The blue moon made me pleasure – 2

“No, no…I’m fine. Just a little tired is all,” she informed me, though she didn’t really look like it. “I wasn’t looking forward to another fifteen miles though,” she said, smiling , smelling the coffee as she stood there. “Is that what I think it is?” she then asked. “Can I have one?”

“Sure…come on in, and then we’ll see what we can do about your car. Do you have a phone?” I didn’t. Didn’t see the need to have one, and never had even though perhaps I should have traveled alone.

“No, not much good out here anyway,” she told me. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere in case you hadn’t already guessed that. Cell phones don’t work too well in these parts. Guess the phone companies didn’t see the need to set up any transmitter stations, so I don’t even own one myself.”

I poured her a cup of coffee, invited her to sit down and catch her breath, though again she didn’t appear winded from her long walk. She had light brown hair, shoulder length, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans that hugged her bottom nicely from what I could see. That and a lightweight pullover sweatshirt. And though it wasn’t hot outside even now, it was still just cool enough that I saw her greedily accept the cup of coffee, warming herself as she sipped from it.

“As soon as you’ve had a chance to rest, I’ll drive you to wherever you need to go,” I informed her. “I’m sure someone’s probably worried about you, and out looking for you now.”

She blushed. “No actually, no one would be. At the moment, I live alone. Husband died two years ago and I never got involved with anyone, or remarried again, and have been living alone ever since. I was just on my way back from visiting a friend when my car broke down. Closer to walk this way than to try going back the other way. Glad I did, or I wouldn’t have run into you.”

I knew I hadn’t passed anyone along the road before pulling in here, so figured she must have been coming from the opposite direction.

“If it’s ok with you, I think I’d just as soon spend the night here. You can take me back in the morning. I’ve been walking for several miles, and my feet are killing me, and right now, I’d like nothing more than to maybe soak them in a pan of good old hot water. There’s a fresh stream just across the road from where you’re camped, so I can get some water from there if you can spare a pan and that stove of yours,” she asked.

“Sure…I can do that, but you sure you don’t want me to drive you back home, or somewhere tonight?”

“I’m sure, thank you anyway. But I really would like to soak my feet, and then if you don’t mind sharing your bed with a crazy old lady…” she left off saying. I almost told her she didn’t look much older than I was myself, but let that go.

“Ah no…sure, whatever you’d like,” I said wondering if she really was crazy for being out in the middle of nowhere in the first place. “By the way…my names Antony,” I said introducing myself.

“Nice to meet you Antony,” she said, shaking my hand. “And you can call me Barbra.”

**

By the time I made it back to the van with a bucket of water I had carried back from the stream, she was sitting there on the edge of my bed wearing nothing more than a pair of semi-bikini panties, and her bra. A bit startled to see her sitting like that, she again blushed.

“Hope you don’t mind. But I worked up a bit of a sweat getting here. Felt a little grimy, so I thought I’d also wash up.”

“Not at all,” I said. I had already laid out a few towels preparatory for soaking her feet and drying them off as I poured some water into a pan, setting it on the stove. “Might take a while before this is warm enough yet,” I explained only then turning around. She had already dipped the small washcloth in the cold water from the stream and was using that to wash herself up a little. But she’d removed her bra in the process, as it now lay on the edge of the bed beside her.

“Hope I’m not embarrassing you any,” she said easily. “But out here…we’re just down home country folk, and don’t really put too much stock or concern into nudity. So unless it is…”