Forever Is Over (49 page)

The Vicar read from Matthew Chapter 19 verse 26,

“
But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, with men this is
impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
”

I think this was the Vicar
’
s way of saying, in his kind hearted way,
that no-one could sort Vomit Breath out on earth, so it was now God
’
s
job to get her on the straight and narro
w. Personally, I was convinced
Vomit Breath
’
s escalator would be heading in completely the opposite
direction.

The Vicar mentioned in his speech,
(it was definitely a speech not a
eulogy), that Vomit Breath had
“
her own quiet faith
”
.

“
Silent more like,
”
I whispered to Kelly,
“
the only faith Vomit Breath
had was faith in her ability to get tanked up every Friday and Saturday
night!
”
Kelly did not laugh, she was taking the whole ceremony very
seriously. From St.
Michael
’
s, the funeral procession headed to Southport
crematorium. There were two hearses and about eight other cars, four of
which were taxis, all crammed to capacity as Vomit Breath
’
s mates were
permanently unfit or unwilling to drive. Then, after the crematorium,
‘
Tut
’
had arranged a buffet at the Comrades Club in Ormskirk. The
room was far too big for the amount of mourners but
‘
Tut
’
had chosen
it as there were plenty of bar staff and she thought it would be the only
place in Ormskirk capable of managing the demand for drink!

Once the Comrades function finished, we were followed back to
our house by about twenty of Vomit Breath
’
s friends, who had decided
to honour her memory by getting paralytic. By ten o
’
clock, through a
combination of the endeavours of
‘
Tut
’
and Ray who poured drink down
the sink in vast quantities and the revellers who poured it down their
throats in equal measure, the house was dry. Once they became aware
of this, the alcoholic locusts moved on, en masse into Ormskirk town centre, leaving the three family members, plus Amy, Ray and Richie,
to clear up their mess.

The following morning, we realised that several CDs had disappeared
along with bed clothes, pillows, jewellery, cuddly toys, a collection of
Vomit Breath
’
s sex toys and
£
40 in cash. At one point, Kelly and I
reckoned that there must have been one thief in Vomit Breath
’
s bedroom
whilst their accomplice was in the back garden catching everything that
was thrown out of the window. Classy friends!

Once everyone had departed that night with the exception of Kelly,
‘
Tut
’
and myself,
‘
Tut
’
sat us down and asked how we intended on
paying the bills now Vomit Breath had died.

“
I was already paying the majority of the rent, Nan,
”
I explained,
“
and Kelly
’
s going to ask for more hours at Woolworth
’
s, between us
we
’
ll cover the rent.
”

“
Well that
’
s a good start, but what about the utility bills and super
market shopping and everything else. Life
’
s not cheap you know.
”

             
“
Nan, stop stressing. I know. I
’
ve had to chip in for years. Remember,
I used to work at Freeman, Hardy & Willis before the job in the bank?
Your daughter has not exactly grafted to pay for us to live like pigs in
mud. We will manage. No doubt about it, we will manage.
”

             
“
Well, I hope so Jemma otherwise you will have to move in with
me.
”

“
Seriously, it
’
ll be fine!
”

“
I
’
ll give you three months, Jemma. I
’
ll come across every week to
check how you are getting on. If you
’
re not keeping on top of everything
and I mean everything, I will be making you pack your bags and move
to mine.

I expect the washing and ironing to be done, every room to be
tidy and I also expect boyfriends just to visit for the evening, not stay
the night. If I find either of you young ladies turning this house into
a brothel, I will guarantee you, I will pack your bags myself and drive
you both over to the Wirral.

At your age, I am not expecting you to show the level of maturity
necessary to run a household on your own, but you have three months
to prove me wrong!
”

When
‘
Tut
’
was saying this, I was 100% certain everything would
work out fine. I expected Kelly and I to work together to make it all
happen. I thought three months would pass without incident and the
dark days were over. I was totally wrong. Within that three months,
everything changed. The relationship I held dearest was totally torn to
pieces and as a direct result of the events that triggered this breakdown,
Kelly and I did not see or speak to each other for the next ten years.

Richie

As dawn became morning on the
“
Sunny Road
”
, I felt it was time
for Kelly and I to head home, to my home anyway. We had talked
through everything we could possibly talk through, the Hillsborough
tragedy, Kelly
’
s mother
’
s death, Kelly
’
s bizarre childhood growing up
with a drunk, the strong bond she had established with her sister, the
possibility of running away, our love for each other and what we thought
the future would bring. We re-emphasised our plans to meet up right
there, on the
“
Sunny Road
”
, every sunny 4
th
July for the rest of our lives,
no matter what and, in that moment, I was convinced it would not be
necessary as we would be together for the long haul. The fact that I
was totally in love with Kelly, despite her mother
’
s death, seemed like
confirmation that nothing was ever going to come between us.
For the first time that morning, the sun hid behind a fluffy, white
cloud and I took this as a sign that it was time to go.

“
Come on, Kelly! Time to head off!
”
I said as I stood up, knocking
the grass off my backside.

Two handed, I gripped Kelly
’
s hands in an
attempt to pull her up, but she resisted, pulling back against me.

“
No, please Richie, can we not stay a little longer?
”

“
We need to head back, Kelly, you
’
re going to have to get that visit
to the police station out the way at some point, you may as well get it
done before you get too tired, whilst you are still on your toes and can
concentrate properly.
”

“
I know! I know! Just not yet! Please just sit down with me.
”

“
OK.
”

I sat back down.

“
Give me a hug,
”
Kelly requested.

We hugged. I loved hugging Kelly, just holding her tightly used to
give me goose pimples. She always smelt divine and no matter what the
circumstances, I would always drift off to a world that was uncomplicated and negativity no longer existed, just joy and happiness. I was savouring
every second of that hug, when Kelly pulled away.

“
Richie, can we make love?
”

This caught me off guard. My first thought was that I was wearing
pyjamas under my clothes, not altogether sexy.

“
Now?
”

“
If you want to.
”

I started to twitch a little. We had done a lot of the stuff that girls
magazines describe as
“
heavy petting
”
, but had always avoided taking
things that one step further. I suspected that I was somewhat unusual
for a male, but it was probably me that had been reluctant to make that
final step. We had never discussed our avoidance of sex, but I knew that
if I had orchestrated it during those heated moments, Kelly would not
have stopped me.

I was just scared of that next step. The fear emanated from a myriad of
sources, including
“
the lump
”
, potential premature ejaculation, potential
pregnancy, potential lack of size and the potential of things changing
in our relationship, once it became a sexual relationship. Sometimes the
journey is better than the destination and I was scared in case this is
how things turned out. I wasn
’
t a virgin, but I wanted everything to be
right the first time with Kelly, as I pretty much knew she was.

Given how stunning Kelly was, with those porcelain features
and mesmerising green eyes, I am sure 99.9% of teenage males in my
position would have asked no further questions, unbuckled their jeans, 
whipped down their pyjamas and got going, but I was more than a little
apprehensive.

“
Why now, Kelly?
”

“
Do you not want to?
”

“
I desperately want to, I just want it to be right. I love you more than
you
’
ll ever know Kelly Watkinson and because of that, I only want to
do this if it
’
s going to be perfect.
”

That was as honest as I could be.

Kelly took my hands and played with my fingers as she responded.

“
Richie, this is perfect. Look at this place! The view, the sunshine
just creeping back from under the clouds, this is our
“
Sunny Road
”
,
Richie, it always will be our special place, if we did this, it will be even
more special to us.
”

I was still hesitating.

“
Should we be doing this now though? After everything that has
just happened?
”

“
Absolutely! Once we leave here today, no matter what, our world
will continue to change. I have no idea how things will turn out, but I
know my world changed forever last night when I charged out my room.
In many ways, I wish I
’
d have just continued to be the coward and left
the heroics to Jemma, but it
’
s too late to change that now. What is done,
is done. All I want now, is to leave here having lost my virginity to the
only boy I have ever loved. I adore you, Richie and whatever happens, if
we make love now, I will never forget how much you meant to me.

You said you wanted it to be perfect, well if we make love here, this
morning, on the
“
Sunny Road
”
, if it lasts three seconds or half an hour,
I can guarantee, in my eyes, it will be perfect.
”