…

Henry writes a letter and sends it.   He’s disappointed when after a week there is no reply.  He resigns himself to the thought he might never see her again.

Michelle gets a message concerning a person from her past, one who was helpful even when she was at her worst.  But, it could be a trap because one of the people she was hiding from knew of his association with her.

Then a real letter arrives, one from Henry, but it is not fully of his undying love for her, removing him from the status of the knight in shining armour.  What was she expecting, and then remembered she had told him expectation ruined everything.

This was her reality, not what it had been with him.  She was hiding, she was alone, and she was afraid.  All the time.

She writes back, reassuring him, and admonishing his writing skill.

He in turn tries harder to improve, and then advises her it might be possible to meet again giving her a date and time.

Plans are made and plans are dashed, and more plans are made, and there springs a possibility.

…

…

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.

…

…

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.

…

…

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.

…

…

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.

…

…

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.

…

…

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.

…

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

Well, it’s done.

516 pages in total, in the rawest of forms, a story from start to finish.

Now the hard part begins; the first edit.  I’m sure there are a few continuity issues, and at least one name changes for one of the characters.

There are other issues that will need addressing, like Inspector Banner who seems to turn up out of thin air and needs a little more introduction.

Likewise, Henry’s brother Harry needs to have his timeline and actions given his disabilities looked at in terms of whether it’s possible he could do what he did.  I know it’s fiction, but characters lose credibility when they seem to have powers they simply could not possess.

Above all, Michelle needs to be more thoroughly introduced, though my intention originally was to have her this girl who is too good to be true, all of a sudden have this bad streak, whether by design or by accident.

I also think her relationship with the Turk needs more explanation because it seems in places quite wishy washy for want of a better description. 

There may yet get to be a prologue that gives each a chance to see who they are before they get to the hotel by the sea.

Perhaps I’m, simply miffed that Diana aka Millie did not get a chance to shine before she appears much later in the book.

But, it is what it is for now, and the next edit, in a few weeks might or might not address all of these issues.

“The Things We Do For Love”

…

Well, it’s done.

516 pages in total, in the rawest of forms, a story from start to finish.

Now the hard part begins; the first edit.  I’m sure there are a few continuity issues, and at least one name changes for one of the characters.

There are other issues that will need addressing, like Inspector Banner who seems to turn up out of thin air and needs a little more introduction.

Likewise, Henry’s brother Harry needs to have his timeline and actions given his disabilities looked at in terms of whether it’s possible he could do what he did.  I know it’s fiction, but characters lose credibility when they seem to have powers they simply could not possess.

Above all, Michelle needs to be more thoroughly introduced, though my intention originally was to have her this girl who is too good to be true, all of a sudden have this bad streak, whether by design or by accident.

I also think her relationship with the Turk needs more explanation because it seems in places quite wishy washy for want of a better description. 

There may yet get to be a prologue that gives each a chance to see who they are before they get to the hotel by the sea.

Perhaps I’m, simply miffed that Diana aka Millie did not get a chance to shine before she appears much later in the book.

But, it is what it is for now, and the next edit, in a few weeks might or might not address all of these issues.