Coronation Street crossover with Jane Eyre

Deidre decided she’d had enough. Her daughter Tracy, who was incarcerated for the murder of her partner Charlie, had begun bombarding her with letters demanding money to ease her through her sentence. This was the final straw for Deidre.

“That’s it”, she said. “I can’t take any more of her nonsense. And I’m up to here with Ken as well.”
Blanche walked into the kitchen and sat at her usual perch. She said to Deidre: “My you look a sight. What’s up with you today?”
“I can’t take anymore of this mother. I need to get right away from here. I’ve decided to pack up and live in New Zealand for a while.”
“New Zealand! Why in heaven’s name would you go to New Zealand? It’s on the other side of the world for goodness sake. You can’t do that and leave me here to fend for myself! How could you?”
“I’m sorry but I’ve spent the last few years worrying myself sick about everyone and all their troubles. I need to clear my head, make a fresh start and get out of here.”
“Just charming that is, I must say” replied Blanche. “After all I’ve done for you. Now you just pack up and walk out on me. And what about Ken? I know you’ve had a rough time lately, but you can’t shove years of marriage away just like that.”
“Oh yes I can. He’s tucked up nicely with that woman. He doesn’t want me anymore. She can have him!” Deidre sniffed and left the room.

Unbeknown to others, Deidre had been having an on-line romance for the past few months with her former lover, a man called Edward. They had split when she found out he was married. She was furious at the time, but later heard that his wife had been very unstable mentally for a long time. He’d never mentioned it to her. Apparently she burned their house down and died trying to jump from the roof during the fire. Edward was badly injured trying to rescue her. Apparently he needed months of reconstructive surgery afterwards. He then decided to head down-under and live in New Zealand.

Some years later, Deidre located him through an internet site and found he lived in Auckland. They began corresponding daily, sometimes many times a day. He had been a rock to her through her recent crises, encouraging her to put the past behind and start afresh with him over there. She initially dismissed the idea but as time went on she changed her mind. She made the decision to visit him only last week. She had been surfing the net as part of her coursework for the writing paper she’d had been attending at university and happened to click upon an airfares website. She saw she could get an economy class one-way ticket for under a thousand quid. She booked and paid for it right then.

So here she was, the night before her departure. She’d not told anyone of her intentions, except Edward that is, and felt terrible keeping it from her mother until now, but she knew how difficult Blanche could be and decided the less time for her to get her head around the idea the better.
She hauled the biggest suitcase she could find out of the store cupboard. In went the clothes, papers and other items she’d secretly put aside for the journey. She wondered if this really was what she should be doing. Too late for second thoughts though, the ticket’s paid for now and she wasn’t wasting it. It was 11pm when she finally had her gear packed and ready. She sent a final message to Edward who quickly replied saying how excited he was that he’d be seeing her soon. One more sleep and I’m out of here, she thought before dozing off.

The morning came and she booked a cab through Steve’s company to take her to the station and onto the airport. She lied to Steve and told him she was going to France for a while. The street could be tortuous with gossips. The swords really come out in cases like this. To heck with them all, she thought, they’ll find out soon enough.

She arrived at the terminal and felt chuffed that she’d made her seat booking on-line on Edward’s advice. The normal check-in queue seemed to go on forever, but she was sorted in less than ten minutes. She sat down quietly and collected her thoughts and before long was in the aircraft bound for New Zealand via Los Angeles. Several hours into the flight she grew tired, but also felt the excitement and nerves welling inside her.

She felt she knew Edward so well again from their chats and photos. He’d promised to be there to collect her. The thought crossed her mind what would happen if he didn’t show. Her heart began to thump and she ordered another brandy and swallowed a sleeping tablet. She slept soundly for many hours. The plane stopped briefly to refuel in Los Angeles and continued on. By this stage she was dying for a fag. She watched a couple of movies instead, walked around the cabin and had a few more drinks to steady her nerves before napping again. Before long the captain announced the landing into Auckland was imminent. Hurriedly she rushed to the bathroom to freshen up. She put on her favourite perfume – her lucky one, and carefully outlined her lips in a red glossy lipstick.

The plane landed and she disembarked. She moved swiftly through Customs, Immigration and the agriculture x-rays. Then she pushed her trolley through the arrival doors and looked around expectantly for Edward. There was a tallish man with short dark hair that was going grey, thick eyebrows, and olive skin standing by a pillar. She knew instantly this was Edward. He pushed forward through the crowd and threw his arm around her. “This is the best I’ve felt for years” she whispered to him. She noticed he’d hardly changed at all except for a large scar on his arm and another one over his left eye. They clung close to one another. Later he began to explain about his scars. Deidre put her hand on his lips. “It makes no difference. I’ve come back to you” she said.