For Richer, For Poorer

To Jake, it appeared as if winter had finally awoken that morning and he saw, in the streets below his flat, tiny crystalline deposits forming a rime of frost on car window screens. It was dark outside. The bleakest midwinter had to offer, he thought.

As he dressed in the cold morning air, he knew it was the time of year to put the central heating on the timer and warm the home prior to the children waking. But he hadn't. He would put it on for the hour or so it would take to raise them from their beds, get them dressed and ready for school, to sort out bags and books, all the equipment they required for the day ahead. He placed their school uniforms on the radiators to absorb the heat as they ate breakfast in their pyjamas and dressing gowns. The weather bulletin on the radio had predicted things were going to get steadily worse over the next few days and he knew with restricted credit on his meter, and the power company's warnings of the consequences of going over budget, he would have to ration the heat and electricity over the next few weeks.

For Jake, most mornings were hell. Existence often felt like a living hell. Especially during the winter. The constant wait each morning for a text message requiring him to report for work added to his feeling that he was living in hell. Nothing was certain. But, with the hectic run up to Christmas, he'd been assured there would be work every day until Christmas Eve.

That morning, he and his children awoke with their one, constant companion - hunger. Before leaving for school, he gave the children the last of the cereal he had received from the food bank. He ate the last slice of white bread, toasted but with nothing left in the fridge to spread across its four corners.

His two young girls, Courtney and Nancy, sat in front of the television eating cornflakes with their fingers. There was a drop of milk in the fridge - enough for each bowl - but both said they preferred to eat cereal without. They left their spoons at the table, in the rush to sit and laugh at Peppa Pig on the television, and the colourful world she inhabited.

Jake thought of crispy bacon.

On schooldays, he was afforded the relief of not worrying about providing lunch for them and he'd tell them to eat as much as they could of their free school meals. Even ask for seconds or leftovers, he ordered them. Get your fill during the day.

Tomorrow, he would have to return to the food bank. He needed the basics to see him through until the children finished for the school holiday, he thought. He'd spent all of their Christmas savings and was dependent on turning in for every available shift up until the Christmas break. Presents for the children would be sought out late. It was going to be a close run thing this year.

The long hours of daylight which followed the dark mornings offered little escape for Jake. Eight hours spent at a sportswear giant's centralised warehouse would occupy the rest of his day. To him, the warehouse felt more like a workhouse. A place devoid of joy or indeed much human interaction. There were occasional pleasantries and jokes and banter between the permanent workers. But, as an agency worker - a temporary and intermittent presence within the cold, sterile compound - his employer's trust of his type began and ended with his entrance and exit. His type was searched coming in, searched leaving. He felt the extra scrutiny of supervisors' eyes as he filled his cage with orders. Even his fellow workers looked at him suspiciously, as if there were a bonus awaiting them for rooting out a bad'un.

Sometimes he was tempted. Such were the riches surrounding him. Perhaps it was the rows and rows of expensive, digital fitness devices - Garmin Vivoactive, TomTom Touch, the latest Fitbit - so easy to sneak inside his underwear and bring to Cash Converters on the way home. Or, when he had to find and pick trainers or walking boots more expensive than his heating, cooking and eating budget allowed for an entire week, he would sometimes rationalise that such a business model wouldn't miss one or two of these small electronic gadgets.