Page 6 of Amber's Fall

“What kind of man would I be if I let my date pay?” he asked. Again, I warmed inside. No one had taken care of me before.

He held out my coat, even buttoned it up and then gently kissed my cheek. He opened doors for me, made me walk on the building side of the pavement, and held my arm all the way home. Just before we got to my door, there was a homeless man sitting on the curb. He called out as we passed, asking for money. His voice slurred, he was clearly drunk.

Andrew kicked his legs away so I could pass. “You need to get a job, mate,” he said, spitting the words at him. “And don’t ask my lady for money again.”

At first, I was shocked. He was just a harmless man sitting on the floor. We didn’t know his circumstances, why he found himself homeless. I would have had more compassion and probably given him a pound or two. But Andrew explained that a lot of them were con artists. He’d see them in London pull up in their smart cars and then pretend to be homeless. It was a lucrative business, he said and I began to doubt my generosity.

“And if he’s using that money for alcohol, you’re not really helping him,” he said gently.

“Gosh, I hadn’t thought about it that way before,” I replied.

We continued to walk the path to my front door. I had half the ground floor of a two-storey house. I’d wanted the basement because that had a separate bedroom but couldn’t afford it. Andrew stopped at the door and smiled at me.

“I’ve so enjoyed this evening. Can we do it again? Soon?” He looked so shy, kicked his toes on the concrete path and looking down.

“Yes, and soon is good for me,” I replied.

His smile was broad, and he took a step closer. “I just... I have a feeling about us,” he said. He then leaned down to gently kiss my lips.

He brushed some hair from my forehead. “I love your hair like this,” he said, tucking it behind my ears.

I’d always hated my ears, but if he loved them, I’d wear my hair like that every day, I thought.

“Let me have your telephone number so I can call you.”

I hastily fished in my handbag for a pen and piece of paper, wrote it down and gave it to him. “Call me whenever you can,” I said.

He nodded and then left. I watched as he walked back the way we’d come and again kicked the feet of the homeless man as he passed.

* * *

Marilyn calledto say that she was collecting Patty and would I like to join her. I agreed and we arranged a time to meet at the hospital. Marylin and Patty take a taxi back home and then straight off to Norfolk. Since the hospital was a short walk away, I’d make my own way there and home.

I met Marilyn at the door. “How is she?” I asked.

“Not too good. Physically, she’s better, but mentally... Well, she’s remembering things, I think, and it’s traumatic. Seems there was more than one bastard!” Marilyn had to stop speaking and take in a deep breath. “If I got my hands on them...”

I placed my hand on her arm. “Time away from here is going to be a good healer and maybe, if she writes everything down, you could go back to the police to reopen the case.” I didn’t know if that was possible, of course.

Marilyn nodded, took another deep breath in, and straightened her headscarf. “Right, let’s go get her.”

Patty though, was a shocking sight to see. Although it had only been a week, she had changed. She’d lost a lot of weight and her hair was lank and greasy. Her skin was sallow, sickly looking. My heart skipped a couple of beats.

“How are you?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed while she packed her things into a carrier bag.

“I’ve been better,” she replied, and smiled weakly at me. “Glad to see you, of course.”

I felt a tinge of guilt that I hadn’t visited her.

“You’re going to love Norfolk, getting some sea air will do you wonders,” I said.

She huffed. “Won’t stop the nightmares, will it?”

I wasn’t sure what to say to her. I wanted to reach out and touch her, hug her like we’d done a thousand times before, but she looked so frail and ill, and...

“Did you get all the results back from your blood tests?” I asked.

“No, still waiting on the important ones. If those bastards have given me aids, I’m going to hunt them down.” The venom in her voice startled me. I’d never heard her use that tone before.

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