The Eden Effect (15 page)

The line went dead before Arthur could reply. He telephoned the Red Lion and made a reservation for two at 7pm. He asked for a corner booth in the bistro, which fortunately was available.

At a quarter to seven, Arthur was standing outside the Red Lion. Pacing would be more accurate. He was wearing denim jeans, a light blue shirt and a suede jacket, a recent purchase. He had looked at himself in the mirror before he left home and he was happy with what he saw. Not bad for an old codger, not bad at all.

‘Hi Arthur.'

He heard her before he saw her. There she was, approaching quickly. She was always in a hurry, he thought. Tracey looked even more beautiful than he remembered. She was wearing a red dress, short, just above her knees. Her shoulders were draped in a black shawl. He noticed the bright red lipstick, same colour as the dress and a smile, which lit up her face made him feel weak at the knees.

Tracey gave him a quick peck on the cheek, took his arm and said.

‘Come on Arthur, let's go inside. I'm freezing and I'm starving, let's eat.'

Arthur opened the door and they walked in. He could see heads turning as they strode through the bar on the way to the bistro. He noticed Glen and Own at a table staring. Glen was smiling approvingly.

They were seated at the table. Arthur offered Tracey the padded seat in the booth. He took the chair. The waiter filled their water glasses and left two menus and a wine list. Arthur thought he saw a little smile on the waiter's face too.

‘What a relief to sit down,' Tracey said. ‘I've been on the go non-stop. Thank God we're done. Try to watch it this time. I think it will be on next Wednesday. Is your TV fixed?'

‘Err, not yet. They're waiting for a part,' was all Arthur could think of saying. ‘But I can watch it on someone else's TV. Will you be on?'

‘No Arthur, I'm the director's assistant remember. I'm not the on air talent, although I'd like to be.'

Arthur pretended to study his menu. He already knew what he was having, what he always had, steak, medium rare, probably the rib eye this time.

‘Would you like something to drink?' he asked, noticing the waiter approaching out of the corner of his eye.

‘Do you think they make a Long Island ice tea here, Arthur? If they do, I would love one. With Diet Coke.'

‘I'm sure they do. The bar tender here can do just about anything.'

Gary the waiter, who Arthur knew quite well approached and before he could ask, Arthur said, ‘One long island iced tea, diet coke and for me a Glenfiddich, the eighteen year old, thanks.'

‘A single malt man, Arthur. I'm impressed.'

Arthur smiled. They were getting off to a good start. She was impressed already.

‘What do you suggest, Arthur? This menu looks like a carnivore's delight. It's steak, steak or steak.'

Arthur felt a sense of panic. Shit. What if she didn't eat meat? Disaster. He was about to point out that there was fish, pasta and even a vegetarian dish on the menu when Tracey said, ‘Relax Arthur, I love steak. What's good here? I like my steak thick and rare. Just like my men,' she added.

Arthur had no idea what that meant but hoped that he was that type of man.

‘I'm having the rib eye, it's excellent.'

‘I'll have the 500 gram porterhouse. I really am starving.'

She must have some appetite, Arthur thought. Luckily, the steak at the Red Lion was a generous portion and came with large hand cut chips and a salad. That should fill her up, he thought. Gary approached with the drinks, which he set down.

‘A porterhouse for the lady, Gary, rare, and a rib eye for me, medium rare,' Arthur said.

‘Cheers,' Tracey said lifting her drink and they clicked glasses. Tracey took a long sip of her drink, sucking on the straw that was provided. Arthur sipped his scotch feeling the warmth of the drink fill the back of his throat.

‘This is a good long island, Arthur. You're right, the barman here knows his stuff.'

So far so good, Arthur thought. She liked her drink, she loves steaks, and she is impressed by me already. He felt optimistic about the evening.

‘Did I tell you, I'm staying the weekend, Arthur? The others went back this afternoon. I think I deserve a weekend off and it will give us a chance to get to know each other.'

‘That's great, Tracey. I can show you the sights. Eden really is a charming place.'

‘I think I've seen all I want to see of Eden, Arthur. It's you I want to see more of.'

Hmm, thought Arthur. Does she means she wants to see me more or does she want to see more of me? He was intrigued. And excited. He felt like pinching himself to make sure it was real. It was all going to well. He sensed that Tracey was coming on to him, but realized that he really had no experience of what that felt like.

‘I'm free all weekend, Tracey,' he said and added. ‘I'm all yours.'

That slipped out before he had a chance to think about what he was saying and immediately regretted it. Had he gone too far? He looked at Tracey. Her face had a mischievous smile and her right hand reached across the table and held his.

‘Be careful what you wish for, Arthur,' was her reply.

What did that mean? Before Arthur could say anything else, their meal arrived. They both finished their drinks and Gary had already poured them each a glass of Shiraz, which neither had yet touched.

‘Excellent steak,' Tracey said as she chewed on a sizeable chunk of meat, rare, a small amount of blood appearing at the corner of her mouth.

She really is hungry, Arthur thought. They ate their meal in relative silence, only the occasional ‘Mm, this is good,' coming from Tracey. Soon their plates were empty as was the bottle of Shiraz. Arthur was full, and he realised, a little tipsy.

‘Dessert?' he asked. Surely she could not eat anymore. He certainly couldn't.

‘No thanks, Arthur. I'm done. That was great. How about you get the bill and we get out of here?'

‘Sure.'

He motioned to Garry, making the writing sign in the air with his hand. The bill appeared seconds later, Arthur paid in cash, leaving a generous tip and they were off.

The Eden Motel was only two hundred meters up the road and they walked there in five minutes, a little unsteadily. This time Tracey was not rushing. Perhaps the food and the wine had slowed her down, thought Arthur to himself.

‘Would you like to come in, Arthur? It's only 9.30.'

‘Yes, I would.'

Arthur had not been inside the motel for some time and was surprised by how nice it looked. He knew it had been renovated and to a high standard he could see. An ensuite bathroom had been added and Tracey was heading there.

‘Sit down Arthur, I'll be back in a couple of minutes. I need to pee, all the alcohol.'

Arthur looked around the elegantly furnished room for a place to sit. There weren't many choices. Basically, there was a small leather armchair covered in clothes and the bed, a queen size, which had been made up and had nothing on it. He chose the bed. He sat on the foot end of the bed and waited for Tracey to emerge. He heard the toilet flush and the water running in the basin. The sliding door opened and there was Tracey. She just stood in the doorway. She was wearing a black bra, which accentuated her ample cleavage, and black lace panties, which from where he was sitting, Arthur could have sworn were see through.

‘Are you still all mine, Arthur?'

If I wasn't before I sure am now, he thought. Times have certainly changed since I was first dating. He felt a little awkward. He was still fully clothed and Tracey was barely so. He felt uncomfortable undressing in front of her and she was blocking the door to the bathroom.

Oh, what the hell. He stood up and began to undress. Slowly and carefully. He did not want to appear like a too eager teenager. He folded his clothes neatly and put them on the armchair on top of the clothes that were already there. He took his shoes and socks off and stood there in his boxer shorts, which he realised had pictures of Mickey Mouse all over them.

‘I hope there's more than just Mickey in there.'

Arthur could feel himself blushing and at the same time could feel his erection slowly forming. He sat back down on the bed, patted the area next to him with his hand indicating that Tracey should join him, which she did. He was in uncharted territory. What the hell, he would wing it. His desire was now so strong he could clearly contain himself and he could feel and see the bulge in boxers growing. He turned, put one arm around her shoulders, and as Tracey turned towards him, he kissed her, fully, passionately. He could hear Tracey moan and he could feel her tongue dart into his mouth. From there on everything became a blur.

He had a vague recollection of a condom being handed to him, thankfully already out of its wrapper. He could recall thinking that he hoped he would not be too quick. His wife, Marie, had in the past incessantly complained about this. He had no idea how much time had passed but he was pretty sure that he was not too quick at all. Perhaps the condom was slowing him down. From the noises emanating from Tracey, noises which Arthur could in no way categorize, he felt he must have been doing something right. His last distinct memory was that of an intense orgasm. It brought back memories of his youth. Then, nothing. He was asleep.

He woke with a start. It took him a moment to realise where he was. His mouth was dry. He was naked. He looked down and could see the semen filled condom hanging half off his now flaccid penis. He sat up. Tracey was next to him, asleep, making soft snoring sounds. She was on her side facing him, partly covered by the doona, her right leg bare and bent towards him. The blinds in the room were drawn and Arthur could see daylight around the edges of the blind. What time was it? There was just enough light to see his watch. It was ten past ten. He hadn't slept so late for ages.

Shit! It was after ten! He missed his shift. Great, he thought, Martin had to work on his own. He would really be impressed with him.

He slid out of bed slowly and quietly so as not to wake Tracey. He saw his mobile phone on the floor, picked it up and headed to the bathroom. He removed the condom which he threw into the toilet, emptied his bladder and flushed, hoping the noise would not wake Tracey. He dialled Martin's number and when Martin answered he almost whispered into the phone. ‘Martin. I'm so sorry. I didn't know what happened. I slept in. Were you okay? I'm so sorry.'

Arthur heard Martin chuckle.

‘I hope she was worth it, Arthur. Stop apologizing, I forgive you. I managed fine. I've done it before, stop worrying. Enjoy yourself.'

Arthur felt relieved. He hung up, first thanking Martin for his understanding. He slid open the bathroom door and went back into the bedroom. Tracey was awake, sitting up, holding the doona up to her chest to cover herself.

‘Good morning sleepyhead,' she said. ‘I heard you on the phone. Bragging about your exploits already?'

‘Not at all, Tracey. I had to call Martin. I missed work this morning.'

‘Is that the time?' Tracey asked, looking at her watch.

‘We really did sleep in. Can we still get breakfast? I'm starving.'

What it was with this woman, Arthur thought. She was starving again. He could barely think of food. His head was aching, his mouth still very dry and a slight sensation of nausea had settled into the pit of stomach.

‘Don's do an all-day breakfast,' he volunteered.

‘I need to get home to shower and shave though.'

‘Don't worry about shaving, your stubble looks very sexy. We can shower here and go to breakfast. Come on, hop into the shower with me.'

With that, Tracey threw off the doona, got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Arthur gave her a couple of minutes. He assumed she needed to use the toilet, which she did and then followed her in. He was still naked and joined her in the shower.

It was the best shower he had ever had. Tracey offered to wash him, which she did with great enthusiasm. She seemed particularly interested to make sure that his penis was clean and after a few minutes of that he found himself ejaculating for the second time in twelve hours. It was then his turn to wash Tracey, which he did with equal enthusiasm and with a similar effect on her.

They dried off, went into the bedroom and collected their clothes, which were strewn all over the floor, got dressed and made it to Don's just after 11am. The place was almost empty at that time and they had no trouble getting a table. Arthur was yet again amazed how much Tracey could eat. On the way to Don's she confided in him that good sex makes her very hungry. It seemed to Arthur that just about everything had that effect on her. He was however, very happy to hear the ‘good sex' part.

They ate breakfast, were just finishing their coffee when Tracey asked.

‘How old are you Arthur?'

‘I'm fifty four, Tracey,' was his reply.

‘Arthur, don't let this go to your head, but you're better than men half your age. I should know, I‘ve had plenty of men half your age. I'm thirty nine, almost forty. Does that shock you? I like young men, usually, but you, Arthur, well you were okay last night. More than okay, really. It was great.'