chapter 1 newly weds

George and Fiona we’re newly weds. They’d just come back from their honeymoon and now they were moving in to their brand new house.
They had not lived together beforehand, so they did not yet know each other’s intimate habits, but that was what being newly married was all about, wasn't it?
George was working as a solicitor and was on a reasonable salary, even if the work he took on was not that thrilling. His clients were not rapists, murderers or terrorists. He had a rapid turnover, he’d probably only see his clients once. He dealt with property law, title deeds, land registry and that kind of thing.
Fiona has worked in the same office doing secretarial work. That was how they had met. She had moved on to work with a partner in another firm when they knew that their relationship was serious. It was not good to work all day with your fiancée and then go out with the, on a date.
They decided that once they were married, Fiona would drop her hours and go part time. They planned to have a family soon, so it made sense to start off on reduced hours.
Fiona would use her free time in the house to do the regular household chores, which would mean that, when George got home, they could spend more quality time together, instead of being wrapped up in cleaning and bills.
They were both slim, but neither of them were sporty. George had to dedicate so much of his early twenties to study, so he had got out of the habit of taking regular exercise. He wasn’t fanatical about eating healthily either, he simply ate what his parents gave him, enjoying the occasional treat and the occasional meal out. His mother cooked as much as she could from the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden. She tended to use special slimmers recipes because she always had to watch her weight.
Fiona’s parents were not wealthy. They had found that if they could get to the supermarket, buying ingredients separately and cooking from scratch was cheaper than buying ready made convenience foods. She had grown up avoiding takeaways and restaurants. She got everything she needed at home.
Fiona had not cooked much before, other than the little bit she’d done at school. Her teacher had been intolerant in lessons because, she was one of a handful in the class who took german as well as French, therefore they only had one hour’s cookery lesson a week. Those that did not take german, had a two hour cookery lesson.
However, married life was a new start! At school, she’d often had to rush things through, just to get finished on time. Now she had all the time in the world to cook and clean for her husband.
She opted to work in the mornings, so that her afternoons were free and her husband would come home to a nice clean house, with all the chores done.
She wanted to do all the shopping, washing, ironing and cleaning chores during the week, so that their weekends were free and they could spend their time together. Maybe they could go for a walk along the beach, or a drive in the hills, or they might try something new.
On George’s first day back at work, she greeted him with a kiss and helped him off with his jacket. Dinner would not be long. There wasn’t anything for him to worry about. By the time he had freshened up, she could have it on the table. He noted how clean and tidy everything was before he ascended the stairs to change out of his working day clothes into something more casual.
After dinner, he sat watching the news with his coffee, while Fiona cleared away the table and did the washing up. He offered to help, but she refused. He should relax. He’d had a long hard day at work.
He put his feet up in front of the telly and was asleep before the evening news had finished.