Chapter 13: To dream, to sleep

“Come on, Sofija, take the weight off and tell us what’s wrong,” Monty soothes as he puts a comforting arm around the distressed nurse and guides her to her seat, while looking and nodding at George. Sally moves to the next seat and holds Sofija’s other hand.

George responds by recharging the nurse’s glass with the last of the champagne and handing it to her as Monty seats her, still holding onto the nurse’s hand that Sally releases. Sofija drinks a mouthful and sets the glass down with a shaky hand.

She looks around and realises she is the centre of attention.

After a moment’s thought, knowing she was left with nothing to lose, Sofija leans over and whispers an explanation in Sally’s ear, while trying to blink back the tears. In halting sobs Sofija quietly relates that Claire, the care home manager, has blackmailed her into sleeping with Monty this weekend. If she failed to do this supposedly simple task, because Monty was a ‘known lothario—”

Monty interrupts here as he has been straining to hear her solftly-spoken explanation, “Me, a lothario? Never!”

Sofija patted Monty’s hand on her shoulder, “I know, or at least I zink, und am sure zat you are a perfect gentleman, but zat is not vot Claire told me about you. A couple of days ago she told me zat you ver goin’ to be driving und as I vos the youngest voman on ze trip you vood haff expected to bed me on zis trip. But, Claire explained to me, zis vos part of your ‘kink’, zat you fort you vos god’s gift to vomen und I vos supposed to throw myself at you ... or else Claire vood get ze Magistrate Evelyn Mason to deport me back vere I came from.”

She looks him in the eye, saying, “Sorry, Monty.”

Then she turns back to Sally and lowers her voice as low as she can, “Claire told me zat Momty vos a skirt-chaser und allzo vood probably pretend to resist my charms, zat he vood seduce me, und I vos to sleep viz him in eizzer of one our bedrooms, uzzervise Claire vill expose me as being an illegal immigrant from Belarus and not a Latvian at all, viz no right to be in ze country und zat Evelyn ze Magistrate vood make sure I vos repatriated to a country zat I know is oppressive und corrupt.

Monty hears what she says and asks how he can help.

“Sorry Monty I vos trying to keep zis just between Sally und myself, not to let you hear zis info which might destroy your marriage.”

“Look Sofija, you are a lovely woman but I assure you that I would never do such a thing as try to seduce you. And certainly not get your boss to make it look like you seduced me! I am a married man and I married Mabel for better and for worse, so my marriage wouldn’t ever end through my fault.”

“I know, Monty,” Sofija interjects, still trying and losing the battle to stop the tears from flooding, “I vos prepared to do it because I vos selfish und wanted to stay in zis country, but now I zink I know zat you are not deserving of zis betrayal, I believe zat you really are a noble und upright man und I am sorry zat I vos any part of zhis horrible plot.”

Then she fully burst into tears and Monty stood up over her and put both arms around her.

“You were never a threat to my marriage,” Monty tells the weeping woman, “In fact even though my wife Mabel has not wanted sex for a while, quite a while actually, we married like all marriages for better or worse. I am not a monster, I am a faithful man, I have never and would never betray her. My wife is in her mid-50s and I suppose women of a certain age have a lower sex drive than men as they get older and I had accepted that this was part of the ‘better or worse’ of a marriage that a loving spouse has to accept and live with. Mmm, we do have a pre-nap agreement that becomes all-or-nothing if infidelity by either party is involved and provable. So how was this ... seduction ... going to happen? Were private detectives going to break into my room to catch me in the act?”

“Firstly, Monty,” Sofija says, looking up at him cuddling her around her shoulders, “sex drive is still zere in vomen in their 50s und from my experience in care homes viv fin valls, that sex drive continues into a voman’s 60s, 70s, 80s even. Every voman is different, believe me. You only haff to look at ze vomen who have been lusting over George for ze last tvelve years to recognise zat. No private detectives, Monty, apparently both your room und my room are bugged for sound und cameras. I looked for zem in my room but zey must be vell-hidden. Zat vos vhy I had ze phone call from Claire, she vos vundering vhy ve vere not already ... you know ... at it in vun of our two rooms. I just told her zat she could stick her freats up vere ze sun don’t never shine. So I guess in a few veeks, maybe even only a day or two, I’ll be gone.”

“Oh no, not if I have anything to do with it,” Monty said, “You’ve been here what, twenty years?”

She nods.

“Then I know people in the Home Office who can help, and I used to be a lawyer once upon a time. I’m sure I can get you to stay here as long as you want. It’s Claire that will be gone from the care home management, I assure you of that.”

“Er, Monty,” George offers, “I have a twin-bed room and, as far as I know, there are no cameras in my room—”

‘There definitely aren’t,’ Molly assures him.

“— so you’re welcome to bunk in with me,” George continues.

And Sally adds, “Sofija, I have a twin-bed room too, you are welcome to collect your clothes and share my room and therefore sleep soundly. Neither of you deserve to be spied on.”

Both Monty and Sofija agree with thanks and, all four of the, exhausted by now, decided to retire to relax and sleep, to deal with their issues in the morning.

“We’ll come to your rooms but wait outside the doors while you pack, keep the spies guessing where you’ve gone,” suggests Sally, and all agree, this time all four of them are smiling, even Sofija.

They decide just to collect their bedwear and change of clothes for the morning and retire to share with George and Sally and enjoy dreamless sleeps, leaving the worries about the future to be dealt with tomorrow.

Later that night, in Sally’s room,

‘Ssshh, my dear,’ the gentle voice in Sally’s head says, ‘calm down, relax, don’t wake up ... your thoughts are just a jumble at the moment, a confusion of “who-what-why-how?”, just stay calm and concentrate on restricting your mind to a single thought if you can. I am not here to threaten or harm you, I am only here as a friend and want a friendly chat with you without unnecessarily disturbing Sofija.’

‘A chat?’ Sally thought.

‘That’s perfect, Sally, just keep a clear calm mind and we’ll get along fine. I only want to talk to you about what is happening between you and my George —’

‘Molly?’ Sally asks, a little fearfully.

‘I told George you were a smart cookie! Yes, my dear, I’m Beorge’s late wife Molly ... I think we’ll get on like a house on fire.’ Molly says in Sally’s head.

‘You’re real!’

‘Well, more ethereal than real but yes I’m sort of alive in your head and I’m still inside George’s too, which I didn’t expect. I feel extended and it feels nice not to be restricted.’

‘Sometimes George goes into what I used to tell my two girls was a “Condor moment”, after a tobacco advert that was on the telly when the girls were small. He was talking to you like we are now, in our heads, even though I am asleep. How is that possible, because, well, you’re...?’