CHAPTER SEVEN

Alone Again

William looked out of the window of his house, lost in his thoughts.

'Talk to me, William. This is me, Spikey. Tell me what's wrong.' William never usually spoke about his feelings. But this time he needed to talk to someone—even if it had to be Spike!

'Well, OK. There's a girl ...' he began hesitantly.

'Aha! A girl. I thought so. Speak, friend.'

'She's someone who ... can never be mine. I've been close to her, but I can never be as close again. And I really miss her.'

Spike looked thoughtful. 'Yes. That's a problem. I missed a girl at Swansea station once. I got the time wrong. I left five minutes before the train arrived!' He laughed.

'Thanks,' William sighed. 'Very helpful.'

That night, William ate with his friends at Tony's restaurant. They were the only people there, as usual. They often ate there, because Tony was an old friend. This was his first restaurant. He was trying hard to make it a success.

On the front page of Bernie's newspaper was a picture of Anna and Jeff at Heathrow Airport.

'You didn't know she had a boyfriend?' Max found this hard to believe.

'No. Did you?' William asked, surprised. The looks on their faces showed that everyone knew. 'You all knew? My life is destroyed because I don't read Hello magazine?'

'Anna's a big star. She's world-famous, and you're just an ordinary person. It's unimaginable. But don't worry! I have the answer to your problems ...' Everyone looked at Max with interest. 'Her name is Tessa and she works in our office. She's a bit strange, but she's very clever and her kisses are unbelievable.' Bella put her head on one side and looked at him. 'Well, that's what people tell me,' he finished quickly.

So a few days later, the friends sat together again at the dinner table in Max and Bella's kitchen. William was worried.

The doorbell rang. As Max answered the door, the others could hear the visitor's loud, excited voice.

'I got lost. I didn't know where I was! Everything around here has the word "Kensington" in it—Kensington Park Road, Kensington Gardens, Kensington Park Gardens ...'

Max introduced the visitor as they came into the kitchen. 'Tessa, this is Bella, my wife.'

'Oh, you're in a wheelchair,' said Tessa brightly.

'That's right.'

'And this is William,' Max continued.

'Hello, William. Max has told me everything about you,' she laughed.

'Has he?' replied William nervously.

'Some wine, Tessa?' Max offered.

'Oh, yes please. Let's get drunk, Willie!'

William looked even more worried.

A few weeks after Tessa's visit, Max and Bella had another dinner party. This time they invited a woman called Keziah to meet William. She was pale and thin, and she sat nervously at the table. 'Meat, Keziah?' Max asked, reaching for her plate.

'No, thank you. I only eat fruit.'

Max and Bella looked at her, and then at William.

'Only fruit?' William asked.

'I believe that fruit and vegetables have feelings. So cooking hurts them. I only eat things that have fallen from the tree. Then they're already dead,' Keziah explained.

'Right. Right. Very interesting. So these potatoes ...'

'... were murdered. Yes.'

'Murdered? Poor potatoes. Terrible,' agreed William. 'Oh, when will this evening end?' he thought to himself.

So Tessa and Keziah came and went. Neither was a success, but Max didn't give up. A month later, Rosie sat at the table with William,

Bella, and Max. Rosie seemed very nice. She was pretty and well-dressed, and there was nothing unusual about her. She seemed intelligent and friendly. To his surprise, William even liked her.

'Great coffee!' she said.

'Thank you. I'm sorry about the meat,' Max said.

'Don't be sorry. I thought it was really ... interesting.'

'"Interesting" means terrible,' suggested William.

'Yes, you're right. Really terrible,' she replied.

They all laughed.

'Maybe we'll meet again sometime,' she said to William, as she was leaving.

'Yes. That sounds ... great.'

'Well?' asked Bella, when they were alone.

'She's perfect—perfect,' William replied.

'But ...?' Bella looked at him carefully.

William spoke quietly. 'I think you've forgotten. It's difficult to find someone you love. Someone who will also love you. The chances are very small. Look at me. Except for the American, I've only loved two girls in my life. And both times it ended badly.'

'That's not fair,' Max said.

'No, really. One of them left our marriage more quickly than you can say "Indiana Jones". The other,' he said, looking at Bella, 'married my best friend.'

'But she still loves you.' Bella smiled at him.

'Yes, as a sister loves a brother ...'

'Well, I never wanted you in any other way!' They all laughed. 'I mean, I loved you—you were terribly funny. But when you kissed my ears ...'

William spoke quickly. 'And thirty years from now, I'm still going to be alone.'

'Do you want to stay the night?' Bella asked.

'Why not? At home there's just a crazy Welshman waiting for me!'

As the evening came to an end, Max carried Bella upstairs to bed. William sat in a chair, eyes wide open, feeling very lonely.