Triumph

This one has been a work in progress for a while, buried behind other projects.

I wasn't sure I would ever finish it, and perhaps I haven't as well as I could have. But I hate starting things and not finishing them, and Heather needed to tell her story.

W. ---

The mournful cries of the passing gulls seemed strangely out of place in the morning sunlight, silver on the distant waves. I sat on the weathered boulder I now thought of as mine, watching the stately waltz of the ferries as they rounded the headland and eased into the harbour below. The breeze carried the faint sound of the bells of Saint Margaret's up to my perch, and I sighed out the breath I'd been holding.

A gull glided past on the updraft, wings flicking in and out as he evaluated the chances I'd feed him. He banked and came back, then tucked his wings slightly and soared off downslope towards the distant beach, dismissing me.

I brushed a strand of hair back from my face, and the movement brought me back into the present.

Ten am. Another Tuesday, passing like all the others before it.

I pulled my jacket closed, then zipped it up. I took a last deep breath, then climbed down from my boulder and walked slowly back up to the parking lot.

Bonnie squatted where I'd left her; black and weathered silver, smelling slightly of petrol and chain lubricant. I ran my fingers lightly along the tank, remembering.

I pulled on my helmet, clinched the strap under my chin, and swung my right leg over the saddle. One or two attempts and she coughed to life. I let her idle as I settled myself. Then I kicked her into gear, gave her a small bit of throttle, and arced back out to reality.

--

Traffic was light, and I eased Bonnie gently down the winding road into town. Past the big traffic circle, past the hardware store. Past the new office park, then onto the B road back towards the hill; towards home. But first, my ritual called for one more stop.

I turned off into the Beachcomber's gravel driveway, and pulled up close to the door. No need to lock Bonnie here; not like down south where an unattended motorcycle would disappear before you could blink. I hung my helmet over a mirror and slipped inside. Janice had heard me coming, and was already brewing my cafe latte for me.

"Morning, Heather," she smiled.

"Hi, Janice."

"You been up at the overlook again, sweetie?"

"Yeah."

"Lovely morning for it. Feeling better?"

"I'm still breathing."

She reached out to gently squeeze my hand; I snatched it back, startled by the touch.

"Sorry," we both said, and I fumbled the pound and shrapnel onto the countertop. "Sorry," I repeated, softer. "I can't talk today." I couldn't meet her eyes; too scared of what I'd see there.

"You go ride some more, my girl. Go blow those shadows out your head. Just be careful, ok?"

"I will. Jan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

--

I sat on Bonnie's saddle, staring at my front door from the shade of the ash tree. Every minute I spent outside was a minute more I was behind on my contracts. But it was also a minute more away from my demons. If I had the choice I'd probably shutter the place and just leave. Leave here, leave the United Kingdom... go somewhere new, somewhere... free.

But I couldn't. Deadlines. Rent. Debt. Obligations weighing me down like a rock. Anchoring me to my life in some ways, perhaps. Such as it was.

I sighed, climbed down and pulled the cover over the Bonneville. Last night's dew still glittered on the grass; I drew unheeding brush-strokes through it as I slouched the middling distance to my door.

As always, the silence inside settled like fog around me. I hung the keys behind the door and turned on the radio to try to banish it. Then I lit a fresh candle beside the two photos and reflected quietly for a few moments.

For once I managed to work productively for a couple of hours, and I'd finished two small sets of documentation before I took my first break.

I made a cup of coffee and took it out back. I sat on the section of log he'd found; the one he'd planned to turn into a child's table and chairs. I sipped slowly, watching small breaths of wind gathering the wheat into undulating waves that slanted across the field.

Two crows gamed and circled above the distant treeline, and I watched them till they disappeared.

I went back inside to try to work some more.

--

Grief is the silent killer. Grief, that gaunt, sunken-eyed hag, squatting on your heart, day in and day out, never ceasing, without pity.

I knew the bitch all too well.

Our beautiful daughter, Kirsty, stillborn at seven months following a nightmare two-in-the-morning dash to the A&E when I realised she hadn't kicked in hours. A statistic, Ms McNaught. One in two hundred chance in the modern United Kingdom. Ten times more frequent than cot death. And her number had come up.

Weeks, then months had passed in dazed greyness. Peter had held us together; had kept me eating and talking and seeing a therapist despite my rage. And in time I'd started to heal; had been able to look at the ultrasound of her. I'd still cry, of course, but I'd still be standing afterwards.

Then the call. The call that had ended Heather McNaught and created me, this ghost drifting through the days. Waiting till it was my turn, too, to die.

It was sunny when we'd scattered Kirsty, and it had been sunny when I'd scattered Peter with her, up there, with the bay beneath us. I'd had no more tears to cry, and since that day I'd existed but no longer really lived.

So now I moved through this shuttered, dusty monument to the life and dreams I'd had, keeping it for the day they found me, took me, and scattered me up in the hills where my heart already was.

--

Twilight. I rubbed at my eyes and turned on the desk lamp. I'd managed to finish a large review, and rolled my shoulders as I leaned back into Peter's battered leather chair. A bowl of half-eaten salad pushed into the corner of the desk stood mute tribute to my lack of appetite. I'd gone from what Peter had once drunkenly labeled "voluptuous" to what I'd have called "famine victim" in earlier times - but food had no real savour for me any more. So I ate sparingly and drank mechanically - mostly wine, often something harder when it was darkest. Fuel for my body, not for my soul.

An owl hooted and I stood to refill my coffee mug.

I leaned against the worn kitchen counter, staring out at the Triumph under its cover. Peter had loved the bike, and I'd loved riding pillion behind him; my arms wrapped around him. When I'd emerged from my chrysalis following his death, I'd considered selling it. But instead I'd done my basic training and my license and had taken to riding it as a way to remember him. And little by little I'd found what peace there was that remained to me. Riding brought me closer to him and made the horror of the last years seem somehow less present, less important.

I heard the sound of a motorcycle - the roar of a large bike at full song, winding its way through the bends. Building to a scream as the rider exited each corner, then easing back down for the entry to the next.

I raised my coffee in silent benediction and wished him or her well.

--

Dappled sunlight woke me, and for a few blessed moments I lay there, feeling warm and safe. Then I remembered, breathed once, twice, and stood up. The smell of last night's vodka nauseated me, and I carried the tumbler to the kitchen to throw the dregs away.

I dealt with some emails from clients while I nursed a coffee. Then I watered my small herb garden and topped up the bird feeder. I pulled out some weeds, then stretched the kinks out of my back. I felt old; far older than my true age of twenty nine. I looked up, checking the weather, then stepped back inside. I stripped out of my pyjamas and pulled on some of my tattered underwear. My jeans, a long-sleeve cotton vest and my riding boots followed. I reached down, adjusting the chain so that Peter's ring wouldn't pinch my breasts. Then I grabbed my jacket, helmet and gloves, locked my door, and walked over to Bonnie.

Slowly, the wind and the road blew away the cobwebs. I amused myself by pushing the Bonneville through the curves; thinking of the biker I'd heard the previous night. It was fun for a while, and I felt myself grinning despite everything.

Eventually, of course, I found my way back to my lookout point. I parked, left my helmet and gloves on the bike, and wandered down to my boulder where I stood watching the wind dappling the surface of the ocean. Flecks of white showed here and there; the wind was building and it looked like a front was moving through.

Behind me, the growing growl of a motorcycle. I half-turned, and saw a rider guiding a scarlet and white sports bike into the parking area. He parked up next to Bonnie, and spent a few moments looking at her. I turned back to the ocean, disinterested. Likely another middle-aged man in his too-tight leathers.

Faintly I heard St Margarets ringing the hour, and I glanced at my watch. I cursed; it was ten. My play on the curves had cost me my time with my memories.

I stepped down from the boulder, zipping up my jacket as I walked.

The sports-bike rider was leaning against the fence, watching the ocean. I noticed in passing that his hair was peppered with grey at the temples, but he looked younger and more attractive than I'd thought he would be.

He gave me a nod and a wave as I passed, and I answered him with a small smile of recognition in return. I pulled on my helmet and gloves, and shot him a quick glance - he'd turned around to watch me as I walked. I started Bonnie, climbed on, and gave the biker a small wave as I eased back to the road.

Then, uncharacteristically, I gunned the throttle and accelerated hard down the hill towards town.

--

Shadows danced over my visor, and I felt almost alive as I leaned into each corner. Bonnie sang, deep-throated, and I exulted as we curled through one sweeping hairpin. I opened the throttle further and we roared down the straight, wind whistling over us. I eased on the brakes, leaned into the corner, and was laughing to myself when the white van flashed into view ahead, well over the centreline, barreling straight towards me.

"Christ!"

I did the instinctive, stupid thing and grabbed as much brake as I could. The front wheel locked, Bonnie lowsided, and she and I slid ignominiously off into the bushes at speed, screaming all the way.

--

"Fuck. Fuck. Oh God. Fuck."

Slowly the ringing in my ears receded. I lay on my back, staring up through the brambles at the clouds; tasting the dust in my mouth. A minute, two minutes, five... I lay, just breathing, thankful that I hadn't collided with the van. I took stock of my condition as my heart-rate slowed. I could wiggle my toes, and my arms seemed ok. My neck seemed ok too - no real pain.

Fatalistically, I decided to sit up. If my neck was broken, at least I'd die quickly. Probably.

I removed my helmet and stared around. I'd slid some distance down a gentle slope into the brambles, but I seemed to have somehow come through surprisingly well. I blessed Peter and his insistence that I have a proper armoured jacket, though the thorns had torn the leather up quite badly. Small spots of blood dappled my thighs and I could feel them stinging; clearly my jeans hadn't done as well.

I staggered to my feet, then fought my way out of the thorns. I found Bonnie on her side a bit further down the slope, and I retrieved my keys and turned off the ignition. Fuel was leaking out of her and the last thing I wanted was for her to burn. I climbed slowly back up to the road, and sat down. I pulled off my gloves and put them and my helmet down next to me.

Then I simply sat, eyes closed, breathing, feeling the wind on my skin.

There was no sign of the van, and for a while all I could hear was the rustling of the grass around me and the distant bleating of sheep. Then in the distance I heard the song of a motorcycle. It grew in volume, and I was somehow unsurprised to see the red and white sports-bike flash into view around the corner.

The rider saw me and sat upright, braking hard, but he was carrying too much speed and overshot me; I watched as he swung round further downhill to come back and pull off the road next to me.

I squinted up at him.

"Are you ok?"

"I think so," I answered.

He put his bike onto its side stand and climbed off. "Where's your Triumph?"

"She got tired and decided to lie down for a while."

He pulled off his helmet and squatted down to my level. "Hi. I'm Alan," he said. "You're bleeding," he added helpfully.

"I took a nap in the brambles."

He grinned. "You can't be too badly hurt if you're still able to laugh about a crash."

"Laughter is all I have left at this point."

"Here", he said, handing me a small roll of glucose sweets. "Eat one of two of these; it will help with the shock. Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

"No... I don't think you need to. But I have no idea how I'm going to get my bike back home."

"Where is it?"

I pointed. "About twenty yards down. You can't miss her. Follow the smell of fuel."

He winced, then stood and peered down the slope. "It doesn't look too bad from here. Let me go check."

I listened as he forced his way down through the bushes. "Your bike looks more or less intact," he called. I heard him grunt. "Your clutch and gear lever are shagged, but everything else looks ok."

"What are you doing?" I called.

"Getting you your bike back," he huffed in return.

"Don't be silly, you'll hurt yourself!"

"I am... nothing... if not... stubborn..." followed by various muffled words, likely curses.

I levered myself up to my feet, and stood watching as he grunted and struggled. "Here, wait," I called, and I picked my way slowly down to him. "Let me help."

Between the two of us we managed to manhandle my bike back up to the road. He got her up onto her stand, and I watched as he inspected her. Then he stood and wiped the sweat off his face. "Amazing. It's hardly damaged"

"It rained the other night," I said. "That and the engine guards probably helped. Do you think she will start?"

"Probably best not to try; she may have some internal damage."

"Well, bollocks... how'm I going to get home then?"

"Got a phone?"

I reached into my pocket, then pulled out a collection of smashed electronics that had once been my phone. "Uh... make that a no."

"Hang on."

He undid his jacket and hopped around, swearing under his breath. "Here," he said, handing a battered iPhone to me. "Do you have any sort of breakdown cover?"

"No," I said, laughing softly. "Never had the budget for a crash."

He grinned sympathetically. "Got a friend with a van?"

"Yeah."

"Give him a call and ask him to bring some planks and ratchet straps so we can get your Triumph into the back."

--

"Janice?"

"Heather? What number is this?"

"Emergency phone. Jan, I need help. I crashed Bonnie."

"Christ. Are you ok?"

"I'm midway down the road from the lookout point. I've got someone here who reckons that all we need is a van and some straps to get her back to the house."

"Tell her they don't need to be ratchet straps but it will make things easier if they are," Alan interjected.

"Who's that?" said Janice.

"My leather-clad white-knight," I answered.

"Your what?" said Alan, laughing.

"Put him on," demanded Janice.

I wordlessly handed the phone to Alan, watching his half of the interrogation with amusement.

"Yes, hi."

"My name's Alan."

"No, she seems fine. No sign of injuries bar some battle damage from brambles. A little bit of panel beating and she'll be right as rain."

"No, she's not delusional, I am indeed wearing leather."

"No, I'm not telling you what I'm wearing underneath it."

"Yes, I'll wait till you get here."

He shook his head, laughing softly as he hung up. "Looks like you're stuck with me for a bit. She said she's going to get someone to mind her shop and then come rescue you from my clutches."

"Oh woe. My adventure is ending already."

"So what happened?"

"A white van man came round the corner in my lane. I grabbed a fistful of brake and bit the dust."

"Christ, you're lucky. That could have been far worse. I'm amazed you got off so lightly given the speed you were probably going."

"I think I slid more than bounced... though I can tell I'm going to have some interesting bruises."

"Battle scars."

"I have more than enough of those already."

He shot me a glance, but didn't press for information. "Well, for what it's worth I'm glad I followed you."

"Oh, is that what you were doing?" I said, archly.

"I could hear you pushing hard downhill and decided to do the same." He shrugged. "It was clearly a good idea."

"Pity I ran out of skill."

"I've done what you did twice," he said. "You got off lightly; I've still got metal pins in my ankle."

"Ugh," I shuddered. "Must make air travel interesting. Setting off metal detectors all the time."

He grinned. "It gets old after a while. Hang on, let me just let my assistant know I won't be making it in."

He dialed a number. "Abby? Alan. I won't be in this morning; please tell Ray and Vic. No, no, nothing serious, just helping a friend move some furniture." He winked at me. "Yeah, yeah, I know... it was kind of last minute. Please tender my apologies. Tell them the world's smallest violin etcetera etcetera. Package it up like you always do for them. Thanks. Thanks, you're a star. Ciao."

He hung up. "I'm all yours for the morning."

His smile was boyish, despite the grey hairs.

And I couldn't help but smile back.

--

I watched Alan wheel Bonnie under the tree and cover her, trying to ignore the sting of the alcohol Janice was using to clean my wounds.

"Just breathe, honey," she said softly. "Almost done."

"I didn't realise there were as many holes in me as that," I hissed, as she dabbed at the cut on my thigh.

"You did a good job on yourself here, I'll give you that."

"Stupid thing to do. And now I've fucked Bonnie up too. Peter would be so angry."

"Nonsense. He'd have been glad you got out ok. He'd have enjoyed fixing her, too. You know he loved working with his hands."

"I miss him, Jan."

"So do I, my girl. I miss my baby boy every day. But you know he wouldn't want you living like this." She fetched me a clean shirt. "Here. It's an old one in case you bleed some more."

"It's not fair," I whispered. "He should be here, not me."

"All of you should be here," she returned, as softly. "But they aren't and you are and you owe it to them to live the years they didn't get."

"I can't." I swallowed, crying now. "I can't. There's a hole where my heart was and it's never going to heal."

"Then go faster next time," she said, hard and level.

I took a shuddering breath.

"Oh, excuse me!" Alan ducked back through the doorway to the kitchen. "Sorry, I didn't... I was just checking everything was ok."

"Everything's fine," Janice called. Then, gently, "Pull yourself together, Heather. I'll make the nice boy some tea." She paused. "They're gone, we're not. Life is largely cruel. But it doesn't always have to be."

--

Alan had studiously avoided mentioning my red eyes and nose. I'd sensed his embarrassment at having seen me in my underwear, but I'd felt too self-conscious to try to put him at ease. And anyway, we'd both looked ridiculous; me in my shorts that were blossoming with little bloody bramble flowers and him in a high-tech wicking vest and leather motorcycle trousers, sipping tea as if he were in a box at Lords.

Janice had kept us talking, bless her, and slowly the stilted conversation had eased. And as it had I had scrutinised my unlikely hero; noting the laugh lines that crinkled the corners of his eyes and the deep furrows when he frowned.