Mystery.
At Meadowbank Cottage.
An original story.
Written and performed by by Stephanie Poppins.
Where's it?
By my brother.
John Miles Carter.
Chapter 16 The argument was already well underway by the time Tuesday and Justin rounded the bend.
Tuesday's brother had been with her for two whole days now,
But that evening he would be returning home to his pregnant wife.
Each conversation they'd had during the time spent together.
Had been focused on making Tuesday's life easier as keeper of Lumbee Lane.
And now it was time,
He said,
To face Jed Norman and get the monkey off her back,
Once and for all.
Tuesday looked up at the pale ribbon of sky over her head.
It wouldn't be long before it disappeared beneath the dark clouds gathering in the distance.
A storm was brewing.
And she and her brother were about to step into the heart of it.
Jed was talking in a flat,
Deep voice that carried down the lane,
But Jonathan's was lower and much harder.
He was on the attack.
They could hear Colleen's bitter laugh in the background,
Called an antagonistic.
She had an axe to grind and she was on a mission.
As they approached,
Tuesday stopped walking and Justin put a hand briefly on her arm.
There was Jed Norman in the middle of the lane,
Thumbs hooked in his belt,
Colleen at his shoulder like a well-dressed comma.
And Jonathan Green facing them both,
His back straight,
One hand hanging loose at his side.
The other was holding a forlorn-looking cat.
Spike.
Choose to stay breathed.
Jonathan turned and for a fraction of a second something crossed his face that wasn't quite pleasure to see her.
But relief.
He wanted to hand the cat back.
He walked towards them without another word to Jed and placed Spike carefully into Tuesday's arms.
He was in the outhouse.
You said quietly.
The door was latched on the outside.
Tuesday pressed her face into Spike's fur.
And his tiny claws found the locket at her throat.
The one containing the picture of her parents.
Very touching,
Uttered Colleen to Jed.
She drifted forward a little,
Her arms folded,
Her head tilted.
Just at that angle she perfected.
An inquisitive pity.
He's still doing it Jed.
All through our marriage he was doing it.
That look.
She gave a small theatrical sigh.
Carrying a torch,
I think they call it.
Pathetic.
Jonathan turned sharply.
Ours was a marriage of convenience,
He spat.
But clearly not as convenient for me as for you.
Convenient,
Colleen returned.
Is that what we're calling it?
I'm calling it self-centred satisfaction,
" said Jonathan.
You're mean and you're a money grabber in that order.
At this,
Jed stepped forward.
He was a tall man and used his width well.
His smile,
That of someone who never once doubted.
Which way the chips would fall.
You're all mouth green.
Always have been.
You can't even keep a woman.
Isn't that right,
Colleen?
A defiance sparked up inside Tuesday.
He kept me.
She said.
The lane went quiet.
Even the hedges seemed to hold their breath,
And Jed looked straight at her.
Jonathan,
Meanwhile,
Went very still,
Whilst Justin smiled.
We've held a torch for each other all these years.
She said spitefully.
There's no substitute for the real thing.
It was a lie,
Of course.
Well,
Not entirely a lie.
But she didn't want to examine that too closely.
What mattered to her was the way Colleen's face turned rigid and pale.
Jed's smile,
Meanwhile,
Didn't quite recover.
Neither of them were expecting this.
It was one team against another.
Colleen and Jed versus Jonathan,
Tuesday and her brother Justin.
He was the one to pipe up next.
Right.
He began,
Since we're all here.
Reaching into his jacket,
He remained contained,
Pleasant.
But three moves ahead.
Unbeknownst to everyone,
He and his solicitor had been working cheek by jowl on this for weeks.
This was somebody who knew every clause,
Every precedent,
Every angle of his case.
You'll be aware,
He said,
Facing Jed with a mild courtesy of someone who could afford to be mild.
We've instructed solicitors and the land registry's been notified.
We've also been in correspondence with the council's environmental team.
We took water samples in March,
More in April and May.
These results make interesting reading.
Jed said nothing.
We also have documentation relating to a pattern of harassment towards my sister.
Justin tucked the papers back inside his jacket.
I thought you should know where things stand.
Then he smiled triumphantly.
Turned with a Come on,
T.
We've got things to do.
And walked back down the lane to Meadowbank Cottage.
As they both fussed over Spike.
And told him he would have an extra special meal now that he was home again.
That evening,
Tuesday watched as Justin's car disappeared around the curve of the lane.
Through the twilight she could see the stars returning faintly as the tangled black thorn and elder bushes blurred into a single dark mass on either side.
The air was cool now,
Held close by the high banks,
And with it came the smell of the earth.
Damp clay,
Crushed grass.
And the faint sweetness of meadow sweet from the ditch.
Then the resident wood pigeon made its last soft coo.
And the world went quiet.
Turning to go back inside.
Tuesday caught sight of Jonathan coming to water.
In truth,
She'd been expecting him.
Waiting for him.
Nice evening for it,
" he smiled.
And she felt a rush of excitement.
Deep in the base of her sternum.
He was almost at her gate now.
Then he stopped.
As if waiting for an invitation to come in.
I was just making cocoa.
She said as lightly as she could.
And before long,
They were sitting side by side in front of his mother's old fireplace.
Justin did well.
He began after a moment's pause.
Yes,
He knows people.
Said Tuesday reluctantly.
She didn't really want to talk about this anymore.
But Jonathan had rescued her cat.
He's got solicitors,
The land registry,
The council.
I'm all friends in the city.
Comes from years of working side by side,
I suppose.
With any luck he'll stop poisoning the water after this.
He'd be stupid not to.
Said Jonathan.
They watched the fire long enough for the heat to die away.
The lower the flames got,
The closer they moved together.
Tuesday held her mug with both hands.
The cocoa had gone from too hot,
To just right,
To somewhere in between.
Tepid and cold.
Beside her,
Jonathan shifted.
And she now knew exactly how far away he was.
Close enough she could feel the warmth of his shoulder.
As something separate from the fire.
Do you remember that time at rehearsals?
Who are in the back of the stage playing cards.
Cheating at cards,
He said with a smile.
I was strategizing.
Tuesday laughed.
A soft,
Wide laugh.
And she felt Jonathan's eyes upon her.
Not a quick glance this time.
But something that stayed a beat longer than it needed to.
And she didn't turn away.
What are you thinking about?
He asked.
Nothing really.
Other than.
.
.
It's nice having you here,
Jonathan.
He made a small sound of agreement.
But she could hardly hear it.
Against the rattling of the windows from the storm that was persistent.
And getting louder by the minute.
It's horrible out there,
" she said.
Shifting slightly away.
But Jonathan wasn't happy with that.
He placed his strong hand on her shoulder.
Tuesday.
He said softly.
The firelight was doing something to the angles of his face.
It was softening them,
But deepening them at once.
And all of a sudden he looked the way he had always looked in her memory.
Neither of them spoke.
This thing between them that had no name yet had perhaps been kept alive for years.
Choose de-filter breath slow.
Jonathan,
Meanwhile.
Tucked a loose strand of hair back from her face.
His fingers barely grazing her cheek.
Tuesday hell very still.
She wasn't sure whether this was the right or the wrong move.
But tonight.
.
.
She needed Jonathan.
More.
Than she'd ever needed him.
Before.
