The Autumn Reunion

  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 th
e 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 normall
y 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 wou
ld 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.