Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (37) Still Waters Run Deep

 

Gwen Quinton-Smith had lived in Sharpington her whole life and had no desire to live anywhere else.

Sharpington-by-Sea is a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.

Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but it was still great fun.

It was also a popular resort for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks.

 

She was just the wrong side of 60 and by her own admission a rather plain looking woman, she was quite small and slim and choose to dress in the twin set and tweed style.

Her mode of dress was to most people a little old fashioned but she was always beautifully turned out.

 

Although she was of retiring age she wasn’t really retired as in truth she had no job to retire from.

She had never been employed because she had an inheritance from her grandmother which was left to her to ensure her independence and in her 30s she inherited her parents money.

But despite her unemployment she was not an idle person, in fact she worked more hours a week than most wage earners.

She did a surfeit of Charity work, fund raising, hospital volunteing, Womens Institute, Church Warden at St Lucys and she was Chairwoman of the Sharpington Day Parade committee to name but a few.

 

Gwen was imensely popular in Sharpington because she was filled with such great possitivity and she had an enormous heart.

Gwen was an only child and was also a spinster but the latter was mainly by design.

She did have a a great passion while at University but he let her down badly so she drew a line under such diversions.

 

Her decision was always a bone of contention between her and her mother and every three or four weeks she would be summoned to the family home like the prodigal daughter.

There would be a grand meal, no fatted calf, but no expense was spared, and served up as part of the meal was a totally unsuitable suitor.

This went on right up until her parents deaths and she went along with it with a happy heart because she loved her parents dearly.

The suitors, not so much, and except on very rare occasion she never saw them again.

Some of them she would meet again if it happened that they had a shared interest but not one of them inspired any romantic feelings on her part and given her plainness she always had the feeling they were trying too hard to please her because they had one eye on her monetary worth.

 

She had been raised as a Christian by her parents, but they were High Church which Gwen found a little too stiff and fussy.

So when she first stepped through the doors of St Lucy’s she felt immediately at home.

She wasn’t sure what prompted her to attend St Lucy’s rather than one of the other dozen or so churches in the town, maybe she was being guided, but whatever or whoever had influenced her compass she had never been disappointed with the chosen destination.

 

On a beautiful day in June she had an early meeting with a Council Official, David Jamieson, regarding maintenance works on the Pier as they were trying to renege on their commitments.

Fortunately the Sharpington Pier, along with the yacht club, the Fun Park and the Seaview Hotel had all been saved and protected by the Mornington Estate, the head of which was Gabriel St John.

Very refreshingly, like his father before him, Gabriel conducted all of the estates affairs in the spirit of philanthropy and he was a man of honour and he had no truck with people who behaved dishonourably.

He was also a man with a sense of history and his stewardship of the Mornington Estate wasn’t restricted just to the land and properties within the Finchbottom Vale.

So when Gwen had phoned him to inform him of what was afoot he had no hesitation in volunteering himself and the estate solicitor, Rizalina Pugay, to attend the meeting with her.

 

When they got there they found that they were not meeting with one man as David Jamieson had told her and they were actually in front of the complete Council Finance Committee with assorted other minions on the periphery.

It turned out to be a very short meeting as Gabriel and Riza tied the council committee in knots and at the end there were a lot of red faces on the Council side and they were all looking daggers at Mr Jamieson.

 

After the meeting she had coffee with Gabriel and Riza before they returned to Mornington and then she had an hour to kill before her next meeting at St Lucy’s Church so she decided to take a walk on the very Pier that had been the subject of the first and kill time until her second.

About half way along she sat down on a bench and just enjoyed the view.

“That was very impressive in there” A man said

“Excuse me?” she asked when she turned to look at the lean upright figure in front of her

“You were very impressive in front of the committee”

He said

“Were you there then?” she asked

“I watched from the gallery” he confided conspiratorially

“Why?”

“Ok let me explain, May I?” he said indicating the empty seat beside her

“Of course”

“Thank you” he said “I’m Dennis by the way”

“Pleased to meet you” she replied and added “Gwen”

“I’m a retired police Inspector” he said “and just to keep my mind alert I do a bit of Security Consultancy, and I had a meeting at the council this morning myself”

“I see”

“Well afterwards I was using the facilities when two men entered the gents taking about you” he said

“How unsavory” she said and laughed “What were they saying?”

“Well I won’t give it to you verbatim but the gist of it was that they were expecting to bully “The frumpy middle aged busy body”” he said

“Charming” Gwen said

“Their words not mine I might add” Dennis said

“I certainly didn’t see you like that when you went into the chamber”

“Oh, thank you” Gwen said

“So I thought I would sneak into the gallery and see you in action, and I wasn’t disappointed” he said proudly

“And the looks on their faces will live with me forever”

They were both laughing when Gwen suddenly stiffened on hearing the Church clock and she realized she was late.

“I’m sorry I have to go” she said and meant it “but it was very nice to have met you”

 

Gwen had really enjoyed their converse on the Pier but unfortunately Gwen had to leave for her next meeting.

It was only a short meeting but it was an important one but during it she found her mind wandering to the lean upright figure of the friendly and jovial ex police Inspector Dennis Simmons.

 

The meeting lasted about 35 minutes and when she emerged into the bright June sunshine she squinted and she was quite thoughtful and the thing that she was thinking about was primarily being referred to as a frump.

She would have to admit that she wasn’t trendy but she was stylish and she would rather be considered frumpy than be seen as mutton dressed as lamb.

She was a rather plain and middle-aged woman, the wrong side of 60, and she did generally choose to dress in the twin set and tweed style, with sensible shoes, but only because they were practical.

On that day in June she was wearing a lighter weight fabric dress and as she was quite small and slim she wore clothes well.

She was concerned however that someone had referred to her behind her back as a frump and it reminded her of a time she overheard a rival of hers for the Chair of a particular committee describe her as a prudish old spinster and then she and her friend laughed.

She was surprised that the laughter still hurt her after more than ten years.

Then with her eyes still becoming accustomed to the sunlight, she was making her way along the promenade when she was almost knocked off her feet by a figure in the glare.

“I’m so sorry” she said

“Oh that’s ok, I wasn’t watching where I was going” the man said and then added

“Oh hello again” Dennis said

“Oh hello” she said pleasantly surprised, she estimated he was a couple of years older than she was, and well turned out, a bit of a dandy in fact and she liked that.

“So are you all done?” he asked “Meeting wise”

“Oh yes”

“Perhaps we could go for a coffee then” he suggested

“That would be nice, but I’m expected at my friend’s” she said with real regret and added

“Another time though”

“I will hold you to that” Dennis said “In the meantime would you mind if I walked with you part of the way”

“Not at all” she said affably “That would be nice”

So they walked together congenially and chatted, generally about Sharpington and how much they loved it, for about 20 minutes until Dennis stopped.

“Well this is me I’m afraid” he said and pointed “My next appointment is that way”

“Oh what a shame” she said “Thank you for your company”

“It was a pleasure to accompany you and it was a pleasure meeting you” he said and kissed her hand

“How gallant” she thought

“I look forward to that coffee date you promised” he said and darted across the road.

“What a lovely man” she thought as she watched him disappear round the corner of an art deco edifice.

Not that she held any romantic notions of him, that ship had sailed long ago for her, but she did have a coffee date.

And the word “Date” caused her to blush and she was still blushing when she walked into Hemmings General Store.

 

As she was going to Leslie Maher’s for coffee she had intended to pick up some pastries from Addison’s Bakery but after meeting Dennis it completely went out of her head so as Gwen didn’t want to arrive empty handed she decided to call in at Hemmings General Store to pick up a box of prepacked cakes.

 

One of her close friends and neighbour’s David Goodman was at the counter talking to Sabr Hemming, who was running the business while her mother was ill and as she reached them David raised the question of full time or part time work for a girl called Wendy Corney with the two of them.

Gwen had heard about Wendy and how David caught her in his garage, but he was an exceptionally good judge of character and if he thought she was worth helping then she was in.

She had always held the belief that no one was beyond redemption.

“I will certainly ask around the ladies at the Women’s Institute” Gwen said “but in the mean time I do have some odd jobs about the house that desperately need doing”

“You are a saint” David said and then Sabr also promised to give Wendy a few hours in the shop while her mum was ill.

Gwen bought a pack of Bakewell Tarts said her goodbyes and set off for Leslie’s house.

Gwen chose to live at the southern end of Sharpington, which was popular with retiree’s, because it was a quiet and peaceful place to live but was close to the town.

With a large proportion of her inheritances still providing her a healthy income she could easily have afforded to live in the grander neighbourhood of Granite Hill, which in a nod to San Francisco the locals nicknamed Nob Hill.

But Gwen was not an ostentatious person and she lived in a very nice four bedroom house, which was too big for her, so she liked where she lived among her good friends and neighbours

She walked the short distance to Leslie’s house and knocked on the front door.

“Sorry I’m late” she said and brandished the cakes

“Shop bought cake! What would the Women’s Institute say?”

Leslie teased 

“Yes I’m sorry but I was distracted by a man”

Gwen said in her defence.

“Oh goody tell me everything”

 

So Gwen told her the tale of the morning’s events and was very forthcoming, but before she got to elaborate on the future coffee date they were interrupted by a knock at the door which turned out to be David Goodman, and his arrival heralded the end of her tale about Dennis as the conversation then revolved around his mornings work finding employment for Wendy Corney, not that she wasn’t interested.

 

It was a shame really because had she mentioned Dennis Simmons name in David’s presence she would have found out he was his brother in law and she would have had a way in which to contact him which would have spared her the frustration of the following month when he failed to materialise for the coffee date and over that month she repeated the mantra

“You should have got his number”

 

There was a very good reason why Gwen hadn’t seen or heard from Dennis and that was because he had been out of the country.

His oldest friend who he had known since police training school had suffered a severe stroke.

He and his wife and moved to Spain when they retired and it was in a hospital there that he spent the first two weeks and then he stayed on for the funeral.

 

During the month following her meeeting with Dennis, Gwen had put Wendy to work helping her sort out the junk that had accumulated in the 38 years she had lived in the house.

And they got on like a house on fire, Wendy was willing and hardworking and very good company and over the weeks she became like a daughter to her and by extension due to the age difference, a granddaughter.

 

Dennis’s first day back in Sharpington was a Saturday morning, the first Saturday of July and furthermore the Gods had delivered to the folk of Sharpington a very hot day, the hottest day of the year so far in fact.

And while Gwen and Wendy were sorting out one of the spare bedrooms Dennis was walking along the beach and when he looked up he saw his brother in law David standing on the Pier looking over the railings so he gave him a wave and he received a wave in return and then both men continued on their way.

 

When he left the beach he walked along the promenade for a while and looked at some of the attractions and finally decided to take a stroll along the seafront in the same direction he took with Gwen the month before.

After walking up to the point that they said goodbye he decided to go and have a pint at The Ancient Mariner across the road before he returned home.

As he walked through the beer garden he spotted his brother in law again sat alone, people watching, while enjoying a pint of Mornington Ale.

“Well bless me, I thought you were dead” he said

“You knew very well I’m not dead you saw me on the pier this morning Dennis”

“I know but you did look a bit pasty” he said

“Do you want another?”

“Yes I will, thanks” 

 

Dennis went to the bar and was surprised by the amount of people he knew in there but alas Gwen wasn’t one of them and while he waited for his order he muttered

“I wish I’d got her number”

 

As they sat quietly enjoying their beer David asked.

“Are you going to the Yacht Club Dinner Dance?”

“I wasn’t planning on it” he replied “Are you?”

“Yes, you could come as my plus one” David suggestion

“Why don’t you take a lady instead?” Dennis asked

“The lady I would choose to take is going with someone else” David explained

“Don’t tell me you’re still carrying a torch for that neighbour of yours?” Dennis asked and David nodded

“I don’t blame you though she’s a lovely woman”

“That she is” David said wistfully

“Ok” he said “I’ll be your wingman”

“Thanks mate” he said

It was no hardship he liked to dance in fact he was an exceptional dancer and there was always the chance he might see Gwen there.

 

The Yacht Club Dinner Dance was on the 18th of July and as Dennis

dried, perfumed and powdered himself  before he changed into his dinner suit, complete with cummerbund and bow tie, he was feeling rather nervous as he stood before his reflection and tied his tie for the fourth time and wished he worn a clip on.

“She probably won’t be there anyway” He said to himself “and you’re a confirmed bachelor for God’s sake”.

 

David arrived in a taxi to pick him up and they made it to the Yacht Club with minutes to spare.

The ante room was jammed with an array of stunningly turned out women but he couldn’t see Gwen anywhere.

However while he and David stood on the periphery of the throng Gwen Quinton-Smith appeared looking anything but plain and frumpy and was in fact looking very presentable indeed in a rather elegant retro fashion way.

 

Her heart skipped a beat when she first saw Dennis’s dapper upright figure walk in with David she didn’t know they knew each other.

“Hello David” She said warmly “thank you so much for finding Wendy for me, she’s been an absolute Godsend”

“I’m glad she’s been useful” he said and then he noticed she was no longer making eye contact with him but was looking at Dennis instead.

“Gwen, this is my brother in law Dennis” he said

“Hello Dennis” Gwen said

Just then a waitress arrived with a tray of drinks, Dennis took one and handed it to Gwen and then took one for himself and David grabbed a glass just in time before the waitress snatched the tray away.

And as she left Leslie joined them, looking very shapely and David’s heart skipped a beat.

“What are you lot talking about?” she said

“Gwen was just telling me what a little gem Wendy Corney is weren’t you Gwen” he said but she and Dennis appeared to be oblivious to their presence and then the waitress stepped through the crowd to offer Leslie a drink

 

Gwen and Dennis suddenly became aware they were not alone and then the small talk ebbed and flowed before they wandered over to the seating plan to find out who their dining companions were.

“Great we’re on the same table” David said

“Really?” Leslie said “how funny, who else have we got?”

They studied the plan for a few minutes and then David said

“Well that’s probably the best table in the room”

“I agree” Leslie said proudly

“So who do you think we need to thank?” he asked her

“Gwen obviously” Leslie scoffed “She always does the tables”

Then she stuck her arm through his and said

“You may escort me to my table peasant”

“Yes’m” he said tugging his forelock

 

David and Leslie were right about it being the best table in the room, they had a good mix and there was a lot of jovial banter although for the most part Dennis and Gwen were happy with only each other’s company and didn’t pick up on the tension between Leslie and her husband Frank.

Frank made no secret of the fact that he was totally bored with the whole affair and Leslie made no secret of that fact that she was displeased with him.

When the dancing started Dennis and Gwen headed straight for the dancefloor so they didn’t notice Frank Maher deserting his wife to go and drink with his mates at the bar.

Nor did they witness Leslie storming out muttering “Intolerable, completely intolerable”

They were also oblivious to David following hot on her heels.

 

At the Yacht Club Dinner Dance, Dennis and Gwen were on the dancefloor from the first dance to the last and were oblivious to what was happening around them until just after midnight David tapped him on the shoulder and told him that he and Leslie were heading off.

 

But they returned to the dancing again and he didn’t see David and Leslie leave and nor did Gwen and when the music stopped and the lights went on Gwen said

“Is it that time already?”

“It must be” he replied

“Well that’s disappointing” she said

“Yes it is”

 

Gwen and David ambled disconsolately outside into the balmy night air with the other hangers on and then Dennis said

“I’ll go and get us a taxi”

“Oh no” Gwen said

“You don’t want a Taxi?” He asked and she shook her head.

“Would you mind if we walked?” Gwen asked “I’m in no hurry to get home”

“Nor am I” he said “and it’s such a beautiful night”

They walked arm in arm along the promenade in their finery with a gentle breeze blowing off the sea and reminisced about places in the town that held special memories for them.

Dennis had his first kiss on the Pier with Katie Pomery who wore a red dress with white dots.   

Gwen had hers with Owen Collier on the Ghost Train in the Fun Park.

Sharpington Day Parades, Halloween Fright Nights, Firework displays, Candy Floss, Ice creams, chip suppers and kiss me quick hats.

But they were all individual memories of times before they met and they would have preferred to have had shared memories to talk about. 

But that night at the Yacht Club Dinner Dance dancing the night away would live long in both their memories.

But they enjoyed the slow walk home and were in no hurry for it too end.

 

As they reached The Ancient Mariner, Gwen said wistfully

“This is where you kissed my hand”

“Yes it was” he agreed “but that was in the bright glare of the sun”

“Yes it was a beautiful day” she mused

“However…” he began

“However?”

“However I think I can do better in the moonlight” he said

“Really?” Gwen said and then he kissed her and the most perfect night was made more so by the most perfect kiss.

 

When the kiss had ended they sat on the sea wall at the Southern end of the promenade with their arms around each other and watched the sunrise and they felt like teenagers again.

And that dawn was symbolic, it was a new dawn and a new beginning for a confirmed bachelor and a frumpy spinster. 

 

Reluctantly with the dawn fully broken they continued on their journey this time holding hands like a pair of school kids.  

He walked her to her front door still holding her hand

“I really enjoyed tonight” Dennis said

“Me too” she said

“I will never forget tonight, thank you”

“And nor will I” he said and he added “and I think we should make another memory” then he kissed her once again.

YOU ARE

 

You are the oasis in my desert

You are the sun in my sky

You are the cherry on my cake

You are the cream on my pie

You make us into we

Instead of you and I

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (36) The Insomniac Muse

 

Alex Farrell first met Gloria Barber on a grey murky day in October when he had been into the village of Highfinch to buy some essential supplies, coffee, milk and bread amongst other things.

He was staying in the sleepy hamlet of Kingfisherbridge which sat quietly between Purplemere and Sharpington nettled comfortably on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills.

It had been sunny and bright when he had left Honeysuckle Cottage that morning so he decided to walk the two miles or so into the village and he took one of the many paths through the Hawks Wood, which separated Highfinch and Kingfisherbridge.

However by the time he was leaving the village store with his essential purchases, it was raining, and it was that fine drizzly rain that soaked you in an instant and from a distance it gave the illusion of being a heavy mist.

In fact due to its inherent ability to obscure landmarks it was to all intents and purposes a mist.

 

His name was Alex Farrell and he was a writer, although no one in the Finchbottom Vale would have heard of him, but under his nom de plume of Harold Kloser he would have been hard pressed to find anyone who hadn’t, because under that name he had written a series of very successful thrillers, six in all and a seventh was now well over due.

He was recently divorced, though not by his own choice however, but his darling wife had cheated on him, with his best friend to boot so divorce couldn’t be avoided.

But since the divorce he had struggled with the seventh book in the series, it didn’t even have a title at that point and he was fast approaching a crucial deadline.

So he decided that the best thing to do was to get away, right away where no one knew him and where there were no distractions such as the constant nagging from his publishers and his agent demanding another chapter, and another and another.

So he rented a house in the country, a holiday cottage in fact almost a mile from the nearest neighbour.

As it was out of season he managed to book it from October to March although he only planned to stay there until he completed the book, which he thought he would manage in a month, two at the most, away from all the everyday distractions of a town.

So that was why he found himself living in the sickly sweet named Honeysuckle Cottage which was as the name might suggest a pretty little cottage.

It would have originally have been a two up two down but it now had a single story extension which housed the kitchen.

Upstairs was a small bedroom and the bathroom which was equipped with a good old fashioned man sized bath.

While downstairs in addition to the kitchen there was a sitting room and another bedroom.

It was absolutely perfect for his needs and should it turn out that he would have to stay there until the spring then that would be no hardship. 

Alex thought he would be very happy there, providing of course he could find his way back to Honeysuckle Cottage through the mist and the murk of Hawks Wood which he was very eager to do.

 

Alex had been walking back towards the cottage with his head down to protect his face from the slanting rain and was making slow progress on the woodland path in his totally unsuitable shoes.

When he eventually lifted his head up he didn’t recognise a single tree and he was completely disorientated and as he wasn’t that familiar with the woods in the first place he didn’t recognise anything.

So as the rain continued to fall and the mistiness showed no sign of clearing, he was starting to panic and thought he would wander the woods until exhaustion over took him and he died, such was a writers imagination.

Then he had a “Deliverance” moment and imagined he could hear banjo music and thought he would end up being brutalised by hillbillies. 

His mind was about to go off on another scenario of doom when a voice behind him asked

“Are you alright?”

He turned around and saw a small figure of indeterminate age in a parka with a fur trimmed hood.

“I am embarrassed to say it but I appear to be lost” Alex said

The figure stepped forward and pushed the hood back from her face to reveal a young woman in her mid-twenties no more than five foot tall.

“You’re lost?” she asked in disbelief and smiled broadly

“Yes” he said even more embarrassed when he saw his saviour

“Where were you going?” She asked

“Honeysuckle Cottage” he replied

“Oh you’re the writer” she said

“Yes that’s right” he said “Alex Farrell”

“I’m Gloria Barber, and we’re neighbours”

“Are we?” he asked

“Yes” She replied “I live in Cherry Tree House, just along the lane from you”

“Well I am very pleased to meet you Gloria” Alex said

“Come on I’m going your way” She said and she walked with him all the way to the cottage, she wasn’t the chattiest person he had ever met but he rather liked her.

“Here you are, safe home” she said smiling.

“Thank you for rescuing me and for walking me home” he said “come in for a coffee”

“I can’t I have to be somewhere” she replied

“Another time perhaps” he suggested

“Yes” she replied and hurried off.

 

A few days later after he had been rescued he had to drive into Purplemere to do a more substantial shop to stock the cupboards as he had exhausted the meagre supplies he brought with him when he moved in, plus he needed some more appropriate footwear for the country if he was going to walk into Highfinch again.

When he drove away from Honeysuckle Cottage, Instead of going in the direction of Highfinch he drove the opposite way down the lane which would eventually take him to Lily Green and as he did he drove past Cherry Tree House, where his nearest neighbour lived.

It was roughly two miles from his cottage and despite being called a house it was very much a cottage though it was much bigger than his, and as he drove slowly by it he found that he was surprised to find himself disappointed that there was no sign of life.

Beyond Cherry Tree House were another three houses before the lane reached the Hollows road, one of which was the home of his landlady, or at least the woman he was renting the Cottage from, Kate McEwan, who right on cue came out of her front door and waved.

He slowed down and waved back and Alex was about to drive on when she flagged him down.

“How are you settling in?” Kate asked

“Fine” he replied “I’m just going into Purplemere to stock up on groceries”

“I won’t keep you then, but Pop in for tea on the way back” she said

 

With a boot full of Stephenson’s Supermarkets finest tinned and dried goods he returned to Kingfisherbridge and didn’t really feel like stopping for tea with Mrs McEwan but she had invited him and he thought it would have been rude not to, so he pulled up outside The Villa.

As they sat in her lounge drinking from her best China, Alex related the story of his getting lost in the woods and being rescued by a young woman called Gloria.

“Oh Gloria! She’s my niece” Kate said with a mixture of pride and a little sadness “I worry about her”

“She seemed very sound when I met her” he said

“Oh she is but the poor girl is an insomniac, she hasn’t slept properly for four years or so” she said “She only ever cat naps”

“Why is that?” he asked

She was thoughtful for a moment and then she said

“More tea?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to pry” he said

“It’s ok Mr Farrell” she said “It just makes me sad”

“I understand but please call me Alex”

She nodded and went all thoughtful again before she said

“Gloria has always had a small problem with sleeping as a result of her grandmother dying in her sleep when she was 12, but she seemed to grow out of that in time” She said and then paused to take a sip of her tea.

“However when she was at University her best friend Gina suffered an embolism and died in her sleep one night.

Gloria was absolutely devastated but I think she would have come out the other side had it not been for what happened to the Newman’s”

“The Newman’s?” he asked

“Yes they were a family from Lily Green who died in a house fire”

Kate said

“It happened in the early hours as they slept, five of them, it was so tragic.

Gloria knew the family very well and she had even baby sat the children.

It was the final straw for her and ever since that night Gloria has had a morbid fear of sleeping”

He had noticed her passing the Cottage a few times since he had been there, at different times of the day and night and hadn’t until that moment appreciated the reason for her wanderings.

 

When Alex arrived home, or at least his temporary home he reflected on how candid Kate had been about her niece, after all she could just have said she suffered from insomnia and left it at that.

But he supposed not being honest might have failed to explain her irregular hours and her habit of walking the woods at all hours of the day and night.

He could relate to that in some ways as he himself was prone to keeping irregular hours.

But he was pleased Kate had told him everything, as a writer he was naturally nosy but there was something about Gloria that struck a chord with him.

 

Alex continued to see Gloria walking the lane or one of the many woodland paths but she never stopped to talk although she did occasionally wave.

In one of his many blocked moments he wondered what on earth she did with herself.

To his mind there had to be more to her life than walking the woods.

 

One day towards the end of October Alex was in Highfinch on another milk and bread run when he bumped into his landlady Kate once again.

“Alex” she said “how’s the book coming along?”

“Hello Kate, very slowly I’m afraid”

“Well I won’t keep you from it then” she said and laughed

“Don’t worry I need to rest my brain for a bit” he replied “in fact why don’t you pop in later and I will return your hospitality, I have cake”

“Well in that case I would love to” she said amiably

 

On the way back to the cottage he wasn’t sure if he might have given Kate the wrong impression and his invite might have been misconstrued.

She was an attractive woman some ten years his senior but nonetheless she was still attractive and a ten year age gap wasn’t unheard of after all.

There was a knock at the door about 3 o’clock that afternoon and when he opened the door he saw it was Kate in a grubby Berber jacket, dirty wellies and mud spattered jeans which instantly put his mind at rest.

She was hardly in the mode of dress for a woman who thought she had been invited for a tryst.

“Is it alright if I leave the dog in the porch?” she asked as she slipped off her wellies.

“Bring him in” he said

“Are you sure?” she asked “there is nothing worse than the smell of wet dog”

“Nonsense bring him in” Alex insisted

“Come on Skipper” she called

Skipper was an American Cocker Spaniel, very wet, very muddy and very friendly.

He paused briefly for a stroke and then went straight to the hearth and made himself comfortable.

 

Alex made the tea and took it into the sitting room where Kate had made herself comfortable in an armchair.

“No china cups I’m afraid” he said

“That’s good I prefer a mug” she responded and Alex gave her a look because she had served tea to him on her best china.

“I know” she replied to his unasked question “I blame my mother”

“My mother was like that as well” he confided and they both laughed.

As they drank their tea he found himself quizzing her about her niece Gloria again, doubtless the nosy writer in him coming to the fore again.

“I see her in the woods or on the Lane a lot” he said

“Yes she has a lot of time on her hands” Kate replied

“She can’t hold down a job because she doesn’t sleep regularly and she is prone to nodding off from time to time”

Kate went on to say that financially she was set, her house was hers out right and she had an annuity from her parent’s estate which was enough for her to live on, and she led a very modest existence.

“So what does she do to fill her days?” he asked

“She’s an avid reader” she replied “She’s reading all of yours at the moment”

“Really?” he said

“Yes, and Gloria is also a bit of a movie buff especially classics” Kate said “and of course she likes to walk”

“Yes indeed” he agreed

“It’s silly isn’t it that she feels safer walking the woods in the middle of the night that she does in her own bed”

“It is” he said

“She doesn’t eat properly either” she added with a lump in her throat and he thought how wonderful it was to have someone care about you that much.

 

It was Halloween and that time of the day when in his home town there would be a constant stream of expectant children knocking on the door.

But 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 front door.

He opened the door not knowing what to expect on the other side of it and 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 Gloria” he said “what on earth are you doing out in this?”

“It wasn’t this bad when I left home” she replied

She looked like she had been on manoeuvres with the SAS in the wilds of Herefordshire.

“Come in, come in” he said “what on earth 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”

And while she followed his instructions 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 audibly squelching.

She stood in front of the fire in her squelchy socks and shivered which was Alex’s signal to go upstairs and start the bath running, then he put fresh towels on the rail and went downstairs again.

“Right you need to get out of those wet things” he said in a fatherly 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”

Gloria tried to protest but he wouldn’t let her and then followed the squelching girl up the stairs.

“Throw your wet things on to the landing and I’ll put a change of clothes in the spare room for you”

“Ok Mr Farrell” she said like she was addressing a teacher.

He went downstairs again and turned his attention back to his dinner.

Alex 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, he gave it a stir and went to the airing cupboard in the spare room and looked for something that would be suitable for Gloria to wear.

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 sock that would reach her thighs.

He lay them on the bed and picked up the pile of wet clothes and carried them down stairs with him.

Once downstairs he set up the clothes drier 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 Gloria appeared in her oversized Purplemere Diamonds 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 I’m afraid”

“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

 

He thought back to the conversation he had with Kate about Gloria not eating properly and Gloria’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 Gloria

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” I said “That’s probably why I’m divorced”

 

She put her coat and boots on while Alex put her clothes in a carrier bag and then he drove her the two miles 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”

Then she laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard in her life.

 

It was a day later when Gloria “popped in” to Honeysuckle Cottage for the first time and which was to be the first of many times over the following weeks when 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, and if she saw a light on she would knock.

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 their marriage, the other thing being her infidelity.

 

As they moved slowly through November the “pop ins” increased exponentially and as they raced headlong towards December he was disappointed on the days that he didn’t see her.

 

Once they got into December he was no longer disappointed as he saw her every single day.

It began on the 1st of the month when she helped him to put up the Christmas decorations and as they were hanging the last of the garlands she said

“I love Christmas decorations”

“Me too” he said “I’ll help you put yours up when we’re done here”   

“No thanks” Gloria replied

“Why not?” he asked

“I never put decorations up at home” she said

“Why ever not?”

“I don’t know really” she mused “it makes me feel sad I suppose, it reminds me of a happier time and I suppose it’s that which makes me sad”

“But you love decorations?” Alex said

“Oh yes, very much”

“And you love these decorations?” he asked

“Absolutely, Yes”

“Do they make you feel sad?” he asked her

“No not at all”

“Why not?”

“Because I wasn’t a child in this cottage I suppose” she replied

“That’s nuts” he said

“I know” Gloria said “what can I say I’m nuts”

 

Gloria visited him at the cottage every day after that to enjoy the decorations, watch classic Christmas movies and eat his stew, bolognaise, Chilli, shepherd pie or hot pot whatever was on the menu. 

But she had made most of her visits during normal hours until Christmas Eve.

He was burning the midnight oil because he was stuck on a tricky chapter the first of three chapters which needed to be submitted to his publishers by New Year’s Day.

It was partly Gloria’s fault he had gotten behind but she was such a pleasant distraction he didn’t want to deter her from visiting.

But if he was perfectly honest she had become more of a distraction when she wasn’t there.

 

So it was just after eleven o’clock on Christmas Eve and he was rewriting the same troublesome section for the umpteenth time when Gloria knocked on the door.

He could tell it was her even before he opened the door by her unique knock.

“Hey” he said

“Hi, do you mind me popping in on Christmas Eve? I don’t want to upset your artistic flow” she said

“No flow to interrupt at the moment I’m afraid, this chapter is giving me a lot of trouble” he replied

“What is it, writers block?” Gloria asked

“No I’m not blocked, I’m writing ok, it’s just not very good” he said and laughed

“I could really use a break” he lied

 

They sat on the sofa watching an old movie that they found on cable, they chose it because it was a James Stewart classic, “The Philadelphia Story”.

About half an hour into it she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder and Alex assumed it must be one of her infamous cat naps but half an hour later she was still sleeping and he could tell by her breathing, even though he couldn’t see her, that she was properly asleep.

So he placed a cushion on his lap and gently lowered her head onto it.

Her legs were already on the sofa as she had been sitting in that side saddle fashion that only girls can achieve.

Alex then dragged the edge of the throw from the back of the sofa and draped it over her slender body.

 

He watched the end of the movie and then switched off the TV.

Gloria was still sleeping so he reached for the A4 note pad he kept on the end table and resting it on the arm of the sofa he began writing and the words flowed from his pen like an inexhaustible stream and after three hours of furious writing he had put the troublesome chapter to bed.

He looked firstly at the sleeping girl with her head on his lap and saw she was still sleeping soundly and then up at the clock which told him it was 6.45am,

Not that the time was particularly relevant but he desperately needed to pee.

So he slowly extricated himself, being careful not to wake Gloria and settled her onto the sofa and then tucked the throw around her then he kissed her forehead and said

“Happy Christmas”

As soon as he was up he realised the temperature had dropped considerably so before he went to the loo he revived the fire in the grate and put some more wood on.

He then partly closed the door, he didn’t want her to wake up in a strange place and panic, but he didn’t want to disturb her either.

After having a much needed pee he went into the kitchen to make a drink which was when there was a knock at the door.

 

He couldn’t imagine who would possibly be knocking on his front door at 7 am on Christmas morning, apart from Gloria of course but she was already there.

So he opened the door and was surprised to find Gloria’s aunt, Kate standing there instead.

“Happy Christmas Kate” he said

“Happy Christmas Alex” Kate said but without any real conviction.

“Have you seen Gloria?” she asked with real concern “I saw her coming this way last night when I was out walking the dog”

“But I went to the cottage to wish her Happy Christmas and there’s no sign of her and her bed hasn’t been disturbed” she continued pacing the small hall way.

“All the lights are still on but there’s no sign of her and I’m really worried”

“Shhh” he said putting a finger to his lips and she looked confused

“Come here Kate” he said and led her to the lounge door

“She’s asleep on the sofa”

So she crept to the door and had a glance through gap into the sitting room.

“She’s asleep” she said in amazement “Properly asleep”

“Yes she is” he said proudly

“How long?” she asked

“Over six hours” he replied

“Six hours? That’s amazing” Kate said “She obviously feels safe with you”

“Do you think so?” he asked

“Definitely” Kate replied

“I won’t wake her” he said and pulled the door to

“I’m sorry you have been disturbed like this” Kate added

“Nonsense, I’ve enjoyed having a beautiful girl for company at Christmas”

“You think she’s beautiful?” she asked

“Of course, doesn’t everybody?” he asked

Kate smiled at him and kissed his cheek

“Happy Christmas Alex” she said

“Christmas Dinner is at 3 o’clock”

 

After Kate had left he finished his drink and the lack of sleep suddenly caught up with him and he knew he had to sleep.

But he didn’t want to leave Gloria to wake up on her own, but he was too tired to sleep in an armchair.

So he thought for a moment and then went into the bedroom and got out the spare duvet before returning to the lounge.

Alex then carefully drew back the throw from around her small frail frame and then picked her up.

“Hmmm” she murmured as he held her, then he carefully carried the beautiful featherweight young woman into the bedroom where he laid her on top of the duvet and covered her with the spare one.

He then went out and turned off the lights and locked the front door before returning to the bedroom and gently slipping between the duvets to lay down beside Gloria.

“Hmmm” she murmured as she snuggled in against him, so he put his arm around her and drifted off into a contented sleep.

 

It was remarkable how life can surprise you, when he rented Honeysuckle Cottage it was only ever intended as a short term let.

But he knew when he woke up in bed next to a smiling Gloria on Christmas morning that he would never leave the village.

The book was well under way and he could easily have moved back to civilization to complete it but while he had struggled with a particularly troublesome chapter she had become his muse and his love.

And for Gloria, who had for so long held the world at arm’s length and avoided forming emotional attachments of any kind for fear they might lead to her heart being broken again, never imagined the course events would take after she rescued the panicky man lost in the woods.

She certainly never imagined she would wake up in his bed three months later or that she would have fallen in love with him.

 

When they woke up they just lay beneath the cosy comforting warmth of the duvet and talked for an hour, all the unsaid things they had wanted to say in the weeks preceding Christmas when they knew they had lost their hearts.

Before they reluctantly agreed that they needed to move as they couldn’t disappoint her Aunt Kate.

Alex got up first and showered, shaved and dressed then Gloria showered while he warmed up the car.

When she had redressed he drove her to her house where she finished getting ready and he waited in the house.

It was the first time he had been in there and it had an almost museum feel to it, no wonder she was always wandering.

 

When she was ready they left the car outside Gloria’s house and prepared to walk the hundred yards or so to Aunt Kate’s when it began to snow.

“Wow this is the best Christmas ever” she said and took hold of his hand

“It’s a perfect Christmas” he concurred and kissed her

 

The moment they walked in through the front door of the Villa Alex realised the wisdom of leaving the car at Gloria’s because he knew he would not be using it anymore that day as Uncle Henry thrust a cocktail of gargantuan proportions and indeterminate strength into his hand and he had no reason to suppose it wasn’t to be the first of many.

 

It was a wonderful Christmas, the best one either of them had ever known and the one that set the benchmark for every subsequent Christmas that they were to share.

The following December his 7th Novel was published under the title “The Insomniac Muse”

IF YOU WERE A STAR

 

If you were a star, you’d be the brightest

If you were a mood, you’d be the lightest

If you were a pop song, you’d be number one

If you were the weather, you’d be the sun

If you were a drink, you’d be bucks fizz

You are the best you are the bizz

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (35) Love Thy Neighbour

 

John Whittaker and his wife Kathy were getting divorced and as a result he moved out of the marital home.

His departure however wasn’t due to any acrimony between them, it was just that he had no particular emotional link to the place, whereas she really loved the house so he had agreed to let her buy his half and as soon as she sorted out the mortgage he bought himself a flat.

 

John and Kathy had no children so it was a fairly simple process to separate themselves and they managed to keep the involvement of the blood sucking lawyers in the process to an absolute minimum.

It was a very 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 in to breathless, heart skipping passion.

They still loved each other very much but only as friends.

 

While he was waiting for the money to come through from his half of the house he moved into a caravan up at the Whitecliff Hill Caravan Park overlooking Sharpington.   

 

John Whittaker had lived in the town all his life and he loved everything about the traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea, with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, the well maintained gardens, a pristine promenade, theatre and illuminations, plus all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.

 

The Sharpington Fun Park was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which was a proud boast for the locals.

The Fun Park had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but it was still fun and still popular with visitors and locals a like.

 

Apart from being a fun place for the many tourists to visit and great place to live for him, Sharpington was also a popular place for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks so a short term let in a caravan was ideal to keep him in Sharpington until he bought his flat and it wasn’t difficult to find a vacant caravan in February.

 

However by the end of the third month up at Whitecliff Hill the money had finally come through from Kathy and he was able to start looking for a flat and as it turned out it was perfect timing as he managed to find a flat in Jubilee Court that had just come on the market.

It was perfectly situated and gave him a view of Jubilee Park as well as a sea view and was close to the seafront. 

It was a slightly run down flat but it had everything he required though and it just needed a little TLC which he thought would give him the opportunity to stamp his mark on the place, he could just take his time because he intended to be there for a long time.

It wasn’t just a stop gap, he was in for the long haul, so a little bit of DIY didn’t bother him.

 

He moved in to flat 43, Jubilee Court, on May the 1st and he loved the flat from moment one, despite its initial dinginess, it was on the top floor so it offered spectacular views of the town, the other advantage being that there was no noise from above and in addition there were two flats between him and the lifts and so he just had the one immediate neighbour.

 

The fourth floor flat, next door to John Whittaker, was occupied by the quietest neighbour he had ever known.

In fact he had been living there for three weeks before he even realised the flat next door was occupied and the only reason he discovered that it was, was because of an obnoxious delivery man, and he was at home a lot because he was a freelance AutoCAD designer and worked from home more often than not.

 

On Monday John had been out for a walk along the promenade as far as Hemmings Post Office and General Store where he stocked up on provisions, it wasn’t the nearest shop to Jubilee Court but as he was passing he thought why not.

He had just returned to Jubilee Court, or more precisely had just emerged from the lift on the fourth floor and discovered 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, which was so positioned that she had to peer around it to see her adversary.

“It says on the docket “doorstep delivery”” he said aggressively

“And this is the doorstep”

“But I can’t get it inside the flat on my own” she pointed out

“Doorstep delivery means Doorstep Delivery” he repeated

“Please” she begged

“Look sweetheart, 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.

John had to quickly step aside to avoid being trampled underfoot by the sweaty geezer and his trolley.

But after the lift doors closed he asked

“Do you need a hand?”

“Pardon me?” she said

“Would you like a hand getting it inside?” he said nodding towards the fridge freezer.

“Oh” she exclaimed in surprise “yes that would be very kind, thank you”

He deposited his shopping on his own doorstep then went back to his neighbour and began manhandling the fridge freezer into her kitchen and then he helped her unpack it.

“I’m John by the way” he said “John Whitaker, I live next door”

“Faye Harry, I live here” she replied and laughed

 

When they had finished in the kitchen she put the kettle on while he disposed of all the packaging, it took him a couple of trips in the lift but when he returned Faye had made him a coffee and then they sat in her lounge to drink it.

 

John returned from the bin store to find Faye had made him a coffee so they sat in her lounge to drink it.

And as they sat on the sofa he said

“I haven’t seen you out and about”

“That’s because I don’t” Faye replied

“You don’t what?” John asked a little confused

“Go out” she said

“I don’t understand” he said

“I don’t leave the flat” she confirmed

“What never?”

“No never” she confirmed

“Agoraphobia?” John asked her

“Yes” she replied enthusiastically, and her face lit up with delight because someone actually knew what was wrong with her.

“How long?” he asked

“What? Since I went out?” Faye asked

“Yes”

“Three years” she said

“Three years?” he repeated in disbelief

“Why?”

“Lots of reasons really” Faye said quietly and John just sat and waited for her to elaborate.

“I’m just scared I suppose” she said, “It’s very scary out there”

“Well if you can’t go out on your own why couldn’t you go out with someone?” he suggested “A family member or a friend”

“I have no one now” she replied sadly

“No family?” he asked

“No”

“Husband? Boyfriend?” he added

“No”

“Girlfriend then?” he ventured

“No” she said very definitely

“Ok, sorry, but you must have friends” he said

“Well 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” he offered

“I suppose not” she responded

There was a brief silence and then he 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”

He nodded in response and Faye added

“It’s only a modest income but I’m not an extravagant person”

“What about shopping?” he asked

“Home delivery” Faye replied “And they don’t mind bringing it inside”

“What about the things that can’t be delivered?” John asked

“I have a hairdresser who comes here to the flat” she said

“What about your health?”

“Well I have an exercise bike and a treadmill” she replied “so I work out regularly”

“No I mean your health, doctors, dentists, hospital visits and such like?” he asked

“Well I attend to myself” she said “The internet is very informative”

“Yes but you can’t attend to everything yourself” John pointed out

“What about prescription medications?”

“You can get anything on the Internet” Faye replied “Its mind boggling”

“Blimey” he said “you really need to go outside in the real world”

“Yes but I can’t though can I” she said and tears welled up in her eyes “I just can’t do it”

“What if I was to help you?” John suggested

“What do you mean?”

“Well what if I was to help you go outside again” he said

“You would do that for me?” she asked wiping away the tears.

 

When John Whitaker offered to help a complete stranger to conquer her agoraphobia, it seemed to him at the time to be the most natural thing in the world to do.

The look of sheer relief on her face when he offered to help convinced him that it was absolutely the right thing for him to do. 

The problem was that he had absolutely no idea how to achieve it.

 

When he returned to his flat he spent the rest of the day surfing the net, reading up on the subject and he read other people’s personal accounts of how they beat agoraphobia and finished his research at 2am, but at the end of it he had a plan.

 

So starting the next day, and continuing over the following months, he set about helping Faye to leave her flat.

It wasn’t easy by any means although it could have been if he’d taken a short cut and just given her Rohypnol and carried her outside and waited for her to come around on the beach.

But he decided that if he did that without her consent it would have been counterproductive so he decided they had to do it the hard way.

However the truth was he had no idea where to begin to help her, how to take the first step so to speak.

“So tell me how it started?” he asked her on the first morning

“What?” she said

“How did the agoraphobia start?” he replied and she totally broke down in tears.

“I’m so sorry” he said as he comforted her “I didn’t mean to upset you”

When the sobs had finally subsided and she’d dried her eyes she said in a faltering voice

“It wasn’t just one thing”

“Really?” he pressed her, sensing that she had lied.     

There was a long silence as she processed his question.

“That’s not actually true” she confessed “I lost my parents when I was in my third year at University, which ultimately cost me my degree”

John didn’t respond to her confession, but instead he 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” John said

“That was Owen” Faye said

“Owen?” he asked

“Owen Blake” she replied “my fiancé”

“Oh”

“Well he wasn’t my fiancé at the time, he was just my boyfriend”

“But he got you out?”

“Yes, Owen told me that he loved me and that he couldn’t live without me and then he proposed to me” she said flatly “and so I left the room with him”

“But?” John responded and Faye looked at him and tears welled up in her eyes again but she swallowed hard and said

“But, four years later, a month before our 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” he said

“No it was worse than that, because he went on to say he’d never loved me”

“God” John said

“So if there was a single thing, then that was it” she said and the tears came again.

 

After Faye’s frank and honest revelation John was even more determined to help her, so he decided to contact a doctor, her doctor, or at least the surgery where she was still registered.

However it took 3 weeks to get one of the overpaid narcissists to do a home visit.

So in the meantime John sat and drank coffee together every morning and talked about her hopes.

When the Doctor finally showed up 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 without looking at her

“No you’re offering me a chemical cosh” she said “I’m agoraphobic, I need proper help”

“The antidepressants will help” the Doctor insisted

“I don’t need your bloody antidepressants I can medicate myself with Pinot at £4 a bottle” she retorted

“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 pompous idiot” She shouted after him

John remained seated in the armchair and smiled as she slammed the door behind him, and that was the moment he stopped seeing her as a damsel in distress.

He liked Faye despite her phobia, she was a really feisty little redhead and quite cute to boot.

 

So having sought medical advice and found them sadly wanting they resorted to Faye’s cure all and read up on the subject on the internet again.

But even that was contradictory at best and was by and large unhelpful but despite this they took matters in their own hands, and formulated a plan based loosely on what they had read.

 

On day one, Faye just had to take one step out of her front door, count to 10 and step back again.

Although it didn’t happen on day one it actually took 3 days for her to take that first important step, which was a major breakthrough, and following that initial success she repeated the process for a week, and then for the following five days she did the same thing but counted five seconds longer each time before she stepped back inside.

 

So after ten days of taking a single step outside the front door, John moved her on to Phase two, which involved Faye having to walk out of her front door and take two steps and then touch the wall in front of her.

As she stood on the threshold she was very apprehensive, but when she summoned up the courage to move she achieved her goal at her very first attempt which she was so thrilled and excited about that when she stepped back through the front door she kissed him.

But it wasn’t just an excited peck on the cheek on the spur of the moment, it was full on the mouth, and was followed through with no holds barred passion, and one thing led to another and they ended up in her bed.

 

“Wow” John said as she collapsed on top of him.

“Oh yes that was very acceptable” she echoed and then as she cuddled up to him she added “I haven’t done that for a while”

 

As John and Faye lay entwined in each other’s arms in the afterglow of making love he was thinking about the events that had lead them to her bed.

It hadn’t occurred to John at any stage since he’d known her, even after she told him that she hadn’t left the flat for three years, that Faye Harry hadn’t had sex.

 

Well it had actually been 4 years since the last time she had made love and as a result she was as horny as hell.

“Couldn’t you order that on the internet?” he asked her jokingly after she revealed the truth about her frustration.

“Oh I’m sure you can” Faye replied tartly “but I don’t do it with just anyone you know”

John took her tart reply to mean that he wasn’t just anyone which made him smile, which was great because she wasn’t just anyone to him either.

 

As wonderful as it was, there was an inadvertent consequence of sleeping with her, and not just that first time but all the subsequent occasions as well, because he had unintentionally given her another reason not to go outside.

Although to her great credit she persevered, and although she enjoyed the love making she showed no sign of giving up, in fact the more progress she made the more vigorously she rewarded herself in the bedroom.

 

The steady progress and the love making that accompanied it went on for three months and by October she could walk to the lift without even pausing for breath, and by the end of the month she had made so much progress she could walk to the lift and take the lift all the way to the ground floor and even walk to the glass front doors in the lobby.

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 he could say or do could make her go a step further.

 

Faye would cry on his shoulder all the way back up in the lift and once back in her flat a black depression would set in and so he had no option but to leave her.

It broke his heart to see her like that but he knew that trying to lift her spirits when she was that down was quite futile.

 

The next day however she would be a different person and would be bright, and full of new resolve which he knew would be short lived and there would soon be tears and depression again.

Seeing her in tears and depressed was all the more heart-breaking for John because he had fallen in love with her.

 

However he was in something of a quandary because he couldn’t tell her that he loved her, but not because he didn’t think she felt the same about him, but because Faye’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 early December day when it all came to a head.

“Today’s the day” she said as they left her flat, hand in hand, dressed for Sharpington in winter and he squeezed her hand in response and said

“I’m with you every step of the way sweetheart”

She smiled and they progressed briskly towards the lift without a moment’s hesitation.

The ride down to the foyer was made in silence but for the rattling of the cables and Faye’s breathing, which was slow and deliberate.

When the doors opened on the ground floor the foyer was full of winter sunshine and they stepped forward, still holding hands, and quickly crossed the foyer to the door to the outside world.

 

As they approached the double glass doors he reached his free hand out and pushed the left hand door open and without breaking stride he stepped outside and still holding Faye’s hand he pulled her behind him.

Once he emerged into the fresh air he was thinking to himself

“So far, so good” when his progress was halted.

He looked around to see Faye half in and half out of the door hanging onto the door frame with her free hand.

“You’re nearly there darling” he said

“I can’t” she said

“Just one more step” he urged her

“I can’t do it” she repeated and let go of his hand

“Please come with me” he 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” he said

“But why?” Faye said remaining in the doorway

“Don’t you know why?” he asked her

“No” she said

He didn’t want to say it but she was giving him no alternative so he said

“Because I…..”

“No don’t say it John” she shouted

“I have too”

“No you mustn’t” Faye urged

“I must” he said

“You know I was tricked back into the world once before by a false love” Faye said “I’m scared it will happen all over again”

“I can’t not say it, because it’s true” he said “I love you”

“I love you too” she responded almost in tears “but I still don’t think I can do it”

“Then don’t” John said

“What?” she said

“I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together” he 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” he replied

“Hold my hand” she said and he reached out and took hold of her outstretched hand, and she grasped it tightly like her life depended on it.

John looked at her determined face and smiled at her and she returned it with interest.

“Ok I’m ready” she said and taking a deep breath she stepped over the threshold out into the sunshine and into his arms.

 

As they stood there outside Jubilee Court in the December sunshine she was laughing and then she said

“I did it”

“Yes you did”

“I love you John”

“I love you too”

“So where are you going to take me?” she asked looking up at him and smiling.

“How about a walk along the prom to begin with” he said and kissed her

“Well you really know how to show a girl a good time” she said putting her arm through his 

“Hold that thought for when we get back to the flat and we need warming up”

“Oh goodie, let’s go and get chilly then” she said and squeezed his arm.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

 

How great is the feeling

Of love, love, love

Brought on the wings

Of a snow-white dove

Sent by the angels

Who dwell high above

A love so perfect

It fits me like a glove

My life was so empty

Of love, love, love

But to keep my life full

You are the solution thereof