Fatty and Big Guy

 When you walk dogs, your mind wanders.

I never chatter to them like some people do. 

We walk in silence 

Talking is only for brief orders 

Dogs know where they are if things are kept simple.

I thought about Fatty this morning.

Fatty was the hero in one of my Grandmother’s stories and the only story which featured her as a very young woman. At 16 she worked in a warehouse in Liverpool which stored animal feed and somehow had become isolated on one of the upper floors when there was a blackout.

My grandmother loved this story as it had every element of suspense . 

A young girl trapped in a dark factory, 

Rats running along the floor over her feet and an open winch door five stories above the street only inches away. 

But my grandmother added her usual comic flourish and that was her manager Fatty who came to her rescue after being called time and time again and who kept replying by shouting “ I’m coming !  fatty’s coming! “ 

As a child I would be crying with laughter when Fatty came to her rescue 

It was a good story, and one always well told and I was glad I remembered it this morning.

Sometimes , all it takes is a short phrase or a few words to wizz you back to a moment when you were important in a stranger’s life. 

Moments like these can be rare.

But they flash forward into consciousness like miniature shoals of fish do when they swim past you in the sea. 

I was drinking coffee in The Flat White Cafe with a friend the other day when a family of a dad and two older kids walked in to find seats. The dad had a kind face and he looked at me and immediately smiled 

“ Hello Big Guy” he said warmly and suddenly his hands were on my shoulders patting me like a long lost relative 

“Big guy “told me the lost context and I suddenly knew who he was.

He was the husband of a patient I nursed four years ago and “ Big Guy “ was how they always referred to me when we met over drugs, and district nurse visits and talks about symptoms and needs and worries.

We chatted briefly. 

Polite hellos and updates on the kids and him followed  and minutes later they were sat at their own table ordering cakes and tea whilst I ate mine. 

And twenty or so minutes later my friend and I stood to go

As we did , I waved a slightly awkward goodbye to the man and his family , all of whom waved back

The husband nodded his head and mouthed a silent  “Thank you” as I turned to leave

And I tipped my chin in receipt 

I’ve lost another 2 lbs this week, 

It’s a slow work in progress

But I still feel a bit of a big guy

Still a bit of a fatty