craved at least two weeks a year somewhere hot and
sunny.
Their only trip abroad was to Spain, and a
disaster as Lucy found fault at every opportunity. Paranoid of
eating “that oily Spanish muck”, she lost so much weight in the six
days she managed to stay before catching an early flight home that
the family dubbed it the ‘Lucy Diet’ – go to Malaga to lose 10
pounds rapidly.
Foreign holidays, like German cars, Japanese
TVs and Australian beer, were banned in their household. As far as
she was concerned Yorkshire was the centre of the universe, and
some parts of England - like London, for instance - were only
acceptable for short visits. But only occasionally. The rest of the
earth’s surface was akin to the place opposite to heaven.
“There’s nowt wrong with Scarborough for a
good break, love,” she insisted. “You won’t get any of that spicy
dog meat that they serve in Spain.”
Dennis continued to see Maida, learning about
her Muslim culture with genuine interest.
“I’m glad you don’t see us all as potential
terrorists, Dennis. We abhor terrorism by our own people just as
much as Westerners, possibly more so, because it gives us such a
bad image.”
“Yep, I agree, but just trying tell that to
me mam. She’s old school in every sense. Calls sikhs wrap
heads.”
“It’s a pity she’s so prejudiced because I
would really like to take our relationship further, even though it
would also be hard for my family to accept me dating a Christian
with a view to marrying him.”
Dennis loved the relationship he had with
Maida, but because of the cultural differences he was torn. For
appearance sakes he was also seeing Patsy Clayton, a family friend
who he had always been attracted to but circumstances worked
against them. Neither girlfriend knew of the other’s existence.
Patsy lived with her nine-year-old daughter
in Castleford in an extended bungalow left by her first husband.
Her life had a tragic edge having been twice widowed. Her first
husband, who was much older, died of a heart attack. The second was
murdered by a knifeman in an attempted robbery in Naples, witnesses
said. He was never caught. Patsy was sleeping in her hotel room at
the time and was so distraught she attempted suicide soon after by
overdosing on dozens of prescribed pills washed down with gin.
Thankfully, her sister, who had a key to the house, popped round
just in time to raise the alarm.
The local community really supported Patsy
during her bereavement and they rallied round again after the
suicide attempt. She became a local celebrity after all that
trauma.
Linking up with Dennis helped her cope with
the depression. He visited her in hospital. She soon bounced back.
Vivacious and fun, Dennis enjoyed Patsy’s company immensely in a
different way to the dynamics he had with Maida. A financial
adviser, Patsy liked to get away from being a hard working mum
through salsa dancing and horse riding on the Yorkshire Moors. A
fluent Spanish speaker, she had travelled around Central and South
America extensively.
Lucy took to Patsy from the off, and the fact
that she was a young widowed mother trying to get over two
tragedies and a suicide attempt made her more acceptable.
“Patsy will never break your heart, Dennis,
she knows what the pain of losing a partner feels like.”
“I like her but she’s not really my type,
mam. She’s great to be with but she tries too hard. There’s an
insecurity about her that puts me off. It’s not money she’s after,
just affection and a sense of self-worth.”
“Well, she’s certainly not after your money,
dear. Both her husbands left plenty of that for her and that lovely
little girl, plus she makes a great living in the financial
world.”
Patsy met Lucy’s exacting standards, but
Dennis’s heart was really with Maida. However she still had to be
kept on the down low for the time being. Maida couldn’t be open
either. All the secrecy was excruciating for both.
As time went on,
sunny.
Their only trip abroad was to Spain, and a
disaster as Lucy found fault at every opportunity. Paranoid of
eating “that oily Spanish muck”, she lost so much weight in the six
days she managed to stay before catching an early flight home that
the family dubbed it the ‘Lucy Diet’ – go to Malaga to lose 10
pounds rapidly.
Foreign holidays, like German cars, Japanese
TVs and Australian beer, were banned in their household. As far as
she was concerned Yorkshire was the centre of the universe, and
some parts of England - like London, for instance - were only
acceptable for short visits. But only occasionally. The rest of the
earth’s surface was akin to the place opposite to heaven.
“There’s nowt wrong with Scarborough for a
good break, love,” she insisted. “You won’t get any of that spicy
dog meat that they serve in Spain.”
Dennis continued to see Maida, learning about
her Muslim culture with genuine interest.
“I’m glad you don’t see us all as potential
terrorists, Dennis. We abhor terrorism by our own people just as
much as Westerners, possibly more so, because it gives us such a
bad image.”
“Yep, I agree, but just trying tell that to
me mam. She’s old school in every sense. Calls sikhs wrap
heads.”
“It’s a pity she’s so prejudiced because I
would really like to take our relationship further, even though it
would also be hard for my family to accept me dating a Christian
with a view to marrying him.”
Dennis loved the relationship he had with
Maida, but because of the cultural differences he was torn. For
appearance sakes he was also seeing Patsy Clayton, a family friend
who he had always been attracted to but circumstances worked
against them. Neither girlfriend knew of the other’s existence.
Patsy lived with her nine-year-old daughter
in Castleford in an extended bungalow left by her first husband.
Her life had a tragic edge having been twice widowed. Her first
husband, who was much older, died of a heart attack. The second was
murdered by a knifeman in an attempted robbery in Naples, witnesses
said. He was never caught. Patsy was sleeping in her hotel room at
the time and was so distraught she attempted suicide soon after by
overdosing on dozens of prescribed pills washed down with gin.
Thankfully, her sister, who had a key to the house, popped round
just in time to raise the alarm.
The local community really supported Patsy
during her bereavement and they rallied round again after the
suicide attempt. She became a local celebrity after all that
trauma.
Linking up with Dennis helped her cope with
the depression. He visited her in hospital. She soon bounced back.
Vivacious and fun, Dennis enjoyed Patsy’s company immensely in a
different way to the dynamics he had with Maida. A financial
adviser, Patsy liked to get away from being a hard working mum
through salsa dancing and horse riding on the Yorkshire Moors. A
fluent Spanish speaker, she had travelled around Central and South
America extensively.
Lucy took to Patsy from the off, and the fact
that she was a young widowed mother trying to get over two
tragedies and a suicide attempt made her more acceptable.
“Patsy will never break your heart, Dennis,
she knows what the pain of losing a partner feels like.”
“I like her but she’s not really my type,
mam. She’s great to be with but she tries too hard. There’s an
insecurity about her that puts me off. It’s not money she’s after,
just affection and a sense of self-worth.”
“Well, she’s certainly not after your money,
dear. Both her husbands left plenty of that for her and that lovely
little girl, plus she makes a great living in the financial
world.”
Patsy met Lucy’s exacting standards, but
Dennis’s heart was really with Maida. However she still had to be
kept on the down low for the time being. Maida couldn’t be open
either. All the secrecy was excruciating for both.
As time went on,
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