Valerie

1

Rich left the airport, boarded his bus home, chose a seat and slept the two and a half hour journey away. He got off the bus at his stop, waited for the driver to pull his luggage out of the storage compartment and then walked back to his home, alone as he had left it two weeks ago.

"Hi honey!" a voice called down from the master bedroom.

"Hi!" Rich called back. He took his suitcase into the living room and set it down on the sofa. He unzipped it and took out his dirty washing and carried it through to the kitchen where he loaded it into the washing machine. "I'm just off out to see Dave and Rob," he called up the stairs.

Rich walked into town to his favourite pub, The Eagle. Inside he walked up to the bar and ordered a pint. He found Dave and Rob sat by the fire place in the comfy chairs.

"How'd it go in Vegas?" Rob asked him.

"Great, had a wonderful time. Got married."

"Wow!! Amazing!" Said Dave. "Where is she then?"

"She'll be here in a few days, she has a few things to clear up before she comes over."

"What's her name? Where did you meet? Don't you think two weeks was a little quick?"

"She's called Valerie, we met in the casino at the hotel I was staying at and no, we clicked. Our eyes met across the poker table, I bluffed her for two thousand dollars, bought her a drink and we were inseparable for the rest of the time. We decided on the last night, we were both checking out the same day, to marry and she would come and live here."

"Can't wait to meet her!" Said Dave.

Rich finished off his pint and asked who else would like one. Both Dave and Rob said yes and Rich went off to the bar to get the drinks.

"Weird," Dave said to Rob, "He's not normally so quick to jump into things like this. Hey, Becky and Claire are here. Hey girls, over here! Rich is at the bar getting the drinks in."

Claire was a short overweight woman and totally in love with Rob, as Rob was in love with her. Becky was short but toned with a beautiful body, she walked up to Dave and kissed him on the lips.

Rich came back from the bar, hugged both of the girls and reiterated the story of how he had met Valerie, fallen in love and married her in just two weeks.

Rob and Dave each bought a round and as Rich was getting his next round in his phone went off. "I'll be back in a while, it's Valerie." Rich walked outside and lit his cigarette as he answered the phone.

Rob and Claire went to the bar and got the drinks in whilst the group waited for Rich to rejoin them.

Ten minutes later Rich walked back in. "I have to go." He said, hugging Claire and Becky and shaking hands with Rob and Dave. He also left a ten to buy a round for everyone in his absence.

2

A week passed.

Rich phoned Dave to let him know that Valerie had arrived and that they should all meet at The Eagle so he could introduce her to everyone. Rich arrived at the pub alone. "Valerie's not feeling well," he explained to everyone.

"Nothing serious, is it?" Becky asked.

"Just a cold and some jet lag, she's sleeping it off."

After a few drinks Rob asked "Shall we go back to yours, Rich? I'm sure Valerie wouldn't mind, we'd love to meet her."

"Sure, OK. Let me phone ahead though and make sure." Rich disappeared outside and came back a few minutes later. "Let's go."

They arrived at Rich's house and Rich opened the front door. "Hi Honey!" came the call from upstairs.

"Hi babe, I've bought the guys around."

"Hi!" Valerie called.

"Hi!" Rob, Dave, Becky and Claire all shouted up to her.

"This is Rob, Dave, Becky and Claire," Rich called up.

"Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi," Valerie called back down. "Now if you don't mind I need to sleep, I'm not feeling too well."

"Hope you feel better soon!" Claire called up the stairs.

The friends went through to the living room. Rich went upstairs to see Valerie and as he did Dave put on some music and they sat chatting. "So what's Valerie going to do now she's here?" Dave said to Rich as he came into the living room.

"Well, I'm sure she'll find something. Back home, in Ohio, she worked in a book shop, so I'm sure she'll be able to find something like that without any problem here. She said she was also trying to get into modelling, but that it was going really slowly. I told her to sign up for some modelling sites on the Internet and try to get some experience that way."

"Cool, so do you have any pics?"

"We've not unpacked them yet."

"Not even on your phone?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah... I've got one here." Rich held his phone out to his friends. The photo was a full length image of Valerie in a bath towel, standing in the doorway between the bathroom and bedroom in the hotel.

"Very pretty," Claire commented.

"She is. She's the best thing to ever happen to me!"

After a while Rob, Dave, Becky and Claire left. Rich sat on the sofa and sighed.

Outside, Rob and Dave were talking. "So what did you make of that picture?"

"She looks all right, better than Rich's usual fair!"

"Yeah, but marriage in two weeks? Becky and I have been together for four years and we've not even discussed it yet."

"Only 'cos you won't!" Becky said and she playfully hit his arm. "But yeah, it is a bit weird, then again it can't be easy for him, he's been single for, what, four years? Five? Ever since Sarah left him for that Italian guy. All his friends have found someone, he's single in amongst a sea of couples."

"True. I suppose we all do everything together as well, it's been ages since we've had a boys night out or something, but even then he knows that Rob and I have someone to go home to each night and he was going home alone, save for that brief fling with that fat chick."

"Hmm oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter so much now, he's found someone and he seems happy enough."

"Let's get home, I'm knackered. Catch you guys later."

3

On Tuesday night Dave walked over Rich's place. As he got in front of Rich's house he looked up to the bedroom window. He saw a figure in the window. He waved and the figure waved back. "Hi Valerie," he shouted up. He went and knocked on the door. After a while Rich opened the door. "Hi Mate," Dave said, "just thought I'd pop round and see if you wanted to come for a pint? Valerie can come too. It'll be good to meet her properly."

"She's just getting in the bath," Rich said.

"Oh." Dave turned towards the stairs and shouted up, "Hi Valerie! I'm just going to borrow Rich for a few hours, we're going to the pub, come and join us later if you want."

There was no answer. "She probably didn't hear you. I'll go up and let her know," Rich said as he began to climb the stairs. Dave waited on the doorstep. Rich came back down, grabbed his coat and they headed off to the pub.

"I'll get the first round in," Rich said.

"Thanks, I'll have a pint."

Rich bought two pints and went to sit down.

"So where's Rob tonight?"

"They've gone to the cinema."

"Oh, right. Cool."

"So how're you and Valerie getting on?"

"Fine, married life is great. We're still in the honeymoon period, we're shagging all the time."

"Nice. So have you introduced her to your parents yet?"

"Yeah, they all seem to get on well."

"That's good, my parents are still a little unsure of Becky, I don't think they approve of the lip piercings."

"Well, they're better than they used to be when you guys met, I thought she'd had an accident with a nail gun when you met her!"

"Yeah, it was a bit much!" Dave laughed.

They chatted and the lager flowed well. "I'm getting hungry," Rich said, "let's go get a pizza."

They left the pub and walked across the road to the take-away. "I'll get a small one for Valerie and take it back for her."

"You've gotta get her to come out soon, I can't wait to meet her properly."

"Sure, soon!"

"Ok, see ya later."

"Bye, Dave."

4

"Valerie still has a cold, so she's not out tonight."

"Oh, still? Weak constitution those Americans!" Rob joked. Rich just looked at him.

"Becky and I are thinking of getting married, you've inspired us!" Dave said.

"Nice one, it's worth it, it's the best feeling ever. Val and I have decided to try for a kid."

Rob and Dave looked at each other open mouthed.

"What?" Rich said with some disbelief in his voice.

"Nothing, it's just that... it's just that... you've only known each other a while. Shouldn't you wait to see if it works out first?"

"Well... no. We know how we feel about each other, we know what we want. If you can't be happy then..."

"Hey... dude, don't get pissed. We're just thinking about you."

"Well, we know what we want."

"If it makes you happy."

"It does."

5

"Val, I'm just popping to the shop, we're out of bread." Rich shouted up to his wife.

"OK," Valerie shouted back as Rich opened the door, "love you."

"Love you too." Rich walked to the shop and bought his bread and some cigarettes. He lit one up and lent against the shop wall and watched the traffic as he smoked. Once he had taken the last drag he tossed the end on the floor and stamped on it, then kicked it into the gutter. He began his walk home. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the display, it was Rob.

"Hi Rich," Rob's voice said.

"Hi Rob."

"Rich, I'm at your house, I've knocked for a while, but there's not answer."

"Oh, I'll be there in a bit. Valerie is probably out job hunting."

"Oh right. I'll see you in a second."

Rich hung up and put his phone away. As he rounded the corner he saw Rob standing by the front door. "Hello mate, how you doin'?"

"Yeah, I'm cool. You?"

"Yeah good, just had to get some bread and fags."

"Cool."

"You coming in for a coffee?"

"Yeah."

Rich put his key in the lock and opened the door.

"Hi Honey!" Valerie shouted down.

"Hi!" He shouted back

"I love you."

"Love you too."

"Hi Val." Rob shouted up as they walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, she must've been in the bath when you knocked."

"Yeah, must've been."

Rich made coffee and then took Rob through to the living room. They sat chatting for a while. Rich went over to the PC and switched it on. "I just need to check an auction."

"Cool, OK."

As Rich logged into the auction site, Rob heard footsteps on the stairs. "See you later," Valerie shouted as she opened and closed the front door.

"What you bidding on?"

"A few DVDs."

"Cool."

6

"Still no Valerie?"

"No, she's working tonight."

"She found a job?"

"Yeah, she's working at the bookies on the High Street."

"Cool. I'm sure Dave will like that, he's in there now."

"Oh... right," Rich hesitated as he spoke.

"So, who's getting the beers in?"

"I will," said Dave as he appeared behind the chairs.

"Good time at the bookies?"

"Yeah, man, I won a ton!"

"Nice one! Did you see Valerie in there?" Rob asked.

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, she's got a job in there, she's working there now."

"Oh, I didn't see her."

"Must've been on a break," said Rich.

"I was in there two hours..." Dave walked off and got the drinks. Rich went off to the toilet.

"So there were no new staff in there at all?"

"Not that I saw... Something weird is going on."

"You're not wrong."

"Do you think Rich is all right?"

Rich came back. He stood behind where his friends were sitting. He heard what they said. "Everything is fine." He snapped and the walked out the door.

"We should go after him."

"Let's give him a while, finish this round."

They drank up and then set out after Rich.

7

Rob, Dave, Claire and Becky arrived outside Rich's house. Rob looked up at the window. "Look!" He pointed towards the window. There was a figure in the window thrashing around. "We've got to get in there."

Dave had already started to run towards the front door. He hammered on it with his fists. "Rich! Rich! Let us in!!" There was no answer. As the rest of the group arrived at the front door they heard an almighty crash. "We have to get in."

Rob barged the door, it didn't give. Dave tried, and then both of the men charged the door. It came open in a mess of splinters and a loud bang. "Rich! Rich! Where are you?" Dave shouted out. As the door opened Becky just caught a shout, "Hi hon.....e....y." The voice was distorted and slowed down from beginning to end and by then the last syllable was just static. Becky ran into the kitchen and found it flooded, plates smashed on the floor. Dave went to the living room and found the sofa's over turned and the DVD's and Cd's on the floor, smashed. Rob started up the stairs. "Rich! Rich! Stop!! What's going on." As he reached the top of the stairs he flung open the door to Rich's bedroom. "Oh my..." his voiced trailed off. "Rich... what've you done?"

Dave, Claire and Becky came up and joined Rob in the doorway. Rich was dancing to some music, spinning around slowly mouthing the words as he cried. He was wearing a long white wedding dress, he looked around and saw everyone standing there. "It's so sad, all i can think of is poor Duckie alone in that record store, I didn't want to be Duckie, I wanted to have the girl. I don't want to be alone. I'm thirty-four years old and I'm so alone." Rich sat down on the bed, make-up streaming down his face. The computer in the corner had been smashed up. "Where's Valerie?" Asked Dave.

Rich pointed to the computer.

Rob walked over to the computer, a mass of wires protruded from the back of the broken up machine and disappeared into the wall cavity.

"What's going on?"

"I lied to you all."

"But we heard her voice? We spoke to her?"

"All pre-programmed on the computer. All lies."

"But she spoke to us..?"

"All activated via my phone."

"Oh Rich."

"These wires go into the wall," said Rob. He left the room, went downstairs.

"But why, Rich?"

"I don't want to be alone. I want what you guys have."

"And Valerie?"

"I made her up." Rich began to cry silent tears. The make up around his eyes streamed down his face.

"It's all wired up, there's a speaker at the top of the stairs and a switch in the door frame that must operate it all." Rob said as he came back into the room. "Rich, this is fucked up man..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Rich sobbed, "I was just so fed up with being alone that I wired up the house to speak to me when I came in, when I went out."

"You could've spoken to us."

"You wouldn't've understood, how could you? You're all happy in your relationships, you all have some one."

"I'll call an ambulance or... something." Becky said.