Moving the gear leaver to ‘D’, she precariously moved the car down the drive and onto the main road, her eyes frantically searching the neighbour’s houses as she slowly drove past, hoping she hadn’t been recognised.
She quickly became familiar with the car, but nerves trembled in her stomach as she approached the busy High Street. She parked in the small ‘pay and display’ car park, avoiding her having to manoeuvre into a parking space on the street.
As she walked back up the hill towards the flat, Lilly Parker waved frantically at her from the other side of the street. She crossed the road and approached Jennifer, giving her a couple of air kisses before indulging in conversation.
‘I haven’t seen you for ages, Jennifer, where have you been hiding yourself?’ she said, dragging Jennifer’s arm into the doorway of the Victorian teashop to shelter from the drizzle.
‘I can’t stop, Lilly, I’ve lots to do and I’m late already, but I’ll give you a call and we can meet up for lunch when I have more time,’ Jennifer said, releasing her hand from her arm as she smiled at Lilly’s bewildered expression.
Jennifer continued up the hill, looking behind her to see Lilly Parker disappear into Marks & Spencer before she was able to go into the house unrecognised.
She looked around as she placed the key into the lock of the front door, quickly closing it behind her, taking a deep breath before attempting the long flight of stairs up to the top floor.
She was pleasantly surprised to find John washed, shaved and dressed but disappointed to see no attempt had been made to clean the kitchen or the rest of the untidy flat.
‘Why the sudden urgency to see me?’ John asked her.
‘No reason, dear, I normally take Walter for a run on the north cliff and occasionally have lunch at the Scalby Mills pub so thought it would make a nice change for you to accompany me and for you to get some fresh air for a change,’ she said plausibly.
‘I’m not walking all the way to the north cliff, it’s pissing down,’ he replied, turning his head towards the kitchen window.
‘I’ve got the car, so you won’t need to walk,’ she said, holding the car keys in front of his face.
‘I thought you’d given up driving,’ he said, frowning at her.
‘Whatever gave you that idea?’ I’ve always driven a car, but I don’t often drive into town,’ she said, placing the keys back into her coat pocket.
She walked down the stairs as John closed and locked the door behind him. She could hear his heavy breathing as he followed closely behind her as she held onto the banister rail until she got to the bottom.
She pulled her fur-lined hood over her head against the drizzle and to avoid being recognised by the few shoppers who had braved the miserable weather.
John climbed into the passenger seat as Jennifer fumbled with the keys, trying to get them into the ignition. She drove slowly out of the car park as John looked around the car, opening the glove box and pulling down the sun visor, opening the vanity mirror and slamming it closed quickly after looking at his dishevelled facial appearance, unimpressed at the refection he saw.
She carefully drove along the North Bay Road as John looked up at the castle that towered above them.
She avoided parking in the pub car park and drove further on to the ‘pay and display’ car park a short distance down the road. There were no other cars parked, only a camper-van at the far end with the curtains closed, blocking out the appalling rain which was blowing in from the sea.
It was high tide as they walked over to the pub. The parasols, which had shielded the sun the day before, were now lowered as the rain fell heavily on the unoccupied seats.
Walter excitingly trotted alongside Jennifer as they walked over the small footbridge adjacent to the pub.
‘I though we were going to get some grub?’ John asked, with aggression in his voice.
‘Let’s give Walter his run first, then we can come back and have a nice chat over a good hot lunch,’ she suggested, pulling his arm forward as she walked across the bridge, Walter tugging at the lead in desperation to run wild on the open cliff.
John apprehensively agreed, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head and putting his hands in his pockets as he followed Jennifer over the small foot bridge and climbed up to the top of the cliff, as Walter frantically ran in and out of the bushes.
The higher they climbed, the more the weather deteriorated. Jennifer shielded her face from the oncoming rain as John slouched behind her, dragging his muddy shoes, mumbling and grumbling as he walked.
Jennifer stopped to gaze at the open sea as John huffed and puffed at the side of her. She peered over the edge of the cliff with a surprised expression on her face.
‘John, look, there’s a car down there, why would a car be down there?’ she said.
He looked over the edge, seeing nothing but the sea lashing over the rocks below.
‘I can’t see a car, what car?’ he said, dangerously peering over the side.
Jennifer watched his body bending over as his eyes searched for the elusive car. She placed her hands on the back of his jacket and with all her strength, pushed him over until he fell. His fall was broken as he clung in desperation to a tuft of wet earth, his body dangling precariously over the edge, his large weight supported by his foot which rested on a narrow ledge.
His mouth was moving but she couldn’t hear what he was saying due to the strong wind which whipped around her. His eyes were wide with fear as he slowly looked over his shoulder at the sheer drop below him.
Jennifer looked each side of her as she slowly approached the cliff edge, her shoes slipping on the wet grass under her feet. She looked down at his fearful expression, slowly lifting her tiny feet and placing them on the back of his grubby hands as they clung to the tufts of grass. With the full strength of her small body, she pressed her shoes hard onto his hands until the earth gave way under the force.
She watched his body fall to the bottom of the cliff, his screams reminiscent to that of the seagulls which were the only witness to his death.
She precariously peered over the edge of the cliff, surveying the lifeless body of her brother, the sea lapping at his disjointed and mangled limbs.
The sun broke briefly through a break in the clouds, sending a beam of light across his broken body. Jennifer looked up to the sky, feeling a shuddering vibration through her body as the soggy earth beneath her tiny feet slowly detached itself from the surface of the cliff, sending her through the air and down towards the rocks and boulders where her brother lay. She screamed as she fell, her arms reaching out in a desperate attempt to break her fall.
She fell to the ground, landing heavily on the boulder next to John.
Her disjointed arm rested across his chest as the seagulls dived and swooped over their lifeless bodies.
The taxi pulled up outside the house as George hobbled up the drive and into the dark kitchen. The house was unlit and silent as he carefully lifted the cooked casserole out of the oven.
He looked out of the window as the sun went down over the horizon. His eyes turned towards the North Bay, unaware that the inseparable bond between his beloved Jennifer and her beloved John had finally come to an end.
Inseparable Bond Page 50