CHAPTER 7

THEY lay there cuddling for a while. Gill had pulled the duvet over them although neither was really cold.

“You hungry?” he ventured to suggest.

“You bet!” she said, sitting up, “I need to freshen up first, though.”

“There’s a bath robe for you hanging up in the bathroom, and in the shoe rack on the left there are several pairs of backless slippers, I wasn’t sure of your shoe size. I’ll go sort out the meal.”

“Darling, you’re so thoughtful.”

Jake got up and fetched his bathrobe from the other bathroom, while Gill entered ‘her’ doorway, full of curiosity. The dressing room was large and she thought she could have got her entire wardrobe, and all the kids’ clothes in there too, and still have had space to expand her wardrobe by a factor of three. Then the bathroom was something else, huge, with a large standalone bath. Jake had already thoughtfully lined the shelves with new aromatic candles, ready to light, if she wished. She picked up a couple of candles and breathed in their heavy essences. For now she just washed herself down and put on the brand new robe, in soft, fluffy cotton, before joining Jake in the kitchen.

As soon as she entered the kitchen she could smell the spicy goulash that Jake had cooked for them. Jake had pulled the large pot out of the oven and had it resting on the marble centre island. He directed her to sit at a breakfast table for two at one end of the console. The table was laid with a setting for two, with the same bright shiny cutlery and cut crystal glasses he used for their first meal, for water, sparkling wine and table wine. Having sat her at her place, he handed her a glass of Champagne to be getting on with. He sat opposite her, smiling, taking her free hand and kissing it.

“Happy?” she asked as his lips sent a tingle through her.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wash this smile off my face.”

“Me too, thank you Jake, you have been a godsend. From being at such a low ebb a few months ago, I now feel I could fly.”

“Well, to me you are an angel, so fly wherever, so long as you come back. You ready for something to eat?”

“Mmm, I’m starving, and it smells delicious.”

He took a pair of warm deep plates out of the oven and ladled some of the peppery stew onto them. Then he stirred in a spoonful of sour cream and sprinkled some freshly chopped parsley on the top. With a tea towel he carried their steaming plates to the table. He poured a couple of glasses of dark red wine from an already-opened bottle. Gill blew on her first spoonful and tasted the goulash.

“Honey, this is delicious,” she said, “I’m not just saying that, I really mean it, this is so tasty.”

“Well, I couldn’t have this kitchen installed and not use it properly. In fact it’s nice to be able to cook for someone else for a change.”

They went back to the bedroom and cuddled under the covers for a while, kissing and stroking each other until once again their passions took them over, this time in simple missionary position lovemaking, taken slowly and gently as they worked their way to exhausted mutual satisfaction.

---

They lay sleeping in the bed as the sun came up and illuminated the bedroom. Jake stirred first and Gill, who had her head resting on his chest and one of her legs stretched across his thighs, was already awake but hadn’t wanted to disturb him. She’d happily lain there, feeling the heat coming off him; loving his smell and watching his chest rise and fall. The tenting of the light sheet they pulled across to cover them last night, hadn’t escaped her attention, either.

She stretched. “Morning, hon, did you sleep well?”

“Like a log, how about you?”

“Very well sweetheart, thank you. Now, before you cook me my breakfast, should we do something about this particular log?”

“Mmm, I must go to the loo first.”

“Me too!”

It was in the post-coital glow, assisted by the low spring morning sun through the drawn curtains that they explored each other’s body, systematically stroking, kissing, and commenting, pointing out what bodily concerns each had. One of the first observations Gill made was that while Jake’s limp left nipple stiffened under attack from her tongue and teeth, his right one was half erect all the time.

“That one was created by my surgeon, Sir Michael Rahn, who is considered an artist with skin, to replace one they couldn’t save.”

“You poor baby.”

“It doesn’t have any feeling in it, so I really only have one nipple.”

Gill lifted her head off his chest and sat up, cradled her own small but ripe, definitely shapely breasts, in the cups of her hands, moving the thumb and forefinger of each hand to the nipples and teasing them until they were nice and stiff.

A smile played on her lips. Jake licked his.

“See these babies, Jake?” she breathed.

“Ye-yes.”

“These sweet little tits are not mine any longer, I’m giving them to you, they’re yours, I’m just minding them for you.”

“Mine, eh?” Jake grinned, “They’re beautiful.”

“They’re yours. Your beautiful little tits. You can get them out to play with whenever you want. You can touch them, kiss them, suck them, and bite them. When I say any time, I mean, you know, within the bounds of decency, of course; I would want to be able to show my face in the Co-Op again!”

They laughed.

“So, Jake a little maths test: How many nice little titties with working nipples do you have?”

“Er, three?”

“Wrong!”

“Just the two, then?”

“Right, those two on your chest, the working one and the wonky one, they’re mine. I’m putting in a claim. I mean it’s only fair, you’ve just been handed two quite nice little titties.”

“I agree, it is only fair, and I realise that I can give these ones up because I now have the two nicest titties I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re damn right. So, who’s the artist here, Sir Michael whatever-his-name the surgeon or Mother Nature the miracle worker?”

“Mmm, hard to tell without a thorough examination, and you can’t get that on the National Heath.”

“Well, Jake, I’m just going to check out my one and a bit working tits, what about you?” She raised and lowered her eyebrows a couple of times.

“Sounds a plan, honey, so come here!”

They continued to explore, touch and comment. Jake kissed her stretch marks, even though he couldn’t really see what her fuss was all about, regarding them as defects was wildly exaggerated at best.

Gill meanwhile explored every inch of Jake’s skin. His chest was hairless, Jake saying that hair only grew around one nipple, which he shaved to balance with the artificial one. When Jake rolled over, so she could kiss his back, Gill had to fight back the tears, his skin on his upper back was puckered and bubbly and an angry red colour.

“My nylon clothing melted onto the skin, which killed off the outer skin layers. As the skin died and flaked off, it left what you can see and feel behind. Sir Michael did some skin graft work here, mostly on the lower back but I had had enough of operations by then. Sir Michael still checks me over every six months, just in case anything flares up and says he would love to work on me again, using new techniques, lasers etc, but I’m happy with how I am.”

“You say you’re happy, yet, you hide yourself away, Jake,” she poked him gently, “not just your body, but you hide in the print room when you should be out carving an electrifying career in the bank.”

“OK, I may wear short sleeve shirts and shorts on occasion in the future, but a banking career?”

“You were brilliant analysing the pony trekking business plan, pointing out the only two possible areas of improvement. And all the advice you give at the bank; you are a natural, honey, and the print shop is a complete waste of your talents.”

“We’ll see, let’s not talk business this weekend, eh?”

“You’re right. Sorry, sweetheart.”

With no hurry to be anywhere, they cuddled and caressed until hunger drove them to the kitchen. They talked while Jake cooked, popping the sausages and bacon under the grill. He prepared the mushrooms and fetched a can of one-calorie oil from the cupboard.

“I use that brand, too, initially for Clay’s fried breakfast, and when I wanted to lose weight, but now I find it a boon for everything,” she said, “you look good on it, Jake, really good.”

“Thanks,” he grinned, “you look pretty fantastic on it yourself.”

It was warm with the spring sunshine streaming through the windows of the flat and they were wearing shorts and tee shirts. Jake was at last comfortably allowing Gill to see him, all of him, albeit when they were indoors together. If he felt self-conscious, his happy expression failed to display it. Gill was soon able to see past his skin and see his shape and the way he moved, and was increasingly fascinated by him.

He placed the steaming plates on the tiny table, she reached over to kiss him on the lips in thanks, and they sat down opposite one another.

“You were saying how low you felt at Christmas?” Jake asked.

“Yes, I was at a low point, the divorce proceedings definitely lowered my self esteem, I almost didn’t take the promotion that Gerald offered me, only I needed the money to buy my new house and I felt I couldn’t afford to refuse the offer.”

“Everyone tells me you’ve been brilliant in the job, better than Alan, who’d been coasting for too long to his retirement. As his deputy, you’d carried him for the last two years.”

“I love my job. But in January, when they were making the appointment, I didn’t think I’d get it, there were so many rumours of people who were being interviewed, and that someone from outside would likely get the job. I felt I had to work twice as hard, selling up the house, moving, the divorce meetings, everything was getting to me. So Christmas was a sad low point for me. When Wayne came over for Christmas dinner with the kids, he was feeling sorry for himself too, he stayed behind after they went to bed and drank too much to be allowed to drive home. I made up a bed for him on the sofa and one thing led to another and he ... he seduced me.”

Jake just nodded. He hadn’t been involved with Gill then, so what could he say?

“I thought he wanted to call a halt to the divorce and move back in with his family, but it was only later that the kids told me that his girlfriend was in the hospital having his baby at the same time that I thought we were getting back together. For him it was only sex, for me it was betrayal all over again, and not very good sex at that.”

“I thought the old saying was, ‘there’s no such thing as bad sex’?” Jake said, trying to lighten her sadness.

“It can be bad, believe me, Jake, when there’s no love left between you, it was bad. It felt empty, he wasn’t interested in making sure I enjoyed what we were doing and I felt cheap, used. Not anywhere like the beautiful experience I have when we make love.”

“I thought I was too nervous, being my first time, my first exposure to the emotion of it all. I’ve kept myself bottled up so long.”

“You were perfect my love, absolutely.” She reached out and grabbed a hand, pulled it to her lips and kissed it. “Look, you may have been nervous about your little white lie about the flat downstairs, but I can understand you being reserved. It’s difficult completely opening yourself up to someone for the first time. This is your home and, more than that, it has become your sanctuary from what strangers may think about you or your body. I feel privileged to be here with you and I am unshakeable in my belief that you are a beautiful man, the most beautiful man I know.”

“I am the one who feels privileged, Gill, you are perfect.”

“None of us are perfect, honey, and if there is by some miracle someone out there that thinks they are, that person would only be perfect for the blink of an eye, before age or illness or an accident takes that away. I really can’t imagine what it felt like, losing your family in one cruel blow, all that hurt, the pain—”

“I was out of it completely throughout the accident, the trip to the hospital, the initial care while they removed the melted clothing, and cut off all my burnt hair. They kept me sedated for several days, I think, and no one would tell me anything, except that I was not allowed visitors. When I did awaken, I had lost all sense of time. And then my Gran was allowed to come and see me and broke the news to me about Mum and Dad never coming back. It was a shock knowing I would never see them again. They left a hole that even Gran couldn’t completely fill, although she tried. I didn’t even come back here to visit their, our apartments until I was 15 and started to organise the renovation and modernising. Then, when I started working at the bank a couple of years later, I wanted to move back here and live where my parents had lived, my own place.”

“Well, what little I’ve seen of the place, does pique my interest. I think this is the best time to show me around, let’s get the kitchen straight and then you can satisfy my curiosity.”

Gill and Jake explored the flat and the views all around the City of London from six stories up. She loved the sheltered roof garden with its triple-glazed garden room, the wonderful furniture and carpets, paintings and the modern kitchen, the many bathrooms. He lovingly described how he designed and remodelled each room, doing a little of the work himself, becoming an accomplished tiler and plasterer in the process. Gill was impressed not only by the quality of the rooms, but that more rooms kept appearing.

“How many en-suite bedrooms do you have here, Jake? I think I have lost count.”

“Six, basically, although an estate agent may well call this library another bedroom, if my office next door was turned into a bathroom.”

They walked through into a cosy but practical office, with a sofa, an easy chair and an old mahogany or possibly walnut desk next to the window. In an alcove stood a tall bookshelf mostly containing ring binders.

“This place must cost a fortune to upkeep, Jake, living here on your own.”

“Yes, it is a little sad and pathetic of me, really.”

“You can never be regarded as pathetic, Jake, you are the most cheerful, positive, upbeat person I know, and you are wasted in that print room. I’ve often said so.”

“I know,” he grinned, “I print out all your reports.”

“And you do read them all! Well, if ever you need to take in lodgers, I think Jenny would kill someone, anyone, to have her own bathroom.”

“You and the kids could move in any time you like, Gill.”

“I’ll give it some serious thought,” she laughed, “actually, I think I’m completely lost now in this labyrinth.”

Jake moved to the bookcase, pushed it with one finger and it swung into the next room. Gill followed him through and found they were back in the master bedroom. Jake closed the bookcase door behind them and it looked just like solid wall.

“If you did move in, Gill, and you couldn’t find me, I’d probably be in there.”

“I don’t know,” she chewed her lip.

“Think about it,” he smiled and held her hands, “no pressure, but I’d love you and the kids being here, it would bring life to this whole building.”

“It is just too soon. I love you, you know I do, but we have only been seeing each other for three weeks, and we’ve only just become lovers.”

“I love you, Gill, I always have, for years,” he said quietly. "This is a dream come true."

They held each other for a long time, each filled to the brim with their thoughts of each other and what it would mean to be together. Then Gill lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him.

“I’ll have to think about it, there’s things to take into consideration, like chipping into a share of the costs of this place, then there’s my mortgage, I’ll have to look into using a rental agency.”

“Actually, I know someone who would rent your place tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“You know Jimmy, Gerry’s driver, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t think so ... do you know everyone who works at Standhope Winter, Jake?”

“Not everyone, but Jimmy lives with his daughter Sally and her husband Grant, and she’s expecting Jimmy’s first grandchild in three months’ time.”

“And ... they need the extra bedroom?”

“They do and more than that, their lease on the flat they are currently in won’t allow babies.”

“When do they have to move?”

“Anytime, the landlord has already given them notice. He couldn’t miss Sally, she’s normally tiny but now she’s big as a house! Your house would be handy for the Tube to where she works, Grant’s car would fit in your garage and Jimmy could park Gerry’s big car out on the drive. It would be perfect.”

“I’m bewildered with all these names, who’s who here?” she asked, “I can’t rent out to people I don’t know.”

“Well, they are all family, my family. Jimmy is a second cousin of mine in my father’s family, on the Nicholls side. He is divorced and has two daughters. Sally is the eldest and she works for SWN Facilities Management, in the print shop at Winstone’s, been there ten years now, after her first two years at Standhope Winter. Through her, Gerry took on Jimmy as his driver when he left the Army eight years ago. Grant is ex-military, too, and he’s been a taxi driver for about four years.”

“So, Sally is it?” she asked, Jake nodded, “did she meet Grant through her father?”

“No, SWN also own a taxi company and office cleaning contractors. The taxis ferry the cleaners around at four and five in the morning and take them home when done. They are mostly woman, mainly mums, and it is safer for them at that hour and reliable for the business. The company also takes print shop staff home that have to work late, so Sally and Grant met through the taxi runs, fell in love and were married about three years ago.”

“And you were at the wedding, I suppose?”

“Of course, Sally’s family. Wouldn’t have missed her wedding for the world.”

“All right, if, and that is an if, I do move in here, I will give your cousins first refusal on the house. It’s quite an expensive house, though, could they afford the rent?”

“Oh yes, SWN pay their staff top whack, so they get the best people, each of them hand-picked, trained to perfection and, most importantly, they are the most discreet and trustworthy staff you could possibly find.”

“You did say before that you were paid more in the print room than our trainee managers at the bank. Mmm, how big a company is SWN?”

“We’re specialists, guaranteed secure, so we figure in 33 London locations, mostly banks, corporate lawyers, registrars and gradually picking up contracts in Government departments, which could lift off to be very profitable. We even have print shops in three London foreign embassies.”

“I never realised they were so big. I looked into the costs years ago and thought you were on the expensive side, not too much, but there were cheaper suppliers around. Gerald overruled our recommendation.”

“I know, Gerry discussed it with me —”

“With you?”

“Yes, to see if I could drop the price, but I explained that the bank were making good profits despite the down turn at the time and could afford it. I pointed out too, that we had never let them down; we are able to call on extra staff at the drop of a hat, as most of our installations are manned with two staff. We worked out a plan that if the total invoice exceeded a certain turnover then our basic costs would be met, and therefore could apply a lower rate for any excess.”

“Yes,” she laughed, “I saw the figures and the overall usage went through the roof, albeit at the lower rate. You knew the business was going to grow despite the depression, didn’t you?”

“It was obvious, Gill, Standhope Winter were the most solvent bank around, most of your rivals melted away and you had the pick of the new corporate business. We at SWN have a profit-sharing bonus, so we’ve done well these last few years.”

“And you were able to negotiate this deal with Gerald on your own?”

“All our staff are trained to be self-reliant, are kept up to date with current and acceptable company margins and, I assure you that the owner was wholly conversant and in complete agreement with the proposals throughout.”

“All right, all right, I’ll concede that we do get what we pay for. Since you’ve run the print room on your own, it has been almost faultless, and you say the others are manned by two staff?”

“I’ve preferred to work alone and had nothing to go home to, but from now on I might have to ask for an assistant.”

“Yes, you do that, honey, please!”

Jake nodded, “Well, it is a lovely day outside, why don’t we walk down by the river and around The Tower, and I know a great place where we can have lunch in St Katherine’s Dock?”

“Great.”

“And this evening we have tickets for a show at the Barbican.”

"You’re spoiling me, Jake."

"I fully intend to keep doing that, Gill."