by Matt Shaw
Cathy watched the proceedings from the doorway. She thought Cleo had been being nice when she let Quinn take her turn first but now she realised it was just a means to an end as it meant - following the rule of always going left around the board - she’d be second. She didn’t say anything. Let the girls figure it out for themselves. She had no idea why the Hell James had let them get Monopoly out; it was meant to be a quick midnight snack to show them there was nothing to be scared of with regards to the storm outside and then back up to (hopefully their own) bed.
“We always do it this way!” Cleo said - raising her voice as though that were the way to win an argument.
The woman laughed and turned to Cathy, “Looks like you have your hands full!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cathy hissed.
The woman didn’t say anything. She turned to her husband as though - using nothing but eye contact - begging for him to get involved and help her out a little.
“So what is this? Midnight feast?” the man asked James. He’d already seen there was little point in trying to talk to Cathy. Clearly she didn’t want them there in her home and he couldn’t blame her. Had the shoe been on the other foot, he probably wouldn’t have even opened the door - not that he wasn’t grateful to James for doing so or else he’d still be out there in the pissing rain.
“Girls couldn’t sleep due to the storm,” James said.
“Can’t say I blame them - I used to hate storms when I was growing up,” the man replied. “Now I quite like them. It’s like God is washing everything clean again. He lets things get messy and then - boom - down with the clean up crew.”
“Interesting way to look at it. I used to tell them God was farting,” said James.
The girls laughed. Cathy shot her husband a stern look again.
“He’s moving furniture,” Cathy said - more to the girls. The subtext being that they should ignore their rude father.
“That’s what my mum used to tell me!” the woman said.
Cathy didn’t care.
“Come on, girls, time for bed.”
“We’ve only just started playing!” Cleo argued.
“Bed! Now!” Cathy didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. The tone was enough to put the fear of God into the girls. They all got up, grumbling, and slowly made their way from the room.
“Night, night…” the woman said as they walked past.
Cathy followed them up the stairs leaving her husband with his new friends. As she neared the top of the stairs she could hear him apologising for the way she was behaving. She heard him say that she wasn’t usually like that. She felt her blood boil. The way she saw it, she had every right to feel threatened by these two strangers in her house. She’d read enough horror books to know this had the potential to be something awful. A nice family invites a couple into their house in their hour of need and - before you know it - the nice family is under attack by the unexpected visitors. Well she wasn’t going to be a statistic. With the storm still venting its anger outside, the girls could sleep in their room. If the Roadside Assistance truck does finally show up, and James comes upstairs, he can sleep on one of the girls’ bunk beds. Cathy - in turn - would sit up with the girls sleeping around her, watching the bedroom door… Ready to defend her girls should a crazed man and woman suddenly burst in.
TUESDAY
By the time morning came the storm had subsided but the rain continued to beat down heavily. The News had stated flood warnings had been put in place in various locations across the country but Cathy didn’t really pay them much notice as it was always further up North, or further West, which were hit by those. Where they lived was usually just slapped around a bit by heavy winds.
Cathy was standing in the kitchen waiting for her crumpets to finish cooking. The girls already had theirs and were busy eating out in the dining room; filling their little stomachs before heading off to school. Cathy was tired and irritable because of her lack of sleep. An hour had passed - the previous night - before James had come up to bed. He had come into the room, waking Cathy as he opened the door, and then disappeared back out again when he realised there was no room in his bed. She didn’t check on him in the morning to see where he had ended up crashing.
He walked into the kitchen.
“Morning,” he said.
He too looked blurry-eyed from lack of sleep. Cathy could tell from his face that he was desperately wishing he didn’t have to go into the university today. No choice though. As a student mentor and outreach representative - he had a lot to do and that was before he even took his own assignments into consideration.
“Still raining then…” he sighed as he looked out of the window. “Hope the bus isn’t late.”
Every morning James got the bus into the university, Cathy ran Misty, Libby and Quinn to school in their Chrysler and the older girls - Cleo and Kiah - walked the thirty minute walk to their schools.
“Well if you hurry up and MOT the BMW,” Cathy said as she flicked the kettle back on, ready to make James a coffee. She knew they didn’t have the money to MOT his car. It had been sitting on the drive for a while now, waiting for the student loan company to pay what was owed. The fact she hadn’t even said ‘good morning’ to him and had barely made eye-contact, he knew she was in a mood with him for the previous night and so he didn’t bother asked for a lift. Besides, with the weather as it was outside, she was probably going to be doing a few trips anyway - running the three girls in and then running Cleo and Kiah in too to save them getting drenched before the day had even started.
“I love you,” he said tentatively before giving her a kiss on the cheek. The Ice-Queen cracked a smile.
“You’re such an idiot sometimes.”
“Now what have I done?” James asked. He knew what she was referring to but wanted to hear it from her.
Cathy - on the other hand - didn’t want to answer the question directly. Instead she thought she’d ask another question which would give him enough of a clue to know why he was an ‘asshole’.
“Finally got rid of your new friends last night then?”
James laughed, “Is that why I’m an asshole?”
“We have children in the house.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“You didn’t know who they were and yet you invited them into the house. Now - considering the fact we have kids in here - do you think that was a good idea?”
James laughed again, trying to make a joke of the situation, “Is that a rhetorical question?”
Cathy raised an eyebrow.
“Look it was horrible outside - it still is - what would you have had me do?”
“Leave them out there! It was just a bit of rain… They would have survived!”
James shook his head, “Why are we even having this conversation?” he asked. “They came in, they used the phone, they got picked up by the AA and that was it. They’ve gone. They’ve had their car fixed no doubt and they’re probably at home now. Maybe - just a thought - they might even be talking about us right now too. You know what they’re saying? They’re probably saying what a lovely couple we were for helping them out last night… Now - can we drop this, please? Considering they’ve left and nothing was stolen and we weren’t - I don’t know - brutally murdered… I’d say there’s little point in arguing about it.”
“You just need to think sometimes!” Cathy said.
“I do and I did. I thought, Gosh - they’re really wet, I think I’ll let them use the phone.”
Cathy shook her head as she continued making James his morning cup of coffee. She paused a moment to call through to the dining room, “Five minutes, girls!”
“Am I forgiven?” James asked. “You know - punishment was probably enough making me sleep in Kiah’s room. Won’t be much longer before she needs a new bed.”
“Aw was it uncomfortable?”
“Yeah. My back is killing me.”
“Good.”
“Oh come on! Okay -
I’m sorry. I’m sorry I tried to help out a couple of fellow humans. I’m sorry I stopped them from getting pneumonia. It won’t happen again.”
Cathy turned to him with the teaspoon raised as though it were a weapon, “It had better not!”
He smiled, “So… Do I get a morning kiss now?”
He walked over to Cathy who - in return - gave him a peck on the cheek.
“And maybe a back massage?”
“On your bike.”
* * * * *
“God you’re a rubbish dog!” Cathy moaned at the dog.
With the kids at school and James at the university, her day was usually filled with various tasks such as cleaning around the house, doing the shopping, preparing the meals, knitting, reading and - when she was really bored - trying to teach the young dog new tricks. With her mobile phone in one hand - videoing the proceedings - and a dog biscuit in her other hand, she was trying to get the dog to lie down. Loki had other ideas though as he continued to get over-excited by the attention he was being given.
“Lie down!” she told him again.
The dog spun on the spot.
“No, I didn’t ask you to spin around you stupid dog! Lie down! Loki… Lokiiiiii, lie down!”
The dog spun on the spot again.
“Oh for God’s sake. Okay… Sit. Loki. Sit!”
The dog sat.
“Now lie down!”
Loki laid on the floor and Cathy cheered, “Yay! Clever doggie!”
She fed him the biscuit in her hand. The door bell rang interrupting them both. Loki barked and ran towards the front door with Cathy following muttering under her breath how he felt the need to bark at the door now but not when it was knocked upon gone midnight? She pulled Loki back as she opened the door. Her heart skipped a beat when she realised who was standing there; the woman from the previous night.
“Can I help you?” Cathy asked.
The woman looked a lot more presentable now she didn’t resemble a drowned rat but Cathy still didn’t feel comfortable to be standing there with her. The woman had a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She held them out towards Cathy.
“These are for you,” she said.
“Me?”
“You and your family - yes. A little thank you from my husband and I for helping us out last night.”
Cathy took the flowers, “Well - thank you - you didn’t have to.”
“No. We wanted to. I was saying to Jeff…” she pointed down the street to where her car was parked up with the engine still running. Jeff was sitting in the driver’s seat, “… last night - after we left - that had you been at our door, I probably wouldn’t have let you in.”
Cathy looked towards the car and saw Jeff who - in turn - saw her. He waved. Loki barked in his direction.
“Well I wasn’t happy about it,” Cathy admitted.
“Well - anyway - thank you again.”
The woman took a step back from the front door.
“You got the car fixed then?” Cathy asked. She felt a little guilty about how she had spoken to the woman the previous evening. She didn't ever feel the need to bite her tongue or hide her feelings if something didn’t please her and having strangers show up in her house, after midnight, certainly fell into the category of not pleasing her.
The woman laughed, “We’d run out of petrol. Apparently our gauge is broken.” She nodded towards the blue BMW parked up in the driveway, “I’m guessing you don’t have that problem though,” the woman laughed; insinuating that the BMW was the better car.
Cathy laughed, “That thing can’t even pass the MOT at the moment!”
The woman smiled, “Well - anyway - we just wanted to drop those into you to say thank you for last night so… Thanks again.” She turned and ran from the house, back towards her husband’s waiting car. Cathy watched as she climbed into the passenger seat. A second later and the car pulled away from the curb side and headed down the road. Cathy watched until they were out of sight before closing the door. She walked through to the kitchen with the flowers in hand. Loki dutifully followed.
“Well that was nice of them wasn't it?” she said to Loki as she put the flowers into the sink - running the water - to give her some time to find a vase.
Loki barked. At first Cathy thought he was agreeing with her but then she realised he was looking out towards the front door with his head cocked to one side. She stopped a moment as a feeling of unease washed over her. She walked back through to the front door and opened it; a quick check outside and the road was clear. Being stupid, she thought to herself as she closed the door again. She walked back through to the kitchen just in the nick of time to stop the water from overflowing in the sink. She twisted the tap, killing the water flow and reached for a vase in one of the many kitchen cupboards.
Loki just sat there - staring at the front door, growling. Cathy stopped what she was doing and walked through to the living room where she opened the patio door - leading to the garden.
“Loki!” she called out, “If you’re going to be an idiot, you can do it outside.”
Loki didn’t need telling twice. He ran outside and up to the side fence where he continued with a low growl.
Cathy shook her head and returned to the kitchen, “Stupid bloody dog,” she muttered.
WEDNESDAY
Cathy was in the living room. A pile of wool spilling from a carrier bag next to where she sat on the sofa; knitting needles in hand. The dog was asleep by her feet having been tired out with a long walk. The children were at school and James was at university; the room was perfectly silent - filled only by Cathy’s own breathing and the click-clack sound of her knitting needles. She loved the kids - of course she did - and she loved James but that didn’t mean she couldn’t love the peace and quiet when she had the place to herself and all of her little jobs done and dusted. After the last couple of days she had had, she was enjoying the peace and quiet more so than ever. What with the storm keeping her awake Monday night and then the dog being an idiot and barking at the door for most of the afternoon yesterday… And then of course the arguing from the kids last night as Cleo and Kiah came home with a box of chocolates each, refusing to share them with their sisters…
The peace and quiet was definitely welcome.
Cathy’s mind drifted back to the chocolates yesterday. The girls had both come in, brandishing the boxes in their hands with big smiles on their faces. They must have done half a box each on the way home; a perfect way to ruin their dinner much to Cathy’s annoyance.
“Where did you get those?” she’d asked them.
“We won them at school,’ Cleo answered.
“Top of our class,” Kiah agreed.
It was always nice to hear your children were doing well in their classes but Cathy couldn’t help but think a more productive prize might have been more effective. She had made a mental note - one that she was only just remembering - to have a word with the school. Perhaps instead of chocolate they could give out a book, or something? Something they could learn from as opposed to something that would ruin their health and turn them obese; not that either child was obese. They were both of a good height and both slim but that wasn’t the point. The more she thought about the chocolate incentive, the more it annoyed her.
Loki sat bolt-upright and stared at the door. His sudden alert mood didn’t go unnoticed by Cathy, “What is it, Loki?”
She watched as her pet dog ran towards the front door where he continued to growl. Cathy set her knitting needles to one side and followed the dog to the door.
“What are you doing?”
Cathy took a hold of him - by his collar - and pulled him away from the door. Loki pulled away from her and returned to the door.
“You stupid dog!”
She stormed back over to him and reached down for his collar once more. She jumped back as a letter slipped through the letterbox.
“Great! Now who’s being stupid? Scared the life out of me!” she laughed, “Isn’t mummy stupid?”
she asked Loki.
Loki barked.
“Yes, well thank you, that was a rhetorical question. You’ll learn.”
She gently kicked Loki away from the door with her foot and bent down to scoop the letter up from the floor where it had landed.
“Don’t usually get two mail deliveries,” she said out-loud. “Strange,” she noticed there was no stamp on the letter. No stamp meant it wasn’t delivered by the mailman. Couldn’t have been junk mail. It had James’ name written on it. Junk mail doesn’t come personalised.
Whatever it was - it was hand delivered.
Frowning, she walked through to the living room. Loki was patiently waiting by the patio door in the hope of being let out. Cathy opened the door and he ran out, straight over to the fence where he proceeded to bark.
“Stupid dog is going to get me an ASBO at this rate.” She returned to her spot on the sofa and set the letter to one side before reaching back for her knitting needles.
She paused.
Her eyes drifted back to the handwritten envelope. What was inside?
Cathy didn’t make a habit of opening James’ mail but then he wasn’t usually the recipient of post that had been hand delivered. Might be important, she thought as she tore into the flimsy DL envelope. She reached in and pulled out the single sheet of A4 contained within. Folded into three, she unfolded it and started to read the handwritten note scrawled across the page in blue ink. Her eyes went wide as soon as she realised what it was and - more specifically - who it was from.
* * * * *
“Okay. It’s odd. I’ll give you that,” said James.
He hadn’t been home for more than five minutes before Cathy had presented him with the letter and forced him to read it.
“Odd?”
“Well, yes.”
“Mum what’s for dinner?” Libby came into the kitchen.
“Go and play - I’ll call you when it’s ready,” Cathy snapped.
“But how long?” she whined.
“Libby I won’t tell you again - go and play. I will call you when it’s ready!”
