STALKER….

"You mean so much to me Zeno…..I want to be with you……thinking of you……love you…..Beth…..xxx"

Zeno looked at the words on the screen and wondered how the hell he was going to get out of this one. He clicked off his internet mail and sat thinking about Beth. When he’d said she was special he never expected her to fall in love with him. The idea was ridiculous anyway, she was only a chat and email friend on the internet.

But this wasn’t the first woman this had happened with. Before Beth there was Sam, but at least she got angry and stopped talking to him when he said no to a relationship with her, Beth was different. She didn’t take no for an answer. Didn’t hear what he said.

Okay this was it …..he was composing his goodbye email to her.

Zeno smiled as he typed the last two words..…

Love

Zeno.

Now…..he couldn’t make it any clearer than that.

He tried to let her down gently…said he didn’t want a relationship right now…and needed to concentrate on his career, and also of course, it was far to difficult with him living in Germany and her in America.

Should do the trick.

He was shocked at what he found in his inbox an hour later.

"Dear Zeno,

Of course you’re quite right…I’ll have to move to Germany to be near you,,, we can’t possibly have a relationship in two separate countries…I’ll hand my notice in at work and you can look for a job for me in the meantime. Anything will do, so long as I can earn a bit of money myself, don’t want to be relying on you.

I’ll book my ticket this week.

Can’t wait to be with you.

Lots of Love

Beth…

XX"

He sat back in his chair and stared at the screen in disbelief. How could she read a letter that said "goodbye"…..and turn it into….. "come and live with me."

Half an hour later another letter flew across the web to America….telling Beth not to do anything hasty.. he really couldn’t have a relationship even if she was living here in Germany with him. But he was sure there was someone out there for her, and living much closer to home.

He hoped she’d listen.

Zeno passed a quiet evening reading over his lines for the play he was due to appear in. Life was going well and he was making the right contacts and friends, he felt good about his career, and good also about Leila, his leading lady.

He didn’t check his emails until the following morning, and was relieved to find nothing from Beth sitting waiting to be read.

Zeno made sure his flat was clean and tidy, Leila was due after lunch and he didn’t want her to think he was a slob.

He was looking forward to seeing her and although rehearsals didn’t officially start until the next week he’d worked with Leila six months earlier and liked her very much, but at the time she’d been involved with a french film director. He’d been secretly pleased when she’d told him that it had been all over between them for the last two months.

He pushed a newspaper behind a cushion as the doorbell rang. A satisfied smile touched his lips as he took a last glance around the room before going to the door.

Instead of the expected slim figure and pretty face of Leila, he found a six foot bearded ‘built like a brick outhouse’, straggle haired bearded Neanderthal holding a bouquet of red roses.

"Mr Z. Brummer?" he almost growled.

Confronted with such an unexpected sight Zeno simply nodded his head in reply.

"Sign here."

He took the offered pen and signed his name to the sheet of paper. Ape man thrust the flowers at him and muttered. "I hate this job, no one ever sends me bloody flowers."

Zeno watched his leather jacketed back descend the stairs and didn’t search for the card attached until he was out of sight.

He pulled it off and read.

"Be with you soon….can’t wait ….love Beth"

How did she get his address?

He was just about to close the door when he heard Leila call him.

"Hi Zeno, but you needn’t have gone to all that trouble."

He wondered what she was talking about, then realised she was looking at the roses.

He was tempted for a second, especially seeing the smile on her face. But instead he handed her the card.

He held the door for her as she moved inside.

"Hmm, " she muttered. "So who’s Beth?"

While he made the coffee he told her about Beth..

Somehow, they didn’t quite get around to rehearsing the play.