The final week at university was always fun. It was a chance to let your hair down with your mates before going your separate ways for the ten week summer vacation. Some, like me, had summer jobs to go to, while others were going off to Europe on a student inter-rail pass. Most were just going back to mum and dad.
I'd had to let my parents know that I wouldn't be home. I told them I'd got a job as a temporary caretaker which was sort of correct. My mum was disappointed that I wouldn't be coming home but the more I could earn the less of a burden I was on them. I hadn't told them about Lesley, I thought I'd wait a while before doing that.
The final week was also a great week for hooking up with girls but although I pretended to my mates to be up for it, my heart wasn't in it.
The long awaited exam results came out on the Wednesday afternoon. They were placed on a board outside the admin office. Under each exam title were a list of names in alphabetical order and against each name was a simple pass or fail. I scanned the results for my name and felt a wave of relief come over me when I saw that there were no fails. There was no reason to stay at university now and so I called Ruth to say that I'd be with them on Thursday.
That Wednesday night was a raucous night on campus, celebrating with those who had passed and commiserating with those who needed to re-sit. I stumbled into my bed in the early hours of Thursday and woke up with a thick head in the morning.
The little Mini was complaining when I arrived at Ruth and David's in the late afternoon. It wasn't used to carrying all my worldly possessions and having to travel so far. A thin trail of steam was coming out of the exhaust, the tell-tale sign of a blown head gasket. Both Ruth and David were there to greet me. David shook my hand and Ruth gave me a big hug
"Your car's looking a bit sick," Ruth said.
"Blown head gasket," I replied. "I had keep stopping to fill the radiator up but we made it"
"Can you fix it?"
"Oh yes. I'll need a few parts but it's reasonably cheap to repair and with my trusty Haynes manual I'll be fine."
"We didn't think that you'd come until Friday. It's good that you did though, as we're off to London for the weekend tomorrow. Come on in and have a cup of tea, then we'll show you around the flat."
My digs for the next ten weeks had been a stable block and living quarters a century ago. The stables had been converted into garage space while the upstairs had been converted into an apartment. The apartment was an odd shape but basically consisted of an open plan kitchen and lounge area, a good size bedroom with a double bed, a small study room and a shower room with a toilet and a basin.
"This is fantastic Ruth," I said. "It's like a palace compared to my student digs."
"I know," she said laughing, "and if you want to work on your car in the garage then there's plenty of space. I'll show you."
We went down to the garage below. David's Jaguar was parked in one bay and Ruth's little Triumph in the one next to it. The third bay was empty. It was larger than the other two and had an inspection pit dug into it. Around the edge were cabinets and a couple of sturdy workbenches. In a corner, tucked away looking very sorry for itself was a BMW motorbike. It looked like it hadn't moved in a while.
"There are quite a few tools in here I think," said Ruth. The last owner was a vintage car enthusiast. We inherited much of his stuff when we bought the house but working on cars was never David's thing."
"And the motorbike, do you still use it?"
Ruth rolled her eyes. "David bought it about 6 years ago. He had big plans to tour around Europe on it. We went to the seaside a couple of times and the rest of the time it's been sat here. I don't think it has moved for the last couple of years. Can you ride?"
"Yes, my dad has a Honda he uses to get to work on. I passed my test on it a few years ago."
"Well, if it still works then you're welcome to use it. It will need an MOT and tax for sure and a service I guess. If it helps I can put you on the insurance. There are a couple of helmets somewhere in here too."
"That would be great Ruth, thank you."
"No problem. There's one more thing to show you. Come this way."
Ruth opened a door at the back of the garage which opened to reveal a home gym. It had weights, an exercise bike and a multi gym structure. It also had a space for doing yoga and stretching, with a mirror on one wall and a punch-bag in the corner.
"I thought you might find this useful. David had it built to keep us both in shape. We don't use it as much as we should but I've been trying to get on the exercise bike a bit lately".
"I thought that you were looking rather trim, Ruth," I said, making her blush slightly.
"Well I've been trying these last few months. The competition keeps getting younger," she said coyly.
With the tour over I began to unpack the car and get settled in. My few possessions hardly gave the flat a lived in feel but I could work on that. I ate with David and Ruth in the evening, sitting at the table in their big kitchen. It was nice to eat home cooked food but I resolved to cook for myself also in order to give them their space.
"So, is it alright with you if I start work on Monday? I'd like to take the head off the Mini on Friday then Lesley can drive me to Lincoln to get the parts on Saturday morning."
"That's fine, we'll be leaving at around lunchtime tomorrow but we'll be back on Sunday. I'll walk you through what needs doing on Monday morning then we can take it from there."
I woke up on Friday and decided to go for a run. I hadn't done any exercise since taking my exams two weeks ago and was keen to get into a routine again. I ran through the village, past the pub and out into the countryside. The Lincolnshire Wolds were a patchwork of fields with plenty of lanes to run along. The terrain was quite hilly compared to the flat streets I'd been used to. That morning, with the late June sun beginning to heat up the day and nothing but the sound of the birds to keep me company, I could see why David and Ruth had chosen to live there.
An hour later I got back, had a shower and was contemplating starting on the Mini when Ruth came over and asked if I'd had breakfast.
"Not yet," I said.
"Come on over then. There are a few things we need to go through with you before we leave."
Ruth cooked scrambled egg on toast as she explained the facts of rural life to me.
"We love it here and the people are very friendly but in a small place like this everybody knows everyone else's business. David, because he's a writer, is already seen as a bit of an exotic creature but we'd be mortified if anyone found out what we really got up to."
"I understand. I'll be discreet."
"I've already primed the village that you are coming and told them that you're my nephew from London. You're going to be spending the summer vacation with us in order that you can be nearer to your girlfriend in Nottingham. The best deceptions have their basis in truth."
"I think I can remember that," I said.
I finished breakfast then man-handled the Mini into the garage. With Haynes manual in hand I followed the instructions step by step until an hour and a half later I had the head off and everything neatly laid out on the bench. The inspection pit came in useful when it came to draining the oil and the radiator. It was so much easier than doing it in the street.
As I was finishing, Ruth and David came in to get the Jaguar out of the garage.
"Now, you've got a key to the house as well as your flat and this is the code for the burglar alarm."
"There's no need, Ruth, we will stay in the flat."
"You're welcome to use the house. We trust you. Plus, Lesley knows where the toys and videos are hidden." They both laughed at this. "We'll be back on Sunday night. If there are any problems," She thought for a moment then said, "I've no idea, you'll just have to deal with them. David and I are off to enjoy ourselves!"
"Have fun you kids," I said to them.
"Oh we will," said Ruth, knowingly. "I'll tell you all about it when we get back."
It was only lunchtime and Lesley wouldn't be arriving until 6.00 p.m. at the earliest and so I thought I'd make a start on the BMW. It was a 1976 R90s. It was quite sporty for its day but this one also had panniers for practicality. At 900cc it was much bigger than the bikes I'd ridden before.
I pumped the tyres up then rolled the bike out of the garage and gave it a wash to get all the dust off. The bike soon dried in the sun then I took the battery out and put it on charge, cleaned the plugs and drained the engine and transmission oil. The fuel tank was dry but it looked clean inside. The list of things I was going to have to buy in order to get the car and the bike back on the road was getting longer and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to afford it all. If the battery didn't charge then I was stuffed.
With time to spare I took a trip to the village shop to buy some provisions. Ruth had been right. The lady behind the counter had already guessed I was Ruth's nephew and what followed seemed like a bit of an interview but after I'd answered her questions I was allowed to pay for my groceries and we left on the best of terms.
At around 6.00 p.m. Lesley arrived. She gave me such a big hug that I thought she was never going to let go. I carried her bags up the steps to the flat and opened the door.
"Welcome to my home," I said grandly and gave her a quick tour of the rooms, which took all of two minutes. "There's plenty of space in the cupboards in the bedroom so you can leave some stuff here if you like. Oh and I got you something. It's not much, so I wouldn't get too excited."
We went to the kitchen area and I handed her a small brown paper bag. She opened the bag and took out the pink toothbrush which was inside.