Jomier and Judith have not yet made love on their king-sized double bed. They are waiting for the most opportune moment when neither is tired nor bloated. Jomier must plan ahead: he has to take a tablet of Viagra half an hour or so before. Subsequent to that first coupling when the novelty and romance had done the work of the drug, Jomier has had to call upon Pfizer’s elixir to boost the pumping power of his heart. He has made no secret of this from Judith; she too makes use of unguents that would be unnecessary for a younger woman. They are able to laugh at their physical shortcomings and agree that they do not detract from the end result. In Judith’s case, as observed by Jomier, that is self-evident; in Jomier’s case, as observed by Jomier, it was, like his familiarity with Venice, a few steps short of the truth. The actual sensation is not as pleasurable as he remembers it; indeed, at times it verges on pain; nor is ejaculation as ecstatic – not the gusher from a newly tapped oil well but a coughing splutter from a rusty pump.

But here they are, two lovers in a luxury hotel with a king-sized bed. Eschewing sex is not an option. Both rest. Jomier nods off. When he awakes, Judith is in the bath. She returns to the bedroom wrapped in a huge, fluffy white towel. Jomier goes to the bathroom. He washes down a capsule of Viagra with water from the disposable plastic tumbler. He stands in the shower, streams of hot water cleansing his body. He returns to the bedroom, also wrapped in a huge, fluffy white towel. He lies down beside her. She is reading one of the novels she bought at Stansted. He closes his eyes and waits for the Viagra to take effect. At the first stirrings, he tilts his body so that he can look into Judith’s eyes. She removes her glasses, puts them on the bedside table and turns towards him. Her look is loving, sensuous, inviting. He kisses her – a pleasant, lingering kiss with touching tongues. Her lips are not as plump and cushioning as those of a younger woman; he can feel her teeth beneath her skin. No doubt she can feel his. Jomier thinks of the skull on one of the tombs in one of the smaller churches they looked into that afternoon. The thought does not stymie his desire: there is still flesh on the bones of them both. He pulls the towel away from her body; it is still pink and warm and moist and fragrant from her bath. He kicks away his own towel. They make love.

Chapter 19

Chapter 19