He went down the corridor, drying his hands on a tea-towel to open the door. A short and balding older man stood there, dressed in a tweed jacket over a shirt and tie. He looked very surprised to see Ben. “Oh, hello,” he said in a plummy tone, then he asked, “Is Marcella in?”

Ben guessed that this man knew Marcie well, and had even made a guess that this was Richard himself, so he invited him in. The man strode down the short hallway ahead of him just as Marcie called out, “Who is it?” Then, as all three converged in the living room, she said, “Oh, it’s you Richard.” She seemed to draw herself up stiffly to her full diminutive height, then went on formally, “I don’t believe you’ve met my friend Ben. Ben Osborne, this is Professor Richard York. Richard, this is Ben.”

Richard thrust out his hand, and Ben shook it warily, unsurprised by the small man’s excessive grip. “Pleased to meet you,” Ben said politely, but Richard had already released his hand and turned to face Marcie.

“Ben’s had a bit of a personal crisis, Richard. He’ll be staying in my spare room for a few nights.”

The older man seemed to ignore this statement. Keeping his back to Ben, he went on with what he must have planned to say, “I saw your car parked outside the faculty this morning, Marcella, but I didn’t see you in the office. I wondered if everything was okay, so I popped round to check up on you.”

“Ben,” Marcie said with strained patience, looking past Richard. “I’m sorry to ask this, but could you leave Richard and me to have a private word together for a moment? Thank you.”

Feeling a little awkward, Ben retreated to the room that Marcie had made up for him and closed the door. He wondered from Marcie’s manner if she was about to give her supervisor an ultimatum, given what they’d just discussed.

He idly browsed the titles on the bookshelf, but they meant little to him. Trying not to eavesdrop on the muffled conversation, he pulled one of the larger soft-covered books out, perhaps wondering if had comic book pictures. The title, Building Expert Systems in Prolog, seemed like nonsense, and the text on the back did not make it any clearer. Then Richard’s voice became louder, so Ben could ignore it no longer.

“But he could be anyone. Has he given you references? What about a deposit, for goodness sake?”

Clearly Richard was talking about Ben himself. He couldn’t hear Marcie’s reply, so he didn’t know if she was defending him. But Richard’s shouting went on, “Well, we can throw him out! I’ll break the news to him straight away.”

Suddenly Marcie’s voice was raised too, finding a volume and pitch that chilled Ben’s blood. “You will do no such thing!” she shrieked. Ben could not have imagined that the kind and modest woman he knew had such reserves of power, nor that she would bring them out in his defence.

But she’d not finished. “It’s over, Richard! Get that simple thought into your vast mind! You are leaving, right now, not Ben.”

“After everything I’ve done for you,” Ben heard both anger and wheedling in Richard’s tone, “After everything I’ve given you!”

“You have given me nothing more than that which a student should expect of a competent tutor. And you have taken a hell of a lot more!” Marcie shot back at full volume. “I am not your pet, your bitch to come to heel at a tug on her lead, only to be shut out in the cold when you want some cosy time at your family hearth! Get out now, Richard, and don’t come back!”

“Marcie, be reasonable,” Ben heard Richard say loudly with apparent authority, but he could still hear anger in his tone too. He judged Marcie might be in genuine danger from this bully, and decided it might be time for him to step in.

He opened the spare room’s door and stepped into the living room, drawing himself to his full height, filling his chest and pulling his shoulders back. “Is everything all right, Marcie?” he asked in a calm but clear voice behind Richard’s back.

Richard’s hand was gripping Marcie’s arm, but he dropped it quickly as he looked around and saw Ben.

“Yes, thank you Ben,” Marcie said in a steady voice, “Everything is fine. Richard was just leaving, and I believe he has some keys that he wishes to leave with me.”

“I don’t have your keys on me,” Richard replied in a quieter but surly voice, sounding suddenly more like a petty child.

“I think you do, otherwise you would not have risked wasting your time in coming to my flat,” Marcie said with a steel-edged calmness.

The older man dug in his pockets in a bad-tempered way, pulling out a bunch of keys, then fiddling with them to work two house keys off the ring. Without saying a word, he slapped them down hard on the dining table, then stomped out of the room in stony silence. Ben looked into Marcie’s anxious eyes as they heard the front door open then slam.

He saw her tears brimming as she held his gaze, then she raised her hands to her face and blurted out, “Oh Ben, I’m so sorry you had to hear that!”

She sniffed, then started openly sobbing as Ben held out his arms. She stepped forward into them, still with her hands to her face, but pressing herself into his chest. He put his hands around her shoulders, hugging her to him closely, confused by his own feelings as he felt his heart hammering. He deliberately took some long slow breaths, relieved that his chest felt clear.

Suddenly the doorbell rang again and they jerked apart. “If that’s him again…” Ben started, resting a hand softly on Marcie’s elbow.

But she interrupted, putting her own small hand over his, “No, I’ll go, if he’s really that stupid.”

She pulled a tissue from a box that she found on the bookshelf to blow her nose, then strode down the corridor as the bell rang again. Ben stepped into the hall behind her, hanging back, but keeping himself in plain sight of the door.

But when Marcie opened the door, a young blonde woman was standing there. Ben thought she looked tired as she shot an anxious glance at him past Marcie’s shoulder. “Is everything okay, Marcie? I heard raised voices.”

“Oh, Shona, it’s you. Come in. I’m sorry. This is Ben. Come through, it’s all okay.”

Marcie led Shona to the living room and Ben followed them in. “Sit down, excuse me,” Marcie said, blowing her nose as Shona planted herself down on the sofa beside her. Ben took one of the dining room chairs, sitting forward on it a little awkwardly.

Shona had put a hand on Marcie’s knee for comfort, but she remained silent, letting Marcie come around to tell her about everything in her own time. Ben didn’t feel that it was his place to speak up, so he waited until Marcie cleared her throat, dabbed her eyes and began explaining, “It was Richard. He came around and, erm, he objected to Ben being here. Ben’s my new good friend. He’ll be stopping over in the spare room for a few nights at least. He needed a place to stay. I finally gave him his marching orders, Shona. I’m cutting Richard off.”

“Well, that sounds like it’s for the best,” Shona said, then reached around to give her an awkward hug. Marcie sniffed and blew her nose again, but she didn’t seem to have anything else to say.

Shona gave Marcie’s shoulder a squeeze then pulled away, leaning back into the deep sofa. “So, a new lodger, huh?” She said brightly, whilst giving Ben a hard considered look. “I’m your neighbour. I live upstairs with my husband Ali and our bairns, two boys, Cal and Zain, and the wee girl Fiona. I hope they won’t disturb you, but you might see me taking them to play out the back from time to time.”

“It’s good to meet you. I was just speaking to Marcie about the yard. I could help clear it up.”

Marcie interrupted, “Oh, but you need to take care! He’s just come out of hospital, you see,” she explained to Shona. “Sorry, do you mind me saying?” she asked, suddenly looking anxiously at Ben.

“No, it’s better to share. But I can’t explain much about it myself. It seems my lungs have been shot to pieces by my old job, sawing up too much wood.”

Shona seemed to be looking at him a bit sceptically now. “Aye, that sounds like a rough deal,” she said, then turned back to Marcie, patting her knee, “Look, hen, I left the little ones on their own. I’d better get back upstairs. Are you going to be all right?”

Marcie smiled at her ruefully, “Yes. Things are fine. I’m sorry we disturbed you.”

“No bother. You’re a brave girl. It sounds like you’ve done the right thing. Just shout if you need anything.” Ben had risen to his feet with Shona out of politeness. She looked at him, perhaps with some suspicion, saying, “Why don’t you see me to the door, Ben?”

As Shona stepped out of the front door that he’d opened for her, she turned back, speaking in a low voice, “You be gentle with her, all right?”

“Oh yes, I owe her a big favour,” Ben replied earnestly.

“She’s a kind lass, but that man, he took advantage. You’re not going to do that, are you?”

Ben was a little taken aback by her blunt challenge, but he answered honestly, “I swear it. Maybe Marcie will tell you sometime what she did for me, but I know I’m in her debt. I’m deeply grateful to her, and I won’t forget it.”

“Aye, be sure to show you appreciate her then. And I’ll see you around,” she concluded, tapping her finger to the side of her eye as she turned to her own front door.

“It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for coming down,” Ben said formally as Shona shot him a final sceptical look, before closing her door.

Marcie was standing in the kitchen next to the kettle when he went back through. “I thought I’d make a cup of tea. Do you want one?” Ben said he would, but Marcie went on, “Holy Mary, look at my hands, I’m still shaking!”

“Do you want me to leave you in peace for a bit?” he asked her.

“No! Please keep me company, if that’s okay. Do you take it white? I have some sugar somewhere.” The routine of making the tea seemed to be calming her. “Did Shona say something to you?”

“She asked me to look after you, pretty much.”

“Oh, but it’s you who needs looking after, not me!”

“We can look after each other then. One good deed deserves another, right?”

“Maybe that’s the way it works, a virtuous cycle,” Marcie said, carefully passing him his tea, then stepping into the living room with her own to sit at the table. Ben sat down across the corner from her, unsure of what to say.

“Shona was right. That was a brave thing to do,” he tried to reassure her.

“Oh, the hard part starts now. I’ll have to refer this up through the university administration, to request a new supervisor. They won’t like it.”

“I’ll help if I can,” Ben offered. “At least I can help around the house, if you need to put in extra work.”

“Thank you, but this is my battle. You’ve already been a great help. I’m sorry you had to hear what I said to Richard, but I was glad you were here. I was getting a bit scared for a moment there, before you came in.”

“Don’t give a second thought, about what I heard. For what it’s worth, I thought you were brilliant, amazing! The strength you showed, it was awesome. And I’m the one who should apologise. I caused the situation. Richard wouldn’t have threatened you in the first place, if I hadn’t been here.”

“Oh, if it hadn’t been today, it would have been some other time. I can see clearly what he is now - just a bully, plain and simple. Maybe your being here was the trigger, but you only catalysed something that needed to happen anyway. Do you think he really would have hurt me?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Ben admitted, seeing her scared fragility. “He certainly wasn’t going to risk taking a swing at me.”

“He wouldn’t have stood a chance. Holy Mary, what am I saying? I’m not the sort to cause men to fight! I’ve never even seen violence like that. To imagine it could have happened right here, Mother of God, it makes me feel sick. Would you really have laid into him if he’d lashed out at you?”

“I’d have got between his fists and you if it had come to it, but I reckon I could have just pinned his arm to make the point.”

“You’ve been in fights, then? For real?”

“Well, yes,” Ben admitted guiltily, “But a long time ago now. Down town on a weekend, you learn to avoid the ones who are really looking for trouble.”

“I’m so naive. But hey, I’ve got your keys for you!” she laughed in a strained way, pushing them across the table towards him, then looked anxious again, “But I’m not sure I trust Richard not to have had another set cut. Do you think I should change the locks? Would you be able to help with that?”

“I could certainly do that, but I don’t think you need to worry. He’d have to be really dumb to try and break in, and he didn’t seem stupid. I’m betting he really wouldn’t want to give you a reason to involve the police.”

“You’re right. Holy Mary, I feel like I want to ward this space, make it safe again, to purify it somehow, change the air and get his taint out of here. I’m going to open the window and back door, put something really loud on, and search this flat for anything of his. I’ll dump it in a box and drop it on his bloody feet in his precious fucking office!”

Good to her word, she immediately stood up, leaning across Ben over the table to open the window and let a cool breeze creep in. Ben felt somewhat ashamed of himself for noticing, at a time like this, how close her chest briefly came to his face. As he deliberately took a calm breath, she went over to the stereo, chose a CD, then began skipping through the tracks. She turned the surprisingly calm music way up before striding into the kitchen. Ben heard the wavering lyrics, “Oh, can’t anybody see, we’ve got a war to fight…” He vaguely recognised the music. It wouldn’t have been his choice if he had wanted to exorcise some rage, but as he listened to the tension in the singer’s voice and the ambiguous lyrics, he thought he realised why Marcie had chosen it.

Marcie had come back through from the kitchen, where she’d jammed open the door into the yard, and had started scanning the bookshelves. Occasionally she’d pull a book out, maybe check inside its cover, then throw it into the middle of the floor. Ben picked up their empty mugs and took them through to the kitchen to carry on with the washing up.

Marcie turned the music down a little after her favourite track had ended, but left it playing. Ben went through once all the pots were on the draining board, and asked, “Can I help?”

“No, I’m doing fine,” Marcie said confidently, squatting on her haunches at the bottom of the bookshelf. “I’d like to check the shelves in your room too, if that’s okay?”

“Sure. It’s your room really,” Ben said as she stood up, giving him a relieved smile before she stepped out, passing close enough that he could feel the air move. For some reason he noticed her perfume again, thinking how its pleasant spicy citrus scent contrasted with the nastiness of the bad air that she’d implied was lingering.

Ben looked at the pile on the floor, with books lying open, jumbled together, their pages bent. There were CDs in the pile too, their cases ajar and their disks slipping out. He guessed that to the librarian side of Marcie’s mind, this must be some kind of ritual humiliation for them all. He smiled as he began tidying them up after her, moving them to piles by the front door, ready for their exile.

“Oh, thank you,” Marcie called out brightly when she saw what he was doing as she ducked back into the living room. “I’ve left a pile on the floor in your room too now. Do you want to sort it out as well while I check for anything else?”

There must have been close to fifty books in the hallway by the time he’d finished, many looking like very dull textbooks on criminal law. As Ben stacked them, Marcie came up the corridor behind him with a tied-up plastic bag, gripping more empty bags in her fist. She dumped the full one next to his piles, then went into the bedroom. “Excuse me for a moment,” she said from the doorway. “Do you want to chill on the sofa while I finish up, then we can go over to your place? I might like the company on the drive, but I’ll go up into your flat on my own to keep you safe, if you don’t mind waiting in the car.”

“That would be great, if you’re sure,” he replied, but thinking that he knew her well enough now to count on her not changing her mind. He went to the spare room to empty the bag that Marcie had bought to the hospital. He bundled his dirty clothes from yesterday onto an empty shelf, arranging his toiletries next to them, but he put the t-shirt and pants that he’d worn as pyjamas onto the camp bed’s pillow.

Going through to the living room, he picked up the keys from the table, then started threading them onto his own keyring. It felt odd that he was making them his keys now, as his thoughts replayed what had just happened. Despite everything else, his mind went back to one remark that Marcie had made. She had been embarrassed when she had mistakenly implied that he might be her new boyfriend. It had seemed to be an inconsequential slip of the tongue, but Ben was intrigued that she might have thought such a thing was possibly true.

As he examined his own feelings, he felt sure that he would very much like to fit into that role, to truly become her new boyfriend, despite their differences. But then he remembered what Shona had said too, and his promise not to take advantage of Marcie’s kindness. He resolved to be patient. Despite the things they’d already gone through together, they were still relative strangers. If the goal was clear and genuine, then the work and diligence to get there could only be worthwhile.

“There was more than I thought,” he heard Marcie say from the doorway, interrupting his thoughts. “I’m going to need some big boxes.”

“Oh, I’ve got lots of those tough plastic crates in the workshop, if you want to borrow them. Hell, you can have them. The Trust isn’t going to miss them. They might be a bit dusty though, I guess.”

“Thank you,” she replied, “I might take you up on that offer. And do you really think I’m worried about getting a bit of sawdust on Professor York’s precious books right now? I’ll shut things up, then shall we get straight off?”

“That works for me,” Ben replied, then held up his bunch of keys that he still gripped in his hand, “Thanks for the keys for your flat too. I’ll look after them.”

“Think of this as your place too, now,” Marcie called out to reassure him as she bolted the back door.

Her words brought a nagging thought that had been at the back of Ben’s mind into sharp focus. He marshalled his thoughts as he picked up his jacket and empty bag, followed her down the hall and then, once they’d slipped their shoes on, stepped out of the front door. As they walked down the street together in the warm spring afternoon, Marcie just in her shirt sleeves, he began trying to explain aloud what had been worrying him, “Marcie, you know I’m very grateful for all this. But can I just double check that you’re sure about it all?”

“How do you mean?” she asked, looking at him across her car’s roof now that she’d reached the driver’s door.

“About me staying over,” Ben said, ducking into the passenger seat as Marcie got in. “Before we set off, I want to be clear. Some of those things Richard said, well, they’re true. You don’t have references from me, nor a deposit. If I’m going to be your lodger, if you’re letting a stranger stay in your home, shouldn’t you get those things? Now’s the time for you to just drop me back at my place, or let me take myself back. I can pop back to your flat before we leave, to fill up my bag again. I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

“Is that it?” Marcie asked perhaps a little crossly, “We’ve been through this already. You need a change of scene. I can help out. We’re not strangers now, and you’re not a lodger. You’re a friend who is just crashing at my place for a while. If you’re still here in two weeks’ time, we can have a conversation then about you helping out with the mortgage or whatever. If we’re being all objective or legalistic about this, then yes, I am taking a risk by putting you up. But you’re taking a risk too. I might turn out to be that shrieking harridan every day of the week, who wants to play her music at top volume and throw her books around when you’re trying to sleep. But I think you know that’s not who I really am, and also I think that you really are the kind and trustworthy person you seem to be. We might both be proved wrong, but real life doesn’t come with guarantees. Everything about this feels right to me. It was right to help you in the gym in the very first place, it was right to stay beside you in hospital, and it’s right to take you in as a friend. So is that clear? Are we going to go and get some spare pants for you now or what?”

Ben laughed, feeling relieved as he said, “Aye. Yes. Let’s do it!”

Marcie reached over to squeeze Ben’s knee, then she moved her hand back to the gear stick and started the car. “I fancy some music. Is that okay?” she asked, reaching for the car stereo.

“That’s fine with me, but you’re the driver,” Ben said in what he hoped was a reassuring and encouraging voice.

As the music played and they joined the traffic across town, Marcie asked what he thought he needed from his flat. Underwear, a pair of clean jeans, t-shirts, a spare sweatshirt and a proper waterproof jacket were all that he could think of, then he remembered that he needed a phone charger too.

“What about something to keep you entertained? Are you in the middle of a book? Like I said, I’m sorry about the TV, but is there anything else you do for fun in the evenings when you’re on you’re own?”

Ben almost blurted out masturbation, but he wasn’t sure how she would take the joking half-truth. “Erm, well there is one hobby I do on my own, but it wouldn’t really work in your flat,” he confessed.

“Don’t be shy,” Marcie prompted teasingly.

He wondered if his joke would actually have gone down okay after all, but he pressed on with his serious thought. “I make wooden models of tall ships, you know, like those ones you see in a bottle, or the bigger ones you see sometimes, like in pubs and museums.”

“Seriously? I’d never have guessed. No, it would be tricky moving all the stuff you’d need for that into my place. But wait, let me get this right,” she said, frowning and tapping the steering wheel, “As a break from your work, which is chopping up trees into big bits of wood, your hobby is to chop up small bits of wood and glue them back together? You’re a man of many talents!”

Ben smiled as she laughed at her own joke, looking at Marcie as she glanced across at him. “Oh, don’t give me those hurt puppy eyes,” she said, turning back to the traffic, “You know I’m teasing. You’ll have to show me what you can do some time, but you might need to find a different hobby while you’re with me. I guess you’re not much into reading for fun now, but perhaps I can help? If you can’t ask a librarian to do that for you, what use are we?”

They were pulling into the back street that the Trust’s yard and Ben’s flat were in now. He was impressed by Marcie’s sense of direction, navigating straight to it without asking for help after only visiting it once. She pulled to a stop behind Ben’s Land Cruiser, then checked she’d remembered the things he’d listed as he handed over his keys again. “Oh, if you’re phone’s going flat, do you want to borrow mine? You could make any calls that you needed while you’re waiting. Borrow my pen and take a bit of paper from my Filofax if you need it too. Once I’ve got your stuff, you can explain where to find those boxes for Richard’s junk.”

Once he’d seen Marcie climb the stairs and disappear inside with his empty bag, he pulled his dying phone from his jacket pocket, looked up his doctor’s number, then called them on Marcie’s. The receptionist seemed keen to book him an appointment as soon as possible once he’d described what had happened. She found an early afternoon slot for him in two days’ time, and Ben confirmed that he’d noted it down correctly before he hung up.

Looking at the phone, he thought of his dad and decided to call him too. Ben reached him on his mobile, out and about on the farm, but he was happy to talk. Ben heard a noisy engine die down in the background, then he explained that he was out of hospital but he wasn’t back in his own flat because there was too much dust there. He felt as if he were crossing some sort of threshold by going on to say that he was staying with his friend Marcie. Telling his dad seemed to somehow make his new arrangement official, making his and Marcie’s mutual commitment more real.

The old man said that Ben must pass on his profound thanks to her, that he hoped she didn’t think he was a terrible father for not coming to see his ill son, and that he very much hoped to meet her soon. Ben agreed to all that, reassuring his dad that Marcie understood about the demands of the farm’s upkeep. Then he explained that he’d send Marcie’s address and the landline number via text, and that he would phone again after his doctor’s appointment. His dad wished him all the best, then rang off.

Ben thought of texting a few of his friends too, but only a moment later he noticed Marcie approaching the car with his bag, now stuffed full. He got out and took it from her, explaining the calls he’d made.

“That’s kind of your dad. I hope I meet him soon too,” Marcie said, adding, “But also, I’ll be finished by lunchtime on Thursday. I can drive you round to the doctors, if you want. Shush!” she commanded, as Ben was about to reply, “Don’t object. I only want to do it because I’m nosy and I want to find out what’s wrong with you as soon as possible. Does that make you happier?”

Ben laughed, gratefully resigning himself to the inevitable. He explained where his doctor’s surgery was in Byker when Marcie asked, then she asked about the boxes he’d mentioned. He pointed out how to open the wicket in the big workshop doors, explained the burglar alarm, and gave her some guidance about where to find the empty plastic crates. He offered to drop the back seats of her car while she was gone to make space for them too. Then, once he’d seen her get the workshop door open successfully, he did just that, moving the travel blanket and road atlas that he found there into the car’s footwell, out of the way.

When he saw Marcie staggering out with a stack of several large plastic crates, he strode forward to help, but she called out, “Keep back! There’s dust everywhere. I tried to wipe these down, but we’d better drive back with the windows open. Stand back!” said again now that she’d dropped the crates in the back of her car. She stepped back and began brushing at her blouse and baggy trousers. Inadvertently, Ben saw how her breasts wobbled as her hands patted at the dusty marks over her chest.

“I’m sorry, I should have thought to warn you,” he said, looking away too late, feeling blood rise to his cheeks.

“Oh don’t worry. These are going in the wash anyway. Let me lock your place up, then we’ll get off, okay? Is it the same code then the set button on the alarm?”

Ben confirmed it was, again admiring her easy confidence. He shut her car’s boot and stood by the open passenger door as she came back. She had a broad and seemingly genuine smile on her face. If she’d noticed him looking lecherously at her chest, perhaps it hadn’t much bothered her.

As she got into the car and belted herself in with Ben getting in beside her, she said, “I know the last twenty-four hours have been rough for you.”

“You’ve had a testing time of it too,” he noted.

“Yes,” she agreed, “But you’ve really had the rug pulled out from under you. And yet, somehow it feels as if things are looking up again already. Do you have that feeling too?”

“Yes, I do actually,” he replied, realising that it was true. “Right now, I have no idea what’s in my future, but I feel open to it somehow.”

“That’s it,” Marcie agreed, “Together we’ve escaped the car crash, and there’s an open road and fresh air ahead of us. Sadly, only metaphorically though. In reality we’ve got to fight our way back across town in the end of day jam. Oh well.”