Disconnected (Connected series Book 1)

by N. P. Francis

  Once we had stopped the breakfast from burning on the stove, Stu spent the next hour telling me all about the treatment and physio that his mum would be doing. They were even hopeful that with a year of physio to rebuild muscle and a prosthesis she could walk again. It turned out that Barney knew everything. Stu had kept this from me as he could not understand why I had given up guiding, which we had both enjoyed together for two years prior to his parents' accident, and then because of my dramatic break up with Clara. Following the day before, Stu had finally felt I was acting and looking like the man he’d grown up with and that he could share this with me. He had not wanted to burden me with this but seeing me back to normal he felt I could handle the news.

  I admit at the time I was shocked that my best friend could not share such news with me. However, I had not been acting my normal self and Stu did not trust I could keep the secret as I had been really close to his parents who had introduced us both to climbing. Stu had wanted to keep it close until they had something tangible to report.

  I have to admit putting my own feelings to one side was tough. I wanted Stu to be able to confide in me. I had to respect his reasons and the news was fantastic and I was now desperate to go and see Gill, Stu’s mum. Stu had to explain to me that Gill was not ready to accept her new reality yet. She was having counselling to help her come to terms with her new situation. This news underlined for me why Stu had been keeping quiet.

  Unexpectedly I found myself offering up a prayer of thanks for Gill’s good news. It must be Sunday morning, I thought. My parents are sending me vibes.

  Stu and I talked for about another thirty minutes over the food he’d cooked and a much-needed coffee. My initial elation at Stu’s news was rapidly being replaced by the fatigue of only five hours’ sleep. Now caffeine was replacing the fatigue again. It’s a strange world we live in. Our pets, farm animals, race horses, etc. are all looked after to the best of our abilities. Food, exercise, medical care. There are punishments if we do not. Yet ourselves…

  Barnacle turned up at about 11am also with a big childish grin on his face.

  “Nothing,” said Stu

  “Nothing?” quizzed Barnacle

  “No!” I said.

  “Oh,” said Barnacle looking a little bit like a puppy who’s had his favourite toy taken away.

  “Is it that surprising?” I asked.

  “Yes,” they both replied in unison.

  “Before Carla, you would chase anything vaguely sporty and attractive, at least you had a type I suppose. Admittedly your success rate was not high, about one per cent I’d reckon,” said Barnacle with another grin like he’d found a new toy. “Maybe before Carla, hey BC, you were a bit OTT on the chasing women folk side. Maybe the AC you, After Carla, has grown up a little?”

  “I like that,” said Stu, like he’d been given a go with the toy. “BC Chris and AC Chris. Let’s see how long the AC version lasts?”

  “Hey, if he gets with Chase it still works!” said Barney.

  They both fell about laughing.

  I was not laughing, but it was hard suppressing my laughter. It felt good to be among my friends.

  Once the laughter subsided Stu said, “I told Chris about Mum”

  “Fan-bloody-tastic!” whooped Barnacle. “It’s about time. It was killing me keeping that between the two of us. I did not like that at all. It’s such good news. You and your mum both deserve a break!”

  “You’re not wrong!” I added.

  “Right, lads. I need your help,” said Barnacle. “The Uni’s given me three surfboards with the new Graphene-glass in place of the fibreglass they want testing. They’re stupid light and crazy buoyant. The techs reckon boards can be around twenty per cent smaller allowing for mad tight turns on the wave face and easier take-off. I managed to get three boards specced twenty per cent smaller than the boards we ride. They’re the only three Graphene-glass boards in the world, the first prototypes. It’s four foot and clean on the Bridgewater flood. Anyone up for it? Oh and Stu, I’ve cleared it with your mum. Chris’s mum is going to spend the rest of the day with her after she gets back from church.”

  To say that Stu and I were dumb with mouths on the floor would have been a ridiculous understatement. For the second time that day I wondered what my animated self would look like at this point.

  All tiredness was instantly forgotten and within an hour we were at the entrance to the Bridgewater floods. This was the area previously known as the Somerset Levels and over the last fifteen years had been constantly deluged. The almost completely level ground had created some of the longest rides outside of the Dutch inundations. This was another small consolation of global warming. Enterprising landowners who now owned beach fronts were making the most of their new resource. Some had even put in tows, similar to those found in the remaining ski resorts, to get surfers outback. I could not imagine paddling the five hundred metres it would take to get outback on these breaks. The rides in, however, were insane. We had to use waterproof CBs with buddy locators embedded into our wetsuits to keep track of each other as getting split up was often a risk.

  The boards were intense. I cannot explain how they worked and the looks of derision and the utter bewilderment and surprise on our fellow surfers' faces were a sight to behold. I didn’t read Barnacle’s report to the Uni but I can only imagine it was incredibly positive. I’d always dreamed of pulling moves and switchbacks like that. Sometimes tech makes sport seem almost like cheating, almost like taking performance enhancing drugs. Other times it just makes sport more accessible to mere mortals and pushes the boundaries of what is humanly possible. This was a bit of both. I felt like I could ride at the pros.

  After the waves we went back to the pub. No shock there. Sitting down with my two best friends feeling the salt in my hair and with a pint in front of each of us, on a sunny August evening, was fantastic. I sat and quietly reminisced over the weekend I’d had. Whether it was all the emotion of the previous few weeks, the salt on my face or a combination, a tear appeared in my eye. I rubbed my eye. At this point you need to understand that I’d been surfing since I was ten. I knew not to rub my eyes until all salt and sun cream was washed from my face. The shock in my eye actually made me wince out loud and prompted both eyes to start streaming. Almost instantly I could not see. Jumping up like I had just received an electric shock I legged it for where I knew the toilets were. I needed to wash my face.

  “Rooky error,” I heard Stu yell after me. “By the way, our pints are now on the floor. Get two more on your way back!” Oh, the sympathy. Mates…

  Stu and Barnacle were sat in our favourite spot in the pub. Tucked around the corner from the public bar with a real fireplace between us and the bar in an old inglenook. This was fantastic in the winter but it was not lit tonight. The window looked out onto the street just passed the church and the village war memorial. You could watch the outside world go by, be involved in pub life but also have private conversations. Over the years many plans had been hatched in that spot. I’d missed many planning sessions and the subsequent adventures when I’d been away on my own travels but Barney and Stu had kept my seat warm. Ten minutes after I’d hightailed it from my seat to wash my face I reappeared with fresh pints for all three of us. I had assumed Barnacle would have finished his first one. As I came around the corner from the bar with the three pints carefully balanced in my hands I realised that we had been joined by the girls. Amy and Chase were there. I almost stumbled spilling a little beer as my heart skipped a beat. I was excited to see Chase but how would she react considering how we parted?

  I steadied myself, put on what I hoped was a confident roguish smile and rounded the corner into their eye line.

  “Thanks, Bud,” said Stu.

  “For me?” said Barney. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “Where’s ours?” said Chase looking from the pints on the table directly at me with a grin on her face. The mischievous grin that was there one second was replaced by a look of genuine
concern the next. “Um, are you okay?” she asked genuinely.

  Stu and Barnacle fell about laughing. Amy and Chase were looking from them to me.

  “What?!” we said in unison. I was as confused as the girls.

  “Your eyes, man,” said Barney. Wiping tears from his. He’d washed his face at the van when we got out of the water.

  “You look like you’ve been crying,” said Amy

  “Oh, that,” I said realisation dawning on me. “That’s a mixture of saltwater, sun cream and forgetfulness that has cost me my dashing looks, a couple of pints, and no small amount of bravado.”

  Stu explained about the eyes and how washing your face after a surf was a must. The girls understood and asked if we could teach them to surf as well. Who were these two angels?

  However, thanks to my rooky error the ice had been swiftly broken and the free flowing and relaxed conversations we’d all enjoyed the previous evening swiftly returned. It was about 7.30pm and we’d all eaten. The girls had been down to the south coast for the day and watched a summer regatta. It sounded good but I always prefer to be involved or teaching rather than watching. Watching other people do something I want to do always frustrates me. Unless it was a film. That was one thing I could stay still for. A good adventure film or horror. None of the slushy stuff. Even James Bond these days had become too much of a love story. Talk about pandering to the masses. Cubby Broccoli would have been horrified. They may well have been made by Disney.

  The conversation did turn to film, better than politics or religion… Amy and Chase did both like the new James Bonds. So the two angels did have a flaw. That was reassuring on one level.

  “My favourite film is the classic 50 Shades of Grey,” said Amy.

  I got up and went to the bar. I thought it polite not to comment, I had my own opinions about that film. They are not positive opinions. Before I knew it Chase had joined me at the bar. It was the first time we had been alone in the hour since they had arrived.

  “You really okay?” she asked still sounding genuinely concerned.

  “Yes,” I replied. “I’ve had a fantastic day, right from midnight to now. New friends and some fantastic toys Barney got from the uni.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed last night. I had a fantastic time too. I especially liked the stars, the badger and the company,” she said smiling and looking directly at me.

  She was not shy in coming forward.

  “What’ll it be, Chris?” said Nick interrupting us.

  “Three Typhoons please, what are you and Amy drinking, Chase?

  “An OJ and tonic and a white wine spritzer please.”

  “Be right there.”

  “Thanks, Nick, add them to my tab, will ya.”

  “You paying this week?”

  “I get paid Thursday. I’ll transfer it then.”

  “You're on water on Friday if there’s no transfer, or worse tea!” said Nick winking at me.

  “It’ll be there,” I said exasperatedly. Nick was not your typical barman who understood when to back away and when to offer an ear or a shoulder.

  When I turned back to Chase she was just grinning at me. Her deep hazel brown eyes shining. “He’s fun,” she said. To this day I think she meant it.

  “Look,” she said. “Let’s get this right from the start. I like you. You like me. We’ve both just come out of long or intense relationships, well mine was last year but it still hurts.”

  I was trying to keep a composed face but so many emotions were running through me from my toes through all parts of my body and up to my mouth that let me down and just said, “Oh.”

  Chase grinned. “Not good when cornered then. Good to know. I’m not interested in a relationship and I know it’s not right for you right now. The point is I’m sure you still need to travel. When you talk about travel and your guiding work you light up. No one should take that light away from you. In fact, anyone you’re with should increase your light. I mean that. It’s a rule I live by. Two halves should be greater than the sum of their parts.”

  I stood there looking dumb. I know that because as Nick put our drinks on the bar he said, “Wow, lass, you've made him look like a right fool. He normally manages that all by himself!”

  I've never been good at evil looks but as I turned to look at Nick he said, “Backing away, backing away now.”

  Chase laughed. “I really like him. What’s his name?”

  “Nick,” I managed. This girl could switch gears and subjects without warning.

  “Do you want a hand with the drinks?”

  “Yes, please,” I answered feeling that the please was maybe too much.

  We sat back at the table and Chase joined in with the new topic of conversation. I just sat there my head spinning. I was single again, I had a job I didn’t like but was making better money than I ever had. I was surrounded by the best friends in the world, a family and support network that in equal measure cared for each other, and this girl who in just over twenty-four hours had completely blown my mind wide open.

  “I need some air,” I said getting up.

  “You alright, man?” said Stu looking up.

  “Yeah, just tired and fancy some fresh air.”

  I got up and walked out to the beer garden which couldn’t be seen from the bar. I sat on a picnic table with my feet up on the seat and lay back to look at the stars. I was replaying the night before; looking at the stars with Chase and talking about South America, Bolivia, the rainforest, Puma Punku and the Nazca lines. I was imagining what the stars would be like high up on the plains and what it would be like to share that with Chase. Wow, this woman had got to me. I’d never placed a woman in my travel fantasies.

  But how could I get there? I’d used up my flight quota earlier in the year collecting my belongings from the Alps and tying off loose ends with the guiding companies I’d worked for. I had no personal flight quota left and no job that could offer a professional quota. Damn that new flight law. I got the concept. Reduce travel, reduce the burning of fossil fuels. Reduce the impact of the greenhouse effect. It had already displaced over 500 million and counting. Bring on the new hydrogen fuel cell engines. According to rumour they were still two years away.

  “Why don’t you go?”

  “What!” I said almost falling off the table. Where the hell had she come from?

  “You’re thinking about leaving. Going back to guiding. I can see it by the way you’re looking at the stars and not really looking at them at all.”

  “Man, you’re good. But to be honest a little scary!” I said, she laughed.

  “I’ve heard that before,” she said. “Stu suggested I come out and check on you. I hope that’s okay?”

  “More than okay,” I replied. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have here right now. But you have to stop reading my mind! All right?”

  “Good luck with that!” she said and kissed me. Just like that, and not on the cheek.

  “That was not what I was thinking!” I said about twenty seconds later. Yes, I let it linger. It felt really good to get a kiss from this girl.

  “That’s not what your body language was saying,” she said grinning.

  “You may have me there,” I said. “But all the same as you said a relationship is not for us right now. Especially if, as you suggest, I go.”

  “Right you are. Shall I go?” she asked half grinning.

  “Not on your life. You stay right there while I try and work you out.”

  “Good luck,” she said again laughing.

  “Look I don’t need complication right now.”

  “Me neither. I just know that I connected with you yesterday in a way I have not done with anyone before. I could tell you things. You got my South America fascination. You’ve lived a life of adventure I’ve only dreamed of. To be honest with you, and I feel I can be, I’ve only ever had a couple of college flings and one long term relationship. That’s what ended last year. He couldn’t handle my intensity.” It was Chase’s
turn to let it all out. “You’re the only man I’ve kissed since my ex. The only one I’ve wanted to and I couldn’t help myself.” She was almost sobbing now. I put my arm around her and pulled her closer. She slightly pulled away and then let me pull her close her head now on my shoulder.

  We sat in silence again, looking at the stars. This was becoming a thing, looking at stars in silence. I did not know what to say. I was ridiculously flattered. This girl was stunning in so many ways and she’d chosen me, for now at least. We’d drifted into emotional territory I was not used to and certainly was not ready for. I shifted, as I was a little uncomfortable, and not just as I was sitting on a hard table top.

  “Look, there is something else I need to get off my chest. It’s why I am who I am,” she said. I was very sober now and I felt a tension in my body. “It’s okay,” she said feeling the tension from me. “As you know I met Barney at the Uni when I saw him carrying the climbing kit and my curiosity got the better of me. What he and I have not said is that it was at our support group.”

  I turned and stared at her slightly shocked. I hoped I was not looking in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. Barney was an Afghan asylum seeker that had made it to the UK in the late tweenies as a child, alone and with no family. He had bounced around foster homes and did not like talking about it at all.

  “I thought you were one hundred per cent British, admittedly with some oriental heritage,” I said hoping not to sound offensive. She laughed, but not humorously. Her head had been back on my shoulder but she moved so she could look me in the eye. Could this weekend become any more intense?

  “No.” She looked down almost tearful. Looking back at me she said, “Like Barney I have no blood family I am aware of. I remember little of my childhood before I was about ten. We lived in what was southern Florida. My mum was Chinese and was, I think, second gen in the old USA. She worked at the local Uni studying ancient civilisations. I like to think that is why I went into the same thing. It is my connection to my family. My dad was an anti-gun lobbyist following on from the Obama Principal movement. They were both killed in an extremist Second Amendment attack. They justified it as protecting US civil liberties. I’ve never understood that.” I knew she meant that. “I came to Britain as my mum had had a cousin here but she died about a year later and I entered into the asylum program and have had a very similar upbringing to Barney. I consider him a brother now.”