Robin Hoods Bay

Stephen has always wanted to be known world wide as a musical
genius. He has the ability and knows it, but the confidence is not
there and never has been. He has not played in front of people before.
He often thinks about it, there is nothing that he would love more than
people hearing him sing, whether it is 10,000 people singing along to
his tune or one girl he is singing to under a full moon. Anything would
be fine by him.

Next week after months of changing his mind he has decided he will go
to the pub across the road where there is an open mic - for comedians,
for poets, for singers. He often goes to watch, now he is going to be
watched. The Sunday night comes very quickly, half of Stephen is
nervous, the other half petrified. Not a moment of the last week has
been spent on anything other than thinking about what songs he should
play and how he should play them. Last week he saw somebody get a very
good reception after covering some David Bowie songs, but then that
night a bloke with a sock called Simon on his hand had got a standing
ovation. Stephen has decided which four songs to play, all of which he
has written himself, including one about running away to Robin Hoods
Bay. He is just hoping that he doesn?t have to follow a man with a sock
on his hand, or any other part of his body.

Sunday night goes as quickly as it came and world wide success does not
follow, or success of any kind. Eighteen people were in the audience,
and two of them were facing the right way. Stephen sang his songs,
including the one about running away to Robin Hood?s Bay and he left as
someone from the back asked if it had started yet. Stephen left with
his head between his legs which incidentally was the entire act of the
person after him. So a life in showbusiness is not to be for Stephen,
who carries on working at the supermarket with all the other
dreamers.

Two years later, he is still working but no longer dreaming when a man
and a woman come up to him.

?Where abouts is the Tuna please??
Stephen beckons for them to follow him which they do. On Aisle 16 he
hands over a tin of Dolphin Friendly when the man says, ?I recognise
you.? He turns to his partner.
?Do you know who it is??
Stephen answers the question for her,
?No, who am I??
?Well,? says the man, ?you look like a young man whogot up on stage one
night and sang four songs, one which was about running away to Robin
Hoods Bay. I have never forgotten how beautiful those songs were. I
left the building that night and just cried. That is where I met my
wife.? He looks at his partner and they take each others hands. ?It got
us talking and we both realised that we had a lot in common, we hated
our lives so decided to do as you said, and we ran away to Robin Hoods
Bay. We got married two days later and all because of you and we are
both so happy.?

Stephen is overwhelmed. He never realised what an impact anybody could
make on two people, let alone it being he who was the one making the
impact. It means everything to him, he feels he should thank them for
letting him know all about what they have done, he wants to hug them
and kiss them and take them home and hear their life stories. Now all
of his misery and lack of success has been worth it, he feels fulfilled
at bringing happiness into two peoples previously unhappy lives.
Instead he turns to them, and asks:

?Do you want one tin of tuna or two??