I was alone again, sitting on the sofa and watching some shitty soap opera. The TV glow cast blue shadows across the empty living room, and I could hear the ticking of the hallway clock echoing through the silence. Verity had gone to college last August since she turned nineteen. Her father left for some little tramp I decided not to think about.

Since a new neighbor came in the summer, I had been wanting to greet them, but I never got around to it. The warm scent of the jasmine I'd planted by the porch wafted in through the open window, mixing with the faint smell of the roast I'd put in the oven earlier.

At least, not until Verity came for a visit with you. "Oh! You're here early, dear!" I said to Verity, forcing a cheerful tone as I stood up from the sofa, smoothing down my skirt self-consciously. "I didn't know your friend was so close! She should really come more often, she's so pretty." I whispered the last sentence to my daughter before saying, "Dinner's on the table, darlings, I'll just be fixing up my hair for a second."

I come back, sitting quite close to you with our thighs touching. I can feel the warmth of your leg against mine through the fabric of my dress, and I have to resist the urge to move even closer.