“You really deserve this promotion, Michael, and it’s much more money too!”
Have you ever thought back to a time in your life when you can pinpoint one day where one good thing led to another, so that you can truly say that it was the happiest day of your life?
It happened to me a few years ago. My spectacular day began with Mr Murgatroyd, my lovely boss, telling me that he was moving on, and I was being recommended for his job.
“Just think of all those hours of unpaid overtime you’ve done when we’re in a mess, and the way you always help out junior staff members when they’re struggling, without even being asked. You’re a nice bloke, Michael and this is payback time.”
“Blimey Mr M, I dunno how to thank you.”
“By going out and enjoying yourself with that lovely girlfriend or yours! It’s Friday lunchtime, so take the rest of the day off and make it a long weekend. You’ve earned it!”
I went straight round to see my girlfriend Carol, who’d been living with her mum since she lost her job at the factory. The year before, I’d been passionately in love with Wendy, Carol’s best friend, but it had all ended when Wendy had unaccountably taken a job in Germany and left me without a word. Carol had given me the news, and, although I’d never really noticed Carol before then, quite soon, she became the most important person in my life. Okay, so it wasn’t the love story of the century, like me and Wendy had been, but that’s not real life, is it? I’d grown to like Carol more and more and we’d become close.
“The new job means I’ll get more money,” I explained to Carol as we ate a wonderful meal at our favourite Italian restaurant. We’d both had a lot of wine, and I felt a kind of excitement, as if today was a day to make bold decisions, because everything was finally going my way. And out of the blue I just popped the question. “I’d love to marry you Carol, if you’ll have me,” I said nervously. “What do you say?”
“Yes, yes yes!” Carol was over the moon. “I’ve always wanted to marry you, Michael. This is my dream come true!”
On the way home, we passed an estate agent’s, and in the window was an advert for a small flat in Allardyce Mansions, the new block at the west of town – and it was priced well below what I expected. On impulse we went inside, spoke to the salesman, and, after viewing the video of the lovely flat, I made an offer to buy it. Of course it was subject to a mortgage acceptance, but the salesman knew lots of brokers, and assured us he’d be likely to get us a mortgage as first-time buyers, and the vendors would be delighted to make a quick sale, and by Monday afternoon, he assured us, he’d probably have a mortgage offer and we could sign the contract soon after that.
Promotion. Getting married. A lovely flat to live in.
Too good to be true?
It certainly seemed like it.
By this time it was evening, and I was on cloud nine. After I’d taken Carol back to her mum’s house, I decided to wander over to the block of flats where we’d be living, anxious to find out about the place and its surroundings. It was just as nice as I remembered, in a quiet pleasant area, with a lovely big park across the road. As I walked along the park’s grassland towards the trees, I caught sight of a man of around my own age, sitting on a bench, swilling whisky, straight from the bottle. As I got closer, I recognised him: Finn had been my best friend at school, until his family had moved to Scotland some years ago.
“Finn?” I asked him as I got closer. “Is it really you?”
“Michael!” it was the same old smile, yet his face had lost its boyish innocence that I remembered. “I’ve been meaning to look you up for ages, mate. After uni I applied for a job back here – I never really settled in Jockland. This has been my home for a few months now. Boy it’s great to see you.”
“And it’s great to see you too.” I sat beside him. “But what’s the matter with you, mate? Drinking whisky on your own in a public park? It’s not even legal is it?”
“Who cares?” He took another mouthful, offering the bottle to me, but I declined. “They call it drowning your sorrows. If only it worked.”
“So what’s wrong?”
“Everything, mate, everything. My life was tickety-boo, everything was wonderful. I got a good job back here in town, met a wonderful girl called Louise, bought a flat over there.” He nodded towards Allardyce Mansions. “Then there was that terrible fire in Grenfell Tower where all those people died. Did you know that the reason the fire spread so quickly was because of the cladding on the outside of the building? And guess what? Turns out they used the same bloody cladding on our block! It’ll cost thousands to get it removed, money none of us leaseholders have got. So we can’t live there without risking being killed if there’s a fire, and we can’t sell. Louise and I talked of nothing else, until we became obsessed with what to do. In the end, she got so depressed about it all, that she left me. Now I can’t afford the mortgage on my own, so I’m absolutely stuffed.”
Bloody hell! So that was the reason that the flat I’d made an offer on had been so cheap. What a relief that I hadn’t signed a contract.
I chatted to Finn for a bit, then went back to his flat, still stunned at the news and the disappointment. But my situation was nothing compared to his, poor bugger. There was obviously nothing I could do or say to help him, but I could at least listen to his troubles, let him blow off steam. And I could hardly tell him all my good news, could I, when his life was in the toilet?
When I told him I worked for Haddinsons, he looked surprised. “Haddinsons?” he remarked as we walked through his front door into his living room. “Hmm, you know I’m sure there was something on telly about your company – just caught it on my way out.”
Finn put the telly on, and I caught the last bit of the local news, stunned to see the name of my company Haddinsons International, on the screen. The reporter was saying that in the afternoon, Haddinson International had gone bankrupt, none of the employees had been kept informed, and no one from the company was available for comment.
“That’s your firm isn’t it?” Finn asked me, frowning in sympathy.
“Yup.” The news was so awful I could hardly take it in. “Looks as if you’re not the only one who’s up shit creek.”
“Sorry mate.”
“It’s crazy. Just think, today I was offered a promotion and a huge salary increase. and now. . . ”
“That’s life I suppose. One day you’re on top of the world. The next you’re in the gutter.”
My phone was out of battery, so I asked Finn if I could use his phone, to tell Carol that I was going to be unemployed, and the flat was a death trap.
“Be my guest mate,” he gave me his landline handset. “Phone’s been playing up a bit lately, but it was okay this morning. I’ll go and make us some coffee, give you a bit of privacy.”
After the dialling tone, strangely no one actually answered. But suddenly I could hear Carol talking to someone. I’d read about the phenomenon known as ‘getting a crossed line’ on landline phones, the rare occurrence when you can listen in to someone’s conversation without them even knowing you’re there.
“Carol, how could you agree to marry Michael when you told me you don’t even love him?” said the person she was talking to. “Ask me, it’s a downright disgusting thing to do!” It sounded like the woman was furious.
“Mate, he’s just got promotion, he’s going to be minted, for goodness sake, he’s just bought a flat! Who cares about love? Michael’s good company, he’ll do what I tell him and I’ll have an easy life, plus I can move out of Mum’s bloody cramped spare room. And Michael’s promotion means I won’t even need to look for a job now! I can sit about all day, doing fuck-all and watching telly – I’ve got it made! By the time we have kids Michael will be well and truly under my thumb.”
“Aren’t you ashamed, Carol?” said her friend. “Blimey, when I think how you did the dirty on Wendy, telling her that you and Michael were seeing each other behind her back, so that she fucked off to that job in Germany.”
“Yeah, I soon got rid of Wendy, stupid cow. To think how she trusted me.” Carol laughed. “I knew that I only had to get rid of her, give him a flash of my tits and I’d reel him in. Michael’s just like all the other guys I’ve had, but he thinks everyone’s as nice and kind as he is.”
“By the way, Wendy’s come home, did you know?”
“Yeah, Mum told me yesterday. That was another reason to make sure of Michael in case he meets her again. Once we’re married I’m home and dry. He won’t believe a word she says.”
“Bloody Norah, Carol, you are a wicked bitch. For God’s sake, you’re still seeing Colin aren’t you? I wouldn’t want your conscience.”
Carol laughed for a long time. “Fooling men is easy, I’ve had a lifetime’s practice. . .”
My heart was beating fast, my breathing through the roof. I was sweating, and I felt as if I was going to cry.
So that was why Wendy just left me without warning! Carol had planned the whole thing.
Finn cam back into the room with the two mugs of coffee as I cut the call.
“Sorry mate,” I told him, trying to control my shaking hands as I stood up. “Gotta go. Something important has come up.”
“Really?” Finn looked gutted, utterly bereft that I was leaving him. “Sorry, pal. I know I’ve been a boring bastard, no wonder you want to get away from my moaning—”
“No mate, no, I swear it’s nothing to do with you. In fact I’m really really glad we’re mates again,” I told him, clasping his arm, feeling a surge of affection for him. “How about going to the football tomorrow afternoon? The local team still meets every week, I can get us season tickets.”
“Now you’re talking!”
“See, mate, I’ve got a bit of drama in my own life at the minute and I can’t think straight – I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”
“Your job, of course, I’m really sorry.”
“My job is the least of it. The very least. . .”
I was running across town, back across the roads I’d known all my life, my feelings mixed and strange, a headache nagging at the back of my skull, as all the crazy things that had happened sank in. I soon found Wendy’s family home, and despite it being after 10pm, I knew things couldn’t wait.
Wendy’s dad was surprised to see me when he answered the front door.
“Is Wendy in?” I asked him.
“Well, she’s gone to bed, Michael. You’d best come back in the morning.”
“Please, Mr Randle, please, I have to talk to her.”
I waited in the living room and ten minutes later, Wendy came through the door, pulling on a sweater. I looked into her eyes.
Which was when I knew that, despite everything, this really was going to be the happiest day of my life. . .
(image courtesy of Kellie from Pixabay)