Union Blues

By K. L. Loveley

A nature lover, Willow embraces life to its fullest potential. After all, she is living her life as two people. When her identical twin sister, Molly, sadly dies a short time after birth, she carries with her the memory of sharing the same beginnings of life. When Willow becomes a mother, the voice of Molly begins to drown out all sense of reality as post-natal depression takes over her every thought. Gabriel is a third-year medical student when he begins a relationship with Willow. Coming from a very different background, he hides his own secret, one which will have far-reaching and serious consequences. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that his parents’ own troubled past is the driving force behind the unfolding events.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Apr 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398422803

K. L. Loveley

K. L. Loveley is the author of three works of contemporary fiction, a collection of poetry and a series of children’s books written under her maiden name. She lives in Nottinghamshire with her family and enjoys gardening, sewing, travelling and of course reading and writing. As a retired nurse, who has dealt with a wide range of medical, social and family drama, she uses her life experience to create fascinating characters and intriguing scenarios within her books.

Book preview

Union Blues

K. L. Loveley

Austin Macauley Publishers

Union Blues

About the Author

Dedication

Copyright Information ©

Acknowledgement

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

About the Author

K. L. Loveley is the author of three works of contemporary fiction, a collection of poetry and a series of children’s books written under her maiden name.

She lives in Nottinghamshire with her family and enjoys gardening, sewing, travelling and of course reading and writing.

As a retired nurse, who has dealt with a wide range of medical, social and family drama, she uses her life experience to create fascinating characters and intriguing scenarios within her books.

Dedication

In memory of my parents, Gordon and Dorothy Oliver, who gave me life and taught me to love.

Copyright Information ©

K. L. Loveley 2022

The right of K. L. Loveley to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398422797 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398422803 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

I wish to thank Austin Macauley Publishers and their hard-working, dedicated team for bringing Union Blues to publication.

To my husband and children for their continued love and support throughout the writing process.

My biggest and most heartfelt thanks of all, though is to you the reader for choosing this book and to all of the bloggers and everyone who has helped promote Union Blues, Alice and Love, Secrets and Absolution.

Thank you.

Other Books by K. L. Loveley

Alice

Also published by Austin Macauley, this was Katie’s debut novel and the first of her social voice series.

Alice is near breaking point; her life is slowly spiralling out of control. When her daughter Anne-Marie repeatedly falls victim to aggressive vandals and her husband offers no support, she decides to take control of the mess that has become her life. Freeing herself from the chaos in her own home, she discovers that freedom isn’t as sweet as she thought.

5.0 out of 5 stars: Captivating read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 July 2019

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A very gripping read that kept my interest throughout. Easy to lose yourself in the characters’ lives. Feel most women would be able to relate to various aspects of Alice’s journey. Cleverly written, well done.

Love, Secrets and Absolution

Set in an early eighties’ Midlands Town during the miners’ strike, we meet Alfie, the longed-for son of Grace and Paul. However, young Alfie is not like other boys and people in the village gossip about him.

He is a lonely boy full of secrets, lies and obsessive thoughts.

How far can a mother’s love go?

REVIEWER LADY

It’s been a long time since I have pondered over a book as much as I have this one. It’s more than a story – it could easily be a true story and that is all credited to the author’s style of writing. I have no hesitation in giving Love, Secrets and Absolution the very highest recommendation.

In addition to three works of contemporary fiction, Katie has published a collection of poetry.

Chameleon Days is a collection of poems from The Changing Emotions of a Woman Unleashed.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 December 2019

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I decided to purchase Chameleon Days after seeing a local promotion. The quirky front cover and title drew my attention. There is a range of poetry that clearly reflects the changing emotions of the poet, cleverly written using modern technology to describe emotion. For example, ‘humming down the diamond line’. Also, the physical world, using magnetism to reinforce the strength of feelings. I enjoyed reading about the changing emotions of a woman unleashed.

Also by K. L. Loveley:

A series of illustrated children’s books written under her maiden name of Alyson Oliver.

Morning Mystery, the first of her children’s Coop Chaos series, published 2020.

5.0 out of 5 stars: Our children loved this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 June 2020

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What a wonderful book! The author has captured the personality of each hen perfectly and has great illustrations throughout! We look forward to reading all about Daisy, Lily, Rose, Buttercup, Bluebell and Poppy’s next adventure.

Chapter One

Ascending the warm and comforting road towards the place of new beginnings; laying closer to the security and physical satisfaction of the familiar. A tiny hand brushed against her face, as she wrapped her leg around soft, tender flesh. Floating in a sea of exquisite beauty – weightless and free from torment.

Echoing through the gentle pulsing fluid, she heard a distant sound.

Willow, Willow. Can you hear me?

The booming sound of base and the shrillness of Janet’s voice drew Willow back to the here and now.

‘What did you say?’ she called above the sound that was threatening to burst her fragile eardrums.

Shaking her head in frustration, Janet beckoned Willow towards the exit sign, the only decent light in the hazy room.

‘I’ve been looking all over for you. What’s happened to your dress? Are you aware that it is totally transparent? The guys are in their element?’

Willow quickly placed both hands over her breasts, wishing she had put her bra on. This was the first and last time that she would risk going bra-less even if her straps did show.

‘Some crazy guy spilt a whole pint of beer down me when I was on the way to the loo. Can you believe it, Jan? The hand dryer was broken and the paper towels scattered on the floor?’

‘Where’s Susan?’

Janet pointed to the dance floor where their friend was attempting to shake her ting to a reggae number.

‘Let’s rescue her and get in the taxi queue before everyone else, I can’t stand here all night with my hands on my chest,’ laughed Willow.

The girls kept watching one person at a time getting into taxis and felt frustrated that the queue was hardly reducing. Suddenly, a black cab pulled up beside them.

‘Fancy a ride?’ shouted one of the passengers. He winked at Willow, ‘I can help you out of that dress if you like.’

Sudden realisation that this was the guy who had spilt his beer down her and had made a number of innuendoes. This time, she was more prepared for the banter and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.

‘Are you sure you won’t have any premature accidents this time?’ she asked.

‘Wow! Gabriel, mate, she got you good,’ said a ginger haired lad next to him.

‘Fair play, I like a feisty girl,’ Gabriel said. ‘Anyhow, I want to apologise about that and offer you our taxi.’

Willow was shocked, however, didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

‘Thanks,’ she said, ‘that would be brilliant.’

Gabriel passed some cash to the taxi driver to compensate him for the delay and turned to his friends and said, ‘Come on lads, let’s get a kebab.’

The other two guys dutifully climbed out of the taxi, making way for Willow and her friends. Gabriel deliberately brushed by Willow and pressed a beer mat into her hand. She was surprised, however, quickly slipped in into her handbag. The girls sat together in the taxi and began to laugh hysterically.

‘Willow, can you keep getting drinks spilt on you as we might be able to get home quicker again?’ said Susan.

She was deep in thought and then said, ‘Is it me, or does this guy have a big ego?’

‘You know what they say about huge egos,’ said Susan, ‘anyhow, I personally thought his mate was better looking.’

‘The tall guy was gorgeous,’ said Janet, ‘I wouldn’t mind bumping into him.’

‘What do you say girls – should we go clubbing again next weekend?’ asked Susan.

‘Oh yeah,’ they replied in unison and started laughing again much to the taxi driver’s annoyance. He had a cracking headache after the nightshift and wanted to go home to bed, however, he had to endure more girls talk for a further ten minutes.

‘I think I’m going to treat myself to a new dress,’ said Willow, as she looked down at the stain, ‘what style should I get?’

‘Something which doesn’t end up see through if another drink gets spilled,’ replied Janet, ‘though, maybe this fella will like that.’

‘He did stare at my breasts, though it’s my fault for not wearing a bra,’ Willow said. ‘I best add some nice underwear to my shopping list, just in case.’

They began talking about what outfits they would wear for next time and made plans where and when they would meet. However, soon it was Janet’s drop off, then Susan, and finally Willow was the only one left. She hated the last part of the journey; she was scared in case the taxi driver turned out to be a psychopath. She knew she shouldn’t judge all men the same, however, she tensed up and was on guard just in case. The taxi had an unpleasant smell, until she realised it was the stale beer on her dress.

She dug into her handbag to find a mint to help freshen her mouth which still tasted of cheap wine. However, instead she found the beer mat which she pulled out and examined using the light from her mobile phone. She read the appalling handwriting, and tried to decipher the name, ‘Gabriel,’ she said out loud and thought, Where will this lead?

She suddenly looked up and realised that the taxi driver had made a wrong turn, causing her to feel uneasy. Fidgeting around on the seat, crossing and uncrossing her legs and frantically staring out of the steamy window she felt a rising panic. Her imagination playing all kinds of scenarios. The driver seemed to sense her discomfort and started small talk.

‘Don’t worry, love, this is a shortcut I know,’ he said in a friendly voice. ‘I was born and raised around here, so I know it like the back of my hand.’

‘No worries,’ replied Willow, even though she was still on guard.

‘Had a good night then?’ he asked.

‘Good, thanks,’ Willow replied, ‘How about you? Is your shift nearly over?’

‘Yep, you are my last ride then I am off home to my wife and kids.’

He pulled into her street and slowed down.

She took out her purse and paid the driver, thanked him, then got out holding her high heels and bag. Seriously, why did I wear these? She tiptoed barefoot towards the front door trying to be as quiet as possible so as not wake her parents. Unfortunately, Sandy her little Jack Russel terrier began to bark loudly and scratch at the front door.

‘Is that you, love?’ called her father.

‘No, it’s a burglar! Of course, it’s me,’ she replied and then quickly added. ‘Sorry, if I’ve disturbed you.’

Sandy jumped up and down in front of her, excited and wanting to play. She bent down and stroked his back, smoothing down his short hair. She loved his black and tan markings and his fiery nature. As small as he was, Sandy behaved as though he was as brave as a lion.

‘Come on, boy, back to your basket; it’s sleep time not play time. There’s a good boy.’

Tail between his legs and head down, Sandy reluctantly returned to his basket.

Once in her bedroom, Willow decided to read the contents of the beer mat in a better light. In addition to his name and number, he had also scrawled, same place – same time?

A huge smile crept across her face. Actually, he is rather cute, she thought. Perhaps I might make a very special effort next Saturday.

Chapter Two

Gabriel was smitten. He had never felt so instantly attracted to a woman before. How could this be? He didn’t believe in the fancy notion of love at first sight and yet here he was, unable to get the image of Willow from his mind. Sure, he understood the concept of chemistry, the effect of pheromones on his psyche.

The visual messages sending love chemicals soaring around his highly aroused body. Those breasts of hers, firm beneath the beer-soaked blouse she was wearing. He was tempted to lick the beer right off those delicious, pert breasts. Her expression was electric. Just feisty enough without being aggressive and her eyes the colour of dark chocolate, framed with deliciously long black lashes. She is a stunner, he thought and hoped, that Willow was feeling the same about him. Though he doubted it.

He considered himself vaguely attractive in a manly kind of way but compared to his mates Leo and Adnan, he was no heart-throb. His auburn, curly hair was most difficult to manage, and he always felt that his unruly hair prevented him from being conventionally handsome. Broad-shouldered and with a hint of a sportsman’s build did help to catch the eye of some young women and for that, he was grateful. One thing he knew for sure, he would be at the nightclub, the following Saturday, holding his breath in the hope of seeing Willow again.

The week passed slowly. He was enjoying his final year at medical school and looking forwards to spending time on placement at the Queens Medical Centre. Although distracted with thoughts of Willow, he managed to knuckle down and get on with some serious revision. There were a number of research articles piled up on the desk in his room that he needed to go through and make notes. He very much enjoyed being a medical student and felt that in many ways it was his vocation in life. Even as a child, he was fascinated by how his body worked and was always asking questions about life and how each body system worked. While his school friends were fascinated by the workings of a car engine or how an aeroplane could fly, he wanted to know how his heart managed to keep on pumping day and night, year after year. He was fascinated by the way his own body healed itself after being wounded. He couldn’t understand why it was more important to know about a car engine than the fascinating piece of machinery that the human body was.

Looking around his bedroom, he realised it needed a good clean and tidy before he could even consider bringing someone as special as Willow back to his place. There wasn’t much light entering through the sky light window, which helped to prevent the observation of dust. The ragged sofa was stained from the many takeaways he’d consumed over the past few years and truthfully, it smelled like a curry house sofa. Perhaps some of that fabric deodoriser would do the trick, he thought. Now, what was it called, Fabreezee or something? Perhaps if he changed the bedsheets and threw a few cushions on the bed, it may look more appealing. Gabriel decided that it might be a good investment to pop into the pound shop or a bargain shop of some kind and buy a couple of cheap scatter cushions. Women seemed to like such things. From his previous experience with ladies, on the occasion he was invited back to theirs, he noticed the ridiculous number of cushions they had on their bed. All of which, need to be removed before any kind of serious romance could take place.

This is crazy, he thought to himself, she probably won’t even be interested in me. No rush, I’ll see how things develop before making any effort with the room. Besides, none of the other girls seemed to complain. Some of the student nurses he’d enticed back to his room, who he expected to be very particular about cleanliness, had not seemed fazed at all.

It was a totally different matter at work. On the occasions that he was on placement on the hospital wards, he was very up to speed with hygiene and cleanliness. Hadn’t his parents always drummed it into him? Cleanliness is next to godliness. Perhaps they were right in that respect he mused.

He shared a rented terraced house in West Bridgeford with Leo and Adnan. Two of his closest friends. Both on the same course as himself, which was very helpful in terms of having shared interests. They met as first year medical students and bonded while working on a joint assignment in the morgue department. An experience neither of them will ever forget. It was the first time they’d attended a post-mortem examination to reveal the cause of death of a patient. The bright lights reflecting off the stainless-steel tables and the smell of formaldehyde was overwhelming. The senior pathologist was very slow at the procedure and went into great detail to explain each part of the body, organ by organ. The scalpel so sharp slicing through the skin was like an invisible opening already in place. Nausea, revulsion and fascination were rolled into a huge bundle of emotions surging through their impressionable minds.

It was a necessary part of their training and most unpleasant; they were all glad when it was over. So much so, that they all rushed off to the student union bar to have a few drinks together, to get the taste of death from their mouths and the smell of chemicals from their system. That was over four years ago when they were all living in the halls of residence. It was a natural progression that they rented a house together until their studies were completed. During that time, neither of them had been involved in a serious relationship. Sure, they’d all had their flings and one-night stands, but nothing to distract them from their studies or their friendship.

Despite being close friends, he chose not to share his feelings about Willow. Even when the guys laughed at him for giving up their taxi to the girls, he denied having a crush on one of them. Truth be known, Leo and Adnan were both the worse for wear and were not too impressed that they’d to wait in a taxi queue for forty minutes when they already had a perfectly good taxi.

Leo definitely the most intelligent among them; nothing seemed to faze him, apart from the post-mortem incident. He just got on with his studies and was always the first to complete his assignments. Generally, though not always, he got the highest grades. His family lived just outside of Birmingham. His mother ran her own publishing company, which by all accounts was very successful. His father was the manager of a well-known car manufacturer. Leo had his feet firmly on the ground when it came to his future and although he enjoyed a night out with the lads, he had his sights set firmly on making his parents proud and passing his medical degree.

Adnan, despite being a refugee following the war in the Balkans, had succeeded to build a new life for himself. He was very lucky to have escaped from his hometown in Bosnia. A time when young men of his age were being persecuted and killed. He was rescued by the Red Cross volunteers who were doing sterling work in the Balkans. Later, he was offered an opportunity to go to England where he won a well-deserved scholarship to a school in Manchester. He became their star pupil and was offered a place at Cambridge University.

Adnan’s father had been a surgeon in Bosnia. While helping out at a field hospital during the war, he lost his life as a result of an explosion that ripped through the operating theatres, killing the whole surgical team. Determined to carry on the family tradition, Adnan finally decided to attend Nottingham University to study medicine, based on the high reputation of medical studies. He was an ace student and seriously dedicated to becoming a surgeon. His mother and sister had remained in Bosnia to help with the war effort, both independent, strong women. He was very proud of his family and intended to return