The End of the world

Sometimes the end of the world can start just at the end of your drive, and this is how it was for Sara Dunne, taking the shape of a new neighbor moving in across the street.

Sara Dunne, by all accounts a happily married mother of two, found herself spending time behind her net curtain covered windows, watching the new neighbor's comings and goings.

In her late thirties Sara was starting to feel her life was slipping away from her. The children were doing fine and needed her less and less. Her husband was just ... well, her husband, their interactions and conversations focused just on admin stuff and, nowadays, almost never touched on anything remotely romantic.

The neighbor though, well, he was a totally different story. Good looking women kept coming and going from his house in a continuous stream, and soon, Sara found herself obsessing about him and what might be happening there.

She went through all the scenarios her inexperienced mind would allow her. He was maybe a massage therapist, or a hair dresser, or make up artist. When the sewing bee was on, she had the idea that he might be a tailor or clothes designer.

She had no proof though, for any of these and the neighbor just kept to himself, silently refusing to become part of the community.

Funny enough, it had been Sara's husband that introduced them. Gerry, the husband, was a well known and respected roofer, and, as with any tradesman, your house comes first. So, when, on a Sunday, Gerry was up on the house, as he would often be, Sara was surprised to hear him talking with somebody.

'I'll come down.'

Sara went around the house and was there just in time to see Gerry's strong legs climb down.

He went to talk to somebody and when he turned she saw it was him, the man from across the street, the man she had become obsessed with.

Gerry saw her and waved her over.

'This is Tomas, our new neighbor, he needs help with roof.'

She did her best to seem aloof.

'Hello, nice to meet you!', and then to her husband. 'Not today surely! Lunch is almost ready!'

'Please forgive the intrusion!', Tomas's accent was unlike any she had heard before. 'I just need your help as soon as possible, there is some water infiltration and it has been impossible for me to find somebody! Please, and please accept my invitation to dinner tonight to show my gratitude.'

She could see Gerry was about to accept, so she cut him off determined to make herself look as the bigger person.

'Of course. If Gerry is willing I will do my bit to support.’, her voice was as calm as she could make it trying to mask her happiness.

Gerry fixed the roof without too much fuss and when he came back he announced her dinner at Tomas’ house will be at 8 pm.

‘A bit late …’, she moaned, as it was just 5 and she was already showered and all ready to go.

‘I assume he needs to do some things for it … Why are you so made up?’, Gerry stopped at the bedroom door watching her surprised.

Now he notices me!

‘Oh … I am not … this old thing …’, her voice was unnaturally high so she started coughing.

He shrugged and left.

Sara looked at herself in the mirror. Old age is a b***h! But, oh well, not like it can be prevented. The dress was indeed an old one, but she could remember the time when she bought it and it fit a bit loose just hinting at the curves of her body. Now, it was well stretched over them defining her shape most clearly.

Her pride, her long, blonde, shiny hair, she decided to style in big, round curls framing her heart shaped face.

Time crawled by till Sara felt dinner will never happen, but then Gerry called to her from the hallway that it was time to go.

Gerry had showered and was wearing a black, faded t-shirt and joggers.

‘Gerry! You cannot go to dinner in those! You need to wear proper trousers!’, she had burst before she had time to check herself.

Gerry did not seem to mind though, he was maybe a bit flattered that she cared what he wore. He went back up and in two minutes he was back down in a cotton shirt and trousers.

‘Happy?’, he smiled at her looking for her approval.

‘Hm! Very good!’

They crossed the street and Sara’s stomach was all tied up in knots, the prospect of spending an entire evening with Tomas made her all giddy like a little girl. She was sure those feelings had died inside her, but it seemed they were just dormant and had now resurfaced stronger than ever, or maybe just more desperate.

Tomas’ house was impeccable. Sara admired to herself the shiny surfaces, the tidy rooms, she looked for anything that might need a woman’s touch but she could not find it. Even dinner when it was brought out, rivaled any restaurant food she had ever had.

‘So, Tomas, what is it that you do?’, her curiosity about him knew no bounds.

He smiled sheepishly.

‘It is a bit difficult to explain … ahem … I help women get pregnant …’

Sara almost chocked on a delicious spoonful of some mango and pineapple tart.

‘Wha … what do you mean?’, Gerry was giggling next to her and she looked at him puzzled.

‘I am a sex therapist and I support women work through their sexual issues … any way it takes, and let’s leave it at that.’

‘Oh, ok … I see.’, she did not see, but she did not feel comfortable going further, and Gerry there giggling like a little boy. Sara felt annoyed and upset.

When they went home she refused to talk about it and just went to bed.

In the next few days things went back to their normal state with just one unexpected development. Gerry and Tomas started to hang out. It started slow with a bit of jogging together, then going for hikes, then Gerry would go over for hours on end to help Tomas, or just watch a game.

Sara felt like she did when he children started to want to spend more time with their friends than with her, but at least that was the normal flow of things. This though, was not normal and was not ok. She felt abandoned by Gerry and betrayed by Tomas, how could he prefer her husband to her? She could offer him other things …

What Sara did not know was that Tomas really had had enough of women, what he wanted was a simple, uncomplicated friendship with somebody that had no demands on him. Weirdly enough, that is what Gerry needed also, and close to home. He did not like to go too far of late, maybe it was growing older, or liking to know he was close to Sara if she needed him.

‘You never talk about your wife … all good there?’, they were watching a game that was extremely bad.

After a short silence, without taking his eyes from the TV Gerry replied.

‘Yeah, at least I think so … she does not let me touch her like we used to … I assume it is all the body changes for her too …’

It was the first time in his life when Gerry felt comfortable to discuss this kind of thing with anyone. He was a firm believer that personal stuff truly is personal.

‘I know you don’t read but I have a book that might be useful, it has lots of diagrams and mind maps to explain how relationships evolve and change as related to the development of the person and their bodies. I’ll bring it!’

‘Ok, but I will only read it here ok?’, Gerry was not open to alternatives.

‘Yeah sure, you can use my office.’

For the first time Gerry actually finished a book and for the second time in his life he saw his wife totally different. The first was when she had given birth to their children, his amazement of her, of any woman, knew no bounds.

He was shocked to read about the apparent chaos that resides in women’s mind all the time, he was not sure how they do not go mad, how do they get anything done, so many things happening at once. The noise! He felt a lot closer to Sara now.

‘I want to do dinner tonight!’, he had a plan.

Sara almost spit her tea out.

‘Are you ok?’, she was honest in her inquiry. ‘Is something wrong?’, in all their years of marriage he had never, not even once cooked a meal for her or the children.

‘You are funny! Tomas has given me cooking lessons and I want to surprise you!’, he had a tone she had not heard in decades.

‘Fine, whatever, surprise me! I’ll go take a bath!’, and she left the kitchen disgruntled. She had been planning to make pasta with beef and mushrooms, now she needs to freeze the meat and find a solution for the mushrooms.

‘Whatever!’, Sara had been living under a cloud ever since Gerry seemed to prefer Tomas to her. She had decided that her husband’s abandonment hurt her more than Tomas’ not noticing her.

Sara went and boiled herself in the bathtub as she liked to do and when she finally went downstairs access was refused to the kitchen.

‘Twenty more minutes!’

‘Fine, whatever!’, and she plopped herself on the couch in front of the TV wearing one of her old, brushed cotton nighties.

The smell of shampoo and body creams mingled with the smells coming for the kitchen and gave her a feeling of serenity. That is what home smelled like.

‘Ready!’, Gerry opened the door inviting her in.

He was wearing a brand new shirt, with beautifully pressed trousers and his house slippers. Oh Gerry!

‘Why do you look like that?’, as she walked to the kitchen her disbelief grew.

The table was neatly set for two, a red rose and a candle in its middle.

‘Now you really are scaring me! Are you sick?’, she sat down not taking her eyes off him waiting for his answer.

He only answered after the food was on the table, an oven baked polenta and cheese pie they had had on their honeymoon in Greece.

‘I am not sick, I just really miss us and want us back, as we were, before the children, before life took over. Do you remember how much fun we had, just being together?’, his voice was soft and somehow transformed.

‘I do.’, tears were running down her cheeks as she tasted the dish. Needed more salt, but she had no intention of saying it because it was just perfect as it was.

The end of the world as we know it.

The dawn of a new age.