Richard and Lara

For those of you who have not read 'Playing Dirty' a bit of a precis for you. Richard's wife, Zoe, tells him she is spending the weekend with her new boyfriend. Richard offers to fight for her. He does and wins, but still throws her out. Divorce is the only way forward for Richard.

This is the following Monday at work.

The UK, like many nations, has a strong Naval tradition and many sayings have transferred into normal everyday speech. I have taken that a small step further for this story. Many of the similes' I use in this story are naval from the days of Lord Nelson. For those not familiar with some of the rarer naval terms I have added notes at the end.

Sorry, longer than I like, I got carried away with these two, I like them.

All of a sudden, the company nurse, Miss Braithwaite, came marching across the hangar, I was chatting to the lads about our current task. She was retired from the NHS. She had been a nurse in the Royal Navy before that, probably where she got her attitude from. She did this job to keep busy. She was not one to cross. "Show me your hand Richard."

I gingerly held it out. She took it and was surprisingly gentle with it until she found the right spot. I screamed.

"Did you drive in with this?"

How else was I going to get to work? I thought, I did not say anything, just nodded. Anyway, I was on key duties, and it was my job this week to unlock the hangar.

"Foolish boy. You have broken a bone, off to A&E with you. You cannot drive with that. I will arrange for one of the security chaps to take you." And with that she was off like a Ship of the Line under full sail with the following wind. I thought it strange she never asked me how I did it, never mind.

"Well, that's you told, mate." Said one of the lads, they were all grinning at me. Most of them at some time or another had been on the receiving end of her wrath for doing something stupid. We finished our talk and I headed back to my desk to find one of the security guys waiting for me.

We chatted on the way to the hospital. He did ask how I did it. I fudged around the answer. Just said I caught it wrong hitting something.

If you have to go to A&E, Monday morning is one of the better times to do it. The Security chappie wandered off to get some coffee, whilst he was gone I thought back. How did Nurse Braithwaite know that I had hurt my hand?

The blokes in the office had mentioned it, but that was all, they would never have told Nurse Braithwaite, they tried to avoid her if at all possible. It must have been Klara. How much had she told her? I will have to have a word with her when I get back to work.

I had told Klara all about my weekend this morning. Probably not the best thing. I got to work early as I had to unlock, also I wanted to get ahead of the game as I would be needing time off later to sort the divorce. Klara was the hangar cleaner; she started really early and was waiting for me to unlock when I got there. She could get the offices done before the office staff got in.

She was about my age, probably a bit younger, she had a very pretty face, and I had heard the lads say they wondered what her body looked like under that cleaning smock she wore. She looked as if she made an effort she would be quite good looking. I must admit she looked pretty even with the red hair pulled back into a long functional ponytail. It looked like it would be a lot if she let it out. She was in the kitchen when I went for my first cup of tea. We had chatted in the past, you know passing the time of day, the weather, holidays, that sort of thing.

She was a nice lady and seemed a bit sad most of the time. When she smiled her face lit up. But that was such a rare occasion.

Klara went to pass me the milk. "What happened to your hand? That looks painful."

It was painful, it was swollen and had turned blue. I had taken a couple of painkillers at home that took the edge off the pain in my hand. But not my heart.

I don't know why, but it all came blurting out. The only person I had only spoken to since the incident was a few words to Zoe's father. I just told Klara that Zoe came home with a man and told me she was spending the weekend with him. I challenged him to fight for her. I won. But threw her out anyway and we were getting divorced.

"That was how I got this, during the fight." I said holding up my hand.

She took hold of it. I pulled it back and yelled. "I'm sorry." She said, "And I thought I had problems."

"You do seem a little sad."

It was her turn to bleat out. "I got divorced a year ago, and it still hurts."

"Sorry to hear that, that's rough."

"Not as rough as finding your husband in bed with your best friend and having a miscarriage with our baby from the shock."

Shit.

She burst into tears. I took hold of her and held her. She cried for a few minutes, and then she gathered herself and eased away from me. "Thank you, sorry, it just burst out."

"That's okay, misery loves company."

"True, secrets. No one at work knows, well one person."

"Absolutely."

She gave a small smile, her face did not light up this time. She took her tea and left. I thought that was the end of it. But it appears she did not keep the secret. She must have told Nurse Braithwaite.

It did not take long, The X-Ray confirmed I had broken a bone, and the doctor told me I had bruised my hand quite badly. You did not need a machine or to be a doctor for that diagnosis. That was probably from the punch to his nose or the backhander I gave the twat. They did tell me the name of the bone, it was just words. My hand was put in a lightweight cast. I asked if I could drive after what Nurse Braithwaite had said. I was advised against it until it had healed, which would take about four to six weeks or thereabouts.

Blast, I could not work from home. I could just ignore it and drive in. Anyway, who would know? That seemed the best approach. My car was an automatic, so changing gear was not going to be a problem.

A thought crossed my mind, as my sex life had just taken a dive I would have to learn to be left handed.

I got back to work and carried on from where I left off, typing was a tad awkward in the cast, but as I only used one finger at a time anyway, it was no great shakes. There was a note on my desk when I got back to it with a name and a number. 'I used these solicitors, they are good.

Kl

'.

I took time to make a few personal phone calls and I had an appointment for Thursday afternoon with the solicitor that Klara had given me the number for.

It was just after lunch when Nurse Braithwaite turned up next to my desk. She inspected my cast and found it satisfactory and told me I should book an appointment with her to have it replaced in a few days' time. Because when the swelling from the bruising went down it would become too loose to do any good.

She looked me straight in the eyes. "And no driving. You will invalidate your insurance. I know your car. If I see it in the car park I will report you to management." She turned and left me floundering in her wake.

Report me for what I wondered? I was not going to ask. Blast, I will have to think of a way around this. None of the people I worked with lived on my side of town, taxis were expensive. Buses might do the job, but the nearest bus stop was half a mile from my house. Could I borrow a car? Who would lend me one? Zoe had taken hers. I had a push bike, that would have to do. It was not the nicest weather for cycling. Blast. And I'm not sure it would be any better than driving.

I went to the kitchen for a cup of tea. Klara came running after me just as I entered. "Sorry Richard, your hand looked nasty, I had to tell Kathy about it."

I must have looked more confused than normal. Kathy?

"Kathy Braithwaite, the nurse."

All was clear, it was her. I sort of felt I should be angry with her, but we had both shared secrets with each other this morning. It did not seem right to be angry with her.

"I didn't tell her how you did it. You have to look after yourself."

I held the cast up. "It's okay, I can still type, it's just getting to work is going to be a problem."

It was her turn to look confused.

I said. "Nur... Kathy has told me not to drive, so it's the push bike for the next few weeks. Not looking forward to that with the weather forecast."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen, I didn't realise it was that bad, sorry. Will you be okay? Can I help?"

"Only if you drive down Rushdean Avenue at seven in the morning." I said jokingly.

She smiled. "I could, it's not far out of my way. I live in Brookdown."

That was a posh area, I must have raised an eyebrow. "I live with my parents after, well you know what." She said.

"No, that's fine. I will use the bike, I could do with the exercise and it will take my mind off my problems."

I thought I saw a flash of disappointment flash across her face. "Tell you what, if the forecast is really bad, I will let you pick me up. How about that?"

"Good. I feel a little less guilty now." She paused. "Kathy knows how you hurt your hand by the way. She asked me if you hit someone from work. She told me she had seen enough injuries like that on a Friday and Saturday night in A&E. I told her I had no idea how you did it. Was that okay?"

"That's fine, although it might have reached her by the rumour mill by now, I probably beat up half the thugs on my estate by the time it gets to her." I giggled.

Klara smiled back. "Oh Kathy will bring it down to earth and she will not spread it round. She can keep a secret."

Without thinking, I said. "Does she know about...?" I stopped thinking I had overstepped the mark.

"Yes, she helped me through it at the time. She has been good to me."

"I'm glad you have got someone." I smiled. "Sorry, but I have broken aeroplanes calling, I must rush. It has been nice chatting and don't worry about this." I said holding up my hand.

I got as far as the door and had a thought. I turned to her. "Could you give me a lift to the solicitors on Thursday, it's the one you used. You will know where to go. I don't want to turn up in cycling shorts."

"What time?"

"Half four, if you've finished work I'll get a taxi."

"No, that will be fine. I'll be at the front door at four."

I left and went back to work. One of the blokes in the office asked if I had been to China to fetch my tea as I had been so long? I still managed to flip him the finger with the cast on.

I wasn't looking forward to going home to an empty house, so I planned to stay as long as I could, then remembered that I had to get the bike out. It had not been used for a while. I wanted to fill the car with fuel before I put it away. There would be room in the garage when I got rid of Zoe's clutter.

I would have to see the solicitor about that. I had better make a list of questions.

It was about a quarter to four when Nurse Braithwaite turned up beside my desk, she looked like she was dressed for going home. Now what!

"I have spoken with Tom Bentley." What an ideal name for our motor transport manager I had often thought. "One of his chaps will drive you and your car home under company insurance and he will get picked after he has dropped you and your car off. Unless you would rather leave it here until your hand is better or you can make your own arrangements."

I just shook my head. "No, that's fine. It was very nice of you, thank you."

"Can't have my lads ill so they can't work now, can we." With that she gave me a small smile. Nurse Braithwaite smiling. That was new.

She turned and moved off stately down wind.

When Tom's chap dropped me off. I went into a cold empty house. I had to keep myself busy. And stay away from the beer.

I cleared a load of clutter from the garage, mainly Zoe's. I got my bike out, that would need looking at before I use it tomorrow. I put the car in and restacked Zoe's stuff in front of it. I will have to get in contact with her and get her to collect her belongings.

I got all that done, I got clothes out for cycling to work in. I will have to put a lot of work clothes in my locker at work. Cooking for one was going to be a pain as well.

I will have to start using the works canteen. I had forgotten what it was like to be single, that is another thing I would not forgive Zoe for.

The bike was not too bad, a bit of oil here and there, a tweak of the brakes. I would order new tyres and inner tubes online and change them at the weekend.

I was dreading the weekend.

I did not sleep well that night.

I was up early and decided for the first bike ride an early start would be good. It took me thirty five minutes. I was well early. I got changed in the office. I was the only one there so no one saw me in my underpants. I had just finished dressing when Klara came in. She gave me a little wave and carried on with her work.

I did have lunch in the canteen and sat with a few mates. I could see the pity in their eyes, the rumour mill had been busy.

I worked late, had a sandwich when I got home and spent an hour practising with my competition air pistol. What a life!

I left home five minutes later the next day, it took me over forty five minutes to get in, the traffic was mad. Those five minutes made a lot of difference. I was still early.

Klara was hoovering beside my desk when I got in. I had a feeling she was waiting for me. She was. "You haven't forgotten I'm taking you to the solicitors tomorrow have you?"

"No it's not something I could forget."

"Sorry."

"No not you, it's not your fault. You've been very helpful." I gave her a smile.

She smiled back. "I'll see you at lunch time to sort out the details."

I had an idea. "Look we are both early every day, let's meet in the tea bar for a coffee and work it out there."

"What, are you ashamed to be seen with me in the canteen?"

I was aghast, never. Then I saw she was smiling.

"I would never be ashamed to be seen with you." I came back with.

"Good. I'll see you in the morning."

With that she turned and walked away. Not quite like a ship off the line, more of a sloop. It must run in the family.

We did meet the following morning. She brought me a Blueberry Muffin. I ate it as we discussed times and arrangements. I did not have the heart to tell her I do not like blueberries.

I spent a lot of the day going over the sums that I wanted to show the solicitor.

The house Zoe and I lived in was left to me and my sister by our grandparents. I took out a mortgage to pay off my sister, it wasn't a large one. I had lived in it for three years when Zoe moved in and we got married. She had contributed to the mortgage for the last nearly four years. But it was still only my name on the deeds. I suspect she will want that money back. I was going to offer her two thirds of what she paid as a starting point. The least I paid her the less I would have to borrow. I just hoped she wouldn't fight it.

Klara was waiting for me at the front door at four o'clock, she dropped me right outside the solicitors.

The solicitor, Mrs Trethowen, was very nice, she understood where I was coming from after I told her the story. I missed out the bits about the fight. She warned me that I may have a fight on my hands about the house. Although the 50-50 split of the rest should be alright, but it would depend on Zoe.

The biggest impact for me was sitting in front of Mrs Trethowen and realising it was the end of my marriage and losing the one person I loved and thought loved me enough to have children with and grow old together. The shattering of all the plans we had made. I barely held the tears in. I blew my nose, a lot. Klara had given me an extra two hankies before I went in, I wondered why at the time. I know now.

I remember sitting in a pub afterwards and Klara putting a glass in my hand, I just drank it. I hate whiskey. I choked and nearly sprayed it everywhere. There was a pint of beer in front of me, I grabbed it and sunk half of it. Then I realised it may not have been mine. I saw Klara had a glass of wine in front of her.

"Was that mine?" I croaked at her.

She nodded.

"Thank you."

"It's hard isn't it? Seeing your future disappear in a puff of smoke like it never existed. Mine was different from yours. I'm sure no two are the same. But the pain is. I know the pain."

I looked at her. "You lost a lot more than I did, you had got that one step further than me and Zoe."

I washed the stinging taste of the Whisky away with my beer and offered to get her one. She declined and told me we had better get me back to work so I could get home on the bike. She did not want me to fall off my bike drunk as Kathy would never forgive her.

She asked if I was hungry and did I want to pick something up on the way back. I told her I had no appetite.

That was a bad night. I cried a lot.

I got into work very early on Friday, there was very little traffic. Klara met me in the tea bar. She admitted she was waiting for me when I asked her. She wanted to make sure I got in alright and was as well as could be expected. The way she used that phrase gave me a small smile.

There have been few of those recently.

Just after lunch Nurse Braithwaite turned up at my desk demanding to look at the cast on my hand. She wanted to change it, I wanted to stay on as I had a shooting competition on Sunday. I had practised with this cast on and did not want to change it.

She insisted I was at her office nine sharp Monday. I won that little battle. She went away like an old steamboat, puffing and blowing.

I spent Friday evening and Saturday gathering Zoe's stuff together. I left a message on her mobile and her parent's phones that I would be away on Sunday and to collect her belongings and to look to see if there was anything else she wanted, leave me a list and we would discuss it. Also to leave her keys behind when she left. I trusted her parents to make sure she behaved herself.

My shooting was rubbish, but it got me out of the house and gave me something to think about. When I got home the keys were on the table and Zoe's stuff was gone. There was a list of things she would like. It was mainly our wedding pictures. I was torn. It was one of the best days of my life and I had fond memories of that day. She could have them. I sat and thought about her for the first time in a week. Did I still love her? Yes, I did. Could I live with her? Not a cat in hell's chance. She had done that to me once. What was to stop her doing it again? I was not going to offer myself up to that pain again with her, or anyone.

Monday Klara was waiting for me again in the tea bar with another blueberry muffin. I picked the blueberries out.

We had a chat about our weekends. I told her about Zoe collecting her stuff and wanting the wedding photos, she suggested I get copies if I still wanted them, in fact she could get it done for me. Her Dad did photography and she might be able to sort it for me. She told me she went out with friends Saturday night to a club. I joked she was on the pull. That did not go down well. She told me she was not interested in men at the moment. I realised I had messed up. In an attempt to lighten the mood I said. "So, I have no chance when I get divorced then?"

Then she stunned me. "You don't have to wait that long. Whenever you're ready." With that she stood up and walked away. What the bloody hell did she mean by that. I had enough problems with women as it was, I did not need any more complications.

I was duly at Nurse Braithwaite's surgery at five to nine. I did not want to be late. As she replaced my cast she asked how my shooting went. I told her how badly I did. She said next time bring my weapon in and she could mould a better cast. She was awfully chatty. I was not used to this. I risked a question. "Is Klara okay? She seemed a bit off this morning."