Hi all, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. For those of you who haven't read it, I'd advise you to go back and give it a quick read - this chapter picks up where that one left off.
Chapter 2
"Well Marie, you were right," I said, placing my phone on the table and spinning it around for her to look at. She picked it up and began reading the message over the top of her glasses. While she read, I took a large bite out of the bacon and egg sandwich she'd bought me. It tasted a little bit like what I imagined heaven would taste like.
I studied the elderly lady as her eyes flicked back and forth across the screen. Over the course of a week, she had become a surprise rock in my life, a steady guiding hand that held my own as a storm raged around me. It also happened to be a hand that had no issues with clipping me around the ear if I was moping too much. Somehow, those small moments of pain pulled me out of a downward spiral.
"What's the point in glasses if you look over them when you read?" I asked through a mouthful of salty bacon, fluffy bread, and juicy egg.
Marie's eyes darted upwards and she gave me a look that would send many a man running for cover. Fortunately, her hands were occupied with my phone and I was leaning far enough away that my ears were protected... for the moment.
"I can read things up close just fine," she replied tartly. "It's anything slightly further away that's the problem, now let me finish reading. Oh, and Jim, swallow your food before you talk, I didn't go through the effort of making it for you to have it sprayed back in my face."
I looked appropriately sheepish and ate my sandwich in smaller bites.
Marie finished moments later and slid the phone back across the table to me, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Well?" I asked.
"It sounds like it could be complicated."
I sighed. "Yeah, I suppose that's it then. Maybe being with her should just be a golden memory and nothing more."
A sharp pain exploded in my left earlobe. "OUCH!"
"You're doing it again," Marie said heartlessly. "You do this thing where you look down like a lost puppy and feel sorry for yourself."
"Well, haven't I got a right to feel that way?" I asked, rubbing my ear. The old woman was some sort of ear-slapping ninja.
Her voice softened a fraction. "Yes, you do, but it won't help, trust me. It would be the easiest thing in the world to let yourself tumble into a pit of despair, but you
have
to keep your chin up and eyes forward." She pointed at the phone. "I said it could be complicated, not that you shouldn't do anything about it. Tell me, what have you thought about most over the week?"
The answer was easy. "My night with May."
"Even after what Linda did? Even after her betrayal? All those years of marriage?"
I rubbed my temples. "I know! My mind is a mess, I'm a mess! My heart is broken, my marriage is in pieces, and yet all I can think about is that night with May! It's like I'm on a sinking rowboat out at sea and then May comes along in this crazy yacht and offers me to jump on board. Am I jumping on board because she's the ultimate rebound or because I genuinely like her? More importantly, why the hell does she like me? I mean, what have I got to offer her that a million other far richer and more successful guys couldn't? Shit, I wouldn't be surprised if she gets offers every night!" As I finished, the memory of Linda dancing with Marc flashed into my mind accompanied by a stab of pain and anger.
"Hence why it could be complicated," Marie said sympathetically. "You're right, Jim. You are all over the place, but I will tell you one thing: I've been around long enough to know a good one when I see them, and you, darling, are one of the best."
She patted my hand affectionately.
"Thanks, Marie. If only you were forty years younger, eh?"
She laughed. "You couldn't have handled me at your age. I was untameable..." Her smile faded at the end of her sentence and she looked sad. "Well, I was nearly untameable," she added sadly.
"What do you mean?"
"I was a bit of a wild person... until I met Bob. I was out partying, as I always was, when I met him, my future husband. I don't know if love at first sight is a real thing, but I reckon it was for me."
I thought back to meeting May. "It could be," I said. "How did you meet?"
"Well, I saw him standing at the bar and I was infatuated. I targeted him as my next conquest. I remember strolling up to him, all of the arrogance and sexiness in the world - I used to be a catch, don't you know. Anyway, I tapped him on the shoulder, ready to take him and have my way with him and do you know what he did?" Marie laughed. "He turned around, looked me up and down, and said, 'no thanks'."
"No thanks!?"
Marie laughed harder. "Yes! He just said, 'No thanks' and turned back around. Of course, the hothead I was, I demanded he talk to me. I asked him what made him think he was so great, and he said something that changed my life, he said, 'I don't think I'm great, but I don't think you are either'. When I looked at myself in the mirror that night, I didn't like the person I saw... the person Bob had seen with one look. He was the first person to strip all of that away. Suddenly, I felt naked and ashamed. So, I changed. It wasn't overnight, it took time and effort, but eventually I became a person I could be proud of. I went back to the same club every weekend, but not for a good time. I went back there for Bob. It was two months before I saw him again, and when I did, boy was I nervous. I must have looked like a rabbit approaching a lion. I tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned around, I saw how a man should look at a woman. There was no leering, no lust in his eyes, only admiration. Pure admiration. And the rest, as they say, is history."
"I would like to meet this Bob one day," I said without noticing the wistful way in which Marie had told her story.
"Well, I actually see him every time I finish my shift, if you'd like to join me?"
I shrugged. "Sure, I'll train after I've finished work."
Marie disappeared to gather her belongings and reappeared wearing one of those long coats elderly ladies always wore in cold weather. I had all of my things for work with me, so I shouldered my bag and offered her my arm as we left the hotel.
The air was bitter outside and the streets were filled with bustling people and cars driving far too fast. I was suddenly aware of just how fragile Marie was. In the hotel reception, she was a force of nature but out in the real world, she was just a little old lady. I felt oddly protective over her.
I let her lead me through the park and we made small talk. It wasn't until we reached the far side that I noticed she sounded sad. Then I looked up and saw the archway for the cemetery. My heart dropped from my chest to somewhere around my stomach.
"Marie," I said in a soft voice. "Bob..."
"He passed away earlier this year," she said with a catch in her voice. "We used to take walks in the morning, it's why I do the nightshifts. It means I can come here after and speak to him... besides, I don't really sleep all that well anymore."
I put my arm around her and she dabbed at her eyes. "Come on, let's go and meet him," I said gently.
