Issy grinned, welcoming the morning, the sunlight lit the room. She felt glorious!

What a wonderful dream, she had had. Bounding out of bed she scurried to her office in her pyjamas then slipped behind the typewriter and set about relieving the dreams and the feelings she felt. Even in the daylight, they still floated along in her body like a lazy river and her fingers near hummed as she pound away at the keys.

"Good morning" John boomed like a foghorn on a harbour.

Issy scrambled after bouncing a whole foot in fright; covering the page in the typewriter with her body, hiding her notes, hands slapping down over the pile of pages stacked beside her. She felt and looked exactly like a naughty, naughty girl and John was well pleased he got the reaction he did. He liked putting people off kilter and she was so easy to set off. He dropped the cup of coffee he had made and left her to her secrets.

Slipping out the front door he needed a fag....and a drink. Sure she was entertaining but needs, were needs. He also realised that he hadn't touched a drop the night before.

The scotch bottle still lay on the worn floor carpet of the jeep and he took a swig as he leaned his arm on the roof of the jeep. It was like a different dimension out here, the trees of a expansive forest hugged the lake and many more stood and swayed close by the house. They stood tight making the rest of the world disappear. He could sort of see why she liked being so far away from everything, it had it's merits.

He took another swig and walked back inside dropping on the couch, letting his eyes work over the room. Warm timber, deep upholstered chairs, photographs on a mantle over what would be a roaring fire in the cooler months. The kindling was set ready and if he could find some bigger sized firewood he would have got it going, sure it was getting stinking hot out but what a beauty of a fireplace it was.

Changing his mind he knelt, lit the kindling and waited for her curse. Rising back up to full height he decided to bind his time while waiting for Isabelles squeal about the lit fireplace by perusing the many photos of Sally, Julian, and Ivy too. The new family unit were sat proudly, front and centre, on the mantle.

"John, are you burning Norwegian Wood!?!?!" She yelled from the top of the stairs, banging down them like an elephant but jumping from the second last to the floor like a cat. One big cat like bounce. Hey! Where are the cats?

"Where are the cats? They were all over me last night, like someone else I know. Little flirty mermaid" John smiled broadly at how he so easily ruffled her feathers, making her eyes flash and spark. She wandered over to the fireplace to look at the destruction of the previously, neatly laid, fire. It was crackling away nicely.

Instinctively she warmed her hands then rolled her eyes when she met his gaze.

"One- the cats are lounging out on the deck. Two- I laid this ready for a cold snap. Three- last night, in your dreams mate, and four- stop talking 'bout last night!!"

John pointedly tipped his head and sculled more of the scotch, she flinched ever so slightly but never said a word.

"Why are you still here?"

"Thought you could use the company... and we're the granddies! Need to get along don't we Isabelle?" He set the bottle down and Issy swiped it up quick smart and skulled, knocking it back like a dehydrated sailor "Hey, leave me some of that!"

"Plenty in the cupboard" she pointed the bottle behind her "Knock yourself out for all I care"

"I thought you were the good one and me the bad, if you're changing the positions you have to tell me first so I can plot"

Pulling open the door of the bar, John hooted and rubbed his hands together as Issy ascended the stairs "Care to join me, Isabelle?" Issy paused then dangled 'her' bottle over the banister railing, making him laugh and watch her continue her journey upstairs.

********

She was typing and typing and typing. The noise flowed out her top window and penetrated his innards as he lounged face down in a nice semi drunkardness on the deck lounge below. The mutts happily laid beside him as he scratched their backs intermittently.

He had fed the cats, pet them for hours he had, love cats he did. Then they both got bored with him and wandered off down to the boat house by the lake. He could see them if he sat up, they were both flaked out on the jetty, baking in the sun. Bit like him really...

The phone rung off the hook and as Issy made her way to the kitchen, it started ringing again moments later.

She answered.

"....Hello? Mark!" She grinned as she peeped through the flyscreen "....I enjoyed meeting you too .......... Umm I'm not sure, maybe next week? I have an appointment so I do need to come down again." Closing the screen Issy sat on the kitchen stool and twirled the phone cord as she listened to the record producer talk, he sounded pretty damn nice, his voice a deep baritone down the line "Oh umm, where? ..... Oh ok, I like Italian, yes. Julian will know when I'm arriving. .. .Take care..... Yes, me too. Byeee"

"Mark the perve?" John questioned into the depths of the sun lounger "Please say you're not going to dinner with Mark the perve"

"I am not going to dinner with Mark the perve ..... I'm going to lunch" Issy tossed over her shoulder as she made a cheese and pickle sandwich. "He seems nice"

"That's what they said about Hitler" John sat up and walked inside to make himself a sandwich, it seemed Issy wasn't fussed about feeding him. He pointed the butter knife at her "And look what happened there"

"You honestly don't think you can compare the two, do you?!" Issy grabbed the juice and poured it in the gin she had splashed into her glass.

"No I can't, but I have no better retort" John picked the gin up, eyeing the contents after Issy's plundering of the bottle, pointing to the throat of the bottle "This here was full. I thought I was the one with the problem?"

"You are. I'm the one that doesn't care" Issy ripped a bite of her sandwich like a heathen and grinned loonishly at him "I can handle it, not like toilet bowl Lennon here"

John huffed in defeat and dropped onto the stool closest to the back door "Changing subject. What are you writing about? Mermaids, dogs, moose, bio on me, bears?" John enquired, he was quite interested to why she hid the paperwork like she did.

"Bondage and sex" Issy grinned evilly. John crossed himself like a priest. Like she had said some evil sentiment against God.

"Fuck off you, don't mess me around like that again. Now what are you writing about?!" John picked up his ham and mustard sandwich and followed Issy to the table "You're very secretive, is all. When I dropped the coffee off you went all ninja on me"

"Listen..... do you want to hear my secret" Issy tapped the table and leaned in conspiringly "Promise ..... not to tell" She sat back as John caught up then laughed at his scowling face " ...I've known for a week or two" She giggled "Nah longer than that, writing just helped me out of a slump that's all"

Issy reached over to the sideboard and slid open the cutlery drawer, which wasnt currently being used for cutlery. Pushing papers around she found a book and tossed it at him "Be boring for you no doubt but I don't write for grandpas" Her lips contorted like she had something else to say but she didn't.

John picked up the book turning it over to look at the cover "Penny the Vet Series: Martha The Dog Gets Fleas - riveting stuff, I'm sure" John tossed the paperback back at a relaxed and smiling Issy. He then had a thought.

"Isabelle.. . you didn't name it Martha after the Martha the dog, did you?"

"I can pay homage all I want thank-you very much. Next in the series is John the snake gets leprosy" Issy giggled and topped up her orange juice.

"I don't believe you"

"Well you have to. John's off at the publisher as we speak, Ringo the Dingo gets diarrhoea next in the tank. I haven't figured Georges yet but I'll get there all takes time. None of this rush, rush you know. I might throw a spainard in the works and then where would I be"

John laughed. She was fun... when she wasn't banging away on her bloody typewriter.

Issy stood up and suddenly walked off, John following to see what she was up to next.

She kept him hopping that was for sure and whatever the reason she drove past The Dakota that night, he didn't know. It wasn't like she was pushing him to sobriety, hell, she was joining him drinking the stuff, she didn't even push for details of his problems either, which was a relief.

The room beside the front door was floor to ceiling with books, fiction, non-fiction, hard and soft cover, first editions, encyclopedias, a record player and a meagre stacks of LP's in the far corner. John smiled, now you're talking, he could stay sated in here.

"Here, sign this" Issy stood on a packing box hovering above him, holding the top shelf with one hand and a copy of In His Own Write in her other. Eyes sparkling, she grinned down upon him and nodded behind his position "Pen there on the window sill"

John tapped his lip and wrote a paragraph, signing it off with a flourish "There you go, luv. That should tickle ya fancy"

"Really...... darling?" Issy raised an eyebrow.

"Well I couldn't very rightly put nagging" John tittered as he fled the room with Issy hot on his tail.

John finished off the vodka on the verandah, the blue label Johnny W on the couch and the Ouzo was languishing by his elbow. He had passed out around 10pm.

Issy cleaned away the clutter, pulled out blankets and covered his sleeping form. They had never talked about anything of importance today.

All the chat was banter, pure and simple. Issy found him easy to talk to, funny, fast off the mark and male, very very, male.

She felt a smidge guilty, she'd lied about the books.

Well not exactly.... It's just that,.. Well she didn't just write about 10-year-old vets, did she. Although... Sally didn't know either, so she wasn't too cut up about the little bit deception with John.

In the office, she shuffled the pages- The Vet series one and The Other One. A drawer for each but key for only one.

It had started out as personal outlet for her own mind, body and heart while she was tending her husband but then she had read a magazine article about the new trend in woman's romance. Steamy fiction.

Still unsure, it had taken another year before Issy got the courage up to send a sample of her work to the publisher. A pseudonym was sorted and book published quickly thereafter.

Then another hit the presses shortly after that.

Issy hid it all.