Chapter 2: Mark Surprises Himself

‘I need a few bits from the shops,’ I told her. ‘How about we go to the shops so you can see where they are, and we can look at things on the way. Then if you fancy having lunch out somewhere we can get to know each other a bit better.’

‘As long as we go Dutch.’ she said firmly. ‘Ok.’ I said smiling. ‘There you see, we can make decisions together already.’

‘We walked through the streets together. I pointed out various places I thought she might need or be interested in. We didn’t pass the railway station, but I showed her the general direction. We passed the nearest bus stop, so I told her the bus service had been pretty reliable up to now and I got the bus here to go to work.’

‘When we came to the supermarket on the industrial estate, she seemed pleased to see the range of shops available. We wandered round getting my shopping then when we came out it was half twelve.’

‘Where would you like to go for lunch?’ I asked. ‘I noticed a Frankie and Bennys as we came in,’ she said, ‘I haven’t been there for ages.’ ‘I like it too,’ I said, ‘So there it is.’ We walked over.’

‘Can I make a suggestion?’ I said as we approached. She nodded to me. ‘Over lunch, we ask each other about themselves, no holds barred. After all, if there’s anything about me you don’t like, you should find out before you decide whether to move in.’

‘Oh,’ she said looking startled. Then as she thought about it, she added, ‘Ok, that sounds like a good idea.’ We went in, found a seat and ordered. Over lunch I discovered she didn’t have a boyfriend, so I told her I didn’t have a girlfriend.’

‘I asked her what she thought about religion? ‘I don’t really,’ she said. ‘I don’t really know or care one way or the other, but the whole thing seems a bit farfetched to me.’ ‘I agree,’ I said. I told her my family was Catholic, but I no longer considered myself to be one as I had been forced into it underage by my parents.’

‘I discovered both her parents had died a couple of years ago just after she had started work. I told her mine were still alive, but we never saw each other because of my views on religion.’

‘As we ate, we talked about the music we liked, films we’d seen and musicals we liked. I told her it wasn’t until I’d moved in with my sister that I’d discovered I could cook and liked it.’

‘I remember when you started as a washer upper,’ she said, ‘Some of the waitresses were saying how handsome you were.’ Then she blushed. I decided not to follow that through.

‘I discovered that Molly was one year older than me, and just like me had left school at the earliest opportunity. The restaurant had been her first job, and she was still there. ‘It’s hard work at times,’ she told me, ‘But it was easy to learn, and I enjoy mixing with people.’

‘You mix easier at work because you know what you’re doing and feel confident.’ I told her. She looked surprised. ‘Yes, you’re right.’ she said, ‘I’d never thought about it before. Usually, I’m very shy and retiring.’

‘Eventually, we finished our meal and the bill arrived. She insisted that we went Dutch as agreed, so she paid the bill on her card, and I gave her half in cash.’

‘As we came out, it seemed natural to offer her my arm, which she took. We walked back towards mine as it was on her route home. ‘Can I see you home?’ I asked. ‘There’s no need to,’ she said. ‘But I’d like to,’ I told her. ‘Ok, as long as it’s not putting you out.’ she said.’

‘We walked on still chatting. ‘When were you last at Frankie and Bennys?’ I asked her. She went quiet. ‘It was about a year ago,’ she said after a while, ‘I went with one of the waiters from work.’ ‘It’s always nicer having a meal out when you’re with someone, isn’t it.’ I said.’

‘This one wasn’t.’ she said and stopped speaking. ‘Sorry,’ I said, ‘I didn’t mean to pry.’ ‘No, it’s ok,’ she said, ‘I find it so easy to talk to you somehow.’ ‘It turned out he’d invited me out because he knew from some of the others at work that I didn’t have a boyfriend.’

‘He thought that if he took me for a meal, I would stop the night with him. He as good as told me during the meal that that was what he expected.’ ‘What happened?’ I asked. ‘I left him in no doubt it wasn’t going to happen,’ she said, ‘So he got up and walked out.’

‘Well, you were well rid of him.’ I told her. ‘How did you cope with him at work afterwards?’ ‘He just ignored me,’ Molly told me. ‘Then he left soon afterwards. I didn’t think there was any connection at the time.’

‘Then some months later, one of the other waiters told me he had been mouthing off about me leading him on. The head waiter heard him and demanded he told him what had happened.’ ‘I’ve known Molly a long time,’ he said, ‘That’s not something she would do to anyone. You tried it on, and she turned you down, didn’t she?’

‘Apparently, he admitted it, so he was told he could leave at the end of the week which he did.’ ‘How did you feel.’ I asked her. ‘I was embarrassed at people knowing.’ she said, ‘But I felt pleased that he was so concerned about me. The other waiter was sympathetic too.’ ‘I never liked him.’ he told me.’

‘Yes, it’s a good place to work,’ I said. We had reached her flat by this time, so she invited me in for a coffee. Her flat was very old, I could see why the landlord wanted to renovate it.’

‘We sat in the lounge with our coffees and Molly said, ‘Can I take you up on the flat?’ ‘Yes, of course.’ I said, ‘I’m sure we’ll get along well.’ ‘When can I move in.’ she asked. ‘Just a sec.’ I said and rang Ian.’

‘Hi, I’ve got a new flat mate ready to move in,’ I told him, ‘When do you want to move out?’ ‘I’ve just got back to the flat now,’ he said. ‘I’ll start packing right away. I’ll take some stuff with me tonight and return for the rest in the morning, so I’ll be gone by lunchtime.’

‘The rents paid until the end of the month,’ he added. ‘Ok, I’ll see you in the morning,’ I told him. Turning to Molly I said, ‘Ian will be gone by lunchtime tomorrow. You can start moving your stuff in anytime. What are you on tomorrow?’

‘I’m not in until three o’clock,’ she said. ‘Me too,’ I told her. ‘How about you come round in the morning about ten. You can sign the tenancy agreement and we can sort out finances. If you want to bring any of your stuff with you then, you can do. You can move in whenever you want, the bedroom will be cleared by lunchtime.’

‘That’s lovely,’ she said, ‘Thank you, it’s such a relief. I’ll get a taxi in the morning so I can bring more stuff.’ ‘Text me when you’re on your way,’ I said, ‘I’ll come down and meet you.’ I left then and headed home.’

‘When I got back to the flat, Ian was there busy packing.’ ‘I’m so glad you’ve got someone.’ he told me. ‘He didn’t ask who, so I helped him carry his stuff downstairs. He was moving by taxi too.’

‘The next morning Molly arrived at ten. She had texted as arranged so I met her downstairs. We carried everything up between us. I was on the second floor, the top floor. We didn’t have a lift.’

‘We sat at the kitchen table, and she signed the rental agreement. Also, she set up a standing order to me for her half of the rent. I paid the rent to the landlord. She gave me her half of the deposit in cash as I’d asked. I put that to one side for Ian and gave her a receipt. ‘We’ll sort anything else out as we go along.’ I told her.’

‘We had put all her stuff in one corner of the lounge as there was still some of Ian’s in his bedroom. As we were having a coffee Ian arrived. ‘Hello, Molly,’ he said, ‘I had no idea it was you moving in. You’ll be fine with Mark.’

‘He declined a coffee and went into his bedroom. Twenty minutes later he reappeared with two suitcases. ‘It’s all yours,’ he said to Molly. ‘He took his envelope with his share of the deposit in it, and I carried one case down for him.’