CHAPTER 2
764 Words
CHAPTER 2
THE FILLET STEAKS were frying nicely in the pan, and the jacket potatoes were making good progress in the oven. Lyn grated some cheese, and then turned the heat up under the saucepan containing two large beef tomatoes until they began to simmer.
Smoothing down the halter necked dress that she had purchased earlier that day for the occasion, she took a moment to check her appearance in a small upright mirror standing on the kitchen windowsill. Although she hated her slightly overweight body, she felt womanly and pretty as she patted a stray strand of hair into place, marvelling at how a few artful coats of paint could help her forget the march of time; her hair was now definitely blonder than it had ever been in her twenties.
She smiled at herself, trying not to notice the laughter lines etched around her eyes, and the deep ridges that had somehow formed on either side of her thinning lips. Neil often assured her that she was still beautiful. Lyn pursed her lips and gave her reflection a kiss before moving back towards the Aga.
Her phone buzzed on the breakfast bar with an incoming text. With a tut of annoyance she turned over the steaks once more, wiped her hands on a piece of kitchen paper, and picked up the phone to read the message:
‘Will be late. Urgent order. Customer won’t wait. X’
Lyn took a deep breath as a wave of anger washed over her: What a cheek this late on a Friday night! The steaks were not going to wait, so the bloody customer could go and hang himself!
She tapped into the contacts section on her iPhone and selected her husband’s number. Almost immediately she could hear an irritating robotic female voice informing her that the number she had dialled was not currently available.
He had just sent her a text!
Almost growling with frustration she called the number again and then once more, but the same message was relayed back.
Could he be in an area with no signal? But then if he was, how could he have sent a text?
An acrid aroma filled the kitchen; the steaks had started to burn. She threw the phone back down onto the breakfast bar and removed the frying pan from the hotplate. The tomatoes had simmered for far too long and were now rather on the soggy side. A familiar hot flush started creeping up from her chest, causing her face to change to the same colour as the tomatoes, and her heart to race as though she had just run a marathon. A sweat broke out on her forehead and started to drip down onto her cheeks.
The heat in the kitchen was intense. Throwing off her dress she sat in her bra and knickers eating steak and potato, thinking about anniversaries past, and all the while wondering where on earth her husband had got to.
Later on there was nothing to watch on the television. She writhed around under the bedclothes in frustration, hot and bothered and unable to sleep. Hearing a key turning in the lock some three hours later, she grabbed her dressing gown, climbed out from under the duvet, and padded downstairs in her bare feet.
“Why are you so late? I hope you’ve eaten, because I threw your dinner in the bin.” Any good humour had by now melted away.
“Did I wake you? Sorry. Mickey Reeve needed rodding out.”
“Who’s Mickey Reeve?” Lyn’s sharp eye noticed the unusual working garb of crisp white shirt and unblemished jeans.
“New customer.”
“You never told me.”
“You never asked.”
“I’ll set up the new account tomorrow.”
“It’s okay; I can deal with it. I’ve got to do the online VAT return anyway.”
A familiar aroma assailed her nostrils.
“Have you been drinking?”
“I was given a beer afterwards as an extra thanks for unblocking the toilet.”
“Did you forget it was our anniversary? I’d cooked steak and potatoes; your favourite.”
“s**t! Sorry. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.” Neil sighed as he hung up his leather jacket.
Lyn put her arms around her husband’s waist and put her head on his chest:
“Happy thirty-fifth anniversary; what’s left of it. There’s a card for you on the dining room table.” She took a deep breath in and smelt a very pleasant aftershave on his shirt that he had never used before.
“Thanks, darling. I’m so sorry. I’ll nip into town tomorrow and buy you a present.”
“It’s jade or coral for thirty five years.”
“Christ. It would be, wouldn’t it!”
“How much are you going to charge him?”
“Oh, I’ll figure something out.”
“At least double the rate for after hours and for ruining our evening.”
“Yeah, sure.”
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