Okay, so it was a twenty chapter story, right. Yes, it was but life goes on and I now need to tell the readers what that life looks like. What has happened to the key players and are there some things that didn’t appear in this story? This is about trying to fill in those gaps as best I can. I know, for some it will be boring. I can just see the comments now, "Boring, Goyse! No sex.". But if I don't do this some might say, "Well, what really happened, Goyse? Why did she do it if she stayed single?" It took me a few months to find out but I did and it came from a surprising direction but then that was Ronnie. She was a lady who was full of surprises. So here goes.

I can’t say with any certainty what happened to Ronnie. I’ve had no contact with her since that day she walked out of my house. I wish I had because she was an important part of my life. Ron was a great friend and still is today but so was Ronnie and when you lose a friend you wonder what you have done to deserve that.

On that subject I now know she came to me because she trusted me and she thought that I was someone who would listen, someone who may offer advice but I let her down. Yes, I let her down in what may have been the most important time in her life. I would love to see her because I would like to say to her face, “Ronnie, I’m so sorry. As a friend, I should have been there for you but I misunderstood why you came to me and I didn’t give you a fair hearing.” I could use the excuse that my wife, Sue told me that she had cheated once more on my good friend, Ron but then I knew that Sue would often lie to me so I should have questioned what she told me. Like a fool, I didn’t and I reacted negatively.

 Now years later I wonder if I had in fact been set up by Sue because I suspect she knew that Ronnie was not going to the Island with a man. I have spent many hours thinking about it and the conclusion that I have come to is that Sue was jealous of how close Ronnie and I were. She probably knew that Ronnie and Ron were going to split up. Was it that Sue thought that Ronnie and I might get together in Ron’s absence so she was trying to protect her territory? I may never know the answer to that besides it's all conjecture.

The next important player is Ron. It was hard for him for quite a while. He was raising three kids the youngest being just over eighteen months old while at the same time he was holding out a full-time job. Shirley and both grandmothers came to his aid of course so the kids were very well looked after. Despite that, life was not easy. He had to give up his football to handle his work, the cooking, the housework, the shopping and everything else that goes with working and raising three young kids but he did it and he did it very well.

He was suffering from the loss of Ronnie, he was suffering from the loss of Sarah who went on and married her new boyfriend and never did make that phone call he hoped would come. But what did happen out of the blue was a young girl called Ashleigh.

Readers by now may have asked, “Why did Goyse ever mention that young lady called, Ashleigh?” Yes, I know it seemed like a waste of lines in the story but it was important because about a month after Ronnie left, Ashleigh knocked on Ron’s door.

I had mentioned that she had become friends with Ron and Ronnie. I had also mentioned that she had married and the marriage had failed in about a week. It seems that if a marriage doesn’t last a certain time it is automatically dissolved if that is the right word. I had not mentioned the reason simply because at the time no one except Ashleigh knew the reason. During a night visiting with Ron and Ashleigh several months later I asked her why her marriage failed.

Ashleigh tried to manipulate to avoid the question but being the person I am I put the question to her again. She smiled, looked at Ron and said, “I’ve never told anyone the real reason, Goyse but if you promise not to tell anyone else then I’ll tell you and Ron.”  

“I promise. What about you Ron?”

“I’m with you mate. My lips are sealed. Tell him, Ashleigh.”

Ron’s response told me that Ron already knew. This is the story that Ashleigh told me.

…

Ashleigh

You know that Ronnie and I became friends. We confided in each other. I initially had an ulterior motive which you might guess for making sure that I remained friends with Ronnie. One day while we were having coffee, Ronnie spoke of her relationship with Ron. It was just a week or two before my wedding. Her discussion came out of the blue and the direct way she approached the issue shocked me.

“I love Ron very much, Ashleigh but we have an issue when it comes to sex. When we first got married it was okay but it was never good. After sex with Ron, I often wait for him to go to sleep to slip away by myself to finish the job.”

“You mean to masturbate?” I asked her.

“Yes. I know that the problem is not Ron. I know it is me. In my selfish way, I spread my wings too early in life and experienced things that were exceptional. It was far too exceptional for Ron to match. Much of it was on the sexual front. Ron was there with me all the way. He knew everything I was doing because I knew that one day he would be my partner and I wanted him to know. No, maybe that wasn’t the reason at all. It was more that I wanted him to experience it with me. That’s how close we were.”

“I don’t understand why you are telling me all this Ronnie?”

“Yes, you do. I wasn’t fooled that day at the football final. I knew why you were there. I don’t know how you were there and I don’t want to know but I know why you were there. Do you still feel the same way, Ashleigh?”

“I don’t think that I should admit that to you, Ronnie.”

“Aaaahhh, you are young and inexperienced. What you just said in itself is an admission. Do you think that I can’t read the way you look at him? How severe is your attraction, Ash? Is it important enough for you to put off your wedding for an opportunity to be with him?”

“I still don’t follow where you are going with this. Is this some sort of revenge thing against me for liking Ron?”

“No, it’s exactly the opposite. I want you to tell me how strong your feelings for him are so that I can make sure that he is looked after when I leave him.”

“You’re going to leave Ron?”

“Yes, Eventually. The problem I have is how to make sure that after I leave he has someone who he can trust and lean on for support. Unless I’ve misread your behaviour and body language, you’re the one. Now start talking straight to me Ashleigh or I’ll have to get up and walk away. If I do walk away I will deny discussing this with you and there will not be another opportunity."

“Yes, I’m getting married because the guy that I want to be with is married to you. Is that what you want to hear, Ronnie?”

“Now we are getting somewhere. So if I told you that within a few months Ron will be single again would you call off the wedding?”

“I think it is too late. The invites have gone out and everything has been arranged. My parents would never forgive me.”

“Okay, did you know that if a marriage doesn’t last more than a week it can be annulled without any effort?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Now, Ashleigh, we haven't had this discussion. The rest is up to you.”  

Ronnie simply got up and walked away.

We had coffee the next week and she didn’t mention it so I thought I would ask her a question about it so I started by saying, “Last week when we talked…..” She cut me off and stated loudly, “We didn’t have a discussion last week, remember.”

I looked at her in disbelief for a while. She just stared back. “That’s right we didn’t, did we?”

“That’s right we didn’t.” She got up and walked away. I didn’t speak to her again other than when she congratulated me at the wedding after which she turned and walked away before I could even say thanks.

After my wedding, I refused to have sex with my new husband. On our honeymoon which was to last two weeks, I told him I didn’t want to indulge in sex with him. I told him I was repulsed by the thought of it. He cut the honeymoon short and left me. That meant that I was free to come to Ron when the time arrived where he needed me.

…

Goyse

“So let me get this straight, Ashleigh. Ronnie told you months before she left that Ron and she would be splitting up and she told you that if you wanted to be with him you had to destroy your marriage.”

“Yes.”

“What about your ex-husband?”

“Well, I don’t think it really mattered to him. His parents were pushing him to marry me because he was a fairly wild sort of bloke and they thought that marriage would settle him down. He seemed to have got back on his feet within a month. If someone recovers in such a short time you have to ask how important I was to him.”

It seemed incredible to me that Ronnie cared enough for Ron that she went to so much trouble to ensure that he was looked after. You would think that if she cared that much she would have stayed with him. Even today, years later, I find it absolutely incredible that she did that.

The next player was Sarah. There is really no story there. After her divorce from Gary, she and her boyfriend married. The wedding was a small one and the only person in this story who was invited was Sally. Her story is very much the same as Sally’s. Sally met an old school sweetheart and they married and from all reports, she lives a happy and productive life.  

That brings us to Ted and Shirley. Did I tell you how special Shirley was? Yes, they broke the mould when they made Shirley. She would walk on hot coals if her husband, Ted asked her to. That’s how much she loves him and Ted wanted her to have sex with me and carry my child. I didn’t want that and neither did Shirley. In fact, the child part was impossible so we conspired together to enjoy a few hours a week together and use a lubricant to make Ted think that we had unprotected sex. We did actually have sex occasionally but it was the exception rather than the rule.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to have sex with Shirley and I actually think that she felt the same way. It was just that neither of us believed that married people should be doing that. As I said, boring! Then it happened. We went out for coffee one day and she asked me, “are you sure that your vasectomy hasn’t failed, Goyse?”

“Why are you asking that Shirley?”

“I missed my period this month so I went to the chemist shop and got one of those test things. It proved positive.”

“Hey, Shirley, you’re pregnant. Come here and let me hug you.” I took her into my arms and held her tight. When we broke our hug I had tears in my eyes as I said, “Ted’s going to be a dad again. You’re going to give him another child.”

“You think its Ted’s and not yours?”

“It’s not mine I can tell you that and unless you have had sex with someone else it has to be Ted’s.”

“Shit, what’s he going to say to me?”

“He’s going to be ecstatic. Isn’t that what he wanted?”

“He wanted you to impregnate me?”

“Shirley, if you don’t tell him I won’t. Do you see that this works for everyone? I’m off the hook. Ted is happy and you and I are the only people in the world who know the truth. Don’t you want to be a mum again? I see you around Ron’s young un and lady of all the woman that I’ve ever met you’re the cluckiest of them all.”

“Yes, I love kids. That’s what life is about, love and children. Everything else in life is designed for that purpose.”

Shirley and I continued to have our few hours a week together except when the baby was born. I laughed the night of the birth when Ted picked him up. He looked at the lad then turned and looked at me. He looked at the child again then turned to me again and said, “fuck, he’s mine isn’t he?”

I laughed out loud and replied, “yea, mate. Did you ever have any doubt?”

“You have been conning me, Goyse, haven’t you.”

“Nope, Shirley and I tried at every opportunity but you beat me to it mate. I guess that I’m just too slow or else you are too fast. Next time you will have to wait until she comes home before you ejaculate. Making love to her before I do just means that I’m helping your sperm do its job.”

“Now I know why you were laughing. You knew didn’t you?”

“I had a fair idea, Ted. I’ve had slippery seconds before so you weren’t fooling me. I knew I was batting on a sticky wicket.”

“I just couldn’t help it. I got so turned on waiting for you to pick her up I had to. I love her you didn’t expect me to wait until she came home did you?”

“I understand. What happens now, Ted?”

“Nothing changes I guess. When Shirley is fit enough she wants to go out on dates with you again.”

“You’ve talked about it?”

“Yes, I didn’t raise it. She raised it with me.”

“Aren’t you frightened, Ted? Don’t you worry about us being together and the way we feel about each other? Surely you must see the possibility that you could lose her.”

“No, I trust you, Goyse. Ronnie told me that of all the men that she ever met that you were the one who could be trusted to do the right thing.”

“That simply tells me that you trust Ronnie. What if she is wrong? What if you can’t trust her, Ted?”

He laughed, “Ronnie left Ron because she was holding him back. She sacrificed her life to make his better. She didn’t do it for herself. She did it for Ron. She needed something that he couldn’t supply. You said it to me once yourself we all have limitations and issues. No one is perfect in this world. Ron was suffering. She was concerned about it so she did the honourable thing.  She walked away. Look at him now. He has the kids. He has the most beautiful woman and she worships the ground he walks on. More importantly, he satisfies her. Ronnie did all that for him because she loved him. Of course, I trust you. She told me I could.”  

“I can’t win with you, Ted can I.”

He just smiled and placed the baby, his baby back in its cradle.

Two years later Ted was transferred for work to the city and I haven’t seen him or Shirley since. I miss her even today years later.

Now back to Ron. He was very happy with his new woman. They married and once more I was his best man. This was a different wedding. For a short time, he and I were alone at the wedding so I said to him, “what time do you want me to come over to the honeymoon suite, Ron.”

He just laughed and replied. “Fuck off, Goyse!”

It was only just over twelve months later that Ron came to me and said, “I’m going to lose her.”

“Who, Ashleigh?”

“Yes, she has just been diagnosed with fourth stage cancer. It is very aggressive. They say there is no treatment. They have given her three months.”

“Fuck, I don’t believe it, I’m sorry mate. How can I help?”

“I don’t believe it either mate. We are so close. I’m closer to her than I ever was with Ronnie.”

Ashleigh passed away some three weeks later. Ron was not to go out with another woman for a good many years after that but he did marry again to one of my close friends. To find out about that read the story of my ex-wife, Meeting Ron.

So life went on. Sue continued to cheat on me. Those others around me who had partners who they couldn’t trust had all found happiness somewhere else. Unfortunately for Ron, it didn’t last. I didn’t give up and the day did come when I found a life that is meaningful. It is a life where those around me are reliable, respectful and caring.

Today I’m happy and the only person who I have contact with from the old days is Ron. We will probably be friends until the day we die. He drops in to see me every time he is near where I live. He comes about twice a year when he visits his daughters. The only subject that we don’t talk about is the old days and Ronnie.  I recognized a long time ago, that subject is not one up for discussion.