Good Company

Chapter 33

~July 5th 1975~ 

Brian backed away from his suitcase, which was on the bed, almost completely packed with clothes and books. 

'Let's see,' he muttered. 'Oh, where is that damned check list?' He threw a few pieces of clothing on the floor in search of his list, which he found laying underneath the bed, covered in the clothes he had carelessly flung away just now. He tried to flatten it, but the wrinkles it acquired over the last few days weren't going any time soon. 'There you are. Now, socks. Check. Underwear. Check. Sweaters. Check. Trousers. Check. Shirts. Check. Coat. Nope, I'm wearing that. Running shoes. Check. Sports clothes. Check. Roger.' 

Brian's mind went blank. It had been only a week. A week since he left for the teaching programme. A week of missing Roger. He'd put the name on the list as a joke, but every time he had to move, he felt a deep cut going through his heart. He had to stay, he reminded himself. He had no choice. Nonetheless, he missed his love. Not for any rational reasons, for Roger woud come visit with Freddie and John in two weeks, but there were irrational fears, fears of the heart and soul, that tormented Brian. And no science could fix that. 

I should write him a letter, Brian thought. With renewed energy, he went to the lobby of the small inn he stayed in to find a piece of paper, preferably with the address and contact information of the inn printed on it. He liked to collect personalised letter paper to remind him of all the wonderful places he'd been and all the amazing people he'd met. After wandering around the lobby for a while, he decided to ask the lady on the service desk. 

'Hey, sorry to disturb you. Can I ask you a question?' 

The lady looked up from her paper work and smiled politely. 'Of course, that's what I'm here for. I all the guest would activly avoid asking me questions, I'd be sacked in no time!' 

'I would like to write a letter to someone, and I was wondering if you have any writing paper with your inn's address on it?' 

She pulled open a small compartiment in her desk and laid out different options for Brian to pick. 'This one has our contact information printed in black on white paper, and these are blue and white printed on mint green paper. This one, with the small parrot, was actually a joke making fun of our hotel owner, but it's the most popular one.' 

Brian hovered over the writing paper, and eventually decided to take one of each. 'Thank you so much... Polly?' He read her nametag, surprised to find her name was an English one. 

She laughed. 'You have no idea how many people here in Spain cannot or will not pronounce my name correctly. The staff calls me by my second name, Maria, instead!' 

Ten minutes of small talk later, Brian was back in his room. Alright then. Tell him something. Anything. Nothing came to mind though. RIght at the time he needed his brain most, it abandoned him. Instead his thought drifted to Polly, the service lady. She shared her name with his little sister, the sister his parents had promised him but had died during birth due to lack of oxygen. His mother had named her Pollyanna Maria. But it couldn't be. 

At last, the right words came to Brian as in a haze. 

Hey little babe you're changing
Babe are you feeling sore?
Ain't no use in pretending
You recognise me no more

It's plain that you ain't no baby
What would dear mother say? 
You're all dressed up like a lady
How come you're so far away?

Sail away sweet sister
Sail across the sea
Maybe you'll find somebody
To love you half as much as me
My heart is always with you
No matter what you do
Sail away sweet sister
Here'll always be a home for you 

He knew exactly what he wanted Roger to know. 

PS. Ask my parents about Pollyanna. 

Okay. So. Hear me out. I've kind of abandoned this story over the past months. Like I do every few weeks. But I think I've got renewed motivation (I say that every time, I know, I know) and I'm looking forward to posting new chapters. It's going to be all over the place for I don't know exactly what I want to do with the story but I'm excited :))! Thanks to all of you for bearing with me, and I hope you and your families are all safe and healthy. 

Oh and thanks for 11K ;) 

RogersPurpleShoes