by Matt Shaw
“I’m sorry - who are you?” Jason asked. He stopped just in front of her.
“Sorry - my name is Aimee,” she held her hand out, “I used to live here. Was just in the area and thought I’d see how you were settling in.”
“Erm, yeah, good...Thank you.” Jason thought it was some cold-caller chancing her luck with selling her goods. He didn’t expect her to turn around and say she used to live in the house.
“So how are you finding it?” Aimee asked. She walked over to the patio doors, which led into the lounge, and peered through. Jason kept his distance for fear of a sudden mood change in what appeared to already be a disturbed woman.
“It’s nice,” said Jason. Obviously he was going to say it was nice - or words similar - after all, they had chosen to buy it.
“We liked it,” said Aimee - her voice was soft and her pupils fixed as though she were on a high dosage of some medication or other. “We thought we were going to grow old...” she stopped herself and turned to Jason with a desperate look of hope fixed on her face, “Can I see what you’ve done inside?”
“Look, I’m sorry but now isn’t really the best of...”
She interrupted him, “I’ll be quick...Please...The memories...I thought I’d take them with me but I started to forget. Please...I don’t want to forget...Just a quick look inside, I won’t be long. I won’t keep you...Please.” Jason felt uneasy when it looked as though she were about to burst into tears. “I miss it...”
“Honey!” another voice made Jason jump and Roald bark. It belonged to a man - Aimee’s husband - Ian. “What are you doing? I’ve been looking for you...”
“You know her?” Jason asked.
“I’m so sorry - she’s my wife. We used to live...”
“She said,” Jason butted in - his patience fading faster than the afternoon sun. “Care to explain what’s going on?”
“My wife - she hasn’t been the same since...Since we left here. She’s been talking about coming back just to see the house again...I didn’t think she was serious but then - I came home from work to check on her - and she was gone. First time she’s left the house in a number of weeks...”
“She okay?” Jason asked when he realised Aimee was kneeling by the back door weeping.
“She’s fine,” said Ian. He moved over to Aimee and picked her up from the floor before holding her close to him - a strong arm around her for both comfort and to restrain her.
“Did you want to come in? Maybe a hot drink?” asked Jason despite wishing he was strong enough to kick them from his land. Local Crazy people weren’t mentioned on the deeds when they put in their offer. Had they been - they may have seriously reconsidered.
“No - I don’t think that’s a good idea but thank you.” He turned to his wife, “Come on...Let’s get you home...” The pair of them started walking towards the side of the house - to get around to the front - with Ian leading the way. He suddenly stopped and turned back to Jason, “I’m really sorry but I don’t think she should be driving - is it okay if I leave her car here? I’ll take her home and then get a taxi back to collect it. No more than a couple of hours.”
“That’s fine,” said Jason - his feet firmly rooted to the spot.
“Thank you and, once again, I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again.” Ian disappeared around the corner without waiting for a response from Jason - not that Jason gave one. He simply stood there, dumbstruck by what had just happened.
A loud bang came from the second floor of the house - as though something hard had hit one of the back windows.
“Now what?” Jason mumbled under his breath. He didn’t go straight into the house to investigate - instead he peered around the corner, towards the front of the house and, more specifically, the driveway where he could watch Ian and Aimee climb into one of the two new cars which had been parked up. Seconds later, the ignition sparked the engine to life and, slowly, it pulled away. He turned to Roald who still had the stick in his mouth, “You were a fat lot of good,” he pointed out, “what if they had been axe murderers?”
Roald dropped the stick by Jason’s feet and gave him a friendly bark.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” said Jason. He bent down, picked the stick up and threw it as hard as he could. “Last one,” he told Roald. “Best get some bits and pieces unpacked before the wife gets home and we’re both in the dog house.”
* * * * *
“She looked like she was on drugs - definitely spaced out!” Jason was telling Emily about his day - hoping the news of his unexpected visit would distract her from the complete lack of unpacking he had managed to achieve.
“And then what?” Emily asked as she took her coat off and hung it over the bannister.
“And then he took her to his car and drove away. Couple of hours later, I glanced out of the window and noticed the other car was gone too. It was pretty strange.”
“You think she’ll come back?”
Jason shrugged, “I hope not but...Not sure...”
“Do you think we should tell someone?”
“Like who?”
“The police? What if she’s dangerous? Surely we have a right to know?”
“I’m sure she isn’t. Let’s just wait and see if she comes back. You never know, that might be it. We might never hear from her again...Either of them.”
“I hope so. Kind of wish you hadn’t said anything in the first place.”
“Thought you should know...And you did ask about my day,” Jason pointed out. “How was your day?” he asked before she had a chance to remember the packing.
“Same old,” she said. She walked through to the kitchen and turned the kettle on with Jason following. “Sometimes I wish I could work from home too,” she said as she reached up into the cupboard for her favourite cup - a pink mug with white flowers etched into the side. “At least that way I could just unplug the phone from time to time...You know...Even on my lunch break they still come into the office asking questions and seeking answers. My lunch break. I don’t get a moments peace and quiet...I’m sorry...Just ignore me...I’m tired...I ache...The first day back is always the hardest.” She tried to reassure herself, “I’m sure tomorrow will be easier. At least - I hope it is anyway!”
Jason did feel guilty that he was able to stay at home whilst she ventured out, in all weathers, to her place of work. If he could - he would have told her to give up the job and stay at home with him but he knew that wasn’t practical. They needed her income to keep afloat with the various household bills.
“How’s the writing going?” she changed the subject for both of their sakes.
“Meh! I’m hoping for a more productive day tomorrow,” he said.
“So you finished unpacking then?” she asked.
Jason stumbled over his words, “Erm, yeah, I’m hoping for a more productive day tomorrow...”
“Jesus Christ, there isn’t that much left to do...You promised...”
“And I’ll do it. It’s just been one of those days. You know? Roald needed a walk because he was whining, that woman came over...I tried to get some writing done not that I had much joy and then I spent most of the day trying to find where these draughts are coming from!”
“Draughts? What draughts?” asked Emily - the first she had heard of them.
“There’s a draught coming from somewhere - must be a hole or something but it keeps causing the doors to slam shut. Not only do they give me a heart attack when they do slam closed but...It’s really annoying. I’ve been trying to find out where they’ve been coming from so I could block them up.”
“And did you find them at least?”
Jason shook his head, “Buggered if I know where it’s coming from.”
“So basically you’ve done nothing today?” Emily asked. She poured the milk into her mug.
“Did you want me to make your tea for you?” he asked.
“It’s okay - don’t strain yourself!”
Jason went up behind Emily and put his
arms around her. He gave her a gentle kiss on the neck, “I do love you, you know...”
“Uh huh. Prove it. Go and run me a bath.”
“As you wish,” he kissed her on the neck again. “Extra bubbles - enough for two people?”
She twisted around, in his embrace, so that she was facing him. She smiled sweetly and kissed him on the mouth, “Enough bubbles for one will be fine. A long enough soak to give you a chance to unpack some boxes,” she said.
Jason released her from his embrace - disappointment all over his face, “You’re a harsh woman!”
“And...You can bring my tea up for me,” she said as she slipped from the room - leaving him to finish making her drink for her after all.
“It’s a good job I love you!” he called out after her - a small smile on his face. He knew he wasn’t going to get away with the lack of unpacking completely. He did, as she so rightly pointed out, promise her after all. Running her a bath and making her a drink was a fair compromise.
And he still hoped they’d be room for two in amongst the bubbles.
“That goes both ways,” came her reply from the other room.
7.
A loud bang, from downstairs, woke Emily and Jason from their peaceful slumber at exactly the same moment.
“Now what’s he done?” Jason sat up - instantly awake with the adrenaline, from the shock, surging through his veins. Straight away he noticed Roald sat on the floor staring at the doorway as though he too had just been startled awake.
“What was that?” Emily asked - a pointless question as she knew Jason wouldn’t know the answer.
“Did you lock the doors before you came up?” Jason asked her.
Emily nodded. “What if it’s her?” she asked.
“What?”
“That woman...The one from earlier.”
“Don’t be stupid - something probably just fell over...It’s fine.”
“Go and check,” Emily pushed. “I won’t be able to sleep until you do.”
“Honey, I’ve been chasing these noises around the house all afternoon...It’s fine,” he said, not wanting to move out from under the warm duvet.
“I mean it - go and check.”
“We just need to get used to the fact we live in a noisy house, that’s all!”
“No...No we don’t!” she stared at him with a fixed, stern expression.
“Fine. Wait here.” He threw the duvet back and swung his feet onto the carpet - the cold air making him feel even more awake than he already was.
Emily leaned over to the bedside cabinet and switched the small bedside lamp on “Hurry back!” she urged him.
A glance around the landing and Jason could see that all doors were closed. The noise hadn’t come from upstairs though. He was sure it had come from somewhere downstairs. He flicked the landing light on and made his way down the stairs - quietly on the off chance there was someone down there waiting to jump out on him, not that he believed that but Emily’s paranoia had now spread to him. When the noise had first startled him awake he had presumed that it was simply the sound of something being knocked over, or banging shut, but now in his over active imagination he could clearly picture the woman from earlier standing in the hallway, a psychotic look upon her face with a yellow tinge to her demonic eyes, and a large kitchen knife in one of her hands. He could see her just standing there, head slightly tilted at an angle...Funny noise coming from her throat with every breath she took. He could even imagine himself trying to talk to her; trying to get her to put the knife down...The final part of his nightmare would be her sudden, ear-piercing scream just before she charged forward with the knife outstretched in front of her…….
A wave of relief rushed over Jason when he stepped off the final stair into a hallway that was empty of other people. Straight away he could see that one of the last remaining boxes still to be unpacked, had toppled off the box it had been resting on and was now on the floor with its contents spilled out across the wooden floorboards.
“Well - that explains that,” he said. He called up the stairs, “It’s okay - one of the boxes has fallen over.”
“One of the boxes you were supposed to unpack?” Emily called down.
Jason rolled his eyes. He knew it’d be his fault.
“That would be the one,” he replied without rising to the bait - for no other reason than he knew it was a battle he’d lose. After all - the boxes should have been cleared by now! He looked at the pile of random objects on the floor - films, music and some books - and muttered to himself, “Well, they’re not going anywhere tonight. First job of the day. After breakfast.” He about turned and went back up the stairs - turning the lights off when he reached the top - before going back into the bedroom where Emily was still sat up waiting for his return.
“Did you pick the stuff up?”
He shook his head, “It’s the middle of the night. I’m sure it’ll keep until morning.”
“Great - a job for me when I get home then,” Emily said - her mood tainted by the rude awakening exacerbated by the fact that the whole situation could have been avoided had Jason done as he had originally promised.
“It’ll get done,” he insisted. He climbed under the duvet and tried to cuddle into Emily’s side but she turned her back on him before she reached across and killed the bedside light. “Good night then,” he mumbled.
She didn’t reply.
* * * * *
Jason was woken up by daylight spilling through the small crack between the curtains. He jumped at the sight of Emily standing next to him, by the bed. Not because it was a horrible image - he just wasn’t expecting to see her standing there watching him.
“Scared the shit out of me,” he said.
“I’m sorry - I just wanted to say thank you.”
“Thank you? What for?” he sat up and rubbed his eyes to try and perk up a little bit.
“For tidying up last night. I’m sorry I was such a cow. I was just tired. I must have been - I mean, I didn’t even hear you get up, let alone pick the bits and pieces up again.”
“I’m sorry, you’ve lost me,” he said, “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“The bits that toppled over during the night. You picked them up?”
“I haven’t moved since I climbed back into the bed with you last night,” he confessed.
“Of course you didn’t,” she laughed. She gave him a playful tap on the arm. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know I was sorry for being such a cow and I’ll see you tonight. I’ll cook you your favourite - steak,” she continued.
Jason didn’t argue with her anymore. He figured there was no sense rocking the boat. If she thought he had done something well - who was he to argue? Especially if it meant he was getting steak for dinner.
“Only if you’re sure,” he said with a smile on his face. “I don’t want you coming in being all tired and then feeling as though you have to cook...”
“I want to,” she interrupted him.
She leant down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, “I’ll call you on my lunch break,” she said, “well - as long as I get one today! You know what it’s like!” She kissed him again and walked out of the room. “I’ll see you later,” she said as she disappeared down the stairs.
“Bye - have a good day,” he called out.
He waited a few seconds until he heard the front door slam shut then a few more seconds to ensure she didn’t come back before jumping out of bed and making his way downstairs to where the boxes had toppled over.
The bottom box was still in the same place as the previous night but the box, which had originally slipped off the top, was now neatly placed to the side of it. The various music disks and films were stacked up in their own individual columns as were the books.
“What the fuck?” he mumbled to himself.
Roald barked from behind him. Jason turned around and saw the dog was sitting at the top of the stairs - a look on his furry little face which suggested he knew
what had occurred, “You do this, boy?”
Roald barked again.
“Well - thanks...Certainly got me out of the dog house! Don’t suppose you want to do the rest of the unpacking for me too?”
Roald turned back into the bedroom - out of sight.
“I’ll take that as a no then.”
Jason turned back to the neatly stacked items. He knew Roald hadn’t stacked it all up for him. The only thing that dog had mastered since they took ownership of him when he was a little puppy was to not defecate on their carpets or rugs. Jason couldn’t help but wonder how the items appeared to be so neatly arranged if it hadn’t been him and it wasn’t Emily. Had he come down later in the day, after Emily had gone, he would have just assumed it had been her - just as she had assumed it was him that had picked the bits up.
