The Guest Who Stayed

by Roger Penfound

  “Oh, come on, Dan,” said Jed, raising his voice and hurling the next tile back into the basket from which he’d just taken it.

  “What do you expect, eh? I’m trying to make this business a success and make us some money. Somebody’s got to worry about what we’re earning ‘cos you surely ain’t. To start with you could collect all the money that’s owing to us. If we got that we could both take a holiday.”

  “You don’t get it do you?” replied Dan, in a quiet and controlled voice. “We’re in business here because people trust us and because we help them when they most need it. If someone’s down and you tell ‘em you’re only going to help if they pay you, I promise you, Jed, you’ll have no business within weeks. Come harvest we’ll get paid. We always does.”

  “That’s the old fashion way. You can’t run a business like that now, not if you want me to be in it with you.”

  “Oh, so that’s it, is it?” said Dan, raising his voice suddenly and moving toward Jed. “If I want to go on working with you it’s got to be your way has it? I got to take my orders from you now, have I? Well, let me tell you this ...”

  As Dan moved closer to Jed he caught the edge of the platform with his foot, dislodging one of the supports. The platform tipped and ejected its content of tiles and cement onto the concrete floor twenty feet below.

  “Oh Christ, Dan, look what you’ve bloody done now. Can’t you watch where you’re putting your sodding feet?”

  There was silence. Neither knew what to say. Jed turned away and pretended to busy himself. Dan moved slowly to the ladder and climbed down to the ground. Jed searched for words but could find none. He couldn’t decide whether he owed Dan an apology or whether he was simply asserting his position as owner in waiting. Perhaps Dan would be impressed that he was being assertive and taking his role seriously. After all, if he was going to take over the reins of the business, he had to demonstrate leadership and maturity. He had to speak his mind.

  Jed moved his position so that he could see Dan who was now sitting below on the floor of the barn. His shoulders were hunched and his head was buried in his arms.

  “Come on then, Dan, let’s get some more tiles up here shall we?”

  A band was playing on the pier as Flora, Alice and Jack walked back to the promenade. They stopped by the bandstand as the uniformed musicians struck up a strident rendition of ‘I do like to be beside the seaside’. The optimism of the music was infectious. The bleakness of the post war years seemed finally to be lifting and each in their different way felt that perhaps something better lay just beyond the horizon.

  For Jack, memories of those dark times still surfaced regularly and could drag him back into a state of acute melancholy but this new friendship with Alice and Flora seemed to offer some hope of redemption after the horrifying death of Yvette and possibly Simone for which he still held himself responsible. His heart ached to think of their loss but for now he must focus on the future and enjoy this opportunity which fate had delivered suddenly into his hands.

  “Isn’t it kind of weird,” ventured Flora, “that all these people have come here just to have fun? I didn’t know such places existed.”

  “It’s the new world,” said Jack, gesturing expansively. “The war’s over and now it’s time to move on – time to do new things and put the past behind us. We can’t go through that hell again. There’ll be no more world wars like that one. The politicians have learnt that you can’t just send people to be slaughtered like cattle. People won’t let them do it again – you’ll see.”

  They left the pier and walked along the beach. It was crowded with people sitting in hired deck chairs basking in the warm sun. The water’s edge was busy with day trippers dipping their toes into the still icy water. Some had changed into bathing costumes and were venturing further into the water shrieking as waves lapped over their white bodies. Alice and Flora had never seen such blatant pleasure seeking before. They had been brought up in the tradition of daily struggle and unrelenting grind. The idea that there were places where the sole purpose was to provide people with pleasure seemed completely alien.

  “Ladies, look,” said Jack excitedly. “You see over there by the breakwater, there are boats for hire. Let’s go for a row. I used to be a bit of a champion oarsman before the war. Maybe I could impress you both with my skill.”

  Within minutes they were taking their shoes off and being helped by the attendant into one of the boats. Flora sat in the bow looking out to sea whilst Alice sat in the back, directly in Jack’s gaze as he positioned himself in the centre of the boat and took command of the oars. With powerful strokes he pulled them away from the beach and away from all the attendant noise and confusion.

  Here, there was just the sound of the oars dipping rhythmically into the sea. No one spoke as the vastness of the seascape seemed to make trivial conversation redundant. Alice watched Jack as his powerful shoulders drove the blades into the water. She realised how easy the conversation with him had been. Unlike most men she knew, Jack was easy to talk to and seemed to take seriously what she had to say. His laughter and his enthusiasm were infectious. She was beginning to realise that her experience of the world was very narrow and confined to a small rural community. Here, floating at the edge of a sea that joined with oceans that flowed to the other side of the world, an uneasy sense began to dawn on Alice that she had perhaps raised the drawbridge to her chosen fortress rather early in her short life.

  “Alright, Dan, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said and I’ll be more careful. Now, will you get some more tiles up here, please,” said Jed, rather as if he was addressing a petulant five year old.

  The idea that Dan had been impressed by Jed’s unguarded outburst was now clearly wrong. Jed realised from Dan’s demeanour that he was deeply hurt. There was no banter and no retaliatory abuse which Dan would usually deliver with sarcasm and wit. This time, there was just silence and a sense of awkwardness.

  “Come on, Dan, I’m waiting.”

  They had reached the seaward end of the pier and Jack had paused the rowing so that they could look back to the shore and take in the picture postcard scene. The sea was more choppy now and the boat rocked as the waves persistently knocked against the wooden hull.

  “I think we should turn back now,” said Alice, sensing a shift in the wind direction from on shore to off shore.

  “I think you’re right,” responded Jack, taking hold of the oars and turning the boat back to the shore. A gust of wind chased across the surface, whipping the sea into small white crests. The boat began to pitch forward as the off shore wind sculpted the waves into razor edges that spat angry drops of salty water into their faces.

  “Is it alright, Jack?” asked Flora anxiously as she made her way back from the front of the boat. Memories of a similar incident two years earlier flooded into Alice and Flora’s minds. But Jack was unflustered. He pulled strongly on the oars and the boat surged forward. Alice screamed as a large wave crashed against the side of the boat and sent a spume of water surging over her dress.

  “Hold on! Stay calm!” commanded Jack. We’re almost there. We’ll be in the shadow of the groin in just a few minutes. We’re almost there.”

  Ten miles inland the gust of wind that had whipped up the sea in Cromer was now swirling and tugging at Jed and Dan as they tried to finish their work. Dan had finally agreed to resume the task of keeping Jed supplied with roof tiles. He filled another hod and made his way to the bottom of the ladder. Usually, he would alert Jed that he was about to begin the climb to the top but this time he chose to remain silent. The roof was high and the ladder was positioned so that it was almost vertical.

  Jed took the last tile from his supply and hoped that Dan was on his way up. The rising wind meant that he had to work with his arm wrapped around a rafter to stop himself falling and this slowed him down.

  Dan held onto the side of the ladder with one hand and clutched the hod full of tiles to his shoulder with the other hand. To avoid falling o
ff the ladder he had to press his body against the rungs as he changed grip and moved his hand to the next rung.

  Jed eased the tile into place and secured it with a nail. There were no more tiles left on the pallet now and he turned round to see why Dan hadn’t replenished his store. At this rate they wouldn’t be finished by dusk and that would mean another day spent here when they could be earning more money on their next job.

  Slowly, Dan reached the top of the ladder and prepared to place the hod on the platform. But as he lifted the tiles, the wind suddenly gusted round the ladder tugging at his work clothes and causing him to lose balance. Struggling to stay in control, he managed to hold onto the hod but was forced to lean back. Immediately, the top of the ladder fell away from its resting point on the platform leaving it balanced precariously without any support.

  Panic gripped Dan as he tried to call out to Jed but only a frightened gasp emerged.

  Jed shifted his position so that he could see what progress Dan was making. What he saw sent pangs of anxiety racing through his body. Only inches away, Dan was clutching the top of ladder which swayed in small circles, unconnected to any part of the structure.

  “Dan, Dan, drop the tiles and reach out to me!” ordered Jed.

  Jed lay down on the platform and reached out to Dan. His eyes were only inches away from Dan’s eyes and he could see the terror reflected in them. He tried to grab the ladder but his fingers only brushed the side as it swung out of reach.

  “Dan, push your body against the ladder. Move your weight.”

  But Dan seemed consumed with fear and his body was locked into paralysis. The ladder seemed to stay still for a moment. Jed prayed it would tip towards him but with gut wrenching finality it slowly tipped away. The top of the ladder gained in speed as it swung towards the floor. Dan held on till near the end but finally his body parted with the ladder and hit the concrete floor with a dull thud, followed by the ladder which fell across his inert body.

  Jed let out a cry and gripped the side of the platform.

  “Dan, Dan! Are you alright? Say something, Dan.” But there was a profound silence.

  Jed felt a surge of panic. He clasped his hands together and screamed out a prayer to a God of whom he had little knowledge. With the ladder gone, there was no easy way down. He hunted for a way to escape. Spotting some rope, he managed to climb down one of the wooden roof supports and get to Dan’s side.

  “Dan, Dan, speak to me. Tell me you’re alright.”

  He pulled the ladder off and put his ear to Dan’s mouth to see if he could detect breathing. Then he saw the pool of sticky red blood emerging from under Dan’s head and he knew the truth.

  Sitting on the veranda of the magnificently gothic Hotel de Paris, Alice and Flora felt that they had arrived in Utopia. Waitresses dressed in starched white pinafores moved swiftly from table to table carrying trays bearing silver teapots and plates of scones. In front of them the pier reached out into the now placid blue sea and strains of music drifted up to the veranda from the band below. A waiter appeared and with a dramatic flourish presented a bottle of champagne which he uncorked with an explosive ‘pop’.

  “Jack, what’s this?” exclaimed Flora. “You said we was coming up here for a cup of tea – not champagne. I’ve never drunk champagne before.”

  “It’s my treat to you both,” replied Jack as he sampled the champagne and gestured to the waiter to fill the girls’ glasses. “This is one of the best days I’ve had in years. I haven’t enjoyed myself so much in ages.”

  “It don’t seem right somehow,” persisted Flora, “not for the likes of us.”

  “There’s no reason it shouldn’t seem right, Flora. You’ve got the same right to drink champagne and enjoy yourself as anyone else. After all none of us knows how long we’ve got so there’s no point in waiting is there?”

  Jack took a long swig at his champagne to drown the sudden realisation that in his case he knew only too well how long he had to live. He felt suddenly angry and was seized by a determination that in whatever time was left he would take the opportunity to enjoy his life at whatever cost. Life owed him that at least.

  They motored back to Frampton in silence, each absorbed in their own private thoughts. Flora felt exhilarated. She’d never before experienced the trappings of wealth, eating for pleasure rather than hunger, spending time idly rather than labouring over some task or simply laughing spontaneously. Her religious upbringing had taught her to despise wealth unless it was directed towards the church. Pleasure was sinful. The sole purpose of life was to serve the Lord and suffer. But today she had experienced joy and generosity. She studied Jack, taking in his easy manner and dishevelled good looks. She felt comfortable with him and felt no need to fear her naivety as she did with most other people. He didn’t mock her or despise her. Instead, he took time to explain and in turn he listened with interest to what she had to say. She felt inwardly content as the big sedan made its way through the country lanes of rural Norfolk.

  Alice felt strangely detached as she sat engulfed by the large leather seat, listening to the low chortle of the car’s engine. She tried to observe Jack without looking at him directly. He wore a more intense look on his face now than she had seen previously. How little she knew about him. But in just a short while he had introduced her to experiences and ideas that she’d not contemplated before. His wealth didn’t offend her. He was, after all, a self made man. He had built his business by hard graft and was now, quite reasonably, enjoying the rewards of that endeavour. Not only that but he was generous, sharing his good fortune with Flora and herself.

  She thought that on occasions he had been flirting with her and worried that she hadn’t known how to respond; a shared laugh, a casual touch of her arm or a whisper that she felt was intended for her ears only. It was like playing a game without knowing the rules. She was exhilarated by his zest for life and his spontaneity. They had eaten candy floss, rowed a boat out to sea and drank champagne, all in one afternoon. She tried to put out of her mind what she was thinking – Jed would never do that. He would have been measured and cautious. She allowed herself to look at Jack briefly, before turning away to ponder the image she had fixed in her mind.

  Jack felt at ease for the first time in years. He enjoyed the company of women and the day had been a great success. The shadow of the war years hung heavily over him and he realised that for a few brief hours he’d managed not to think of the past. It was almost as if he was being given a second chance. He had lost Yvette and Simone in terrible circumstances. He couldn’t bring them back. Perhaps this was another opportunity but he had such a short time left.

  He glanced briefly at Alice. She was staring ahead but he had the impression she had stolen a glance at him too. He felt the same feelings well up inside him that he had once felt for Yvette. But it was so different then. During the war, people took what they wanted without spending time to think. They might be dead the next day.

  When he and Yvette had made love, there was no concern for the future, no talk of raising a family or making a life together. They simply took what they needed then without any sense of responsibility for their actions. But now any feelings he had for Alice were out of the question. She was married and committed to another man, a simple man, well meaning but dull. He wondered what they were like in bed. He couldn’t imagine Jed being overcome with passion. He tried to imagine how he would be in bed with her.

  Flora, on the other hand, was single and attractive, though naive. She reminded him of Simone, obedient and unquestioning. He wondered, though, whether he had misjudged Simone. Was he in danger of misjudging Flora too?

  When the car turned into Duck Lane the light was fading fast. As they reached Hope Cottage, Alice expected to see a light in the window indicating that Jed was home. But the house was in darkness. They made their way into the parlour and Alice was just about to turn on the light when she saw a figure slumped over the table.

  “Jed, whatever’s wrong? Are you alrigh
t?”

  “It’s Dan – he’s dead!” sobbed Jed with his head buried in his folded arms. “He’s bloody well dead and it’s my fault.”

  The Guest Who Stayed: Chapter 11 – August 1921

  Alice rushed to comfort Jed, throwing her arms around him, not believing at first what he had just told her.

  “What do you mean he’s dead? What’s happened Jed? Tell me what’s happened to Dan!”

  Jed recounted the story in between sobbing and gulping for breath. He explained about their row, how he had accused Dan of not pulling his weight. He admitted to losing his temper and swearing then regretting it terribly when he saw how deeply he had hurt Dan. He told them about the wind that had caught the ladder and blown it away from the platform and how he had stretched out to grab it and how it had brushed past his fingers and fallen to the ground, crushing Dan onto the concrete floor below.

  Flora and Alice were crying too as the story unfolded, Alice with her arms wound around Jed and Flora held tight in Jack’s arms as he tried to comfort her. Jack suggested that he take Flora home in the car, sensing that Alice and Jed needed time alone.

  As the Austin retreated slowly down Duck Lane, Alice and Jed sat in silence, contemplating the enormity of what had happened.

  “Jed, my love, terrible as this is, you’ve got to see it as an opportunity,” suggested Alice as her mind began to function again. “With Dan gone, you’ll take over the business and be the boss. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? It’ll be your business now and you can run it as you want.”

  “How can you be saying that with Dan just dead? We haven’t had time to mourn him yet.”

  “It’s a terrible thing, Jed, and I’d never have wished it on poor Dan. But it’s happened and it’d be foolish not to see that it gives you an opportunity.”

  “It ain’t that simple,” replied Jed, lifting his head from its slumped position on the table. “Without the two of us I doubt I can make the money to pay the rent on Dan’s premises. I know that he owed the landlord money and there’s people who owed him money who won’t pay now he’s dead.”