Tampa Gold Pt. 02

Ch.2

Bathurst - 2023 - 24 hours earlier

If Alison had to put a finger on the start of her predicament, she would have said that it all began the previous day. Not knowing what to expect, Alison hadn't planned beyond her first reunion with Jeremy. She'd hoped, but she hadn't planned. So, when she said she wanted to see him again, the rest of her life still needed her attention.

He'd offered to visit her in Bathurst, but she felt conflicted. It was a small town and her husband and kids lived there, too. The kids also lived with her part time, so the thought of shagging senseless in her house surrounded by reminders of family life didn't seem right.

She had moved back to Bathurst from Sydney 15 years earlier. After completing her science degree, Alison signed up for a further three years of study to become a physiotherapist. Upon attaining her qualification, she joined a practice in Sydney's central business district. Never one to sit still, she had struck out after a few years and opened a small clinic of her own.

She built up an excellent reputation and loyal clientele by 2005, but for all her success, Sydney was grinding her down. The long commutes, endless construction works and the lack of space were taking a toll. And it was upon travelling back to her hometown one Christmas that she finally realised what her life was lacking; quiet. So, in a flurry of energy, she sold her business for a tidy profit and packed up her life in Australia's biggest city for the peace and quiet of rural New South Wales.

Not that Bathurst was a one pub town in the middle of nowhere. You could drive there from the centre of Sydney in under three hours. And it certainly didn't lack any of the services available in any big Australian city. It had all the iconic Australian retailers that you would need. In fact, Alison kicked herself when she realised Bathurst had everything to sustain her lifestyle. The bright lights of the harbour city had obviously seduced her younger self. And now that she was almost 30, she found her priorities had changed.

So, with her usual energy, she upped stakes and moved back to Bathurst after ten years' absence. She opened a new clinic and went to work drumming up business. Joining every local club, association, and business group she could manage, she set about promoting herself. It wasn't long till she had more clients than she could handle and so she took on more staff and the business thrived.

And then she met him; Henry. The man who would become her husband. As a physio, she found herself often in the company of athletes, either professionally or otherwise. Tending to their rehabilitation, she gained contacts in all the local sporting organisations. Partly to build up her client base, but also because she loved sport. And it was her love of rowing that led her to meet Henry.

A former Olympic rower, he'd moved to Bathurst for work once his athletic career ended. Still fit and imposing, he'd kept up his rowing even though his glory days were behind him. At an end of season club function, his and Alison's life collided, and they hit it off immediately. What was not to like? He was handsome, after a fashion, fit and there. And she was beautiful, successful and full of energy.

Admittedly, he didn't love Bathurst, but a job was a job. And Alison could be a little too energetic, always finding time to juggle a new challenge while not letting go of another.

But they married and almost immediately started a family. And that is where their end began. While the children were little, it was hard and easy to make excuses for not trying. But by the time the kids were older, the spark had gone. They both retreated into themselves. Alison, her business and activities and him, his faded sporting glory and his friends. And when the COVID lockdowns years later forced them to spend time together, they both realised that they no longer wanted to.

And even though that had been over two years ago and her divorce was now a mere formality, Alison couldn't start a new relationship and ignore her past. It was all around her, every day of the week.

She could have gotten a hotel with Jeremy, but Bathurst wasn't a big town. They would eventually bump into someone she knew or be seen and that would complicate matters. She was still technically married to Henry, even if that was now a legal formality.

And then there was her work. She had business to run, and bills to pay. Heading off for dirty weekends was possible, but not a long-term solution. At first, when they hooked up 25 years earlier, she may have had freedom from responsibility.

However, life had become complicated now. Even meeting him in another town, close to home, required some rearranging of her life and that would lead to questions. And she wasn't ready for questions from anyone yet.

So they agreed they'd meet as soon as they could, but for now, they would have to call each other. Texting was possible but it would leave an auditable trail and again; questions. And in a funny way, phoning each other took her back to the good old days of their first courtship. A time of lingering expectations and frustrated lust. Alison felt young again.

She had had her children for the first week after their reunion, so she had had to play it safe. She called Jeremy a few times, late at night, but had to keep their conversation short. Alison knew that if she got too eager for a night-time phone call or it went on for too long, it would show and... questions. She kept the conversation going long enough to get that rush of excitement when she heard his voice, but not too long, so she sounded needy. And she was so very needy.

The week after that she was free, but with several staff away, she needed to put in extra hours at work. She would stay back at the clinic after others had left to complete paperwork or let the night cleaners in. With the summer heat, she was sensible enough to stay in the cool of her clinic for as long as possible and not to leave, then have to cool her house down, too. It meant she saved money, and the quiet of the clinic gave her all the time she needed to catch up on paperwork at night.

But on the third night, following a few innocent texts from Jeremy, and after she had let him know she was still working, Alison's phone rang. Seeing his name appear on her display, she felt a rush of excitement as her body tingled. She put down her pen and picked up the phone.

"Hey you," she said.

"What are you wearing?" he asked.

"Wha...?" she stammered.

"You heard me."

Alison looked down at her uniform. Navy blue skirt, white polo and runners. She had chosen it for her staff for its practicality and visual appeal. Cheap, yet durable for those working with their hands. It said sporty and medical simultaneously. An excellent combination, in her estimation. Yet, scarcely the stuff of erotic fantasy.

She suddenly felt so inadequate and ashamed. Sitting alone in her office at night while her lover was calling her. She should be out on the town, dressed up to the nines or sweating naked atop of him. Not slaving away over budgets dressed in her workaday blues.

"Do you want me to tell you the truth?" she ventured.

"Tell me what I want to hear."

The tone of his voice exuded a warmth that reassured her. It made her feel sexy and loved. Then inspiration hit. This was a phone call, so he couldn't see her. She could say anything she wanted.

"I was getting ready to go out to a cocktail bar," she lied. "It's almost happy hour and those Bathurst bachelors don't like to be kept waiting. Tonight I'm wearing my Yves Saint Laurent sheer black evening dress and matching heels."

"You have a YSL shop in Bathurst?"

"No, he designs just for me."

"What else are you wearing?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I don't need to. I'm quite ripped, don't you know?"

"Oh, I do," he said. "Well, I admit I'm jealous," he fibbed. "How could you think of going out on the town and flirting with other men?"

"Okay then. Just because you are cute, I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you what clothes I'm removing if you tell me a story."