“You want my trade secrets?”
“I was trying to imagine, isn’t there a risk with a single client that you’d get emotionally attached.”
“Worried you’re going to have a new step-dad?”
“I was only trying to imagine.”
“Let’s just say I could tell you some interesting stories.”
“That would be nice.”
“I said I could, I didn’t say I would.”
“Mum you watched a video display of cocks I sucked, you’ve got to tell more than that you’re a sugar WILF.”
“I reckon they must be a very specialised clientele,” Marsha said. “Guys who have a thing about their mothers, and can afford to pay for the fantasy. So they must all be young and rich.”
“Good guess Marsha, but not completely right. Some old rich guys remember how they felt when their mum was young. Money and fantasy, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what I learned on my holiday. try to imagine that you were once a young man, full of hormones and not knowing much, and now and then you caught a glimpse of your mum getting dressed, or in the bathroom, or maybe you saw her underwear...”
“So you have some rich kid to stay and he gets lucky seeing you around the house in various compromising situations?”
Rhona smiled, “there are so many ways that sort of thing can happen.”
Marsha and Candice both collapsed laughing. Rhona said nothing until they calmed down, waiting, smiling, occasionally exchanging glances with Andy.
“I think that’s enough for now,” he said. “I think it’s time I took my beautiful wife, whatever her name is, to bed. We’re taking the big room downstairs. Rhona, I put your cases in our old room upstairs, I’m sure Marsha will show you where, as soon as she’s gotten her breath back. If you get bored, check out the inside of the wardrobe door.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Andy closed the bedroom door and turned to look at Candice.
“Are you okay?”
“How did I do?”
“I thought you were awesome, but how do you feel? That must have been quite an evening for you, what with your mum’s story and finally revealing everything.”
“Did I turn you on?”
“More than ever.”
“Really?”
“Stop doubting. Another word like that and I’ll plaster the Internet with pictures of you like you are now and you’ll see all the comments. Right now, I’m going to unlock you because I find it very hard to wait any longer.”
“How hard?”
“Very hard,” he said as he removed the pussy lock. “I’m going to kiss this better, after all, it’s been through and then you are going to seduce me as if I was one of those cocks you were so fond of. Do not under any circumstances suggest that mine might be one of the small cocks that you dared not photograph.”
“You know about that?” she said as she sank to her knees.
“Marsha told me.”
Candice said nothing, slowly taking his cock into her mouth. She moved up and down, taking it all in, pressing her chin against his balls and then easing back, changing the suction pressure, using her tongue to play with the tip, pulling off to breathe and then repeating the process.
“Don’t think about those other cocks,” she said. “It’s not a competition. It never was. I like this one because it’s attached to you.”
Andy stroked her hair and said nothing, waiting until she moved forward again before pressing her head all the way.
“I always knew the others would be bigger and better,” he said. “What would be the point otherwise. Don’t feel guilty about them. You always stuck by the rules.”
Candice rocked back on her heels. “Remind me about the rules.”
“Rule one was that anything you learned from those nights, you brought back for both of us. Rule two was that anything you did with them you would never refuse to do with me. Rule number three was that you always came back to me.”
“I remember,” she said. “I had a rule as well.”
“You never said. Did that break rule one?”
“No, because I learned it from you. My rule was that I’d never go out again until I was sure you’d recovered and were happy.”
“Was I that bad?”
“Mostly no, but I think you hid your feelings. In a way, you broke rule one, because you didn’t talk so much about what you learned.”
“Rule one was about what you learned, not what I learned. I was scared you’d move beyond me, that you’d find yourself in a new world that was bigger than mine and you’d leave me behind.”
Candice looked up at him, her head slowly nodding. “I didn’t think enough about what rule one meant.” She stood up, turning her back for a moment and then facing him from a couple of steps away. “Can I ask something from you?”
A puzzled mini frown crept across his forehead. “Of course you can.”
“I want you to stop thinking. Let go. Imagine I’m someone else, someone you never have to see again the way all those guys saw me. For tonight, can you try to be like those guys? I want you to enjoy me. I’m yours again.”
“Stop thinking?”
“Stop thinking, stop talking. Nothing but feeling.”
As she said the last few words she stepped forward again, one hand taking his cock, the other wrapping around his neck pulling him closer, her lips finding his, closing her eyes and pressing against him everywhere she could.
Asking Andy to stop thinking was a ridiculous idea, but he understood the intent. He did over analyse, and the last thing he could be accused of was letting himself go. How did one do that? Were there books he could read? Obviously not now — or lessons he could take? Who the hell would offer such things?
Her kissing became more insistent, her tongue exploring his mouth as though she was tasting his soul.
Gradually she sensed that he was going weak at the knees, so she pushed him back onto the bed. She shoved his shoulders down, lifting herself just enough that the bells on her nipples touched his chest, lifting, shaking her boobs from side to side, ringing the bells, and pressing back to silence in a rhythm so subtle that it took all his concentration to keep hearing it.
The bells had rung five or six times before it dawned on him that there was someone who could teach him.
“Teach me,” he said.
She looked down at him, grinning. “This is you not talking, is it?”
Andy nodded.
“You think I can teach you?”
Another nod.
“So this is rule one?”
Vigorous nodding. She let go of his shoulders, flattening herself against him, kissing him again.
“Deal,” she said. “You know I love you don’t you, that’s why I’m here. If I gave up other cocks completely, how would you feel?”
“Can I talk?”
“Not yet, I want you to think about that. Think about how you’d feel about asking me to do that. It’s not fair of me to ask, I know it’s kind of bullying really, but I really want to know deep down what you think, not what you think it would be best to tell me.”
She kissed him again as she reached down to hold his cock.
“This is going where it belongs and it’s staying there until I’m satisfied.”
Andy rolled her over, pressing her into the bed and slowly driving into her as hard as he could.
“I hope a good mattress doesn’t spoil things,” he said. “I know those clubs can be a bit rough, so we can do it on the floor if you’d rather?”
“Don’t talk, fuck.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Are you okay?” Marsha said when Andy and Candice had left the room.
Rhona smiled. “I’m good. I talked to Andy earlier, like a dress rehearsal. Are you shocked?”
“I don’t really do shocked. I see people in a pretty raw state, day in day out. After a while I got used to it, I take people as they come. I am curious about how your business works.”
“Guys write me letters, I try to read between the lines, we talk on the phone, and then maybe a video chat, or if they’re not too far away we have a coffee. I try to imagine myself being what they fantasise about. The ones I turn down are almost as much fun as the ones who end up coming to visit.”
“Do you take guys from all over or only local?”
“Mostly from distance, I prefer a hundred miles or more. It makes it special.”
“And keeps a distance, yeah, I can understand that. How do the visits work?”
“They’re all different, a night maybe or a day or two. The longest was a week.”
“A whole week?”
“Yeah. That’s really hard work, you know, being someone else for a week.”
“And they pay you?”
“Oh yes, and it’s fun too.”
“How far to you go, I mean is it just a fantasy or do you end up in bed?”
“It depends on the guy. Some of these are long-term and if we ended up in bed, it would end the fantasy.”
“And they pay for getting nothing?”
“Oh, they get something, all sorts of things.”
“Trade secrets?”
“For now if you don’t mind. I’m curious about this baby, Candice seems to be very into the breast feeding thing.”
“I hope so, because I’m planning to go back to work.”
“And the lactation thing really works?”
“Should do. It’s going to be hard work for her. She has to have her nipples stimulated and take hormones for months to get everything going, so she’s going to be busy.”
“So does she do that herself with a pump?”
“Unless she can find someone to suck her tits a few times a day. After what she’s done in the past, she might find a string of guys I guess. It depends on what she and Andy think.”
Rhona sat thinking for a moment, then got up and stood to look around the room.
“Drinks in that cupboard,” Marsha said, pointing across the room.
Rhona examined the array of bottles.
“What are you looking for?”
“Glayva.”
“Fat bottle towards the back. Pour me one while you’re there.”
Rhona returned with two glasses of the thick amber liquid.
“It’s a pity I don’t live closer,” Rhona said.
“Because?”
“I’d like to see the baby grow.”
“That won’t be for a while.”
“Mmmm, but Candice is going to be busy before that.”
“Are you getting wicked ideas?”
Rhona laughed. “I have pictures of Candice around my house, some of my clients have fantasies about her.”
“You’re thinking about making that real?”
“I don’t know if I could persuade Andy.”
“And that matters?”
Rhona looked up sharply. “It does,” she said, “it matters a lot. She needs him... and so do you I think. I wouldn’t break that up.”
“Good, so does that mean you wouldn’t be interested in the bungalow at the bottom of the garden?”
“What bungalow?”
“It backs onto this place. It’s been on the market a week.”
There was a long pause as Rhona turned to look out of the read window. “You mean that roof back there?”
“It may be a wreck for all I know, I came back along that road the other day and there was a sign out front.”
“Could you all cope with me as a neighbour?”
“I think we might.”