Part One: Robert and Cora
Lesson Two: Simple Companionship
Cousin Cora and Cousin Robert had shocked me a few days back when I discovered that they still made love and slept in the same bed. Once mummy decided that she didn't want anymore children, and later found out she couldn't have any more at all, even if she wanted them, her and daddy had not spent the night together at all. Not at all. Cousin Cora was slightly younger than mummy, but I didn't think that she and Cousin Robert had any more chances at having a baby. Cousin Cora hadn't had a baby since Cousin Sybil. There had been rumours before the war that she was gaining weight and looking more tired and such. People thought she was pregnant, but no, she wasn't. Not to my knowledge anyway, but people rarely tell me anything anyway. I watched them closely throughout the next few days.
First thing I noticed, when Cousin Robert took Isis out for her walk, he invited Cousin Cora to go with him. She nodded and looked utterly pleased. She looked at him as if he were the most amazing and accomplished man the world had ever seen. I was sure it was the look of love. Mummy never looked at daddy like that. Cousin Cora looked at Cousin Robert like that all the time. All the looks she gave him were of love, and he did the same with her. I decided to take a walk in the gardens about 10 minutes after Cousin Cora and Cousin Robert had left with Isis.
In the gardens, I encountered something even less expected than the other night. Cousin Cora and Cousin Robert were sitting on a bench, Isis chasing something a little while a way. Although, sitting on a bench may not be the correct term. Cousin Cora was on her back on the bench and Cousin Robert was leaning over top of her, the two of them obviously whispering and kissing. Cousin Cora giggled at something as Cousin Robert... well, it looked as if he had just caressed her breast through her dress. She leaned up and kissed him softly, running her hands over his shoulders and everything. She grasped the back of his neck as Cousin Robert's hand dropped to pull up Cousin Cora's dress.
I knew I was seeing something I should not, so I left and went back inside. When Cousin Robert and Cousin Cora returned about an hour later, they were quite rumpled from their excursions out on that garden bench. Cousin Cora smiled to herself as Cousin Robert led her upstairs for 'a nap before tea'. They were also late for tea that day. I then knew that simple companionship, walking together, reading together, just doing things together, wasn't simply friendship for Cousin Robert and Cousin Cora, it was part of their love for one another. It made me happy to know that they loved each other all the time, not just on occasion.