Chapter Nineteen: Detour

Elaine was finding Stephen's sudden disappearance too much to bear. She was concerned for him. She paused outside 'Preston's Petals' during her thoughts. Almost bursting into tears on seeing a wreath as it reminded her of Geoff and how Stephen kept going on and on about him. She thought that was grief, not knowing it was panic and guilt. Mary spotted her looking very crestfallen from the counter as she made her way out...

"What's wrong, Elaine? I know the prices are a lot but not that much" Mary began as she tried to break the ice in her usual kooky way.

"Oh. No...Sorry, Mary. I don't really want to talk about it" Elaine responded.

"Okay. No problem. But if you need to talk, I'm in here. I know heartbreak, after all I did have unrequited love for a rich businessman myself"

"Who?"

"Norris Cole"

Elaine just creased her face as she watched Mary walk back in. She shook her head as she quickly made her way away from the florist before Mary could talk to her again. She did want to talk to about it, just to somebody she knows a bit more. Which is why she found herself walking to her granddaughter's flat as she pressed the button, Faye letting her up. Craig was out to work so the coast was clear much to her relief.

"Hi nan. How are you doing?" Faye asked as she watched her sit on the couch.

"Not very good, Faye. Stephen left last night...Audrey told me this morning. I just don't know what to do" Elaine admitted with a tear falling down.

Faye sat besides her as she placed one arm around her grandmother. There wasn't any way she was going to tell Tim or Sally just yet as Tim would only say 'I told you so'. She wanted a more sympathetic ear and besides, Faye knew him at the factory as well. There were also the fact that Elaine was still hoping he would make contact and she didn't think he did this out of malice.

"He just left you? What did he say?" Faye questioned with concern.

"Well that's just it. He didn't say anything, Audrey just told me that he needs a break. But he's struggling, he's having some sort of a mental breakdown. I just know he is. He's recently got out of an abusive relationship with his ex-wife and his own sister doesn't give a damn. The family don't give a damn about him" Elaine insisted with her arms crossed.

"I'm sure that's not true. Sarah was always praising him-"

"Yeah but only when he gave her money. She wouldn't have cared if he didn't give her that 20 grand for her business"

"Oh. I mean...It does make sense, he was odd in the factory sometimes. Was his ex-wife really abusive?"

"Yeah. She controlled everything and I told Gail because I thought she might have been sympathetic but all she could do was shout at him. That's all his family ever did and now he's run away again. He was abandoned as a child by his mother, being sent away to Canada. Then when they did reconnect, it was all about Audrey and how proud she was of his success. No wonder he didn't want to lose that, he was scared of being rejected"

"Nan. You're making him sound like some abused victim. He was fine-"

"Except he wasn't fine, Faye. You said so yourself that he acted odd at the factory. So surely you know he wasn't fine. Now I'm worried sick, he's all alone right now in God knows where. Canada is such a big place"

"He's lived there longer than he's lived here. I'm sure he'll be fine"

"Oh! I'm sorry Faye for offloading this onto you. The last thing you want to hear is my problems"

"Don't be daft. You would do the same for me. I'll tell you what, give it a few days and we can ask Audrey. I'm sure once he's landed that he'll tell his mum where he is. He and Audrey are close" Faye tried to assure her.

"Audrey told me that too. Well please let me know if you hear anything from her downstairs" Elaine pleaded.

"Okay"

...

"He's gone back to Canada?" David gloatingly asked Audrey as she came round to the Platt household.

"Yes. And don't you look so pleased, David. It's your wish come true" Audrey replied bluntly.

"Well I wouldn't go that far but yeah, I'm glad he's gone" David admitted with a shrug.

Gail giving him a slight tut however she couldn't hide the fact she was glad too. It felt like a weight had been lifted as he was causing a lot of trouble. The brother she knew all those years ago was gone or perhaps that cool suave businessman never existed in the first place. Perhaps he was always putting on a front from day one but still, it was sad for her to think back to the early days. And she was as she sat there in silence, trying to piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle in her head.

"Any idea what he's going to do now?" Gail asked her mother.

"No. I gave him thirty grand-"

"You gave him thirty grand?!" David spat on hearing this as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yes because I wasn't going to let him go homeless. He needed something to help him build himself back up!" Audrey shouted in defense of herself.

"That's ridiculous. People need to stop giving him money, he's not some charity case. Seriously, what a joke. On the other hand, if that's the last we see of him then it was money well spent" David responded from the kitchen.

This got himself a cold response from his grandmother. She held onto herself as she thought about Gail's question. She was scared of him and couldn't deny that but she loved him too. In a way, she was grieving for the man she thought he was. Audrey had no idea what he was going to do now and she found herself concerned. He was a danger to himself and others. She wondered how she would even begin to contact him again as both had no phone.

"You will make sure your phone is always on you, won't you?" Audrey suddenly asked Gail.

"Yes mam. If he contacts me, I'll let you know. He still has your house phone number, doesn't he?"

"Yes and thank goodness I kept it in the end"

...

A couple days passed since Stephen leaving. Audrey had no sign and it was almost like she was in grief. She kept looking at old photographs of him or holding onto a jacket he left behind like he was dead. It concerned them greatly as she kept sitting by the house phone and wanting it to ring. Sarah kept typing his name into Google to see if he came up anywhere but nothing. He just disappeared into the night and it was breaking Audrey's heart. She was looking at a family photograph from 1996, seeing Stephen and Alf sat together on the couch. If only she could transport to that day and start again, she wishes. Most of the family were trying to find him so he could at least let Audrey know he was okay and maybe she would relax more.

"Until he gets an address or a job in Canada. He's not going to be online for a while, he doesn't have social media. I'm not fussed myself really but gran is besides herself so keep watching" Sarah told Nick as she sat on the stool.

"If he's even in Canada. How do we know?" Nick asked her behind the bar.

"Gran said she booked him a flight there. It's been ages and so he's probably there. It will take him a few weeks to get back on his feet. Gran is acting really odd though, she's acting like he's dead"

"I know and it doesn't make sense. He's been apart from her longer than he's been with her. I mean, I know he's her precious golden boy and all that but he's a grown man. Why is she pining?"

"Because he's her precious golden boy. You just said it. And so what? Bethany's a grown woman now but I still pine for her. It doesn't stop when they turn 18" Sarah reminded him.

"Yeah but you're not sitting around holding Bethany's jacket" Nick retorrted.

"Chance be a fine thing. Look, Nick. I agree that she's acting odd but she's been apart from him a lot longer like you said. She misses him and she's not exactly young now, is she? She's probably scared she might never see him again"

"He's being so selfish"

"Tell me about it. He use to be so understanding too, Elaine thinks he's having a mental breakdown and I don't think she's wrong. Maybe Canada is what he needs to get his head sorted out. Being back in his childhood city might remind him of who he use to be before the debts"

"Let's hope so for gran's sake" Nick responded.

...

A couple hours had passed that day. Audrey was trying to focus on other things but she couldn't leave her living room. She kept thinking if she was gone for a second, she would miss the important call. Nonetheless, she had to eat and she kept the door wide open. So she could hear it and just as she began putting on the gas, that phone did indeed rang. She recalled Richard almost burning her house down and thus switched of the gas before retreating quickly to the ringing. Picking up the phone as soon as her hand felt it...

"Stephen?" Audrey called out as she picked up the phone.

Silence was on the other end. Stephen was in a public payphone in the airport of Québec in Canada. He did return to his childhood city, memories did come flooding back and all the excitement of his young self came with it. He could almost see himself fifty years ago holding onto his adoptive mother's hand and hearing all the 'strange accents' that he would soon adapt himself.

"Mom. I'm in Québec" Stephen admitted with his hand gripping the telephone cord.

"I miss you" Audrey admitted with a small tear coming down her cheek.

"You wanted me to go"

"I never really wanted you to go. Not my baby anyway. Not the little boy who I dressed up in blue"

"You wanted the man that boy turned into to go. Trust me, that man hates himself more than you could ever know. I never wanted to hurt you, mom. And I know I scare you now which was the last thing I ever wanted to happen. But just know, I'm not Richard Hillman"

"I know"

"Do you? Because I remember you phoning me up and crying. Telling me Richard is trying to kill you. I heard that same response from you about me" Stephen paused as he put more money into the payphone and added..."That killed me"

"Oh sweetheart, Stephen. I just don't want you to be alone my darling. All I ever cared about was your happiness. I wouldn't have cared if you were a businessman or a cleaner like your sister. I just wanted you to be happy. If I'm even a little bit to blame for you being so desperate that you would go to these extreme lengths to keep this lifestyle, I'm sorry"

"You're not to blame, mom. I know it's popular nowadays to blame others for your failings but I don't blame you. I'm to blame. Maybe I'm jealous that Gail got to spend her entire life with you and had a family but that's it. You're not to blame for that"

"But what you said at the house-"

"What I said was just venting. I was angry at myself and took it out on you. I should never have done that. I'm going to find myself a manager job, downsize and live the rest of my life away from others"

"No. I don't want that"

"When I get settled, I will call you again. Let you know how I'm doing-"

"I don't want your phonecalls. I want you...I can't go through that again. It pained me enough the first time around. You can get a manger job here and still have me around. Please, Stephen. Come home-"

"I am home"

"No. Stephen...No, don't say that. Don't ever say that. It's killing me being apart from you. I just want you to come back and be with me. I want to take you out to dinner, I want to see you get back on your feet and have no stress. I want you to be happy" Audrey cried.

"Mom-"

"Please...Please"

"if I come back. I just want one condition"

"What?"

"To start afresh. Like it's 1988"

"Okay. Let's do that...Now get back on that plane and come home to me. My home is your home"

...

TBC