Four Bittersweet Romances & a Four-Act Closet Drama

By Lawrence G. Taylor

Description
“All stories in this book are impressive, so different, yet making an indivisible whole.”– customer review
THE BALLAD OF CALLE AND MAJA

A slice of romantic realism with two versions of love in play. Maja sends crushes to Calle. He is flattered and infatuated, but cowardice prevents him from approaching Maja. In time, they became friends. Maya is in an unhappy love affair with Jose and has trouble ending it. Calle has much affection for her and intends to help her break the spell Jose has on her.

TWO GIRLS IN A CAFÉ

London in the 60s. A young man becomes the subject of a contentious conversation between Felicity and Ruth. The two girls, American and British, know or claim to know, this young man. Their impressions differ about his character. Felicity and Ruth's views run counter to a man's need to impress a woman, which can easily lead to dishonesty. Ruth's critical reflection on his character is meant to be a warning to Felicity. But whether Felicity and Ruth's views on the young man are valid remains to be seen.

Amazon Review: “Contemporary, witty, honest and ironic.”

BINKY’S REVERIE

A YA story: Binky is a young romantic man from the Caribbean and Linda, a young Swede. After their friendship in London, Linda invites Binky to Sweden for a holiday. Binky's hopes are high for a continued love relationship. But there are no guarantees in love.

GETTING IT RIGHT, IF EVER

A tragicomic fantasy tale. Set in the there are no early 70s in two imaginary countries. TeeGee and Vikland. Molly, 45, invites Benji, 40, to visit her country. Benji's overwhelmed and seizes his first chance to visit another country. Then one day, Benji catches sight of a woman and becomes infatuated with her appearance. He pursuit is anything but conventional. What are his chances?

TELL ME WHO MY ENEMY IS—a four-act closet drama

Berry (an Afro-West Indian) and Gun and Kerstin (two Swedish cronies) are socialising. Sam, the Afro-American in time, barges in on the trio. The two black men air opposing views about what's it like to live in Sweden. Berry becomes belligerent towards Sam. The girls are surprised by the men's bickering and animosity towards each other. As time goes on, the two Swedes become part of the passionate conversation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lawrence G. Taylor
• Release date: Jun 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781704808017

Lawrence G. Taylor

I was born in Guyana, left there for the UK; worked and studied in London, before taking up residence in Sweden in autumn 1969. In the 70s, I tried my hand at writing fiction, mostly short stories, a four-act closet drama, a novella, and an unfinished novel. I spent two years nurturing the ambition to become an author of some repute. But the going was tough, with no financial security for the future. I shelved the idea of earning a living through writing and got a job as a hospital porter. Later, I got a BA (Eng. & Edu.). After a summer job at a psychiatric hospital, I decided to do a 4-term course for mental-health carers, Following that I completed the first of two stages of psychotherapy education and several short courses in cognitive therapy. After retirement, I did part-time mental health counselling work for several years. In February 2016, my debut book appeared: Strangers In Another Country, a collection of two short stories and two novellas, available in ebook and paperback. On 9th Dec. 2016, I published a novella, The Eternal Struggle: An Amorous Story. In March 2017, Two Girls in a Café, a short story appeared. Making Sense Of Past Time - a Novel available in paperback, and ebook format. Tell Me Who My Enemy Is - a four-act closet drama published this summer (2018). The Ballad of Calle and Maja - a short story published Nov 2018. Getting it Right, if Ever – Romance Novella was published 22nd Aug -19 Four Bittersweet Romances & A Four-Act Closet Drama was published 3rd Nov 2019. In 2020, I published a short story, Darker Than Blue --This Mortal Coil. MY BOOKS ARE UPDATED (Dec 2020). I have a Twitter account @lgt41 and a blog page: lgt41blog.wordpress.com. I’m a hobby photographer, and you can view several of my images at https://www.foap.com/community/profiles/lgt41 I sincerely hope you find my stories enjoyable, and a review of my books would be much appreciated. Lawrence G. Taylor

Book preview

The Ballad of Calle & Maja

Two elderly hospital porters, in a cordial conversation, spoke of love as if it were a simple matter.

The two men declared: Life was tough in the old days, but love seemed uncomplicated.

Back then, love was a natural sentiment from heart to heart, with common sense and some light-hearted beating-about-the-bush. Two people fell in love, got married or set up a house together, had several kids and lived happily ever after, or unhappily as was sometimes the case.

They continued: In those days, divorces and breakups weren’t fashionable. But this was before the coming of the digital world, before social media would impose itself on us, transforming love into an incomprehensible commodity.

They referred to Calle, a porter, age 39, and Maja, age 33, an auxiliary nurse: two contemporary souls who fancied each other. The situation did not seem straightforward because Calle did not know what love was. And Maja––well, she believed in romantic love. What are their chances?

It all began when Maja Svensson had a crush on Calle Berg. Both worked at a hospital, and his awareness of the passion came from a workmate. He appeared flattered and surprised. Me of all people, he smiled.

Was it a practical joke or perhaps a misunderstanding that came from the workmate? Calle held on to the pleasant sensation it gave him. Loneliness clothed his life. He wasn’t a lady’s man, or preferably girls didn’t chase after him, which would’ve well suited him. Calle wasn’t bad looking, with blonde hair (worn like Elvis Presley’s) and blue eyes and chubby cheeks and a moustache he sported off and on. In the cold season, he was regularly low-spirited, not the best of seasons, with fewer hours of daylight, snow and temperature often below minus Celsius. However, Calle was a full-blooded Swede and proud of his Viking heritage.

His indecisiveness resulted from perfection, and he failed to make a move on Maja. The opinions sought from his two trusted friends (workmates some twenty years older; he was thirty-nine) might’ve also influenced him. They had offered to aid him in an advisory capacity to get a serious love relationship. He held them in high esteem, men with long marriages that did not go stale with time. They judged Maja to be too much of a flirt and too young for the likes of him. The two elderly workmates were avid readers of classic romantic fiction.

In pursuing romance, he quickly became ambivalent. He grew tired of one-night stands and romantic affairs that never lasted more than a fortnight. Wishing to turn things around, he turned to online dating sites. There he initially experienced a wave of flattery that sent his soul on ice to a fiery hell. On such sites, he received offers from supposedly various women. Some had displayed themselves in nude pictures and offering lustful promises beyond his imagination.

For weeks, the experience mesmerised him. It’d been the first time in his life. Calle felt he knew then what it might be like for a lady’s man, with many attractive women trying to seduce him. He surrendered to it all, convinced that romance in his life was on the horizon once the offline dates got going. He would eventually become perplexed about selecting the right woman for his f***-mate (in Swedish: kk, a frequent reference used on those sites, with the hope of a steady relationship in the end). The chatting had indeed stirred up his romantic fantasies beyond control.

First was the impression of lauding his manly physique, the praises prompting him to work out in the gym, only on definition drills rather than bulking. Then behind the flattery laid the ghost of deceit: the demand to get to know him through a series of questions about his personal life and for a costly sum. They proclaimed it was a precautionary measure for their safety before the dating began. He declared he understood that it was a woman’s need to feel safe in any such circumstance.

To him, the process became frustrating: the constant requests for more time to get to know him, at the last minute, or the cancellation of dates because of some pretext or other. Then the whole thing turned out to be an illegal scheme consisted of fake photographs of attractive young and older women. Deception orchestrated by AI chatterbot devices or/and other women employed to write the texts he and other men received. His two trusted friends had warned him, but he ignored their advice until it was too late.

Calle admitted this naivety cost him a significant chunk of his bank savings and took some time to rid himself of anger, sadness, and shame. It remained a secret neither he nor the two elderly workmates shared with others.

Previously he had a compulsion to air his troubles to whoever will lend an ear. He needed sympathy while he ran, the risk of becoming an object of ridicule. What others thought of him, he feigned indifference, for the need was more significant.

He now wished to become reticent about his sexual misfortunes. It was a sign of maturity, said the two trusted friends. He thought the time had come for him to clean up his act.

Some friends considered him too kind or naïve. He was honest and of a humble disposition. His manner was easy going at work, and he got along well with many workmates, some of whom had shown a sincere interest in his suffering in romantic matters.

With the spring feeling, another romantic overture came from Maja. Again, it delighted him. His fortieth birthday was approaching. He saw it as a sign of good luck.

He would again become tormented by the need to make a perfect approach to Maja. It was as though the anxiety stuck him not to mess up his chance with her. He wondered whether the problem was because he over-idealised Maja or whether the ghost of unrequited love gripped his self-esteem? He sought advice from the two trusted friends.

Noticing how tormented Calle became, they told him to ignore the advice. They supported his desire to ask her out on a date. Whether it was love or loneliness was of no concern to him. Their support helped him to summon the courage to approach Maja.

By then, his asking Maja out came late again. He had waited three weeks, if not longer. Maja affectionately explained her feelings had moved on to someone else with whom she instantly fell in love. I’m sorry. Perhaps we can be friends if that’s okay.

In thought, he blamed himself for being slow on the move and missed out on what might have been—first date and a loving and lasting relationship—all in time for his 40th birthday.

Subsequently began his daydreaming of him and her cohabiting. He convinced himself there was nothing wrong with having a platonic friendship, and he wasn’t in love but just fascinated. He hadn’t, however, ruled out the possibility. His hope was for Maja’s new love is not fulfilling.

Calle and Maja became chatting buddies, as he’d described it to the two trusted friends. At work, the general impression was that he and Maja were lovers since they regularly chatted. She appeared not to be bothered by whatever others believed, while he was proud and happy.

CALLE AND MAJA HAD come from small towns two hours by fast train from the big city in Stockholm, where they lived. Hers was in the south and his in the north of Sweden.

He had never remembered his biological parents, who had grown up in an orphanage after the age of nine. Calle was three when their mum, Lisa, died from encephalitis and, a month later, his dad, Jan, a truck driver, took his life. He and elder brother Nils, by three years, found refuge at their maternal grandmother, Emma, though some years later she passed away.

At age six, Calle asked Nils why mommy, daddy, and grandma go away, was it because they stopped loving us? Nils tried to explain it was ‘death’ and not love that took them away. Calle then asked, what is death? It’s not somebody, but something that will happen to everybody, said Nils.

For years, the two brothers had kept close contact until in their mid-thirties when they drifted apart. Nils had studied German in Berlin for a year, before becoming an air host with SAS on Far Eastern trips. Later, Nils immigrated to Australia, where he settled and started a family. Calle had visited Nils twice in Melbourne, but he never wanted to emigrate from Sweden.

Maja gradually lost the contact she once enjoyed with her father, Tommy Svensson, following the parents’ bitter divorce. Maja was ten, and her younger sister, Sara, eight when their stepfather, Freddy Fredriksson, joined the family.

Even before he became aware of it, Calle liked Maja. She was an attractive woman, with black hair just past the shoulders, of average height and carried a well-portioned physique and having a pretty face, rosy cheeks and an enchanting smile. Her flirty demeanour might’ve also added to her attraction.

Calle’s facial features were attractive, but he wasn’t proud of his bulky body, which he held in contempt. He had an unpolished way that others regarded as a lack of grace. He was modest and suffered from low self-esteem. Inhibited, he lacked social skills. Those of a younger generation got on well with him, where he earned a living as a hospital porter. He had been diligent at school and attended a prestigious university for one year before taking a Sabbath’s year. Calle never returned. He had had a change of mind about becoming an economist and working with a brokerage at Morgan Stanley, an American investment bank.

It would take some months for Maja’s romantic interest in Calle to appear again. She rang him one evening, declaring she felt bored and wondered what he was doing. He was, of course, taken by surprise, suggesting they go for a drink somewhere, sometime.

Better soon than later, said Maja.

Right, that’s exactly right!

Tomorrow will do for me, Maja said.

That’s okay with me.

In the evening, at his expense, they went by taxi to Tudor Arms on Grevgatan. Calle wanted to impress Maja by going there. He boasted about knowing some English customs. The two trusted friends had cautioned him ‘to go easy’ on his extensive knowledge of Elvis’s career and Rock-and-Roll’s history, both American and British. There was no need for him to worry. He had already related for Maja about Elvis and American Rock-and-Roll. He was also advised not to allow his imagination to dictate by taking things for granted. For example, Maja might be ready to go to bed with him. Listening to what Maja had to say was prudent outside the workplace. He promised to follow the advice since he wanted the date to be perfect.

Maja appeared happy throughout the date. She asked, Is this one of your favourite places?

Sometimes, he said. From time to time, I practice my English here.

That’s smart. My English needs practice, she said, with lips that smiled.

Mine isn’t good but manageable, with a Swedish accent, of course.

They laughed.

He hadn’t followed the advice he got from the two elderly workmates. Maja heard him relate much about British pop. Calle had reason to be content because she appeared happy.

At the end of their date, he asked, his pulse rising, When can we do this again? At which Maja laughed. Well, I’m not sure how soon this would be. I rarely plan far ahead. No hurry, I’ll let you know. It was a marvellous evening.

Maja’s manner puzzled him. He couldn’t understand how Maja, who had a crush on him, appeared happy all evening and yet couldn’t find time for another date. It made little sense, he reckoned. Maja had told him she had misgivings about her boyfriend’s shifting moods and abusive behaviour. Her feelings also swung, though from hope to despair. She contemplated ending the relationship soon. Calle assumed the ending had come when she rang him for a date. He wondered about his response, whether he’d said or made a wrong move—or something. He ended up blaming himself.

CALLE HAD STRUGGLED to understand that Maja had no time soon for a date. Of course, his hopes faltered.

He recovered faith after consultations with the two trusted friends who repeated the importance of being patient to pursue a love relationship.

Maja continued to recount to Calle her troubles with her boyfriend, Jose. The relationship had the same pattern: misunderstandings, disagreements, and some pleasurable moments. She had fallen for Jose for a few reasons, Maja said. He feigned interest and wondered why she needed to tell him. However, he held his tongue. Maja’s attraction was Jose’s good looks, smile, manner of dressing and humour. More had drawn her to him, but he sensed Maja stopped short of including intimate aspects. He felt relieved by her discretion, spared from what would’ve been disconcerting.

In time, Jose Gomez’s behaviour worsened, Maja said. It was as if he became another person, adding, he’d become indifferent and dishonest.

Calle asked, Are you still in love with him?

Yes, I am. But I’m not sure if I can stand much more of Jose’s ups-and-downs. Once, after a heated argument, Jose slapped her, which had induced her to declare, That’s it, I’ll not be an object of abuse. Jose subsequently apologised, she said, in a manner comprising a sorrowful tale of being physically abused by his father. His mother had left his father for another man. Jose fled from home to join a street gang, fled from the father’s abusive behaviour. After hearing about his abandonment during adolescence, Maja said she couldn’t help but forgive Jose. She had felt his pain and sorrow, and Jose sounded sincere.

It became a pattern between Maja and Jose—his striking out at her, followed by an apology and her forgiveness. Jose had always got me to change my mind, she smirked as if embarrassed by her leniency. It was as though Jose has magical powers over me. I don’t understand why, nor do my girlfriends, who felt tired of my complaints about Jose. Why is it difficult for me to leave him?

Calle ventured: Much of what we do has a reason. You forgive him for the wrong he did to you. It looks like love, or unless you’re a practising Christian? The Christian faith is much for forgiveness. I’m not a Christian. I only remembered the sermons I attended with fellow orphans and praying for the forgiveness of our souls.

Really? I mean about love and forgiveness, said Maja. I never thought about it this way. I’m not a practising Christian either. She laughed. But it makes sense. It’s good to forgive, not evil doings, though.

He laughed, This is the way our parents taught us. To love and to forgive even terrible things. Of course, there’s more to it—the Christian way. One day, years ago, I ran into two American Mormons in a shopping mall. They invited me to their church. For a while, I attended, then the interest faded.

My sister, Sara, believes in a god. She and I seldom meet, apart from Easter and Christmas. My mum isn’t religious, too rationally minded, I suppose. She’s a Darwinist! As a teenager, I referred to her as this behind her back. I’m not sure about my dad. But I’m sure about my stepfather: he broke the ten commandments. She laughed. Anyhow, I’ve gone out with boyfriends but never once considered myself in love. With Jose, it was different.

Maja made a pause as if to think. "Sometimes I wonder if the problem between him and me isn’t that stuff; he smokes."

What stuff, does he take drugs?

No, no! You know, marijuana. He smokes it sometimes, but not all the time or every time we meet. Jose said the smoking calms him down, says he has a problem adjusting to Swedish life. It keeps his ‘demons’ away, he says. It might be an excuse for smoking it, I suspect. But I never asked if he’s a political refugee. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m not interested in politics."

You know the reason for using a substance. It isn’t a problem for everyone who smokes it, Calle said. But people can be addictive to many things.

Jose claims voices from his past whisper to him, she laughed. Do you think he made that up?

I’m no psychiatrist, smiled he. Why would anyone lie about such voices? Most people don’t like to talk about such things.

Maja said, When Jose is himself, he’s loving and kind. That is when I wish him to become again the person he was when we first met.

Weeks later, during a coffee break, Maja told Calle that she needed peace and tranquillity in her life. She needed someone in her life who would understand and not judge or condemn her as her girlfriends do. Strange as it may sound, I’m feeling you understand me. I feel I can trust you.

He wasn’t sure how to respond and made a blush. He heard himself say as if rehearsed, Maja, you can trust me. I want you to be happy to take care of yourself.

Her words had soothed him. To his ears, they sounded like music. It overwhelmed him with a sense of wellbeing but contained himself, allowing the emotion to remain covert. Patience and perseverance might well be my trump cards, he mused, echoing a sentiment from his two elderly workmates.

However, they sent mixed signals of optimism and pessimism relating to his chances for a love relationship with Maja.

On the one hand, the doubter’s pessimism rested on Maja’s need to air her grievances with Calle. Why didn’t she turn to her girlfriends, who are more suited for such talk? The doubter suspected Maja of taking Calle for a ride.

The optimistic partner appeared pleased with how the friendship was going and believed Calle stood to benefit from Maja’s need for a sympathetic ear and a shoulder on which to lean. He said women weren’t always kind about such matters, whether from jealousy or envy or whatever. He stressed Calle had so far offered compassion for her grievances and sorrow—which was indeed noble.

Some frustration hovered over Calle. He yearned for Maja’s affections as loneliness gnawed at his gentleman role.

He had something that made him happy. Maja’s relationship wasn’t working. The way he saw it: She had offered her heart to Jose and received in return a string of empty promises, and the flaws of Jose’s personality became a distraction. The feelings of unfairness and sadness and hours of sleeplessness had stifled her need for peace and tranquillity. He also felt hopeful about becoming someone Maja trusted. I feel I can trust you were words that echoed, for some time, in his soul.

Calle further held onto the encouragement that came from the optimistic, trusted friend: he should continue to be a compassionate listener, patience, and perseverance remaining keys for his success. A positive thing that the elderly workmates agreed on was the age differences between Maja and Calle. They believed Maja might come around to the idea to have a matured man in her life after a string of failed love relations with men of her age or perhaps younger.

To ward off any sign of boredom or impatience, he pondered a way to impress Maja. He came up with the idea to attend a live reggae concert at his expense. Calle had by chance spotted the ad on a bus or underground station. He wasn’t overconfident of her positive response. Maja’s favourite music was British pop, which she had mentioned as a response to his Elvis Presley obsession. Maja was a big fan of Cat Stevens.

After suggesting the concert date, Calle got his second date, which sustained and propelled his hope. Maja enjoyed the concert, she said, had some years ago seen the band (Third World) performed its hit 96 Degrees in The Shade on MTV.

Strangely enough, he wasn’t big on reggae music, but going out with her and his hopes for an eventual love relationship had inspired him. Calle said, I always enjoyed live performances, which was the truth. He never got the chance to see Elvis Presley live on stage and preferred to attend such a concert with Maja. Calle refrained from mentioning the wish.

Then, while they waited for the underground train, Calle hoped Maja would invite him to her place since he lacked the courage to ask her to his. The train screeched to a halt. Onboard, they continued to discuss the concert. He walked her to her tenement building. Maja hugged and thanked him for