The comfort blanket

Familiar things aren’t always best, as Ellen and poor Arthur discover...

Arthur, what have you been up to now?” Ellen opened the kitchen door. Arthur the Bassett Hound was tangled up in the manky dressing gown he slept under every night.

She’d been meaning to throw it away but he’d got it just the way he liked it – ripped, infused with the scent of dog and the memories of his dreams every night. Besides, if she tried to take it away from him he growled.

Arthur got out of his basket, trailing the dressing gown behind him. It took him a moment to extricate himself from it, then he wagged his tail.

“Come on, then,” she said and opened the back door to let him out into the crisp morning air. Then she gathered up the dressing gown, sniffed it and pulled a face. Should she throw it away now when he was out in the garden and before he had a chance to realise what was going on?

She sighed and placed it back in the basket – she didn’t have the heart to deprive him of his comfort blanket.

How are the bouquets coming along?” Maria said as she came into the back of the flower shop where Ellen was preparing flowers for the wedding the following day.

“Another two and I’m done,” Ellen answered cheerfully.

“I’ve just spoken to the vicar. He said he’ll open the church at eleven, so we can go in and do the arrangements before the wedding at one. I’ll deliver the bouquets to the house and you can meet me at the church.”

“Fine,” Ellen said. She didn’t mind working on Saturday when there was a wedding. Working with Maria, just the two of them, was the best job she’d ever had – plus she could bring Arthur to work with her. He grunted now from his basket underneath the work bench, then snuggled down again into his manky dressing gown. Ellen’s phone rang. “Hi Scott,” she said, cradling it between shoulder and jaw as she continued working. “What’s up?” “I’ll have to cancel tonight,” he said. “Oh, no.” They’d planned a trip to the theatre to see a play she’d been anticipating for quite a while.

“We’ve got an extra training session before the game tomorrow.” “Do you have to go?” “I’m part of the team.” “Yeah – OK.” She felt deflated. “I’ll see you at the game. You know it’s an early kick-off.”

“I’m working – the wedding, I told you. I’ll get there when I can.” “Oh – yeah.” Maria must have heard the tone in her voice for when the call ended she said: “Trouble in paradise?”

“Scott has cancelled our date for tonight – we were going to see that play I’ve been telling you about. He’s got to go to extra training before the game tomorrow.”

“You really wanted to go to that play. He’s known about it for ages, hasn’t he? Football always seems to come first with him,” Maria observed. “Men!” Ellen shrugged. “Not all men,” Maria said. “How long have you two been going out for?” “Eleven months.” “And over those eleven months how many times has he let you down?”

Ellen threw her a look; she knew that Maria wasn’t Scott’s greatest fan. Arthur barked. “See, he agrees with me,” Maria said. Alright, he did let her down occasionally, but she liked being with him, she liked being part of a couple. They had lots of good times together, too, and he made her laugh. She’d been on her own for so long she’d almost forgotten what it was like to have someone – and she wasn’t about to toss it away because he occasionally had to prioritise football.

The vicar was late opening the church the following day so that by the time they’d finished all the floral displays, the guests were arriving.

“Let’s stay and watch the entrance of the bride,” Maria suggested.

Ellen looked at her watch. She should have been rushing over to the football pitch, but she agreed to stay. If Scott could let her down over the play, then she could be late for his game.

“I do like a good wedding,” Maria said as they watched the glowing bride walk in with her father. “It reminds me of mine and Rich’s fifteen years ago. I couldn’t wait to marry him.”

“I wonder if Scott will ever ask me to marry him,” Ellen murmured. She tried to imagine herself walking down the aisle to meet him and felt a little concerned that the thought didn’t excite her. Well, maybe she didn’t want to get married. Times had changed. Maybe they’d just move in together. Maybe he’d ask her one day.

“I’ve got to go,” she said as the service began. “The match started ages ago.”

She drove to the football pitch where the game was nearing the end of the first half. It would be like this every weekend now – Saturdays would be football followed by an evening in at her place ordering in takeaway and streaming a film. She cheered as Scott dribbled the ball then passed it to a team mate who scored.

After the match, there were refreshments for the team and their partners served in the hall. All the usual people were there, talking about the game and the next fixture and there was something comforting about the familiar. Then she heard Natalie saying, “Rob and I are going abseiling next weekend so he’ll miss the match.”

That sounded exciting. She’d love to try something new and different.

You know Rob’s missing the game next week?” she said to Scott as they sat on the sofa that evening eating pizza and watching a superhero film. “He doesn’t seem to mind about missing a match. He and Natalie are going abseiling. I’d love to do something like that. Why don’t we?”

“I don’t want to injure myself and not be able to play football,” Scott said. “I think he’s silly for risking himself.”

“It’s not like you’re in the Premiership,” she said, a little impatiently.

“No, OK, I know.” He sounded a bit peeved at that observation. “But I’m passionate about my football.”

Why couldn’t he be just as passionate about her? She wanted to say. Instead she said, “We always do the same stuff. Don’t you ever want to do something different – maybe surprise me with a romantic treat?”

“Watch this space,” he said without taking his gaze away from the television.

“We’ve been going out for eleven months. We’re like an old married couple – except we’re not.”

“Aren’t you happy?” He put an arm around her. “We’re comfortable with each other. Life is great.”

Hmmm.Foryou,maybe, Ellen thought, and it surprised her. But she did like her life, despite the niggles – and she wouldn’t want to be without him. What would she do?

Idon’t think he was that interested,” she told Maria on Monday. “He was saying ‘watch this space’ but there was no conviction. I mean, we’re comfortable.”

“Oh Ellen, comfortable is not the word you want to describe a fairly new relationship. After ten years, maybe…”

She thought of the glowing bride on Saturday and how excited she’d looked.

“Marriage is hard enough when you start off brimming with hope and adventure,” Maria continued. “Don’t settle for comfortable.”

But it was her life, and she couldn’t imagine another one. Could she?

The sound of whining greeted Ellen when she opened the kitchen door the next morning. Arthur was trying to get out of his basket but one paw was caught in a sleeve of the dressing gown and he’d managed to get his head stuck through one of the many holes he’d chewed. How long had he been tangled up like that – all night? He looked at her with appealing eyes. “Let’s get you out of that,” she said. It took a while but eventually he was free, his tail wagging with relief. She couldn’t allow it to happen again – it was time to get rid of the dressing gown, no matter how much he liked it. It wasn’t really a dressing gown any more.

MyrelationshipwithScottisn’treally arelationshipworthyofthename,isit?

The thought was sharp and instant. She suddenly saw that what was comfortable had entangled her to the point where she was being strangled. She looked at Arthur. “Sorry boy, it’s going in the bin, for your own good. We’ll get you another.”

And she knew it was time to talk to Scott and move on.

“Why not SURPRISE ME? We’re like an old married couple, except we’re not”