| |
––––––––
Christian Dalton, director at ClinTry, parked his car in front of the double garage of their five bedroomed detached house on the outskirts of Persford where they had lived for about nine months. It was part of an exclusive development called The Hawthorns, built around ten years ago. The houses were all individually designed and each had large gardens front and back. As he was locking his BMW 5 series company car he paused to look with dismay at the garden which was growing with alarming vigour and becoming rather untidy. As his spirits sank his neighbour approached carrying a parcel.
‘Hi, Christian,’ said Bryony. ‘I was in the garden and saw you arrive. I took this parcel in for you today, it’s for Geraldine.
‘Thanks, Bryony,’ said Christian. ‘Looks like Geraldine has been using the plastic again!’ he joked.
‘Perhaps it’s a present for you?’ she said.
‘I doubt it,’ he scoffed. ‘It’s probably for Rufus or Persephone. Those children are spoilt,’ he said smiling.
‘What are children for if you can’t spoil them?’ she said. ‘Well, I’ll let you get inside. You’ve probably had a hard day.’
Christian unlocked and deactivated the burglar alarm. He dumped the parcel unceremoniously on the hall table. He hoped it was something reduced or on offer as their finances were becoming rather stretched despite his generous salary. He’d previously held a senior position at a company in Hertfordshire, managing trials but his current job was a promotion and came with an attractive remuneration package of around one hundred thousand pounds salary. In addition to his company car, he received private health cover, life insurance and a generous pension scheme. The house prices in Persford were lower than in Hertfordshire and thus they had been able to trade their small nondescript three bedroomed house on a featureless housing estate for this much more impressive abode.
Christian was a trained medic who after qualifying had spent a couple of years as a junior doctor before he decided to look for something which used his medical background but had more regular hours. He’d not been attracted to General Practice although a few years ago when the GP contracts had become extremely lucrative without the need to work weekends or provide out of hours cover he began to feel he had made the wrong decision. However, of late all the news reports were about doctors leaving General Practice in droves due to the increasing pressures they were under. All that was in the past now so it was no good looking back, he’d made his decision and he could hardly complain that he wasn’t admirably rewarded in his current position.
There had also been an issue in his private life which made him keen to make a fresh start. A liaison with a nurse in the clinical unit was threatening to get out of hand and he decided it was best to put temptation out of his reach. At the same time, his wife was finding her workplace unpleasant and had been happy to move to a legal practice in Persford. The two combined factors had given them the incentive to move and they had received help with the cost of relocation.
He headed for the fridge and took out a bottle of lager. The house felt hot so he opened two windows in the kitchen and went through the French doors to sit outside on the patio. The back garden matched the smaller front one in its unruliness. He wasn’t used to looking after such a large expanse of greenery and it would mean that he would have to spend most of the weekend trying to get it under control, accompanied by at least one trip to the tip with the waste. The recent heavy showers had spurred the weeds to grow with vitality and in places, they were now overtaking the bedding plants. At this rate, they might have to consider employing a gardener. As usual, his wife wasn’t back home and he’d lost track of which of his children’s after-school activities took place on which day of the week.
His day at work had been difficult and depressing and he felt the beginnings of a headache niggling above his right eye. Hopefully, if he could unwind he wouldn’t need to resort to painkillers. Early that morning he’d been faced by a delegation of staff demanding to know how secure their jobs were. Rumours had been circulating that ClinTry could be vulnerable to being sold off by the parent company. Thus, he’d called a meeting to reassure all staff that head office hadn’t given any indication that they were in serious trouble. He pointed out some improvements in their balance sheet and that had seemed to alleviate some of the concerns.
The pharmaceutical companies were always trying to drive down the costs of drug development and naturally, they were trying to reduce the amounts they paid to the clinical units. Patient volunteers were still paid generously otherwise there wouldn’t be the required uptake.
Bryony’s husband, Duncan was on a ladder cutting back the hedges along the adjoining fence. He waved at Christian who wandered over to him.
‘You can come around here and do mine when you’ve finished,’ he said.
‘No problem, I’m expensive though!’ he joked.
‘I’ll be doing the same as you this weekend,’ said Christian. As you can see the shrubs over there are pushing the fence over.’
‘Oh, dear, Yes, they are getting a bit out of hand.’
‘That is my fence, isn’t it? The one along the bottom there?’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so. It looks like you might have to have some new panels.’
‘Don’t say that, please,’ intoned Christian. ‘They will have to last a while longer. I’ll give the Triffids a butchering!’
‘How’s the family?’ asked Duncan.
‘Oh, not bad thanks. They are doing well at school. Which is good considering the fees they charge.’
‘Yes, it can be very expensive, what with all the extra clubs and the like.’ Duncan continued to snip away at his hedge. ‘You know the Abbey School is a very good secondary school. I’m sure they would be fine there when they get to eleven. My two went there although it was a while ago now of course. It’s quite academic and my boys got good exam results.’
‘I’ve told Geraldine we might have to consider that when they are older. The fees will be even higher in the upper school.’
‘How old are your two now?’
‘Persephone is nine, Rufus is seven.’
‘Yes, well before you know it she’ll be ready for senior school.’
‘Thanks, it’s good to have a recommendation.’ Suddenly Christian put his hand to his head and held on to the fence.
‘You OK?’ asked Duncan.
‘Got a bit of a headache, it’s been a stressful day. I think I might have to take some pills.’
‘Hope you feel better soon. Right I must get on with my topiary,’ joked Duncan.
‘Ha! I can’t quite make out which animal it is,’ replied Christian. ‘I hope it’s not going to be something rude!’
Christian wandered back to his seat in the shade and sighing put his head back and closed his eyes. He wished he’d not been swayed to buy such a large property with its associated huge upkeep. He had tried to persuade his wife that they should use the opportunity to save some of the money from the sale of their Hertfordshire home in case of a rainy day. That would have given them a cushion against a job market which seemed to become more fragile each year. However, Geraldine wouldn’t hear of it and accused him of being boring, over cautious and unambitious.
His mobile rang. ‘Hi, darling,’ he said wearily.
‘Hi, are you back yet?’
‘Yes, I got back about ten minutes ago.’
‘Early finish today?’
‘Yes, it’s been a crap day, I had some staff issues to sort out. And we need to have a chat as well, it’s not looking very good at ClinTry.’
As usual, Geraldine showed no interest in a negative report from his workplace and just assumed that her husband was being overly bleak.
‘I’m driving so I’ll be brief. Just letting you know that Rufus has been invited around to his friend Freddie’s after his violin lesson and Persephone will be at her usual gym club for an hour after her piano lesson. I’m on the way to Freddie’s now and then on to the gym. Oh, come on, don’t be so slow, you could have gone then!’ she shouted at a cautious motorist.
Christian listened whilst his wife continued to enthuse about how well the teachers had told her that his children were doing, his mind wandering as she chatted away.
‘So, I’ll drop Persephone back at about 7 p.m. and then I’m going out with the girls from work. I think I told you?’
Christian drifted off to think about the situation at work.
‘Christian, are you still there?’
‘Yes, darling, couldn’t hear you for a minute, the reception must have gone. So I’ll see you for dinner about 7 p.m. then, what are we having to eat?’
‘No, I’m going out with the girls from work. You will be looking after Persephone and then Rufus will be dropped back home by Freddie’s parents about 8 p.m. Then it’s straight to bed for him. There’s a pasta bake in the fridge you can microwave for you and Persephone.’
‘OK, thanks for letting me know,’ he replied flatly.
‘Everything OK, Christian, you seem a bit down?’
‘No, just a bit tired, I’ve been at work, remember? I did say that things aren’t good there.’
‘I work as well, remember?’ she said pointedly.
‘Bye then, have a good evening,’ he said and disconnected. He shook his head and went to fetch another beer. The conversation had taken its usual course. A rundown of the after-school activities which served to increase their outgoings even more and her sniping reminders that she also worked. At least her salary covered some of the household expenses and their extravagant food bill which consisted largely of convenience items. He could hardly remember the last time he’d had a home-cooked meal. If he wanted one he would have to buy the ingredients and make it himself. A foray into culinary matters would have to wait for another evening, tonight he would spend some time with Persephone and be on hand to provide some help with her homework if necessary.
Christian thought about his relationship with his wife. They never talked to each other or made an effort to spend time together. Geraldine devoted herself to pushing her children to participate in numerous extracurricular activities. He’d tried to tell her that he felt it was too much for them but she batted away his concerns, insisting it was important for them to broaden their horizons and be well-rounded children. They seemed to be in dispute more times than agreement these days. They were growing apart and the gulf was widening inexorably. How long would it be before the strain proved too much and the ties snapped completely?
He wandered back into the kitchen to check out the pasta bake which he would share with his daughter and checked the time. Once Persephone was tucked up in bed he would be able to have some time on his own and indulge in his little hobby. Perhaps the evening wouldn’t be so bad after all.
