I had the house to myself because my wife Jess was away for 3 whole days on a training course. That evening, my wife phoned and we talked for a while. I was preparing for an early night when my sister in law, Tracey, phoned.
Tracey was Jess's younger sister and stayed about 100 miles from us. We never went to see her. I always thought that Tony was not a good choice as a partner for Tracey. Even at their wedding, Tony seemed more interested in the ladies than in his blushing bride.
I thought that Tracey was too young to marry, though she was 19. Tony was nearly 27 and had a certain reputation. Tracey was busty and out of Tony's league. Jess was even more certain that her sister was making the biggest mistake of her life. But Jess and I held our own council, and never once even asked Tracey to "think again".
We had inkling that Tony was giving Tracey a hard time. The gossip was that he had seduced at least 2 women. Tracey meanwhile made it difficult for us to visit her.
When Jess and I moved away from the village we had minimal contact with Tracey. She rarely spoke to, or visited, her parents who lived in the same village. Toney made Tracey live like a hermit in 22 Brednock St. When we returned to the village one Christmas, Tracey made some implausible excuse why we couldn't visit her.
Tracey Leaves
It came as no surprise when Tracey said "Tony has been violent towards me. I need to stay with Jess and you for a little time. I have packed my bags and I should be with you both in an hour."
I said "I am so sorry to hear that. Drive carefully. Your sister is away on a course. But I will prepare the spare bedroom. I have a home made beef stew and mash potatoes in the freezer. I can microwave them when you arrive. Do you like that?"
Tracey replied "Thank you. That sounds like a good meal. I haven't eaten properly in a long time. Tony only wanted junk food."
I went upstairs and aired the spare room and fluffed up the duvet and pillows. I put out the guest towels and toiletries on her bed. I put one of my wife's towelling dressing gowns in the wardrobe. I also sprayed the room with air freshener.
I phoned my wife and explained the situation.
Jess told me "Tell Tracey that I can not just leave the course. But say that I will leave it as soon as possible on the final day. Tell her to phone me. Tell her that a problem shared is a problem halved."
Tracey Is In A Right Old State
When Tracey arrived she took off her shoes and came in. She was in a terrible state.
She had lost weight and had obviously been crying. I gave her a fraternal hug. It felt as if I pressed too hard then she would break in half. Tony had obviously been mentally and physically abusing Tracey.
I took her to her room. Suddenly her mobile phone rang. I made to leave her bedroom but she motioned for me to stay. She put her phone on speaker. She squirmed uncomfortably as for the next 2 minutes her husband made foul-mouthed threats. But she stayed silent.
Her husband ended with "For God's sake, at least put some money in the account. They will break my legs if I don't pay."
Then she told her husband "Better ask your druggie friends to give you money to pay your dealer. Good luck with that."
She continued "This is the last time you will ever speak to me. The solicitors have full instructions to get me my divorce."
She ended with "See you in hell, you bastard."
Resting After The Storm
She looked as if a heavy weight had finally been lifted. Then she changed the sim card.
She said "New phone number means a new future. The old sim had all his contacts. I told his dealer that Tony has no money for him. His dealer will break his legs without a second thought."
Her world was entirely different from mine.
She asked "I had to pack suddenly, and my clothes are still dirty. Can I be a perfect nuisance and ask you to launder them?"
I replied "No worries. Put all the clothes that need to be washed in the laundry basket. I can put them in the washing machine."
She said "You are an absolute gem."
I said "It must have been a long tiring journey. If you want to freshen up there's a dressing gown in the wardrobe."
She said to me "You really are kind. I really am famished. So, after my bath, we can eat that meal. There is a bottle of wine in the suitcase.
Wait outside while I undress and get into the dressing gown."
She Looks So Good
When I returned with the laundry basket I noticed that Tracey filled out my wife's bathrobe better than my wife did. I tried not to glance too long. But I think that Tracey may have realised that I was taking an undue interest in her breasts.
I took the clothes and the wine downstairs while Tracey went for a bath. I put the white wine in the freezer to make it chill quickly. I put the clothes in the washing machine on the quick wash cycle and added double the amount of washing liquid.
The clothes, other than her bras, were like "hand me downs".
About half an hour later Tracey came down. I took the wine out of the freezer. I poured half of the contents into 2 large wine glasses. We chinked glasses.
The washing machine pinged and I put it onto "maximum spin".
I put both the stew and the mash potato containers into the microwave oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.
Then the washing machine gave a "beep beep" sound.
Then I returned to Tracey. She had already drained her glass. I poured her another large glass and topped up mine. I heard the ching that told me that the stew and potatoes had been zapped for 10 minutes. It was now time to give them a stir and give them another 10 minutes.
I then took the clothes out of the washing machine and placed them on radiators to dry them.
When I returned Tracey had emptied her glass once again. I poured the rest of the bottle into her glass. It became obvious that Tracey was a heavy drinker.
I said "A good stew needs to be accompanied by a good red wine, served at room temperature and a port wine afterwards."
Tracey said "Sounds fine to me."