It's an Ill Wind

They arranged Dwayne and Rosie would come to her place first, and have a drink in the garden if the weather allowed, before going to the pub.

"We'll come by bus," he said. "I'd love to have a glass of wine with you. If there's no bus back we can take a taxi."

The next morning he told Rosie. "Cool!" she said. "I hope I can play with the dolls again!"

She was very excited about it. She was up far too early and she couldn't wait until the right time arrived. In the end Dwayne called Carol. He apologised and asked if they could come earlier.

Carol understood; she'd be happy to have them around straight away.

The bus dropped them off close to her home and they were at Carol's at about three. Dwayne grinned at her, a little uncertain of the situation, but he was given a brilliant smile in return.

"Hello Rosie," she said. "Welcome back!"

"Hello Carol," Rosie said. She smiled at her and gave her a timid hand.

The weather was good enough to sit in the garden. There was the odd cloud, and there was a light breeze, but the air was warm and Carol had put chairs on the terrace, together with the box of dolls.

The grown-ups sat chatting happily while Rosie saw to the dolls' apparel. They were all dressed in festive clothes, echoing the mood of the afternoon.

Carol told Dwayne she was making headway in 'The Pillars of the Earth' already. "It sometimes makes me feel a little sad," she said, "especially when reading about the love between Tom and Ellen."

Dwayne nodded. "Yes," he said. "It does make you feel sad - and a little envious, too." He smiled and sighed. "Life's not always fair," he added.

Then they changed the subject. Carol told him she'd woken up to find a roe deer grazing in her garden.

"That really makes me feel jealous," Dwayne said.

It appeared that there were a lot of wild animals in Carol's neighbourhood. She saw badgers, sometimes, and foxes, squirrels, deer plus the occasional birds of prey.

Rosie looked at her wide-eyed. She had only seen a fox once, and she remembered it vividly.

"I wish I could see them, too," she said.

Carol smiled at her. "Maybe your dad will allow you to stay with me for the weekend, some time," she said. "We're certain to see some of them then."

Rosie gave Dwayne an imploring look.

"Is that really alright with you?" he asked.

"I'd love to have her," Carol said. "Really."

Dwayne nodded. "Alright, then," he said. "Rosie misses female company, I think; it seems a very good idea."

They decided Rosie would come over in the first weekend in August. Then they went to the pub. It was a nice country pub and the food was excellent.

But, Dwayne thought, the company was even better. He looked at Carol and Rosie, who sat talking excitedly about their weekend together. Images of Janet and Madge crossed his mind, and he compared them to Carol. Madge was an acknowledged beauty; and yet she seemed dull and insipid, and she couldn't create any spark of enthusiasm in him any more, and Janet - oh well, Janet... he sometimes wondered what would have happened to their relationship if that tree had not come crashing down on top of her. Carol's face easily eradicated the other images. If only - He looked at her and smiled.

"A penny for you thoughts! I've asked you twice what you'd like to have for sweets!"

Dwayne pulled himself together with a start. "I'm sorry," he said, blushing. "Er, I'll have some treacle tart, if I may."

Carol smiled at him. "You were far away with your thoughts, weren't you?"

He shook his head. "Not really," he said. "I was just looking at the two of you and thinking how different people are."

"Rosie and I?"

"No, you and Madge." And Janet, he thought, but he kept that part to himself.

"Oh well," Carol said, "I'm a good deal older."

"And nicer," Rosie said, unexpectedly.

To his embarrassment Dwayne felt himself blush again, but as Carol sat looking at Rosie it passed unnoticed. After dinner they leisurely walked to the bus stop; there would be a bus back in twenty minutes and they were there almost ten minutes early.

When they saw the bus turn the corner Carol cuddled Rosie. "See you in August, then," she said.

Then she turned to Dwayne. "Thanks once again," she said.

"Thank you," he said, and taking her hands he kissed her on the cheek. "I loved this. See you soon!"

They boarded the bus and Carol stood on the verge, waving, watching the bus disappear. She still felt his lips on her cheek, and the country lane seemed very empty all of a sudden.

Rosie could hardly wait for her weekend to roll around. She'd immediately told Peggy, and when Peggy and Dick came over for a drink later that week his neighbour broached the subject to Dwayne. When he blushed, she smiled at him. "I'd thought as much," she said.

Carol made a few preparations for Rosie's visit and she'd called Dwayne to get some information about the food Rosie liked and what she liked to watch. It had turned into a rather long call, to the delight of the two of them.

She was looking forward to having Rosie as much as Rosie was; and she was looking forward to seeing Dwayne even more, however briefly. She had enjoyed their afternoon and evening together immensely, and she thought Dwayne had as well; she hoped so very much.

Then, at last, the weekend arrived. Together Dwayne and Rosie had packed Rosie's suitcase, and they had gone to the shops to buy Carol a present. Rosie had decided on a vase, and Dwayne had bought a bunch of roses to complete it.

They arrived at Carol's cottage at ten. Carol heard them coming and she came out of the front door before they could get out of the car and ring the bell. She flashed a smile at the two of them that went straight to Dwayne's heart, and he thought she looked extremely desirable. Fortunately Carol's attention went to Rosie first. She lifted her off the ground and gave her a big hug.

"Welcome," she said. "We'll have a lot of fun together!"

Rosie smiled at her. "Yes!" she said enthusiastically. "We've brought a present for you!"

She opened the passenger door and took out a plastic bag, and she first gave Carol the vase.

"Oh, how nice! Thank you very much," Carol said. "Come, let's go inside. Can I help you carry your suitcase?"

"No," Rosie said. "That's what dad is here for!"

She poked out her tongue at Dwayne, who took her luggage from the car and carried it inside. Carol had some coffee ready, but first she offered Rosie a choice of soft drinks. Then they sat down to coffee, and Dwayne, who knew how much Rosie had been looking forward to being Carol's only guest, reluctantly took his leave after twenty minutes. He wished his daughter a lovely time. Carol went to the door with him.

"You're doing her a great pleasure," he said. "I hope you'll like it, too."

She nodded. "You bet," she said, and then she stroked Wayne's arm. "You're a great dad," she added.

Dwayne pulled a face. "I hope so," he said; then he smiled at her. She was fantastic, he thought. "Carol," he said, "I er - " but he got cold feet and continued, "I wish you a lovely time together."

Then he went to his car and waved at Carol. To his surprise he had tears in his eyes. He wasn't sure why; perhaps because of Carol's compliment? Or was it because he was actually jealous of Rosie? He realised with a pang that he was. Carol... he loved the way she looked at him now and again and he realised that the best part of the entire reading club was the contact with Carol. He'd give anything to trade places with Rosie and be staying with Carol that night. Hmph, as if she'd be happy to have him. He smiled at himself - silly old fool, he thought.

Rosie had a wonderful time, and Dwayne put in a lot of work over the weekend. He managed to mow the grass and to cut back some branches that had grown to close to the house, and he spent the evening playing old records and CDs over a couple of whiskies.

Rosie wished time would slow down, but it didn't and her days with Carol were over far too soon to her liking. But when Dwayne came round to pick her up that Sunday at eight she had resigned herself to it, and Carol had promised her she could come again. Besides, they would go on holiday soon, and she was looking forward to going away for ten days. She cheerfully went upstairs to get her suitcase and ran down the stairs again.

"We've seen three foxes and six deer!" she said. "And Carol took pictures of the deer, and she will give me a print, and we heard an owl, and we had toad in the hole, and pizza, and I could stay up late! And I may come again, and the roses have come out, and we had lots of lemonade. And Carol is nice and she can sing and we played with the dolls..."

She rattled on for quite some time while the grown-ups looked at her and smiled. Eventually she ran out of steam, and then Dwayne told her to say thank you to Carol. Rosie stood on tiptoe and stretched out her arms, and Carol lifted her up, cuddled her and kissed her.

"See you again, darling," she said.

Then Rosie skipped down the path to the car and Carol and Dwayne followed.

"Thank you so much for the fantastic weekend you gave her," he said.

"I had a very good time myself, too," she said, and she put her hand on his arm again. "Rosie told me a lot about you. You must be even nicer than I thought." She winked at him, but she meant what she said, and she devoutly hoped he'd not take her words amiss.

"I'm a monster," he said, "but a friendly one, I hope."

He took her hands and kissed her cheek. They walked to the car, and Dwayne opened the doors by remote. Rosie got in.

Carol went over to her. She bent over the opening of the rear door and stroked Rosie's hair. "Goodnight," she said. Then she walked round the car to wish Dwayne a nice holiday.

"Thank you very much," he said. "I hope Rosie will like it. I'll take a lot of books; the evenings will be very long. Oh well; it'll be September soon."

Then he drove off and Carol went back into the house. It felt very empty again, far more so than the road had seemed after their meal at the pub together. She went to her bedroom and undressed in front of the mirror. She was four years older than Dwayne. What if he thought she was too old, or if she was too fat, or if her breasts were too small?

She looked at herself critically, but she thought she was not at all bad looking for someone her age. But then, that Madge he'd talked about was at least ten years younger, and she must have been attracted to Dwayne. He was good-looking and he could easily get himself a much younger woman... Oh well, she would see. She took off her jewellery and lay down on her bed, and while the image of Dwayne hovered before her eyes her fingers sought her pussy. She found her g-spot and she rubbed her clitoris with her other hand, and while she worked herself to a climax she felt overcome with a mixture of hope, loneliness, and doubt.

Rosie was very tired with all the excitement. She fell asleep like a log, and Dwayne, who waited until she was asleep, went next door to Dick and Peggy. They put him in an easy chair and he told them all about the weekend.

"When I left Rosie with her she said I was a good dad," he said. "I really hope so. If it weren't for you, Peggy, I really couldn't cope."

"Oh yes you could," Peggy said. "I think she's right. Would she be a good mum?"

Dwayne blushed. "I think she would," he said. "But I'm not sure she will." He was silent for some time. "She's wonderful. She's got lovely eyes. Rosie had a fantastic weekend; I was actually jealous of her. It will be four weeks before I see her again..."

He fell silent. Peggy shook her head and smiled a little at her neighbour.

They went camping in the south-east. The weather was good, almost the entire ten days, and they found a couple of campsites that offered Rosie enough fun. On one of them there were two families with little girls, and Rosie happily played with them all day long. Half-way their holiday they took the Kent & East Sussex Railway from Tenterden to Bodiam Castle, and they had fish and chips in the pub, and they had a great time together.

The only thing missing, Dwayne thought, was Carol's company. They bought a couple of postcards, one for his father, and one for Myra, and when Dwayne suggested they send one to Carol, Rosie nodded enthusiastically. Dwayne addressed the lot, and wrote something on each, and Rosie laboriously printed her name on all three of them.

Carol found the card on her doormat, a few days later. It showed the train, and on the back it said, "Lovely holiday. Wish you were here. Dwayne." Then there was Rosie's name in an unformed handwriting. She smiled. So do I, she thought. So do I.

Rosie suddenly talked a lot about Janet. She wanted to hear again what had happened, and she wanted to know if Janet could see them and what she would think if she did.

Dwayne said he didn't think so, but that, if she did, she'd hope things would be alright with her, and that she'd be very proud of how well she could write her own name. He was a little anxious about her sudden interest -- what if she'd become so engrossed in Janet that she'd not want any other woman around?

When the ten days were over Dwayne went back to work; his holidays did not run parallel to the school holidays. Rosie spent most of the time with Dick and Peggy; now and then she went to play with children in the neighbourhood.

One weekend Myra came to stay with them. Rosie loved it, and they played together all afternoon. When Rosie'd gone to bed Dwayne and Myra sat talking in the garden for a long time. He told her about Carol and his hopes and fears, and she listened attentively.

"I wish you all the happiness in the world with her," she said. "I don't know about Rosie and Janet; I could talk to her about it, perhaps. Oh, by the way, if it's ok with you I'd like to have her stay with me for a couple of days to celebrate the end of her holidays."

Dwayne nodded. "Of course," he said. "When did you have in mind?"

The arranged for Rosie to go there on the second Thursday in September and stay until Sunday. When they told Rosie the next morning she skipped through the room. "I'll be staying with granny, I'll be staying with granny," she chanted.

The grown-ups grinned at each other. "I'm so happy you didn't give up on us," Dwayne said. He really appreciated her very much, and she knew.

Dwayne was looking forward to the reading club's next meeting. He finished Ken Follett, and he reread a couple of the love-scenes, aching for Carol. He missed her a lot. He thought she felt something for him too, but he still wasn't sure, and he'd always been a little inclined to stay on the safe side.

When he came along to pick her up, she beamed at him. He got out of the car and took her hand.

"Hi Dwayne," she said. "Felt like a long time."

"Yes, it did. I'm happy to see you again." He looked at her as she stood on the gravel, with the breeze in her hair and a quiet smile, and he thought she looked exceedingly beautiful. He kissed her on the cheek and blushed.

"Let's go," he said as he opened the passenger door for her.

On the way to the pub she thanked him for the postcard, and she asked him all about their holiday. "I'd have loved to come along," she said. "But it must be very important for Rosie to have some quality time with you."

Dwayne nodded. "Yes. I must say, though, that the evenings alone in a little tent were very long." He smiled at her, and she felt her face go hot. She hoped she understood his words right. To cover her feeling of embarrassment she told him a little about the things she'd done during the group's break.

At the end of the evening, when Dwayne delivered her on her doorstep again, he said, "Er, you know, Rosie will be visiting her grandmother next weekend, and if you haven't got anything better to do, I would be very happy if you came round for a meal."

Carol looked at him. "I'd love to," she said. "Saturday?"

Dwayne nodded.

"Ok," she said. "I'll be round by four."

She touched his arm briefly and got out of the car. She waved at him as he drove away.

Dwayne went to the neighbours and told them he'd invited Carol. "She will come over for dinner next Saturday," he said. "I'm really looking forward to that."

Dwayne took Rosie to Myra on Thursday afternoon. They greeted each other fondly and Dwayne came in for some talk and a cup of tea. Then he drove home and surveyed his habitation. Would it pass muster in Carol's eyes? He decided to go and do some tidying up. He did the hoovering and he docketed a bunch of papers; he put the few loose articles where they belonged and he went into the garden for some flowers. It hadn't been too untidy, he thought, but it would surely be alright like this.

He had a look in the bedroom, too - he had no illusions they'd end up there, but if she'd ask him to show her his place it had to be alright - and there he came across the envelope of Joe's pictures of Janet. He took them downstairs and placed them in a folder in the study. Then he went back upstairs and took the bag of underwear that had sat on the bottom of the wardrobe ever since the catastrophe, and he had a look at the contents again. He wondered briefly what Carol would look like in such things. It made him feel a little guilty and he put everything back into the bag and placed it on the wardrobe bottom again.

That night he sat down with his earphones on and listened to Country Joe's 'Tonight I'm Singing Just for You.' He hoped he would dare to play it for Carol if the opportunity arose. He played the album twice. Then he turned in early with Carol's face on his mind.

On Saturday morning he went to the market for some fresh vegetables, and he bought a few bottles of wine and a jar of olives at Tesco's. Then he went home and made all necessary preparations for the meal he intended to cook. It was a long time till four o'clock.

Carol had spent most of the week in pleasurable anticipation; she'd driven her doubts from her mind. She hoped Dwayne would be just as nice in his own surroundings. She dressed especially for the occasion. She put on a light summer dress. It had a wide neck that only just showed an indication of cleavage, puffed sleeves and a bodice that made her look slim, and she felt very feminine wearing it. She used a little lipstick, cherry red, and no other make-up, and she really looked her best.

When she walked up to Dwayne's door he came outside the way she had when they delivered Rosie to her, and he looked at her in admiration.

"What a wonderful dress," he said. "You look marvellous!"

Carol beamed. She loved his admiring eyes on her, and she took Dwayne's hand and kissed him softly on his lips. He blushed but he didn't pull away from her. Instead he looked into her eyes. "Shall we go in?" he said.

He showed her into the living room. She looked around and saw that it was a room that showed his character as well as the lack of a woman in lots of things. It was clearly well-kept, but just a little shabby; the curtains could do with a wash, and she thought she would do some things rather differently. There were a lot of signs of Rosie's activities. There was a small notice board with drawings stuck on with pins, and there was a chair with a felt rabbit and a couple of dolls. The bookcase and the music looked well-organised, and the room was clearly lived in and liked. She saw Follett lying on a low table next to his chair.

"So this is where you live," she said. "It is a friendly room."

"Thank you," he said. "It's a pity it's too wet to sit outside. Can I pour you a drink?"

"Yes, please," she said. "Have you got any white wine?"

She sat down in one of the chairs and he poured two glasses of Chardonnay.

"Cheers," she said. "Did you hear anything from Rosie?"