People Can Change Ch. 02

"Clare, we are still friends aren't we?"

"Of course we are." she said.

"No I mean that we're still just friends, right?"

She looked a little embarrassed "Well I hoped that maybe we were becoming a bit more than that"

"I am sorry Clare. You have been a great friend to me and I love you dearly but only as a friend."

"Of course you do. Why would you want to get involved with an old bird like me" she said as tears filled her eyes.

"You're not old." I told her "You're a fine woman and you deserve a good man but we both know that I can't be that man. Julie would only have to say the word and I'd be gone like a shot. I don't want to be another man that breaks your heart and if we carry on the way we are that is exactly what I'd be."

The tears started to flow and I pulled her head to my chest. I just sat and held her while she cried. As the sobs subsided I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.

"You know I have to move out don't you?"

She nodded. "We will still be friends though?"

"Clare you will always be a very special friend as far as I am concerned. I just can't love you the way I think you want me to."

She dried her eyes got up and poured us a glass of wine each.

"When will you go?" she asked

"As soon as I've found somewhere."

"I am so sorry Clare. I know I've hurt you but it would hurt a lot more if we let it continue."

The next morning her eyes were still red. Once more I felt like a right bastard. She had agreed to stay friends and I really hoped we could.

I found a small flat over a takeaway in the town centre. Now having found somewhere to live, the next task was to turn my business into something that would support a family. I had made a start, but now I had to go further. I had an idea, but it required capital. Capital that I didn't have. I was on my way to Aldershot for my weekly session with John when it struck me. Of course I had capital - I was driving it. A five year old Morgan +4 in mint condition was worth a considerable sum. With a four year waiting list for a new one there would be no problem selling it. We had a small company van that I could use, so whatever I got for the Morgan would finance my project. I investigated as soon as I got back.

Eric couldn't believe it when the buyer came to pick up the Morgan. He came straight into our little office.

"Are we in trouble boss?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Why should we be?"

"That car was your pride and joy," he said. "When you lost Julie I thought, 'He's always got the Morgan to lavish affection on.' So why have you sold it?"

"I needed the money for something," I told him. "Stick around long enough and you'll see what."

On my next visit to the children Julie was obviously not happy.

"You've sold the Morgan," she said, "yet you sent the divorce settlement money back. Do you hate me that much that you can't bear to take anything from me?"

"I don't hate you," I told her. "I'd give my right arm not to have done what I did, and to be still married to you. Don't you see? That was your money. Taking that would have been like profiting from my own bad behaviour."

"But you sold the Morgan. You loved that car. I always looked on that as my main competition. Eric said you needed the money. So why didn't you ask me?"

"Julie," I said. "It may have escaped your notice but you are no longer my wife. I don't like that fact one little bit, but I have accepted that it's true. Thanks to the deal our solicitors did you no longer have any interest in J&G Tyre Services. So when I am looking for money to invest in the business, I look first to the bank and then to releasing my own assets. If I have to have a life without you then that business has got to bring in enough to support a family outright. I intend to see that it does and I intend to do it on my own. Anyway, when does Eric feed you all this information?"

She looked a bit embarrassed for revealing her sources.

"I often see him and his wife in the supermarket on Friday nights. He is worrying about his job, but he also worries about you."

"Well, he has no need to worry on either account," I told her. "In the next couple of weeks he will see what I wanted the money for. Meanwhile, driving around in a connoisseur's sports car is a luxury I can do without."

I gathered up the girls and took them out for the day. When I returned Julie only wanted to talk about what we'd been doing, so I guess she accepted the situation.

In the next two weeks I bought a Transit drop-side truck and mounted a petrol driven compressor on the back. I fitted tyre changing jigs and also got heavy duty pneumatic jacks. I got Tom in to cover and sent Eric on a couple of courses on the use of the airbag jacks and changing lorry tyres on the road. The motorway passed within a couple of miles of our workshop and I was going to get in on the lucrative business of emergency tyre services for commercial vehicles.

It took about six months for the new venture to start paying off, but pay off it did. The hauliers were willing to pay whatever it took to get their trucks back on the road and with Europ Assistance and Mondial Services using us, I was in need of more help. I already had Tom back working as many hours as he could manage, but he was unwilling to give up his college course. I couldn't blame him for that. When I checked with Clare I found that the company had never been in such a sound financial state.

My weekly trips to Aldershot had become less stressful. We had passed the stage of confronting the problem and John had got me into group therapy. I missed driving the Morgan down there. The little company van just was not the same. My life was definitely on the up, yet still there was something missing. It was not sex, I could get that when I wanted it. Clare and I were still keeping each other supplied in that department. However, the only person for whom I had any strong emotional attachment didn't want to be anything more than friendly. I was beginning to understand what it meant to be lonely.

I was dreading my first Christmas alone, so when Clare invited me to spend Christmas day with her I jumped at the chance. The following weekend when I went to visit the girls I got a second invitation. Julie told me the children wanted me to come for Christmas. I don't know if she knew how much that hurt. She didn't want me, but she was prepared to invite me because the girls wanted Daddy on Christmas day. That may not have been what she really meant, but it was how it sounded to me. I told her I had already made other plans but I would be happy to come over for Boxing Day and she reluctantly accepted the compromise. She must have spoken to Eric again because a week later I got a phone call at work.

"Hello, Greg Maitland."

"YOUR BOOKKEEPER?" she shouted down the phone. "YOU GIVE UP THE CHANCE TO BE WITH YOUR CHILDREN ON CHRISTMAS DAY TO BE WITH A WOMAN WHO IS OLD ENOUGH TO BE YOUR MOTHER?"

"Julie, just calm down and I'll explain. She asked me before you did."

"Well, I would have thought that we would still take precedence," she said.

"Look, she has no one else to go to. When she asked me it looked like two lonely people could actually get together for the day and cheer each other up a bit. Now, you can't expect me to leave her on her own, can you? Anyway, according to you it's only the girls who want me to come. You don't want me there."

There was a period of silence before she came back with, "Don't be stupid, of course I want you to come. OK, I'm sorry if it sounded like it was only the girls that wanted you. You could bring your friend with you, if you like."

"Well, thanks very much for the invitation. I'll ask her," I said.

"Is that the only reason you turned us down?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Because you didn't want to leave her on her own at Christmas?"

"More or less."

"You've changed," she said.

"Well maybe that's a good thing," I responded. "Now, we are really busy here, so if it's all right with you I'll hang up now. I'll ring Clare later and extend your invitation, and call you back tonight. Is that OK?"

"Yes," she said. "And, Greg..... I am sorry I shouted at you."

And so it was that Clare met Julie, Annabel and Grace. We all had a great time and it set the scene for Christmases to come.

As we were about to leave Julie kissed my cheek and said, "I really like her. A bit blunt at times, but a nice person."

"Yes," I said. "She deserves better from life. Thanks for making her so welcome."

She gave me a curious look, as if she couldn't quite believe what I had said, and then we were out of the door. As I drove her home Clare suddenly said, "You know what is really surprising? In spite of what you did to her, that girl still loves you."

"Did she say that?" I asked.

"She didn't have to say it. It is blindingly obvious to everyone except you two silly buggers. You only have to see how proudly she speaks about the way you have turned your business around. The only question is, how long is it going to be till you both wake up to the fact that you were born to be together."

Clare made up her mind to do whatever she could to get Julie and I back together. What neither of us knew was that there were other forces working for the opposite end. Christmas and New Year came and went. Julie and I seemed to be getting closer. However, as soon as she went back to work we were back to cordial relations. I was totally confused. It was one step forward, two steps back. It would seem all I could do was wait.

Everything else in my life was going well. Down in Aldershot I had been leading the discussion groups for some months when John called me into his office.

"Greg," he said. "I am sorry to have to admit that I have been using you the last few months. There is really no need for you to come here any more. I haven't mentioned it before because it has been beneficial for us to have you leading the groups."

"You mean I'm free to go?" I asked.

"You've been free to go since the day you came," he said. "What I'm saying to you is that you've achieved a great deal and I don't think there is any more benefit in you coming to these sessions."

I left feeling a little bit proud of myself. As I reflected on the year, even I could see the progress I'd made in dealing with situations that made me angry. I just hoped I would never have to find out how I'd react, if confronted with a situation like the one that caused me to tear my marriage apart.

Weeks turned into months, months into years and my life got better in almost every respect. Two years after the divorce, or AD as I came to refer to it, one of the big car dealerships folded. They were a nationwide organisation but they had a showroom and workshop in our town. I made enquiries and found out what sort of price the receiver was looking for. Clare helped me with the business plan and this time when I went to the bank they couldn't do enough for me.

No one believed I would get the premises for less than half a million, but I did. For only three hundred thousand I got the showroom and forecourt and the fully equipped workshop. I already had a used car company wanting to rent the showroom and forecourt. The rent alone covered my repayments on the loan to buy the whole place. Tom had just finished his course and, as I knew he would, left me to work in a local garage. Once the deal was sealed I went around to pick him up from work.

"How would you like to be your own boss Tom?" I asked.

"I can't afford the set up costs," he said.

We arrived at the workshop and I took him in for a look. He looked around. We had four bays with hydraulic lifts plus space for all the diagnostic equipment.

"Now, I need at least one bay for tyres, but with jacks we can use some of the open space. What I'm offering you is one of the bays. They'll be fully equipped - that is, if you help me select the equipment we need."

"We'll work out a fixed scale of charges for the jobs we're prepared to undertake, and that's what the customer pays. I supply all materials and parts and the cost will be added to the customer's bill. You can do as much or as little work as you want, but you pay me a weekly rent for the bay and the equipment. As we get more business and get more blokes in here I'll give you a discount on your rent in return for keeping an eye on them. I don't want any bodge jobs going out of here."

"Who allocates the work" he asked.

"I do," I said. "It'll be in rotation except when a customer asks for a particular fitter to work on their car. If they want you to do the job, they get you, unless you can't fit them in, in which case we offer it to someone else. So how does it sound? Are you in?"

"It sounds too bloody good to be true," he said. "If the numbers add up I am definitely in."

That was the start of J&G Auto Services and locally it broke the mould of car servicing. Within the year all three servicing bays were occupied and each of the fitters took home more money than they ever did working for other garages. Clare did well out of it because all the guys needed someone to keep them within the law and sort out their tax.

It was shortly after moving into the new workshops that my first romantic interlude since the divorce began. The local companies that supply the motor trade all use good looking young women to take orders and make deliveries. It was one such woman who waltzed into my life. Her name was Kelly, a blonde of about five foot four, very slim with a fantastic smile. She had come to collect orders and picked me out as the man to speak to.

"Hello, I'm Kelly from Brandon Auto Factors. I was passing, so I thought I'd call in to see if you needed anything," she said.

"Oh, he needs something all right," Eric called out.

She grinned and I introduced myself. "Greg Maitland," I said. "I own this place."

"Oh, the Ice Man himself. I'm pleased to meet you."

"You'll have to explain that one."

"It's the nickname the girls have for you," she said. "We're supposed to flirt a bit with the customers. You know, make out we fancy you. It's supposed to make you give us orders. The girls say nothing works on you, that you must be cold as ice. So now you're the Ice Man."

We both laughed at that. "I'm not cold," I told her. "I just don't see the point in starting something that can't go anywhere. Most of your girls are married."

It was then she held up her left hand to show me the empty third finger. "Divorced," she said.

"Me too," I said, "but I can't get mine off."

I didn't really know if that was true or not. I had only tried to get it off once since the divorce and gave up when it wouldn't go over the knuckle. We chatted for a while and I found myself making a date for Thursday night. As she left, there were cat calls from the blokes in the workshop, including Eric who was eager to know if I was going to get what I needed.

She had asked me to call when I was on my way over, and she would wait outside. When I picked her up she looked amazing. She was wearing a dark green trench coat just draped over her shoulders. Underneath was a tight fitting red satin dress with a halter top and a skirt that barely reached mid thigh. The date went really well. We went to dinner and then on to a club. She told me she was living back home with her parents, and her mother was looking after the children. She had two kids, a girl and a boy, aged three and two. She had divorced her husband when she caught him cheating with her best friend. I filled her in on my background and by the time twelve o'clock rolled around neither of us wanted the night to end. Nevertheless, I drove her home and kissed her good night at the gate. It was a long, lingering kiss that screamed out "More, more, I want more," but I was determined to be the gentleman. I asked what she was doing on Friday.

"Washing my hair," she said.

"What about the weekend?" I asked. "I could take you and the kids out."

"Most weekends are out," she said. "I have to take the kids to Reading to see their Dad."

"Why doesn't he come here?" I asked.

"I got the car as part of the divorce settlement, so he says because he has no transport I have to take the children to him. I usually stay over with a friend in Reading and bring them back the next day. I am free Monday, though."

"Monday's not good," I said. "Most of the restaurants and clubs will be closed."

"Well, we don't have to go out. I could come to your place and cook for you," she said.

"OK, but I'll do the cooking."

And that was it. My second date in only two years, all sorted out.

From the time she stepped through the front door of my little flat I got the idea Kelly was not much interested in the food. She wore the same green trench coat, but when I took that from her shoulders I saw she was wearing a strapless black leather dress that barely covered her pussy and zipped down the front almost to the hem. As we ate it was hard to keep my eyes off the neck line of the dress. I kept expecting her nipples to pop out the top. By the time I had cleared the dishes away and served the coffee I was already hard.

"Well," I said, "what would you like to do now? I've got a good selection of DVDs if you fancy watching one of them."

She fixed me with a look as if she was trying to gauge what my reaction would be, and then she said it right out loud.

"I wanna fuck."

"I want you to take me to the bedroom and fuck my brains out. Then, as soon as you've recovered I want you to do it again. I want you to fuck me till I scream for mercy and, when I do, I want you to ignore my screams and just keep on fucking me. I want you to fill my cunt with hot meat and then shove it down my throat so I can hardly breathe. I want you to eat my pussy till I flood your mouth with my cum. I want you."

I was a little taken aback by her statement, but after a short pause I took her hand.

"I really like a woman who knows what she wants," I said, as I led her to the bedroom.

I was right about her not wearing a bra. As I unzipped her dress I found no panties either. She was very slim, not curvy like Julie. Her small breasts were in keeping with the rest of her body, as was her small round arse. No sooner had the leather dress hit the floor than she was fumbling with the buttons of my shirt. She then moved on to the belt of my trousers and in no time they fell to the floor. As I stepped out of them she dropped to the floor, tugging my jockey shorts down as she went. My beast was now available to her and she started raining kisses down upon it. Her tongue went to town, licking and swirling. I was leaking pre-cum long before she took it fully into her mouth. She thrust her head further and further forward till I could feel the end of my dick pop into her throat. Still she tried harder. Her hands were on my arse, pulling me into her ravenous mouth. I felt her finger enter my arse and almost immediately my dick exploded into her mouth and throat. Shot after shot of semen squirted into her. She calmed as I began to soften and slowly she pulled her mouth away. She stood up, put her hands either side of my head and kissed me passionately. Her tongue entered my mouth and she shared the taste of my own cum with me. She turned me round and walked me backwards so that I fell back on the bed. Then, almost without breaking her movement, she was on the bed, on her knees, moving her legs up either side of me. She stopped and sat for a moment on my chest, looking down at me.

"Now it's your turn."

She moved further up the bed till her bald pussy was over my mouth. I went to work with my tongue, licking at her little clitty and driving my tongue deeper into her, interspersing this with periods of just sucking on her pussy in an amorous kiss. I brought my hands up to reach her perky little breasts and used my thumbs on her nipples. She started thrusting her hips, forcing her pussy harder and harder onto my mouth. As I brought my tongue back to her clit she started to moan and thrust even harder. "Oh god, oh god, oh eaeeeeey," she screamed as her juices started to flow into my mouth and down over my chin onto the sheets below. She fell sideways off me and lay for a moment alongside me. I rolled into her and held her tight, running my fingers up and down her back as I did so. Her pubic mound started thumping against my chest and she was soon astride me again. This time it was my dick she was interested in.