23. I had so much to do!…(R.Gaisford)

I had so much to do! The alarm went off late, I burnt the toast, the kids were ratty
and there was no coffee to help! I noticed that the kids needed new school clothes
(again) – how on earth did they just grow so quickly each term! The dog need to be
dewormed (he was dragging himself all over the carpet last night which was not a
pleasant sight I can tell you). He also has fleas…..we suddenly found ourselves
scratching ourselves whilst watching telly last night. The cat has mange (I’m sure)
as she looks like she put her paw in the electric socket and burnt most of her fur
(she’s pretty old though). The lawn needs mowing (I am not quite sure how that falls
into my category of looking after the house but…) and I have nothing out for
dinner….oh how I absolutely hate days like this….I am just so disorganised and I
used to be one of the most organised social people around (before I moved to this
town).
On top of all this I have to get my publication to my editor by the end of today and I
have absolutely no inspiration. I was up until late last night trying to find some sort of
story but alas nothing came to mind…..I heard the neighbour’s dog barking at
shadows and an owl hooting nearby but none of that inspired me!. Perhaps I should
write a short story on the day in the life of …..yes….ME!! Actually in hindsight that
could possibly be one of the worst things I could do to my poor editor!
So, there I was rushing down the street having double parked my car…it was just a
quick errand that I needed to do before carrying on with the rest of my day! I was
coming around the corner, head down, thoughts flashing through my head, when
something hit me with such force that I crashed heavily to the ground. It took me a
while to come to but my first thought was I had been hit by a car….but on looking up,
shaking my head a bit, this shape started to materialise in front of me. A man
(big)…..typical…..not looking where he was going either but he did have his hand out
to help and asked if I was ok? I was not ok….I was shaking like a leaf and I had a
headache from hell but as I stood up I noticed how tall he was….like a Norwegian
Viking!
Once I had calmed down I managed to take a good look at this stranger that had
bumped into me….he had piercing blue eyes and slightly longish blond hair, and he
was so tall (I know I said that before but he really did tower over me. He had a sort of
hippie look and I felt my lips curl a bit. However, once he started talking (he had a
slight accent) and had apologised profusely I realised he really didn’t mean to bump
into me. He too had things on his mind.
He suggested we have a coffee and I noticed that we were actually right outside a
coffee shop, how fortuitous was that, plus I needed to have a good look in the mirror
as I felt I had grazes all over and for sure a black eye was threatening.
He bought me coffee and a sweet pastry saying that I probably needed it for the
shock. I took myself off to the ladies and was very disappointed not to see a
beautiful shiner forming. My stranger just had a black coffee (I noticed) and nothing
to eat. He then just stared at me whilst I wolfed down the pastry (I hadn’t had time
for breakfast) and he sipped his coffee. He said his name was Cern Harmund
(nothing more) and that he was visiting Toledo for a few days looking up some family

that he discovered lived here. He really did have a lovely accent and I found myself
mesmerised by his story.
He had been abandoned as a small child in a small village in Norway (I was right!),
then taken in by an elderly farming couple who looked after him until he was in his
teens. He helped the farmer work and then was persuaded by the family to try and
find his family. It took him 5 years to finally trace where some of his family had gone
and he had no idea if it was his parents or distant cousins. I was fascinated with the
story but as I had only just moved to Toledo, I didn’t really know many people. He
had taken the surname of the farmers who took him in so it took him a very long time
to get his real name….Daniel Storren.
What a small world it really is. I had only been in Toledo for a couple of years and
had pretty much kept to myself doing my writing. I was divorced hence moving to
this town which held no interest to me other than it was far away from anyone I really
knew. I had a son and daughter who attended the local school and they seemed
pretty settled. I had however, heard of the surname Storren. He was my editor!
Possibly a relation, perhaps a brother but anyway Cern (or Daniel) was pretty excited
by the news (and possibly daunted at the same time). I gave him my number and
asked him to call if he needed any help but I also gave him my editor’s phone
number and left the ball in his court.
Then as quick as that….he apologised again and walked out! I never saw him again
and when I asked my editor if anyone had contacted him regarding family matters,
he said someone had called but nothing came of it. How sad is that – he must have
had his reasons for not pursuing this.
I sit on my porch sometimes and wonder if meeting him really
happened…..sometimes you really do meet a stranger on the way…….
To top off what was almost the worst day of my life, I returned to my car, having
done none of the errands I was supposed to, to find that my car had been clamped
by the traffic inspector! What a day!

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