The Lady (Jim’s Short Stories)

The lady

The man was besotted. He was helpless. It was a situation that he never thought would happen. These things happened to someone else, not him.

Life was fine. Life was good in fact. A good job, a good wife, yes, life was… good. Well, it was, not now. Now, something was burning inside of him, something alien. He had never felt like this before. Now, was not good.

        The man’s day at work used to fly by. Not anymore .The hours dragged. Eight hours seemed like eight days. The evenings couldn’t come soon enough. Then, and only then he might catch a glimpse of her.

      He had been married for eight years. He loved his wife. He loved her as much as he could. He never loved anything in his life until he met her…but now, he loved another. It was a different love, a love that said I can’t stop thinking about you. A love that said I want you…more than anything else in the world.

He couldn’t sleep. He ate little. She dominated his life. When he closed his eyes he saw her. She was special she was beautiful. She was a Lady.

      He had first seen her in the papers. She was in the arms of another man. The other man looked thrilled, and why wouldn’t he. She was beautiful. The other man had a look of  “she’s mine and no-one else will have her”. How wrong he was. A thing of beauty takes a lot of looking after, as the song by Hot Chocolate says. The man made his plans. Firstly find out where she lives…and buy some binoculars. Time spent in reconnaissance is time seldom wasted

The man would have to make a plan, one that would keep his quest a secret…even from the Lady. If anyone discovered what he was up to it would mean curtains for his plans. The wife would surely leave, closely followed by his friends. He wouldn’t need any of them. He wanted the lady, and nothing was going to stand in his way.

A quick scan of the papers told him where she lived, well, not exactly. There were countless pictures of her. All they said was she was from St Ives. The St. Ives in Cambridge not the Cornish St Ives. He thanked God. St Ives was twenty-five miles from his own home, one that he wouldn’t be seeing much of until the lady was in his arms.

 It didn’t take him long to find her. The lady was well known in the area. A quick chat to a bloke who knew her well, knew all about her. The bloke hadn’t seen her for a while.

“Not been out?” asked the man. “No” said the bloke. “No-one’s seen her for a while”

The man was disappointed but not put off. He’d be back after his night shift at the Waitrose warehouse in Newmarket 

The shift took forever. At six AM the man was back on the road to St Ives. This time he would speak to no one. He would find the lady on his own.

He was in place by seven. He took his binoculars from the case and scanned the area. Nothing. Her address was correct right enough but no sign of her. The woman with the dog walked passed and wished him a good morning. 

“I know who you’re after” she said with a knowing wink. 

The man ignored her. 

“You’re not the first” She walked off. 

The man watched her for a while. When she stopped to pick up the dog’s business. He looked away, back in the direction of the lady.

     Lunch was a bag of chips and a nap on a bench was his only sleep of the day. The night shift was soon upon him and the cycle would start again. This went on for two weeks. The wife knew something wasn’t right. Too right she did. She was wise enough to say nothing and wait for whatever madness was possessing the husband would pass. It didn’t.

A week later the man returned home and without mentioning what was happening he’d taken his gear and was gone.

“I’ll call you”, was all the man said to the wife. 

Six months later the wife had had enough. She only saw the man four times and that was to do his laundry. She tried to tell him she was leaving. He paid no attention. He was distant. The man had gone away. He had left her without really leaving. The life they had was over.

She grabbed him by the arm as he was leaving.

“It’s her isn’t it?’ She held up the picture.

Where did you get this?”

Your friend sent it too me”

“Some friend”, he said sarcastically.

Well what have you got to say?

‘Nothing”

“So you don’t deny it?”

“Leave me alone” were his parting words.

She heard the door slam. It was over. She knew she couldn’t compete with the lady. She would pack and leave tonight. She called the sister. The tears came and then she was gone.

The man didn’t even know. He was looking for the lady.

Winter was closing in. The man had quit his job. He didn’t have time for work. His wife had gone, left the house they had shared. He didn’t even notice she had gone, so she came back. He tried to explain his behavior. He got nowhere. All he got was nagging and a cold bum at night.

His days were spent in pursuit of the lady. Once he saw her and followed her for a while. He was anxious she didn’t see him. He hid in the trees like a stalker. That was what he was doing day in and day out. He had turned into a stalker.

The nights were getting shorter as he camped outside her home. He was tired; he asks himself if she is worth it. All the waiting, the tears, the tantrums, lives ruined and for what? He had become a laughing stock. If he stopped now all would be in vein. He lay in the bushes and battled against these negative thoughts. It started to rain. It was cold. He was alone. He had never been so alone. He couldn’t go on. He decided to stop his quest. He would go home, give up forget her. He drifts off to sleep.  He dreams of the lady. She is beautiful. He can’t give up. He won’t give up. His head was spinning. A buzzing in his head that won’t go a way. What was the buzzing?  His mind was playing tricks. What that noise. It was familiar. Was it a signal from the lady? Suddenly it al becomes clear. It was the lady. She was calling him.

He wakes with a start and starts to run in a panic. He stumbles and hears his ankle snap. The buzzing continues. He grabs hold. He heaves. His heart is racing. His head is pounding. He can’t believe what is happening. He has found the Lady and she is coming towards him.

He drags her close to him. He kisses her. He takes her photo. He then lets her go. Now she can be someone else’s lady.

Next morning he returns home. He calls his work and gets his job back. Life would be normal. All his special gear purchased in pursuit of the lady he would sell. He wouldn’t use it ever again. He kissed is wife and says, ‘It’s over’

And the lady?

She weighed 42lb 3oz

He will never forget her