Boston

David finished his call with Fiona. Shame burned through him. He turned to the wall and took several deep breaths before putting the receiver back. He immediately felt like throwing up. He did it, he hurt the one person who he shouldn't have. He was thoroughly ashamed of himself. He turned around and found his mother looking at him.

"You look as though you have seen a ghost sweetheart, whatever is the matter?" Laura crossed the hall and cuddled him.

"Oh mom, I did something which I am not proud of. I hurt someone I care about." He looked thoroughly miserable.

"Oh baby, was it Fiona?  David, you only left her a month ago. I thought you were pretty set on her." Laura was sure from what she observed and what Eileen had told her that David was hook, line and sinker for the girl. Laura's voice became more stern. "Are you seeing Grace again?" His mother looked at him accusingly.

"Mom! Are you psychic or something?" David met her gaze. He was astonished that she knew.

"Oh son, you are just like your father, an open book, I saw you with Grace yesterday when she was leaving the guesthouse and I knew she had stayed over." she stared up at David, "Now let's go into the kitchen and you can tell me all about it over tea."

They walked together into the bright kitchen. David's mother made tea, as he gazed into space, trying to process everything that had happened in the last week. He could not believe that he had seen Grace again.

David had to attend a hospital benefactors evening with the other Emergency Room staff that were not on duty. As with all of these types of functions he detested it. He was chatting to one of his mother's friends when he heard a voice behind him.

"Paging Dr Williams, old flame to catch up with!" He spun around to see Grace in the tightest red dress he had ever seen, her long blonde hair swaying around her shoulders.

"Grace! My God, what the hell are you doing here?" he embraced her and kissed her cheek. She looked amazing.

"I am heading up a merger of the two IT companies that supply a good portion of your research budget here, so I thought I would see where the company dollars are going." Grace beamed. She omitted to tell David that she had seen David in the hospital canteen several weeks before and she had arranged for them to bump into each other tonight.

"Hey, you look amazing! How long are you in town for?" David asked as he embraced her. Grace had not changed one single bit.  Her body looked as if she had stolen it from Elle McPherson.

"Oh, eight weeks I think, you? Have you moved back?" Grace replied kissing David on the cheek and leaving a blood red stain from her lipstick. She made sure to claim him before anyone else in the room made their move. She noted that David looked better with age. His boyish looks turned more rugged.

"No, I am here for another four months and then back to Blighty for me." David laughed. He mentally focussed on Grove Road and Fiona lying in her bed naked to push any temptation from his mind.

"Ah, back to the Ball and Chain? Someone must have snapped you up good and proper!" Grace flirted. She took all of him in. No matter what the answer was she was going to have him in her bed tonight.

"Well, yes and no. I am seeing someone very special but nothing official, you?" David could see the signals Grace was giving off. It was dangerous. He decided that after the meal he was getting out of there pronto.

"Well, just had my second divorce.." Grace answered coyly.

"Second? You like the taste of Wedding Cake or something?" David blurted out.

Grace laughed heartily when she composed herself, she shook her head, "Nope, just bad luck I think, my first husband, like you said, moved on to the next best thing. My second husband, well let's just say he found that by marrying his mistress he created a vacancy."

"Ah, wow Grace I am sorry, that is just crappy," David stated.

David finished speaking when they were ushered into dinner. He was sitting with his back to Grace and she spoke to the gentleman next to her at her table. Within five minutes David had been moved to Grace's side and they continued to chat throughout the night.

Grace and David continued their conversations through the clearing of the tables and the arrival of the swing band. They sat out all of the fast dances until the band changed the tempo and started to play some Frank Sinatra tunes.

"Would you like to take an old flame for a spin?" Grace teased. That was her moment. She would press herself against David and remind him of all of the great times they once had together. Grace had berated herself long enough on letting David Williams out of her clutches. She was not letting him get away a second time. Tonight had been weeks in the planning and now was the time to execute.

"Sure, let's do this." David shrugged. It was dancing. He couldn't recall ever dancing with Grace before. He mentally checked in with himself that this was harmless. It was old lovers reminiscing. He saw no harm in that.

He led Grace onto the dance floor and found a spot in the middle. Grace pressed her phenomenal body next to his and placed her lips gently on his neck. His whole body shuddered, awakening long lost feelings and desires. David was shocked by his visceral reaction to her. It was though his 21-year-old self had taken over his 31-year-old body and was now in the driving seat.

Grace kept up the onslaught on his neck. She drew him even closer. She felt his breath quicken and his heart was hammering in his chest. Another part of David's anatomy was trying to connect with her too. Whatever mystery woman he had back in Britain was about to be banished from his waking and sleeping thoughts by what she had planned for later.

"I have some very, very thin panties on from Agent Provocateur that I have just ruined by dancing with you David. I don't think I have been this wet since you last touched me." Grace calculated her words. She knew how to tempt him in the past. "They are black and so thin David that you can feel my clit through them, throbbing, aching for you to suck it with your soft lips." Grace leant back and met David's gaze. He was on fire.

"Grace, stop..." David managed to whisper. The thoughts of Fiona floated away on a cloud of lust created by Grace. He remembered how he and Grace discovered sex together. They read books and tried everything together.

"My little nipples are so hard David. The lace on my bra is rubbing against them. I am so near to coming just dancing next to you. I am going to..." she whimpered next to him.

David grabbed her hand and marched Grace to the cloakroom. She kept up the onslaught of suggestive comments as he escorted her back to her hotel. They rode in his car in silence, her hand guiding David's up against her thigh. She purred as his hand got nearer to her panties. David nearly lost control of the car he was so distracted.

He threw his car keys to the valet and walked with her to her hotel room. Grace opened the door and traced the outline of her rock hard nipple with her finger. David stood on the other side of the threshold. His eyes full of emotion and lust, she took his hand and led him into her room, where they stayed for the next twenty-four hours when reluctantly he had to go back to work.

When he finished his shift Grace was standing in the hospital corridor. She wore a trench coat and flashed enough to signal that she was naked under it. He was sure that his mother was out of town so he brought Grace over to the house.

He hadn't got Grace through the door when he pinned her to the wall and they had noisy, wanton sex against his mother's antique phone table.

"Wow, this is a palace, your mom rattle around here on her own?" Grace asked after they had both come down from their post-orgasmic high. If she played her cards right, this would be hers one day.

"No, she has friends and family here for most of the year, she is out of town at some Charity do, she is very philanthropic" David smiled oblivious to Grace's ulterior motives.

"Cool, then let's get naked in your pool!" Grace was ensuring that David had memories of her in this new house that were the same as the last house.

Grace stripped off her coat and dove into the pool. David did the same.

"It's goddam freezing!" Grace managed through gritted teeth, "Your mom not spring for heating?" Grace would make sure the pool was heated when she owned the place.

"Ha!" David laughed, "Nope the whole house is eco central, the pool is heated by the sun and the surrounding ground heat, anyway it's good for your system!" David was content to warm Grace. He knew it would not be long before he was back inside her. Grace's sex drive was higher than his and age had not diminished it.

"Your mom some kind of nut?" Grace winced. She shouldn't have said anything detrimental about his mother. At least not yet. Part one of her plan was to get a ring on her finger.

Grace swam to the end of the pool and darted to the guest house to find warmth and towels. David sprinted after her, finding her in the shower and beckoning him to come in and join him.

They stayed in the guesthouse for the next day. Grace called for a car to take her back to work, which is when his mother must have seen her.

It was after Grace had gone home that he decided to let Fiona know. He was tortured by his actions, however, he could not lie to her and hurt her in the way she had before. She had reacted with the good manners he knew she would. Fiona had tried to hide the hurt she was feeling which made him feel worse.

His mother put the tea down in front of him and placed her hand on top of his, snapping him back into the present. She smiled tightly at him. Laura could see right through Grace. She knew her type. As mad as David was about her at University, Laura knew Grace was the worst kind of woman. A Golddigger.

"David, you are a wonderful son, whatever you do in life I will be there to support you unconditionally. I can give you guidance but only if you want it. You are a man now and I have no wish to interfere with the affairs of your heart."

"Mom, I can hear a 'but' in there somewhere?" he smiled warmly at her.

"Son, Grace is a very, very beautiful woman, before you throw your heart back at her, take the time to understand her, not the package. You will, with God's grace, be married for life and I urge you to look for kindness in her. Kindness is a very underrated quality in a partner, it is the pilot light in the boiler of a relationship however without it, your relationship can go cold very quickly." Laura hoped she had dealt with David tactfully.

"Huh, kindness?" David asked. David thought it strange that his mother would focus on that part of a relationship. Laura would not doubt clarify it for him.

"Yes David, you know the small things, someone who will make you a cup of tea when you are down. Know how to cheer you up, those sort of things."

David's thoughts immediately ran to Fiona and it slammed into him that she was one of the kindest people he had ever met. He then wracked his brains to find a single act of kindness from Grace. He resolved that it was just because he was being put on the spot and he decided that in the next few days he would be able to find kindness in Grace without too much issue. Kindness, it had hit a nerve though.

"Mom, I need to do something, find something.." David ran upstairs. In his room, he found his rucksack that he had taken on the plane from London. He hadn't completely emptied it on his return. He rummaged through the pockets of the bag and found a letter and cassette he had not found when he dumped his bag after the flight. Inside the cassette, Fiona had written the tracks and then a PTO at the bottom, he took out the cover and on the back, she had written.

"In case you find someone else, I understand, I want you to be happy, Love Ninj x"

He took out the cassette and placed it in his Walkman and then sat on his bed to read the letter. The tape started with

Side 1
The Beatles All You Need is Love
U2 Unforgettable Fire
Kate Bush Top of the City
Buzzcocks Ever Fallen in Love
Blur To the End
Oasis Champagne Supernova
Aztec Camera Song for a friend
Simple Minds Don't You Forget About Me

Second Side
Gun Taking on the World
The Rolling Stones Wild Horses
Deacon Blue Born in a Storm
The Blue Nile Tinsel Town in the Rain
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Brand New Friend
Paul Weller Country
The Stereophonics Local Boy in the Photograph
Psychedelic Furs Pretty in Pink

David
If you are reading this and have emptied your rucksack it means two things. One of which is that there has been a modern day miracle, or, which I think is the most likely is that you have met someone else. I tried very inarticulately last night to explain that whilst it is not my wish for you to find someone new, it is almost inevitable that you would attract a wonderful person to you.
I know you well enough that you will be struggling with all of this and no matter how I sound when you tell me this news, I want you to know that I am thankful for your honesty and that I deep down only want you to be happy.
The short time we have spent together is very precious to me and I don't want to think anything but wonderful things about you. I wish you only the very best.
Your friend
Fiona

He read the letter, again and again, hoping to find a different message hidden within it and coming up with none. He lay on his back, thinking of Fiona's kindness. How she had cooked for him when she first moved in. How she helped him learn DIY. When he had a hangover she would make sure he took his painkillers. He wasn't aware that he had fallen asleep until his mother shook him awake.

"David, Grace is downstairs, she called on you, I left her in the library," Laura said softly.

"Oh, thanks, mom." he stretched, the letter fell out of his hand and his mother picked up, purposely not reading it, "You can read it mom." he nodded.

His mother sat next to him on the bed and read the letter from Fiona. When she was finished reading she looked at David and smiled, handing him back the letter.

"Well?" he looked at her for support.

"Son, it is your life and your choice, this I can't help you with. For what it is worth, she has a lot of class." Laura knew it was best to remain as objective as she could.

"She made me a mixtape mom, it is beautiful, full of songs that remind me of her and her of me."

"Then you keep it, son," his mother kissed him on the forehead, "it seems to me you have the next chapter waiting for you downstairs, I suggest you get on with it" she smiled.

David walked into the library quietly and listened to Grace finish a call on her cell phone.

"I need that paper on my desk 8 am sharp Nick! I don't give a damn just get it done, oops here is my date, yes a date, no I am your senior so I want it done pronto!" she finished the call and spun round to David.

"So gorgeous sexy man, I thought we could go to dinner and then back to my hotel for extras." she trailed her hands down his back and onto his bottom where she gave a little nip.

"Wow, nice," he moved to kiss her, "let's take off." he took her hand and led Grace towards the door where his mother was coming in from the garden with a bunch of flowers cut from the flower beds.

"Hi mom, mom this is Grace," he smiled, "you remember her from University?"

His mother's eyes twinkled, "Grace I have heard lovely things about you, I am so very pleased to see you again."

"Mrs Williams, you have not changed a bit," Grace smiled, "your new house is lovely, is it bigger than the last one?"

"Why thank you, the years have not always been kind, I am not sure about the size of the house, but never mind, you two run along and I will catch up with you again soon." Laura could see Grace practically measuring up for drapes. She hoped that David would come to his senses soon.

David turned to close the door and looked at his mother for approval, she nodded and smiled. He looked at Grace and she turned to him and kissed him lightly. He pushed all of the thoughts of Fiona to the back of his mind.

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Make a tape

David spent one of his days off camped in the study with his mother going through her record collection, listening to stories from his father's time in Boston, when they met. Both were sprawled on the floor reading album inlays.

"Your dad loved The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks and Led Zeppelin, I introduced him to Jonie Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel and Tom Petty. Look, here are all the albums and oh my...look." Laura pointed the ticket stubs carefully placed inside the LPs. "These are concert tickets from when we would go and see the great and the good of the 70s. Ha! Your grandma would babysit and your dad and I would have a great time!" Laura recalled the evenings watching the bands and afterwards when she and Geraint would drive out to the bay and make love.

"Grandma was great, she would let me stay up late and watch Charlie's Angels with her." David laughed recalling his crush on Kate Jackson.

"David, she should have let you sleep!" she smacked him playfully, "Have you got any ideas then for what to send her as a peace offering?"

"I think so," he let out a sigh.

"Is that sigh about the tape or about something else David?" his mother placed her arm around him.

"Oh mom, I have another two months to go before I go back to London and I am not sure what to do about Grace."

"Ah, I thought it might be about her, what's up? Can I help?"

"I dunno mom, she is very keen, I am just not as keen as she is," David admitted.

"Why do you think that is?" she smiled warmly.

"Mom, she is, well she isn't that kind, it's with everyone. She is really bitchy and she complains about everything. I have been trying to hold full conversations with her where she is not belittling someone else or complaining about something and well," he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "mom, she hasn't in six whole weeks, not once, not even in a quick phone call." He blew out his cheeks, "I feel better just saying that just getting it out is better".

His mother looked over at him and urged him to continue.

"She has two topics of conversation which is about money and about work. She is obsessed about both, which is ok I  but, I kind of find them both really, really boring. She doesn't like music, she doesn't like art, she doesn't like sport or even going to the movies. She likes to go out to the fanciest restaurants, not to eat, she hardly eats anything. She likes to go to be seen and here is the worst bit mom, she smokes constantly and she stinks of cigarette smoke." David let out a long sigh and looked at Laura for reassurance.

His mother let out a huge belly laugh and continued to laugh hysterically for several minutes. It was so infectious that David joined in, not sure what he was laughing about but not caring and joining in nevertheless. His mother stopped laughing and grabbed him into a bear hug, she cuddled him to her.

"There is my baby boy, I thought I had lost you!" she ruffled David's hair and started giggling again.

"Mom are you taking medication I am unaware of, cos you are acting very strange?"

"Son, I am perfectly fine, you are doing what you have always done." Laura sighed contentedly.

"Which is?" David enquired.

"It is where you look for the best in everyone, you ignore their faults even if they are glaringly obvious to others and then it is like a veil has been lifted. You then. see them in the full glare of their deception. It is horrible to watch, however, I learned to stand back long ago, let you make your mind up and when you do, well it's made up forever as far as I can see."

"Oh, I get it, you don't like Grace? You have thought she was like this from the beginning?" The penny had dropped. Laura wasn't keen on Grace.

"The very first time I met her."Laura nodded. She needed David to know that he was doing the right thing.

"Then why didn't you say?" David was astonished. His mother was a hell of an actress.

"No point David, I knew in my heart you would suss her out, I just gave you a little push with my comment about kindness. I know you sweetheart and deep down you are a deeply kind person and I knew the lack of it would get to you."

"I am very lucky to have such as clever mom!", he hugged his mother back and kissed her on the cheek," so what do I do now?"

"That son is up to you, however, I suggest given the state of this room, you write your mix tape down and then record it today!"

Laura helped David finish his task and she then took him out for dinner to celebrate him making his first mixtape. Really it was Laura celebrating that David had given Grace the heave-ho. 

Alright, lovely people comment and vote. I live for it. I really do!