Chapter 51

We eventually headed out and went to a restaurant called Paco’s which had a brilliant reputation when I lived here and it did not let us down. The food is still amazing.

From there we headed to a pub called Sportsters. As soon as I walked in the door I saw faces that I recognised. The pub had not changed a bit since I had last been there but somehow it still looked classy.

I saw a girl that I had previously worked with whom I had not always seen eye to eye with.

“Hi Suzanne” I said as I approached.

“Gill wow, look at you! You look amazing I have not seen you in years. How is Paul?” She says to me still being as false as she always was. The whole time she was talking to me she was giving Sidney the eye.

“Paul died about 3 years ago and I moved away to America, I am here on my honeymoon at the moment.” I answer as I take a hold of Sidney hand.

She looked at her friends and started laughing, “You must not have loved Paul very much if you are married to someone else already.

“This guy is clearly just using you anyway, he is gorgeous Gill and clearly too good for you. You always were quite gullible, you see, Paul never loved you either, you were just easy.”

Sidney stood there with his mouth open not really knowing what had just happened.

“Suzanne you really have no idea. Paul and I loved each other so much and when he died my whole world turned upside down and I could not bear being here anymore.

“I moved over to America and made something of myself, I now have an excellent job and a beautiful house and more friends that you could ever imagine.

“Sidney made me realise that I could love again.

“I don’t even know why I am explaining myself to you. You are not worth wasting my breath on. You don’t even know what it is like to be in love let alone to lose such a big part of your life.

“I hope you enjoy spending the rest of your no hoper life in this dead end of a town with people who are as shallow as you.”

I turned away at this point and said to Sidney that we would get a drink when I felt a hand grab my wrist.

I said without even turning around “I am a black belt in Kung Fu and I am far fitter than all of you put together, if I were you I would not even think about starting a fight with me because I can guarantee you that you will all come off much worse than me.”

I felt the grip loosen when I heard an unknown voice a couple of crowds away say:

“Gavin look who it is. It is Sidney and Gill Crosby from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Let’s go and talk to them.”

The guys came over and talked to us for a couple of minutes and when Suzanne and her friends seen that people knew who we are and wanted to talk to us they soon disappeared.

We finally made it to the bar.

“Well what a start to the evening that was, we have not even been in the pub for 30 minutes and already you have nearly been in a fight.” Sidney says laughing.

“The press would love that, I can just see the headline now – ‘Mrs Crosby fights with old work colleagues’” I say as I start laughing too.

We finally get drinks and managed to find a seat up in the corner of the room.

As we sit talking a see a familiar face heading in our direction. I know that I should know who it is but for the life of me I just cannot remember.