"Hello" Paul stood in the rain; drenched from head to toe as Becca answered the door for him.
"Oh, for god's sake! Get in here" Becca shut the door as he came in. "I'll get you something!" she ran up the stairs and grabbed a warm white towel fresh from the laundry for him. "Do you not own an umbrella?" she asked smiling as Paul tried to use the towel to dry himself rather unsuccessfully.
"Well, I did actually but the fact that it's raining completely sideways made my carrying an umbrella extremely difficult and sort of useless really. The wind would have turned it inside out." Paul chuckled at his misfortune. "Thanks for the towel but I'm far too wet for this to do me any good. I think I should just change instead" he picked up his suitcase.
"Yeah, sure. Let me get your key." Becca ran back to grab a small white card for him. "It'll be up the stairs second door to your right."
"Thank you" Paul smiled as he dragged his suitcase up the stairs. He swiped his key and pushed the door open with his back as he carried his suitcase into the room and kicked the door closed behind him. He let out a heavy sigh of relief to finally have a place to rest after a rather stressful trip.
Paul was new to Broadchurch and he was sent to this town for a rather important job. There was a large weight on his shoulders to perform well. He had a lot to prove after his last blunder at his old post. Paul was a sweet and always well-intentioned man. He'd never purposely hurt anyone but he had an incredibly hard time saying no to a drink. God knows why.
Maybe it was because Paul's thoughts were always racing and keeping him awake at night. But when he drank; his thoughts didn't race so loudly. Paul was prone to nervousness and drinking made that nervousness disappear. They called it liquid courage for a reason. He made a promise that from now on he would find his courage and strength in God. Paul was a man of strong faith but his demons were just as strong.
"Oh, nice one." Paul spoke aloud as he changed into dry clothes. "That's exactly what I need right now." He threw a warm jumper on and ruffled his damp hair in a dry towel as he opened the small refrigerator in his room. "A fully stocked mini bar at the foot of my bed". He rolled his eyes. "Fine way to treat a recovering alcoholic." Paul looked up as he spoke "Really, thanks a lot" he spoke to God quite sarcastically for a priest.
He laid in bed wide awake for hours. As usual, he couldn't get to sleep. His insomnia was getting worse. He paced the room before deciding to walk around downstairs. He figured no one would be there since it was the middle of the night and there weren't many visitors to The Traders Hotel. Paul was surprised to find the woman who ran the hotel downstairs at the bar drinking alone.
Becca was an attractive woman in her late 30's. She was a tall blonde with well-defined features and striking blue eyes. Paul found her quite good looking in fact; which made him suddenly extremely aware that he was in an old gray t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms.
"Oh, God" Becca put down her drink. "I'm not really supposed to be drinking back here. Especially in front of a guest."
"I'm sorry. I was having trouble sleeping so I decided to walk around. It's the only thing I've found that sort of helps." Paul shrugged.
"Well, you know what really helps?" Becca poured Paul a drink and he found himself sitting at the bar against his better judgement. "Nice bed head. Really cute" she smiled.
"Ugh.." Paul tried to comb his dirty blond hair to the side with his fingers. He found his hand holding the glass of gin but forced himself to keep it away from his lips. "Actually, thank you but...I'm trying to cut back" he pushed the glass politely away.
"How about an orange juice then" Becca smiled.
"That would be nice. Thanks" Paul smiled back a little groggily.
"So why can't you sleep?" Becca asked as she took a sip of her gin and tonic.
"I'm really not sure. I just seem to suffer from insomnia for some reason" Paul shrugged. "I've dealt with it for years. Usually with drinking; which is why I've been trying to stop."
"So it's not recent then?" Becca finished her drink. "I've only been having trouble recently. Stress, mostly. I probably shouldn't really be talking to you about this but I'm in dire straits financially. I used to run The Traders with my partner but he's long gone."
"Like a business partner or...?" Paul asked.
"Everything partner. Why, are you wanting to make sure I'm single before you put the moves on me?" Becca smiled.
"I promise you I have no moves whatsoever" Paul laughed. "But I could maybe help you with your books. I was studied accounting for 3 years before I changed majors"
"Oh, really?" Becca saw Pauls glass was empty "More juice?"
"If it's not too much trouble" Paul smiled.
"So, can I pay you for your services in orange juice or ...?" Becca smiled back somewhat seductively making Paul look down at the ground a little nervously. "No, no I could do it for free. It's no problem, really"
"You're too nice" Becca shot him a mischievous look.
"Oh, too nice, am I?" Paul laughed. "Would you prefer if I were meaner?"
"Well, I just mean that no one is 'too nice' unless they want something." Becca explained. "I've rarely had anyone do me a favor without expecting a favor in return."
"Well, then you've been spending time with the wrong kind of people" Paul finished his second glass of orange juice.
"Probably true" Becca sighed. "So.. you're only here for the night but you plan on helping with my books. You staying in Broadchurch long?"
"Yeah, I've got a place but the furniture won't arrive till tomorrow so..." Paul was interrupted.
"Where you moving in to?" Becca was curious.
"This little place at the bottom of the hill by the church." Paul answered casually.
"But that's where the old vicar used to live, isn't it?" Becca suddenly got it. "Don't tell me you're the old man's replacement."
"Yup" Paul smiled.
"Well, that's some replacement." Becca smiled "You know the old vicar was ancient. You look like a first year."
"You only think I look like a fresher because you're looking at me in my pajamas as I drink an orange juice at a bar so that's really not fair." Paul smiled "I'll have you know I finished seminary school 3 whole months ago"
"Really?!" Becca believed him.
"No, I finished 4 years ago." Paul laughed. "Well, thank you for the orange juice. Stop by the church sometime if you still want my help. I'm going to try to get some rest." he stood up and walked to the door before turning around "You get some rest too, Ms. Fisher." he smiled "Goodnight"
"Goodnight" Becca waved goodbye. She waited until he was up the stairs and out of sight. "Really, Becca?" she spoke aloud to herself as she cleaned up the bar. "Flirting with a priest. You're depravity truly knows no bounds." she laughed at herself. "But he was cute, right?"