Chapter 5

When I got up to my room, I thought that a shower would be good. I’d decided that rather than unpack my own shower gel and things, I’d use the ones provided by the hotel. I did the business and thought about the day with Cal. Thinking about her gave me an erection, an erection that just wouldn’t go away. The walls of the shower cubicle got the benefit and I got a feeling of relief.

I’d just walked out into the main body of the room, a hotel towel round my waist, when my phone rang. I picked it out of my trouser pocket and looked at the screen, it was Cal’s Mum.

“Young man, what have you done to my daughter?” she asked, “she breezed into the house tonight looking happier than I’ve seen her, well, certainly since she went to that school.”

“Nothing, I swear,” I said, “we spent the day together, I took her out to dinner, well I suppose technically, since she’s the one who drives, she took me, then we came back here, had a coffee in the lounge and she went home.”

“Well, she’s a different girl to the one who arrived home yesterday, so, whatever your part in that, I thank you.”

“No need, it was my pleasure,” I said, then added, “but only in the sense that it was very pleasant to spend the day with her. There was nothing er, sexual taking place.”

“David,” she said, “since when did I ever worry about things like that between you two?”

“Not for a long time, I suspect,” I said, “probably you were more worried about us not doing anything like that.”

“Anyway, whatever it is you did, thank you for doing it, I feel like I’ve got my daughter back, and, David, please, whatever it was, keep doing it.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said, “that’s all I can promise right now.”

“That’s good enough,” she said, “look I have to go, she’s on her way down from the shower.”

“Shower,” I said, surprised, “at this time.”

“I think she was trying to get rid of the delicate aroma of sexually aroused girl that was permeating the place. Anyway got to go. Will I see you tomorrow before you leave?”

“I don’t think so,” I replied, “I don’t want to risk running into my Mum, I don’t think that would be a good idea right now.”

We said our goodbyes, she hung up and I busied myself getting ready for bed. I spent the time between getting into bed and sleep thinking, mostly about Cal. Then spent the night dreaming. Mostly about Cal.

I awoke early the following morning, got up, made myself a cup of bad instant coffee, did a few exercises half-heartedly then, after a shower got dressed and spent some time online looking for a hotel in the centre of Manchester. I settled on a Premier Inn, this time at Deansgate Locks in Manchester. According to the online map it was a twenty-five-minute walk, or sixteen minutes by bus. Close enough to visit Cal, or for her to visit me, but not so close that it would be, as my dear old Gran said, ‘every pair of plates.’ I didn’t understand that either.

I was halfway through breakfast when one of the hotel staff came over and told me that I had a young lady in reception asking for me. I asked her to invite the young lady to join me, expecting to see Cal come through the door. I got Alison and she didn’t look happy.

“What’s wrong, Pip,” I asked as she flopped down onto the seat opposite me.

“It’s Mum,” she said, “she’s in the hospital. They think she’s had a heart attack.”

“Shit,” I said, “Pontefract?”

“No, Wakefield,” she said.

“All right, I take it that Dad’s over there, I said, “I’ll ring for a taxi to take us.”

“No,” she said, “Cal ran me down here, she’s waiting outside and she’ll take us.”

“Why is she waiting outside?” I said.

“Apparently somebody doesn’t think that he and she should be spending too much time together, this soon.”

“That’s neither what I said nor what I meant,” I said, “come on then, let’s go.”

“Hadn’t you better check out first?” she asked, “you may not get back by checkout time.”

“You’re right,” I agreed, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes later, my bags were in the boot and we were heading out of town on the road to Wakefield.

“What happened?” I asked as we set off?”

“I don’t know the details,” Alison said, “but Mum woke up in the middle of the night with chest pains. Dad called 111 and they sent an ambulance. He woke me up and told me that they were taking her to hospital and that as soon as Cal or Aunt Mary were up to go round and ask one of them to come and get you.”

“Has someone told Andy?” I asked.

Alison shook her head, difficult for me to see if I hadn’t turned round to look at her.

“Dad decided it was too late at night to ring him then, so I don’t really know.”

I pulled out my phone, looked him up on my contacts list and called.

“Hey bro,” he said when he answered, “what’s up?”

“It’s Mum,” I told him, “she’s in hospital.”

“Shit,” he replied, “what’s wrong?”

“Suspected heart attack,” I said, “she started her interfering this weekend when Cal came home and I ended up moving out.”

“Still trying to push the two of you together?” he asked.

“Yes, I can’t understand it, every time it looks like there’s a possibility to try and get us back together she starts pushing. If she’d just back off and let us sort it out, she might actually get what she wants.”

“Right,” he said, “look, I’ll get there as soon as I can, but I’m not sure how long it will take.”

“Well, I haven’t heard anything that says she’s in any immediate danger, so don’t take any risks.”

“I won’t little bro, which hospital is she in?” he said.

“Pinderfields,” I said, “I’ll ring you as soon as we know which ward.”

“Thanks bro, I’ll be there as soon as I can.

We hung up.

“Does this mean you won’t be coming over to Manchester now?” Cal asked.

“No,” I replied, “not at all. I think if I stayed here it would just make Mum worse, she’d be constantly wanting me to come over to Manchester to see you. I’ll need to find a driving school over there though.”

“I used one that the school recommended,” she said, “I’ll get you their number. The only real problem will be getting you someone to go out and practice with, they have to be over twenty-one and have held a full licence for at least a year.”

“I was thinking of doing one of those intensive, pass your test in a week courses,” I explained.

“That would make sense,” she said, “then you could buy a car and you can take me out for a change.”

“I was thinking of getting a Prius Hybrid,” I told her, “that way it’s cheaper to run and better for the environment.”

“Cheaper to run?” she said, “Care to remind me what your current bank balance is?”

“That’s no reason to spend money unnecessarily.”

“Talking of which, what were you thinking about doing for dinner tonight?”

“Is that a thinly disguised hint that you’d like to be taken out?”

“No, it’s a serious question,” she replied, “look, I understand if you think that because of last September you don’t want to, but we’re allowed dinner guests at weekends in school. The food’s pretty good and you get a three-course meal for five pounds. That should satisfy your inner cheapskate. What do you think?”

“It sounds good and yes, I do feel a little apprehensive about being in your school, but that’s about ninety-five per cent a worry that I’d be tempted to cause a very expensive amount of dental work for some people there.

“Well, don’t be worried, they were all, er, invited to not come back after all that came out.”

“Really?”

“Yes, they weren’t actually expelled, but the school wrote to their parents and suggested that they may want to consider an alternative school for the completion of their education. They say that only one set of parents objected, but that they were told the alternative was for their daughter to be expelled and the matter handed over to the police.”

“Well, all right then, we can give that a try,” I said.

“Thanks and it won’t do me any harm either?”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Walking into dinner with the guy that half the girls in the school have the poster of on their bedroom walls? What else?”

“Ah, so, I’m to be your pin-up boy then,” I said.

“I don’t even have a poster of you,” she said.

“That’s easily fixable,” I said, “after we’ve been to see Mum, we’ll call into the poster shop in the Ridings Centre and get you one.”

“And why would I want a poster on my wall when all I have to do is close my eyes and I can see the real thing?”

“Because you’d be the only one that had one that was autographed by the subject.”

“That would be cool,” she said, “just one problem, you’re not allowed up to the bedroom floor, only in the common room and the dining hall.”

“Then we could lay it out on a table and do it there,” I said.

She gave me a look that I recognised.

“No Cal, we lay the poster on the table and do it, not we lay you on the table and do you,” I said.

She looked disappointed.

“Could we lay you on the table and do you instead then?” she asked.

“NO!”

We arrived at the hospital, parked the car, paid the exorbitant fee and walked off towards the front door. As soon as we had stopped, Alison was out of the car and across the car park to the entrance. We asked at the information desk and were told which ward Mum was on, except that for some reason this hospital called them gates. It was on floor four of the east wing.

We found her room I saw Dad and Alison sat by the bed. Dad came out to meet us.

“How is she?” I asked.

“Stable,” he replied, “I’m glad you decided to come and she’ll be especially glad to see you with him, Cal.”

“Can I go in and see her?”

“Of course, but they restrict visitors to two at a time, so give me a minute and I’ll get Alison out of there and give you some time with her.”

“Dad,” I said, catching his arm as he turned to go back inside, “she’s going to be all right isn’t she?”

“Assuming that all the tests that they’ve done come back with good results, she’ll be fine and out of here in a couple of days.”

He went in and brought Alison out. Cal and I went in and took seats on either side of the bed.

“Hi Mum,” I said.

“Hi Aunt Pat,” Cal added.

“You two are together,” she said wanly and smiled.