The walk to the beach only took a few minutes. Howard and Mary appeared to be the only visitors to the location; there wasn’t another soul in sight. The strong sea breeze coming in from the Irish Sea blew against Mary's long dark locks, lifting them up from off her shoulders. Howard noticed a small pimple, that he’d not seen before, on the side of Mary’s neck. More imperfection. Which makes her increasingly perfect. Thought Howard.
"Which way's the coastal path, Howard?" She asked, hair blowing across her face, causing Mary irritation.
"There it is." Answered Howard, pointing towards some wooden steps that led from off the beach, winding upwards, over and across some large sand dunes.
"Oh yes, I see. Howard, isn't it a bit cold and windy to go traipsing along coastal paths?" Wondered Mary.
"Maybe, but not this one. You see, most of the walk is sheltered by those dunes over there… you'll notice the difference once we cross to the other side of them… and that's where the best views are, too." Howard informed Mary.
"Okay." She responded, seeming satisfied with Howard's answer. They walked along the beach, and then veered to the right, up the small wooden steps that led onto a path that was protected, just as Howard had said, by the large sand dunes.
Once they were on the coastal path, the strong sea breeze fell away, much to Mary's relief. Howard and Mary walked along the sandy trackway for a few minutes. Every so often, there would be a gap in the dunes to the left of them, and a glimpse of the ocean could be seen. To the right were more dunes, but these gradually began to fall away, leading to flatter land, and it was at that point the views Howard had earlier described could be seen.
"Doesn't that look fantastic?" Asked Howard, pointing across towards the distant Knighton Mountain. Mary nodded her head in agreement. Knighton Mountain rose into the sky, the top of its summit cloaked teasingly in cloud. Just like on the bus a few days earlier, the sight of the mountain caused Mary’s flesh to come out in goosebumps. Beyond the mountain, another peak could just about be viewed.
"Is that Hoffen Mountain that I can see, further on in the distance?" Asked Mary.
"Yes, it is. Hoffen is much larger than Knighton. A lot more difficult to walk up, too. Say, you know I mentioned us doing the Black Pathway Trail, in the summer?" Howard reminded Mary.
"Erm… yes." She replied, somewhat hesitantly.
“Well, don’t forget what I told you, when we were on the bus… the trail takes you up to the very top of both those mountains." Howard reminded her.
“Oh yeah, I remember you telling me that.” Said Mary.
"Yep, the Black Pathway goes right the way to the top of those peaks.” Reiterated Howard.
"I bet it’s a pretty difficult part of the walk." Observed Mary. She gazed over at Knighton Mountain; from this angle, any ascent didn't just look difficult; it appeared impossible.
Howard Trenton smiled at Mary. I wonder what you'd do if I tried to hold your hand? He pondered. Maybe I'll try, a bit later on, if I can pluck up the courage…
"Actually, when you're walking up Knighton and Hoffen Mountains using the Black Pathway, neither of them are mega-difficult to reach the top of. Hoffen takes longer, because it's not just steeper, but a fair bit higher too. The climb up Knighton is shorter, but it's a lot more technical, especially near the top of it… things can get tricky, especially if the weather's against you." Said Howard. "More people lose their lives on Knighton than what they do on Hoffen, when really, you'd think that it would be the other way around. There's some really nasty drops near Knighton's summit… I think I mentioned them before to you… that's where people can come unstuck. You don't really get anything that severe on Hoffen. It’s just so much more of a slog.” Howard informed Mary.
"So, you've reached the top of both of those mountains?" Asked Mary.
"Yeah, loads of times. Like I told you, I've walked the Black Pathway on many occasions." Howard replied. Mary looked at him, impressed. For just a second, Howard thought about trying to kiss the young woman, but any courage that he had quickly faltered.
Howard and Mary continued along the coastal path, both of them still admiring the distant mountains of Knighton and Hoffen.
"So, are you at work tomorrow?" Asked Howard. Mary nodded.
"Afraid so. I need to find another job. Working in an office doesn't suit me." She told Howard. "I just took the first thing that I could when I finished college two years back. Trouble is, I'm not exactly sure what I'd actually like to do for a career."
"Same here." Said Howard. "I'm doing these courses at college, and then I'll probably go on to University after all, I suppose… but as for what I'm actually working towards… well, I haven't the slightest. The courses that I'm studying right now… the subject matter of them really interests me, but as for them helping in ever getting a job of some sort afterwards, well, that's debatable.” He confided to Mary.
"What did your parents do for a living, Howard?" Mary asked, and Howard suddenly blushed.
"Oh… erm… my father… I… erm… I didn't know him." Howard tried to explain, stumbling with his words somewhat through embarrassment.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Howard." Said Mary. "That must have been tough.” She sympathised.
"No, not really. I never gave him much thought." Replied Howard instantly, stopping the conversation in its tracks for a few awkward moments.
Howard stopped walking and looked across, towards Knighton Mountain.
"My mom… she used to do a lot of retail work, around Coldsleet and Elman… when she could, that is. She suffered from mental health problems…"
"Howard, you don't have to tell me any of this." Interrupted Mary.
"No, no, honestly, it's okay… I don't mind talking about it." Replied Howard. "Actually, it feels good to admit that to someone else, you know, about my mother having a mental illness. I've never really discussed it very much with anyone… but I know that with you, I can."
"I'm glad that you feel like that, Howard, but, honestly, you don't have to tell me anything about your mom, it's really not any of my business." Said Mary.
"Like I said, I feel okay talking about her with you. Do you mind if we sit down for a moment?" Asked Howard.
"Sure." Answered Mary. Howard ventured a little off the coastal path, towards one of the sand dunes nearby. He approached its slope, and then sat down against it, in the sand. Mary followed him over to the sand dune and sat next to Howard. As Howard had earlier informed Mary, the dunes made for excellent protection against the elements, acting as a natural barrier against the nearby sea-breeze, which couldn't even be heard, let alone felt, at the location where they sat.
Howard Trenton began to tell Mary Broderick about his mother.
"From what she told me, mom was always a little bit jumpy and anxious about stuff, even when she'd been a little girl. Mom was a worrier from the word go. My mother told me that, when she was really young, about four or five years old, she'd often lie awake at night, fretting about what would happen if both of her parents suddenly died. Instead of just getting on and enjoying her childhood, my mother would be constantly working herself up into a state about things that, ultimately, never happened, or that she had absolutely no control over. I mean, yeah, sure, her parents died in the end, but not until mom was in her late twenties. No, what I meant there was, mother would worry about everything and anything, always fearing the worst case scenario, which, ninety nine point nine percent of the time, never came to fruition. All of the worrying that she did, it was all a waste of time. My mom told me that she regretted squandering most of her childhood, and adolescence, on getting anxious about things that ended up not happening. But even so, she STILL couldn't stop working herself up about stuff." Howard told Mary.