Ex-husband
Annie! called out a voice behind me, one I knew far too well.
The sound sent a shiver down my spine. I hunched my shoulders and, not daring to look back, hurried along the pavement.
Annie, wait up! I know thats you!
I sped up, hoping to melt into the anonymity of the high street, but a mans hand, gentle but firm, caught my shoulder.
Annie, whats got into you? Gone deaf, have you? Its me, David.
Bracing myself, I spun round, barely daring to believe my own eyes.
Good Lord, David I thought I was imagining your voice How is this possible? You you cant be here
Why not? David smiled at me, that old boyish grin that used to melt me all those years ago. Surely Im allowed to come back to my hometown?
But come back from where? I asked, utterly bewildered. You you died. At least, thats what I was told.
Died? David looked genuinely shocked, jaw dropped to one side. Me?
Yes. About six months after we divorced and you moved up to Manchester, your mate told me youd My words caught in my throat, but I made myself finish. Youd drunk yourself to death, slept it off in some alley and never woke up.
Who told you that load of old rubbish?
Robinson. Your supposed best friend. He started circling around me once youd gone, asking me out and all that. When I turned him down, he said you were I let the silence hang there.
Right piece of work, that one David laughed. So he wasnt joking when he said his goodbyes.
What do you mean, joking?
Oh, said something like, Now youve left Annie, Ill step in. Sounded as though he was only half-serious. But then he vanished. Stopped calling, stopped picking up. I even sent him my new flats number in a letter back in those days, before social media, you remember. Letters or the house phone, that was it. Ive not the faintest what happened to him.
He died I shrugged. Years ago now. They buried him, must be five years since.
Goodness Davids expression softened, sadness flickering across his features. Hes gone And he could have had plenty of years left, couldnt he? Ah well Then he smiled again. Funny, all these years since we split and you havent changed a bit. Still as lovely as I remember.
Get away with you I managed a laugh and waved his compliment off. Just ordinary me.
Id heard you remarried David was still regarding me warmly, almost as though he could never quite admire me enough. And youve got children? Two of them, am I right?
Mm-hmm, two I nodded. Both grown up and gone now, off living their own lives. Im a grandmother now. Twice over.
Blimey! Hows your husband doing?
Oh, hes doing very well I replied, unable not to smirk with his new family. Im a free woman these days.
I see. David nodded thoughtfully. You know, we men can be such fools, always after something new when everything we want is right there under our noses.
What brings you back then? I asked. Business, or just passing through?
Im back for good, Annie. For good. His sigh was heavy and heartfelt. My wife passed away recently, and I just I couldnt stay up north. Doctors reckon the climate doesnt suit me, what with my age and everything. Actually, my wife struggled with it too. Asthma. I tried to get us somewhere else, felt we needed to move, but, you know, she was a Mancunian, through and through. Said she couldnt go a day without her city. So Davids eyes glistened with unshed tears. Now, I wander the streets I grew up on, looking around, trying to decide which part of town to buy a flat in. Thirty years, and everythings changed so much. Maybe youve got some advice where to settle down?
Where are you staying now, then? I asked.
Hotel, where else?
Not with your family?
Heavens, no! David pulled a face. Id hate to be a burden. Familys got their routines. I cant just land on them unannounced. Wouldnt be right. Wouldnt feel like much of a man, either.
And what about coming to stay at mine? I surprised myself with my own offer, heart in mouth, so I quickly added Just as a lodger.
David looked utterly unprepared for this, blushed a little, then sighed.
Maybe Id like that, Annie, but I still feel guilty after all these years.
Guilty? Whatever for? I asked, truly surprised.
Just for what I did. Walking out on you, thirty years ago. Ill always feel that way.
Oh, honestly! I gave him a strange grin. I was the one who drove you away. Said some dreadful things that night, I know I did. Any man wouldve left after that.
I dont remember you saying anything that bad David shook his head with stubborn gentleness. I only remember my own mistakes.
What do you recall, then?
I remember losing my temper, packing up in a huff, storming out into the dark. Regretted it almost straightaway, but it was too late by then.
I remember being glad youd left I laughed, as if at my own foolishness. Thought Id have a new start and I did and then wished I hadnt.
Really? David asked, hope flickering in his voice. So youre not angry with me?
Of course Im not. I looked at him with a tenderness that startled me, warmth filling me as if I were twenty again. You havent changed at all, David except maybe a bit more salt than pepper in your hair. Move in with me. Tonight, if you like. Spare rooms yours. Why eat hotel dinners when you can have a proper home meal? Youre my ex, but youre still family, one way or another.
You sure I wont be a nuisance?
If you would be, do you think Id have asked? I get so bored in the evenings, sometimes I could howl at the walls.
Well then David took my hand, gingerly. Shall we go back for my suitcase?
The very same one you left with, all those years ago?
We both burst out laughing, and set off together down the pavement, feeling as if we had never truly been apart.
