1: James
=
The school stroll, not in a Chelsea tractor but on Shanks' pony, is a daily routine for many living close to their local school. I’m a useful grandad, collecting Danny a couple of days each week from the infants' school. Well, it stops me from being lonely, my dear Chrissie having passed away four years ago. Since then, I’ve downsized to a nice ground-floor garden flat in an old Victorian house, but the silence is oppressive at times, so being with the family and enjoying the raucous atmosphere of two young boys makes a joyous change.
Danny has a special friend, Tim, with whom he likes to walk home. Tim gets collected by his mother most days, or by his nanna when his mother can’t make it, so the stroll back to my family’s house is usually accompanied by a friendly chat with one of them before they walk on to their home a couple of hundred metres away in an adjoining road.
Daisy, Tim’s nanna, is a widow in her late sixties. Quite chubby and nice to look at, I sometimes fantasise about her body shuddering and rolling during an orgasm. Lizzy, Tim’s mum, is nothing like her mother. Slim and very attractive, she is in her early forties. On our walks, I found out she was divorced; her marriage broke up shortly after he was born.
My normal pattern on collection days was to play gentle tennis with friends in the morning and then drive to the family’s house after lunch. In the summer months, I often didn’t feel the need to change clothes and would appear at school feeling cool in a polo shirt, shorts, and trainers.
On one such day, on our walk back, I was feeling a bit low and confided in Lizzy about my loneliness away from the family.
She listened attentively, then, as I dried up, she responded, "I have the same problem; once Tim is in bed, I have no company, no one to share my woes or worries."
We stopped, and I glanced at her face. It was a moment of understanding for both of us.
"Instead of going home alone after Danny has gone down, why don’t you come round to my house and have a meal with me?"
"Thank you, Lizzy; that would be nice."
"Don’t knock; come in through the back door, and if I’m still settling Tim, relax in the lounge til I come down."
We parted, as usual, in front of Danny’s home, but inside I was feeling much happier.
"See you later." The words came simultaneously from Lizzy and me, and then we grinned in unison at the little coincidence before she turned and walked on.
=
Three hours later, with Danny safely tucked up in bed, listening to a story from Daddy, I crept out of their house, got into my car, and drove off, just as I always did, but this time only for a short journey around the corner before parking outside Lizzy’s place.
I walked along her driveway to the back entrance; it was unlocked, but I still knocked gently before opening the door and going in. There was no sign of Lizzy, so I assumed she was upstairs with Tim. I left my trainers by the door and padded through to the lounge. The house was the exact mirror image of my family’s place, but with everything reversed, it didn’t feel familiar.
Two comfortable sofas dominated the room. I chose one and settled down to wait, pulling my phone from a pocket, before opening up a news app to read about the world’s troubles.
After a while, I could hear the sound of movement, then gentle steps on the stairs, before Lizzy stepped into the lounge, closed the door behind her, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"He’s fast asleep, but we need to be quiet for a while."
I looked at her and wondered why this beautiful woman was on her own and how hard a single mother’s life is, having to earn all the money needed to keep herself and her child in comfort and run a household as well.
She had changed clothes since we had walked together. Before they were blue jeans and a t-shirt, now she wore a loose thigh-length shift dress, her breasts quite obviously unrestrained by a bra, and her hair held back in a ponytail. She looked stunning, with long legs shown to perfection. A vision any man would love, but surely out of my league.
"Come into the kitchen and chat while I cook. We’re having spag-bol."
"One of my favourites. Can I help?"
"Not really; just take a seat and watch the expert!"
Time passed by quickly. Lizzy bustled around, and I found it a pleasure to see this woman working on our meal. Half an hour later, we were sitting at her dining table in constant conversation while we slurped spaghetti and sipped white wine.
The meal was completed with a bowl of fruit, and then I helped her clear up before she told me to go into the lounge and wait for her to bring the coffee in. Shortly after, Lizzy came in, carrying a tray with a cafetiere, mugs, and biscuits.
Lizzy stood in the middle of the room and looked a bit hesitant before, in a small, uncertain voice, she spoke, "I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name; you’ve always been Danny’s granddad, or "my dad" when I’ve talked with his mother."
Sitting on the sofa, looking up at her, I blushed in embarrassment at having put her in such a spot.
"It’s my fault; I’m so sorry. I’m James."
"Hello, James. Welcome to my little home." She smiled broadly, then put the tray down on a coffee table, lifted it towards the sofa, and then sat down at the other end, half turned towards me.
Our conversation resumed; there seemed to be so much to talk about, and we soon opened up, baring our souls for what was the first chance in years. The coffee was long dispatched, the time passed by at speed, dusk turned to night, and we sat in the dark, lit only by a street light that shone through the window.
There was a pause in the chatter. I sensed Lizzy was steeling herself to say something, probably to say it was time for me to go, though that was the last thing I wanted.
"James, will you cuddle me? I need one, right now."
"Of course, Lizzy."
I shifted my body to sit square on the sofa and lifted my arm, expecting her to snuggle into my body. She rolled across, then lowered her head onto my leg, laying on the cushions in a semi-foetal form, her legs drawn up so she fitted in the space.