Eight minutes later Jake was home. The house was now in full view and the light was on. It was a lovely place to live; he had lived there for eighteen months and felt completely at ease. Standing looking through the back window he could see the reason why, coming out through the kitchen and into the small lounge. There she was jet-black hair that always made him think of the night. Her skin was without blemish and she had a smile that lit up her whole face. Her eyes were the darkest brown he had ever seen.
That was the first thing that had struck him when they first met. How deep could brown eyes be? He couldn’t believe how lucky he was: she was all he needed, all he wanted and she was there for him, always. Vicky would worry about him constantly when he trekked about the hills on his own through the night… she told him often enough. Jake would hear her but he wouldn’t listen and she couldn’t figure out why. Jake removed the small silver heart from deep inside his pocket. How long he stared at it he didn’t know, but what he did know was that to Vicky it was his lucky charm. She had given it to him on their three-month anniversary and told him to keep it with him whenever he went out into the hills… just in case. She said it would always bring him back to her, always bring him home. What she didn’t know was that he kept it with him at all times. Jake knew she would never understand his history so he never told her. Sure, she knew he had been a soldier, she knew he had been in some sticky situations. Christ, she even knew he had killed people, but she didn’t know his real story, didn’t know what he had really done during his army career. And Jake wanted to make sure that she would never find out.
There she was, waiting for him to come home, as she always was, with his morning bath ready and breakfast cooking in the kitchen. Jake always got home at this time as she knew he would… his timing was as always perfect.
‘God, I love you so very much,’ Jake said quietly under his breath as he stood at the window, just watching her. He was transfixed and completely captivated by her beauty; she was his heartbeat, his soul and everything in-between. Jake never wanted to let her go, or be anywhere without her. He could achieve anything if she was at his side. There was nothing they couldn’t do as long they were together. He could hardly remember what life had been like without her. That was only two years ago, but it seemed like a lifetime; when all he had was his job with the post office as a postman, delivering letters in this village of Fenton. It seemed so calm and quiet after what he had been through. His life now was so different. Jake never thought he could be happy out of the forces. It had been all he had known all of his adult life. Then he met Victoria, a name he would soon shorten to Vicky. He always told her that it didn’t matter that he would never have the chance to win a Victoria Cross because she was his V.C. She gave Jake a new direction in life and took his mind from his dark past, a past that he tried very hard not to think about. It was something he could never tell her about… no matter what.
All she really knew about his past life was that he had been a soldier for eighteen years, had travelled the world and done some things that it was better that she knew little or nothing about. She had asked no questions and he had told her no lies. There had been times when he caught her looking at him as his mind had drifted back, but he couldn’t tell her. Christ, she hated violence and would always prefer to run rather than stand and fight. She was his little kitten, and he would protect her always. Jake couldn’t believe that anyone could mean so much to another human being, that someone could get under his skin and into his very soul. God, she took his very breath away. She could make him stagger simply by the way she would nibble her bottom lip…Fuck, it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.
She was quite simply his whole life and she had promised that she would stay with him for at least the next thirty-five years. That would do… for a start. Jake watched her in silence as she prepared for him coming off the hill. Getting ready for her lover returning from a long and hard tab through the dark night, into her heart and into her arms where he always felt safe. Jake loved coming home. She kept the house perfect, she was almost overly house-proud. He couldn’t put an empty cup down before she had it washed, dried and put away as the last of the tea hit the bottom of his stomach. She fussed way too much, kept everything in order and had a routine for everything, a place for everything. Christ, she was better at admin than he was and he was ex-military! The village where they lived had been quite small although it had steadily spread eastward over the years to a few thousand people. They lived on the western edge, next to the countryside. It was easy for Jake to escape into his much-loved hills. To get away from it all overnight, and stretch his legs. He liked to keep his hand in, because you never knew when you might have to go back to work ………back to war.
Jake turned slowly and looked up towards King’s Point Mol, the first hill outside the village and the last one he almost always came down from. He always had the same sense of saying goodbye to an old friend whenever he finished a night’s walk, and even now he looked forward to next time he could escape to his hills. He let himself into the house, and the aroma of fresh food cooking hit him full in the face. Fuck! She can cook as well! Is there nothing my baby can’t do?
‘Is that you?’ she called.
‘No, it’s only me.’ He walked into the kitchen and took a long slow look at Victoria. She turned and looked straight into his eyes.
‘Honest question?’ he asked.
‘Honest answer,’ she said without a pause.
‘Love me?’
‘Always.’ Jake walked slowly towards her and pulled her to him. She came without resistance and they kissed as if it was their first…long and slow. It was the softest kiss he had ever had. Vicky was a good kisser…a very good kisser. That was why he would indulge himself whenever the opportunity presented itself. After a minute or so she pulled away and whispered softly into his ear.
‘You’re wet,’ she said, running her hands through his hair.
‘It was raining.’
‘Yes, but at least your skin is waterproof,’ she said, repeating what he had always told her.
‘Who told you that?’
‘An old soldier,’ she returned in a flash.
‘But they lie a lot.’
‘You don’t,’ Vicky replied.
‘Never,’ Jake said, with all the sincerity he could muster.
‘Was it bad up there?’ she asked.
‘It’s been worse,’ came the reply she knew was coming before he even said it.
‘Yeah, I knew you’d say that,’ she said, shaking her head.
‘Breakfast is almost ready. Go through and you can tell me all about it… how hard it was and how good you were.’ She gave a little smile and beckoned Jake to leave the kitchen and go into the sitting room. Entering the other room he started to remove his muddy boots.
‘Jake!’ she screamed, ‘not there!’
‘Sorry, forgot,’ he said in his best schoolboy voice. He quickly reversed and slipped out into the back yard to remove the offending boots. ‘You’re never going to believe this, but I came across an old army buddy coming off the hill. We had a little bit of a chat, and he’s going to meet us in the pub later. You’ll like him, he’s a good old guy.’ They sat down to breakfast and she said no more about his dirty boots. Got away with it, he thought.
‘Okay, what’s happening this afternoon? You got anything exciting planned for us or do I just stay in bed all day?’ said Jake.
‘Nothing special. We can go to the market and do a bit of shopping, if you like.’
‘Yeah, that sounds good to me,’ he said. After they finished breakfast and Jake had had a quick bath, she cleared everything away and gave him the morning paper with his tea. She started cleaning as always. Jake loved watching her when she didn’t realise he was doing it. Later he moved over and sat down at the upright piano and began to play a few notes one after the other. Gradually the music grew more complicated and louder and louder until he was eventually totally engrossed in his playing. The sounds of Chopin soon filled the whole room. Vicky stopped what she was doing and sat down and listened. She loved listening to Jake play the piano. He could play with the softest of touches or hard and aggressive and he could make the music flow up and down and seemed to be able to make the music float through the air. He was a most accomplished player and could play up to concert standard. Although he couldn’t read music, once he heard a piece he found it very easy to find the correct notes on the keyboard.
Jake found it easy to be here. Victoria was very easy to be around and he always felt at ease in her company. Best of all, though, was that she helped him through the night in the worst of weathers. No matter how hard it was, no matter how bad he felt, he always knew she would be there at the end of it all. She gave him what seemed like an unlimited urge to go further and faster. He was almost unstoppable out there, because she was always with him one way or another. Jake knew he could never lie down and die no matter how bad he felt. What would happen to his most treasured possession, his life’s blood, his passion, if he did that? Jake felt good about the two of them, and he was utterly content. She was beautiful, she was funny and she was the most loving person he had ever met. He felt like he had won the lottery without even buying a ticket and he felt sure it would last forever and never end.