Authors: Carys Jones
Three hours went by before Arthur’s mother realised that her son’s car had left the driveway of her home. She had been sat at the back of the house, consumed by her television dramas and had failed to notice his exit. Curiously, she peered through her curtains and scrutinized the remains of the day outside which was rapidly turning to dusk. He had gone to Laurie, she was certain of it. She considered alerting the girl but then thought better of it. Perhaps her son had some romantic gesture planned to win her back and she would not want to obstruct that. But then again, she also wouldn’t want Arthur to waste his time and lose his dignity.
As his mother deliberated on what to do, she subconsciously wandered up to the spare bedroom and sat down on the locked trunk which was kept in there. Her mind was still consumed with potential courses of action when she noticed that the lid to the trunk seemed off balance. Intrigued, she rose to her feet to inspect it further. Indeed, the lid was slightly slanted as it was no longer locked. The padlock which was normally sealed tightly shut now hung open and she wondered how she had not noticed that the moment she came in.
Her heart suddenly shot in to her mouth when she remembered what the locked trunk contained. In a panic she threw the lid open and was devastated to look in and see nothing but the wood at the bottom.
‘You stupid boy!’ she declared angrily, her one hand now over her mouth in shock. The trunk had always remained locked ever since her husband had left her. The key for it was stored within the jewellery box on her vanity table, safe and secure and far away from the wrong hands. For in the trunk she kept the shotgun her husband had used for shooting game. When he left her, he also left behind the majority of his belongings, including the gun. And Arthur’s mother chose to keep it because she never knew when she might need it. If her husband ever did return, she would most definitely have found a use for it. But as it was, her son had beaten her to it and taken the gun for his own purposes and to dwell on what those purposes might be filled her with a fearful dread.
Faye Smith scowled at the back of Laurie Thomas’ head as the young intern worked diligently on her computer just a few feet away from her. Faye was angry. The fact that Laurie received such preferential treatment was tearing away at her like a bite on the back of her neck which continued to itch and refused to just scab over.
Recent events had not helped matters. Laurie waltzed in and out of the office with no regard for protocol. If she requested to go home for a few days, the Deputy Prime Minister immediately allowed it, without even running the leave past the Human Resources department. This leniency towards Laurie, coupled with the bypass of the usual administrative channels, left Faye reeling.
She couldn’t help but recall when she had requested two days leave some two years earlier, to accommodate her attending her youngest sister’s wedding in Italy. Faye had done everything correctly, filling out a leave form and giving Charles adequate time to approve it. When a week had passed and he had still not granted confirmation for her leave, Faye had felt as though she had no choice but to address him directly on the matter.
Faye chose her timing carefully, waiting until she was called into the office on other work. There, she answered his questions diligently before subtly slipping into the conversation the issue of her impending leave. Charles had appeared genuinely surprised and baffled by the query. He shook his head and ran his hands over his face.
‘Oh dear, Faye,’ he began insincerely, ‘I forgot to check your leave sheet and now we’ve that summit meeting booked for the Friday afternoon you want and you would need to be present to take minutes.’
At the time, Faye was flattered rather than angered by his negligence, as it made her feel important. She was too invaluable to take leave, or at least that was how she had spun the situation to her sister. In retrospect, Charles had deliberately feigned ignorance when she questioned him, as it would be inconvenient to source another secretary to take minutes. Faye was efficient and reliable; he didn’t want to risk using someone who might not be.
And so Faye had felt forced to forfeit her sister’s wedding which had not gone down well with her family. The now married sister continued to give her the coldest of shoulders; the only time they had spoken since was at their grandmother’s funeral when Faye remarked to her how unusually pleasant the weather was for February and her sister had merely grunted in response. Faye’s mother had forgiven her, just about, but that had taken time. And it wasn’t until she lost her own mother that she had started to thaw towards her eldest daughter.
So now, to witness Laurie swanning in and out of the office with no consequence left Faye feeling infuriated. She had discussed it with her girlfriends over mojitos the previous evening, and they were in unanimous agreement that the young and beautiful led a far more privileged life than anyone else.
‘The problem is that men constantly think with their dicks,’ Faye’s most outspoken friend Bonny had stated angrily after her third glass. ‘It doesn’t matter how shit a girl is at her job if she’s nice to look at. Fucking secretaries,’ she uttered maliciously, before realising her error and turning apologetically to Faye.
‘You are an assistant, not a secretary,’ she said gently, her words now slightly slurred. Faye let the insult slide, appreciating that it was aimed more at the two secretaries her last husband had indulged in affairs with.
Nevertheless, the point had been made and had been cemented in to Faye’s mind. Laurie did not deserve special treatment, nor did her sister. The Deputy Prime Minister was besotted and it was just ridiculous. Faye decided to take matters in to her own hands. If Charles insisted on making life so easy for Laurie, Faye would do her utmost to make things exceedingly difficult for the girl, and if the Deputy Prime Minister challenged her behaviour she would simply threaten to expose his affair.
Feeling empowered by her decision, Faye spent the day making Laurie do the most menial tasks possible, starting with emptying all the bins within the building.
‘Don’t the cleaners do that?’ the young woman had queried, looking confused.
‘Usually, but I offered your services for today. I thought it would help you become better acquainted with all the other offices.’
‘I suppose,’ Laurie answered reluctantly. She remained sat in her chair, looking uneasy.
‘Is there a problem?’ Faye snapped angrily.
‘Well, I was supposed to be keeping a low profile.’
‘He was fine when I ran it past him,’ Faye nodded towards the Deputy Prime Minister’s office, liking how the lie felt in her mouth.
‘Oh, in that case,’ Laurie stood up, silently grateful for the task, as she was tired of the way Faye’s disapproval of her had suddenly intensified. As dull a job as it might be, at least it would grant her some respite from the bitterness of the woman.
With Laurie gone, Faye set about preparing another nasty task for her intern. She logged on to her computer and placed in an unnecessary order for stationary. Then, she selected a delivery time of ten that evening, fully aware that the building would be all but empty by that time, as even the most zealous workers had to go home and sleep at some point.
Taking a devilish delight in what she had orchestrated, Faye sat back and waited for Laurie’s return, relishing in how she predicated the young girl might react, wanting more than anything to see the disappointment wash over her face. She did briefly consider that perhaps she was being unfair, that Laurie had done nothing to her to deserve being treated so harshly. But then she recalled how the Deputy Prime Minister had behaved when she queried the girl’s leave.
‘Faye, really, drop it. I’ve approved it,’ he said angrily when she suggested that it was inappropriate for Laurie to be returning home yet again.
‘She is making a mockery of the internship!’ Faye had raged.
‘Please, try and be more understanding,’ the Deputy Prime Minister had said wearily. ‘She has lost her sister.’
Faye fought the urge to point out how she had also lost a sister as a result of her own fervent dedication but chose not to.
‘All bins emptied out,’ Laurie declared as she returned just over an hour later, her shoulders slumped as she was clearly tired.
‘Some of them didn’t even have anything in,’ she added cheekily, as though blatantly exposing the task for what it was, which only added fuel to Faye’s already raging fire of anger which was burning up inside her.
‘Since you’ve so much capacity then, you won’t mind staying late to sign for an important order.’
‘Oh, okay. How late?’ Laurie asked uncertainly.
‘It should be here by ten tonight,’ Faye replied sweetly.
‘Ten!’ Laurie’s cheeks flushed with panic. ‘Oh, I really can’t stay that late.’
‘Whyever not?’
‘Please, Faye, I don’t want to walk home alone that late at night.’
‘Then use the tube.’
‘I’m all on my own. I don’t have anyone who can come and meet me,’ Laurie pleaded.
‘Well, I have plans this evening so you have to stay as the order needs to be signed for,’ Faye declared triumphantly.
‘Why don’t you ask the Deputy Prime Minister to walk you home?’ she mocked. ‘Oh wait, he won’t be here. He will have gone home himself, to his
wife.’
Laurie just gazed silently at Faye, realising that no matter what she said, she wouldn’t be able to change the angry woman’s mind. Delighted with her victory, Faye smirked before ordering Laurie to go and make coffee, but not before asking the people in at least three other offices if they wanted anything. Before she left, Laurie regarded her with a look not of anger or resentment, but of pity. Faye wondered if the girl was going to challenge her but she said nothing, instead grabbing a note pad and heading off on the epic coffee run.
It was normally Lorna who encountered hostility from other women. She would recount tales to Laurie from nights out when a girlfriend would come up and push Lorna sharply, demanding to know why her boyfriend couldn’t take his eyes off her.
‘People think we have it easy,’ Lorna had theorised once, ‘because we are pretty.’
‘Looks are superfluous,’ Laurie had replied dismissively, lying back on her sister’s bed, her eyes trained on the patterned ceiling above her.
‘But it’s not easy. We stand out. People remember us; that’s not always a good thing. Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to be unnoticed, to just fade into the background.’
‘You would hate that,’ Laurie scoffed.
‘Yeah, I guess,’ Lorna admitted. ‘At least we will never be jealous of one another’s looks,’ she joked.
‘Just clothes,’ Laurie laughed.
The day fell away into the night and Laurie sat at her desk and patiently waited. Faye had left the premises promptly at six, continuing to discuss plans she had that evening which Laurie knew were false.
So, sat alone, Laurie idled away the few remaining hours until the package’s arrival, all the while aware of how eerily quiet the building had become. At around nine, she felt that the building was quiet enough for her to be able to walk around a little. Laurie meandered over to another office nearby and glanced out of their window to see that darkness had now smothered the world outside, which made her feel uneasy. She considered calling for a taxi but the late hour, coupled with the location, would have made the cost astronomical for what was only a short walk to her apartment.
Returning to her own desk, Laurie checked her own personal emails as there really was no work left for her to do. She expected to find a flurry of messages from Arthur declaring his undying love for her and so she was surprised to have not even received one. She felt a pang of worry for the boy that, deep down, she did still love. She considered calling him but decided against it. The solitude and the encroaching night were just making her feel especially lonely and vulnerable.
At last it was ten, but it was another agonising fifteen minutes before the promised parcel arrived with no word of apology with regard to the delay. Laurie accepted the package and signed on the courier’s digital device before carrying the large box to her work area.
‘Christ!’ Laurie cried out angrily when she looked down and examined the box she was carrying and noticed the familiar logo for a stationary brand.
‘Oh, really important!’ she cried angrily, flinging the box to the ground, caring not for its contents.
Disgruntled, Laurie immediately prepared to leave, determined to have more than a cross word with Faye the following morning.
Outside, the air was crisp and cold but deadly still; there wasn’t even the faintest breeze. Laurie stopped at the staff entrance and fastened her coat right up to the highest button. It did little to alleviate the chill around her, but made her feel a bit more secure.
Immediately, Laurie turned and began to walk home. The pathways which were usually bustling in the mornings were now all but deserted; no doubt most people had been deterred from leaving their homes by the cold. Laurie tucked her head inside her coat and walked quickly, her footsteps clear and determined. Her mind raced with a thousand horror stories she had heard about the city and the dark deeds which were conducted at night. Fearful of a potential mugger approaching her, Laurie clung to her handbag tightly with both hands. If someone wanted her belongings they would have to be willing to fight for them.
A few feet ahead of her Laurie noticed orange lights flashing on the pavement. As she drew closer, she realised that her route was cornered off for workman changing some pipes below street level. Agitated, she stopped and assessed her options. There was a diversion sign which would send her down a dark alley which she was unfamiliar with.
Even though she knew it was foolish to do so, Laurie retrieved her mobile phone from her handbag and accessed the satellite tracking system it had, all the while remaining under the relative safety of a street lamp. The system confirmed that the diversion would quickly lead her back out onto her familiar route home which made her feel slightly relieved. With the phone back safely in her handbag Laurie prepared to enter down to the dark street, planning to run almost all the way along it.