DIVIDED HEARTS

I

England, April 1943

The slender woman across from the table rose to her feet. "Good Evening, Superintendent."

Superintendent Agnes greeted the woman with a slight nod, sticking his hand out for her to shake. She stared at it for a good while, giving a small glance to the other officers sitting at the elongated dining table. She smiled, eyes squinting slightly in disgust, she took one of her gloved hands and shook his.

Immediately after their fingers interlocked, she visibly shuddered from the immense grease between his fingernails, and she let go quite fast, her hand almost magnetically returning to her lap. The Superintendent took a seat at the head of the table and raised his glass up.

"A toast, to dear Edith." Agnes smiled widely, the corners of his thick black moustache going up with it. "A saviour for our great country." He continued, he was beaming now.

He placed the glass back down and nodded for the rest of them to begin the feast. The woman, Edith, examined as each officer nodded and began to devour the delicately positioned food on their plates. It was as if you'd fed a pack of starving hyenas.

Edith rolled her eyes, two gloves hands taking both a knife and fork and cutting into the small potatoes on her plate. It smelled delightful, and she knew it probably would've tasted as good as it looked, thanks to Agnes, who was lost in his own little world, heartily vacuuming all of his peas down his throat.

Edith went back to her food, cutting a price and dipping it into a small gravy solution on her plate, obviously watered down too much.

"You are a hero, Edith." He mumbled throughout big swallows, mopping up the last of his gravy with a piece of bread, vacuuming that in an instant. He pushed his chair out, his large, plump belly hanging out ever so slightly from his belt. He'd clearly enjoyed this celebratory feat, and it seemed everyone else did too. Even Edith.

"Why so blue, lady?" he chuckled, using his napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth. He called an onlooking waiter who was standing on the sides, ready to assist at any time, and whispered into his ear. The waiter nodded and whispered to another waiter next to him, and so a chain reaction was created till it reached the waiter at the very end of the table, where Edith sat. He stood behind her, once he revived the news, he was out the door in a flash.

"Just tired." She muttered, using the napkin to carefully manoeuvre around her lipstick. "Thank you, Superintendent." She forced a smile, standing up to shake his hand again, to which he shook it gladly.

"No, thank you, madam. And I must say-"
Oh god.. they'd be here forever.
"Ah excuse me for interrupting, Superintendent, but what is the name of this restaurant?" She let go of the handshake, discreetly wiping her gloved hand on the table cloth.

He grinned, feeling as if he owned the place. "I believe it is called.." He muttered, ruffling his thick moustache as he thought. Kicking one of his men under the table, they mumbled an answer to him.

"House of Cronne." He answered, his grin widening from ear to ear. He was obviously trying too hard to impress her. "Why do you ask?"

"I do plan on coming back." She sighed, tucking her chair behind her as she opened the door to leave. "But I am in a rush, officer. I'll see you in good health, good bye."

The other men in the room had hidden smirks across their faces, having their superior being referred to as a low level policeman wasn't something Agnes would let off so easily, only adding to the greedy boar reputation his men had given for him.

"Ah! I have arranged one of my men to drive you!" He stuttered, trying to make a last minute attempt in catching her before she disappeared for good.

"I'm a perfectly capable driver, Sir."

And with that, she tipped her hat and was off like a storm, down the stairs, across the hallway and pushing the heavy double doors out into the cold fog. She hobbled down the street, making out her small car in view and quickly getting inside it, starting the engine and driving out of the street.

Agnes' men all rushed to the windows to peer over at the the lady as she drove off, it was so satisfying to see the superintendent be humbled so effortlessly by such a beautiful woman, that she became the subject to talk about.

Agnes sat in shock and quickly hurried to his feet, his stubby legs pushing past his idiot men and calling them all sorts of names as he rushed to the window too late.

Edith had gone,
And she was not coming back.

Word Count: 823