Free The Greening by Margaret Coles Page A

replied, “It’s wondrous that we’ve met.”
    And so it is. And I wonder now – as I replay and savour, moment by moment, the moving real-life picture that carried me along so swiftly and naturally – what made me choose to take the action that set the event in motion? Why did I suddenly choose, as the tube train pulled into Piccadilly Circus station, to leave my seat and push my way through the packed, rush-hour carriage, to quickly step through the closing doors? Something I remembered had prompted me to overcome my fear and shyness. I had thought of another woman, a woman who risked everything for what she believed in. I had thought of Julian’s strong heart and that had brought a little courage to mine. And I have my reward. Tomorrow I shall see Mark again.

3 September
    As Mark walked into the restaurant I felt as though everything around me were dissolving. He was handsomer than I remembered. There was a lightness of energy about him. I could hardly believe that this bright butterfly had chosen such an inconspicuous little flower. The time passed quickly. We are easy and natural together. I feel I have known him a lifetime. He loves the theatre and wanted to be an actor, but to please his father he joined the family firm and eventually took it over. But he was unlucky. He said, “The market changed and we were hammered by cheap imports, so the firm went bust.Unfortunately it happened a few years after I took charge.” It seems his father blamed him and never forgave him. After that Mark spent ten years in the army and now runs a security consultancy. He said, “My father can eat his hat now, and his entire wardrobe. I now have a company of my own that’s going great guns. Next year I’m planning to expand – bigger premises, more staff – prepare to be drooled over by a multi-millionaire.”
    Mark has been married. He said, “I married impetuously and it didn’t work out. Passion isn’t enough. There has to be genuine respect and love.” As we waited for the bill he said, “I can’t believe I’ve found you. You’ve knocked me off-balance. I’m in a spin.” He seemed anxious and afraid. He said, “Now that I’ve found you, you won’t run away, will you?”
    Then, as we walked to his car, an extraordinary thing happened. He said, “I have to go to Norwich on Thursday. Would you like to come? We could have most of the day together.” I was astonished. I have been thinking so much about Julian and wondering if I should return to Norwich, to carry out research and find out if her story has the makings of a play. Now it seems that fate is taking a hand. In two days’ time I will see Mark again. I can hardly wait.
    I was puzzled and disappointed. What was I to make of this girlish, romantic confession? Anna had expressed such sensitivity and depth of feeling in the earlier entries. In comparison, this last seemed frivolous and shallow. But Anna was going to Norwich. What might she find out about Julian? I turned the page and continued to read.

5 September
    “A cold coming we had of it…”
    I like the sense of isolation and endurance in Eliot’s poem, of striving against the odds. I would like to be the kind of person who would be brave enough to set herself such a task. I wouldlike to have the belief and faith that some prize was really worth the sacrifice. I like the image of the seed in the hard ground beneath the snow and frost, the unbreakable promise of life to come.
    As I opened the door, Mark greeted me with a hug and a kiss. “Are you ready for this adventure to Norwich?” he asked. Something is happening between us, and happening so quickly. A door has opened onto a path leading to companionship, sexual pleasure, friendship, understanding, joy, fidelity, honour and love. Ahead lies the hope of fulfilment, the chance to be held in the embrace depicted on the cover of the little yellow book. Shall I be allowed to walk that path and take those pleasures and comforts that I so