Mai Griffin
few miles from the office often enabled them to enjoy long
lunch hours – she was a good cook – and they took in a
show sometimes when he ‘worked late’! He had kidded
himself that he was being good to Joyce rather than
perfidious to the family that he would certainly lose if the
silly bitch carried on in this way! All that inane rubbish
about ‘setting him free’; what in Heaven’s name had she
been babbling about as she dashed off? He had tried to
catch her, but she took an unusually convenient taxi,
which accelerated away and melted into the throng of
lunch-hour traffic.
Going immediately to her apartment, he had waited
ages before giving up and going home. In the evening, and
again on Sunday morning, he had tried ringing her from
the village pub, without success. Later the problem seemed
less pressing, it was difficult to keep finding excuses to
leave the house to try again without arousing comment.
He had been convinced he would be able to sort things
out this morning – now the dumb bitch hadn’t come to
work!
He was unaccustomed to dealing personally with office
gadgets and in a careless second, because his mind had
been on her and her parting threats, he had erased God
only knew how many important calls. Still rattled, he
misdialled... then, drawing a deep breath, he realised that
ringing her was the worst thing he could do. It would
increase her advantage.
She must have been serious about absenting herself
for a few days, giving him a taste of life without her,
stupidly imagining that it would be enough to convince
him and he would give in! If she really thought he’d choose
her in preference to his wife and family, she was crazy.
He felt ill as he wondered just how crazy! Joyce had
threatened to confront his wife, with or without him – she
didn’t care – to tell her he wanted a divorce! Surely, Joyce
had said it only to goad him. Would she really carry out
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