Surprise Chance for Love Ch. 01

"What's that?"

"Sheets of ice can flow across the lake as it melts and do a number on the eastern shore. That's why you don't see docks, at least permanent ones, here."

"Really."

"Yeah. You need to learn more about Winnebago."

"I guess I do. Are there positives to consider too?"

"Well, if you like to fish, it's a good fishing lake, and you can even catch sturgeon."

"I'd heard that."

"Would you farm at all?"

"I think I'd try, but I still intend to work my job for now."

"That's good, because that property hasn't been farmed properly for years."

"What do you mean?"

"Since old man Martin died, the kids have tried from afar to hire others to farm it. They live in Florida and Georgia, from what I know. They couldn't care less about the property and only want to sell it."

"I'm glad I met you, or I wouldn't have known any of this."

"I've lived here for ten years, so I pretty much know what goes on."

I pushed my empty plate away and grabbed my beer. I looked at the label and up at Elly. She seemed to be studying my face.

"That hit the spot. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Are the boys in bed?"

"Yeah; they were exhausted after being at their grandparents' place all day. I put the dogs into my room, too."

"Good beer choice. You a beer drinker?"

"Somewhat, but I prefer something else for a high."

"Really," I chuckled. "What is that, pot?"

"No, moonshine."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Really? Moonshine?"

"Yes. Want some?"

"You kidding me? You really have moonshine?"

"Yes. One of my neighbors does a brew."

"Is it good?"

"Awesome. You want some?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Elly got up and disappeared into a walk-in pantry. She emerged with an unlabeled gallon jar. She put ice from the freezer into two glasses and poured some of the clear liquid into both. She walked to me with a smile on her face. "Drink it slowly," she warned.

"You drink it straight up?"

"Yeah. It has a lemony flavor. Try it."

I sipped it and so did she. I took a second sip and had to admit it wasn't too bad. The lemon helped cut the high alcohol content. I liked it.

"Not bad," I said.

"Not too strong?"

"No. The lemon helps cut the strong alcohol."

"See? I told you."

She took another sip and smiled at me. I sipped and returned her smile. I could feel the alcohol seeping into my veins, as a heat seemed to rise in my body. She was still smiling at me and her beauty had me spellbound.

"This stuff is great," I said.

"Told you," Elly giggled.

"We could get drunk on this stuff quickly."

"Yeah...true...but it feels good. I haven't relaxed like this in ages."

"Honestly, me either."

"Jack, I have to tell you something before we get too drunk."

"What?"

"I called the sheriff."

"What?"

"No, nothing about you, except I told him I had a visitor, gave him your name and driver's license number, and told him not to worry about the car in my driveway."

"You did?"

"I'm sorry, but I have my sons to worry about. Look at it this way...now I can re-lax, as it were."

"I'd glad you did."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't want you to have to worry about me. I'm what you see, nothing more."

"I like what I see," Elly said, with a big smile.

"Me too."

"Yeah, sure! The alcohol makes everything look good, right?"

"What are you talking about? You're beautiful."

"You're nice, but I've felt like a 'has been' for a while now."

"You're no has been, Elly. That's for sure."

"Thanks. You want some more?"

"Just a little," I said, swishing the ice in my glass.

Elly replaced our drinks with fresh ones. She gave me more than I really wanted, but gave herself the same amount. She had only just sat down when she looked at me for a long time without talking.

"What?"

"You want to stay?"

"Okay."

"I prepared a room in case you wanted to."

"Thanks. That would be wonderful."

"You want to shower?" she asked.

"Maybe I should," I agreed.

"Here...I'll show you where things are."

I followed Elly up the stairs to the second floor. My eyes never left her incredible butt the whole way up the steps. She took me to a small bedroom with a single bed. On the bed were towels already laid out for me. She pointed to the bath-room across the hall. "You can shower in there."

"Thanks."

After she left, I grabbed a towel and went into the bathroom. There was a tooth-brush in an empty glass on the sink as well as a disposable razor on the sink. I stripped off the sweaty shirt and the jeans, turned on the water for the tub and climbed in naked. I stepped into the water once it was hot and moved the valve to the shower position. It felt great and I just let it run over me for a while. I found shampoo in the shower and quickly washed and shaved my nightly stubble. Once dried off, I went to my room with a towel around me. Surprisingly, I found a new tee shirt and gym shorts on the bed. Donning those, I went back downstairs.

I found Elly watching TV in the family room. She was curled up on one end of the couch. She'd changed and had a thin robe on. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. I took a seat on the couch opposite her. She smiled sweetly as I sat, but then returned to watching the TV. She had the news on.

"Want to watch a movie or something?" she asked while sipping her drink.

My drink was on the coffee table between us. It had been refilled. I took a sip while looking over at her; she pretended not to notice.

"That sounds great," I offered.

"We can find something on Netflix," she suggested.

I watched her shuffle through several selections until we settled on a James Bond movie. She started it and we sat back sipping our drinks, the alcohol once again warming my insides and making me relax.

"Have you dated since your wife died?" Elly asked, somewhat out of the blue.

"I have, but not a lot, and not with much luck," I replied. "How about you?"

"No, not much to choose from around here," she said with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah. Not much for population, huh?"

"Pitiful. You want to marry again?"

"I hope to...yes...someday."

"That's nice."

"How about you?"

"It's a little different for a simple farm girl who's the mother of two young boys."

"I suppose that's true, but that's not an answer," I pressed.

"Of course, I'd like to. I hope I can find someone who wants me."

"What are you talking about? You're a beautiful woman. Any guy would be blessed to be with someone as great as you."

"That's sweet of you, but you don't even know me."

"True, but if I buy the Martin place we'll be like neighbors."

We watched a good hour of the movie without a word. My watch said it was eleven thirty. I'd been up since six thirty and was beginning to feel the alcohol and the late hour. My eyes were getting heavy and a little panic hit me as I real-ized I had to be up and ready for the realtor at nine.

I hung in another half hour and finished my drink, but I was feeling loose and ready for bed. I glanced over at Elly and she was staring intently at the screen. Her drink was empty too. One part of me wanted to cross the short distance be-tween us and hold her in my arms. The other said don't be a fool and mess things up. I listened to the latter, whether right or wrong.

"Elly, I'm about to fall asleep. I think I better go up to bed since I have an early meeting with the realtor tomorrow."

"You should," she agreed with a slight slur to her speech.

"You're going to watch the end of the movie and be okay?"

"Yes. Goodnight." And I left.

I brushed my teeth and hit the sack. The bed was small for me, but comfortable. I fell asleep quickly and didn't wake until my cell went off at seven thirty. I got up right away, showered again, and dressed in some clothes Elly had put on a chair for me the day before. The slacks and shirt were a good match, and though older looking, fit well and looked okay. I went down the stairs at ten after eight.

Elly was already awake. The twins were watching some cartoon on TV with a dog each in their laps. I barely entered the kitchen when Elly looked up from the stove at me. Like the night before, she was dressed in a thin robe.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"Sure."

I sat at the kitchen table and Elly served me a plate of fried eggs, bacon, and pan-cakes. The syrup was already on the table and she called the boys to join us. They didn't come right away, but did when Elly promised pancakes with syrup. She helped them into their chairs, served them and then herself. There had been coffee at my place at the table and I drank it black, like always. The dogs circled the table like hungry beggars.

I watched as she dished out the pancakes to the boys. As she leaned over the ta-ble to cut their pancakes, I glanced up and noticed her robe had parted at the neckline. It hung open enough for me to see the tops of her breasts. The soft flesh looked inviting and my eyes might have lingered this time just a bit too long to avoid detection.

After breakfast, the boys left the table quickly after their mother wiped their sticky hands and chins. Once again, I tried not to get caught observing her ample tits. The thinness of her robe didn't do much to hide the silky nightgown beneath. My mind was working overtime trying to picture her naked.

It was twenty before nine before I realized it, and I gave my apologies as I bolted for the garage door and my car. After I left I realized I didn't exactly know where the driveway was to the Martin place and thought I should have asked Elly. I drove back toward the main road and this time noticed the mailbox with Martin on it. I'd missed it the day before. I turned down the driveway and found an SUV parked at a house about a half mile down the road. The sign on the side door of the car said "Winnebago Realty," and an older woman was on a cellphone stand-ing outside the car.

I got out of the Rover and greeted the silver haired woman. She had a very pleas-ant smile and a welcoming handshake.

"Mr. Thompson?"

"Yes. Mrs. Warner?"

"Yes, nice to meet you. Did you have any trouble finding the place?"

I considered telling her about all the trouble the day before, but decided against it. The less she knew of that day the better. "No."

"Good. What would you like to see first?"

"I don't care. Give me your normal routine," I said.

"Okay, let start with the house and then the barn. We'll finish with a drive around the property."

"Sounds good."

The house was about the same as Elly's, a two story square box of a farmhouse. It was small, with three bedrooms on the second floor and one and half baths. The barn was better, in the sense that it seemed more complete. Inside the barn were a large John Deere tractor and several other large farm machines. They all were part of the deal, as the family wanted nothing more to do with the farm or farming.

Lastly, in Mrs. Warner's car, we toured the property. She followed a dirt trail out along the bare, weed-infested fields. They weren't planted this year with corn or soybeans, or anything else. It seemed such a waste that the farm was idle. We finally circled around the sixty acres and turned off to the waterfront. There was a small boathouse, but it was set back over two hundred feet from the edge of the lake; probably a result of what Elly told me about the ice melts in the spring. I asked Mrs. Warner to stop at the end of the road, close to the lake's edge.

I got out of the car and strolled alone along the shoreline. The property had over six hundred feet on the lake, but it was just raw shoreline, nothing developed. I was a little disappointed in the look. I remembered the place at Green Lake from my visits as a kid; it was smaller but quainter, with a small dock and sandy beach. The beach here was sandy, but full of overgrowth and trash.

When I got back in the car with Mrs. Warner, she drove back to the house along the continuation of the trail. It was then I realized we'd just made a very big circle and the house was not that far away from the beach. A slight hill blocked the view of the house from the beach, and vice versa. She pulled her car up next to mine.

"Well, what do you think?"

"Interesting," I answered.

"Interesting good, or interesting bad?"

"Not sure, really. I'm still kind of processing it."

"Okay."

"Let me think about it over the weekend."

"Sure. I think the family is motivated to sell and would drop the price further."

"Okay. That's good," I acknowledged.

I let Mrs. Warner pass me on the driveway, and I paused at the corner where the Martin driveway met the dirt road. I could go left, back to Sheboygan, or go right, back to say goodbye to Elly and the boys. I'd already said goodbye so it wasn't like she would be expecting me. I really wasn't sure if this property was what I wanted. If I passed on it, though, there was nothing to keep me in touch with Elly.