Restored

Chapter 1

Lying here in bed, just staring at the ceiling, the glow of the morning sun making the room an amber light. I can also feel the fresh breeze on my face, as the window is open now due to the warm nights. Spring is here. Soon it will be summer again. It will be my first summer in Lemsford Village. My place of residence for the last seven months, trying to forget my past, to get away from my nightmares.

Outside a dog is barking, I recognise the bark straight away, it's Billy. He is a German Shepherd. When he goes out, he can be very active as he loves the outdoors.

"Billy inside now, do you want to wake up Steve?"

That's Patsy shouting at him, my landlady and boss. She is the proprietor of Lemsford Inn. She is in her late fifties, born in Lemsford, lived here all her life.

*****

Let me tell you how I ended up in this small village in Hertfordshire. It was back in November. I was riding through Lemsford on a cold, drizzly evening. I had no idea where I was going. I stopped at Lemsford Inn to have something to drink, to warm myself up before I hit the road again.

Entering the Inn, I approached the bar, with gently chattering teeth I said to the bar lady, "Any chance of tea or coffee?" With chilled fingers shaking from the cold, I pulled out of my pocket some loose change.

An old gentleman who was standing next to me started to laugh loud, "son you won't get any tea or coffee here after 10 pm, it's mostly alcohol until closing time."

"Could I sit by your fireplace for a while to warm up, please?" I asked the lady.

She Looked at the old man with the frown, she said. "Go sit down to warm yourself up, lad."

Taking off my leather jacket, I put it on the floor to my side, not to get the material on the couch wet. With the log fire in front of me, I stretched out towards it as much as I could to warm up. Feeling the heat from the fireplace, made me drowsy, sitting back to get comfortable I started feeling my eyes heavy while staring at the flames, suddenly everything went black.

I woke up to something moist running itself over my forehead, then my nose. Opening my eyes, inches from my face was a German Shephard staring at me. I just sat there frozen, not knowing what to do. Looking beyond the dog I saw the fireplace, that's when I realised that I had fallen asleep on the couch. Looking down slowly, not to make any sudden movements. There was a blanket covering my body.

"Billy get your ass here now?" It was the lady from the bar.

Billy quickly jumped off me and started running to disappear behind the bar. Lifting my head up, moving it to the left then right to relieve the stiffness. Looking out of the window, I noticed it was daytime. I must have slept through the night on the couch. Slowly getting up, I stretched myself before making my way to the bar. Standing there for a few moments before I called out. "Hello, is there anyone here? Hello." Billy was back, standing at the entrance of the bar staring at me again.

Appearing from behind him, it was the bar lady, holding a mobile phone to her ear, speaking to someone. "What do you mean you quit, it's Friday, the beginning of the weekend, I need you here!" She listened to what the other person had to say, then all of a sudden she threw the mobile on the counter, the smartphone sliding to the left while it's battery came sliding towards me. As she watched the item, her eyes stopped on me. I looked to see where Billy was, but all I saw was his tail wiggling, as it disappeared around the corner. Then I looked back at her.

"Hi, my name is Steve," I said.

"I'm Patsy, have you ever worked as a waiter?"

"I am a fast learner," I said looking at her with a confused look on my face.

That is how Patsy and I formally met. That weekend was the weekend to hell and back. Learning to be a waiter, while serving customers at the same time. When it was a little quiet, Patsy would take over while I was in the pot wash cleaning dishes. The only thing we didn't do was cook, at least she had a chef to do that.

Saturday night when we had closed the Inn, it was just Patsy and me to clean up, Billy was sleeping by the fireplace. When we finished, she got a bottle of Jack Daniel's and two shot glasses, filling them both up with the liquid. Patsy took one of the glasses of whisky tossing it back.

Seen my glass just sitting there untouched she said."The other one is for you Steve."

"If it's ok with you I'll get myself an orange juice?" Once I got her approval, I poured myself the beverage. I took a sip of my drink then said. "Thank you very much for the food and letting me sleep for two nights here. If you let me sleep tonight, then I'll be on my way in the morning?"

Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out some money, started counting notes in front of me. "That is your salary for the two days you helped out. You can stay for the night, but I want to offer you a job if you are interested? There is a one bedroom flat above the Inn for you to stay. It needs a good clean and a coat of paint. I open at ten in the morning till midnight. I don't expect you to work that many hours. From midday till midnight will be ok, Sunday will be our day of rest like the good Lord says. I'll pay you £1200 per calendar month including a place to stay plus meals." She just stood there looking at me for a moment.

Opening and closing my mouth a couple of times to say something. Eventually, I spoke. "Thank God it's Sunday tomorrow, I'll need the day to clean up the place."

Grabbing the other shot glass, she tossed that one back as well. Then she put her hand out to shake on our deal.

Next day I spent most of the morning cleaning up the flat, I didn't see Patsy all day, probably the one day she had off, she wanted to stay as far away from the Inn as possible. Finishing off, I went outside to see where to park my motorbike. On the rear of the Inn was a small extension, inside was some old furniture, must have been from the Inn. There was enough space to park the Yamaha, rolling the bike inside, I stood it on its's kickstand, taking the leather bag with all my belongings I went back to the flat.

*****

Back to present day. I turned to look at the clock on the side cabinet. It's just gone past 7 am. Climbing out of bed, I had a good stretch, then started to get ready for the day. For thirty minutes I did my morning exercise which consists of some pull-ups, push-ups then stretching. Had a quick shower and by 8 am I was downstairs, preparing everything before we open.

It was 9 am when Patsy rushed in with two bags in either hand, putting them on the counter as quickly as possible. "Had to go to the Sunday Market to get some vegetables we need for today. It's Sunday you didn't have to come to work today. The only reason I'm opening is that bloody Herts Auto Show."

"What miss out on all the action!" I replied.

The day was very busy. A lot of customers from the surrounding towns and London. All morning people were dropping in to have breakfast before they went to the Show.

It was just after 2 pm when the orders started slowing down. I was getting some cleaned glasses from the dishwasher, taking them to the bar when I heard Patsy raising her voice. Quickly putting the tray down I went to the bar. Patsy was arguing with three young men behind the bar.

"Look, young man, you ordered the food five minutes ago, it will be ready soon!" Patsy shouted.

"Don't talk to me like that you farmer, a bunch of peasants the lot of you!" He shouted back.

Seen Patsy's face, I knew he hit a nerve, putting my hand on her shoulder, I said. "Leave it with me, Patsy." Grabbing the coffee jug, I turned to them quickly. It surprised them. They thought I was going to do something else with the jug. Instead, I said. "Hey bro take a seat I'll have the food with you in a few minutes. Until it's ready, have some freshly brewed coffee on the house." The cockney accent also confused them.

When they finished their meal, they came to pay, instead of calling someone to bring the bill. They insisted on paying for the coffee's as well, plus leaving a good tip. What surprised Patsy was they each apologised to her for the way they acted.

It was late afternoon when the customers stopped coming, I said to Patsy. "Would it be ok if I take an hour off to go to the Auto Show?"

"Get out of here, and by the way, thank you for today and for dealing with the problem earlier."

The ride to the Herts Auto Show was only a couple of miles away, but I decided to open up my Yamaha once I got on the A1. Seen the road was clear, I twisted the throttle all the way. That is when I felt the vibration from the 650cc engine under my seat go right through my body. Something I haven't felt since arriving in this part of the country.

When I arrived at the Auto Show, I cruised the bike along at a low speed. The rumbling sound the exhaust was making turned a few heads, as I went by onlookers wow or commented about the Yamaha. I parked on the grass by some American muscle cars. I didn't get the chance to get off the motorbike when a crowd of people gathered around me. Asking me questions about the motorcycle what year model it was? Who rebuilt it? etc. When most of the people left, there was still a few people taking photos of it. I let them do their thing while I had a walk around the show.

The vehicles in the exhibition were all classics, mostly from the forties onwards. You had cars from all corners of the world. The quality of the restoration done on most of them was excellent. As cars were something I grew up around, I knew what I was looking for on a restored vehicle. When I look at the bodywork, I can see if there are any ripples in the paintwork. The difference from a genuine part and a replica, from light fittings to engine parts. For two hours I walked around, admiring all the cars, talking to their owners, learning what parts they used to get the best performance out of their cars.

On the way back to my motorcycle, from a distance, I saw someone leaning on the bike. Getting closer I recognised who it was. I hadn't seen him since I came to Lemsford. It was my younger brother.

"Hey little brother, how comes your such a long way from home?" I said.

"Steve so this is where you've been hiding?"

"Could have come to the Auto Show from far."

He stands back, looks at the bike then turns back to me. "No, if you came to the show from far the bike would be dirty, your somewhere near here."

I approached him with open arms, embracing him while I lifted him off the ground. I said. "It is so good to see you, Chris."

There was a mobile cafe nearby, we went and grabbed a coffee each, argued like we always did who was going to pay. Once we got that over and done with, we sat down at a table to talk.

"How are mum and Jane?" I said.

"They are doing good. Mum is still at the same job. Jane, she's moved to another company, living the high life now."

"What happened after I left that night?"

"Nothing much, mum won't let Jane forget the way she acted that night. Jane is asking me all the time if I have contact with you so that she can apologise to you."

"Sure."

"She is sorry Steve, what she said were words of anger. What I want to know how the fuck did you get that bike looking like that?"

"I learnt a lot in prison little brother."

We chatted until the mobile cafe were getting ready to close. Then we walked back to my bike. I gave Chris my new mobile number, telling him not to give it to anyone. We embraced each other saying our goodbyes then went our separate ways.

Chapter 2

When I left the Auto show, I went straight back to the Inn. Locking the Yamaha back in the garage, I headed for the main door of the Inn. Once I was inside, I started making my way upstairs, that is when I heard the crashing sound of breaking glass.

Turning towards the corridor leading to the bar I shouted. "Is that you Billy?" When you called Billy, he would rush towards you. But this time there was no Billy. I slowly started making my way to the entrance of the bar, with my hand on the wall ready to switch the lights on, surprising any intruders. Reaching the switch, I pushed all four buttons down at the same time, illuminating the area from darkness to daylight. Squinting my eyes from the light, I quickly scanned the area for any intruders, seeing there wasn't anyone I breathed a sigh of relief.

Seen some tables with glasses on them, I took a tray from the bar to collect them. Hearing someone mumbling the words of a popular song I quickly turned. "This used to be my playground; This used to be my childhood dream; This used to be the place I ran to." In a corner table was Patsy, with a full bottle of Jack Daniel's in her hand. When I got closer, on the floor was a broken bottle. She emptied one bottle and was getting ready to start on her second. As she lifted the bottle to take a sip, I reached and took it from her hand.

With a frowned look she said. "Why did you do that? Because you don't drink, it doesn't mean others can't. Why don't you drink Steve? What's your story?"

Shaking my head, I said. "I'll make us some coffee, we can both do with some," I went to the bar, turning on the coffee machine. As I prepared the cups to pour the coffee, Patsy stumbled to the bar sitting on one of the stalls. Pointing her finger at a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

"Give me a shot of that?" She said.

"What is it with you and whisky?" I shouted.

"I was pretty when I met Paul. I was twenty-two, he was twenty-five. We had been together for a year. We loved each other so much. He was in the army, that is when the Gulf War started. We made a pledge when he returns we would get married. Operation Granby, they called it, forty-seven British troop died, Paul was one of them." Tears were running down her cheeks.

Getting up, she made her way to one of the large leather couches. Taking my coffee, I followed her, just to make sure she was ok. She lied on her side, just staring into space as she carried on with her story. "After that, it was one tragedy to the next. Five years later, mum died of cancer. That day I lost both of my parents, dad was not the same after mums death, he would just sit in front of the TV, staring at it. Within six months I lost him as well. The doctor said it was a heart attack. I called it a broken heart." Curling up she closed her eyes.

Getting a blanket, I covered her then leant over kissed her on the cheek, whispering in her ear. "Good night boss."

I woke up to Billy's barking, looking at the clock it was nearly twelve. "Shit I should have been up an hour ago." Jumping out of bed, I ran into the shower. It was almost twelve-thirty when I went downstairs.

"Sorry Patsy, I overslept."

She was standing by one of the tables; it was set up for breakfast. "Sit down before it gets cold."

"Shouldn't we open up, you're going to lose business?"

"Didn't you read the sign I put on the door yesterday?"

Opening the main door, I looked on the outer side of it. There written on an A4 sheet of white paper, it said. "Closed all day Monday." Turning to Patsy, I said. "But the customers."

Standing there with her hands crossed she shouted. "It's getting cold!"

I can't remember the last time that I had breakfast like that. It was so good that I cleaned the plate by gathering the remainder of the beans with a piece of toast. "Now that was a five-star breakfast, can you tell me why we have a chef?" I said while sipping my coffee.

Sitting opposite me, she looked at me and smiled. I could see she wanted to say something. "Steve I want to apologise for last night, the way I made a fool of myself." Gathering the plates from the table, she continued to speak. "When I went to the supermarket this morning to get some things we need, I bumped into some locals. They told me they saw you yesterday at the show, a couple of them are interested in buying your bike?"

"It's not for sale!" I said with my voice raised.

"Hey, they just told me to ask you, no need to shoot the messenger."

"Sorry, Patsy I don't know what came over me. You asked me why I don't drink? What my story is?" Getting up, I went to the kitchen, grabbed the filter coffee jug plus two cups. "Let's sit on the couch." Getting up she followed, I let her sit down first then I sat next to her. Billy jumped on the couch between us, putting his head on Patsy's legs.

Taking a deep breath, I started to speak. "I grew up in North London. I went to public school. I was an average student like my brother and sister. Yes, I have two siblings, my sister Jane is one year older than me, and my brother Chris is two years younger. Mum was a housewife. Dad was a car mechanic for a well-established company."

"Sorry to interrupt you, Steve, you said your mum was a housewife, and your dad was a mechanic?"

"When I was sixteen my father was diagnosed with cancer. His weight was 95 kilos, a year later, one month before he died his weight was 70 kilos. He couldn't eat or sleep. His main worry was, what will happen to his family." Turning away so Patsy wouldn't see me I wiped my eyes.

Turning back to face her I took a sip from my coffee then continued. "After dad's death, life wasn't the same. The house insurance covered the mortgage if anything happened to dad or mum, but no income was coming in. Mum had to get a job. She was lucky to find a job as a receptionist in a dental care clinic. With mum working nine to five, my sister at university in Brighton and my brother went on to pass his O-Levels and was excepted in college to do his A-Levels."

Taking my hand and squeezing it she said. "What about you Steve what did you do?"

"I was the black sheep of the family. I started mixing with bad company, some guy called Cody and his sister Sarah. He was a couple of years older than me; his sister was the same age as me. Together we began to shoplift to sell the items to get money. When I turned eighteen, I got my driving license, Cody, his sister and I went out to celebrate, he borrowed his dad's car that night. We stopped at an Off License to buy a bottle of Vodka. It was late we were just driving around, sharing the vodka between us. That is when I spotted someone I knew from school. It was Dave we were best friends in school. We went our separate ways after I started hanging around with Cody. I insisted on giving him a lift home. I should have said ok when he declined." I got up walked up to the window. Putting my hands in my pockets, I looked out the window at the same time feeling a shiver go down my spine.

"What happened when he got in the car?"

"I killed my best friend, Patsy."

"What did you do? What happened?"

"He got in the car we drove around, stopped to buy some more Vodka, I asked Cody to let me drive, he let me drive for a while, Dave insisted on going home. We stopped at Mcdonalds to buy some takeaway. I was so wasted I can't even remember what I had to eat. The next thing I remember was Cody pulling me out of the car before it caught on fire. Dave didn't have a chance. It was all my fault." I felt the tears running down my cheek.

I turned to look at Patsy. She just sat there staring at me without saying anything.

"I was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and manslaughter. My solicitor said I was lucky when the judge gave me seven years in prison. I was out in five for good behaviour. I was in my late teens when I was jailed, released in my early manhood."

"What did you do after you came out?"

"I went back home, with some skills I obtained in jail, I got a job where my father worked as an apprentice. Mum was the same with me, but my siblings were different, they avoided me, never asked me to go out with them, they were embarrassed when I was around there friends. I worked for a year, using most of my salary to fix my father's old motorbike. It took me six months, working on it in the evenings and weekends to restore it."