Get It Straight, Or Say Good Night

Into The Night

That evening the work was dragging on and on and only when she finished typing the last report could she leave, she had three more to go.

The words were very big for the court trial, fancy stuff that wasn't used in normal everyday language, it seemed to Lou every other word had to be checked over so that she didn't have a mistake in the documents and trial notes. If she made a mistake, which of course could well happen so late in the day, she would then have to re-type the whole bloody thing.

Opening the dictionary for the umpteenth time she rubbed the back of her neck and stretched. Sneaking a bite of her milk arrowroot biscuit, Lou chewed slowly as she rubbed her forehead tiredly. Her eyes felt like they might pop out of her head at any moment, such was she straining to concentrate on the shorthand on the page.

It was a drag this she thought, why work for peanuts then have a mountain of bills to pay to keep various wheels turning. After board and lodgings, paying off the new camera she wanted from the Kodak company in High Street and being soft on the lads with bevvies, she had not much left in her purse for herself. I should stop paying up for George and those lot of ragamuffins..... she grinned a little to herself, knowing full well she would never be able to resist the cheeky foursome.

The large office door behind her groaned open, Lou glanced up then turned back to her desk and began to shuffle the bits of papers to type, she didn't want to look like she was fudging on the job even if it was bloody late.

Mister Bartlete, a portly, almost bald gentleman of around fifty, took his hat and heavy coat from the cloak rack and nodded at the work beside her.

"Nearly finished" Louie smiled cheerfully, she was anything but.

"Well I'm off, see you after the morning session around twelve on Monday, I will need to re organise the appointments for the rest of that week"

"Alright sir, have a pleasant evening" Pleasant evening she mused.... it was nearing midnight now, evening was almost yesterday.

The only good thing she thought about tonight was that she got all of Friday, which was tomorrow, off, and of course the weekend. Time to wash and fix her stockings- she had ladders in at least three pair, the chores among other mundane things, catch up on some reading and perhaps get a haircut from Ma.

She covered her typewriter after shutting the internal doors of the office up tight, Lou then returned to the front of house to turn off all the lights .... Shoving her coat on, arms tiredly threading through sleeves Lou swung the open sign to closed then finally woke up and realised her predicament. She had had nary a thought about the end of the day, as she typed page after page and collated and sorted and stored away. Her brain was hardwired for a five p.m. finish her normal hours and with all the exacting work and exhaustion setting in, somehow she just thought it was that again tonight. How awfully wrong her brain was.....

Alone at midnight, in the middle of town.

It's one of those things isn't it, where you have to be teetering on the cusp of something or other to finally realise you're half-dressed or missing a vital ingredient like an egg for a cake.

She groaned audibly at the fact of the buses being already shut down for the night, an hour or so beforehand. A walk home was now inevitable, through the inner-city streets and beyond to her home. Number 25 Upton Green, Speke.

Speke was ages away by foot. 

Lou groaned an 'ugh' and as she stood with it open ready to leave, hit the door with her forehead a couple of times, then once more for good measure. She then had a wonderfully bright idea and turned back towards the large front reception desk.

She dialed John's house.

He lived quite a bit closer so Louie thought she might be able to garner an escort or even the couch for the night, she let the telephone ring for a bit only to have Aunt Mimi to blow a loud whistle down the line and hang up.

Lifting her new flashlight out of her handbag she frowned, it was bloody heavy and bulky. Lou deciding to tuck the torch under her arm, so that her hand didn't hurt straight off. It was the best option for the time-being, later she would shift it to the other arm then in the end she would most likely have to wrestle it with both hands to make it home.

It's not that far she said aloud trying to convince herself.

Telling herself it would be a wonderful way to lose the bit of weight she put on over Christmas, always looking on the bright side of life she was, but tonight, there was nothing bright about anything.

Oh well better put a foot in front of the other or I'll never move!

Taking her heels off Louie skipped along footpath from road and back again to the footpath making a game of the walk to start with. Silly and tired she wished she had one of the riding school ponies; She could whistle and it would come running so she could ride home! Ha! baloney she thought, even the pony would think this late time slot idiocy.

The first block was alright, not to bad on all accounts, rather fun in fact. Skipping and thinking of lovely things, she was, to pass the time.
A few lamp lights were broken and, although it was darker in parts, she stepped on.

The night was cold and the darkness was becoming terribly daunting. Lou decided, then and there, not be put off by Auntie Mimi's menacing disposition or noisy whistle...

She would take a chance and go past John's, surely the cad would be home by now. Surely......