Chapter 4: Friends Help Each Other

‘We had a hug, got out of bed, had a standup naked hug, got dressed, then had some breakfast. ‘I’ll clear up,’ I told him, ‘You go and get ready, you don’t want to be late.’ He came out of the bedroom wearing a pair of grey slacks and a short sleeved white shirt, open at the neck. He looked lovely and I told him so.’

‘He gave me a lovely smile, then I saw him out. Once he’d gone, the flat seemed so empty. After a lazy day, I had a snack’ then sat and watched tv until he returned. He got in just on half ten, looking so happy.’

‘He came straight to me and gave me a hug and a kiss. ‘Let’s go and get into bed,’ I told him, ‘Then you can tell me all about your day. As we settled in place and cuddled up to each other, he began, ‘When Alison opened the door she looked so pleased to see me.’

‘As soon as I was inside, she threw her arms around me and kissed my cheek, so I did the same. ‘Come on in,’ she said and led the way into the lounge. Her mum and dad were waiting, and coffees where ready. Her mum came straight to me and gave me a hug. ‘It’s nice to see you again.’ she told me.’

‘Her dad shook hands with me, but I had a strange impression that he really wanted to give me a hug too. We had our coffees and chatted. I also had the impression that they wanted to know more about me but had perhaps been instructed by Alison not to bombard me with questions.’

‘Then Alison said, ‘Time to move, we have a bus to catch.’ I looked surprised but we headed out after being told that dinner would be at six. As we walked down to the bus stop, Alison said, ‘I thought rather than walking around locally where we’ve probably both walked before, the next bus goes out into the Cheshire countryside.’

‘If we get off at the little village of Lymm, we can explore round there. I’ve never been there before.’ ‘Nor have I,’ I told her, ‘That sounds lovely.’ We were only half an hour on the bus, and after checking with the driver about bus times back, we wandered around the village.’

‘At one o’clock we found a quaint little café and went in for a cold drink and some cakes. I discovered that Alison had worked in the same place since she left school. ‘When I got up last Sunday mum and dad said what a nice young man you were.’ she told me.’

‘So, I told them that you had said how nice they were too.’ From the café we spotted a canal. I have no idea which one it was, but we decided to walk along the towpath for an hour and a half, then return so we would be in plenty of time for the bus back.’

‘Alison took my arm, and we strolled, rather than walked. We also had a long sit down at two of the locks. We watched a narrow boat going through at one lock, but the other one was deserted, so we just sat and chatted.’

‘When we sat down at the second lock, I put my arm around her. She moved up even closer and put her head on my shoulder. ‘This feels lovely,’ she told me. ‘I’ve dreamed about sitting like this with someone special for a long, long time.’ she told me.

‘I felt so pleased that she seemed to be saying that she thought I was special. It gave me a lovely warm feeling deep inside. ‘I know what you mean,’ I told her, ‘I have too.’ ‘I’m so glad you decided to come and sit by me in the canteen.’ she said smiling.’

‘It’s strange isn’t it, how much a sudden impulse can affect the rest of your life.’ I told her. She smiled at me, ‘I do hope so,’ she said, ‘I do hope so.’ We just sat in silence after that for quite a while. Then we got up and walked on.’

‘We walked hand in hand in silence, just saying hello to the people we passed. Then my phone alarm went off. I switched it off and we did an about turn. When we reached the seat that we hadn’t long left, I said, ‘Shall we sit here for a bit, otherwise we’ll be back too soon.’

‘Yes please.’ she said. As soon as we sat down, she came up close to me, so I put my arm around her shoulder again. She gave a big sigh, ‘This feels so nice,’ she said. ‘I feel so happy being here with you.’ ‘I was just thinking the same,’ I told her.’