The Stone

by Graham Adams

  Back in the flat, she took another tour of the rooms. There were three bedrooms all furnished, all slightly differently, but matching to a tasteful style. In the lounge that was quite large, the TV was an up to date model with digital reception. Considering that no one had ever lived here, someone had made sure that everything was up to date, Brian of course. A quick run through the channels came up with nothing to watch. These days, most of the channels were commercial, and if they screened anything remotely interesting, she had to endure long periods of stupid commercials, and so her interest was quickly lost. On the wall to the left there was tasteful wall shelving with a mini sound unit. As she turned to the tuner, the Jupiter symphony by Mozart was playing on Radio 3. She lay on the sofa and dozed.

  Out on the balcony again, she looked at the twinkling lights of the Bournemouth sea front. The moon was full and it was reflected onto the sea finishing it silvery glow near to the beach. In a big curve, the lights of the promenade were stretching from way beyond Bournemouth, all the way to Hengistbury Head.

  Further beyond, the lighthouse was flashing blue from the Needles on the Isle of Wight. As she looked out to the black sea, there were a few lights on the horizon, ships anchored for the night. The crew were probably watching the rubbish TV programmes she had seen a minute ago. Occasionally the lights from the promenade picked up the white of the surf crashing softly on the sand.

  ‘Whoever designed this place knew what they were doing’ she thought.

  Her watch told her that it was nine thirty, beyond the time to ring Gary. ‘Maybe he rang the home phone and thought I was out, I’d better give him a call.’ She said to herself.

  Gary’s mobile rang a few times and she let it ring some more.

  ‘Hello. Who is this?’ a female voice answered.

  ‘Who is that?’ Ellie answered indignantly.

  ‘Ellie, is that you, Hello?’ Gary quickly came to the phone.

  She terminated the call. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. She was stunned. The mobile rang. ‘Gary’ flashed up, and she diverted it to her voicemail, and then switched it off.

  ‘Why should a woman answer Gary’s phone?’ Her mind started to play tricks. ‘What is he up to? How long has this been going on? Is this the reason he can’t get back for the weekend?’ She pulled out the stone and held it. She felt its power, and the mental strength came back to her. She decided to listen to Gary’s message.

  ‘Ellie, darling, sorry about not answering, it was a little mix up. We are having a late dinner at the hotel, I put my phone down on the table and someone picked it up whilst I was talking. Really sorry love, please call back.’

  Ellie was still holding the stone as she rang him back. ’Hi Ellie, did you get my message?’ She now felt calm and composed.

  ‘I’m fine now Gary, just for a moment I thought you were somewhere else.’ Ellie tried to sound in control.

  ‘Look Ellie, we’re all having a meal, and.....’

  ‘Just put her on, the woman who answered.’ Ellie heard muffled voices.

  ‘Er, hello?’ the voice sounded different.

  ‘Are you the person who picked up Gary’s mobile?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘Er, yes I was’

  ‘And why did you do that.’ Ellie demanded.

  ‘The phone was ringing, and it was getting on my nerves, I just answered it to shut it up. Sorry, I’m sure.’ The voice seemed partly sarcastic, partly condescending.

  ‘Please put him back on, thank you.’ Ellie was sharp with her.

  ‘Hello Darling’

  ‘I won’t disturb you any further; you just go ahead and have a good time.’ Ellie was holding back the tears.

  ‘Look Ellie there’s nothing going on here. As I said, we are just having dinner. Tell you what; I’ll ring you when I get back to the room, OK?’

  ‘As long as you don’t forget to put the mobile on your side of the bed, this time, eh Gary?’ She ended the call and switched the phone off for the night.

  She suddenly felt cold, perhaps it was the call, but when she looked at the half open patio doors, she went outside again despite the cold, and took a deep breath of sea air which cleared her head, and then she felt much better.

  The bedroom was like a cocoon, silent warm and cosy. No wonder she had a good sleep, with nothing at all to disturb her. The next morning the sun was streaming through the open bedroom doorway. ‘What a lovely way to start the day,’ she said to herself. Reluctantly she switched the phone on, and as she did, his name came up on the screen.

  ‘Look Ellie I know what you must be thinking right now, but please believe me there is nothing going on. It’s just work. I’d rather be with you.’

  ‘OK Gary I guess I have over reacted. But answer me this, you were planning to take another weekend away, right?’

  ‘Yes, I was.’ Gary said.

  ‘Are you really telling me that they all work seven days a week over there? I doubt that very much! Anyway, just to let you know, I won’t be home this weekend. I’m going to Glasgow to see Macduff. He doesn’t work weekends but I’m going there as a tourist and my appointment is on Tuesday morning, so if you’re lucky I should be home next Wednesday, I say again, if you’re lucky.’ Ellie was in no mood to be submissive.

  ‘I’ll be home on Wednesday then, and we can get this misunderstanding out of the way. I promise you that all I am doing here is work, nothing else. Are you flying to Glasgow?’

  ‘Yes I am, from Eastleigh airport. My flight arrives back at ten in the morning on the Wednesday.’

  ‘How about that I meet you there, and we can drive back home together?’ Gary asked.

  ‘I feel better now, now I’ve got things off my chest. Please don’t worry, I can look after myself and I will see you then, Bye.’

  ‘I love you Ellie, talk soon eh?’

  She put on a thick dressing gown and slippers that she found in the wardrobe filled a bowl of muesli that she had brought from home poured over the cold milk and stood on the balcony and stared at the sea. Someone was walking on the beach towards her apartment. A figure was throwing a ball and two little white dots were chasing after it. They were barking with excitement. As they got nearer Ellie waved at them, and the woman looked up and waved back.

  Then she looked to the left towards Hengistbury, and between the two large rock groynes she could just make out a solitary figure looking out to sea, not moving. She didn’t have any binoculars but she stood and stared.

  ‘Is this the man who gave me the stone?’ she asked herself.

  The little dogs were heading that way, so she put down her unfinished breakfast, threw on her thick polo necked jumper, pulled her jeans and boots on and wrapped her duffel around her. In a few minutes she was starting the car and driving east towards the Head. About a quarter of a mile along the coastal road there was a signpost indicating a car park to the right. She turned in and the large car park, usually full in the summer, was deserted.

  She bought a ticket for a couple of hours stay, locked up the Polo, and ran to the cliff path. She stopped at the top of the sandy path. The wind was coming off the sea blowing the sand in her face. She ignored that and scanned the bay to the left, and it was empty, nothing! Ellie ran down the beach path to make sure, looked again to the east, but there was nothing there. To the right the figure with the two little dogs was quite close, and she could hear someone shouting. The little white balls of fluff were chasing towards her, the woman was obviously trying in vain to make them come back.

  The dogs were chasing each other, running circles round and round like a game.

  ‘I’m so sorry dear they are so excitable, but very friendly.’ She looked friendly too. Ellie was very pleased that she had finally met someone who walked on the beach.

  ‘Hi, I’m Ellie’

  ‘Hello, my name is Ursula, pleased to meet you. I hope the boys are not too boisterous for you, they love people, but they get so excited!’ She had a slight foreign accent.

  ‘No problem
Ursula, I love dogs, but I’ve never seen this breed before.’

  ‘They are Bichon Frise, related to the poodle, and they are related to each other, having come from the same litter.’ Ursula explained.

  ‘How do you tell them apart?’ Ellie asked smiling at them.

  ‘Well, you see, this one has a red collar, and is the naughtiest, he’s called Freddie. This one with the blue collar is called Indy. I take them for a walk every day for my neighbours who both work.’ Ursula said

  ‘It’s a very good reason to be out in such a beautiful place. Are you from South Africa originally?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘No I’m not, I’m Swiss, but you’re not the first person to think that. Yes I love this part of the beach, it is so unspoilt with no buildings and no ice cream vans either.’ She looked at Ellie and smiled. ‘I have a daughter about your age, but she lives in Turkey. Where do you live my dear?’

  ‘Just there’ Ellie pointed to the big building overlooking the cliff.

  ‘Did I just wave to you? You were in white, I didn’t recognise you dear.’ Ursula laughed, looking at the boys, who were getting a bit restless. Indie was sitting looking up at her with his cute little button eyes and his head on one side. Freddie however was running after a little spaniel puppy that had arrived. She shouted at Freddie, who stopped for a second, looked back, and then carried on running with the other dog. ‘One word from me and he does what he likes. He is so naughty!’

  Ellie fell in love with them they were so cute. She could see that Ursula was ready to go back, so she tried a question.

  ‘Ursula, can I ask you a question, please?’

  ‘Yes of course my dear.’ Ursula smiled at her.

  ‘Did you see a man earlier, standing over there?’ She was pointing just past one of the groynes made out of huge chunks of sandstone. ‘He was staring into the sea not moving. Do you know him at all?’

  Ursula looked a bit serious for a moment. ‘Does he wear a long coat and a wide brimmed hat, and does he have a silver blue Border collie called Zowie?’

  ‘Well, you describe the man, but he didn’t have his dog with him last time we met, but it was in the same place. He gave me something last time and I want to thank him. Do you know him?’

  ‘Well, all I know is that he is called Edmund, and he is in his sixties, and he lives in the New Forest, but that is all I know.’

  ‘He never mentioned what town, did he?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘No, but there is someone who might know, John. He walks with Mollie on this beach every day.’

  ‘Is he very tall, and the dog swims in the sea?’ Ellie was crossing her fingers behind her back.

  ‘Yes my dear Mollie loves the sea. John can’t get her out sometimes.’

  ‘Thank you, thank you very much Ursula, I can’t tell you!’ Ellie shook her hand heartily. She wanted to hug her, but thought better of it. Ursula said her goodbye and started back, shouting for the boys to follow. Freddie had had his fun with the puppy, and then noticing that his brother was some distance off, ran very hard to catch them up.

  About halfway between Ellie and Ursula, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around and ran back to Ellie. He then sat in front of her for a pat and a scratch under his ear, then jumped around and chased after his brother. Ellie was in love!

  She walked back to the car triumphantly on her own she had found him, the secret donor of the stone. And it felt really great. On the way back to the apartment, which took only a few minutes, she had decided what to do. It was still only nine, so she decided it was time to go back to Oxford, all her clothes and things were there. She ran around the flat picking up the odds and ends that she had brought, making sure that the big glass doors were shut tight. The mobile rang as she was opening the entrance door.

  As it rang she looked at the display, oh no! She remembered that she hadn’t phoned work.

  ‘Ellie, are you all right we are all worried about you here.’

  ‘Simon, I am so sorry! There’s been so much happening, you wouldn’t believe it.’ She flopped back on the settee and gave him a shortened version of the recent events, missing out some of the more delicate points of course; however he was still very impressed.

  ‘Look Ellie you obviously need some more time to get this all sorted. Don’t worry, we’re all fine here; take the rest of next week off. You know that you are owed some time off. If you need someone to talk to, ring me any time I want to help you know that.’

  ‘You’re a life saver Simon, thank you.’ Ellie knew that Simon had strong feelings for her, although he was too much of a gentleman to admit it, but she knew all the same.

  Now she felt free to choose how to handle the visit to Scotland. She could even decide which days she could take up there. The stone felt really warm in her hand again.

  16: Turn Shoes into Wine

  Pelican Inn Deal

  Edmund was pleased that the shoe factory had kept his job open, even though he had given them no notice that he was going to be away on the Pirate Radio Station. Obviously, Winnie, his landlady, had pulled a few strings with her niece Sheila, who just happened to be the personnel manager.

  There was quite a ripple in the factory when Edmund walked in. A few smiling faces no less, most unusual. He passed the area where Paul used to work. ‘On your own then, where’s Paul, is he still on there?’ One of the girls asked.

  ‘No he’s not still on Invicta, it looks like he’s got a job as an actor in London.’ Edmund answered. One thing he did notice as he walked into the factory area, Radio Invicta was on the overhead radio. Dave Cash was introducing the Righteous Brothers’ hit ‘You’ve lost that loving feeling’. That gave him a bit of a buzz.

  ‘We thought he might do something like that, he made us laugh with all his antics.’ The girls all giggled. ‘We liked his singing as well.’ Edmund walked on towards the offices smiling to himself, Paul would have milked that moment for all it was worth.

  Pub life, for a while had also improved a bit. Some of the locals recognised him as the Invicta D.J., and he got a few drinks out of it. On Sundays, Spike the bull terrier in the Pelican had never heard of Invicta, but he liked Edmund just the same. In Divito’s the same old crowd were at the same old tables. Pauline was as aloof as ever, so he spent much of the time along the shingle beach thinking of how things might have been.

  He did however have some success at the factory. Six months had passed and the man in charge of him suddenly left, so Edmund was offered the job as production controller. That meant a bit more money and a lot more work. Ian Burrows, the chief accountant at the factory wasn’t a qualified man, but he made up for that with good factory knowledge.

  Edmund in his new role, managed to get alongside Ian, and soon, when he had time, looked at the company’s accounts. Edmund asked Ian if he had made any suggestions to improve them, to which he replied that the boss wasn’t really interested in anyone else’s ideas.

  This was Edmund’s first real challenge. ‘Nothing to lose,’ he thought to himself. He knew that there was no benefit in direct contact with the boss, so he set about it another way. He put all the production records together, and soon he was able to identify which shoe style made money, and which ones made losses. He wrote out a report and it didn’t make very nice reading. The losses were many and the profitable ones were few. Having triple checked his figures he showed them to Ian.

  ‘He won’t take notice of it Edmund, you’ll see.’ Ian smiled ruefully.

  Edmund thought he would try it anyway; he put a copy of the report, unsigned in an envelope, and marked it ‘Strictly private’ and stuck it in the bosses post pile when the young girl wasn’t watching.

  Nothing happened for a week, ‘Ian was right’ he thought, ‘what a stupid man he must be, and he deserves his company to fail with that attitude.’ He was of course wrong. The following Monday he arrived at the factory, production manager now, so no one greeted him. He didn’t care that much. As he sat at his desk the phone rang.

  ‘E
dmund, can you come into Mr Whippsey’s office please?’ The boss’s secretary asked.

  He felt the stone in his pocket and pulled it out for a moment, it felt warm in his hand. He kept it there as he walked into Mr. Whippsey’s office. He had never been in there before. Sitting opposite was a little bald headed man, red faced wearing little round glasses perched on his nose. He reminded Edmund of the Dickens character Mr Bumble. In front of him was Edmund’s report. In a flash, he noticed that it had been screwed up, and then Mr Bumble had tried to flatten it out again. He tried not to laugh and he gripped the stone stronger in his hand.