The Bottom Drawer

"Auntie Mollie how long has it been since you were up here last?"
Josie was covered in cobwebs and dust from the loft. She didn't notice
the big, black, glowing eyed, long legged spider crawl down her neck
and into her top, but she soon made up for it by spending the next few
minutes running around the loft screaming. Her Aunt stopped her in mid
run and slapped it with a newspaper.

"Thanks Aunt Mollie" she sighed and looked around her. The whole place
was covered in dust. It was then she saw the trunk. "What's in that?"
she asked her Aunt.

"I can't remember." Her Aunt had the fibbing face on and quickly
changed the subject. "If I'm going to change this into a room for you
and Toby we'll have to get cracking. That old trunk will need to go for
starters," she pointed at the offending article.
.
Toby was Josie's small son from her soon to be ended marriage to Donald
Edwards, the Head of Accountancy at the local University. She'd met him
while she was an administrator, and as his department had been short of
admin staff she found herself more and more in his company, then going
out with him, and finally getting married.

Her Aunt had warned her "Marry in haste, repent at leisure", but Josie
knew better.

"I' m 25 years old, and Donald and I are in love. What does Aunt Mollie
know about this sort of stuff?" she said to her mother, but her mother
kept silent.

Josie was married 6 months later. Was pregnant 3 months after that, and
stopped work 5 months after that. Toby came into the world on the 4th
October 1970 and Josie instantly fell in love. They lived in an idyllic
village in a bungalow and Toby was put in the local playschool, while
Donald continued in the Accountancy department, and Josie worked part
time in an RSPCA shop. All very idyllic and fairly tale like until the
day Donald didn't ask her to go away with him.

Donald had to go away to Berlin for a special University conference.
Strange thing was she had noticed he had started taking care of himself
again, just like he had when she first knew him. As she said to her
Aunt Mollie "It's not that he's going abroad without me, or that its
for 4 days, or that he hasn't asked her to go this time, but in the
five years we've been married he's never done that". He aunt kept
quiet. She didn't want to be accused of interfering again, even though
she'd known the sort of man Daniel was.

When Josie finally asked Donald about it the excuses flowed out of his
mouth like liquid manure and smelt as bad. She decided to find out who
was going by calling her friend Audrey the mouth.

Audrey couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it. "Who's going
to Berlin?" said Audrey "You mean he's not told you?" she paused and
Josie knew it was going to be bad "He's taking the new administrator in
charge of the disciplinaries for the Faculty. He recons she's the only
person who can help him while he's away, due to her extensive knowledge
of University Policy. If I was a cynical woman, and I am, I'd think he
was interested in more that her shorthand skills" she took another
breath, but Josie cut her short.

"To tell you the truth Audrey I had my suspicions. It was the regular
washing that gave him away. They only time he ever does that is if sex
is a guarantee" she sighed "Thanks for telling me. Everyone else is
acting as if they don't know anything," she asked the bad question "I
expect he's been doing this quite a while?" she waited hoping she was
wrong.

"No just the last month, but then you said he worked fast" sometimes
Audrey was too honest. Josie gulped back the tears. When she confronted
Donald about the administrator he'd back tracked and asked her to come.
She accepted and would later say to herself she'd wished she'd never
gone, but then she'd never have met Hank.

The first day in Berlin was spent being dragged around with a short
busty blond with the attitude of a badly trained shitzu. She finally
gave up on the morning of the second day, and spent it eating ice cream
in Movenpick at the Europa Centre, and watching the world go by. "Do
you always eat ice cream so fast?" a tall, dark, handsome American man
with startlingly blue eyes was stood looking at her intently.

"Only when I'm having a bad day." She looked away.

"Mind if I join you" he motioned to sit down.

"Only if you promise not to try and convert me. I'm looking for a Ben
and Jerries next, and you being American was a stroke of luck" He
smiled and her heart started to melt and persuaded her that ice cream
was not the answer, whisked her off to show her the sights of Berlin,
and real food. He made her laugh, something she hadn't really done in a
long time, and when she was looking sad he smiled his smile and her
heart glowed.

He was stationed at the local NATO base as a military policeman, was
fed up with the mad party scene, so museums and galleries replaced beer
gardens and pool halls. At the end of the day when he left her in the
foyer of her hotel relaxed and happy, she felt 10 years younger, and
she hadn't missed Donald all day. She wondered how his day had been and
if he'd missed her at all?

She entered their room and noticed Donald sprucing himself up for
dinner "We've got a boring dinner on tonight dear, lots of Accountants
talking shop. I know how much you hate that so I've got you some
brochures on Berlin restaurants and English speaking theatres" he
turned back to the mirror humming. Normally she would have argued, but
after the day with Hank she didn't care "That's OK. Is there anywhere
nice you could recommend?" she watched his face.

"Sorry dear I've only just kept up with the crowd I'm with today. You
know how bad my sense of direction is" he smiled to himself.

Smile away she thought. I've got Hank's number and if you can play away
so can I, but he was throwing it in her face. Making her look like the
stupid little wifey. Well she'd show him what the stupid little wifey
could do She'd always despised women for doing things like this, and
here she was about to become one of them. Now she understood why they
did it. I'm sorry for not understanding I was smug and indifferent
until my rose coloured bubble got smashed, lets hope my life doesn't
follow.

She called Hank and was half expecting him to have other plans, but he
said yes straight away and she spent the night taking a boat trip on
the canal, a romantic dinner for two in Albertos, and a walk around the
Olympic stadium thanks to Hank showing his ID card. He'd tried to kiss
her a few times, but no matter how much he tried she just couldn't let
him. It was then she told him about Donald and what he was dong to her,
and then started to cry when she saw the upset reach his lovely blue
eyes "Please don't cry Josie. I was just shocked. I thought you were a
free agent. Look if all you want is a good time while you're here I
understand" he looked upset again.

He took her back to the hotel and said goodbye. She walked up to her
room hoping the climb would calm her down "Trust my luck. I meet the
loveliest man ever and let him go because of my own morals. Fool!
Stupid fool!" she spent the rest of the night crying, and didn't hear
Donald coming in at 4 am.

They flew home the next day in silence, with Donald spending most of
the flight with the human shitzu. On getting home Josie decided to move
in to her Aunt Mollie's and give Donald a wide berth for a while. It
was as she was unpacking she found Hank's number in her bag. "Keep it
in case" she thought. She'd given him her phone number, but she knew he
wouldn't use it.

Her married life went from bad to worse after that as Donald decided to
apply for a job in America, and left for California two months later
with the shitzu in tow "To pave the way for you two" he said to her as
he boarded the plane for the States, but Josie knew the real reason he
was going.

"With any luck" she thought "she'll wise up and get rid of him before
he gets rid of her for a newer model".

That had been 7 weeks ago and Josie had received the letter that
morning with the flight tickets for her and Toby. Should she go to
America, or should she start again here?

She looked back at the trunk, opened the lid, and saw the china and
linen overflowing inside it "Auntie Mollie what is this?" she turned to
her Aunt.

Tears filled her Aunts eyes "It was my bottom drawer for when I got
married, but flyers didn't last long during the war and ?" her voice
trailed off in tears. Josie gave her a long hug "I was so silly wanting
a proper wedding. I made him wait. I could have at least been pregnant
when he died. Been left with a something to remember him by day by day,
instead of a dust covered trunk." She looked at Josie "Promise me
pudding you won't make the same mistake?"

"I promise Aunt Mollie" and she made up her mind.

So here she was at the airport waiting with Toby to be picked up. She
looked round and there he was tall dark and handsome as always "High
pumpkin are you both ready to see how I live in the good ole US of
A?"

Toby butted in "Yes please Hank I've always wanted to be a cowboy!" she
smiled and kissed Toby's head then kissed Hank. He blushed then smiled.
"A good start" he thought.

As they drove away she thought "Strange how an old battered trunk can
make everything clear" and turned to Hank and said "So you're a real
cowboy?" and he just smiled his smile.