The Late-night Visitors

Work romance blossoms over a shared love of all creatures great and small

There’s a rumble in the jungle, there’s a whisper in the trees,” I read as Lily snuggled down for the night. I daren’t get a word wrong reading my daughter’s favourite picture book. I hooted and screamed when I mimicked the chimpanzee, gave the lion’s roar and did an elephant stomp.

When I came to the gorilla, I thudded my chest and thought of my workmates.

I was a welder, the lone female among men. Many of them sought to impress me – even the married ones.

The younger ones told me tales of their nights out and what a great time they had, the subtext being,“come out with me and I’ll show you a good time”.

The older ones liked to tease and occasionally patronise me. But I could hold my own with them and often gave as good as I got. And I never socialised with any of them. But tonight, as I read to Lily, I wondered how my workmates were getting on in the pub.

“Are you coming, Tia?” Kye had asked. The company had been about to go into liquidation until the government stepped in, offering a temporary reprieve. The relief was tremendous and my workmates were going out to celebrate. “Nah, I’ll give it a miss, thanks.”

If I was to go out with anyone in my section it would be Kye. He spoke to me as an equal. He’d ask my advice and I’d ask his. Sometimes we spoke a lot and other times we hardly exchanged a word all shift. He had a self-deprecating sense of humour and sang – a lot. Often, he wasn’t aware he was singing.

He once remarked that I had the agility of a gazelle and the silky hair of an Afghan hound. I let him off with it because he’d just come back from safari in Kenya and was seeing animal characteristics in everyone – our gaffer, with his mane of hair, was a lion; a workmate who snapped at everybody, a crocodile.

“Are you sure?” he asked now. “Yeah, I’ve got to get home for Lily.” Liar. My mum said to just give her a ring if I was going to the pub. But I was used to being on my own.

Liam had died of an undiagnosed heart condition before we even knew I was pregnant. So, in spite of the relief at keeping my job, I’d picked Lily up at the usual time.“i thought you would be out celebrating,” my mum had said, surprised.

“With that lot? You’re kidding! I’d rather be on my own.”

“‘I want to be alone’. That was what Greta Garbo used to say.”

“Who?”

“She was a film star, and unsociable. Just like you.”

“I’m not unsociable.”

“You are. What about Kye? You talk about him a lot. Won’t he be there?” Mothers.

But I had to admit, after the second reading of “Rumble In The Jungle”, she had a point. A drink or two wouldn’t have gone amiss. Once Lily finally fell asleep I tucked her in and went downstairs. I plonked the book down on the kitchen table and listened to the silence.

Was I lonely? No. I was perfectly happy, thank you. And to prove it I started to sing the Elephunk song.

“Rumble, rumble in the jungle,” I sang as I retrieved peanuts and raisins from the kitchen cupboards.

I did an elephant stomp round the kitchen – I tend to go silly when I want to banish the blues.

Then I got out the bread and started to spread peanut butter on it.

I didn’t need to go to any pub to have fun.

“. . . everybody do the Elephunk!” The doorbell rang and I froze. I wasn’t expecting anyone. I loved where I lived, my house backing on to woods, but it made me slightly isolated so I kept the chain on when I opened the door.

“Hi, Tia.”

“Kye!”

“I was just passing and thought that you might like this.” He thrust a bottle of Prosecco at me.“i won it in the raffle at the pub.”

“Thanks,” I said, thinking that nobody just “passed” my house. It was in a dead end. Kye would know that. He’d once given me a lift home when my car had

broken down.“just drop me off at the end of the street,” I’d said. But he insisted on dropping me off at the door and carrying my shopping in.

“Anyway,” he said now with a shrug.“i don’t drink that stuff. So I thought of you.”

Sometimes I’m a bit slow. Kye was actually backing away before I remembered to invite him in. It was the least I could do.

“Did you walk here?” I asked, standing aside to let him in.

“Yeah, it’s a lovely evening. I like walking, and on my way here I saw some deer.”

“There’s quite a few around here, and on the reservoir there are kingfishers.”

I took him through to the kitchen and got a beer from the fridge. My brother liked beer so I kept some in, though I didn’t touch the stuff.

Kye looked at the table and my trays of food.

“I’m not disturbing you, am I?”

“No, I’ve just put Lily to bed. This stuff’s not for me,” I replied, trying to get used to the novelty of having Kye in my house. “In fact, you have arrived in time for us to celebrate in a unique way.”

“Have I?” He took a sip of his beer. “Yep. Why don’t you go through to the sitting-room and I’ll be through in a moment.”

I pointed and he went, moonwalking while humming “Billie Jean”. I swear he wasn’t aware that he was doing it.

Even at the demonstration to save the company, he sang, although he was singing “Wheels On The Bus” to entertain his nephew, perched on his shoulders.

“Couldn’t get a babysitter,” I’d said, walking alongside him with Lily.

“I am the babysitter. Isn’t that right, Superman?”

“Superman!” little Scott shouted. After that Lily wanted a Superman outfit, too.

The memory made me smile as I sorted the trays of food.

I was all fingers and thumbs and managed to spill the raisins. What was the matter with me?

I took a sip of wine to calm me down. I just wasn’t used to visitors.

Kye had stopped humming and was now starting to sing “Love Me Tender”.

I sneaked out into the hall and peeped round the living-room door. He had his head back against the settee, his eyes closed.

He had a lovely, gravelly voice that sent shivers up my spine. I felt he was singing just for me.

As a friend, of course. But this was my house and it felt intimate, somehow.

I crept back to the kitchen, put the outside light on and took the trays out into the garden. I looked in the hall mirror and tidied my hair. Then I took a deep breath.

“Kye, I’m going to put out the livingroom light.”

He stopped singing and opened his eyes. His smile was slow and sweet.

“Personally, Tia, I like to take things a bit slower.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, buddy.”

I sat on the settee next to him and took a sip of my wine, looking out of the French windows.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all evening.”

“If I’d known that I would have come sooner,” he said, giving me an impish grin. I gave him a dig in the ribs. “Badgers.”

“Ah, I suspected something like that.”

“They come most nights. You know, just to say hello and to eat me out of house and home. Sometimes I get a fox, but he likes junk food and prefers the neighbour’s bin.”

“Doesn’t appreciate upmarket establishments,” Kye said.

“True. Anyway, the badgers should be here soon.”

We waited and waited. Occasionally we would talk:“i wonder how the lads are getting on”;“dooley’s probably drunk by now”.

You know, just enough words to let each other know we were still there, sitting in the dark, quite close and very aware of each other.

We were both on our second drink when I suddenly grabbed Kye’s arm. We leaned forward, shoulders touching.

“There, next to the large pot, do you see it?” I whispered.

“Yep, and there’s another one!” We watched the badgers eat the food I had put out for them. I was aware of his warmth – very aware.

“It’s better than the pub, this,” Kye said softly, turning to me in the dark.

I turned to face him and at that moment I stopped pretending.

Oh, Kye, I thought, just as our lips were about to meet . . .

“Mummy,” a plaintive voice said,“i can’t sleep.”

We sprang apart as my daughter toddled towards us. Suddenly shy, she stopped and just stared at Kye.

“Do you remember Kye, sweetheart? He’s come to visit us, to see the badgers.”

“Hello, Lily. I love your Supergirl pyjamas. I bet you’re into girl power.”

She came a bit nearer and then climbed up on the settee between us.

“I want to see the badgers, too.” She looked at Kye.

“My mummy got me these pyjamas.” Kye smiled.

“Only special little girls get pyjamas with Supergirl on them.”

Lily stuck her thumb in her mouth and considered this.

“Boys get Superman pyjamas. Do you like badgers?”

“I do. If I had known you had badgers I would have come sooner. But I didn’t know if your mummy would like me here or not.”

“Mummy likes you here,” she said, looking at me.“don’t you, Mummy?”

“I do like him here, sweetheart,” I replied.“do you think he can come again?”

She nodded as she snuggled further down between us. From the light outside I saw Kye smile.

I smiled back, just enjoying the moment.

Then he put an arm round us both and started to sing “Love Me Tender”.

For Lily’s benefit, not mine.

She was asleep in no time. I let

Kye carry her back up to bed and we managed to sneak a kiss halfway up the stairs. Just as he was tucking her in she woke up.

“Read me a story, Kye.”

Poor Kye, he didn’t know what he was letting himself in for, I thought as I listened to him.

“There’s a rumble in the jungle, there’s a whisper in the trees . . .”

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