Page 38 of The Therapist
What if Sandy is hurt? What if she’s trapped somewhere?
And what if Mike does turn up at my work or at my home?
All the terrible possibilities circle in my mind, and all the while I’m conscious that I’m in possession of a handgun that I have no idea how to use.
FIFTEEN
TUESDAY
Mike
He’s late for work but he doesn’t care. The morning was as chaotic as he had imagined it would be, with the kids sleeping late because he was passed out on the sofa.
Once he had replaced Sandy’s phone under the mattress, he had found himself unable to get comfortable, like the princess with the accusing pea underneath him. Lana, the therapist, had not believed a word he’d said. That much was obvious. Her pale face, the way her eyes focused on the blood on the wall and then him went around in his head until he thought he might go a little mad.
He had gone downstairs, and even though he’d known it was not a good idea to drink any more, he had turned on the television, slumped onto the sofa surrounded by the kids’ toys and started with one beer that led to two and then to three.
Eventually he had passed out. And he had only woken up to Lila hitting him on the head with her teddy. ‘I want breakfast, Dad, and I can’t find my school dress and Felix is in the bathroom and I need a wee.’
He had tried, as he did four things at once, not to yell at the kids because he knew they were unsettled by their missing mother. The lunchboxes needed to be packed and the uniforms found. Felix seemed only moments away from tears all through breakfast and Mike ended up throwing chocolate bars and small bags of chips into both lunchboxes, not caring that he would get a call or email from the school on the topic ofHealthy Lunches.When he walked out the door and finally had them both in the car, he knew that he had left the house in a dismal mess. If Sandy returns while he’s at work, she will have a lot to say about that.
He sent her a quick text after he dropped the kids off at school.
Sorry about the mess. Will clean up when I get home.
He knows it’s better to send it, better to have it on record in case.In case of what?
As he walks into the office, a woman wearing a name badge that says ‘Kellie’ catches his eye and virtually runs over to him.
‘Hi, I’m Kellie, and I work with the firm of Arthur and Gorman. We’re the auditors and we’re here to help wrap things up and see if we can get as many suppliers and staff paid as possible.’
She has brown hair in a pixie cut and a wide smile on her face as though this is all a delightful adventure.
He can’t believe how quickly she has appeared and it seems to him that Paul has probably had this in the works for a while.
‘Um hi,’ replies Mike, wishing that the day was over already.
‘Okay if we have a quick chat in your office?’ she says and Mike can do nothing except nod. She is filled with questions about every sale he’s made over the last two years and wants every single dollar accounted for, and eventually he holds up his hands. ‘I’ll get that all to you, just give me some time,’ he says.
‘Right, but we are going to also need?—’
‘Can you just give me some time?’ he repeats, and thankfully, the woman takes the hint and leaves.
Mike sits in his office for two hours doing nothing at all, staring out of his window and occasionally calling his wife’s phone.
At noon he can’t actually deal with it anymore. It’s his lunch hour anyway and he has a right to some time off. He leaves his office like a thief sneaking out of a house he’s robbed, desperate not to draw Kellie’s attention again. He needs to do what she says because he needs to make sure he gets his last pay cheque and that he gets as much money in severance as he can. How is he going to survive this?
Once he’s outside in the cold air, he breathes a sigh of relief.
As he’s crossing the road, making his way to the café where he can usually get a reasonable sandwich, his phone starts to ring. He shoves his hand into his pocket, desperate to get it because it could be Sandy on a borrowed phone, but as he pulls it out, it slips out of his hand and drops onto the road, forcing him to stop and pick it up, a car hooting at him for the delay.
With the phone in his hand, he darts to the pavement and then tries to answer but he’s missed the call. Frustration bubbles inside him and he swears. He doesn’t recognise the number but then Sandy doesn’t have her phone and he goes to hit it on his missed call list before he stops, wondering if this is one of their suppliers or customers. Since yesterday, as news of the factory’s closure spread like wildfire, Mike has been getting a lot of calls from people who have placed orders and he’s sick of having to tell everyone that there is nothing he can do and that the auditors will be making sure that people get their money back if that’s possible. It’s been a shitty, shitty time.
And the worst part of all of this is not being able to adequately explain to his kids what’s going on.
‘Will Mum be home this afternoon?’ Felix asked when Mike dropped him and his sister off at school.
‘I don’t know,’ he replied, trying not to sound angry. She’s been gone for over twenty-four hours now because he knows she was there yesterday when he left to drop the kids off at school. She’s probably really enjoying the idea that he’s worrying about where she is and that he has to take care of the kids.
