Chapter 7

The ride back to Lemsford took three hours, due to an accident on the M25, it was 8 pm when I got back to the village. Before going home, I rode straight to Ryans house to see Lisa so I can speak to her. As it was late, I knocked on the front door instead of going around the back.

When the door opened, I was surprised to see Ryan. I was expected to see Lisa. “Good evening Ryan, I’ve come to see Lisa if that’s ok, I would like to speak to her?”

“She’s gone home I thought you two spoke?”

“No, she didn’t tell me anything. Did she say when she’ll be back?”

“She’ll be back by Friday she said.”

“Thank you, Ryan, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Good night.”

I walked to my bike at the same time I pulled out my mobile, dialling Lisa’s number. It went straight to voicemail. I didn’t think much of it. I’ll try again in five minutes when I get to the Inn. As soon as I stopped the bike, I called again, going to voicemail. This time I left a message. “Hi Lisa, it’s Steve can you call me.”

Walking into the Inn, for a Wednesday evening, it was very busy. Grabbing a tray from the bar, I went straight to work, collecting empty glasses from the tables. It was busy until 11:30 pm, our last customer left just after midnight.

“WOW that was one busy evening, when I saw you walk through that door, I was relieved. I have not had anything to eat since midday, what about you, have you eaten?

“I am famished.”

Going in the kitchen, I got some ready cooked food from the fridge, wrapping it up in cling film, putting it in the microwave, within ten minutes I had a table set up for two. “Come on Patsy let’s tuck in.”

“I do not know what I will do without you, Steve.”

When we finished, I quickly cleaned everything up. I made myself a cup of coffee while Patsy poured herself a double Jack Daniels, we just sat there enjoying our drinks as we relaxed.

“Did you go to see Lisa yet?”

“She had to go home for a couple of days. She had some business to deal with.” I didn’t want to tell her I tried to call her but she wouldn’t reply.

Finishing off my coffee, I said good night to Patsy, making my way upstairs. Preparing myself to go to bed I checked my mobile for any missed calls or messages. Seen no response from her, I wrote her a text. “Can you call me as soon as possible please Lisa?”

In the morning when I got up, the first thing I did was check my mobile for any messages, nothing. It was only 8 am it could be she may still be asleep. By 9 am I was in the garage, working on the Vantage. When Ryan noticed my presence, he appeared with two cups of coffee.

“Steve some parts you ordered for the car came yesterday.” Pointing his hand to some boxes piled in the corner.

Kneeling down with a Stanley Knife I opened each box, inspecting the part, making sure they were the correct model numbers. Once I had confirmed this, I said to Ryan. “With these parts, the car should be ready by the end of next week.”

“That’s good Steve. I want to ask you something son, but don’t misunderstand me. Did you and Lisa have an argument?”

“No sir, I had to go somewhere for a day, when I came back yesterday she wasn’t here. I’ve been calling her, but it’s been going to voicemail. She doesn’t even respond to my messages.”

“Give her some time. She has a lot of things on her mind. When she’s ready, she’ll call. I’ll let you work on the car I have some calls to make.”

Looking at him walk back into the house, I just knew something was wrong. Lisa wouldn’t just get up and leave without saying anything.

I worked on the car without a break, giving it my full attention. Each part on this car had to be precise to the millimetre when putting it together. The V8 engine on this car was no way near the Rover I worked on in prison. Everything was near enough double the size. By 3 pm before I left Ryan came to see me carrying an overnight bag.

With a series look on his face, he said. “I have to go away for the weekend Steve. I will be back on Monday. You have keys to the house if you want to stay some nights be my guest.” He came over embraced me in a hug, he said. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

Finishing what I was doing, I locked up the house and went to my other duties. Work at the Inn was quiet that evening. We closed at 11 pm, preparing everything for the next day by 11:30 pm. I explained to Patsy what was going on with Lisa, all she could do was shake her head. She went to say something to me, that is when I put my hand up to stop her.

“I know what you’re going to say to me, that you warned me about getting mixed up with Lisa, that I wasn’t in her league. Well, I always seem to learn the hard way by not listening to people’s advice. Taking a bottle of Absolute Vodka from the bar, I poured half a glass of Vodka. As I was about to drink the spirit, Patsy spoke.

“Steve you will not gain anything going down that path. Believe me, I know. Wait a few day’s when Ryan gets back, maybe he will have some answers for you.”

Looking at the glass of Vodka then at Patsy I said. “What if the answers he has is negative?”

“Then we’ll figure things out together. You have me, Ryan and your family backing you up, yes your family Steve. You may have had your ups and downs with them, but at the end of the day, family is family.”