Scene Forty-Six
John did not know how he ended sharing the same bed as George except that they'd had a lot to drink that evening. He'd been struggling to keep up with George's intake and felt rather woozier than he wanted to be while George chattered away inconsequentially. He knew that she needed to do whatever she did and what was strange and novel for him that it was George who was setting the pace in every way.
"That's better," George exclaimed with satisfaction as they left their trail of clothes behind them and found themselves in John's double bed. "You know, I really thought I'd find myself sharing some frightfully narrow single bed. Those days are far behind me, something I do not want to revisit from my youth."
"Is it me or the bed or both?" John enquired as it gradually felt more permissable to feel desire for his ex-wife whom he'd become accustomed to swearing off men for life. There was a comforting familiarity about the feel of George's little moves and her voice was the voice of a friend and not some anonymous woman he'd picked up at a bar that was nowhere particularly special.
"Definitely both," George exclaimed as she moved on top of him and kissed him. It occurred to her that the feel of John's body felt strange but distantly familiar. They'd
lived together for a number of years and, despite John going increasingly off the rails, there had been moments, in fact periods of happiness.
"If there's one thing that you can do for me, darling, you can make me laugh and cheer me up. You don't have to try and be fearfully witty. Besides, you were my first love, someone who swept me off my feet in your distinguished fashion," smirked George with her voice in her teasing fashion with an underlay of truth.
"That's good as my ego needs stroking," John retorted as he felt the familiar sensations and George's receptiveness as their bodies became interlocked. George felt his manhood entering into her and the pleasures she felt were curiously similar to her more tender memories of the man. Everything was as right as it could be in making love with a man and she generously decided to give John the simple pleasures he obviously felt in this unexpectedly considerate of men. It was what she needed right now and he'd been extraordinarily patient in listening to her rantings earlier on. It brought out an unexpected tenderness in her and pleasure in this considerate man.
George felt momentarily disorientated when she woke up in the dark. She couldn't see straight as her eyelids took a lot of separating. Besides, her mouth tasted dry and she felt dehydrated, as if she had been at the all time party. Her thoughts and memories were like broken pieces of china, of memories of feelings that butted up uncomfortably against each other making no particular sense. She'd been angry and drunk, heard fragments of amusing conversations and she'd finally gone to bed and made love. The trouble was she couldn't feel Alice's familiar long black hair with her searching fingertips . There was something wrong. She turned over slightly, still trying to make out her surroundings and finally, she realised that there must be a man's body lying next to her.
"What the hell?" George exclaimed to herself and the man rolled over in bed and murmured something indecipherable. George sank back thinking to herself that it was only John. She didn't want to think what she was thinking when she said that. Gradually, she started to piece together the evidence of what on earth had led to this extraordinary situation and realised that, in a crazed kind of way, it made sense. She sank back in bed and refused to make a move until she had her morning cup of tea. She definitely wanted an element of normality in her life as much as she'd ever felt that way.
They finally got up, switched the harsh light on and retrieved their scattered clothing in as dignified fashion as possible, long forgotten memories making this intimate moment of dressing feel perfectly natural. She might have gone into a blind panic but didn't. She certainly appreciated him making them a morning cup of tea. She smiled with pure pleasure as she savoured the drink. They both felt pretty exhausted and wiped out at this early hour and lay back together in the settee as George finally put her thoughts together. Her first resolution of the day was that she wanted to get back with Alice only with obvious changes in their relationship. Perhaps good might come of the madness of last night. She sensed that John felt exactly the same way and now they could have a sensible discussion and not indulge in the sort of blazing rows that had punctuated the final desintegration of their marriage.
"You know, John that last night was a one night stand but our friendship will endure anything that comes our way."
"I accept what you say. I've been used for a long time to accept what you decide what you want with your life, that is since Nikki and Helen took me in hand."
"Bless you John," George said, all the natural warmth in her personality flowing out of her, her repertoire of mannerisms cast aside. "You are a friend in a million."
"That's what I'm here for," John said. He didn't say that making love with George was the first time that his maturity had been properly engaged and that Alice should realise that she's a lucky woman.. "I suppose you want to make your exit to mend your relationship with Alice?"
"You guess perfectly correctly. I really do have to make a move though I can see there might be a problem in sneaking out and I take it you will help to sneak me out. There's just one thing, John Deed,"George said, pointing her finger at John "If I get caught by the local morals Gestapo, I will hold you personally responsible,"
"Just like the old times," John pretended to say ruefully, deceiving George not at all. "The only difference was that I used to have to climb out the window and shin down the ivy."
"You are addicted to risk and you do it superbly. You were so romantic," George retorted, a broad smirk on her face before her expression became more serious and contemplative. "Still that was then and this is now. I don't intend our night together to get back to Alice. As Oscar Wilde said, a little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."
It was 6 in the morning, a cold dark wet day outside and John was thankful that this winter weather kept at bay early morning joggers amongst the judiciary, one of whom had once spotted a very hung over Jo Mills wearing dark glasses as she stumbled back to her car. This time, they carried their shoes as they padded barefoot down the corridor, down the staircase and out through the front doors. George sat down on the front step and slipped on her high heels while John tied up his laces. There must have been grey clouds hanging low overhead if they could see them judging by the rain falling down steadily. It would have been just another depressing winter morning but both John and George felt curiously light of spirit, as only the low wattage automatic outside light cast .
"Thanks John for listening to me. You must forgive me for unloading all my woes on you. This time around, I must admit that you have behaved like a perfect gentleman."
"That's a new one on me," John replied, resisting the temptation to laugh heartily.
"You've changed, John Deed. If you were like you used to be, I would never have slept with you but this cannot be repeated. You understand?"
"Perfectly," John said with perfect sincerity, George smiled, kissed him on the lips and ran the fifty yards in the direction of her car, the rain not dampening her spirits for a moment. She knew she would somehow deal with her return to Alice, the car journey enabling her transition to female consort if both wanted it.
George let herself into her house which seemed strangely quiet. It was before Alice was due to rise, George thought to herself but she thought that Alice might have cleared off somewhere else. Gathering her strength of purpose together, she walked quietly towards the bedroom and opened the door. There was Alice's familiar shape curled under the duvet, her long black hair trailing across the pillow. A half empty whisky bottle and glass lay on the bedside table in the half light. George hesitated for a moment, not sure what to do, to slip into bed with Alice which seemed hypocritical or wait for Alice to wake up. Luckily, the problem was solved for her.
"Is that really you, George?" came a sleepy indistinct voice from the mound.
"Yes it is, darling," George found herself saying and adding in a conventional fashion."It's a quarter past six."
"Then come into bed with me but don't talk right now."
George slipped off her clothes and slid in behind Alice, a part of her getting spiritually used to the feel of her. George really had to draw the mental curtain on her lovemaking with John last night if only they could talk their way through the situation. Something had burst apart between the two of them and George had the inkling that Alice wanted to mend fences as much as she did, judging by the way she placed George's hand against her breast.
"I don't think I'm going into work today, George.I'm going to phone in sick. I feel really hungover In any case, there's nothing in there that won't wait," Alice suddenly said out of a long sleepy silence.
"If you want to Alice, I'm not indispensible. I'll do the same. Want a coffee," George said lightly as they skirted round the delicate prospect of talking things over.
It wasn't till nine o clock than, by some unspoken process, they slipped into their dressing gowns and made their way into the living room. Even the pale light hurt their eyes.
"You might think where on earth was I all last night?" George said as her wary eyes weighed up just what Alice was thinking. "You've every right to wonder, if you still care." .
"I have never been unfaithful to you if that's what you're thinking at least physically," Alice said in an uncertain fashion. "I don't think I've been emotionally all there for you. Somehow I don't blame you for being angry. I didn't understand what you were doing."
"I was at John's. I got incredibly drunk. He put me up for the night. He's a friend in need," George said abruptly when Alice placed her finger over George's lip.
"I don't need you to tell me any more. It sounds crazy but it was better that he was looking after you than anyone else. What I want to know is am I forgiven?"
"Of course," George said simply and from the heart. She crossed the space that had separated them together with their guarded conversation and settled herself alongside Alice. Their lips met and their mouths opened for each other. They wrapped their arms around each other and exulted in the feel of each others bodies. They felt that they'd both come home from some long crazy journey and Alice's gorgeous body felt so good to her. Finally, George lay the full length of the settee against Alice, her arms wound round each other. Outside, the rain rattled against the living room window but they didn't care.
"Alice, we have to talk,"George said gently. "If I stretch my imagination far enough, I can see why you'd want to think that there isn't anyone that can't be saved, no matter how dysfunctional. It's part of your job and that's why we're different. I'm there to make the best of my client's case so that he or she will win. Beating the other barrister in court is my stock in trade and I made myself a lot of money taking on very highly paid civil cases, mostly for wealthy entrepreneurs. I've gone away from that more towards your world, a very idealistic one which I admire. At the end of the day, I have my limits and I do make the sort of judgments you fight shy of."
"All right George," Alice admitted, tenderly running her fingers around George's shapely fingers. "I suppose I have a weakness for lame ducks and I haven't properly dealt with the hold that Becky had on me. She knew only too well. I thought I was trying to do right by her in a platonic fashion. I know now that you were perfectly justified in the way you behaved last night and I mean everything."
George extracted one of her hands and tenderly stroked Alice's cheek. She knew that Alice was saying in her tactful way that she knew that George had slept with John but that, for once, burying the past when both of them worked at it. The saying, least said, soonest mended that had gone against her training as a social worker seemed to take on a new mysterious wisdom.
"I hear what you're saying but you have to understand that if someone doesn't want to save herself, she won't be saved. Karen was knocking back the whisky like nobody's business as she was facing a jail sentence possibly in the same prison where she was wing governor. Sally-Anne had been raped by that animal Gossard, driven out of her job and was addicted to tranquillisers but when the lifeline was offered, they each grabbed at it and got strong. Becky hasn't had kind of life threatening experiences and hasn't their strength. What's worse is that she's an addictive game player, even more than she's an alcoholic. You have to finally let go."
Alice didn't say a word. Everything George had said was true. She'd made wordy promises to George in the past and they'd come to nothing. She gathered George in her arms and tenderly held the woman she'd loved. At last they'd found each other.
