Christine stood by the open window her cigarette hanging outside. It had long burned down to the butt. Still she stood and stared out the window at the street below. The sound of the front door opening brought her out of the daze she was in. She quickly stubbed the butt out on the windowsill and put it in a plant pot next to the window. She removed her marigold gloves and hid them in the drawer next to her bed. She popped a chewing gum into her mouth and grabbed the duster that she had next to her along with the polish which she sprayed into the room.
“Hello” a male voice called out. Her husband Joe.
“In here” she called back. Wondering why he was home from work so early.
He walked in the room and smiled a slightly crooked smile, one that had her heart pumping harder whenever she saw it. He walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. At 5ft 9 Christine was tall, but she still fitted perfectly under Joe’s chin. His height had been the thing that had made him stand out when she had first met him. She had dated shorter guys and a few that were shorter than her. They all said that it wasn’t an issue, but eventually they all ended up telling her to stop wearing high heels. She liked heels the same as the next woman and there was no way she was giving up her shoes for a man. With Joe she didn’t need to.
He kissed her on the cheek and started talking to her about his day. She looked at the clock and realised it was nearly six in the evening. She had stopped to take a break just after lunch, so where had the last four hours gone? She surely can’t have been staring out the same window all that time. Joe was getting changed out of his suit. Usually Christine would take the opportunity to appreciate his muscular body and maybe even show him a little appreciation for it. But there was something wrong. She had been staring for four hours. But that wasn’t what the problem was; the problem was what had sent her upstairs to her secret cigarette stash in the first place. A phone call. A silent phone call. Something that hadn’t happened for a long time and now the warning was sounding in her head…they’ve found you. Time to run.
She waited until Joe was asleep. Tired after a long day at the office it hadn’t taken him long to fall asleep. She slipped out of bed and walked silently across the floor to the wardrobe. Inside was a bag already packed with her essentials. It had been packed for a long time. She reached inside the pocket and pulled out an envelope. She fingered the name on the front and lay it carefully on the bedside table. All that done she walked out of the room and got her shoes and coat on. She slipped out the back door and locked it back up. She jogged half a mile down the road to where there was a turning onto a country lane. A bit further on there was a car, hidden behind a dip in the road she pulled the bag round her body and felt inside the pocket for the keys.
Ten minutes. It took Joe Mackenzie’s wife ten minutes, after he had fallen asleep, to disappear.
