Goes Without Saying Pt. 03

He smiled as he again remembered that Celia and her mother did not get along at all. He had only been there once or twice, but mother and daughter would begin to fight within an hour of arriving. Yet there were those frequent visits. Was she using the visits as a front, and going to see Alex instead?

Then, thanks to the footballer, David had found Gwen... So after the footballer interlude Celia and Alex would have unlimited time together. With Alex's attitude to sex, he would have no qualms about picking her up after the footballer had finished with her. It would also have been easy for Alex to weave his outings with David round his time with Celia, whom David always avoided, even when she came to see Gwen.

Gwen!

With a start, he realised he had not thought about Gwen since Siân left. Gwen had saved him. He felt deep gratitude to his Gwen. Did Gwen think she was second best? No, their love was the real thing, and the footballer did give him a lucky escape from Celia. He remarked to himself that he now felt no guilt at forgetting Gwen for so long. He just felt gratitude for her love.

Then came a sobering thought. Did Gwen know about Alex and Celia? They did share everything, but neither Alex nor Gwen ever mentioned it, and he was sure Gwen at least would have dropped it into their conversation that Alex and Celia were seeing each other, or were now an item. With Gwen there were no forbidden topics, no secrets. She would have said. She never did.

What had Celia said when she came 'to apply for the job'? She had been with Alex who was going to tell her when to approach him. If she had not 'been with Alex' all along, she was surely with him then, and it seemed, had been ever since.

No wonder she felt no need to come on to him! No wonder she told him he would have to make the first move, and she might not accept him! No wonder she took his attempt to fire her so calmly!

He felt that emptiness again from the night before, which he put down to realising he had lost a friend in Alex, but wasn't sure he believed that losing Alex was really the reason. He admitted to himself that he also felt the loss of whatever he had with Celia: there really had been a warmth there between them in those early days of her 'job' with him and the children.

That was certainly true in the light of day without the mellowing effect of the whisky! However, it was also true that their relationship had cooled when they had those rows. Unlike the rows between lovers, what was lost in the fighting between Celia and him was never truly made up, but seemed to put a further distance between them each time.

Time to go home and see how bad the damage had been. He drove on. He must attempt to recover something of what there had been between him and Celia. They must sit down and talk - clear the air calmly without rancour. He felt resolved: they would talk; they would heel the rift.

He enjoyed the usual rapturous greeting from his son and daughter, and immersed himself in their love. Evan rattled away telling him of all that he'd done that day, while Bethan giggled and played with his hair.

Then, as children do, they soon had enough of Daddy's love and went off to play, Beth crawling with a speed which amazed him. It would not be long before she was pulling herself to a standing position at his leg as Evan used to do.

Celia did not acknowledge him. There was no greeting thrown over her shoulder as had been her wont. She was more intent than usual on cooking the evening meal. He went off to change, and on his return found the welcoming aperitif was missing. He poured a G & T for himself, and on a whim poured one for Celia as well. It would be a small gesture of reconciliation. He took it to her as she stirred some ratatouille, putting it down beside the hob.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot," she said without turning to him or making eye contact. "Thanks." No more. She was unnaturally intent on stirring, and her response seemed dull and lifeless.

The meal was delicious but uncomfortable for all that: neither of the adults was conversing at all, but both were talking with Evan and helping Bethan with her food. At the end of the meal the children were dispatched to the living room, and David made his way back to the kitchen to wash up.

"I'll do that," came the clipped statement from behind him. "Go and play with the children." It was not said cheerfully, but he could not work out what her emotion was.

David was about to retort that they always washed up together, but then felt foreboding that it would lead to another fight. It would also be a silent occupation and thus as uncomfortable as the meal had been.

Nevertheless it was a rejection, so he dropped the plates back into the sink and walked off without a second glance at her. He did play with the children, but he was annoyed at Celia's attitude, and uncertain as to why she was behaving like that.

With having to do all the dishes by herself and not using the dishwasher, she was still washing up when it was time to give Bethan her bath and put her to bed, which David was happy to do. His daughter was full of smiles, giggles and play in the bath, and more giggling as he tickled her while drying her.

He put her to bed and sang her nursery rhymes until she fell asleep, then went to Evan's room, to find Celia reading him a story. Evan jumped out of bed and David picked him up and hugged and kissed him.

"Good Night, Evan," he said.

"Night night Daddy," the lad replied, snuggling into his father's neck, and giving it a sloppy kiss.

David put him back into the bed, and tucked him in. Then he left the room. Celia had said nothing to him, though she had made room for him, but he was damned if he was going to speak to her. He realised he was getting annoyed again. He went to the study and buried himself in the overflow from the day's work.

For the first time he could remember, she did not put her head round the door to say she was going to bed. He emerged at midnight to find the house in darkness. Another first; if he was working she'd leave some lights on. As he lay in bed, he wondered where this new aloofness would lead.

She now was dull; devoid of emotion, and seemed unable to face him. Whatever the reason for that, it seemed their relationship, such as it was, was breaking down even further. It depressed him. Then he realised that he had not carried out his resolution to have a talk with her. Failure.

The next day was a repeat of the previous one, and the atmosphere became even more oppressive. The only bright moment was another text.

Yippee! Got interview nxt Mon. Stay w u pretty please? S XXX

Only one reply to that: Of course. Coming Sunday? D.

Yes. Can't wait.

My bed?

Celia ok w that?

Who cares? She being a bitch.

I'll phone after work. Tell all then. Lots Luv. S XXX - X!

He laughed out loud, and he was much more cheerful for the rest of the day, so much so that Marissa commented on it.

"You're more cheerful all of a sudden?" she said with a grin. "You've been a real misery since we came back."

"Did it show?" he asked her, with some concern.

"You've been OK with everyone, but I noticed. Trouble?"

"Domestic," he said, and she knew not to probe further.

His cheerfulness evaporated once he was home. The evening played out in the same way. He did not volunteer to do the dishes, but went straight to play with the children, again bathing Bethan.

"Evan wants you to read him a story," she said in the same toneless voice she now used all the time. "If you want, I'll see to Beth."

He left her in the bathroom with Beth and went to Evan's room, where the boy was playing on the floor.

"Come on, son," he said. "Into bed."

Evan obeyed instantly, with the prospect of a bedtime story from his Dad. When David had finished the story, and bedded Evan down, he went to Bethan's room to meet Celia coming out.

"She's asleep," she said with a half-smile, standing back so he could pass her. So he went into the room anyway to kiss his daughter. When he emerged, Celia was nowhere to be found. His mobile rang; it was Siân.

He asked her to wait while he went to his study, closed the door and sat down in his office chair.

"What's going on, Dai?" she asked with concern.

"You remember me taking your knickers off in bed that last night?"

She giggled. "Oh yes, not easy to forget being stripped by one's lover!"

"Well, we forgot they were in the bed, and Celia changed the sheets while I was at work."

"She found them?" Siân gasped, suitably horrified.

"Apparently we committed incest and I practically raped you, an innocent young teenage girl."

"That's rubbish on so may levels," she scoffed. "It's a long time since I've been a teenager, and come to think about it, not so innocent either!" she giggled. "We're not related by blood, and-"

"I told her you'd been through university!"

At this she gave a dirty laugh. "Exactly."

"Anyway she was disgusted, and angry. We had a dust up. Out of all proportion really. Anyway, I countered with her deception with Alex, and told her that as she'd told me to keep out of her life, I was telling her the same. Since then we've hardly spoken. The atmosphere is uncomfortable."

"Wow!" she said, paused, then added. "You know what? I think she's jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Yes, David, jealous of you having a lover - me!"

"But she's been shagging Alex for God knows how long."

"Doesn't stop her from being jealous. I could see that as soon as she arrived on Monday morning. Unsettled because I was there."

"Her problem," David asserted dismissively.

"Not only hers from the sound of it. There's a limit to how long you two can live together without talking to each other. It'll be miserable for both of you."

"If things don't improve, I'll talk to her at the weekend." David said.

"Good idea," Siân said. "Am I still welcome on Sunday?"

"Of course. She'll have to get used to the idea that we can both have lovers."

"Hmm! Not convinced about that. I mean, her getting used to it."

The phone call ended, and David made up his mind to talk to Celia the next evening. Once again he had work to do that night. Once again all the lights were out when he emerged a little earlier than the night before - 10.30.

He switched the living room lights back on and this time got a beer from the cupboard. There was a repeat of a satirical TV programme on the box, so he relaxed and unwound, watching that. Then bed. He did not mull anything over that night, or engage in what he now considered to be fruitless speculation. He lay down and for once had an early night.

There was a change in behaviour the next morning, though not much of one. While he was eating his cereal she came into the kitchen.

"If you're not going out tonight, I'll take my night off if that's all right." she stood waiting for his response.

"OK," he said. "I'll try to get home early."

"And I'd like to take the whole weekend, leaving Saturday morning, coming back Monday early."

"You might as well take Friday night as well," he said. "I'm not going anywhere with the kids this weekend."

"Thank you."

"Oh," he added, remembering, "Siân has an interview locally for a job on Monday, and she'll be staying at least over Sunday night, probably Monday night as well."

"I'll get her room ready."

"No need, she'll be with me."

He could feel her stiffen. She stood still as if about to say something, then she turned and left briskly. He smiled against his better nature; she was not happy about that. Again he left the house after a farewell from his children but nothing from Celia.

Thanks to his evening's working at home, he was able to return home mid afternoon and while he was changing, Celia left without a word, though he thought she could have called up while he was in the shower, so he wouldn't have heard her.

However the situation was getting worse, and he knew he'd have to talk to her. However, she would not be in the next night, nor over the weekend, so it would have to wait until the following week.

He enjoyed the whole process of feeding his little brood and then putting them to bed, and afterwards settled in the living room with a novel and some restful music. He went to bed at midnight, and heard her come in shortly after.

As usual on Fridays he would arrive home a little later, having had his planning meeting with Marissa.

"HR were surprised you recused yourself from the final job interviews. They said you wouldn't tell them why," Marissa said as they planned Monday and Tuesday.

"A relative by marriage has applied and is coming for interview," David told her. "I can't tell them who for the same reason. It would affect their attitude one way or another."

"You can't tell me either?"

"I could, but it would be fairer all round if I kept her identity to myself."

"Aha! A woman!"

"Seventy per cent of the applicants were women!" he said with a laugh. "So that does not narrow it down too much, does it?"

"No, I suppose not." She sighed and they continued the meeting,

Celia was at home for the evening meal, and stayed to help put the children to bed, which made David feel a little better. She did give him a half smile from time to time, and he wondered if she was thawing out.

More than the weather is, he thought. The temperature on a cloudy dull day had not risen much above freezing.

When the children were safely asleep and he was sitting watching a satirical comedy, she stood in the doorway.

"I'm off now," she said in that monotone he was almost used to. "Thanks for the extra night."

"You're welcome," he smiled at her, but did not get one in return. He was about to ask her to wait and get her to talk, but felt the weight of inertia, and let the moment pass. Ah well.

"I changed your bed again," she said, no more. Then left before he could reply.

Changed my bed again? he wondered, then realised: so it would be fresh for Siân. It threw him into confusion. Why would she do that when she clearly did not like him sleeping with her? From her tone of voice she was still unhappy about it. Was it a conciliatory gesture to him? Hardly an olive branch, but perhaps a twig. He grinned at the idea.

-

Chapter 17

Siân arrived on Sunday afternoon to a rapturous welcome from Evan and a welter of nonsense syllables from Bethan, whose grin more than made up for her lack of intelligible conversation. Siân had brought warmer weather and her own warmth and affection with her.

They were sitting in the living room after the evening meal and after the children had been put to bed.

"So tell me everything again about your cold war with Celia," she said with an encouraging smile.

He told her the whole story - her accusation of incest and near rape of an innocent, and his counter accusation of her snooping round his room, and interference in his private life, culminating in him accusing her of deception with Alex and telling her to keep out of his private life in future, as he had been repeatedly told by her to keep out of hers.

"I would assume things since then have been even cooler between you?" she suggested.

"She's stopped talking to me almost completely. Bare minimum needed to run the house."

"As you told her."

"Siân," he said with an air of irritation, "I don't mind her being professional. I'm professional at work with my PA, but we chat about things apart from work. She often asks how things are going at home. We discuss the weather, the news. It makes for a warm working relationship but it's still professional."

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully, "that cool, eh?"

"Bordering on icy."

"So she snapped at you a while back when you tried to ask about her time off. 'Keep out'?" Siân said, it was more a statement than a question.

"More or less, yes. She suddenly started taking every bit of her entitlement to time off; it had been pretty sporadic before, I just wondered aloud to Alex if she had a new boyfriend, for if it were serious she'd probably a some point be moving out. Of course I didn't realise then that he was the boyfriend I was talking to all along!"

"When she objected, was she cool? Just wanting to set boundaries?"

"Siân she was livid. It was a real shouting match."

"I bet that was fear. You were getting too close to her relationship with Alex. She knows you usually have no secrets from him, nor more to the point, he from you."

"Fear, or guilt? I was wondering if she's always really fancied Alex. I wondered if she was seeing him even when she and I were living together. Remember what we saw - they looked every inch a long term couple."

"True. It's puzzling though. I mean you had finished with her long since. You weren't pursuing her."

There was a moment's pause, as something clicked with David.

"That's an interesting thought," he said. "When she came to 'apply for the job', she said she still loved me, and had done all along, she deeply regretted the episode with the footballer, but she would never make a move on me. She repeated that when I flew off the handle that time after Ozzy made those comments about Celia scheming to get me back."

"Ozzy is a real motor mouth, isn't he?" she said with a grin.

"Eh?"

"Motor mouth - mouth in gear before brain engaged!" she laughed. "I mean, he gave the game away about why Alex was not at the pub! It was so obvious then that Alex was avoiding you, and the reason was easy to deduce. Let's face it, we knew exactly where they'd be and we were proven right."

Another silence, then Siân seemed to have an idea.

"Dafydd," she said hesitantly. "We are confused about Celia's attitude to you. It's quite extreme. Look you, she totally over-reacted to the knickers. She over-reacted to you wondering where she was on her time off. You said she told you months earlier quite openly she still loved you.

"Conversely she is obviously seeing Alex and sleeping with him while frightened to death you'll find out. Now you have found out, she's cut you off, but it's more likely, I think, she's cut herself off from you. Perhaps mortified you know she's been fucking Alex. It may be guilt and fear that you knowing about them means she has no chance with you any more."

"So?" David wondered where this was going.

"So you've never shown any interest in her since she came to work for you, have you?"

"No, that's true."

"In fact after that first Ozzy incident, you told her to get out. Not very loving on your part."

"True."

"You'll probably shoot me down for this, but here goes," she ventured. "I think that on balance she now loves you very much and she longs for you to be her man-"

"But she's seeing Alex."

"Substitute, or relief from the frustration of living with you and wanting you so badly."

"Bit of a romantic notion, don't you think? Straight out of Mills and Boon?"

"I said you'd shoot me down," and she smiled broadly. "David, it's the violence of her reactions that I think is the giveaway."

"If you say so."

"It's the truth. You'll see. Any way, I've to be up early tomorrow, so I think you should take me to bed now."

David needed no second bidding, but busied himself setting out everything for breakfast and putting the house to bed, before climbing to his own, where he found the duvet thrown well back and a gloriously naked young woman awaiting him.

"Quickie tonight, Dai. Got to be on the ball tomorrow, so we can't be up all night, or at least you can't!" and she laughed.

So he touched, fondled and fingered her and she touched, fondled and stroked him until they were both breathing heavily, then he scooted below and substituted his tongue for his fingers, while she moaned and tweaked her breasts until she gave a cry and twitched through her first orgasm, in the middle of which he lay over her on his straight arms and entered her strongly, pushing through until he was embedded, whereupon he thrust powerfully until she came again hot on the heels of her first climax, her vocal and convulsive reaction triggering his own.