Never Ever Leave Me (10 page)

“Of course I remember you Craig,” John replied smiling.  “You consistently turned up late, fell asleep in my lectures, yet somehow you still managed to get a first class degree.  How are you?  What are you doing now
?”

“Actually I’m lecturing in Paisley and I have this one lad who consistently turns up late, who falls asleep in my lectures and will probably get a first class degree.  He irritates the hell out of me.  You’ll be pleased to hear that what goes around comes around.  Sorry I was such a
n ass, Professor.”

The two men exchanged laughter.  John continued to mingle and
, before very long, he had another dinner invitation and had been asked to attend a pub quiz with a group of students.

“We really need you
Prof,” one of the young men said.  “We need someone with a knowledge of cheesy nineties music and we’re all too young.”

“Yeah,” another chipped in
, “We missed out on a crate of beer last week because none of us knew who sang ‘Barbie Girl’ or ‘Cotton Eye Joe’.  Do you know, Prof?”

“Barbie Girl’ was performed by ‘Aqua’, ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ by ‘Rednex’,” John replied surprised by his own knowledge.

“See,” the first young man said full of admiration.  “I told you lot the Prof would know.  He’s an old guy.  We need an old guy on our team.”

“Just a minute there, Sonny Jim, who are you calling old?  I’ll have you know I’m
still in my thirties.”

“
To us that’s old,” the young man replied.  “My folks are in their thirties, just,” he added.  “Anyway you’re smart and we need you.  What do you say?”

Somehow John found himself part of the group and agreed to attend a
quiz at a city centre pub on the evening of the following Tuesday.  As well as cheesy nineties music he was assigned tv programmes from the same era to read up on.

“Is everything okay, Sir?  The food is just coming.  The women will put it on the table by the window
where paper plates and cutlery are already laid out.  Everyone has to help themselves.  Can I get you a drink, Sir?  Perhaps, apple juice,” Khalid asked with a smile and John knew he would soon have to deliver a speech.

…

Katy and Seher rang the doorbell at ten to six and they were the first to arrive, but within five
minutes the kitchen held eight women.  Fortunately the space was large.

“Women always try to arrive a few minutes early to help the hostess lay out the food,” Seher explained.  “Any earlier and she’ll still be preparing it, any later and she’d have done all the work herself.”

The girls were introduced to Sadia’s mother-in-law as soon as they arrived.

“
My name is Ayesha but call me Auntie,” the older lady instructed.

“I
t’s a term of endearment,” Sadia explained out of earshot of Ayesha, “Quite common in Pakistan for mothers-in-law, although I call her Mummy.  She’s very kind to me, but very bossy.  I’m so glad you could come Seher and you too Katy.  She’s been telling me how to do this and how to do that all afternoon.  I’m a doctor, for goodness sake. I think I’m capable of preparing some pakora and samosas.  Anyway I’ve got to keep my cool for Khalid’s sake.  She’s staying with us for two weeks you know.  I’m glad I’ll be at work most of the time.  Khalid can entertain his mother.”

Katy and Seher exchanged
knowing glances.

“She sound
s stressed already and her mother-in-law has only just arrived,” Seher whispered.  “Can you imagine how she’ll be after a fortnight?”

“What are you girls muttering about?  Come over here to me.  Put the chicken on that tray Seher and carry it into the room where the men are.  They must all be starving
.  This food should have been out ten minutes ago.”

“Yes Auntie,”
Seher replied obediently.  “At once, Auntie,” she said and she giggled as she carried plates of food through the adjoining door into the lounge.

The women continued loading
plates while Seher carried them to the buffet table.  Katy enjoyed the easy banter in the kitchen.  The camaraderie made her feel like part of a family and she enjoyed the interaction with the other women.  Soon all the food was in place and the women went through to the lounge to join the men.

Ayesha was led over to the front of the room and introduced to the gathering then Khalid explained to everyone,
that as his father couldn’t be with them, his esteemed professor would be giving a speech on his behalf.  Everyone applauded as John was introduced, everyone except Katy who froze on the spot.

“How could you do this to me, Seher?” she hissed at her friend.  “How could you bring me knowing he would be here?  You could have warned me.  At the very least you could have warned me.  This is so embarrassing.  I suppose you thought you were doing me a good turn, but you’re not.  I told you it was too late to get in touch with him.  I told you.”

Seher was mystified.  She had no idea what her friend was talking about.

“What are you talking about
?” she asked.  “Who is here?  I’ve done nothing.  Why are you upset?”

“John,” Katy replied with exasperation, “The stranger from the train.  That’s him, standing next to Khalid about to make a speech.”

“Oh my goodness, are you sure?” her friend replied.  “Are you absolutely sure it’s him?  What a coincidence.”

“Coincidence,
you mean you didn’t get in touch with him.”

“Of course not, how could I have?  This is Khalid’s party.  John is his friend.”

After her initial shock at seeing him Katy knew Seher was telling the truth.  She stood quietly behind her friend with her head bowed planning what to say to John when he finished his speech.  Part of her was thrilled at the prospect of meeting him again, but part of her was terrified and embarrassed because she hadn’t got in touch before.

“If you’d rather leave
, you could sneak out as soon as he finishes his speech.  I’ll apologise to Sadia and tell her you weren’t feeling well,” Seher offered.

“Thanks, but I’ll
talk to him and explain what happened.  I couldn’t help being ill and it was bad luck that I lost his card.  I didn’t purposely ignore his kind offer.”

“He’s good looking, very good looking in a preppy
, intelligent sort of way,” Seher whispered.

“Shh, people will hear you.  Wait until his speech is over to talk,” Katy chided.

John’s speech was funny and flattering.  He sang Khalid’s praises, complimented his wife and his mother then he took a small box from his pocket.

“This is a gift to remind you of all the time and effort you put into gaining your doctorate,”
he said.

Khalid opened the box to reveal a silver
-plated card case.

“You’ll need new business cards showing the name Doctor Khalid Ali,” John explained.  “Now you’ll have something to carry them in.  If I could ask everyone to be upstanding and raise your glasses,”
he continued, “To Doctor Khalid Ali,” he toasted.

“To
Doctor Khalid Ali,” the assembly echoed.

Everyone began chatting again.  “It’s now or never,” Katy said to her friend and biting her lip she made her way over to John.

Although he was talking to someone, he excused himself when he saw her approaching.

“Hello,” he said shyly.  “I never thought I’d see you again.  How are you?”

Katy smiled, “Better than a couple of minutes ago.  I was nervous about coming over to talk to you.  You must think I’m awful, letting you help me then not getting in touch, but I can explain if you’ll let me.”

“Why don’t we sit over there?”
he replied, “The small sofa is free and it’s in the corner so we won’t be overheard.”

They sat down and Katy told
him everything that had happened to her.  Once again the kind stranger listened without interruption.  After speaking for over half an hour she apologised.

“I’m so sorry you must be bored to death.  It’s bad enough that you had to listen to all my troubles on
the train now I’m telling you another round of ‘what Katy did’.”

“Please don’t apologise,”
he replied.  “I’m delighted to be in your company.  I’m just sorry you’ve had such a terrible time.  I’m especially sorry about the baby.  What did your husband say?”

“He never knew I was pregnant and I intend to keep it that way.  I’ve filed for divorce and I don’t want to complicate things.  I just want to be free to get on with my life.”

“So are you socialising?  Have you made many friends?  Do you know the Alis because you live beside them?”

“No
, I didn’t know them at all until this evening.  My friend Seher, the girl standing beside Sadia, brought me along tonight, but in answer to your question, I am socialising but I don’t know many people.”

“I see, I see,” John said.  He looked thoughtful.  “I’ve started to go out again.  It’s been a year since Carol died and I feel ready to join the world again.  I’ve been going out to dinner and to pub quizzes, that sort of thing.”

“I go to the cinema with Seher every Wednesday and I eat dinner with my elderly neighbour once a week, nothing as exciting as a pub quiz,” Katy joked.

John held his chin in his hand.  They sat in silence for a moment before he said
, “I might be completely out of line here and please, shoot me down if I am, but would you like to come to a pub quiz on Tuesday?  A group of students have asked me to join their team.  We could have some pub grub and a drink.  These quizzes usually don’t go on very late and the pub isn’t very far from here.  I’d see you home afterwards.  They’re only asking me because, in their words, I’m an old guy who knows old stuff.”

“Good grief, what age are they if they think you
’re old?  They must be children.” she replied laughing.

“Some of them are still teenagers,
so I guess they are.  One of them even told me I was the same age as his folks.”

John and Katy talked and talked and gradually the room emptied as people went home.

Eventually Seher approached them and said, “Sorry to interrupt, but it’s getting late and I have a busy day tomorrow.  I’ll need to leave in a few minutes.”

“Sorry, Seher,” Katy replied standing up from the sofa.  “Doesn’t time fly when you’re enjoying y
ourself?  Let me introduce John and John this is my very good friend, Seher.”

After they shook hands Seher went to fetch the
ir jackets while Katy said goodbye.  She wrote down her address for John so he could collect her for the quiz on Tuesday then after thanking their hosts the two girls left.

When they were a distance from the flat Katy said excitedly, “I’ve got a date.  Just for pub grub and a quiz.  Oh, and we’ll be joining some students, but still, I’ve got a date and I have you to thank for it.”

CHAPTER 15

When John got home he poured himself a large scotch.  He was
excited about meeting up with Katy, but he couldn’t help feeling guilty.  Carol’s photograph stared at him from the mantelpiece in the lounge.  Her sweet mouth smiled and her bright eyes sparkled.  How could he possibly go out with another woman?  He drank his whisky then poured himself another.  He knew in his heart that Carol wouldn’t want him to shut himself away.  She had loved him and always wanted the best for him.  It was cruel and unfair that she’d died leaving him lonely and alone.

He
looked around the room which was full of things they’d chosen together.  Carol would always be part of his life, but she was gone now and somehow he had to carry on.  Every time he looked at her photograph he cried, but he could no longer wallow in his misery, it was self indulgent and pitiful.  He had to allow himself to move forward.  Carefully, he lifted down the photograph, “goodnight my darling”, he said.  Kissing the glass he slid the photo into the drawer of the sideboard.  Gently he pushed the drawer closed.  He could look at it whenever he wanted, but the time had come for him to rejoin the world, he was ready to climb out of his dark place and move forward.  He was ready to stop feeling sorry for himself and live again.

…

Katy was excited about meeting John.  Their conversation had flowed easily and naturally.  She felt safe and relaxed in his company and she realised
now that she hadn’t felt this way with Gordon for a very long time.  In fact, she wondered if she’d ever been relaxed in his company.  He’d always told her what to do, how to dress, what to think.  She’d thought it was because he loved her and wanted to protect her.  To be the strong man she could rely on to look after her, but she now realised that he had always been a bully, a spoilt man who had to have everything his way or no way.

As she lay in her second-hand bed in her little
council flat on the top floor of the high rise building, she felt content.  She had fewer material things and a less demanding job than before, but she was content.  Everything she had was hers and hers alone.  Every choice she made was her decision uninfluenced by anyone else.  She had real friends who cared about her unconditionally.  Katy hoped that Seher was right and Gordon would simply accept that it was time for them both to move on.  She was ready to step out of her dark place, a place where she was often on edge, fearful of his rules and his temper.  She was ready to move forward and live again.