Always Turns Up Ch. 01

I shrugged again. "Yes. Something like that. I didn't want to tell her about them. I am sort of ashamed about them."

Penny smiled again. A rueful smile. "Well, as I said, you haven't changed that much at all. You were always ashamed of your desires. You can't escape that old-time-indoctrination, eh?"

I was heartened by the look she gave me. It was like the old days. Warm and conspiratorial. Us against the sexually repressive world.

Except of course, Ruth was anything but repressive. We had a very adult and guilt free relationship in which we had both explored and expressed every idea and taboo together. We both believed that pleasure was it's own reward, however gained. But we had both known that we didn't need or want anyone else. It wasn't that we didn't swing for some moral reason or fear or jealousy. It was that we didn't need to, want to, or try to. Ruth and I had talked about it. We excited each other with pillow talk about doing it, about other people and partners, things we had done in the past, friends and famous people we would like to bed, kinks we said we would like to try. Or just watch. We watched porn movies together. We tried toys and lubes and all sorts of games. But at the core of our relationship was a commitment to each other, and a deep fondness, a heartfelt love. But of course all of that was in the past tense. Penny did not know all my secrets.

"Ah, well, as you say, it made us who we are, no point in regretting it. If we had not been brought up in such puritan times who would we have been?" I smiled, and leaned forward, and said "But that is history. Speaking of which, you seem to know a bit about my life in the last thirty years, but I still know nothing about you. Quit dodging. Tell me about yourself. How has life treated you?"

She shrugged, and said "Ups and downs. More ups, I think. But some big downs. I fell a long way when I left you."

In her eyes was a sadness that I didn't understand, but I wanted to know more.

"But you have obviously come a long way up."

She laughed. "Yes. But it is a long story. As long as the one poor Penny told in "Life Sentence" and a good deal spicier in places. But not a story I want to tell here. Somewhere private perhaps, if you want to hear it. Perhaps you will write it up. Be my Watson, since you have already been my Conan Doyle."

I smiled at her allusion to one of my favourite authors.

"However, the short version, runs like this."

Penny sat up in a pose I remembered well. She was simultaneously defensive and defiant. It was her confessional stance, chin out and head up, but knees together, and arms elegantly across her body.

"As you know, after graduation I went to England with Tilly. I lived in a house her father owned for about eight months, not always with her, but she introduced me to her family and friends, so I wasn't lonely. She was rather well connected, as it turned out, at home she was the Honourable Matilda, daughter of a Baron, so I met some interesting people. And a few boring ones. But I learned a lot. It was her brother who first brought me here, actually. He was an 'Honourable' too, but only in title, I have to say.

Well, after a while Tilly had grown bored with me. She wanted rid of me, and one of her friends decided that he would not mind taking me off her hands. So I went travelling with him. For a year. America, including Hawaii, then on to New Zealand, Bali, Thailand, India, Moscow, briefly, and various bits of Europe. Ending up in Lichtenstein, where he introduced me to a friend of his who, in all honesty, saved me.

The lifestyle I had fallen into had taken me into some destructive places. Too much drink, drugs, wild parties, other strangeness, which I will tell you about in private. He could see it was harming me, so he decided to turn me round. I lived with him for a year and a half, mostly in France. He sort of adopted me. He was quite a lot older than me, and was really quite avuncular. We are still friends. Then on a business trip to Italy I met the son of one of his friends, and, well, romance blossomed.

Sadly, about five years later, he fell out of love with me, and threw me out. The divorce took another four years to arrange. But by that time I was back in London, established in business and independent."

She looked up at me. She had rattled off those last few sentences as if she didn't care, but now she gave a tell-tale bite on her lip. She was about to say something that she did care about, that she was worried about.

"I got to keep the flat in Paris, one of my minor titles, a not too generous monthly income and of course to keep breathing. He kept the children."

"Whoah." I said. "Ahm. Ok. That's a lot to take in. So, you married, you divorced, okay. I'm sorry to hear that, but you have children? That's great, but he got custody? Which sounds terrible? Do you get to see them much? How many are there?"

"Just two. Angelina is 23 now. Gianni will be 21 soon. I never see them. It was part of the conditions. Particularly the bit about keeping breathing. Their father was Italian after all."

"He threatened to kill you?" I said, aghast.

Penny gave me a strange smile and said "No. It wasn't a threat. It was a command. I was told that I am never to try to see them or contact them, because if I do my body will be found in very respectable circumstances. No scandal. A car crash, probably. And I knew it was true. And I knew he would punish the children if they tried to see me. So I did what I had to." She shrugged. "I could tell you worse things. Later perhaps. But we are doing the short version."

She looked at me again and smiled "Really, you ain't heard nothin' yet. But I'll skip the juicy details and give you the bones for now. Back here, in London, after a few years, I met, and very unexpectedly fell for, a rather nice American gentleman. Originally from Kansas, he had business interests in California and New York, and Germany and the UK. Which happened to chime with mine. And we got on well. So, after another two years, and I was married for the second time."

"Really!" I said, "I am delighted to hear it, congratulations!"

"Premature, darling. Oh, I am so sorry, I have upset you. Charlie was dying. We both knew it. As he put it, he would rather have married me and live with me for forty years, but that wasn't going to happen, so he wanted to marry me and live for as long as possible. He loved me. I adored him. I nursed him for thirteen months, and was heartbroken when he went. Of course it took two years of court battles to stop his nephew and a few other money grubbers from overturning his will. I had no idea he was so wealthy. The Nephew said I was a money grubbing gold digger, but I argued that Charlie had left clear instructions and that I was happy for the court to oversee my following them - which would mean almost all of the money went to charity. Fortunately the Judge agreed. With me." Penny gave a little smile, and I thought there might be a story there. She had obviously charmed the man. "So I did what he wanted - sold off the business, and the houses and everything, and put it all into a foundation which promotes education in science and medicine, from which I draw no salary. All, apart from one little bit that he wanted me to have. Which I still own and cherish. In the end I gave away three hundred and eighteen million US dollars. Which felt good."

"Jesus, Penny, that's a hell of a road." I said.

"Not over yet. That was over ten years ago. I have had plenty of time to make a few more mistakes. Well, one big one. I got married again. One year and three weeks, a new record for me, before the papers hit the doorstep. No hassle divorce - it was his second time round, so we had made arrangements before we tied the unknottable. My fault really, I should never have introduced him to the girl who is now his third time round. Still, we are now all friends, so it isn't so bad. Which brings me up to date. Three marriages, two kids, no major illness or injury, comfortably well off, what more is there. Oh yes, Father died in '93, Mother saw in the millenium, just." She shrugged again. I could see her eyes were moist.

"Oh. I am sorry to hear about your parents. I always liked them." I said

"They always liked you. More than they liked me sometimes. They were so annoyed when I went to England."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't chuffed either." I smiled "But then I met Ruth, and..." I shrugged.

She smiled again and said "So tell me about that. What have you been doing?"

"Well, I met Ruth, married in less than two years. Everyone thought she must be pregnant, but she wasn't, No kids actually. Lots of nieces and nephews. I finished the Doctorate, went into teaching and research for a few years, and then went into business for myself. I had a good idea, it took off, and well, being self employed is more than a full time job. Your boss is a bastard who won't let you have any holidays and expects unpaid overtime every day. The rest of your life tends to get chewed up. But we built our own house a few years back, I built a workshop on the side. You know I always loved to tinker with cars, and make things in wood. I've written a couple of bad novels and a screenplay, but never got published. I never went into politics after all, not as a candidate, but I was active for a while, in a behind the scenes way. Still can't play guitar, but I own a nice one now, so I sound better. But like yourself, no major illness, comfortably well off. Dad had three heart attacks, a triple bypass and bowel cancer, but he's still going, remarkably fit for 90. Mum is frail now. She got old all of a sudden a couple of years ago. A few other things happened, normal life stuff. But I am ok. Life at the moment is good. It is all you can ask for isn't it?"

"You missed out the medals in archery and the fact that Ruth became an Academician in the RUA."

I laughed. "True. You have been doing some research then?"

"You are all over the web. Both of you. Her work is good. I almost bought a piece a few years ago, but I wasn't sure if I should. Or if I should get in touch." She gave me a querying look.

"I am glad you did. So you have googled me. I confess I have done the same for you, but you don't show up anywhere. No hits at all."

She smiled. "Well, of course I haven't been Penny Harty for a very long time. And in any case I have done my best to keep off the net as much as possible. Although that hasn't been entirely successful. You just need to know what to search for," she said, mysteriously.

I nodded. "I had guessed that you might have married. I was sure you would have been old fashioned enough to change your name."

"Only six or seven times," she said, and met my curious glance with a smile. "That's part of the long version of the story. Question is, do you want to hear it? And do you have time?"

"I am free for the rest of the afternoon, and evening. If that is long enough. And we could meet again. So, yes, I would like to hear it, if you want to tell me."

"Then let us find somewhere less public, and I will give you some material for your next foray onto Literotica." she smiled.