CHATHAM DOCKYARDS

KENT

MAY 31 2008

Ghosts of happier times lingered in David's mind,  as,  for the very first time since the company had fallen into the reluctant clutches of bancruptcy,   he wandered around the forlorn and once vibrant dockside,  machinery and tools not dissimilar to those used in his own family empire,   rusted and rotting in the relentlessly cruel British climate.

Once prized land,  exactly like his former own,  family tradition passed down from generation to generation,  resting idol and vacant,   gathering in value with each passing year,  and soon to be raised to the ground in favour of swanky apartment blocks for the rich City kids still commanding the big bucks,  despite the fierce economic downturn which had brought about the demise of David's own company.

The passenger door to David's Porsche clicked open with clinically reassuring Germanic quality,  and Alexandra,  the leggy blonde with those vuluptous ruby red lips,  leaned out,  a hint of cleavage momentarily distracting David's train of reminiscent thought

" Can we go now,  Davey ",   bored tone from luscious lips gently caressed David's ears as he looked back at his beautiful girlfriend and smiled

" Just a few moments more,   baby,  I promise ".

The door closed once more in irritated fashion, the Alpine CD player cranked way on up as the vehicle seemed to rock under the power of an Alice Cooper track capable of making one's ears bleed.

David felt moisture welling in the corner of his eyes as he walked over and laid trembling flesh onto cold rusting steel.

"  Forgive me papa. There was nothing I could do to save things "

Wiping away something from his eyes,  dust  perhaps,  as tears were not for men of steel,  he headed back towards his new found symbols of wealth,  purchased from the gains of more recent luck with that final chance single pound lottery ticket he'd gambled all or nothing on after leaving the court room following his bancruptcy hearing.

With new found wealth and the early foundations laid in the restoration of his happiness,  a shatered family ripped apart by failure now at least on talking terms once more,  he had fulfilled his final desire in the personal quest for inner peace.  In his heart he hoped his dad would be proud of him,  and indeed forgive his failings,  now he simply had to convince himself to move on and try to enjoy life once more,  to the bat of a different drum.