Kate & Alf

Kate re-dusted the rolling pin with a handful of plain flour and continued to work on the pastry she was rolling out. It had been an unexpected disappointment to arrive home the previous evening and find the house empty – she’d had hopes of getting to know more about her mystery guest, Marcus. It wasn’t often she come across men so beautiful and especially one who was going to be staying under her own roof!

Instead, she’d found herself greeting Alf a lot earlier than usual, thanks to an out-of-city local meeting he’d attended. Without waiting for her to ask, he’d explained that Marcus had been commissioned to cover a last-minute story for a national newspaper. Given his circumstances he’d jumped at the chance and headed back up North for the overnight stay. For a moment she’d been disconcerted, until Alf had swiftly followed up that he’d be returning to stay with them the next day.

As a consequence, her best-laid plans for an evening in Marcus’s presence instead gave way to a rather sombre affair, especially after Alf had spent most of it recounting the details of his client meeting. Part of her had wanted to tell him that she didn’t give a hoot about professional indemnity insurance aimed specifically at engineers and architects, and neither did she care that the chief executive was a ‘smarmy git’. However, she’d feigned considerable interest and calmly nodded in all the right places. Only when Alf finally seemed satisfied that he’d exhausted the topic, did Kate dare to bring up the subject that had been niggling at her.

Still raw from the proposal disappointment and without having the distraction of Marcus, she’d felt bold enough to raise the matter of the house being in need of redecoration. On some inner level, the uncomfortable association with the house’s neglected appearance reflecting their relationship was eating away at her. And she had wanted to remedy the situation, especially as she still hadn’t found the courage to broach the real reason for their issues…

Unfortunately, raising the subject of the house had done nothing but leave her feeling dejected. She’d immediately deduced from Alf’s quick glance around the room and nonplussed attitude to her suggestion, that he didn’t feel it absolutely necessary. Although she could have easily argued her case – and she was in no doubt that he’d have told her to go ahead if it was what she really wanted – his lack of initial enthusiasm disappointed her. She felt it was an omen of things to come.

A sharp tap on the front door caught her attention, breaking her thoughts. Sam, who had been sitting quietly by Kate’s feet, ran cautiously to the safety of his corner box as she dusted off her floured hands on a nearby tea towel. Walking into the hallway, she could vaguely make out the distorted sight of a man leaning against the glass. Her spirits lifted a little. She had high hopes for the evening ahead and was welcoming the much-needed presence of Marcus to distract her from her current relationship situation. The guilty part of her conscience did wonder why Marcus was striking such a chord within her – she’d never felt such felt such a bubble of excitement at the idea of spending time with a man who wasn’t Alf. Yet she pushed the self-reproach aside and told herself it was simply a diversion from her own mounting concerns, especially the fundamental issue of her problems with Alf.

Ignoring the thudding in her chest and her quickened breathing, she hastily opened the door.

The sight that greeted her wasn’t what she was expecting…

Chapter 6

‘Jonnie…?’ Kate once again impatiently shook the shoulder of the slumping bulk of Megan’s brother on her doorstep. ‘Jonnie, get up.’ She heard the wariness in her own voice and tried to keep calm, despite her escalating sense of dread. Jonnie was refusing to stir and, aside from a gentle snort that assured her he was still breathing, he remained a dead weight half-propped against the doorframe. ‘Can you hear me? Please get up,’ she urged, knowing it was a fruitless request.

Upon opening the door and looking forward to greeting Marcus, she’d been dumbfounded to see a dishevelled and foul-smelling Jonnie instead. He’d barely managed to stay standing long enough to utter her name, before collapsing into a heap at her feet.

Panic suddenly shot to her core and Kate felt momentarily at a loss as to what to do. Thankfully, Alf wasn’t due home for another hour – she couldn’t begin to imagine his reaction at finding a drunken, passed-out Jonnie on their doorstep. It didn’t bear thinking about. Alf had never attempted to be compassionate or understanding of the situation with Megan’s brother, despite Kate’s gentle persuasion and subtle hints about the childhood he’d endured. It was no use, often falling on deaf ears. Part of her wondered if Alf’s refusal and inability to understand could be attributed to the fact that he’d had a relatively straightforward childhood. How does anyone know about tragedy and loss unless they themselves have experienced it first-hand?

The stories of Jonnie’s alcoholic behaviour had only been told as references to Megan’s predicament; never had they directly involved Kate herself – until now. She was without doubt that Alf would be livid if he arrived home now.

Trying to calm her anxiety, she thought of her options and decided that the best course of action was to call Megan. Pushing the door to, she ran into the kitchen and hastily grabbed her mobile from the counter, dialling Megan’s number and walking quickly back into the hallway. Kate’s heart sank as the call immediately went to voicemail. Glancing at the time on her phone display she knew it was highly likely that Megan was on the tube. It would be at least twenty minutes before Kate could reach her.

‘What the hell? Mate? Are you okay?’ she heard a male voice outside the door. Marcus. Her heart sank a notch further. This was not how she’d envisioned her evening in the slightest. Goodness knows what Marcus would think – not to mention that he’d undoubtedly tell Alf. Kate rushed to the door, dreading a showdown if Jonnie chose that moment to regain his senses. Forgetting pleasantries, she jumped to Jonnie’s defence.

‘Marcus, it’s okay. I know him’ she said hurriedly, immediately noticing the shocked expression on his face. She also noticed that he looked exhausted, his olive skin pasty and his normally sparkling green eyes lacklustre.

‘What’s happened? Are you okay?’ he asked in concern, reaching out for her arm.

She waved him away gently and kindly, feeling a strange relief that at least she wouldn’t have to deal with the situation alone. ‘I’m fine. Nothing untoward has happened.’ She gestured to Jonnie and tried to explain quickly, aware of the ticking clock and Alf’s imminent arrival home. ‘He’s my friend’s brother and he has a problem with drink. I thought it was you, so I opened the door and he passed out on the doorstep.’

‘Shall we get him inside?’ Marcus asked, putting down his overnight holdall and pushing the street door open as wide as it would allow. He bent down to hoist up the guy, who looked to be slightly younger than himself.

Kate considered this for a split second, before shaking her head. ‘Actually, I think it’s better if we get him to his own home.’ She wondered if he had a key somewhere. ‘You check his pockets for a door key, I’ll quickly lock up here – if you don’t mind helping me?’

Marcus looked slightly surprised, but quickly nodded his reassurance. ‘If that’s what you think is best’ he said, noticing that she sounded harassed. He quietly wondered what Alf was going to make of the situation.

Kate had already rushed back into the kitchen to turn off the steak she’d been braising for the pie. Between switching off the hob and grabbing her handbag from the dining chair, she locked the back door and tried Megan’s mobile once again. Voicemail.

As she reached the door again, she saw that Marcus had put his holdall in the hallway and was attempting to stand up a drunken and ever-so-quietly-slurring Jonnie. A set of keys dangled from his left hand. ‘Ready?’

‘Oh, that’s a relief, he’s got his keys on him,’ she said, really meaning it. Taking her car fob from the hallway bureau she unlocked her car, thankfully only metres away, and proceeded to help Marcus practically drag Jonnie to the rear of the small Renault. Positioning him on the back seat took some manoeuvring, but they eventually managed it.

‘Don’t worry, it’s not too far a drive. About ten minutes from here and hopefully my friend Megan will be home by the time we get there. She works in the City,’ Kate explained, grateful that Marcus had automatically opened the front passenger door and settled himself in the seat. She hadn’t taken it for granted that he would accompany her, but she gave silent thanks, wondering how she’d have managed to get Jonnie out of the car alone otherwise.

She got into the driver’s side and started the engine.

‘Is this a regular thing, then?’ Marcus asked, looking sideways at Kate and noticing a small patch of dried flour on her cheek. Her skin was flushed and he considered her slightly shaking hands gripping the steering wheel as a sign of her unease.

‘Well, for as long as I can remember he’s had a problem with the drink. But he’s never turned up at ours before. I can’t think why he would either, to be honest.’ It was true. Why ever would he knock at her door?

They heard a groan from the back seat and Marcus looked over his shoulder at the fully grown man, head flopping onto his chest and dribbling from the mouth. Instead of disgust, he felt pity.

‘Drink destroys people,’ he said at the same moment as Kate briefly glanced in his direction. She couldn’t be sure but she thought she caught a shadow of sadness pass across his face.

Feeling responsible for the unexpected drama that had welcomed Marcus home – not to mention the change in his mood – and eager to change the subject, aware that Jonnie could awaken at any moment and overhear their conversation, she forced a smile.

‘So how was your business trip? Alf told me you went to do an interview up North.’

Marcus nodded his head tiredly. ‘Yes, I happen to know the editor and they’d been let down by another journalist at the last moment. So he called me in instead.’ He glanced out of the window, thinking about the irony of the trip and how he’d almost been tempted to stay up North.

‘Will you be doing the same work here, then?’ Kate asked, curious. Alf, never one to elaborate, had only filled her in briefly on Marcus’s situation – that he’d split with his fiancée in Leeds and returned to his roots to start afresh. Usually she would have pressed for more details, but knowing that Marcus was coming back to stay with them, she’d thought it wiser to get the story from the horse’s mouth.

‘Yes, hopefully – well, I have a few things already in the pipeline and then there’s my book….’ he tailed off, shrugging his shoulders. ‘I’ve almost finished the final draft – I’m hoping something will come of it.’

Kate indicated left, turning into the side road that led directly to Megan’s end of terrace that she shared with her brother. ‘You’ve written a book?’ She was impressed. ‘What’s it about?’

Marcus smiled at the sudden enthusiasm in her voice. He liked the way she glanced at him with genuine and pleasant surprise. ‘Well, it’s fiction but the main character is loosely based on my grandfather. He’s had an extraordinary amount of adventure in his years. I thought it’d make for interesting reading.’

He noticed they were slowing to a stop and Kate reached for the hand brake, pulling it up gently. ‘That’s doubly impressive. Not only have you have written a book, you’ve based it on your granddad. He must be rather proud.’

Marcus grinned, wondering silently how his grandfather would react when he revealed that he’d chosen him as the main subject of his newest ‘project’.

‘He doesn’t know yet.’

Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise. ‘Well, I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic – provided you’ve not included too many of his personal secrets.’

A splutter, followed by a loud sneeze came from the back seat. Jonnie groaned loudly and Kate and Marcus both reacted quickly, their conversation instantly dismissed as she turned off the engine and Marcus undid his seatbelt.

‘Let’s get him inside as fast as possible. It will be better than if he wakes up – in case he starts being abusive.’ Kate began getting out of the car, grabbing her mobile and dialling Megan’s number one last time. She could tell from the lack of lights in the half brick and rendered property that Megan wasn’t yet home. The call went straight to voicemail.

Marcus was already pulling an incoherent but now semi-awake Jonnie from the back seat.

‘Come on, mate, let’s get you inside.’

Thankfully, Jonnie seemed to have gained the use of his legs and stumbled out of the car, eyeing Marcus through squinting eyes with an aggressive look on his face.

Kate took control of the situation, sensing that Jonnie would react badly to a stranger giving him orders once he became more aware. She gestured with her eyes from Marcus to the passenger door, nodding her head and hoping he’d understand that it’d be better for him to wait in the car. He did. Except he refused to get into the car, choosing instead to stand beside it, just in case Kate needed assistance.

Kate ushered a staggering Jonnie to the blue street door and opened it, breathing a sigh of relief as he walked straight into the house, without so much as a word or backward glance. Stumbling to the nearest armchair he collapsed into it, his eyes closing again.

Without wasting time, Kate put his set of keys onto the sideboard and hurried out of the house, closing the door behind her with an overwhelming sense of relief. There wasn’t any need to stay a moment longer than necessary.

‘That was quick.’ Marcus commented in surprise as she came up the paved concrete path towards him.

‘I know, he passed out on the chair as soon as we got in.’ Kate walked straight to the driver’s side and got into the car, Marcus following suit. She couldn’t help but glance at the overhead digital time display with a cautious expression. ‘Oh goodness, it’s six-thirty already. Alf will be home soon.’

Marcus heard the distinct tone of anxiety in her voice and looked at her quizzically. ‘Are you worried about Alf coming home?’

Regretting her words, Kate started up the engine and shook her head slowly. ‘No. It’s not that.’ She considered how best to put across her worries. ‘It’s just that Alf’s always found fault with my friend Megan, despite us being friends since childhood. If he finds out about Jonnie…’ She exhaled slowly, pushing her head back against the headrest. ‘Well, it’ll just probably cause an argument between me and him and I don’t want that. Not tonight.’

‘I see.’

Marcus considered what Kate was saying. The last few months of his relationship with Linzie had been especially hard – her wayward friends playing a vital part in the numerous arguments and eventual disintegration. Yet the reasons had been very different to the situation Kate was in.

Despite only knowing Kate for the briefest of time, she’d given him the impression of a kind-hearted person – even her job suggested that. Plus he’d seen the way she’d fussed over Alf – not to mention himself, a practical stranger to her – before going to work the previous day. He vaguely remembered from past conversations with Alf that she had no family, having lost her parents at a young age. Something about this touched him deeply. It seemed she was wise in not wanting to cause unnecessary disharmony with Alf. Although he did wonder what Megan was like, for easy-going Alf to not like her…

‘I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation and of course if you’d prefer to be honest with Alf that’s fine…’ Kate began.

‘Look, I won’t say anything about this to Alf unless you choose to mention it. Okay?’

Kate felt her shoulders relax and her grip on the steering wheel loosened slightly. She smiled and tried not to exhale too heavily. ‘Thanks, Marcus. If Alf is home, then of course I’ll tell him where we have been.’ She hoped this wasn’t the case. ‘But if not, it’s probably best for the moment that he doesn’t know…’

Letting her voice trail off, she concentrated on the road ahead. The evening hadn’t started at all how she’d hoped and yet despite the circumstances she’d come to experience another side to Marcus that confirmed her initial gut feeling. He seemed to be of that rare variety of men – both aesthetically pleasing and a generous, considerate person to match.

She quietly wondered why his fiancée had let him slip away.

‘That was delicious.’ Alf commented, pushing his empty plate away from him. He’d been pleasantly surprised to arrive home – albeit a bit later than he’d planned – to find that Kate had prepared his favourite meal. She also seemed to be in high spirits.

Marcus nodded his agreement. ‘Really lovely, Kate. If you continue to cook like this, I might not ever want to leave.’

Earlier calamity forgotten and thankful that telling Alf had been averted, Kate grinned from one man to the other.

‘I guess we might have to buy a bigger house then, Alf,’ she joked, meeting Alf’s eyes and waiting for his reaction.

‘I thought you wanted to re-decorate this one?’ he replied, his tone more serious. He’d toyed with the idea since their discussion yesterday and he was beginning to think she was perhaps right. The rooms did seem rather tired…

Kate shifted in her seat, aware that Marcus was looking at them both with interest. ‘Well, yes we can decorate.’ She nodded her head slowly. ‘Or maybe we could just buy something else instead?’ she ventured, feeling braver now that there was another person to witness the discussion.

‘You want to move?’ Alf asked, surprised. He seemed to consider the idea for a split second then shrugged his shoulders dismissively. ‘I don’t see there’s any point yet; we’re happy enough here, aren’t we?’

Kate bit down on her bottom lip, stopping herself from instantly retorting something she’d later regret. She tried to not show her frustration. Instead she stood up and began to collect their empty dinner plates. ‘If you say so, Alf,’ she muttered quietly.

Marcus, sensing that the atmosphere had changed, avoided looking at either party and instead helpfully picked up the used cutlery and glasses, taking them over to the sink.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Alf snapped in annoyance. ‘So you’re not happy?’ He knew something was bothering her, but he couldn’t understand why she was being so awkward. And of all the times to do it, why create a tension in front of Marcus?

Surprised at Alf’s tone and not caring that Marcus was present, Kate let the silence linger for a moment before she responded crossly.

‘It doesn’t matter what I suggest, you always seem to cut me down.’ Clattering the plates against the worktop in frustration, she avoided turning around through fear of both men seeing her suddenly teary eyes. She knew she wasn’t being entirely fair on Alf, but she couldn’t help herself.

Alf stood up, glancing in Marcus’s direction and shook his head scornfully. He didn’t want to get into a fight when there were clearly deeper things to be discussed. It wasn’t like Kate to be like this. ‘I’m not going to argue with you, Kate, but I can’t seem to win lately either. If you want to decorate I’ve said that’s fine. Do what you want. But I’m not moving on a whim.’

Kate remained silent, staring out of the window into the narrow back garden as Alf opened the fridge for a can of beer and, handing one to Marcus, suggested they retreat into the living room.

‘That’s if Kate doesn’t need help here?’ Marcus offered, stealing a sideways glance at her and noticing how she managed a small shake of the head at him.

‘I’m okay, thanks. I’m going to tidy here and go up to bed and read.’

‘So you’re not going to join us?’ Alf asked, his tone suggesting that he felt she should.

Before she could answer, Marcus, clearly feeling awkward, cut in and tried to lighten the atmosphere. ‘Oh, go on, Kate, unless your book is more interesting than me. Besides, I’m intrigued about your art now that you’ve mentioned you used to paint.’

Knowing he’d unwittingly chosen a sore subject, Kate forced herself to smile at him and with a reluctant nod of the head she agreed. ‘Okay, let me tidy in here and I’ll join you both with a glass of wine.’

She didn’t notice Alf’s approving gaze – instead she felt relieved as they left her washing the dishes in the kitchen and the volume on the television in the adjoining room rose to an unbearable level. She needed something to distract her mind from the hundreds of burning questions that were once again floating around in her head.

It was time to face the facts. Alf clearly wasn’t yet ready for marriage; that much he’d proved the previous weekend. Neither was he interested in babies – for that subject had also been avoided for as long as she could remember. To add to that, he’d barely shown enthusiasm for her suggestion of re-decorating and he’d just more or less outright dismissed the idea of moving. So where did that leave their relationship?

Far from feeling as if they’d reached a comfortable plateau, Kate instead felt that they were both treading quicksand.

It wasn’t a welcome experience. She exhaled sadly and began to rinse the dishes – knowing that her own reluctance to speak up was partly to blame.

Chapter 7

‘Honestly, though, Kate, thank you so much for bringing him home. Given the state I found him in… well…’ Megan paused for a moment, reminded of the image of Jonnie face down on the carpet in a pile of his own vomit. ‘I’m just thankful that he chose to come to you. Heaven only knows where he’d have ended up if he hadn’t.’

Megan had been dismayed to see the number of missed calls from her friend the previous evening. It had been an unwelcome surprise after an already exhausting experience of getting stuck on the Underground for close to two hours. The lack of ventilation, frustrated fellow passengers and the fact that she’d been forced to stand for most of the journey now seemed like a blessing in disguise. Finding out that Jonnie had made a nuisance of himself by going to Kate’s wasn’t something she would have had the strength to deal with. Especially after being called into the last-minute management meeting at work and told of the restructuring plan that was to affect the entire staff force at Hamilton’s.

‘It’s just a shame he slipped up. He was doing so well,’ Kate said, feeling sympathetic at the weariness in Megan’s voice. ‘I still can’t understand why he came here, though? Did he mention anything to you today?’

Relieved that she wasn’t having the conversation face to face, Megan nodded into her house phone. ‘Yes, he did; he said he locked himself out of Sid’s and you were the closest place he could think to go to.’ It wasn’t a lie, but it also wasn’t the entire truth.

‘Oh, okay, I thought it might have been more than that. I’m just pleased that Alf wasn’t home – he wouldn’t have been happy.’

Megan agreed. Having Alf involved in the situation would have made things exceedingly complicated. Besides, she wasn’t sure that, given her current state, she would have been able to hold back on the news she’d discovered at the meeting, directly affecting him. She tried to put the thought aside.

Just like Kate, she had been baffled as to why her brother had ventured to her friend’s house. Rather than pressing him for answers straight away, she’d waited until late morning, when a grey and pallid Jonnie had arisen from his slumber and – then sober – apologised profusely. She’d heard it all before, but with no desire to head down the well-trodden path of lecturing him, she’d instead asked why he’d gone to Kate’s. She’d been startled by his response. It seemed that in his incoherent stupor, after locking himself out of Sid’s and being ‘abandoned’ by Megan in her refusal to answer his calls, the only person he could think of who would understand his situation was Kate.