The Avuncular and the Mentee

It was towards the end of September and I was sat in the lounge bar of the Cleddau Bridge Hotel in Pembrokeshire enjoying a pint when she walked in.
I didn’t recognise her at first and I had to do a bit of double take.
She was still as beautiful as ever but her lustrous brown hair that used to be cut in a bob now flowed in brunette waves over her narrow shoulders.
And the business suit she customarily used to wear had been replaced by faded denim jeans, a pink top and a long flowing cardigan cut in the style of an Afghan coat with fake fur trim and bright brocade panels.
Hannah Castle looked so different from the young woman I had last seen 18 months earlier at our mutual friend Gary Yap’s Chinese New Year party.
Her eyes were sharp and intelligent behind her gold rimmed spectacles that sat on her aquiline nose and with her finely chiselled features she was the attractive side of beautiful but only for the fact she wasn’t wearing a scrap of make up.
But despite the hair, clothes and a lack of makeup the eyes and the smile could not be disguised.
It was a case of what you see is what you get with Hannah just as it was the first day she walked into the office straight out of University.
That was eight years earlier and as the old man of the team at 33 I adopted the role of the avuncular and took her under my wing and showed her the ropes.
And of course try as I might not to, and despite the 12 year age difference I fell in love with her.
There was no double take for Hannah, she recognised me instantly and beamed a broad smile and I realized as she walked towards me I was still in love with her.
“Tommy Flood!” she said “What are you doing here?”
She was never tall but in her flat shoes she had to stand on tip toes and I had to stoop so we could properly embrace.
“I had to see a client in Haverfordwest” I said “it ran on later than expected so I decided to put up here for the night”
In truth I always liked booking meeting late on a Friday and then I could stay at a local hotel for the night, two if it suited.
“Not Clive Morgan?” she said “I’ve been trying to nick him off you for two years”
“I know, keep your hands off, Morgan’s is my pension”
I said and we both laughed
“Anyway what about you?” I asked “What brings you here?”
“My sister lives in Milford Haven” Hannah replied “and she’s just had twins”
“Wow Aunty Hannah” I said “that still doesn’t explain why you’re here”
“Because I’ve only been an aunty for five days and I’m exhausted”
She said and slumped down in her chair
“Oh dear” I said “No stamina, you youngsters”
“Honestly if I don’t get a good night’s sleep before I drive home I won’t make it” she explained
“So this is as far as you got?” I asked
“I so need a good night’s sleep” Hannah said and hugged the cushion to her chest and I was so jealous of that cushion
“Do you think you might stay awake long enough to have dinner?”
I asked
“It depends who’s paying” Hannah answered peering over the top of a cushion.
“My treat” I said and it really was a treat to see Hannah again and I knew in that moment I was hopelessly in love with her.

My hand was shaking as I was stood at the bathroom sink to shave and looked at my reflection.
Who was I trying to kid.
Since I’d last seen her 18 months earlier she hadn’t aged a day while I looked as if I’d aged 10.
I stood less chance of getting than ever.
Despite my misgivings I shaved and showered and made the best of what I had, such as it was, and went downstairs to the bar to wait for her.
When I got there she was already sitting at the bar perched on a barstool waiting for me.
Hannah was still wearing jeans but she now wore a white smock top decorated with tiny pink roses and she was made up to perfection and was already halfway through a large glass of white wine.
“Hi” I said as I leant in and kissed her cheek
Her hair was freshly washed and was subtly scented with the fragrance of apples while her skin exuded the aroma of coconut and as I lingered by her cheek, perhaps a little longer than I should have.
I was in such close proximity to her that my senses were assailed by the scent of just a little too much Channel, which was unusual for her.
She was always subtle, or at least she had been.
“You look lovely” I said when I had come up for air.
“And you smell good enough to eat” I added to myself
“This is the only thing I had left that didn’t smell of baby sick” She confessed “but to make doubly sure I doused myself with perfume”
Well that cleared up that little mystery.
“You smell delicious” I said “not a hint of baby sick”
“Honestly?” she asked
“Honestly” I replied just as I caught the barman’s eye “Do you want another?”
“Hmm yes please” she replied and drained her glass
When the drinks appeared we made our way to the restaurant it was a walk we had done many times before.
It was a favourite of mine and we had stayed at the Hotel many times before and eaten in the restaurant more often than not.
But that was in the days when I was mentoring her in my avuncular role.
As we ate we talked about the old days and the people we both knew and how both our careers were going.
However what I really wanted to talk about was her, the personal stuff, what she had been up to in her life over the 18 months since we had last met and the two years since we worked together.
“What about you?” she asked taking me by surprise
“What?” I replied
“What about you?” she repeated this time with more than a hint of a slur “are you spoken for”
To my amusement I watched as she appeared to rerun the question in her head and seemed alarmed by her realization of what she had actually said
“What I meant to say is… um… err… are you… erm…”
It amused me to watch her struggle and getting more flustered but decided to put her out of her misery.
“I’m still single”
“Oh” she responded trying to appear indifferent “still not met the right girl?
“I wouldn’t say that exactly” I replied and didn’t elaborate, the truth of the matter was I had met the right girl but she didn’t want me.
“What about you?” I asked
“Still footloose and fancy free” Hannah replied
Dinner came and went as did desert and all the time our glasses were refreshed, but it wasn’t until we were having liqueurs that I plucked up the courage to say what was on my mind.
“I’ve really missed you”
She seemed both surprised and pleased by the revelation and I wondered if she heard me correctly or if it was just the wines effect on her processing ability
“I’m sorry” she replied
“Why did you go?” I asked “I never understood why you left”
“I had to” she replied earnestly
“But why??” I asked
“Because I knew how you felt about me” Hannah confessed
“You knew?” I asked aghast
“Yes”
“You knew and you said nothing?” I asked angrily
She nodded
“That was cruel” I said and then there was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes as the waiter cleared the empty glasses from the table, when he had gone she said
“I thought it was for the best”
The waiter hovered just out of earshot as we were the last two diners and he obviously wanted us gone.
“I think we have out stayed our welcome” I said and got up and Hannah followed suit
“Goodnight” I said to the waiter and headed towards reception
“Let me explain” Hannah said as she trotted behind me
I ignored her and pressed on along the corridor but she caught me up as I stopped to allow an elderly lady to go through the fire doors.
"I thought if I put some space between us, you would stop caring about me" she said from behind me
I span round on her
"You thought my feelings were so fickle, so insincere that they would just evaporate away if I couldn’t see you?"
“No” she said crossly
“I did it because I thought mine would”
“What?” I said doubting my own hearing
“I left because I was falling for you” she said
“And did it help?” I asked
“No” she said and fell in to my arms “I fell for you anyway”
“So you made us both unhappy” I said gently
“Yes” and Hannah began to cry
“Don’t cry honey” I said
And she looked up at me through tear filled eyes and I kissed her, a kiss I had longed for, and dreamt of for eight years.
And I was not disappointed.

After our long awaited magical first kiss we walked hand in hand to the door of my room where we kissed again.
I unlocked the door and pushed it open, Hannah paused in the doorway.
“Before we go any further I have a confession to make” she said
“You don’t have to say anything honey” I replied
“I really do” she insisted
“Ok” I replied a little concerned at what might follow
Hannah took a deep breath and blurted out
“I haven’t shaved my legs”