"Joseph!" Clarisse called as she walked into the kitchen at lunch, "I remember!"
Looking up from my paper, I asked, "Remember what?"
"Where I've seen your friend before. It came to me when I was in the shower this morning."
I motioned for her to continue her story.
"About forty or fifty years ago I used to leave to window open in the bathroom while washed and dressed. I always had that unmistakable feeling that I was being watched. One day I looked in the direction of the window and saw the face of a man grinning. When I screamed, he quickly ducked and ran away, I'm positive it was your friend."
Surprised by this, I laughed, "Well you did have a beautiful body."
Clarisse frowned, "Did have?"
Quickly, I covered myself, "DO have, I said, DO have."
She sat next to me and picked up a fork, "Ever since that night I've made sure the windows and curtains were shut before removing my clothes."
Interesting...I wish Dale had told ME she showered with the windows open so I could have had a perv as well!
Mia interrupted our lunch and asked if she could speak to me alone, Clarisse seemed rather irritated that she wanted to speak to me and not her, but I left with Mia and we decided to take a walk through the gardens.
"Joe, I've always asked you for advice when I haven't known what to do or how to act and I really appreciate the help you give. That's why I've come to you. See, Nicholas and I are getting...serious."
Raising my eyebrows I nodded, "Oh, it's one of those talks."
"Yeah," she said awkwardly, "When you and grandma were on your honeymoon we spent a lot of time talking together and he says he wants to take our relationship to the next level."
"And you don't want to?"
She shook her head and laughed, "No I do, I really do, I just wanted to know if it's okay to make love to him if we're not married."
"Personally, I think it's great you want to express your love for each other, however, I don't think the public will see it that way."
Saddened, she looked up at me, "So you're saying we should wait? I know it's probably what grandma would do, you know, the honourable thing."
...Clarisse? Do the honourable thing? HA!
Right then I felt like telling Mia every little detail about her grandmother's secret life. The way she wasn't a virgin when she married, the way she continued to sleep with the man who popped her cherry before and after her marriage to Mia's grandfather as well as sleeping with her bodyguard and almost me...yes there is so much Mia doesn't know about her perfectly-reputationed grandmother, but unfortunately I'm not one to tell her.
"The honourable thing?" I asked Mia, trying desperately not to laugh, but not succeeding.
"What? What's so funny?"
Calming down, I said, "There is always the possibility of sneaking around."
"Well you'd know all about that."
"Excuse me, I seem to recall seeing you leaving Michael's room early one morning after having spent the night with him."
"Which was completely innocent compared to what you and Grandma used to do," she nudged me, "And still do."
I rolled my eyes, "Back to the point, you have my blessing to do as you please in your own home."
"Thanks Joe, but what if Nicholas and I start sleeping together and the public find out about it? Or worse, Grandma! I don't think I can stand another lecture from her about my behaviour when I have tonnes of information to use against her but can't use because you won't let me!"
"Only because I don't want her to kill or divorce me! Besides, if you're descreet enough then nobody will know."
She snorted, "Yeah like how you were discreet..."
"Don't patronise me."
"Alright, I'll try it your way, but if Grandma finds out and lectures me about it, I'm going to fire my ammo right back at her."
"Pleassse don't," I begged her.
"Thanks for the talk, Grandpa Joe," Mia smiled, kissing my cheek.
It feels strange being called Grandpa by Mia, yet also validating because it shows how much she cares for me.
Later...
I am in a state of near complete relaxation. I've just taken a long bath where I listened to soft music and breathed in lovely scented bath essence. I'm currently reading one of my favourite magazines and am sitting in a very comfortable reclining chair. I would be completely relaxed if it weren't for my wife staring evily at me from behind her book. She's been looking up and giving me greasys for the past half hour. I don't know why, but I'm going to find out.
"What!" I asked, curious to know why she was being so cold.
"Alright, Joseph, something's been irritating me ever since the day we were married, the first few times I thought to myself it's okay, then the next few times I let it slide, but now day after day it continues and I find myself completely irritated every time I see it and I need to get it off my chest."
Unsure of what the hell she was going on about, I answered, "What? What's irritating you?"
She stood up and walked towards the door next to the wardrobe, "The state of the bathroom after you've been in it!"
My eyes widened with shock, "Is that all?"
Her face went red, "Is that all? Is that all! Look at this," she growled through gritted teeth, "Mats and towels belong on hangers when you've finished with them, there should be more water in the tub than on the floor, the cabinet should remain closed if you're not using it, dirty clothes should be thrown down the laundry chute and the light should always be turned off when your done! Sheesh! I don't understand why you find it so impossible to keep a clean bathroom!"
I felt like I had just been slapped across the face and shot in the knee...agian.
"Clarisse, if it bothers you so much, why didn't you say anything earlier."
"Because I thought the problem would go away."
"It will go away in the morning when the maids come," I laughed - she wasn't impressed, "That's what maids are for!"
"I just wish you would spend an extra two minutes cleaning up after yourself."
"Is that all you wanted to talk about? The only reason you've been giving me evil looks all night?"
She sat back down in her chair and picked up her book, marking the page she was up to, "Actually no. I want to know what's going on between you and Mia. You seem much too friendly with that girl."
"What can I say? I give great advice," I boasted.
"You aren't doing anything...morally wrong with her are you? Relation-wise?"
"Are you insinuating that I'm sleeping with her?" I asked, feeling completely insulted.
"I'm not stupid Joseph, I can tell something's going on. I mean the long walks you two take, the secretive discussions...it's all rather too suspicious."
"Are you being serious or are you just playing a really bad joke? I mean what would make you even think I'm interested in your granddaughter that way?"
"Well one does wonder when, first you sleep with my mother several times, then me, why not go for the complete set? It's a good thing I never had a daughter because I'm sure you would have gone for her, too."
My temper wore very thin when she said that, I felt like slapping her so hard, I even raised my hand to do so, but somehow managed to control the urge. I wanted to strangle her until she was out of breath for even thinking there was something going on between me and our granddaughter.
"You, Clarisse are a sick, sick, woman," I yelled, throwing my magazine at her feet and walking out into the hall, where I slammed the door so hard I heard a painting fall off the wall.
I was so pissed off with Clarisse and her wild accusations that I had to go and destroy something, so I walked into the ballroom and grabbed the vase off the piano and slammed it into the wall. I felt much better after that, because it was one of her favourite vases and it was now smashed to pieces. Afterwards I decided to take a walk and cool off my remaining steam, fresh air felt good in my lungs and so did walking in the cool breeze. I walked for about twenty minutes, before returning to our 'love nest'.
Clarisse was blankly staring at the television when I walked in, she looked up and took her glasses off, "Joseph I'm so sorry for throwing those accusations at you. Thinking it over I've been realising just how ridiculous it was to even think-"
She stopped talking and walked over to me, holding my face in her hands, "Sorry."
Clarisse kissed my cheek and walked into the bedroom, a moment later I switched the t.v off and went to join her, not because I forgave her, but because I wasn't going to spend the night on the couch.
When I walked into the room she was sitting on the bed holding the purple box we recieved as a wedding gift, "I never did tell you who this was from," she smiled, "Joseph, Chester gave us this box."
I was surprised when she said this, reason being because he seems to be trying to break up our marriage, not make it stronger.
"He said that since I married you for love, not money, you must be very special to me. He gave us the box as a sort of peace offering."
A peace offering? Yet, he continued to taunt me behind Clarisse's back after we recieved the gift. I think he only gave us that box to score brownie points with my wife, not to keep our relationship strong.
Anyway, we each placed our keys in their locks and opened it up. Inside was a note from Clarisse adressed to me, I read it and put it down. Basically it was a detailed apology which described how remorseful she felt about what she said and also something it seemed she'd been wanting to say to me for a long time - how insecure it makes her feel to know I'm putting the same lovemaking tool inside her that I put inside her mother. She wrote about how much of a turn off it was to think about the possibility that I might be thinking of Maddy when I'm making love to her. Imagining she was her mother instead of my wife. She wrote and asked me how I would have felt if she had slept with my father when he was alive, had they ever met. I told her I would probably feel the same way she was feeling.
The rest of her letter was just lovey dovey talk, which was so well written that I pretended to forget the reason I was so mad at her in the first place so we could drop it and go back to normal.
27/11/04
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
I heard as I walked down the hallway towards the kitchens this morning. Mia came up and jumped on my back, I told her to get off, not wanting Clarisse to suddenly appear out of nowhere incase she accused us of being "up to something".
"Joseph," Mia screamed with delight, "Joseph I just had the most amazing night."
I motioned for her to quieten down a little.
"Nicholas and I..."
"Do I want to hear this?"
"I have to tell someone. We made love in my suite last night. It started with a kiss and led to touching, fondling and then nakedness and then-"
"Stop!" I put my hand up, "I don't want to hear anymore."
"But I haven't gotten to the best bit!"
I started walking faster to avoid hearing what she was trying to say, but since she hasn't had a knee replacement, it was easy for her to catch up, "When we were in the middle of expressing our love for one another my legs went all tingly and started shaking and then boom!"
"You know I really have to-"
"I had an orgasm! Once with Michael I thought I had one, but obviously I didn't because this time I know I had one, isn't that exciting? It felt so wonderful, I never could have imagined-"
"Alright, I get the point," I silenced her, "Congratulations."
"Thanks, I can't wait for tonight."
Just then Nicholas walked past and winked at her, causing her to smile at him and start biting the sleeve of her jumper.
"Gotta go," she giggled, skipping away from me to join him.
At that moment I had a couple of thoughts on my mind.
Either Nicholas is a really good lover, or Mia isn't anywhere near as hard to please as her demanding, over-experienced grandmother.
I swear it took at least ten lovemaking sessions for me to get Clarisse close to climaxing and Nicholas tries once with Mia and succeeds with flying colours! God I hate him.
Wow, 60 chapters! As I said, I get very little time to myself, let alone to write this. So sorry for the slow, slow, slooow updates. R & R please!