It was the day after her divorce that we met along the cobble steps and took a walk toward the park, silent until we were out of sight. That walk seemed like the longest walk I’d ever taken. I daren’t look at her, for fear of someone catching us.

We strolled passed the row of oak trees lining the grass verge, passing an old lady and her dog, and to the bench off to the far right, hidden by the rose bush which was now flourishing in the morning sun.

Her eyes looked ahead of us as we sat side by side. “Give it a minute…” she cooed and placed her hand on top of mine, her thumb rubbing and soothing my nerves.

Her thumb stopped moving and her hand seemed to grip a little harder, keeping out the breeze that now blew her dark hair away from the white flesh that I hadn’t been able to look away from yet.

I saw her eyes cloud over, and I had to ask her “How do you feel?”

She smiled and nodded, looking away again. “I’m feeling, strange” she sighed, her thumb once again reassuring me with a gentle stroke back and forth. I looked down at our hands, only to find her attention on me again when I looked up.

“I do want you, for so long I’ve wanted this, you and me!”

I watched her eyes spill what I knew to be tears of relief down her cheeks, while her hair now blew across her face. That's when I decided this wasn’t the best place to sit, as the wind was hitting us straight on. I turned, my knees touching hers and used my free hand to push the mislaid strands away from her face and behind her ear.

Her face changed, and she returned the smile only then moving her hand to reach into her pocket.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

She didn’t answer me, instead pulling out a pack of Frank’s cigars. She lifted them up and pouted, “His signature wasn’t enough!” she said wiping the tears from her cheeks, and opening the tin on her lap. I laughed mischievously as she peeled her ex-husband’s cigar from its seal and placed it between her kissable red lips.

I reached into my jacket and with the lighter in my hand I lifted it toward her. She placed her own hand up blocking the breeze. Once lit she took a drag and let her hand fall on mine again as before and blew smoke into the other direction away from us.

Eye’s connected, she smiled, she puffed. Her hand moved down my thigh to the bass of my skirt where she held my leg. She coughed at the third drag, lowering her head as the smoke came clumsily from her mouth.

“Jesus, you sucked that hard didn’t you?” I rubbed her back when the chance was given to me.

She dropped the cigar on the floor and stamped it out with one of her brown heeled shoes. “Damn, that man chokes me even now!” The nub dead she lifted her shoe away and moved in closer again, her hand moving up just a little, but not too much.

“You think he will know you stole them?” I asked bravely.

My eyes widened “You didn’t?”

I watched her stand and felt the cold breeze return against me. “Now?” I asked in a daze.

She straightened her jacked and skirt and nodded “Not tomorrow, or the day after that, yes now!” she reached her hand out to help me up, and I accepted it.

My granddaughter looked at me with a sad face. “What happened? Where is she now?”

“But, you loved her?” she chirped.

I looked back at my granddaughter, the question was still brewing in her.