October
It was Halloween and that time of the day when in Jeff Forman’s hometown there would be a constant stream of expectant children knocking on the door, however due to the remoteness of the cottage and the foulest weather he had seen for many a day, he wasn’t expecting even one.
So, imagine his surprise when there was indeed a knock at his door and when he opened the door, the sight that greeted him was as fearful a sight as you could imagine on any Halloween night, it was a drowned rat, caked in mud, and looking very sorry for itself.
“Hello Maxine” he said, “what on earth are you doing out in this filthy weather?”
“It wasn’t this bad when I started” she the twenty something replied
She looked like she had been on maneuvers with the SAS.
“Come in, come in” he said, “what happened?”
“Don’t laugh” she said “but I fell in a ditch”
“My God you are actually squelching” he said “get your coat and boots off”
He left her and went to get a towel and when he came back, she was walking towards the warmth of the fire, and she was still squelching.
She stood in front of the fire in her squelchy socks and shivered.
Jeff went upstairs and started the bath running and put fresh towels on the rail and went downstairs again.
“Right, you need to get out of those wet things” he said in an authoritarian tone
“I’ll be fine I just need to warm up a bit” she said
“Well, you won’t warm up if you’re wearing wet clothes” he said “so do as you’re told; the bath is running”
Maxine tried to protest but he wouldn’t let her
“Throw your wet things on to the landing and I’ll put a change of clothes in the spare room for you”
“Ok Mr Graham” she said like she was addressing a teacher.
He went downstairs again and turned his attention to his dinner, he tended to only cook from scratch once a week, but he always made more than he needed, and the extra would be frozen and ready to use whenever.
On that particular day he was cooking lamb stew, so he gave it a stir and went to the airing cupboard in the spare room and looked for something that would be suitable for Maxine.
It wasn’t easy choosing from a selection of clothes made for a six-foot-tall, fifteen stone man and find something that would do for a tiny girl barely 5 foot tall and less than seven stone soaking wet.
The only thing he could find was a rugby shirt that was a bit long even on him so it would be like a dress on her and a pair of football socks that would reach her thighs.
he laid them on the bed and picked up the pile of wet clothes and carried them downstairs with him.
Once downstairs he set up the clothes dryer in front of the fire and draped her things over it and almost immediately steam started to emanate from her socks.
Her boots were already on the hearth, and her coat was draped over the back of a chair.
About half an hour later Maxine appeared in her oversized Harlequins Rugby shirt and black football socks fiddling with her tousled damp hair.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked
“Much better thank you” she replied
“I’m sorry about the wardrobe” he added “it was the best I could do”
“Its fine at least I won’t get cold” she said and laughed
“Well sit yourself down and I’ll get you some food”
“No don’t worry I’m really not hungry” she said, and he gave her a look
“Ok I’ll have a little bit” she said
“A wise decision” he said and went out to the kitchen.
He returned a few minutes later with a steaming bowl on a tray.
“Lamb stew” he said
Jeff thought back to the conversation he had with Anne about Maxine not eating properly and Maxine’s own statement not half an hour previously when she said
“I’m really not hungry”
Well for someone who wasn’t really hungry she did extremely well to polish off three bowls of Lamb stew.
While they ate, they watched an old Cary Grant movie called “Holiday” and when it was finished, she said
“Well thank you for looking after me and entertaining me but I’d better change my clothes and get home” Said Maxine
He got up and went to the front door and when he opened it the rain was still coming down like stair rods.
“Just put your coat and boots on and I’ll run you home” he said
“No, you’ve been too kind already” she replied
“I’m not having you getting soaked to the skin again” he insisted
“You’re very bossy” she said with a smile
“I know” he said “That’s probably why I’m divorced”
He drove her the mile or so up the lane to her cottage and she thanked him again and got out, but before she closed the door, she said
“Don’t get lost on your way home” And she laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard in her life.
It was a day later when Maxine “popped in” for the first time and for the first of many times over the coming weeks, and they shared a conversation and a drink of coffee across the kitchen table.
The “pop ins” happened at any time of the day or night partly because of her insomnia and in part because he was a writer and kept irregular hours himself.
Sometimes when the muse was with him, he would just carry on writing until he couldn’t see straight, so he had no set time to go to bed or to get up in the morning.
According to his ex-wife it was one of the things that contributed to the breakup of his marriage.
As they moved slowly through November the “pop ins” increased exponentially as they raced headlong towards December and he was disappointed on the days when he didn’t see her.
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