13 comments/  72371 views/  5 favorites

Fisherman

By: magmaman



Less than two miles from my house is the Pacific Ocean. There are some rock jetties going out into the ocean and a long pier that we can fish off of.

I used to like going out onto the big rocks, I could run at full tilt across the top of them, no problem at all. Hell, it was damn near a half mile to the end, many times I stood right there at the very tip of it. 

Getting out there where almost no one ever went was fun, I caught things so big they sometimes surprised even me. Big old Cabezon, Lingcod, the Sea bass and smaller fish we called Sea Trout were always there. A few times I even cast out in the fall for the big Silver Perch and ended up with a Salmon instead.

But time takes it's toll, years of hard work and age made the old muscles tired and sore, the joints ached. 

Damn rocks got bigger and farther apart, too. One day I was struggling to get out onto the rocks and a big wave caught me, a couple of kids happened to be close by and dragged me out of the water.

"Hey, old timer, maybe you should not come out here, it can be dangerous." One of them told me.

I looked at the over muscled kid's wet suit and spear gun, and I thought about telling him to put me back in the goddamn water, I could take care of myself.

But I kept my mouth shut, just thanked them. They were right, I knew that.

I found myself ambling out onto the pier, sitting in a lawn chair and pitching a piece of sand shrimp out into the water.

Sometimes I even got a bite or two, mostly I just sat out there casting sidelong glances at the big rollers coming in off the ocean and hitting the rocks. They struck and often blasted 30 feet into the air. I could see that from the pier, smell the salt air, remember the times I had been out there, jumping from rock to rock to avoid the huge waves. Then I would dart down, drop a piece of bait into a likely crack in the rocks and almost always get a fish.

I sighed, life wasn't fair. Just when I got to the point where I had all of this time all day every day, my body had betrayed me and would not let me do all the things I wanted to do.

Hell, I even had to stop at the little market and buy bait, I used to just take a shovel and a bucket and dig clams and sand shrimp, even that made me hurt so bad I just couldn't do it.

The trouble with the damn pier was people. Families with kids, they ran screaming back and forth, throwing things into the water, it was noise all the time. Without fail a bunch would show up and throw crab pots over the side, yapping away in some foreign language, generally ruining what could be a peaceful day.

One day I decided to go back out onto the jetty. I checked the tide book, there was a series of shallow tides coming up. That meant a gentle current, and the weather report was good, little wind and no storms in sight.

By God I was going fishing! And I wasn't going to use that damned frozen shit for bait, so I got a shovel and my boots and off I went. The tide was out pretty good, I got down to the river bank where a rock shelf runs out, it is covered by about 6 inches of mud so the shrimp can't run.

It took me a half hour to dig a little trench, as it filled with water the shrimp slid out of their holes. I picked them up, in short order I had around 50 of them and a few clams. I put those into my little plastic bucket, went back to my truck and rested for a good hour or so.

Feeling up to it, I drove out onto the jetty to the sign and parked. The sign read danger, keep off, but nobody ever paid any attention to that.

I grabbed my fishing pole, a stout little five footer, my gunny sack I had clipped to my belt, and my bucket of bait. In my coat pocket I had some split shot leads and a package of fishhooks, all I really needed.

No point in any huge casting rig, all the fish were in the rocks anyway because if they weren't, they would end up in one of those ever present Seal's belly.

I started out across the rocks. I found myself sliding down one side on my fanny, on my hands and knees in other places. I just kept going, I knew that it would take me awhile but the tide was coming in and I wanted to be where I was headed at high slack tide.

The place I was heading was a huge flat rock that was well above the highest tide point. It had large rocks on each side, I could set my gear down and fish off that rock without much fear of falling in. It took me nearly two hours of starting and stopping to clamber my way out there, but by God I made it.

I put my gear down and sat down to rest, lighting up a smoke. I woke up a half hour later, looked down at the river. The tide was coming up on high slack.

I put a shrimp tail on my little number 4 hook, flipped in down into the gap between the two boulders. I tripped the reel and the pole bent double, out came a nice little Greenie a good 16" long. I caught three more of them back to back, all the same size. Then I went a long time without a bite. I did catch a couple of Red Rock Crabs, nice ones so I stuck those in my sack, too.

But still no more bites. I knew what that meant, a big fellow was around, the smaller fish all take off when big Cabezon or Lingcod slides in under the rocks. I put on a tiny bit of bait and cast out on the other side, there was a shallower area there that I knew had little ones. I instantly caught a little yellow perch about 3 inches long.

I carefully hooked the yellow Perch through it's fin on the back, dropped it down into the deep hole. It instantly darted for the cover of the rocks but didn't make it. I saw the huge shadow dart out, then turn back, and I set the hook.

It was huge. I had caught some very large fish out there but this one was right up there with the largest. It proceeded to wedge itself into the rocks and refused to budge. I just kept up the pressure, I knew that eventually it would begin to give and try something else.

"What do you have on, mister?" Said a voice from behind me.

I glanced back and there stood a pretty little brunette in a bikini that she might as well have not bothered with.

I damn near dropped the pole! How in the hell did she get out here, besides, she was barefoot?

"We were swimming on the South side, the waves are gentle there." She said, apparently reading the surprise on my face.

"We?" I asked, giving my line a tug. Just then the fish darted out of the rocks and across the hole into another spot, went back to sulking.

"Oh! You do have a fish on, what is it?" She started climbing down the rocks to where I was. Just what I needed was some tourists coming down and getting in my way, I was in a battle here. I was trying to keep my line off the rocks so it didn't cut through, at the same time I had to keep pressure on the fish or it would be gone.

The young woman managed to get to my rock, right on cue she stepped in front of me and looked down over the edge. The tail of the thing was sticking out into view, it was a big Cabezon, it's tail was a good six inches tall.

The trouble with big Cabezon is they will wrap their tails around a rock and hang on for dear life. The only way to get the really big ones is tire them and make them work.

Usually they win, to be honest.

"Excuse me, miss, please step back." I asked her.

"Sorry." She stepped back out of my way.

Just then another voice called out.

"Julie! Where the fuck are you?"

"I'm down here, Sandy! This man has a great big fish on!" Hell, she sounded as excited as I was. Another pretty light brown haired girl appeared, she was also in a bikini, if anything, it was even smaller. She climbed down and onto the same flat rock with us. It was getting a bit snug.

I would have yelled at them to go the hell away and leave me alone but to be honest I was enjoying the view.

The other problem I had was the fucking fish was beginning to win, I could feel my arms starting to give up.

I got an idea.

"Miss? Uhhhh....Julie? Hey, want to give me a hand?"

"Sure, what do I do?"

"Take this pole, just hold it tight against the fish. He might try to dart out under the rocks into the river and if he does he will get away so pull hard. I need to rest my arms."

"Oh, OK. I know how to fish. Sandy, come here and help me hold this."

Sandy reached out and grabbed to pole just ahead of the reel, Julie grabbed the butt of it. Her right hand came over and took the reel handle, I knew she had had a fishing pole in her hands before.

Thankfully, I let go, my poor arms were starting to cramp up from what was now a full half hour of constant pressure. I stepped back to a glorious view of two bikini clad behinds and both of them were spectacular. They were both leaned forwards, looking down at the big fish now six feet away.

I rubbed my arms, felt myself quickly recovering. In a few minutes, I stepped forward and took the pole again.

"Thanks." I told them.

"You are welcome, sir." Sandy said.

"Sir?" I thought with a grin, but just then the fish made another run for it. It was trying to get it's head down to escape under the rocks, I was trying to hold it's head up. I saw it give up, it's maw came open and the head broke water. It hung there on the end of my line. I tightened up, slid it off to the side where I could reach down and grab it's lower jaw.

I knew what was going to happen and it did, the instant I grabbed it grabbed right back. I lifted it out of the water onto the rock.

"Wow!" One of the girls said, their feet dangerously close to the flopping thing.

I knew I was done fishing, now the problem was going to be to get back with the fish and my gear, not to mention the fish I had in my sack. I bonked the big fish on the head, then slid it into my sack.

I thanked the two girls, they still stood there and watched me. Then I picked up my pole, my bait bucket and the sack, started back down the rocks. I almost didn't want to leave, this pair was really fun to look at.

"We need to head back too." Julie told her friend. They started working their way along with me. After about a hundred yards I had to stop. They stopped and sat there with me while I rested, they were asking questions about fishing and everything under the Sun.

I explained that I didn't come out onto the rocks much since I got old, it was too hard on me but that I really did enjoy it.

"You don't look so old!" Sandy giggled at me. She had noticed my glances at them, hell, I couldn't help myself, they both looked to be almost naked. Sandy had started almost posing, letting her shoulder come back which made her breasts look larger and higher. Julie just kept grinning at me.

Finally I was ready to go again, Sandy took the bait bucket, looked inside at them.

"Yuk!" She said, laughing.

"The fish like them." I told her.

Julie took my fishing pole, she stuck the hook into the soft butt of the rod, then spun the sinker around the rod with a practiced motion. I knew for sure she had been fishing before now.

With just the sack to deal with we made better progress, but the damned sack was heavy as hell so I had to stop a couple of more times to rest. Each time they stopped right with me and we chatted. I lit up a smoke, Sandy asked for one so I lit it for her. She held it between two fingers and did that posing sideways thing to me again.

Julie noticed, too, she kept looking at me and back at Sandy and grinning. Hell, it was giving me a woody, and that was a bit of a rare thing at my age. That bikini Sandy had on didn't actually cover her, the tiny piece of cloth seemed to sit on the ends of her nipples. Sitting sideways I could see a portion of brown and it was tough to try and not look at that.

I knew damn good and well that she knew it, too. She was pointedly sitting there teasing me.

Finally we made it to the sand, a short walk later and we were at my truck. I looked around, there were no bikes, no other cars. There were some people way down the beach but that was it.

"Where is your car?" I asked.

"We don't have one, we walked."

"Like that?" 

"No, we have some clothes and shoes in a bag over there." She pointed towards some tall beach grass. Julie walked over and retrieved the bag, came back to my truck. I was stowing the fish in my cooler, putting away my gear.

"Hey, can you give us a ride back to town?" Julie asked.

"Sure, glad to." I told her.

"We need to change first." She looked at me.

"OK, I will turn my back."

Sandy just laughed, slipped off her top and stripped down the tiny bottoms before I could react. She looked at me with a grin, reached for a T-shirt and pulled it over her head, taking her sweet time.

I looked her up and down, what the hell. She was completely bare, no pubic hair at all. I had seen some photos of young women on the internet, it seemed to be the thing in today's world.

Sandy finally tugged on a pair of shorts, she had to hold the sides of them and jump up and down to get them on.

Julie turned her back, peeled off her bikini and changed into a similar outfit. I watched her for a second, her bare ass didn't have a single mark or blemish on it. But she carefully kept her back turned so I didn't get to see her titties.

We climbed into my truck and headed off towards town. Sandy climbed in first, scooted over tight against me. I was totally and completely aware of her body touching me. I was also completely aware of my cock doing it's best to swell up, I tried to control that but wasn't having much luck.

"How many fish did you get?" Sandy asked me, reaching out and putting her hand on my leg. She touched me so high up that another inch of so and she would have her hand on my package.

That didn't help my state one damned bit. I wasn't used to having two very pretty young girls around, in fact at 65 I wasn't used to having any females around at all.

"Maybe six, I think. Couple of Crabs, too." I managed to finally answer. Sandy moved her hand back and forth a bit, patted my leg and smiled.

"You are really a good fisherman, aren't you?"

"I catch a few from time to time."

"So where are we going?" She asked me.

"I...I was taking you.....where do you want to go?"

"It doesn't matter, Julie and I are just on a trip, we came down from Seattle last week. We had an old car but it broke down."

"You mean you are on foot?"

"Yea. Can we maybe stay at your place?" She asked.

"Just for the night?" She patted my leg again.

I thought about that, I did have a spare bedroom and a couch, so it wasn't a problem. Besides, the idea of two rather uninhibited pretty young ladies around sounded like fun to me.

"Sure, no reason why not." I told her. We were in town now, so I turned off down the bay road to my house.

I showed them around, then I went in to clean the fish. I cut off some big steaks for dinner, got out some spuds and frozen Corn.

"Can we take a shower? We both smell like fish!" Sandy asked me, giggling.

"Sure, go ahead, there are some towels in the cabinet in there, plus soap and shampoo."

I heard the shower start up, went back to preparing the meal. I had it all laid out ready to start cooking when Julie came out. She had on some jeans and a T-shirt, and was drying her hair.

"Your turn." She grinned, sniffing at me.

"I was going to cook....."

"Here, let me. I know how to cook." She shouldered me aside, reached for the pans.

I shrugged, headed for the shower. Sandy was sitting in a chair in my living room, watching a soap opera on TV.

"Thank you for letting us stay, sir." She called out.

"I'm Dan." I told her. She beamed and nodded. I went in and washed up, dried and slid on fresh clothes. Julie was setting the table when I came out. She was right, she could cook. Everything was perfect. I did notice that they both ate quite a bit for being smaller young ladies, it was obvious they were hungry.

I asked them what they were doing, where they were headed. They took turns explaining that they had headed from Seattle for Seaside up the coast, but their car broke down. They didn't have enough money to get it fixed and it was a piece of junk anyway. Since they didn't want to give up their vacation, they had hitchhiked to Seaside, spent a few days there, then hitchhiked on down the coast.

They ran out of money for motels and food so they had gone out to the jetty to try and catch some seafood. Julie said they were swimming along looking for Oysters. But it was hard to do since there weren't any out there, then they found me.

I laughed at that, told them they were nice and safe with me and I had plenty of food.

Julie got up and cleared the table, Sandy even pitched in and helped her do the dishes.

I went in and sat down, lit a smoke and poured myself a finger of brandy. It had been one hell of a day. I could hear their animated conversation in there, I missed most of it but got part of it.

"....looks just fine to me." Sandy said.

"Yea, I think he is interested." Julie's voice answered.

"Should we?"

"OK." Then there was a bunch of giggling, I heard more dishes rattling.

Both of them came out into the living room, Julie plopped down across from me on the couch. Sandy spotted my bottle of Brandy, glanced at me.

"Help yourself." I told her. She got two glasses, poured some for each of them. I looked at what she had poured, thinking that that should do it.

The TV was on, some news program, we all sat quietly sipping the drinks. It wasn't long before Julie started to doze off. Sandy and I chatted for quite a long time, Julie softly snored.

Finally it was time for bed.

"You can take this bedroom." I told her.

"OK, thank you. You are sweet." She came over to me, lifted up on tiptoe and kissed me on the cheek.

I looked at Julie, went and got a blanket and spread it over her, then I went to bed. I was just starting to doze off when I heard a noise and a body slid into bed with me. 

That surprised me. I wasn't sure which one it was in the dark but I suspected it was Sandy. I felt her hands reaching for me, all I had on was my underwear. She slid her hand inside my briefs and felt my limp crotch. It didn't take much of her fondling and I started to respond. I reached out and fondled back, she didn't say a single word and neither did I. I felt her snug little breasts, ran my hand down and found her hairless slit. For a second I thought then that it was Julie but then I realized both of them had to be hairless. I could feel an ever so slight roughness from the hairs starting to grow back, she had apparently shaved rather than waxed.

I didn't care at this point, she rolled up on top of me and reached between her legs and spread herself, sitting down on my solid six inch erection. She was very active, she was just fucking me, and she was on top and in control. I held back as long as I could, I felt her body let go with a shudder and that did it for me, I let go right behind her.

I lay back, exhausted, and felt something behind me. The other one was in bed with me too, with all the activity I hadn't noticed. Her hand came over and began to stroke my now slippery cock, damned if it didn't begin to stand up the second time. I rolled towards her as I felt something wet, the first one was licking my ass! I got up on top of the one on my right, inserted and began to stroke her. I felt fingers reach between my legs from behind, cradling my balls as I screwed the other one with no mercy. Then I felt her arms go around me and she began to feel up whoever was under me's titties.

This was erotic as hell! Not only was I getting gloriously laid by a pretty young woman not more than 20 years old, I was getting two of them! I finally let fly into the other girl's body, then collapsed. I rolled over on my back, lay there as I felt hands cross my body. The one on my right slid up and over me, giving me a push. I scooted over to make room.

I lay there listening to the sounds of two women going at each other in the dark. I reached out to feel them, they were in a 69 position. I had no idea at all who was who in my pitch dark room.


Fisherman



From the sounds, they both obviously orgasmed again as I lay there listening. Then someone turned towards me, I felt a mouth slide over me even though I was no spent, other hands feeling me here and there. One arm reached down and lifted my knee, fingers went around and I felt something push at my rear end. It pushed again, a finger slipped inside of me, began to work in and out. I felt myself erect partially a third time, the sucking on me was so strong that I had a final small climax.

That was it for me, I lay back with two women pressed up against me, one hand around each one of their backs, a breast in each hand.

I fell asleep, then I dreamed. Man did I dream, I was back out on the jetty, pulling on my rod. A beautiful creature was on the end of my line, she came into view and smiled at me.

I woke up with a start, my briefs were hanging from one leg, I was all sticky. I got up and pulled my briefs up, went looking. There was no one in my house.

Had I been having a crazy dream? No, it had to be real, my cock was all sticky and my briefs pulled down. Maybe I had just had a wet dream?

I checked every room, including the bathroom, nobody. I looked at the clock, it was 7:30 AM. I went into the kitchen and made some coffee, sat down to think.

Why had they come into my room like that, making crazy wild love to me? Then just take off, not saying anything at all?

Then it hit me.

I went and looked outside, my truck was gone. I went in and checked my pants, opened my wallet. I had had $70 in there, that was gone. But all my credit cards were there. I checked the rest of the house, everything was there except for some canned goods and some boxes of cereal, and a bag of snacks that I hadn't opened.

I went outside, checked my garage. Some of the camping gear I had stored out there was gone, too.

I went inside to reach for the phone to call the Sheriff. I had second thoughts about that.

"Yea, Sheriff, I was out fishing and I picked up these two 20 year old girls, had them over to the house and they fucked me senseless and then left with my truck and some of my money.....??"

Yea, sure I will.

I started laughing, hung up the phone. I went into the kitchen, got a big chunk of fish and made myself some breakfast.

It was four days later when they found my truck parked alongside of the road a couple of hundred miles South.

They impounded it, I had a friend of mine drive me down to pick it up. I paid the tow and impound fee, poured some gas into the tank. Then I climbed in to start it up. There was a note stuck to the dash. I picked it up and looked at it.

"Thanks!" was all it said, with two happy faces drawn on it.

I grinned at that, started the engine and went home.



Fisherman Ch. 02



It was certainly an amazing experience. All I was doing was going out on the south jetty to try and catch a fish, then I ran into two beautiful young women.

Somehow they ended up at my house, and that night they just climbed into my bed.

Things like that just do not happen to 66 year old coots like me.

Hell, that never happened to me even when I was a young buck. Sure, I got my share of nookie but usually only after a bunch of dates and some serious effort. Just one time in my entire life did I end up in bed with two women at once, that was just a case of getting drunk with a girlfriend of mine and her on the chunky side sister.

When I woke up the next morning it hit me that the sister was a LOT on the big side, odd how she looked a lot better the night before when she was giggling and flashing those giant breasts at me.

Then my girlfriend at the time got all snotty because her sister kept trying for a repeat, needless to say it wasn't long before I was nookieless again.

Of course at that stage of my life I probably would have stuck my dick in a baked potato if it had butter on it, even sober. But then I found a wife and I stayed true to her right up until the time the good lord took her.

The idea of ending up in the sack with even one close to perfect body is rare, getting two of them at once is unheard of.

It did irritate me when the two new young ones I stumbled onto swiped my truck, some of my cash and a few other odds and ends.

But I had so danged much fun with them I would have just let them if they asked. Just think about what you would do, two sweet young things without a bump or blemish on either one of them?

I know there were almost no flaws, I poked around in every nook and crannie on both of them that I could think of. Sure, it was pitch black in my bedroom, so I couldn't really see them but I sure could feel them.

I did my very best to take advantage of the situation, surprising even myself. Let's just say that 66 year old peckers don't often respond like they do at 20, just a fact of life.

But hell, for about an hour there I could have put most porn stars to shame.

Dang right they could borrow my truck, have some cash, food? No prob at all, please drop by on the way back through and get some more?

Besides, I got my truck back anyway, so no real harm done. Then I had myself a lot of fun sessions thinking about that night. Three times? Man, that was something else.

It was about a month or so later, I was headed down to the local watering hole to waste some of my Social Security check in the video poker machines. I had spent a couple of weeks checking out every young female I saw, hoping I guess that they would show up?

No such luck, finally I went back to being a crusty old 66 year old, just happy waking up each day, looking for something to do.

I was moving slowly in the left turn lane, turn signal going, waiting for a hole to open up so I could pull into the parking lot. Summertime traffic in the coastal town I lived near was getting to be a real pain in the ass. My old truck can be a struggle to get into motion since the tires are so big, I was trying to time it so there was a hole I could slip through to cross the oncoming traffic.

I saw a young woman walking down the street from the Thriftway, she was eating a Corn Dog. She had on white shorts and a halter top, and her boobs were making a pretty good bounce. In her other hand she had a small white sack. I managed to hit the brakes just in time to keep from mashing some little old lady's Toyota, then I looked over at the girl again.

It took me a second or two to realize that it was Sandy. I had to wait a few more seconds as she walked by the entrance to the lot I wanted to park in. I pulled in and leaned out the window.

"Hey! Sandy!" I called out. She looked back at me, recognized me. Her eyes widened and she took off running, I suppose I could have taken off after her but at my age there was fat chance of catching her.

She went around the corner and down the next alleyway, I knew that was a parking lot for the row of stores in the next block.

I just parked and walked around the corner into the lot. There stood Julie, in front of a ratty old Datsun with the hood up. She had a corn dog in one hand and the white sack in the other. They both looked at me, scared.

"Hey, mister, we are sorry." Julie said. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for an escape route but I was smack dab in the middle of the only way out.

"Sorry for what?" I asked, giving them a smile. Sandy looked like she was about ready to break and run, Julie now seemed like she was going to stand her ground but she looked tense.

"Taking your stuff. We had to, we needed it."

"Hell, it was worth it, all you had to do was ask." I laughed.

"Really? You aren't mad?"

"No. Besides, I got my truck back. What's up with your car?"

Julie visibly relaxed, Sandy was still looking at me warily.

"It won't run, it was getting noisy, then it started smoking and stopped. We got it running enough to get it back here but now it just won't start at all."

I could see that the engine was still extremely hot and I could smell burnt oil.

"Let me take a look." I reached in and pulled the dipstick, nothing.

"Afraid she is done. Where did you get it?" I asked.

They both looked at each other, then they blushed.

"Oh." I laughed at that, I had a pretty good idea how they got it.

"So where are you headed?" I asked her.

"We are going back home to Seattle, but now I guess we have to walk."

"Where will you stay tonight?"

Yea, I know. It flashed into my mind that maybe they might want to spend the night with me again.

Hell, I could go for that.

I was hoping for maybe a yes, and maybe we could..? Instead, she changed the subject.

"Say, Danny? Could we maybe borrow some fishing stuff? We will bring it back." Julie did one of those little girl acts, I just grinned at her.

"Sure, I have a couple of spare rods." I was thinking of the two old Uglystiks I had in my garage, they were in good shape but lately I had been using heavier gear.

"Cool! We can maybe catch something to eat and just camp out down on the beach?" She flashed me a big smile. I glanced over at Sandy, she was now smiling and doing that turn sideways and stick her tits out thing again.

"How about I take you, I don't have anything else to do today."

They both acted all excited at that, so I loaded them up in my truck and headed off to my house. I noticed Julie opened the trunk of the Datsun and pulled out what was left of my tent and a couple of sleeping bags.

One of the sleeping bags was mine, the other one wasn't. I didn't really care at that point. She tossed the stuff into the bed of the truck and climbed in.

Sandy sat next to me, making me completely aware of the heat off her body, her left breast jammed tightly against my arm.

At the house, I gathered up the gear and we headed out onto the jetty. I parked and we went down onto the rocks, I wasn't in the mood to try and go way out, besides, there was a breeze up and the rollers were reaching almost to the top of it out there.

In no time at all, we were fishing. Julie got a bite and hooked a little 10 incher, then Sandy got one a bit bigger but ended up hung up in the rocks. Julie caught another one as I finally gave up and broke Sandy's line free.

After an hour of that, there was a dozen medium size greenies in the sack, Sandy managed to catch just two of them.

I didn't catch any at all, I was helping. Oh, hell, tell the truth here. I was watching mostly, every time Sandy reached for a bit of bait in the bucket I could see her whole tit. She knew it too and took her sweet time bending over.

"That's enough, let's go cook them." Julie announced as she swung the last one over to me to unhook and drop in the sack. We loaded back up and I drove over to my house, just like before.

I guess the camp out on the beach part got lost in there somewhere.

We had a nice meal of fish fillets and some microwaved potatos. Julie found the remains of a head of lettuce and some other veggies in the crisper and cleaned off the dark parts, making a salad. Then we sat around sipping some brandy while they told me about all of their adventures. I didn't ask about how they got the old Datsun and they didn't offer any information.

No point in not being honest, I was thinking along the lines of getting myself another one of those sessions. By the time bedtime rolled around it wasn't looking too good though.

It can be easy for a guy to act a little familiar after once sticking the old dick in some gal, so I guess my hints were probably a bit blatant. My wisecracks and suggestions just seemed to roll off of them.

They both went into my spare bedroom and I went into mine. I lay there for a long time, then sleep took over. I woke up the next morning expecting to see them gone.

I found Julie in the kitchen making pancakes and eggs, she had a platter of bacon in the microwave. There was no sign of Sandy, so I asked where she was.

"Sandy took some oil and went down to see if she could get the car started."

"Oh. You mean she walked?" Hell, it was at least 8 or 9 miles.

"Sandy doesn't usually have to walk very far." Julie giggled, then flipped over the cakes. I sat down and she served me a plate. There was no doubt at all, Julie could cook.

We had finished breakfast, and were just getting ready to wash up when there was a racket outside. I looked out the window, the old Datsun pulled up, clattering like crazy. She shut it off, it hissed and then let out a belch of smoke.

She came inside grinning. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, the shirt was dirty where she had wiped her hands on it.

"It started right up, I put a whole gallon of oil in it." She announced proudly. I thought about the gallon of oil I kept in my garage for my old lawnmower, I figured I knew where she had gotten the oil.

Hell, you would have thought she had overhauled the engine the way she was acting pleased with herself.

"Can I take a bath?" She asked me. I nodded, off she went. She came back out about 30 minutes later, I was thinking she was going to drown in there. All she had was one of my towels wrapped around herself and there wasn't a hell of a lot of it. She plopped down on the couch and pulled the towel loose and started rubbing her hair, just like that.

I noticed she glanced up a couple of times to see if I was watching.

I was. Sure, a month or so earlier I had screwed both of them from about every angle possible but this was the first time I had seen either one of them naked.

Except for some peeks and of course when Sandy had changed out of her bikini. That had been a brief glimpse is all.

Sandy had medium size breasts, her nipples were puffy and pink. I knew now that she was the first one that had climbed into bed with me, no way could I forget those soft puffy nipples in my mouth.

As she dried off, she even opened her legs wide and dabbed at herself. She was totally hairless, for a moment or so I wondered how she managed to keep it that way. Then I remembered that I kept my razor by the sink in my bathroom.

The perverted thought of sniffing my razor before I shaved next time popped into my head. I guess I grinned at her.

I must have had quite a look in my eyes, Sandy glanced up at me watching her, then she looked down to where I was making a bulge in my pants.

She grinned back slyly.

"Oh, am I getting you all fussed up?" She asked, an innocent tone in her voice.

"Well, yea...I...." Hell, she was sitting there with her legs open, the slick curve of her pussy in plain sight. She knew exactly what she was doing to me.

"Julie! Can you come in here?" She called out.

"I just got clean, I don't want to get all icky again." She smiled at me. She was still sitting there with her legs carelessly open, no move to hide anything at all.

"What?" I heard Julie ask as she came into the room.

"Oh." She looked over at me, then back at Sandy.

"We can maybe stay one more night? Can we put the car in your garage?" Sandy asked. She batted her eyes at me.

"Uhh..sure." I answered, looking back and forth between the two of them. That part went right over my head.

"Neat, thank you!" Julie sat down beside me on the couch. She reached over and slid her hand across my chest, then slipped her fingers inside my shirt. In short order her fingers were busy undoing my pants, she got them open and freed me, then leaned down and suckled my erection into her mouth. I lay my head back, this was heaven.

Sandy just sat there and watched, then I saw her fingers come up and begin to gently roll one of her nipples. Julie had my balls held in one hand, with almost all of me down her throat. 

"You sure do get nice and hard for an older guy." She lifted off of me for a moment, then went right back to work. I glanced over at Sandy, she now had the other hand between her legs, watching us through slitted eyes. I saw her nipples harden, then she shuddered and sat there still for a few moments. Julie kept right on sucking on me furiously, I could hold back no longer.

"I'm coming!" I managed to utter trying to warn her, but she kept right on, swallowing everything. Then she sat up and smiled.

"There you go!" She grinned, patting my softly wilting cock. Then she got up and went back into the bedroom, leaving me sitting there with my dick hanging out of my pants. Sandy was tugging on her shorts, she pulled a blouse out of a carry case I hadn't noticed before, put the blouse on. She stood there for a moment, looking at my limp pecker, then she grinned.

I tucked it back into my pants, zipped up.

"I will go move the car into the garage." She announced, going out the front door. I heard the rattle of the old thing as it started right up, then she came back inside.

"It will be all cooled off by tomorrow, then we can head out for home. Thanks for letting us stay." She gave me another big grin.

"No problem." I managed, still gasping for breath waiting for my heart rate to slow back down. That had all been a whirlwind, an unexpected surprise. Julie sometimes acted mildly shy, then all of a sudden she seemed just the opposite.

The day went by slowly, Julie and Sandy found my Yahtzee game and sat crosslegged on the living room floor playing it for several hours. Later, Julie took a shower, she came out fully dressed. By afternoon, we were still just sitting around the house, killing time like this was all normal.

By early evening, they had finished my bottle of brandy. They both looked a bit sad when I told them I didn't have any more. They both should have been three sheets to the wind, it almost had no effect.

"Can we go down to the store and get some more?" Sandy asked. Julie was also looking at me expectantly, so we got into the truck and went into town. By the time we got to the counter there was three bottles of brandy, a huge bottle of Bailey's, and a bottle of some kind of pink colored stuff that I didn't know what it was.

"We are about out of milk, too." Sandy said, giving me a sidelong glance as we sat the sack down in my truck.

Off to the Safeway we went, they loaded up milk but also several bags of chips and some dip, and several bags of candy. They grabbed one of those big tubs of ice cream, too.

I dutifully handed over my credit card to pay for the purchases.

Back at my house, the girls had the Baileys cracked open in no time, I poured myself a finger of Brandy and sipped that. Julie went into the kitchen and cooked a meal, she had found some T-bone steaks in my freezer.

Once again it hit me that Julie could cook, the meal was excellent. I was surprised to watch them both eat, from the amount they should both have behinds the size of Kansas. I was done long before they were. Then after cleaning up and carefully putting everything away, they went right back to the Baileys.

We all sat there and watched TV, then Julie stood up, yawned and stretched.

"I am going to catch some sleep." She glanced over at me and smiled.

"Your turn!" She told Sandy, then she went into the spare bedroom. Sandy took a last sip of her drink, then she stood up.

"Come on!" She grinned over her shoulder. I got up and followed her, she just began taking off her clothes the moment she got into the room. In less than a minute we were both naked, she pushed me back down on the bed, swapped ends and straddled my face. Her delightful bare pussy pressed against my lips, I wetted my tongue and licked her length. On the second lick I felt her soft lips slide down over me. She had both hands wrapped around my balls, the little finger on each hand was running gently at the base. I felt them brush against my rectum, that felt marvelous. I got the hint and returned the favor, getting a huge shudder out of her as a reward.

"Stick your finger in there!" She murmurred, around a mouthful of my cock. I slid my index finger inside her butt, her hips came right up at that and she let out a moan.

"Did you ever?" She asked. I knew what she meant, and in fact, I hadn't. I reached over to my nightstand, I kept some condoms in there, they had lain there untouched for probably a decade.

One of my spur of the moment "just in case" purchases that I just never found a need for.

I rolled one on, turned over and got behind her. She had her fanny thrust up into the air in expectation. I rubbed the end of the condom against her puckered butthole, it was lubricated and that helped to slick her up. Then I placed the end of my dick against her and gently pressed. She took a deep breath, held it and let it out with a whoosh as I sank part way inside.

It took a half dozen repeats before I managed to feel my full six inch length inside her.

"Oh, God yes!!" She muttered as I began to stroke her. It was amazingly tight and she somehow clamped down each time I pressed all the way, it was like a vice. I reached around with both hands and grasped her breasts.

I was so lost in the moment I didn't notice the door open until I felt something wet on my fanny. Looking over my shoulder, there was Julie licking my butt. That did it, I let fly as Sandy let out a moan and leaned forward, her head turned sideways on the pillow.

I withdrew, peeled off the condom and dropped it in the wastebasket. Julie was messing around down there, her hand started fondling me but she wasn't getting much reaction.

The next thing I knew they were busy with each other, this time the lights were on so I just lay there and watched. They say this kind of stuff is every man's fantasy, I can't say that that is true.

It sure as hell was fun to watch, though. Julie got on her hands and knees, her butt in the air. Her snatch was as hairless as Sandy's was, her lips were protruding and swollen where Sandy was more of a gentle curve. They got into a position opposite of each other and began to rub their pussies against each other, something I had never seen before or even thought of.

Both of them must have gone through a half dozen orgasms, that was something to watch! Julie's nipples snugged up tighter and tighter until they were just tiny little buttons, Sandy's flattened out and then seemed to get swollen.

The contrast was crazy hot to me, I felt my cock begin to rise again all by itself. I reached down to give myself a few strokes, staring at the two girls furiously rubbing against each other.

"Here, let me." Sandy said, reaching over and pushing my hand away. She took over, her hand flowing up and down my erection.

I lay back with my head on a pillow, closed my eyes and just let her do her thing. Then I felt the weight shift, looking up Julie was lowering herself onto me.

She had acted a bit more shy than Sandy, she sure didn't seem shy now. Her head came back and her mouth came open, I reached up and took a handful of her breasts in each hand. In just a few minutes, I was letting fly again.




Fisherman Ch. 02



We lay back, Sandy on one side and Julie on the other. I was perfectly content. I closed my eyes and sleep took over.

I woke up alone. For a moment I was confused, thinking I had had a crazy dream but I was naked and lying on top of the covers. I got up and went to the bathroom, used a washcloth to wash myself. Finding my clothes, I dressed and then checked out the house. Of course no one was there.

I looked out the window, my truck sat there. I had figured it would be, I had the keys in my pocket. Stepping out onto the porch, I saw the garage door was open.

The Datsun was gone, how they started it and took off without waking me is beyond me but they had. I must have been dead to the world.

I checked the rest of the house, they had taken all the booze except for the Brandy, the mostly full bottle still sat on my coffee table. Other than the two fishing poles and all of the snacks they had bought, everything was normal.

I sighed, knowing that was it. I would never see either one of them again, of this I was reasonably sure.

What the hell, that had sure been fun. I went out and got my pole, loaded up my old truck and went fishing. It was one of those uneventful days, I caught and released a few little ones, then went home.

I was just putting my gear away when I looked up and the Sheriff's big Ford truck pulled up outside. A tall female officer got out.

Now what the hell? I thought.

She came over to my truck, asked me a few questions about two young women. No point in trying to lie, I hadn't done anything wrong but I knew right then that something was up.

I told her I had met two women and they had spent a couple of nights with me but they had left.

She just nodded, then she wanted to know about my truck having been found alongside the highway a month or so before.

"Yes, same two." I blushed at having to admit that.

"Glutton for punishment, huh?" She grinned at me.

"Yea...I...uhh...I guess so." It was obvious she had a pretty good idea of what all had gone on.

"We found a credit card reciept with them, traced that back to the store, then back to you."

"Oh. I see. But all I did was...."

"We don't really think you are involved, but we caught them with a stolen car. They are also suspects in a robbery down South, they fit the description at least."

"Oh, lord! Really? What kind of....?"

"Older guy. They stole his car, some money." She looked directly at me, that look was a question.

"I see. I guess I can see them doing that, but..." At this point I was sure that she had the picture, all I could do was blush.

"We need you to come downtown, make a statement."

I got into my truck and followed her down to the Sheriff's office. I knew the Sheriff but just in passing, he sat me down and I just told him the whole story.

He began to get a big grin on his face, I glanced over at the female officer standing there, she was grinning too.

"So how much trouble are they in?" I asked, finally.

"Felony auto theft, one count. Felony theft of cash, one count."

"Oh. Pretty bad, huh?"

"Not really, we are thinking that this was a lot like the same situation that you....?" His voice trailed off, he actually snickered.

I rubbed my face to cover the embarrassment.

"Bail?"

"Yea, a thousand bucks. Each. 10% bond." He grinned at me.

"OK."

"Thought so. We don't want to deal with them, to be honest, so they are all yours if you are dumb enough to take them."

I wrote out a check, they did the paperwork. Hell, I didn't care about the damn money, I had enough. The woman officer went into the back and came out with Sandy and Julie. They looked up at me, both of them smiled but it was a scared smile. The policewoman had them sit together on a bench at the side of the room.

Then she came over and handed me some papers. 

"This is the court date, you get the bail money back when they show up for court."

"OK." I had a pretty good idea that these two would never show up for any court date. She went over and took off their handcuffs, Julie gave me a hug.

"Thank you, Danny!" She said. Sandy stood there smiling. 

We went out and got into my truck.

"So what happened with you girls and all of this stuff?" I asked them.

"We met some old guy, he let us stay at his house. He wanted to screw us and he was really old." Sandy said.

"Yea, REALLY old, and kinda fat, too. But it was raining...." Julie added.

"We didn't want to, so when he fell asleep...."

I got that part.

"But you did with me....?

"You are cute and were nice to us." Sandy snuggled up next to me.

"Yea, that was fun, it was like it was just...right?" Julie said.

"We just figured we would drop his old car off someplace and that would be it, and we only took $60.00 out of his wallet. We didn't think he would call the cops."

I got that part, too.

"Where to?" I asked them.

"Just drop us off on the highway headed North." Sandy said.

"OK." I drove them a few miles until we were out of town. They got out, both of them hugged and kissed me. 

"We will come back for the court, we promise!" Julie told me. I just nodded.

I knew better. I watched as they walked a ways down the highway, thumbs out. In a few minutes a big white crewcab pickup stopped, a guy driving. They hopped in, waved to me, and then they were gone.

Two months later, I was sitting in my chair reading my newspaper, it was raining like the hubs of hell outside. There was a knock on my door. I got up and went to answer it.

There stood Sandy and Julie, both of them looking like drowned rats. I stood aside to let them in.

"Told ya!" Julie said.

"Why?" I asked.

"You were nice to us and besides, you are lots of fun! Plus we want to get things cleared up, we aren't crooks." She said.

"Besides, we keep running into one asshole after another, we are better off here, we can maybe get the trouble over so nobody is after us?"

"Oh. OK. We need to get you dried off, though."

"Yea, and a hot shower, too?"

"Sure!" I grinned at them.

I suppose anyone would think we would end up right back in the sack again, but we didn't. They slept together in my spare room, I didn't push the issue. Julie did more of her magic in the kitchen, Sandy scrubbed every square inch of my house.

It was almost like they were trying to pay me back or something? I halfway expected Sandy at least to do some teasing, something anyway. She didn't, neither did Julie.

Two days later we showed up in court. The guy who had called the police had gotten his car back, and most of his money, so he dropped the charges. I got most of my own money back, since the State acts as bail bondsman. There were some court costs and things like that of course.

I did see the lady police officer in the hallway, she looked at me, then at Julie and Sandy, and then back at me. She just grinned and walked away.

Both of the girls were happy on the way back to my house, they were bubbly in fact. They started singing a song.

"Free at last, free at last. Thank God we are finally free at last!" Over and over. We were all laughing like maniacs.

"So how long are you ladies going to stay this time?" I asked them.

"We don't know." They answered, almost exactly in unison.

"Do you want us?" Julie asked, giving me a sidelong glance.

"Yes! I do!" They both acted happy at that.

"We want to be here too, Danny. Julie and I talked, we are way better off here." 

It is now nearly six full months later, I sit here and tell my story. Julie is in the kitchen, she spends a lot of time in there now. She seems to be very happy, she is humming all the time. Sandy took the crossword puzzle out of my newspaper and is sitting crosslegged on the living room floor. My house is neat as a pin, the girls see to that. I am getting a little bit heavier, we all eat very well. 

But then I need the energy, shall we say they manage to keep me very active. My stomach is like a board. I find it interesting that Sandy likes anal sex as much as she does the normal things, Julie absolutely refuses although she likes it when I gently rub her there with a finger. They are both eager, I guess I am myself in that respect. One might think that one or the other would become a favorite, perhaps cause a conflict.

That hasn't happened, at least not yet.

It took me quite a long time to dig all of the story out of them. Both of them had abusive type home relationships, Julie was molested as a child by an Uncle, Sandy wasn't but she was slapped around a lot by a drunken stepfather. There were some tears in their eyes when they talked about that, I knew deep inside they both had pain and unhappiness their past.

Both of them had nothing but troubles with men their own ages. Finally having had enough, they just took off together. Life was easier when it was just them, they weren't really what could be called lesbiens, they were more like friends if that makes sense?

They ran into me quite by accident, at first I was a target, just someone to get something from. Someone to help then get a little bit farther down the road.

Something happened in there, we all liked each other. They both insisted that I was the only one they really did anything with on their escapades. They just used teasing and things like that to get what they needed from men.

Do I believe that? I think I do, the truth is that I just don't care about anything before anyway.

Why with me? I don't know, they just decided that first night. They already liked sex with each other, they just...decided for some reason to include me? My two girls are very bisexual, I think of them like that.

As my two girls.

Strange relationships, no doubt about that at all. We get funny looks when we go to town. We get funny looks everywhere we go, we see the people whisper to each other.

We don't care.

There will likely be more of that very soon, though.

This morning at breakfast they had something to tell me.

It seems that they are pregnant. Both of them.

At the same time. 

Something I didn't even think about, I just assumed that in today's world that was handled. One funny thing I noticed was that their cycles had changed, until they both began at the same time every month. The significance of that didn't hit me at first, then I realized.

I guess I took being a Dad reasonably well, something about jumping up and down in excitement and hugging them?

They both told me they loved me, easy to believe when two half naked women are piled on top of you in the middle of the living room floor at the same time. 

There was a bunch of wisecracks, like the taking serious what was poked in fun and the old cannon turned out to be loaded. Stupid jokes we all laughed at until we were having troubles getting a breath.

"I bet yours is born bald as a billiard cue!" Sandy told Julie, rubbing the top of my head as I lapped away at her little button. It was a tad thin up there, I guess. Julie was nibbling at Sandy's bare tittie at that moment.

Yep! I told them I loved them both.

I meant that, too.



Fisherman Ch. 03



Funny looks.  A person gets used to it in time, sort of.  I would like to say I did but the truth is that I was always totally aware of the sidelong glances, the whispers, the stories that had to be going around town.

Here I was, 67 years old, bald on top and white around the back of the head, with two young ladies that could best be described as stone foxes?

Yea, sure.  Would anyone ever believe anything like that?  Hell, I am not sure I even did, I would wake up and there they were, though.  Usually one of them was off taking care of something in my house, the other one would be right there teasing me.

Both of them were borderline nymphos, if I went into wilt stage darned if they weren't busy with each other.

Sandy had a just plain naughty streak in her, she loved to tease and she sure didn't restrict that to just me.  She teased everyone, everywhere we went.  Julie on the other hand was just a little bit conservative.

Well, compared to Sandy anyway.  Compared to most other women around she was naughty too.  The difference was Julie had to get started, then all bets were off, Sandy was just...always started.

Up until they stumbled on me out on the jetty trying to catch a fish, I could count the women I knew intimately on one hand and have two fingers left over.  There was a short run with a girlfriend, then a silly drunken roll in the hay with her and her chubby sister, then I met and married my wife.

There was no reason to wander around after that, the wife was fine and did a great job of keeping me handled in the sex department.

For a very long time I was a very ordinary married man, completely content.  I went to work, came home, the wife and I looked forward to vacations together.  We saw some of the world, different places, we did different things.

Just one time we were sitting on a beach, every woman out there was topless and many of them completely naked.  My Sheila was sitting beside me wearing a bikini, she looked good in one of those considering she was almost 50 at the time.

And she was uncomfortable as hell.

Finally she leaned over and asked me if it was OK to take her top off too, everybody else was.

I just laughed, told her to go ahead so darned if she didn't do exactly that!   She always worked to keep herself in nice condition, her titties were on the smallish side and had that neat ski slope shape that nearly any male would just love.

Sheila flushed a little bit but her nipples poked right out, and she seemed to stick her chest out. 

We sat there side by side, I guess expecting something to happen, someone to say something, anything?

Nobody even noticed.  That night we both were perked up, I was in the shower feeling her up, getting her all soapy, when I felt a smallish bump in her breast I hadn't noticed before.

I waited until the next morning to tell her, she had been so happy and warm and loving the night before I just decided to wait to mention it.  I was thinking it was likely nothing, Sheila was vibrant and healthy.

When Sheila gave me the bad news after a checkup, It was a shock.  Things went very fast after that, then she was gone.  Just like that, my world crashed and I was all alone.  No reason to go to work, so I took early retirement.

That was actually a mistake, work takes up time and time is an enemy when a person is alone.

Running into Sandy and Julie was a high point in my life.  Sex never even entered my mind, I was just enjoying the hell out of looking at them.  They were cute, uninhibited, I became something of a grandpa figure in my own mind in just a few minutes out there on that jetty.

Julie had taken the rod to relieve my poor old arms, Sandy helped hang on, that fish was big.  I stood there rubbing my biceps, looking at the crack of two perfect bubble butts, damn those were nice.

Then we actually landed that big old Cabezon.  Usually anything that size gets away.  Plus I landed those two young gals, they didn't get away either.

Absolutely amazing.

I took them to my house, fed them, visited with them, it was fun and we had a good time.  That night shadows came to my bed, I did not know which one was which and I did not know why.

Later I did find out why, it seems that I was the only male they had run into that didn't make a pass at them.  That's what they said, anyway.

But still, at that point I was their target, their mark if you will.  Someone who had something, and they needed a dab of it. And they decided they liked me, they were young, both of them in the mood?

As simple as that.

I got my truck back in good shape, I even got a grin at the happy face with their thanks stuck to the dashboard.

Then I just went back to being a lonely old man, living out the tail end of my life.

When I ran into them again, it scared them a little, they were sure I would be mad.  I wasn't. Hell, I was happy to see them again.  Those two had managed to give me what up to that point in time was the most exciting lovemaking session in my life.

Somewhere after that something changed.  There was a...trust?  They realized that when they were with me life was easy and good, plus they were safe.  I am reasonably sure that "safe" had something to do with it.

It developed, and became love.  Love from me, no doubt at all about that, and it was obvious that they both loved me right back.

Old man be damned, there wasn't any doubt in my mind. Perhaps it was more like the kind of love young women might have for their Grandpa?  Perhaps.  It sure didn't seem like that kind when they were climbing all over me in the bedroom.

We became one of those, what do they call it in French? I don't remember, probably can't spell it anyway.  A..threesome?  A half bald headed white haired old coot and two absolutely beautiful young women.

Then one morning at breakfast, they told me they were both pregnant.  I think they thought I would be upset, instead I was so happy I felt like doing handsprings.

The three of us ended up back in bed, now that was a celebration!  I even managed another of those two and a half sessions, not that easy to do at my age.

Some of you guys might know what a two and a half session is?  That's where you manage to do them both, then they do you one more time where it won't get hard but goes off anyway.

About seven months later, Julie woke me up.  Of course at 3 in the morning. I knew instantly what was happening since my leg was wet, I woke up Sandy and she helped me get Julie up and dressed and into the truck.

Sandy was just stepping up to climb into the truck when her water broke, too.  There I stood, good lord, talk about all at once! One I could maybe have dealt with but two at once?

Then it hit me I didn't even have any pants on.

I grabbed my cell phone and dialed 911.  The two men that arrived in the ambulance looked at me and then at Julie and Sandy, one of them started laughing.

"What's so fucking funny?"  Sandy snarled, since she was smack dab in the middle of a contraction.

The guy shut right up and became very businesslike.  I followed along in my truck, having gone back inside to put my pants on first.

At the hospital, I got a lot of looks.  The nurse refused to let me go into the room at first, telling me that only the father could go in there.

"I am the father!"  I told her.  She just looked at me.

"But..there are TWO of them?"  Her expression was one of not believing me.

"Yep!  Not bad for an old guy, huh?" I grinned at her.

"Please just wait right here."  She told me, then she turned and headed down the hallway.  In a few minutes a young Doctor came out, walked up to me and shook my hand.

"You really are the father?"  I saw that same odd look.

"Yes, I am."

"Well.  All right.  They both say the same thing so come on back."  He was shaking his head as he led me down the hallway.


"Danny!"  Both Sandy and Julie said at exactly the same time when I walked in.  One of the nurses went over and pushed the beds farther apart, then she put a chair in between them.

There sure was a lot of people in there, talk about a plot for a reality TV show.  It seemed nobody wanted to miss out on this one.

I sat down, holding one of each of my girl's hands.  First one was squealing and grunting, then the other.  I was comforting Sandy after a particularly furious effort when I heard a yowl and looked over to see the doctor holding up a tiny little thing.  Lord it was messy.  Just then Sandy let out a groan and I turned my head and leaned over in time to see the other one come out.

That was intense, in fact, it looked to be impossible.  In moments the room was very noisy, I swear there had to be 25 people jammed in there, everyone wanted to see this.

Later, as they lay there with my two sons snuggled up, each one suckling away like they had done that all their life, Sandy asked me about their names.

"You ladies pick."  I told her.

"Mine will be Danial, since he is bald."  Julie laughed.  I had seen that, the one Sandy had was born with a full head of hair.

"Yours will be born bald as a billiard cue!"  Sandy had predicted.  She nailed that one.

"Julian here then."  Sandy smiled up at me. 

Later the doctor took me down the hallway and sat me down, I guess he wanted to have a chat.  There was another young woman in there when we got there, it turned out she was some kind of social worker from Child Protective services.

I never did get her name.

It seemed that they had decided that there were things that would be "best" for the children, there were some discussions about "unnatural" lifestyles, things like that.

It took some doing, but I managed to answer every question without blowing my stack or hitting anybody at all.

I thought about it at one point, when the lady suggested that I was perhaps "Too old" to be a father figure.

Hell, it was MY goddamn life, and those were MY goddamn kids, and MY goddamn girls!

I managed to keep a straight face though, even stone calm in fact.  I owned a nice big house, it was paid for.  I had assets, income, not a huge amount but easily enough.  Both of my girls were quite content and we were breaking no laws of any kind.

So the day we left the hospital, one coming up on 68 year old dad with two mid twenties young ladies carrying two healthy infants, there wasn't a darned thing any of the well meaning people at CPS could do about it. Several of the staff came out to say goodbye and wish us well.

As I held the door open on my truck, I overheard part of what one nurse said to another.

"....hung like a horse, I guess."

The other one snickered.  Sandy sat beside me like always, we strapped the two bundles solidly in the crew cab section where I had mounted the car seats.  The best ones I could find, too.  I was even going to put in a roll cage but Julie told me I was being silly.  My big old truck worked out perfect for the situation.  

We waved and got some waves back and went home.

Life changed quite a bit.  For one thing, it was noisier which I didn't really mind.  Julie still handled the cooking, Sandy took care of the rest of the house and I got darned good at changing diapers if I do say so myself.

For the first six months or so visits from that woman from CPS was a regular event.  I was pretty sure she wanted an excuse, any excuse at all to yank our kids and place them somewhere.

But she could not find anything at all wrong.  Not a speck of dirt, the two boys healthy as possible to be and happy, both getting nice and fat.  The lady even asked about drinking, both Sandy and Julie had stopped completely the moment they found out they were pregnant, so I did too.  We didn't even have any booze around.

We were a perfectly normal family in every respect except I was older and there were two women.  Finally there were no more visits.

Kids grow like Dandelions in a fresh planted lawn, one day they are sitting in their little baskets and the next day they are tearing around the house breaking stuff.  My own life seemed to pass more quickly as time went on, too.

I remember clearly turning 40 and being surprised about it, then suddenly I was 60 and I wasn't real sure what all had happened during that period.

The cake that Julie baked for my 70th birthday was wonderful, everything Julie did in the kitchen was wonderful.  Danny and Julian helped blow out the candles, it's a miracle we didn't burn the house down.  That evening as the kids went to bed Sandy came and sat beside me, Julie parked herself across from me.  It was obvious they wanted to talk.

Sandy told me she got a letter from a lawyer, it seemed that she had inherited some property and money, there were some business assets and quite a bit of things to deal with.

I listened with a sickening feeling, I had always known there would be a day coming, I just didn't know what or when.

"So I have to go back up to Seattle."  She told me, finally.

"I understand, honey.  It's all right."

"I am going to take Julian with me."  She added.

I nodded, I had figured on that, too.

"I can send along a check each month to help with the support."  I told her.

"You won't need to, the estate is huge."  She told me.

That quickly life changed again, we all drove up to Portland, loaded Sandy and Julian on an airplane.  The night before she left Sandy came into the bedroom with me.  The three of us usually slept together, but that night it was just Sandy.

I knew it was for goodbye, she did everything she could think of to please me, too.  Later, as she lay there curled up as close to me as she could get, she surprised me.

"Why don't you ask Julie to marry you?"

"What?  Julie?  I don't think..."

"Ask her, Danny.  She will say yes."

"Really?  I never even thought about that."

"It will be fine, Danny.  I have to think about Julian and his future, and that means I have to go take care of everything.  You will always be a part of me and our son, but it's time."

I nodded.

"I will.  We will see what she says."

"I already know her answer."  She grinned at me.

Julie and I were married just one short month later.  Sandy flew down of course for that.  It was something to see Sandy dressed in what looked to be a business type outfit.  She looked..expensive?  She even stayed the evening with us, then the night to watch the kids as Julie and I went to a hotel.

We didn't have to drive Sandy to Portland to the airport, instead we drove her over to the local airport where a small private jet picked her up.

I was amazed, our happy and bubbly, sexy little Sandy had turned into a well dressed business woman in almost no time at all.  The change was complete, too.  She told us she would be down to see us a lot, since the company she had inherited had manufacturing operations over in Hillsboro.

I had recognized the name of the company, I guess anyone would.  Electronics, something I knew little about.  As it turned out, Sandy knew a lot about it.  That was all a huge surprise to me, Sandy had never shown any sign at all of having that in her background.  Julie wasn't surprised though, she had always known this day was coming.

Nothing lasts forever, everything changes.  It's not always for the worst, either.  I knew Julian would be just fine, Sandy too.

It wasn't unexpected when Sandy called and told us she was getting married.  Some mid 30's lawyer for a big firm named Jonathan.  I shook his hand when Sandy introduced me, she even mentioned that I was Julian's father.  The guy is a good looking man, and good at his job I guess.  I saw the smiling but straight face he managed to keep when he saw me, but I also saw the surprise in his eyes.

I suppose I do look 73 years old.  That just does not matter in my mind.  The important part is that Sandy is happy, and my son is well cared for, getting to be big.  He even still calls me "Daddy."

Sometimes I sit in my chair in the evenings, remembering.  Two very close to crazy young girls, meeting by accident with a lonely old man. They just took off, to see what was out there, to live and sow some wild oats.

Julie, and our little piece of mayhem named Danial?  We are just fine, too.  Yesterday it seems like he was learning to walk, today he came in and asked me to take the training wheels off of his bike because the other kids in the neighborhood were teasing him.

Julie and I still get the looks when we walk hand in hand down the street, little Danny without fail has one of our hands, too. Usually he is holding Julie's hand because I have to use the other one to push the stroller that has our little Sandra in it.

Go ahead and laugh, we don't care.

I suppose it might help if I dyed my hair?  Oh, well.  To hell with that.

Yep.  I am 73 now, soon I will be 74.

Last night I was lying there with Julie, her body is bigger and softer with a nice little roll on her tummy that I delight in tickling.  She filled out up top, too.  Something about children causes that, I guess.

Anyway, I was having one of those memories, thinking about the first time I discovered how much Sandy liked things from behind.  She actually really did like it that way, no doubts there at all.  I started to giggle.

"What so funny?"  Julie asked me, her hand idly stroking the gray hairs on my chest.

So I told her what I was thinking, I was wondering if Sandy and Jonathan ever....?

Julie started giggling, too.

Life is just fine. How long will it last, who knows?  Does it matter?

Not one bit, life is just fine.



Fisherman's Point



Tom inherited the Fisherman's Point cottage from Polly, his great aunt. At the time, Tom and Karen were living in a small garden flat in Shepherd's Bush. Karen was working as a marketing executive for a package holiday company. Tom was working as a freelance journalist, although what he really wanted to do was try his hand at writing a novel.

The cottage was not large. It had probably started life as a fisherman's cottage sometime in the early part of the 18th century. Polly had given it a new roof and added a south-facing deck. Later she had added a small extension to one side. The extension now housed the bathroom. In the first year that Tom and Karen owned the cottage, they had removed a couple of the interior dividing walls to make one reasonably spacious living area with a small-but-functional kitchen at one end. There was also a decent-sized bedroom, and a smaller box room that Tom had converted into a workspace.

In the second year that Tom and Karen owned the cottage, they spent most of August down there. The plan had been to spend ten days or so painting the exterior and then another couple of weeks just relaxing. As it turned out, they completed the painting in just four days, and by the end of the second week Tom had started sketching out some ideas for a novel.

When it came time to go back to town, Tom decided to stay on for a few more days and Karen went back to London alone. That was when she met Robbie. Talking about it later, she admitted that it probably should have been nothing more than an afternoon of hot sex. But, for a brief moment, she thought that she had found true love.

Tom spent the week working on the outline of his novel, and Karen arrived back down at the cottage on the Friday evening. For different reasons, they both drank too much. But in the morning they talked. And in the afternoon they talked more. And they drank more.

Eventually Karen said: 'Look, I think we should have some time apart. I think I need to get my head straight.'

Tom was not convinced. 'Some time? How much time is some time?' he asked.

'I don't know. Let's just ... well, see.'

And so Tom stayed on at Fisherman's Point and Karen went back to the Shepherd's Bush flat.

Autumn turned to winter; and Christmas came and went. Tom made a few trips up to town, and Karen made a few trips to the cottage, but both knew that they were drifting further apart. Then, one weekend towards the end of February, Karen arrived at the cottage with papers for an uncontested divorce. Tom was surprised. 'Gosh, I hadn't realised that we had reached this particular crossroad. Is it Robbie?'

'Robbie's gone,' Karen said. 'Back to his wife.'

'I see. Someone else?'

Karen smiled. 'No.'

'So ... what's the rush?'

'No rush. I just think it will be better this way.'

'Well, if there's no one else, shouldn't we give it another go? I could put the novel to one side for a bit. It's not that we hate each other or anything.'

Karen shook her head. 'No. But things are just not ... well, not the same. Maybe they never were. Probably not your fault. Probably mine. Maybe we never should have got married in the first place. I don't know.'

Just five months later, towards the end of July, Karen married Arnold, an investment banker who worked in The City. Petra was born in the middle of December.

To the surprise of his agent, Malcolm, Tom managed to complete his novel, When the Devil Drives, in just over a year, and it came out the following March. But its reception was not great. Sales were patchy, and praise was mostly faint.

'Three things,' Malcolm said. 'First, the weather. I don't care what people say, when you're up to your oxters in late snow and disrupted timetables, getting down to your local bookshop to see what's new – or even looking in the right corner of the Internet – is not high on your list of priorities. Second, who could have predicted that you and Peter Swift would have chosen almost the same theme at almost the same time? And remember, he's already a well-established author and his book came out three weeks earlier. And third, there's just too much political stuff going on at the moment. People are suddenly spending their evenings glued to the telly.'

And then Tom's book was short-listed for the Camberley Prize. 'Well, there you go. What the fuck do I know?' Malcolm said as he eased the cork from a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and poured a generous slosh into two of the three champagne flutes that were standing ready and waiting. 'You're a gold-plated genius. I never doubted that. And we're all going to be rich. Well, you and Harold are.'

'Oh? Have you decided to forego your commission?' Tom asked.

Malcolm smiled. 'You know how it is, Tom. I would if I could. But a chap has to eat. Anyway ... cheers.' And he raised his glass. 'Oh, and by the way, Harold is sending over one of the girls from the publicity department. He thinks there's some mileage to be had from this short-listing business.'

Author and agent were halfway through their celebratory glass of The Widow when 'the girl from the publicity department' arrived. 'Come in. Come in,' Malcolm said. 'This is Tom. And Tom, this is ... umm ....'

'Bella.'

Malcolm frowned. 'Yes, of course. Bella.'

'Congratulations,' Bella said. 'Quite an achievement. You must be pleased.'

Tom nodded. 'Thank you. To be honest, it's all a bit of a surprise. But at least it's a nice one for a change.'

Malcolm poured Bella a glass of champagne. 'So ... do we have a plan?'

'I've jotted down a few ideas,' she said. 'But I thought, before I take it too far, I'd really like to get Tom's thoughts.'

Calling Bella a 'girl' was typical of Malcolm. She was very definitely a woman. And a rather attractive woman at that. She appeared to be close to Tom's age – 35, 36 – and she had the confident air of someone who knew what she was doing. But Malcolm, despite having only just turned 42 himself, was Old School. Any female below board level was 'a girl', unless, of course, she held a noble title. Being a duchess was always a good start.

'Gosh, I don't know,' Tom said. 'This is all a bit new to me.'

They kicked around a few ideas. Then the wine ran out, and Malcolm seemed uncharacteristically unwilling to find another bottle.

'I think I should probably go,' Tom said.

Bella nodded. 'Yes. So should I.'

Once they were out on the street, Tom suggested that he and Bella might find somewhere for a quick bite. And, over some surprisingly good scaloppine al limone at a little Italian place near Marble Arch, they chatted about the fickle finger of fate that is literary prizes. 'It's quite amazing really,' Bella said. 'Your book is still the same book that it was six weeks ago – except now everyone wants to read it, and every bookshop wants to put it in their window. Not that either of us should be complaining.'

'Have you read it?' Tom asked.

Bella smiled a slightly lop-sided smile. 'As a matter of fact ... yes. And that was before it was short-listed.'

'And?'

'I liked it. I thought that Harry Buckton was a really interesting character. And I liked the way that you leaked out his motivation just a little bit at a time – as if, at the beginning, even he didn't know why he was doing what he was doing. Which I assume he didn't. Yes. I liked it a lot. And that's not something that I can say about all of our books. There are more than a few that I have never been able to read beyond the first 20 or so pages.'

'But you still promoted them.'

'Well, naturally. That's my job. But I do find it easier to get behind a book that I like.'

'Nice to know,' Tom said.

'Look, I hope you won't be offended, but I think we need some new publicity photographs,' Bella said. 'The ones we have on file make you look more like an accountant than an author.'

Tom smiled. 'They are a bit grim, aren't they?'

'Malcolm says that you live on a rather wild stretch of the coastline ....'

'Well, not that wild. Unless there's a big easterly blowing.'

'I'm wondering if I might come down and get a few pics of you in your natural environment – in your lair, as it were.'

'Sure. If you think that that would be a good idea.'

They agreed that Bella would come down to Fisherman's Point the following Tuesday. 'Say around midday?'

'Yeah. Fine,' Tom said.

When Tom was up in London, he usually stayed at his sister's place in Notting Hill (he and Karen had sold the Shepherd's Bush flat). Susanna, his sister, was a business development executive for an IT firm and spent quite a lot of her time 'on the road', meaning that Tom often had the flat to himself. When he and Bella left the restaurant, it was on the tip of his tongue to invite her back. Not that Tom was exactly a Lothario, but then neither was he a monk. And there was something about Bella. Or maybe it was just the effect of the champagne followed by a glass or two of pinot grigio and some agreeable conversation. In the end, Tom put Bella in a taxi and then headed for Marble Arch and the Central Line Tube to Notting Hill Gate.

The following morning, he drove back down to Fisherman's Point and immediately set to work on a short story. Bella phoned on Monday morning. 'Is it still convenient for me to come down tomorrow?'

'Oh, definitely. Although the beautiful weather we've been having looks as if it's about to desert us. They're talking showers.'

'I'm sure that we can work around a few spots of rain.'

She said that she would catch a train and then get a taxi to Tom's place. But Tom told her to just text him or call him when she was on the train. 'I'll pick you up from the station.'

'Are you sure?'

Tom laughed. 'I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise.'

When Tom woke on Tuesday morning, it looked as though the forecasters had got it right for a change. There was a cool breeze coming in from the northeast, and a bank of cloud building on the horizon. He waited for Bella's text and then drove into town to pick up a few supplies before heading to the railway station to meet her. Less than an hour later they were back at the cottage.

'This is really nice,' Bella said. 'From what Malcolm said, I imagined something a little more ... well, rustic. This looks like something off a postcard.'

Tom grinned. 'Well, it's hardly a palace. Also, it's amazing what a coat of paint will do.' Bella followed him into the cottage. 'This is it,' he said. 'What you see is pretty much what you get. There's a bathroom though there, if you need it. The bedroom's next door. And through that door is where I do most of my writing – either there or out on the deck. Can I get you a coffee? Or do you want to get straight down to work?'

'A coffee would be nice,' Bella said.

While Tom made the coffee, Bella wandered back out onto the deck. 'Is that shingle spit thing, right out in front, is that the eponymous Fisherman's Point?' she said.

'I've never really been sure, but I guess so,' Tom replied. 'As small as it is, until you get to Dungeness, it's the only pointy bit around here – although it does move up and down the beach a bit. When I first used to come here – 25 years ago – it was right out in front of that pink cottage, about 150 metres further north.'

'And do fishermen go out there and fish?' Bella asked.

'Some of us have been known to take our rods out there,' Tom said. 'Whether that counts as fishing or not, I'm not sure. I think for it to count as fishing you have to catch some fish.'

Bella smiled and nodded.

'Do you normally take the authors' photographs?' Tom asked when he brought the coffee out onto the deck.

'Not always. But I thought that we were getting on quite well the other night. And I always think it helps if the sitter and the photographer have a bit of a rapport.'

'I'm sure it does,' Tom said. 'By the way, are you OK out here? Or would you prefer to go inside?'

'No, this is fine. This jacket is really warm.' Over her tan chino-style trousers and red and blue hooped sweater, Bella was wearing a dark blue Barbour-style wax jacket. Despite her slightly-bulky outdoor clothing, Tom thought that Bella looked very attractive – perhaps not in a conventional way, but attractive nevertheless.

As Tom set the coffee mugs down on the weathered teak table, Bella slipped the lens cap off the Nikon DSLR camera that hung from a broad black and yellow strap around her neck. 'Hmm. This is quite nice light,' she said. 'Quite ... silvery.'

Tom looked out across the grey-green sea. 'Yesterday, we had bright sunshine – almost golden. It was a bit milder, too. Still, at least it hasn't rained. Well, not yet.'

'So, how did you find this place?' Bella asked.

As Tom told her about his great aunt, and his former wife, and how some things had 'just happened', Bella started snapping away, pausing every now and again to review the resulting images on the small screen at the back of the camera. 'Hmm. Nice,' she said. 'And definitely not accountant-like.'

Tom smiled.

'Could we try a few shots out on the spit?'

'You're in charge,' Tom said.

They walked out maybe 25 or 30 metres onto the shingle spit.

'What do you want me to do?' Tom asked.

'Can you sing?'

'No.'

'Oh well, don't worry,' Bella said. 'Neither can I.'

Tom laughed. It wasn't that anything was particularly funny. He just felt unexpectedly happy and relaxed.

'I think that'll do,' Bella said. And she took the lens cap out of her jacket pocket and snapped it back onto the front of the Nikkor lens.

Tom looked a little surprised. 'Is that it?'

'I think so. We'll download these onto my laptop and have a bit of an organise. But, yes, I think we have several shots that we can use.'

'Gosh. That was painless,' Tom said. 'In that case ... I'll make us some lunch. I take it that you haven't eaten.'

'Umm ... no, not really. Well ... not at all actually.'

While Bella downloaded the images from the camera to her laptop, and started to select a dozen or so images for further consideration, Tom pulled out a large non-stick pan, a chopping board, and his favourite chef's knife. 'You're not a vegetarian or anything, are you?'

'Nope. Just your average omnivore,' Bella assured him.

Tom chopped a chorizo sausage into small cubes and put them in the pan to start rendering down. He added some roughly chopped red onion and about half of a red capsicum – also roughly chopped. As the onion and capsicum mixture started to cook down with the chorizo, he took a poached chicken breast from the fridge, chopped it into three roughly equal pieces, and then broke the pieces up further with his fingers. After another two or three minutes, the chicken joined the rest of the ingredients in the pan. And then he added a couple of roughly torn up sun-dried tomatoes and some chopped flat-leaf parsley. Finally, he lightly whisked four free-range eggs, seasoned them with a little salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, and added them to the pan.

While the eggs gently cooked, Tom took several lettuce leaves and a small handful of basil leaves, sliced them into a medium-fine chiffonade, and dressed them with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sherry vinegar. 'Nearly there,' he said. He slipped the pan under a pre-heated grill for a couple of minutes and then upended its now omelette-like contents onto the wooden chopping board. Deftly, he cut it into six wedges and then covered the wedges with the dressed chiffonade of lettuce and basil.

'Would you like to eat in or out?' he said.

Bella glanced outside, across the deck, and towards the horizon. 'Well, it's not raining. In fact, there are even a few patches of sunshine.'

Tom gathered up some plates, forks, and wine glasses.

'What can I do?' Bella asked.

'Maybe if you take these. And I'll find us some wine. There should be some rosé in the fridge.'

The cool breeze that had been blowing from the northeast earlier in the day had now dropped almost completely, and, by the time Tom and Bella sat down at the silver-grey weathered table for the second time that day, it was almost summery. Bella had taken off her wax jacket when they had returned from the spit, and now she removed her sweater too. 'This looks lovely,' she said.

Tom was about to say: 'And so do you.' But he kept the thought to himself.

It had been a funny day for Tom. On the one hand, he had been looking forward to it. Or at least he had been looking forward to seeing Bella again. There was something about her that really appealed to him. But, on the other hand, he was never very comfortable with having his photograph taken. Maybe that's why he had looked so un-Tom-like in the earlier photographs. And then Bella had arrived and somehow she had taken 30 or 40 photographs without Tom really being aware that it was happening. It had all just ... well ... happened. Bella hadn't even suggested that he say 'cheese'.

Tom poured a couple of glasses of wine. 'Just help yourself,' he said, nodding towards the frittata-like dish in the centre of the table.

'Thanks.'

As they ate and drank and chatted in the late spring sunshine, Tom once again mentally kicked himself for not inviting Bella back to the Notting Hill flat after their evening at the Italian restaurant. Of course there was no guarantee that she would have accepted his invitation. But he should have at least put it out there. He should have at least given her the opportunity to say no. Or, preferably, to say yes.

And then Bella suddenly looked at her watch. 'Oh, god, is that the time? I should phone for a taxi, shouldn't I?'

'A taxi?'

'Yes. I need to get the 3:08 to Ashford if I'm going to catch the 3:45 back to Charing Cross.'

'Well, I can take you to the station,' Tom said. 'But do you have to get the 3:45?'

'I need to get back in time to pick up Gordon. I said that I'd pick him up by 5:45.'

And, suddenly, Tom's buoyant mood crashed. It simply hadn't occurred to him that Bella would have someone else – a Gordon – in her life. Since Karen's departure, Tom was foot loose and fancy free. And he had assumed that Bella was too. But apparently not. 'OK. Well, we still have another ten or 15 minutes,' he said. 'In fact, probably 20. There's not a lot of traffic at this time of the day.'

Bella smiled. 'You're the one with the local knowledge,' she said. But she started packing up her laptop anyway.

At the station, Tom parked in the five minute zone and walked Bella to the platform.

'I've really enjoyed today,' she said. 'And thank you for lunch. You're a man of many talents.' And then she gave him a hug and a kiss that felt, to Tom at least, rather more than just perfunctory. Talk about confusing signals.

When Tom checked his email the following morning, there was a brief note from Bella with four jpeg images attached. 'Thank you for letting me come and visit,' she said. 'It was most enjoyable. And I hope you approve of the attached. I think that each works in its own way, but, if you have a favourite, let me know. Best, Bella.'

Tom clicked on each of the attached files. Yes, definitely an improvement on his old mug shots. A big improvement.

Tom was still contemplating the images when his phone rang. It was Bella. 'I'm hoping that you might be free around lunchtime tomorrow,' she said. 'Michael Hawks wants to interview you. He's offering to buy you lunch at a place in Tenterden. I think he lives somewhere down that way. And it would save you having to come all the way up to town.'

'Will you be there?' Tom asked.

'I think you should speak to him alone. It's OK. It seems he's a fan of yours – well, of your work anyway. You and I can talk afterwards.'

Tom met Michael Hawks at The Woolpack, a 15th century inn that had had its ups and downs but now seemed to be enjoying an up. And immediately afterwards he phoned Bella.

'How did it go?' Bella asked.

Tom shrugged his shoulders (not that Bella could have known that). 'Well, he was pleasant enough. He didn't seem to have any trick questions, no obvious traps. But who knows? This whole thing is a bit new to me. I'm used to being the one asking the questions. Anyway, how are you? I meant to ask if you made it back to London in time to ... whatever it was that you needed to do.'




Fisherman's Point



'Pick up Gordon. Yes. It all went perfectly, thank you. I made it with about five minutes to spare.'

'Umm ... good.'

Bella told Tom about a couple of radio interviews that she had arranged. 'You can do them both over the phone,' she said. 'That's one of the nice things about radio.' She also told him that she had tentatively arranged a book-signing at Daunt Books. 'They're thinking about a Sunday afternoon. I don't know how you feel about that.'

'Yes. Fine,' Tom said.

'OK. I'll see if we can firm up on a date. By the way, speaking of Sundays, I have to be down in Rye this Saturday – a family thing – and I thought that I could come back via your place on Sunday morning. I could bring you a copy of the press pack that we've put together. Although, of course, I don't want to get in the way if you're planning to work.'

'Sunday? No. Sunday would be great. In fact, you know, any time really.'

'OK,' Bella said. 'Probably around eleven-ish?'

'Perfect.' Perfect? Well, almost. There was still the shadow of Gordon. But at least Tom was going to see Bella again. And, anyway, perhaps Gordon was just 'a friend'. Nothing too serious. Nothing too permanent.

On Saturday, Tom went into town and bought a plump free-range chicken and various other bits and pieces – including a couple of bottles of decent Côtes d'Azur rosé. He ended up paying about twice what he normally paid for a bottle of wine, but it was all in a good cause.

On Sunday, Tom awoke early. He tried to tell himself that it was just another day. But he knew that it wasn't.

He pulled on a pair of shorts and gave the cottage a bit of a spring clean. He even tidied up his work room. Bella hadn't asked to see it on her previous visit, but better to be prepared. And then he made himself some coffee and some toast and went out onto the deck. The fine weather had returned. There were a few wispy clouds on the horizon, but Tom was almost certain that they would be gone by eleven – if not before.

Before he had gone to bed the previous evening, Tom had spatchcocked the chicken, removing the backbone and the keel bone, flattening it out, and settling it in a marinade of black pepper (lots of black pepper), lemon juice, lemon zest, and olive oil. He now removed the chicken from the fridge and set it on the kitchen counter to let it come back up to room temperature. He also peeled some potatoes and cut them into golf ball-sized chunks.

And then it was time for a shower, a fresh pair of baggy shorts, and a much-loved polo shirt.

It was 10:30 and Bella had said eleven-ish. Given that Sunday morning traffic was likely to be light, there was always the possibility that she might arrive early. Tom ground some coffee beans and filled the kettle with water. But eleven o'clock came and went.

At 11:20, Tom drained most of the water off the potatoes, covered the bowl they were in with cling film, and set the timer on the microwave for three minutes. Once they were pre-cooked, he would roast them off in some goose fat. Oh well, if Bella didn't come, he was going to be eating grilled chicken alla diavola with roasted potatoes and mixed leaf salad for several meals to come.

And then there came the unmistakable sound of a car door closing, followed, a few seconds later, by the sound of footsteps on the wooden deck. 'Hello?'

'Oh, hello. You found your way then.'

'It would seem so,' Bella said, placing a fat folder on the table. 'I'm here.' And she gave Tom an enthusiastic hug and a kiss on the cheek.

'I was just about to make some coffee.'

'Oh, great.' And then she said: 'I have Gordon in the car. I hope you don't mind.'

'Umm ... mind? Umm ... no. No, of course not. No. You'd better tell him to come in.'

While Bella went to fetch Gordon, Tom, his spirit now dented, reflected on the fact that at least he had plenty of food. And there were two bottles of rosé. If worst came to worst, he could just get slightly pissed.

Once again there came the unmistakable sound of a car door closing, and once again the sound of footsteps on the deck. And then: 'No, Gordon. You stay out here – there's a good boy.'

Tom turned to see a brown and white English springer spaniel, its tail swishing from side to side like a windscreen wiper on its highest speed setting, looking up at him expectantly. 'This is Gordon?'

'This is Gordon.'

Tom suddenly felt much happier. 'Do you really want coffee?' he said. 'Or would you prefer a glass of wine?'

Bella hesitated. But only for a moment. 'Oh, go on then.'

Tom retrieved one of the bottles of rosé and a couple of wine glasses. 'Cheers. It's really nice to see you again.'

Bella smiled and raised her glass. 'To the Camberley Prize.'

'Yes, I suppose so. In more ways than one. Oh, and by the way, I assume that you will stay for lunch?'

Bella laughed. 'Well, it wasn't my intention. But given that I know how clever you are in the kitchen, how could I decline? Thank you. That would be nice. Although I should have brought a bottle of wine or something.'

'Oh, I think we'll manage,' Tom said.

It was the first time that Tom had seen Bella wearing a dress. When they had first met, Bella had been wearing a business-like suit – black, with a deep blue silky shirt underneath. And when she had come out to the cottage to take Tom's photograph, she had been dressed for the promised inclement weather in practical chino-style trousers and a wax jacket. But now, on this sunny Sunday in early May, she was looking particularly feminine in a pale pink dress, with a white cardigan, and hot pink sandals. 'You're looking very nice,' Tom said.

Bella smiled her endearing and slightly lop-sided smile. 'Thank you,' she said. 'It's nice to finally reach that part of the year when it is not necessary to be perpetually buried beneath five layers of clothing. I do enjoy the freedom of the summer months.' And she flounced the skirt of her summery dress and smiled again. Was she flirting? Tom thought so. He also thought that he had probably better put the potatoes into the oven. They would need at least half an hour.

When Tom returned to the deck, Bella had removed her cardigan. 'And so goes another layer?' Tom said.

Bella smiled. 'Well ... this is a nice spot; a nice little sun trap.'

'On a good day, yes, hard to beat,' Tom said. 'Not Spain, of course.'

'But I imagine in late August ....'

'Well, still not Spain – unfortunately. Although I suppose you could still try for an all-over tan.'

Bella nodded. 'I'd be game.'

Yeah. I reckon you probably would too, Tom thought. And he pictured Bella, lying back, naked, her eyes closed, the sun kissing her body. It was ... well, it was a very pleasant – and rather erotic – image. 'And acquiring an all-over tan ... is this something you do on a regular basis?'

Bella smiled and shook her head. 'In England?' she said.

Tom nodded. 'I think I should go and put the grill on.'

'Can I do anything?'

'No. Everything's under control. But thank you.'

'Well, in that case, do you mind if I just take Gordon for a little walk? I promise to keep him away from those Herring Gulls.'

'Don't worry, the gulls will spot him from a mile away. They're used to dogs on their beach.'

Tom went back into the kitchen, rearranged the roasting potatoes, and turned on the grill. (One of the little luxuries that Tom and Karen had allowed themselves when they were updating the kitchen was a new gas cooker with a four-burner hob, an oven, and a separate grill.) And, by the time that he had rinsed a few assorted lettuce leaves and herbs and put them into the salad spinner, the grill was ready for the chicken.

As was his habit, Tom started with the chicken skin side up. And then, after ten minutes or so, he turned it over. And then, after a further ten minutes, he turned it back again, skin side up, basted it with some of the marinade, and let it finish cooking.

Bella's timing was perfect. By the time she arrived back from her beach walk with Gordon, the potatoes were done, the chicken was resting, and Tom was finishing off the salad.

'I wonder if I could just grab some water for Gordon?' Bella said.

Tom started to look in the cupboard for a suitable dish.

'It's OK, I have his bowl,' she said. 'We travel prepared.'

Tom nodded. 'I see. And did you bring his bed? You know, just in case he needs an afternoon nap.'

Bella smiled her distinctive smile.

Lunch was everything that Tom had hoped that it would be and more. The food, the wine, and the late spring weather combined perfectly. But it was the company that was the highlight. And now that Tom had discovered that Gordon was a dog, even his presence added something to the occasion.

'I think that I might need to avail myself of the bathroom,' Bella said.

'It's the second door on the right.'

While Bella was away, Tom refilled their wine glasses, and then pushed his chair back from the table and stretched out his legs.

'Have you and Gordon been a couple for long?' Tom asked, when Bella returned.

'Hmm ... about five years,' she said. 'I rather snatched him from the cradle.'

'When his mother's back was turned, I suppose.'

'I don't think that she minded. In fact, I suspect that she may have been glad to see the back of him. She had two other pups and Gordon was definitely showing signs of being a trouble maker.'

Tom nodded. Somehow he could imagine Gordon as a trouble maker. 'So ... what would you like to do now?' he asked.

'Do you have a Monopoly board?'

'Monopoly? No.'

'Scrabble?'

'Umm ... no. I used to have a chess board – you know, just a basic one, cardboard, something like that. Nothing fancy. But I seem to have lost that somewhere along the way. So, no, no board games at all, really.'

'Good. In that case, unless I'm totally misreading your signals, perhaps you'd like to take me to bed. Or even just take me here in this patch of glorious sunshine.'

Of all of the things that Bella could have said, this was perhaps the one that Tom would have most liked her to say. And yet it was the one that he had least expected. 'I see,' he said.

Bella stood up again and raised the hem of her pink sun dress to reveal a neatly trimmed patch of thatch. 'And do you like what you see?'

Tom nodded. 'I do.'

Bella took a couple of paces towards him, reached out and took his hand, and placed it on her warm pussy. 'There's something about good food, nice wine, and sunshine that makes me feel quite randy.'

'So it would seem.'

'And you?' Bella said, reaching for Tom's crotch.

'In my case, I think that it might have rather a lot to do with the company,' he said.

While Tom's fingers explored Bella's warm soft crevice, she unbuckled his belt, lowered his zip, and freed his growing cock. 'Nice,' she said. 'Very nice. Far too nice to keep shut away on a beautiful day like this.'

As their respective fingers worked their magic, their lips met in a kiss that was at first tentative, exploratory, and then unquestionably passionate. 'Well, that was nice too,' Bella said. And then she bent down and took Tom's still growing cock in her mouth.

Tom smiled and nodded. 'Mmm. And speaking of nice ....'

For perhaps three or four minutes Bella sucked and licked Tom's cock, massaging its head with her tongue, while with the fingers of her right hand she gently stroked the underside of his scrotum. And then she paused and slipped her fingers into her bra. Tom expected her to reveal a breast, but instead she produced a foil-wrapped condom. 

'My ... you do travel prepared,' Tom said.

Bella just smiled, tore open the packet, removed the condom, placed it on the tip of Tom's now-rigid cock, and then gently rolled it down. 'There. Ready?'

'When you are,' Tom said.

Bella lifted her skirt up around her waist giving Tom his first proper glimpse of her beautiful naked arse, and then she backed onto Tom's condom-clad cock. 'Oh, yes. That feels perfect. Just perfect,' she said. (And Tom thought so too.)

What started with perfection continued perfectly for a good ten minutes or so, and then Bella's breathing got shorter (and not just from all the bobbing up and down), and she made a sound that was half laugh and half squeal. 'Oh, yes!' she said. 'Oh, fuck, yes.'

And then it was Tom's turn.

Bella had just removed herself – gingerly – from Tom's now-wilting cock when Gordon – who had been quietly dozing in the sun – suddenly perked up, sniffed the air, and let out a little growl. Perhaps five seconds later, a black and white fox terrier bounded around the corner, leapt up onto the deck, and stood in front of Gordon, wagging not just its tail but its whole rear end.

'Milly. Oh, shit!' Tom muttered and hastily pulled up his shorts, his wilting cock still in its protective wrapper. He had just finished re-buckling his belt when a middle-aged woman appeared.

'Oh, sorry,' she said. 'I hope I'm not interrupting. I just thought you might like some eggs.' And she placed an egg tray with a dozen eggs on the table.

'Interrupting? No. Not at all. We, umm, had just, umm, finished. Oh ... and this is Bella. Bella, Heather. Heather farms free-range chickens – just down the road.'

'Oh, yes. I think I probably drove past your place on my way across from Rye,' Bella said. 'Nice to meet you.'

'Likewise. And, yes, you would have.'

'Let me get you a wine glass,' Tom said. 'This rosé is really rather nice.'

'Well, I don't want to crash your, umm, lunch or anything.'

'Nonsense. In fact, try a bit of chicken. Bella and I are just enjoying this beautiful day, aren't we?'

'We are. And it is a beautiful day. A perfect day. I can't imagine a better one,' Bella said.

Bella didn't go back to London that night.



Fisherman's Tail



I fish because I love to because I love the environs where trout are found which are invariably beautiful;
because , my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion;
because only in the woods can I find solitude without loneliness;
because bourbon out of an old tin cup always tastes better out there;
because maybe one day I will catch a mermaid;
and, finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important,
but because I suspect that so many other concerns of men
are equally unimportant
and not nearly so much fun. 

~ Robert Traver 

The good words of the Michigan judge pretty much summed it up for me except I sometimes wondered about the "mermaid." Although times are changing women on a trout stream are still somewhat rare. Surprising in a way, because you see it is a "gentle sport."

The fly-fishing version of it especially belongs to people who like to walk. From riffle to pond to run and on to the next riffle. 

The farther from the road you go the fishing can only get better and better. 

There is an etiquette involved in this movement as well. You don't expect to see other people but sometimes it happens. The rules are: 

(1) If they are actively fishing a stretch of stream, "DO NOT DISTURB." This can spook the fish they are casting to and really piss them off. They were there first. 

(2) Your choices are to wait till they finish and move on or leave the stream and pass around them at a sufficient distance that they don't even know you went by. 

(3) If they are not actively fishing, perhaps changing a fly, sipping some bourbon or trying to remove their lure from a tree, you may approach cautiously. Greet them and ask how the fishing is going. Most like to chat. If the response is minimal move on past them to the next pool. 

So on that particular evening the "Little Fox" had been giving up brown trout quite readily. A small hatch of stoneflies was coming off and "Little Yellow Sally's" were working very nicely. I was casting up stream and looking forward to the next pool. It was one of my favorites. That when I noticed another fly fisher approaching downstream from around a bend. 

At a distance of about 200 yards I thought, at first, it was a young boy. I decided to wait and sitting on a mossy bank took in the warblers floating above the stream. Returning my gaze to the aforementioned pool, I realized that the person testing the waters of my favorite spot was definitely not a boy with a cane pole. Small, but it was definitely a she who was casting side-arm with a fly rod. 

I knew why the side arm cast and therefore what the problem was. Brush and trees sere close behind, a cliff face was across the small stream and a there was log jam too boot. Tricky casting, but well worth it if you could hit the right spots. I watched intrigued. 

Finally after much frustrated effort she managed to get hung up on an overhanging branch. I approached cautiously. 

She broke off, and I heard a soft, "Oh shit."

As she turned I managed a smile and "Not your day is it?"

She couldn't have been five feet tall. From under the Australian bush hat cascaded red hair almost down to her waist. A few freckles and all the right female contours in just the right proportions to match her small size. I was entranced.

"You can say that again," she responded. "There are a couple of big brown's sipping out there too. I just can't reach them."

As she sat down on the bank to re-tie, I peered intently at the stream. Sure enough they were working downstream from the logjam. 

"Have you tried any Sallies," I asked

"Nope," she muttered. "It's the cast though that I can't figure." 

"Did you try a roll-cast," I queried. 

"What's that?" 

"Can I show you?"

I walked downstream about twenty yards. Didn't want to take her spot, of course. "Cast out. Lift your rod drawing the line toward you. Then "flip it" in a rolling motion towards your target. This avoids the back cast and all those trees and bushes." A couple most demonstrations and I heard, "got it." She was ready to try it. 

"Here's a Sally for you. Give it a try." 

With that she tied on and moved down to the water. I took her place on the bank and watched. She leaned forward a little staring intently at the logjam. My eyes tended to focus on the tight little butt pointing right at me. This was fishing at its best!

There is such a thing as serendipity. The little squeal of delight told me she had made a perfect cast with perfect results. This woman knew how to play a fish and following the huge brown as it rushed downstream she fought it to a standstill. I slipped my always handy digital out of my pocket and followed her at a 

distance. 

Five minutes later, she stood cradling the brown, which must have approached ten pounds. I quickly snapped their picture. The brown tint, dark spots and yellow markings were almost iridescent. So was her smile as she knelt and carefully released the huge fish. 

"Now it's your turn," she said excitedly. 

So I went back to the same spot to see if her fish had a big sister. She did but that's another story. As I turned to look for her shouting, "I got one too," she was nowhere in sight. 

Then from the next upstream pool I heard, "Here. That looks like a dandy."

There she was standing naked in the middle of the pool. No mermaid there. Nothing fishy about this fly fisherwoman. She was, I'm sure, a nymph. Perhaps like The Lady of the Lake, who gave Arthur Excalibur she had given me my trout of a lifetime. 

She waved at me while holding her fly rod above her head. Slim calves, soft thighs, perfect little hips centering a small red bush, white breasts with rosy nipples partly covered by flaming red hair. Maybe not a nymph though, perhaps a goddess. And then she was gone. 

Landing "big sister" I took out my camera for a picture. Then released the fish back into the sparkling water. Exhausted, I sat down again on the bank. I gathered my thoughts and again looked upstream for my new found friend. The camera I thought. Go back one picture. She"s got to be there cradling her big trout. 

I hit the back button on my digital camera. There was a picture of her trout. Huge, leaping perfectly horizontal above the water. Suspended in time and space. All alone. 

"So how was the fishing, dear," my wife asked later. 

"The best ever," I responded honestly. "Dry flys didn't work at all today. But nymphs, you wouldn't believe how well they worked today. 

"What are nymphs again," the non-fisher wife asked. 

"Oh you know. They live in the water. The larval form. My best imitations were the small sizes today. I think I'll go back tomorrow and try again."