A knock at the door

'And now the moment you've all been waiting for,' announced Bob Johnson, the local mayor. Perspiring slightly, he wiped his brow then dug a chubby hand into the clear perspex box in front of him, full to the brim with pink, green and white raffle tickets. Everyone immediately jostled for position and then a hush descended upon the crowd. Promoted by the local auto dealership, it was the biggest charity fundraiser the town had ever seen. It seemed as though half the community had crammed into the town hall, all duly wearing face masks, to witness the big draw. Many hopefuls had bought a dozen raffle tickets or more.

'And the lucky winner of this year's charity fundraiser, winning the grand prize of $20,000 cash is....pink ticket, number 3765!'

A few seconds of rustling ensued as everyone frantically checked their tickets before an excited voice cried out;

'Oh my lord, I don't believe it! That's my ticket!'

Breaking free from the crowd, Nancy Lewis, a rotund woman in her sixties, ran forward, triumphantly waving her ticket in the air.

'Woo hoo!' cried a man in the audience. 'Way to go, Nancy!'

The disappointed throng broke into restrained applause. Nancy surveyed the downhearted faces before her but couldn't keep stop smiling as she took the giant cheque from the grinning auto dealership owner, Seth Jackson.

'Thank you so much. This is just wonderful!' she beamed.

'What will you do with the money, Nancy?' Seth asked, with a wink to the audience. 'What about a nice pre-loved Cadillac?'

'Actually Seth,' she said. 'My husband Jim over there and I have been married for 40 years so I think it's time for a second honeymoon. We've always dreamt of an Alaskan cruise.'

'Well, maybe when cruises resume and you'll be able to do just that,' Seth laughed. 'In the meantime, folks, you know where to get your next auto....'

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by his formerly captive audience drifting away, ripping up their tickets as they went.

Nancy rushed into her husband's arms.

'Can you believe it, Jim?' she cried. 'We actually won!'

'It's incredible!' he agreed, hugging her tight.

After exchanging the giant cheque for a real one, the two made their way outside.

'It would be so nice to have that second honeymoon,' Nancy sighed on the drive home. 'Do you remember our first, honey?'

Jim laughed. 'I sure do,' he said. 'Those were the days.'

They'd spent it in a motel in a nearby seaside town but they could have been in the Bahamas and it wouldn't have mattered as they'd barely stepped outside their room all week.

Nancy shivered as she recalled the passion they'd once shared. Secretly she'd hoped they could ignite some of that excitement on the cruise they'd often dreamt about, but even now that they had the money, that didn't look likely, thanks to the pandemic stopping them in their tracks.

The next morning, after Jim left to buy the daily paper from the corner drugstore, the doorbell rang.

'Yes, can I help you?' Nancy said, opening the front door a fraction. It was barely 7am and she wasn't used to receiving visitors so early. On her doorstep stood a man in jeans and a flannel shirt. A rather handsome man at that, if you were the type to judge.

'Can I help you?' she asked.

'I'm Bill, your local lumberjack,' he replied. 'I noticed that you have a large tree overhanging your house. If any of those branches were to come down in a storm and damage your roof, it could cost you dearly.'

Just then Debra's net curtains from across the street twitched while Barbara from next door stopped pruning her roses, straining to listen.

'Your point being...?' Nancy enquired.

'I can trim back those branches for you. It won't cost much.'

'No thanks,' Nancy replied. 'I don't have the spare cash right now.'

'But weren't you the gorgeous lady that won $20,000 in the fundraiser last night?' the man smiled flirtatiously.

'Word travels fast,' Nancy said.

'I was there,' he laughed. 'Congratulations! Can I at least give you a quote?'

'Very well, come in. But I'm not yet dressed,' she warned.

'That's fine by me.'

'And my husband Jim will be back in a minute. He's just gone to buy the newspaper.'

'No problem at all, I'm a perfect gentleman.'

After glancing furtively around, Nancy gave Barbara a tight smile then ushered Bill in, closing the door quickly behind him.

Upon seeing her in her black negligee, Bill let out an involuntary wolf whistle.

'Do you mind?' Nancy said, red-faced.

'Sorry, but you're gorgeous,' Bill said.

Nancy clutched her negligee tightly around her.

'Jim will be back shortly. He won't approve of another man in the house gawking at me!'

'Well, I hope he appreciates you,' Bill said.

'I wish,' Nancy sighed softly, leading him into the kitchen and pulling out a chair.

'You may as well give me a price for cutting back that tree, now you're here. Take a seat.'

Bill did so, then looked up at her.

'I'm sorry to keep staring at you,' he apologised. 'You're just so beautiful.'

'It's nice of you to say so,' Nancy replied, her face burning.

It was a long time since she'd felt desired.

'Doesn't your husband doesn't tell you that all the time?'

'No,' Nancy replied softly. 'We've been married decades. All that stuff stopped ages ago.'

'Well then, your husband's a fool.'

Nancy let out a throaty chuckle.

'You know you're pretty handsome yourself,' she said. 'It's a shame I'm a married woman.'

Walking around the table to him, she ruffled his hair. Then suddenly, he was kissing her.

Giddy with desire, Nancy didn't resist. She felt a passion rising in her she hadn't felt in years.

'Maybe we could go somewhere more comfortable,' Bill suggested, nuzzling her neck.

'Good idea,' Nancy said softly. 'Just one thing first.'

From the kitchen drawer, she pulled out a small black notebook and flipped to the page entitled, 'Role-playing fantasies.' Grabbing a pen, she ticked the entry she'd written; 'Being seduced by a lumberjack'. Then she took her husband's hand in hers.

'You were brilliant, Jim,' she whispered seductively. 'Just because we can't go on a second honeymoon doesn't mean we can't shake things up at home.'

Then, leading him upstairs to the bedroom, she turned to him. 'Do you think you could be a fire fighter tomorrow, honey?' she smiled.