The Anita Waller Collection

by Anita Waller

  ‘Hopefully we’ll find something Friday. You are still okay with sharing?’

  ‘More than okay,’ Claudia said. ‘And I have news on that front. Remember the flat you said looked safe and secure? It’s not too far from where I work, so I had a run out in my lunch hour. It was more to look at the area than to look at the flat. The shop that’s next to the flat’s front door is a bakery, so I nipped in for a sandwich. It seems the lady who owns the bakery has a key for the flat, so she can show people around it. I’ve arranged for us to go at half past eight on Friday morning.’

  ‘Good lord – you don’t hang around, do you? Is the area okay then?’

  ‘It’s quiet, clean. Think we’ll be okay there. I liked the fact that there is only one door to the property, which does mean we’ll be safer. I’ve not been in it, just looked at the outside. Nice big windows, and there’s a bakery underneath it! That has to be a plus. There’s something else as well. The hospital rang. I’m having this thing on my back removed on Friday afternoon. Will you be able to come with me? I may need you to drive me back.’

  ‘Wow! That’s quick! Of course I’ll go with you. I won’t be taking our car when I leave, though. He can have it, I never liked it.’

  ‘I’ll be taking mine. We can car share until we get organised. I’ll sort out the insurance tomorrow for you driving my car.’ Claudia paused for a moment. ‘It’s a whole new world for us, isn’t it?’

  Heather nodded, sipping thoughtfully at her drink. ‘It feels a bit like a whirlwind’s gone through my life. And it’s all been brought to a head by a missed mortgage repayment. The funny thing is I’m now going to have to go back to the bank and reverse everything I’ve done today. Ms Katherine Jones is going to love me.’

  They laughed, tears now forgotten, and clicked their mugs. ‘Cheers, friend,’ Claudia said. ‘To new lives. And whatever lives our husbands decide they want, is up to them. James and Owen, you’re history, and we didn’t need to buy the gun.’

  James completed his second lengthy meeting of the day in Newcastle and drove back to his hotel for the night. He ordered room service and spread his notes out on the desk in the corner of the room. Sorting them into order took some time and after eating, he took out his laptop.

  He began to transcribe his hurriedly written notes and ideas and by eight he was finished. He could relax.

  He picked up the laptop and moved across to the bed. The pillows were carefully stacked up so that he would be comfortable with the laptop on his knees, and he opened Messenger. He clicked on the name that said Marilyn M. The connection rang out and he waited patiently for someone to answer.

  The blonde hair was visible first, as the recipient leaned in to answer the call. James smiled. He now felt at peace.

  ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘My own Marilyn.’

  ‘Well, hello, Mr President, is it your birthday again?’ came the whispered response. And then the song. ‘Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, Mr President, happy birthday to you.’

  James laughed loudly. ‘My God, you crease me. I felt like it was my birthday last night. I love you, my sweet Marilyn. It’s a pity you couldn’t have been a bit nearer to Newcastle, two nights with you would have been brilliant.’

  ‘Maybe we’ll be able to get together next week. You in Leeds again?’

  ‘Yes, probably. I’ll try to work it so that I am.’

  They chatted for half an hour and then said goodnight, finger kissing each other’s lips at the end of the conversation.

  James closed the laptop, and finally got around to scanning the newspaper. He took further notes on items on the political pages and made himself a hot drink before settling down for the night.

  He felt as though he had lived in a vacuum for too many years; the death of baby Ella had affected all the family, but his wife had fallen apart and withdrawn into a shell that he hadn’t been able to penetrate. He remembered the first time he had hit her.

  Christmas morning, just a couple of days after the funeral, and he had tried to hold her, to show his support and share what she was going through. Her words ‘don’t touch me’ had been vitriolic, and in his grief, he had done the unthinkable; he had hit her back hard enough to knock her over and smash her head on the coffee table. Neither Zoe nor Harry had been there; they were both still in bed trying to ignore Christmas.

  And so it had begun. But now he had two loves; Claudia he would always love for all they shared, but he had found a new love in his Marilyn.

  Chapter 5

  Claudia collected Heather from the hotel at eight and they were outside, looking up at the flat windows by quarter past. It was a grey morning, heavy with the threat of rain, and the lights in the flat were glowing.

  ‘Definitely needs curtains or blinds,’ Heather said with a laugh. She could feel excitement building in her.

  They squeezed each other’s hand and climbed out of the car.

  As promised, the bottom door leading up to the flat had been left unlocked, and Claudia called, ‘It’s only us, Michelle,’ as they went in.

  They stepped into the entrance hall, onto a thick grey carpet that made them take off their shoes. This carpet was new.

  They climbed the stairs and Michelle met them at the top.

  She smiled. ‘I’ve put coffee on, but there’s tea if you would prefer.’

  Claudia and Heather both assured her coffee was good, and they followed her down the corridor to the tiny kitchen.

  ‘This is the only room in the flat that’s not enormous,’ Michelle explained, ‘but it’s fine. I lived here for five years and never had a problem with it, and now everything in it is brand new.’

  ‘It all feels and smells new.’ Claudia stared around her.

  Michelle laughed. ‘It is. My hubby and I have bought a house around the corner, but when we bought the bakery, this flat came with it, so it made sense to live here. My husband’s been hankering after a garden and a man cave and stuff, so we’ve decided to move out as the business has really taken off. We’ve had this completely refurbished for rental, nobody has lived here yet.’

  They placed their mugs on the kitchen work surface and moved to inspect the other rooms. The bathroom, spectacular in its newly refurbished state of white tiles edged with turquoise, was impressive. The toilet was a tiny separate room next door, perfectly adequate. They moved onto the bedrooms and lounge.

  ‘This is the small bedroom,’ Michelle said, opening the door and stepping back. The grey carpet continued all the way through the flat, and Heather entered first, followed by Claudia.

  ‘This is the small room?’ Heather asked.

  Michelle laughed. ‘I said it was a big flat.’

  It looked out onto an overgrown grassed area at the back of the shops. ‘Are you going to be the gardener, Claud?’ Heather asked.

  ‘Fortunately,’ Michelle explained, ‘that land belongs to the council, and runs underneath the patio. It’s nothing to do with this flat, you’ll be pleased to know. You’ll understand more when we get to the main bedroom.’

  They crossed the corridor to the next bedroom. It overlooked the shop frontage. The windows had appeared to be large from outside, but from inside they were huge. They stretched almost the full length of the exterior wall.

  ‘Wow. Will this be mine?’ Heather’s eyes were shining. ‘I love it!’

  They laughed at her enthusiasm and moved to the room adjoining. It was the lounge and it was massive. It had a fireplace that was plain and functional, and fitted in perfectly with the ambience of the room.

  Claudia stared around her. ‘This is amazing. I live in a four-bed house, and I think there’s more room here than I have.’

  ‘You’re selling up?’ Michelle asked.

  ‘Moving out. Had enough,’ was Claudia’s response.

  ‘Moved out, had enough,’ was Heather’s response.

  ‘So you would both be moving in?’

  ‘Is that a problem?’ Claudia felt sick. She wanted this flat,
and she didn’t want Heather being a joint tenant with her to be an obstacle.

  ‘Not at all. It’s a big place for one person, and there are no neighbours. It could be very lonely for one person. I’m happier there are the two of you. It’ll take some furnishing, though.’

  ‘We’ll manage.’ Heather’s voice was firm. She moved across to look out of the window.

  ‘You see that row of garages across the road? The second one from this end is yours, the one with the red door. You can’t see from here, but it’s got a number two on it. And there’s no junk in it, it’s empty if you actually want to put your car in it,’ Michelle laughed. ‘And now let me show you the best part, the third bedroom.’

  They reached the end of the corridor, with one last door to go through.

  The bedroom was the same size as the lounge but had patio doors instead of a window. Outside was a large patio, fenced with metal railings, and some considerable height above the unkempt grassed area.

  ‘This is really private, and a wonderful suntrap. You’re not over looked, and,’ she raised her arm, ‘over there are some houses, but you can’t see much, and neither can they. As an extra safety feature, that box fastened to the brickwork contains a rope ladder. If, heaven forbid, there should be a fire that cuts you off from the downstairs door, that rope ladder hooks securely onto the top of the railing, and you’ll be able to get out. I had it made specially when we moved in, just to be on the safe side. When it was fitted, my husband tried it out. It’s never been used since, but we did check it was still good, and it is.’

  ‘We’ll take it,’ Claudia said. ‘How soon can we move in? It’s urgent,’ she added. ‘And all I would ask is you don’t tell anyone we’re here, anyone at all.’

  Michelle looked at them both. ‘Is violence involved?’

  They nodded, hoping she wouldn’t change her mind about letting to them.

  ‘Then we’ll have a special arrangement. I have been advised to ask for a month’s rent as a returnable deposit, a month’s rent for the first month, and a half-year minimum let. In view of what you’ve said, I’ll waive the minimum let. We’ll make it four weeks. You may need to move quickly. Having said that, it will be a half-year rolling let from my side.’

  Claudia and Heather looked at each other then back at Michelle.

  ‘Thank you. That’s brilliant,’ Claudia said. ‘I’ll pay all tenancy costs today. You’re a star.’

  ‘Then your letting starts now. Here are the keys, and I hope you have safety and security here. And happiness. Move in whenever you’re ready. And I understand what you’re both going through. I wasn’t always married to the man I’m with now. I had another one…’

  Michelle left them to wander around and even provided them with a tape measure for taking measurements; she opened her shop, knowing she’d done the right thing. Her first job was to ring another lady and tell her the flat had been taken, and then she switched on the ovens. The bread delivery arrived, and her day officially began.

  Claudia and Heather drove into Sheffield city centre, parked in an impossibly difficult multi-story car park, and headed for a coffee.

  Celebrations were in order, and they clinked mugs.

  ‘We done good, girl,’ Heather said.

  ‘We done excellent,’ Claudia responded.

  ‘Are you going to tell Zoe and Harry?’

  ‘Not till I’ve left. Don’t forget, they don’t know about the violence, so they’re quite likely to tell their dad, in some misguided effort at keeping me with him. And that’s not going to happen. No, I’ll wait until we’re in our new place, and then ring them. I’m not going to tell them where we are, either, because if they need me, they can always ring.’

  Claudia took a notebook out of her bag. ‘We need to make a list. Essential stuff that we need before Monday.’

  The list was long. Claudia put ticks against things she could bring with her, and Heather put crosses against her contributions. By the time they’d reached the end, it was clear their main requirements were furniture. They could cover almost everything else.

  ‘He’s going to be so mad at you, Claud,’ Heather said thoughtfully. ‘Don’t take any risks. Don’t move anything out of that house that he might notice is gone, not while you’re still there. We can do it Monday, after he’s gone to work.’

  Claudia nodded. ‘I won’t. I’ve booked all next week off, because he’s going to turn up at work, I know he is. He’ll not show off there, but he will try to find out where I am.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘It’s time we were heading up to the hospital. The sooner this is sorted, the better. And I think you should drive up there, get used to the car.’ She handed Heather the keys. ‘And don’t damage it.’

  ‘As if I’d dare,’ Heather scoffed. ‘This attitude change, this confident woman is pretty scary, you know. Come on, let’s pay the bill and get going. We need to get it over with, I hate hospitals.’

  Claudia laughed. ‘It’s me they’re operating on, so you don’t need to worry.’ She placed her card on the saucer, and the waitress brought across the card reader.

  Ten minutes later, Heather was manoeuvring, with curses, down the long curving exit of the car park. ‘Next time we’ll park on a flat piece of ground,’ she grumbled, and Claudia smiled. Heather hadn’t really needed to practice, it was simply that Claudia didn’t want to drive down the exit road.

  Claudia lay on her side, felt the needle go into her back, and the coldness of the anaesthetic.

  ‘Okay, Mrs Bell?’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  She lay quietly while the registrar moved around the room, waiting for the numbing effect to kick in. Claudia’s mind was reflecting how good it had felt to give them her new address at the reception desk.

  ‘I’m almost certain it’s nothing to worry about, Mrs Bell, and we’ll be sending it off for testing just to make sure. You’ll hear from us in about three weeks, confirming we don’t need to see you for further check-ups. We’ll soon have you able to wear a bra without pain again,’ he said with a smile. He touched her back with a pointed object. ‘Can you feel that?’

  ‘No, not at all.’

  She was aware of pressure on her back as he began to cut out the mole, but no discomfort, and she tried to relax and not flinch at imaginary pain. It seemed to be over very quickly, and the doctor explained he was putting in a couple of stitches, but they were soluble and would come out on their own. The nurse then dressed the wound, handed Claudia a leaflet explaining the procedure she had undergone, and escorted her to the door.

  Five minutes later, she was dressed and heading back to Heather in the waiting room.

  ‘All done,’ she said. ‘How many magazines have you read?’

  ‘Three. And all about home décor,’ she said with a laugh. ‘You okay?’

  ‘I’m fine, but it is still numb. I’ve to take paracetamol later.’

  They drove back to Heather’s hotel and pulled up outside.

  ‘You know, I could do with moving in before Monday,’ Heather said. ‘It would save money.’

  ‘But there’s nothing there. No beds, no anything.’

  ‘There’s a fridge, and a cooker. And it would be cheaper to buy a single blow-up bed and some bedding than spend another three nights here. In fact, I need to get back into my house, because I’ve lots of spare bedding there. I’d only need a blow-up bed.’

  ‘I’ve got one. We’ve had one for ages, used to use it when the kids had friends over for sleepovers. You want to go in and cancel for tonight?’

  Ten minutes later, Heather was back in the car and her suitcase was in the boot. ‘All done. My God, Claud, this is really happening. I just need to get in our house now and get some stuff without world war three breaking out.’

  ‘You worried?’

  ‘Nah, he’ll not go for me. It’s the verbal bit. He’ll want me back. I don’t really think he’ll be there; it’s Friday afternoon and he finishes at lunchtime. He’ll be in the pub.’

  ‘Rig
ht, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll go back to mine and get the bed put in the car. James isn’t due home until about eight, he said. Leeds again. He seems to nearly live there these days. Then you go across the gardens and in your back door and get whatever you need. Didn’t you say you’d some curtains that would fit your bedroom? Bring them as well as bedding, you can’t sleep with bare windows. It’s good that Michelle left all the curtain poles in place. Bring everything around to mine, and if you reverse the car up the drive when we get there, we can load it without anybody seeing what’s going on. I’ve moaned about that high privet hedge for years, but it’s now going to come in useful. Then we’ll drive you down to the flat. While you’re sorting stuff, I’ll message Michelle and tell her you’re moving in tonight, and why. Don’t want her thinking she’s got burglars when she turns up for work tomorrow.’

  ‘You’re okay to drive?’ There was concern on Heather’s face.

  ‘I’m fine. I can steer one-handed. Thank heavens it’s an automatic. And I’ll only be doing the return journey from the flat, you can drive the rest of the time.’

  Heather drove them back to Claudia’s, reversing the car up the drive as instructed. Claudia went to find the single bed, and packed a large bag with tea towels, washing-up liquid and anything else she could fit in it that would help make it not quite so spartan for her friend.

  Heather had disappeared out of the kitchen door and around to her own house.

  Heather let herself in and closed the door quietly. She stood and listened, but knew the house was empty. ‘And which pub are you in?’ she muttered, then walked down the hallway and climbed the stairs.

  The linen cupboard at the top of the stairs held almost everything she needed. She took a suitcase from the spare room, placed it on the bed and filled it with curtains, a double duvet and two sets of bedding, extra clothes that she needed, towels, everything she could pack in, she did. She closed down the top, leaned all her weight on it, and began to pull the zip closed. It wasn’t easy, and she dragged it off the bed, and winced as it landed with a thud on the bedroom floor. The two pillows had proved to be almost the sticking point.