Cathy and Chris Ch. 14

Next morning, after an unaccustomed night of sleeping badly and on her own, she was in the kitchen doing lunch boxes, naked under her black bathrobe.

"How was your night out?" she asked without their customary warmth.

"Oh great fun, we ended up playing pool in Wetherspoons."

"Go with anyone I know?"

"No, not really." He said, "Office people, we decided it had been ages since we had all gone out socially, boss thought we should celebrate the business park job."

"Any couples?"

"Yeah, luckily all of the attention is on young Colin and Jane. All over each other the pair of them. Couldn't get so much as a fag paper between them all night."

"Were they the pair that came to the door?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin.

"Who was the other girl."

"Victoria," he said picking up his glass of juice and grinning over the lip, "works in the Project planning team, a right little fireball and no mistake."

"Very pretty isn't she." There was a pause.

"I'm not going to answer that question on the ground I might incriminate myself."

"She... err... wasn't with you then?"

"What do you mean, 'with' me?" he said matching her lack of warmth.

"Did you shag her?"

"Might have been a bit difficult in Wetherspoons don't you think?"

"She was all over you." Said Cathy looking at the lunchbag in front of her.

"You didn't have that much of a good look obviously." He said and folded his arms.

She smiled,

"Alright, I was interested, that alright?"

"Not checking out the opposition then?" he said without humour.

She paused, "Of course I'm concerned that you aren't going out with the wrong kind of women," she said, "and I was just checking that you..."

"And was she?" said Chris.

"Was she what?"

"The wrong kind of woman."

"How would I know," she answered.

"Very diplomatic honey," he said, his smile returning, "She might let you find out if you asked her. Anyway, it's academic, she isn't interested in me."

"Yeah," said Cathy just seeing that smile, she had been all over him like a rash. That smile she had given him was enough to loosen his trousers surely.

"Look, come out with me - tonight; just for a drink, and a meal nothing more than that." He sounded tired and disappointed.

"I can't," she said, "I have plans."

"Is he the right kind of man for you?" he asked with an edge to his voice.

"What?" Cathy struggled to think what 'plans' she could invent in the few seconds before he'd expect his answer, "I'm not going out..."

"It's with that fucking idiot Mike again? Surely not?"

"What?"

"I've listened to four messages on the answer machine," he said, "each one seems to be the answer to a message he's been left."

"Chris," she said in a panic, "honestly, I've only spoken to him a couple of times."

"Really," he cut her off, "Have you taken that stuff back he asked for?"

"Not yet, but..." she said, still sidetracked by his sudden attack.

"Right," he looked really cross, "So when he comes round tonight, ARE you going to have a meal and drink with him? He seems to think so!" he growled, his eyes darkened and he snarled across an kitchen thankfully empty of children, "what the fuck do I have to do before I get that honour, age by thirty years? Join 'the club'? Take your car keys off of you? Make you wear your grandmothers clothes and chain you to the fuckin' sink?"

"Chris..." she said, but then Dan appeared with the three young ones all giggling by coat rack and it was time to be off.

"Look, don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll have a lovely time with Mustapha; I'll go out on my own tonight, don't worry about cooking for me or the kids."

"What about the kids..." she said to the door as it started to close.

"Dan's taking them all out to the cinema, then for a burger, then your Mum's place for the night, it's in the diary." she heard him shout down the hall. Not being at work she hadn't looked in the family diary that listed all of their comings and goings.

She looked in the diary and saw Chris's handwriting; Danny had arranged to take all three out to the cinema and for a burger afterwards, taxi booked to take them back to Mum and Dad's; night off.

No cooking, or anything, and there was nothing for them to do but go out - or stay in - and relax. He'd arranged it all, and he'd be thinking that she'd thrown it all back in his face, only to meet a strange middle aged man they both disliked. She heard his car engine give a bad tempered roar as he started it, and in her mind's eye she saw him phoning the dazzling blonde.

He knew she didn't even like Mike, so why the fuck; what gave him the fucking right to get so precious about it, after a night out on the piss with some slutty blonde with big tits.

She looked over at the answer machine and saw two more messages; shit.

"...Hi Catherine, yeah it's Mike, No problemo! I'll come round at that same time, and... look are you sure that you won't come out for a meal? Just so I can apologise? I've spoken with Maureen a couple of times and it seems we all might have got the wrong end of the stick, I never meant to suggest that Daniel was... well... look... call me we'll sort something, TTFN!"

The second message was him again,

"Hi Catherine! Had a missed call on my phone, figured it might be you, look, I can come round anytime if you don't want your brother in law and the kids around, honestly, call me soon, byeee!"

FUCK!! Mike bloody Stafford! That man was still in a fantasy world. She rang Chris's mobile, a recorded voice said it was not possible to connect the call and suggested that she try later.

She thought about why she hadn't just taken the bloody stuff to the club as soon as she found it; even she had insisted to Mike that she'd drop it off, but somehow that whiney voice of his had got through to her.

It struck her. It was because she felt obligated, almost as if Brian was telling her from the grave; she could almost hear his voice, "Go on love, go out with my old mate, there's a dear, Go on! DO AS YOU'RE BLOODY TOLD!!"

She shivered, she didn't have to listen to that voice anymore; No more.

She showered and felt slightly better; she'd drive to the club and drop the harness off, then to Chris's office and take him to lunch. Explain the whole mix-up, come clean about her confusion, her emotions, everything, ask him just to give her more time.

When she arrived, it was to find that the club was locked and bolted, no sign of any kind of life, and no where to leave anything.

She arrived at lunchtime at Chris's office, make-up carefully applied, his favourite of all of her outfits - her hipster jeans that clung to her perfect arse and a low-cut fitted top that showed just the right amount of cleavage from her shapely bust.

The receptionist at his office said that Chris was out at a meeting all day about the new development he'd been working on, and was unlikely to be back or contactable as it was contract signing day.

She asked the girl to get him to call Cathy as soon as possible about a misunderstanding and changing tonight's appointment. The girl wrote down the message.

Out in her car she sent him a text saying that it was a misunderstanding and he should call her so she could explain, she found herself close to tears as she finished.

She collected Colleen, Karen and Robert from school and got them washed and dressed in jeans and T-shirts ready for the cinema trip. To her surprise Dan had already packed an overnight bag for them all.

Dan arrived, showered and changed in a flash and was getting them all into the car for Cathy to drop them all off at the multi-plex.

There was still no word from Chris, her nerves were at straining point.

There was a knock at the door!

Shit, Chris had a key, it had to be Mike.

He arrived, smelling of a day old wash and shave, with too little soap, and too much deodorant and aftershave. Just the same as Brian did on a weekday.

He had a strange look on his face, contentment almost.

"Mike," she said, showing him into the kitchen, "I'm afraid I..."

"It's alright Catherine, I know." He said quietly.

"Oh," she said, unsure of what he knew, "Right I'll go and get that flag thing you wanted and... that'll be that." She felt that this could at last be an end to the problem, at least the beginning of the end.

She stood and walked upstairs, the harness was still in her bedroom of course. She cursed herself for not bringing it down and leaving it by the front door once she had dropped everyone at the cinema. That would have shortened the whole thing even more.

In her room, she picked it up stopping abruptly when she heard the door close behind her.

"Well then," he said with an inappropriate glare in his eye and a look at her still exposed cleavage, "it's been some time since I've been in lady's bedroom unaccompanied."

"Here's the flag thing Mike, I'll just..." she made to open the door behind him and he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her. She pulled away from him in shock, wiping her mouth.

"What are you doing?" she said.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Mike?" she felt shocked and a bit scared, "What?"

"What do you bloody think I'm doing."

"Look Mike, I think you'd better leave."

"Leave, but what about... what about... what we just spoke about? Our feelings?" He looked at her like she was an idiot, same as he did to Dan, same as Brian used to look at her.

"I was trying to tell you that whatever you think there is between us - isn't. There isn't anything between us, I don't have any feelings for you to disuss."

"Oh yes, well that's not the message I was getting over the phone, and downstairs just now."

"What?"

"You were coming on to me," he had that old man trying to be smooth head wobble, "it was all I could do to keep you off of me, with your tits hanging out an' all."

"Mike, I was trying to let you down nicely." She shook her head, "I don't want you in that way, I never have."

"And what, I suppose, was you plan in bringing me up here precisely?"

"I didn't bring you, you followed me." She backed away from him, momentarily afraid of him.

"And I suppose you didn't want me to follow you?"

"Of course not. Why would I?" Smack! She put a hand to the redness of her right cheek, feeling the burn from his slap.

"How dare you," said Mike, his face a picture of fury, "don't you dare talk to me like that. You've been leading me on for weeks, all for what, so you rub my face in it with the bloody 'weekend warrior' out there? Huh!"

"You..." she stutterred in fear backing from him, her hand held to her face, "you leave Chris out of this."

"You tart," he sneered, "My best mate ain't even bloody cold and your shagging your own brother, that's fuckin' SICK that is!"

"He isn't my brother..."

He swung at her again but she cried out and stepped back, making for the door. He stepped in front of it blocking her path, turning to twist the latch and lock the door from the inside.

She was trapped.

"What was the reason then TART!" snapped Mike, "You just leading me on were you? Playing with me, letting me get to know the family just so you could snatch it all away from me? Oh yes, Brian told me how to deal with the likes of you, and the likes of Mr bloody SAS superman out there." Mike put his hands on his hips, and tried to look reasonable, "Brian, see? I told him, I said if anything happened to him, I'd look after you and the kids, shook hands on it we did."

"Mike," she wept, trying to think of a way out, "I don't know what you are talking about, we were just friends." He struck out at her again, this time catching her a blow to the face a second time, sending her flying back onto her bed.

Her thoughts raced, the door was locked, Danny was out with the kids and not due back, happy in the knowledge that his Mum was due to be out with the guy he probably hoped would marry her, not this psycho.

Chris had stormed off as well, probably out with that gorgeous Victoria.

She was alone, terrified and going to get beaten and probably raped.

The lights came on and she saw Mike standing over her, hands on hips.

"I didn't want to do that Catherine, but I won't be lied to. Right from now on things are going to be a bit different round here..." it was like Brian was back in the room and a kind of terrified calm came over her.

Even Mike picked up on her terror. "Catherine, don't worry, I love you, always have, I'm not going to do anything to you, not until after we are married of course..." he chuckled.

"Don't... don't touch me..." she gasped. Mike's hand came back, and she flinched unable to look away. She looked up at Mike in time to see his shocked face as he seemed to fly into the air and land with a thump on the floor, face down.

As Mike made to stand there was Chris, like a night in shining armour, his back to the slightly open wardrobe door, stooping to punch the other man square on the jaw sending him flying back to the floor again.

"Sorry Mike," said Chris with fire in his eyes, "I didn't want to do that but NO ONE hits ladies in my fuckin' house!"

Mike rubbed his cheek, starting to glow red. He looked at the locked bedroom door, to Chris then back to the locked door again, shaking his head slightly. Chris looked at the door, obviously noting the locked catch, and Cathy's red cheek and absolute terror.

"I..." he gasped in total shock, "I think you broke my jaw."

"Want me to give you another one just to make sure, you fucking animal." Mike backed away, "who the fuck are you to storm in here and start hitting people, what gives you the right, you fucking savage!" The perfectly calm Chris had turned caveman as he protected his territory and his woman!

"Brian..." Mike gasped through trembling lips, "Brian..."

"What? Brian left you something in his will that said you could beat his wife up after he'd died did he?"

"I promised," Mike said shakily, as if he saw perfect sense in what he had just done, "I promised Brian I'd look after them," he said making an effort to control his trembling. "Look after little Colleen," he said with a proud smile.

Cathy looked at the man, this insane man, and her cavewoman kicked in this time, "You," she screamed, "YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY BABIES!

"But..." he stammered, "But I was going to look after them, Daniel... in the army, sort him out; not this university nonsense, not what Brian would have wanted, no!" he shook his head, "Daniel will join the army, infantry, not clever enough for a trade, no."

Cathy was trembling, Mike had started to talk like a robot.

"And I'll look after Colleen, be like a father to her, will be once I marry Catherine... I promised Brian I'd look after them, and I will. Shook hands on it." He looked at Chris, "You'll have to move out," he said oblivious of Chris's greater strengh, youth and training, "you're the one messing everything up. YOU!" he said, "You should have married Maureen!" he shouted like Chris had committed a deadly sin.

"I'm calling the police," said Chris looking at the now shaking Cathy

"But..." he gasped, "but she was lying to me, had to put her straight didn't I? Didn't I?" he said indignantly.

Chris picked the little man up by his shirt collar and pinning him against the locked door.

"Nothing, repeat NOTHING gives you the right, gives ANY man the right to hit a woman, End of fuckin' story!"

As he set Mike on his feet, and reached for his phone, noticing that it was still switched off from the days meetings and endeavouring to switch it on, and keep an eye on Mike.

"Don't you start on me, I was a soldier," said Mike trying to be brave.

"You were a fuckin' chef," Chris growled trying to look at the keypad on the phone, " a fuckin' slop-jockey, go open some tins of food," sneered Chris using the term of derision commonly used against army cooks, "Right cocker, you stay where you are or so help me I'll break something else on you, and give what's left to the police."

Mike gave a little squeal of indignation pointing to Cathy like he had ownership rights.

"But Brian," he gasped pointing at Cathy, "Brian would have wanted..."

"Be quiet!" growled Chris, "Before I really loose my temper..."

"No!" shouted Mike, a new firmness to his voice. Chris looked up from his phone and found himself staring down the barrel of a small revolver.