The Not Gate (Tom and Alice #1) (23 page)

EPILOGUE

Tuesday
12
th
march

Y
ou’re just a passer-by. Perhaps walking your dog or popping to the shop for milk or an evening paper.

You see a man in his early thirties, handsome and fit, but soaking wet and clearly upset get into a small hatchback car. You see his mouth shouting at no one… he must be shouting at himself you decide, because he’s just started pulling at his hair.

He hits the steering wheel hard with his two fists. His leg kicks out in the confined space of the front seat.

Oh he’s crying.

You think about going over to see if he’s okay? No, that’s rude isn’t it? Or dangerous?

The young man reaches behind him. His left hand running over the back seat. He picks something up. A moment later you see the flicker of a lighter illuminate the car’s interior and the red glowing tip of a cigarette as he drags the smoke into his body.

You should really be getting on.

He leans his head against the window and it again draws your attention. It’s as if he’s looking for something. He must see it because his hand touches the glass and he tries franticly to wipe the raindrops off to see more clearly, but he can’t they’re on the outside.

You can see his eyes are distraught. He’s barely a man now. It’s strange and unsettling. You want to look away, but you don’t. His pain is so tangible, it’s almost infectious and it holds your morbid interest.

He sees you.

He’s angry but you don’t feel scared, he’s clearly not angry with you.

The ignition starts up and the cigarette glows again. The thought, he shouldn’t really be driving, crosses your mind. But you let it go. You can’t stop him.

His engine is loud as he reverses out of the space quickly. He glances into his rear view mirror and his face is full of thunder, anger and despair.

He makes eye contact with you again as he speeds past and for a split second he seems familiar. But then this is the school drive, you walk here often. You may have seen him before, it’s quite possible.

He slams on the brakes as he gets to the junction to turn onto the main road. God, he nearly left that too late to stop.

‘Please be careful,’ you say to the wind as you continue your journey with a heavier heart.

Later that evening, after supper, you find yourself thinking of him again. What the hell was wrong with that man? The following morning he’s there in your mind as you get ready for work and on Thursday you mention it to a co-worker for no real reason other than the day seemed to be dragging and you’d run out of conversation topics.

But by the weekend he’s gone.

The moment you witnessed, filed away forever with a thousand other unanswered questions… and your life goes on.

Alice Rutherford finished her A-levels and later graduated from Cardiff University.

She thinks of Tom often and always fondly, but still feels that tiny stab of inward pain she refuses to let go of… she figures that’s okay though because he’ll always be her first love.

Tom Chambers moved back to Ireland, never returning to Claude Bennett School. He carved out an extremely successful teaching career in the years that followed.

He looks ritualistically at the aging pictures of Alice and himself taken in the photo booth that one perfect day and feels a pull at his heart that hasn’t ever changed.

He carefully tucks the pictures back behind the sun visor of his car, pushes his hand through his hair and leaves to start his working day…

Their story continues in

Mr
Chambers