Another day at the office
The cleaner was always there first, Maura was a very energetic, quiet old lady and Catherine was convinced she was scared of her because whenever she talked to her Maura would not look her in the face.

Catherine had woken up in a panic, reaching out for her husband she realised that he was away in Oxford. In Belfast it doesn't matter how hard you try to keep warm or how much money you have; it is cold in the morning, bitterly cold.

There was a finance meeting this morning in the cancer charity where she worked. She loved her work and had recently been promoted but she was in big trouble. A substantial amount of money was missing and she knew it could not be hidden or excused, she also knew who had taken it. Her legs were sore, especially her ankles and her mouth was dry (from drinking too much wine).

The books were sitting on her desk where she had left them, they were big and heavy. Her boss, Brendan was away at a conference in Brazil and had casually forgotten to mention to her that she would have to meet with the general council for a finance meeting. As far as she could see the missing money could not be covered up, it was sitting benignly on the latest bank statement with a big memo slip from the miserly accountant.

She turned round in her chair and looked out the window. The sky was bright blue and all the leaves had fallen from the trees. A few birds flew around chasing each other in some half-hearted game. She closed her eyes and pulled out the drawer and removed the letter, written in large familiar script that she had received yesterday. It said:

Dearest Cath,

I love you. I took the money for us. I have everything planned. Out here you can live very cheaply and we can be together in paradise for the rest of our lives.

Please understand I took the money for us, just think of all the effort you have put into your work and what will you get - nothing. Inside is a flight ticket for Rio de Janeiro, I will meet you at the airport.

With love,

Brendan

It was still there and it was real. She refolded the letter and put it back in the drawer and closed her eyes again. Everything she had worked for was in this room. The walls were covered in posters and certificates, news cuttings and photographs. On top of the filing cabinet there was a vase with five sunflowers from her garden. She had cut them in June and they were still glorious.

She tried to smile and take a deep breath and a chill went through her. She realised that she was losing interest in her work. She had cut out one interview of an old friend, the girl had a big smile and looked incredibly relaxed. She could hear the secretaries come in downstairs. They were laughing and giggling.

Brendan didn't waste any time after a certain Christmas party and they spent the night in a hotel. She was dazzled by his brown eyes. She thought that maybe they could forget about it and blame the alcohol but Brendan wanted more and the more he saw of her, the more she loved him and the more he controlled her.

She hoped that maybe he would retire and set her up as the next Director but he was a stubborn bugger and would not leave, he was also extremely lazy. She had watched as he consistently left decisions to the last minute. Good people she was friends with had left and other people had been forced to leave.

The charity was having a bad time. For a while Brendan did work hard. Most people just thought he was a bully but she had always quite liked him, Brendan was a sort of loveable rogue, no matter how much she despised his decisions he could always charm her into agreeing with him. Although there was one time he grew this awful moustache. He loved it but she burst into his office one day after work and it didn't take long for her to persuade him to shave it off. The rest of the staff thought he did it to raise funds.

Richard was a university academic. She did love him deep down but he was a very cold person. He would never buy her flowers or surprise her with a weekend away. Last year he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. She knew his chances were slim but that with her contacts he had a better chance than most.

The office was starting to get noisy, telephones started to ring, people running up and down stairs somewhere in the distance someone was getting a hard time from the accountant. She took out her notes and the letter and went in to see Liz ,her secretary, Liz had a bright cheery smile on her face 'Good Morning Catherine, I have to talk to you about this draft report you gave me'.

'Good morning Liz' said Catherine. 'I have a dreadful headache and this finance meeting is coming up this afternoon, I'm going to go down the road to get a coffee and ...' she swallowed suddenly forgetting what she was going to say, 'I just have to sort out a few things.'


Rod White 23/11/99

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