Another Place: View from a Bridge

"What happened to Nicky?" I asked, sitting down opposite her.

"He got 'green-eye'." She said simply. "Whatever issues were holding him here, he resolved. When that happens people temporarily get green flecks in their eyes. Hence 'green-eye'." She explained to my puzzled look.

"And that's a good thing, right?"

"It's the reason most people are placed here." She nodded.

"Who's the new guy?"

"Matt. He was the most promising of the try-outs."

I nodded and then began to look for the song that I suddenly wanted to start the show with. Kelly cued me in.

"Thanks Matt. Nice show to start off with by the way. This first song is for your predecessor, Nicky, who has gone on to greater things. Led Zeppelin. 'Celebration Day'."

Kelly smiled as the song began.

"That was nice." She said.

"Sorry I forgot to introduce you boss."

"It's okay; you can do it in your own smutty style before the next track."

I smiled back. Kelly was an easy boss to get along with.

Unfortunately the show didn't have the same spark without Sue. I'd noticed it before. Kelly felt it too. Towards the end of the show she apologised.

"It's not your fault boss-lady. It's just that you're not Susan."

"So it is my fault."

"No. It's me. I feel different with Sue over there. Naughtier I suppose."

"Then I think in future I'll give you the same day off. That way we won't have to try and do the same sort of show with different people."

"Thanks Kelly. You are the best boss ever."

"Come on, time for the last song." She seemed amused by my sincerity. An idea that had been rattling around in my head suddenly became the right thing to do. Kelly cued me again.

"Regular listeners will know that around now I usually play something to try and embarrass my usual partner-in-crime. Well I'm not going to go down that road with the boss, so this is for Sue as usual. It's not something we'd normally play. Hope you're listening sweetie."

Cliff's 'Miss You Nights' started. Kelly looked at me.

"You love her don't you?"

"Yes I think I do."

"So why are you keeping her at arms length?"

"Because she came here with problems that I don't want to add too."

"You might just be the solution you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know."

The song played out.

"That was for you, girl of mine. Say goodnight Kelly."

"Goodnight Kelly." With a grin she switched over to the computer. "And that was what I meant lover boy. 'Girl of mine' indeed. See you tomorrow." With that she got up and left. I sat on my own for a while, wondering if Sue had been listening. Shaking myself, I stood up. Better go and find out.

I entered our apartment. Although dimmed, the lights were still on.

"Sue? You still up?" I called out.

"In here." She called from the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"Please." I replied. "Listen to the show?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes, great news about Nicky."

"Isn't it?" I paused. "Kelly and I were talking about the show tonight. Although it wasn't bad she reckons it would be better if you and me had the same day off in the future."

"That'll be nice." She still hadn't come out of the kitchen.

"Susan, are you hiding from me in there?" I started to walk towards the open door.

"Well, something happened when you played that last song for me."

"What?" I was suddenly worried. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

"This." She turned to face me as I entered the room, her face glowing and her eyes greener than ever.

"WOW!" Was all I could say.

"I just needed to be wanted apparently. You do want me don't you?"

"More than I thought possible Sue."

"Good. Now come to bed."

"That's a bit sudden isn't it?"

"Sudden? I've been waiting for weeks for the right moment." She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. Our first proper kiss. Immediately I couldn't believe that I had been trying to resist this. Still kissing, we stumbled our way to the bedroom.

There was a staff meeting a couple of weeks later, during the requests show. Sue and I had been spending a lot of the time at our apartment just being together. While we were at the station we tried to disguise what we felt for each other, but at the apartment we could give full rein to those feelings. More of the other staff had gone, getting their 'green-eye', until only Sara and Kelly of the originals were left, along with the two of us. Kelly was bringing us all up to date with one or two minor organisational details, telling us how the 'reserves' were shaping up, and asking if we thought that it was worth replacing the computer with a DJ for the Late, Late Show. She finished the meeting with a question.

"Does anybody know of a spare bed? One of my new reserves has a room, but the bed is broken."

Sue piped up without thinking.

"You can have Dave's back. He hasn't been using it."

"SUSAN!!" I exclaimed. We both went red and everyone else smirked.

"I'm glad that's out in the open at last." Kelly smiled. "Do you know how hard it was for the rest of us not to notice? Tracks like 'You Shook Me All Night Long' and 'In These Arms Tonight' as your last songs of the night were a bit of a giveaway, so was the giggling."

Sue and I both looked around shamefaced.

"Sorry everyone." Sue said.

"Yes, sorry. We just thought it best if we kept it quiet."

"No harm, no foul." Sara said, a big grin on her face.

"To make it up to all of you we'll have a party at our place tomorrow, it's our day off. Everyone's invited." Sue gushed. She was happy and wanted to share it with everyone else.

"Good idea." Kelly said. "I'll be late though, I have to keep an eye on your replacements." She shuffled her notes. "Right, that's it. Meeting over. Buzz off." She paused. "Dave can I have a word?" She waited until all the others had left. "Dave, there are a couple of things I think you should know. Did the guide explain about what happens when you go back?"

"No, I don't think he did."

"The thing is, when you return, you're not supposed to remember this place." I stood and looked at her stunned, mouth agape. "It'll seem like snatches of a dream for you, both of you."

"Sue as well? She went 'green-eye'. Will her problems come back?"

"I know about her 'green-eye', and no, her problems won't come back. She'll be happy, but won't know why. The thing is, we don't know exactly what will happen this time. We rarely recruit a pair and they've never fallen in love before."

"Shouldn't you be telling Sue this as well?"

"I don't want to risk her having a relapse."

"So why tell me?"

"Because you deserve the truth as we know it."

"As we know it?"

"I told you, we don't know what will happen in your case. Just before you leave, the guide will be back to see you. He may know more by then."

I sighed.

"Thank you for the truth Kelly." I set my shoulders. "I'll make our last few months here happy and hopefully memorable ones. The show won't suffer."

"Thank you. I'm really sorry Dave. If we find out anything for certain, I'll let you know, I promise."

I left the station feeling down and went for a walk to clear my head. One thing was clear to me: Sue was never going to find out; at least one of us should remain happy and contented. To do this I was going to have to put this knowledge from my mind and carry on as normal. I turned my thoughts to the show. A couple of ideas I'd been toying with were going in tonight I decided. One idea was to play three or four songs from the same artist back-to-back, something I'd heard done on another station at home. The other was that Sue and I would pick two somehow related songs and invite the listeners to pick a third and then play our pair and the most popular choice for the third on the following night. I was confidant that it would work. I checked the time. Better get back I thought.

The two new features did indeed work well, although once again I'd forgotten to warn Kelly of the increased correspondence. I was managing to keep my dismay from Susan; at least she never mentioned it. For most of the time I was able to keep happy and in truth, I was happy. Being with Sue did that. By now we were nearly six months into our contract and things were fairly settled for us, but no-one else seemed to stay too long except Kelly and Sara. Then one morning Sue burst into the apartment excitedly.

"Did you hear about Sara? She finally went 'green-eye!" She almost shouted. I was barely awake, whereas she had been up for at least a couple of hours. Our sleeping patterns just wouldn't mesh. Sue could fall asleep almost as soon as we returned from work, but I was usually still buzzing and couldn't drop off to sleep for a couple of hours or more. She always awoke before mid-morning whereas I generally slept until late morning at the earliest. Sometimes she was just too damn perky when I woke up, such as now.

"No I hadn't." I replied somewhat grumpily. "But I'm happy for her." I sipped at my first coffee of the day, feeling its restorative powers reviving me. I sighed. "So when did this happen?"

"Just after she started her show, about fifteen minutes ago."

"Then I'm hardly likely to have heard am I?"

"Right. Sorry."

"So am I. You know I'm grouchy first thing. What happened then?"

"Well, I was having a chat with Kelly in her office when Sam, Sara's knob-twiddler, called her. He said she had to come and see this."

"So, being nosey, you went along too."

She looked hurt.

"I just wanted to see what the fuss was."

"Of course you did." She frowned at me. I had to laugh. "I'm only pulling your leg. Carry on."

Placated, Sue resumed her tale.

"Well, Sam said that Sara was just listening to the first song she'd put on. And then when she looked up, her eyes were green. Oh Dave, with that lovely blonde hair and those emerald eyes she looked beautiful. And I've never seen anyone look so serene."

"I have. You." Sue smiled. "What song was it? Maybe we can play it for her tonight."

"It was one we played a night or so ago. 'Just Good Friends' by that Scottish bloke."

"Good. We can work that in again easily enough." I paused. "Did she disappear or something?"

"No, silly. Kelly said that you carry on as normal until you go to bed and then when you wake up you're where ever you're supposed to be."

"Sounds nice, means you've got time to say goodbye." I mused.

"I wish you could get 'green-eye' Dave. It's a wonderful feeling."

I hugged her.

"Thank you, but it's a bit unlikely, with me being on a specific contract."

"But I got it, and I'm on the same contract."

"You were destined to be here anyway. I don't have the sort of anxieties that cause people to come here." I was lying, I'd developed them here, but I'd sworn to myself that Sue would never find out what was going to happen when we left. She kissed me.

"I suppose. Come on anyway lazybones, finish getting dressed. We're having a party for Sara when her show is over."

"Just remember." I wagged my finger. "We're working tonight. I don't want you getting all giggly." I smiled to show I was teasing.

"And I don't want you getting all raunchy. Now come on, hurry up."

Sighing, I went to find a clean shirt.

Sara came up to me at the party and gave me a hug. She, Kelly, Sue and I had become good friends over the past six months. Although I was glad that she had found the peace that she deserved, I was going to miss her sharp wit and infectious smile.

"Thank you." She said.

"For what?"

"Sue told me that you were the one who programmed the song I caught the end of and liked."

"Glad to help, it is what we're here for. How did it help anyway?"

"I liked the part I heard on your show, and when you back announced it, I thought it was a nice title and decided to play it myself this morning."

"You'd never heard it before? Its not the first time we've played it."

"I don't get to hear all your show, only the first couple of hours, so I'd never heard it before. As I sat and listened to it, things just slotted into place in my mind."

"One song did all that?" I was surprised.

"I suspect it was a cumulative effect." She smiled again. "Everything in my past suddenly seemed clearer and I felt happy with myself. The 'green-eye' I think."

"Sara, I'm really glad for you, but I am going to miss you."

"And I suspect that whatever happens to me next, I'm really going to miss my three best friends." She kissed me softly. "Just promise me that you'll take care of Sue."

"No problem there. I promise that I'll do my very best."

"I know you will. Good luck." With that she left to say some more goodbyes elsewhere. I never saw her again, but who knows, I may still meet her again on some plane or other.

Sue had obviously been getting bored waiting for me to wake every morning and had decided to do something with this time. For eight months I had become used to her usually being there when I came round. When she wasn't there for three days in a row, I began to wonder what she was doing. However she didn't say anything and I didn't want to ask directly. A week of non-communication on this issue caused me pangs of suspicion. Sue had always told me everything, even things I didn't want to know. A horrible, horrible idea had begun to insinuate its way into my mind. Had her need to be wanted caused her to find someone else? I couldn't shake the notion, no matter how much I disbelieved it. I obviously needed to know.

I managed to wake before Sue went out. I threw on some clothes and went into the living room.

"You're up early." Sue said, smiling brightly.

"Got something I need to do this morning." I mumbled.

"Well have fun. I'll be back in a couple of hours." She left, giving me a wave and another smile. I gave her a minute or so head start and then began to follow her.

I tailed her to a largish building overlooking the park. At first I thought that it was a hotel and my worst fears had been realised. Then I saw the sign naming the building as the children's home. Confused now, I stood around outside, wondering what to do. I decided that I'd wait and see what Sue did next. I crossed to the park and found a bench from where I could see the entrance to the home.

After about ten minutes or so Sue came out, but she wasn't alone. There were some twelve children with her, the oldest about eight, the youngest only four or five. The kids all carried a different sort of toy, either a ball, a Frisbee or just a doll like the littlest one. In utter bemusement I followed at a distance while Sue led them to the playground. The children began to play, watched over by Sue. At first the young girl was shy of joining in, holding on to Sue's hand. With a little encouragement, she too began to frolic with the others. And to my complete surprise, so did Sue! I watched her playing with the kids, enjoying herself, and was deeply ashamed of my earlier dark thoughts.

All of a sudden the Frisbee landed at my feet.

"Throw it back Dave." Sue called out, obviously knowing I was there watching.

I span it back amongst the happy group of kids and then, blushing deeply, I walked over to Sue.

"When did you spot me?" I asked shamefacedly.

"Oh, I knew you were up to something when you got up so early. And then I saw you reflected in a shop window." She grinned a huge grin. "You'd make a terrible spy Dave."

"I know." I hung my head. "Why didn't you tell me you were doing this? Playing den mother to these kids I mean. I thought some horrible things about you, things I didn't want to believe but couldn't disprove, things I'm deeply embarrassed to have thought."

"I'm sorry, I should have said something, but I was worried you'd think I was getting broody, that I wanted to become a mom."

"I'm sure I wouldn't have. For one thing, how could you go back and suddenly be six months pregnant?" 'And not remember how' I thought to myself.

"Are you always so analytical?"

"You tell me, we've lived together for eight months now."

"In that case, yes you have a tendency to over-think things."

"Where are these kids from anyway?" I asked, sweeping my arm around.

"The same as everyone else here. They can have worries too you know." She took my arm. "Although theirs are usually quicker to go away. So I volunteered to help with some of those with more deep-rooted problems. I had a couple of hours spare each morning." She smirked at me.

"So all this is my fault?" I asked jokingly.

"Oh yes mister." She walked us towards where there was a game of football breaking out amongst her charges. "Want to join in?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it's been a while, but... Yes I do." I trotted over and collected a pass.

"If you can manage to wake up early enough tomorrow, you can come back again as well." Sue called after me.

The morning volunteer work with the children was very satisfying. It enabled Sue and I to help in a more 'hands on' way. We were able to see results close up when the youngsters found what they needed and got 'green eye'. The outing to the station we organised for them was an instant success, three of them, including the little one, going 'green eye' before the visit was over. That brought us to the attention of the papers, although we had tried to keep it quiet. Kelly said that it might help others too if we talked about it to them, so we agreed to be interviewed as long as they didn't make out we were the only ones to do this sort of thing.

I got one heck of a surprise when we met the reporter though, it was someone I knew!

"Mena! What are you doing here?" A stupid thing to say on reflection. Sue and Mena both gave me an extraordinary look. "I mean are you on a contract like us or..?" I tailed off before digging a deeper hole for myself.

"No. I'm... Waiting." The girl replied. We had worked together for a short while some years before at home. Mena was a likeable welsh girl who had worked in our office. I had never thought that I would meet someone I knew here. After all, I had been here for ten months now and it hadn't happened before.

"So, you two know each other?" Sue asked, a hint of suspicion in her tone. I explained that Mena and I had worked at the same place, that we knew each other to talk to, but that was all. Sue seemed satisfied with that, but kept looking at me as if to reassure herself.

Mena asked us about our extra curricular activities with the youngsters, making copious notes, and then she asked us about the radio show, how we planned it, things like that. Sue sniggered at the use of the word 'planned', and then told the welsh girl that I did pretty much everything off the bat, making stuff up as I went along. I tried to protest, but I knew that it was the truth, I did just do what I thought would work.

"Have you been here long?" I asked Mena.

"About two months." She replied. "I often caught some of your show, but I didn't realise that it was you. Not the sort of thing I'd have associated with you."

"I was asked specifically." I shrugged. "I wouldn't have thought of you as a reporter either."

Now it was her turn to shrug.

"I thought it might give me what I needed." She looked down. "But I don't think its working."

"Why not come with us to the children's home tomorrow and see if that helps." Sue said kindly, touched by something in the other girls sorrow.

"Won't they mind?"

"I doubt it. The kids always like someone new to play with. And to tease." I smiled, remembering how easy that had been before.

"I...I think I'd like to try that."

"Meet us here at eight in the morning then." Sue said.

"Eight!" I exclaimed. "You know I'm barely awake by then."

Sue smirked evilly.

"You're barely awake most of the time." Mena cracked a grin for the first time. She looked more like the girl I had known before.

"I don't know why I put up with you Susan."

"I think you do." She smiled that evil smile again.