Looking Through Windows

1   Anna

The removal van slowly edged up the cul-de-sac between the parked cars, carefully parking outside the semi-detached house. The driver sighed, cut the engine and looked out of the door window. His back was sore, he thought that this might be his last job. Anna looked back at him through the front room window and excitedly shouted out,

“Harry! Harry! It's finally here! Its arrived!”. The noise of a toilet flushing was followed by heavy footsteps running down the stairs. Harry ran through the front room door and joined Anna in staring out of the window.

“That's great. They came quite early. I expected them to be slower than this. We can make a good start and maybe finish unloading by the end of the afternoon”. They went down the front path and greeted the two men climbing out of the front cabin.

They talked about getting started straight away, it will all go smoothly, did you have a special box you brought yourself for making drinks? its very warm.... Anna replied that yes she would get the kettle on, there were some bottles of water, it is very warm, well you expect it in August don't you and it is a lovely day to move in being so dry, there's no threat of rain.

The two men worked hard all afternoon carrying in the many items of furniture and boxes; the entire contents of the family's life gathered in a van. All the histories, experiences, memories, dreams; the results of years of hard work all come to fruition in a household of unique objects carefully collected in optimism for a happy future. In the late afternoon the empty van slowly and carefully reversed out of the street and rejoined the main road. The driver had made a solemn and definite decision to look for a new job, his back was killing him. The younger assistant in his mind was counting out the money he had earned and wondered how long it would be before he had saved enough deposit to buy a flat of his own.

Anna and Harry watched them slowly reverse away round the corner to drive forward again to the main road. She thought that the man in charge was, sullen, had a little bit of a temper on him; but how obliging and polite the younger one was. It takes all sorts. The room was full of stacked boxes, randomly placed on each other, against the wall, against bits of furniture. She said that it was going to be a big job, be lots of work, take ages. We've plenty of time, replied Harry, we have a whole lifetime. Just take it slowly, one bit at a time. I won't pick the girls up from my Mother's until the end of the week. I would rather spend my holiday like this, we're working towards our future, it will be great fun and a good excuse to sort through our things, take stock.

They were very practical and made a start on their bedroom; put the bed against the wall so that everyday when they woke up they would be able to look at the sky out of the window. The wardrobes, dressing table and chests of drawers were logically placed around the room. Anna pulled out some sheets and a duvet from a box with “bedroom” written on it and made up the bed. Now we will be okay, she laughed, we will need a good rest tonight. He said that they could take a rest now, right this minute. Reaching out for her hand he put his other arm tighter around her. I love you so much, he said, it would be so nice, then gave her a long kiss. Oh no Harry, she replied, is this the right time? No? he replied, alright then, perhaps later then? Yes, she said, I would like that. He said that as it would now be later he was now very hungry, would she like something to eat?

He got a light jacket from the wardrobe, felt to make sure his wallet was still in his pocket and said he knew that there was a Chinese takeaway a short walk away in the main road. She asked him get an all-in meal for two and while he was out she would find some glasses and they could wash it down with the cava she had put in the fridge earlier. He smiled and said that this was a fantastic idea. He asked her to get the plates warmed up in the oven and he would have a walk down to the local shops. There was a discarded carrier bag lying in the downstairs hall and grabbed this before walking out, slamming the door behind him,

Half way don the cul-de-sac was a small alley which ran between two of the houses. He cut down this into another residential street lined with more semi-detached house each with its own driveway and separate garage, leading out into the main road and a small parade of shops. The street was lined with semi detached houses each with a driveway and detached garage. The early evening August sunset bathed the roofs in a mature orange which contrasted with the fading blue sky. The pavements were fringed with grass verges where mature trees shook their leaves in the gentle breeze. It was very quiet. He walked down to the main road and went over using the pelican crossing to the row of shops with three takeaways on offer; a Chinese, an Indian and a fish and chip shop. Also was a small supermarket, a newsagents, a hairdresser and at the end with a car park was a pub called The White Horse. He nodded in satisfaction.

At the side of the car park was a red telephone booth. He went inside, felt in his pocket, pulled out a handful of change and counted out some ten pence pieces onto the small shelf next to the telephone. After dialling a number from memory he waited for the call to be answered. There was a long period of ringing then some clicking noise and he fed in some of the coins, the sharp metallic clunks echoed round the booth. His voice started the conversation. His voice alternated with the other person.

“Hello, it's me...

“Oh its so good to hear you.. It's been days since I last saw you, I miss you so much it hurts. Its good to talk to you again. How are you?..

”I've been lonely without you. Wish I was back...

“I'll be back next week...

“Yeah, the move went well...

“We have just got all the furniture in. It went smoothly. I've just popped out for a take away, well, not just that, It was my excuse to get away.. wanted to phone you. I do miss you....

“I want to go for a walk with you again at lunch time, I want to go to our private place behind the tree in the bushes...

“Me too, and for a drink after work, it's all I dream of...looking forward to it so much...same rules as before...let's keep it quiet...keep to the same rules...

“I love you..I want you... bye.. bye..

As he gently replaced the receiver he looked out of the glass panelled door. No one was queuing to make a call. There were a few cars in the car park, outside the pub two men sitting on a bench were holding half empty beer glasses. The road was quiet with traffic, rush hour had finished.

He entered the takeaway and was surprised to see a non-chines person serving. Behind the counter was a half open door where two shadowy figures were talking in Chinese, sparks coming from where one was crashing round with a wok, smoke and sparks spitting into the air, the smell of frying wafting out. There were four customers sitting separately on a padded bench in front of the window underneath red lanterns. After ordering a special meal for two he sat on the other bench on the side wall and watched the fish swim around in the aquarium on the counter. The water was murky and the fish looked half dead. One was already a corpse lying on the bottom. A calender on the wall advertised the take-away and sported a picture of a half naked fat, bald Chinese man with a mandarin moustache. He waited for what seemed a long time when he was the only customer left the food was finally ready.

Anna was happy to see him return, she thought he had been a long time. There was a long queue, he answered. They took ages. Is the cava cold now? Yes, she said, but I couldn't find the glasses, but we d have plastic beakers. They opened the packages, spooned out the food and cracked open the wine. Anna cradled the cork in her hand.

“I'll keep this cork, it's special. A symbol of when we moved in. It means a lot to me.”

“That's a good idea, it will remind us of today” he replied. He took it off her and stretched up to the top of the fixed kitchen cabinet and placed it there.

“We can leave it here forever. Now every time we see it we can think of today, our special day. It will bring us luck.”

He put his arm round her and kissed her.

“I'm still thinking of that duvet we put on the bed”.

2  Derek

He was glad he made it home in one piece with the co-driver doing by far the biggest part of the driving back. He kissed Brenda who was already in the kitchen making coffee for the two of them, walked slowly to the settee in the living room and sat down with a big sigh. It must have been audible in the kitchen because his wife shouted from there: "Are you okay, Dear?" He growled something and she came in to have a look at him: "Is your back that bad again?" He just nodded and closed his eyes, almost seemed to hope that darkness would relax him and lessen the pain. Brenda studied his reaction and suggested that he should take some ibuprofen, she would bring two tablets with the coffee.

While he was swallowing them with his coffee, she shook her head, almost in disbelief: "I just can't imagine that you do this kind of work anymore, Derek. You are killing yourself like this. You really should see the doctor, have yourself being declared unfit for this job." He nodded: "I know I can't carry on much longer, but I don't know anything else I could do. It's not like there are loads of jobs available. But I will see the doctor."

The doctor was very clear about his state of health, warned him that he could risk himself getting continuous pains. He really should try to get a different job. He wrote one of his illegible notes, folded it and put it in an envelope: "Show this to your employer and or the company doctor." After this he already tapped on his laptop to see the details of his next patient, so Derek understood that it was time to leave the consultation room.

The boss was not very happy to read the letter of the GP, shook his head: "I really can't miss you, Derek. You are by far my most experienced driver, but we have to listen to your doctor. I'll make an appointment for you with the company doctor." He picked up the phone and organised this for the next day. That gave Derek a bit of confidence in a good result. When Brenda heard about it, she totally agreed: "That's good to see that things are really speeding up."

In the waiting room of the company doctor, he was on his own. He could hear the receptionists, who were hidden from him being in the other part of the L-shaped room, talking and laughing, sometimes singing along with the radio. He got bored waiting and walked to the window, looking out on the street. There was not a lot to see, except for one car and a man standing next to it, there was nobody not even a parked car. Maybe the parking meters were a reason for that. The man near the car lit a cigarette. 

He could hear the door of the consultation room open and a woman on crutches came out. She had short blond hair, glasses with a blue frame and a very bad temper. He could hear her swearing constantly. She stumbled through the room towards the receptionists. He could hear one of them ask in a pleasant tone "Shall I open that door for you?" The answer did not sound pleasant at all: "I can fucking open the fucking door myself. Thank you very much!"

He could hear the door being slammed and the situation became like before. The receptionists were still singing along with the radio; the scene with the woman on crutches did not seem to affect them at all. He walked to the window again, after a few minutes the woman on crutches reached the smoking man. They seemed to argue, he seemed to try to help her into the car, but she shook him off like she tried to get rid of a bothering fly. She got in and he did the same, she said something and he gave her a cigarette. The car was started and they drove off, leaving nothing else to be seen that was worthwhile. Derek sat down again and reached for one of the very much dated magazines when one of the receptionists called his name and said: "You can see the doctor now."

The company doctor was a new one indeed, Derek did not know this man at all. The one he had seen before was an elderly man who was very friendly, laughed a lot behind all the hair on his face and always had got rid of his client by giving him a few days of rest. This man was not friendly at all, at the desk they said his name was Majid or something like that. He asked Derek in an accent that would have been funny elsewhere to bend over, walk around the room, stretch his arms in the air, mumbled a bit and typed something on his keyboard. After this Doctor Majid said that he could go. Derek tried to get some information: "What will you advise?" Majid shook his head: "I advise your employer. Good afternoon."

The next day Derek went to see his boss again, who was very friendly. The company doctor had informed him that Derek was for 20% unfit for his work. So that was still 80% capability for him. That was good news according to the boss. He would let him do removals that were not that far away and have younger guys as co-drivers to carry the furniture in and out of the van, so he would be spared for that as much as possible. Derek protested: "I can't carry at all and really should not be driving anymore." 

The boss thought for some time, deep thoughts it seemed. "I can think of one possibility to let you retire completely, Derek. You could make me and yourself some money. Think about this carefully: I want you and somebody I also trust very much to drive to the east of Poland. I will give the two of you plenty of time for that. Over there you have to let the van to be prepared for some extra cargo. You two will empty a house and drive it all back over here. After that I think you have fully deserved your retirement." Derek's mind worked at top speed: "I am not trafficking drugs or refugees!" The boss laughed aloud: "Oh Derek, Derek, Derek. Of course I would never get you into something like that. It's quite innocent: I have a load of cheap cigarettes from Belarus stored in Poland and I want to get rid of them. That's all what I am asking for. Think it over and let me know tomorrow."

That evening Derek waited till after dinner before he brought it up with Brenda; she had been looking at him in a worried way. She knew him long enough when something was really heavy on his mind. He told her and asked her what her thoughts were about this. They were both silent for a long time.