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Sue twisted the key in the lock and turned the knob. The rain came in a lashing downpour,
beating noisily against the windows. The taxi reversed out and went back down the road.
She was thankful to be home again. If she had left an hour later, she would have been
caught in the floods. In a storm like this, the river would have overflowed and the bridge
would have been submerged. There was no other alternative route into the estate.
There was no light anywhere in the house. Kit was not home, then. As she turned on the
lights, she had a sense of anticlimax. All the way home in the train, she had seen herself
coming to the lighted house and Kit would be sitting by the television with his newspaper.
She had imagined his handsome face lighting up, happy to see her back two days earlier than
expected. He would then take her by the hands and give her a kiss. Then she would make themselves a light supper and they would sit and talk of the month that had passed.
But Kit was not here. She looked at the clock on top of the television and saw it was
nearly eleven. Perhaps he had a club function to attend. Even before she left for her sister's
place, he was frequently at the club, coming home in the wee hours of the morning.
It was raining cats and dogs. She could hear the wild lash of the rubber trees and the
whistle of the wind at the garage. She began to switch on all the lights. One month, and the
place still looked pretty much the same except for a vase of flowers sitting daintily on the
dining table. It seemed unlikely that Kit had done it. Perhaps the gardener had gathered the
daisies.
She went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. It was a pleasant kitchen even
though it was small. She was about to reach out for the coffee when she noticed a stain on
the side of the cup. Despite being repeatedly admonished, the servant was always careless.
She examined the cup and found a smear of lipstick. It could not have been hers. The rain
and then, this. The sight of the cup began to blot out all the pleasure of coming home. Perhaps
it was her mother-in-law.
She made herself comfortable on the sofa. Then she heard a door slam and footsteps, quick
and loud. A key turned in the lock. The door opened and Kit came in, with her servant on
his arm. |
