Chapter 18

When I got back to the caravan, I made a coffee, and a look in the mirror told me I had gotten off lightly. There was a bruise on my forehead and one on my cheek, and my eye was swollen. There was nothing in the freezer, so I ran the cold tap and used an old T-shirt as a flannel.

I drank my coffee and pressed the cold, wet towel onto the swellings. I was worried that Sally would be mad at me. I was filming next week, and I looked like I had been in the ring with Henry Cooper.

I slept well that night and woke only when the gulls started their rooftop dancing.

I checked my face in the mirror.

I was looking not so bad. I wondered what Julie would have to say about the fight.

I used the last of my bread to make some toast, made myself a mug of tea, and sat outside and enjoyed the morning sun. I decided against a run. There was a lot of movement around the site. People were leaving, and the cleaning crew was moving in.

I noticed that Emma’s Green mini had gone, and as cleaners went into her caravan, I guess she had left without saying goodbye.

I said I would meet Julie at one o’clock. I read my book in the sun for an hour or so before heading in and taking a shower. I got dressed into pair of new shorts and a new t-shirt.

I walked into town. Julie was sitting in the sun eating a salad. When she saw me, she did a double take.

“Shit, what happened to you?” she asked.

“One of your ex-boyfriends jumped me, well, him and two of his mates!” I told her.

“Shit, that must have been Jamie, “she said.

At the same time, her boss came over to take my order; I ordered a pasty, chips, and a pot of tea.

Her boss looked me up and down.

“Did the other guy look as bad?” she asked.

“The other three didn’t look happy when I left them,” I told her with a cheeky wink.

She laughed and went off to sort out my order.

“So, tell me all about it!” Julie said.

So, I told her about my walk and how they had ambushed me. I didn’t hold back. I was surprised at her attitude. At the end of the day, her ex and his mates had jumped me; they had come tooled up and had not held back. she seemed to think I should have warned them that I was ex-army and that I should have tried to talk my way out of it. I tried to explain that they didn’t give me a chance.

She got angry and stormed off. I ate my food and waited to see if she was coming back, she wasn’t. her boss came out to clean away my used plate and she told me that Julie had knocked off for the day and had left via the back door.

I paid for the food and walked around to the Fishermen’s arms. Danny and Jethro were sat at the bar and when I walked in, they both turned to face me.

“Fucking hell, mate. what happened to you!” Jethro said.

“Pour me a pint, please, mate, and I will tell you all about it!” I said with a cheeky wink.

So, Jethro got us all fresh pints, and for the second time in less than an hour, I told the story of getting jumped on the beach.

Danny said he knew the Jamies dad and asked if I wanted to have a word with him, to me there was no point.

The lads said I was mad taking on the three of them, but I assured them I had been taught to look after myself in the army.

We had two more beers, and the pub started to get busy. Jethro went behind the bar.

I decided to go back to the caravan and pack up my gear so I could get an early start then I would walk into town for food and few beers. so that’s what I did, I walked back up the hill and packed up my gear after a coffee. Then had shower and got into me clean clothes. I got the bus into town and went for an Indian. chicken curry, chips and a naan bread washed down with two pints of tiger beer.

When I got to the fishermen’s arms it was heaving, Danny was stood with some of his mates at the end of the bar, I got a beer and joined them. It was a great night; we had lots of beer and good old sing-song.

Jethro came around from the back of the bar and told me that he and Danny would like to take me for breakfast the following morning. We agreed to meet at the Harbour Moon at nine o’clock.

I was tempted to walk home, but the lads told me I would be safer in a taxi. They were worried that the three lads from last night might return with more of their friends.

Anyway, they called me a cab and ensured I got in safely and sound. I slept well that night and woke to the sound of my mates, the gulls, dancing on my roof.

As soon as I was awake, I had a shower as the kettle boiled. I had a coffee and started to load the car. It didn’t take long. I made sure I left the caravan in a clean and tidy state before taking the keys up to the reception. I chatted with the two ladies who were manning the reception desk before walking back to my car and driving down into town.

I was a bit short of cash, so I went to the cashpoint before walking over to the Harbour Moon pub. Danny and Jethro were already there.

We had a leisurely breakfast and then promised to meet up soon. I felt a little bit sad driving out of town. I had really enjoyed my holiday and would love to visit Looe and Cornwall soon. Okay, the fight with Julie’s Ex and his mates had not been one of the highlights, but meeting up with Louise had been good. Meeting Jethro and Danny had been good; they were good lads and a real laugh.

On the way back to the motorway, I decided on a few things: one, I needed to book an appointment at the clinic; two, I needed to buy a car; and three, I needed to take more holidays.

Sally’s flight was due to land at four o’clock. I got to the airport at three o’clock. I packed up and headed in to use the toilet. Then, I sat in a little coffee bar that overlooked the arrivals hall.

I had a coffee and muffin. Her flight was on time, and I was wheeling a trolly loaded with her cases over to the car by four thirty.

As soon as she saw me, she tutted and examined my face. I told her it was nothing, but she said I needed to look after my face as it would not look good on camera.

Once we were back at the car, we hugged and loaded her stuff into the car. On the drive back, Sally told me all about her holiday. She seemed to have had a great time.

She asked me about mine; I told her about Emma and Emily but left out the stuff about Julie and Louise. I told her three lads had tried to mug me, and we ended up in a tussle.

I told her about my new mates Jethro and Danny. She dropped me off at home, and we hugged again. She told me to be at the studio for nine-ish on Monday.

As soon as I was in the house, I unloaded my case and put a load of washing on. Then I walked to the corner shop and got some bread and milk.

I made a coffee and read through all the posts I had received. I had two answering machine messages; Mandy left one telling me she would be back late on Sunday and one from Louise asking if I wanted to meet for a drink in the week. She had left me her phone number, and I was eager to call her as she was one hot bird between the sheets.

I had a cheese on toast for my tea and went to bed early with a good book.

I spent all day on Sunday cleaning the house, then got on top of my washing and ironing. I walked into town and had a meal and a couple of beers before heading home for another early night.

On Monday, I woke early, did my normal warm-ups, and went for a run around the park. After a shower and a coffee, I got dressed and walked around to the bus stop. Mandy was already there. We hugged, and she looked at my face; I knew the bruises were fading. She asked about it and my holiday. Again, I told her about Jethro and Danny but left out the fun with the girls.

Once we were on the bus, she told me all about her holiday. We got off the bus and walked around to the studio.

The rest of the guys turned up ten minutes after we had opened and turned off the alarms and stuff.

There was a lot of banter and chatter. Toni took the breakfast order, and I was sent off to get fresh milk.

To be fair we spent the first two hours chatting about holidays, a phone call put a stop to that, and after Sally had been on the phone for ten minutes, she came back into the canteen with a scowl on her face.

“Right, guys, as you know, we should have been filming with Bhavna and Vicky this week; they have had to reschedule. Mandy, can you do me a favour? Can you have a ring around and see if you can drum up some actors, please?” Sally said.

“Carl, Andy, can you give the cameras and lights a good goover?” She said.

“Zak, Toni, I have some errands for you as well”, she smiled, “Can we get the bathroom and kitchen sets redecorated?”

Toni nodded,

“We need paint and stuff,” she said.

“Good, and Zak, at the DIY store, please get a key cut, “she said with a smile.

So, we all went about our jobs. Toni and I jumped into the studio’s van. I mentioned that I needed to renew my sexual health certificate, and Toni said we should nip into the clinic on the way.