Not a Moment Longer
1
Tracey sat in the small room that served as the kitchen of her rented house and sipped on a glass of wine. She felt that she deserved it after recent events.
To have someone else live in her home as a lodger had been a way for her to make ends meet, she living the life of a single mother working long hours for some weeks, when there were staff absences, and with a son of twenty to continue supporting along with running a home as best as she could.
She had been persuaded to take in a lodger, a final-year student at Danny's college where her boy was thriving. He had been sent there for two days a week by the firm he was apprenticed to and there were signs that her problems with him had drifted into the past.
Danny and Luke hung out together after college, Luke being a full-time student and his parents living too far away to make the daily trek to and from college worth the hassle and expense that involved.
'It sure cuts into my day, spending so long on the bus and then train...goin' to-and-fro and all of that,' Luke had told her as the main reasons for bending his friend's ear and seeing if there was any chance of him moving in, for the weeks of every term and no more.
She'd heard the evident bitterness in his voice, and she had thought about it and then relented, finally agreeing that Danny could tell his mate to move in with them in a week or so. She heard some days later that Luke was 'chuffed to bits' that she had agreed to his suggestion that the weekly rate was somewhat lower than other students had to pay for their places, 'little more that squats, if you ask me.'
She knew that some landlords ripped people off and organised payments through a bank. She never pushed the issue, hadn't asked, but the money came in every week, in notes that Luke thrust into her hand or placed on a kitchen worktop, that room little more than a galley and with the three of them all huddled together at mealtimes. The boys didn't always fill her in with the details of when they would be with her and after a few heated words, directed more at Luke than her Danny, they had finally smoothed things over and cooled tempers.
'I have my working day to get through, you know?' she had ranted at them both, Danny used to her flares of temper and Luke suitably chastened by her ticking off.
The spat settled things between them, and she warmed to Luke's ways. Whatever he did away from her place, under her roof he worked hard at his studies and set her Danny an example. He helped about the place, cleaned his room and did his laundry at break times when at College and in a laundromat everyone used. When upstairs in his room, the music wasn't so loud and the three of them would often debate the merits of some band that was gaining popularity. To have Luke around made her feel included in her boy's life and it began to give extra meaning to the hours she put in.
It had all become a distraction from her day-to-day cares, though she sensed in some dismay that Luke had become infatuated with her.
She wasn't prepared for that, not at all.
2
Tracey heard his key in the front door and rushed out into the hallway. It was gone seven o'clock and supper had cooled.
'Hi,' Luke said in a low, hesitant voice on seeing the angry look on Tracey's face. Strain and fatigue were to be seen etched on her slender features, her lank, dark, hair brushing her shoulders. She'd made no effort to smarten up as she usually did when they all sat down for the evening meal. He put his rucksack down at the foot of the stairs and shrugged off his windcheater. It was soon hung over the banister. He'd take it all to his room later.
'Did you know that we'd be alone here tonight? Danny called me from college and said someone at his work had dropped out of a site visit and stop over, so he had been called in. He came back here to get some clothes and a washbag...' Tracey glared challengingly at him. 'Well?'
'Well, nothing! I'm not his minder and he didn't tell me. I've been run ragged with my own college work...so I've had no time to deal with anyone's domestic issues!' Luke stared her down and sighed. 'I'm sorry...but it's been one hell of day for me. It looks like it's been the same for you. I really didn't know anything about what you're telling me...' He paused as it occurred to him that perhaps she was worried about being in the house with him, alone. 'I can go away, and doss sown somewhere else for the night...'
'I didn't ask you that...'
'No, it was just an idea...and you look whacked. It might help if I went...''
She nodded and flicked away at her hair. Her make-up was all but gone. She knew she was no beauty but had let herself go in how she had dressed for the evening after arriving home. 'You noticed...me being tired?'
'Yeah, I did,' he answered in a nonchalant drawl. Luke followed her into the kitchen, and he soon saw that the table was set for two. He took in that she walked about in bare feet, her toenails varnished a cherry red. He'd seen it on her fingernails at weekends, not during the working day. 'I've noticed a lot about you these last few weeks...ever since I've been here, as it happens.'
'Don't even think of going there!'
His tone had changed to one of concern and his look upon her overtly appraising. Luke had also moved to stand very close, his bulk dwarfing her and his admiring glance unmistakable. She'd put on some lounge pants and a loose sweatshirt. It had been one of those days, just as he had told her of his.
'I just don't like to see you angry, Tracey...'
She shrugged, meeting the drift of his eyes over her once more. 'There's nothing to be said or done about it now...'
'I could help you prep supper....'
