Morning all and happy Monday. It is supposed to be slightly less chilly that week. As my tulips are already starting to rise, I think that would be a good thing. So before I go do their morning frostbite check, let’s start the day’s writing prompt. Timers set for fifteen minutes.
I like the set up. Need more thought obviously, but this might be one I come back to.
Monday, February: 24th: It was clear he had a secret.
It was clear that he had a secret. All through the day she would look towards him when she passed. He would stare blankly in her direction and then when he thought she wasn’t looking smile to himself. A couple of times she caught him coming close to laughing out loud.
‘Oh yeah,’ she thought. “Phil has a secret.’
She sighed. That was never a good thing. On the whole she didn’t mind secrets and didn’t mind others having them. She rarely felt the need to pry into things that were not her business. ‘Especially not here.’
Her goal when she was called home was to just get through without any further entanglements. She liked her life just fine the way it was and had no desire to get tangled up in any of the familial plots and schemes.
Phil was different. His plots and secrets always hurt someone. Otherwise he didn’t consider them fun. The misfortune of others was his delight. As far as she could see it was his only source of amusement. ‘Especially when he can be a part of the misfortune.’
‘And he was almost laughing,’ she thought.
The trouble was, he was laughing while looking at her. Sam mentally scrolled through anything she could think of and came up with nothing that could possibly cause him amusement. It made her belly knot itn;o big greasy twists. What didn’t she know?
By the time family tradition was served and the Family weekend gathering was through, Phil’s secret hadn’t come to light. She tried telling herself she was paranoid as she packed up her things and loaded them in the car. She wished everyone farewell and tried to feel the normal relief of leaving and knowing that she would not be required back for another six months.
Still Phil was still smiling and looking jolly when she left. Sam had the feeling the other shoe had yet to drop. She piloted her car through the back roads leading away from the old family estate and towards first highways and then interstates. Once the hub of commerce the estate was now nothing more than a family gathering place, a country manor. The land still produced and they profited by it, but the main highway was no longer the river and so it was well off the beaten path.
She drove home, away from all the petty family squabbles. Usually she could leave it all behind as soon as she made it to the on ramp. She would merge with traffic and leave thoughts of it all behind. Not today. Today she couldn’t stop thinking about Phil.
‘Which is probably what he wants.’ She thought disgusted with herself as she finally pulled off the interstate and made her way home. The city glittered around her a night fell while she drove. She parked and promised herself a long soak in the bath, possibly with a large glass of wine.
‘Just the one though,’ she decided. Work would start early in the morning.
Sam parked in her designated space and noticed Roger’s car was gone. She wondered when he could be. She checked the time on her cell phone. 8:26. There were no missed calls. She shrugged and went upstairs. A little time alone wouldn’t be a bad thing. She climbed to their floor and opened the apartment door. The apartment was quiet and when she turned on the light, she could see that Roger’s things were gone. There was a note. She closed the apartment door, crossed the room and picked up the page. Roger wasn’t coming back.
Ten til Midnight 