Chasing Rainbows Read online

  This is not just my book. I could not have done it alone.

  My thanks go to Jane Greenwood who was always at the end of the phone at three in the morning. She listened to my ideas in the night.

  Skiathos was the turning point where I met Sally Moon who gave me such good advice and I listened. Thank you.

  It was my group on Facebook that really made it happen, as they screamed for more and I had to post an episode a day.

  My thanks also go to everybody else who encouraged me and gave me the motivation to get to the end.

  "I couldn't pull myself away"

  Anne Marie Myers

  "I really enjoyed it, wondering what happened next"

  Bev Bowers

  "I loved the concept and can already see it as a movie. The only negative is that it has ended. I want more"

  Lorna Stewart

  CHAPTER ONE

  The man next to him asked to get by and Doug moved out of his seat to let him pass. Doug wasn't too keen on sitting by the window, he much preferred to sit in the aisle, or the middle, you could get a better look at the hostesses as they walked by.

  As the man went up the aisle Doug noticed that the man was bald, quite fashionable these days. Doug was glad he still had thick black wavy hair which was now speckled with streaks of silver; making him more distinguished looking and appealing to women.

  His love of women had never diminished and he was a fine figure of a man for his 64 years.

  Doug settled down to read the in flight magazine. Selling products, holidays, how boring, always the same.

  As he was flicking through the pages a picture caught his eye and he went back to take a look. It was an article about a woman who won the Desmond Elliott prize. A prize for new novelists.

  The bald man returned.

  Doug moved and took the opportunity to scan the cabin and see what the women were like, he couldn't help himself.

  A smile passed between the men and they began to chat about nothing.

  When the hostess came Doug ordered a gin and tonic and the man asked for a vodka.

  Doug learned that the man was head of sales for a European airline and was going to New York to do a deal with the aviation authority.

  They were hoping to begin internal flights across America in the New Year.

  Doug took a sip of his drink and made himself comfortable. Remembering the page in the magazine he took it out of the pocket in front of him and studied the picture of the woman.

  He was sure he knew her, but where from?

  The hair was different, the look was different and no way would he have ever known someone who could write a book.

  Doug liked intelligent women, they fed his ego but more often than not he got a stupid one who was brainless, looked good on his arm and was easy in bed.

  The picture he was looking at, troubled him. He thought that he knew her. He studied the features and the clothes and scanned the face for some kind of recognition.

  Then it hit him. It was the eyes. How could he have forgotten those eyes that would open wide like pools of deep syrup and were always laughing?

  It couldn't be her, could it?

  Another sip of the smooth gin and he closed his eyes, resting his head on the back of the seat.

  He remembered. Doug went back in time to a year that was filled with life, love and laughter.

  Now he remembered every single minute he spent with her. It began to awaken an age old longing in his loins.

  His memory of her was precious and held more regrets than any man should have to carry through his lifetime.

  Doug took another long drink from the glass and slid back in his seat. As the cool liquid hit the back of his throat he sailed away on a sea of dreams that he had locked away for far too long.

  Sometimes memories bring promises of what might have been or can reawaken demons best left sleeping.

  Doug could never decide whether he loved women or detested them. He needed them just as much as he needed his mother and sisters.

  He loved the fascination of women and had never quite worked them out or understood them.

  He knew what women wanted. Experience gave him a repertoire that Casanova would have envied.

  In the day, back then, when he thought he was very married , Doug also kept a mistress.

  The mistress was a relationship he had fallen into by accident, which became long term, very long term.

  He had always tried not to get involved with women for too long.

  The chase was good and the bed was, at times; then it was time to move on to the next and the next and the next.

  Doug always tried to avoid involvement but somehow failed with Gerry.

  After eight years she was a habit. She provided an escape from the mundane duties of family. She was still waiting for him to leave his wife.

  Life was too easy for him but his relationships were never enough. He always wanted more, was always in search of perfection.

  Doug could never work out what that meant, but he knew he wanted it.

  What he didn't realise was that through his catalogue of women he was searching, searching for the one to surpass all others.

  Now he saw her on the pages of an in flight magazine, the one who surpassed all others.

  Even though the hair was different the eyes and the smile had not changed. Still big and inviting.

  She had a way of lighting up the room with that smile. When she smiled her face would break out into a beam that could light up the world.

  Her light could blind. Her charisma could entrap the strongest of men.

  It was such a long time ago. Lost in the archives of his mind. It was piled beneath the heaps of other women he'd been through since.

  'Been through', an apt way of looking at his affairs.

  Doug loved the thrill of the chase, the intrigue and when he had been through his 'class act' and set the scene, he left the woman to believe that she was the one.

  He fooled himself, he fooled them and though not meaning to cause upset in their lives, he began to cause upset with his opening lines.

  His chat up lines were magic, his voice like soft dark chocolate that no one could resist.

  In the years that had passed there had not been one woman to equal her.

  As he took another long drink Doug allowed himself the pleasure of an intense feeling that he had been without for too long, slowly drifting into a series of events that happened so long ago it made his memories almost seem like dreams.

  Carol called him, he wasn't really listening to her as he looked through the ever increasing pile of paperwork on his desk.

  “So can you do it?” she squawked.

  “Do what?” he snapped, she really annoyed him at times.

  “You expect me to do something for nothing?” he asked. She was already annoying him.

  Carol went on, “ No, she is willing to give you a small remuneration, of about a hundred pounds. It is for a charity after all. I told her you would not do it for free”. Doug said he would call her back and could she email him the details. Why did Carol volunteer him for jobs before asking him?. He sat back in his chair and stared out of the window, across town hall square. Carol was organising, manipulative and she would never have the pleasure of his body.

  Doug didn't sleep with all of his victims, she was one of the unlucky ones. Why should he sleep with everybody, when sometimes a few kisses and a grope sufficed. Her wrinkled face and cigarette stained breath was enough to deter the strongest of constitutions. He remembered meeting her at a karaoke evening where he was running an event for a company in Leeds. Her husband was the companies insurer.

  Doug never entertained single women as they became clingy. Married women were easy, they were safe and easy to get rid o
f. Most just wanted words and the caresses that their husbands forgot about after the wedding night. He was choosy though and Carol was definitely not one to be kissed or groped.

  The longest relationship he had was his twenty year old marriage and the eight years he had with Gerry. He once was with someone for three months but could not remember her name .

  The karaoke evening was a success and he could see Carol now in the stunning dress of sequins wrapped round the slim figure that was marred by the nastiness in her face. Her expensive hair was piled high with wisps framing the diamond earrings that caught the light with every turn of her head.

  As his eyes travelled down her legs he found the most amazing stilettos ever. There was something he adored about stilettos, they carried sex on legs.

  Not this time! Doug was repulsed by the skinny, shapeless, sticks covered in fake tan. He graciously accepted the pass she made at him as he was too drunk by then. She was pulling his clothes off in the back room of the conference centre as though the three minute warning had sounded and the world was about to end. Just as her hand began to find its way into his boxer shorts, the moonlight caught her profile and she took on the appearance of a ravaged zombie about to initiate the next victim.

  His eyes widened as he stared into a face ravaged by the overuse of cosmetics and too much smoking, this was leading him to disaster. He drew back choking out the words,

  “No Carol, this is not a good idea”, and pushed her off.

  He continued, “It's the drink and I will never be able to look John in the face again. Please let's not ruin a good friendship?” He pleaded.

  He turned away as an incredible guilt swept over him. He was always amazed that guilt followed what he did and yet he continued to pursue the impossible dream, always fulfilling the lust in his loins.

  Carol, who was now absolutely furious, began to pull on her silk, expensive, cheap looking knickers, he had not seen her take them off and decided that he must stop drinking so much at corporate events. Perhaps she never had them on and had taken them off earlier, in anticipation. He had been with women who did that. Women who wanted him would go to the toilet and remove their knickers allowing him easy access to that which he yearned.

  Doug wasn't bothered that Carol was the wife of an associate, he lied to her. He was good at lying and often had to think fast on his feet.

  Doug prided himself on his choice of women and he was not going to add an 'ugly' to his list, she was not pleasing to the eye nor in any other way. He also knew that if he were to start something with her it might get complicated and she could upset his apple cart. The whole room shook as she stormed out without a backward glance, without a word, slamming the door with such force it nearly came off its hinges.

  The fuzz of the drink was now beginning to wear off and head in hands Doug sat in contemplation.

  “Why do I do it?” he spoke loudly to himself. Deep inside a tiny voice spoke to him. This was a voice he had heard many times before but chose to ignore.

  The voice whispered, “ Because you are always looking for her”

  He did not hear from Carol again until she called him to ask if he would do the choreography for the opening of her new dress agency. He ripped her off, charging far too much for his services. She knew, and paid anyway. She loved having him around and always felt the only reason the karaoke night failed was due to Doug being far too drunk, she could wait for a moment to come round again, then she would have him. Carol was totally deluded. She never stopped talking about Doug to her friends.

  Here she was again offering him some work, for her own selfish reasons, so that she could spend some time with him. The ping of his e mail brought him round, with the horror of his encounter with Carol lurking in his thoughts.

  He quickly glanced at the email that ended with, “I will be in touch when I have finalised details with her”.

  Before the end of the day another e mail arrived.

  It was very clear and said, “She will meet you in the West End Bar at lunchtime tomorrow at about 1, that better be OK for you?”.

  After making a note in his diary he replied, “I might be late so you can start without me”. God!! she sounded like a jealous wife sometimes.

  He knew that he could never like Carol at all, but she was good for business. Stroking his chin he smiled to himself, life was not so bad.

  The next day was fraught with meetings. Doug was in two minds whether to go to lunch and meet the unknown woman, or not. He wanted to cancel but his curiosity got the better of him.

  He did not know the woman's name and neither did he have Carol's mobile number. As he waited to go into his first meeting he began to wonder what the woman would be like.

  She was probably one of Carol's old wrinkly cronies that would be propping up the bar in the most popular place in town.

  Two young men from York owned the Satin Club. Anybody who was anybody, drank there and the club was a great success.

  After a frustrating morning with idiots who really did not know what they were talking about and had no clue, Doug decided that lunch was just the pick me up he needed.

  As he went down the steps into the bar he was surprised to see that it was quite empty. He walked over to the bar and ordered half a lager.

  Doug always felt comfortable in this bar, it was in the middle of town and yet had a country feel to it.

  A long bar of polished mahogany stretched endlessly before him. Brass pumps reflected in the sparkling glass that covered the walls holding bottles, glasses and accessories that cluttered swanky bars.

  This type of bar would not be out of place on an old western. Lights reflected back into a room dimly lit, casting shadows into deep corners, making it easy for lovers to touch each other in intimate places without fear of being seen. Touching each other in public was abandoning oneself to heady pleasure, at times a recklessness brought on by too much alcohol.

  Bars such as this were ideal for men such as Doug. He could hide in corners without fear of discovery, using his hands to make the most reluctant of partners moan. He could drink his drinks and feel his women, their moans blending in with the suave tones of the crooners locked in the juke box, singing about everlasting love. Love to Doug was like an orgasm. Amazing working up to it , then it was over and just another memory.

  As Doug ordered another lager he began scanning the room for a familiar face. A young couple were having an intense conversation in the corner. She looked upset, he looked anxious and fed up. No doubt they might be discussing wedding plans, the magazine on the table gave it away.

  Smiling at the bar man Doug remembered twenty one years ago.

  Why on earth did he marry Mary? What did he do it for?

  Mary smothered him, mothered him. He didn't doubt that she loved him, it was just that maybe she loved too much and it turned into something else.

  A total dependency and a need for him 24/7. Mary made demands he could not meet, did not want to meet, when she spoke his name, 'Doug,' he would cringe.

  No wonder he fell into the trap Gerry set for him.

  She was very different to Mary. Gerry was younger, very cool and aloof, she was not clingy but rather intense when it came to their relationship.

  Doug resented Mary , she reminded him of his mother and sisters.

  He convinced himself that she was the reason for his cheating on her, he made it his life's work and gained much satisfaction from luring her friends into his arms. He found much amusement in listening to Mary tell his latest conquest what a good caring and faithful husband he was. How loving he was!

  She was right, on that one.

  At the far end of the bar was a woman chatting away happily to the waiter. She looked pleasant enough, perhaps a bit older than she looked.

  As he watched he found himself caught up in the daily musings of his life. What was it all about?

  Why could he not be as happy as the girl at the end of the bar?

  The door banged behind him as Carol made a superb entra
nce. She always did. Gold bomber jacket topped a pair of skin tight mock leather jeans, designer of course!

  Did she not realise how ridiculous she looked, as mutton dressed as lamb, crossed with a tart on legs?

  Pity there was no audience for her this time as the bar still had not begun to fill up with the usual lunchtime diners.

  “HI Tony, mines a vodka on the rocks”, Carol screeched at the bar man, who obviously knew her.

  She carried on walking past Doug to the girl at the end of the bar, the one he was watching.

  They exchanged greetings and Carol pulled the girl towards him as she began the introductions.

  Doug took a long hard look at the woman standing before him. She seemed a bit nervous and shy. She hadn't looked shy chattering away in the distance to the waiter.

  She wore a pair of old denims with rips in them exposing the brown of her legs, an old pair of pumps peeped out from under frayed hems. A bright pink baggy jumper hid the rest of her body.

  “Did she have breasts?” He wondered.

  What might they be like? He could imagine her sitting and knitting the sweater that was far too big for her. It gave her an air of innocent cuteness, added to by the blond hair that was scraped back into a ponytail.

  He could tell that this was hair that did what it wanted, wild and untamed.

  He wondered if she was like her hair. A long fringe played curtains to the most amazing pair of brown eyes he had ever seen.

  They were like two great pools of love that someone could drown in, as they peered into the soul.

  One of the things Doug prided himself on was being able to read a woman very quickly.

  He had a system of categorising them and their eligibility for him to spend some of his precious time on them.

  He would give marks out of ten and be able to calculate how long it would be before he had them hooked and they had fallen for him.

  This one was very different, she confused his arrogance and he could not think straight, as he tried to pull himself out of those eyes peering up at him.

  “Doug, Olivia, Olivia, Doug”, Carol said dismissively.

  Doug cocked his head to the side, nice name, he thought as she held out a small hand, nails of pink coordinating with her sweater.