Ghost Song

Chapter 2

TWO

Once Jonathan informed Meryl that he had decided to confide in her, she excused herself for a moment so that she could pour herself a drink, say goodnight to her staff, and thank the musicians for playing such a marvellous set.

Jonathan sipped his drink, nervously, and watched while Mike showed the bar staff out and locked the main door behind them.

The band finished their drinks and walked over to the bar to leave their empty glasses.

As Meryl showed them to the door, Jonathan called out to the lead singer.

“Young lady,” he stood up to catch her attention. “I was wondering if I might have a quick word with you before you leave?”

The girl smiled and walked over to the old man’s table, closely followed by the rest of the band. “Yes,” she said, cheerfully, “what can I do for you?”

Meryl suspected that Jonathan was about to ask the young singer about her encore, so she came back over and stood next to the old man.

Jonathan was visibly shaking so he tried to steady himself by holding onto the back of his chair, but Meryl grabbed his arm and insisted that he sit back down before he started to speak, so the old man complied with her wishes and re-took his seat.

“I was just wondering…about that song you sang at the end of your concert…you mentioned that your mother taught it to you when you were a baby.”

The girl smiled. “That’s right, it’s a bit of a staple amongst the Romany clan as it’s usually the first song we’re ever taught. Why do you ask, have you heard it somewhere before?”

Jonathan rubbed his hands together as if to ward off the night cold when in truth it was still quite warm in the bar, and the log fire which Mike had been replenishing throughout the evening was still blazing away across the room.

As he opened his mouth to answer, the words caught in his throat. Jonathan turned his face away and held his hand to his mouth to clear his throat, once more.

When he turned back, Meryl was holding up his glass as if to encourage him to take a sip before he continued. Jonathan thanked her and took a long swallow before replacing the glass on the table.

The young female singer leaned over the table and rested her hand on Jonathan’s sleeve. “I’m so sorry,” she said, softly, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Jonathan waved his hand as if to dismiss her concern. “Not at all, young lady,” he replied, “you didn’t upset me, it’s just…” He paused, as if unable to find the words he was looking for.

He turned to Meryl, as if for inspiration.

Meryl, sensing the old man’s discomfort, decided to intervene.

She called over to her husband to fetch everyone a drink, and invited the artists to take a seat. “Let’s all get comfortable,” she suggested, cheerfully. “We’ll have ourselves a little lock-in, just an informal gathering between new friends. Something to keep the cold at bay for a little longer.”

While Mike fetched the drinks and the band made themselves comfortable, Meryl took the opportunity to discreetly whisper into Jonathan’s ear- just to make sure that he was comfortable relaying his tale in front of everyone.

She was starting to feel a little guilty that she had put him on the spot, even though he was the one who had called the band members over to join them.

Regardless of how much her husband teased her, Meryl was not one to pry into someone else’s business. However, she had the distinct impression that the old man was carrying a burden which he desperately needed to share.

Once Mike had brought over the drinks and everyone had taken their seats, Meryl raised her glass. “Cheers everyone,” she offered her glass up for the others to clink, and once the wishes had been passed, they all took a drink.

Jonathan knew that everyone was waiting for him to answer the young singer’s earlier question, so he decided it was best just to pitch in without over-thinking it. Otherwise he was afraid that he might back out, and part of him was determined that the time had finally arrived to tell his story.

Taking a deep breath, he began. “Now then young lady, you asked me if I had ever heard your song before…”

“It’s Melissa,” the singer informed him. She turned to the rest of the band. “This is Julie, Fred and Barry.”

They all waved and nodded their acknowledgement, and Jonathan reciprocated.

“Well, the truth of the matter is,” he continued, keeping his voice low as if he were afraid that someone outside might overhear him, “many years ago, long before any of you were even born, I went through a terrifying experience which will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

The gathering all exchanged glances at the old man’s revelation.

Their expressions showed a combination of shock and anticipation.

Finally, Melissa spoke up. “And what you went through, it had something to do with the song we finished our set with?” she asked, curiously.

Jonathan nodded. “I realise it must sound ridiculous that such a beautiful song should cause me so much distress, but if you’ll allow me to explain the circumstances to you then perhaps you will understand why my memory of it is so disturbing.”

“Of course,” Melissa responded, soothingly. “I think you’ve got us all intrigued now.”

There were several nods from around the table.

The old man knew that he had passed the point of no return, and now - even though the mere thought of it sent an ice-cold shiver down his spine - he felt compelled to tell his story.

He considered for a moment what might be the worst-case scenario under the circumstances if he told those gathered his account of what had happened to him all those years ago.

As far as he was concerned, his life was all but over anyway.

Death was just a waiting game for him, and so it had been for more years than he could remember.

The old man rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, as if to symbolically clear away any doubts which lingered to prevent him from speaking.

He was ready!

“It’s hard to know where to start,” he said, almost in a rhetorical fashion, not looking at anyone in particular. “I don’t want to bore you with my life story - you know how some old people love to ramble on about the good old days, and what they did and did not do.”

He looked up, and was encouraged by the fact that everyone seemed to find his last statement amusing.

“I met my wife Jenifer in the late sixties at a pop festival, if you can believe it. It was during the summer in a large field where everyone had to bring their own tents and sleeping bags, unless they were happy just sleeping on the ground under the stars.

“The air was charged with flower-power and free love, and there were several people experimenting with pot and various other forms of recreational drugs.”

He looked up. “Not me, you understand, I was way too boring and straight-laced for all that.”

There was a smattering of laughter in response.

“At the time,” he continued, “I was working in a bank in our local high street, so I had to ensure that I did not let myself go too much. In those days you could find yourself being handed your cards for the slightest thing, if it was considered unbecoming behaviour by your employers. Especially when you worked for such a conservative organisation as I did.

“I remember that it was the second day I was there. The weather had been gorgeously hot, and like many in attendance I was completely caught up in the romance of the spectacle.

“Some of the bands seemed to play throughout the night, so that whenever you dropped off there was still music when you woke up.

“There were caravans and stalls selling fish and chips, hotdogs, doughnuts, candyfloss and all manner of treats, so the air was permanently infused with the smell of tempting food wafting across the field, which in turn made you feel hungry even when you weren’t.

“I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on my wife. It was late afternoon on the second day, and suddenly the whole world seemed to stop as this vision of loveliness walked by, right in front of me. Her beauty was captivating. She had the face of an angel and skin the texture of porcelain, with lustrous flowing blond locks cascading down around her shoulders. For a moment I could no longer hear the music or the shouts and chants of all those around me, and it literally felt as if the breath had been sucked out of my body.

“I turned to watch her walk away, and in that instant I felt compelled to follow her wherever she was going. Bear in mind I had no idea what I was going to do when she reached her destination; I wasn’t the type of bloke who felt comfortable just walking up to a girl and starting a conversation, especially not with one who was as pretty as her. But something spurred me on. Something told me to persevere and let fate take its course, so on I went.

“The way she managed to weave through the huge crowd with such grace and elegance was in complete contrast to my clumsy attempt at following her without making it appear too obvious. I lost track of how many times I tripped and stumbled over bodies writhing on the floor. Fortunately for me, most of them seemed so lost in the spirit of the moment that they didn’t appear to notice my clod-hoping attempt at dancing around - rather than on top - of them.

“Eventually, I caught up with her standing in a queue to buy candy floss. I waited a few feet behind her feeling completely inadequate and disappointed with myself for not being able to approach her. Furthermore, being this close to her, I knew that if she saw me when she turned around there was no way that I could continue to follow her without causing her alarm, and that was the last thing I wanted.

“As luck would have it, fate stepped in for me. As she turned around having just purchased her treat, a young couple, both clearly high on something, careered into her and sent her flying off her feet straight towards me. The whole scene could have ended very messily, but as it was I managed to catch her and stop her from falling; although her candyfloss ended up on the grass.

“The couple who had caused the accident were totally oblivious to what they had done, and continued to veer across the field bumping into everyone in their path.

“Jenifer was clearly miffed at the fate of her candy, but once I let go of her she turned around to thank me for saving her from falling. I made some joke about not being fast enough to save her candy as well, and she laughed. There was obviously no point in going after the couple as they were now lost somewhere in the melee, so instead I offered to buy another candyfloss.

“At first, she protested and said that she couldn’t let me, but before she could stop me I had my money on the counter and I had placed her order.

“When I handed over her new stick, Jenifer leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. I know that I must have blushed because I could feel my face burning.”

“Well, it’s so nice to see that chivalry is alive and well,” she said, trying not to laugh at my reaction to her kiss.

“We introduced ourselves to each other, and without even realising it I guided her over to a much quieter area of the field so that we could sit on a bench and talk. I was desperate to know everything about her: where she lived, what she did, what ambitions she had, what her hobbies were, and in the end, I managed to bombard her with questions for so long that the next time I looked up, the sun was starting to set behind the field.

“Of course, the bands were still playing and the crowds in the field were in no way ready to wind down, but when Jenifer put her hand in front of her mouth to stifle a yawn I realised that I had monopolised far too much of her time, and that it wasn’t really fair of me to keep her there any longer.

“The worst part was that even though we had been chatting together for so long, I still did not feel sufficiently confident enough to ask her out on an official date. With a heavy heart I remember mumbling something about letting her get back to her friends who must be worried not to have seen her for so long. But to my surprise, not to mention delight, she announced that the group she had come with had agreed to all do their own thing once they arrived, and that in fact she had not clapped eyes on several of them since they had got there.”

Jonathan could feel his throat beginning to become dry, so he leaned over and lifted his glass to his lips and took several good swallows to lubricate his vocal chords.

“Anyway,” he continued, “as wondrous as this news was to hear, I still felt completely inept at trying to contrive a feasible excuse to keep Jenifer in my company.

“I remember there was a very awkward moment’s silence while I was desperately trying to think of what to say next. Jenifer didn’t help matters by just sitting there gazing around at the field, looking almost good enough to eat.

“In the end I think I asked her if she was hungry, which she wasn’t. So next I offered her a drink, but again she replied that she was fine. The feeling that I was fast losing her interest in me was almost tangible as I continued to wrack my brains to think of what to say next. Finally, just as I thought that all was lost, she laid her head on my chest and gently snuggled into me as if she were about to go to sleep.

“To say that I was taken-aback would be an understatement. I remember feeling completely numb as if I had been shot by a stun-gun, or something equally as ridiculous, and for a moment I could not will my body to respond to Jenifer’s action. Fortunately the effect was merely temporary, and slowly I moved my arms up and around her so that I could hold her properly.

“We stayed like that for ages. It was wonderful, and I for one did not want the moment to ever end. But the sun had well and truly set, and with the darkness soon came the cold. Even though it was the middle of summer the wind soon picked up, and Jenifer only had on a thin blouse so it wasn’t long before I could feel her shivering in my arms.

“Sadly, I didn’t even have anything over my shirt to offer her to ward off the chill, so after a while we were both sitting there, literally shaking from the cold.

“It sounds so ridiculous now, especially saying it out loud, but at the time and given the circumstances, I was so afraid of shattering the magic of the moment that I tried to ignore the fact that we were both freezing, preferring instead just to try and ignore the sensation and pretend as if it were not really the case.

“But, eventually, Jenifer could stand it no longer. She eased herself away from me and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, rubbing them vigorously to try and re-start her circulation. In that split second, I was afraid that she was going to make her excuses and that I would never see her again. The fact that we had enjoyed a cuddle together meant nothing at the time, as everyone was experimenting with being more open with their feelings and women especially seemed less afraid of being given a derogatory label for being too tactile.

“But as it turned out, my fears were erroneous.”

“Well I don’t know about you,” she began, “but I need something more than just your arms to keep me warm tonight.”

“Before I had a chance to respond, she kissed me gently on the cheek and skipped off the bench.”

“Why don’t you go and get something warmer too?” she suggested, “and we can meet back here, afterwards.”

“To some, her words might sound like a brush-off, a polite way of making an excuse to leave with the intention of never returning. But as I gazed into Jenifer’s eyes I somehow knew that her words were being spoken in earnest, and that she had every intention to keep to her promise to return to our bench.

“We set off in our different directions and within five minutes I had collected my jumper and jacket from my tent, and was back on our bench.

“I waited for what seemed an eternity but in reality, it was probably no more than half an hour, before I saw Jenifer re-emerging through the crowd and heading towards me, bundled up in an oversized tan jumper and a padded overcoat with a beaming smile on her face.

“We spent that night snuggled together on that lonely bench, far enough away from the crowds to feel as if we were in our own space but not too far away to hear the music from the various stages dotted around the field.

“I had never believed in love at first sight, until that night. By the morning I found myself engulfed by an overwhelming wave of emotion, and before I could stop myself I blurted out my feelings to Jenifer like some infatuated teenager with a schoolboy crush.”

Jonathan looked around the table at his audience. He wanted to glean from their expressions whether he was boring them to death or not.

It struck him that this was the first time he had ever reminisced about his wife to a stranger, let alone a group of them, and he was surprised by how effortlessly the words were flowing out of him.

There were so many wonderful things about his wife that he longed to divulge, but he knew that this was not the correct forum and definitely not the right time.

Those assembled had only stayed because he had piqued their curiosity concerning his recollection of having heard their song all those years ago, and why the very sound of it now brought back such terrible nightmares. Nightmares which he had lived with for over fifty years, too afraid to so much as share his experiences with another living soul.

But now, it appeared, the time had finally come!

“What was Jenifer’s reaction to your outpouring of affection?” It was the other female band member who asked the question.

Jonathan smiled. “Fortunately for me Jenifer was not only wonderfully kind, but also sensible, and she told me in no uncertain terms that although she was very attracted to me, she needed to know me a lot better before contemplating falling in love with me.”

“Sensible woman,” Meryl observed, shooting her husband a knowing wink.

“That she was,” Jonathan agreed. “Sensible, beautiful, caring, compassionate…I could go on forever bestowing her virtues. But unfortunately, the story I have to tell you has little to do with the happiness my wife brought me, and more to do with the terror I was yet to suffer at the hands of another.