I was 6 when my parents split, my younger sister Catherine (just 12 months old) stayed with my mother while I left with my father and went to live in the south of England. Dad eventually met and married my new mum (Sam), she was nice but she wasn’t my mum. I remember getting letters and the odd photo of my mum and Catherine but they eventually stopped when I was about 11. After a couple of years the differences seemed to disappear and I only ever thought of my mum and Catherine on their birthdays and at Christmas. Sadly they had moved, so I didn’t have an address to send cards to.
I had worked hard through school and became a pilot for a small airline company. I had my dreams of Transatlantic crossings with the big boys, but I was happy for the moment gaining flying hours and flying small aircraft around the south of England.
Sam and my Dad were in a serious car accident when I was 25 and they both died. So I was left on my own. After the accident I decided it was time to find my mum and Catherine, I knew they used to live near Leeds and so I went to the local library and began looking through old telephone books to try and find a possible telephone contact. After what seemed like hundreds of phone calls I struck gold. I was speaking to a woman with the right name but living 20 miles away from where we used to live, after a couple of questions it became apparent that this was my mother. The tears began to fall (from both of us) and I agreed to come up for the weekend and say hello. I wanted to speak to Catherine but she was out with friends, but I thought it didn’t matter as I would see her in a couple of days.
I managed to get an extra couple of days holiday from the airline, so I drove up to Yorkshire on the Thursday. I figured I would surprise my Mum on the Friday, spend the weekend with her and return south on the Monday. I booked a hotel in the area for the Thursday night.
I needed a drink so I went to a local nightclub for a quiet pint of Guinness or three. I was just about to leave when I spotted this great looking girl dancing with her friends. As I didn’t have to get up early I decided to try my luck. A couple of dances later she left her friends to go to the toilet. On her way out she accidentally bumped into me, she apologised and we got talking. Her name was Kate and she was studying to be a nurse. We hit it off immediately, we had a lot in common, we liked the same things, activities, sports etc. After a few drinks we decided to go for a walk for some fresh air.