More than a Beach Hut

He was ordered to pay compensation which was split between Hele and George and his buildings were seized as the proceeds of crime and allocated to the Council who now had responsibility for what had been Jesus' tenants, in poor badly maintained places. The council had also paid compensation for their errors in handling the housing benefit payments. The money paid to George meant that he now owned his mobile home outright and was planning to sell it, now it had been renovated, and buy a better one.

In the meantime, my building company had been installing bases for the new homes and had won a contract for minor building repairs for the council. We had to move people temporarily into what had been George and Helen's maisonette while we worked on other places. We couldn't make all of them perfect but they were better.

Helen had forgiven George because he had cooperated so well with the divorce. Forgiven, but not forgotten. He was history. She invited George to attend our wedding.

After the wedding reception we came back to our beach house and collapsed on the bed. It had been a long, tiring day. Helen looked at her large suitcase sitting on top of the wardrobe.

"It seems so long ago now that I was the damsel in distress sitting on the bench outside, Malcolm."

"And now I am delighted that the damsel is my wife, Helen."

"I know. I am ecstatic too. My life has changed so much and for the better. I love this large beach hut, and my seaside husband."

"And my wife has made me fitter and feeling so much younger, Helen."

"And since you are? Bed and sex, Malcolm. We can't have a wedding night without..."

We did. Despite my tiredness we nearly set a record that night. If we hadn't? We had years to try to set another one.

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Author's Note.

Malcolm's house and large beach hut are based on places in Whitstable, Kent, UK, although no house is exactly like the one I have described. Helen's parents' beach hut is just a small basic wooden hut. There are some beach huts that were built for summer vacation stays that have now been converted into year-round dwellings. There are some larger wooden huts that have kitchens with running water and chemical toilets but they and the smaller huts are not allowed to be used for overnight stays. Malcolm's beach hut would not be allowed by current planning regulations.