The Runaway Woman. Josephine Cox

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       CHAPTER FIVE

      LUCY’S MIND WAS in chaos.

      Having trudged through the darkened streets, she was now just half a mile from her parents’ house. She was tired, her bones ached from the cold, and the repulsion she felt towards Martin and her sister continued to fester inside her.

      Increasingly, she was uncertain as to whether she should continue on to her parents’ house, or return home to confront Martin.

      But she knew she must put her mother first. Her father had sounded really worried when she’d spoken to him before she went to work that morning.

      Her parents’ house was still a good fifteen minutes’ walk away, so when she saw the bus approach, she started running to the nearest stop. The conductor was standing on the platform, having a quiet cigarette. He did not see Lucy approach until she waved her arms and called out ‘Stop!’

      ‘By, you cut that a bit fine, didn’t you?’ Long-faced and bald as a coot, he looked a peculiar sort. ‘Come on then!’ He stubbed out his cigarette, squeezed the end of it and shoved it into the top pocket of his jacket. Then he stepped forward to help her onto the platform. ‘Where to?’

      ‘Addison Street, please.’

      ‘OK, that’ll be one and sixpence.’

      Lucy fished the coins out of her purse and handed them to him.

      ‘That’s it … there y’are, luv!’ He rolled the ticket from his machine, and handed it to her. ‘I’m pleased to say, you’re my last customer, and I’ll not be sorry to call it a night.’ He coughed like he was on his last legs. ‘My back aches, my poor old feet are hot and tired, and I’m starving hungry. But I dare say a pint of the best will do the trick.’ He gave a toothy grin. ‘I’m hoping to catch the Dog and Duck before they close their doors for the night.’

      Lucy feigned interest and duly smiled, when inside she was in pieces. Her thoughts kept going back to Paula and Martin … how could they do that to her? She had to face the truth: it was obvious that Martin did not love her. It was equally obvious that Paula cared even less about her. And the more she tried to shut the images from her mind, the more she came to realise that her life as she knew it was over.

      But what was she to tell Anne and Samuel, and how would they take it? If all this had come as a mighty shock to her, what would it do to them? The more she thought about it, the more concerned she became.

      Thinking of her parents, Lucy faced worry of another kind. According to her dad, it seemed her mother, far from improving in health since suffering that bad fall, was getting worse.

      Yet on the occasions when she had gone over to visit her parents, Lucy herself had not noticed any significant deterioration in her mother. But then she was not as familiar with her mother’s recovery as her dad was, although she was on the phone every day to check up on her progress.

      The trouble was, with her full-time work, the family to take care of, her normal daily chores and the household finances, she was forever trying to balance everything. Sometimes she wondered if her life was her own. There was never enough time to keep a closer eye on her mother, though she did what she could.

      Seated at the back of the bus, and with no other passengers on board, Lucy leaned her head back and heaved a big sigh. It makes a change just to sit and do nothing, she thought.

      It was not long before her thoughts returned to the couple at the bus stop, and she had to smile. It had been a real jolt when the man saw her there, all curled up at the back of the shelter.

      She thought they were a nice couple. The man had surprised her when he asked if she might like to join them in the pub. No stranger had ever invited her anywhere.

      Come to think of it, she could not recall anyone, not even work friends or family, ever asking her to join them for a meal or a drink; except for last Christmas, when Anne cooked the turkey and they all went over to her house for dinner. That had been a rare and enjoyable experience.

      Most other times she was at Anne’s baby-sitting her grandchild. Other evenings, she might be up to her neck with baking, or doing the laundry, or working overtime to earn a bit of extra money. Or maybe there was a relative in need of some love and comfort. They always turned to Lucy, because they knew she would not let them down. Whatever it took, she was there for them.

      When she thought about it now, she realised that when she felt down and worried, she had no one to turn to. Her husband was hardly ever home. Her children had enough problems of their own, and her parents were too old now for Lucy to burden them with her worries.

      Basically, however, Lucy was content enough. Or she had been until today, when her world had been completely and utterly turned upside down.

      She cast her mind back to the strangers at the bus shelter. She wondered if they were man and wife, or maybe just sweethearts. She thought the woman was attractive, while the man seemed so gentle, and unusually kind. She wondered who he was, and what had prompted him to ask her to join them.

      Now though, her thoughts were interrupted when the conductor shouted out, ‘Addison Street!’

      ‘Good night, then … stay safe.’ He lit another cigarette as he saw her off the bus. ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!’ he called after her.

      Lucy waved him off. ‘Hmm, chance would be a fine thing!’ she murmured under her breath.

      She turned into Addison Street. Shocked to see an ambulance parked halfway down, she broke into a run. As she got nearer to her parents’ house, she was horrified to see the front door wide open and all the lights on.

      Bursting into the house, her heart skipped a beat when she saw her father slumped on the stairs, looking older and greyer than she had ever seen him.

      ‘Dad! What’s happened?’

      Greatly relieved to see her there, he struggled to get up. ‘Lucy! Oh, Lucy, thank God you’re here!’

      When he began sobbing, Lucy ran to hold him. СКАЧАТЬ