Nothing is, but what is not // John Shelby

IV

Beth loved theatre. John found out about it when she was dragging him around everywhere, into every room, giving him lectures about what thing is used in which way and how preparing for the play works. She also told him a lot of stories that happened to the actors or the crew.

"You don't have anyone to talk to about it, huh?" John asked with a slight smile playing on his lips. At first he thought that her twitter would become annoying, but after some time he had come to the conclusion that it wasn't that terrible after all. In Beth's eyes there were sparkles of passion and they made this evening passable, even if it wasn't the way he expected.

"They only people I know are the people from these stories" she answered, coming down the ladder from the catwalk, where they both went, because Beth was insisting to climb there, so John would see everything from above. John was down already, trying to remember her sharp admonition not to look under her skirt.

It was almost midnight now, so the man offered to walk the girl home.

"What if my fiancé is waiting for me there?" she smiled, putting on her light coat.

"I think not" Beth raised her head, hearing these words, not being sure if he tried to offend her. "If you were in fact engaged, you wouldn't spend time showing men around the theatre," he smirked.

"I live half an hour away" she finally agreed for him to walk with her, closing the door behind them, when they left her sewing room.

It was a nice night, but in the wind you could feel that winter is on its way. The streets were still full of evidence of the Great War. They passed by one of the ruined tenements. Beth stared at the bricks that people had collected from the crumbling walls of the old building, but then she looked away. John just gave it all a quick glimpse. For him it wasn't a nice or interesting view.

"Did you spend the whole war in London?" he asked after a moment, looking at the girl's pale face lightened by the lanterns.

"I did," Beth nodded, being miles away for a moment. She wasn't sure what she could say about this time of her life.

"I was part of the Warwickshire Yeomanry" John tried to keep the conversation going, even though the topic of the war was probably not the best of choices.

"Cavalry?"

"And machine gunners" he nodded, not being proud of starting this topic. Luckily, a moment later they reached a neat tenement, where Beth stopped.

"Can you afford living here?" a quiet whistle left John's mouth. An apartment in London, so close to the centre, especially in times like those was not a cheap thing.

"I can't" her voice sounded sharp "I am moving out at the end of the month" the girl sighed. October ended in two weeks.

"Where?"

"Oh, it's abasing to talk about this. An awful town. Birmingham."