LEZZIE-ASON CHAPTER SEVEN

"Darling, I'm going out!"
"Okay!" I tried to shout back, but I croaked instead. I was feeling really ill, and I was supposed to lie around in bed. My dearest other half suggested it. She told me to take the day off work. Which suited me, seeing as it was my day off anyway.
My day off was being used to an advantage. Sarah had dumped the kids onto me so she could see her friend, May. I was kind of hoping she'd dump the kids onto Mrs Beeton down the road or taken them with her. Damnation! I was hoping to sneak out to visit him. I'll have to think of another way to sneak out.
I heard the front door slam shut. Larry and Lisa flew downstairs. Instead of lying in bed, I had promised Sarah to lie on the sofa in the front room, so I could look after the kids from a vantage point. They came hurtling into the front room. "Dad! Dad!" They both screamed. "Dad! Can we go into the garden and catch wild butterflies? Can we, please?" Larry was holding a large net, and Lisa had hold of a large jam jar, empty of course.
"What on Earth for?" I inquired.
"We want to know the different types of butterflies," squealed Lisa.
"Yeah, and it's part of my Geography project at school," said Larry.
I sighed. I decided it would get the kids out of my hair for a few hours. Plus I could get on with things. "Go on, then," I said, trying hard to sound like a parent who might as well surrender.
"Thanks, Dad! You're the best!" The kids hurtled out of the front room, and I heard the back door slam shut.
I sat up, and reached for the phone. I dialled his number.
"Hello? Who's this?"
"Hi. It's me, Gerry."
"Oh, hello, Gerry. Still coming over?"
"No, I'm sorry, I can't. I faked an illness, so I could sneak out. But then she went over to her friend's place for the day, and left me in charge of the brats."
"Oh. Oh dear."
"But don't worry, when Sarah gets home tonight, I'll try to sneak out to see you."
"Okay. But how?"
"Well, ring me about five tonight, and go along with whatever I say, OK?"
"Okay. See you later?"
"Yeah. Goodbye."
I hung up as Larry and Lisa came hurricaning back into the front room.
"Look, Dad, look!" Shouted Lisa, excitedly, shoving the jar in my face.
I looked. It was quite a large butterfly, really blue, electric blue.
"It's an Eastern-Tailed Blue Butterfly!" Screamed Lisa, right in my ear. "Larry looked it up in his nature book you got him four Christmases ago."
"Yeah, sure, Honey. Look, Daddy's really ill, go play in your room or something."
"Yeah sure thing, Dad," announced Larry, and he and Lisa ran upstairs, hollaring at the tops of their voices that they'd found a rare butterfly.
I couldn't wait until tonight, another chance to see him. Yippie! But I felt a niggling little feeling, which felt like guilt. Quite lately, Sarah has been a bit off with me. I'm beginning to think maybe she suspects something. I did ponder on wether or not I should call the whole thing off. 'No', I told myself. I loved him way too much, and Sartah's been pissing me off lately; she'd started nagging me, for one thing. Plus, she was always hanging round with this May character, and then moaning because we never spend any husband-and-wife time together. Bloody cheek! Well, she did take me out for a Valentine's meal, to that Indian restaurant, but the whole time, she'd seem distant. And when I mucked around, saying I'd seen her snogging May, she'd run off to the bathroom for half an hour, and looked as though she'd been crying when she'd eventually emerged.
I did wonder for a while wether she was cheating on me, wether she was dallying around with this May, having secet little romps with her. But then I decided. Sarah wouldn't do that to me. She loves me too much. She would never stray.

Sarah had got home half an hour ago; soon after that, the kids disappeared I don't know where, and now I could smell the sweet smell of dinner. I came pottering into the kitchen. "What you cooking?" I asked.
"It's a surprise," answered Sarah,. "Go back to the front room and wait another ten minutes, OK?"
I went. I got a sneaky suspicion that I knew what it was.
Sarah called out dinner ten minutes later.
"Oh, my God!" I exclaimed. "How did you know I fancied spag bol tonight!"
"Oh, you know. Wife's instinct." Said Sarah, smiling.
"Where are the kids' dinner, darling?" I asked her, as we both sat down to eat.
"Larry's round at Nelsons', and Lisa is at her ballet lesson, so it's just us tonight. Til seven."
"Oh."
We sat in silence for a few minutes. Sarah eating the reheated chicken left over from last Sunday. Me eating my spag bol. Suddenly, the phone rang. I knew it was him. "Don't worry, darling," I told Sarah. "I'll answer it."
I picked up the phone and pressed the talk button.
"Hello, Gerry. Are you still coming round?"
"Oh no," I said. "Can't it wait til tomorrow?"
"No. It can't wait, I really need to see to see you tonight," he answered.
"Oh, ok," I said. "Ok, I'll be there in twenty minutes."
I came back into the dining-room. "That was work," I lied to my wife. "They need someone to change the lock on someone's front door; it's an emergency. They can't get hold of anyone else."
"Oh, ok." Saisd Sarah. "How long you gonna be?"
"I'm not sure. Three hours?"
"Three hours?" She echoed.
"Yeah, well, it'll take forty minutes to get to this place, and changing locks on doors takes a very, very long time. Well, for me it does," I pulled a face.
Sarah smiled. "Ok, well, I'll keep the spag bol in the microwave for you." She told me.
"Thanks, darling," I said, as I picked up my van keys and jacket and headed out the door.
I opened up the van and got in. I made myself comfortable, revved up the engine and sped away.
I was so pleased, I'd got away with it! I gave myself a little high five. I was really starting to miss him; I hadn't seen him in ages!
I thought back to when we met. He was staying in the Eastern Pride Hotel. Visiting someone he hadn't seen in ages. The lock on his door had snapped off, so the hotel people had called me and asked if I would fix it for them. I said yes, and charged them £50, cash up front.
He was out when I got started on the job, but he came home just before I'd finished. When I'd finished, he offered me the £50, plus another twenty as a special tip. Because he liked the look of me, he said.
He asked me if I would like a coffee, seeing as fixing locks is thirsty work. I objected, politely, because I hate coffee, but asked if he had any beer. He said yes, and chucked a couple of cans my way. As we were drinking - he decided to give up on the coffee idea, and had a beer with me - we started chatting. He started telling me about his ex, and it was her he was visiting, because he wanted her back. But more than anything, he missed his daughter, who was cute, and who he missed sorely. I started telling him about Sarah. How she's always off with her new friend, and how she's always distant with me now; she moans how we don't spend any time together.
We made a toast to present wives and ex-wives, and how they'll always give us something to moan about them, whatever they do.
Then we looked into each other's eyes. I hadn't noticed it before, but he had special eyes, one was electric blue, one was bright green. And suddenly, he was starting to be the best day of my life.
As I was driving, I thought back to that day, and how special it felt. I felt special. I felt a feeling I'd never felt with Sarah. I sighed.
At last, I found the Eastern Pride Hotel. I parked up, and let myself in. I told the receptionist at the desk who'd I'd come to see, and she smiled and gave me his room number. Number 96! Such a magical number!
I found his room after looking for ten minutes and knocked on the door.
He answered, only wearing a pair of grey boxer shrts. He had silver hairs on his chest, which made him look really manly and sexy.
He smiled when he saw who I was. "Hello, Gerry. Come in."
I smiled back. "I'd love to, Tom."

Find out what happens next in Chapter Eight...