Marcus sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window. Emma groaned, turned over and went back to sleep. It was Saturday morning, seven o’clock. The weekend stretched before him, little more than a long pause until Monday. A couple were walking their dog along the pavement opposite. He saw them most weekends.
Gathering up the clothes he had worn the previous evening, Marcus crept out the bedroom and past an always closed door. He had rarely entered that room for the last five years. Emma never stepped over the threshold. The pale pink walls were a visceral reminder of the past and what might have been.
Sunshine reflected off the edge of the bathroom mirror, casting a rainbow on the wall. He leaned with both hands on the sink and stared at his reflection. He would be forty-two next month. The first flecks of grey were already noticeable in his hair.
Emma would probably stay in bed until noon. At least he would have the kitchen to himself for breakfast.
Emma and Marcus had dated a few times at university, but only became a couple when she moved into his flat after graduation. Marcus didn’t even remember inviting her. She transferred her belongings, one change of clothes at a time, a book or three, a lamp to make night-time reading easier. Within a couple of months, they were living together, but Emma made it clear she thought marriage outdated. At twenty-two, Marcus had shared her enthusiasm for a life enlivened by career and travel. Nineteen years later there was an emptiness that neither dared broach in conversation.
In the kitchen, Bear brushed against him. Soft, warm hair tickled Marcus’s legs. Although he had been less than enthusiastic when Emma had suggested getting a dog, they acquired Bear, a cockapoo. He was devoted to Marcus, and indifferent to Emma.
Opening the back door, with Bear standing next to him, Marcus breathed in the fresh morning air. Dew on the grass made it smell of washed lettuce.
“Breakfast, then a walk?”
Bear looked up at Marcus and wagged his tail.
“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got.”
Bear went out to explore. He was always inquisitive, checking under bushes, sniffing around the side of the shed. Every day it was as if he had discovered the garden for the first time, and he rarely failed to bring a smile to Marcus’s face.
Their house backed onto a park. There was a gate in the rear fence, giving them direct access to open green spaces and trees. Marcus opened a sachet of food for Bear and made some toast for himself. Both took their breakfast outside.
He was half-way through a mug of coffee when Emma appeared at the back door. She was dressed in smart trousers and a silk blouse, her hair perfectly styled. A cup of her usual green tea was encased in both hands.
“Marcus, we need to talk.”
She sounded serious, but Emma always sounded serious nowadays. She turned and went back into the kitchen.
Marcus took his time, not relishing the tone of her voice.
He found her sitting at the breakfast bar, staring at an already empty cup, it was still gripped in her hands, held so tightly that her knuckles had blanched.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m leaving. Today actually.”
She travelled quite often as a contract lawyer for a large international practice, but rarely at such short notice.
“But it’s Saturday.”
“I know, I haven’t lost my sense of time, just my sense of direction. I’m leaving, leaving you, leaving the house.” She barked a short laugh. “In fact, I’m leaving the country.”
Marcus leaned back against the kitchen counter. “I don’t understand.”
Emma was often distracted at the weekend. She was more interested in work than social life. But she was not making sense today.
Emma sighed. She had her serious, professional face on, the one she used to explain aspects of her work that Marcus rarely grasped.
“You and me, it’s not been working for years. We’ve grown away from each other. You have a closer relationship with Bear than you do with me.”
“That’s not fair. Bear is your dog. You can’t blame me because you got bored with him.”
Emma looked down at her mug. She mumbled under her breath that it was not Bear she was bored with. Marcus almost missed it. He wanted to disagree, but there was rarely any point in arguing with Emma.
“I have a taxi coming in half an hour. My bags are packed, they’re in the spare room.”
She was unable to look him in the eye. They both fell silent at her mention of the spare room.
“You can have the house, the furniture… and Bear. I’ll sort out the legal side when I get to New York.”
“New York?”
“I’ve been offered a job, and I’ve accepted. It all happened very quickly. I had to decide what was best for both of us.”
“So, that’s it? The defence doesn’t get their day in court?”
“I’m not that sort of lawyer. You should know that much after twenty years.”
Emma was looking past him, her face impassive. Marcus turned to see Bear in the doorway, his head cocked to one side, aware that something serious was happening.
“Aren’t you going to take him for his walk?” Emma asked, nodding towards Bear.
“And I suppose you’ll have left by the time I get back?”
She shrugged and pushed an envelope towards him. She put her house keys on top of it.
“I thought about leaving without saying anything. I don’t want a scene.”
Marcus turned away, looking out the window at an otherwise perfect day. He had no idea how he should react. Things had not been right for some years. He would need to be completely insensitive not to have realised. There had even been times when he had thought of ending the relationship himself. He knew Emma was right. Her chair squeaked against the floor as she stood up.
“Goodbye Marcus… I’m sorry.”
Emma walked out into the hall and closed the door behind her. Her footsteps echoed on the stripped pine stairs as she retrieved her bags.
“Okay Bear, I suppose we might as well go for that walk.” Marcus said.
At the prospect of a walk, Bear instantly forgot the atmosphere he had sensed, and ran towards the back gate, then back to the kitchen.
The hall clock struck nine, and Marcus checked his watch. In the two hours since he had got up, his world had changed inexorably. He took Emma’s keys from the table and clipped a lead onto Bear’s collar.
“Come on then, let’s go.”
Bear was straining at his lead. Marcus grabbed the envelope Emma had left and stuffed it in his pocket. In the park, Bear kept looking back at Marcus, who’s gaze was focussed somewhere in the far distance.
They walked to the small pond where Bear liked to watch the ducks. Marcus was hoping that the bench would be free. He needed somewhere to sit and think, without having to engage in idle chatter with anyone.
It was not his lucky day. A woman was already occupying one end of the bench. She also had a cockapoo, chocolate brown. It was sitting watching the ducks, its head twitching from side to side each time movement caught its attention. Marcus sat at the other end of the bench. The two dogs were far too preoccupied with the wildlife to pay much attention to each other.
Marcus’s phone pinged in his pocket, scaring the birds, who took off in a panicked flapping of wings.
“Sorry.” Marcus said to the woman.
She had been sitting with her head tilted up to the sun, eyes closed, but she turned to look at him, squinting.
“Pardon?”
“The ducks,” Marcus explained. “My phone scared them away.”
“Oh. Okay. No problem.”
He looked at his phone. There was a text from Emma asking if he had read her letter. He sighed, put his phone on the bench beside him and pulled out the crumpled envelope. The letter repeated what she had said earlier, but in more detail. She had paid her half of the mortgage for the next three months, but New York was going to be expensive and that was as far as she could go. He uttered something between a grunt and a laugh.
“Bad news?” The woman asked.
“Sort of. But just life.”
“I know what you mean.” She tilted her head towards the sun again and closed her eyes.
“I doubt it.” Marcus mumbled. The remark had not been intended for his neighbour.
Marcus became aware that she was looking at him. He pushed the envelope back into his pocket. She half turned to face him, but her eyes had dropped. Marcus began to fidget, wondering if he could leave without saying anything more. When she spoke, her voice was hesitant.
“I was dumped by my partner three weeks ago. We had been together for ten years and I had no idea it was about to end. What’s your story?”
Marcus tilted his head back and closed his eyes. It was easier to talk that way.
“I was dumped today, about thirty minutes ago. After nineteen years and seven months.”
“Okay. You win,” she said.
Marcus leaned forward and opened his eyes to check on Bear. He had made friends with his lookalike. Both were sitting side by side, waiting for the ducks to return.
“My name’s Kate. It helps to know I’m not alone in my misery. If you know what I mean.”
She laughed nervously, and Marcus turned to look at her. Kate was watching Bear and her own dog. She was younger than him, but not by many years. She was smiling, but Marcus could see a tear forming in her eye. Emma had often accused him of being overly sentimental, so he put it down to his imagination and current situation. Maybe she suffered from hay fever.
“Two relationships end, and a new one begins,” she said.
Marcus was not sure whether she was referring to Bear and his new friend, or to them.
“What’s her name?” Marcus asked.
“Chelsea. But theirs will be a short-lived friendship because I will be moving soon. I can’t afford the rent on my place with only my income. I’m sorry, I don’t want to burden you with my problems.”
“No, it’s okay. I have plenty of time if you want to talk. And those two seem happy enough together.”
“Thanks.” Kate took a deep breath and sighed. “I’ve had a decidedly shit life for a while now. First my parents retired to the middle of nowhere, so I have no one to talk to but Chelsea. Although you can pour your heart out to a dog, and they give you unconditional love, they’re useless at sorting out financial problems.
Marcus explained the details of what had happened to him that morning.
“We’re a sorry pair, aren’t we? Not like those two.”
Bear and Chelsea were both looking at them. Poised like porcelain bookends.
“I’m going to have to relocate somewhere cheaper.” Kate said. “It’s either that or move in with my parents, in the middle of a village full of pensioners. And at thirty-five that would probably be the death of my social life.”
“What about a house share.”
“I’ll put an ad in the local paper, shall I?” Kate laughed and her face lit up. “Woman recently dumped by long-time girlfriend seeks house share. Preferably with garden. Comes complete with small dog. Both very quiet, but prone to tears in the middle of the night.”
Marcus rarely acted on instinct, that was another of Emma’s criticisms of him. He turned to Kate.
“Do you like pink?”
“Never been a pink sort of girl. Why?”
The spare bedroom was long overdue a new look.
“We may have to buy some paint then.”