S1 E6 – Who was Doris?
In the throes of violent fever, his memory slid from past to present like beads on an abacus.
Childhood memories of being sick: hot cups of savoury chicken soup, sweet milky tea, sunny afternoons nestled in bed with a stack of beloved books. Good memories.
A young plod's memories of being at the bottom of the totem pole: being the dog's body, running errands, filling in forms and generally running after the guvnors. Not great memories but still OK.
Then, later memories: cruel pranks, the rough 'hur-hur' laughter of Neanderthals, the bully tactics, the daily struggle just to get up and go to work. Bad memories.
And then there was Doris. Thank god for her. He wouldn't have had a single bright spot in his days without her. Sweet, kind, caring woman. The canteen. Always an extra banger on his morning breakfast plate, real butter on his soldiers, dabs of home-made jam. And, best of all, her constant running battle with Dougie Anderson and his tribe. Doris saved her best insults and cutting remarks for when Richard was in the room just so he could hear Dougie put properly in his place.
She did all that she could to relieve his daily torment. Richard never told her about the pay-back he suffered later at Dougie's hands as a result of Doris' defense. He didn't want her to know that it only goaded Dougie to lower efforts.
On his final day he'd gone to the canteen to tell Doris he was being re-assigned temporarily but he'd be back soon, God willing.
Doris had surprised him by taking his hand in her roughened grasp and saying, "Don't come back, dear heart. This place will be your death. Find somewhere bright and sunny with decent people, make yourself a home, and stay there. You deserve so much better than this pit!"
He'd been very moved. She was right, of course, but what else was there for him? This was his life, for better or worse, and he would just have to forge ahead somehow… once he came back.
Once he had proven himself in whatever god-forsaken tropical hell-hole he was being sent to.
After all, how bad could it be?
END – S1 E6 – Who was Doris?