Copyright@Gerry Rose

 That well known proverb kept worming its way into his brain.

‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.’

He wondered if it was in a bush, or in the bush. It didn’t matter really. Since attending Babs’ party and giving his phone number to Gemma, he was feeling so confused and lost. He loved Sadie, but she was in New York and somewhat unobtainable. Gemma was in Hove and there was something about her which made him feel that she was someone he wanted to connect with. His ex-wife always told him that he was a sucker for a hard luck story. He had a natural desire to help the less fortunate. He remembered that he wanted to join Esther’s group for the socially inadequate but had completely forgotten to do anything about it, or attend any of her events. Perhaps he was losing the plot. He knew the ball was in Gemma’s court and she could choose to ring him or not. He found himself watching his phone and waiting for her call. He could always call Babs and get more information about Gemma. He found himself obsessing about Gemma and thinking less and less about Sadie. He even missed a call from Sadie which had never happened before. When 10 days had passed and Gemma had not called, he was feeling desperate and didn’t really know what to do next. He did attend some interviews for coaching posts. He attended one for serial sex addicts and yet another for people who couldn’t manage their debts. He didn’t really feel that he was in the right frame of mind to give his best to either.

 11 days after Babs’ party he rang Babs.

‘Hi, Babs, its Harry.’

‘Yes Harry, how are you?’

‘I am ok I just wanted to call and thank you for the lovely party you had.’

‘Thanks Harry. Is that the real reason you called? I got your thank you email shortly after the party.’

‘Oh ok I suppose I want some information really.’

‘Yes and I bet I know who it is about and it won’t be Ying! It might be about Jilly or probably more likely the lovely generous Gemma.’

‘Well you know me Babs better than I know myself. Ying is not my type, Jilly is lovely but a bit uptight and always right! Gemma is right up my street!’

‘Yes I am not surprised but you do know you have to join a queue?’

‘Worth the wait I reckon.’

‘What about Sadie?’

‘Sadie is lovely, but I think she will tire of me soon. I am not getting any younger and I am not really in her league.’

‘What makes you think that Gemma will want you?’

‘I don’t know but I would like the opportunity to find out.’

‘You gave her your number didn’t you?’

‘She told you.’

‘Yes she told me and she hasn’t rung you has she Harry.’

‘No.’

‘What does that tell you Harry?’

‘She isn’t interested.’

‘Yep. Gemma always aims at the high rollers Harry. You won’t interest her. You don’t live in the right post code or drive the right car. You don’t have the ability to have a private jet pick her up and take her to the Caribbean.’

‘Ok Babs thanks for your honesty.’

‘Honesty is in short supply these days Harry. If I were you I would lower your standards and find a nice decent woman closer to home.’

‘Thanks Babs as usual you speak a lot of sense.’

Harry felt very disappointed following this phone call. He did live in a nice part of Hove but he only had a small flat. He certainly couldn’t afford a private jet. He sighed and didn’t really know what to do next. When he was younger he was able to call all the shots. Sadie was great but he wondered if he was just filling a gap in her life until someone better came along. He wasn’t naïve and didn’t think that Sadie would turn down a suitor who was closer to home. The bird in the hand as opposed to the one in the bush. He was probably in the bush in Sadie’s mind. Harry found aging hard and did not feel like settling for someone who didn’t excite him. Gemma definitely excited him. There were lots of lovely women in Hove but he felt many had issues. Divorced women of a certain age often wore their woes on their faces. He had met too many women who looked like they had spent an awful lot of their time sucking lemons.

 The next few days were quite difficult for Harry, he felt very much outside of his comfort zone. To top this he had received very negative feedback from another coaching company. This one dealt with debt as the result of gambling.

‘Harry needs to hone his listening skills and failing that perhaps hearing aids might help. Whilst Debtcausedbygambling.com wants to be inclusive, unfortunately we need coaches who are able to be effective.

Your answer to our question, ‘What advice would you give to someone who had a slot habit, was deemed to be inappropriate.’

Your answer:

‘Don’t we all have issues with sluts? I met a woman last weekend who might be considered by some people to be a slut. However I thought she was absolutely gorgeous!’

 Harry knew that on a good day he might laugh at this. Today was not a good day. He decided to go for a walk along the Hove seafront. He found walking always helped him clear his head. It was obvious to him now that Gemma was not interested in him. Since meeting her he had decided that it was time to finish with Sadie. As he walked along the seafront an idea came to mind. He would have one last go at attracting Gemma. Everyone had enjoyed Babs’ party. He had never held a party in his tiny flat but it would be a great way of getting back in touch with Gemma. He didn’t want to have an elaborate affair like Babs’ party. As the days were growing longer a drinks and nibbles party would be fine. He could use his patio garden if he spent some time sprucing it up. He did think his flat in Brunswick Square was lovely. He had bought it over 15 years ago following his divorce. He felt it was impressive enough and he could also spend the next few weeks making it even better. ‘Happy Hours at Harry’s’ would be the theme. He would make cocktails and provide nibbles which would soak the alcohol up. If he held it at 8.30 people could eat beforehand. He would have to borrow some glasses and buy a cocktail shaker. He would ask Babs to invite as many people as she could and particularly Gemma.

 When he returned to his flat he made a list of the jobs that he needed to do in his flat to make it Gemma worthy. He looked at his calendar and decided that the summer solstice on Wednesday 21^st June 2017 would be an auspicious date for a party. It would give a sort of spiritual vibe which he knew people in Brighton and Hove liked. He would email Babs first to see if she could send out an email about people’s availability in June. There would be no point in holding this party if Gemma couldn’t attend. Babs had never been to his flat. He decided to ask her to visit him and give him some advice on what he could do to spruce it up a little. Sadie had told him that he should spend some money updating his plumbing and décor. He felt Gemma was worth impressing. He would email Babs and be totally honest about his motives. He trusted that Babs would be equally honest in return. He would ponder the best way of ending his relationship with Sadie but there was no hurry. The next date in the diary for a weekend together was not until the August vacation when Sadie’s ex-husband would take her children on holiday. Who knows what might happen before that. Harry felt he needed to look after his own needs and stop thinking that Sadie might or might not want to be with him.

 When he got home he received a text from Specsavers Hove to inform him that he had missed his appointments for an eye test and a hearing test. Harry wondered if his obsession with Gemma was now affecting his working memory.

 He emailed Babs and when she replied promptly with a date she would visit him to give his flat the once over and then copied him into an email about people’s availability in June, for ‘an event’ details to follow, he knew he had met a good friend who had his back.