Something Red, Something Blue

'Jodie, I'm serous,' McGrath said. 'This is not a town where that sort of behaviour is tolerated, and for good reason; that sort of behaviour isn't tolerable.'

'I know,' I admitted quietly.

'You're a peacemaker,' he stated.

I stared out the window. 'Maybe.'

McGrath obviously sensed I didn't want to discuss the topic any further. He reached over and patted my leg. 'The prettiest peacemaker I've ever seen. If they sent you to the Middle East, there'd be no more wars.'

I tried to roll my eyes reprimandingly at him but failed badly. I couldn't hold back the smile, and McGrath was one of those men who didn't miss a thing.

We drove out to Xanthe and Bonnie's place, and during the journey my companion told me several outrageous stories about the women, none of which I believed were a hundred percent true. Each tale had been shamelessly elaborated and dramatized, and yet he was such a good story-teller I enjoyed each and every exaggeration.

He made me laugh a lot, a lot more than any other man. And unlike so many men in my past he didn't act as if I owed him something, or make me feel as I needed to prove myself worthy of his company and attention. It was a liberating feeling.

~~~~~~~~

We arrived at the goat farm late afternoon. It wasn't just a 'goat farm' but a production factory for artisanal, handmade goods. Jams, biscuits, cheese, that sort of thing. It was exactly the sort of tree-change/sea-change activity you'd expect of two women who in former lives, had professional careers and, in Bonnie's case, a husband.

'It was a marriage of mutual convenience,' she clarified. We'd toured their farm, stuffed ourselves silly at dinner, and were now sitting out the back drinking home brew. 'We were both raised Jehovah's Witnesses. We were both gay. Our marriage was nothing more than a cover. We moved away from our families, developed our careers, and each had -- sanctioned - relationships outside the marriage. We divorced ten years' ago. It was only during the financial settlement that we fought. Money changes people.'

'I've been lucky,' I replied. 'The only men I've lived with were reasonably sensible when it came to splitting our assets. The first wanted a wee bit too much, and the second wanted to give me a wee bit too much, but we managed to reach agreements without too much fuss.'

I thought McGrath might say something, seeing as he'd been married before and during our first meeting had claimed his wife still had one of his balls, but he didn't say a peep. He simply drank his beer and stared at the mountains in the distance.

Curiosity got the better of me.

'Did you have any troubles with your financial settlement?' I asked him.

He shook his head. 'No. No, we just went by the formula the solicitors gave us. They have guides based on previous cases. We just went with that. We did sixty-two percent to her, thirty-eight percent to me. She had the kids, though.'

'How old were your kids?' I prodded.

'Siobhan was fourteen, Alex was twelve.' He glanced over and raised an eyebrow quizzically. 'Is there some reason you're interested in my divorce?'

'No,' I replied. 'I was just making conversation.'

'Hell of a thing to make conversation about,' he said.

It was the first time I'd seen any real emotion out of him. He'd been quite the light-hearted joker until now, but it was abundantly clear that the divorce wasn't a topic he wished to discuss.

I bit my bottom lip and chewed it nervously. 'I'm sorry. It was insensitive.'

McGrath sighed tiredly, leant over and brushed his lips against my temple. 'Foolish old men don't like to be reminded of their mistakes. That's why we run away after we make them, to someone where the sun is hot and the beer is cold. It's why we chase after beautiful young women who're only trying to enjoy some time away from work and try and loosen their legs with some goat cheese and cider.'

'Jesus Christ, McGrath, you're hammered,' Bonnie remarked.

'Gloriously so,' he agreed. 'Which is why I'd prefer not to talk about divorce. Let's talk about something pleasant, like how lucky we all were to win lotto. Given we're all friends, let's talk about how we plan on spending the money. I'm buying a boat. I've been meaning to buy one for years, but it always seemed just that little bit too indulgent.'

The women said were spending their money on some upgrades to their production facilities. I spoke about my plans for renovations to my flat back home, and showed photos of the tiles I liked.

Then we talked about Liesel. None of us understood why she wouldn't have received her money, and why she'd have taken the rather unreasonable step of following me to North Queensland and confronting me in the lobby of a hotel.

Xanthe said that she had a close friendship with the owner of the newsagent, and that she'd give him a call the following afternoon to see if he could shed any light on the mystery. All three of my companions agreed that if Liesel bothered me again, and made any further threats, a complaint to the police would be warranted. Even if she hadn't broken any laws it would be worth having a record of her erratic behaviour.

It was just past ten at night by this point and the women were tired. They had to get up early to attend to the goats. We said 'good-night' and headed off to bed.

McGrath took me to our room. It was small but light and airy, air-conditioned with timber floors and a double bed covered in alternating layers of sheets and a light doona, so you could pick how many layers you wanted to lay underneath.

'Which side do you want to lie on?' McGrath asked.

'It doesn't bother me. You?'

'No. How about we each stay on the side we're closest to?'

'That works for me.'

I wasn't sure what to wear to bed. I went to my bag and pulled out clean underwear, boy shorts and a singlet top. I glanced at McGrath. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me.

I pulled off my tee and slipped out of the shorts I'd been wearing. I turned around again. McGrath was still intently observing everything I was doing. I knew he was a bit drunk; he'd really been knocking them back all night. I wondered what was going through his mind. People are different when they're not sober. They do crazy things like buy shares in lotto syndicates in seaside towns.

'Don't stop, we're getting to the exciting bit,' McGrath requested. 'The boobs are about to come out.'

I kept myself positioned so that as I took off my bra, my companion couldn't get even a glimpse of my breasts. I heard him groan in dismay, and had to bite back a chuckle as I stepped out of my knickers.

'This isn't fair,' he complained.

I remained facing away from him as I began to fold my dirty clothes. 'What isn't fair, McGrath?' I asked as innocently as I could.

'You. You, just standing there! I mean, your bum is spectacular and all, but you aren't even bending over. I want to see the goods, Jodie. I'm a dirty old man and I've been waiting for this ever since you put your clothes back on after our romp on the beach on Monday night.'

'I'm sure you've seen plenty of naked women before. You know what we look like.'

'It's a sight I never get tired of, particularly when I have a specimen like you around. No man in this town ever gets tired of naked women, as a matter of fact. Has anyone told you about the esteemed Dr Andrews?'

'I'm sure you're going to tell me a terrifically tall tale about the good doctor. Go ahead. If it's sufficiently entertaining, I'll turn around.'

'You have yourself a deal,' McGrath agreed. 'Dr Andrews moved to town five years ago, and took up residence in a small practice. Almost immediately she began to get a reputation as being an incredibly, shall we say, 'open minded' practitioner. You'll notice this town has a seemingly disproportionate gay and lesbian population, particularly for a North Queensland locale, but it wasn't simply our homosexual brothers and sisters she was assisting.'

'Oh?'

'It was men and women, particularly older men and women.'

'Do go on.'

'She seems to have a fondness for us gents in our prime. She's a believer in giving us all the help we need to achieve everything we want to achieve in life. One might even say she pushes certain things on us.'

'Pushes it on you, you say?'

'Yes. Every man over thirty-five gets asked certain questions.'

I spun around. 'Are you trying to accuse some good-natured medico of plying the men of the town with Viagra, McGrath?'

'Hah! I knew I'd get you to turn around.' He fell back laughing. 'She doesn't push it on us. Merely offers it, after a few quick questions and a few painless tests. I was just going to say that if you want to go more than once tonight, don't assume my age will be a barrier. I come armed with the best that Pfizer has to offer.'

I picked up my shirt off the floor and threw it at him. 'Good God you're a disgrace! Why do you have to make me laugh?'

McGrath chuckled. 'The question is; are you interested? Because if you want to go again after the first time, I can make it happen.'

'I remember when men used to ask if I wanted to snort a line,' I remarked, sitting next to him on the bed, quite naked but quite unconcerned. 'How times have changed. For the better, too.'

The oddest expression crossed his face. 'Why do you say that? That it's for the better?'

'Well, firstly, I don't mind being naked in front of you. In my younger years, I would have been highly conscious of all my flaws. Then there would have been the pressure to say 'yes' to whatever you were offering. Now, I feel as if I can say 'no' and it would be quite okay.' I smiled at him. 'Not that I'm saying 'no' on this occasion. The other thing I've found is that as I've got older, my taste in men has improved, and my ability to orgasm has increased beyond all reason.'

McGrath rested his hand on my bare thigh. 'Those last two points may be related to each other.'

'Very likely.'

He kissed me. 'You're extremely beautiful, Jodie.'

McGrath was a man who knew how to melt a woman's heart. No doubt he had years of practice and numerous conquests, but it didn't matter. I was the only one he was concerned with at this moment, and that was enough.

I helped him undress. One of my ex-boyfriends gained weight while we were together. Not much, just five kilos or so, but I remembered looking at him and thinking 'why do this? It's already a struggle to be with you'. McGrath had a good amount more weight on him that my ex had had at his heaviest, and still I wanted to see him naked.

McGrath didn't know who I really was. He didn't know the uptight spinster, the routines, the inability to budge from my schedule at home. He didn't know that all of this, from the over-drinking at the conference, to the purchase of the lotto ticket, to the trip back here, was all out-of-character behaviour. He thought the person he saw was the person I was, and even though the person he saw was nothing more than the person I wished I was, it didn't matter. I had him, even if only for a short fraction of my life, and I was prepared to take what was on offer.

'On the topic of sex, I need to tell you something,' I said. 'I'm not on the pill. I went to the chemist for emergency contraception on Tuesday. I have condoms with me tonight. I know I'm probably past the age of being able to fall pregnant, but I don't want to take any chances.'

'Oh shit, my apologies,' he apologised. 'I didn't even think about that.'

'Well,' I said, scooting out of his grip. 'How about I get some condoms out of my bag, you get the Viagra just in case we decide to go two rounds, and then we'll settle down for some old-people sex?'

McGrath nodded. 'Absolutely.'

With a pill packet on his side of the bed, and a foil-wrapped contraceptive on mine, we fell into each other's arms. I wasn't quite sober, but in a blissful, peaceful place, as I kissed and explored his body in greater detail than I'd previously been afforded. He'd drunk more than me, and that had an obvious effect on his ability to get hard easily, so I helped him get a full erection with my mouth.

He was tidy and well groomed without being fussy. His large, heavy balls smelt the way testicles should; thick with the scent of musk, and they tasted of something damp and fecund, something forbidden, as if nature were trying to remind me I shouldn't be doing this with my mouth, even though my soul was begging for a reminder of what I'd been missing for so many years.

His cock was covered in the smooth, velvety skin of penises. There is nothing quite as soft and feminine as the coating of a man's most masculine organ. There was a vein at the base that pulsed with blood, and as I sucked the crown, he leaked salty pre-cum into my mouth.

Long after he was erect, I was still between his legs, sucking and masturbating him.

'Stop, or you'll waste an erection,' McGrath warned.

I glanced up, my tongue thick with the taste of him. 'It's not a waste if it leads to an orgasm.'

He moaned as I started to suck him again. My own sex was wet and swollen, begging for attention, but I was well used to being horny and there's a vast difference between choosing to forego or delay someone giving you an orgasm, and not actually having any option other than to get yourself off or stay horny. I enjoyed the frustration I felt, the longing, the desire because it was something I chose for myself.

McGrath felt no such longing or desperation, I made sure of that. I gave him every ounce of my attention, paying careful consideration to the way he was reacting. He started to writhe and squirm on the bed, trying to force himself not to thrust, even though I knew that's what he wanted to do. He was leaking pre-cum again, larger amounts this time, and sweat was starting to glisten on the hair of his stomach.

He muttered my name and wriggled into a half-sitting position. I was confused, until he reached beneath me to grab a breast. Then it made sense. He groaned as he squeezed my nipple, and I sucked and wanked as hard and as fast as I could.

McGrath came with a series of grunts. He filled my mouth and I gulped it down, trying to keep giving him all the stimulation he needed, but near the end he took over, his hand over mine as semen dripped down my chin.

When he was quite recovered, and I'd tidied up, he told me I hadn't needed to do that.

'I wanted to,' I argued. 'I'm going to need to borrow your hand, now, though.'

'I'd love to lend it to you.'

It didn't take me long to orgasm. Maybe two, three minutes. McGrath's hand was wet and sticky, but he didn't go to the bathroom, he just licked his fingers then wiped them on the sheets.

'That's disgusting,' I giggled.

'Our hosts are dykes. They probably do this all the time.'

I laughed, even though I shouldn't have.

McGrath pulled me into his arms and we snuggled, my head on his chest. We were supposed to go for round two, but we ended up falling asleep and the Viagra remained on the floor, in the box, unused, as did the condom on my side of the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke on Thursday morning feeling seedy. McGrath wasn't much better, and after a quick shower and breakfast, he took me back to my apartment.

'Sorry if I've come across a bit rude,' he remarked as he dropped me off. 'I feel like absolute hell.'

'Me too,' I replied. 'I've got a cracking headache. We probably should have drunk some water last night.'

He leant over and kissed me. 'When do you go back home? Saturday morning?'

I nodded.

'Can I take you out Friday night?' he asked.

'I'd love that. Stay at my apartment, if you want, to make it easier.'

'I'll be there at six,' he promised.

I went to my hotel room, drank two large glasses of water, took two Panadol, and crawled into bed. I fell asleep, only to wake two hours later feeling significantly better and needing to urgently pee. Another glass of water and a mid morning snack of a banana, and I was almost back to full strength.

I'd spotted a notice in town about informal exercise classes run in a local park, so in the afternoon I went down and sweated my accustomed-to-the-sub-tropics not accustomed-to-the-tropics body off. It was a lot of fun, though, and I stayed around to talk to my classmates for a good hour or so after before heading back to my apartment.

As I walked in, the concierge beckoned me over.

'The woman who has been hassling you has been down here half the day hoping to catch sight of you,' she warned.

Liesel. Gosh, I'd entirely forgotten about her.

'Thanks,' I said. 'I appreciate the heads up.'

~~~~~~~~~

I was only concerned about Liesel, but after considering how best to deal with her, I decided I'd be able to avoid her by simply staying in my room and calling front desk when I next planned to leave my apartment. I figured they'd be happy to check that the coast was clear.

It was a decent plan, but it failed because I was only anticipating how I might deal with Liesel waiting for me in the lobby, not Liesel coming direct to my door. Don't ever get on the wrong side of an angry, middle-aged woman with a lot of time to stew on her anger. They're vicious.

Liesel knocked on my door late Friday afternoon and in a state of complete shock, I opened the door, a decision I immediately regretted.

'We need to talk,' she said. 'Let me in.'

'I have nothing to say to you,' I replied defensively.

I went to shut the door, but Liesel put a hand out and held it open. She was much stronger than me. I searched the hallway behind her desperately, hoping to see someone to whom I could reach out to help, but there was no one. My mobile phone was plugged into a wall, charging, well away from me, and McGrath wasn't due for another half hour.

'I believe McGrath -- one of the lottery winners -- called the newsagent today to see if he could find out what went wrong with your payment,' I said. 'Would you like me to call him and tell you what he found out?'

Liesel pushed the door wide open, almost knocking me off my feet. 'Tony McGrath? Picked a winner with that one, didn't we?'

In times of panic, odd things happen, odd thoughts occur and the passage of time slows down. As Liesel stomped into my room, all I could think was 'I didn't realise his first name was Tony'. I probably should have asked him, shouldn't I? I'd spent nights with him, made love to him, and even, embarrassingly enough, fallen slightly in love with him, but I hadn't thought to ask his first name.

'I'll call him,' I said, heading to my phone.

'No.' Liesel grabbed my arm. 'You will sit right down Jodie and tell me why you took my money. You have no idea what's going on in my life. I need that money, and you stole it from me.'

'Liesel, I didn't steal anything,' I pleaded. 'Please. I'll call McGrath and ask him if he knows where the money went.'

'I want to see your bank account.'

If that's what it took, I was more than happy to show her.

'Fine,' I agreed. 'I'll get my phone.'

I fetched my phone and opened my banking app. I scrolled to where I'd been paid my share of the syndicate win and held it up to show Liesel.

She grabbed the phone out of my hands, her eyes narrowing as she read the digits. Then she scrolled up and back, checking every other transaction I made. If she was expecting to see any suspicious transactions, she was flat out of luck. The most exciting line item was a Bras N' Things purchase for just under sixty dollars. I rarely paid full price for underwear. The benefit of a small frame and small breasts was that I wore a size that rarely sold out, and frequently appeared on 'sale' racks.

Liesel handed my phone back. 'It proves nothing, except you weren't paid into that account.'

'Liesel, I don't have your money! It was yours. I didn't need extra money. I didn't even 'need' the lotto win. Let me call McGrath. I'll see what he has to say.'