Writing for Fun
November 2016
Spooky - Jenni Bowers
‘Gosh that was spooky,’ Geoff remarked as Helen clutched his arm; walking the towpath in the twilight had seemed like a romantic thing to do – maybe she’d be more likely to enjoy a kiss and cuddle in the moonlight than in her parents front room. Helen did move closer to him as she had also seen what looked like a very tall lady drift across the canal.
‘Must be just a bit of fog shaped like a woman,’ she replied.
At the next set of steps they decided to leave the area and go find a chip shop, there were a couple in the town and it seemed like a cosy, reassuring thing to do. Both of them felt silly, as if they’d been scared of their own shadow and yet it had looked like a woman.
An hour later Geoff walked Helen home, her dad was at the gate waiting for her, looking at his watch and starting to worry – he didn’t ask Geoff in but opened the gate and told Helen, ‘About time, we’ve been worried, it’s gone 11 o’clock!’
Sheepishly she whispered, ‘Goodnight,’ to Geoff, who walked slowly away feeling cheated. She hadn’t ‘been up for it’ at all and his mates would laugh, the bet he’d lost would have to be paid down the club tomorrow night!
Dating one of the prettiest girls at the youth club was known to be difficult, with her strict dad always meeting her and had resulted in the challenge being thrown down amongst the group of ‘teds’ who would score each ‘chick’ they dated.
However, the following evening as the gang ‘hung’ outside the corner shop Helen appeared, popping out for some sugar. ‘Go on,’ his mates whispered, ‘have another go’ so, sauntering over to her he smiled his famous ‘sexy – for you only’ type smile.
Helen melted – ‘Mum and dad will be out tonight do you want to come round for coffee?’
Three hours later Geoff smothered himself in aftershave, having nicked his chin after attempting to remove his ‘bum fluff’ (as his mum called his fine hairy chin); at 16 he was a bit behind the other lads, some of whom had been shaving for a year now. Anyway, looking as smart as he could with his white shirt and kipper tie almost clean, crepe soled shoes brushed, he arrived on Helens doorstep with flowers clutched at his side – in case any of the mates was spying on him. This time he’d get his leg over and he wouldn’t have to honour the bet, in fact he’d be quids in and take her to the pictures with his winnings.
The argument which had ensued the previous evening between Helen and her father resulted in a truce, with her parents declaring that she and Geoff were too young to be getting serious, that she needed to study more, get a career and not hang about with no-hopers like him, however, they were prepared to let her test their theory that Geoff was ‘only after one thing’.
Helen looked lovely as she opened the door and invited him inside, her lustrous blonde hair all bouffant and her pink shirt-waister fluffed out with a white can-can petticoat, peachy lips painted white and large black rimmed blue eyes gazing at him. ‘Wow,’ he thought, ‘tonight’s the night.’
The front room sofa was very comfy and the room was lit by a single standard lamp, two glasses of lemonade stood on the coffee table with crisps and peanuts in a dish too – most welcoming. He couldn’t believe his luck, one arm around her, the other on her breast, he was about to kiss her passionately when suddenly they heard a creak, then a wail and they leapt apart as the door slowly opened – wafting into the room was that same grey lady they’d seen by the canal. Terrified Geoff grabbed his drape jacket and ran for the door, leaving Helen staring after him.
Half an hour later when she’d stopped crying her father, with his arm around her shaking shoulders explained,
‘It’s easy for me, being in the theatre to rig up ‘the ghostly lady’, just a bit of muslin, a pulley and your mum’s wig stand for the head, certainly saw that shyster off,’ he laughed.
‘But dad, how did you do the one at the canal?’ she queried.
‘What do you mean love, I only did it tonight to stop that little squirt getting his way with you.’
‘I’ll never go down there again after dark dad, there really was a ghost – she was over the water!’