7 comments/ 102333 views/ 9 favorites Harriet's Story By: Moondrift Harriet stood at the kitchen sink staring out of the window, drying cloth in one hand and plate in the other for the moment forgotten, her dark eyes focused on the scene by the swimming pool at the bottom of the garden. There two young men were lounging by it, one her son Glen, the other Alex, his friend. Harriet had been used to having Glen's high school friends around the place, but since Glen had left high school and started to attend university they all seemed to have gone their separate ways. Alex was the new friend and a very good looking and personable one. Harriet sighed, "If only I could be nineteen again," and finished washing up the lunch plates, but with occasional glances out of the window. She felt that she had never really been nineteen. Chronologically of course she had once been nineteen, but at that age she was married and had a six months old baby, Glen, and looking at Glen and Alex she felt that she had missed something in her life. When the boys had come in for lunch they were still only wearing their swimming briefs, and they were very brief indeed. Looking at their lithe young bodies that seemed to radiate good health and potency, their substantial genitals blatantly moulded against the cloth of their briefs, a desire for sensual pleasure was stirred in Harriet. She felt attracted to Alex and he seemed to pay her particular attention, and Harriet was not blind to the erection that his briefs had no hope of hiding... She was still wearing the bikini that she had worn when she had briefly joined the boys at the pool that morning, but now it was hidden beneath the simple cotton housecoat she had put on as she left the pool. Had she not been wearing the coat at lunch Alex, if he was aware of the subtle signs of female arousal, might have detected her sexual excitement. It was because of this arousal that Harriet had stayed only briefly at the pool, but that was the effect Alex's presence always had on her, and she felt it as torment. * * * * * * * * Harriet was approaching the dreaded forties, and like many women at that time of life she was suffering from marital ennui, the result of her husband Harold being unable or unwilling to meet her emotional needs. Hence she felt herself to be unattractive, undesirable and therefore suffered from a very poor self image. An outside observer might have wondered what Harriet had to complain about. She had a husband who was, as people say, "A good and generous provider." She lived in a fine house in a leafy suburb. She had a son of whom she was justifiably proud, both for his looks and intelligence, and she had at her disposal one of the more up market brands of car. Living in a respectable neighbourhood she was highly regarded as one if the pillars of the local church; president of the women's group; Sunday school teacher and given to charitable works and working for a few hours a week as a dental nurse, our hypothetical observer might well have wondered what she had to be discontented about; the answer being, of course, sexual deprivation. So often what starts out to be a passionate relationship can turn sour, with one partner losing sexual interest. This is the lot of many women and it can lead to serious tensions within a relationship: with the woman taking a lover; sexual promiscuity; divorce, or masturbation as a source of relief. In Harriet's case Harold's failure to perform as a lover was particularly difficult since she was a very passionate woman, but unwilling to endanger or break up her marriage she had opted for what she considered the safe option of masturbation, but for her this was a mere surrogate for the reality she so dearly desired. She was not a vain woman but sometimes she stood naked before the long mirror in her bedroom, wondering what was wrong with her that Harold should reject her sexually, especially after his enthusiastic beginning on the sofa in her parent's living room twenty years ago. This, or subsequent sexual encounters had led to her pregnancy, marriage and the birth of Glen. Again what an outside observer might have seen, and Harriet's self perception, would have been at variance. It was true her figure was not quite as slim as it had been when she was eighteen, and her stomach protruded very slightly as the result of pregnancy, but in some strange way our imagined outside observer might have found this attractive. It seemed to add to her femaleness and led the eye to her pudendal cleft and the promise of softness and welcoming warmth beyond those lips that are the gateway to paradise. Her ample breasts that had once delighted Harold still retained some of their original suppleness, and also promised a warm and comfortable pillow for a lover to lay his head between. Her face tended to be angular with a pointed chin and her nose straight and a little longer that was fashionable. Her abundant dark hair was cut to just below where her head joined her neck, and her mouth was wide with firmly defined lips, but it was her dark long lidded eyes with the look of fire in their depths that would have held the observer's attention Our observer might well have felt that Harriet's face had a suggestion of carnal cruelty about it, a raptorial appearance, but would have been forced to the conclusion he was seeing a woman of considerable sensual attractions. Had he known her when she was eighteen he might have concluded that Harriet was one of those fortunate women for whom maturity had enhanced her looks. Sadly -- one might almost say tragically -- this was not Harriet's self assessment. Like so many women in her situation she had allowed her husband's lack of desire for her to poison her self image. * * * * * * * * There was an uncomfortable wetness between her upper thighs and a ticking sensation in her clitoris, and her nipples had become extended and firm since being at the pool, and so Harriet made her way to her bedroom where she stripped, and retrieving her dildo from her underwear draw she lay on the bed. She began by gently stroking a breast and parting her legs she ran the dildo over the outer lips of her genitals gradually pushing it in. Knowing that she would probably come very quickly she tried to delay the moment of ecstasy slowly pushing the dildo into her vaginal tunnel, and then moving it unhurriedly back and forth as she made soft whimpering sounds. Her attempt to delay her orgasm was of little avail and it began to take her in its relentless grip. She began to squeeze one of her nipples and the dildo moved with increasing speed. As the first wave or orgasmic pain and pleasure swept over her she transferred the dildo to her clitoris, circling it with the head of the dildo, and her cries grew louder and more anguished and her body seemed to convulse. "Oh no...oh no...nah....nah...ow...no...oh God...fuck me Alex...fuck me...I need ohwaaa...mmm...mmmmaaah..." As she passed over the pinnacle of her climax her cries began to diminish and her movements slowed until she lay limply on the bed. She drifted off into a shallow sleep to be aroused by the sound of laughter, a car engine being started and driving away. Alex had left. Lethargically she rose from the bed and putting on her housecoat she made her way to the shower. There she washed the dildo and then showered in order to remove any of the residual smell resulting from her activities. Feeling more energetic she made her way to the bedroom, put away the dildo and dressed in green slacks, shirt and sandals she made her way to the kitchen. * * * * * * * * It was no surprise to find Glen sitting at the table eating a ham sandwich; he was always hungry. He looked up and grinned as she came in. "What are you grinning at?" Harriet asked. Glen did not answer her question, but looked as if he was bursting to tell her something. It is necessary to point out that the relationship between Harriet and her son was a very open one and they both felt free to say things as they were and as they felt them. Glen ceased assaulting the sandwich for a moment and said excitedly, "Mum, have you got any idea what you're doing to poor old Alex?" "As far as I know I'm not doing anything to poor old Alex," Harriet replied, "but I think you're going to tell me." "Mum, he fancies you." Harriet took few moments to digest this, not because she was unaware of Alex's attraction to her, but because she had a suspicion that this was Glen's back-to-front way of letting her know he had detected her feelings for Alex. Don't be so...so silly," she said. "But its true mum," Glen said animatedly, "he's really gone on you." "You're making it up Glen, your imagination has run wild, " Harriet said sternly, hoping to stop his talk in its tracks. "I'm twice his age and married so he isn't likely to be interested in me." Glen however was not about to give up. "He thinks you're fantastic mum and..." "And I suppose he's told you that," Harriet said dryly, beginning to suspect that Glen was trying to be amusing. "Well, no...no he hasn't exactly told me, but I can tell." "And how can you tell, have you been reading palms or doing something with tarot cards?" Glen, stung by her tone of voice said, "I can tell by the way he talks; he can't stop talking about you. It doesn't matter where a conversation starts he always ends up by bringing it round to you; that's always a sign that..." "That doesn't mean anything Glen, and as I said, why should he be interested in someone my age?" A gleam of triumph came into Glen's eyes. "Aha, that's where son can teach mother something, "he crowed. "And what is son going to teach mother?" "That these days lots of young guys prefer older women, and lots of older women are going for the young guys," Glen said smugly. "Oh well you'd know all about that," Harriet retorted acidly. "Er...what...what do you mean?" Glen asked cautiously. Harriet, hands on hips, snapped, "I mean, you and that divorcee you see so much of." "Yer-you ner-know," Glen gasped; he'd thought he'd been so careful about his relationship with Marion. "Yer-yes, I ner-know," Harriet mimicked. "How could I not know when everybody in the neighbourhood knows; it had to get around to me eventually." "Yes, well, point proved," Glen mumbled, not feeling quite so cocky." "Proved what point?" "The young guy and the older woman." With mock patience Harriet went on, "Just because you like screwing an older woman doesn't mean every young guy wants to, especially Alex. Embarrassed and angry Glen rose and said, "Okay mum, have it your way. I thought you'd be pleased, but as you're not I...I..." He didn't know what else to say so grabbing the remains of his sandwich he headed out of the kitchen." Harriet called after him, "I didn't say that I wasn't..." but Glen had gone. * * * * * * * * A thought once put into your head, even if ostensibly rejected, has a way of lingering and even expanding, and so it was with Harriet as she thought about her and Alex. She might have denied it with Glen, but she knew that what he had said had accorded with her own desires, as demonstrated by her orgasm a short while ago when she had fantasized Alex as her lover. Now that she knew for certain that her feeling for Alex was reciprocated she felt even more disturbed. For as long as she hadn't been sure she had felt safe, and her otherwise comfortable environment was not threatened. Now, if Alex attempted to... to what, seduce her, would she resist? Then there was the hitherto unthinkable, she in her need might attempt to seduce Alex, and what might this mean for her marriage. If only she could complain about Harold, that he was abusive, violent, was mean, but it was only about his failure to keep her emotionally satisfied she could find fault. She was confused, and in the midst of this confusion Glen returned to the kitchen looking resentful. He went straight to the refrigerator and took out a lump of cheese, and taking out a knife from the cutlery drawer and sitting at the table he began to cut slices of cheese. Harriet, feeling that she had been unfair to him tried to make amends. "Glen, what you said about Alex, you were joking weren't you?" Munching on some cheese Glen said sulkily, "No." "But darling, why should he be interested in me, I'm nothing special?" Glen gaped at her, another slice of cheese suspended between the table and his mouth. Slowly, as if talking to a retarded child he said, "Mum, you're a very se...attractive woman, of course Alex fancies you, any man would so what's wrong with that?" Harriet might have said that she knew one man who did not fancy her, but instead she retreated to the sink defensively covering her breasts with her hands. "Glen, you shouldn't say that, I'm your mother and..." "I know you're my mother, and it's a pity because I could fancy you myself if you weren't." "Glen!" Harriet exclaimed, "Your father..." "Never mind about father, why don't you stop pretending mum and come clean, you fancy Alex don't you?" "Well in a way, after all he's very attractive and..." "Mum, you don't give me credit for much intelligence do you?" "What do you mean?" "Do you think I haven't noticed the way you look at him?" "It is only looking," Harriet said almost apologetically. Glen said, "And I think I know why you look." "Why?" "Father, he doesn't, does he?" "What do you mean, he doesn't?" "Don't make me say it mum." "I'm not making you say anything, but you can at least explain what you mean, and stop assaulting that cheese, dinner will be ready soon." Glen sighed and putting aside the knife said, "Okay mum, if you must have it, dad doesn't ...doesn't...er...make love with you." "How...what makes you say that?" Harriet said her face flushing. "Mum," Glen said with monumental patience, "When I was a kid I used to here certain noises coming from your bedroom at night. Of course I didn't know what the noises were about then, not until..." "You met your divorcee." "No mum, long before that, and if you're going to bring Marion into it all the time I won't say anymore." "Sorry...sorry, I won't mention her again." "Okay mum, what I was going to say was that at one time the noises were nearly every night, but for a long time I haven't heard a thing, so from that I conclude there's not much action between you and dad, and from that I conclude that Alex might be welcome as a lover." "Oh, quite the Hercule Poirot aren't you. And suppose you're right, that leads on to me bedding Alex does it?" "I wasn't saying that mum; all I was saying is that if you did I would understand." "Thank you...thank you very much Glen, I'm so glad I've got your permission to go ahead with Alex," Harriet said acidly. "There's no need to be sarcastic mum and if..." He was cut short by the arrival of his father. "Home is the hunter," Harold chortled. He said that every time he arrived home from work, and at times Harriet felt as if she could scream. * * * * * * * * It was Harold's custom to relate the office events of the day during the evening meal. Harriet always found this exceedingly boring but tolerated it as a wifely duty. Since Glen had revealed Alex's feelings to her, and her fantasies now centred on sex with Alex, Harriet's emotional state rendered her less forbearing. Poor Harold was in the midst of telling one of his office sagas when Harriet blew up. "For God's sake Harold, do we have to listen to stories about petty office dramas over every meal? Why don't you do something really interesting like raping your secretary or buggering the office manager, or vice versa, then you might have something worthwhile to say?" There was an embarrassed silence before Harold, clearing his throat said, "My dear, are you feeling unwell?" Harriet gazed at him, and felt a wave of pity for him he looked so upset. Five years older than her he looked more like ten years older with his sparse hair combed to try and cover his bald pate and his incipient paunch. She struggled to find some excuse for her outburst, "I...I'm sorry Harold," she murmured contritely, "I think I must be starting my menopause." Harold accepted this and chortled, "Ha ha, no fear of more pregnancies then, ha ha." "Certainly not at the rate you fuck me and in any case I'm on the pill," Harriet thought, but said, "No dear." Looking at him she had a brief vision of how he had been when they first met, so fit and good looking. Since Harold had gone off the boil, sexually speaking, Harriet had made attempts to stir up his lifeless libido; now she wondered why she had bothered. The rest of the meal passed off in silence and as they rose from the table Harriet said to Glen who was about to escape, "You can help with the washing up." Harold shambled off to watch the news on television leaving Harriet and Glen together in the kitchen. As they commenced washing up Harriet said hesitantly, "Er...Glen, before your father arrived home we...we were talking about Alex." "Actually mother, you were being sarcastic," Glen said resentfully. "Yes and I'm sorry, but there's something I've got to ask you." "What?" "About Alex and me." "Oh my God, I wish I'd never mentioned anything about Alex, all you've done since I said he..." "Glen, please, it's important." Glen mumbled, "Oh, all right, I'm listening." "It's just that...well if...and it's only if...if something did happen between me and Alex...and I'm not saying it will, but if it did, you wouldn't tell your father, would you?" "Mum, you are going to..." "I said if, Glen, I didn't say I was, but if I did..." "Marion says it's good for a married woman to have an aff..." "Never mind about Marion, just answer me. You wouldn't tell, would you?" Glen looked at her earnestly and said, "No mum, I wouldn't tell dad. After all what he doesn't know can't hurt him." He gave an odd grin and said, "After all, he might be raping his secretary or buggering the office manager." "Oh go away Glen," Harriet chuckled, "go and make your divorcee happy, I'll finish up here." Glen gave her a kiss on the cheek and saying, "Thanks mum, and I'll let Marion know that this one is courtesy of you." "What do you mean this one is..." But Glen had gone, leaving a slightly puzzled Harriet to finish the washing up. * * * * * * * * Such was Harriet's confused state of mind she did not get to sleep until the early hours of the morning. She wondered if it was the case as she'd heard in church, a battle between good and evil, virtue and vice and more personally between her desire for Alex and her marriage vows. Was it was true as the bible said, that even to look lustfully means that you have already committed adultery in your heart? If that was so she had committed adultery many times with Alex. She got quite angry thinking about that because it meant she had committed adultery but without the accompanying physical and emotional pleasures. This seemed unfair because to commit adultery only in your heart left you miserable and frustrated. In her mind she felt that sex life with Harold was like someone lost in the desert dying of thirst and then they come upon an oasis. If the desert was Harold then Alex was the oasis, then surely the obvious thing was to drink at the oasis. The marriage vows hadn't covered that aspect as far as she could remember. She woke late and lay on her back gazing at the ceiling. Through the open window she could hear voices and the occasional burst of laughter. Alex had already arrived. She thought he must have arrived earlier than usual until she glanced at the bedside clock. She almost leapt from the bed and hustling into her dressing gown she hurried to the shower. Returning to her bedroom after the shower she had to decide what to wear. The real question was, would she join the boys at the pool where she would once more experience the torment of Alex's presence, or put on a respectable housewifely dress and busy herself with domestic tasks. She had once heard a preacher say that if you busied yourself in meaningful work you kept at bay the temptations of Satan. The trouble was, she didn't find housework very meaningful, it was simply something that had to be done. Harriet's Story She looked out of the window in the direction of the pool. Alex was poised on the edge of the pool about to dive in. His tanned body stretched for the dive was lithe and muscular and then he knifed into the water and with a few powerful strokes he swam to the other end of the pool. Harriet's mind was virtually made up for her. She put on the bikini and cotton housecoat and made her way to the kitchen. Harold had long been gone to work and Glen had breakfasted. Harriet had no real taste for food but she made herself some toast and a cup of tea. Despite the fact that she had prepared herself to go to the pool, when she finished her frugal breakfast she was still wrestling with her desire to go to the pool and be tormented by Alex's presence, or remain safe in the house. For all her inner struggle, deep inside herself she knew what she as going to do. Barefoot she left the kitchen and made her way to the pool and temptation. The greeting between Alex and Harriet was almost formal, but Glen laughed and coming to her kissed her and said, "And how is my lovely mother this morning?" "A bit weary," she replied, "I didn't sleep too well last night." She knew that her lack of sleep was not the only cause of her weariness. Suppressed emotions, especially those concerned with sex, can have a debilitating effect when they are not discharged in the appropriate manner. Alex was sitting on the edge of the pool, his feet dangling in the water. He was looking at her rather like a hungry puppy begging to be fed. Harriet tried not to look at him, but he had that now familiar erection which she now knew to be for her and her eyes were constantly drawn to him. She began to tremble and to cover her discomfiture she dived into the pool. Her bikini was such that when wet it tended to take on slight transparency. As she came out of the pool Alex's gaze became even more intense, and Harriet's jumbled emotions even more disturbing. She put her housecoat on and hurried back to the house drying her hair with a towel as she went. She was very agitated and she tried to calm herself by doing little domestic jobs that in fact did not need doing. She could not remember ever feeling so sexually aroused before, even when in their youth Harold had been at his amorous best. A church member she may have been but like a lot of church people she was not great on prayer, but that morning she prayed as she never had before, asking to be released from the emotions that seemed to hold her in thrall. It did no good, because as was usually the case, when a suppliant asks something of the deity He/She/It seem to be absent, perhaps gone on vacation or emigrated from the universe. With trembling hands she made cheese and ham sandwiches and when the boys came in for lunch she could be in no doubt about their emotional state; hard penises were clearly delineated against their scanty swimwear. While the boys sat and ate Harriet strove to cover her own desperate condition with frantic chatter to which the boys responded monosyllabically. She was thankful for the coat because it covered her saturated genitals and inner thighs and she longed for them to leave so that she could flee to her bedroom and masturbate. After what seemed hours but in fact was only half an hour they rose and left her. She felt drained by the intense emotions she had experienced and for the moment did not go to her bedroom. At the sink her legs felt as if they could not support her and she leaned against it, her head bowed. She heard the sound of a car door slamming, an engine started and the car drove away; Alex had left. She felt a wave of bitter disappointment mixed with anger course through her. Irrationally she silently accused Alex for bringing her to the extreme of sexual arousal and then deserting her. She lifted her head and looked out of the window, but there was no sight of anyone at the pool; perhaps Glen had left with Alex? She heard a slight sound behind her and half turned expecting to see Glen, but it was Alex. Confused and agitated, her heart beating wildly and a ringing sound in her ears she turned back her hands clutching the edge of the sink. She felt rather than heard his approach, and then his warm breath caressed the back of her neck and moist lips were pressed against the nape of her neck. She tried to speak but her throat seemed to be constricted and no sound came. His hands came round her and began to unbutton her coat and she made no resistance as it was removed from her. She felt the hardness of his penis firm against her buttocks and her bra followed the coat to the floor. A hand closed over one of her breasts while the other began to stroke the slight swell of her stomach. Alex's voice, his lips close to her ear, whispered, "I want you Harriet." She struggled to respond but still she could make no sound. The hand stroking her belly moved down to push aside her last defense and a finger stroked along the cleft of her vulva. The last of her fragile defenses overcome she leaned back against him as his hands started to remove her bikini. She eased it down herself and kicked it way as Alex removed his swimming briefs. Her back was to him and his hands enfolded her breasts, gently pressing and stroking them, his penis moving along the groove of her vulva. "No Alex," Harriet pleaded, "Glen, he might..." "No," Alex gently reassured her, "He'll be gone for at least two hours." Harriet spoke again, "No darling...no...not here...not like this..." She turned and taking his hand led him into the lounge and the divan. For a few moments they stood clinging to each other and Harriet moaned as she rubbed her body over his. She had her arms round him as she returned his kisses. She parted her lips and her tongue slipped out to touch and enter his mouth. She reached down and stoked his belly working her way down until she held and massaged his penis, while Alex's fingers entered her vagina to feel there the soft warm pleasures that awaited him. He gently laid her on the divan and kneeling beside her started to explore her body with hands, lips and tongue; he lingered long over her breasts and nipples. "You're so lovely," he murmured as he moved on from her breasts to kiss and massage her mons. Harriet was aroused to a level she had never experienced before, even when Harold had been at his most potent and she wanted this first time with Alex to last, and so she moved and parting her legs and bending them at the knees she exposed her genitals to him, inviting him to enjoy her engorged lips and wet cleft. For a few moments he ran a finger along her cleft and then inserted it into her tunnel. As she gave a soft whimper he leaned forward and kissed and then began to lick her sweet gateway to paradise. Feeling his tongue caressing her soft inner lips she whispered, "I love to Alex...I love you...I need you." She thought he might bring her to orgasm with his tongue, but instead he moved her to lie stretched out on the divan with a cushion under her head and then as she opened her legs to receive him he came over her, his weight balanced on his forearms she guided him into her. As his penis became immersed in her he thought it felt like warm, wet marshmallow that clung to his penis and seemed to draw him into her depths. Feeling him deep inside her Harriet smiled and said, "Yes darling...yes...but slowly take a long time. Alex, a hand fondling one of her breasts, kissed her tenderly and then he whispered, "I always knew it would be beautiful with you." Harriet smiled up at him tenderly and said, "Enjoy darling...enjoy...don't hurry, just enjoy." Despite his attempts to restrain his orgasm Alex's kisses became increasingly fervent, the pressure on Harriet's breast firmer as his thrusts became more intense. "I can't hold back...I'm going to come...I'm going to come," he gasped. "Let it go darling," Harriet said lovingly. She had been fighting down her own orgasm but now she cried, "Let it go...I want to feel it...deep...deep darling..." As the first expulsion of his sperm beat into her Harriet's legs wound round his waist. Alex had one hand under her buttocks and the other at the base of her neck, dragging her tightly on to him as he began to fill her tunnel with his warm sperm. Feeling his repeated ejections Harriet cried out, "Oh Alex...Alex...oh my love...yes...yes...oh my God...." The rest of her words become incoherent as she became delirious with orgasmic ecstasy. Alex gave a final thrust into her and then began to relax but Harriet continued to thrust up against him begging him not to stop, "Don't stop...don't leave me...oh...oh Alex...Alex..." Harriet sobbed. They were both breathing heavily as Harriet finished and they gradually calmed, although still locked in an embrace with Alex's penis in her vagina. They were unwilling to separate and wanted to retain the sense of oneness they had just experienced. "I needed you...I needed you so badly Alex," Harriet sobbed. Alex kissed her and said, "It was wonderful Harriet, and I do really love you." Harriet sobbed even more loudly. * * * * * * * * Alex took her again and this time they lasted much longer and it gave them a sense of what their love making might become if it was possible for them to be together frequently. "What are we going to do, Harriet?" Alex asked anxiously. Harriet didn't answer Alex's question, instead she asked, "Glen, does he know what we've been doing?" "He knows what I was going to try and do," Alex replied. "Then what you're going to do right now is leave me," Harriet said, "go before Glen gets back, I want to talk with him without you being present." "But I don't want to..." "I know darling, but please do as I ask. Come back tomorrow and I might have persuaded Glen that he's needed elsewhere." She thought but did not say that his divorcee might keep Glen occupied for the day. Reluctantly Alex left her, picking up and putting on his swimming briefs as he went through the kitchen. Harriet hurried to the shower to remove Alex's sperm from her vagina and wash away any residual smell of their activities. She dressed in shirt and slacks and went to find Glen sitting in the kitchen once more assaulting the cheese. As she entered Glen looked at her with knowing eyes and said, "So you did it then, and don't pretend you didn't because the evidence is clear." "What...what evidence?" Glen gleefully pointed to the floor and Harriet felt her face flush; she had forgotten the coat and her bikini that Alex had removed from her and they still lay where they had fallen. "There you are proof positive," Glen grinned, "just as well I came home before dad, or you might have been in trouble. Was Alex any good?" "It's none of your business," Harriet replied, "I don't ask you if Marion is any good." "No, but in the case of you and Alex I do have a stake, after all, I brought you together, and in case you're curious, Marion is terrific." "Good," Harriet replied tartly, "and Alex is fantastic." "Then you'll want to have more time together?" Glen said. Harriet gave an inner sigh of relief because she wouldn't have to raise the matter of having time with Alex. "Darling, tomorrow, I'd like to..." "You'd like to spend the day with Alex," Glen grinned. "That's okay, have as many days as you like with him, I know where I'm not wanted." "Thank you darling," Harriet said thankfully, and then smiling said, "I think I know where you are wanted." For the first time Harriet felt that she understood the relationship between Glen and Marion and she silently gave thanks for Marion being in Glen's life. * * * * * * * * Glen was as good as his word and over the following days Harriet and Alex were left on their own to express and explore their love for each other. There was a depth to their sexual activity that Harriet had never known before. It was something that went beyond lust, and despite the covert and illicit nature of there relationship Harriet felt at one with Alex that was not only physical, but what she dared to think of as spiritual. Put in raw physical terms Alex was amazingly potent and Harriet nigh on insatiable and their ultimate paradise was for Alex's penis to be in her vagina. But the days went by and the new academic year drew close, and that meant less opportunity for them to be together. Alex begged Harriet to leave Harold and live with him, but the very joy of her relationship with Alex had given rise to an increasing pity for Harold. She felt that he would be devastated if she left him. He still showed no interest in her sexually, and for this she was now thankful. She was also thankful that Harold, on the grounds of business spent less time at home. Once more Harriet was in a cleft stick. In Alex she believed she had found the love of her life, and if she had obeyed her instincts she would have left Harold and gone to live with Alex. But there was this pity she felt for Harold that was no doubt mingled with guilt that she was, as people say, "Cheating on him." That suggests that she was taking away from Harold something belonging to him and that he wanted, but looked at logically this was not true. It was Glen who this time all unknowingly once more resolved the dilemma Harriet felt herself to be in. One evening when they were alone Glen said, "Mum, I've got something to tell you." Harriet who was writing out her shopping list for the next day looked up, "Mmm?" "It's about Marion." "Oh Glen, you're not splitting up are you, I thought that you and she were..." "No mum, it's not like that, you see, Marion's pregnant." "Oh Glen, didn't you use any means of contraception?" "Well we did mum, but then Marion said she wanted to have a baby, you see her ex wouldn't agree to make her pregnant, and that's what broke them up." "So what happens now?" "We get married." "But Glen, she's older then you and..." "And your older than Alex," Glen reminded her. Harriet was going to say that she and Alex had discussed their age difference and had decided it made no difference to their love for each other," but she changed her mind because Glen might point out that she was married and he and Marion weren't. "You'll have to tell your father," she said, "and God knows what he'll say." Glen shrugged and said, "He'll say what he'll say but it won't change anything." * * * * * * * * Harold took Glen's news with surprising calm, and in an odd way almost with relief. Harriet was puzzled by his equanimity until Harold, as it were, took the lid off things. Since revelations seemed the order of the day he said to her, "You've been having an affair haven't you?" Harriet was dumbfounded, she thought that she and Alex had been so careful. She glanced at Glen accusingly but he shook his head. Harold took from his pocket a wrist watch and said, "Alex was very careless, I found this on the dressing table two weeks ago." Alex had got into the habit of taking off his watch before they made love but on just one occasion he had left it behind and had been unnoticed by Harriet. The next day Alex had asked her if she had seen it and she had replied in the negative. They had hunted for it not only in the bedroom but around the house, with obviously no result. They finally concluded that he must have lost it elsewhere, although Alex swore he had put it on the dressing table. "How...how do you know it's Alex?" Harriet asked, waiting for the explosion. Harold held the watch up close to her showing her the back of the watch. Inscribed on it were the words, "To Alex from his mother." At such critical moments revelations seem to follow revelations. To use a metaphor, it is rather like a boil that has been lanced, it all comes out. "I think this is the time when we'd better have all our cards up on the table," Harold said. "I'm leaving you Harriet, you see, I've been having an affair as well, and we're very much in love." "Wer-what, her-who is she?" Harriet stuttered. "Not she, Harriet, he." "What!" "When some time ago you rather crudely suggested that I bugger the office manager you were speaking post-prophetically, we had been, as it were, buggering each other for some time." "But when we first met and then got married you..." "Yes, and perhaps I'm bi-sexual with a leaning towards being gay, but when Lance told me he loved me I knew I'd found what I'd always been looking for and never known it. So now you know." "Mid-life crisis," Glen muttered. "What...what was that?" Harold said sharply. "Oh...er...I said a mild crisis." "Yes," Harold said suspiciously. With surprising calm Harriet said, "Not exactly mild, we've got a lot of sorting out to do. You say you're leaving Harold, and I take it you will also be clearing out Glen to live with Marion?" Glen nodded, maybe thinking that silence was his best option. Harold said he would be moving in with Lance, and it became a matter of exactly when, and who would get what. Harriet appeared to be in unseemly haste to be rid of her two men, but of course she was anticipating Alex moving in. * * * * * * * * Since all three of them were keen to be united and in residence with their inamoratas the change over went reasonably expeditiously, and without too much acrimonious debate. Among the guests at the wedding of Glen and Marion were Alex and Harriet, Harold and Lance. The bride was showing obvious signs of being great with child. Had the wedding been a couple of months later then Harriet would also have shown signs of pregnancy and with it went her impending marriage to Alex. Like most worthwhile relationships Harriet's marriage is still a work in progress, and although it might suit the more romantic to say that they maintain the same ardent passion that they began with, it would not be strictly true. They can now be in each other's presence for as long as a whole day without having sexual intercourse, but not for much longer than a day. Oh yes, I should also mention that Harold and Lance quite happily l discuss office matters over the evening meal without the slightest sign of boredom.