Masters And Lovers 1-4 novel Chapter 76

Thirty-One Years Ago

A figure steps down from the bus: Central Station - Barnbridge. She’s a pretty girl, but she wears a dowdy print dress in a style that was fashionable twenty years ago, but which now makes the wearer look as though she is destined for spinsterhood or a life as a librarian.

The girl looks around, her brilliant green eyes alight with excitement, darting here and there, picking out busy people, fashionable skirts and blouses, jeans cut low at the waist and tight at the thigh, and trendy sneakers in bright colours.

Smiling delightedly, she sets out, following the crowds. A roadside stand is serving something that smells of sizzle and onions and she orders a large one, paying for it from a handful of notes curled up in a pocket. The stand owner raises a brow as he sees the money this young girl is carrying.

She doesn’t care. She’s rich. She’s never had so much money to spend. Seeing brightly lit windows and neon lights she walks along, eating her burger. Nothing has ever tasted so good as this first taste of freedom. Wiping a little mustard sauce from the corner of her mouth, she stares in through the window at a dazzling display: dresses and trousers and shoes and hats and bags and bracelets and earrings, all in lovely colours and fashionable styles like the ones she sees around her. Clutching her pocket full of money, she goes in.

An hour later, another figure emerges; this one wears a designer skirt and blouse, cut slinkily to frame a blooming figure, and with a matching jacket, bag and shoes. She teeters a little in the high heels, but who cares? She’ll soon get used to them.

As she walks along the road, heads turn. This isn’t just a pretty girl. This is a beautiful woman….

…. or so it appears….

She enjoys flaunting herself, seeing the faces following her. She has never been admired before. What fun!

She realises that she’s becoming hungry again. Also that the shopfronts, one by one, are blinking dark. Never mind. There’s a big hotel at the end of the road. It looks lovely. Just the place.

A bit wobbly in the shoes, she heads for the hotel, smiling brightly when the doorman in his smart green uniform holds the door open for her.

Five minutes later, she re-emerges, blinking and looking at the remaining money in her hand. Uncertainly, she looks back the way she came, to the bus station, then shakes her head and turns the other way.

A shadow detaches itself from a dark nook and follows her.

Several hours later, sitting in an all-night cafe with a cup of coffee in a cheap cup beside her, she pulls the expensive jacket tightly around herself, shivering a little as the door swings open then bangs shut.

A couple of minutes later, a voice says, “Do you mind?”

She looks up into a pair of dark, wide-set eyes set in a handsome smiling face.

“Is that alright?” repeats the stranger. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, not at all.” In fact, she quite likes it. The stranger is attractive. She would like to talk with him. He takes a seat opposite her and a moment later the waitress serves him a mug of hot chocolate. Marshmallows float on the top in a sticky pink steaming mess and it smells delicious. “And can I have the menu, please,” he says.

As the waitress passes it to him, he says to Shelly, “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m Jason.” He offers her a hand to shake. No-one has ever shaken her hand before. She feels suddenly important.

“I’m Shelley.”

“Pleased to meet you, Shelley. Um, ‘S’cuse me a second.” He turns to the waitress. “Could I have ham and eggs to start, and waffles with syrup to follow.” Then he stops and turns back to her. “I’m so sorry. It’s been a long day. I really am forgetting my manners, aren’t I. Can I offer you something? Would you like to join me?”

She doesn’t know what to say. She has never been in this situation before. “Er, yes, thank you.”

“What would you like?” He offers her the menu.

Again, she doesn’t know what to say. Food is put on the table and that’s what you eat. “That sounded nice, what you’re having.”

He turns back to the waitress. “Twice, please.”

The waitress gives him a sharp look but takes the order. And when ham and eggs sizzle fragrant steam at her, Shelly doesn’t notice the nod that Jason gives to someone behind her.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” he says.

“No, I’ve only just arrived.”

“On holiday? Visiting family?”

“Er, no. Just me.”

There’s a glint in his eye, but his voice remains conversational. “You’ll be staying with friends then?”

“Not sure yet. I haven’t decided.”

“Oh? Right? I know a good place to stay if you like. Belongs to a friend of mine. And his rates are very good.”

“Are they? I don’t have a lot of money.”

“Really? You look quite well-off in those lovely clothes.”

“Do I? The shop assistant said they made me look older.”

“Older than what? You must be what, eighteen, nineteen?”

“Fifteen actually.”

“Fifteen? Really? Oh….” He looks up. “This is my friend, Adam.”

*****