Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Day 8 (Monday 31st May)

   We woke in the time honoured way as well.  I thought, `she's trying to
wear me out and it's working', but I managed to rise to the occasion and
cleaned each other very well in the large ensuite bathroom, Libby had to
put up with the family bathroom and as we were drying we heard her padding
about so we knew she was up as well.  Ellen hurried up and left me,
presumably to do whatever she had to do to get breakfast on the go.  I
followed on and got the coffee pot going, I love percolated coffee.  Then
Libby arrived down, I kissed her and got a hug and her Mum got the same,
then she got out the utensils and bowls and put them on the breakfast bar,
no need to mess up the dining room, I got the juice and the coffee, we were
working well together, Ellen continued what she was doing.  Then she
announced that the porridge was ready, I had been looking forward to this,
the bowls were filled and I watched as Ellen and Libby mixed milk into the
cereal and did the same and I tasted it, it was good and you could feel
that it was warming your cockles or whatever.  I finished my bowl and did
an `Oliver' I asked for more and was given another ½ bowl, "Now I could get
used to that, delicious, my compliments to the chef" We tidied up and I
called for a cab and when it arrived we headed out to Libbies school and
arrived just on the 8:30, Libby led us into the school and right up to the
door that had a `Head Teacher' sign on and she knocked and got a "please
come in" from within, we all entered and I saw a rather rotund grey haired
woman behind a desk, She walked round the desk and said "My name is Mrs
Anderson, how can I help?" I stood forward and said "You probably know
Libby McCowan and this is her Mother, Mrs Ellen Murray, my name is Ken
Richards and I'm a close friend" She offered her hand and we all shook it
then she invited us all to sit down, Libby sat between Ellen and me.  I
said "Libby has been involved in an incident that has kept her out of
school this past week, the truth is she was abducted on her way here, she
managed to get away from them, now unfortunately her Step-father was
involved and has committed suicide.  (Mrs Anderson was looking visibly
shocked at my words) I have stepped in to help and support them in their
hour of need, over the weekend we have found out that the police have
arrested Libbies abductors and we now feel it is safe for Libby to return
to her classes, we know she enjoys school so it would be a shame for her to
miss it, don't you think?" Mrs Anderson just sat with her mouth open and
staring at me for a second or two, then she seemed to come to and she
looked at Libby and said "My goodness Libby, are you OK?  Who would do such
a thing?" She leaned onto her arms on the desk and looked at us all and
said "How come this isn't splashed all over the papers?  Something like
this would certainly mean the press running all over the school trying to
find out all about it" Ellen spoke up then "Between us we have kept away
from Broomhill and Partick since it happened and until it all comes out in
the courts we would like to keep it quiet and we need your help Mrs
Anderson to do that, you are the only person outside our family circle
apart from the police and our lawyer who knows, please allow us to rely on
you.  Can Libby come back to school?" She said "Under those circumstances I
can see no reason to keep Libby out of this school.  (She turned to Libby)
Do you know your schedule of classes my dear?" Libby replied "No, I've lost
it, miss" Mrs Anderson got up and opened a filing cabinet, looked in a file
and then returned to her desk and looked at her computer monitor, pressed a
couple of buttons and the printer in a corner of the room began to print
out a page.  Mrs Anderson got up from her desk, walked to the printer and
retrieved the page then handed it to Libby, "This is it for the rest of the
term" Then she walked round the desk and held out her hand to Ellen then me
and we shook hands, she said to no one in particular "I'm sure that you
haven't given me the whole story and it doesn't really concern me, Libbies
education and her wellbeing are very important to me and that does concern
me, she appears very relaxed and happy in your company, so I will not
question you further" She turned to Libby and continued "I think, if you
look you will find your first class starts soon, so you may run along if
you wish, but if you feel uncomfortable at all, don't hesitate to come and
find me, will you?" Then Libby turned and hugged her Mother and got a kiss
and I got the same treatment, she said "See you later guys" She went out
the door.  Ellen said to Mrs Anderson "We will give you contact telephone
numbers, one is our new home and the other is Ken's mobile, I don't have a
mobile yet, but you will get that number as soon as I get one".  We both
turned to leave and Mrs Anderson came out through the door with us, we
walked back the way we had come in and when we reached the outside door Mrs
Anderson handed us both business cards with telephone numbers for the
school on it and shook our hands again, I said "What time does school let
out, I would like to see that she gets home safely" She told us and I
thanked her and we walked away from the school.  As we walked I held onto
Ellen's hand and we made our way back home, it wasn't far, 20 minutes walk
and we were there, we chatted about mundane things and what we saw in shops
on our way.  We got all the way to be inside closing the front door and
Ellen grabbed hold of me and sobbed and sobbed and I held her against me
until she got it down to a sniffle, I said "Darling, what was that all
about?" "I don't know, I just felt weird, that I was in a nightmare and
that I would wake up and none of this would have happened and that you
wouldn't be here and I was so sad, I love you so much, Ken" I quickly said
"I love you too Ellen, this is no dream and if it is, I never want to
waken, come on let's have a coffee and relax and decide what we are going
to do about Libbies birthday" I'll tell you, that brightened Ellen up, she
wiped her eyes and nose with a tissue and we wandered into the kitchen and
got a couple of mugs of coffee and took them into the lounge and she sat
down and I grabbed a notepad and a pen and joined her.  "I've been thinking
about this and I know what I want to give Libby, I'll tell you and you can
tell me what you think, I'm giving her a batch, probably ten driving
lessons and a promise of a small car if she passes her test, what do you
think?" "OH, there you go again, over the top.  What will I do with you?"
"Well I know what I'm going to do with you, but first I want to ask you a
question, (I took out my BlackBerry mobile) take a look at that, do you
think you would be ok to work one of those or do you want a smaller one?"
"Ken, I've never had a mobile and one like that, it's like a computer in
your pocket, no if I have to be brought screaming into the 21st century
I'll have a smaller one, okay?" I agreed and said I would get her and Libby
one each we should be able to communicate when we are apart.  She said then
"When are we going to be apart?" "Well I have to go down to make sure the
house in Sussex is safe and secure plus I would like my car up here, so I
thought I would fly down very early on Wednesday morning, get hold of a
security firm to watch over the house and arrange to get the car
transported up here then fly back to be here by the evening, is that okay
with you or would you like to come too" "No, it's better if you go alone, I
can't leave Libby alone in Glasgow and we couldn't take her out of school
again, I don't like being apart from you but I do realise that you have to
look after the life you had before you came up here, it'll only be for a
day, so my high flier, yes, as long as you come back to us" "Ellen, why
would I not come back darling?" "I don't know, I keep thinking I'm going to
wake up or the bubbles going to burst" "Well, think about this, I am going
to marry you and your daughter is going to give you away to me, I have
already decided to ask Jim to be my Best Man and I might even get into a
kilt for it, there is a problem though, there will be three on the
Honeymoon, think about that my darling" We both laughed.  My phone started
ringing at that point and I answered it "Mr Richards?  (I answered, yes)
Its Partick police here, it's just to let you know that we have interviewed
the three men that were arrested at the weekend and we have charged them
with various offences including the abduction of Elizabeth McCowan and
other offences relating to that incident.  I've no doubt Mrs Murray will be
pleased at that news, they are being held pending further questioning, I
would also like to inform you that we have no further need to restrict
anyone entering the late Mr and Mrs Murray's flat and someone can pick up
the keys we borrowed anytime.  If you need any assistance from us please
feel free to ask, can you pass this on to Mrs Murray?  Thank you, Mr
Richards, goodbye." I said "Goodbye" and hung up.  I looked at Ellen and
related everything the policeman had said to me and she looked so relieved,
and said "It looks like we can start to put a line through this period of
our life.  Oh!  I am so pleased for Libby.  We went into the kitchen and
made up a snack for elevenses and then I remembered something "Ellen, we'll
have to return to the school, I forgot to give Libby something for lunch"
"That's fine, I gave her money to get her own lunch, and I told you I've
got some cash to keep us going" We just sat and relaxed, I asked Ellen
about her life in the Highlands and when did she leave there, she told me
"My Father worked in a shipyard on the east coast at a place called
Invergordon, this was just before all the oil rigs, well the yards weren't
doing very well and my Father applied for a job at the Govan shipyard and
got it, he was a Joiners foreman with a good reputation for fine work.  So
he transferred and he moved down here and was here for 6 months in digs
before he got a place that me and my Mum could join him, I was 14 years old
and I got made fun of for a long time because of my accent but I refused to
change to sound like the rest, I wanted to be different.  So when I left
school my Dad got me into the offices at Govan and you know the rest Ken.
How about you?" "I was just born when they adopted me, I don't know
anything about my real parents, and I can only assume something bad
happened to my Mother and Father or maybe they died.  Anyway I was brought
up by the couple who loved each other so much that they died 3 months
apart, my Dad died and my Mum couldn't handle life without him, she went
downhill rapidly, he was 82 and she was 76.  The whole reason I became a
Joiner in the beginning was because he was one and got me the job when I
left school at 15, I started my apprenticeship straight away and finished
when I was 21, they were a lot longer than they are now.  I stayed on at
the same company and they made me up to foreman, I think they saw something
in me because when I applied to enter college for management training they
immediately stepped in to sponsor me, so I did another 4 years of part time
college and finished up with letters after my name, My Mum and Dad were so
proud.  The company I worked for was a family business and some of the
younger members of the family didn't want to follow in the family tradition
so the company got taken over by a bigger company that did contracts abroad
and they used a lot of freelance managers, it just seemed to be a natural
thing to do to cut my ties with the company and go freelance myself, I have
done a couple of contracts for them but haven't stuck to them, then I had
just finished a contract when I got the lottery ticket that changed my
life, you know the rest Ellen" We finished talking and chatting about some
of my friends down south and we got onto my plans for a mobile soup kitchen
for the city centre, she said that she thought it was a good idea and asked
me how I would be able to tell the difference between the people that
needed the food and those coming out of the pubs and clubs thinking they
could get a free late night snack I said I didn't know maybe Libby will
think of something after all I did say I would ask her opinion on some
things, the sooner the better, Ellen cuddled up to me and I leaned and
kissed her and put my hand up to fondle her breasts, then the door bell
rang "Great timing whoever that is, I'll get rid of them and return to
continue this my dear" I said as I rose and left the room mumbling under my
breath.  I opened the door expecting some door-to-door salesman and found a
guy standing there with the electrical company's logo on his overalls from
where I had purchased our computers and TV's.  He said "Mr Richards?" "Yes,
have you brought all my stuff?" He replied that he had and that if I left
the door open he would go and gets his mate to assist him in getting it all
inside, I replied "Can I help in any way?" "No, thank you, we are used to
this.  If you will just show me where it's all going before we start that
would help" So I invited him in and took him into the lounge where Ellen
was sitting and he said "Afternoon Mrs Richards, we won't be long" I
started to say she wasn't Mrs Richards yet when I saw Ellen give a small
shake of the head at me, so I kept quiet.  I explained that the big TV and
stereo and speakers would come in here and the camera and then I showed him
where he could fit the kitchen radio, I took him upstairs and showed him
where the smaller TV's would go.  He said "We will remove all packaging and
take it away for you, that's just to make sure that when you sign for it we
all agree there isn't any transit damage" I replied that I thought that was
a good idea and he said not all companies did that, so I said "In that case
if I want anything else I know where to come to, anyway I'll leave you to
it now" The guy walked out the front door and I walked into the lounge with
a question "Ellen, why did you stop me putting him right?" "I just liked
the sound of it and didn't want to hear my own name, besides there's no
harm done, is there?" She said with a smile.  Couldn't argue with that and
sat down beside her again, but not for a cuddle.  I explained all that was
going to happen, she was happy that there wouldn't be a mess to clean up
afterwards.  I waited until the two men brought in the big TV and asked
them if they would like a cup of tea when they were finished, I said "You
will feel like that by the time you are done" The two surprised men said,
more or less together that it wasn't something they were usually offered, I
said "Well I won't forget where I came from lads and I know a cup of tea
goes down well after a bit of grafting, so what do you take in yours?" The
older guy said that they both took it black with a spoon of sugar and I
replied that that is what they would get and that we wouldn't be looking
over their shoulders while they did their job.  I got a smirk from them for
that remark.  Ellen and I got up and went into the kitchen, I told her to
sit at the breakfast bar and I would make a big pot of tea.  She sat and I
made the tea, I mentioned while I was making it that we would have to think
about Libbies birthday, I said "Maybe I'll get her to plan it" Ellen agreed
but said we should agree on what she has planned, I agreed to that.  They
didn't take as long as I thought they would, they had everything unpacked
and in it's place in ¾ hour and all the packing cases in their van in that
time and then someone knocked on the kitchen door, I invited them in and
handed them their tea's and a plate of biscuits and said I would go and
look it all over, so I did with Ellen beside me.  She said "It's a bit
cheeky to check on their workmanship, isn't it?" "No, it'll give them time
to get the paperwork ready for me to sign besides they deserve the tea for
the work they've done" So we went round and looked quickly and returned to
the kitchen where we found a whole lot of papers strewn over the worktop
waiting for a signature.  "Excellent work guys" I handed them three £10
notes and they stood there gobsmacked and I began to sign the paperwork
that had little crosses to show where my signature should be, the older guy
said "Look we get paid to do what we do, you don't have to do the tip
thing" "I reward good service, put it in your pockets" "Thanks Mr Richards
your a `guid yin' for sure" Well I'd heard the expression before at the
drop-in centre so I knew what it meant and they gathered up the paperwork
and I showed them out the front door and shook the older guy's hand, I said
"I'll be back to get some other stuff that I need" "I'll let them know" and
off he went to join his mate in the van.  I returned to see Ellen admiring
the big TV, she said "It's like a cinema screen" she turned to me and
continued "I think I'll sit in the 1s/9d at the back" then she giggled that
giggle that I have grown to love (for the younger ones amongst you, the
1s/9d is pre-decimalisation and is equivalent to about 8p now, they were
the expensive seats).  I got the laptops and plugged them into sockets to
charge up the batteries, I said "I'll have to download a couple of
programmes off the `net' to protect our beauty who, by the way will be
coming out of school shortly, I'll phone a cab" That's what I did, we
jumped in as soon as it arrived and it drove us to the school, we only had
a few minutes to wait and I saw her coming out off the building talking to
a crowd of girls and boys her age or there-abouts, then she stopped, looked
about, saw me and waved, walked away from the others and then waved back to
them.  She broke into a run and reached me and gave me a big hug then
jumped into the cab and gave her Mum a hug too, I got in and told the
driver to take us back to our address and we arrived a few minutes later, I
paid off and tipped the cabbie and we went inside.  Ellen went to start
dinner and Libby and I went to explore our delivered items, she saw the big
TV first then noticed the laptops, I explained that I had them plugged in
to get the batteries topped up and she was okay with that, then we went
upstairs and she saw her own TV in her room and one in ours, I told her
about the internet stuff and she understood as she had had some of that in
a lesson at school.  We wandered back downstairs and we turned on the radio
and listened to it for a moment or two, I said "Libby, I have decided to
get a mobile soup kitchen project up and running in Glasgow city centre at
night but Ellen posed a problem for me, she has said that `how am I to know
that the soup and rolls or whatever is getting to the right people and not
to the people coming out of pubs and clubs late at night' and I said I
would ask you to see if you can come up with a solution for us, what do you
think, darling?" She just sat there staring at me for a moment and then
said "This is an important part of this project, isn't it?  Why are you
asking me, I'm only a schoolgirl, and what do I know?" I replied quickly
"Don't put yourself down like that, I for one value your opinion and I know
your mum does too, but I thought that I would like to involve you, you can
of course, ask your friends to come up with ideas if you want, that's up to
you, you know best" She had tears in her eyes and she said "I will think
about it myself first and if I can't think of anything I'll involve my
friends, do I have to think of a route for this too?" "Only if that would
help you come to a solution to the original problem" She nodded her
understanding.  I said "You also have some other things to think about,
this week Ellen and I are going to go back to your old flat, owing to what
happened the last time we were in it I have decided it would be a bit
traumatic for you to go again so we will go during the day while you are at
school, okay?  The other thing you have to think about planning for is your
birthday party on Saturday and who is coming" "OH MY!!!  I knew it was
coming up, but I thought with everything else that was happening it would
be forgotten" She burst into tears and hugged me then she got up and ran
into the kitchen (I followed) and she hugged her mum and continued crying
"What's all this for, darling?" She said "Ken...Daddy told me about my
birthday party, I have to make a short list of who I want to come" I said
"Do you have any homework to do?" when she said she did, I said that that
had to be done first.  She was okay with that, but still excited.  Ellen
had made a meatloaf and veggies for dinner with ice cream and the last
slices of the gateaux from the other night and after dinner I got out the
Yellow Pages and looked up `gyms' I found one with a name I recognised and
wasn't too far away, phoned them and gave them my debit card number and
signed us up as a family for a years subscription.  I at least felt a bit
better about myself.  After dinner and as we were relaxing I spoke to Ellen
and asked her if she would phone up the rental people about the flat and
arrange to meet the tomorrow afternoon, as I'm sure they would like it to
be empty so they can re-rent it out.  I added "I am going to the drop-in
centre in the morning to talk to Jim about the project, I'll arrange
transport at the same time, if not with the same guys, someone else.  I
will drop Libby off on my way, is that okay with you?" I leaned in for a
kiss" Libby said from the door "You two are like a couple of teenagers,
please don't change will you?  I've brought my homework down for you to
see, there are a couple of them I can't answer" She wriggled her way in
between us and I had a look and the answers just stared me in the face, so
I got Libby to think about the questions, even to say them out loud then I
got her to think carefully about them and slowly the answers came to her
and she hugged me and thanked me, I said "You knew the answers all the time
I just got you to think about them from a different angle, you have an
enquiring mind on you darling, don't let that go to waste" "I have also
been thinking about your project, could you get a token of sorts to the
homeless in the city, then they could present that for the meal" I grabbed
hold of her and said "How about a badge that they could wear with something
distinctive on it" She answered excitedly "Libbies Kitchen!!!" Her Mum said
"That's a bit over the top, but I like the sound of it" "I agree, so that's
the deal, pink badges" I said and laughed and they both joined in.  I
calmed down and said "Libby, I'm going to Jim's tomorrow to talk about this
and I'm going to put forward your idea, I'll have to see if someone else
thinks it's a good idea then we will have to come up with a way of getting
the badges to the people that matter, we'll also have to find someone to
make them" "Daddy, what about the people who sell that newspaper on street
corners and at shopping malls, they're all homeless?  They could help
surely" I replied "See darling, you ran yourself down earlier when I
suggested I wanted your help and you've just come out with all that, I am
so proud of you" She beamed and I got more hugs.  Ellen said "I think you
had better make tracks towards your bedroom young lady while you can get
your head through the door (she giggled), you can watch some TV, just make
sure you switch it off before settling down, I trust you, don't let me
down. We will set our alarm so you will have plenty of time for a shower in
the morning, okay?" Then she gave us both hugs and kisses and said her
goodnights and asked if she could take some Irn Bru up and I said "Just one
glass not one bottle, don't want you peeing all night" I laughed.  Ellen
and I just sat and cuddled, I got up briefly and turned off the TV and
turned the radio on to a late night jazzy programme.  Ellen slipped down
and laid her head on my lap and I gently fondled all that I could reach,
she was humming to herself and it just sounded to me like she was purring
like a cat, I remembered her doing that in the hotel, I reached down a
little further and pulled up her skirt and moved my fingers over her mound,
then my middle finger went tracing her slit over her panties and they got
wetter and wetter, I could feel the slickness on my fingers as I stroked
and I moved my hand up and then pushed my hand under her panties all the
time she continued her humming but her movements were becoming more
noticeable, so I got my fingers back down where they were before but now on
bare skin and continued my movements, then I put a finger inside her and my
thumb on her clit and she started writhing about making louder and louder
noises and then she came suddenly, Ellen's eyes flew open, but they were
fixed and staring.  Her mouth opened as her entire body stiffened in orgasm
and hot slime flowed over my fingers.  She began to convulse and a loud
scream was torn from her throat as she surrendered completely to her
orgasm. She said her slit felt numb and throbbing at the same time.  The
most delicious sensations she could ever imagine were radiating out of her
sex to spread through her entire body, and she never wanted this feeling to
end.  The pleasure was indescribable and she continued to shudder and shake
as I held my finger tightly against her clit she opened her eyes and turned
and put her arm over my shoulder and kept shuddering in her orgasm, I tried
to keep my hand in the same position but was finding it difficult, so I
just cupped her mound and carried on moving my fingers until she said "Oh
God!!  Enough let me calm down please, my darling.  Oh, I love you so much"
I told her quietly that I loved her too.  She laid back and I moved my hand
from out of her panties and up to my nose and took in the heady aroma of
her then I put out my tongue and licked all that I could as she laid and
watched me.  She calmed down, it took a few minutes.  She said "No one has
ever done that to me, it made me feel so intense, but you made it so
special at the end by tasting me, I didn't expect you to do that either"
"You make me feel intense, I want to make love to you forever, and I wanted
to worship you, Ellen" She moved her arm up to my shoulder again and pulled
herself up and we kissed and our tongues danced together then I came up for
air, I said "I think we should carry on this conversation upstairs" So we
got up from the couch and as I switched off the radio she said "We must
listen to that programme again" She giggled her stuff and we walked
upstairs arm in arm and into our bedroom, we both got undressed in record
time and got into the bed and we continued the conversation we had begun
down the stairs, we just didn't talk much, no need.