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“I figured that you wouldn't be able to leave your desk soon, so I thought I'd bring you dinner. I hope I didn’t get anything you don’t eat. I'll see you on Monday!”
Allee grinned at Darryl then headed back to her car, a new plan forming in her mind. She would stay, and she would hold her head high. She had nothing to be ashamed of, and she suspected that she now had at least one friend in the office.
Allee spent the rest of Friday evening cuddled up on the bed with Piddle, making plans for the weekend. She knew that Saturday would mostly be taken up with house-hunting, and she'd been looking for somewhere suitable every day after she got back from work. Allee had a list of several places she wanted to check out and a list of inspection times for the following day. Allee also planned to go shopping on Sunday, picking up some bits and pieces for herself, plus some items for her office.
After her talk with Darryl, Allee was settled on a course of action; she was not only going to stay, but she was going to make her office into a space where she would feel comfortable, safe and happy. She also fired off an email to her Gareth, double-checking that she had addressed it correctly. She told him how she was off to a rocky start, but she would stick with it, and she felt that the next week would be different.
Allee went to bed feeling uplifted and optimistic, the rhythmic rumbling of Piddle's purrs soothing her to sleep.
Saturday dawned, and Allee left early to begin her day of property inspections. One by one, the various houses, units and town houses proved unsuitable. By the time she had finished, it was time for dinner, Piddle vocally insistent that she was starving and wasting away to nothing because her bowl was empty. Allee almost tripped over the cat several times as she cleaned and refilled both the water and food bowls, and her hands had only been removed from their vicinity for a split second before Piddle's head had moved in, devouring her food with gusto before sitting back and blinking at Allee as though nothing had happened. Allee laughed, always knowing that the cat could make her smile. She made herself some dinner, and then settled in to watch some television before heading to bed later that evening.
Allee decided to have a lazy start to Sunday morning. She lounged around in the bed for a while, reading on her Kindle, until she could no longer put up with the feverish head-butting and constant mewling from Piddle. She got up, fed the cat, and made herself some breakfast, sitting down cross-legged on the couch, taking her time. Once finished, she had a quick shower and dressed before going over her shopping lists. Satisfied that she hadn't forgotten anything, Allee tucked her lists into her handbag, gave Piddle a scratch under the chin while grabbing her bag, and went out the door.
Several hours later, Allee arrived back at the apartment, carrying several shopping bags full of food and one containing two potted orchids. She quickly put the contents away, leaving the plants on the bench, before turning and hurrying back out the door. She got back into her laden hire car and headed for the studio. When she got there, she reversed into the visitor parking spot right next to the building entrance, went over to the front doors, unlocking them and disarming the alarm system before she began unloading the car. Numerous bags made their way out of the car and into the foyer. She even had some sort of rug rolled up and bound with tape and two flat-packed boxes. Once Allee had finished unloading, she locked herself inside and made her way up to the studio, ferrying her purchases upstairs in several trips.
First, Allee removed the heavy drapes that hung at the window. She dumped them in the hallway and pulled out a pair of blue and white patterned curtains. Allee moved on to the rug next. It was actually three rugs rolled together; two smaller ones in the same colours and pattern as the curtains and a larger turquoise one. Allee moved all of the other bags towards the doorway, opening up a significant space in the middle of the room. She unrolled the rugs, put the larger one in the middle of the room, took one of the smaller ones behind her desk, and set it underneath the window. Along with the curtains, they brightened up the room and made it feel more open and airier. Continuing to carefully sort and unpack her new office purchases, Allee began to relax, with the thought of how her office would be a comfortable and relaxing workspace.
Hours of sorting and unpacking later, Allee arrived back at the apartment tired but happy. She noticed Piddle lazily sprawled across the back of the couch in the deepening gloom of the evening, one eye opening a slit and then closing again as she began to loudly purr. Allee pulled a tin of cat food from the cupboard and bent down to fill the empty food bowl. Before she had even stood up, Piddle was there, pushing her way to the food, her legs and tail tucked neatly into her sides. She smiled and stroked the feasting feline before straightening up to continue with what she needed to do before going to bed. She'd also promised Cass and her parents a call, and didn't want too late a night, seeing as she needed to get an early start the following day.
Because it was getting late, Allee decided that she would only have something fairly quick and easy for dinner, making some simple toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches. Half an hour later, her dinner eaten and cleared away, Allee was at the table with a pack of adhesive labels and some colourful art markers. She completed the new labels for the tins, packed her things away, and then went into the bedroom to put her clothes away. It only took a few minutes, and with her evening chores now done, Allee made herself comfortable on the bed and called her parents. Her mother answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Mum, it's me. How are things going there in Sydney?”
“Oh, we're fine here. Your father went over and saw Uncle Matt and Auntie Pam today. They send their love. How are you? You're in Brisbane now, aren't you? Are you in your own place yet?”
“Yeah, I'm up here, but I haven't found a place yet. I went house-hunting yesterday, and I couldn't find anything that was suitable. I have a feeling it's going to take me a while to find a place, especially with Piddle.”
“How is Piddle coping? Has she settled in?”
“Yes, as much as she can, she's settled in. She's sulking a fair bit because I haven't been home much, but hopefully, that will end soon, and we can start relaxing.”
“How's the job going? Have you made any friends yet?”
“It's been a bit rough, but it's early days yet. I think it'll be okay.”
They spoke for a bit longer, and then Allee rang off, telling her mother she'd call her again the following weekend.
Although distance had separated them for most of Allee’s adult life, she was close with her family. Weekly phone or video calls were not unusual, and despite things becoming a little intense after what had happened with Stuart, Allee knew her parents trusted her to come to them if needed.
Allee shook off those thoughts and dialled Cass' number. It was a short call, as both of them had early starts the next day, but it reassured Cass that Allee was okay, and it gave Allee a bit of a lift to hear her friends' voice. Before long, the call was over, and Allee yawned, the day's activity catching up with her. She got up, checking the doors were locked, before turning off the lights and heading to the bed.
Tomorrow was a new day and a new week, and Allee knew that Stuart hadn't managed to kill the fight in her. Allee felt more confident than she had in weeks, and she knew now that she wouldn't have to fake it anymore. She was ready.
Chapter Seven
Although Monday was proving to be a dark and overcast day, Allee still woke with a sunny disposition. She felt energised and raring to go, so she didn’t dawdle while getting ready for work.
When she arrived, the office was still locked up, Wal having not made it that far yet. Allee unlocked the foyer, disabled the alarm, and headed up to the office. Once she had made it inside, she went to her phone and gave Wal's mobile a call, asking him if he could not only come and get rid of the boxes and old curtains but also give her a hand hanging some bits and pieces upon her walls. Wal assured her that he'd be there by eight o’clock, and Allee looked at her watch, seeing that she had about half an hour before he made it to her. She thanked him and got down to sorting out the rest of the items she'd purchased the day before.
First, she put the orchids into decorative pots. She had bought two, one a pure white, the other a gorgeous shade of magenta. She carefully gave them a little water, placing one on each sideboard. She then went into the kitchenette, carefully applied the labels to each of the tins, and filled the empty ones. The two small rectangular containers became home to tiny marshmallows and drinking chocolate, and the trio of round ones were filled with biscuits. Allee placed each cannister back neatly on the shelving and smiled to herself. She and Gareth had always been happiest when they had decent tea or coffee, and quality sweet treats to go with them. She hoped that this office would feel the same.
Allee went back into her office and removed the decorative jars from the plastic bags on her desk. One she filled with jelly beans, the other with individual foil-wrapped chocolate drops. She put them on her desk and then unpacked the other bags.
Allee had just finished putting the pictures she'd brought from the apartment into the empty frames and placing them around the room when Wal arrived. He was amazed at the transformation and soon had the large mirror and a large framed print hanging on the walls of her office. Taking the unwanted boxes and curtains away, he agreed to help her with the rest of her office furniture. Wal told Allee to give him a call when the furniture came, and he'd help her with it if needed, and he'd also remove the tatty office chair for her.
Darryl turned up not long after Wal had left, wanting to get in a bit earlier to do a test on the new upgrade he'd installed on Friday night. As he walked past Allee's office, she called out to him in greeting. He stopped and walked into her office, his reply dying on his tongue as he saw the metamorphosis that had occurred since the previous week. Allee grinned as she gestured inside the room. She had found Space Invaders style pixelated wall stickers and used them to make one wall look like an enormous arcade screen, with aliens, spacecraft, explosions, points, and other items covering it.
