This is the ninth episode in my story series, Years Before.
In the last part, the thing with Eva hit an ultimate peak but then came crashing down. Ruthie turned out to be a real friend.
In this part, the friendship between Ruthie and I builds but, in amongst it, the realisation for Cass and I that we were both finally single results in a rampant night that nearly happened more than once before.
Thank you for reading
******
Ruthie and I kept in touch. We met up to go for a walk and chat. No intentions beyond just being friends. Having talked about Cass to Ruthie, though, I began to realise that I hadn't heard from, or seen, Cass in a while. It was time to phone her.
"Cass?"
"Andy? Oh..." Cass had none of her usual energy.
"Cass, what's wrong?" Silence for a moment.
"Everything. I'm glad you rang. Do you have some time soon to come over? Now if you like."
"Yes, please."
"Do you want Ruthie to come over too? She's been trying your door for a few days."
"Yes, please." Cass wasn't right.
"Give me 20 minutes. Leave your door open."
A quick call before I leave.
"Hello"
"Hi. Is that Joan?"
"Yes."
"Hi Joan. It's Andy, Ruthie's friend."
"Oh, hello Andy. Don't forget. Cup of tea always here for you. You want Ruthie?"
"Ooh, yes, please, if you don't mind?"
"Not at all, hang on..." What came next in the background made me smile with some surprise. "Ruthie, it's your favourite man on the phone......"
"Mum, stop it! Bloody hell." The sound of pounding footsteps.
"Ah, Andy, Hi, honey. You OK?"
"Yes. It's Cass."
"You spoke to her?"
"Yes, I don't think it's good. You free if I call for you and we go across together."
"Yes, yes. Knock for me, Andy."
I pulled up outside Ruthie's house. I still had to get used to actually going to Ruthie's house even though my car partly lived outside it at times! As I walked up the path, Ruthie came out.
"What do you think, Andy?"
She asked before greeting me with a kiss.
"Something's happened."
We got across and Cass, as requested, had left the door open.
"Cass? Cass, where are you?"
"In the living room."
The sight of her shocked me. I had never seen Cass like it. She was pale, had almost smoked herself out of house and home and had streaks from tears down her face. Ruthie went to her while I tried to find a cloth and a cup of water.
I came back in. Cass was resting on Ruthie's shoulder. Ruthie spoke to her.
"What happened, Cass?"
"So, two things. Firstly, and I'm sure you'll be pleased...David and I are done. He started being a shit again so I told him I'd had it so he could fuck off."
"He's not tried contacting you since?"
"No, I made it clear that I didn't want to hear from him again."
"OK. How long ago was this?"
"Two days ago."
Ruthie held Cass's hand. "Oh, Cass, I was trying your door yesterday. I thought you weren't here."
"I had to be alone especially after the other thing..."
"The other thing?"
Cass waited a moment, lifted her head away from Ruthie and turned to me.
"I'm sorry, Andy."
"Cass, I don't understand."
"Eva came to see me but she didn't want you to know."
"What do you mean?"
"She called it off with you about 6 weeks ago, didn't she?"
"Yes."
"She must have come to see me the day after. We spent hours talking."
"OK." I really wasn't sure where this was going.
"I will tell you because you deserve to know but Eva will not know that you know."
"OK."
"She turned up here and cried her heart out...for a long time. She told me that she had to give up the man she loved for her friend. I realised she was talking about you and me. Ever since then, it was weighing on me what had happened. You know Eva told me everything and, well, with me, finally, calling time on David, it has just been too much. I've been like this since I told him to fuck off."
"Oh." I could feel the tears well up. Ruthie was looking at me and I glanced at her. "You know how deep it got then? Don't worry, Ruthie knows my side."
"Eva said you'd both fallen in love with each other and that the sex had become making love and you were both so close and in a proper relationship but, because of what might happen with me, there was never going to be a commitment if it upset me. I'm so sorry, Andy, so sorry."
I couldn't speak. I was glad Cass knew about it all but I didn't want Eva to be crushed as well. I had to let it out so cried into my hands. Cass and Ruthie came over and held me. I was overwhelmed.
"I loved her, Cass. Really loved her."
"Andy, when did it change for you?" Cass wanted to understand it from my point of view.
"When you went away, we met up and spent the weekend together. It was very special, very physical but we spoke a lot too and I realised we were in a different place by that time."
I recovered my composure a bit and continued.
"Do you remember when we came to see you and you said you were trying yet again with David after coming back from Sorrento?"
"Yes. I was expecting you both to give me a hard time over trying again."
"Well, why do you think we didn't?" Cass thought for a moment.
"Because it gave you more time together."
"Yes, and by the time of the party, we were so, so close, so much in love, properly."
Cass now couldn't speak and both her and Ruthie had tears in their eyes.
"But the harsh reality was that neither of us, at any time, would have considered our friendship with you to be expendable so that we could be together. It was never meant to be that...but it happened because it had the time to develop. I missed her, Cass, really missed her, but it's done now."
The box of tissues got passed around all three of us.
"This whole thing was always going to hurt somebody, wasn't it?" Ruthie, with one line, summed it up.
"Come on, kettle time."
I got up. We weren't here for me. We were here for Cass.
"Cass. You gave so much to David. I don't know how you stuck it out."
"Yes, I wonder now myself...and for what. He couldn't stop himself reverting to the same old fucking bore."
"We didn't see much of you at the party?"
"No, because, in the flush of his renewed interest, I thought I could screw him back into wanting me but, in the end, all I did was fuck myself because, by two weeks later, it was the same old shit, the bastard."
Cass was bitter in a way that was so opposite to her usual countenance.
"I gave him everything. Not only me but, indirectly, you and Eva were sacrificed because it too so long for me to realise he was useless, you guys had fallen in love. What a fucking horrible mess. Fuck, he's a..."
Cass was lost for any more words.
"Tea?" I offered her a mug with a smile. "You know, we're still here with you. Look, Ruthie, me, we're here. I can't be bitter with you about Eva because we put ourselves willingly into that, but we let it get deeper. We'd have to have been pretty soulless to keep it just as sex."
"Well, everything's changed now then, hasn't it?" Cass was right with that one.
"Yes, it has. Can I ask you one question?"
"Yes, Andy, anything for you."
"Are you keeping in regular contact with Eva? Is she OK?"
"We spoke last night. She said there's someone at work who's interested in getting together with her and she's been meeting up with him."
"Good. Tell her I said "Hi". Let her know I hope she's OK."
"I will."
After quite the confessional, and of a very different and serious nature to those that used to take place in Cass's home, we took our tea back into the living room just to chat for a while.
Ruthie was very honest and asked whether Cass and I would get together after all of this because that's why the thing with Eva finished.
"For me" I said, looking at Cass. "This is all too raw and soon to even think about that. We are very different people to even those who went into the "thing" with Eva."
"I can't imagine it either." Cass was very clear. "It would feel, right now, like I'd taken Eva's boyfriend away, even though you weren't together officially in that way, it was close enough. Even more than that, I want my friends back because, it was only through being friends that anything else took place."
As we headed into October, Cass, Ruthie and I fell into the previous pattern of things before it all got complicated, with the added factor that there were no partners involved.
Cass had spoken to Eva a couple of times and then spoken to me. Eva had started hooking up with the guy from work and was spending more time in London with him.
She was happy. It was a shame that she wasn't around so much face-to-face for Cass but, realistically, she wanted her own relationship on her terms. She did send some friendly messages through Cass back to me and I replied but, to this day, I haven't seen her or spoken to her again.