Third Try's a Charm

"Dad, we're hungry, can we get some real fish and chips?"

Guys, let's first drop off your stuff at my apartment and then see what we can find for dinner. They were wild that first evening, talking nonstop telling me everything that had happened to them since I'd left. After dinner it took them hours to wind down, when they finally did, they crashed big time. The change in time zones and the long plane flight had taken its toll. In the roll away beds I'd brought in, they lay there sound asleep. God, it was nice having them with me.

"Sue, they all made it, and I do mean all. I assume you knew about the extra person. I suppose it must have just slipped your mind to tell me. Anyway, the ice lady made her intensions known before I could tell her how fantastic she looked and how great it was to see her. The kids are exhausted and will probably sleep the rest of the day. Have a full day planned for tomorrow. Any other surprises you haven't told me about?" I hit send.

A couple of hours later I heard the beep of her reply but was just nodding off to sleep. It can wait.

I had stocked up on kid foods so they had at least four choices for breakfast. They had cereal while I had my not so great English bagel and coffee. We rode a double decker bus, walked through the downtown area, and looked at the shops picking out a few souvenirs to take back home with them. For lunch we had fish and chips and they we surprised it tasted basically the same as it did back home—fried fish and fries. When they wanted to see the place where their mom was staying I told them we should probably leave her alone and give her some space. When I asked them how she was doing, I was told point blank they were to tell me nothing.

"Mom said to tell you if you are interested you could ask her yourself." Well, that was right to the point.

We had dinner at my apartment and watched television most of the night. They weren't too impressed with the quality of the shows on British TV but flipped through the channels anyway. Both fell asleep early again, and for the next hour I watched them sleep—touching their faces and whispering to them how much I had missed them.

"Sorry about that," was how Sue started her e-mail. "I was told not to tell you, but you couldn't have stopped her. And, if she's a little cold and distant, you only have yourself to blame. You bailed on them, remember? Oh well, enjoy your time with your kids and don't worry about Shannon, she's working on her own agenda." What the hell did that mean?

Two days later, we were having coffee and sodas at an outside café when I saw her blonde ponytail getting into a cab with another man. I stood up to get a better look, but they were gone before I got the chance. There was no more baby weight and I think her hair was even longer than when we first met. I knew she was angry, but I made up my mind to try and clear the air between us before they left, if that was possible.

That night I got hard as a rock thinking about Shannon and what we had. It had been quite a while since I'd gotten the release only a woman can give. However, as much as I would have like to, I wasn't about to sneak into the bathroom to get a little hand relief. I could just see one of my kids walking in on me. No, I was just going to suck it up for now. When I woke up with my hand on my dick, I knew I'd had a good dream even though I didn't remember any of it. I often fantasized about Shannon to get me off more than once—and why not—she was everything to me in bed.

After three more days of running the streets, movie houses, and the taking in the sights, I told them we were going to take a trip to London.

"Maybe Mom would like to come with us," Robert suggested.

"Yeah, Dad, why don't you ring her up?" Carla laughed, saying she'd heard someone use that expression and thought it sounded funny. I wasn't too keen on the idea. but they begged me to call.

I called her at the bed and breakfast and was told that Shannon was out. I left a message for her to return my call and told the kids we might be going on our own tomorrow. About three hours later she returned my call.

"Steve, you called. Is there anything wrong with the kids?"

"No, the kids are fine. It's just that we'd like to invite you to go along with us to London for four days. We are leaving Saturday and will be back Tuesday evening." There was a long pause.

"I'm not sure that would be such a good idea the way you feel about me. I would probably spoil your plans." She wasn't making this easy.

"Nonsense, I have no idea where you got the notion I hate you."

She quickly replied, "Steve, I may be blonde but I'm not stupid."

"Look, we all want you to come along and that includes me. There's no point in you spending time by yourself."

"I've already made plans, but if you're serious I'll break them. What time are you planning on leaving?"

She already had plans? Where and with who was what my mind was trying to process when she asked for my reply.

"Steve, you still there?"

"I'm sorry, the kids were saying something to me." I was trying to cover up my shock. "Why don't we pick you up around nine thirty?"

"Sounds like a plan, see you then." Click is all I heard after that. Surprised? No shit. She'd been here—what—less than a week and had already made plans? And who was that guy I saw her getting into the cab with? I no longer had a right to say what she did or didn't do, but I couldn't tell my brain that because it was doing it all on it's own.

The kids were happy to have their mom with us, and the three-hour ride in the company car was like something out of our past, with one exception, we weren't holding hands. We would be spending four days together; I wanted everything to be as smooth and as casual as possible.

I'd never taken the time to go to London, and was surprised to find it was larger than I thought. We found a quaint bed and breakfast on the outskirts of the city. Then came the next awkward moment, one, two, or three rooms? Shannon looked at me and took charge.

"For Christ's sakes Steve, what's the problem? Look, we need two rooms, one for us, and one for the children. If at all possible in our room we'd like two beds." That being said she smiled at me like she'd just solved all the world's problems.

"Miss, we've got a small room with two twin beds for the youngsters, but the rest of the rooms have either a full or queen size bed." Shannon told the clerk we'd take the one with the queen. We grabbed a free map of the city off the rack by the reception desk, and were ready to begin our mini-vacation. After we unpacked the car and put our things away we checked the map to find our first destination. Within twenty-five minutes we were off.

The Tower of London was everyone's first choice. We spent almost four hours there and another two just walking around taking in all the sights. We had dinner at a small restaurant, and although there were hamburgers on the menu I told the kids to try something different.

"Try something you've never had—maybe you'll find you like it—if you don't you can get something else. Robert and Carla choose the Sheppard's pie, which they found they actually liked. I had the salmon and Shannon ordered a steak. We all had bread pudding for dessert. After eating we decided to walk off our meal before heading back to our bed and breakfast.

The kids were tired and my legs were about done, so we called it a day and headed back to our rooms. We got the kids settled in their room and went back to ours. The owner had set out a decanter of sherry along with two sweet cakes on a small table at the foot of the bed. I poured myself a glass and looked at Shannon.

"Sure, why not," she said, while going through her suitcase. After a few sips of the wine she gathered up a handful of clothing and a small bag, went into the bathroom and shut the door. Ten minutes later she came out in a long tee shirt, probably with panties underneath, and that was about it. When it was my turn I washed up and came out without my shirt but still in my pants—this was a bit awkward.

Shannon was looking out the only window in our room and resumed sipping on what was left of her sherry.

"It's pretty here, but so different." She turned around and pulled back the heavy quilt. I sat down on the other side of the bed and started slowly removing my pants. "Steve, you don't have to be so shy, it's not like I haven't seen what you've got a million times before." But this time it was different. We looked at each other saying nothing, though our eyes did. "I think I'm going to call it a night." She put her glass on the night table and turned off the light next to her side of the bed. "Goodnight," was the last thing I heard from her. I turned off my light and did the same.

Neither one of us fell right to sleep, I could tell by her breathing. I, on the other hand, would liked to have talked and gotten a few things off my chest but wasn't given the chance. My brain was screaming, though my body gave in to sleep about an hour later.

You couldn't fit a playing card between us the following morning. We somehow found each other some time during the night, and I ended up spooning with her, our legs totally intertwined.

My face was in the nap of her neck as I inhaled her with deep quiet breaths, she still smelled the same. My left arm was wrapped around her middle while my hand rested just below her left breast. I wanted to move it up slightly but was afraid that would wake her. I knew every square inch of that body including the areas I'd like to be tasting right now, only that wasn't going to happen, not now or ever again. We were estranged and this was just a casual get together for the sake of our two kids. In truth though, I was enjoying every minute of it. So I just lay there, pretending to be asleep and relishing in the moment.

It was almost a full hour before she stirred. I heard her breathing change, felt her move ever so slightly, and then nothing. I knew she was awake. I'm not sure if she knew I was awake, but one thing for certain, she knew I was aroused. I hadn't been that hard in months, and it was pressed right up against her backside. I wasn't sure how to get out of this one, or if I even wanted to.

"Steve? Steve, you awake?" I moved ever so slightly feeling her untangle our legs and lift my hand as she pulled herself out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. I was still pretending to be asleep.

I heard a flush, the water turn on, and finally the tapping of her toothbrush before the door opened.

"Steve, you'd better get up and going. The kids are going to be knocking on our door soon, you need to get dressed." I yawned, looked at her, smiled, and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Shannon watched me while I rubbed them, and walked slowly towards the bathroom allowing the blood to begin flowing through my lower limbs. As usual it took my legs a couple of minutes to warm up and get loose. Shannon couldn't take her eyes off me as I walked the twenty steps to the bathroom and shut the door. She didn't say a word but the sad expression on her face did.

I was just putting on my pants when I heard them running down the hall. Shannon had already unlocked the door and they came in all wild and ready to start the day. A small breakfast in the dining room downstairs and we were off again.

For the next two days we did everything and went everywhere a tourist would. Robert tried his best to get one of the guards at Buckingham Palace to laugh without any luck. We walked, we ate, took a million pictures, many of the four of us, passersby were more than willing to snap a picture of the Yanks on vacation.

"This is the best vacation ever," Carla announced, with a huge smile, doing her best to consume every bit of toffee she had left in her bag. Robert took picture after picture making sure to document every minute of our trip. And Shannon and I? We talked, but said a lot more with our eyes.

"I'm sorry," I saw in hers, while mine said, "If only," while we spent the better part of six hours running around London.

On our last night in London we ate dinner in a castle. We climbed a narrow stone staircase leading up to a huge hall with a fireplace that took up one whole wall. There weren't just logs filling the fireplace, there were actually tree trunks in it. I counted six long wooden tables set with pewter plates and goblets. There were no utensils; we had to eat with our fingers like they did back in medieval times. The kids thought that was the greatest thing ever.

The chicken and vegetables were rustic, and although mine were way over-cooked who cared, it was all part of the entertainment. Knights and damsels were everywhere and swordplay and jousts were played out for our enjoyment. Shannon and my beer mugs were kept filled with mead, and we all were having a great time. When a knight challenged me for Shannon's hand, my kids goaded me until I made an idiot out of myself with a broad sword that I could barely swing. The knight faked it, conceded his defeat, and I was placed on top of the table, where I was told I had saved the honor of my lady. Everyone clapped, by now I had a real buzz from the ale. I haven't drunk this much in months or had this much fun with my family.

I received a medal; then proceeded to spend fifty dollars on a plastic sword for Robert and a damsel hat for Carla. And Shannon? Well, she was picked to drive us back to our B & B because I'd had a little too much to drink.

"That was so cool, Dad," Robert said from the back seat. "Next time I want to try the sword, okay?"

"I think you need to get a little older before you try your hand at swordplay. Besides, it wasn't real. There was no way I could have defeated him."

"But you did, we all saw you!" he insisted. "Okay, I did," I conceded. It was important to him so I lied a bit and told him I had actually won. Shannon smiled, taking her time, and carefully getting us back to our b&b.

The kids were still wound up. Carla paraded around in her damsel hat pretending to be a damsel in distress, and Robert swung his sword fighting imaginary knights and dragons to save her. After a wild thirty minutes they were down for the count and asleep before we even left their room.

"Good kids," I said, shutting the door.

"Great kids." Shannon corrected me.

I still had a little bit of a buzz, and again tonight there was a decanter, this time it was blueberry wine. I poured myself a glass while Shannon went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I looked up and saw she had on the same outfit she'd worn each night. Finishing my glass of wine, I bowed to her telling her I was honored to have saved her virtue this night.

"Steve, you're drunk. Why don't you lay down and sleep it off?"

"A knight never sleeps after saving a damsel in distress.'" At that moment Shannon's face went from half a smile to one of indifference.

"You saved me once when I really needed you, but in the end you tucked your tail between your legs and like a coward left us." She was no longer smiling but had a look of almost disgust on her face. "I'm going to sleep and I suggest you do the same. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." I started to say something, but Shannon no longer wanted to talk.

At two o'clock in the morning I was still awake. The effects of all the alcohol I had consumed earlier in the evening had long worn off. Shannon was asleep or doing a good imitation of it. In the darkness of our room, I fearlessly moved next to her in bed and closed my eyes praying tomorrow we wouldn't be at each other's throats.

Like the other nights, by morning we were entwined, this time even more so than the previous mornings. Both of my legs were beneath hers, my left arm under her neck, and my right arm? Well, it was where I wished it had been on the other mornings. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was kissing Shannon on her bare shoulder and telling her I loved her. I knew she wouldn't hear me—can you say 'chicken?' This morning, however, I was the one to carefully disconnect and sneak out of our bed. I was sad this had been our last night together. There were a million things I had wanted to say away from our kids, but it seemed it was never the right time.

When I came out, Shannon had taken her tee shirt off and was rummaging through her suitcase. She was perfect. Any excess weight she had was gone, and she looked as toned as she did when I first met her. She watched me stare. I quickly looked away.

"Gotten modest? It's not anything you've hadn't seen before." She was right, but it had been a long time, too long. I started to get a little hard and had to do some adjustment. She hit the bathroom and came out completely dressed. We both packed up our clothing and headed to the kids' room.

With a quick breakfast we were at it again. Shannon and I were both caught watching one another. I did my best to act as casual as possible, act being the telltale word. When it was time to leave London, we still hadn't seen everything we'd planned on, there just wasn't enough time. I told them next time, and let it go at that.

The drive back to my apartment was a little quieter since the kids were finally starting to wind down. I think four days of going non-stop had taken their toll. Shannon and I talked, but it wasn't about what I'd had on my mind since I first saw her at the airport. Friday morning they were flying back home, leaving me only two full days to find the right time to talk to her.

I dropped Shannon off at her inn and asked if she wanted to grab a bite to eat a little later. She responded that she was tired and would probably join us for breakfast if that was okay and not a bother.

"I don't know why you keep saying that, you're never a bother," I said, trying to reassure her. "Why don't we pick you up at about eightish, there is a quaint little mom and pop restaurant I want to take everyone to." With that our night ended. I cooked up a few burgers and sliced potatoes for the kids and after two hours of video games we were all ready for bed.

In the morning I informed the kids and Shannon about a slight change of plans. "I've got to go into work for about an hour this morning. I can either drop you off and meet you somewhere or you can come in and see where I work." Everyone voted to go into work with me; we had a quick breakfast in my apartment.

It wasn't anything critical, just that a new vendor had made his first shipment, and there was a bit of a problem. In the meantime, Edward, our plant manager, gave Robert, Carla, and Shannon a tour of the facility. In just over an hour I tracked them down, and we headed out again.

Sheffield's Meadow Hall Centre is one of the largest malls anywhere in the world, and today I planned for us to explore it in detail. It was like the Mall of America, without the amusement park in the center. But it had shops, restaurants, and a ton of movie theaters. I figured we could do a little souvenir shopping, have some lunch, or an early dinner, and then catch a movie—besides what woman or child can resist a mega mall?

They ran from one end of the mall to the other, twice. After three hours my legs ached. When I felt my feet starting to get numb, I suggested a food break and a movie afterwards. They had the new Harry Potter movie, which I hadn't seen.

"Is everything here more expensive than it is back in the states?" Shannon asked over dinner.

"The wages are higher, schooling and medical are covered by the government, but the housing, gas, food, and taxes are all higher. Since I'm not a native I don't pay those exhorbenient taxes. How the common folk make it and get ahead I haven't a clue, besides both working.

We sat in the movies next to each other. More than once we touched and after flinching the first few times, I just left my hand were it was. It was close to eight before we finally got out.