Part Three. A ‘Normal’ Life?

We have just started our weekly game show binge, another of her favourites. You may think that I sound henpecked but having her diverted means that I can think for myself for a while.

Of course, having just one pair of eyes, that means that I had to set up this remote method of writing. My computer is next to the settee and I have put a long lead on the keyboard so I can write while we sit with her concentrating on the screen. Now, back to the second day of my – I was going to say nightmare, but it is really just different…..

The next morning I woke and, while I lay in the warm bed, was shown a quick precis of the world outside during the night. I was amazed at the nightlife that I was able to see, close up, and especially the goings-on in bedrooms in various houses in the district. I asked how she was able to see these things and she said that prior to merging with me, she was unable to move outside the property lines of the pub. She was not sure what the new freedom meant as it was unusual for earth-bound spirits to be allowed to roam. She did tell me that she had met the two ghosts that lived in the farmhouse but they were lovely people who would never cause harm. That was nice to know.

I got out of bed and went and sat down on the toilet, then put on a dressing gown to get myself some breakfast. We looked at my diary and found that I was free today and she said “Good, now we can clean the house, I am not going to live in a pigsty.” I had always been tidy but never houseproud but now found myself starting from the upstairs rooms and working down. She was amazed at the work the vacuum could do and also at the amount the washing machine could do in a load. By the end of the morning I had the upstairs rooms spic and span, with the curtains drying on the line. I was glad to be able to stop for lunch.

In the afternoon we worked through the downstairs rooms and my rubbish bin was almost full of things I had never before had the strength to throw out. The fridge looked almost as clean as it was when I bought it and the floors shone. The curtains were dry enough to put back upstairs and I was told that the downstairs ones would be all right for another day. That evening I put the television on and we had a quiet evening in. We watched a documentary about pyramids and she was amazed at being able to see them close up. I was just a bit bored as there were so many shows about Egypt from the time of the Pharaohs on the box these days. That night I slept soundly again and was not regaled by visions of the night when I woke up. Maybe she realised that I was just not interested.

I looked at my diary and saw I had an appointment in Dover with a developer I had worked with before. She stayed quiet as I made myself ready, only interrupting when I went to dress in drab colours. When I arrived in the office in Dover I was greeted warmly and told that my new look took years off my image and that they were glad I was man enough to change. I was, I must admit, taken aback but we had a good meeting about a large building project they were planning. It was to be about five hundred houses and, as we looked through the design drawings, I happened to point out some elements that would not go down well, like having the laundry in a cupboard next to the bedroom; I said it should be off the kitchen so the kitchen sink was close. At the end we shook hands and they said they would get in touch soon.

Once outside Marian congratulated me on a good meeting and told me that she had not influenced me in any way during my meeting so my insights were all my own. Maybe I was thinking differently now. We had a walk around the castle and she told me that the range of ghosts that inhabited it was a wide range from the early stone-age through Romans, Normans and a few more modern. To me it was just a nice place to visit. We ate in the town centre and then we went back to the farm to change into old clothes and start tidying the garden. Tonight was my card night with my friends so I stopped my work in time to have a shower and a light tea. I redressed in my new clothes and added a leather jacket I had bought, checked that I had my money and drove to Herne Bay where we played cards at an old school friends house.

The other three usual players were already there when I arrived and were very boisterous when I walked in. There were the ‘who’s the model’ and ‘someone’s in love’ comments before we sat down to play. We always played draw poker and put ten, one pound, coins into the pot. We had two hundred plastic discs which equated to twenty P each that we used when playing. If you lost all of your fifty discs you sat out the rest of the night and we strictly stopped at the ten pm on the hour. Payout was to the nearest pound.

I had told Marian not to go looking until we got down to me and one other still in the game and the evening went as usual. I threw my hands in when I had rubbish, betted a little when I thought I had a chance, and everything went as normal. Then I ended up with four queens and a jack and I knew that there was a good chance I would win the hand. One by one the others dropped out early and then there was Greg and me sitting across the table looking into each others eyes. I thought ‘go now’ and, after the slight disconnect, saw, in my mind, his three nines and a pair of tens. He thought he had the best hand and we bet until he finally called ‘show’. I had won a serious hand and pulled my pile of disks towards me. The rest of the evening was more usual but I had, for once, walked out ahead. Before I left, Greg said that his Trivia Night Team was one down on the following evening and would I be interested in joining them at the ‘Bulls Head’. Normally I avoided such socialising but agreed to see them there.

The next day we finished the curtains and I did some more gardening. In the evening I drove to the ‘Bulls Head’ and went in to meet his trivia buddies. I ordered a beer and we sat and talked until the trivia host called us to order. Now, as I say, I didn’t usually do this sort of thing but found myself feeling a sense of pleasure from Marian, it must have reminded her of her barmaid days. With the first question I got the disconnected feeling and then a vision of a hand holding a card – on which was written the question, and answer. One of the guys had already got it so I kept my silence. As the evening progressed I stayed out of it unless the guys were clueless, at which time I provided the answer. At the end of the night we were undisputed champions and were awarded our prize, a barbeque pack of chops and sausages.

Afterwards there was general merriment and we got chatting with a team of girls on the next table. I found that I was able to talk to them in a way I had never been able to before. I was no longer trying to be a macho male and could follow the inner meanings of their discussion. By the time we left, we had arranged for the unmarried members of our team to meet the unmarried members of their team the following evening, at my farmhouse, to share the barbeque pack, which I took home with me. Marian told me I had done well and approved of the new, friendlier, me.

Next day I worked hard in the garden to clean it up for visitors and made sure my barbeque was clean. I had to go out to buy disposable plates, plastic cutlery, salad, bread and a couple of bottles of sauce and also took a trip to the off-licence for some liquid refreshment. I made sure I cleaned myself up and dressed nicely and was as ready as I could be when they started to arrive just after five. It actually ended up with two of our team and three of theirs so was, amazingly, a perfect pairing. We had a bit of a chat and a laugh and the chops and sausages went down well with the bread and salad.

One of the girls, Juliette, had stayed pretty close to me during the meal and asked me where my toilet was. I told her the directions and she took off with the other two girls in tow. While we were waiting for them to come back Greg and his buddy were wondering how close they were to scoring tonight and thanked me for organising such a good barbeque. They commented on how tidy the garden looked as, the last time Greg had visited, it had been a jungle.

When the girls came back Juliette asked me where my wife was. I told her that I was divorced some years now and she said it was impossible for a single man to be so tidy so I must have a live-in lover or a cleaning firm. I assured her I had neither but I could see she was still a bit unbelieving. Later that evening; after the others had left – the four of them in Gregs’ car; she stayed and, with some slight assistance on my technique from Marian, I think I may have satisfied her. Marian did not get to go traveling until quite late into the night.

Oh! The game shows are finishing, must go.

Marianne G 2020