Sometimes You Can Go Back

Jamie Harding was bored; a boredom that had started seeping into his bones.  He had a well-paid job, but one that had become stale and lacked any real challenge.  He was a whiz with computers and had been for as long as he could remember, but his work had become routine, and the need for change was growing inside him.  It was that need for change that had led him to this job in the big city in the first place.  Jamie remembered wryly the circumstances that had led to that change.

Angelique Braddon, Angel to her friends, had been the object of Jamie’s affections for years since he had begun to accept that such affections existed.  It is said that infatuation is always retrospective, and Jamie now recognised how infatuated he had been with Angel.  She was quite tall, slim, beautifully proportioned, with black hair cut short in a “pixie” style that framed her oval face, highlighting her pale complexion and bright blue eyes.  Two years younger than Jamie, Angel was very popular with boys of all ages, a fact that she tended to play on.  Jamie, however, wanted exclusive access to “his Angel” and this eventually led to his move from their country town to the big city.

Jamie’s pursuit of Angel had become increasingly intense although it never progressed further than a few soft kisses and her gentle rebuke when he had attempted to caress her breasts.  Jamie reflected that it might have been better if Angel had reprimanded him more firmly, but she had a sweet nature and told him that she didn’t want to hurt him.  Unfortunately for Jamie, this simply caused him to intensify his pursuit of his ideal woman, to the extent of eventually asking her to marry him.  Once more, Angel was as gentle as she could be when she said, “No”, that she wasn’t ready for marriage, but that she ‘wanted to keep him as a friend’.

Even someone as besotted as Jamie recognised those doom-laden words and within a couple of weeks he had thrown in his job and moved to the big city, not entirely to the surprise of his family and friends.  In his disappointment, he said nothing to Angel who he didn’t see again after her refusal.

He packed his station wagon and set off for the city with no real plans other than to get away from the pain of Angel’s rejection.  He stayed with relatives for a few weeks and fortunately, his IT skills were in great demand.  Jamie found himself a decent job with Heartland Industries and settled into a new lifestyle, a new social life and new challenges.  Life seemed set fair to Jamie, particularly when he started his relationship with Tammy.  She was two years older than Jamie with chestnut brown hair, a sunny disposition, a warm heart and a real interest in sex.  Jamie thought he had died and gone to heaven and they enjoyed a hot, active relationship.

This lasted for nearly two years but came to an abrupt halt when Jamie discovered Tammy in the arms of another guy, enjoying a loud and enthusiastic encounter.  The break between Jamie and Tammy was fast but not unduly hostile.  With the benefit of 20:20 hindsight, Jamie decided that the writing had been on the wall for a while and that the break was perhaps not a complete disaster.

This separation was followed by one or two brief affairs, each entirely focussed on physical gratification.  At the same time, Jamie’s world seemed to be changing, and not for the better.  His job had become predictable and lacked challenge, although his boss seemed determined to steer him into a management type role, something that Jamie tried to avoid.  He saw himself as a technician, much happier solving complex technical problems, and a role to which he was ideally suited.

In addition, his social life also became predictable.  He hadn’t made any firm friends in the city—one or two acquaintances who enjoyed an evening at the pub or a visit to the footy, but there wasn’t the close camaraderie of his earlier years in the country town.  These factors, together with his failure to establish any permanent relationship with a like-minded partner were catalysts for his boredom and his desire for further change.

These ideas were fermenting in his mind when a decision was made for him.

One Monday morning, his boss called Jamie into his office.  Dave Thomson looked uneasy and hesitant, something Jamie had not seen in him before.  Eventually, Dave came to the point.  “Jamie, I hate to do this but I’m going to have to let you go.”  Jamie started to interrupt, but Dave overrode any comments and continued, “It’s not that we’re in any way dissatisfied with your work, far from it.  Heartland Industries is going through a tough time and we have to downsize.  We’re going to have to scrap the whole division as a cost saving measure.”

Jamie’s eyebrows shot up—he knew how important his division had been in the past and was surprised to find himself on the outer.  Dave continued, “Jamie, we’ll pay out all your entitlements and give you a termination payment of two weeks pay for every year of service, as well as a glowing reference.”

“Okay, Dave, I’m not going to argue about this, even though I’m not convinced that the cost savings will offset a likely loss of income.  Still, that’s not my problem.  When do you want me to finish?”

“End of the week, please, Jamie; anything you haven’t completed you can hand over to me.”

“Done, boss,” Jamie replied, and by the next weekend he was a free man.

During his final week, Jamie had given much thought to his next move, and felt that a move interstate might be a good bet.  The big state capitals on the eastern seaboard were always full of opportunities for good IT people, and he should be able to do well.  First, though, he decided to call in home for a couple of weeks to spend some time with his family.

Jamie’s parents were delighted to see him, although there were some attempts at humour about the goatee and moustache he’d grown.  Things had changed at home, too.  His older brother was now doing post doctoral research in a prestigious US university, and his little sister Mandy was married and had produced Jamie’s first nephew a few weeks earlier.  Still, he enjoyed some time with his parents and at a family dinner, he broached the subject of Angel and whether anyone had heard anything about her.  Mandy was a contemporary of Angel, but somewhat to Jamie’s surprise, she was not very positive about his former girlfriend.

“I don’t know what’s got into that girl,” Mandy observed.  “She’s got herself a reputation for being very easy with the guys.  I guess you know that she had a miscarriage after her rat partner beat her senseless.  Then a month or so later, both her parents died in a car crash.  Angel just seemed to go off the rails, I guess because she had no real supports, and now her reputation stinks.”

Jamie expressed his curiosity about this change in Angel, but Mandy wasn’t able to, or perhaps prepared to, take the conversation any further.

A couple of days later Jamie decided to take a nostalgic wander round the town, and he recognised that change had been happening here, too.  In particular he noticed a computer store in the main street, and professional curiosity encouraged him to go in.  The proprietor, an older guy in his fifties, big and rugged with grey hair and piercing blue eyes was engaged in an intense telephone conversation, seemingly about some repairs to a PC.  He finished the call and sighed as he turned to Jamie.  “Good morning, sir, how can I help you?” he asked politely.

“Professional interest really,” Jamie replied.  “I’ve been out of the town for over five years and things seem to be changing fast.”

“Mmm, yes, well, thanks for the interest, but unless you know your way around the guts of a PC, I’m afraid our little chat will have to be postponed.”

“As it happens, I do,” Jamie commented.  “Do I understand that you’ve got a technical problem with a PC?”

“Too right I have, and if you can help, we can resume our little chat,” the proprietor sounded relieved but rather doubtful.

“Let me collect my tool kit and I’ll be right back,” Jamie left in a hurry.  He soon returned, ran a few tests on the errant PC and stripped it down.  “Hmm, well the problem seems to be that the motherboard is on the way out.  You could replace it, but this is an old machine and a new motherboard would require some other quite expensive hardware mods.  The best bet really is to sell the customer a new box—if it would help, I’ll be around when he comes in and I’ll explain it to him in simple terms.

The proprietor beamed.  “Thanks, son, I’d really appreciate that.  By the way, my name’s Charlie Bennett.”

“Jamie Harding,” Jamie replied shaking the proffered hand.

After a successful meeting with the customer, Charlie suggested that Jamie might be interested in doing his repair work, which appealed to Jamie’s technical interest as well as providing a useful source of income.  He found himself anticipating a longer stay in his home town than he had originally planned.

This was reinforced a few days later when Charlie asked casually about Jamie’s living arrangements.  “Staying with the folks just now,” Jamie replied, “but I’ll have to get myself somewhere more permanent, I guess.”

Charlie called out to his partner, Sal, a big, bouncy, down-to-earth bottle blonde with a ready smile and a devotion to Charlie only matched by his to her.  “Sal, Jamie is looking for somewhere to stay—what about the upstairs flat?  If he doesn’t mind a bit of unofficial caretaking, he could have the flat for a nominal rent.  What do you think, Jamie?”

Sal was quite enthusiastic about this—the flat had been vacant for some time, and they had been looking for someone reliable.  Jamie asked for a “guided tour” and agreed to move in, subject to some minor renovations, to which Charlie and Sal readily agreed.

Jamie now had a job and somewhere to live, which was contrary to his original intentions.  Having thought it over, he became quite enthusiastic about re establishing himself in his home town, and his mind turned back to his relationship with Angelique.  He was both curious and worried about Mandy’s description of her and he decided to find out for himself.

A short time later, Jamie paid a visit to one of his old watering holes and was disappointed to see that it had suffered the fate of many country hotels, having been renovated to within an inch of its life.  He got talking to one of the bar staff, a rather brassy older woman, and asked her if she knew anything about Angelique or Angel Braddon.  Her response was immediate.

“Angel?  Listen, mate, if you’ve got any sense you’ll stay away from that little slut.  She’s well known as the town bike.”

Jamie felt his anger rising, but didn’t want to start a fight.  He kept his temper under control, and replied, “Really?  That’s news to me.  She never used to be like that, but then I’ve been out of town for over five years.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve only been here three years, and she’s been like that all the time I’ve known her.”

“Does she ever get in here?” Jamie queried.

“Most nights, although I haven’t seen her today.  Like I said, you ought to keep well away from her.”

Jamie mumbled a “goodbye’ and left the pub thinking deeply.  Two nights later, on a Friday evening, he returned and he saw someone he was sure was Angel sitting at the bar talking to two people he didn’t know.  She’d allowed her hair to grow, had put on a little weight and was wearing quite slutty makeup.

Jamie talked to the same bar attendant who gave him a rather disapproving look when he asked her to take a gin and tonic to Angel, “with my compliments.”

Angel looked up and saw Jamie, then walked over to join him.

“Hi stranger, thanks for the drink.  Haven’t seen you around here before; are you new in town?” she asked.

Jamie was silent for a while, wondering how best to identify himself when Angel said, “Just a minute, I do know you—oh my god, it’s Jamie, isn’t it?  When did you get back?  Look, let’s take our drinks and go sit down and we can talk without being overheard.”

Angel seemed enthusiastic and Jamie was prepared to go along with this, with romantic visions of taking up with Angel again where they had left off over five years ago.

Jamie told her about his time in the big city and that he had got a job with Charlie Bennett and that he was living above Charlie’s computer shop in the main street.  Angel seemed rather indifferent to Jamie’s story, preferring to concentrate on an account of her own activities.  It rapidly became apparent that Angel was casually selling her favours to supplement her income as a waitress.  Reading between the lines, Jamie also suspected that Angel wasn’t too happy about this, but she made no obvious comment.

At the same time, Angel seemed to be happy to see Jamie, and started to put out feelers about getting together again.  Jamie reminded her that she had turned down his proposal of marriage, at which Angel laughed and justified it by saying, “We were both much too young.”

Angel then asked Jamie, “Why don’t you come round to my place tomorrow evening, I’ll cook you a meal and we can talk more privately about the past and perhaps about the future?”

“Okay, Angel, but how much will it cost me?”  Immediately the words left his mouth, Jamie knew that he had been hurtful, stupid and callous.

The colour drained from Angel’s face and was replaced by a fury that Jamie had never experienced before.  It seemed that her eyes were on fire; “You bastard,” she screamed, then slapped Jamie’s face as hard as she could, partially stunning him.

Angel jumped up from her chair and again screamed at him, “You rotten, rotten bastard,” and ran towards the door.  As she did so, Jamie stumbled out of his chair, calling, “Angel …” but the only response he received was a shrill scream of, “Fuck off,” as Angel left the pub.

This little episode had drawn the attention of many of the other customers, and a terse and wholly unhelpful, “told you so,” from the bar attendant.

Jamie walked to the door and looked around for Angel but she was nowhere to be seen.  He walked slowly home, chewing on the bitter gristle of his own stupidity.

For the next few days, Jamie gloomed and sulked, trying to find someone, anyone, else to blame for his own stupidity.  He tried using Angel as the focus of his anger, but that didn't work because he came to realise that he had to take responsibility for what he had done.  His work suffered, too, not so much in its quality, but his throughput dropped.

After a couple of weeks of this, Charlie caught up with him and asked what was bothering him.  “Oh, problem with a girl I really like but who I hurt badly,” Jamie confessed sheepishly.

“I see,” Charlie was non-committal.  “Can I suggest you have a chat with Sal?  She's very good on the personal relationship stuff.”

A day or so later, Jamie sought out his boss’s partner who was happy to listen to his woes, and was clear about what he needed to do.  “Jamie, do you really care about this young woman or is it just a physical thing?”

“Sal,” he replied, “I've been fond of Angel ever since I can remember, and I bitterly regret offending her the way I did.”

“Angel?” Sal queried, “Do you mean Angelique Braddon?”  Jamie nodded and Sal continued, “Did you make some sort of derogatory remark about her, shall we say, sexual activities?”

“How the hell did you know that?” Jamie was amazed

“I've heard about Angel round the traps, Jamie and I'll tell you a secret that only Charlie and one or two others know.  I was on the game once, and Charlie rescued me; I've never forgotten his generosity, but I do know that if he'd said to me what you said to Angel, I'd've reacted in much the same way she did.  Jamie, you've got to find Angel and apologise to her; show her that you are genuinely sorry for what you said, and do whatever it takes to make it up to her.”

“You're right, of course, Sal; that's really the only way to go,” and Jamie returned to his work feeling somewhat happier.

It was a few days before Jamie was able to act on his plan; most of this time was spent discovering where Angel lived.  At the same time he also heard rumours that she was behaving even more promiscuously than usual, which added to his determination to find Angel and apologise to her, no matter how difficult this might be.

Eventually, Jamie discovered Angel's address and called round one cold, windy evening.  The door was answered by a woman who he’d never seen before, and when he asked to see Angel, he was told rather tersely that she wasn't home.  Jamie guessed why that might be, but persisted, asking when she might be available.  She looked at him closely, and asked, “Are you the one who caused her so much distress a few weeks ago?”

“I guess so,” he replied, “and I feel really ashamed at what I said, and I wanted to apologise to her in person.”

“I think you'd better come in – we need to talk.  I'm Angel's Aunt Georgia, and I've agreed that she can stay with me for a while until she sorts herself out, although I have to say that I've got some reservations about that.  Still, she doesn't seem to have anywhere else to go.”

Jamie started on his story, but Georgia cut him short.  “I don't need to know all the gory details, but I do know that you hurt her very badly, and now she seems to have gone off the rails.  If it had been me, I'd've seen you in hell before I had anything more to do with you, but the odd thing is that Angel doesn't seem to hate you; she just feels betrayed and isolated.”

“Oh god, I've really blown it this time,” Jamie said, and against her better judgement, Georgia could hear the sincerity in his voice.  “Look, if you can persuade Angel to talk to me, even just on the phone, I'll be eternally grateful.”

“Hmm, well, I'll try, but it won't be easy.  If I succeed, you'll have to name your first born after me,” Georgia concluded with a half smile.  Jamie thanked her warmly and left for home.

As it happened, Georgia's help was not needed.  The following night was cold and stormy with heavy rain, and around 9.30, Jamie was sitting in front of a wood stove, keeping warm, watching TV and enjoying a beer.  He was startled by a sudden thumping that was heavy with urgency on his front door.

Jamie dashed down and as he opened the door, a saturated figure collapsed into his arms.  It took him a few seconds to recognise that it was Angel; her hair was plastered over her face, her clothing was torn, there was blood trickling from her mouth and nose, and the water streaming down her face was a compound of rain and tears.  She also smelled noticeably of alcohol.  Angel gasped and mumbled incoherently, and Jamie half dragged, half carried her to his lounge where she collapsed on the floor.

“Angel, what on earth … no, explanations can wait.  It looks as if you'll need some medical attention after we get you out of the ruins of your clothes.”

Angel spoke for the first time in a hoarse, frightened voice, “No, Jamie, please—I don't want anyone else involved.”

“Hmm, okay, if you say so,” Jamie was very doubtful.  “First let's get you out of your saturated clothes—I'll find a bath robe because I think a nice hot bath would also help.”

Angel said nothing as Jamie helped her out of her clothes but as he did so, he couldn't help but notice that her pubis and vagina were swollen and bruised.  “Oh my god, Angel, who raped you?  I'm going to call the cops,” and he moved towards the phone.

Jamie was interrupted by a scream from Angel.  “No, Jamie, no, you can't.  Don't call them—if you do, I'll leave now and you’ll never see me again.  Please, oh please don't involve the police.  If the bastard who did this, my ex, finds out, he’d kill me and hurt people I care about, including you”

Jamie was struck dumb and looked at Angel in disbelief.  She was distressed to the point of hysteria and he was taken further aback when she dropped to her knees with her hands clasped in front of her, as if she was praying.  “Please Jamie, if you care for me even just a tiny bit, please do as I ask this one time.  I'll explain it all later.”  Her voice was unsteady and partly slurred but the message was unmistakeable.

Jamie sighed.  “Okay, Angel, it's your body and I won't go against your wishes, but even so ...” and he helped her to her feet.

“Thank you, Jamie, I won't ever forget this,” Angel sounded completely genuine.

Jamie ran her a hot bath and left Angel to soak and clean herself up.  She emerged later looking a little better with her hair in a turban, but with bruises evident on her face and her lip quite swollen.

She looked at Jamie and burst into tears.  “Oh Jamie, I'm so sorry to do this to you, but I didn't know where else to turn.”

“Hey, Angel, in spite of my cruel and callous attitude towards you in the pub that time, I'd really like to think that we're friends.  I am so sorry about that and I'll do anything I can to help you.  Now, would you like anything to eat or drink, or would you just like to get some sleep?”

“Sleep, please, Jamie, that's what I need most right now.”  In spite of her protestations, he took her into the bedroom, found her an old tee shirt and some extra pyjama bottoms and installed her in his king size single bed.

“You will sleep here, Angel,” Jamie said in his best controlling voice, “No arguments now—I'll be perfectly okay on the lounge.  Just call out if you need anything.”

Angel managed the first smile since she'd arrived and thanked Jamie profusely before climbing into bed.  Half an hour later, Jamie was just settling for the night when Angel stumbled into the lounge room.  “Jamie, I'm so cold ...”

“Okay, Angel, I can find you another blanket,” he said.

''No, Jamie,” Angel sounded as if she was about to cry.  “Would you sleep with me, please, so I can warm myself from your body?  Just sleep, nothing else.”

“Of course I will, Angel, but don't tell anyone else we've slept together—they'd get quite the wrong idea.”  Angel managed her second smile for the evening, and they spooned together in the confines of the single bed.

Jamie woke first the next morning, made himself breakfast and read the paper before Angel staggered out close to midday.  “Sleep well, princess?” he asked, but was shocked to see the bruises and swelling on her face.

“Mmm, thank you, Jamie, I did, but I’d better make some plans and get out of your hair.”

“Whoa, just one minute.  So far as I’m concerned, you ain’t going nowhere.  Stay here at least until the bruises fade and you’re feeling a bit more like yourself.”

“Jamie, I can’t impose myself on you like that, besides, I haven’t got any clothes or makeup or …” at which she started to cry, despondent and miserable.

“Angel, it’s not an imposition, and besides, there’s something I need to do.”  Jamie took both her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes.  “I’m so terrible sorry for what I said to you that night in the pub.  Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?  Please?”

“Yeah, I guess, Jamie, but right now I’m so confused and hurt that I’m not really thinking straight.  I need to sort myself out, and I’ve no idea how to go about it.”

“Okay, Angel, tell you what I’m going to do.  First, I’m going to contact your Aunt Georgia, tell her that you’re staying with me for a day or two, and arrange to pick up your gear.  Then I’m going to get in touch with a good friend of mine and get her to talk to you.  You’ll like Sal, she’s a very motherly type and most importantly, she’ll listen to you and not judge you.”

Angel looked at him and shrugged her shoulders.  “Do what you like, Jamie, I’m too tired to care,” and she returned to the bed.

Jamie rang Georgia who agreed to drop off some cases and bags of Angel’s stuff.  He also rang Sal who readily agreed to call round next day and have a heart to heart with Angel.

The clothes arrived that evening, and Sal turned up at lunch time on the Sunday.  After the necessary introductions, Sal shooed him out of the house, commenting, “Go and see your folks or anything else that will get you out of the house.  This is girl stuff—guys are not needed,” but winked at him as he left the house.

Jamie spent the afternoon with his parents until around six o’clock when he had a phone call suggesting that he should return.  Sal was sitting on the lounge with a smug look on her face, and Angel came out from the bedroom looking totally different.  She had on discreet makeup and clean clothes, but best of all a warm smile that spread across her whole face.

“Sal is just a wonderful friend, and I’m so grateful for her help,” she said.  “We’re going to keep in touch and she’s promised to help me find a job.  Thank you so much, Sal,” and she gave the older woman a big hug and a kiss that almost seemed to embarrass her.

Jamie added his thanks, and was rewarded with a big smile from Sal.  “You’re okay for a guy, you know—and just between you and me, you’ve done Charlie a huge favour; his business has never been better.”

With that, Sal left, and Jamie and Angel looked at each other across the room seeming to be too scared to talk.  “Jamie,” Angel broke the ice.  “I wasn’t really fair to you yesterday.  So far as the pub thing is concerned, it never happened, and if you really need me to forgive you,” she crossed the room and gave him a gentle kiss,“ consider yourself forgiven.”

For the next week, Jamie supported Angel as much as he could, and she was happy for a while taking care of the domestic chores, helping out Sal in the office and resting after her experience.

After a week of this confinement, Angel started to get edgy and “stir crazy”, and Jamie suggested they go out for a meal, “To the little Italian place down the road.  We can get a decent meal there and it’ll do us both good to get out of the house.”

Angel readily agreed and that evening they had an enjoyable meal.  Angel started flirting with Jamie and they held hands across the table.  When it came time to leave, Angel nestled up to him and they headed for home with their arms around each other.

To get back, they had to cross a patch of rough open ground, and as they did so, they were suddenly confronted by three very ugly customers.  “Oh god, Jamie, it’s my ex, Carrington, the thug who raped me.”

Carrington and his mates saw them and shouted with delight.  “Get the bitch and we’ll give her another dose,” Carrington screamed and moved towards Jamie and Angel.

“Run, Angel, run NOW,” Jamie shouted as she hesitated, and he turned to face the attackers.  “Over my dead body,” he challenged unwisely, and they laughed, a crude, hostile sound.

“Well, yeah, that can be arranged,” one of the thugs laughed and charged clumsily at Jamie who stuck out a foot and sent his opponent sprawling on the ground.  This had the effect of distracting their attention from Angel but focussing on doing maximum damage to Jamie.

Odds of 3:1 aren’t recommended in any fight, and Jamie soon found himself under increasing pressure.  He got in one or two telling blows, but weight of numbers gradually overwhelmed him.  He twisted suddenly and felt a tearing pain in his knee, then fell to the ground, rolling into a foetal position.  He felt a heavy boot land solidly and very painfully in his ribs, and then a kick to his head rendered him unconscious.  Jamie’s last thought as he descended into blackness was a hope that Angel had got away and was safe.

Eventually he started to rise out of the blackness to find his head cradled on something soft and yielding, and two arms holding him.  And a voice crying softly to him, “Oh god, Jamie, please don’t die, please stay with me, my love, oh Jamie, I love you so much,” with tears falling onto his face.  Jamie knew just enough to realise that it was Angel, but all he could manage was “urrgh,” before he again lost consciousness.

The next time he woke, Jamie was still cradled in Angel’s lap, but he could see a large figure in green coveralls approaching.  He could also see the flashing lights of two police cars in the background, and a lot of action that seemed to be aimed at apprehending villains.

“Okay, miss, let the dog see the rabbit,” the burly paramedic said, and Jamie felt himself being gently but firmly examined.  “Hmm, twisted knee, certainly bruised, probably cracked ribs and concussion as well as a bunch of cuts and bruises.  We need to get him to hospital.”

“Please, I must go with him,” Angel demanded.

“Are you family, miss—if not, I’m afraid you can’t travel with him.”

“No,” Angel hesitated momentarily, “not family yet, but I’m his fiancée.”

The paramedic smiled indulgently then said, “Okay, miss, hop in,” and Jamie passed out again.

The next thing that Jamie remembered was waking up in a hospital bed with tubes stuck in his body and his parents and Angel hovering around his bed.  A nurse entered at that moment, “Ah, our patient is awake.  Hallo, Jamie, the doctor will be in to see you shortly.” And he was then bombarded with questions and kisses from Angel and his mother.

The doctor gave him the glad tidings.  “Jamie, you’ve had a concussion—quite mild, fortunately, a twisted knee, various cuts and bruises.  The main problem is that you have two cracked ribs.  You’ll have to take it easy for a few weeks, and there will be some pain when you breathe—but don’t stop breathing just because of the pain, that can have serious side effects.”

Jamie managed a weak smile and asked how long he needed to stay in hospital.

“Two or three days, but then you’ll need some recuperation time at home; do you have someone who can look after you?”

Before his parents could make any comment, Angel jumped in, “Don’t worry, doc, I can make sure he behaves himself—if he doesn’t, I’ll punch him in the ribs,” she finished with a broad grin.  His parents agreed after some hesitation, but insisted that Angel should keep them informed of his progress.

“Angel?” Jamie queried, “What happened after you left?”

“You didn’t really think I was going to leave you to those thugs, did you?  I knew from experience that at that time of night, there was always a police patrol car down a side street close by.  I ran to them and told them what had happened.  I got back just at the time you went down and the cops arrived.  I was so scared that those bastards might’ve killed you, I didn’t know what to do.”

“Well, I can tell you this,” Jamie smiled, “feeling you cradling me in your arms was the best medicine I could have had.”  Angel gave him a slightly teary smile, and a kiss on the cheek.

A short time later, Jamie returned to the flat to be greeted by Charlie and Sal who both wanted to be sure he was okay and being looked after as a hero should be.  One of Charlie’s customers was a journalist from the local paper who had written up a story about the incident, making it appear as if Jamie had taken on Genghis Khan’s horde and only lost on points.

For the next few weeks, Angel cosseted and mothered Jamie as if he was a sick child.  Eventually, he got to the point of saying, “Angel, I am really grateful for what you’ve done for me—I love you so much, not just in gratitude for your nursing skills, but I think I always have.  But I think I can stand on my own two feet now.”

Angel panicked.  “Oh god, Jamie, are you telling me to leave?”

“Of course not.  Angel, do you remember years ago before I left for the big city, I asked you a question, and you answered ‘no’?  Well, if I were to ask you that question again, what would your answer be now?”

“Ooh, Jamie Hastings, you are so sneaky.  You’re trying to give yourself an out.  So, answer me ‘yes’ or ‘no’, are you asking me to marry you?”

“Um, I’ve painted myself into a corner, haven’t I?” Jamie laughed.  “Yes, I am.” And he looked deep into Angel’s beautiful blue eyes.

“YES” she shouted as loudly as she could and hugged him carefully.

For the next day or so, Angel’s behaviour changed slightly.  She became secretive and Jamie knew he was having detailed conversations with Sal and had dragged Charlie into the secret.  She also made a number of phone calls that she refused to talk to Jamie about.  Soon after, Angel suggested that he should spend a day with his family—Jamie agreed that this was a good idea, but he still suspected her motives.

His parents, sister and her family were delighted to see him up and about and they spent a lazy day gossiping, eating and playing with Mandy’s son.

Jamie returned home around six o’clock and was puzzled by the light coming from the lounge room.  When he went in, he was astonished to see it was lit completely by numerous candles, and the floor was covered in rugs ands cushions.  And then he was struck dumb by the vision that glided out of the bedroom.

Angel was dressed (well, you might call it that) in a sheer black baby doll negligee that did little to cover very much, but showed off her undoubted assets to best effect and revealed much that required further investigation.  “Well, hi,” she said in a low, throaty voice and shimmied slowly towards the excited Jamie.  The second thing he noticed (perhaps even the third) was that Angel had had her hair cut in the “pixie” style that he liked so much; to his eyes she looked perfect, and he told her so.

“Mmm, thank you, sweetheart.  I thought we might feed each other with a bunch of finger food, and for dessert, well, we’ll just see what develops” and she gave him an evil, erotic smile.  Angel stopped and said, “Just a minute though Jamie, there’s one question left unanswered.  You asked me how much I would cost, and I never told you.”

Jamie’s heart turned to stone.  He cursed himself yet again, wondering if this would ever be done with.  Then he noticed that Angel was trying, unsuccessfully, to stop the smile spreading across her face.  “Five hundred dollars, big boy,” she laughed and Jamie stayed stock still.

Angel wasn’t finished though, and her smile broadened as she reached towards him.  “Or alternatively,” she whispered, linking her arms round his neck, “one big, wet, sloppy kiss.”