The Good Neighbour

(Part One)

My wife Karen and I were divorcing and I had moved out of the marital home, it wasn’t due any acrimony, it was just that I had no emotional link to it whereas she really loved the house so I had agreed to let her buy my half and while she was sorting out the mortgage I moved into a temporary flat.
Karen and I had no children so it was a fairly simple process to separate ourselves as we managed to keep the involvement of the blood sucking lawyers in the process to an absolute minimum.
It was an amicable split with no animosity or hatred, or lack of love for that matter.
There just wasn’t enough of that special ingredient that turned love into breathless, heart skipping passion.
I loved her very much but only as a friend.
Anyway while I was waiting for the money to come through from my half of the house I moved into a slightly run down flat in what the agent said was an up and coming area.
It had everything I required though, it just needed a little TLC which I thought I wouldn’t need to give it as I wouldn’t be there long enough.
It was only a stop gap so a little wear and tear didn’t bother me.
I worked from home so the only thing I really needed was broadband which was easily sorted after a single phone call.
I liked the flat, despite its dinginess, it was the top floor of three so there was no noise from above and only two flats per floor.
And the other third floor flat was occupied by the quietest neighbour I had ever known.
In fact I had been living there for three weeks before I even realised I had a neighbour.
And the only reason I discovered that was because of an obnoxious delivery man.
I had been out to the local seven eleven for some provisions and I had just returned to find a sweaty heavily tattooed man arguing with a small red haired woman in her late 20s separated by what appeared to be a brand new fridge freezer.
It was so positioned that she had to peer around it to see her adversary.
“It says on the docket “doorstep delivery”” he said
“And this is the doorstep”
“But I can’t get it inside the flat on my own” she said
“Look you’re lucky I bought it this far” he snapped
“Now are you going to sign for it or not?”
“Do I have a choice?” she said snatching his PDA from his hand and scribbling a signature on the screen.
He then snatched it back and hurriedly turned away.
I had to quickly step aside to avoid being trampled but when the sweaty geezer had gone I asked
“Do you need a hand?”
“Pardon me?” she said
“Would you like a hand getting it inside?”
“Oh” she exclaimed “yes that would be very kind, thank you”
I deposited my shopping on my doorstep then went back to her and began manhandling the fridge freezer into her kitchen and then I helped her unpack it.
“I’m Phil by the way” he said “Phil Bradshaw”
“Natalie Bunyan” she replied
When we had finished in the kitchen she made me a coffee and we sat in the lounge and drank it.
“I haven’t seen you out and about” I said
“That’s because I don’t” Natalie replied
“You don’t what?” I asked a little confused
“Go out” she said
“I don’t understand” I said
“I don’t go out” she confirmed
“What never?”
“Never” she replied
“Agoraphobia?” I asked
“Yes” she replied enthusiastically because someone actually knew what was wrong with her.
“How long?” I asked
“What? Since I went out?” Natalie asked
“Yes”
“Three years” she said
“Three years?” I repeated in disbelief
“Why?”
“Lots of reasons really” Natalie said quietly
I just sat and waited for her to elaborate.
“I’m just scared I suppose, it’s scary out there”
“Could you not go out with someone?” I suggested
“I have no one now” Natalie replied sadly
“No family?” I asked
“No”
“Husband? Boyfriend?” I added
“No”
“Girlfriend?” I ventured
“No” she said very definitely
“Ok but you must have friends” I said
“I used to, but now they’re all gone, one by one they stopped coming to see me or answering the phone” she said sadly “avoiding the nutter clearly”
“Then they weren’t real friends in the first place” I offered
“I suppose not” she responded
There was a brief silence and then I asked
“How do you manage financially?”
“Well the flat was left to me by my gran, and I have an annuity from my parent’s estate plus a small income from shares and investments, plus I earn a little money, proof reading”
I nodded and Natalie added
“It’s a modest income but I’m not an extravagant person”
“What about shopping?” I asked
“Home delivery” Natalie replied
“What about things that can’t be delivered?”
“The hairdresser comes here to the flat” she said
“What about health?”
“I have an exercise bike and a treadmill” she replied
“No I mean your health, doctors, hospital visits and such like?” I asked
“I attend to myself” she said
“You can’t attend to everything yourself” I said
“What about prescription medications?”
“You can get anything on the Internet” Natalie replied
“Blimey” I said “you really need to go outside”
“Yes but I can’t” she said and tears welled up “I just can’t”
“What if I was to help you?” I suggested
“Would you do that?” she asked wiping away the tears

(Part Two)

So over the following months I set about helping her to leave her flat.
It wasn’t easy, it could have been if I’d just given her Rohypnol and carried her outside and waited for her to come around.
But that would have been counterproductive so we had to do it the hard way.
However the truth was I had no idea where to begin to help her.
“So tell me how it started?” I asked her one morning
“What?” she said
“How did the agoraphobia start?” I replied and she totally broke down,
“I’m sorry” I said as I comforted her “I didn’t mean to upset you”
When the sobs had subsided and she’d dried her eyes she said in a faltering voice
“It wasn’t just one thing”
“Really?” I pressed sensing a lie
There was a long silence as she processed his question.
“I lost my parents when I was in my third year at University which cost me my degree” she said
I didn’t respond but I let her take her time to continue when she was ready.
“I stayed in my room at University for three months”
“But you came out” I said
“That was Colin” Natalie said
“Colin?” I asked
“Colin Clarke” she replied “my fiancé”
“Oh”
“He told me he loved me and that he couldn’t live without me and he proposed to me” she said flatly “and so I left the room with him”
“But?” I responded
Natalie looked at me and tears welled up in her eyes again but she swallowed hard and said
“But, four years later, a month before the wedding when he was on the stag weekend, he phoned me from Amsterdam and said the wedding was off because he didn’t love me”
“Nice” I said
“It was worse than that, because he said he’d never loved me”
“God” I said
“That was the single thing” she said and the tears came again.

After her revelation I was even more determined to help her so I decided to contact a doctor, her doctor, or at least the surgery where she was still registered.
It took 3 weeks to get one of the overpaid narcissists to do a home visit and when he did the best he could manage was to offer her a course of anti-depressants.
“I don’t want antidepressants” she shouted “I want help”
“I’m offering you help” the doctor said
“No you’re offering me a chemical cosh” she said “I’m agoraphobic, I need proper help”
“I don’t need your bloody antidepressants I can medicate myself with Pinot at £4 a bottle”
“Well if you change your mind” he snapped as he got up “make an appointment to come to the surgery”
“If I could make it to the bloody surgery I wouldn’t need your help, you idiot” She shouted after him
I remained seated in the armchair and smiled as she slammed the door, I think that was the moment I stopped seeing her as a damsel in distress.
I liked Natalie despite her phobia she was a really feisty little redhead and quite cute to boot.

So we had sought medical advice and found them wanting so we resorted to Natalie’s cure all and read up on the subject on the internet.
But even that was contradictory and was by and large unhelpful.
Despite this we took matters in our own hands, and formulated our plan based loosely on what we had read.
On day one, she just had to take one step out of her front door, count to 10 and step back again.
Well I say day one, it actually took 3 days for her to take that first step and then she repeated the process for a week, but counted five seconds longer each time before she stepped back inside.
Phase two, Natalie had to walk out of her front door take two steps and touch the wall in front of her, which she did first time and she was so thrilled and excited when she stepped back through the door that she kissed me.
But It wasn’t just an excited peck on the cheek, it was full on the mouth, and was followed through with no holds barred passion.
And one thing led to another and we ended up in her bed.
“Wow” I said as she collapsed on top of me.
“Oh yes very acceptable” she echoed then as she cuddled up to me she added “I haven’t done that for a while”
It hadn’t occurred to me at any stage since I’d known her, even when she told me she hadn’t left the flat for three years that Natalie hadn’t had sex.
Well actually it had been 4 years since the last time and she was as horny as hell.
“Couldn’t you order that on the internet?” I asked her
“I’m sure you can” Natalie replied “but I don’t do it with just anyone”
I took that to mean that I wasn’t just anyone, which was great because she wasn’t just anyone to me.
Of course by sleeping with her, as wonderful as it was, not just that first time but all the subsequent occasions I had inadvertently given her another reason not to go outside.
Although to her credit she persevered and showed no sign of giving up in fact the more progress she made the more vigorously she rewarded herself in the bedroom.

(Part Three)

By the end of the third month the money had finally come through from Karen and I was able to move on but I was far from ready too.
And by the middle of the fifth, Natalie had made so much progress.
She could walk to the lift without pausing for breath, she could take the lift to the ground floor and even walk to the front doors.
But that was where she faltered, day after day, she would pass through her front door with real purpose only for it to evaporate away at the threshold of the outside world and nothing I could say or do could make her go any further.
Once back in her flat a black depression would set in and I had no option but to leave her.
It broke my heart to see her like that but I knew that trying to lift her spirits when she was that down was quite futile.
The next day however she would always be bright and full of new resolve which I knew would be short lived.
Seeing her down was all the more heart-breaking for me because I had fallen in love with her.
However I was in a quandary because I couldn’t tell her that I loved her, not because I didn’t think she felt the same about me, but because Natalie’s ex fiancé had once pledged his love to her in order to get her to re-enter the world and he turned out to have feet of clay.

It was a gloriously sunny late September day when it all came to a head.
“Today’s the day” she said as we left her flat hand in hand.
I squeezed her hand in response and said
“I’m with you every step of the way”
We progressed briskly towards the lift without a moment’s hesitation.
The ride down to the foyer was silent but for Natalie’s breathing which was slow and deliberate.
When the doors opened and we stepped forward, still holding hands, and quickly crossed the foyer.
As we approached the double glass doors I reached my free hand out and pushed the left hand door open and without breaking stride I stepped outside and still holding Natalie’s hand I pulled her behind me.
Once I emerged into the sunlight I was thinking to myself “so far, so good” when my progress was halted.
I looked around to see Natalie half in and half out of the door hanging onto the door frame with her free hand.
“You’re nearly there darling” I said
“I can’t” she said
“Just one more step” I urged her
“I can’t” she repeated and let go of my hand
“Please come with me” I pleaded
“Why?” she asked
“Well there are so many places I want to take you, things I want to show you and things I want to share with you” I said
“But why?” Natalie said remaining in the doorway
“Don’t you know why?” I asked her
“No” she said
I didn’t want to say it but she was giving me no alternative so I said
“Because I…..”
“No don’t say it Phil” she shouted
“I have too”
“No you mustn’t” Natalie urged
“I must” I said
“You know I was tricked back into the world once before by a false love” Natalie said “I’m scared it will happen again”
“I can’t not say it, because it’s true” I said “I love you”
“I love you too” she responded almost in tears “but I don’t think I can do it”
“Then don’t” I said
“What?” she said
“I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together” I said
“You don’t ever have to come outside you can stay in there forever and I will bring the world to you”
“And you will still love me?” she asked
“Forever” I replied
“Hold my hand” she said
I reached out took hold of her outstretched hand, and she grasped it tightly like her life depended on it.
I looked at her determined face and smiled at her and she returned it.
“Ok I’m ready” she said and taking a deep breath she stepped over the threshold out into the sunshine and into my arms.