Pete drew the floor length curtains across the lounge window and shut out the late autumn night. He paced about the room impatiently and sighed as he looked over at the phone, still steadfastly refusing to ring. He was waiting to hear from Lizzie, to hear whether she wanted him to visit the next weekend. He realised he spent an inordinate amount of time waiting to hear from Lizzie, nonetheless he turned on the laptop and logged in to his mail account. You have (0) new messages. Pete rested his head on one propped arm and hit refresh lazily, just to be sure.
He lived in a small village in North Norfolk, far enough away from civilisation to be peaceful but near enough to the sea he felt he could escape if he needed. The practicality of this was a side issue and not the point as Pete was a dreamer, so the concept of it was enough. In autumn and winter it could be perishingly cold in this exposed part of the country and Northerly winds would whip the North Sea into a frenzy bringing a surprising amount of snow this far south. It all added to the starkness of these seasons against the mellow warmth and pleasant bounty of spring and summer. However, this was late autumn and Pete had lit a fire which was crackling and trying to be heard above the occasional whistle of wind down the chimney.
Pete was in his thirties, tall and evidently slim in his youth. Age had filled him out somewhat however and his hair was flecked with stray grey hairs he was now too used to to become frantic over. He had a rather far away look and to anyone meeting him for the first time he often seemed to gaze beyond them whilst looking at them, as if he was always straining into the distance. Lizzie would chide him for dreaming again when he did this, but he didn't mind, being chided by Lizzie was akin to punishment from a favoured childhood Teddy Bear.
She was of the same vintage as Pete, although she lived a fair distance away. They had first met on the internet, in that haphazard and random way people have become used to. He tried to describe her to a friend shortly after they had first met, remarking about her natural and unfussy hairstyle, how she was a brilliant height (he had no idea what he meant by that), that she was perfectly at ease with herself, smiling more than not and most of all that her eyes were bluer and deeper than any he had ever seen, hiding a multitude of past tragedies and triumphs, eyes in which he would quite willingly drown himself in seeking to understand her. He hated that he could describe her this way to a friend but was only ever able to tell her she had 'great eyes'.
The phone was still not ringing, but Lizzie had no idea how impatient Pete was for a call. In fact, there were many things Lizzie was unaware of. She was oblivious to how Pete described her eyes to anyone who would listen and she was completely unaware that he was head over heels in love with her. He had, in fact, been in love with her since before they first met. He had begun to fall madly and desperately in love with her as they got to know each other online. Everything she said interested him, the way she saw the world was exciting and vibrant and infectiously engaging. She was naughty without malice and funny without pretention. He would never say she was everything he ever wanted (to himself, of course) as she was more to him than anything he had ever imagined prior to their meeting. However, Pete was Pete and he felt no words he said to her could explain his feelings or do justice to them, or to her and so he stayed silent, hopelessly in love and frantic for every moment with her.
Lizzie knew none of this as she phoned him, tears rolling down her face, no clue of the feelings burning so deeply at the other end of the phone. She had no knowledge of his love as her life imploded around her and as the phone finally rang in Norfolk, neither of them could begin to guess what was about to happen and where it would lead them, against all odds. This was the very last moment the world was normal, as Pete noted Lizzie's number and grabbed the phone to his ear. Then everything changed.
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