Charlotte's Near Miss

Chapter 1

Saturday morning and Todd Mathersley, dressed for the office, opened the front door to their home in a quiet residential cul-de-sac in Wellingbury on the mid-Atlantic island of New Albion. His mind was engrossed on a challenging case concerning the stabbing of a young man at a night club on Thursday evening. He was vaguely aware that Charlotte was right behind him as he swung the door open, planning to turn and kiss as he stepped outside.

‘Todd!’ Charlotte exclaimed, dodging quickly behind the open door.

‘Oops! Sorry Angel. My mind was on other things.’

‘I could see that!’ she remarked as she slipped her housecoat over her nakedness. She was now in the habit of keeping the housecoat handy behind the front door for unexpected callers. ‘You’ve been distracted all morning.’

‘It’s a case I’m working on,’ he replied. Something troubled him about the content of witness statements he had read the previous evening. ‘There’s no one around. Your modesty is safe.’

Charlotte thumped his arm and, now she was covered, stepped outside with Todd and strolled with him to his car in their drive. As he unlocked it and climbed in, she was already deadheading a rose bush next to the drive. ‘What great weather so late in the year!’ she called to him as he belted himself in.

‘Yes, still sunny and warm,’ Todd replied. ‘And it’s expected to continue for a few days at least. I guess that means that we can make plans for some outdoor nuding when I get back from the station.’ He closed the car door as his window slid down.

‘Let’s have a quiet day at home today but what about heading to Serendip Beach tomorrow?’ Serendip naturist beach is only an hour’s drive through light Sunday morning traffic.

‘Sounds like a good plan. We’ll talk about it when I get back.’

‘Right, so don’t be too late as I’ll have to prepare food for tomorrow if we decide to go.’

*

Charlotte’s mind was already thinking of food that she could prepare for tomorrow’s beach visit as she closed the front door and re-hung her housecoat. She decided she would start preparing it before Todd returned so that they had more free time together. If they didn’t go to the beach, the food wouldn’t be wasted, she knew. She caught a glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror and turned to look more carefully. Hmm, she thought to herself. Her summer tan was still there. It would be good to top it up tomorrow. I’ll call Lucy to ask if she and Jake would like to join us.

As she hand-washed their few items of breakfast crockery, she stared out of the kitchen window at their back garden. Todd had taped out an area near to their neighbour’s fence that they agreed would be the best place for the swimming pool they planned. She wiped her hands, headed for the kitchen door and stepped out onto the deck. One of their first tasks that autumn had been to begin to secure the area from prying eyes; their views about their personal privacy had re-adjusted with their newfound life. Not that they minded others seeing them nude; it was more to avoid the consequences of being seen by others. They hadn’t yet told family, friends and neighbours of their new lifestyle. A difficult decision for them; perhaps they never would.

Charlotte tidied up the deck in the morning sunshine and, barefoot, stepped onto the cool damp lawn to deadhead more rose bushes. She absentmindedly wandered the length of the flower bed, taking her further into the garden. She glanced around as she realised how far she’d ventured; they normally stayed near to their more private deck. Neighbouring houses, like theirs, were all single storey; a benefit that they hadn’t envisaged when, as textiles, they had bought their home. They had yet to build up their naturist confidence to the level that they could care less about neighbours peeping over the fence.

Her back to the fence, she turned to survey the taped area, deep in thought. Is this, she wondered, the right place or should we perhaps put it over there nearer to the deck? She sneezed suddenly; pollen affected her but not usually so late in the year.

‘That you, Charlotte?’ a voice called from behind her. She spun around and saw the top of her neighbour’s head over the fence. She stepped smartly to the fence so that all he would be able to see would be her head.

‘Yes, it’s me, Sven,’ she called back. ‘Beautiful morning.’ She glanced down to make sure that there were no gaps between the fence slats. ‘How are you? How’s Freya?’

‘Both fine thanks.’ His Scandinavian accent had all but disappeared in the many years they had lived on New Albion island. He came towards the fence.

‘You have anything planned for the weekend, Charlotte? We have invited friends round for drinks before dinner this evening and wondered if you and Todd would like to come for an hour or two.’

‘We’ll probably be out tomorrow but today we have nothing planned,’ she replied with a smile as she wondered to herself what he’d think if he knew he was chatting over the fence to a naked woman. ‘Thanks. We’d love to come. I’ll call Todd so that he doesn’t make other plans.’

‘OK, good. We’ll see you any time after five thirty.’

‘Right…oh, that was my doorbell. I’d better answer it.’ She hesitated. Sven was still looking towards her over the fence. He would probably be able to see her walk to the back door if he continued to watch.

‘Sure off you go,’ he replied after a pause. ‘See you this evening if not before.’ To Charlotte’s relief, he turned from the fence and stepped away. Charlotte gave a final quick look to make sure he wasn’t watching and turned towards the house. Sven didn’t seem to have a shirt on either she thought idly, smiling to herself; between us both we probably only had on two items of clothing at most. The thought slipped from her mind immediately as the doorbell sounded again, this time more insistently.

*

She slipped her arms into her conveniently placed housecoat and velcroed its front closed. The bell began again as she swung the door open.

‘Thought you’d forgotten I was coming,’ her father grumbled as he leaned forward to kiss her.

‘Of course not,’ Charlotte fibbed. His excuse, not that he needed one, was that he was there to help with the pool planning; Charlotte thought that his engineering skills would be helpful, although Todd wasn’t so sure. He’s not a construction engineer, he’d told her. ‘Where’s mum today?’ she asked.

‘She has a church women’s group meeting this morning. Aren’t you dressed yet?’

‘I will be shortly. I was in the back garden.’

‘In your housecoat? Really Charlotte, is that proper? What if one of the neighbours had…’

She cut him short. ‘I’ll just go and dress, Dad. Put the coffee on please.’

I hope you enjoy this. Part 2 of 6 will be posted tomorrow. Happy nude reading.