The World According to Jessie

Chapter Two

"...Oh I do like to be beside the seaside... well, around the corner from it actually...'

Five and a half hours and surprisingly only one coffee stop later, me and my little red Fiesta found ourselves pulling into New South Promenade just as the night had turned into midnight blue. I drove along behind the string of cars in front that were stopping to 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the lights blazing from the Pleasure Beach and South Pier. No doubt, they would be on top of the Big One tomorrow, screaming their lungs out and swearing never again would they ride the world's most frightening rollercoaster. Wimps. I knew all the tourists' little ways; I had seen them all my life. As I stopped by the newly installed traffic lights, I smiled as I watched a family cross the road with two very excitable little ones carrying glow sticks that had been freshly purchased from the stall just down from the Pier. I knew that the Council had tried to move him and stop him selling but there was a major uproar about the whole thing a few years ago, so he was allowed to stay. I am proud to say that I was part of that very uprising, complete with placard and megaphone. Mum has never let me forgot that.

I turned into the familiar street just off the promenade that was full of hotels and holiday flats, one of which I knew off by heart. I stopped right outside the white building with the yellow canopy over the door and the Vacancies sign in the window. It amazed me that there was always that sign in the window even in high season. Mahoney Towers had been standing 'just around the corner from the Prom' for like... ever! And still it was one of the sleeping hotels that Blackpool knew and undoubtedly loved. I turned the ignition off and made sure that the handbrake was fully pulled up and on before actually getting out of the rust bucket that had lasted me five years. Last time I got out without making sure the handbrake was fully on; I almost broke my neighbour's foot. But I would never change my car. I loved it too much. It's amazing that despite the fact that I moved to the other end of the country, I really didn't like change. I liked the familiar and the comforting, something which probably went a long way to explaining why Tristan was still in my life!

Walking through the gate quietly, I quickly glanced into one of the big bay windows to see whether anyone was still up. Of course they were who was I kidding? The regulars were no doubt in, draining the bar dry leaving empty glasses and tall tales in their wake. The white wooden door was firmly locked which it always was after ten o'clock in the evening but only the few knew how to open it. I crouched down and lifted the terracotta plant pot that stood next to the step. Underneath was the one and only key that ever stayed outside of the Hotel. My key, held in place by the big "J" key ring attached to it. It had remained in the same place since I was old enough to be allowed out on my own. It was always left under the plant pot because I lost more bags and purses on a night out than the cheap shop in the market could provide! So, at least if the key was there and I knew it was there, I could always get in and be safe. As I picked it up, the smile on my face was brighter than the Big Wheel on Central Pier. The familiar, warm feeling inside of me was unmistakable. I was home.

As I turned the key in the lock, my stomach opened the butterfly cage and let the inhabitants loose. The sounds from the bar already resonated in my ears before I even entered the hallway. The loud singing, the laughing and one person's voice rising above them all. A wonderful, crooner type quality that could melt a woman within fifty yards of earshot. And I knew exactly who it belonged to. I shut the door quietly, not that it would have made any difference, because no one could hear me come in anyway. I suppose it was just force of habit. All those years of sneaking in at ungodly hours of the morning had made an impression on my inner teenage self and I knew the tricks of the trade. I stuck my head into the office to find that the lights were indeed on but there was no one home. I knew exactly where the people I wanted to see were. Raised voices drifting down the wooden stair case confirmed that two of the regulars were indeed in residence and once again they were arguing and rather loudly. This was a lovely start to my weekend off.