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Chapter 10 Stephen’s return

Anna woke up because she felt something on her cheek. She pushed it away.

'Ouch! That's my nose!' Stephen cried.

She opened her eyes and there was Stephen bending over her and rubbing his nose where she'd hit it.

'Hello, love,' said Anna. 'You're back. What time is it?'

'Seven. Sorry to wake you but you looked so lovely lying there. I'll go and make some coffee and bring it up. It's a beautiful morning.'

Anna lay there, listening to Stephen downstairs, and remembering the night before. She felt good. She'd had an 'adventure' and she had escaped. Now Stephen was back and everything would be back to normal.

He sat on the bed drinking coffee and told her about the agency meeting. Everyone had all agreed in the end that the sale of the company was the best thing. The buyers had been honest about the future and said there were no guarantees of people keeping their jobs. There would have to be some restructuring - which, according to Stephen, meant a lot of people losing their jobs.

'So, we're going to have a few months without knowing whether I'll be one of the lucky ones,' said Stephen.

'Well, you look very cheerful about it,' replied Anna.

'There's nothing I can do. It's out of my hands. So to hell with it all, for the moment. I don't even know if I want to keep the job anyway,' Stephen said as he started to get undressed. 'I'm going to have a shower, and then maybe have a few hours' sleep.'

Anna was surprised. Stephen didn't really seem worried about it all. 'How amazing! Perhaps he is changing,' she thought. She decided to get up. She didn't feel like lying in bed waiting for Stephen. It was better to be active. She made another cup of coffee and stood outside listening to the morning sounds. Tristan was on his boat, doing something with a fishing net. 'Probably one of the smelly ones from the car,' she thought.

How did she feel about him this morning? Quite relaxed, she thought, although something was making her heart beat faster. 'Must be the coffee,' she said to herself, and went inside to get some breakfast.

'Did you have a good evening with Tristan?' Stephen was sitting at the kitchen table. He stood up and put his arms round Anna.

'Mm, yes, I did,' said Anna, wondering for a moment which evening he was talking about. 'Yes, it was fun. He's very good to be with - and very open about everything, isn't he? It doesn't seem to worry him that he's only just met us. Anyway, what are you doing - I thought you were going to have a bit of sleep?'

'Changed my mind,' replied Stephen. 'The bed seemed empty, and I don't want to waste the day sleeping. I want to start my holiday again. Do you feel like going surfing later? If we walk over there, you can tell me what you’ve been doing while I've been away.'

Anna had already decided that she was going to tell him about last night's dinner. She knew if she didn't, he was sure to hear about it from someone else - half the population of Polreath and St Leven probably. So, as they walked over to the surf beach, she told him all about going on the boat out to the rocks, and the accident and about Gino's, and even about Tristan and Jill splitting up. But she missed out the walk at the end of the evening. She could feel Stephen looking at her once or twice.



'Well, you have been busy,' he said thoughtfully. She seemed to have been perfectly happy without him. 'You obviously enjoyed it all. You like Tristan, don't you?'

'Yes - don't you?' she replied.

'Yes, at least, what I know of him,' said Stephen slowly. 'I like the way he lives and the way he seems to know what makes him happy. That's quite rare.' Anna waited; she realised that Stephen hadn't finished. 'Did he tell you he went to university - he got a degree in civil engineering?

He was offered a good job, too, but he didn't take it. He wanted to come back to Polreath instead. He could have been really successful by now - probably a manager with a high salary. But he knew that wasn't really for him,'

Stephen paused. Now it was Anna's turn to look at him.

'What are you saying?' asked Anna.

'Nothing really - just that I think he made the right decision - for him,' Stephen said.

'Are you trying to tell me you feel you've made the wrong decision? I always thought you loved the advertising world - and life in the city,' said Anna.

'I do . . . I did.' Stephen stopped for a moment. All I'm saying is I think I've reached a crossroads in my life. I feel it's time for a change of direction. Maybe it's a mid-life crisis - I don't know.'

'You're too young for a mid-life crisis,' replied Anna.

'Have you got any ideas about what you'd like to do, then?'

'One or two but they're still just ideas, so I don't really want to talk about them yet.'

'I've heard that before,' thought Anna.

Stephen continued, 'I need time to think more. Everything's happened so quickly'

'Not that quickly, actually,' she said. 'You've seemed different the last few weeks. I think this has been coming for a while.'

'You're probably right. But don't push me to say more at the moment, will you? I need time.'

They walked on in silence, busy with their own thoughts. Anna wasn't surprised by what Stephen had said.

She just hoped he'd talk to her more before taking any big decisions. After all, it affected her life, too.

The surf beach was busy when they got there.

'I'm ready for this,' said Stephen, 'after the last fortyeight hours, I need action.'

They went to the beach shop and hired surfboards.

Neither of them felt like having a lesson - they wanted to try it themselves first. They swam out with the boards to just beyond the point where the waves were starting. Then they watched to see what other people did. Timing was the important thing. You had to catch the right wave at exactly the right time. If you missed it, there was nothing to carry you in towards the beach. You had to try again, wait for the next suitable wave. It was fun. They couldn't really do it well, but they enjoyed trying. Stephen did manage to stand up on his board for about ten seconds but Anna was perfectly happy lying down on the board, surfing in on her stomach.

'I've had enough,' shouted Anna. 'I'm giving up for the moment.' She lay on the sand and let the sun warm her.

Then she sat up to watch Stephen. He was doing quite well. But then he often did do well at sport. She could see he wanted to be good at this.

'I enjoyed that,' said Stephen, lying down on the beach beside her. 'When you get it right, it's a great feeling!'

Turning over, he put his cold, wet hands on Anna's stomach.

'Ohhhh! You horror! Your hands are freezing!'

He laughed, and pulled her to her feet. 'Time for lunch. I could eat a horse.'

They carried their surfboards to the open-air café and 'parked' them next to some others. They had burgers and French fries with lots of ketchup, and enjoyed every mouthful of it. 'God, that was wonderful - just what I needed,' said Stephen. 'OK. What do you want to do now, then? I'd quite like to go back to the cottage. My sleepless night is catching up with me. I'm beginning to feel really tired.'

'That's fine with me. I'm very happy sitting in the front garden watching the world. I've got yesterday's crossword to finish, too.'

***


Date: 2015-04-20; view: 774


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