Chapter 3
Haunted By A Moment
"And where do you think your taking that monstrosity?," were the words that greeted Matthew as he tried to smuggle a one meter high chunk of stone un-noticed up to his room. Janice had watched him from the kitchen as he arrived home with his new present from Maureen, but hadn’t a clue what it was. Mathew tried to explain that it was a present and he thought he would nice to display it in his room.
"I don’t think so." said Janice.
"Something that size was just as likely to come through the ceiling and kill whoever was sitting below." she continued, persisting in wanting to know what it was. Matthew was reluctant to say too much, after all he had been the one to make fun of Maureen when she purchased it for him. Now he was actually telling somebody that he liked it.
"It's a double-headed llama" he told her."
Although at that time he did not know what he was going to do with it. Janice told him to put it somewhere in the lounge for the time being. She was also persistent in asking who had bought it for him. Reluctantly, he tried to explain that it was from a young girl who he worked with, and was surprised that his answer seemed to satisfy her questioning.
While Matthew and Janice were in the kitchen having a cup of tea there was suddenly a very loud scream that seemed to come from the next rom. They both rushed into the lounge where they found Dawn screaming and pointing at Matthews new present positioned in the corner.
"What the heck is that thing," pointing at the llama she asked?
There then followed a second session of questioning, only this time it was instigated by Dawn. Leaving Matthew to once again try and explain that the present was worth keeping. However by this time Janice and Dawn were both in tears of laughter just wondering what ever practical use this present had? The jokes were flowing fast and furious, only this time it was all at Matthews’s expense. For the first time in many months he was the butt of the jokes.
Monday morning arrived in what seemed like record time, as the weekend had just flown by and it was time to return to work and assembling lawn mowers once again. Matthew met Peter on the line just a few minutes before it was due to start it’s run for the day. He could see by the excitement in Peter’s eyes that he was bubbling to talk to him about something.
"My mother thinks that she might know you," he blurted out to Matthew half shouting, and catching him by surprise.
"Yes, she said that she went to school with you, you know the Stowmarket Secondary Modern up by the recreation ground, and she was even in the same class as you." Matthew was stopped in his tracks not knowing what to say next. It was very funny but he had never thought to ask Peter his surname.
"What's her name," Matthew asked.
"Eileen" he replied, "Eileen Hollings and a good looker at that," he laughed. The before they could talk further the assembly line hooter sounded, and the line started to inch its self forward. The noise the machinery made drowned out any chance of further conversation, unless you shouted loudly at each other.
Matthew was stunned, he could not believe what Peter had just said to him. It was as though he had just been hit by a brick. Of course he knew Eileen, after all he had spent four years at school with her. He had even dated and courted her right up to the time that he had left Stowmarket in such a hurry all of those years earlier. He had a string of questions that he would love to ask Peter, but this was truly not the right time or place to do so. Normally they would have shouted to each other above the noise of the line. However, these were intimate questions that he did not want broadcasted live around the factory, and anyway at that same time the supervisor Herr Hossriete appeared. As he walked past Matthew he could not resist remarking to him to pull his finger out and get on with his work. Matthew gave him his usual sarcastic reply of "Yes Mr Horse-shite".
There was a sudden air of silence between Matthew and Peter something that had not happened before. Even Peter noticed it, because they usually manage some sort of conversation most times of the day. It turned out to be the longest two hours that the two of them had encountered since they first met. A time that left Matthew stewing in his own thoughts and of wondering what else Peter was about to tell him.
By the time the morning tea break came around Matthew had made up his mind that his inquisitive nature was not to be satisfied, or at least not until they were on their own and away from Maureen and Sally, who would be seated at the canteen table and able to hear all that Peter had to say.
However, it was all for nothing Peter was on a high and could not contain himself, blurting it out for all to hear the moment they had all taken a seat at the canteen table.
"Hey want to know something, Matthew used to know my Mother at school,"
Matthew almost choked on the sandwich he was eating, his first reaction was that it made him feel old, amongst his friends that he was now sitting with. Being a father figure was the last thing he wanted to be, once word of this spread around he would be looked at in a different light by the friends that he had made since starting at the factory.
All eyes were now on Matthew as if awaiting a response from him. He looked at Maureen who was sitting beside him, then waited a couple of seconds before agreeing that yes he had indeed gone to school with Peters Mother. Matthew was now trying to choose his words very carefully, and trying not to upset Maureen who he had grown very fond of. The last thing that he wanted to do was fall out with her. Maureen was different to most of the other women that he had played around with over the years. Maureen was the type of woman that he wanted to settle down with and to build a home around. It was for this reason that he had not played around with her since they first met, he had not taken her for granted. To make his point to her it was also the reason why he had not jumped in to bed with her that very first night they spent together. He knew that if he did not watch what he said this whole situation that he now found himself in would get out of hand, and that it was a possibility that he might lose her.
He was very relieved when the siren sounded announcing that the tea break was over, so that they could all return to the assembly line. For Matthew there would be no more awkward questions for him to try and answer, until lunch break anyway. The funny thing was that of all the people at the table, it was only Matthew who was feeling uncomfortable. The others thought that it was great that Matthew knew Peters Mother, it was as if an old long lost friend had finally been found, even Maureen was excited with Peters good news.
By the time the lunch break came around Matthew was please that he'd had time to get over the initial shock and was feeling a little more comfortable with what Peter had revealed to him. He was even able to answer a few questions put to him by Peter, and asked him to say hello to his mother for him.
That night while he was out with Maureen he decided to tell her that, he had in fact courted Peters Mother, but added that it was only one of those teenage crushes that school kids had in those days. Maureen had no problem with that, adding that it was a long time ago. Hey I‘ve been married before, you have had other girl friends I’ll bet, so why are you worrying she said. They spent the rest of the evening at the Regal Cinema cuddled up to each other watching a sloppy love film and the subject was not brought up anymore, to the relief of Matthew. When he took her home once again he did not venture inside the house, instead he left her on the doorstep after a short kissing session.
At work the next morning Peter greeted him with the news that his Mother had said hello to him and had asked how he had been keeping. Matthew answered the best that he could, still feeling a little uncomfortable on the subject. However, after having time to think, he had come up with plenty of questions of his own. Whenever the two of them were together both would be constantly asking and answering questions, mostly on the subject of Peters Mother. It turned out that she was not married and never had been. Although she did have a boyfriend at the moment and that the relationship was considered as being serious. He was a local carpenter and marriage had been discussed a
couple of times between them. She had brought Peter up on her own, struggling on a solo parent pension, but had given him the best education that she could afford. Over the years she had been with a couple of guys but neither relationship had developed in to anything that was permanent. Something Peter had wanted and craved for, he had lacked a father figure in his life. He craved somebody who could have taken him to football matches, and undertaken all of the manly type things that children do with their fathers. However, the two of them had got on well together and enjoyed each other’s company. Peter's main worry now was what would happen to his mother if he were ever to marry and move out of the family home, leaving his mother to live on her own, or heaven forbid the guy she was courting at the moment.
Matthew turned down an offer to visit Peter's house to meet his mother, giving some sort of excuse that he knew would not always hold water, but at least for now it got him off the hook. He did not feel comfortable seeing her just yet, and anyway when he did. He wanted them to be on their own and not with other people around.
However his good luck was not to hold as a couple of days later Peter informed him that in a week’s time it was in fact his birthday and that his mum was throwing him a big party at home. Everybody was invited to the event and that included Sally, Maureen and Matthew. The last thing Matthew wanted to do now was to disappoint Peter, he had taken a great liking to the boy and thought a lot of him. So reluctantly he agreed that he would be there and that he would bring Maureen with him.
That week seemed to drag with Matthew wondering what surprises were going to be in store for him and how he would handle a situation should it arise. At least he would have Maureen by his side to keep him company and hopefully out of trouble or a nasty situation. Anyway why should he be worried about what had happened between then, it had been a long time ago. Life had moved on and people had developed other relationships and anyway time was a great healer.
Back at Temple Road as Matthew arrived home very late in the evening, something he was now trying to accomplish on a regular basis. Hoping that Janice and her daughter were both sound sleep and in bed. However, he was out of luck as he walked in to the kitchen to make a cup of tea before hitting the sheets himself. There sitting at the table was Janice with a big smile on her face.
"Who’s become an old stay out late then," she asked.
Matthew smiled and asked if there was any tea left in the pot on the table. Janice said no but offered to make him a fresh one. Then getting up she brushed past him sniffing the air as she did so.
"Umm smells good Matthew, and who’s got a new girl friend," she asked.
"What makes you think that," Matthew replied.
"Women’s intuition," she went on.
"And she uses products from the Body shop as well."
Matthew seized on the opportunity to let it be known that he had started seeing a girl friend on a regular basis.
"Hope it won’t interfere with our little bit of fun," Janice giggled.
Matthew was dumb struck not knowing what to say next. After all he did want to somehow get out of the terrible love tangle that he had got himself into, but at the same time he did not want to offend or fall out with anybody. Matthew explained to her that it was the girl who gave him the carving in the lounge.
"Oh now it’s a carving is it," Janice laughed.
"I thought it was just a lump of rock, and by the way when are you going to get rid of it or dump it or something, its cluttering up my lounge," she added.
Matthew fell silent, Maureen was now his permanent girl friend, and he did not want to lose her. Although for the moment he did not want to lose his accommodation either, or at least not until he could find himself something more permanent and hopefully that would be with Maureen down the track.
As Janice started to rub up against him and caress his body Matthew started making excuses that he was tired and wanted to go to bed. This only made the situation worse as Janice agreed that she also wanted to go to bed, but with Matthew. It became a type of tug of war as Matthew started to head for the stairs with Janice still with her arms around him in tow. All of the time Matthew was saying, look not to night Janice maybe tomorrow, I’ve got to get some sleep. By now they were at the top of the stairs and Matthew was opening the door of his bedroom slowly. He then kissed Janice on the cheek and pushing her aside, said good night I’ll see you tomorrow. Then somehow he managed to slide through the slightly opened door on his own, leaving Janice standing on the landing. There being no locks on the door and knowing how frequently Janice had visited his room, he fumbled around in the darkness and slid the chair that usually stood by the door, wedging it under the door handle. Then with a sigh of relief and his back to the door, he felt for the light switch and turned it on, to be greeted by Dawn lying fully naked on the top of his bed. Oh no not you as well he thought, scared to say the words out a loud. It would just be his luck that if he were to upset one of these two love crazed women that they might both start shouting rape and then he would really be in for a rough time.
He whispered to her asking what she was doing in his room, fully knowing the answer to the question before he had even finished asking it.
"Waiting for you Matthew, just waiting for you."
Scared that Janice might be listening at the door he walked over and quietly told her that she had better get back to her own bedroom and that he did not want any trouble with her mother. Dawn assured him that there would not be any trouble if he just climbed in to bed with her, and anyway she could not leave right away, as her mother would be watching his door. He took this as some kind of threat and duly obliged her, knowing that it would be the only way of getting her back to her own bed. He was fed up with the situation and just gave in, at least once it was over he could get a good night's sleep.
Next morning as Matthew joined Peter on the assembly line preparing to start work, he explained the problems that he was having at his lodgings and of the two women. Although he did not go into too much detail of what he was getting up to with them, just in case it was mentioned to Maureen. However, he did make it clear that he had to get out of the house. Somehow he had to find himself fresh accommodation and fast, before it wrecked his future.
Peter changed the subject at the first opportunity, informing Matthew that his mother had been telling him about the things that they got up to at school and what a practical joker he was. His mother had said that he was a natural comedian, and would have the whole class laughing at least once a day, during school time. It was a pity that he had not taken it further and went on the stage. Matthew blushed a little, telling Peter that she was exaggerating and that he was not that good. Hey but you are still making people laugh replied Peter, look how you carry on here on the assembly line, making fun of old Hoss-shite. Matthew was starting to feel uncomfortable with the praise that Peter was heaping on him and was relieved when the sirens sounded for the line to start up for the day's work.
During the tea break and in front of Maureen and Sally, Peter kept repeating what his mother had told him. Maureen joined in saying that you must have been good after all you seemed to have left an impression on his mother. And she is not the only one, as I also happen to think that you are very funny as well. Not that I agreed with the cling film trick over the top of the toilet, that you told us about, with that one I think you went over the top. You laughed when I told you about it, didn’t you said Matthew. Well yes she said with a grin on her face, Matthew continued, there you are then you must have found it funny.
The day of Peter’s birthday party Matthew drove around the town and picked up Maureen and then Sally. When they arrived at Peter's house, they were surprised not to be able to find a parking space close to the house. The music was loud and could be heard out in the street. Must be a good party Matthew said and sounds like it's in full swing already. The girls joined in by adding that they hoped they had not missed any of the fun.
Matthew banged on the front door three times before it was
finally opened by Peter with a glass in his hand. As he beckoned them in, they all shouted Happy Birthday Peter. The house seemed to be full to capacity with people standing, sitting and dancing to the sounds of the record player in the corner. The girls handed Peter a small present and gave him a kiss. He led them all through the house and to the kitchen where all of the drink was being stored. As they entered the room Matthew did not need any introduction to the lady standing at the table pouring a drink.
"Hello Matthew," she said
"It’s been a long time," she added.
"Certainly has, and how have you been keeping." he replied.
Matthew walked over and put his arms around her and gave her a kiss.
"Hey it's not my birthday you know, it's my sons,"
"Well I’m not going to kiss him," said Matthew with a laugh.
"He’s been telling me all about you," she continued.
"Not everything I hope," Matthew butted in.
Eileen was then introduced to Maureen and also Sally who she had never met before. The atmosphere was very friendly and Eileen was genuinely pleased to see them all and wanted them to feel at home. She gave them a drink and said that if they could find some space then they could have a dance and that she would catch up with them later. However, before they could leave the kitchen in walked a middle-aged man who walked up to Eileen with and empty glass and asked her to fill it up for him.
"This is John, John Swindle’s," Eileen announced to them all adding "John and I are going out with each other."
This came as a big surprise to Matthew who almost choked on the mouthful of drink he was in the process of swallowing. He then smiled to himself, with a name like that I bet he’s a car salesman, Swindles by name and Swindles by nature he thought.
The party was well and truly in full swing, it was pointless trying to talk, as the music was so loud. Therefore they spent most of the time trying to find enough room to dance. Matthew and Maureen liked the slower songs so that they could just cuddle up and smooch around in the small area of space that they had found. Matthew knew that sooner or later he was going to have to face Eileen and on her own. He knew it had been the real reason he had been invited to the party, by trying to avoid her he was only prolonging the inevitable.
About an hour into the party Peter came over leading his mother through the crowd and right up to Matthew.
"Mum wants a dance and I promised her that I could arrange it," said Peter.
Matthew who was sitting next to Maureen and holding her hand whispered to her asking if she minded. He then got up, but he only agreed if the music was slowed down a little after all he was not as young as most of the other guests.
While all of this was going on John stood in the corner not taking his eyes off of Eileen for one single moment. He was a negative and unsecured person, always frightened that every male that came into Eileen’s life was out to take her from him. He had been told of the friendship that Eileen and Matthew enjoyed during their school days, even though a lot of water had since past under the bridge, he was keeping an eye on Matthew. Being of a jealous nature he could not help himself, so he had to watch her every move she made.
One dance led into another and before they knew it they had been on the floor for over twenty minutes. I’ll have to have a rest Eileen said looking around for a spare chair. As Matthew looked around for Maureen he was disappointed that she could not be found, he needed her to get him away from Eileen. So now he would have to sit with her and if Maureen came back it would look bad for him. The last thing he wanted now was to upset her after all he did like the girl very much.
Eileen did not sit down, she had noticed that John had returned to the kitchen for a refill. So instead she grabbed his hand and led him out in to the garden and an old wooded bench that was propped up by the garden shed.
"How’s that," she said to Matthew.
"At least we can talk to each other without shouting," she added.
Matthew started to feel a little uneasy saying that Maureen would be looking for him.
"Peter tells me that you think a lot of her and he thinks that one day you might get married," she asked.
"Well I’d like to, but at the moment the time is not right, we are just courting," said Matthew.
She then went on to ask whom Sally was and why had he brought her along with him.
"Don’t you know," said Matthew, "She is Peter’s girlfriend and has been for quite some time."
"Why do you ask," he continued.
"I have been trying to get him fixed up with one of my best friends daughters, who I understand is a very nice girl," replied Eileen.
"Just trying to repay an old friend, who has done me a good turn in the past, she continued.
"Can you remember when we where courting Matthew."
"How could I ever forget it," he answered.
They both started to reminisce about their time together over twenty years ago. They had both met the day they started attending the Secondary Modern School and had both been placed in the same 4b class. They were to be in the same class right through their entire secondary education, a period of just over four years. However, it was only in the last year that they started to look at each other in a different light. That age old thing called growing up and sexual attraction. At first it was just the occasional meeting on the recreational ground in the evenings when Eileen came out of night school that was also held in the school buildings. They would sit in the memorial shelter listening to one of the local guys who frequented the building playing his guitar. During these times the closest they came together was when they plucked up the courage to hold hands, kissing was a luxury that only came occasionally when they left each other for the night, a time in the evening that Matthew could not wait to arrive. However, by the time that they left school a strong relationship had developed between them, with a lot more going on than just holding hands.
It was while they were together one night on the recreation ground and with another couple Peter and Nancy that Matthew had taken his first sip of beer and had hated the taste. Peter had been to the Walnut Tree Public House and purchased a bottle of brown ale. After opening it and taking the first gulp from the bottle, Peter then offered it to Matthew, who upon taking that first sip, almost gagged. He thought that it had a horrible taste and for the life of him could not understand why the men folk loved its taste and would spend most of their wages and time drinking the stuff. When offered the bottle for a second time, Matthew was determined that he did not want to taste it again. So as he put the bottle up to his lips he wedged his tongue across its opening stopping any liquid from entering his mouth. He then pretended to gulp down some of the bottles contents, trying to look macho in front of those around.
This incident did not put him off the taste of alcohol for good, as over the years he had acquired a taste that was to get him in to trouble on more than one occasion, undertaking drunken influenced practical jokes.
Their parents knew each other because Matthews's mother used to undertake what was known as home help work. She had looked after Eileen’s mother during the birth of her sister. The job entailed looking after the house during the first two weeks of the birth of the child, giving the mother a chance to get back on to her feet. Because of this they had become very good friends and on several occasions they had been out socially in the evenings, while their parents had both placed their seal of approval on the friendship of their children.
Once they had both left school to start work and were earning wages, they would meet at the Warming Pan café that had just opened opposite the Regal Cinema. This was the meeting place for most of the town’s young people who were interested in the latest music craze that was sweeping the country from America, called Rock 'n' Roll. The building had been sound proofed, so that the loud music that was always blaring out from the new Juke Box could not be heard from outside. It was the first one that the town had ever seen and created a lot of interest and use. Three songs f
or sixpence and you could dance all of your troubles away, or at least that’s what Matthew and Eileen believed at the time.
They both liked the music of Bill Haley and his Comets and learnt to dance to the sounds of his first hit, 'Rock Around The Clock'. The song was made famous being used as the sound track to a very controversial and popular film of that time called 'The Blackboard Jungle'. They would jive as it became known most of the night away, only stopping to buy the occasional bottle of Coke-a-Cola to cool down, something else that was new to them. The Warming Pan became the meeting place of most of the young people in the area. It was a place where they could get away from the restrictions that parents of the day, placed on their children. It would be quite common to find couples cuddling in the corner, something that other young kids who were also dancing did not pay attention to.
When the film 'The Blackboard Jungle' was finally shown at the Regal Cinema, Matthew and Eileen went along more out of curiosity than anything. After all they had read all of the hype that the press had made of the film as it visited other towns around England. Only to find themselves caught up in the trouble that seemed to follow the film wherever it was shown. Once the music of Bill Haley started up at the beginning of the film, a large proportion of the young audience within the auditorium all got up and started dancing in the aisles. However, after a few minutes Matthew and Eileen decided to get up and join the dances, but as they were making their way past seated customers to the isle. Pandemonium broke loose when the lights came on and the ushers rushed out and tried to get the people to return to their seats or to leave. As they were nearest to the ushers when they arrived on the scene, and were the first to be grabbed, and they hadn’t even started to dance. A couple dancing near them, watched as they were manhandled and frogmarched towards the exit and tried to get them free. Then another group of dancers also joined in the tussle also trying to help them to be released. In the struggle that took place one of the female ushers had her nose broken when she was hit by a young bobby socked jive dancer with an umbrella. During the confusion that followed they managed to escape and somehow got back to their seats undetected. A couple of the more rowdy of the dancers were finally arrested and later charged with unruly behaviour. It was something that would have horrified Matthew and Eileen if it had been them, they would never have lived down the shame that the incident would have brought upon their families. Photos of the event did appear on the front page of the local newspaper the Stowmarket Mercury that came out every Friday. Lucky for them they were not in the photo, but it did prove that the press were aware that an incident was about to happen. Being on the spot proved that, but there was also the chance that it had been staged managed.
Then there was the time that they were both attending a dance held at one of the local factory social clubs. These functions were attended by many of the young people in the town, because most of the music being played was the latest Rock and Roll hit parade material taken from both sides of the Atlantic. On this particular occasion while everybody was dancing and just enjoying themselves, a fight developed amongst a group of boys in the corner that spread and finally took up most of the centre of the dance floor. Unfortunately a few of the bigger boys tried to wade in and break the whole thing up before it got out of hand. Matthew was one of these boys and just as he was about to wrestle one of the fighting youths to the floor, a knife was produced and without hesitation thrust into the stomach of another of the fighting young men. The blade just missed Matthew by shear chance, as at that very same moment he’d fell to the floor while wrestling another of the youths. Then all hell was let loose with claims and counter claims of who had produced the knife. While all this was going on the badly wounded victim lay on the floor crying out in pain. It did not seem to dawn on most of the people, who by now we're all just standing around, that an ambulance needed to be called. One of the guys eventually took control of the situation and called them himself. It was his quick thinking that more than likely saved the boys life. This episode had worried Eileen so much, that for a long time she had pleaded with Matthew not to attend these functions any more. She knew what sort of person he was and that he could not resist getting himself involved every time an incident like this would happen. She would always add that next time it could be him that was left lying on the floor, and that one day he might not get up. She had no intention of being a widow so early in her lifetime.
Incidents like this did not deter them too much and their relationship grew stronger and stronger and to most people around them it was just a foregone conclusion that they would one day eventually get married. Gone were their days of just holding hands, by now it had grown in to a steady relationship that occasionally led to sex? Occasionally, because in those days people did not sleep together like today. Then it was more of a take a chance whenever it came along, sort of thing, up some side street or behind a bush in the park. Some teenagers were still ruled by your parents and if they ordered you home by a certain time, then that time had to be kept to. However, it was also time of change and some of the more rebellious of the youngsters were starting to defy their parents, by staying out late at night.
Then came the day that they had their very first big argument and it was a big one. Eileen had been told that he had been seeing another girl in the town with the name of Barbara. This had been a lie spread around by the young girl in question, to befriend Matthew and in fact she had tried to court him. The more Matthew tried to explain to Eileen the worse the problem became, with more and more people around the town all agreeing that he had been with her, why he was never to find out. The situation was made worse by Eileen refusing to see him every time he called or went to her house. Then one day he saw Eileen in the town square with another guy that was the final straw as far as he was concerned. To drown his sorrows he had retreated to the Queens Head and a drink along with Brian Lawrence, and the rest was history as they say.
Eileen butted in and tried to correct him, and explain that the guy she had been with was in fact one of her cousins. She went on to explain that she was sorry that things had turned out that way and if she could she would like to turn back the clock. She still thought the world of him and always had. To prove her point she explained to him that she had never married or had a permanent relationship over all of the years that he had been away. Well not until just recently, when a very close friend had introduced her to John, whom she strongly believed was match making for her. She put her arms around him and gave him a long kiss. Matthew let it all happen, remembering all of those good times that they had together. He was also interested to see if there was a spark of light that was worth rekindling left inside of him. After a few minutes Matthew suddenly remembered Maureen and said that they should be getting back inside before they were missed. Eileen gave him one more kiss and asked what he thought of Peter. Matthew said that he got on well with the boy and liked him very much.
"I’m glad," said Eileen.
"Because he is your son."
Matthew was left dumb struck and speechless for a couple of minutes, by the time that he had come around and had questions to ask. Eileen had got up and grabbed his hand and was about to lead him into the house.
After having worked out where they were, John suddenly arrived in the back yard, and being ever protective of his so called future bride, thought that she might need protecting.
"It’s all right," said Eileen.
"We are just coming, we were just talking about our schooldays John, nothing to be alarmed about."
She then walked inside while still leading Matthew by the hand and started pushing through the crowd. Eileen led him over to a couple of friends that she wanted to introduce him to. Suddenly Matthew was standing in front of Janice and Dawn. Eileen then introduced him to her best friend and her daughter. You could have carved the atmosphere up with a knife. Matthew was speechless not knowing what to say next and not wanting to incriminate himself. At the very same time Peter, a little worse the wear for drink suddenly s
taggered up to join the group and announces that,
"Mathew is looking for somewhere to stay."
"Where he is living at the moment there are a couple of women and they won't leave him alone."
Then looking at Janice added "You used to take in boarders didn’t you Aunt Janice, maybe you can put him up."
Before anybody could answer, Maureen joined the group and grabbing Matthew by his arm saying,
"Here you are, for a minute there I thought that I’d lost you."
"Well I did," butted in Eileen, as she turned and walked away.
"Looks like we have as well," said Janice as she grabbed her daughter’s arm and headed to the kitchen for another drink, leaving Peter standing all on his own and wondering if it was something he had said that broke the little group up.
"What was that all about," asked Maureen as Matthew grabbed her by the wrist and made his way to a space in the dance area.
"Oh just an in-joke from my past, nothing to worry about," he said.
Although by this time he was starting to worry about what lay ahead of him during the next few days. He was going to have to be careful how he tread and what he said and to more than one person. If he did not watch his step he would end up losing everything. To make things worse he was not sure that he should even return to Temple Road that night maybe he should let the dust settle first.
Matthew decided that the time was right to beat a hasty retreat, he had been involved in enough controversy for the night, and for the moment thought that it was time that he laid low for a time.
Therefore he and Maureen left the party without saying to many farewells. Poor Maureen she was lost she had no idea what was going on and what Matthew was involved in. However, he did tell her that Eileen had not liked Sally and that she had been trying to palm Peter off with the young girl Dawn, who they had just been introduced to. That much Matthew was certain of, you did not have to be a brain surgeon to work that one out. Matthew suddenly realised that they had left Sally at the party, I hope that she would be alright and that Peter was looking after her. Mind you he was pretty drunk when I last saw him he said, I would not forgive myself if anything happens to her tonight.
They decided to have a coffee before calling it a night, so Matthew parked in the town square and they walked over the road to the Galleon Café. Maureen got the drinks in and Matthew found a spare table to sit at by the window. Maureen was soon with him asking if he wanted anything else, to which he shook his head. Since the incident at Peter’s party, the conversation between them had almost dried up, so Maureen was aware that something she did not know about was going on.
In the corner and sitting on his own was an oriental looking young man. Matthew could not help noticing that his cheeks were crammed and over full with food. His mouth was shut tight but his cheeks looked badly distorted to such an extent that he resembled a monkey. Not wanting to be noticed that he was staring, Matthew would occasionally shift his glance around the room. However, within just a few seconds his eyes would once again fall back upon the young man in the corner. Matthew nudged Maureen with his elbow and nodded in the young man's direction, trying not to draw his attention. His subconscious had even named the young man, 'Cheetah' he thought, knowing it to be cruel what he was thinking. Although he could not help himself and to make matters worse he was now staring at him for longer periods and not being able to take his eye off of him. Matthew leaned over to Maureen and whispered in her ear.
"I bet he doesn’t empty his mouth before he crams the next lot in,"
He then started to laugh very quietly. That question was soon answered, as the young man with his cheeks still bulging and looking like his mouth was half full, lowered his head down to within inches of his plate that was on the table in front of him. His right hand then proceeded to spoon more food into his mouth at a rapid rate. Suddenly the man realised that Matthew was staring at him.
What are you staring at, he spluttered spraying a large area on the table in front of him with pieces of food.
"Well it certainly isn’t your eating habits and table manners," Matthew jokingly answered.
"What," the guy asked him, once again spraying the table with more food.
"I was watching that fly on the wall behind you," Matthew went on to explain to the young man. Maureen was by this time tugging on his sleeve and telling Matthew that they should be getting out of there before there was trouble.
As they both got up to leave, Cheetah as Matthew called him, got up and came over to where Matthew was standing and confronted him by positioning his face to within just a few inches of Matthews. Matthew knew that this guy was for real and that it was going to be no good trying to talk himself out of the situation that he now found himself in. Looking into Cheetah’s eyes he could see that he meant business. This was a trick that he had learnt while serving in the Army.
At the first hint of movement to his eye balls Matthew head butted him right on the bridge of the nose. It was a killer blow dropping the guy to the floor instantly, there was no way that he was going to be able to get up from that right away. Matthews's philosophy in life was to do unto others as they would do unto you, only do it first, and he had been very successfully at that. He also knew that if he hung around it was a good assumption that the police were going to be called. Lucky for him there were not many other people in the café. Matthew walked over to the guy behind the counter and offered to pay for any damage that he might have coursed. The guy said it was all right, and other than a possible dent in the floor there was no damage. He went on to tell Matthew that he had been causing trouble with his customers all night. If Matthew could throw him out he would call it quits with him. Hearing this Matthew was only too happy to oblige, and as the young man was trying to get to his feet he grabbed him in an arm lock and frog marched him to the door and out in to the street. That just about capped off a good night out for him, about the only thing that hasn’t happened so far tonight was an earthquake. It reminded him of his early service days when all he did was to get drunk and have a good scrap. Maureen just looked at him not uttering a word in reply.
He drove her round to her house where they sat inside just talking about the evening. Matthew refused a chance to go in for a further coffee and a possible cuddle, instead opting for a quick kiss, as she was about to get out of the car. Matthew had other things on his mind and at the moment he was all mixed up and confused, and hoping that night there would be no sex to confuse the issue further.
He could not believe what had just happened during the evening, first he had been told that he was Peter's father. That had been a shock to him on its own, but deep down he’d had that feeling that they did have something in common and yes he did like the boy. Although it had been more of a sort of mate thing, but now this had all changed, all of a sudden it had been turned into the parent type of feelings. Then Peter's mother had made it plain that she wanted to take up their relationship, where it was left off all of those years ago. Janice and her daughter being added into the equation had thrown a spanner to the works. To add to all of this he had just picked a fight with a total stranger and could have ended up being locked up for the rest of the night. God knows what’s going to happen if Janice were to tell Eileen what they had been up to in Temple Road. As for poor old Maureen, well it did not bare thinking about how their relationship was going to end up, if ever he managed to get himself untangled.