“Would You Take Me Home With You? I Have Absolutely Nothing Left to Lose.”

SILVER & SAPPHIRE MAGAZINE Love Younger. Live Larger. THE DIRECT APPROACH — JUST ASK! Some women wait for romance. Others make it happen. In this recurring Silver & Sapphire feature, successful, wealthy women over 50 share how one remarkably direct question to a beautiful younger woman led to an unexpected night, an extraordinary offer, and sometimes a completely new life together. This Issue: Catherine, 61 & Megan, 26 A wealthy widow who had forgotten what it felt like to be wanted. A beautiful young woman who had lost everything, including her pride. And one outrageous question that turned the rules of The Direct Approach completely upside down. HER STORY — CATHERINE, 61 Catherine Beaumont had inherited a considerable fortune from her late husband, but it would have been a mistake to imagine that she had spent her entire life doing nothing more demanding than choosing jewelry and attending charity luncheons. For twenty-five years, she had managed a highly successful international property development company, overseeing luxury residential projects in California, Florida, and several European cities, and by the time she turned sixty, her personal fortune exceeded $190 million. She owned a magnificent estate in Bel Air, a penthouse in Manhattan, and a villa overlooking Lake Como, although she admitted that she rarely visited the latter because its beauty only reminded her how lonely she had become. Her husband had died seven years earlier. Their marriage had been comfortable, affectionate, and respectable, but hardly passionate during its final decade. After his death, Catherine began dating women, discovering a kind of romantic happiness she had never quite experienced before. Unfortunately, her last two relationships ended disastrously. One girlfriend had been interested primarily in expensive presents. Another had borrowed substantial sums of money to finance a business that never materialized. "I learned to be suspicious," Catherine admitted. "When a beautiful young woman approaches me, I automatically wonder what she wants." She smiled. "Which is rather unfortunate, because I happen to adore beautiful young women." At sixty-one, Catherine remained strikingly attractive, with long auburn hair, an elegant figure, impeccable taste in clothing, and a particular weakness for expensive heels. But she had begun to believe that genuine affection might no longer be available to someone in her position. "I had more money than I could spend in three lifetimes," she told us. "What I didn't have was somebody who wanted to wake up beside me without first asking what I intended to buy her." HER STORY — MEGAN, 26 Megan Parker had once been a promising young kindergarten teacher in San Diego. She loved children, adored her work, and had been engaged to a man she believed she would marry. Then her younger sister died in a car accident. Megan's mother, already struggling with serious health problems, suffered a breakdown following the funeral, and Megan took an extended leave of absence to care for her. Within a year, her mother was dead too. Her fiancé, increasingly frustrated by the demands of Megan's family responsibilities, ended their engagement and moved in with another woman. Megan returned to work, only to discover that her teaching position had been permanently filled. She found temporary employment, but the debts accumulated during her mother's illness continued to grow. Then she made a mistake that would haunt her for months. A man she had briefly dated persuaded her to guarantee a personal loan, assuring her that he had a secure job and would never miss a payment. He disappeared three months later. The loan defaulted. Megan's credit collapsed. Her landlord eventually began eviction proceedings. By twenty-six, she had lost her mother, sister, fiancé, career, and apartment. She had been sleeping on friends' sofas and occasionally spending nights in her aging car. "I was exhausted," Megan recalled. "Not just tired. I mean the kind of exhaustion where you stop thinking about next month or next year because getting through tomorrow seems difficult enough." She eventually secured a temporary position as a hostess at a luxury Beverly Hills hotel. The salary was modest, but she hoped the job might allow her to save enough money to rent a room. Then the hotel informed her that her temporary contract would not be renewed. On her final evening, Megan had $143 in her bank account and no idea where she would sleep the following week. That was the night she met Catherine. THE ENCOUNTER — JUST ASK! S&S: Megan, tell us where you met Catherine. Megan: "At the hotel where I worked. She was a regular guest and usually dined alone. I had noticed her several times because she was absolutely gorgeous, always beautifully dressed, and seemed so sad whenever she finished dinner." Catherine: "I wasn't aware that I looked sad." Megan: "You did, darling. Terribly." Catherine: "How embarrassing." S&S: Had you spoken before? Megan: "Only briefly. She was always polite, tipped generously, and remembered my name. On my final evening, I brought her a cup of coffee after dinner." Catherine: "She looked exhausted. I asked whether she'd had a difficult day." Megan: "And for some reason, instead of telling her everything was fine, I told her the truth." S&S: Everything? Megan: "Not immediately. But I mentioned that I was losing my job, that I didn't have an apartment anymore, and that I was frightened about what would happen next." Catherine: "I offered to help her find employment through some of my business contacts." Megan: "Which was incredibly kind. But I was looking at this beautiful older woman sitting alone at an enormous table, and suddenly I had the most ridiculous thought." S&S: Which was? Megan: "I wondered whether she might be as lonely as I was." Catherine: "I was." Megan: "So I asked whether she was married." Catherine: "I said I was widowed." Megan: "Then I asked whether she had a boyfriend." Catherine: "I told her I preferred girlfriends." S&S: That must have been encouraging. Megan: "It was terrifying! I had never actually dated a woman before, although I'd been attracted to women for years." Catherine: "I remember her becoming very red in the face." Megan: "Then I took a deep breath and asked the most outrageous question I've ever asked anybody." S&S: Which was? Megan: "'Would you take me home with you tonight? Not as your maid or your charity case. I mean, would you actually let me sleep with you?'" Catherine: "I nearly dropped my coffee." S&S: Catherine, what did you think? Catherine: "My first thought was that this lovely young woman had completely lost her mind. My second thought was that she was remarkably beautiful." Megan: "I was absolutely mortified. I immediately started apologizing." Catherine: "And I told her to stop apologizing long enough to explain what she was asking." Megan: "I said, 'I know you're wealthy, and I know I'm broke, but I'm not asking you to pay me. I think you're beautiful, and I would really like to spend the night with you. And if you think I'm crazy, I'll leave you alone.'" S&S: That's remarkably direct. Catherine: "It was the most direct invitation I'd received in years." Megan: "Then she asked whether I was sure." Catherine: "I wanted to know whether she genuinely found me attractive or simply needed somewhere safe to sleep." Megan: "I told her both things were true, but that I didn't expect a bed for the night to depend on anything romantic." Catherine: "Which was the first sensible thing anybody had said to me all evening." S&S: So what happened? Catherine: "I told her she was welcome to stay in my guest suite without any expectations whatsoever. Then I admitted that I found her extremely attractive and would be delighted to take her on a proper date if she wished." Megan: "And that's when I did something even more outrageous." S&S: More outrageous? Megan: "I leaned over and kissed her!" Catherine: "Right there in the hotel dining room." Megan: "I thought I might as well finish humiliating myself properly." Catherine: "I assure you, darling, I didn't feel humiliated." S&S: And your answer to her original question? Catherine: "I looked at her and said, 'Darling, my car is downstairs. Shall we go?'" THE NIGHT — THE WOMAN WHO HAD FORGOTTEN HOW TO BE WANTED S&S: Megan, what was your first impression of Catherine's home? Megan: "I thought we'd arrived at a museum!" Catherine: "She asked whether I actually lived there." Megan: "There were fountains, enormous gardens, marble staircases, and a swimming pool that looked like something from a luxury resort. I'd been sleeping in my car two nights earlier!" S&S: Were you intimidated? Megan: "Terribly. But Catherine was wonderful. She took me into the kitchen, made us both tea, and asked whether I wanted to talk." Catherine: "I thought it important that she understood she was under no obligation to entertain me." Megan: "I told her I hadn't asked to come home with her because I wanted to spend another night alone." They talked for nearly three hours. Megan told Catherine about her mother, her sister, and the disastrous relationships that had left her financially and emotionally devastated. Catherine spoke about her marriage, her loneliness, and the difficulty of trusting someone when almost everyone seemed interested in her wealth. Megan: "Then Catherine said something that broke my heart." S&S: What was that? Megan: "She said, 'I don't remember the last time somebody kissed me simply because they wanted to.'" Catherine: "I probably shouldn't have admitted that." Megan: "So I kissed her again." S&S: And the rest of the evening? Megan: "We went upstairs together. Catherine lent me a beautiful silk nightgown, and we spent the longest time just holding each other and talking." Catherine: "It was a very lovely evening." Megan: "More than lovely! I had imagined being with a woman twenty-five or thirty years older would feel strange, but it was wonderful. She was affectionate, patient, incredibly romantic, and made me feel beautiful." Catherine: "And Megan made me feel desired. Not admired for my possessions, not appreciated for my generosity. Desired." Megan: "I hadn't realized how much I needed affection until I finally had some." THE MORNING AFTER — THE QUESTION CATHERINE HAD BEEN WAITING TO ASK S&S: Catherine, did you expect Megan to stay? Catherine: "I hoped she would." Megan: "I woke up around nine, and for a moment I had absolutely no idea where I was. The bed was enormous, the curtains were open, and I could see the gardens stretching toward the mountains." Catherine: "I'd been awake for an hour. I ordered breakfast and brought it upstairs." Megan: "She arrived wearing the most beautiful silk robe and carrying an enormous silver tray with coffee, croissants, fruit, flowers, and a little vase of roses." S&S: Breakfast in bed? Megan: "Yes! I actually started crying." Catherine: "I thought I'd done something wrong." Megan: "Nobody had done anything like that for me in years. I kept thinking how ridiculous it was that someone so wealthy and sophisticated was carrying breakfast to a girl who didn't even have a proper address." Catherine: "Then I asked whether she'd slept well." Megan: "I said I'd never slept better." Catherine: "And then I asked her a question." S&S: Which was? Catherine: "'Megan, would you like to wake up here tomorrow? And perhaps the day after that?'" Megan: "I thought she was offering me a few nights in the guest room." Catherine: "I explained that I wanted her to stay as my guest while she found her footing, regardless of whether we became romantically involved." S&S: But you wanted more? Catherine: "Very much more. I told her I wanted us to date properly and see whether we could build something meaningful together." Megan: "Then she made an offer I couldn't believe." S&S: What did she say? Catherine: "I said, 'Darling, I have three houses, more money than I can possibly spend, and absolutely nobody to share breakfast with. If we discover that we love each other, would you consider making one of these houses your home?'" Megan: "I just stared at her." Catherine: "I also told her that I would be delighted to support her return to teaching, help her resolve her financial problems, and give her the freedom to decide what she wanted to do with her life." Megan: "I asked whether she was offering to make me her girlfriend." Catherine: "I said, 'No, darling. I'm asking whether you'd consider letting me become yours.'" S&S: Oh, that's lovely! Megan: "That was when I started crying all over again." Catherine: "And I was beginning to worry about the amount of crying I seemed to be causing." Megan: "Then I kissed her and told her yes, I'd love to try." Catherine: "Which was the most wonderful answer I could have imagined." WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Sixteen months later, Catherine and Megan are still together. Megan initially stayed in Catherine's guest suite, but after several weeks of dating, the couple began sharing the master bedroom. With Catherine's encouragement, Megan returned to teaching, accepting a position at a private elementary school in Los Angeles. She has also resolved her outstanding debts and begun rebuilding her savings, although Catherine admits she occasionally has difficulty persuading Megan to accept expensive presents. Catherine: "I bought her a magnificent diamond bracelet for our first anniversary. She told me it was far too expensive." Megan: "It cost more than I earned in a year!" Catherine: "Which I thought was entirely appropriate for an anniversary." The couple have traveled together to Lake Como, Paris, London, and Hawaii, and Megan has become a familiar presence at Catherine's charity events. Megan says that she still occasionally wakes up astonished by the life she now enjoys. Catherine says she no longer dreads returning to an empty house. S&S: Looking back, Megan, do you regret asking such an outrageous question? Megan: "Not for a second. I had nothing left to lose, and apparently everything to gain." Catherine: "And I learned something important." S&S: Which was? Catherine: "That sometimes the most beautiful thing a wealthy woman can receive is something money cannot buy." Megan: "A girlfriend who has absolutely no sense of shame?" Catherine: "Precisely, darling!" S&S: So who usually asks the outrageous questions now? Megan: "I do!" Catherine: "She's become rather demanding." Megan: "Last week I asked whether she'd like to spend the weekend in bed with me instead of going to a business conference." S&S: And what was her answer? Catherine: "I canceled the conference." THE DIRECT APPROACH — JUST ASK! Another love story from Silver & Sapphire Magazine — where successful women discover that sometimes the shortest distance between loneliness and happiness is one simple question. Love Younger. Live Larger.