Eyes On You

Chapter 2-2

Eight o’ clock approaches, and almost to the hour I hear Aimee walk through the door. Thank God for that. Need to get off this couch. I greet her in the hallway. “You’re home late, Aim,” I say, kissing her on the lips, bursting to give her the good news. “Where’ve you been?”

She goes back outside to the landing and picks up a large, rectangular mirror, propped up against the wall. “Just picked this up,” she replies, sounding out of breath. “Thought it’d look nice in the living room above the fireplace. And look…it’s even got dolphins on the frame.”

Shaking my head with a smile, I take the mirror from her and carry it into the living room.

“What do you think?” she asks. “Too big?”

Holding it up against the wall, I reply, “No. Looks good. We definitely need something in here. Looks really bare at the moment.”

Aimee nods and then stands back, tilting her head to the side to inspect it. “Yeah. I like it. Let’s put it up.”

I set it down against the TV stand. “What…tonight?”

“Yeah. Why not?”

“Well, it’s late, and I’m tired.”

“Tired? Don’t be so lazy; you’ve been off work all day. How can you be tired?”

“I’ve been tidying the flat.”

Aimee looks around the living room, spotting the three large boxes still in the corner. “Tidying? Really?”

“Well I did set up the computer and printer. That took me ages.”

Aimee rolls her eyes. “Look, the sooner we get this mirror up the better. Otherwise it’ll be sitting on the floor for the next three weeks—like those b****y boxes.”

“So you don’t want to hear my good news then,” I say with a smug grin.

“What good news?” Aimee asks, a confused frown across her brow. But then it suddenly disappears and her face lights up. “You got an interview!”

I nod. “Yep. My boss put a good word in for me. They want me to come in next week.”

“That’s great, Matt!” she says with excitement, hugging me tightly. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I haven’t got the job yet,” I say, coming out of the hug, “and there’re six other candidates competing.”

“Forget about them—you’ll smash it. I have total faith in you. So how much responsibility will they give you?”

“I’ll be working directly under the head of the audiology department, helping her with patient referrals, setting up meetings, admin; that kind of stuff. It’s not exactly brain-surgery, but it’s much more money—and it’s a step up from pushing beds and emptying bins.”

“Of course it is. And who knows where this could lead.” She kisses me on the lips. “We need to celebrate. How about we watch a film with a few beers?”

“Perfect!”

“But first,” Aimee says with a cheeky grin, pointing to the new mirror. “Will you put that up for me.”

I sigh loudly. “Fine. I’ll get the drill out.”