Island girl

The beginnings of friendship

After showering and shaving, Paul felt a lot more refreshed, deciding the tangy clean smell of the shower gel, was much better than the stale small of alcohol, which he had reeked off earlier.

Then after much rummaging through the pile of clothes in his bedroom, he managed to find a clean pair of jeans, and a casual blue shirt.

After getting dressed, he left the bedroom and went to find Alison.

He discovered her in the kitchen just as she had finished making the coffee.

"Looks like I timed it nicely," he remarked making her look round at him as he now approached her

"Um yes, I guess so," she replied as she stared at him, seeming unable to take her eyes of him.

"So, which one is mine?" he enquired referring to the cups of coffee she held in each hand

"Huh?" Alison blinked, as if she didn't understand what he was saying

"The coffee," He replied with slow deliberation, as if he was talking to a child, "Which one is mine?"

"Oh yes, sorry," Alison seem to gather her wits about her again as she tore her eyes away from Paul to look at the cups in her hand, "this one," she then told him handing him the one in her left hand.

"Thank you," he took it from her, but noticed she was still staring at him a little oddly

"Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something wrong?" he then demanded with a small concerned frown.

"Oh no," Alison quickly shook her head smiling, "It's just, well you have got rid of your beard and everything, and you look different, even younger" she informed him seeming fascinated by the fact

Paul chuckled in amusement then took a sip of his coffee, "So how old do I look exactly?"

"Well I reckon in your early twenties, or around about that" she said in all seriousness

"Really?" Paul continued to look slightly amused, "well I guess that is not bad for a guy like myself, who has just turned twenty eight a few months back," he then informed her airily

"Never!" Alison exclaimed, her brown eyes widened with disbelief, "I would not have thought you were more than twenty five to be honest" she admitted

"I am flattered," Paul grinned, "Actually I think I must take it from my mother's side of the family, she is in her mid fifties, but she looks much younger, and more like she was in her early forties"

"Well that explains it then," Alison smiled, "That makes you almost seven years older than me, I will be twenty one next month"

"Twenty one eh? That makes you officially an adult, I remember my twenty first, it was a wild and crazy time," Paul reminisced with a certain fondness

"Well I doubt mine will be too wild and crazy," Alison laughed, "there isn't too many wild and crazy things to do on the Island"

"No I guess not," Paul agreed, "Wouldn't you like to live on the mainland? I can't imagine there is much of a social life here, especially for young people"

"Well I couldn't leave right now, I have to look after Gran, her health is not the best She took a stroke a while back so she needs me here, anyway, not that I mind. If you must know actually, I love living here" she informed him, "Although I can understand why it probably wouldn't suit you, with your high maintenance celebrity lifestyle"

"Oh I don't know, it has its attractions," Paul replied, letting his gaze rest on her intently

And much to his amusement she looked a little flustered again,

"Well enough with the idle chitchat," she put down her cup on the nearby kitchen counter, "I am going to get stuck into washing the pile of dirty dishes you have left lying about " she then said briskly turning away from him to go over to the sink

"I'll give you a helping hand drying them," he volunteered coming over to join her.

He got the distinct feeling she was still not too comfortable with his last remark.

She didn't like it when he got too personal, toying with her feelings for his amusement, She was letting him know she wasn't going to tolerate it, as she seemed intent on completely ignoring him whilst concentrate on filling the sink with water, squirting in some washing up liquid she had brought, then started to put the dirty plates into the soapy water.

He decided to ease the slight tension growing around them, having no wish to alienate her.

"So, where is that big black mutt of yours?" he queried conversationally, deciding it had to be a safe enough topic, "did you leave him at home this morning?"

"If you mean Jake, yes, he was still snoozing by the fire when I left him this morning" she informed him as she scrubbed the plate in her hand then left it on the draining board for Paul to dry. "Actually he is not my dog, I am just minding him for Teresa, you know my employer from the bakery"

"Oh yes, I remember her, she was the lady who liked to ask a lot of questions," Paul recalled dryly.

He noticed it made Alison smile, and now her brown eyes glanced up at him with a little more warmth, "Yes that's her, but right now she had to go to the mainland because her brother is ill and needs a heart operation, so I am looking after Jake and the bakery for her till she gets back" she then explained

Paul found himself turning and resting his butt against the draining board as he continued to dry the plate in his hand, studying her with a quizzical expression,

"So, you are taking care of your Grandmother, looking after your employers dog, and running the bakery for her whilst she is away. And on top of that you still managed to squeeze in the time to help me, your new crazy drunken neighbour. What are you, some kindda super girl?"

Alison just chuckled, "Hardly that," she denied modestly, "My Gran just brought me up to believe God put us on this world to help each other, and try and make it a better place so we should make the most of that for the short time we are here, because we can do very little once we are dead"

"An interesting philosophy," Paul replied, his lips twisting into a small thoughtful smile,

"Maybe if I had followed it, I wouldn't be in the mess I am today" he then sighed

Alison turned to look at him speculatively, "I am sure whatever it is, it will sort itself out in the end" she said optimistically in an attempt to sooth him

Paul didn't reply; as far as he could see Alison led a pretty simplistic life, that in someway he found himself suddenly envying. But because of that, he felt she could never really understand the complexities of his lifestyle, which was a million miles away from hers.

She was still studying him with a hint of concern, then seem to hesitate before speaking, what was on her mind "Last night, when you were drunk, you made me believe you were wanting to end it all, it was because you had drunk too much, and you didn't know what you were doing or saying. You were not seriously considering it, were you?"

"I don't know," Paul found himself answering honestly, "I am not proud of my actions last night, I always thought I was a strong person a survivor, but my head has been so screwed up lately" he shrugged "It's hard to say what might have happened if you hadn't come along" he then realised a little bleakly

"Well I am glad I came along when I did, and I just want to let you know, what happened down at the beach, no one will ever know about it, as far as I am concerned it never happened" she then reassured him

"Thank you" He replied with a grateful smile, having no doubt in his mind that she would keep her word, and he could trust her completely.