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Chapter Two – A Normal Day

The moment I awaken I can feel it; a sense of uneasy anticipation. I try to shut it out and concentrate on the mundane – getting dressed, brushing my hair, cleaning my teeth. It doesn’t pass, but the intensity lessens. I step outside and have to force myself not to turn around. Instead I stand for a moment, take a deep breath, and begin walking.

The sky is that shade of cornflower blue that heralds the start of a really sunny day. There’s hardly a cloud in the sky and the birdsong sounds like an orchestra tuning up before act one. Suddenly I feel much better; lighter and more optimistic. I’m worrying about nothing and I give myself a mental shake as I walk. I have to stop living my life expecting something untoward to happen; maybe it’s true what they say about karma and sending out positive thoughts to the universe. If I’m constantly sending out worry and apprehension, then maybe I’m a magnet for all the stray negativity floating around in the ether.

I break into a smile and the old lady walking past me glances my way, frowning. It makes me chuckle and I can feel the tension leaving my neck and shoulders. It’s a good day to be alive and instead of pondering about what might or might not happen, I concentrate on my surroundings. It takes about twenty minutes to walk to the office and that’s the beauty of living in a green and leafy part of Gloucestershire. I walk past the park, and the colourful blossoms breaking out on the trees are such a wonderful contrast to the constant stream of traffic in the morning rush hour.

“Ceri,” my name appears to float on the gentle morning breeze. I turn my head and see it’s my boss, Mason Portingale, striding to catch up with me.

“Morning Mason.” I’m pleased that my voice sounds cheerful and confident.

“Ready for our big brainstorming session?” He peers at me and his tone sounds accusatory, as if I might have forgotten about it. Mason can’t help being somewhat curt, it’s the way he is and I have to be careful when I’m around him. Portingale & Hughes Advertising is a prestigious firm and the moment I step over the threshold I become a slightly different Ceri: reliable, solid, an ‘ideas’ person and bubbly. A sort of robot really, divorcing myself from the things that make me different to most other people around me.

“Can’t wait,” I smile encouragingly. Actually, I’ve thought of nothing else this last week.

“I’m counting on some good ideas coming from your corner. It’s a big contract and we need to impress the Court-Abel executives with some original concepts.”

I think to myself that a ‘Good morning Ceri’ would have been nice. I was hoping for a relaxing walk into work, not a business meeting. “Of course. I’ve come up with something a little different from their usual style. However, it really does depend on what exactly they are looking for, Mason. The brief is pretty wide-ranging.” I glance at him, not wanting to connect for any longer than I have to. My instincts have always told me to be wary of him, but I have no idea why.

“Okay, run it past me.” His clipped tone infers that I don’t have a choice and the breakfast meeting has begun.

“Well, I know they are keen to keep pushing the organic content of their fruit juices, but their entire brand is synonymous with that already. Perhaps we should centre their next campaign on lifestyle.” I pause to see if I’m way off with this idea or if he’s interested, but he gives nothing away.

“And?” We stop to cross the road and I step forward, level with him; Mason seems rather annoyed I can’t match his walking pace and I keep lagging a step or two behind. He glances down at me and it’s hard to ignore the feeling that I simply don’t like this man.

“Essentially it would focus on the happiness that comes as a result of pursuing a healthy lifestyle. The headline would be ‘The sun always shines on happy people’ and I’m thinking Good Day Sunshine by The Beatles. Short, simple.”

“Mmm.” That’s it. No reaction. Oh well, we’ll have to wait and see what the rest of the team come up with.

We enter the building, sign in at the desk, and he walks off in the direction of his office without saying another word. With Mason you can never tell if you’ve upset him or he’s simply being himself. Rude often springs to mind.

A little shiver travels down my back. Wow – where did that come from? As I enter the lift I assume it’s because the sunshine outside was really warm and the lobby is quite chilly. All that expensive marble I suppose.

***

It’s a day of pre-meetings and planning before the client comes in at three o’clock for the brainstorming session. My colleague, Alex Delano, and I spend most of the morning pulling together some visuals to go with the ‘Good Day Sunshine’ idea. We search through the modelling agency portfolios for a suitable candidate whose appearance screams health, vitality and happiness.

“Love the look of this one,” Alex beams.

“Keep your mind on the work, not what’s in the bikini,” I remind him and we both start laughing.

“Such a hard job, but someone has to do it!” He rolls his eyes and raises his coffee cup. “Another one?”

“Yep, although I suppose we should be drinking some healthy juice that’s full of vitamins and antioxidants.”

“Okay,” he interrupts. “I admit, you’ve come up with a great idea and the others aren’t going to be in with a chance because we’ve heard all that before. You have a creative mind, Ceri, there’s no doubt about that.”

Alex sashays away, it’s his trademark. I’ve often wondered if he’s gay. He never talks about girlfriends, although I know he has lots of friends of both sexes. He’s great to be around and he gives out good vibes. We work well as a team and there are times when I think that I wouldn’t still be here, working for Mason, if it wasn’t for Alex. His positivity and good karma make up for the discomfort I feel whenever I’m in Mason’s company. Fortunately that’s kept to the minimum, as Mason Portingale rarely mixes with the entry-level management team.

“Your coffee madam,” Alex reaches across to place the mug in front of me.

“Thanks. So you think this is a winner then?” I look at the sheets we’ve quickly pulled together for the ten minute presentation.

“Sure do. I think centring the campaign on that iconic Beatles song is inspired. The words are such an amazing fit. It’s a winner Ceri.” His arm brushes against mine as he sits down and I move slightly, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable. We exchange smiles and I can’t help shrieking. “I think we’re on it with this one!” I fight to keep the volume down and we do the sitting down, stamping-our-feet happy dance.

“High-five boss, you’ve done it again!”

***

I leave at five-thirty and take a leisurely stroll back to my apartment. I’m on a high because the client was full of enthusiasm for the ideas Alex and I brought to the meeting this afternoon.

Then it happens.

The dappled sunshine reflecting on the pavement from the tall trees overhead suddenly pales. Everything becomes slightly opaque: it’s like looking at an old photo where the colour is toned down. My footsteps seem to slow for no apparent reason at all. The air is heavier, it’s harder to fill my lungs and the sounds around me seem to have been turned down a notch or two. Then I see a young man. He fits into the picture in front of me as if he’s a part of it, yet I know he isn’t real. We make eye contact for the briefest second and he turns to face the road, then he’s gone. That’s if he was ever really there.

Panic begins to overtake my thoughts. A dog runs past me and my eyes follow it, wondering why it isn’t on a lead. There’s no owner in sight, then the young man appears again from nowhere, standing about five or six feet away from me. He’s merely a shadow, like the pale, dappled pools of sunlight on the pavement. The breeze moves the leaves around high overhead and the light flickers, making him blend in even more. Our eyes meet, lock, and in that instant I can see him more clearly. He wants me to stop the dog.

I break into a run, wondering how I can waylay the animal before he reaches the busy main road. I’m carrying my mobile phone and my bag is slung over my shoulder, but aside from that I have nothing with which to catch him. My pace quickens and I can see that he has slowed, a little spooked by the sound of the heavy traffic ahead.

My mind plays out the scene of the dog running into the road and a car having to swerve suddenly to avoid hitting him. The car slews into a cyclist who begins to overtake him, angry he’s slowed down with no apparent reason and unable, himself, to see the dog. The sound of the collision is sickening.

I throw down my phone and bag then quickly slip my arms out of my linen jacket. The gap closes and I toss the jacket into the air, hoping it will land on my target. It covers the poor little guy’s head and shoulders, draping down over his front legs, and brings him to a halt almost instantly. All I can see is a rear end that quickly disappears as he turns half-circle, trying to shake off the jacket. He’s only a few feet away from the road. I look to the left and I see the cyclist, slipping into the space in front of the car that is less than ten feet away from me. He’s totally unaware of course and continues weaving in and out of the traffic. I close my eyes and utter a silent prayer. The sound of yelping brings me back into the moment. The dog has managed to free himself.

“Charlie!”

The dog runs past me in the direction of his anxious owner.

“Thank you.” His voice reflects the fact that he realises Charlie was lucky. “I’m so very grateful to you. I can’t believe he ran off like that, I don’t know how you managed to act so quickly. Really, that was amazing. I can’t even begin to think what might have happened if he’d caused an accident.” He bends to hug Charlie, who is jumping around like a live wire. “You’re lucky Charlie, lucky to be here and lucky you didn’t get someone else hurt.” Both dog and owner look up at me. I take a few deep breaths, trying to regain my composure, and focus on dusting off my jacket.

“No problem,” I say casually. “Right place, right time.”

The guy continues to stare at me when I say a casual goodbye and walk away. I can feel his eyes on me and a sense of disbelief at what has just occurred. The scene that keeps playing over and over again in my head is like a trailer from a horror movie. I wince as the sound of metal crunching against bone assaults my ears. Tears fill my eyes. I can’t stop them brimming over and running down my cheeks. Another episode for my log: number one hundred and thirty-two.