by J. R. Bonham
“Mike’s outside in the car,” she began.
“And that’s where he’ll have to stay,” he told her in no uncertain terms.
She went into the sitting room where her mother stayed sitting.
“Hi Mum, are you OK?” She was surprised that her mother didn’t get up to greet her.
“Not feeling wonderful today,” said Audrey, then took a huge gulp of liquid from a mug. Jan raised her eyebrows but she wasn’t really surprised.
“Do you want a drink? Coffee, tea, gin?” Ken asked his daughter.
“I’ll make myself a coffee, thanks. D’you want some?”
“I’ve got a beer.” Jan was shocked to see them in this state. They were getting old and the house was a mess. She could see first hand that they weren’t really looking after themselves very well. She knew what was in her mother’s coffee mug, disguised as tea or coffee. She just knew it would be gin. She had seen it all before.
‘No wonder she can’t get up,’ thought Jan.
Ken tried to talk Jan into going back home; he was fed up with Geoff ringing them at all hours in tears. They never asked her how she was and she wasn’t going to offer the information. She found the whole experience difficult. Her own parents. It should never be like that.
She only stayed an hour. She felt that was long enough with their rudeness in leaving Mike outside in the car. She couldn’t wait to get back to him.
“Right, now we’ll go and see John and Clare,” said Jan as she climbed into the car. “There will be a better welcome there, I’m sure. Clare’s agreed to take all her brood over to John’s to save us going to hers. So you can meet them all in one fell swoop!”
They arrived at John and Vera’s house and Vera invited them in.
“How lovely to meet you at last,” she gushed.
“Likewise,” Mike said as he shook her hand warmly.
Mike was introduced to all of Jan’s family – John and Vera, Clare and Jamie, plus all of their respective children – Danny, Natalie, Kara and Joss.
“I’m worried about Mum,” Jan began. “She didn’t look at all well. She’s not looking after herself. Or Dad. Or the house for that matter. The whole house smells and is looking very shabby,” she told them. “It’s no wonder they didn’t want visitors in there.”
“I know,” said John who had been working with his father in the factory for some years and knew the problems Ken had been having with Audrey. “I’ll talk to you later about that. First things first. Now you kids have met Mike, you can go off and do your own thing. Let’s have some drinks.” He asked what everyone was having and went off to fetch them.
“It’s lovely to meet you at long last,” Clare began, looking straight at Mike. Mike felt a bit overwhelmed to meet all of Jan’s family at once, but he was used to holding his own.
“I’m delighted to meet you too. I’ve heard so much about you all; it’s nice to put faces to names.”
Vera put on a buffet for them all to help themselves. Mike and Jan stayed for a good part of the day talking things over, laughing and generally enjoying the occasion.
John told Jan that their father was thinking about putting Audrey into a care home. She was only just 70, but her manic depression was getting worse and she sometimes forgot her medication. She wasn’t looking after herself and she certainly wasn’t looking after Ken anymore. He was doing the shopping, cooking and cleaning as best he could, but he couldn’t cope with her as he was getting older himself. He was 78. John told Jan that the care home situation was put on hold for the time being but he could see it happening at some stage.
“I’m so glad you’ve met some of my family,” said Jan to Mike on the way home that afternoon.
“They seem reasonable people. It was very enjoyable. At least they’re not against me like your dad seems to be. I guess you had better meet my mum now,” Mike suggested. He had visited her once a week since they got together so Jan thought it might be on the cards to meet her future mother-in-law.
Jan felt guilty of visiting Bristol without going to see her old school friend, Paula, so she rang her the next day. She hadn’t spoken to her since she first told her she was leaving Geoff.
“So, how is your new life panning out?” asked Paula.
“Well, so far so good. We went to Thailand to get away from all the stress and anxiety we had caused to our respective families. We met up with Marian and Kai, stayed with them on their farm. It was great and it was nice that Mike was able to meet Marian. She helped us a lot in getting us together.”
Paula was furious when she heard this. ‘Why didn’t she ask me to help them get together. Doesn’t she trust me? She asks Marian who is thousands of miles away. What could she have possibly done to help?’
“You could have asked me, you know. I’m a lot closer to hand. I would have helped.”
‘Oh dear,’ thought Jan. ‘I’ve upset her now. But she knows that Marian and I were best friends at school and a lot closer, if not geographically. I will have to placate her, calm her down.’
“It doesn’t make any difference who helps. Anyway, it’s all water under the bridge now. You’re a good friend and I don’t want to upset you. I can’t wait for you to meet Mike. Next time we come to Bristol we will see you then.” Jan wasn’t going to tell her that they visited a few days before and failed to see her then.
“OK. On another subject – how is it in the bed department now? You know what I mean? Have you managed an orgasm yet?”
“Oh, Wow! Now I know what you’ve been going on about all these years! Yes, it’s perfect. Mike is so considerate, just like you told me a long time ago that Stuart is with you.”
“Oh, good. Well, that’s alright then. Although nowadays it’s not so good with us. Stuart isn’t quite so thoughtful these days. Since Susan left home, Stuart has felt quite lost. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but he just doesn’t seem that interested anymore.”
“Oh, that’s sad, I’m so sorry. Do let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“I will. And see you next time you come to Bristol. Bye for now.”
Paula put the phone down and started to cry. ‘Her life is just beginning with her new man and mine seems to be in the doldrums.’
Jan filled her days by busying herself with things in the house. She went out and bought things she needed in the kitchen in order to make Mike food she knew he enjoyed when he came home from work, exhausted. It was difficult because the kitchen was so small and not very well equipped. All her best cooking utensils were in Devon so she would just have to buy more.
On weekdays, Mike would come home at about 7 pm and she would have a meal ready for him. Then they would cuddle up on the sofa and watch a little TV or talk and would retire to bed around 11 pm. At weekends, they would have more time to spend together. Mike took delight in showing her more of the area about which she knew so little.
Jan knew that she would have to find work for herself, otherwise, she felt she would die of boredom. She went to the Job Centre to sign on.
In a short space of time she was sent for an interview at a local garden centre. She was offered a job in the office and started almost straight away. She loved it. She was one of only four people working in the office and they all seemed very amenable.
The tiny rented cottage garden was starting to look a bit untidy; it was only laid to grass. Jan was able to have a good discount at the garden centre, so she bought some garden tools and a few plants. She made a little flower bed to make it look more homely. The cottage inside and out was starting to become just like a proper home, albeit temporary until they could sort things out on a more permanent basis. The lease was only for six months.
“How would you like to go to the opera?” Mike asked Jan one day after he came home from work.
“I don’t know much about opera, but I’ll come with you if that’s what you’d li
ke me to do.” They made a pact, there and then, that if there was something one of them wanted to do and the other wasn’t so keen, they would agree to do it and vice versa. This was the first opportunity that had arisen.
“I have to take some clients to Sadler’s Wells to see Cosi Fan Tutte. I’ve seen it before and it’s quite light. One of Mozart’s best really, in my opinion. I have to say, I’m not so much of an opera buff myself but it’s mainly the clients who are interested. It’s my job to see that they have what they want. And this time it’s a bit of culture, I reckon.”
“Well, that just shows you how uncultured I am,” Jan admitted. “I’ve never been to an opera in my life so I’ve no idea if I’ll like it or not.”
“You’ll soon get used to corporate entertainment. It’s something that I have to do all the time in my line of work. But I don’t necessarily have to like it. It’s like we are showing off our company to our clients to try and impress them. It’s just the way we advertise our business, hoping to do further business with them instead of them taking their business elsewhere. The main thing is that occasionally there will be something we might enjoy as well. And it’s all provided by the company I work for,” Mike told Jan.
“That’s OK with me. As long as we’re together doing these things, I shall be happy. What other things are there? Something that I might like?”
“Apart from the opera, d’you mean?” Jan nodded. “Well, there’s cricket at Lords where we have a box. We also have the use of a box at Ascot. That’s quite fun sometimes, to dress up. A good excuse to buy a new frock! And a hat if you like. You can put a bet on horses after seeing them in the paddock,” Mike started to explain. “I know something you would like – we’ve got a company yacht which I have the use of and can take out with clients.” Jan’s eyes lit up at the thought of going out on a yacht, something she had always been keen on. “We can take clients to Wimbledon if we want to. Also, there are plenty of good shows on in London, music concerts and plays, things like that. It’s just that this time, the clients like opera. There will be plenty more where that came from. This could be your starter for ten!”
“Does that go on a lot then? Corporate entertainment? You just have to be there for the client, whatever they want, you provide?” Jan was curious, she wasn’t used to this kind of life.
“Oh yes,” Mike smiled, as he was touched by Jan’s naivety.
Chapter 40
It had been several weeks since Jan had left. Geoff had lost weight, despite his mother’s best efforts at feeding him up. He was very depressed. Neither Louise nor Steven knew what to do with him. They were glad to have their grandmother there to help. Steven was smoking more than he had ever smoked, not only ordinary cigarettes either. He liked a reefer, as he felt it helped to keep him calm.
Geoff was still signed off from work; there was no way he was able to go back with his depression taking a hold on him. He had an idea which cheered him up slightly. He would decorate the house. Then he would beg Jan to return and promise all sorts of things that he would try very hard to produce. He would lure her back with promises that they would have more holidays, something of which she always complained of a lack. Meanwhile, he would think of more things that she wouldn’t be able to resist. He ran it by his mother for approval.
“What d’you think, Mum? D’you think I’d be able to win her round and get her back?” ‘I can’t bear the thought of her being with someone else but I also can’t bear the thought of being without her either. It’s a Catch 22 situation.’
“Well, Geoffrey dear, I think you probably can,” she began. “But will you be able to forgive her for being unfaithful to you?” she added, conveniently forgetting her own infidelity all those years ago. ‘Why he wants that bitch back is anyone’s guess! He must want his bumps felt.’
“I’m just going to have to try, although it’ll be hard,” Geoff confessed.
He told Steven and Louise of his plan and then went to buy the materials for decorating the sitting room and their bedroom as a start.
‘I’ll go for pink paint, she always liked the colour pink.’
He had never decorated before but he knew he had to move the furniture into the centre of the room. He took advice from the shop who sold him the paint. He had to strip the walls, prime them and then brush or roller one or two coats of the main colour.
It took him two weeks to finish the sitting room and he felt better for something to do, to take his mind off the situation in which he found himself. And his depression.
Meanwhile, Louise had an idea of her own and she ran it by Steven.
“We could drive up to Surbiton overnight to arrive first thing in the morning. We’ll lie in wait outside the cottage where Mum is ‘shacked up’ with that man. We’ll wait until he goes to work. Then we’ll ring the doorbell and surprise her and beg her to come home because we can’t deal with Dad. Tell her we are too upset without her and we can’t cope. We can lay it on a bit thick and she’ll go for it, hopefully. We won’t tell Dad what we’re going to do in case it doesn’t work. We can’t raise his hopes. But we must try anything we can. What d’you think?”
“Well, it’s worth a try. Let’s go for it. When shall we go?”
They planned it for one night the following week.
They waited until they thought their father was asleep and they crept downstairs and into Louise’s car. They left a note for him in case he woke up and found they had gone. They didn’t want him to think that they had left him like his wife had. So they wrote that they would be back the next day but not sure what time. They set off just after 2 am as they anticipated it would take them about five hours. It was an easy drive with not much traffic, although Steven’s map reading in the dark proved quite difficult. They had already looked at maps beforehand so that helped and they knew the general direction to start with.
They got to Surbiton in good time; it had taken them less time than they thought it would and arrived at 6.45 am. They found the road and then drove into the area where Jan and Mike’s cottage was. It was still a building site, but it was almost finished and people had started moving into the flats. They saw Jan’s car and next to it was a car that Louise recognised as the same as the one that she had followed in Torquay, all those months before.
They didn’t have long to wait. They saw Mike appear at the front door, briefcase in hand. He kissed Jan at the door, went to his car and drove off to work.
Jan saw Mike off to work, but she didn’t go back to bed even though she had been feeling tired a lot of the time. She got the ironing board out and proceeded to iron some of his shirts when she heard the doorbell. ‘He must have forgotten his key,’ she thought. She opened the door and was surprised to see her two children standing in front of her.
“Oh! Hello,” she smiled and beckoned them in and hugged them both. “What are you doing here?”
“We want you to come home. We all miss you terribly,” Louise began. “We reckon you’ve had your fun but now it’s time to get back to reality. Look, you’re only doing things you would do at home,” she pointed at the pile of washing and ironing.
“Dad is very ill,” Steven interjected. “He can’t function properly. He’s even threatened to end it all. Gran is staying with us but she can’t cope with him much longer. I think she wants to go home. Her health is suffering too from all the stress in the house. It’s just not a happy place anymore.”
“What d’you mean he’s very ill?” Jan asked.
“He had a fit the other day. We had no idea what to do or how to cope with him afterwards. He was in a right state.”
“He hasn’t had a fit for about fifteen years.” Jan was worried because she had been the cause of his illness this time.
“He’s very depressed, doing all sorts of strange things,” Steven added.
“In sickness and in health is what you promised when you got married,” said Louise, near to
tears, trying to remind her mother of her wedding vows.
“I’m sorry, but I came here to get away from all that. He’s never been easy to live with all these years. I know it’s selfish of me but I think it’s my time now. You will both leave home at some stage and have your own lives to lead. You won’t have another thought for us. I’m sure your dad will find someone else in time. I do hope so.”
“Not the way he is now. He’s desperate and we’re worried that he’ll do something to himself. Please, please come home, Mum,” Steven pleaded. “We promise we’ll get Dad sorted out, with your help. He’s already told us he would change his attitude if you came back.”
“Please Mum,” added Louise, noticing Jan start to crumble. “We miss you too! I want you to help me with my wedding plans,” she added, and when Steven went out of the room to go to the toilet she thought she would also add, “And Steven’s smoking too much! And I’m not just talking about cigarettes.”
An hour and a half of begging, pleading and cajoling later and Jan told them she would come home. They left her then to drive home, satisfied they had succeeded in what they set out to do.
Jan sat down exhausted. She wasn’t at all happy at what had just happened. She felt railroaded. She had told them that she wouldn’t be able to come yet as she would have to give a month’s notice at work in accordance with her contract. But, yes she would go home to her husband and try to sort things out. She felt utterly deflated. It wasn’t what she wanted at all, but it was something she felt was her duty.
When Mike came home later that day, Jan made him his favourite supper and then dropped the bombshell. She would be returning home to her husband since her children’s visit.
“Oh NO! I can’t believe it. After all we’ve been through and you’re leaving me! Oh, please don’t go,” he cried. “Haven’t I made you happy while we’ve been together?”