The Secret World of Maya Alexander

Chapter 40

As Maya's alarm sounded promptly at 06.45, the punctual call of her husband telling her he was leaving for work was also heard. Stephen waited for the sound of the alarm being stopped, before closing the front door three times and checking to see that he had not lost too much time waiting for his wife to respond to her alarm. 06.46. 06.46. 06.46. His mind struggled to accept that he had no control over his wife's actions and well-being. Not knowing where Maya was when he had arrived home from work the night before had sent him into quite a panic at the end of an already nervey day.

Strangely, it was his mother who managed to calm him down. She had the idea of texting Maya to remind her about Jess, just so that they could see she was okay, which she was sure she would be. June lectured her son that a husband could not be everything to his wife, nor know everything she thought or felt, and that that was something he must accept, or he would end up in a state and with no wife at all. Her words were harsh and full of judgement as usual, but for some reason they were what he had needed to hear. It helped him to let go a little. He decided he would concentrate on the things that he could change, like working towards a promotion at work.

As he left the house that morning he had a new focus. His job. Maya's response to his mother's text had seemed cheery, and last night was the first night in a while that he had not had to lift Maya from the floor and into bed, finding her already sound asleep in the guest bed when he completed his evening rituals. It had thrown him a little at first of course, as carrying his wife into bed and tucking the sheets neatly around her as he checked his watch three times, had become part of his evening routine.

Maya noticed a feeling of being well rested upon waking. This pleasant feeling was quickly followed by the smarting of her burns, reminding her of her recklessness. She avoided the mirror in the guest room and went straight to the bathroom to get ready for work, selecting some loose fitting clothes which would not cause her burns to rub. She felt a little nervous, that colleagues or clients would notice the marks on her arms or the top of her chest. She was thankful to nature for the onset of the colder seasons, which meant that she could choose clothes that would cover her well, without causing suspicion. After dressing, she forced herself to eat a piece of toast washed down with a  mug of tea. It left a strange metallic taste in her mouth, which unsettled her efforts with a lingering queasy feeling.

Her reception at work had been far less significant than Maya had imagined. Everyone seemed to accept her mis-hap with her phone without any further interrogation. Daily routines ensued. The clinic was busy. Everyone had busy schedules. So there was little time for anyone to do anything other than accept the way things seemed and get on with the tasks ahead.

Marge had been the only one to make a longer enquiry as to the well-being of her colleague. She called her into the office for what was apparently a return to work interview, which human resources' protocol obliged her to undertake. In the end, they decided that a day's leave was probably the best way to account for her absence the previous day rendering the return to work paperwork unnecessary.

The meeting had of course given Marge the opportunity to assess how Maya seemed to be functioning. She was certain she had seen Maya soaked to the bone by the river on Wednesday afternoon, and Maya had not denied it. At first she had just thought that it was unfortunate that Maya had got caught in the rain, but then she had wondered why anyone would go out to the river in the torrent of rain unless completely necessary. Yet, Maya seemed chirpy enough during the meeting and less distracted than she had been previously, so Marge decided not to enquire any further.

Even though Marge had kept the conversation light, Maya had felt under intense scrutiny, she had been sure that Marge was questioning her ability to work effectively with comments such as 'remember Maya we are responsible for the well-being and care of vulnerable people and need to be able to be honest and open about our own mental health' and 'we can't do a good job if we are not looking after ourselves'. Using we instead of you had not helped. Maya was certain that 'we' referred only to Maya. She wondered what Marge knew. Had she signed anything to say Marge could see her counselling notes? Had Charlie betrayed her? Or Stephen? Had her sleeve rolled up a little, or had she inadvertently rubbed the itchy burns beneath her clothes?