[The day of the funeral]
“Ready darling?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be Mum,” replied Maxine.

“The car is waiting.”

Maxine pulled the heavy veil down over her head. She was dressed head to toe in black. Her dress was black silk and very full. Her whole outfit could have come from the late Victorian era. Long before Adrian had become bedridden, they discussed the funeral and everything in great detail especially what she was going to wear.

With the aid of Jasmine, Sally Jameson’s daughter, she found a wonderful dress in a second-hand shop in Stratford-upon-Avon. Maxine’s dressmaker in Wimbledon had made the alterations needed as well as a providing a hat with a thick veil. Black lace-up boots with a 3in block heel and long black lace gloves completed her outfit.

Jasmine had done her makeup earlier and for once Maxine agreed that black lipstick was the order of the day. Jasmine was all in purple including her hair.
Sally was waiting for Jasmine and her Mother. The three of them would be travelling in the lead car with Jasmine, Nina and Belinda in the second car.

The funeral was to be held at the Surrey and Sussex Crematorium. It was not far from the nearby Gatwick Airport. Adrian had wanted… no demanded, a simple service and that was what he got. He’d insisted that the music to be played as his coffin disappeared was Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”. Adrian was the epitome of conservatism. He always wore a suit and tie even on Sundays. His Father had done the same so he saw no reason not to follow suit. The song represented how he wanted to be in the afterlife.

To everyone’s surprise, Adrian’s siblings turned up for the Funeral. Adrian had left instructions that they should be informed of his death but he expected that they would not bother to come all the way from Shrewsbury to say goodbye given how they’d been when he left them to stew in their own tears when he’d dissolved their family business.

Sally Jameson read the eulogy. She’d known Adrian longer than anyone else at the Funeral apart from his Brother and Sisters. She described him and his approach to life perfectly. She pulled no punches when it came to describing his siblings. Maxine saw them wince more than once.

Her words also praised Maxine and how her introduction into his life had given him a new purpose. She went on to say how his new business would be in good hands with Maxine at the helm. What she didn’t say was that this was said at Adrian’s request if his siblings dared to attend his funeral.

The looks on their faces told Sally that Adrian’s words had hit a sore point with them.

“Walk on the Wild Side” played as his coffin slowly disappeared out of sight. Maxine dabbed her eyes with a lace handkerchief as the curtains closed and this part of the day was over.

Outside, Maxine greeted everyone who had come and thanked them for coming along. Once all the thanks had been given and the flowers inspected, they adjourned to a Pub just to the west of Reigate for a lunch/wake.

For the first time since they’d left home, Maxine lifted the veil of her hat. This was the first time she’d ever worn a women’s hat but it would not be the last.

She made a bee line for Adrian’s siblings but they hardly said a word to her so she took the hint and moved on to talk with Jules and Françoise who’d flown in from France that very morning. They loved Maxine’s outfit. She glanced over at Jasmine who was grinning from ear to ear.

Then she went to talk to her very special guests, Garth Samson had flown in that morning direct from the USA. With him in a small group was Helene Harris and her wife, Isabelle.

“It was nice of you to come,” said Maxine.
“It was the least we could do,” said Garth.
“Are those his brother and sisters?” asked Helene nodding to where they were standing silently.
“That’s them. I guess that they are here to see if Adrian left them a morsel or three. He was adamant right to the end that they basically get nothing.”

Garth laughed.
“That’s the Adrian I got to know.”
Then he became all serious.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to come to the reading of the will. I have a few relatives that could do with a good put down when it is my time to pass over. You never know, I might learn something.”

Maxine’s smile told him that he’d be more than welcome.

[That afternoon in a Solicitors Office in Reigate, Surrey]

“This is the last Will and Testament of Adrian Forsythe being of sound mind and body. It is dated some eleven months ago.” said the Lawyer, Marcus Bridges.

“I leave all my estate to my dear wife Maxine Forsythe. She will be a worthy successor to me in my various business enterprises.”

The Lawyer looked at the people who’d gathered in the room before him before continuing the reading.
“These are the words dictated to me by Adrian Forsythe,” said Marcus slightly nervously.
“To my family, I leave nothing. Dorothy, you have not worked one day in your life. You are nothing more than a useless idle bitch. David, you are a gambling addict. If anyone gives you any money, then you will just put it on the next race or football match.”

“As for you Yvonne, you are even worse than your sister. Thankfully, your two failed marriages have left you well provided before. I’ve said it before and I will say it one last time, get a job and stand on your own two feet. No one owes you a living so for the sake of your children”

After another pause, Marcus carried on.

“If any of my siblings want to challenge this will just ask yourself this, ‘have you done even one thing to enhance the value of my estate’. The answer for you three wastrels is an emphatic ‘No’. That is clearly against the values that were instilled in us by our parents. Those values which to date you have all rejected were really simple. How many times did Dad say, ‘you don’t get owt for nowt’. Maxine has been my companion these past few years. She knew that I’d die soon right from the outset. I drew the short straw in that I was the only one of us to carry the Huntington’s gene and that is why we didn’t have children. I have trained Maxine to take over from me and carry on the good work that I started. The rest of you, my siblings and relatives can go to hell and beyond.”

Maxine looked around me and at the others in the reading. Adrian’s relatives were a motley crew with not one bit of black between them. But they did have one thing in common and that was a really pissed off expression on their faces. She chuckled to herself and said silently,

“Adrian you old goat, you have done it again. You always had the knack of saying the right thing at the right time.”

Mr Bridges carried on with the reading for another few minutes. When he was done, everyone stood up and mingled apart from Adrian’s siblings.

“You won’t get away with this!” said Dorothy to Maxine in a very nasty voice.
“We should have it all. We are family not you.”

Maxine returned a weak smile.
“I am his wife but it was his choice where his estate went.”

“You are nothing but a gold digger. You deserve nothing,” said David.

“Really? I worked with Adrian these past years to develop the business. I nursed him when he was ill and I deserve nothing?”

“Goddam right!”

“Then I humbly suggest that you consult a lawyer before saying another word. My lawyer will happily provide you with a notarised copy of his will. Please show that to a lawyer and explain how you have contributed to the business and why you deserve it all. I really hope that the lawyer laughs you out of their office. Your brother was a canny person. He used some of the best legal brains in the country to draw up his will with this very response in mind.”

This time Dorothy piped up.
“Why would Adrian marry you? You are nothing?”

“I don’t know about that. I do know something and that is your brother saw something in me and that turned out to be very profitable for the company unlike the three of you or was Adrian lying when he said that you three were idle lazy spongers.”

Before they could respond, Maxine said,
“I must leave you and talk to others. Please feel free to speak to my lawyer about the will and thank you for coming. I owe the local hospice fifty pounds as he and I had a bet for that sum over your attendance so thanks again. That same Hospice made his last days a lot easier. If you recall, there was a gift to them in his will. If you challenge the will, you will stop them from getting the money that Adrian wanted.”

Then she turned on her heels, lifted the skirt of her dress and went to talk to some others.

---

That evening, Maxine, her Mother, Sally, Jasmine and Cliff were relaxing at her home. She was still wearing the black dress.

Her mother said,
“You really handled that dress very well today.”

Maxine grinned.
“Thanks Mum. I kind of like it. I love the skirts.”

Her mother smiled and shook her head.
“And to think I had my doubts about Thomas going to work with Sally???”

She gave her daughter a big hug.
“I was so wrong. Do you forgive me darling?”

“Of course, I do Mum. Worrying is all part of what being a Mother is all about.”

Maxine’s answer caused her Mother to give a little shudder.

“What’s wrong Mum?”

“Sorry darling. You sounded just like I did when I was carrying your Sister.”

[the next day]

“That’s everyone gone home now. Your mother has gone shopping but will be back later. The flight to Toulouse left on time,” said Cliff as he returned from taking the four visitors from France to Gatwick Airport.”

“Thanks Cliff,” said Maxine.

“What are you going to do now?”

She paused before answering.

“To be honest Cliff, I don’t know. These last six months have been rather full on, haven’t they?”

“They have so why don’t you take a holiday eh? When was the last time you really switched off for more than a day or so at a time?”

Maxine laughed.
“Last Christmas when Adrian and I worked in the kitchens in Devon. There was no time to think about business. Far too many things to do for that.”

“Maxi? I think you will find that it was the Christmas before last.”

She didn’t answer.

“I thought so. You need a change and I’m not meaning just your clothes.”

Maxine was wearing that same black dress as she’d worn to the funeral the previous day.

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“Maxi… it is not that. We aren’t in Spain or Italy where women who have been widowed wear black for the rest of their lives…”

Maxine laughed.

“I just like how it feels on me. Having to lift up my skirts when coming up the stairs is… well different. Everything just feels different. Strange even but right.”

Cliff sighed.
“Wimbledon then? You really should buy the place given how much you spend there.”

Maxine smiled back at him and managed a small smile.

“Not just yet. This look isn’t quite right. Jasmine said something yesterday that got me thinking.”

Cliff laughed.
“I know I can hear your brain going up the gears from here…!”

“You can hear nothing of the sort but I know what you are trying to do.”

“And what is that if I may be permitted to laugh?”

“Take my mind off of losing Adrian perhaps?”

“So? What’s wrong with that eh?”

“Time Cliff, time. It is too soon.”

Cliff knew that but he knew that Maxine could take days if not weeks to properly get over things. This was possibly the biggest upheaval she could have to face in years. He felt that it had yet to really sink home. He also knew that she’d gotten through the previous day on adrenaline and that she’d have to pay for it before long.

---

The house was silent now that her mother had finally left Maxine alone. It had been a long and tiring day. Her mother had kept fussing over her as all good mothers should but in the end, she’d left Maxine truly alone for the first time since Adrian had died.

The place had always been chilly even with Adrian there. Now that he was gone it felt positively cold. She could never really hate it because of the memories of Adrian that were everywhere but, she could never love it.

The Victorian Gothic Revival styled house had never been the sort of place that she would have chosen but Adrian loved it. He always said that it reminded him of his childhood home.

Maxine would either have to get used to being alone in the house or she would have to sell it and move away. That was a decision for the future but it was one that would have to be made sooner rather than later.

She’d only ever had two homes in her life. The small terraced house in Trowbridge where she’d grown up and then this place which was clearly far too big for one person and then there were memories of Adrian everywhere. She didn’t need those artefacts to remember him but most of them were of his choosing from before she came into his life.

Apart from her rooms, the house was all his. Maxine had made a real effort to create a space that was all hers. She could shut the world out and be safe and secure in her own space. Adrian had rarely ventured inside once she’d made it her sanctuary.

Maxine let out a big sigh and sank into her favourite chair.

“Oh Adrian… why did you have to go and die on me like that?”

She pulled out a black handkerchief from the sleeve of her black dress and wiped her eyes. The tears didn’t stop. It was time for her to start to properly grieve.

---

That payback time came the following weekend. Maxine slept for thirty-five hours straight. That was the first bit of sleep of more than three hours that she’d had in months.

When she eventually came around her first move was to check to see if Adrian was still there. When her arm found just an empty bed, she sat upright. Then she saw that black dress on its Mannequin on the other side of the room. She collapsed back onto the pillows and had a good cry.

When the tears subsided, she lay on the bed for almost an hour. In that time, she came to a decision about the house. While she could never and would never forget Adrian especially the first time they had proper sex the house was all Adrian. He and his influences were there in every room, every alcove and every molecule of the fabric of the building. If she was going to move on with her life and find someone else, she’d have to sell the place. Not right away but eventually she would have to do it.

Her problem was finding the right time and place to tell Cliff. She had to think of his desire to retire as well. Such were the problems facing Maxine in her life as a multi-millionaire.

She thought back to those now distant days when she would dress up for a lark and go out with her sister and her friends. She remembered the first time she went into the Ladies loo at a Mall in Bristol. Then how after a couple of trips people started to treat her as a young woman. She gave a little shudder when she remembered how Sally read her in a flash and then how it had not mattered one little bit to her and that it was what was in her mind that was important.

Then she remembered getting dolled up for that first meeting with Adrian and how good it felt to be wearing proper women’s clothes and not something cheap from the likes of TK-Maxx or Primark, for the first time. When going out with Dawn, she’d basically copied what Dawn was wearing rather than being her true self.

Then she laughed as she recalled how she went into the dressmakers in Wimbledon for the first time. Buying something that was made for her was a totally different experience from wandering around the High Street Shops or going online.

With some sadness, she wondered what Dawn was doing now? The last time she’d seen her sister, she was not a pretty sight. Dawn was even smoking ‘roll-ups’ which was something she’d hated with a vengeance before… before that eventful day when Maxine went to an interview with the intention of not getting a temporary job but instead began the path to where she was now.

As she got out of bed and stretched she felt lucky to have taken that particular turn when she did. Fate had been kind to her apart from losing Adrian.

Despite their initial arrangement being purely business, they’d become very close indeed. When she’d said ‘I do’ to Adrian there was no doubt in the minds of everyone present that they were in Love. It was far more than a marriage of convenience to them both. They were far more than just two people who worked together and were probably far closer than most couples so getting married while sensible from a business point of view, was more of a sealing of their partnership in law.

But to Maxine, Adrian had not been the be-all and end all of a relationship. There was always something missing.

It was Adrian who had noticed this even before they got married. Maxine remembered his words at the time.

“When I’m gone don’t mourn me forever. Go and find the one person out there who will make you truly happy. I’m sure that she exists somewhere.”

She laughed silently to herself when she recalled his exact words. It had taken her a couple of seconds to realise that he was right and that deep inside her there was a little bit of Thomas left alive and that part of her definitely fancied women. She’d pretty well shut it away ever since she’d decided to go into a relationship with Adrian. That relationship was indeed strictly business but had soon gone way beyond that. The words of an old pop song came to her mind at that moment… “You were meant for me, everybody tells me so.”

They had been meant for each other at that time and at that place. She would never forget Adrian, her teacher, her guru, her first love.

As she did some stretching exercises to bring some life back into her limbs she made the decision to try to move on with her life. Then she laughed as she remembered that she’d done that very same thing only a few minutes before.

---

After a shower Maxine threw on some clothes and wandered downstairs. The house was very quiet.

There was a note on the kitchen table from Cliff.

“Gone out for Sunday Lunch. Gave up waiting for you. See you tomorrow!”

Sunday!

She picked up her phone and realised that it was indeed Sunday afternoon. She glanced outside and it was a grey November day.

Then she saw another note on the fridge door.

“Bacon inside. Fresh rolls in the bread bin. Enjoy.”

Then she read the P.S.

“Beer also.”

Maxine smiled as she mentally thanked Cliff. Bacon and Onion rolls were her favourite food. None of this namby-pamby stuff that Adrian liked. She was a person of simple needs. Cliff was very much like her in that respect.

Suitably refreshed, Maxine settled down in front of the TV. She lasted less than ten minutes. This was what she and Adrian used to do on a Sunday afternoon. There were far too many memories of him still so fresh in her mind so she got up and put on her coat and shoes fully intending to go out for a walk.

As she stepped outside her home she found that it was raining. Not hard but that sort of rain that even the most rugged waterproofs struggled with after a while. Nevertheless, Maxine pulled up her collar and started walking north along Coppice Lane. She’d done this walk many times with Adrian. It was one of their favourite Sunday afternoon walks.

She put her head down and carried on walking. Twenty minutes later she had climbed up onto the North Downs and came to the junction with the ‘Pilgrims Way.’ Here she hesitated. Turn left and go to Winchester or turn right and end up in Canterbury.

With a slight chuckle she turned right and carried on walking. After passing the TV relay tower, she turned right again and went down the hill. It didn’t take her long to get back home.

As she approached the building, she stopped. She was sure that there was someone in Adrian’s bedroom. She checked her phone and the alarm system had not detected any intruders.

She stood for a while almost wishing that it was him waiting for her to come home but he was gone.

She’d only been home a short while when her phone started ringing. It was her Mother.

“Hi Mum.”

“No, I’m fine. I’ve just been out for a walk.”

“Yes Mum. Even in this rain.”

“No, I won’t get a chill. I did wrap up well.”
“Mum, I’m not a child any longer and yes I know that it is your duty to worry about me but I am grown up now.”

“Yes. I slept for well over a day.”

“No, I’m here all alone. Cliff got fed up waiting for me to wake up and went home.”

“Yes, Mum I have eaten.”

She sighed.

“Two... repeat two large bacon and onion butties.”

“And some coffee. Then I went for a walk as you know. Now I’m back and I’m going to make myself something to eat.”

“A Chicken Stir-Fry good enough for you?”

“No Mum. I’m fine. I mean it.”

Another sigh.

“Yes, I will call you if I’m feeling down. I promise.”

“Bye Mum.”

Maxine ended the call with yet another sigh. She loved her Mother dearly but since Adrian had become really ill, she’d been over protective with respect to Maxine. She'd reached the 'enough is enough already moment'. It was time for her to start to live her life again but that was going to be easier said than done.

[to be continued]