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Jeffrey Pilkington alighted from the number nine bus and walked as quickly as his portly figure would allow, the quarter of a mile to the Civic Centre where the Housing Department for Persford Council was based. He wished he had brought his umbrella as the sudden shower was increasing in intensity and he swore as a loose paving stone tipped up due to his considerable weight and splashed dirty water up his trouser leg. His language deteriorated as he continued on his way with his head down and his jacket collar turned up to give a little more protection. He had his security pass at the ready as he reached the main door and hoped that today of all days the electronic access wouldn’t be temperamental.
‘God, what a morning,’ he cursed as he stepped into the sanctuary of the shabby lobby. He looked at his dirty trouser leg and swore again. He would try to wipe some of that off with a paper towel in the toilets.
‘Morning, Jan!’ he said to the cleaner who was mopping the corridor floor. ‘Raining cats and dogs out there!’
Jan who was from the Czech Republic frowned then smiled, ‘Good morning.’
‘Well, it’s not really, is it? Good, I mean?’
‘Yes,’ replied Jan, ‘I mean no, I think no.’
‘That’s a little phrase for you, when it’s raining hard we say it’s raining cats and dogs. Got that?’
‘Yes, thank you.’ He continued to mop the floor.
‘You don’t want to go out there mate, completely pissing it down. I nearly had to swim from the bus stop. Pissing down, that’s another expression you might like to learn.’
‘Have a good day,’ replied Jan.
Jeffrey continued without replying, shaking his head as he approached the lift and summoned it to transport him to his second-floor office. That was about the extent of Jan’s conversation. He’d been the regular cleaner now for about a year and his language didn’t appear to be coming on leaps and bounds by Jeffrey’s standards. As he waited for the lift he thought back to the time when Stan was in charge of the cleaning team. He could always have a good chat with him and it helped to pass the time. In those days, cleaners were actually employed by the council but all that had changed about ten years ago when those services were contracted out.
The lift pinged its arrival and Jeffrey got in and courtesy of the mirror saw that his thinning hair looked even thinner than usual as it was plastered to his head. He hoped that his early arrival might allow him to get on with some of his private business, as he thought of it, before his colleagues started to arrive. He needed to avail himself of the printer and photocopier. It wasn’t technically allowed but he didn’t claim benefits and he of all people knew just how much was paid out in housing benefit each year.
He scanned the large open plan office and saw that there were thankfully only a couple of desks occupied. Setting down his bag he switched on his computer and plugged in his USB stick which held his private files. Last night he had agreed to get several hundred copies of a certain advert run off and take them around to a fellow supporter of the cause this evening. He chuckled to himself. He would dearly like to hand one to Jan but he wouldn’t risk something so stupid. If he got the chance he would print out a large poster-sized version and try to find a moment to pin it up on the notice board.
**
Maureen Welch was sitting at her kitchen table drinking coffee and eating a piece of toast when she heard the post drop through the letterbox. Amongst the usual junk mail was a letter in a good quality envelope which she recognised as being from her solicitor. She poured another cup of coffee and opened the envelope.
As she read the letter she felt her blood pressure rising and her spirits sinking. Her husband Hubert was challenging the terms of the divorce and refuting her allegations of unreasonable behaviour. Unless she could prove her accounts of his controlling behaviour the divorce wouldn’t be finalised for five years from their initial separation. He had left the house around eighteen months ago and only because she threatened to go to the police if he didn’t leave her. That meant that it would be ages before she was finally free from him. Only then would she feel able to start rebuilding her life and her confidence. He was offering a generous settlement in return for a retraction of her allegations. In short, she was being bought off.
She sighed and threw aside the letter. What on earth could she do? Yes, she could keep quiet and acquiesce to his demands just like she had done for too long or she could try to fight him and show that she wouldn’t be cowed. How Hubert had changed during their twenty years together. She had initially thought him charming, caring and generous but little by little he had become dominant and mean-spirited. His desire to be her constant companion had seemed sweet at first but when she wanted friends of her own he had become jealous. They had been business partners and she had managed much of the administration for their property empire but she now realised that was because he could keep an eye on her for most of the day. They had friends but they nearly always socialised as a couple so her chances to confide in others were few. As she sat in their elegant house she felt totally isolated. Even her sister, Alice, couldn’t understand why she wanted to separate from Hubert and had accused her of being dissatisfied and ungrateful for the wealth he had showered upon her.
Perhaps if they’d had children things might have been different but Hubert had never shown much interest in having a family and when she’d failed to become pregnant after a few years of trying he’d not been willing to undergo tests to check his fertility. She’d taken some tablets to help her conceive and had also undergone gynaecological investigations which showed all seemed to be well. This pointed to Hubert as being the one with the problems. However, there was little she could do and he completely refused to consider any in vitro fertilisation. He reminded her of the problems her sister had encountered with a handicapped child and pointed out what a lottery it was where children were concerned. As usual, she had accepted his arguments and she looking back she felt she had accepted his point of view too readily. Now it was too late and it was a chapter of her life confined to history.
At least the Shiptons hadn’t been taken in by Hubert. They were the only people who seemed to be on her side. They had even invited her to go and stay with them for a few days if she ever felt she needed company. Maureen put her cup and plate in the dishwasher and poured the dregs of the cafetière down the sink. This morning she had her aquarobics class and then an appointment booked at the hairdresser so at least she would be out of the house.
It was a lovely morning so she took her book outside and sat on the patio for a while as she didn’t need to go out until about 10 a.m. She heard her mobile ringing faintly and realised it was still in the kitchen. When she saw the display she was racked with indecision. Suddenly she reached for it and swiped the screen to answer.
‘Hello,’ she said quietly.
‘Maureen, are you OK, I can only just hear you?’
‘Oh, yes, I’ve just come in from the garden, I heard my mobile and rushed in.’
‘Lovely morning, isn’t it?’
‘Beautiful. How are you?’
‘Fine, fine. Busy as usual. Got a few meetings today so I’m going to be tied up, hence the early call. What about you?’
‘Well, I’ve got my aquarobics this morning then..’ and she paused, realising her day sounded rather pathetic in comparison with her caller’s busy day of meetings. ‘Well, just a few things to do, I need to catch up on a few things.’ Maureen felt herself blushing, she was wittering on and sounded like a silly woman.
‘Are you doing anything this evening by any chance?’
‘Er, no, nothing,’ she said.
‘Would you have dinner with me. At a restaurant I mean. Then I’ll drop you back at yours of course.’
‘Oh, well, I er.... sorry, it’s just a surprise. A nice one of course. Yes, thank you,’ said Maureen hurriedly before she had a chance to lose her nerve. Her heart was racing. It had been so long since a man had asked her out. She felt like an impressionable teenager being asked out on a first date.
‘Great. Well, let’s say I pick you up in a taxi at say, 7 p.m. How does that sound?’
‘Yes, fine, I’ll look forward to it.’
‘What sort of food do you like? French, Italian, Indian? You choose.’
‘Oh, I don’t mind, well, Italian would be nice.’
‘Italian it is. Have you been to Tavola Superiore?’
‘No, but I’ve heard good things about it.’
‘I’ll book a table. Look forward to seeing you later. Bye Maureen.’
‘You too. Bye Ron,’ she replied. As she put down her phone she realised her hands were shaking. Her T-shirt was wet under her armpits. She thought back to the evening at the Shiptons. Ron had been charming and she had to admit she felt a certain attraction to him. After all the years of Hubert trying to make her dependent on him and reducing her confidence, was this finally the moment when things were about to change?
She got a glass and poured herself some water. Common sense returned to her and she realised she mustn’t get too ahead of herself. She was going out to dinner and she needed to get things into perspective. It wasn’t a proposal of marriage. It was fortuitous she already had an appointment booked at the hairdresser as it was always difficult to get one at short notice.
Ten minutes later she reversed out of the driveway and into the traffic tapping her hand on the steering wheel and for the first time in weeks she had something to look forward to.
