Cut-04

I left Melody to sort out our food for the evening and went up on deck to phone my friend and business associate, Jonathan Fields. He ran the gallery where I was due to be having my show at the end of April/early May.
The cold wind of earlier in the day had died down and the sky was clear. It was going to be a cold and decidedly frosty night.

Byline chapter 18

CHAPTER 75
I didn’t see much of Di after that night, largely because she was off doing married woman stuff, wifing with her husband. That didn’t mean it was all quiet at the House.

My first warm moment was when Charlie and Tiff, after sharing experiences with some of the other girls, asked if it would be possible to go to what I thought of as a Tech college. Neither of them was exactly stupid, but they would never be high-fliers like my first two students. They resumed their GCSEs, interrupted by their wonderful domestic experiences and a certain wonky-eyed shit, and the courses they chose were hairdressing for Tiff, which didn’t exactly surprise me, and social studies, or whatever it was called, for Charlie. That one had puzzled me, until Charlie explained.

The minute I uttered the word “Halloween” a sudden hush fell. Now, besides having a love for ghost stories, and gathering out in the woods to roast hot dogs, and make s'mores that decadent summer time treat that a heavenly blend of crunchy and sweet and gooey. Yes, beside having a love for ghost stories and good camp food, we've also had our fair share of real life paranormal encounters. I for example have been visited by the ghost of my late mother. Jamie is supposed to have been hunted by a demon, and Daisy's supposed to have the gift to see spirits.

I was amazed at how I now looked. Only a few weeks before I had been a typical early-twenties lad, a bit shy, a bit small, but now somehow with a bit of makeup, a new hairdo and some decent clothes, I had turned into an attractive stylish young woman.