Out Of Time | A Shelby

ten

Nancy stood anxiously on the doorstep of Arthur's home later that evening. She had intended to collect Vincent hours ago from Esme, but after her talk with Henry, she needed some more time to herself to clear her head.

When she eventually turned up at Esme's to pick up her son, the guilt she felt when she was told that he'd refused to leave Arthur's side all afternoon and that he'd been with him for the last few hours was hit her like a train.

She quickly made her way around the corner after the sun had set and the sky had now turned dark. Stars were hanging amongst the clouds which made the guilt worse for Nancy, she and Vincent would sit together looking out his bedroom window almost every night to look at the stars together.

Arthur eventually opened the door, a smile on his face and Vincent nowhere to be seen.

"Nancy, come in."

She lifted the hem of her dress and stepped inside the door past Arthur. She took a seat on the sofa and Arthur poured the two of them a drink, Nancy opting for a glass of wine over a cup of tea that night.

"He's sleeping upstairs, has been for about half an hour. I think he must've been exhausted from playing with John's boys all morning."

Nancy crossed one leg over the other and sipped her wine as she sat beside Arthur.

"Thank you for taking care of him, I'm so sorry I wasn't here earlier to come and get him, it's been a hard day."

Arthur just shook his head.

"No problem at all, he's a great kid," he paused and looked at Nancy, his eyes narrowed, "You weren't with Henry today, were you? He didn't do anything he shouldn't have?"

The concern in Arthur's eyes forced Nancy to think back to her day, having to remind herself that Henry in fact hadn't hurt her today, which was out of the ordinary for him.

"I was with him, for a while," she said quietly, "but we just spoke. I told him to sign the divorce papers and then I left. I just needed some time to think about everything."

"Funny," Arthur chuckled to himself, "I went through the same thing not long ago."

Nancy placed her wine glass down and folded her hands in her lap. Arthur now noticing that her ring finger was bare.

"You did?" Nancy asked, her tone surprised.

He nodded, "Yeah, we separated a while ago. Only downside is I have to do my own washing."

The pair of them laughed and Arthur felt his heart skip a beat as she looked up at him, her eyes dark and sultry, forcing him to swallow and clear his throat when he eventually tore his eyes away from her own.

"Well, if you ever need somebody to talk to about, you know, things, I'm only round the corner."

It took Arthur a moment to remember that the reason he was sat beside Nancy at that moment was because she'd saved his life. It felt like a lifetime ago and Arthur had done his best to erase it from his memory, not wanting to hold onto bad memories.

"Yeah," he nodded eagerly, "Thank you Nancy, that's really kind of you."

"It's the least I can do, you and your family have been more than helpful to me and Vincent, I can't ever repay you."

Arthur smiled at her, "Your company is more than enough. More wine?"

The two of them shared another bottle of wine, as well as sharing stories about their childhood. Arthur was shocked to learn that Nancy was just twenty four years old and had given birth when she was just shy of 19. Prying, Arthur found out she had met Henry when she was 17 and he was 23. Her parents hadn't been accepting of the age gap and had disowned her, that being the reason she had nobody else to turn to when her marriage fell apart and their safety was in danger.

"I was worried in the beginning that I wouldn't be a good enough mother, you know? Everyone thought the same thing, all my friends stopped speaking to me, I had no support from anybody."

Arthur noticed the sadness that glinted in her eyes as she spoke, her head hanging low and the deep sighs she kept letting out.

"Well I think you're a great mum, you've done a fantastic job raising that boy. I know he loves you more than anything, too."

Nancy smiled and poured the rest of the wine down her neck, placing the empty glass back down on the table, only for Arthur to grab another bottle of white wine and re-fill it for her.

Both of them were heading towards being a little more than tipsy. Arthur had found himself drinking a lot faster than usual around Nancy, her company putting him at ease but her eyes also keeping him on edge.

He couldn't help himself from staring at her when she spoke. When she'd recall stories, she'd speak with her hands and become so lost in the tale she was sharing that sometimes she'd pause and close her eyes for a moment to jog her memory.

Arthur found her beautiful. Her skin was pale and smooth and her smile reached her eyes, making them glow when she laughed. Her voice was sweet like a songbird and the way her hair fell against her chest like waves of pale sand fascinated Arthur. She was unlike any woman he'd ever seen, she excited him, but she wasn't quite Linda, who still had a pull on her ex-husband's heart strings at the worst possible times.

"I'm thinking of cutting my hair," Nancy said out of the blue, pulling the conversation in a new direction, "All the women seem to have short hair now and mine reaches halfway down my chest. What do you think?"

She pulled up the ends of her hair behind her head and peered into the mirror over Arthur's shoulder, turning her head as she looked at herself.

"No," he shook his head, "Don't cut it. Like you said, everyone else has short hair, you're not like everyone else, are you?"

Nancy sank back into the cushions beside Arthur, a smile on her face as she rested her head on her hand.

"I'm not?"

The way she looked up at him, fluttering her eyelashes and ever so subtly biting her bottom lip was the way Arthur wanted to be looked at for the rest of his life. His heart was beating faster and he felt sweat beading on the back of his neck, his body tensing as her lips pulled into a small smirk.

"No," he said in barely a whisper, his lips parted as he looked down at her, brushing a strand of hair away from her face gently, "You're nothing like anybody else, Nancy."