Distant Horizon

Friday am: There was a sharp December breeze blowing off the sea as Cathy jogged along Kessingland beach. The further she jogged, the more awake she became as the fresh, salty sea air whipped at her skin turning her cheeks and nose red. Breathing in, breathing out. The air clouding over like smoke as her warm breath hit the cold air. Feet pounding the floor. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. Cathy looked up at the clouds; they were a dark bluish grey. Snow clouds? Possibly? Maybe it would snow today, she thought, just like the day of the accident.

It had been nearly two years since the two cars had collided in that blizzard. To Cathy it felt like a lifetime. She still couldn’t remember anything about the accident, just that they had been traveling home from a friend’s house, she’d fallen asleep in the passenger seat while her husband Mark was driving and then she’d woken up in hospital five days later to a life without Mark. Cathy remembered how she had stared numbly; her mother crying beside the bed, while her dad explained to her what had happened. Cathy couldn’t take it in and didn’t cry properly until Mark’s funeral.

Both Mark and the driver of the other car had died at the scene of the accident. The doctors had told her that she was a lucky girl to get out of the accident alive. She didn’t feel lucky, she felt empty. Couldn’t anyone see, she had lost the perfect life that she had shared with her husband and all because of an inconsiderate driver who had decided that he wasn’t too drunk to drive!

Cathy had moved to Kessingland about two months after the funeral, deciding that if she was ever going to get over this then she needed a new start. When she spoke to her psychologist about it he’d said it would be good for her. Everything in the old house reminded her of Mark and it was becoming unbearable, so she sold the house along with all the furniture and ended up here.

Cathy still felt hollow inside when she thought about how much she had lost through someone else’s carelessness. Deep down Cathy knew that there would always be something missing and no matter how hard she tried nothing could ever change that.

There was something soothing about the beach. From as far back as childhood Cathy had always enjoyed going to the seaside. She had pleasant memories of building sandcastles with her mother and splashing in the waves with her father. But now it was as if the sea breeze blew the cobwebs away and brought peace to her mind.

Cathy jogged every morning at around eight and because she worked from home she didn’t need to rush back to get ready to join the ‘Rat Race’. It was amazing how many people would come down to the beach at this time in the morning, usually with their dogs. They were mostly in their sixties, obviously retired to the beach for peace and quiet, and she didn’t blame them.

Cathy was getting to know the regular beech walkers, as they would call out a friendly ‘Hello’ or ‘Good morning’ or ‘How are you today?’ in her direction. In the beginning Cathy kept looking behind her until she had realised that they were speaking to her. You didn’t get friendliness on this scale in the towns, people usually kept themselves to themselves, so it took a little while to get used to it.

Cathy stopped at her usual place to stretch and drink some water. Looking out to sea, sometimes there would be big ships far off in the distance; this morning however there was a black Labrador swimming in the water. Cathy looked around for the owner but couldn’t see anyone. She was just about to start jogging again, when she spotted a tall, muscular man start striding out of the sea like Poseidon rising from the waves. “He must be mad!” she said to herself. As Cathy carried on looking, the dog followed him out of the water and started running playfully round his legs, its tail wagging furiously. He picked up a ball and threw it to one side, the dog shot off after it. While free of the dog he picked up his towel and started drying his hair.

The dog ran, picked up the ball and brought it back to his owner, dropping it at his feet. Tail wagging, he looked up, expectantly and the owner threw the ball again; it landed about a foot in front of her. Catching her staring he smiled and headed up the beach towards his dog. Cathy decided that it was time to start jogging again, embarrassed by the fact that he’d caught her staring.

There were several steps down to the beach, most of them privately owned and when Cathy reached the steps at her end, she turned back and looked. He had just reached the top of the steps that she used everyday for stretching. They led to a large detached white house, which had big bay doors that opened onto a veranda that overlooked the sea. When Cathy had first started jogging along the beach she’d decided it was definitely the best-looking property along the seafront. As she reached the top of the steps she picked up the pace and sprinted to the front door of her semi-detached two-bedroom bungalow.

Saturday am: Cathy started her jog at the same time as usual, jogging through the village first to pick up the newspaper and then heading towards the beach. It hadn’t snowed yesterday after all and Cathy had already decided that when it did she would no longer go jogging.

As Cathy started to jog along the seafront she found herself looking for the black Labrador and his owner. There’s the dog, she thought as she spotted him running in and out of the waves. Feeling excited, like a schoolgirl with her first crush she began scanning the sea around the dog, looking for his owner. She couldn’t see him anywhere. As Cathy got closer to where the dog was, she told herself not to be so stupid. She wasn’t ready for another relationship; she’d barely gotten over loosing Mark. It was then that Cathy turned to look where she was going, ran smack into someone and fell to the floor.

“I’m so sorry. I was watching that dog…” She looked up, “your dog over there……” trailing off as she realised just who she’d bumped into. He was wearing a dark blue robe and carrying a matching towel. His dark hair wasn’t wet yet, so he must be on his way down to the sea.

“Are you all right?” He said extending a large hand down and pulling her up.

“Oh fine, just a little bump on my…well…you know where?” She smiled at him, “That’s a great dog you’ve got there.” Changing the subject to avoid more embarrassment.

“Yes, she’s great! Her name is Horizon.” He said smiling, “And my name is Andy.”

She extended her hand to shake his. “It’s nice to meet you Andy, I’m Cathy. That’s a strange name for a dog?”

“Well it came from the first time I brought her down the beach. She was only a pup and very excited. As soon as she saw the water she jumped in it and began swimming off into the distance. I had to strip off to my underwear right here on the beach and swim out to get her in just my pants. So she earned the name Horizon and I started swimming every morning with her. It keeps her happy and it keeps me fit!”

Horizon ran up to the both of them, tail wagging and tongue hanging out. She stopped in front of them and shook water everywhere, covering them both.

“That’s my cue to get in the water.” He laughed. “Here, borrow my towel to dry off.”

“Thanks, but I’m okay, I think you got most of the water.”

“Well then, let me take you out to dinner tonight to make up for it?” He said, out of the blue.

“Well, I don’t know…I..” Cathy stammered trying to think of how to get out of it.

“I’m not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. How about The Sailors Arms just up the road? They cook some lovely fish dishes. You do like fish, don’t you?”

Cathy nodded.

“It’s set then. We’ll meet in The Sailors Arms at seven.” And without letting her reply he ran down the beach towards the sea.

Cathy didn’t quite know what had happened and as she jogged home she tried to convince herself that she would enjoy it.

Saturday pm: Cathy stood in front of the mirror doing her hair and makeup, she tried to tell herself that it was time to get on with life. That going out for a meal with a very nice and extremely handsome man was a positive step.

She had phoned her Mum earlier to tell her about it, expecting maybe hoping for her Mum to talk her out of it. Her Mum had laughed and said that it was about time she met a nice man. No, it doesn’t mean that you love any Mark less. Mark would want you to get on with it. And then she rattled out the ‘It’s time to move on’ speech. Cathy knew that this speech could go on forever, so she said she’d got to start getting ready. And her Mum had told her to enjoy herself and to call her ‘old’ Mum tomorrow to let her know how she got on.

Cathy kept going over the words her Mum had said and trying to convince herself. She couldn’t cancel the date, she didn’t have his number, and she couldn’t let him sit down there waiting and not turn up. So there was no way out and she continued to get ready, telling herself that it wasn’t a date, it was just a friendly meal.

The Sailors Arms was a very old-fashioned seafront pub decorated with pictures of boats, anchors, nets and other sea fishing regalia. She’d never been in this pub; she hadn’t really been out since Mark had died. Her Mum and Dad had taken her out for the odd meal to get her out of the house but some how she couldn’t drag herself out on her own. Mark had not only been her husband but he’d been her best friend as well and now he had gone, it just didn’t seem worth getting dressed up and going out. If she went out with friends, they’d all talk about the families so she’d feel out of place.

Cathy was surprised to see how cosy the pub was with its candles on the tables and lights dimmed. It just looked like an ordinary pub from the outside but it was more like a restaurant inside. She walked up to the bar, ordered herself an orange juice and was just about to pay, when a voice said, “I’ll get that.” Cathy turned around to find Andy standing behind her.

“Thanks.” She said as she looked up to him and smiled. She’d never noticed this morning just how green his eyes were. “I didn’t see you when I came in, I was busy admiring the place.”

“It’s great isn’t it? Our table is over there by the window.” He said and escorted her over.

They walked over to the table, passing a huge log fireplace which smelt of wood burning making you feel even more at home. He pulled out her chair, “I’m sorry about Horizon earlier today, she gets very excited at swim time.”

“That’s ok, I love dogs. I think I should maybe get myself one, everyone else seems to have one here. It would make a great jogging companion and I could probably do with the company at home.”

Cathy had thought it would be a hard night but every time there was the slightest hint of silence Andy could find something to talk about. The funny thing was the more they talked the more they seemed to have in common. He had also been married and lost his wife, so they understood each others pain at their loss. It felt good to talk with someone other than her parents, she’d almost forgotten how good.

The waitress came over and asked, “Would you like to see the dessert menu?”

“I’m quite stuffed.” Cathy said, “But if you would like something…”

“Well in that case,” Andy said, “I’ll have a piece of the Peach Pavlova on the specials board.” Turning to Cathy he said, “Their desserts are to die for.”

Cathy couldn’t quite believe her eyes when the waitress bought the plate over. She never seen a dessert that size before. He picked up his dessert fork and sliced a bit off, “Here, try a bit?” He said.

“No really, I’m quite full.” Cathy smiled.

“I won’t take no for an answer.” He said and pointed the fork in her direction. “I never take no for an answer!”

“Well ok.” Cathy said and ended up sharing the whole thing with him.

At the end of the night he walked her to her car. “Thank you for a lovely night out.” She said, “Maybe it could be my treat next time?”

“I’ve been wanting to do this all night.” He pulled her close to him and brought her mouth up to meet his. The kiss tasted of Peach Pavlova and made her heart race. When he pulled away, she stayed where she was for a minute wanting more.

“So I’ll see you on the beach tomorrow.”

Cathy nodded and got in her car and headed home. And as the first snowflakes of winter hit the car windshield on the way home she thought, Mum was right; it is time to move on.