CHAPTER TWO: In the Beginning
….It had been hard to tell exactly what the problem was but despite the fact that Shirley had been lucky in life generally, she gradually sank into despair. Not even her blessings of a healthy son who had just gone off to college, a loving husband, relative wealth and a great group of friends could ease her suffering.
She even saw a shrink once who had explained to her that she was merely going through a mid life crisis. She was familiar with the phrase but she hadn’t realized just how difficult it was to deal with. Things got so bad that when her husband who was a petroleum engineer got a lucrative job offer in Nigeria, they had both agreed he should take it. Since their son had gone off to college and would be spending his vacations travelling the world, they also decided to put up their bigger home for lease while Shirley would find a smaller property where Jack, her husband could come home to when he was on vacation stateside.
It was actually a separation through the back door and they both knew it, but Jack loved her too much to stand in the way of what she needed. He knew that she needed to work through the crisis on her own terms; he simply wanted to be there for her when needed him, which most likely would be when she was done sorting herself out.
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One lovely summer afternoon a couple of months after she moved into the new house, she was strolling as usual when she came across a very handsome black youth in his late teens, or so she had thought at the time. He had stopped and starred at her as she walked on by, and although she fought so desperately to resist the temptation of turning around and looking right back at him, she lost control, and then dropped her little purse just to see what would happen, and also to give herself a plausible excuse to turn around and go back without giving away her true motive.
She had only gone a few yards down the road when he caught up with her and said in his very smooth matter of fact voice, “excuse me ma’am but you dropped your purse back there.”
‘Oh my God!’ Shirley thought as she stopped dead in her tracks; her eyes roamed over his gorgeous body as she drank in his awesome physique. He was 5’10” tall and looked very fit. He had been jogging in his sweat pants and sleeveless t-shirt that showed off his awesome biceps.
Feeling hot and speechless, her situation became even more awkward as she quickly realized the flaw in her impromptu plan; she had baited the young man but she hadn’t figured out how she would play it if he walked up to her like he just did, and she was quite flustered by it too. She willed herself to be calm but it didn’t do much for her shaky voice as she thanked him and took the purse from him. Her first instinct was to snatch the purse and then run off like a silly school girl, but he made that impossible by holding on to his end of it as he regarded her beautiful mature face.
Shirley recovered much of her composure first and pulled at her purse a little harder saying, “Ahm... thank you for fetching my purse… Mr….” it worked, and he let go of her purse so suddenly she lost her balance. He rushed forward and caught her just in time. His strong youthful arms were around her waist and her face a mere couple of inches from his. The warmth of his hot breath turned her legs to jelly, and if he hadn’t been holding her she would have spilled on the ground for sure.
“Careful pretty lady,” “And whatever did you mean thanks for fetching my purse?” he asked mimicking her New England accent. “Do I look like your dog or something?” ordinarily that sort of back talk coming from one so young would have been out and out rude, but in the case of this handsome black stranger it didn’t feel like that. It came out more like a firm and matter of fact rejection of a notion by a man who knew exactly what he wanted and was neither shy nor afraid to demand it.
“Oh, I’m sorry but I didn’t mean it like that at all,” Shirley became quite self conscious and hoped she hadn’t said anything that could be interpreted as being racially offensive.
The brown eyed Adonis smiled broadly, showing a set of perfect white teeth that left Shirley breathless and flushed with desire. “Relax pretty lady, I was only yanking your chains a little, of course you didn’t mean it like that.”
“Let’s start over,” he said; “My name is Jamal Fishbourne, and I live in that house over there,” he pointed to a house just down the street from hers.
“She subconsciously patted her hair as she introduced herself. “I’m Shirley Crane, I’m sort of new to the area and I live…” She didn’t get to complete her statement as he jumped right in. “I know where you live pretty lady, I’ve been seeing you around, hard not to.”
Shirley blushed at what she interpreted as a complement. Men hardly gave her complements any more, and yet there she was being complemented by this young black man who looked a little younger than her own son. What’s even more amazing is how he effortlessly managed to make her feel like a silly school girl too…..
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“What’s new Mrs. Crane?” Shane, her gay hair dresser asked Shirley with a naughty effeminate, curious look on his face.
“What do you mean what’s new Shane?” Shirley asked trying desperately to keep a straight face.
“Oh come off it Mrs. C, who is he or she?” he asked as he paused in the process of washing her hair. He feigned impatience with her ineffectual attempt at cluelessness… and then continued, “you walked in here with a smile on your face that could light up a city block at night, you’re glowing as you glide rather than walk, and now as I wash your hair, massaging your scalp I couldn’t help but notice the hardening of your lovely nipples and might I point out this is the very first time you’ve been confident enough to venture out here without a bra on.”
Shane paused again to allow her respond to his observation, but all she did was shift uncomfortably in the reclined chair with her blushing face up towards the ceiling. Shirley wished she was in a position where she could hide her face away from the very perceptive and persistently nosey but lovable Shane.
“Well, I’ll let it slide for now, but from the way you keep on blushing like a school girl I’d say you’re in love…. He raised an eye brow and watched her very closely for possible reaction to that, and then as he resumed washing her hair again, he added, “Either that or you found yourself a young well hung stud who knows how to rattle your bones.” He jerked his crotch back and forth in mock thrusts to buttress his point.
In spite of herself Shirley cracked up and laughed with him, thus confirming his assumption. He teased her a little more and then promised to put a special touch to her hair that would make her even more “fuck-me gorgeous and sexy for her new man.” There was something about his conspiratorial tone and the naughty wink he gave her that told Shirley that he knew she was having an affair, of course he knew her husband was hardly ever around.
To be continued....
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