"Mable, you gotta see this, c'mon!" Alfie said excitedly in the communal lounge. He started off immediately on his zimmer, knowing he needed a good head start if she wasn't to beat him to the rear side door. Mable stirred, fidgeted, moaned under her breath and let out a huge grunt as she rose from the comfy chair. At least, they thought it was the sound of her effort. They were so low that only the high arms were her salvation to get back out of them. Any octogenarian will tell you, comfy sofas are the worst, but at least with a chair that has proper arms you have a chance of not taking twenty minutes to get up again. She followed the aged Alfie and soon caught up with him. It was a slow day in the retirement home, the med-tray had already been round after breakfast, but it was still only 9am.

Only the residents used the side door. It led to the extensive grounds and the path wound its way round the perimeter. Sometimes the staff caught a sneaky fag-break here, but their usual place was out back round by the green bin area. Nobody could see them from the house there, and that was ideal as the owner was a stickler for hard work. There wasn't much out back but trees and endless lawns. Even the lake dried up in Summer as they were too tight to put the water pump on to feed the thing. In Autumn it looked nicer, when the rains came to fill it up to almost half way, and leaves floated on the top like lily pads.

"Where ya going Alfie? Ya know I don't like surprises, I told ya that last year when you brought out that mistletoe."
Alfie grinned. At 93 there was fire in the old dog yet, and he liked Mable, she always smelled of roses and had soft smooth skin. Most of the other ladies had skin like rhinos, leathery and tough, or else loose and saggy like a turkey neck. Mable kept good care of herself, took pride in her appearance, he liked that. He'd always had a thing for younger women, especially redheads. Mind you, there wasn't much red amongst the silvery white, just a hint here and there,...