Louise had decided to go for a bike ride just before lunchtime
and took some food with her so if she got peckish she could stop for
a while. It wasn’t long before she found herself heading for the
river. It was ages since she and Graham had been there. When they
were first courting they’d often head to the countryside and find a
secluded spot to talk, or kiss, or whatever. Leaving her bike under
a hedge in the farmer’s field, Louise walked in the glorious
sunshine down towards the water. The grass was long; almost
knee-length and it tickled her bare legs as she made her way through
the field. She left her backpack under an old oak tree and removed
her trainers and socks. She carefully made her way down the dry
riverbank to the water. The river was quite shallow; there had been
little rain during the last couple of weeks. Louise picked her way
through the small boulders that were usually under water, trying not
to slip over while looking for tiddlers. There was a small pool to
her left and she thought she saw a little trout quickly dart away
out of the corner of her eye. It felt like forever since Graham had
suggested coming anywhere like this.
Graham had been different lately. He’d been promoted at work, then
offered a partnership and now spent so much time in meetings. But
the bank balance showed that the long hours were paying off. The
loan they’d taken to buy into the business was settled. It was their
tenth anniversary next year and they were planning a three-week
holiday to Australia and New Zealand. They’d already saved enough to
pay for that holiday twice over. Louise thought how wonderful it
would be having him to herself for so long. Even after the ten years
or so that they’d been together, Louise still felt a tingle when he
looked at her in that special way.
After a paddle in what little water there was, Louise thought she’d
sit and eat her lunch under the tree and perhaps even have a nap.
She clambered back up the riverbank, her feet brown from the dry
soil. She wiped them on the grass at the top. Walking back to the
tree, Louise picked an armful of the wild poppies growing there.
She’d only just sat down and replaced her footwear, when she heard a
car on the other side of the river. She was only just able to see
the top of the windscreen of a convertible car pull up beyond the
hedge on the far side. A tall man with bright red hair appeared,
holding hands with a petite blonde girl. Louise slunk down in the
grass, hoping that they wouldn’t see her; she didn’t want to spoil
their fun. The girl giggled as the man pulled her down into the long
grass. He made a big play of throwing his clothes in the air as he
stripped them off.
Louise heard the girl cry, ‘What if someone sees us?’
‘If anyone is there would they let us know please?’ the man shouted
loudly in reply.
A squeal of delight followed.
Louise thought about coughing or something, but she decided silence
was best. She actually felt a bit embarrassed, but dare not move in
case they realised they had an observer. She thought about how she
and Graham would have done exactly the same in years gone by. How
they’d made dreams for the future. Planning a family that had never
arrived. Louise had always wanted to be a mum and felt sad to think
she’d never have any children of her own. They’d agreed as a couple
that artificial insemination by donor was not for them and Graham
absolutely refused to consider adoption. He said that he couldn’t
imagine bringing up someone else’s child.
Louise tried to eat her crisps quietly, but she was sure that the
lovers would be too wrapped up in their own thing to hear her.
It wasn’t that long before they finished. They went back to the car.
The tall man with his arm around the small blonde’s shoulders and
she with her arm around his waist. It reminded Louise of how she and
Graham had walked together. She put her rubbish into her backpack
and went to retrieve her bike.
Louise popped into town and went to the bank before heading back up
the hill towards their home. She hated that hill. It was really hard
work, but she had managed to make it to the top that day.
When she arrived home, she took her bike around the back and put it
in the garage. She stroked the paintwork of her new four-wheel drive
as she walked passed it.
Graham had hoped he’d been clever. Before his promotion and the
subsequent offer to buy into the business, he’d decided to put all
of their joint assets into her name, including their home. His
thinking had been that if everything had failed, then he’d lost
nothing.
Louise was having fillet steak, new potatoes, bought from the local
market gardens, and salad for her tea. She scraped the potatoes and
prepared the salad. She didn’t have the faintest idea what time
Graham would be in, probably chairing another meeting. She hoped
not.
At 5:15pm Louise heard the car pull onto the gravel drive. She
had butterflies in her tummy. Graham was early for a change. He had
the roof down on the convertible, as the evening was still warm. His
red hair glinting in the late afternoon sun. She wondered how he’d
feel when he realised their joint account was empty. Probably the
same way he’d feel when he saw his bags were packed.
Sadness came over her as she heard the door open. Louise took a deep
breath.
‘How was your day?’ she asked.
‘Busy. Been stuck in the office all day. And you?’
‘Oh I’ve had an interesting day. You’ll never guess who I saw down
by the river.’
By Elizabeth Stevenson