Monday 14 December 2015

The Coward

Audio to follow
Trev had got himself into a bit of a pickle, well not just a bit of one,  he was sinking into a vat of Branston and it was dragging him down. He looked at the plane tracker app on his phone; flight BA 849 from Zagreb had taken off exactly on time. That would make most people happy, but not Trev.
You see, just about to drink British Airways tea, was Allie, the love of his life, and when that plane landed in Heathrow, he'd be there to finish with her. He didn't want to end it, but he had no choice, he had to. While Allie was away Trev had been a bit of a naughty boy and now Trev was about to become a father, and Allie wasn’t the mother.
At the start, Josie had been a relationship of convenience; just a cuddle and a kiss to fill the lonely nights while Allie did her year abroad. Trev saw her as ‘Allie by proxy’ and Josie seemed happy to go along with that. But Trev didn't do detached very well; how could you get up close and personal like that and not fall for those beautiful, blue eyes, the sultry smile, and the infectious giggle - not to mention the wild lovemaking? Trev had only gone and fallen in love. Could you love two people at the same time? Trev didn't use to think so, but now he did.
He glanced at plane tracker again, the plane had just passed over Trieste, Allie was about 2 hours away. He thought of her fragile face, the way her eyes creased in the same way whether she smiled or cried, the way her cheeks went rosy when she told stories, they way her voice cracked when she got upset.
Her last email had desribed down to the minute detail exactly how she was going to make love to him as soon as they got the chance. But that would never happen. He'd never taste her body again, never see her laugh; all he'd do is watch her face go from happy, to confused to sadness when he told her the news. He’d thought about sending her a text or telling her on the phone but that was not fair, he had to tell her face to face and as soon as possible.
He wondered how many people looked at the plane tracker on their phone hoping the plane would disappear, hoping the pilot was suicidal or the plane had developed a fault. Hoping terrorists had a surface to air missile just outside Munich ready to shoot down passenger planes. If that blue flashing plane disappeared from the screen, all his problems would be over. Oh he'd be broken hearted or course, but he could live with that. Could Allie live with his rejection? Was it a sudden violent death better than finding out your partner had cheated with another woman and got her pregnant?
The plane inched across the map of Europe; it had passed Munich now, and just going across the T in Stuttgart. He checked the Underground app to see the times of the trains. It would soon be time to head to the airport and to break the heart of the girl he loved. He felt himself slipping deeper into the homemade gooey mess he found himself in.
The sun was shining,  the app showed the plane over Luxemburg, the estimated time of arrival ticked forward three minutes, the Underground was running a near perfect service, everything was going wrong. 


1 comment:

  1. Petra Goláňová19 December 2015 at 18:54

    FLs: He wondered how many people looked at the plane tracker on their phone hoping the plane would disappear, hoping the pilot was suicidal or the plane had developed a fault. Hoping terrorists had a surface to air missile just outside Munich ready to shoot down passenger planes..... He felt himself slipping deeper into the homemade gooey mess he found himself in...The sun was shining, the app showed the plane over Luxemburg, the estimated time of arrival ticked forward three minutes, the Underground was running a near perfect service, everything was going wrong.

    ReplyDelete