Chance
Chapter 3: High Road
The sun rode high in the sky as Chance leaped over the gate. He landed heavily, this thick boots thudding into the stony track. He shifted the pack on his back, and turned to look back the way he had come. The grassy field ran down a shallow slope quite some way, then disappeared behind a copse of trees. Behind that the Sussex Downs rolled ahead, a large and sheer hill range on the border of the horizon. Somewhere beyond that, the sea.
Chance left the gate and walked onto the track. The road lead between two thin wire fences, cutting between huge green fields. He was very high up on the Downs, and could see a long way all around. Somewhere high overhead, seagulls cawed. He looked up and spun on the spot to see them banking and wheeling slowly in the air. Glancing down the road behind him, a horse and rider came into view, maybe two hundred metres away.
He walked on in happy silence for some five minutes, savouring the chill of the breeze and the thrill of the landscape around him. Soon enough, a steady clip-clop from behind him announced the arrival of the rider. Chance moved onto the verge of the track to give the rider room.
“Thanks!” Called out a female voice from behind him. Chance turned his head as the large brown horse trotted up alongside him, and slowed to a walk. A woman sat straight-backed on the horse. A small, pretty face smiled down at him, Her cheeks and nose were a rosy red from the exercise, but the rest of her face was pale from the cold. But her smile was all warmth, and her eyes sparkled slightly from beneath her riding hat.
“Well,” Chance replied, “You have more legs than me, so I figure you need a little more road.”
“But on the other hand,” she laughed, “I have the better mode of transport, so I should be graceful and offer you the road to make up for it!”
“That would be most kind, but I'm not sure your handsome friend here would agree with that sentiment.” Chance reached out and patted the horse on its neck. It's hide was sticky with sweat, and warm. “I'd hate for him to try and trample me.”
“Don't say that!” she replied in mock outrage. “You'll hurt his feelings! Poor Marlowe would never trample anyone.”
“You don't think so? Give him half an hour in my company. I'd never appeal to his good nature for longer that that.”
“Aww, don't listen to him Marlowe.” The horse snorted and shook his head. “So where are you headed to?”
“That way,” Chance replied, waving his arm generally in front of him. “Where-ever the road takes me.”
“That's exciting! Where has it brought you from?”
Chance smiled and looked up before replying. “How long do you have?”
~o~
Katherine stormed into the kitchen and threw her bag down on the table. In a maddened fury she filled the kettle, spraying water everywhere in angry torrents; she rummaged through the drawer to find a teaspoon, clattering cutlery in a deafening din; she threw open the cupboard door and grabbed a cup, knocking over a glass in the process. She slammed the mug on the kitchen worktop and swore before picking the glass back up again, and closing the cupboard door with a bang.
Gingerly, James put his head through the kitchen doorway.
“Kay? Erm, everything OK?”
“He's done it again!”
“Oh, has he?” James plucked up a little courage and walked into the kitchen. Katherine was furiously trying to find the teabags, opening and shutting doors seemingly at random.
“I told him to meet me at three'o'clock. But did he? No!”
“Oh, him.” James began to understand pretty quickly. Katherine's boyfriend was what James liked to think of as “a total arsehole”. Of course, no matter how many times that opinion was validated, he could never really tell that to his friend. And he had come to think of Katherine as a close friend. Maybe a little too close. But she clearly saw something in the guy, and James always did his best to respect that.
“Alright, Kay, slow down. Take a seat, let me fix that.” James walked over, gently put a had to Katherine's waist, and lead her to a chair.
“He's done it again,Chance! Every fucking time.”
“I know, I know.”
“He didn't even bother to call! What's with that? He's just completely forgotten me again.”
“I'm sure he's not forgotten you.” James lied, putting teabags into two cups and clearing up after Katherine's warpath. “There will be a perfectly good reason.”
“Is this one of those guy things?”
“Erm, yeah it could be. Guys aren't good with... things.”
“Half an hour I sat there, all on my own. Do you know how stupid I felt?”
“You didn't just call him, or anything?” The kettle clicked off, and James swiftly filed both cups.
“And say what? 'Hi Honey, did you forget me? You did? Oh, never mind!'”
“Well, I wouldn't start with that...”
“The bastard. And of course he's still going to drag me to the Market Arms tonight.”
“Why go? You've got the perfect excuse not to now.”
“Because he'll make a big deal of it. It's OK for him not to come and see me, but if I don't show myself with him then it's the end of the world!”
“Kay, you should really talk to him about this. You're always putting yourself out for him.” Chance said, sitting down with the tea. Katherine wrapped her hands around it and took a sip before replying.
“Fuck, that's hot. I can't, he won't take no for an answer.”
“He should.”
“I just want a night in, you know? I don't wanna sit in that smokey pub with his mates.”
“Look, I'll have a word with him for you.”
“You don't need to. I'll sort it, it'll be fine.”
“Kay, please? Mike's never stopped to think of you. It's only because you won't tell him how you feel.”
“I tell him all the time! But he doesn't listen.”
“I'll just have a quiet word later. For tonight, just tell him you're sick and don't want to go out.”
“No, it's not worth the effort. Thanks, Chance, but I'll just get on with it. You know, life goes on.”
James smiled sadly at Katherine. He'd known her for nearly a year now. He'd always wished for happiness for her, but he'd never really seen it arrive. She always fell for the wrong guy, and never understood that she could do better. She wasn't the first girl to have that particular problem, James knew. Hell, he'd been 'the wrong guy' on several occasions himself. But he did wish he could do something, and help Katherine find someone better.
“Just take care of yourself, OK? Take the rest of the afternoon to yourself, relax a little. Who knows, maybe you'll have fun tonight!”
“Yeah, right.” She rose, gulping down the rest of her tea and gethering her bag.
“Let me know how you get on, yeah? I won't be around tonight, but I expect a full report tomorrow! Bring me some violent bits, you know how I like those.”
Katherine laughed at this.
“Sure.” She turned and walked out.
“Kay?” James called after her. She stopped in the doorway and looked back. “You can always say no to me, you know.” He paused. “I hope you have fun tonight.”
Katherine smiled and headed away upstairs.
That night, Katherine and Mike split up. James was there to wipe her tears away, and make sure she got to sleep OK. He kept a close eye on her as she went about her business over the following week. She came back to herself pretty quickly though.
A couple of weeks after that, she said 'no' to Chance after all.
~o~
“So you're like a proper adventurer huh?”
“I'm not so sure about adventurer. I'm certainly 'proper' though.”
“Like the Lone Ranger?”
“I guess so, but less of a cowboy.”
“A shame, that.”
Chance and the rider had been walking companionably for quite some time now. They'd covered the open stretch of the road, and were currently squeezing between hedgerows which canopied overhead. From time to time, a break in the foliage would frame a startling vista of sunny, rolling hills and vibrant blue skies. Like postcards sent by Mother Nature herself. Chance would frequently stop and gaze out of those windows, drinking in the views.
“Don't you get lonely though?”
“You get used to that pretty quickly. And besides, I find plenty of good company.”
“Like what?”
“When you get out of the town and into the world, people are more willing to open up. Riders and walkers will always say hello, and are normally happy to stop and chat. A bit like you.”
“But they're not as sweet as me, of course.”
“Of course. And in the evenings, if I'm lucky, I'll find a village pub and have a chat with some of the locals.”
“Nice!” She replied, a touch sarcastically.
“You'd be surprised. But loneliness is rarely an issue. Not like if you're sitting at home on your own, and you can hear people next door having fun. Now that's loneliness.”
“Like at New Year! I hate that. Everyone else seems to be having a better time than me.”
“They're just making more noise,” Chance shrugged. “That doesn't mean they're having more fun.”
“Trust me, they're having much more fun.”
“So, where does your route lead you?”
“See that gate ahead?”
“Yep.”
“I'm turning right, heading down a tiny little track – not one of Marlowe's favourites, that – then coming out into a nice big field for a gallop.”
“I'll bet he likes that bit.”
“He sure does! If you're lucky, you might see my dust fly by.”
“I'll certainly keep a look out.”
They parted company at the gate. Chance turned left and headed up a small rise. He sat down and looked back. Looking back over a route he had taken was always one of his favourite things about walking: it was nice to be able to see where you'd been. The hedgerow stretched on for a long way, then opened out into the high road. A movement caught his eye down to his right. As he looked, he saw the girl and Marlowe galloping across a bright green field at a tremendous pace. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it: but Chance fancied he heard a faint cheer on the wind.