Ella was a well-respected member of the parish. She was secretary of the Mother's Union, treasurer of the church restoration fund, worked in an animal charity shop and stood in all weathers outside the village post office at the cake stall on fundraising days for the local primary school.

I was fifty-three at the time and had known Ella as my daughter's piano teacher for several years. We lost touch a little after Sarah went to university but saw her around the village now and then, doing her fine work for the community. She was a widow in her late sixties whose only child, a boy, had died on his motorcycle in the seventies. Her husband could not bear such a loss and died a year later, leaving Ella alone in the world. Her only other relatives alive were a sister living in Canada and some distant cousins. They rarely contacted her beyond the annual festive card exchange in December.

As a woman, and considering these harsh circumstances, she bore her years well, always showed good spirits and kept a presentable appearance. She had clearly never been a beauty and now in later life what had been a firm attractive jawline would have appeared almost vulgar were it not for her jolly smiles and general cheerful disposition. Her other facial features were pleasing enough; a straight nose, soft grey eyes and a widish mouth that looked just about right on her longish face. Her brown hair was luxuriously done up with plenty of body, but no doubt dyed.

My marriage to Jan was simmering away on a slow burner barely alight. We got on, lived like friends, had unexceptional sex now and then just to validate our marital status but otherwise lived quite passionless lives. But there were repercussions to this dry existence. The last few occasions we had had sex I noticed my condom was virtually empty. I put this down to me no longer masturbating and infrequent unsatisfactory sex. My prostate was evidently going into hibernation. Nevertheless, I plodded on as I neither wanted a divorce nor was prepared to cheat.

Then Jan made me a delicious meal one evening and we shared an expensive bottle of red French wine. I asked her what the occasion was and she came out with it. She no longer wanted to have sex with me. No, she did not want a divorce. She loved me but no longer had physical desires. I was told that men need sex but women, when they mature, can do without it. We would sleep in separate beds and apart from not having sex, we would live on as we had been doing. If I had needs I could do more or less as I pleased so long as I was discreet and kept the whole business to myself.

I tried not to look devastated but agreed that if this was how she felt, let it be so.

I began to look around, but after some weeks realised there was nobody much I could connect with. The years had been quite good to me as I was slim, well toned and my dark hair had just a hint of grey. Some wrinkles had appeared around my eyes when I smiled. But the unhappy years gave me the look of a middle age man disappointed with life, which is exactly what I was.

One day in the local supermarket, I was in line behind a woman at the checkout. The contours of her firm legs and shapely bottom through tight fitting slacks captured my interest and I studied her intensely. 'I need that!' I thought to myself. Then I got a shock. It was none other than Ella. She left with her shopping and flounced out seeming not to notice me at all. 

I began to fantasize about sex with Ella. She was oldish, late-sixties I would have thought, but why not? I would never see forty again. On the other hand, she knew Jan and was a churchgoing Christian unlikely to stray from the path of fidelity. Even if she knew about Jan's gift of making me a free agent she would be unlikely to accept me as a lover. But this, of course, was typical of my negative mindset.

I spent some weeks considering and unable to tolerate my weak indecisive nature any longer I took action. One hot summer day I caught a bus to the nearby town and walked into the charity shop where I found Ella polishing a porcelain figurine of a nun.

"Peter, hello!" She said with great enthusiasm, putting great emphasis on "hello". She was dressed very smartly in a navy blue jacket and skirt with a white blouse. I approached her and smiled. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if she had any Beatles LP's but I stuck to my guns.

"Hello, Ella. It's been so long. I was just passing, wondered if you want to join me for lunch."

She leaned back from me a little, the smile fading from her face and she looked into my eyes. The Ella that I had known all these years vanished before me and in her place stood a woman I did not altogether recognise. I felt ashamed as her fine grey eyes continued to probe mine intimately.

'Those eyes!' My knees felt weak. Nevertheless, I held firm and waited for an answer. At last, she moved her eyes from mine and stowed the little nun figurine away under the counter. An elderly couple walked in and browsed. From a back room, a dumpy little woman with a pudgy face and small beady eyes appeared with an armful of books. 

"Prue, this is Mr Wilkinson, I used to teach his daughter. We're just popping out for a lunch. Hold the fort for half an hour will you?" said Ella with calm authority.

"But Ethel Parker is coming with her tea set," she said, bewildered as she lumped the books down on the floor. "She said she would be in after one. Oh dear. And Mr Lucas is expected in to inspect the fire extinguisher. Oh dear. Must you go?"

"You can deal with it, pet," said Ella, dismissing these objections she gave me a big warm smile and we walked out of the shop into the busy high street.

We found a tea room and as I was about to open the door Ella put her hand on my arm, which felt rather nice.

"To tell the truth Peter, I'm not really hungry," she said. I laughed.

"Well, neither am I. It's you I wanted to see. Lunch was just a setting. Let's take a walk on the meadow by the river. The weather is so beautiful." 

Ella looked delighted and we walked for five minutes which brought us beyond the main centre and a path led us into the vast meadow of long grass flushed with poppies in full bloom. A herd of sheep in the distance grazed on the lush greenery. The sun beat down but gentle gusts of fresh country air kept us cool.

"I love this meadow," said Ella.

Impulsively I took hold of her hand and melted inside at the soft warm touch of it.

"Oh!" she remarked.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"I wasn't expecting that," she said, clearing her throat.

We were silent for some minutes as we walked and her hand was limp in mine. 'Fuck,' I thought, 'this is bad.' I sensed that she was angry. Sensing rejection I began to loosen my grip and let go.

"Ella," I said.

But before I could utter another word I felt her hand grasp at my loosening fingers and squeeze tightly. She walked closer and our shoulders touched so that I could feel the warmth of her. My balls tingled and I felt my dick spring to life and press through my underwear. I had not felt such excitement in years, no, decades! Such bliss, life had returned! 

We approached the sheep and the herd parted as we walked through chattering and laughing. Flies and bees buzzed and swallows darted in the hot summer air. A colourful butterfly landed on Ella's head for a moment and then fluttered away. And my footsteps felt light in this new paradise walking hand in hand with this new woman in my life.

"You surprised me," said Ella, breathing deeply, her head touched my shoulder, "but I'm glad." Then we strolled on timelessly in silence.

Unconsciously I was walking us towards a thicket at the edge of the meadow.

"Where are we going?" asked Ella with amused delight, like a child, her delicate hand, still willingly in mine, making me feel hot and sexy with desire. I glanced now and then to the side and down at her alluring body. 

"We are going on an adventure. Do you like adventure?" She looked at me and chuckled.

"I  love adventure!" she said, speaking with a breathlessness and passion that thrilled the blood in my veins.

We reached the thicket and walked inside under the trees and left the path, searching for a secluded comfortable place. At last, we found a cosy clearing thickly protected by trees and bushes. Birds twittered, branches rustled in the breeze and in the distance could be heard rapids from the river.

"I suppose it's not that hospitable," I said, "but it's quite private."

"Hmmm, so I see," said Ella, facing me and smiling. Her beautiful flirtatious eyes teased mine, making my dick throb with excitement and desire.

"Ella," I said, deftly putting an arm around to her back and pulling her close. "I'm crazy about you. I always have been. I know it sounds cheesy. But that's how it is."

"Ahhh," said Ella, seemingly touched by my open confession, "you are a sweet-talking devil."

We embraced tightly and I kissed her cheek, finding my way to her mouth. Her lips were softness itself and the feel of them moving on mine made me dizzy with happiness. My knob was hard as steel and being that this was an exceptionally rare state for me to experience, I was keen to make the most of it. Yet I knew that one wrong move would ruin it all. Still, I fondled her meaty buttocks through the soft skirt.

"You're being very naughty," whispered Ella with mock reproach.

"Is that a complaint?"

"An observation," she said. I unfolded her from my arms.

"Let's play a game," I said mischievously with a wink. 

"A game? What game? Nothing respectable, I hope." She stood with folded arms, smiling, inviting me with her eyes to go on.

"Did you ever play doctors and nurses when you were a girl?"

She laughed, raised her eyebrows and looked at me out of the corners of her eyes with suspicion. 

"I can see that you did play it.

"Ah, ah, ah," she said, "you are saucy."

"Now let's be serious. I'm the patient. Nurse, I've got a serious problem."

"Now then, Mr Wilksinson," she said, playing along beautifully, "what seems to be wrong?"

"Well, nurse, this."

I unbuckled my belt so that my trousers fell and let my throbbing hard-on fall out. Ella put a hand to her mouth and made big round eyes.

"My oh, my. You have a big problem, a very big problem. Does it hurt?" she asked.

"It doesn't hurt nurse but it does trouble me."

Ella came closer and kneeled down on the mossy thicket floor.

"I can imagine. Yes, I've seen cases like this before. This will need a full examination," she said with a professional air and grabbed the base of my dick.

"Righto, nurse. Whatever you say. I know I'm in safe hands. It already feels better. Oh nurse, oh, do you think you can help me?"

Ella kept a strong hand around the base and with her other, she moved my foreskin down away from my bell end. It would have been beautiful to spurt my cum at her face there and then but she was careful, touching me gently, enough to tease and stimulate but lacking the tug power needed to risk a full gooey facial. 

"Dear oh dear," she said looking up, "this is horribly swollen and very red. How does that feel?" Ella wanked me slowly. "There, there. A little massage can do wonders you know."

"Oh yes, nurse, you are so right. That does feel much better." 

"Not too much mind, we don't want it to burst now do we." She stopped jerking and tapped my bell end with her finger to signal that she had finished, a good job too. I looked forward to future hand jobs from her to completion but right now I was set on shooting a tankful up her pussy.

"Right," said Ella assertively, "Hmmm, I see. How does that feel?" She had my scrotum in her hands and was touching my balls with her fingertips."

"Ah, ah, oh," I moaned. 

"Yes," said Ella, "a classic case. We'll soon have you right as rain Mr Wilkinson. No need to trouble the doctor. If you'll lie down here on the treatment table."

Ella pointed to a patch of ground and I obediently lay down flat. I felt the cool moss under me. My dick was virtually perpendicular, throbbing intensely. I waited with excitement to see what she would do. 

"Now Mr Wilkinson, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you. This won't hurt and will be over soon enough," she said, sounding strict.

I was amazed at how she played the role. Anyway, I closed my eyes as she instructed. In a moment I sensed her straddling me, her legs were tight up against my sides, then a firm hand grasped my dick and a warm slippery feeling wrapped itself around my bell end which sank blissfully into Ella's incredibly tight pussy sending me spinning and tumbling into sensation overload.

"Open your eyes now and focus. We'll soon get that swelling down."

In front of me was Ella in reverse cowgirl position, fully dressed except for her smart navy jacket. I would have liked her to remove her white blouse and swivel around so I could see her tits and face. Still, she, no doubt, wanted to stay in the part.

Through the trees, drops of rain began to fall on us, but my attention was all on the pleasing warmth and tightness teasing my dick mercilessly. 'If she moves I'll explode,' I thought, but she sat quite still, her head angled up and back slightly arched. She was in heaven too and I could hear her edgy breathing and see her ribcage expanding and contracting deeply. I lifted the hem of her skirt and the sight of her milky white bum on my navel made my dick twitch and I drew in a sharp breath. 

"Oh, nurse!" I gasped desperately, powerless to hold back any longer.

She started to work up and down. The mind-blowing sensations drove me to a sensational peak and I spurted inside her powerfully. Now that is sex, I thought, not the dribbling I had been doing in the last ten years of marriage. Sweet Jesus! Ella ground out every last drop and stopped when I was fully done. 

On my back in the wet thicket with Ella on top, having had the most amazing sex experience of my life, beautiful emotions and feelings washed over me. A tear fell from my eye, such was the happiness. Nature was with me too. A bushy-tailed squirrel spied down from a treetop on the pair of us, a wood pigeon was cooing and a cuckoo in the distance was calling out. Rain dripped down from the heavens but the clouds were clearing and the sun broke through the branches, the spectacular rays warmed us in our bliss. Ella turned to look at me and spoke in a deeper voice.

"That concludes your treatment, Mr Wilkinson. How do you feel." 

"Wonderful. Just perfect."

"But we must guard against a relapse. You will need to see me as often as you can."

"That's so good of you nurse."

"Not at all," she said with a cheeky wink and saucy smile, "that's what I'm here for."

We dropped the role play, tidied ourselves and walked out of the thicket holding hands across the meadow towards the town. I came clean with Ella and told her all about my marital arrangement with Jan. She smiled and said Jan had already told her the previous week. They were on close terms, something I had never realised! 

"So you knew!" I said, amazed.

"Yes, I knew."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Nothing. Be discreet, I expect, just like you."

We both laughed and as we shared in the humour, the sky darkened and rain soaked our hair and clothes. We reached the town and looked back. The sun was shining now and dark clouds were drifting away from us and drenching everything en route.  And far off, one of nature's great displays made us gaze in wonder; a magnificent rainbow arched over from the east, across the county and descended with all its dazzling colours into our thicket of love.

We looked into each other's smiling eyes and exchanged a common understanding. 

"I need to drive home," said Ella. "Look at the state I'm in!"

"But you look wonderful," I said, seeing beyond the tousled damp hair and wet creased clothing. She looked much younger, life and love of life shone out of her as if she was a girl of sixteen enjoying the first fruits of a blazing love. We walked to her car discreetly.

"You will visit me tonight," she said, unsure, "for your treatment."

"Oh yes!" I replied with great enthusiasm. She looked me in the eye with amazing warmth, still teasing, and drove off.

I went home on the bus, a new man, looking forward to a brave new life of pleasure and companionship.

I stayed with my wife and we lived under the same roof though our marriage was over.  My will to live was sustained by several years of exciting sexual encounters with Ella. Those precious years made me realise I wanted to live the rest of my life fully sexually active as much as my physical health would allow.

When my wife died, Ella sold her house and we lived together for two blissful years. Sadly, she herself passed away at the age of seventy-five, but I can say we squeezed every last drop out of our lives while we were together and played our final game of doctors and nurses right up to the last day.

In fact, she died smiling in my arms, one last twinkle in her eyes, one final tease, having treated me for the last time. Oh Ella, god how I miss you.

She always told me to move on quickly when she died and find more happiness wherever I could. That was my Ella, not a molecule of jealousy in her, loving me from beyond the grave. I would never meet another woman in her league. But I did meet many women, oh yes.

I sold my house and bought a luxurious motorhome. It had everything, double bed, kitchen, satellite TV and a shower. For fifteen years I toured around Britain taking my chances wherever I could. As a young man, I was pretty hopeless at scoring with women. But now in my sixties, I really came into my own (no pun intended).

Stopping at caravan parks and towns around the country I found no shortage of older ladies willing to entertain a kindred spirit for a night or two. Of course, I suffered rejections, but more than enough said yes to my advances and I lived life to the full during those romping orgasmic years. But nothing lasts forever and repeated spells of ill health, mainly arthritis and gout, forced me off the road into sheltered housing.

I had blown my wealth during those wild years on the road, but in return, blown my stack thousands of times inside hundreds of delightful ladies. Even here as I sit now awaiting Gloria, my home help carer, to arrive and prepare my dinner, there is something sweet awaiting me. She is a nice lady in her late fifties, with a big smile, cheeky eyes, large bottom and a sexy bust. I am seventy-eight years old and while I can, I will. 

And I have Ella to thank for it all. It was Ella that woke up the man in me and it was Ella that opened my eyes to a thousand possibilities with mature women; widows, spinsters, grannies who bake tarts for the village fete. I have been with them all and loved every minute of it. I have to laugh when I recall what Jan once said about mature women not needing sex. 

Well, that is the end, or nearly, I doubt if I will see out the year. But while I breathe I will continue to raise my glass to Ella, the best of the lot, and to a hot afternoon's sex in a wet thicket on the edge of a blushing meadow.