The Scarlet Anniversary Read online

  The Scarlet Anniversary

  Lubowa.M.Planet

  The scarlet anniversary is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues are products of the authors’ imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2012 by Lubowa.M.Planet

  First Printing, 2012

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the authors, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed and Published in The United States Of America.

  DEDICATION

  This writing is dedicated to my beautiful wife who is always supportive and helpful in my writing and earthly endeavors.

  This work is also dedicated to the fantastic writers who have given me hours and hours of enjoyment and inspiration

  Contents

  DEDICATION

  Acknowledgements

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  EPILOGUE

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks are conveyed to George for his thoughts, creativity, ideas and sleepless nights spent for making this writing a reality. Having someone who writes and is straight forward as a sounding board proves to be infinitely valuable.

  Cover design by: Waqas Mehboob

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘You’re awfully quiet?’ Madeleine Francis looked at her husband with a raised eyebrow. They had been driving for around ninety minutes and he had barely said a word to her, in fact the most he had said had been directed towards some-one in a van that had cut out ahead of them as they had been driving through the city. As they had driven further into the suburbs and now the countryside her husband had pretty much only muttered at the news report on the radio and grunted answers to her questions. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said, subconsciously pushing his glasses up his nose as he spoke. She knew that this gesture was a sign that he was irritated and grumpy and she sighed.

  ‘No you’re not,’ she looked ahead at the quiet country road that stretched out in front of them. ‘You’ve been in a shitty mood since you picked me up David and it’s putting me in a bad mood. So, what’s wrong?’

  They drove along in silence for nearly a minute but she could see that her husband was thinking about the best way to communicate whatever it was that was bothering him. ‘That bastard Thompson is getting the promotion,’ he finally said, his voice edged with anger.

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry David,’ she touched his arm and looked at him sympathetically.

  ‘I worked my arse off for that contract Maddy,’ his voice was becoming more animated with every word. ‘He just sits in his office saying the right things to the right people, he even plays golf with two of the managers and I do all the work, we get the contract and he gets the damned promotion.’

  ‘He just knows how to play the game David,’ Maddy said, squeezing his forearm.

  ‘Well, maybe I should learn how to play it too,’ he said in a quiet voice.

  ‘That’s not you though is it?’ she smiled a little. ‘David, you’re too sweet and nice to walk over people and that’s not a criticism by the way that’s just a fact. I don’t want you to change; I love you the way you are.’

  ‘Yeah, being a decent person doesn’t seem to be getting me anywhere at work does it?’

  ‘I know,’ she looked ahead and sighed. ‘We still have some of the money your dad left you; I think you should look into setting up on your own.’

  ‘Maddy, I’m nearly 45, it’s too late for me to start my own business,’ he looked at her briefly and she could see the sadness in his eyes. ‘I don’t have the energy or the ambition; if I had I would have done it ten years ago.’

  ‘Listen,’ she adopted a firm voice. ‘You are well liked by all of your clients and I am sure that they would come with you. You have the money, you have my support and with my salary it wouldn’t be a problem. That place has been sucking you dry for nearly twenty years David, you still have at least twenty years left to work and I don’t want to see you turning into one of those zombies that just goes through the motions every day. I want you to be happy because when you’re happy then I’m happy.’

  ‘It’s such a big step Maddy,’ he shrugged.

  ‘I’ll tell you what a bigger step is, accepting that you are going to be shit on for the next twenty years and just putting up with it.’

  He looked at her and they drove on in silence for a while, she knew that he needed a little time to ruminate and let the concept and ideas that she had raised bounce around his mind a little before he would reply. They had been married for almost twenty years and she knew him almost as well as she knew herself. He was a kind, loving and warm man but an over bearing father had left him riddled with self-doubt and insecurities and while she did what she could to raise his own opinion of himself it sometimes felt like trying to count grains of salt. He had worked for the same company since he had left University and for around ten of those years he had been happy, he was not a man with much ambition in life, in fact he had fallen into the role as an accountant because his father had been one and he had inherited a natural affinity with numbers. However, a man called Graeme Thompson had joined the company and he possessed a ruthless streak that saw him rise through the ranks like a champion gladiator, he cut through other accountants like a machine and soon found himself at the same level as David. What really annoyed her about Thompson was the fact that he was not a very good accountant, he had made a myriad of mistakes that would see lesser accountants being hung out to dry by head management but he was an expert diplomat and arse kisser. David had rectified so many of his mistakes that he had saved a number of accounts and kept a number of clients on board when they would have left otherwise. However Thompson managed to hold onto his position through a mixture of easy charm and tenacious ruthlessness. They worked for an established family business and there were never too many promotions above a certain level and this had meant that both men had pretty much stagnated in the same roles for years. For Thompson the gossip of his general ineptitude had infiltrated the industry and this pretty much guaranteed that he would not find employment at any other company and for David, a degree of misplaced loyalty and a larger degree of fear had effectively chained him to the company and the position for years.

  As it was an old company, and many of the senior partners had not been blessed with children the opportunities at a higher level were becoming a little more attainable. Retirement and death were thinning out the ranks and the recent passing of one of the nephews had meant that there had been an opening in the board room. David had all but been promised his time in the sun and it had seemed certain to her that he would finally be rewarded for his decades of loyalty and dedication, but life was never fair. Thompson had somehow managed to ooze his way into the role, and her husband was left once more in a state of bitter disappointment and impotent anger.

  ‘We sh
ould just enjoy this weekend,’ he said finally. ‘I won’t let Thompson ruin our anniversary. I can think about it on Monday when I get back to the office.’

  ‘If that’s what you want?’

  ‘It is,’ he smiled at her and then awarded his attention back to the road. ‘How was your day?’

  She smiled, laughing a little at this. ‘Not as much fun as going to the dentist,’ she said and he laughed along with her. ‘To be honest the only thing that has got me through this week has been the thought of this weekend.’

  Madeline had only been a teacher for four years; she had given up her old career as a dental hygienist and had trained to teach English. On the whole it had been something that she never regretted but there were three students that were making her life, in fact the life of many of the teachers, a misery. She found it hard enough dealing with kids who had bizarrely heightened levels of entitlement and she could only imagine what some of her colleagues, those who had been teaching for over fifteen years felt about the way society had changed. The weird thing was that the three students were all intelligent and from fairly comfortable backgrounds and the reasons that they basically acted like evil little shits were a mystery to every member of staff and their parents. The biggest source of disappointment for Maddy was the fact that two of the students, both young women, had until last year been lovely, sweet, interested and clever girls and now all they seemed to want was to cause disruption and in some cases destruction. She just wanted to shake them because she knew within her heart that they were in serious jeopardy of ruining their futures. On a few occasions she had tried to speak to them, but they had just looked at her, their pretty faces contorting into disdainful, hate filled sneers.

  ‘I wish I knew what was going on in their heads,’ she said and looked ahead. ‘Fiona especially, she was so involved with everything last year – she sang in the choir, she was in the school play, she played sports and now all she does is swear, smoke and bully.’

  ‘You know what teenagers are like?’ David looked at her. ‘They just get lost with life at times, this is just a phase and they’ll get over it.’

  ‘I hope they do,’ she smiled. ‘How far do we have to go?’

  ‘We’ll be there in about half an hour,’ he looked at her. ‘How many times have we been here?’

  ‘Seventeen times,’ she rolled her eyes.

  ‘And you still don’t know where we are?’

  ‘You’re the driver,’ she smiled. ‘I’m just here to look pretty.’

  ‘Okay,’ he smiled. ‘Well, the good news is you do that very well.’

  David sometimes marveled at how lucky he had been finding Madeleine all those years ago. She was nine years younger than he was and when he had met her, he had been instantly smitten with her. She had the most glorious green eyes that he had ever seen. Her hair the colour of a sunset, and he had fallen deeply in love with her there and then. The fact that she had been interested enough in him, with his early male pattern baldness and his constant struggle against a waistline that seemed set to sabotage his life had never ceased to amaze and astound him. They had dated for a while and the fact that she was as funny and interesting as she was beautiful had sealed the deal for him. When he had asked her to marry him and she had said yes he had cried.

  They drove on chatting about nothing in particular and after forty minutes they saw their destination, it was a cottage that they had bought as a ruined shell ten years ago. They had spent time and money in making it into a place where they could seek refuge from the travails and hassles of modern life. This place was their escape and they loved it. The nearest town was twenty miles away, and the place was secluded enough that they were never bothered.In order to maintain the peace and quiet they desired, they had kept this purchase a secret from friends and family.

  ‘Honey, we’re home,’ David smiled as he drove into the courtyard that stood in front of the cottage. He switched the engine off and they both sat in silence for a second. ‘I love you,’ he looked at her and she smiled at him, her eyes glittering in the evening light. ‘I love you too,’ she leaned forwards and kissed him warmly on the mouth. ‘Happy anniversary David.’

  ‘It’s not until Sunday,’ he looked at her.

  ‘Technically it’s not, but the anniversary starts here as far as I’m concerned,’ she looked at the cottage. ‘Okay, I’m going to go in, put the kettle on and get the heating on. Will you be able to unpack on your own?’

  ‘Yes, it should be fine,’ he glanced towards the back seat. ‘If I need a hand I’ll let you know. I’m going to have a cigarette first.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll see you in a bit then,’ she opened her door and climbed out of the car; she turned round and looked at him. ‘Don’t be long.’

  ‘I won’t,’ he smiled as she turned and walked towards the front door, fishing her keys from her pocket as she moved. He watched as she opened the door and entered the cottage. He climbed out of the car and stretched. Even though they owned a large car, he still found the drive tiring, and since Maddy had quit smoking, and he had shown his support by agreeing to not light up when she was near. So the journey had begun to seem three times as long as it had before.

  He smiled as the fresh air hit him; he closed his eyes and savoured the silence of the countryside. Of course it wasn’t quiet, nowhere was silent, but the sound of the birds and the rustling of the leaves in the August breeze were far more appealing than the constant sound of traffic and humanity that surrounded him in the city. He had thought about what it would be like to move here full time, but it was a pipe dream; he could conceivably work from home, but Maddy might find getting a teaching job here difficult. Moreover, there were things about the city that they both loved. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his inside pocket and savoured the acrid, yet delicious smoke as it filled his lungs. The nicotine swamping his system and almost taking immediate effect. He was not a stupid man and realised that this so-called pleasure was slowly killing him but he reasoned that a man without vices was boring and smoking was one of his.

  When they had found this cottage, it had been in a terrible state of repair, but it was perfect. Nestled in between some beautiful hills and hidden from the main road by a long track that had no signs or indication that it led anywhere. He looked at the cottage and the outbuildings that he had renovated by himself where he could with no small amount of pride. If he had been braver when he had been a teenager, he would have followed his dreams and become an architect and when he saw the work that he had done and the designs that had facilitated the work, he could not do himself. He felt a bittersweet pang of regret. He finished his cigarette and moved to the back of the car. He paused for a moment, savouring a quiet thrill and then slipped the key into the lock and opened the trunk door.

  *********

  CHAPTER TWO

  Maddy shivered slightly as she stood by the stove. They didn’t manage to get to the cottage as often as they would like, and sometimes when they did arrive, it felt as though the building was a little resentful of the fact that it stood empty for weeks at a time. Although she knew that it was a silly notion, sometimes she felt as though she were unwelcome. The other problem came from the fact that the cottage got cold. The walls were thick stone and after a period of being empty, the place began to take on a sepulcher atmosphere. However her shiver was nothing to do with the chill and everything to do with anticipation. Since they had planned this special anniversary weekend, she had been almost unable to sleep because of excitement. She was in her early forties yet she had felt like a child approaching Christmas. It was going to be a wonderful weekend and an appropriate and special way to celebrate twenty years together.

  She gazed out of the kitchen window towards the fields that stretched out ahead of the house. The sky was blue but fingers of purple had already begun to caress the horizon. Evening was approaching and she smiled at the thought; Maddy had been a city girl her entire life and had never ventured too far out into the countryside. When David had first tak
en her camping she had not been too enthusiastic until the sun had gone down and she realised how different night time was away from the constant light that came with a city. They had lain on the grass staring at the sky. She had been amazed at the amount of stars she could see and the fact that even when she had looked up for a while, she would see stars that were even further away, and in her mind, she could see galaxies and solar systems – it felt exactly like gazing into infinity and she had been comforted by the vastness of the cosmos that stretched above her. He had held her hand and told her that the light she was seeing was millions of years old in some cases and that the stars may not even be there anymore; That all they were seeing was a testament to their existence. It was that night that had caused her to fall deeply in love with him. Within three months, they were married. She had never grown tired of the intense feelings of isolation that night time in the countryside could bring, she never felt afraid or lonely, and she felt as though she was a Queen in a kingdom where she had absolute power over her subjects.

  *********

  She heard the door open in the main room and then the sounds of David struggling in with some of the luggage they had brought. ‘Can I give you a hand?’ She called out.

  ‘No, just get some coffee made woman,’ he said in a mock masterful voice. ‘I’ll just go and get your luggage from the car.’

  ‘My hero,’ she called out in a light voice.

  ‘Yes, well, just remember that later,’ he called back as he went back to the car.

  She opened the cupboard and brought out two mugs, including David’s favourite Batman mug and she spooned coffee into them. She had decided that they would have to be strong as they had plans for this evening. To be honest as they both embraced middle age, she knew that often the spirit could be as willing as it liked but sometimes the body just couldn’t be convinced. She wanted this weekend to be perfect; Something that they would cherish for the rest of their lives. She knew that David wanted that too. He had made sure that they would have everything they needed, and even though it had been risky, he had searched high and low for just the right present for her. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what the next two nights and three days would bring. The anticipation almost made her giddy.