 
# The Autum Reunion

# Terry Aspinall

© Copyright 2008 by Terry Aspinall

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying) recording, or otherwise – without prior permission in writing from the author.

ISBN : 9781476395159

Published by Terry Aspinall

Smashwords Edition

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# A short story

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locals or events is entirely coincidental.

# Table of Contents

Chapter 1. The Reunion

Chapter 2. Adriana

Chapter 3. Christine

Chapter 4. James

Other titles by this author
Chapter 1

# The Reunion

It was autumn and had been raining steadily for several hours, making the roads very slippery and treacherous to all who ventured out. The evening had turned out to be very cold, wet and uncomfortable, made worse by the fact that there was no moon to be seen peering through the mass of rain clouds that still covered the night sky. It was one of those nights that you would not have turned away your worst enemy, to face the elements

James was one of those who had chose to travel that Friday evening, and found him sitting behind the wheel of his newly purchased Ford saloon car. He was driving from his home in London, and heading towards the small Suffolk country town of Stowmarket.

About an hour into his trip the rain became even heavier, so heavy that the windscreen wipers were having a problem coping with the large volume of water. That was cutting down his visibility and making it harder for him to see the road ahead. While the steady back and forward motion of the wiper blades was having a hypnotic effect on him. Coursing him to feel drowsy and playing tricks on his eyes. At times he was almost unable to read the road conditions ahead correctly.

Suddenly ahead he noticed a car parked on the left-hand side of the road, on the hard shoulder. It had no lights on and he thought he saw some sort of a message or writing in the rear window, but he wasn't quite sure. Because of the weather conditions he had not been driving fast, so he was able to pull up along side of the parked vehicle, to see if he could assist the driver.

At that very same moment the rain appeared to fall even harder, although he wanted to help he did not want to get wet if he could help it. So James leaned over his passenger seat and wound down the window only exposing a slight gap. He then shouted to the other car at the top of his voice, but there was no response. The person behind the wheel appeared just as an outline to James and completely out of focus. So it was hard for James to make out if they had responded to his call.

His view through the other car window was also blocked out by the large amount of condensation that had gathered on the inside of the car. Whoever was inside of the vehicle was also having problems looking out through the condensation and large volume of water that was constantly running down the outside of the windows. These conditions were also making it hard for James to see into the car. Coupled to this, the noise of the rain beating down on both cars made it sounded just like a constant roll of thunder.

James suddenly became worried about the situation he was about to become involved in. He was finding it strange that they did not respond to his calls. Maybe they did not want to be contacted he thought, or far worse maybe they were up to no good. The last thing he needed on a night like this was to get involved with some sort of crank, or even worse maybe they had just murdered somebody. His imagination was starting to run riot with him, even thinking that there might be a body in the boot.

He tried shouting once again but still there was no response. James was sure that there was some sort of a problem and that whoever was in the car was even more scared of him. If he was going to help then somehow he had to gain their confidence and prove to them that he meant them no harm. He made up his mind that come what may he was going to try and help whoever it was.

So he reversed his car back up the road a short distance and then positioned it directly behind the parked vehicle. He left his headlights on full beam showing up the vehicle in the night. It was then that he noticed the message in the car's rear window; it simply said, 'HELP'.

The sign told him that he had made the right decision, whoever it was inside the vehicle needed his help, and if it meant getting wet, well that would be a small price to pay. He got out of his car and ran to the front of the other vehicle, and stood in front of the bonnet so the driver could see his face in the glare of his headlights. It was also a way of showing them that he did not have a problem with showing his face.

He had only been there for a couple of seconds, but in that time he was completely drenched. The rain flattened his hair washing it down his forehead and into his eyes. He started to worry in case it made him look like a monster and that he might scare the driver even more. His clothes were completely saturated by now as he felt a cold shiver ran down his spine from the water running freely down the middle of his back. Still there was no sign of a reaction from the occupant inside the car, so he was going to have to come up with something else, in an effort to prove that he meant them no harm. Maybe if he were to prove to them who he was, then it would put their mind at rest. If he were to give them his name, surely then there was no way that he would attack them.

He pulled his collar up and walked to the driver's door and tapped on the window. The driver used their hand to rub a hole in the condensation on the window and looked up at him. James suddenly realised that it was a woman who was sitting behind the wheel. He could see that she was very scared and that somehow he was going to have to prove to her that he meant her no harm. Slowly he reached into his inside jacket pocket and took out his wallet. He then shouted to the driver to wind down her window just a couple of inches. Which she did, he then poked through the gap his driving licence along with one of his business cards. As the cards were taken James asked her to let him in to the vehicle so they could talk to her, as he was getting very wet and uncomfortable standing in the rain. It seemed like minutes but in actual fact it was only just a few seconds, when the lady inside the car told him that he could go around and get in the passenger seat.

James opened the passenger side door and stuck his head inside, introducing himself in a jovial voice. It was his way of trying to reassure her that he was just a normal sort of guy and hoped that it would cheer her up, not wanting to scare her further. Then before the driver had given her name, James jumped into the seat and quickly closed the car door behind him.

His first remarks were about the terrible night and the ferocity of the rain. The driver put on the interior light and for the first time James was able to see her face. She was a good-looking middle-aged well-dressed woman, but most of her makeup was all smudged. He guessed by the constant tears that had obviously been running down her face for some time. He also noticed that she was trembling, whether through fright or of cold he wasn't sure. One thing he did know was that during the past few hours she had worked herself up into a bad state of mind, and she wasn't going to let her guard down in a hurry.

As she returned his licence and business card she introduced herself as Christine and went on to tell him that she had broken down almost five hours earlier. Nobody had bothered to stop and help her. When it had got dark she had become scared and worried in case somebody stopped and attacked her. She wasn't even sure if she had done right by placing the sign in the window, although it had been done as a last resort. She went on to tell him that at one time she had panicked so much that she had got herself all worked up. To her the dangerous situation she had found herself in had been so real and James could hear it in her voice. While at the same time she was still trying to hold back the tears. She also explained that she had scribbled out the help message with her lipstick. On an old piece of cardboard that she just happened to have in the car, in a vain attempt to attract some attention to her plight. She was not sure if she had done the right thing by placing the sign in the window, although it had been done mainly as a last resort.

James asked her what had happened to the car and had she had another go at trying to restart the engine. Christine explained that the engine had just died on her and that she had managed to freewheel it onto the hard shoulder where he had found her. She had constantly tried to start the engine, so many times that the battery had been run flat. James told her that because of the large amount of water on the road, it was a good bet that some had splashed up on the engine, and more than likely gotten into the carburettor. In the heavy rain that was still falling there was no chance that he was going to be able to dry everything out for her. Even if he did he had no jumper leads to help re-start the engine.

Christine asked James if he had a mobile phone as she had left hers behind that day. He told her that he had one back in his car but that sadly the battery was flat, having forgotten to re-charge it the night before. To his relief she told him that she was a member of the Automobile Association. James knew the road well and suggested that he take her to an all night roadside Café, which he knew was just a few miles further up the road where they could ring for help. He was caught off his guard and surprised that she agreed so quickly. It was as though she could not get out of the vehicle fast enough, having been trapped in for so long. She was worried about leaving the car on the side of the road in case it was stole. James reassured her that only ducks and fish would be out that night, and that she could take the couple of bags that she had lying on the back seat. For the first time he noticed the faint hint of a smile on her face and a pretty face at that. James told her to make a dash to his car and that he would lock her vehicle up and bring the bags with him.

Arriving at the Café James asked Christine for her AA membership card. Then giving her the bags he pointed her towards the ladies room where she could clean herself up from the scars of her long ordeal. While he made his way towards a payphone to try and get some help for the car.

By the time Christine emerged from the ladies room James had found a table by the window and had two cups of hot coffee for them. Wows you scrub up well were the first words that he greeted her with, as she blushed and thanked him for what he had done. Deep inside James had to admit that she was a very pretty woman and that he would have been proud to parade her off in front of his mates.

After a time he had to look away as he realised that he was starring at her, and was afraid that she might think he was some sort of pervert. There followed a few moments silence before he looked back and told her that he had fixed it up with the Automobile Association, and that they would be sending a guy to have a look at her car. He added that it might be a couple of hours before they arrive, as it was a busy night. He had chosen the table by the window so that they could watch out for him.

Speaking shyly Christine told him that she would be all right on her own and that she did not want to put him to anymore trouble. She felt safe now that she was amongst other people, and at least it was warmer than in her car. James shook his head and insisted that he stay until the break down guy arrives, just to make sure that she did not have any more problems.

However, at first he had something important to do, and that was to get out of his wet cloths before he caught a cold or chill. Thinking himself lucky that he was travelling with a suitcase, as he intended staying away from home for a couple of weeks. After asking if she would be all right for a few minutes, James made his way to his car where he retrieved some dry clothes to change into, and then headed for the men's room. By the time he emerged after taking a few extra minutes to comb his hair, he was now looking quite smart and dapper. So much so even Christine remarked how nice he looked. James smiled knowing full well that he had gone to the trouble on purpose wanting to impress her. It was his believe that pretty woman like her were impressed by smartly dressed well-groomed guys.

Christine did not say much she seemed a very quite sort of person, so in an effort that they did not just sit there staring at each other with neither saying a word. James under took most of the talking, telling her that he lived in London and that he was heading for a school reunion. She detected in his voice that he was very excited at the prospect of seeing his old friends and acquaintances once again. Many of which he had not seen since leaving school in the late sixties.

He suddenly realised that he had given his age away and wondered how old Christine was. However, was scared of asking knowing full well that it was an unwritten rule that you did not ask a woman her age. Then realising that he was being silly in thinking that way, after all it was all irrelevant, because they had only just met and in about an hour's time they were going to Part Company probably never to see each other again. So why was he thinking these sorts of thoughts, why not just say what you want. Enjoy the moment because once they parted it was going to be forever.

Looking at Christine he once again asked if she was okay as he could see that she was still shaking a little. She just gave him a brief nod of the head and said yes. It must have been a bad ordeal in that car just thinking that nobody would stop and help you. If they had, then there was the added worry of what sort of person they might have been confronted with. It was hard for James to keep up a conversation while always trying to reassure her that her ordeal was over. That she should look on the positive side and to forget about what had just happened, and to just look to the future. Think on the bright side he told her after all it could have been worse, he stopped in mid sentence realising that he had blundered. He was just making it worse by going on about it, somehow he had to get off the subject.

Christine had her elbows on the table with both of her hands leaning forward clutching a second cup of coffee in front of her. Looking like she was trying to heat her body up from the warmth of the cup. James reached forward and clasped his hands around hers, and for a moment there was a dead silence as they peered into each other's eyes.

Unfortunately the spell was broken by the voice of somebody calling out that he was looking for the occupants of a broken down car. Over here James called as he released his hands in order to wave to attract the guy's attention. He then looked back at Christine, but the spell had been broken that special magic moment had gone forever.

Christine told James that she would be okay now and that he would be able to continue his journey. He wanted to return to the car with her, trying desperately to spend as much time as possible in her company. However, he could hear in the tone of her voice that she did not want him to go with her. The repair guy was informed of the problems with the car and where it was, agreeing to take Christine with him. If he could not repair the car then he would get it towed and the company would put Christine up in a hotel for the remainder of the night.

The repair guy made his way out of the Café with Christine's bags; she turned to James and once again thanked him for everything he had done. She then leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek and whispered in his ear another thank you. As she was about to turn away and leave, James moved forward and returned the kiss, this one was a little longer but it was still on the cheek. He wanted to kiss her on the lips but thought better of it not wanting to spoil the moment. Then he slipped in to her hand his business card and told her that if ever she was in need of help in the future. All she had to do was to ring his mobile phone, as it was usually switched on at all times. For the first time that evening Christine tried to laugh and told him that he had better make sure that he kept it charged up, and with that she turned and walked away. James stood in the doorway of the café and waved to her as they drove out of the car park. He then made his way to his car to continue his own journey.

As he drove through the night he could not help thinking of Christine and of what might have been. He had taken an instant liking to her and would have liked to meet her again some time. Then it dawned on him that he had not even got her phone number, kicking himself constantly for that mistake. Now he knew that he would never see her again and that thought hurt him, what a fool he'd been. It was too late for him to think about driving back to where her car had broken down, by now it would have been fixed and she'd be on her way to where ever she was heading.

In an effort to try and get his mind off Christine, he started thinking of what had brought him to this point in time, and to what lay ahead.

James had been surfing the web one evening and came across a site that listed all of the schools in England. Out of curiosity he logged on to the Stowmarket Secondary Modern School site, the school where he had completed most of his growing up. To his amazement the school had announced that they were having a reunion for some of its old classroom mates. Instead of the usual reunion that was usually made up of a particular class, this reunion was for an age group of four years. Anybody who had attended the school during those years was welcome to attend for a dinner and dance. This slotted nicely into the middle of his stint of education at the school.

Also on the notice board he found a list of ex-pupils all looking for long lost friends. It was Adriana who caught his eye; she had been one of his old flames. He was curious as to what she had been up to over the past few years. So he had sent her a message via the School site notice board. Adriana had been his steady girl friend for three years, which included the last two of the four years that he attended the school. If his memory served him correctly she had even lived within seeing distance of the school playground.

They had then flirted with each other via E-mails messages for a couple of months, with neither one of them letting on as to whether they were married or had partners at the moment. They spent a long time chatting about what they had got up to and what might have been if they had stayed together. James had to remind her that it was her Adriana who had coursed their split, when she had accused him of seeing somebody else, instead of being on a date with her. When in actual fact he had only been late in turning up to meet her because of a printing error in a bus timetable. James was once again trying to make her understand that it had all been a big mix up, and that if she had believed him, they might just have still been together right now.

They also talked about some of the other kids who had been in their classes. Adriana had filled him in on a lot of the local gossip and rumours that went with each pupil's names that came up, having a few laughs at their expense. Upon Adriana's insistence James had finally given in and promised her that he would somehow try and get to the reunion, if he could talk his grandmother in to letting him stay with her for a couple of days. He also made Adriana promise that she would escort him to the function, so that he did not look out of place. She would have to give each person who approached him a name.

Because of his meeting with Christine he knew he would not make his destination at a sociable hour that night. So he spent some time at another all night Café just outside of Ipswich where he also grabbed an hour's sleep in his car. Arriving at Recreation Road in Stowmarket just as his Grandmother was getting up on the Saturday morning. She had not slept much that night worrying why he had not arrived the night before. James explained everything to her over the breakfast table, as she in turn brought him up to date with some of her local gossip. Although he had moved away from Stowmarket within a couple of years of his leaving school, he had always tried to keep in touch with what was going on. Whenever the town's name appeared in the newspapers or was on the television news he would always take an interest.

The house that he was staying at over looked the recreation grounds and also the Secondary Modern School where the reunion was to be held that night. So once he had taken a shower and cleaned himself up, he rang Adriana just to let her know that he was in town safely. He also wanted to make arrangements for the evening because he felt like an outsider, and wanted her to come and pick him up and to take him to the ball.

Adriana was thrilled by the phone call and wanted to come over that very moment to see him. So this informed James that she still had nice feelings towards him, making him feel good. James decided that they should not meet until the evening so that they would both be bubbling with excitement at their first meeting for several years.

His grandmother almost put a spoke in his wheel as they say, by asking if he had seen her since he left the town. James replied no, but that they had swapped photos on line. Then suddenly he realised that she might have sent him an old one or even one of somebody else. Maybe after all those years she was not going to look as good as he had remembered her. His grandmother laughed and told him that life is always full of surprises, and what you make of it.

Adriana arrived at the house bang on 4 pm just as they had agreed, and both received a shock as they greeted each other after an absence of several. The picture James's had stored in his head was of a slim very good-looking young girl. He knew that he would have to allow a little in his imagination, as even he had put on a small amount of weight over that time. However, what he was confronted with was more than he could ever have imagined. Far better than the E-mail photo she had sent him. Adriana was still as slim as ever, and she still had the good looks to go with it. Yes the years had been very kind to her, and he wondered why she had chosen him to go to the ball with, and not the hundreds of local guys that must have been queuing up to escort her.

You scrub up well were the first words that she greeted him with, putting a smile on his face, and thinking that he had heard that saying before. He returned the compliment adding that she looked stunning, and with that they went into a long kissing session, that was soon broken up by his grandmother tapping him on the back with her walking stick wanting to be introduced.

The school was only across the recreation ground so it was just a short distance to walk. On the way Adriana hung onto James arm pointing out the house where she used to live in Walnut Tree Walk, and telling him that she now lived just around the corner in Violet Hill Road. James added that at least if she got drunk tonight she would not have far to stagger home. She butted in adding that she hoped if she was in that sort of condition then he would do the right thing and escort her home safely. By the way do you drink he asked, now and again on special occasions she told him, adding that today was one of those days, being the most special day she had encountered for several years.

Arriving at the school they were directed to the main assembly hall where they suddenly found themselves amongst a couple of hundred fellow ex-pupils. James could hardly believe his eyes; the hall was just as he remembered it all those years earlier. There had been a few changes but basically it was all original. The fellow pupils were another kettle of fish, after a brief look around he did not seem to recognise many of the faces. So it was Adriana's job to take him around and introduce him, while indulging in the odd free glass of wine that was being offered regularly.

James seemed to be more interested in the females who seemed to be crowding around him at almost every opportunity. Because of this Adriana held on to his arm extra tight in an effort not to let him go. She was proud to be his escort and was not letting him go at any cost; to her she was showing him off like a prize bull. From the general conversation that was doing the assemble room that evening; he had turned out to be the catch of the night. Adriana explained to him that he was one of only a hand full of pupils who had travelled a fair distance to the event, the main bulk of those gathered lived within just a few miles of the town.

All the ex-pupils were taken into the school canteen where a large meal had been prepared for them, where they were to discover a nice twist to the evening. Some of the young people who were now attending the school were acting as waiters for the evening. It did not seem to matter where the guests sat, because they were all old friends in one way or another. While the meal was being eaten a large amount of drink was also being served, and Adriana and James drank freely.

Adriana had tried to sit James in a position that was next to her and one of the other guys, but she had not been successful and to his right sat Judith Royberts. Wow Judith! Now he needed no prompting to remember her. Her big chest soon jogged his memory; after all she was the girl that every boy had wanted to fondle. James had to admit that he was one of those boys, and that he was also one of the few boys who had been successful. He had never really gone out with her but he had at least spent a few nights in her company. Her chest had definitely been the big attraction, but other than that she had not really been his type of girl. Besides every time he had been out with her, he'd been fighting off all of the other boys who wanted to get their hands on her. Adriana was on a losing battle, as Judith became the centre of attraction by undertaking most of the talking.

After a time James leaned over to Adriana and whispered in her ear that he was not interested in her and that she, Adriana had nothing to fear for the evening. Adriana whispered back at him, Yeah until the beer kicks in, James just laughed. He returned her remark by saying if and when it kicks in; it will help to mask some of the ugly ones that are here tonight. Time has not been to kind to some of them, they had not weathered the storm as they say.

Sitting opposite them was Maureen Crow and her husband Phillip Patterson they had been schoolyard sweet hearts. James was surprised to see that their marriage had lasted, especially with all of the stresses of modern day living. While next to them was Ben Morley and Anne Taylor, both had been married twice, and in Anne's case her second husband had only just left her. However, on this particular evening marriage problems had been put aside, and everybody was getting on well with each other.

After the meal they all made their way back into the main assembly hall where a dance was being held in their honour. Now it was time for James to circulate once again amongst the ex-students, and to try and chat with the ones he had missed or had turned up late. He had made a big effort to get to this reunion, so now he was here he was going to have a good time and talk to them all.

Paul Hibbert, he recognised him right away, Paul had been a very close friend although they had been in different classes. Paul was the brainy one and had been in the 'A' classes, while James had been a little further back in the queue when the brains had been issued out. He had gone through school in the 'B' classes along with Adriana. James and Paul had been close, even spending the night times together on the recreation ground. While they waited for the girls to come out of night school so they could take at least one of them home for a cuddle on the doorstep before kissing them good night. In those days the boys were not worried about further education at nights; it was bad enough being at school during the day, so who wanted to return for another dose at night.

Paul's other attraction had been money, for some unexplained reason Paul always had money, and he spent regularly at the school tuck shop buying sweets. It was these sweets that he gave away freely, that made him a very popular boy. Not many boys at that time carried pocket money to school, so it did not take much to work out that Paul had a steady following of friends. Most of the boys wondered where the regular money came from but nobody was game to ask him. With James it had been different while he freely accepted the sweets when they were offered; he was still a good friend even on the days when the sweets were not being dished out.

Chris Peddleton had gone right through school with James in the 'B' classes and was very musical. At one of the school Christmas parties he and James had formed a Skiffle group and called it 'Tee Chest Rock' on account of the fact that for a Bass Guitar they had made one up from an old Tee Chest and a broom handle. The show had been an utter disaster from start to finish as nobody could play any of the instruments and they had ended up miming three songs in front of the whole school. After leaving school Chris had gone on and made himself a career in music, forming a successful group which James later saw at a gig in London.

The event was suddenly brought to a stand still as one of the teachers climbed onto the stage, and began asking for quiet while waving his arms. After a few more attempts and hoping that he would be heard above the noise, he announced to the gathering that a surprise guest was about to entertain them for the rest of the evening. Then as the stage curtains were slowly drawn back it exposed a five-piece band all set up and ready to blow them away. James noticed that the singer guitarist was facing towards the left of the stage. While a female who was holding a tambourine was stood back to back with him, and facing the other side of the stage. Behind the band hung a large banner, proclaiming that they were about to be entertained by 'Back 2 Back'. James tugged at Adriana's arm telling her that he thought he knew the guitarist. Yes she yelled at him trying to make herself heard above the cheering crowd. Then just as the band broke into their first number she shouted back at him that it was Tubby, you know Brian Seacomb. James was dumb founded, and found he staring at her in bewilderment. The last he had heard of Tubby, was that he had moved away from the area while playing with an out of town band. Brian had been a year older than James, but they had befriended each other during their constant meetings in the playground. Specially while playing football over the three years that they were together.

The music was great, being well received by the crowd on the dance floor. The constant pumping beat also did its job, by dragged everybody from their chairs and onto the dance floor. In doing so it ensured that all of the chairs that lined the assembly hall walls were always empty. After a couple of numbers the band took a breath while Tubby announced that someone had asked for a slower number so that they could have a smooch with their partner. He then introduced Angela explaining that they would be singing 'Something Stupid'. Then after a four count the band once again struck up and they both swung straight into the duo song, made famous by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy.

James once again tugged at Adriana's arm shouting at her, Angela who? She looks familiar. She should be, replied Adriana she was only one year younger than you, used to come to school on the Mendlesham bus. James just looked back at her and smiled suddenly realising who she was. Wow he thought who ever would have believed that she would have ended up being a singer.

As Adriana and James danced in a close embrace to the slow harmony sounds of Tubby and Angela, he was still thinking about them, still not believing that they had ended up together. Then leaning over he whispered in her ear that he could not believe what a small world they all lived in.

Then there was Olwin Johnson she had also been a stunner James soon picked her out in the crowd. He'd courted her for a couple of months but it had not come to much as she was also very good looking and at times he was fighting off the other boys who were trying to get her favour. Upon hindsight he was beginning to think that if he had courted an ugly one then at least he would have been able to hang on to her, there would not have been so much competition.

Janice Wright was another girl that he remembered well but for a different reason, she had been the girl who had always been around James. She had always wanted to court with him but James had never been too keen. Whenever a group of them were together, Janice was always there. She introduced herself to James knowing that Adriana would not, and tried her hardest to muscle in and take James arm. But Adriana was having none of that doing her best to wrestle him away from her clutches. Telling James to watch his step, she's a husband killer; we call her the black widow you know. She's had three husbands so far and all of them have died hence the widow in black, and more bad news she's my neighbour and hangs around like a bad smell.

With all of the mingling amongst old friends, along with the glasses of free drink that was being handed around. Both Adriana and James were both feeling the worse for wear, and at times were staggering and bumping into people. So by the time that the event had come to a close it was a big effort to try and walk home. James decided that she was so drunk that he should escort her home, just in case somebody took advantage of her state. While Adriana was delighted because it was just as she had planned it. Her aim was to get James to her house and under the sheets with her. She had not even had to invent a scheme, it had just being laid out on a plate for her, and she wasn't about to complain.

Somehow they staggered home laughing and giggling and just talking about the night and how good it had been. James had enjoyed everything and thanked Adriana for talking him into coming. When they reached her front door it took Adriana quite some time to find her key as they were both giggling and laughing. Once the door was open they both fell in onto the hallway floor.

Adriana was out cold and did not look like she was going to come round. So he struggled to his feet trying to pick her up, but only managing to drag her to the settee in the middle of the lounge room. After going through every cupboard he could find in the kitchen, he then made them a cup of coffee. However, it was all a waste of time, by the time he had made it she was sound asleep, and he could see that he was never going to wake her. He took a look around the house trying to work out which was her bedroom and dragged her up the stairs and somehow got her on to the bed. He was not game to undress her just in case he might have been accused of something later. So he just left her fully dressed and pulled a couple of blankets over her. He then headed back down stairs to drink his cup of by now stone cold coffee. After stripping to his jocks he fell asleep on the settee covered by a blanket he had found in a cupboard.

As the first rays of the morning sun came through the windows James was awakened by somebody who was shaking him from his sleep, what's going on he asked in a drunken sort of slur. Then when his eyes had focussed correctly he found himself starring up into the eyes of Janice. What's going on and where am I he asked. He had not got a clue where he was, what day it was or what time of day it was. Suddenly and to his horror he wondered if he'd spent the night with her, and was it her house that he was in.

His brain was really racing ahead, had he slept with her and if so who else knew about it. Gee he thought there's going to be a few husbands in Stowmarket who had wished that he had never returned home. If it got around that he was sleeping with anything that wore a skirt. How the hell was he going to talk himself out of this mess he thought?

As he sat up Janice went in to the kitchen talking over her shoulder and asking if he wanted black or white coffee, and how many sugars. Upon her return she handed James a cup of coffee and sat down beside him snuggling up as close as she could. James was still half-asleep and bewildered by the situation that he now found himself in. Janice was not forthcoming with information that might have shed a little light on the events of the previous evening.

Mean time up stairs Adriana was awoken by the sounds of people talking down stairs. She too was unable to work out the situation she had just opened her eyes to. She found herself fully clothed with a couple of blankets thrown over her. Her main concern was where James was, she had thought that they were going to sleep with each other, but there was no sign of him or his clothes. Somehow she managed to get out of bed as her head was throbbing badly with one hell of a hangover. Quietly she made her way down stairs to be confronted by her neighbour and her intended sleeping partner sitting very close together on the settee talking and sipping coffee.

She crept up behind them and made them jump by asking what's been going on here then. Both Janice and James jumped turning round looking quite startled and guilty. Upon seeing Adriana his heart sank, the last thing he wanted at this very moment in time was to see two women at each other's throats arguing over him. Specially while he had one enormous hangover and had no idea which one he had slept with. That was another thing he could not even remember if he'd enjoyed who ever he'd romped with.

Adriana wanted to know how Janice had got into her house, and what had been going on between them. Janice just explained that she had found the door open and walked in, just in case there was a problem. Realising that neither of them knew what had happen over the last few hours. She also decided to keep the truth from them; by not letting on that she had only just arrived about fifteen minutes earlier. She then jumped up and left saying that she would see them later. This left James and Adriana looking at each other and wondering who had got up to what and with whom between the sheets.
Chapter 2

# Adriana

James spent most of what remained of Sunday morning with his grandmother talking about past times that they that spent together while enjoying each other's company. In his earlier years it had been his grandmother who had looked after him, after his parents had been killed in a motorcar accident. They had been returning home from a Christmas party when a drunk driver hit their car head on near Boulters Bridge at the southern end of the town.

Being so young it had been hard for him to understand what had happened. Finding himself in a house with just his grandmother had all seemed strange at first, but later he had accepted it as normal. During those early years he had even called her Mum a couple of times. So it was years later that whenever there was a problem it was always Gran as he called her, who had been there to listen. Now in their older years whenever they got together, which was not very often? It was always a time of remembering the good times and of reminiscing about the things that they had done together, during his grown up.

Their personal memories were brought to an intrusive abrupt end by the phone ringing in the hall. James jumped up to answer it knowing full well that Gran did not receive many calls; it just had to be for him. It was Adriana still sounding a little worse for wear after the reunion party the night before. She informed James that at the reunion they had both agreed to attend a get together party at Judith's house in the village of Great Finborough out in the countryside. Apparently there were several people who were at the reunion who would be going with their partners. James was trying to remember but kept coming up with a blank about the invitation, while Adriana was also suffering from the same problem. It had been Judith who had just rung to check that they would still be going.

James just accepted what she was saying and told her that he would be there, but was further shocked to find out that it was being held that afternoon and evening. With that he tried to wriggle out of it but it was no good Adriana just kept pestering him. She reminding him that he had to go as everybody would think that he had snubbed them. Reluctantly he agreed and made arrangements to pick her up around 3 pm.

They arrived at the party to be greeted by a large group of old school friends, who had all been at the reunion the night before. Only this time they had to be introduced to all of their partners. The drink was already flowing freely and they were given a glass of wine and a bottle of beer as they walked through the front door. Most of the partygoers were already into the swing of things, as if they had just walked out of one party and into another. The music was pumping out from the large stereo system in the corner of the lounge room. So it did not take long for Adriana and James to also drop into the swing of things and get into the dancing spirit once again. Just a couple of drinks and it was like the hair of the dog, away they went as if there had been no party the night before.

Adriana once again was very guarded of the fact that James had made a big impression on most of the ex-pupils the night before. She hung onto his arm as if they were glued together. More than once she whispered in to his ear that she wanted him to return home with her once the party was over. She could not remember what had happened the night before, but she was certainly going to remember this night. As far as she was concerned, tonight was the night that she was going to cuddle up to his warm body under the sheets while in her bed. Further more she would make sure that the doors were well and truly locked throughout the house; no nosy neighbour was going to stick their head in and come between her and her sexual ambitions. However, it was still nagging her as to what had really happened last night. Had she slept with James or had he had it away with Janice as she was trying to insinuated. It was still no good asking James as he had earlier told her that he could not remember a thing and that his mind was also a complete blank.

While Adriana went to the smallest room in house, James made his way into the kitchen to top up his glass. There he bumped into an old classmate who he had not had a chance to talk to the night before. Daniel Harrison and James had been classmates right through their entire time at the school. However, upon finishing their education and leaving they had lost contact with each other. Therefore they were inquisitive as to what they had both been up to over the years. James had pictured him as some sort of Bank Manager or Solicitor or at least something along those lines.

Daniel soon burst that bubble by informed James that he had been locked away for eight years in one of her Majesties prisons. Gee what for James asked? Arson Daniel replied. Wow that's a hell of a long time for just striking a match. Yeah, it was my boss's house. Unfortunately he was in it at the time, but they only got me on a technicality you know, said Daniel. What was that, James asked, Murder, Daniel replied with a laugh. The two of them had a good laugh and topped up each other's glass and making a toast to the future.

Prancing into the kitchen Judith immediately walked up to James putting her arm through his and snuggled up to him. Might as well make the best of it while Adriana is not around she said. I thought we might have some unfinished business to sort out. James while trying to be diplomatic, was careful what he said, the last thing he needed right now was a female war in front of all his old friends. Anyway Judith's husband was watching what was going on, and being a jealous type of person he watched every move towards his wife. James did not want to be known as a marriage breaker, if he had a name like that then it would stick with him wherever he went.

Can you remember the time you push biked over to see me and we spent some time watching the farmers harvesting the corn? James had to admit that he did, with a smile on his face he added, that would be the time we ended up romping in one of the haystacks. Sure would she told him and added that she had always remembered him whenever she saw a haystack. That would be every harvest time then, he laughed, you are right there she giggled. To his relief Adriana returned to the kitchen rescuing him from Judith's clutches and her husband's icy stares.

Out in the lounge where the party was a great success James along with Adriana made his way over to Ronnie Laflin who had played football with him while in Class 4B. Ronnie had been the suave good-looking Casanova of the school. It was a class room joke that he would have dated anything if it wore a skirt, and it was felt that he would always end up with a good looking wife. Ronnie was sat on the settee between two women who James vaguely recognised. Ronnie stood up to greet him with an out stretched hand. He then introduced his two escorts as the identical Baker twins, Jennifer and Jean. James immediately recognised them and received a kiss on each cheek from them both at the same time. They had been at the primary school together, in fact for a time James had been more than just friendly with Jennifer. Their father was one of the local bank managers and James along with countless other boys in the area had all played in their very big wooded garden in Stowupland road. Both the girls had been very attractive, but James felt that they had mellowed over the years. Thinking that in the beauty stakes they had reached their peak a couple of years earlier. As the women sat down James quietly asked what was going on. Ronnie told him that he had married one of them, but that later he had fallen in love with the other one. So upon agreements being reached, they all moved in together. James told him that he was a lucky bugger to have two of them. Not really Ronnie replied, sometimes it's like listening to nagging in stereo. With that they both burst out laughing, but not Adriana she did not agree with what was happening and thought it all wrong. This did not stop James from telling Ronnie that he was still a lucky bugger, especially to have two good looking partners. Not only that to have identical twins, well that was even more incredible he said especially if they did everything the same way. There must have been times when he was not sure who he was with. James got to thinking that he would not be able to share a secret with one of them, not being sure which one he was talking to.

James and Adriana continued moving around the room mingling with the other guests. Eventually they came across Angela and Tubby in the corner by the stereo sorting through the piles of records and choosing the dance ones. James congratulated them on the performance the night before. Telling them that he thought it was great and that their harmonies worked perfectly together. Tubby gave him a brief history of the bands that he had played in, and of the musicians that had been members of those bands. Most had moved on to other more famous bands leaving Tubby to keep the flag flying locally, a job he had under taken well having a big following in the local area. He was happy in the thought that he had chosen to turn down many offers of following his fellow musician friends into the big time. He was happy that he had chosen to stay close to his family and friends and had become a very successful local businessman.

James had always remembered Angela as the shy little girl from out of town. She had also learnt to sing with the local bands, before heading off to France to try her hand in the world of solo singers. Funny but as James remembered it she had not been to good at French while at school and wondered how she got on with a French audience. Then after ten years she had returned to Stowmarket and walked right into the vacancy of harmony singer along side of Tubby.

Before James could tell Tubby what he had been up to over the years, Judith had grabbed him by his arm and was leading him away to meet somebody else. James found himself calling back to Tubby over his shoulder and telling him that he would hopefully see him later.

The party was so good that it went on till the early hours of the morning, and as was to be expected by that time most of them were well and truly drunk and well over the limit to drive. A couple of them ordered taxis but the majority who did not have to go to work the next morning, took up Judith's offer to stay the night. This pleased Adriana who was still hanging on to James's arm, she then nudged him and when he looked at her she winked. Finally she thought she would now be able to climb between the sheets with him. It wasn't on her turf but who cares she thought as long as the opportunity presented its self, she was going to take it with both hands.

Her excitement was short lived as Judith went on to inform everybody that as there was so many of them. She had made up some beds and that all the men had to use the spare bedroom at the back, while the women would use the front spare room. Adriana let out a big sigh and looked at James mouthing the words towards him, not again. He just shrugged and leaned over to her and said don't worry they'll be all next week. Then as all of the guests sorted themselves out and started picking up their blankets from Judith. Adriana and James managed a quick kiss and cuddle and then disappointedly followed their own sex to the designated bedrooms.

Twice during the night Adriana tried to get into the men's front bedroom in an effort to get to James. On both occasions she walked onto other people whom were all staggering around drunk. All were trying the same thing, to get to their partners. However they were all destined to failure, because once in the other sexes room, it would have been even more chaotic. Both rooms were wall to wall with bodies lying over both beds and also covering the floor.

In the morning James got up very early in an effort to use the bathroom first. Finding the door unlocked he assumed that he had it all to himself. However, he was wrong, as he walked in there in front of him was a female wearing just her bra and pants facing away from him, but bent over with her head hanging down in the small washbasin trying to wash her hair. James smiled to himself thinking that it was Adriana; he swore blind that he'd recognised the buttocks staring him in the face. Obviously she had not heard him enter the room as she carried on washing her hair. James quietly and slowly placed his hand between her legs and slowly caressed the inside of her upper thigh. With that she jumped up and hit her head on one of the taps letting out a cry of pain. Slowly she raised her head; James who was looking at her through the mirror on the wall in front of her could see that she had a thick covering of soap in her eyes. She calmly said I didn't know you where up Frankie. I'm not, thought James, as he made a quiet but hasty retreat from the bathroom, suddenly realising that it was not Adriana. The name Frankie told him that it was in fact Judith the host of the party, Frankie being her husband. The end result of the incident was that James had stroked the inside of a women's leg, and the women had been thrilled by the thought that her Husband had been the lucky one. Whatever was going to happen once both of them had a talk and found out, James had no idea and further more he did not intend hanging around to find out?

After a light breakfast James and Adriana were in a hurry to leave and start their drive home. Only first they had to say goodbye to everybody especially the host Judith. As James kissed her on the cheek he could not help telling her that she had very smooth milky skin and immediately left before she had time to respond to his remark. He gave a little chuckle to himself thinking that at least now he knew how Frankie and Judith spiced up their marriage.

On the way home they had a good laugh about what had happened over the sleeping arrangements, and then James told her about the bathroom incident. Oh so at least you got a thrill, that's more than I got, she said rather grudgingly. Then upon reflection about the coming evening she suddenly brightened up in the belief that they would be able to finally sleep together that night.

As Adriana's house came into view they could see somebody on her front door step. Adriana looked shocked as she turned to James saying I don't believe this.

Once the car was parked they got out and walked up to the young lad standing by her front door. Where upon Adriana introduced James to her son Ray, who had just arrived home on leave secretly to surprise to his mum. And a big surprise it was, in more ways than one. Adriana knew that now it would not be right for James to sleep in her bed while her son was in the house. Once again she would not be able to climb between the sheets with her big hunk of a friend.

After entering the house Adriana made them all a cup of tea and they sat around the kitchen table just talking and laughing about different subjects that came up.

Adriana had been born in Stowmarket and was the same age as James, but they had not met until they had progressed in their education to the Stowmarket Secondary Modern School. Both of them lived within seeing distance of the school but somehow they had never met before then. Mainly because as an infant James had to go to the Primary school while Adriana had gone to a private junior school.

At the Secondary school they had not only been in the same class, but had been placed so close together that their desks almost touched. With this constant contact and closeness they got to know each other in minute detail.

During the second of the four years that they were to spend together, a love relationship developed between them that lasted for almost three years. For both of them it was their first time, so it was very special. They were constantly seen out together whenever it was possible, mainly at the Regal cinema at least twice a week. There was nothing smutty about the relationship it was just a case of a cuddle and lots of kissing. There was never any fondling or sex, Adriana had the old style of thoughts on marriage, where sex was never considered until after she was married. The few times that James had tried to coheres her into a little fondling he was told that she wanted to save herself. For what, James would always ask with a big grin on his face. Although at the end of the day he accepted her wishes, but only for the first couple of years of their relationship, but he was getting older and his body was changing. His classmates would constantly be bragging about their sexual conquests of their girl friends. Therefore it wasn't long before James started to get the urge himself, he did not want to wait until they were married, so gradually he cut down on the amount of times that he picked up Adriana to take her out. He had not the courage to tell her what he was thinking, so instead he started dating a couple of other girls of his age. In an effort that Adriana never found out, he choose girls from the nearby Grammar school. At that time there was not much contact between the schools so he felt safe for the moment.

By the time that they had finished their education they had just about ceased meeting each other. When James failed to meet her at the Galleon café after a visit to his aunts, she had thought that he had called off the relationship, refusing to see him whenever he tried to call her.

Adriana found it hard to accept the fact that their romance was over, so why did she have to save herself, she would not be marrying him. Once James had left the town it was only a matter of a few months before Adriana met and married a young fellow from the local Royal Air Force station at Wattisham. Because of the brief courting period her whole family had warned her that the marriage would end up by being a complete disaster. Adriana thought she knew better and tried her hardest to make it work. For five years everything seemed to be okay especially with the birth of a son Ray.

Ray brought a lot of happiness to them but it was short lived especially when her husband Ben was posted abroad on what was called a singles posting, this meant that she would have to stay at home. Their separation period of eighteen months placed a big strain on the marriage and her husband was the first to crack and had an affair with an officer's wife. At that time officers were allowed to take their wives on tours of duty with them. By the time Ben arrived home it had become common knowledge that he'd fathered a child during the relationship with the officer's wife.

Adriana had tried to accept his apologies and believe that he would not do it again, but she could not bring herself around to believing him. So they parted company on a sour note, Ray stayed with her while her husband stayed in the Royal Air Force and got himself posted to another area of the country.

She had tried to get herself into other relationships but it just never worked out for her. Maybe it was a case of expecting too much of the guys she went with. Or maybe the new guys just did not want to take on a ready-made family. Whatever it was Adriana had ended up on the shelf as they say, she had become a wallflower. The real reason was more than likely the fact that she did not indulge in casual sex. To her the old adage she had used with James that it can happen once you are married had once again become her standards, but not of her so called male escorts. So it was that she had not slept with a man since her husband walked out of her life. Now meeting James she was about to drop her guard once again, only this time she was hoping that it would lead her to a better life with a man she had always loved.

Ray went on and joined the Royal Navy with his mother's best wishes, and made a good life for himself rising to the rank of Petty officer. He had turned out to be her whole life and she worshiped him, as there was no other male in her life. The career he had made for himself in the forces made her very proud that she had brought him up correctly. Unfortunately his long trips away from home had made her a very lonely person searching for that one shining light, that one-day might just walk into her life. During these lonely evenings that she had constantly spent on her own she had always wondered what had happened to James, and had she had done the right thing by not dropping her guard and letting him have his way with her.

When she had read James's message on the school web site a couple of months earlier, it had almost been an answer to her lonely prayers that she had constantly offered. At first she had worried just in case he had been playing her along and that in fact he was married. After all why would a good-looking guy like him not be married? She had thought that he would have been fighting the girls off, as they tried to batter down his front door. Her imagination had never ceased, at times thinking that he was married to a beautiful wife and to have fathered six or seven children. If she could believe his E–mails there was none of this, he was in fact free and available, and she was going to do her best to hang onto him this time, even if it meant getting between the sheets with him on their first encounter.

She had finally changed her ideas and views on life, no longer did she believe in the old wives tale of saving one's self till marriage. All she wanted to do now was to be seduced by James, and this time the word marriage would not come into the equation. Specially after seeing the photo he sent attached to one of his E-mails. She could not believe how he had weathered the years and still looked as good looking as the day he left the town.

While at the School reunion Olwin had informed James of her sister's husband Maurice, who was in the Ipswich hospital seriously ill with cancer. Maurice had been the person who had introduced James to music. One night while James was waiting for Adriana to finish night classes at the Secondary School, he had wandered into the Memorial hut on the recreation grounds after hearing music coming from the building. There he walked in onto Maurice who was playing an acoustic guitar, and with him was and a small group of friends who were all trying to sing along with him. James had been captivated by the sound they were achieving and even tried to join in.

After a while when they took a short break from singing, James walked over and struck up a conversation with Maurice, quizzing him as much as possible about his guitar and how he was playing it. James was amazed when Maurice handed him the guitar and taught him a couple of chords to play. Then to everybody's surprise James picked it up very easily and thirsted for more tuition. Maurice reckoned he was a natural and that he would be able to play with just a little help but he would have to get himself a guitar first.

Maurice was home on leave from the Navy at the time and was just about at the end of his leave period. So it was several months before the two of them met up once again.

That next time seemed an eternity in coming, but finally the big day came around and when James met him, Maurice had some exciting news for him. He had bought himself out of the Navy and he was about to marry Olwin's sister and settle in the town. Which he did and found himself a job in the local record store. This store was to become James's second home for almost a year, as he visited Maurice almost every late afternoon on his way home from school. The store became a Mecca for young people and was always full, as they thirsted for the latest hit parade songs and latest releases. All James wanted to hear was how to play the next chord, and Maurice was always there to show him. James would always use Maurice's guitar that he kept at the shop, while at home he would practice on the beat up old second hand one that he had purchased for himself from his Christmas and birthday present money that he had saved up.

Once James had mastered most of the major chords, Maurice started to show him how to string them all together and to sing along to the songs. As a present Maurice gave him his old first guitar tutor book that he had purchased. Called 'Play In A Day' by Bert Weedom, it explained how to finger all the chords and how to strum the strings with the right hand, while singing along to a folk song. Most of which he already knew but there was still information to be gained from its pages. This book was used by most of the budding guitarists of the day, attracting the name of the guitarist's bible.

The next part of the learning was to teach him how to listen to the records and to learn new songs. This part was very easy as the shop had thousands of them and not only that they were the latest releases. This meant that James was always up in his knowledge of the top twenty hit parades that dominated the playground conversation between the young people of the day.

By the time that James left town he had acquired a small band of followers, to him it was fun discovering that people actually liked his playing. It had spurred him on even more so he played the latest songs of the day, but only at parties and small gatherings of people. He was never what is known as a professional player, but if the hat were passed round he would never refuse any money that was later offered.

James along with Adriana drove up to the Hospital where they walked in un-announced on to Maurice and his wife Kay. The look on his face was worth a thousand dollars James had claimed during a later conversation. Maurice was lying on his bed looking very weak but managed to stretch out his hand and grab hold of James's hand. After a brief shake they still kept their hands joined for several minutes as they acknowledge each other with tears running down both their cheeks. It had been years since they had last met and there was a lot of catching up to do. James did his best to keep the conversation light and happy as they swapped stories and jokes. Maurice was more interested to know how his guitar playing had progressed over the years and would he show him.

Maurice pointed to a guitar standing in the corner by his locker I go nowhere without it he told James. Asking him to play something after assuring him that it was okay the nurses did not mind. He wanted to know just how good his prodigy had become and to see what his teachings had produced. James picked up the guitar and strummed it a couple of times checking to see if it was in tune. Then after adjusting it a little and with a smile at Adriana he proceeded to play a quiet rendition of a Vince Gill's country style number called 'Pretty little Adriana'. You could feel the atmosphere in that room as James sang the words with great feeling. Tears appeared on Maurice's face and as they rolled down his cheek, they were not the tears of sadness these where tears of joy, as he acknowledged his suburb guitar playing. Then when James broke into a beautiful lead break Maurice just lay there and closed his eyes savouring the moment. The guitar player had finally come of age and Maurice was proud of him, he imagined that he was playing every note and singing along with him.

Oh my pretty little Adriana

Are you lonesome tonight

Maurice was not the only one with tears in his eyes; Adriana was also having a problem fighting back her own. Knowing that the song was not only for Maurice, but also just for her. By the time he had finished the song several nurses had amassed in the little private room after hearing the singing from outside in the corridor. They were also wiping the odd tear from their eyes.

Maurice seemed to lapse into a deep sleep so they all decided to let him rest, so they quietly retreated from his room. Kay thanked them both for coming and especially James for giving her husband such a wonderful present. She knew that he would cherish it till the end, as in deed she would. It had been worth a million dollars just to see the look on his face.

By the time Adriana and James left they thought that Maurice was looking very weak but both of them agreed that he had enjoyed their visit. James just wished that it could have been under better circumstances. He had promised Kay that he would try and visit him one more time before he left town if it were possible.

On the way home Adriana brought up the subject of their school romance and how it had all ended between them. James was quick to repeat once again what he had told her in his E-mails. That she had read the signs wrong and that if she had believed him they would more than likely still be together.

James had been sent away to stay with an aunt for a couple of weeks at Little Blakenham. Upon his proposed return on a Saturday, he had promised to meet Adriana in Stowmarket outside of the Galleon café at 2.30pm. He had failed to appear at the agreed time, so Adriana had gone inside for a coffee. She waited for more than an hour on her own. As she was about to leave her school friend Janice came into the Café and sat with her. Adriana then told Janice how she had been stood up by James and did not know where he was.

Janice then shocked Adriana by telling her that she had seen James with somebody else earlier that day. But that she did not know who it was, she just told her that she was a good-looking blonde. Adriana had then gone home crying and did not surface for a week, even though James had tried to see her, by constantly going round to her house. Unfortunately her mother had always opened the door and just told him that her daughter was not there, and anyway she had told her that she did not want to see him ever again.

Poor James in returning from his Aunts, he had become the victim of a miss printed bus timetable. Country life was not as up to date as town life and when it came to bus services, well they were very ancient. There were only two buses that day to Stowmarket and James had missed the first one on purpose thinking that the second one would get him home on time. He was wrong, the timetable had said 1400 hrs, but should have said 1600 hrs, and this had been the bus he caught. It was a printing error by the Bus Company and had been on display with the wrong time for almost a year. It seems that everybody in the area knew of the error other than James and his Aunt.

James had arrived outside of the Galleon café at 4-45 pm and was bitterly disappointed that Adriana had not been there even though he was late. So he had made his way home where he knew his Gran was awaiting his return.

Adriana suddenly turned to James; she had only just grasped the fact that it had been Janice who had told her the lie about the blonde. She had always been the one who would keep calling her lucky because she was going with James. She had broken them up on purpose, in order that she might be able to win him over and go out with her. However, her plan had gone wrong when James upped and left the town before she could bring her plans into action.

Where did you go she asked and no lies please? He then told her how he had found himself a job at the local Iron Factory, but that could he not settle down because he had been so upset at her refusal to see him. He had spent the first couple of weeks with no sleep just constantly thinking about her. She had been his first and so far one and only true love, although he did not count the one-night flings he'd had with some of the other local girls. Anyway they had happened before he had become serious with Adriana at least that's what he told her. He had no idea what to do next, until the day he had gone home from work after meeting up with a guy who had told him to see the world. Why worry about one woman there's plenty in the sea out there just waiting for you, and the best way to do that was to join the Merchant Navy. He had packed a suite case and his guitar said farewell to his Gran and caught a train to Rotherhide in Kent. Where he made contact with the Everard Shipping Company, just as the guy at work had told him to. Not too many questions were asked and to his surprise he was signed on to one of their coastal freighters, and sailed the following day for Newcastle.

The Merchant Navy opened up his eyes to the wonders of the world that existed outside of Stowmarket. Just like the guy at work had told him the world was full of pretty young girls. Whenever his ship docked and the day's work was over James would go ashore with his guitar and a couple of his new found friends. There they would find a nearby Pub, order a few drinks and James would take out his guitar and the songs would flow all night. He became an attraction wherever his boat tied up and for him his singing and playing just got better and better.

Adriana took in what he was telling her and felt a little silly that she had acted the way she had all those years earlier. If only she'd given him the benefit of the doubt. If only she had not listened to Janice, and to think that Janice had been friends with her all these years after spreading those lies. Adriana felt like strangling her if she could get her hands on her. She tried to say sorry to James but could not seem to bring herself round to utter the words. As for James well he had got Adriana out of his every day thoughts and just got on with living, but occasionally he had wondered where she was and of whom she had finally married.

He had never wanted to return to Stowmarket having got the place out of his system once and for all. He had to admit that once he'd seen her name on the School reunion notice board that he'd been intrigued and all of the old memories about her had come flooding back. He could not help himself in wanting to contact her. She had E-mailed him her photo and he had been very surprised to see that she was still a good-looking woman, and anyway if it did not work out he could use the excuse that he was returning to see his Gran. James had also sent Adriana an E-mail photo of him and was honest when he told her that he did not have a wife. The subject had then been put to rest. Adriana thought that there would be plenty of time to talk once they were together. She had also been very impressed by his good looks, and that old urge of liking him, that was deep inside had started to surface once again.

Upon arriving home at Adriana's it was just bad luck that as they walked up to her front door Janice was standing by her door and tried to start a conversation with them. Adriana was quick to cut her short by saying that it's a beautiful day Janice, made even better by the fact that we are about to get married. With that Adriana grabbed James by the hand and rushed past her and into the house, before Janice had chance to ask more questions. That will bring her up with a jolt and put her into place Adriana told him. He replied by adding that she still has the upper hand, because she knows exactly what happened Saturday night and that's more than we do.

They had only just put the kettle on for a cup of tea when there was a knock on the door. There's nobody here go away shouted Adriana, but the knocking persisted. Grudgingly Adriana opened the door and was not surprised to find that it was Janice, just thought I'd pop in for a cuppa, I see your got the kettle on anyway. Adriana just came straight out with it asking what she had been doing in her house Sunday morning. The tone of her voice changed the atmosphere within the house, as everybody went quiet taking glancing looks at each other. Janice turned and walked out explaining that she had changed her mind and that she did not want a cup of tea after all. As she went through the door she could not resist making a remark about a mole James has on his right buttock. The door finally shut, Adriana and James just looked at each other. Adriana broke the silence, she's at it again, and she's not going to get away with it this time I'll sort her out. Then looking back at James she asked him if he did have a mole. James just nodded his head and quietly said yes, she must have seen it as I lay on the settee Saturday night. I'm sure if she had slept with me I would have remembered. Then he walked over gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her that he would see her later in the week, as he wanted to take his Gran out for a couple of days.

James had decided to spend some time with his Gran taking her around to see some of her family members who lived in the area. It was also a chance for him to catch up on the family gossip and anyway he loved his Gran's company, and this was a chance for them to spend some time together. It had been several years since he had last visited the area so to him it was like arriving at a new town and he wanted to see everything and go everywhere.
Chapter 3

# Christine

James had fallen asleep in an armchair at his Grandmother's house but was suddenly awakened from his slumber by the constant ringing of his mobile phone. Sleepily he grouped around on the floor in an effort to find it and take the call. The person on the other end announced herself as Christine. James was suddenly wide-awake at the very mention of the name. It was more than he could have dreamed of. Having given up any thoughts he had of hearing from her again.

Christine started the conversation by thanking him for everything he had done for her the previous Friday night. She then asked how he was and what had he been up to since they parted the week before. Specially asking how school the reunion had gone, and had it lived up to his expectations. James told her that it had all gone pretty much as he had thought, making sure that he did not mention anything about Adriana. Christine went on to tell James that her work had brought her back to the area and she thought she would like to repay him by taking him out for a meal. James did not need any coaxing or prompting and jumped at the idea showing great excitement in his acceptance. They agreed to meet at the Great Western Hotel right in the middle of Ipswich town later that afternoon.

As James entered the Great Western restaurant he immediately spotted Christine sitting over by one of the windows in the corner. One of the waiters ushered him towards Miss Davies table, fine he thought at least now I know her surname. Christine stood up to greet him and kissed him on the cheek saying I'm glad you came. Oh I would not have missed this invitation, if I say I'm going to do something then you can count on me keeping my word he told her. Christine replied by telling him that it was nice to hear, as so many guys have that approach to life.

They ordered their meals and then spent some time talking about what had happened the week before. James could not believe the change in Christine, she looked so different and seemed to be bubbling at their meeting. Then while they were eating James being curious could not help himself in asking if she was married. Yes she told him, but added that she had been separated for a couple of years now. James felt it only polite to give her a brief history on himself. Telling her about his school days in Stowmarket and how he had spent a few years in the Merchant Navy. He also mentioned a few of the places that he had visited over the years. Ending up by tell her that he was now living in the East End of London.

The meal was nothing flash and there was not a lot of drink flying around, just enough to make it an enjoyable social meeting. They hit it off right from the start, both enjoying each other's company and rebounding off of each other with each subject that was talked about. Then Christine reached over and clutched James hands as he was cradling his glass of wine. She then reminded him of what he had done for her while she was at a low point that night in the car. When they had parted that night it had been his kindness towards her that she was going to remember most, of the incident. Once again she thanked him for what he had done. James lifted her hands up to his face and kissed the back of one of them. Telling her that if we can't help each other in a time of need then it's time to pack up and go home. He went on to tell her that he thought she was very pretty and could he meet her again sometime, and was surprised when she suggested tomorrow. Great he thought and asked what time and where he could pick her up. To James's amazement Christine told him that she was free all day but that she had to go out in the evening. She was staying at the Great Western and agreed that he could pick her up any time after 10 am.

There was then a little bit of a difference between them as to who was going to pay for the meal. Which ended with Christine making the suggestion that if she could pay for the meal, then he could pay tomorrow? James then walked her to the lift in the foyer where she would be able to go to her room. Before they parted she came closer to him allowing him to kiss her briefly on the lips.

All the way home James could not believe his luck, Christine was a very good-looking woman and he had fallen head over heels for her. While driving he could not contain himself singing to the radio for the entire journey. Just before he arrived home he suddenly thought of Adriana, he had promised to take her out, what excuse could he give in order to get out of his promise. There was not going to be much sleep for him to night, just thinking of Christine was bad enough, but now there was Adriana to be considered as well.

The next morning James was so excited with himself that he was on the road nice and early heading for the Great Western Hotel in Ipswich. But not before having to make a painful phone call to Adriana, giving her the bad news that he would have to give their meeting a miss for the day. He was not used to telling lies, and crossed his fingers and cringed as he told her he had some business to attend to in Ipswich; well he had in a way. She had been upset but accepted the excuse making James feel a little embarrassed. However, there was no way that he could have come right out with the real reason and tell her as it might not work out between Christine and him.

Christine and James met at the prescribed time with a hug and a kiss and then headed for his car. He had decided to show her the sights of Felixstowe, that way they would be even further away from Stowmarket. Hopefully now they would not walk onto anybody who knew either of them, the day would be just for them to enjoy.

Once they arrived they parked the car and spent some time walking along the promenade holding hands and laughing like a couple of newlyweds. They venture on to the beach where they took their shoes off and paddled in the cold icy waters of the North Sea. He then showed her how to spin a stone and make it hop across the surface of the water, something that she enjoyed and picked up very easy.

Making their way towards the northern end of the promenade, they headed towards the amusement arcades where they spent their coins trying to win cuddly teddy bears and fancy dolls. James's steady hand allowed him to win a little cuddly snoopy dog on a string and he gave it to Christine plus a kiss as a present. She walked about for the rest of the day with it hanging around her neck. Then there was dinner in one of the promenade cafes, with more giggling and laughing. Several times they embraced and kissed, even out on the promenade in full view of the other holidaymakers.

All too quickly it was over, and Christine had to return to her hotel in Ipswich. Even though James tried to persuade her to stay longer, but she was adamant that she had to return. To soothe James's feelings she threw him a branch that he grabbed with both hands. She once again suggested that they meet again the following day. James accepted and as he dropped her off at her Hotel in Ipswich they became entwined in a very long kiss, leaving him to that this was for real. She had been his girl friend for the day and he loved the thought.

The next morning after once again palming off Adriana with another excuse that he could not see her. He headed to Ipswich to pick Christine up at the same time.

Like the day before they kissed as they met and then James walked her to his car. Telling her that today he had another surprise for her, he would be taking her to see Colchester. Once again he thought it better that he put as much ground between him and Adriana as was possible. At the moment all his thinking was towards Christine and it was as if nobody else in the world mattered any more.

At Colchester he took her to the zoo where they had some fun looking at the entire animal collection that was spread throughout the parklands that surrounded the zoo. They held hands and kissed frequently as they walk around, just like young lovers. The only time they let go of their hands was when they sat down in a café where they stopped for a cup of tea. They were both very happy and truly enjoying each other's company.

While they were having a second cup of tea, Christine's mobile rang and she had to spend a few minutes with whoever was on the other end. She seemed to get a little agitated with whoever it was, leaving James guessing that it might be her husband. Finally with the call over Christine apologised and they tried to pick up where they had left off with their conversation. When the phone rang once again, this time she answered the phone abruptly and the mood of the conversation was a little harsh than earlier. James guessed correctly that it was the same person. As the conversation ended and she placed the phone back into her handbag, she made a remark about damn guitarists. She looked over at James and there was look of horror on his face, I'm sorry she said, what's the matter. I'm a guitarist James told her, there was a pregnant pause of a few seconds and then he added that, we are not all bad.

At first it went very quiet and then she said you did not tell me that, you never were his response. Anyway who was it you were talking to he asked her. She went on to tell him that it was her husband, or should I say soon to be my ex husband John McDonald.

James was speechless he knew him he played for the 'Spencer Greene' band; he went on to tell her that he had once met him. In fact John had been one of the guys who he had based his style on.

Hang on a minute if that's John then you must be Christine McDonald, I mean Christine Davies who used to play keyboard with 'Chook House', and do you want to know something, we have also met before. They both stared at each other speechless, neither knowing what to say next.

James broke the silence and explained to her how it had all come about, all those years earlier. When James and Adriana were courting they used to visit the Manor Ballroom in Ipswich every Sunday night, to see most of the up and coming bands. For Adriana it was just a case of seeing the hunky good-looking guys who were making the records of the day. Whereas James was trying to pick up a style to play his guitar, so he wanted to watch the lead guitarist and listen to how they achieved their particular sounds.

One Sunday evening they went to see the band 'Spencer Greene' managing to get a couple of front row seats, so they were only a couple of feet from the band. The bands in those days used to play two sets; each set was usually around an hour and fifteen minutes long. In between was a half hour break allowing everybody to head up stairs to the bar. Usually it was very hot in the ballroom so a drink went down well.

On this particular occasion James had gone up upstairs on his own to get Adriana and him a drink. James found himself leaning on the bar trying to attract the barman's attention. When he turned to his left he suddenly realised that he was standing next to John McDonald the guitarist with the band. He could not help himself and congratulated John on his performance. John accepted his words and was very polite in return. As he was also waiting for a drink he thought what the heck might as well talk to somebody, and James seemed like a nice guy. The barman finally served James and he bought John a drink. They spent the next twenty-five minutes talking about guitars, about songs and also bands. It was as if they were old friends and had known each other for years. James felt at ease with his hero, but wondered if he was boring John, but he did not show it. Finally John had to leave as the band was making sign to him that it was time to go back on stage.

So James made his way down stairs where he walked on to an extremely upset Adriana who was sitting on her own, and to make matters worse he had even forgot to buy her a drink. James was unable to cheer her up for the remainder of the night. The rest of the show for James was like magic, as he watched every lick that John played in very close detail.

Over the years that followed James modelled his style on John McDonald, buying all of the records that he had played on. He also saw him on another couple of occasions but could not get close to him to continue their conversation. He must have made a good job of what he did on stage because more than once he was praised for his playing and was always compared with John, an accolade that James soaked up and enjoyed. He always gave the credit to John, as he told most of the people that he had met him in the earlier part of his career.

On the very next week they had visited the Manor to see 'Chook House'. This was a new band to James, as he admitted to Adriana that he knew nothing about them. They were both pleasantly surprised that they sounded good, playing a type of blues. On Piano there was a young girl with the name of Christine Davies and she was terrific. During the interval it was Adriana who managed to get close to Christine and got her autograph. While James only managed to say hello to her as he picked up the pen she had just dropped. She had left a big impression on him and along with John he followed both their careers for a couple of years. He went on to tell her that he still has the original poster that advertised both bands, along with several others who played the Manor ballroom that month.

He had been very surprised when he read in the Melody Maker music magazine that they had got married. Wondering just how they would be able to manage their life together, while constantly touring. All this changed after a while when Christine suddenly announced that she was joining the 'Spencer Greene' band. The band then moved to America where they settled down and toured regularly, very rarely leaving the US. As for Christine she had turned out to become the backbone of the band, even becoming famous in her own right. Although by this time James was carving out a music career for himself.

Christine was amazed at James story, but could not remember the pen incident, not that James would have expected her to. This whole conversation had caught her off guard as she had tried to protect herself from too much publicity and the press.

The couple of meetings that they had just spent together had been heaven for her, she had been able to walk amongst the public as an ordinary person and not be mobbed everywhere. For her the biggest shock was to find that she had been dating a fellow musician, the one type of person she had been trying to get away from. For her the bubble had almost burst, it had come as a shock that she had fell head over heels for James the musician. She had thought that he was just an ordinary sort of guy, the type she had been looking for. She still like him but was a little scared as to what the future might bring with him being a fellow musician. She had already been down that road once, the last thing she wanted was to make a mistake and repeat the past.

She asked if it was the same Adriana that he had gone to meet at the school reunion in Stowmarket. James had to answer honestly and nodded his head saying yes. There was no way that he was going to start off a new relationship by telling lies. After all he had always believed that rather than tell a lie it was best not to answer the question.

Christine calmed down after James continued to tell her about himself. He had never made it big in a so called a top band, and had spent his apprenticeship with an array of so called local bands. Even touring Germany with the 'The Bare Back Riders' where they had backed several top America country stars. Back in the UK he'd spent a few more years with the almost famous 'Forbidden'. At the moment he was holding down a full time job as a barman, only occasionally playing guitar to help local bands out when their own guys let them down.

James was facing Christine he slightly raised both of his hands grabbing hold of Christine's and apologised for being a musician and that she should not worry as he did not intend pursuing his guitar playing further. He then dropped a bombshell by telling her that he had falling deeply in love with her, and that he hoped she would not stop seeing him. She smiled and told him that she liked him very much but was hoping for it to come out between them in a more sensual sort of way. She then told him that seeing as he now knew her secret of who she was, how would he like to come with her that evening, she was performing a third show at the Ipswich Conference centre.

At first James did not know what to say, maybe she had only asked him because she was being courteous and did not really want him to go. Maybe he might crowd her style and that she wanted to portray an image of a single woman to her audience. Reluctantly he accepted her offer, but only on the condition that he could stay in the background. He felt that would be the best way to handle whatever was about to happen to their relationship. The last thing he wanted now was to steal the limelight from the woman he had just fallen in love with.

The show blew James away, even seated near the back of the auditorium the sound and atmosphere was electrifying. There was not one song that she sang that he did not love, and as a fellow musician he would normally have been very critical of the performance. He never found fault with one of the songs, they were perfect and with not one mistake why would he. Christine was called back for three encores and James found himself standing and clapping along with all of the other fans around him. To be honest he wanted to be able to shout from the highest point in the theatre that Christine was the love of his life. It was that realisation that brought him back down to earth with a bump. He knew that would be impossible, especially after meeting Richard, Christine's Manager and publicity agent before the show. It was Richard who had found him the seat and had escorted him there while at the same time giving him a lecture about protocol at these events. Being told that he would have to stay in the background at all times, as the public buy more records if they think she is single. It works on the principle that, they see her in their dreams and always think there is a glimmer of hope that maybe one-day they might be able to date her. If there is a man in her life then they know they have no chance. James just kept nodding to him he knew the ropes after all he had fought a few of the fans off himself in the past. He knew what it was all about, and he did not need telling especially from this pompous sarcastic Richard.

As the crowd made its way out of the building James had to fight against the flow in an attempt to get to Christine's dressing room back stage, and that turned out to be harder than he thought. Richard had been told to let everybody know that James would be making his way back stage after the show. James had guessed right that Richard had given no such order hopping that James would just fade away and out of Christine's life. After being turned away three time by the security guards he struck lucky when the forth guard who thought he recognised him arriving with Christine. It was still very humiliating having to wait outside of her dressing room while the guard went in to the room to see if anybody would vouch for him. At first the guard had spoken to Richard, but as there was a lot of noise and people in the room he had to shout at the top of his voice. It was pure luck for James as Christine over heard the conversation and also Richards reply to the guard to get rid of him. Christine was furious with Richard and ordered him to go and get James and that he had to treat him with respect he was her special personal guest.

About an hour later after Christine had spoken to most of the people that were connected to the show. She made signs towards James that it was time they tried to get out of the mad house that surrounded them, as they tried to push their way through the large crowd that was still in the theatre. She was still having to signed autographs that were being thrust her way as she tried to leave the building. James walked a couple of paces behind her as requested by Richard, until she turned to James and asked if he missed all of this type of publicity. James just shook his head having a job to see her through the constant barrage of flash bulbs that were going off like sheet lightning all around them. They continued to push through the crowd that was blocking their way, still half blinded by a flash bulb frenzy of the over zealous fans. James suddenly thought he recognised one of the female fans but was not sure; he could not put a name to the face.

Then suddenly within just a few seconds it dawned on him that it was Janice, or he thought it was Janice. Boy it's a small world he thought, hoping that she did not recognise him; otherwise it would be around Stowmarket in just a matter of minutes.

Along with Richard they all got into a long stretch limousine and were driven back to the Great Western Hotel, where they got rid of Richard. Christine then invited James up to her room, where they enjoyed a quiet late evening meal together.

Christine was keen to know what he thought of the show and listened to every word that he said. The meal was low key and she constantly raised her glass of wine over in his direction so he could touch his glass with hers, as she kept proposing toasts for almost everything that came into her head. Not to mention the adrenalin that was still in her blood from the excitement of the concert earlier. It was not long before she became very tipsy and giggly. Once the meal was over they retreated to a couch in front of a large television set and open fronted fireplace. There they embraced and kissed constantly, all the time whispering to each other. James knew the subject of where do they go from here would come up. Christine informed him that she had to leave the very next morning to continue her tour and would be heading for Birmingham, and asked what he thought of that. James took it well, as he had no ties so there was no reason why he could not go with her. However, he suddenly realised that he might be branded as a hanger on, so he told her that he would see her at a later date. The tour was due to finish with a big show in London in three weeks time. James was happy to wait, as long as they could get together then, that is if she wanted to. She was quick to respond telling him that of course she did, she had definitely fallen in love with him. She would then live in London for a time, and would not be doing anything musical for almost six months. In that time they would be able to work out what they intend to do with their futures. James was adamant that he loved her and that if she was agreeable she could move in with him, but that would come later.

The heat of the moment began to warm up, as the kissing became more intense. There were even a few cloths lying around that had been discarded, it was inevitable that they would end up in bed together. As James finished undressing her he then picked her up and carried her to her bed, where they had a wild fling making love right through the night.

James left in the early hours of the morning before she was awake; he thought it would make the parting a little easier. He left a short love letter beside her on his pillow telling her how much he loved her and that last night had been wonderful for him and he hoped she felt the same way. He would now wait patiently for her to finish her tour so they could pick up the pieces and carry on where they had just left off. He also took her mobile phone number and promised to call that evening so she could tell him the most convenient time to ring her each day.

During the afternoon James called round to see Adriana, he had wanted to tell her the truth about what he had been up to, but was feeling a little short in the honesty stakes at the moment. To make matters worse he had not seen her for three day, after making very poor excuses as to why he could not see her, which was not normally in his world.

Adriana was happy to see him but tried her hardest not to show it. She knew that he had been up to something and was curious to know what it was. She had decided to let James do all of the talking, and in that way she hoped that it would look like she had not been bothered. The truth was she had missed him terribly and wanted to know where he had been and everything he had been up to.

After just a few minutes he realised that he was the only one doing the talking, so in order that he could keep talking, he just said the first thing that came into his head. For the first time in years he started to lie and to a woman he had feelings for. Inwardly he knew he was doing wrong, after all wasn't this woman, the woman who just three days earlier he had wanted sleep with.

The excuses he gave her were that he had taken his Gran around the area visiting members of her family. Then on another day he had to see people who were connected with his work.

Within half an hour he was feeling confident that he had smoothed out the whole problem. Side stepping the truth about Christine had gained him time to approach the subject at a later date. This left him time to work out just exactly how he was going to be able to drop the bombshell on her. Hopping it to be a time when it would not hurt her too much, that's if such a time did exist. Inwardly he knew that Adriana had set her sights on him and that she wanted to sleep with him.

The situation was taken out of his hands when the atmosphere in Adriana's kitchen suddenly changed dramatically. Suddenly the door swung open and Janice swept in to the room waving a copy of the East Anglian newspaper, what about this then she shouted out for all to hear and then threw it on the kitchen table. Adriana spread it out and there on the front pages was a picture of the singer Christine Davies leaving the Conference Centre in Ipswich and just behind her was James. Adriana sank down on to one of the chairs and looked at James I thought you said that you were visiting family friends with your Gran. James was very quick with his reply telling her that the show had been at night and he had just forgotten to tell her about it.

Janice muddied the waters once again by pulling Adriana's leg and telling her that James was probably the singer's secret lover, not knowing that she had hit the nail right on the head. Instead of trying to justify his position that he did not know her, he decided that the sooner they got off the subject the better it would be for him. Unfortunately Adriana kept looking at the picture and there followed another long drawn out silence. Leaving James feeling uncomfortable and in a situation where he thought it was up to him to break the silence.

It was probably taken as I was trying to get her autograph after the show he suddenly announced to them. Where you successful Janice butted in once again stirring the pot as they say in an effort to get James into more trouble with Adriana. He almost told them that he had managed to get one, but decided against it realising that they might have wanted him to show them. Although he would have been able to get one from Christine, it would probably take him a few days, so he let the subject go.

Adriana then shocked him and Janice by remembering that they had once spoken to her when he had taken her to the Manor Ballroom in Ipswich several years earlier, to see a band called 'Chook House'. The words shook him to his roots; it was amazing that she had remembered the incident, after all the visit had never been mentioned between them since. That's right; James said trying to fake a look of surprise on his face, something he did not really need to do because in fact he was quite startled. He started to get worried, this whole episode was getting out of hand, and where was it going to lead to next he asked himself. None of this would have happened if he had told her the truth in the first place. To calm down the situation he offered to take Adriana out for a drink in the evening.

They spent the evening at the 'Walnut Tree' public house amongst a large number of her family and friends. James used the occasion to try and relax consuming a large amount of alcohol, and it certainly worked for he became merry for most of the night. At one time he had thought of coming clean and telling her about Christine but decided against it thinking that the pub was not the place. If she broke down in front of everybody it would be humiliating for them both, and anyway there was her family to think of. She had some big brothers and cousins and the last thing he wanted was a black eye and broken arm. That would have been something extra that he would have to explain.

In his relaxed state of mind he totally forgot to ring Christine, until it was quite late in the evening. When he finally realised he told Adriana that he had to ring a friend about work the following week. With that he made his way over to a corner of the pub where it was a little quieter. By this time he was so drunk that he could hardly dial in the number to his mobile.

James was very lucky; he caught Christine in her dressing room after she had just finished her show. She forgave him for ringing late and guessed that he was in a pub judging by the loud singing in the background. She was glad to hear from him and told him that she loved and missed him very much. James was having a problem stringing together enough words to make a sentence. It did not bother her as she realised that all men need their night out with the boys at the pub as he had told her, and that James was no different. They talked together for almost twenty minutes with Christine doing most of the talking and throwing him kisses down the phone line. They made arrangement to ring each other around the same time or even later each night. Then she would be back in her Hotel after the shows, and she would be able to relax more. So they could be a little more intimate in their conversation James added, and then all too quickly the meeting was over. The parting almost placed a tear in his eye as he missed her and would have loved to be able to be with her at that very moment.

James made his way back to the table where Adriana had been joined by Janice and was singing a song while waving a glass of beer around in the air. Before he had sat down next to Adriana, Janice started ribbing him about the phone call. Who was that she taunted out aloud, your girlfriend, hey it wasn't that singer girl was it. Then turning to Adriana she asked what was that singers name, you know the one in the paper. Christine that's it, was it Christine she called out at the top of her voice. James was starting to feel the effects of the beer and especially the effects of Janice. Even Adriana was feeling a little embarrassed by the scene that Janice was making, and feeling sorry for James.

As they got up to leave James leaned over to Adriana and told her, that woman seems to be everywhere and mixed up in everything, I wish we could get away from her. So they headed back to Adriana's house at her insistence. There they had a couple of cups of black coffee and sat down in front of the open fire watching television and talking. She assured him that her son was away for the night, so he would not disturb them. He knew what was coming next; he had felt the whole evening leading up towards it. She wanted him to stay the night; she even informed him that she had warmed up the bed with a hot water bottle for them. He had to think fast, he was just like all hot-blooded guys of his age. Only this time he did not want to sleep with her, because he did not want to create problems in the future that might come between Christine and him. Furthermore he did not want to lead Adriana on, especially into thinking that she might be able to make it with him. When deep inside he knew she would not win out, as he loved Christine too much and was not going to lose her at any cost.

By this time he was using just about every excuse that came to mind. Then finally he got up to leave, Adriana was sure that there was a problem, and even asked him what was wrong. James did his best to lie to her saying that there was not a problem and that he would see her the next day, and then they would be able to talk again without the alcohol blurring the picture.

The next day once again James met up with Adriana in the pub for a meal. Just like the day before they started drinking very heavy and she kept pursuing him for the reasons why he did not want to sleep with her. After a time all of James's excuses just got the better of Adriana and she ran from the pub, in a very upset frame of mind. Or more to the point she staggered from the pub owing to the amount of drink that she had consumed, it was also clouding her sense of judgement.

James decided not to follow her, as she only lived a couple of houses away. He was also frightened that she might be trying to lure him into her house, and once there he might drop his guard and he did not want that to happen. He was still going to have to leave her, so he thought why not just get out of it now at the pub.

As he was about to leave somebody put their arms around him and when he turned around it was Janice trying to moved in on him, putting her arm around his neck and inviting him back to her place for the night. She also asked him if they were really going to get married, to which James replied that he would tell her, if she came clean and told him about what had happened on the night of the reunion. Janice just looked at him in an intoxicated state of mind and then giggled. She went on to tell him that if she did, then it would be telling and then she giggled again. She then tried to tell him that if he went home with her then she might just let him in on the secret.

James had to make and even quicker exit before he ended up in an even worse situation than he had just managed to escape from. So he grabbed his coat and headed back to his Gran's house across the recreation ground. Where he was to spend a sleepless night even though he was drunk, worrying about what had just happened and how he was going to approach the subject with her.

James did not see Adriana the next day he decided to keep away from her for a few days, mainly so he could work out how to tell her his true feelings. He was also surprised that she did not contact him wanting an explanation.

The evening phone calls that he made to Christine became very intermit as they steadily built on their relationship. Both were missing each other and talking about what they would like to do once they were back together. Christine spent some time giving him the itinerary of her shows, so he had a little idea of where she was. It was more than he could do to stop himself grabbing a bag and heading in her direction each time they made contact. Christine told him that she would not be travelling once this present tour was over and that they would then be able to have a lot of time to themselves, and be disturbed by nobody.

James decided to end his holiday in Stowmarket early, so after packing his bags and saying his final farewells to his Gran, he headed over to Adriana's house. She let him into the kitchen where he was offered a cup of tea. They then sat down for a chat in front of the fire. Adriana knew why he was here and had braced herself for the worse.

James came clean and told her that the Newspaper Photo was genuine and that he was having a relationship with Christine. He went on to tell her how they had met on the night that he was driving to Stowmarket. He had not planned it that way it had just happened and that they were now deeply in love. She asked with a slight hint of a smile on her face as to whether it had been going on since they first met, while she thought she was his steady girl friend. Before he could answer she stopped him, as he did not have to answer, she had only said it as a joke.

Adriana could only think of what might have been, as she had been so close in having another relationship with him. Hoping deep inside that this time it would have been for keeps and that they might eventually have been able to get married. After all they had spent almost three years in each other's company and not once had they crept between the sheets and made love. They kissed on her front door step, and then as James turned to walk away all he could say to himself and under his breath was that he hoped he was doing the right thing.

She watched him drive away from the house, while trying un-successfully to hold back the tears. She knew it would be the last time that she would ever see him. He had swept into her life via an E-mail message and was now speeding out of it in a fast car, heading straight into somebody else's arms.
Chapter 4

# James

James returned to his London flat and quietly settled back into his daytime job as a bar man. While waiting the evenings to arrive so he could talk to Christine on the phone in the privacy of his flat. Their conversations had progressed along well and were now focusing onto the minuet details of their past personal lives. It was not the fact that they could not see each other, that they felt safe in asking such questions. It was more a case of genuinely wanted to know more about the person they were about to spend the rest of their lives with. They felt that they should know every little detail; to them there would be no secrets.

James told her of the part time bands that he had played in and of the good gigs that he could remember. He had recorded a few records but none of them had ever made it up the charts, mainly because of bad management and of poor recording production. The high lights so far had been the tours that he had taken part in, specially the one in Germany. Then there had been the tour in the northern part of England, leading on to the West Country and then a couple of gigs around the so called London pub circuit, specially the one at the Hammersmith Palace

He spoke of his first marriage to Jean, a young up and coming female drummer, who during those days was a sort after commodity. Girl bands were beginning to springing up in every town and the search was on to find female musicians. As Christine should know she would have come under that very same sort of pressure in her earlier years.

James had met Jean when she applied for the drumming vacancy in his band the 'Temporary One'. At first she was treated just like any other musician and slotted in well. She was such a good drummer she picked things up very easy, and they were back on the road within a couple of weeks. However as time went on it was a foregone conclusion that the chemistry was going to mix and that they would end up in each other's arms.

Within two years they were married and had a beautiful time together. They carried on playing in the band, which was no mean feat with other musicians around. Not to mention the type of publicity that follows a female band member around.

Unfortunately there was to be no luck in this marriage and Jean was killed in a tragic accident one night while they were on a gig at a pub in Brentwood. They had finished playing and where loading up the gear into the back of the Ford Transit van. Something that Jean always wanted to do, even though James had insisted that she take a break. Jean felt that she had to carry her own weight in amplification just to stop some of the other musicians from complaining.

She had just carried a couple of her own drum cases out to the van, and was pushing then down the middle of the van to be stacked up neatly. To be confronted by a drunken driver, who had been driving his new sports car around the pub car park, suddenly accelerated the vehicle to fast in an effort to show off in front of his friends. He lost control and drove straight into her and the van. The force at which he hit her almost cut her in half, coupled to this the weight of the amplifiers that had then fallen back and crushed her, meant that she was dead before the ambulance arrived.

At this stage Christine wished that she could have been with him, as she could hear in his voice that he was struggling while trying to tell her all of the details. She tried to console him over the phone, but it would have been easier if she could have been by his side. It was so tragic that even she had a tear in her eye.

James had spent weeks in a state of shock, never leaving the house. If it had not been for other members of the band he would have just curled up and died. He was also troubled by the fact that it had been a drunken driver who years earlier had killed both of his parents. Now once again it had been drink that had robbed him of the one thing he loved in the world. At first James had been pleased that they did not have any children, but later he had come to wish that he had. He would have been able to pour his love on to the child, which would now be able to fill the vacuum that Jeans passing had brought upon him.

It had taken almost ten years for James to come around to the fact that Jean was not there, and that it was time to get on with his life and to start to live once again. So in an effort to get out and mix with people, he joined a small local country music band that played every Sunday night at the local pub the 'Three Tunns'. This had been his saviour, in getting him back on the rails once more. The first time since the accident he noticed that there were people of the opposite sex around and they were certainly different to him. Christine had listened to what James had to say until he brought her up to the present day.

Then it was her turn to poor out the memories of her past and James became the listener. She had been born just three weeks after James in a small town of Grenodd not far from Birmingham. Her father had been a violinist and also played the local church organ for Sunday morning mass. She had started to learn the piano at the early age of four, but she had hated every minute of it. She had also been lucky to talk her father into letting her give it up. He felt that there was no good trying to make her do what she did want to. Then on her own accord at the age of eleven she had taken to the keyboard for a second attempt, only this time she took to it like a duck to water. This time she enjoyed every minute of it. She had three brothers and the older one had brought home a couple of Fats Domino records. This became the turning point in the music game for her, as she learnt each song off by heart. Once she had left school she moved to Birmingham where she found a local band who was looking for a Bass player to add to its line up. She applied for the position and to her astonishment she got the job.

Then it was just a steady progression of other bands as she changed over to Keyboards and finally she had joined the 'Chook House' and the rest is history as they say. This had been a strange relationship as both of them had undertaken most of their talking and catching up on the phone. It would have been easier and more intermit if they could have been together, but accepted that would come later, and it would be worth the wait.

There was another phone call that James received that upset him greatly and he had no idea how to respond to it. Richard had rung asking him not to call Christine so often because it was upsetting her shows. He even went as far as to tell him that if he thought anything of her and her career then he would stop seeing her all together. At one time the conversation got a little over heated as James struggled to find the words to express himself. He knew that Christine was unaware that Richard had made the call. Now he had to come to grips with himself, did he tell her and if he did then there might be one almighty breakup of the tour and that was the last thing he wanted. She had deserved the accolades that were now being showered on to her after a lifetime on the road. The finale in London was the one show she was looking forward to. So James decided to hang back and not to say anything until he thought the moment was right. It had also occurred to him that Richard fancied his own chances with Christine. The only thing he could do about that was to hope that Christine read the signs and did whatever she thought was right. His big worry was that being so far away he could not be there to speak up for himself if a situation developed about their relationship. Deep inside he felt he had read the signs right between them and that once the tour was over they would be able to be together.

It occurred to him that in the past couple of weeks somebody out there was doing his or her best to stop him from succeeding when it came to the opposite sex. First there had been Janice and now there was Richard. Both had tried to stab him in the back as they say, and he wondered from which direction the next dagger was going to come from. Which brought him back to Richard how had he got hold of his mobile phone number. When the time was right it would be a good question to ask him, if he got the opportunity.

With great anticipation for James, the day of Christine's last show arrived and it was to be held at the Albert Hall in London. As arranged James made his way to a reunion with her. It had been a long time coming but now it was here, both of them could not hide their love for one another. During the day time as the show was being set up they took the time to visit the local area while they caught up on the couple of weeks that they had been apart. It was while they were having a coffee that James told her of the phone call that Richard had made. She had realised that he was up to something, she knew that he had been into her personal belongings a couple of times and that more than likely he had seen her diary that she kept. James laughed what do you keep one of those things for; they are likely to hang you one day. She went on to tell him that one day in the not too distant future she was going to write her memoirs and that if he was not careful he would be on the first page. They both had a laugh about it, and James was thankful that she saw it that way. He did not want to be the one who upset her on this, the best day of her life. They had to return by late afternoon while Christine under took sound checks for the evening show.

As a tribute to her and the public it had been decided that this being her last show of the tour, her old band 'Spencer Greene; would be the backing band. So it took a while to sort out what songs she would be playing and that they would have to run through a few of them. James sat out in the auditorium and took it all in; it did not take much imagination to see that it was going to be one hell of a show. After everything had been sorted out, most of them made their way back to the very large dressing room.

Inside Christine introduced him to everybody especially to her ex husband John, who she left till almost last. James was about to mention their earlier meeting years ago, but Christine had already refreshed her husband's memory and they all laughed together about the incident. To James's amazement John was very friendly towards him, which allowed him to give a sigh of relief. At least he was not going to be the third one to stick a knife between his shoulder blades.

Then it was Richard's turn to be introduced to him as the ex tour manager. With that Richard looked straight at her and asked what was going on. She then repeated her words to him that he was sacked and that after the show he could pack his bags. He turned and walked away in a fit of rage not even asking for an explanation. Christine told James not to worry, he'll get over it and anyway the tour winds up tonight. Technically after tonight everybody if out of work, and with that they all laughed. She then confided to James that he had been trying to have an affair with her throughout the whole tour. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was a damn good tour manager, he would have been sacked months ago.

The show started to a rapturous applause from the thousands of fans that had packed the Albert hall that night. Tradition has it that the last show is always the best and that there is always a big surprise for the audience towards the end of the show. Christine had been on the road with this tour for almost four months, so with all the many performances she was note for note perfect and knew each song inside out.

As she walked out on to that large stage she was dwarfed by what surrounded her in amplification and props. There was then the briefest of a count in, and the show was under way. James was allowed to stand in the wings and watch, not the best spot to hear but at least he was close to Christine. From this vantage spot he could see that she had a terrific following of fans that could not get enough of their idol. The last thing he wanted was to come between her and her fans.

The show progressed and before he realised it they were already an hour into her repertoire of songs. Unbeknown to James he had been spotted standing by the curtain by Adriana and Janice who were in the audience, it had been Janice who first spotted him and tugged at Adriana's arm and pointed towards him. Adriana could see that there was love in his eyes and that she had finally lost him, but she bore him no grudge. First she looked at James and then Christine, she knew deep in her heart that they would make a good couple and were meant for each other.

Looking at James, Janice also had a twinge of conscious and pulled Adriana close to her and tried shouting in her ear. That nothing had happened at her house on the night of the reunion. She had tried to keep up the pretence in the hope that she might be in with a chance with James. She kept repeating sorry to Adriana who just nodded to her and looked back at the stage, now that everything was out in the open she felt relieved and just wanted to enjoy the show.

Then to every body's amazement as Christine finished one of her songs she suddenly started talking to the audience thanking them for being loyal fans over the years and for buying her records. She then introduced James as the guest guitar celebrity of the evening. One of the workers back stage had been told earlier what to do, he thrust a guitar into James's hand and shouted to him that it was in tune and that he should go out on to the stage and slay them. It only took a couple of seconds for James to realise what was happening, and being the true showman come musician that he was, he grabbed the guitar and walked out on to the stage to a rapturous applause, almost running he made his way across the stage to stand next to John.

The funny thing was he thought, their cheering me but I bet that nobody know who I am. He was wrong there were at least two people in the audience who knew him well. John told him the name of the song and what key it was to be played in, then Christine counted everybody in and the song proceeded. James had no problem getting in to it, as he knew all of her songs off by heart. Since their meeting he had bought every song that she had ever recorded. Anyway John was doing a good job calling to him any awkward chords changes that were to come. Then before he knew it the song reached the point of the lead break, and Christine called out on the microphone that was to take it away. With that James was suddenly thrust into a world all on his own, as he became the star of the evening. After a few licks that fitted in with the song he suddenly changed and played a different style of lick and looked over at Christine. Being the professional that he was, she answered the lick on her keyboard like an echo. They then played along in this way for several minutes. It was like a match made in heaven to all who heard it that night. Something that would never be repeated again, because there would be no way that the atmosphere of the venue, combined with the chemistry between the players, could ever be captured again. The audience were spell bound as they took it all in, and wondering what would come next, how could this be bettered.

For those few minutes he had finally made it to the top of the music world, he was playing a lead break at the Albert hall and was being cheered on by thousands of fans. With this fantastic feeling he could now hang up his guitar knowing that it had taken several years but in the end he had finally made it.

Then all too quickly his golden moment was over, but it had been long enough to last him for the rest of his life. The song progressed he savoured every minute until the end. After the applause had died Christine pointed to his microphone asking him to say a few words to the audience. He then dedicated the solo he had just played to the memory of his old friend and guitar tutor Maurice who had passed away tragically that day after a long fight with cancer. To you Maurice I finally made it mate and all thanks to you. Christine announced to the audience the last song of the night was to be her favourite 'Songbird'. She would be singing it to a very dear friend and that he knew who he was. She then counted in the song and proceeded to sing.

The Song Birds are singing my love for you

I love you, I love you, I love you, I do

As we walk down the aisle with love in our hearts

To stand before each other to say I do.

It continued

Upon ending she turned to the audience and said 'Thank you and god bless everybody'

Then all too quickly the song and indeed the show was over. As all of the musicians joined her at the front of the stage to take their bow and thank the audience once again. She then shocked them all by announcing that she was now officially retired, and that for her the show was well and truly over. With that she took hold of James hand and together they walked off stage, as the crowd shouted for more. She whispered to James that you should always leave an audience wanting.

THE END
Other Titles

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'Almost Total Recall' an Autobiography of the author Terry Aspinall. This book is part one that covers his early years from May 1943 until he leaves New Zealand to head for Australia in March 1988. Volume 2 is under way but will be couple of years down the track.

'The Fabulous Spawlszoff Brothers' a fictitious story, that is based on actual funny events that the author has experienced during his 50 years in the music industry.

'Johnny Morris and the Convertibles' is a fictitious story that is based on actual events that the author has experienced during his 50 years in the music industry.

'The British Hang Gliding History' is an updated history of how the hang glider was invented in Australia during 1963, and of how it arrived in the UK to be manufactured and flown for the first time during 1972. This book is a shortened version of the successful website it is based on at www.british-hang-gliding-history.com there are working hyperlinks to the websites BHGA early Hang Gliding magazine 'Wings' and also the BMAA early Microlighting magazine 'Front Line'.

'The Adventures of Henri and Charlie' is a very young children's short story about the authors pet Peach Face Parrot and Canary that escape from their cages and are taken on a wild ride, with no hope of returning to the
