Friendship and end of the holiday

Friendship

The eyes in the painting looked at me as I watched Ted and Freda. Freda was laughing with him like a happy school child.  Listening to him talking about the formation of the stars that create Aquarius, she was hanging on to his every word. Was he what we needed to fix our friendship?

This had been quite a morning.  Woken early by the doorbell, I hadn’t expected to find the Astronomy lecturer talking to Mark in the kitchen. Events then spiralled as Freda appeared in her pyjamas. Calling Mark into the front room, we watched as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Meeting her future partner making tea was not how I had expected Freda to meet someone. Ted seemed perfect, well-educated and handsome.

After our efforts to match make, why hadn’t Mark thought of Ted? He was perfect.

“Mark, wow, we’ve done it.”  He shook his head, looking awkward.

“No, we haven’t, this isn’t good”.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Ruby, he’s married, but has cheated with a number of women.”

“Oh.” I could feel my skin start to crawl.  I need to stop this.

“Is he really still married?”

A cheat

“As far as I know.  He turned up here this morning asking about my girlfriend and her friend.  Ted must have seen her during the argument last night.”

“Yes, and a handsome cheat is the last person she needs to meet.”

Still hearing Freda’s tinkling laugh, I felt sick.

“Mark, you need to have words with your friend.”

“I will, but Freda sounds so happy.”

“Mark, she’s going to be angry when she realises.  It’s been a long time since she has even entertained seeing anyone. Listening to them laughing together that happy party needs to be broken up”.

“Well how about you call her in here.”

“I could, if you then talk to Ted.”

I looked at him, where was I going to start with this one.

Freda

After her anger at being set up, finding a handsome stranger in Mark”s kitchen had made a bad situation a good one. Staring up at him, she noticed the fleck of grey in his dark brown hair. She had never been interested in the stars but listening to Ted, she wanted to learn more.

Hearing Ruby calling, she was frustrated. Things were finally improving, maybe the New Forest wasn’t so bad, and now Ruby was interrupting the conversation.  Leaving Ted leaning up against the kitchen cupboards, she walked into the other room.

“What Ruby?”

“Err, we have a problem.”

“What?”

“Ted is married and has cheated before.”

Sitting down, she felt weak, just when she thought she had met someone who could be special.

“Okay Ruby, well I guess we are heading home then”. Then a little louder. “The men here, except Mark, don’t seem to be worth knowing.”

“I think you are right.  Think it’s time to get the car packed.”

Ruby

Well typical, I thought that maybe Ted was the solution, but no, a handsome cheat.  Driving home we talked about the weekend, matchmaking attempt now forgiven and our friendship was as strong as ever. Freda had even laughed about Ted, when I was expecting meltdown.

So, we were back to square one. Finding a partner for Freda. However, she was insistent that she can find her own man. I needed to back off.

“Shall we call into the pub on the way back?  We can see if they want us to perform this week?”

“That sounds like a good plan Ruby.  We really could do with the work and after this weekend I think we need it.”

The pub

Approaching the pub car park, something was wrong. People were stood in the street, not right for six o’clock in the evening.

Driving around the town back street, life seemed busier than usual. Crowds without drinks in their hands, what had happened?  Why was the pub shut?

“Freda we are going to go in the back.”

“What if it’s locked?” feeling deep into my pockets, I found two paper clips. Waving them I said,

“Remember I have skills.”

“But you haven’t use those in years.”

“You never forget how to pick a lock.”

“Oh Ruby.”

“Come on, let’s see what’s happening.”

Getting out of the car, my mind was playing all sorts of scenes.  Was the pub just closed?  Will I be right to force my way in?  Reaching the door, we could hear faint sounds, but as thought, it was locked.  Pulling out my mobile, I was hesitating to break in.  Listening to the ring ring coming from inside, this didn’t feel right.

“That’s it, I’m doing it.”

Freda watched quietly as I set about opening the door. Once opened, shouting could be heard. On hearing crying, I had heard enough.

“Should have done this sooner”.

Things couldn’t get much worse.  After a difficult weekend and Ted this morning I had not expected to be dialling 999 this evening.

What was happening inside the pub? After phoning for help, we stood and waited.

For more see, Not a match but a disaster – part 13, this is part 14

Written for Grammys Grid sentence prompt – The eyes in the painting looked

Just to note, the featured image is of the Wye Downs in the UK