22 June 2022

Gaynor creeps back to Llwyncelyn 

Gaynor slips quietly into Llwyncelyn 

"Why did't you wait for me?"

and asks Hywel, “Why didn’t you wait for me?”   

"I had to go and pick up Esther"

He replies that he had to go and pick up Esther and that the officer said he would be in touch;  he is surprised that she has only just been released, 

"I was put in a cell – can you believe that?"

but she tells him, “No, it was six o’clock this morning – I was put in cell, Hywel – can you believe that?   I was arrested, charged – and perhaps I shall have to go to jail!”

"You won't be sent to jail for stealing a drill"

He confidently informs her that she will not be sent to jail for stealing a drill, but she maintains that she did not steal it;  

"It's all a misunderstanding"

“It’s all a misunderstanding – I had intended to pay for it, but Tyler went out the back and he was taking a long time.   I forgot I had it and walked out with it in my bag.   It happens to women of my age – some kind of, I don’t know, brain fog.”

"Where ave you been since six o'clock?"

He enquires where she has been since six o’clock, and she says she has been to the woods, where Izzy was.   “I just wanted to clear my head and not be questioned – 

"I'm sure Izzy would have had a lot of questions"

“but I’m sure Izzy would have had a lot of questions.”

"What exactly happened at APD?"

“Gaynor, what exactly happened in APD?” Hywel asks, and she repeats that it is a misunderstanding, 

"This is your misunderstanding over here"

but he points to the laptop and tells her, “This is your misunderstanding over here – nothing to do with brain fog.     Look, you’re putting that drill deliberately into your bag – 

"Did you want to get caught?"

“did you want to get caught?   I went over to APD.   I thought something serious had happened, but Tyler showed me that!”

“Tyler must be overjoyed,” she snarls, but Hywel shouts that it is not Tyler’s fault.

"You got caught and you've been arrested . . ."

“You stole the drill, you got caught and you’ve been arrested!   

". . . you have to take responsibility!"

“You have to take responsibility, Gaynor, it’s on video!”

'i stole it because I wanted to"

“All right – if that’s what you want – I admit it, I stole the drill,” she answers, “And you’re right, there’s nothing wrong with my head – I stole it because I wanted to.”

He rages that they can afford all the drills they want;  

"Have you any idea how this is going to look?"

“Have you any idea how this is going to look when the story comes out?   And the story will come out!”

"That's what you're worried about"

“Oh, here we go – this is the truth, isn’t it, Hywel?   That’s what you're worried about – what people are going to say.   What your friends on the committee are going to think – like her, what was her name – Cerys?”   

"It's Nerys"

He corrects her that the name is Nerys, and Gaynor goes on, 

"Go and live with her, then!"

“Well, if she’s so much better than me, go and live with her!   You seemed to be getting on well – how many bottles of Malbec are needed to talk about flats?”

"I don't need this now"

He suddenly remembers that the vote is this morning, and he is supposed to be in a meeting;  “I don’t need this now!” he growls, “Where’s the charger?   Gaynor, I don’t understand you – one minute you’re proud and pleased that I’m the chairman, and the next, you steal a drill!   Who steals drills?”

"Wou;d you prefer it if I stole diamonds?"

“Would you prefer it if I stole diamonds?” she demands, and he says that he could understand it better, that she could not afford it.   “That’s not why I do it – 

"I don't know why I do it!"

“I don’t know why I do it,” she wails.

"Have you done this before?"

“Have you done this before?” he asks, suspiciously, “From the way you’re speaking . . .”   She complains that he is making it sound so serious, 

"You're just trying to make me feel bad"

that he is trying to make her feel bad.   He insists that he is trying to understand, and Gaynor is also trying to do that.

"I don't have any friends – nothing"

“What else is there?   I miss Izzy so much,” she groans, “I don’t have a job – Lois is gone – I don’t have any friends – nothing.”

"Have you had enough of us?"

Hywel looks shocked, and enquires, “What about you and me?   Have you had enough of us?”   

'Well, haven't you had enough?"

She wonders if he has had enough, and she saw the way he was looking at that Nerys – 

"It was obvious you fancied her"

it was obvious that he fancied her.

"Are you serious?"

“Are you serious?” he asks, and she confesses that if she is being honest, 

"I'm jealous of you, Hywel"

she is jealous of him;  he has a new job, he is busy and he has found a glamorous woman with whom to have an affair.

"I'm not having an affair with her or anybody else!"

He yells, “I’m not having an affair with Nerys or anybody else!” but Gaynor wants him to be honest with her.   Then the phone rings 

"Go on – answer it!"

and he tells her to answer it.

It is Ieuan Griffiths 

The caller is in fact Ieuan Griffiths, who wants to speak to Hywel;  “Sorry, I’m running a bit late today – I lost my phone – and we’ve both been showing symptoms.   What?   

"They can't do that – I'm the chairman!"

“They can’t do that – I’m the chairman!   Today’s getting better and better – no, we’re all right, we did a test.”

They go out into the garden

Gaynor has gone outside into the garden and Hywel follows her;  

"I did fancy her – and she fancied me!"

“You’re quite right about what you said earlier,” he snaps at her, “I did fancy Nerys – and she fancied me, too!   She asked me to go home with her!”

"You'll never change, Hywel!"

Gaynor sneers that he will never change, and he shouts that he did not;  “That’s my fault, too, is it?” she demands, and he tells her to stop feeling sorry for herself.

"You told me you want to sleep with someone else"

“You’ve just told me you wanted to sleep with someone else!” she exclaims and goes to sit down. 

"You didn't care earlier"

“You didn’t care earlier – you were just jealous of the fact I had a bit of excitement,” he says, but she insists this is not about him.   

"I'm lost – and have been for a while"

She is lost, and has been for a while.   “That isn’t my fault – I’m not responsible for your happiness,” he points out.

"You just laughed at me"

She maintains that she is trying;  “Like that counselling course – but what did you do?   You just laughed at me – but there we go – your mind was elsewhere.”

"I'm not listening to any more of this!"

He is adamant that he is not going to listen to any more of this, and as he walks away, 

"Go then – and don't bother coming back!"

Gaynor tells him, “Go, then, and don’t bother coming back!   What’s the point?   You’ve got your life – and you obviously want to sleep with other people.”

"I regret it now!"

He repeats that he did not do so, adding, “But I regret it now!”   

Gaynor sits disconsolately

Gaynor sits on a garden seat.

"Pint, please, Ed" — his name is Geraint!

Hywel has gone to the Deri for a drink;  he greets Geraint, who is behind the bar, and for some reason addresses him as, “Ed – can I have a pint, please?  

"And I'll have a pie and chips"

"And I’ll have a pie and chips.”   He does not look at all happy. 

Gaynor goes to the garden shed . . .

Meanwhile Gaynor goes into the shed at home, and, after taking a deep breath, proceeds to unlock the door of a tall metal cupboard.   

. . . and dislodges an avalanche from the cupboard

When she opens the door a number of miscellaneous items fall out on to the floor, and she looks horrified.   

She looks at a cuddly animal . . .

She picks up one of them, a small cuddly animal, 

. . . and all the rest

and looks up at the numerous items stacked on the shelves;  she shakes her head and sobs.

Hywel is off his food

Hywel does not seem to be making much progress with his pie and chips as he sits in the Deri;  

A text galvanises him into action . . .

a text alert arrives on his phone, which makes him think.

. . . and he hurries back to Llwyncelyn

He is soon back in the garden at Llwyncelyn, where Gaynor is sitting outside the shed.   

Gaynor leads him into the shed . . .

Without a word, she gets up and walks into the shed 

. . . where he is aghast at the sight before him

and Hywel is incredulous at what he sees in the cupboard.

"I've stolen more than a drill and a bar of chocolate"

“Yes . . . erm, I’ve stolen more than a drill and a bar of chocolate,” she confesses, 

He does not know what to say

and he stares at the miscellany of items on the cupboard shelves.   

"I'm so ashamed of myself, Hywel"

“I’m so ashamed of myself, Hywel – the first thing I stole was an apple – I put this apple in my bag and nobody saw me – 

"I felt this kind of euphoria"

“and I felt this kind of euphoria.”

He shakes his head in disbelief and they return to the garden chairs;  

"Why didn't you say something?"

“Why didn’t you say something?” he demands, 

"It's not something you share, is it?"

but she answers that it is not something that you share, and in any case she is not sure that she wanted to stop.

"I can't believe you hid it from me"

“I can’t believe that you hid it from me,” he gasps, and she says that it was easy – he is always busy.   “Listen, whatever happens with us, 

"I want to help you with this"

“I want to help you with this,” he assures her, and they will go back into the house.

"Do you want a lager, Hywel?"

Gaynor asks if he wants a lager, and takes two bottles from the fridge;  

They look at each other

as they look at each other, she says that it is more common than you think.   

"Women who appear to have everything"

“Women like me, stealing – women who appear to have everything.”   

"Is it some kind of addiction"

He wonders if it is some kind of addiction, but she thinks not;  

"Trying to get control of something"

“More a matter of trying to get control of something in your life – anything.   Well, that’s what I’ve read anyway.”

"It may be some kind of depression"

Hywel thinks that she may be suffering from some kind of depression;  “That’s no surprise after everything you’ve been through – that you’re still going through.”

"I thought you'd be furious"

She had expected him to be furious, and he agrees that when she was lying, he was.   But now with the truth, she cannot hide;  

"I still feel guilty that I hadn't realised"

“I still feel guilty that I hadn’t realised.”

She hands him a bottle opener

She hands him a bottle opener, 

"What do you think about us separating?"

and wonders what he thinks about the idea of them separating.   He does not immediately answer, and admits that he does not know;  perhaps she is right and the spark has gone out of their relationship.

"You said you were jealous"

“You said a lot of things – you said you were jealous of the idea I was having an affair,” he says, but Gaynor insists that what she meant was she was jealous of the fact that Nerys could make him smile like that and make him happy.

"Well, we had drunk a bottle of wine"

He makes it clear that they had consumed a bottle of wine;  

"When was the last time we enjoyed ourselves"

“But when was the last time we enjoyed ourselves like that?” she demands.   He points out that they have been together for years and have been through a lot recently.

She takes this to mean that all the fun has gone out of their relationship;  “The spark.”   

"A lot of couples have their ups and downs"

He argues that there is nothing to say it has gone for good, stressing that a lot of couples have their ups and downs.

"How about an 

“How about an open relationship?” she suggests, which he finds somewhat surprising;  “It can work for some couples, as long as there are rules,” she goes on.   

"Is this something else you've read about?"

He assumes that this is something else she has read about, but she insists that she has been thinking.

"You're not thinking straight, Gaynor"

“You’re not thinking straight, Gaynor,” is his evaluation, but she believes that it could work.   “Look at how upset you were about Nerys – and nothing happened!”   

"If we could agree on a few rules . . ."

She maintains that is because they had not talked about it, and if they could agree on a few rules . . .

"You're looking for something to replace the stealing"

Hywel imagines she is just looking for something to replace the stealing, 

"I'm trying to make our relationship more exciting"

and she emphasises, “I’m trying to make our relationship more exciting!”   

"I don't think this is the best way"

He does not consider that this is the best way;  

"What other way is there?"

“But what other way is there?   We’ve fought through so much – and we’re still not happy.   Look, I know this is new and extreme . . . 

"We're going to be all right, Hywel!"

“but we’re going to be all right, Hywel!”