Jo can hear real humour return to Ruth’s voice.
‘Well, I walked around the house, and it didn’t seem like anyone was in. I eventually found Stan in the annexe where the swimming pool was. He was having a dip. Anyway, I introduced myself and, as I’m chatting, it dawned on me that the man didn’t have a stitch on.’ Ruth laughs. ‘He was butt naked. Of course I should have left. But he was very jolly and just … well, the upshot was that he said he would give the church a very large donation if I would join him in the pool.’
‘And did you?’ Jo is laughing.
‘Of course! It was a challenge. I know it was mad, but he was funny and treated me like a woman rather than a reverend. I just liked him. There was this …’
‘Chemistry,’ Jo supplies.
‘Exactly,’ Ruth says, squeezing her arm.
‘And oh my goodness, it was fun. Well, that is where it started. And the sex! I have never had such a good time. I didn’t think I could do half of what I ended up doing.’ Ruth says this with some pride – and with no embarrassment. ‘We just couldn’t get enough of each other …
‘There was only one problem,’ Ruth says more seriously.
Ah, a married man, Jo thinks.
‘I feel a bit shy saying this. I have never told anyone this. I mean, I’m not a prude. But, well, it didn’t feel right.’
Jo’s mind is working at a million miles an hour. What the hell had this man asked her to do?
‘It wasn’t so much what we did …’
‘Yes?’ Jo and Malcolm say slowly in unison.
Ruth then says, ‘Don’t look at me when I say it.’
Jo and Malcolm automatically look at her, then both look quickly away.
‘Well, when Stan … you know … umm …’
This is so unlike Ruth, who is normally so direct.
‘Well, when he … well … when he came,’ Ruth says quickly, ‘he used to call out, very loudly, “Sweeet Jeeesuuus!”’
There is complete silence for a second and then the bench is rocking with Jo and Malcolm’s laughter. Ruth eventually joins in. ‘I know not everyone has my faith, butreally!’
It takes a while for the laughter to die down as Malcolm and Jo keep muttering ‘Sweeet Jeeesuus!’ and it starts them off again. Eventually they are quiet, and Ruth adds, quite matter of factly, ‘There was also the problem, of course, that he was married. Somehow he had forgotten to mention that. He talked of his ex-wife but not the current one, who was spending the summer in France, as it turned out.’
‘Oh, Ruth,’ Jo says, with sympathy.
‘Maybe my own fault …’
‘No, it certainly was not,’ Malcolm insists.
‘I think I just got carried away. It wassogood between us – I mean so much fun. Work was so stressful – all the things I told you before: they were all true. Life was hard. So it was wonderful to forget my calling and just be a woman for once. And really …’ Ruth says this with relish, ‘the sex was quite extraordinary.’
‘Is the affair the reason you ran away?’ Jo asks, hugging Ruth’s arm.
‘Yes and no,’ Ruth says, turning her head from side to side. ‘It came to a head one day. I was sitting at home thinking about what to do. I knew by then I had to finish it with Stan. I had found out about his wife, you see. Then I saw Colin Will-kill-soon coming up the path. I just couldn’t face him. I wasn’t sure what it would be this time, but there was always something he wasn’t happy about. So when he knocked, I didn’t answer. Then I heard him trying the front door and I realized I hadn’t locked it, so there he was heading down the hall to the kitchen. I grabbed my bag from the back of the door and just stepped out into the garden. I thought if I was there, I could pretend I’d been out and was just coming in.’
‘Good plan,’ Jo comments.
‘Well, there I was in the garden, in the shadow of the laurel bush, looking in on Colin in my kitchen. And suddenly I was watching my life from the outside. I saw the piles of paperwork on the table, the calendar crammed with events. And there was Colin, ferreting around, picking up letters, reading the notes in my church diary. He even opened the fridge and had a good look inside. I heard him harrumph when he saw the bottles of wine in the door.’
‘I would have hit him with one,’ Malcolm says, and Jo knows the peace-loving man beside her means it.
‘The final straw was when he went upstairs. I just stood stock-still, shocked. Now I can’t believe I didn’t rush in and scream at him, but it felt unreal, like I was watching someone else’s life. It was then I heard him opening up drawers in my bedroom.’
