“The Things We Do For Love”

…

Of course, it’s too good to be true, and Henry is going to have to steel himself when the holiday comes to an end.

It’s halfway through the holiday, and the conversation veers towards the elephant in the room; parting.

Then…

Michelle takes ill, the ravages of the past still causing her problems that she does not speak about, but requires a doctor’s ministrations, and discretion.

We learn she had been in rehab and left early.  Grim determination is not enough to substitute for doing the time.

She recovers, but Henry knows something is wrong.

Once again out for a drive, Henry is overcoming that painful shyness, and awkwardness in her presence, and she is letting him via the door that is more than ajar.  

After another pleasant dinner, he ‘escorts’ her back to her room, at the other end of the corridor, a metaphorical wall built between them, where she asks, innocently or otherwise, if he’d like to stay.

It’s that proverbial loaded question with a double-edged sword.

He does, and he doesn’t take it any further, afraid of what it might lead to, and disappointment.

But …

They sleep, fully clothed, on her bed.  Another subliminal moment.

…

Words written 2,999, for a total of 19,449

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

With the improved weather, they settle into a routine, she is getting comfortable with Henry being around, and he is finally getting out of the shipboard routine, and becoming more relaxed, though still wary of making a mistake.

They go for walks along the beach, and gradually, a form of intimacy takes place, holding hands, at first with gloves on.

Then in a totally unscripted moment from out of left field, they kiss. It just happens ‘in the moment’.  He apologises, and she just smiles.

Given what she has escaped from, it is a sublime moment that gives her the opportunity, against all odds, that it was possible, one day, she could be happy.

It leads to another unscripted moment, but this time a kiss with more meaning behind it.

Henry doesn’t know how to process this event but goes with the flow.  Out of the confines of the town, on a short road trip, they admit they like each other and to not have any expectations that it might go anywhere.

But the ugly truth of her background raises its head with the conversation turning to the future, and Henry puts his foot in it.

As an unexpected result of that feeling he had ruined everything; a hug that, for him, seemed to last a lifetime.

I remember that first kiss, and the moment that led to it, and it left me with butterflies and dread, that eventually it would all fall apart.  It was a passing moment in time, and it taught me one very valuable lesson, leave expectations out of it.  And that flush of first love, there is nothing like it.

…

Words written 3,274, for a total of 16,450

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

With the improved weather, they settle into a routine, she is getting comfortable with Henry being around, and he is finally getting out of the shipboard routine, and becoming more relaxed, though still wary of making a mistake.

They go for walks along the beach, and gradually, a form of intimacy takes place, holding hands, at first with gloves on.

Then in a totally unscripted moment from out of left field, they kiss. It just happens ‘in the moment’.  He apologises, and she just smiles.

Given what she has escaped from, it is a sublime moment that gives her the opportunity, against all odds, that it was possible, one day, she could be happy.

It leads to another unscripted moment, but this time a kiss with more meaning behind it.

Henry doesn’t know how to process this event but goes with the flow.  Out of the confines of the town, on a short road trip, they admit they like each other and to not have any expectations that it might go anywhere.

But the ugly truth of her background raises its head with the conversation turning to the future, and Henry puts his foot in it.

As an unexpected result of that feeling he had ruined everything; a hug that, for him, seemed to last a lifetime.

I remember that first kiss, and the moment that led to it, and it left me with butterflies and dread, that eventually it would all fall apart.  It was a passing moment in time, and it taught me one very valuable lesson, leave expectations out of it.  And that flush of first love, there is nothing like it.

…

Words written 3,274, for a total of 16,450

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

That first encounter outside the confines of the hotel has shaken him.  He realises that he really has no understanding of women and that his first love with Jane had done nothing to prepare him.

It only reinforces the notion that he should simply avoid her where possible.

Yet, over dinner, she tells him her story, not the real story, but close enough to the truth.  In doing so, allowing the door to be ajar, she realises this could become complicated very quickly.

And yet, despite her resolution to remain aloof, she is curious.  Who is this Henry?

The beach quickly becomes Henry’s thinking place.  He ruminates on what a friend on board the ship, Radly, might think of his situation.  Radly is a lady’s man and would have swept Michelle off her feet by now.

Michelle reappears, and, curious about him, asks him who he is, those usual questions, where he lives, and what he does.

Why?  If she is only there to hide, why get involved?

…

Words written 3,482, for a total of 13,176

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

That first encounter outside the confines of the hotel has shaken him.  He realises that he really has no understanding of women and that his first love with Jane had done nothing to prepare him.

It only reinforces the notion that he should simply avoid her where possible.

Yet, over dinner, she tells him her story, not the real story, but close enough to the truth.  In doing so, allowing the door to be ajar, she realises this could become complicated very quickly.

And yet, despite her resolution to remain aloof, she is curious.  Who is this Henry?

The beach quickly becomes Henry’s thinking place.  He ruminates on what a friend on board the ship, Radly, might think of his situation.  Radly is a lady’s man and would have swept Michelle off her feet by now.

Michelle reappears, and, curious about him, asks him who he is, those usual questions, where he lives, and what he does.

Why?  If she is only there to hide, why get involved?

…

Words written 3,482, for a total of 13,176

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

Michelle, to Henry, was the proverbial black widow, having arrived with every stitch of clothing black or near enough.

They settle into an uneasy co-existence, by the fire, waiting out the rain and weather, not avoiding meals because it would require explanation, but stumbling over the conversation, mainly because of Henry’s shyness and reserve.

The arrangements come to a head when she goes out and comes back soaked.  She stands by the fire to get warm; Mrs Mac brings a towel for her to dry her face and hair, and here Henry discovers her injuries make it difficult.

He helps but makes a mess of it through inexperience and fear of, yes, making a mess of a moment, which, word-wise, he does.

At this point, we discover a lot more about who she is and why she is there, and why she can never have a relationship, friendship or anything with that enigmatic, shy, boy.

Then the weather breaks.

Alone, Henry goes out to explore the coast, finds a way down to the beach, goes for a walk to be alone with his thoughts, and remembers where he had seen her before.

In magazines, ads.  Not only a model but a lot more.  A woman he realizes he is way out of his depth when with her.

She ventures to the beach, and they talk, he discovers small talk is not something that comes easy and is left in despair at his ineptitude.

I know this feeling from experience, and it makes this story easy.

…

Words written 3,909, for a total of 9,694

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

Michelle, to Henry, was the proverbial black widow, having arrived with every stitch of clothing black or near enough.

They settle into an uneasy co-existence, by the fire, waiting out the rain and weather, not avoiding meals because it would require explanation, but stumbling over the conversation, mainly because of Henry’s shyness and reserve.

The arrangements come to a head when she goes out and comes back soaked.  She stands by the fire to get warm; Mrs Mac brings a towel for her to dry her face and hair, and here Henry discovers her injuries make it difficult.

He helps but makes a mess of it through inexperience and fear of, yes, making a mess of a moment, which, word-wise, he does.

At this point, we discover a lot more about who she is and why she is there, and why she can never have a relationship, friendship or anything with that enigmatic, shy, boy.

Then the weather breaks.

Alone, Henry goes out to explore the coast, finds a way down to the beach, goes for a walk to be alone with his thoughts, and remembers where he had seen her before.

In magazines, ads.  Not only a model but a lot more.  A woman he realizes he is way out of his depth when with her.

She ventures to the beach, and they talk, he discovers small talk is not something that comes easy and is left in despair at his ineptitude.

I know this feeling from experience, and it makes this story easy.

…

Words written 3,909, for a total of 9,694

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

Some people are not who they appear to be.

Henry, for instance, had suffered the tragic loss of what he believed to be his one true love.  That, in essence, had led him to that life at sea, away from everything and everyone, because all it did was remind him of what he had lost.

And, yes, he was not going to fall in love again, it was far too painful.

Trying to get over the overwhelming grief, still raw a year later, he hears the arrival of another guest, and curious discovers it is a woman about his age, one who is quite at odds with what he would expect as a guest, at this hotel, at this time of year.

It raises that inevitable question, why would someone like her be there?

This leads to an awkward dinner where, with only two guests in the hotel, would it not be better if they sat together?  Neither thought so, but it seems impolite not to.

From there, of course, the conversation could only get worse, with each emphasising, in their thoughts, just how much they didn’t want to be there.

It is here we discover how these two are going to get along, or not, as the days proceed, not having realised that meeting others was a possibility, but meeting someone else who might be a match, never.  Both know they’re at that hotel to stay away from everyone else, but, in the coming days, that wasn’t going to be possible.

Plans must be made.

…

Words written 2,453, for a total of 5.785

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

Some people are not who they appear to be.

Henry, for instance, had suffered the tragic loss of what he believed to be his one true love.  That, in essence, had led him to that life at sea, away from everything and everyone, because all it did was remind him of what he had lost.

And, yes, he was not going to fall in love again, it was far too painful.

Trying to get over the overwhelming grief, still raw a year later, he hears the arrival of another guest, and curious discovers it is a woman about his age, one who is quite at odds with what he would expect as a guest, at this hotel, at this time of year.

It raises that inevitable question, why would someone like her be there?

This leads to an awkward dinner where, with only two guests in the hotel, would it not be better if they sat together?  Neither thought so, but it seems impolite not to.

From there, of course, the conversation could only get worse, with each emphasising, in their thoughts, just how much they didn’t want to be there.

It is here we discover how these two are going to get along, or not, as the days proceed, not having realised that meeting others was a possibility, but meeting someone else who might be a match, never.  Both know they’re at that hotel to stay away from everyone else, but, in the coming days, that wasn’t going to be possible.

Plans must be made.

…

Words written 2,453, for a total of 5.785

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

There are moments in our lives when events happen that stick with us forever.

This story is based on personal experience, with a few twists in the tale.  Like the main character, I spent a year as a purser on a cargo ship, a situation I managed to fall into by accident rather than pursue as a career.

Like the main character in the weeks, I had off the ship I used to find out-of-the-way, almost forgotten places to stay, in essence, hiding from the world, and home.  I was painfully shy and had always avoided contact with girls for fear of making a fool of myself.

Love seemed eons away, and that hiding process just took it to the nth level.

And, as mentioned before, having read Mills and Boon, the stories my wife devoured, as did her mother, I thought I could write a story that fitted into the confines of the standard 187 pages or so.

All it needed was the key three elements, the boy finds the girl, the boy loses the girl, boy and the girl find each other in the end.

Thus we find the main character, Henry, finds himself on a train, heading to what is metaphorically, the end of the world, in reality, a small seaside town with a hotel that takes the odd guest.  It’s winter, it’s cold, wet and miserable.

It suits his mood.

I’ve stayed in small hotels, where the owner is larger than life, the receptionist, barmaid, cook, cleaner and basically does everything, including, at times, the resident psychologist.

At one, I met a girl, a painfully shy female equivalent to me, hiding away because she could no longer take the stifling nature of her parents, and their expectations she is married, with children.  Happiness had nothing to do with what the believed was her lot in life.

That week, in a place that was as magnificent as it was forgettable, is a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

The story that came from it, is not what happened, but it just shows what the imagination can do with bare bones.

Did I meet her again?  No.  I don’t think that was the purpose of it.

What it did do was take that painfully shy boy and give him the necessary courage to go out into a world he had always been afraid of, and find what was eventually his true love.

…

At the start, we learn about Henry, and why he doesn’t want to be at home.  A father that is overbearing, a man who wants his son to be more than what he is.  It’s that old story, the parent who cannot accept a son for who he is.

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