Honey

One

'WANTED. Young student to do small house jobs, start dinner nightly and clean pool weekly for 30-something couple. Negotiable hours and good pay.'

"Oh this is perfect. This is exactly what I have been looking for." said Sash gleefully over the top of the classifieds section.

Melanie finished drawing on her drink and put it down on the table, condensation from the glass dripping from her fingers. She licked her lips and steadied her eyes to where she suspected Sash was on the other side of the newspaper. "Are you sure you don't have some ulterior motive for this? You seem so very excited about the concept of regular employment."

Mrs Audery Franklin stood in a prim manner, stiff through her back, one leg slightly forward and to the side to balance her. Sash found the stance somehow appropriate for a high school teacher.

"My husband and I will be home between six and seven and expect dinner to be ready then. If you want to cook something special then leave a list of what you need and we will buy them for you. You will have a key to the front door and the code for the downstairs alarm only. There will never be a need for you go upstairs. Do you have any questions?"

Although she was talking to Sash she had spent most of the time of the speech gazing over the patio through the large french doors.

"It all seems perfectly set out." Sash almost stammered, feeling a little intimidated.

"One little question though." Sash spoke up. Mrs Franklin raised her eyebrows for her to continue "I was under the impression that I might be doing sort of baby sitting. Are there no children for me to walk home? Or something like that?"

The door slammed and a thick set man in a dark suit walked into the room and gave Audery a heavy kiss on her cheek. She turned her head to meet his lips for a brief smacking kiss. Audery introduced Sash to the man "Sash, this is my husband Joshua."

He slipped around his wife letting a hand slowly trail along her waist and offered his hand to greet Sash. She caught her breath, she forgot to stand to meet him but extended her hand. His grip was strong yet gentle and she felt enveloped in the power of it. Her eyes darted from his hand to his eyes and quickly back again when she couldn't hold his stare. She felt that his dark, sparkling eyes has seen her very core. She felt the skin of his hand then quickly let it go.

"Come outside and I'll tell you about the running of the pool."

Sash sat for a second collecting her thoughts. She had been stunned by the sudden appearance of this majestic man, but she now felt in control much more than she had when it had been just her and Audery in the house. She rose and followed Joshua with a little smile across her face and a spark in her eye.

Two

She had almost been shocked when Audery called her to say that they had accepted her. So for two weeks now Sash had walked over to the house five nights a week, emptied the dishwasher, prepared and cooked a meal and cleaned the kitchen. On the Fridays she fought with the pool's vacuum cleaner, cleaned the filters and added the appropriate chemicals while the meal bubbled in the oven. And five nights a week she had walked home across town in the dusk with a handful of crisp cash.

Joshua called a greeting to Sash from the doorway followed by a complement on the smell of the dinner and a curse on the sweltering weather. He loosened his tie and punched the code to deactivate the alarm upstairs.

Sash hugged up against the door post of the kitchen and asked Joshua if he would like a beer.

Yeah,that would be great. Just leave it out on the patio." he called as he climbed the stairs.

Joshua wandered out on the patio feeling much more comfortable in t-shirt and shorts than his suit. His beer was standing on the seat in a tall thick glass frosted with condensation. Sash was sitting near it engrossed in her study.

"Come out to enjoy the sun, have we?" he asked.

She raised her eyes and stared straight into him "I was wondering if I could go for a swim?"

"Sure. Absolutely." he said taking a long draught of his beer. His whole body relaxed as the cold ran through him.

Sash walked down to the edge of the pool lifting her top off as she descended the stairs from the patio, threw it down and dived bare breasted into the pool.

She reached the other end in a smooth gliding motion, stood in the shallow end and turned to the patio to stare at Joshua.

His back was turned!! She didn't believe it. She had been flirting with this man the whole time. She had smiled deeply at him, given him suggestive glances, brushed his hands when he helped her in the kitchen and even brushing his buttocks as he passed in the hallway.

Then he stood up. An arm snaked around his neck and he stooped to kiss. She was back!! Sash ducked down into the water to cover herself. The couple chatted lightly and then moved inside the house. Sash felt dejected and swam back to the near side of the pool and climbed out. She picked up her top and strode up the stairs proudly, briefly feeling stupid having not brought a towel with her. As she walked up to the french doors they opened and Audery stepped out. Sash's heart double timed but her face gently smiled.

"Good evening Mrs Franklin."

"I thought you would need this." Audery said handing her a towel.

Sash took it graciously and started drying her arms and shoulders.

"If you wish to go swimming again I suggest the you take one of my suits from the box in the laundry."

"Thank you Mrs Franklin. Dinner will be ready to serve in about twenty minutes. I wasn't expecting you home so early."

"No, obviously you were not." Audery muttered as she turned back into the house.

Three

The key slid into the lock and the bolt popped open with a clunk. The door swung open and Sash stepped into the house, dropped her bag, closed the door and locked it.

She was a little late today and she strode to the alarm key pad, quickly turning off the downstairs alarm and jogging on into the kitchen. Lentils tonight. The beans had been soaking on the bench since last night but would still need a lot of boiling to be ready in time for the Franklin's return. She quickly go some water boiling and draining the beans, added them to the water before starting cutting the vegetables.

With the soup simmering there was a good 45 minutes before Sash had to think of starting on the fish. She wandered around the lower floor of the house looking at the ornaments that had been collected. The symbols of the memories of 12 years of marriage and the heritage of their families. Plates, vases, bowls, paintings, sculptures and candle sticks were on every surface of the house.

"Bloody DINKies." Sash muttered to herself, pondering a contorted surrealistic still-life. "No kids to spend their money on, too busy to spend it on themselves. So gild the house with nonsense."

As she wandered through the stair well she stared up at the ceiling high above her. The whole of the upstairs was in darkness, no light came in to indicate to her where doors or windows may be. She couldn't even see the end of the banister.

Sash wondered where the alarm sensors started up the stairs. How far up them could she get without setting off the alarm.

She started to climb, always staring at the ceiling above her as it slowly came more into view, always scanning the walls for the sensors.

There it was - blinking at her with it's red eye,the first sensor. It was aimed away from where she was now but she couldn't get to within six feet of the top of the stairs without triggering it.

She slowly descended the stairs and began to hear a crackling in her ears, she turned her head to the right, away form the wall and it became weaker, but more piercing - almost painful. She turned to the left with her eyes closed and the sound became more clear but harmonious and encouraging. She stepped forward and opened her eyes. The sound abruptly stopped. She was staring directly at a light fixture on the wall. A curling of wood from the wall became two candle sticks holding plastic tubes with flame shaped bulbs in them. This cuteness suited the house in Sash's mind. She turned from the fixture to continue walking down stairs. Aloud crack startled her and her eyes darted back to the fixture. Near the bottom of the left hand candle stick there was a tiny drop of clear fluid. Sash wiped it off, but it wouldn't move. It was hard, it was dry glue. She looked carefully at the side of the candle stick and saw a faint line where the whiteness of the paint did not meet. A fracture line. The candle stick had been broken off at some time and repaired.

Four

Sash continued her descent of the stairs and came to face an ancient dresser. It's dark wood reeked of history and the dented upper surface described not carelessness but centuries of small intermittent accidents. On top there was a round green vase. Quite easily mistaken for kitsch junk until the depth of the paint was observed, it was not just green. It was a swirl of iridescence, with perfect imperfections that gave it a pearl like quality. Streaks of Cambridge blue and bright yellow so pure and so fine they were not really there. Previous coats of paint peaking through later ones at the whim of the artist. And beyond them a storm of purple and navy blue. This was the only item in the house that Sash had any appreciation for.

As she gazed deeply into the tumultuous design of the vase she noticed a streak of fluid on its underside. This was also a drip of glue. She reached out to touch and a spark of electricity leap from the vase to her fingertip. Her hand shot back to her side, from surprise rather than pain.

Sash began to hear a noise. Like the sound of ice warming the second it is brought from a freezer, the grating sound of something stretching its bonds. The sound built and went on as if at any moment something would....

The vase exploded. Small fragments flew in all directions imbedding themselves in the dresser, the walls, Sash's face and eyes. She fell to the floor screaming and bleeding.

She opened her eyes and was standing before the vase with her finger against the drip of glue and her heart racing.

The following afternoon Sash discussed these discovers with Melanie. "I am beginning to get the distinct feeling something's not right in that house. I think he's violent. Probably beats his wife for fun."

"Ooh, no he beats her because she can't have his kids." Melanie enthusiastically contributed. "Or there were kids but he beat them death."

"Now your just making fun of me." Sash said slumping in her seat.

"You are making this supposition because of one broken vase. Things get knocked over in houses."

"Yeah, usually by kids. Where are the kids? I had the very clear feeling that he broke that vase while he was angry."

Five

Forget some ingredients for dinner. Walked to supermarket.

Will be back soon. Goulash in the oven will be done at 6:20pm if I'm not back in time. S

Sash strolled along the footpath in the late afternoon. She was becoming much more adventurous with her cooking, mostly for the challenge. As her skills increased, she raised her expectations of herself.

Her flirtations with Joshua Franklin were also becoming more adventurous. She had often packed her slutty little skirt in her bag and changed into it at the house.

Sash had not dreamed of him in a while. His chest solid and strong. Not the pert nippled, pectoral bound heart throb of her age but the solemn dignified furry chest of an older man. His embrace comforting and consoling. His love gentle, patient, experienced and satisfying. She had not had those dreams for some time and Joshua had stopped being a fantasy, he had become a project. A target. A test of her seductive powers, a measure of her fresh womanhood.

Sash creep up to the front door and opened it. The instant she did loud voices spilled out of the house. They were arguing. Sash crept nearly to the doorway to the lounge. Her breath shallow and quiet.

"That was the idea behind this arrangement."

"You can't ignore me like this. I need support, this year is shaping out to be heavier than ever. We have deals that could crush the business if they are not planned properly."

"That's just an excuse, we are not talking about your business commitments." Quipped back Audery.

"I suppose that this was the kind of stuff that made you go and fuck Jack for two months."

Sash caught herself.

"That was four years ago you bastard. How dare you bring that up." Her voice quivering. She started to storm towards the door.

Sash, panicked and step quickly towards the front door.

"But you still don't regret it! Do you?" Joshua shouted back after her.

"No of course I don't. Why should I?" She said coldly fighting back tears.

Sash went back and slammed the front door then walked quietly past the door to the lounge and onto the kitchen.

Six

Sash felt dinner had been a success, the Franklin's had not commented as she left before dinner was finished. It was now deep dark night and Sash sat up on the curb at the rise in the road. A position that allowed her an excellent view of the house and exactly which rooms had the lights on. The lights downstairs had been turned off for about ten minutes and now only five windows were illuminated upstairs. The one at the end had been turned on and off three times in the hour and a half that she had been watching and she had summarised that it was the bathroom and of no consequence. Four windows remaining.

The two windows nearest the road went black. But not entirely, there was a hue of illumination defusing up the curtains of a greenish tone. The other two windows went black now too. But there was a similar dull glowing of the curtains washed out towards the top, but this was of a red tone. Then she worked it out. Bedside lamps with coloured lamp shades. That seemed okay. Sash continued to sit, she was in no rush to get home. Then realised - two lights. Two sets of windows. Two rooms. The Franklins were sleeping in separate rooms.

"So what of it?" Asked Melanie a little to loudly for the bus.

"It means that they are on the road to divorce." Replied Sash imploringly, slightly more conscience of the ears of the other passengers.

"And I suppose that you think that your effects to Mr Whatsit are the reason for this."

"No not at all. They have been probably degenerating for years now. Remember Mr mentioned an affair that Mrs had."

Melanie shrugged. She seemed unimpressed and uninterested.

This infuriated Sash.

Seven

Sash strode quickly into the house, flung down her bag and went down to the alarm key pad to deactivate the downstairs alarm. Her hand froze hovering above the keypad. She steered intently at the panel to be sure of what she saw. Next to printed lettering 'Alarm Zone One' and the pencilled lettering 'Upstairs' there was definitely a dull brown, unilluminated LCD.

She cautiously climbed the stairs staring intently at the sensor eye. It was hard to find as it did not have its glowing red eye watching the stairs. She held her breath and climbed further, frightened of the dark hall that loomed before her. The stairs creaked and Sash winced although there was no one to hear her. She reached the top of the stairs and the eye had not flicked, the alarm had not sounded. She made a little jump to be sure that the eye was not watching. Neither ignoring the eye or turning on the lights made her feel any more comfortable up there.

The hall laid before stretching beyond to a small door at the other end and a smaller window beyond that. On either side lay two doors. The first on the right was closed, Sash slowly turned the handle and stared inside. Illuminated by the dying sun through the windows of the far side of the room were piles of boxes and various pieces of furniture. 'Junk' Sash summarised and she moved on to the other room on the right. There she found home gym equipment, the metal bar skeleton silhouetted against the golden sky. This was also not useful to Sash's purpose.

The first door on the left was dark, as it was on the opposite side from the setting sun. Sash slowly pushed the door open, it swung silently on well oiled hinges. She crept slowly into the dim light from the hallway and saw the head of a queen bed. She fumbled for the light switch. Just as she was about to flick it she heard a faint gasp. The sound a person makes when they have been found, or when they find something shocking. Sash ignored this and turned on the light.

Eight

Sash searched around the room, still not sure what she was looking for but very sure that she must not pass up this opportunity to find something of interest. The fact that she had to get dinner on was nagging at her conscience but she kept on searching in one more place, one more place. The first room was Mrs Franklin's and Sash was now looking through the wardrobe. She had already perused the drawers of the dresser and the bookshelf in the corner. Sash ran her hands over the extensive collection of blouses and skirts, dresses and coats. Sash looked down at the shoes covering the bottom of the wardrobe and knelt to look at them. Piled up against the back wall of the wardrobe were shoe boxes. Sash picked two of them up and found them empty. She tapped the others with her finger nails all sounding as hollow as the first. Her mind wandered to where she should look next when the last shoe box, right at the bottom, in the corner, resounded a solid thud. Carefully so as to be able to return them, she unpacked the boxes and took out the last one, staring at it like a treasure chest.

First there were the photos. Wild parties with great crowds, photo of Mr and Mrs Franklin standing with, drinking with and hugging various friends. There were also some forgotten family portraits. Most of them were old and some of them were black and white. Then there were the letters, Sash knew that she had no time to read these and she was only half way down the shoe box so she skipped them bringing her to within an inch of the bottom of the box. Here she found an unsealed envelope. it was unmarked and Sash gently pulled the contents out. There were a series of photos and a pile of letters. Most of the photos seemed to have been taken on the same day, in a park with a pale blue sky over head. There were only two people in the photos, Mrs Franklin looking younger and happier than she did now, and another woman. Sash flicked through the letters, most were quick notes and the rest were formal letters. She read a note.

'Sorry I missed you at the cafe. I would have sent flowers with this but we don't want to start and rumours. I hate waiting to see you again. Please meet me for a serupticious coffee (and maybe a bite!) on Thursday, 2pm at Chestnuts.

Love you,

looking forward to fucking you senseless in the near future,

achingly,

Jack.'

Pay dirt thought Sash. This was the information that she was looking for. The rest of the notes went along the same line. 'Sorry I missed you, 'I just dropped by but you weren't in', 'Just wandering what it would feel like to suck you from under your desk while you taught your brats'. All signed in a flourishing hand, Jack. The formal letters were much more thought out and less erotic. They talked about how family members had been and how work was and problems around the house. They too were simply signed Jack, usually annotated with 'missing you deeply' and wishing for one last kiss'. Sash looked up at the address at the top of the letters.

'Jacqueline Evans,

Pohutukawa Drive,

RD4

Papakura.'

Jacqueline!! Jack! Sash quickly picked up one of the photos and turned it over. Written on the back in blue ball point was 'Jack and me - Whenuakiti - 11 January 1997'. Quickly brought back from her daze Sash looked at her watch. 5:20!!! She had been snooping and reading for two hours and she had 40 minutes to have dinner ready.